Category Archives: Scotland

‘It’s incredibly poor’: Scottish islanders angry at failing ferry service

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Ageing fleet hit by breakdowns and cancellations, with capacity low on services that do run due to Covid

The perfume and toiletries shop overlooking Brodick Bay on Arran is normally packed in the summer, as day-trippers and holidaymakers stream off the mainland ferries at the busy terminal just across the bay.

But this summer has been grim, said Andrew Russell, the sales director for Arran Sense of Scotland, formerly known as Arran Aromatics. For thousands of people and businesses up and down the west coast of Scotland, this summer has been marred by repeated crises affecting ferry services run by the state-funded CalMac.

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Tony Blair urged Nelson Mandela not to discuss Lockerbie trial, papers show

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Blair wrote to then South African leader in 1997 after aides said raising issue at summit in Scotland would be ‘pretty disastrous’

Tony Blair failed in urgent attempts to prevent Nelson Mandela raising the issue of the Lockerbie trial at a Commonwealth summit in Edinburgh, which aides warned would be “pretty disastrous”, previously classified documents reveal.

The Foreign Office, on discovering Mandela was visiting Libya en-route to the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm) in Edinburgh in October 1997, warned of a “sensitive situation” if the South African leader spoke out against UK government’s plans to hold the trial of two suspects in Scotland.

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‘Gender is a performance’: Scotland’s first ‘drag school’ sells out

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Dumfries course teaches 11- to 18-year-olds how to create a persona, apply makeup and the history of drag

“You can use drag to explore anything you want to,” says Natalie Doidge, the organiser of what is thought to be Scotland’s first “drag school” for teenagers, which opens its doors later this month after facing down controversy.

“Drag isn’t limited to men dressed as women … and this course opens it out to anyone who wants to try it. It’s an exploration of [oneself] – especially for young people at the upper end of high school, when your life is just beginning and you’re thinking about who want to be. Gender is a performance, after all.”

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Google Maps suggests ‘potentially fatal’ routes up Ben Nevis, say mountain charities

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Organisations in Scotland say they have tried to contact Google about the dangers but received no reply

Scottish mountaineering charities have criticised Google for suggesting routes up Ben Nevis and other mountains they say are “potentially fatal” and direct people over a cliff.

The John Muir Trust, which looks after the upper reaches of the UK’s highest mountain, said attempts to contact the company over the issue had been met with silence.

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Sturgeon admits link between Euro fans travelling and rise in Covid cases – video

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The Scottish first minister has said she thinks there is a link between Scotland fans travelling for Euro 2020 games and the rise in Covid cases in Scotland. 

Asked if the Scottish government should have done more to stop fans travelling to matches, Sturgeon denied taking a soft approach. She added the government could not stop fans without tickets travelling to Wembley. Public Health Scotland will be doing more analysis of this, she said

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Covid news: UK removes quarantine requirement for arrivals from Balearics, Malta and some Caribbean islands

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Latest updates: territories are added to UK’s green list or green watchlist, while more countries added to red list

Rory Boland, travel editor for consumer group Which?, said travellers still needed to be “extremely cautious” about booking trips abroad.
He said: “Countries can be downgraded quickly and with little warning, as we saw with Portugal, while several European countries have introduced quarantine requirements for UK residents. “Restrictions around international travel are changing regularly and when they do, the cost to holidaymakers is significant. “Most providers will not pay refunds if a country is moved from green to amber, and ‘free’ amendments are often anything but, with many companies requiring significant notice of any changes and bookings for new dates usually costing hundreds of pounds. Travel insurance is also unlikely to pay out in these circumstances. “It is only advisable to book if you are able to do 14 days’ quarantine, can be flexible about destination and dates, and book with a provider that guarantees refunds in the event of traffic light changes or quarantine requirements.”

Eluned Morgan MS, minister for health and social services in Wales, said: “International travel is resuming but the pandemic is not over and protecting people’s health remains our main priority.

“Our strong advice continues to be not to travel overseas unless it is essential because of the risk of contracting coronavirus, especially new and emerging variants of concern.

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Euro 2020: Uefa blocks rainbow light display at Germany v Hungary – live!

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“It was like a winter bath for the people’s souls.” Marcus Christensen looks at the Danish media reaction to last night’s excitement in Copenhagen.

Related: ’Now we take Wales’ – Danish media celebrates ‘magical’ night against Russia

If you’re struggling with live football cold-turkey this afternoon, I feel compelled to inform you that some intense, high-quality, low-scoring cricket is taking place in Southampton, where India are fighting back against New Zealand. And you can follow it here.

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House asking prices hit record levels across Great Britain

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Rightmove data shows largest June increase since 2015 but economists suggest Covid boom may be fading

House asking prices have hit record levels across every region of Great Britain, according to latest figures, although some experts have questioned whether the pandemic boom is finally starting to wane.

The price of properties coming to market rose by 0.8% month on month in June to a third consecutive record of £336,073, according to data from Rightmove, a property listings website.

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Mrs Livingstone, I presume? Museum to feature role of explorer’s wife

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Revamped gallery to reveal the importance – and presence – of Mary Moffat in missionary’s life and travels

Dr Livingstone, the Scottish explorer and Christian missionary in Africa, was a hero for Victorian schoolboys, his reputation enhanced by exuberant biographies. But next month the reopening of a museum on the banks of the River Clyde, following a £9.1m investment, is to set his famous story in a broader context.

