By Rory Reynolds PLANS for one of Scotland’s biggest urban modernisation projects have been pitched to worldwide business leaders at a glitzy Cannes exhibition. The massive £850million redevelopment of Edinburgh’s St James Centre will transform the east end of Princes Street and the top of Leith Walk. As one of the entries in the ‘Spotlight [...]
By Oliver Farrimond SCOTLAND’S police officers have taken more than 300 years’ worth of days off since the beginning of 2008 in Scotland – blaming STRESS for the sickies. The thin blue line shrank even further as colleagues missed some 120,000 days on their beat with stress, anxiety, and other psychological factors being fingered as [...]
By Rory Reynolds A FORMER professional footballer turned soldier was due to return from Afghanistan last night after being injured in a roadside bomb. Rifleman David Etale, from Edinburgh-based 3 Rifles, was left unconscious after his back bore the brunt of the blast. The Kenyan – who now plays for Edinburgh Spartans – told his [...]
By Rory Reynolds A BLIND youngster whose life was turned around with help from a specialist school in Scotland is to have his special handmade Christmas cards send to famous folk including Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela. Nine-year-old Ben Wilson lost his sight and was left brain-damaged after a 16-hour fit when he was just [...]
By John Hislop A ceremonial jacket velvet jacket belonging to Duleep Singh, the youngest son of the legendary last Maharajah of the Punjab Ranjit Singh is to be sold at auction. The ‘Lion of the Punjab’s coat and will be sold at auction by Lyon & Turnbull on 9 December 2009 along with other Indian [...]
By John Hislop A 61 year-old-man was being quizzed by police last night in connection with the death of a 57-year-old woman. Detectives said he had been held over the grisly discovery of a body in Stoneybank Drive, Musselburgh. The scene of the death had been sealed off by police tape with an officer posted [...]
By Michael MacLeod BLUBBING Scots telly babe Lorraine Kelly was in floods of tears yesterday as celebrities from across the globe wished her a happy 50th birthday. Stars including film hunk Gerry Butler, The Bee Gees, Peter Andre and Ricky Gervais sent surprise messages while she presented yesterday morning’s GMTV. Looking wholesome as ever in [...]
By Rory Reynolds SCOTS sofa queen Lorraine Kelly joins the big 50 club today. The chirpy TV favourite is still looking good as she enters her 6th decade, as her legions of polling internet fans could attest to. The Dundee-based veteran presenter has been on the box for as long as anyone can remember, rising [...]
By Rory Reynolds SINGING sensation Susan Boyle could lose millions of pounds in revenue to an online black-market for unofficial memorabilia. The singer’s management are failing to capitalise on an estimated £5million-a-year worth of merchandise – including dog T-shirts, quirky aprons and £1,000 car number plates – as the market for unlicensed souvenirs booms on [...]
By Rory Reynolds THE FAMILY of Scots comedy legend Chic Murray have blasted STV for attempting to flog an unofficial tribute DVD online – just weeks before their own star-studded version is to be released. The late comic’s daughter Annabelle – who included tributes from Billy Connolly and Elaine C Smith on the DVD – [...]
By Rory Reynolds SCOTLAND has been knocked off the top spot in whisky rankings after an American rye was crowned best in the world. The Whisky Bible 2010 replaced Ardbeg – this year’s world’s best whisky – with Kentucky distilled Sazerac. Sazerac, known for its Christmas cake ‘nose’, beat Ardbeg Supernova into second, whose distillery [...]
By Rory Reynolds SCOTLAND is under threat of being besieged by a massive horde of exotic killer jellyfish. Numerous sightings of the mauve stinger – which devastated salmon farms on the west coast in 2007 – have led experts to believe that the Mediterranean creatures have returned to Scotland’s coasts. The tiny critters, who travel [...]
By Rory Reynolds RECORD numbers of Scots women have been imprisoned in the past year, with a sharp increase in the number of alcohol-fuelled attacks believed to be partly responsible. The increase in the number of woman being sentenced to jail time has increased nearly 10 per cent on last year. Drink-fuelled violence on the [...]
By Andrea McCallum THE parents of a toddler suffering from a rare form of cancer have pledged to raise ?300,000 so he can have treatment only available in America. After 22-month-old Ross Anderton was diagnosed with a tumour underneath his eye mum Lesley and dad Andy asked the NHS to fund life-saving therapy.
By Andrea McCallum SOLDIERS gathered at Edinburgh Castle yesterday (Friday) to mark the end of two decades in their history. The Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, laid their old colours to rest within the Scottish National War Memorial. Drum Major Matt Smith of Pipes and Drums prepared the colours – [...]
By Andrea McCallum A TWO-YEAR-OLD boy had a lucky escape after a four-inch blade was found inside his new colouring book – bought by his grandmother only minutes before. Grandmother Elizabeth Borthwick was shocked to find the razor-sharp weapon taped to the inside of the drawing pad. The 46-year-old was sitting with her grandson Ryan [...]
By Andrea McCallum A FIRST edition of a Harry Potter book is expected to conjure up thousands of pounds for an Edinburgh children’s charity. The rare signed copy has been given to Radio Forth’s Cash for Kids appeal from the city council who had 30 stored in their secret chambers. Best-selling author J.K. Rowling had [...]
By Michael MacLeod A DOCTOR and his wife have been fined £5,000 for what a Sheriff described as “the most outrageous breach of the peace I have ever experienced” in his 20-year career. Dr John McCallum and his wife Michele “ambushed” their neighbour Roslyn Kinder after hearing that she had tried to run over their [...]
By Michael MacLeod A CLEANER who was mistakenly paid £36,000 managed to spend £17,000 of it within just two days. Catherine McLean, 39, didn’t question her boss when the bumper pay packet landed in her bank account on April 2. By April 4 she had spent almost half of the cash clearing her debts, but [...]
By Michael MacLeod AN aspiring Marine has had his entry to the Forces suspended after being caught selling over £18,000 of stolen camping gear on eBay. Andrew Pringle, 22, was working at Tiso and helping colleagues to pocket huge profits from goods they bought with their staff discount. But when it dawned on him that [...]