MURRAY Financial Corporation, the Edinburgh-based company being set up to acquire building societies and other mutual organisations, has confirmed that it intends to list on the Alternative Investment Market. It is seeking to raise up to #10m in initial
THE Prime Minister should assume a greater role on the drugs front, a campaigner urged yesterday. Mr David Macauley, campaign director for Scotland Against Drugs, said given his present popularity and ''potential for clout in the market&apos
THE first indication that some existing Westminster MPs may not be allowed to contest seats for the Scottish Parliament was seized on by political opponents yesterday. The Herald's revelation that three MPs and one of the Scottish Secretary&apos
GLASGOW Airport welcomed 466,700 people last month - 10% up on April 1997. With the figures for Edinburgh and Aberdeen added, the total number of people using BAA's Scottish airports came to one million for the first time.
A MAN was found dead yesterday in Loretto House, also known as the Great Eastern Hotel, in Duke Street, Glasgow. It is believed that one line of inquiry being pursued by police is that the death of Mr Patrick Aitken, 32, may be drugs- related.
MINING group Billiton yesterday announced the biggest-ever investment in Mozambique with a joint venture aluminium project worth #812m. Billiton is leading a group of investors funding an aluminium smelting plant, producing 250,000 tonnes of metal a
ALTHOUGH discounted by the present Government, it would be interesting to know the contribution of the private hospitals to the standardised procedure ratios (May 13). I am sure it is far from negligible. I met a man recently who had suffered from severe
AS a member of an organisation which is currently working towards Investors In People with the help of the Glasgow Development Agency, I took great interest in your feature, Better people, better business (May 14). It was interesting to see the potential
GLASGOW city centre is to gain a dramatic new 11-storey office development, close to the waterfront at the Broomielaw. The arc-shaped building will be developed as part of Atlantic Square, a #55m scheme which, as well as the office tower, will contain
AS their UK tour prepares to roll into one of Francie and Josie's hometown theatres tomorrow night, Richard Herring and Stewart Lee would like to make it plain that, contrary to the evidence of their last visit to Glasgow's Pavilion, they bear
May 15, 1857 n THE Herald reported: ''On Wednesday evening, a meeting of the Commissioners of Police for the burgh and suburbs of Paisley was held in the convening room. A memorial from the magistrates relative to the maintenance of order on
PETER SPINNEY (Letters, May 11) is clearly an enthusiastic defender of the car, but I do feel he has not addressed the problems of excessive city traffic which Councillor David Begg has long been acutely aware of. The difference is crucial. There are
THE decision of Lite-On, based at Mossend, to shed 250 jobs after just one year was a disaster waiting to happen. It is the inevitable result of ill-conceived plans and policies by Government and development agencies. After all the cosying up to Taiwanese
THE decision of Lite-On, based at Mossend, to shed 250 jobs after just one year was a disaster waiting to happen. It is the inevitable result of ill-conceived plans and policies by Government and development agencies. After all the cosying up to Taiwanese
Peter Maxwell Davies's Second Taverner Fantasy is the big one: three-quarters-of-an-hour long, much feared by orchestras and their managements, and for that reason seldom performed. Together with the first and much shorter fantasy, and with a selection
A GROUP of Glasgow-based nuns have turned film makers and launched their own cartoon version of the Bible in a bid to reach young children more familiar with Tom and Jerry than Adam and Eve. The cartoon - which it is hoped will be the first in a series
BACK-bench Labour MPs are threatening to rebel over the deal on trade union recognition which was endorsed at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. As the wrangling moved closer to its denouement there were hints yesterday that some unions might withhold
IF someone told you that your company could save millions of pounds from its advertising and marketing budget without losing any sales, you'd be delighted . . . wouldn't you? Yet for some reason the tobacco industry, which for years has assured
THE chief executive and finance director of engineering group Mayflower, which includes Falkirk coachbuilder Walter Alexander, have gained more than #4m through exercising share options. John Simpson, chief executive, made #1.9m from options over one
aGRAEME Armstrong - 42 next month - is ready for another season at the heart of the defence for relegated Stenhousemuir, and he is ready for life in the third division. He already has set the record for the number of appearances by an outfield player
Fresh art: shoppers in Dundee can enjoy some culture as they pick their pears. An exhibition by 28 artists and co-ordinated by one known simply as Bert, above with a cabbage ''top'', has been set up at Produce Direct supermarket.
