By Cara Sulieman THE SCOTTISH government has been accused of “stealing” annual events to add to their Homecoming 2009 programme. It has been revealed that sixty per cent of the events planned during Homecoming are annual events that would be happening anyway. Labour, who originally came up with the idea for Homecoming when they were [...]
By Cara Sulieman TWO OF Scotland’s finest sporting institutions have been branded “losers” by a Canadian newspaper. And one of them is surprisingly Colin Montgomerie – who was recently crowned European Ryder Cup Captain. The Toronto Star has picked a list of ten teams and individuals from around the world who have a track [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A TERRIFIED mum was forced to throw her eight-month-old baby out of a first floor window as a fire threatened to rip through her home. Lena Erskine, 36, and her three children were trapped by thick toxic smoke after a communal bin area caught fire at their home in Winchburgh, West Lothian. [...]
By Michael MacLeod SELF-confessed willy expert Alan Cumming reckons Barack Obama has a big one. The Scottish-turned-American actor says the new President is the one person he would most like to see naked. But he admits his only evidence is his imagination and his own theory that Obama’s confidence is due to his penis size. [...]
By Paul Thornton A SCOTTISH mum is to appeal the decision to extradite her to Spain where she is to face a possible murder charge over the death of her young son. Corinna Reid, 33, is wanted by Spanish authorities after her 16-month-old child Aiden Cormack-Reid died from a methadone overdose while on a family [...]
By Cara Sulieman A FOUR-YEAR-OLD boy has been told he won’t get a place at his local primary school – even though he is their poster boy. Ryan Girdwood’s face can be seen on all of Fife council’s literature advertising the new community campus – which includes a school, nursery and leisure centre – in [...]
By Alexander Lawrie AN otter saved from death by a kind-hearted postie has found a new best friend – a three-month-old kitten called Kevin. Orla the otter was found last week lying abandoned in the middle of a country road by postman Kenny Wilson as he drove to a car rally in the Highlands. But [...]
By Oliver Farrimond MOTOR racing legend Sir Jackie Stewart admitted that discovering he had dyslexia was like “being saved from drowning” yesterday. Speaking at a dyslexia conference at Lothian & Borders Police College, the Flying Scot said that he still could not remember the alphabet – despite knowing the precise details of every racing course [...]
By Michael MacLeod TWENTY swans were among dozens of seabirds covered in oil after Tuesday’s freight train derailment. The helpless birds bore the brunt of 1,000 tonnes of explosive fuel after a ten-carriage locomotive careered off the rails into fields. Diesel and heating oil from the train had leaked into water close to the accident [...]
By Michael MacLeod A DEADLY Legionnaires’ bug infected the Scottish Parliament’s water supply over summer. The virus was discovered in a tank serving hundreds of staff and ministers’ offices at Holyrood last June. But bungling staff kept news of the highly infectious disease secret until Christmas, despite it being found in the same block as [...]
By Alexander Lawrie FOUR cute piglets – which are the size of a teacup when born – are the latest attraction at a Scottish zoo. The unusual animals are known as “micro” or “teacup” pigs and at only two weeks old can easily fit into a mug. This particular breed of pig only grows to [...]
By Cara Sulieman A SHOPKEEPER has been fined £300 after selling out of date food. Nadeem Ishaq, owner of Fresh Choice, pled guilty to illegally selling food past its ‘use by’ date at Edinburgh Justice of the Peace Court in December. Officers from the council’s Environmental Health unit visited the shop in July last year [...]
By Michael MacLeod ELECTRICAL giants Comet are planning on charging for shelf-space in a bit to halt crashing profits. The move could force big-name suppliers like Apple to PAY to get their iPods sold in the shops. Insiders say it could cost firms up to £15,400 to put anything from a toaster to plasma TV [...]
By Cara Sulieman THE COMPANY behind the controversial Speedball beer has said they gave it the name temporarily – to give their critics something to complain about. After years of grumbling from the Portman Group over beers called Hop Rocker, Punk IPA and Rip Tide, Scottish brewers Brewdog decided they had had enough. Knowing that [...]
By Alexander Lawrie THE BEST chippy in Britain is being urged to change its name – to show compassion to fish and marine life. The Anstruther Fish Bar is famous throughout the country after winning the prestigious UK Fish and Chip Shop of the Year title in London thanks to its quality suppers. But now [...]
By Michael MacLeod, A SEQUEL to Trainspotting WILL happen, according to the man who wrote the original film. Irvine Welsh has revealed he’s itching to resurrect the lives of Scotland’s favourite rave-loving junkie pals Renton, Sick Boy and Begbie. The writer plans to turn his novel ‘Porno’ into a follow-up of the iconic 1996 Scottish [...]
By Paul Thornton A RETIRED soldier has admitted possessing and distributing sickening videos of girls as young as five years old being raped. Ian Horner, 60, sent a convicted sex offender a video of a man performing a sex act on a girl as young as 12 years following a string of lurid texts with [...]
By Paul Thornton TOMMY Sheridan has had a date set for a hearing over allegations he lied during his legal wrangle with a Sunday newspaper. The controversial politician – who has recently appeared on Celebrity Big Brother – won £200,000 in damages from the News of the World in August 2006 after it printed claims [...]
By Michael MacLeod HOLYROOD’S political leaders have joined forces appealing for Scots to dig deep for victims of the Gaza conflict. Deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon hit out at BBC and Sky News’ “downright wrong” decision not to screen an appeal for aid. She teamed up with MSPs from each of the Scottish Parliament’s political [...]
By Karrie Gillett AN EXHIBITION of 45 original paintings from Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood has gone on display. The show features a new set of sketches of band mate Keith Richards dressed in his pirate outfit for his cameo appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean. And the Edinburgh exhibition also includes paintings from 30 [...]