LABOUR has called for Edinburgh council leaders to resign over the troubled trams project. The party has accused the SNP – Liberal Democrat coalition of failing to provide political leadership. And say that council leader Jenny Dawe and deputy leader Steve Cardownie should quit. Labour transport spokeswoman Lesley Hinds said that a 2007 Audit Scotland [...]
The Gelada baboon climbed through fencing at the zoo A MONKEYhouse at Edinburgh Zoo had to be cleared today (Thu) after a baboon escaped from its enclosure. Zoo chiefs were left with cheeks as red as the baboon’s because the incident happened as the national press gathered for a planned photo opportunity. Showing skill and [...]
The title card bears Edinburgh’s crest A PACK of rare playing cards, thought to be one of only two in existence, has been unearthed in Scotland. The 17th century deck was unearthed amongst a collection of rare books in the archives at St Andrews University. The cards bear the crest of Edinburgh along with the [...]
ALMOST 300,000 in cash was seized from passengers at Scottish airports last year. The money was taken from passengers by UK Border Control officers who became suspicious about the large amounts and different currencies. The highest amount was seized in April 2010 with “199,500 and $10,000 taken for investigation. The figures released in a freedom [...]
By Kirsty Topping The skin cake is inspired by the Buffalo Bill character in Silence of the Lambs THEY are cakes best washed down with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. A Scots graduate with a love of all things gruesome has turned her hand to making Silence of the Lambs-inspired cakes, including a [...]
BANKERS have had little reason to blow their own trumpets of late. But Tony Laidlaw is set to prove otherwise. A senior partner in asset finance at Clydesdale Bank Plaza in Edinburgh, the 51-year-old is also one of Her Majesty’s state trumpeters in Scotland. One of five tasked with playing fanfares for Her Majesty at [...]
By Anna Gault The capital’s airport was thrust into chaos following security breach. POLICE have confirmed that a hole was discovered in the perimeter fence at Edinburgh Airport, sparking last night’s massive security alert. Hundreds of passengers were delayed for up to two hours and several aircraft stranded following the scare. Police and airport security [...]
By Kirsty Topping METAL thieves are going to extraordinary new lengths to make money – by stealing copper wire from live lamp posts. Almost 40 lamp posts have been targeted in Scotland in the past fortnight, costing of 40,000 to repair, and putting the thieves themselves at risk of electrocution. Several areas of Midlothian have [...]
Those who sell alcohol to under-18s should “not be tolerated” says MSP TWO in five people in Lothian are drinking “hazardous’ amounts of alcohol according to disturbing new figures. Patients were grilled about their drinking habits after turning up at hospitals and GPs surgeries, and 40% were judged to have a problem with alcohol. Around [...]
Purvis is banned from any contact with girls aged between 11 and 16 A CONVICTED sex offender was free to join young girls for lifeguard training despite a court ban on contact with femalesaged11-16. Ian Purvis, 24, from Edinburgh, was able to sign up for lifeguard lessons in Edinburgh despite being convicted just a year [...]
By Kirsty Topping The cinema sculpture was left at the Filmhouse’s box office SCOTLAND’S top crime writer has become embroiled in a mystery which would tax even his most famous creation. Rebus author Ian Rankin appears to be the link between several mysterious, intricate paper sculptures which have been left in several Scottish locations, [...]
By Kirsty Topping A SCOTTISH council has sparked fury by spending quarter of a million on staff uniforms at the same time as cutting services. Edinburgh Council spent 250,000 on new tracksuits, polo shirts and suits despite a programme of leisure centre closures. That’s despite Edinburgh Leisure, the not-for-profit company which is part-funded by [...]
Strathclyde students protesting outside university last week. By Alan Robertson STUDENTS at a leading Scots university today (Mon) occupied a campus building in a last-ditch bid to reverse cuts to courses. Strathclyde University has seen its Geography and Sociology department the scene of a sit-in by students. The move comes ahead of a crucial meeting [...]
By Kirsty Topping The building erupted in a fireball as the roof collapsed DOZENS of pensioners were evacuated from sheltered housing today (Mon) after a huge fireball erupted from a blazing building just feet away. A miners’ welfare club in West Lothian was totally destroyed in the inferno early this morning. Explosions caused by the [...]
By Kirsty Topping Anti-social buskers face court action in Edinburgh ANTISOCIAL buskers will have their instruments confiscated and even court action unless they comply with strict new guidelines. Edinburgh council’s scheme – dubbed “Hit the Right Note’ – is a response to claims that noisy and boorish street performers are among the biggest nuisances [...]
Some of the drugs are being stolen or lost at Scottish hospitals. By Alan Robertson MORE than a thousand packages of controlled and prescription drugs have been lost or stolen across Scotland in the last two years. The medication, worth thousands of pounds, disappeared from premises such as hospitals and supermarkets. At least 1,350 [...]
More than 360,000 has been spent on uniforms for court staff in the last five years. MORE than 38,000 has been spent on horse hair wigs, wig boxes and gowns worn by Scottish judges in the past five years. A further 323,000 was lavished on the highest-quality jackets, trousers, skirts, blouses, ties and cravats for [...]
Bawbags have taken their fight to court. A SCOTS pants maker is taking a retailer to court claiming they failed to pay for a consignment of undercrackers. Bawbags , which sold 150,000 pairs of pants last year, claims an English shop failed to pay for top-drawer undies worth 846. The Edinburgh-based firm is asking a [...]
Pic Katielee Arrowsmith/Deadline NewsThe sixth annual Swamp Soccer World Cup took place in Edinburgh on Saturday. Fifty teams from over 13 countries braved the mud to take part in the competition in Niddrie.
Events marking UK Armed Forces Day on Saturday have begun in Edinburgh. The third annual Armed Forces Day, dedicated to the nation’s servicemen and women, includes tours of HMS Portland, which is moored in Leith. Up to 100,000 people are expected to enjoy a full weekend of activities running until Sunday. The Red Arrows will [...]