FALKIRK are set to remain at their crumbling Brockville ground for next season. They played what they thought would be their final match at the old park last Saturday against Airdrie, and it seemed certain they would be groundsharing with Stenhousemuir
THE Scottish Parliament should not have its hands tied by decisions made by the Government at Westminster in the run-up to next year's elections, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have argued, writes Frances Horsburgh. In a letter to Cabinet Secretary
A judge has thrown out a bid by a male auxiliary nurse to win a damages pay-out from a hospital after he slipped on a flower. However, Lord Eassie said he would have awarded Mr Allan Burke more than #203,000 if he had succeeded in establishing that Edinburgh
Scottish Political Editor Some years ago my colleague Roy Towers and I spent a week investigating Dounreay. We dutifully interviewed various protest groups, dissident employees, hostile local families with leukemia victims, doubting doctors worried about
Your leading article (May 9) accusing Glasgow's city fathers - and the huge number of protesters - of hypocrisy in banning the proposed SECC exhibition of erotica seems to us more than a little hard to understand. Would it really be preferable to
A pilot yesterday claimed that the type of helicopter which crashed killing a nine-year-old boy had the worst air conditioning system of all the single-seater aircraft he had flown. Captain Paul Smith was one of the helicopter pilots at an event at Glamis
THERE were chaotic scenes at the Lite-On factory yesterday as workers reacted angrily to confirmation that around 230 of them were to be made redundant. Furious workers flooded from a side door at the Mossend plant to speak to waiting press and media
PETER SPINNEY (Letters, May 11) is clearly an enthusiastic defender of the car, but I do feel he has not addressed the problems of excessive city traffic which Councillor David Begg has long been acutely aware of. The difference is crucial. There are
Oliver Cornish tests a Rover car seat, part of a suite by Arad, outside Phillips auction rooms in Edinburgh yesterday. The 1980s designer piece could fetch #4000.
SINGER George Michael was yesterday fined #500 and ordered to undergo sex counselling after being convicted of a lewd act in a Los Angeles lavatory. His lawyer Ira Reiner entered a ''no contest'' plea on Michael's behalf before
David Thomson, the oldest rookie on tour, yesterday went into the Benson and Hedges International Open aiming to save his career from going up in smoke. The Scot, who has four missed successive cuts, must claim a place among the top 20 and earn #5000
Enticing the Asian tigers to sink their claws into the Scottish economy was supposed to be an endlessly pleasant and beneficial experience. Now that the claws are being withdrawn and the feline roars are subsiding to a purr the experience has become,
EU ruling protects tourists VICTIMS of tour operators who go bankrupt when they are on holiday can now turn to European law to prevent themselves being even more out of pocket. The European Court of Justice has ruled that tourists on package holidays
Inward investing YESTERDAY afternoon, as the youthful labour force at Lite-On was getting confirmation that two out of every three of them are redundant just a year after monitor assembly got under way in Lanarkshire, I took a call. On the end of the
Kenny and Roddy Riddle hit the road to prepare for this weekend's 40-mile Nairn Challenge biathlon. The Inverness brothers, who have represented the UK in the Commonwealth Games and were first last year, will give others a sporting chance by using
Glasgow Humane Society official George Parsonage, who has rescued more than 800 people from the River Clyde, was yesterday presented with the St Mungo Prize for services to the city. He is pictured above with Lord Provost Pat Lally, who presented him
Scientists are carrying out research to see whether chickens which listen to music lay more eggs. Traditional farm lore has long held that the feathered friends thrive when music is played to them. Now scientists at the Roslin Institute in Midlothian
EDINBURGH Airport, Stakis Hotels, Bank of Scotland, and Scottish Hydro-Electric were last night among the companies, large and small, recognised for their contribution to the arts in Scotland, writes Keith Bruce, arts editor. The eleventh annual ABSA
A BOUT of cold or flu may be the prelude to a heart attack for people who never knew they were at risk, doctors have revealed, writes Alan MacDermid, Medical Correspondent. Researchers identified a two-week window of danger after becoming ill - and said
Janice Moodie lost her taste for Big Macs yesterday. In the first round of her first major, the $1.3m McDonald's LPGA Champion-ship at Wilmington in Delaware, the Scot was given a two-shot penalty for slow play. It turned a more than respectable
AS the world watches helplessly, Asia's two largest countries, India and China, have begun a slow, but deadly race to be the major power in the continent. Yet why this competition? Together they could easily have been among the most powerful bloc