The cliche runs that behind every great man stands a great woman. In Livingstone’s case, the reputation of his fearless wife, Mary Moffat, actually went before him, smoothing his path through remote regions.

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England frustrated by steely Scotland in Euro 2020 stalemate at Wembley

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England had the points on the board, they had the star quality and the theory was that they would drive home their favouritism, making a statement en route to the last 16 of this European Championship. So much for theories. Instead, it turned into a night of frustration, when the flaws in Gareth Southgate’s attacking gameplan were etched across Wembley and Scotland revelled in showing their old rivals that it is a perilous business to write them off.

On an occasion that will live long in the memories of the few thousand visiting fans in attendance, who included Sir Alex Ferguson, their team defied England, holding them at arm’s length with a performance of spirit and no little quality. From an England point of view, it was disconcerting to witness the relative ease with which they did so.

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Scotland’s Covid travel ban extended to Manchester and Salford

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Nicola Sturgeon prohibits non-essential travel as Delta variant spreads through north of England

Nicola Sturgeon has imposed a travel ban between Scotland and Manchester and Salford as a result of rising Covid cases.

The restrictions, which will come into force from Monday, add to travel limits put in place last month as the Delta variant spread rapidly through the north of England.

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Linen condoms and bed curtains: tour exposes history of sex in Scotland

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National Trust for Scotland presents exploration of intimacy from 17th to 20th century

The chafing doesn’t bear thinking about. A replica linen condom secured with a dainty blue ribbon is one of the more wince-inducing props for a new exploration of the history of sex and intimate lives in Scotland.

The other material used to fashion prophylactics in the 17th century was animal gut, which was dried then rehydrated at the crucial moment. The Edinburgh-born diarist James Boswell writes about dipping one in a river before intercourse. He was adamant about their use to ward off venereal disease, but still recorded numerous painful bouts of infection in his journals.

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Scientists convert used plastic bottles into vanilla flavouring

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Production of chemical could help make recycling more attractive and tackle global plastic pollution

Plastic bottles have been converted into vanilla flavouring using genetically engineered bacteria, the first time a valuable chemical has been brewed from waste plastic.

Upcycling plastic bottles into more lucrative materials could make the recycling process far more attractive and effective. Currently plastics lose about 95% of their value as a material after a single use. Encouraging better collection and use of such waste is key to tackling the global plastic pollution problem.

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Solar eclipse 2021: spectacle to be visible across UK and Ireland

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Skygazers – with appropriate eye protection – will be able to see much of sun being obscured from 10.08am

Views of a partial solar eclipse will be “somewhat fleeting” across certain parts of the UK due to cloudy skies, forecasters have said.

But those in central and south-east England will have clear spells to witness the spectacle, according to the Met Office. On Thursday morning, skygazers will be able to see nearly a third of the sun being blocked out by the moon in what is known as an annular eclipse.

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Ancient tsunami could have wiped out Scottish cities today, study finds

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Research maps the extent of the catastrophic Storegga tsunami 8,200 years ago for the first time

Towns and cities across Scotland would be devastated if the country’s coastline was hit by a tsunami of the kind that happened 8,200 years ago, according to an academics’ study.

While about 370 miles of Scotland’s northern and eastern coastline were affected when the Storegga tsunami struck, the study suggests a modern-day disaster of the same magnitude would have worse consequences.

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Scotland’s best island? Orkney wins first place in survey

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Prehistoric sites, dramatic scenery and sandy beaches earn the island the top spot for visitors, with Shetland coming second

The ancient standing stones and neolithic settlements of Orkney have earned it the title of best Scottish island, according to a survey from Which?

Readers were asked to rate 14 of the biggest of the hundreds of islands in Scotland’s waters, with 10 of them receiving an impressive visitor score of 80% or more.

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Edinburgh festival fringe threatened by Covid rules, says organiser

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CEO calls on Scottish ministers to replace 2-metre rule with 1 metre to secure future of world’s largest arts festival

The survival of the Edinburgh festival fringe is at stake unless social distancing rules for venues are relaxed within a fortnight, its organiser has said.

Shona McCarthy, the chief executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, called on ministers to replace the 2-metre rule with the 1-metre distance used in hospitality in order to help secure the future of the world’s largest arts festival.

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Glasgow to stay in toughest lockdown level as Covid cases rise

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Nicola Sturgeon says it would be premature to move city out of tier 3 while situation remains ‘fragile’

Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed Glasgow will remain in Scotland’s second toughest lockdown regime for at least another week, and said the country as a whole may not move down a tier, after Covid cases continued to rise.

The first minister said the latest infection and hospitalisation figures in Greater Glasgow and Clyde showed cases were rising, so it would be unwise to move the city down from tier 3 to 2 this weekend.

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Children’s commissioners urge UK government to scrap two-child limit for benefits

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Children’s commissioners of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland say policy breaches human rights

The children’s commissioners of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have written to the UK government calling on it to scrap the controversial two-child limit restricting the amount that larger families can receive in social security benefits.

In the joint letter to the work and pensions secretary, Thérèse Coffey, the three commissioners – respectively Sally Holland, Bruce Adamson and Koulla Yiasouma – argue the policy is a “clear breach of children’s human rights”.

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Gaza damage and Glasgow raids: human rights this fortnight in pictures

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A roundup of the coverage on struggles for human rights and freedoms, from Myanmar to Peru

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