By Rory Reynolds & Shaun Milne THE Pope will visit Scotland in September sparking one of the biggest ticket scrambles the country has ever seen. Pope Benedict XVI will follow in the footsteps of his predecessor Pope John Paul II by holding mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. There some 150,000 people will gather in [...]
By Michael MacLeod A PERVERTED forklift truck driver admitted repeatedly sexually abusing a 15 year-old girl at weekends – driving 300 miles each time to satisfy his depravity. Ian Rodhouse, 43, would travel to Edinburgh from his former home in Slough to visit a woman friend he knew each weekend, abusing the child while she [...]
By Rory Reynolds A NEW ceilidh venue is urging revellers to strip the willow – with the emphasis on strip. The Ghillie Dhu holding a naked bash to be captured by top photographer Alistair Devine. The Edinburgh dance hall is the latest venue to be bare all for the Scots celebrity snapper – who famously [...]
By Rory Reynolds A LIFE boat crew were treated to the unexpected reward of a bag full of live prawns after they rescued a stranded fisherman. The crew of the new Kinghorn RNLI boat were given the fishy gift after they were called to rescue a vessel stuck in the Firth of Forth yesterday (Monday). [...]
By Rory Reynolds A SCOTS hat-maker is giving Johnny Depp a run for his money with his headwear made from roadkill. Real mad hatter James Faulkner hopes to make a killing by flaunting dead pheasants and rabbits to Edinburgh’s fashion conscious socialites. And the wacky New Town milliner even gave a special wedding hat to [...]
By Rory Reynolds A BEREAVED son who believes his mother may have been murdered while on holiday in Mexico has met with Chancellor Alistair Darling in an attempt to find answers over her death. Henry Harvey’s 77-year-old mother Julia was found dead in a jungle three miles from her Cancun hotel last summer. The 57-year-old [...]
By Michael MacLeod BUCKFAST’S notorious reputation has spread to America, where health campaigners are warning of its caffeine content. The tonic wine – mentioned in 5,000 Strathclyde police crime reports in the past three years – is already under fire from Scottish politicians for containing around 375mg of caffeine per litre. And now it has [...]
By Michael MacLeod A SCOT has been officially recorded as neither male nor female in what is believed to be a world first. Paisley-born Norrie May-Welby has won the right to have a birth certificate that specifies “Sex Not Specified.” The 48 year-old – who was born a man and had a sex change operation [...]
By Rory Reynolds THEY are used to reciting the verses of Puccini’s Tosca and Mozart’s Figaro, but the cream of Scottish Opera are to shun tradition in favour of belting out baby-friendly noises. Stage bosses have announced a series of bizarre experimental opera concerts are to be held for tots as young as 18 months [...]
By Michael MacLeod SCOTLAND’S top footballers have backed a campaign to show the red card to a £300million taxpayer handout to the tobacco trade. Euro MP Alyn Smith has signed up the skippers from Rangers, Hearts and Aberdeen in a battle against public money supporting tobacco farmers. David Weir, Michael Stewart and Mark Kerr have [...]
By Rory Reynolds JOHNNY DEPP perfected his Glaswegian accent for the new blockbuster adventure Alice in Wonderland by watching old episodes of Rab C Nesbitt. The Hollywood star was shown hours of old episodes of the BBC Scotland comedy after he chose a gruff Govan accent to reflect the “dark and dangerous” side of the [...]
By Michael MacLeod LEGENDARY darts gameshow Bullseye is set for a comeback this summer – complete with original presenter Jim Bowen. The 72 year-old presenter is in talks to resurrect the cult show for two weeks at the Edinburgh Fringe. He wants to get stars from the comedy festival to join in on stage and [...]
By Rory Reynolds SCOTS pop star Amy Macdonald has slated music bosses for being “obsessed” with looks. The Bishopbriggs-born singer songwriter has said that the industry is more interested in drawing in male audiences than promoting female musicians. The 22-year-old also said that she achieved success despite attempts by the industry to get her to [...]
By Michael MacLeod SEASIDERS from a Scots town want to honour Robert Louis Stevenson with a statue – because he went there on holiday as a child. The world-famous writer was born in Edinburgh and has various memorials across the city. But locals in North Berwick are keen to commemorate the fact he holidayed there [...]
By Rory Reynolds UNEMPLOYED teachers in Scotland are being lured south of the border with the promise of secure jobs and better wages. Specialist recruitment firm Uteach has launched a major campaign to find Scots teachers jobs in the south of England, with perks including pre-paid flights. The Coatbridge-based firm is also placing teachers at [...]
By Shaun Milne A suspected teen burglar who helped force superstar Susan Boyle into quitting her Scots home has been arrested by police. Detectives have spent just over a month probing an incident at Subo’s home in Blackburn on January 26 after the shocked star returned home to Yule Terrace from working in the big [...]
By Rory Reynolds A MAN has been arrested and charged in connection with massive mortgage frauds totalling more than £350,000. The 42-year-old was seized by police in Edinburgh as part of an ongoing anti-fraud and money laundering investigation to target the assets of organised criminals. Lothian and Borders Police confirmed that the arrest is linked [...]
By Rory Reynolds A BOUNCER who was blinded in a savage stiletto attack by a drunk clubber has spoken of the devastating effect the assault has had on his life. Graham Roach had to have his dead eye removed and replaced with an implant in a delicate operation after drunk Sarah Marsden stamped on the [...]
By Michael MacLeod A DIM dad was so drunk that he stormed into a random man’s car thinking it was a taxi and demanded he be taken to a pub. James Docherty, 26, said he thought the car must have been a private hire cab – because it was silver. He shouted: “Get going you [...]
By Michael MacLeod A DRUGS courier was caught with £35,000 of cocaine after trying to escape and crashing his car. Mario Houston, 28, was spotted collecting a suspicious package from a van by undercover cops acting on a tip off. Police swooped as he got back into his car with the drugs, but Houston drove [...]