ALTHOUGH discounted by the present Government, it would be interesting to know the contribution of the private hospitals to the standardised procedure ratios (May 13). I am sure it is far from negligible. I met a man recently who had suffered from severe
In any consideration of Jeff Buckley's final album, Sketches (For My Sweetheart, The Drunk), which is due in the shops on Monday, there can be only one operative word. And that word is ''sketches''. For of course, Buckley drowned
Snooker Snooker legends Steve Davis, Terry Griffiths, and Dennis Taylor have renewed their call for the game's under-fire regime finally to be overthrown next month. The trio are among eight players to have put their names to a requisition calling
A CLUE about why modern relationships are so volatile may be that women's partner preferences vary according to the time of month, in an age when commitment is no longer paramount. That's one of the intriguing possibilities being investigated
We return to that curious automotive phenomenon, the off-road four wheel drive vehicle. These machines are designed to provide transport across rough and hostile terrain, in the same way that articulated lorries are designed to carry goods in enormous
BILLED as one of the most anticipated British films for a long time, the ''non-sequel'' to Four Weddings And A Funeral provoked a feeding frenzy among the paparazzi during filming in London. Film makers had to round up the stars,
SCOTTISH Nuclear chairman Robin Jeffrey is packing his bags and heading west for Toronto, where he will take up the newly-created position of executive director of North America for British Energy. His departure within the next week gives added weight
Actor attacks TV sacking Actor Jack Shepherd, who stars in ITV's detective series Wycliffe, has criticised programme makers for dumping his co-star Jimmy Yuill, who played Detective Inspector Doug Kersey, after he became seriously ill with meningitis
Kelso suffered a blow in the build-up to their Tennent's Velvet Premiership first division play-off with Heriot's FP at Pennypit Park tomorrow when Iain Fairley withdrew from their side. Club president Ronnie Fleming said: ''It was
n Christine Baranski, the actress who plays wisecracking sidekick Maryann in the sitcom Cybill, had better watch out. Her days may be numbered: if she continues to upstage the show's star, Cybill Shepherd, she may find herself being booted out -
A sheriff yesterday criticised Crown Office officials for downgrading charges against a child molester. Sheriff Tom Scott vented his frustration after legal constraints prevented him from jailing businessman Donald Taylor for more than three months.
Graduates are viewed as bringing new ideas, specialist skills and a higher level of knowledge to companies that employ them. While the larger corporate businesses have long recognised their value however, there is still some reluctance within the small
Cannes AN upbeat Tom Clarke, the first British Films Minister to attend the Cannes Film Festival twice, said yesterday he hoped to make it a hat-trick next year. He welcomed the fact that five Scottish films, two of which were set in Glasgow, are showing
WHEN it comes to highlighting winners, there is no-one in the country better than The Herald racing expert Chris Russell. He started his followers off in ideal fashion at York yesterday by selecting Ho Leng (20-1), followed by the next three winners
IT'S bad sign when you start wondering what to have for dinner half way through chapter three of a book and feel your eyelids drooping at the beginning of chapter four. Such an uninspiring start cannot be auspicious. Perhaps it's a little unfair
THE Lite-On job losses highlight growing fears that the Government is spending too much money attracting firms to Scotland which takes away work from companies that are already here, writes Ken Smith. Clairemont Electronics in Greenock made computer
Gregor Townsend is set to sign for former European Cup holders Brive in the immediate wake of fellow Scottish stand-off Mark McKenzie's agreement to join the former European Cup holders' rivals, Bourgoin, writes Kevin Ferrie and John Beattie
ROGUE lawyers get off lightly because their independent regulatory body is not tough enough, according to the public's watchdog. Scottish Legal Services Ombudsman, Mr Garry Watson, said he was often surprised at the seemingly lenient sanctions imposed
THE Prime Minister should assume a greater role on the drugs front, a campaigner urged yesterday. Mr David Macauley, campaign director for Scotland Against Drugs, said given his present popularity and ''potential for clout in the market&apos
SCOTLAND is facing its first national teachers' strike in more than a decade after union members yesterday agreed to seek support for a ballot opposing the planned reform of the Higher exams. Teachers backed the call because they feared the introduction
YOUNG defender Paul Ritchie gave Hearts a pre-cup final boost yesterday by pledging his future to the club for another two years. Speaking at Tynecastle yesterday, the Scotland B internationalist admitted that the uncertainty over his future had been
