A CHRISTMAS tree could be the oldest in Scotland– after being continually on display for five years. Archie Marshall first put his tree up in 2007 after buying it from a garden centre in Perth for just £25. But after forgetting to take it down by Twelfth Night, the day decorations are traditionally supposed to [...]
FACEBOOK and Twitter are emerging as an important factor in 20- and 30-something divorces, a legal expert revealed today. Scots divorce lawyer Fiona Rasmusen said younger people using social media to arrange affairs or rekindle relationships were behind a growing number of break-ups. Others put their relationships at risk simply as a result of obsessive [...]
A DYING stabbing victim was not found by police for more than an hour, it emerged today. Billy McPhee bled to death while officers tended to his wounded friend, unaware another victim lay nearby. Lothian and Borders Police discovered the 43-year-old’s body in a pool of his own blood, minutes after he died as a result [...]
FED-UP Scots shoppers have given a big thumbs-down to the closest thing Edinburgh has to trams – a Santa train. In a bid to cheer up the city’s hard-pressed taxpayers, the council arranged for a seasonal locomotive to ferry shoppers along Princes Street. But the £2-a-time trips are proving about as popular as the ill-fated, [...]
BRITISH troops in Afghanistan will enjoy a £20-a-head slap-up Christmas meal this year – with every ingredient flown 5,000 miles from the UK to Helmand. The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that it has spent £200,000 on a well-deserved turkey-and-all-the-trimmings meal for 10,000 British personnel battling the Taleban. In a remarkable logistical operation, planned over [...]
SCOTS revellers have been warned not to clog up A&E departments with minor injuries after a day that saw medics at one hospital treat a patient every four minutes. The request comes after almost 500 people flooded accidents departments in the Edinburgh area on one day last weekend. Many of the casualties last Friday had [...]
The National Galleries of Scotland is delighted to annouce a major new acquistion, Rome from Monte Mario by J.M.W.
ARCHIVE images from a top department store will be revealed to the public for the first time. Researchers at the Universityof Glasgow have searched the country and compiled more than 10,000 images from House of Fraser catalogues, dating back to the 19th century. A new online archive will go live on Christmas Day. The launch [...]
A SCOTTISH police force is warning residents to make sure their homes are secure over the festive period. Tayside police say that in the past week, there have been four sneak-in thefts and three break-ins within Dundee alone. Insecure doors and windows have allowed many of many of the thefts. In Park Avenue, a thief [...]
SCOTS TV star James Mackenzie dropped into surprise the children at the Sick Kids hospital today. The actor, who starred in the children’s programme ‘Raven’, presented gifts from the Fairy Box charity to the staff and patients on the Haematology and Oncology ward. It was the first donation made possible by the Emma Cameron Foundation, [...]
A TOP distillery has launched a new whisky to mark the winter solstice. The 17 year-old single malt was unveiled by Benriach today. It’s theElgindistillery’s second Solstice expression, following the heavily-peated Solstice 15 year-old launched this time last year, which Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible describes as “spellbinding”. Just like the original Solstice release, [...]
Scotland may already be notorious for “unhealthy” food options (I refer of course, to the infamous Deep Fried Mar Bar) but one Edinburgh chef has taken Scottish dessert to a whole new level. Simon Robertson – head chef at Edinburgh hotel and pub The Fiddler’s Elbow – has created “Braveheart Butter Balls” – frozen balls [...]
A SCOTTISH school pipe band were amazed to receive a call from Sir Paul McCartney giving them just four days’ notice to join him on stage. The Beatles legend needed a pipe band to back him for a performance of Mull of Kintyre at a huge gig in Liverpool on Tuesday. Despite the short notice, [...]
A JAMES Bond-style watch which was mysteriously donated to a charity shop has been sold to help the homeless. The 1950’s Rolex Oyster, made famous as the timepiece worn by Ian Fleming’s literary hero, raised £750 for ShelterScotland. It’s believed the watch was bought by an Edinburgh resident as a Christmas surprise for her husband. [...]
A BOY has been taken to hospital after being injured in a hit and run accident. The 12-year-old was crossing Marchmont Road in Edinburgh at around 8.40am when he was struck. The driver of the small green vehicle initially slowed down before driving off. The boy was left with a broken left arm which needed [...]
FURIOUS salmon fishermen are taking legal action against the Scottish government inBrussels, claiming ministers have failed to protect stocks. The anglers claim the Scottish Government has endangered salmon numbers on the River South Esk, Angus, and are lodging a legal complaint with the European Commission. The move follows a government decision to extend the netting [...]
By Sian Lower BRAVE “bionic boy” Robbie Ovenstone has been able to open his advent calendar for the first time this year – after surgeons planted electrodes in his brain. The Scots six-year-old suffers from a painful brain condition that causes muscle spasms and spends most of his time in a wheelchair. But the pioneering [...]
A SCOTTISH council has sacked three employees after the death of an elderly woman, amid complaints she twice raised the alarm about her health problems on the night she died. Yvonne Carrie’s shocked family say they are still waiting for the full details of her death to emerge. The 74-year-old suffered from lung problems, and [...]
A SCOTS high school lost a quarter of its staff to sickness in one day. A total of 23 teachers out of 107 at Dunfermline High, Fife, were struck down by maladies including colds, chest infections, loss of voice, and ‘flu. Bewildered pupils had to be taught en masse in the assembly and dinner halls [...]
A MAN has been charged in relation to an incident on an Edinburgh to Perth train which became a YouTube sensation. British Transport Police (BTP) said a 35-year-old man had been charged with assault. A 19-year-old man has been reported under 38 of the Criminal Justice and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2010, which covers allegations of [...]