Francis Shennan considers the many problems raised by the issue of sexual harrassment at work A new law of equal treatment at work should replace existing legislation on sex discrimination, according to employment lawyers and the Equal Opportunities
The Government was defeated in the Lords last night when peers voted by a majority of 52 to delay ratification of the European Union's Amsterdam Treaty until UK fishermen were ''legally protected'' against quota hopping. Voting
Gulf War veterans yesterday said they were disappointed that the Government had again not answered their questions over the mystery illnesses affecting them. The group had threatened to walk out of the meeting with Armed Forces Minister John Reid, but
Recycling is the in-word at the Sheraton Grand hotel where waste is kept to a minimum. The five-star hotel has built up a mini recycling industry with glass, cardboard, soap and cooking oils all being recycled to minimise the use of landfill sites
THE Prime Minister and loyalist mass killer Michael Stone found themselves on the same side of the political fence last night in Northern Ireland as they gave their support for a ''Yes'' vote in next Friday's historic referendum
Carole Woddis ponders the political incorrectness of The Merchant of Venice To stage or not to stage, that is the question. Is it time to draw a veil over The Merchant of Venice? Shakespeare's romantic drama - part of this coming season of plays
IN the UK as a whole, most mothers start off breast-feeding their babies, but in Scotland, only about half of all mothers do. However, research to coincide with National Breast-Feeding Week (next week) shows that there is a definite upward trend, as
MICHAEL Fry writes (May 6), ''The Euro will thus be a weak currency on the international exchanges, clearly an unsuccessful competitor with the dollar, and even with the pound. Europeans will have to face hard choices. Either they will endure
THEY may be exiles, but last night in London they pledged their allegiance to a new Glasgow Development Agency initiative. Only good things are said about the city. Baroness Smith, widow of former Labour leader John Smith, was a guest at a reception
DRIVING, like love, means never having to say you're sorry, in most motorists' logbooks. However, macho motor man is to be offered the chance to turn over a new leaf. An electronic device which fits into the rear window of any car and displays
Political Staff THE Foreign Office's handling of the arms-to-Africa affair looked increasingly shambolic last night after its top diplomat was forced to retract his evidence to MPs just hours after opening an embarrassing rift with Mr Robin Cook
Hearts' manager Jim Jefferies said yesterday that it was his cup final counterpart Walter Smith of Rangers who had predicted long before most that the Tynecastle club had the potential to challenge in both the league and cup this season. Talking
Love is, wrote Helen Hayes, perhaps the only glimpse we are permitted of eternity, which is the prettiest line I have ever read. Our feelings are the genuine path to self-knowledge. There are no benefits in ignoring them, and I am all for exploring my
THE Solicitor General for Scotland went to court yesterday to defend the Government regulations which led to the first prosecution in the UK for serving beef on the bone. Mr Colin Boyd, QC, argued that a sheriff's decision to dismiss a prosecution
Taiwanese company and Government remain bullish as two-thirds of workforce heads for the dole THE inevitable happened yesterday as Taiwanese firm Lite-On threw almost two thirds of its Scottish workforce on to the dole with immediate effect. Last night
n This morning at 10am, a small group of Scottish Austin-Healey club members leave the Mull of Galloway on a tour to Dunnet Head, a genuine southernmost-to-northernmost run through mainland Scotland, disregarding the usual side-step to John O'Groats
MICHAEL Fry writes (May 6), ''The Euro will thus be a weak currency on the international exchanges, clearly an unsuccessful competitor with the dollar, and even with the pound. Europeans will have to face hard choices. Either they will endure
SHARES in British Polythene Industries (BPI) lost 16p to close at 497.5p yesterday after chairman Cameron McLatchie told the annual meeting that the company would ''find it difficult to improve on last year's first-half results'&
SINGER George Michael was yesterday fined #500 and ordered to undergo sex counselling after being convicted of a lewd act in a Los Angeles lavatory. His lawyer Ira Reiner entered a ''no contest'' plea on Michael's behalf before
Recycling is the in-word at the Sheraton Grand hotel where waste is kept to a minimum. The five-star hotel has built up a mini recycling industry with glass, cardboard, soap and cooking oils all being recycled to minimise the use of landfill sites
AS a member of an organisation which is currently working towards Investors In People with the help of the Glasgow Development Agency, I took great interest in your feature, Better people, better business (May 14). It was interesting to see the potential
IONA Wands teams up with her new employer, Jack Berry, in the juvenile event at Hamilton Park tonight. The Lanark-born apprentice rides newcomer Red Venus in the contest, which is a qualifier for the valuable two-year-old series final which is staged
NEW Rangers manager Dick Advocaat has admitted for the first time that he wants to buy #3.5m NAC Breda striker Archil Arveladze. Advocaat was alleged to have made an enquiry for the Georgian internationalist at the beginning of this month, but this is
DESPITE a stark profits warning from Taiwan's Lite-On earlier this week, technology analysts were surprised to hear the company would drastically reduce its Scottish operations just a year after increasing production, writes Kristy Dorsey. Mr Andrew
ANOTHER fresh pop confection is currently being cooked up by the thoroughly professional trio who have operated Glasgow's Soul Kitchen for the past couple of years. Songwriters Alan Rankine, Gordon Goudie, and John McLaughlin will shortly be seeking
AS they say in platform parlance, ''mind the gap''. This gap is serious because, if we're not careful, lots of three-year-olds will fall down it. The gap we're talking about is the one between what the Blair Government says
THE House of Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee is to undertake an inquiry into the issues arising from the Government's recent controversial decision to accept nuclear material from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia for reprocessing
TELEVISION sports presenter Jim White was the victim of a violent attack by Celtic fans shortly after the club clinched the premier division title last Saturday, it emerged last night. A spokesman for the anchorman of Scottish Television's Scotsport
IT'S bad sign when you start wondering what to have for dinner half way through chapter three of a book and feel your eyelids drooping at the beginning of chapter four. Such an uninspiring start cannot be auspicious. Perhaps it's a little unfair
Impressed with the scenery and service? Disgusted by the food? Getting value for money? Do you have a point to make about tourism in Scotland? Your opportunity is at hand. As another tourist season begins The Herald is again sponsoring the annual Scottish
Golf in the US Tom Watson putted like his old self to move within one stroke of leader Robert Friend after the opening round at the $2.5m Byron Nelson Classic in Dallas yesterday. Watson, who compiled seven birdies and one bogey for six-under-par 64
CELTIC'S much-maligned striker Harald Brattbakk, who came off the bench to score the goal that virtually assured the club's first championship win in a decade, was not the only Norwegian to make a timely return to first-team action in the premier
Ross Finlay takes a revealing look behind the merger headlines There has hardly ever been a month in the motor industry like it. The Rolls-Royce takeover situation is coming to the boil, because we ain't seen nothing yet as far as this story is
I I WAS delighted to read Ann Donald's article (May 11) about Voluntary Service Overseas and to hear that Alec Dickson's widow was still active. Alec Dickson, who initiated VSO, was a truly remarkable man. When he left VSO in 1961 when it
was greatly concerned to hear of India's recent nuclear tests, having recently returned from Rajasthan, where I believe the tests were carried out. The Great Indian Desert site is only 300 miles south-west of New Delhi, and some 150 miles from Jaipur
KRISTY Dorsey's trenchant Tale of the suits and the eggheads (May 12), exploring the mutual distrust of academic and accountancy cultures which ensures Britain's unrivalled inventiveness enriches foreigners, looks for saviours in the wrong
Paisley's Dean Robertson produced an electrifying finish, birdieing five of the last six holes, to break a log-jam on the leaderboard at the Benson and Hedges International Open last night. The former Scottish amateur champion's form in carding
THE following have been admitted today as members of the Law Society of Scotland: Fiona A. Armstrong; Christopher J. Arnold; Nicola Atkinson; Sarah Bagnall; Jane Barrett; Ewart I. Baxter; Mark Beeley; Cinzia E. Biondi; Catherine J. M. Blair; Clare
NAGGING worries over the direction of global interest rates, a poor start on Wall Street and further rioting in Indonesia combined to depress London blue chips yesterday but top shares did manage to bounce off the session's lows. City analysts described
Some showroom openings and dealers' new car launches are matters of fairly local interest, but yesterday's event at Clyde Glasgow was rather different. It marked the return to the regular retail market in this country of Cadillac and Chevrolet
THE pounding which Scottish exporters are taking as a result of the Asian financial crisis was revealed in a survey published yesterday by the independent Scottish Council Development and Industry (SCDI). The 106 companies which responded indicated they
The writing has been on the wall at Lite-On for months, writes Ron MacKenna. At Christmas the firm made up to 100 people redundant and stopped the night shift. One worker said yesterday: ''It was basically presented as if the best workers
WHILE it is true that British Energy could dip its first acquisitive toe into US waters, it seems that Canada is now expected to make the much bigger splash. After crossing the Atlantic dozens of times in the last six months, Robin Jeffrey will re-locate
TONY BLAIR will tonight lead urgent talks with Western leaders in Birmingham aimed at defusing the increasingly tense nuclear crisis sparked by India's fundamentalist Hindu government. The G8 Summit has just 48 hours to come up with a solution that
IT was with a little interest - not to say surprise - that I read John Macleod's article (May 12) in which he referred to me as an SNP MP in the 1970s who kicked ''ass on TV and roused Nationalist gatherings to passionate levels'&
AS rioting and looting in Jakarta threaten to give way to anarchy, the future of President Suharto of Indonesia, Asia's longest-serving ruler, now returning from an ill-timed visit to Egypt, looks increasingly grim. His 32-year-old blood-stained
AS rioting and looting in Jakarta threaten to give way to anarchy, the future of President Suharto of Indonesia, Asia's longest-serving ruler, now returning from an ill-timed visit to Egypt, looks increasingly grim. His 32-year-old blood-stained
THE SNP was locked in a familiar wrangle with the BBC last night as the screening of Question Time from Glasgow went ahead with no official party representative in the line-up. Actress Elaine C Smith is accustomed to dealing with difficult men in her
Tony Blair TONY Blair, doncha just love him? Flashing teeth, all-singing, all-dancing, all-action premier, riding high in the popularity polls, strutting his stuff on the world stage, Superman, Batman (with his ever-mischievous pal, Robin) - what a guy
Hyundai has a new model in the showrooms today, first of a series of ''city cars'' being launched over the next few months. Unexpectedly well specified, the Atoz offers a choice of automatic, ordinary manual or clutchless transmissions
Even innovative biomedical products will not sell themselves but Sorbie Research has adapted its marketing methods to make its staff of 10 far more effective. Custom-written software for customer contacts means it can make between 300 and 400 customer
Francis Shennan talks to one company which found the ideal solution to marketing problems Employment in the hi-tech companies is sometimes seen as high risk but the problems frequently arise not from the technology but from the market. The technology
I I WAS delighted to read Ann Donald's article (May 11) about Voluntary Service Overseas and to hear that Alec Dickson's widow was still active. Alec Dickson, who initiated VSO, was a truly remarkable man. When he left VSO in 1961 when it
PENSIONS specialist Scottish Equitable's first-quarter pre-tax profit contribution to Dutch parent Aegon jumped by 40% to #21m, enabled partly by a 10% increase in new business. A ScotEq spokesman said that a comeback in the individual pensions
THERE is, of course, a poem by W B Yeats entitled Who goes with Fergus, but it is not the question currently being asked in the West of Scotland - who stays with him? is really what's engrossing our attention. Well, Jock Brown apart, who does? Not
Sports Minister Tony Banks said yesterday he would like a return of the now defunct annual England-Scotland football home internationals, which stopped largely because of hooliganism. ''Now we have so improved our stadia and safety regimes
was greatly concerned to hear of India's recent nuclear tests, having recently returned from Rajasthan, where I believe the tests were carried out. The Great Indian Desert site is only 300 miles south-west of New Delhi, and some 150 miles from Jaipur
BG is best known to small investors for its regulated Transco gas pipeline business, and it is easily forgotten that it has a major oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) business which is nearly as big as Lasmo and Enterprise combined. E&P profits
FOR those who have campaigned for many years to see Third World debt addressed seriously, articles such as Anne Johnstone's are very welcome (May 13). I fear, though, that it might have given the impression that Oxfam is not part of the Jubilee
THEY came in flocks, he came in frocks, bringing his saucy, seaside humour to the heart of the city. Danny La Rue stands head and shoulders above most British troupers - even without the 3in heels. He is a true original. His glamour is more genteel
A mother of twins who were born prematurely has been awarded #3000 for injury to her feelings after being sacked by the company she had worked with for 18 years. Audrey Brown, of Roman Place, Lochview Estate, Bellshill, won her unfair dismissal and sex
Diary Coinciding with the eventful end of the football year is the advent (if that is the right word) of the first communion season. Scotland has been blessed with the increasing phenomenon of the ''mixed marriage''. We hear of the
ATLANTIC Telecom is set to announce plans to raise a new round of funding when it publishes annual results in a few weeks time, executive chairman Graham Duncan said. The group pulled an ambitious 10-year bond issue two months ago due to market condition
CTHE mild winter and regulator-determined price cuts on Transco, the gas pipeline business, forced BG's profits lower in the first quarter. Operating profits declined by 6% to #552m and finance director Philip Hampton commented: ''The
A case in which an Aberdeen University student was suing his estranged mother for #400 a month living costs has been settled out of court. A hearing of the action between 20-year-old Patrick MacDonald, a third-year law student, and his mother, Mrs Margaret
With the rapid expansion of the UK higher education sector over the last decade, the 1990s have witnessed unprecedented upheavals and change within the UK graduate recruitment market. This has been reflected not only in the huge increase in the numbers
n Vauxhall is the first UK volume manufacturer to take the LPG route. This week it has introduced, under full warranty, dual-fuel versions of the Vectra, Omega, and the Combo van. They have tanks for petrol and LPG, and are heavier than the standard
Britain's first underground grass-roofed supermarket is planned for Aberdeen's West End and if it wins approval it will pay for a new Health and Food Faculty for Robert Gordon University at Garthdee. Planning applications for the #50m proposals
Scientists have discovered the near complete skull of a genuine ugly monster - a wrinkly-faced dinosaur with sharp teeth and horns that may have used its face to frighten enemies. The creature, called Majungatholus atopus, was a distant cousin of the
SATURDAY night where everybody knows your name, and the permutations are endless. Especially in the last chance saloon that is Vegas, a Glasgow bar with ideas above its station where the drinks are scarlet and blue, and the cabaret is left over from
A FATHER told a fatal accident inquiry yesterday that he and his wife were disgusted at the way in which police had investigated the death of their son. Mr Kevin McLeod, 24, was found dead in the harbour at Wick, Caithness, on February 9, 1997. Mr McLeod
Enticing the Asian tigers to sink their claws into the Scottish economy was supposed to be an endlessly pleasant and beneficial experience. Now that the claws are being withdrawn and the feline roars are subsiding to a purr the experience has become,
Cannes AN upbeat Tom Clarke, the first British Films Minister to attend the Cannes Film Festival twice, said yesterday he hoped to make it a hat-trick next year. He welcomed the fact that five Scottish films, two of which were set in Glasgow, are showing
Tony Blair, the British Prime Minister and President of the European Union, will be centre stage at the G8 in Birmingham this weekend, and for once, much of what happens will actually matter. The major economic nations will be there with enough financial
When he boards the flight for Australia with the rest of the Scotland squad on Monday, Kevin McKenzie will feel that, just by being part of the tour party, he will have fulfilled the most anguished promise he made a little more than a year ago. At the
Alex Miller will stage the biggest clear-out at Pittodrie in 30 years by chopping 15 players. The Dons manager promised a radical restructuring after another season spent beating the drop, and that is what he has delivered. Reserve keeper Derek Stillie
A top environmental health official admitted yesterday that he was late in telling the Scottish Office of the serious scale of the E-coli outbreak which resulted in 21 deaths. Mr Graham Bryceland - a key member of the outbreak control team - also admitted
Francis Shennan considers the many problems raised by the issue of sexual harrassment at work A new law of equal treatment at work should replace existing legislation on sex discrimination, according to employment lawyers and the Equal Opportunities
A SEARCH was under way early this morning for an overdue hillwalker in Wester Ross after he failed to rendezvous with a friend. Northern Constabulary said the hillwalker's friend raised the alarm about 8pm, three hours after they had arranged to
IT was with a little interest - not to say surprise - that I read John Macleod's article (May 12) in which he referred to me as an SNP MP in the 1970s who kicked ''ass on TV and roused Nationalist gatherings to passionate levels'&
YOU reported the criminal prosecution of Jennifer Carpenter under the headline, Anger over fine for lawyer (May 8). Jennifer Carpenter has not been a solicitor for four years. The Council of the Law Society of Scotland prosecuted her before the Scottish
Sailing Silk Cut's 184-mile run back through the Whitbread Round the World Race pack, rising from second from last, to lead the eighth stage from Baltimore to La Rochelle, may yet prove a temporary glory. While early in the day the sole British
EDINBURGH Airport, Stakis Hotels, Bank of Scotland, and Scottish Hydro-Electric were last night among the companies, large and small, recognised for their contribution to the arts in Scotland, writes Keith Bruce, arts editor. The eleventh annual ABSA
SCOTLAND is facing its first national teachers' strike in more than a decade after union members yesterday agreed to seek support for a ballot opposing the planned reform of the Higher exams. Teachers backed the call because they feared the introduction
A living landmark in dance, the modest Siobhan davies talks to Mary Brennan SKIM through any of the current clutch of books on contemporary dance and her name will keep recurring, like a touchstone. For Siobhan Davies is one of our true creative
The co-ordinator of a charity project to help the elderly denied she was involved in a breakaway movement of volunteer street movements or that she knew what happened at their meetings. Mrs Peggy O'Donnell, who claims she was sacked unfairly by
Detectives were last night hunting an arsonist who set a house on fire, killing a young mother, her two daughters, and a teenage baby-sitter. A top police officer said it was one of the worst incidents he had seen in 31 years service. Police believe
As well as the Cadillac Seville luxury saloon, Clyde Glasgow's North American franchise includes the Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro muscle cars, and the Chevrolet Blazer 4x4, which are likely to appeal to an entirely different kind of buyer. Now
For the third time this century, Orkney is to feature in National Geographic, and islanders are nervously awaiting the assessment of travel writer Bill Bryson (below). Jim Hewitson reports PHENOMENALLY successful is how the book trade describe travel
AN eight-bedroom B&B establishment in the West Highlands burned to the ground late yesterday afternoon after it was struck by lightning. The wooden Invergloy Halt Guest House, in Invergloy, by Loch Lochy in the Great Glen, was the victim of thunder and
YOU reported the criminal prosecution of Jennifer Carpenter under the headline, Anger over fine for lawyer (May 8). Jennifer Carpenter has not been a solicitor for four years. The Council of the Law Society of Scotland prosecuted her before the Scottish
When the book Sex At Work dropped on my desk, a colleague said: ''Great, I'd like some of that!'' It was a throwaway remark from a reasonably enlightened and liberal-minded male, writes Francis Shennan. In other circumstances
AFTER a week when the title-clinching bubbly had started to go flat for Celtic, Henrik Larsson at last delivered some good news to Parkhead when he yesterday pledged his future to the new Scottish champions. In the wake of statements of discontent from
SCOTTISH Radio Holdings yesterday announced a 28% jump in interim pre-tax profits to #5.76m and revealed it was joining the fight for the new Central Scotland radio licence. Strong performances from both its radio stations and local newspapers, coupled
#11,500 painting con TWO men posing as photographers conned a 98-year-old woman into parting with a painting worth over #11,500, police said yesterday. The painting, by renowned Scottish artist E A Hornel, was taken from the woman's house, in Pollokshields
Kenneth Starr said yesterday US Secret Service agents must testify in the probe of alleged White House sex and perjury, but opponents argued this could risk the president's life. ''The Secret Service is a law enforcement agency; its officers
UNDERVALUED Assets Trust, which concentrates on value investment, is to purchase more of its own shares to try and reduce the 14.5% discount to asset value its shares sell at. Shareholders will be asked to approve the purchase of up to 15% of the shares
When the book Sex At Work dropped on my desk, a colleague said: ''Great, I'd like some of that!'' It was a throwaway remark from a reasonably enlightened and liberal-minded male, writes Francis Shennan. In other circumstances
A GROUP of Glasgow-based nuns have turned film makers and launched their own cartoon version of the Bible in a bid to reach young children more familiar with Tom and Jerry than Adam and Eve. The cartoon - which it is hoped will be the first in a series
Your leading article (May 9) accusing Glasgow's city fathers - and the huge number of protesters - of hypocrisy in banning the proposed SECC exhibition of erotica seems to us more than a little hard to understand. Would it really be preferable to
May 15, 1857 n THE Herald reported: ''On Wednesday evening, a meeting of the Commissioners of Police for the burgh and suburbs of Paisley was held in the convening room. A memorial from the magistrates relative to the maintenance of order on
PENSIONS specialist Scottish Equitable's first-quarter pre-tax profit contribution to Dutch parent Aegon jumped by 40% to #21m, enabled partly by a 10% increase in new business. A ScotEq spokesman said that a comeback in the individual pensions
IVOR Lewis, the man who controlled a third of Scotland's whisky output, is quitting after his failure to gain a more senior post in the drinks giant Diageo. As UK operations director of United Distillers and Vintners (UDV), the spirits arm of Diageo
DRIVING, like love, means never having to say you're sorry, in most motorists' logbooks. However, macho motor man is to be offered the chance to turn over a new leaf. An electronic device which fits into the rear window of any car and displays
BRITAIN has the world's highest rate of unmarried teenage mothers, according to a report published yesterday. The first worldwide survey of young women's sexual activity showed that 87% of the 41,700 children of 15 to 19-year-old girls in the
The larger organisations have always been more prolific in employing graduates since they can more easily cater for their immediate training needs but for SMEs, the small to medium-sized businesses that are the mainstay of the British economy, the decision
