Chris Cusiter will lead Scotland in former England coach Andy Robinson's first Test in charge, against Fiji at Murrayfield on Saturday, with co-captain and scrum-half rival Mike Blair on the bench. Earlier this month Robinson took the unusual decision of not only naming co-captains but splitting the role between players in the same position. However a clearer idea of who really is Robinson's first-choice...
Next September, I plan to be in Armagh for an astronomy conference- not that I ever need much of an excuse to go to Northern Ireland. Now, these days we are encouraged to go green, and to use the train for short ( i.e. domestic travel) rather than flying. And it has to be said that the Channel Tunnel has improved rail links to the rest of Europe- apparently, by train, the nearest capital city to London...
November 4, 2009 Logan Douglas, 16 weeks old, is in an Edinburgh, Scotland hospital, in "critical but stable condition" today – the first Scottish victim of infant botulism since 1983 (as far back as can be traced in the country's electronic records). Six weeks ago, according to BBC , Logan was admitted to Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children with symptoms of infant botulism....
Here is our regular monthly events update for you. Events are starting to slow down in the run up to the holidays but there is still a lot going on in December in the run up to the UN Climate talks in Copenhagen. You can also view November’s events list if you missed it. If you can think of an event we have missed, please let us know and we will add it to the list. You can drop us an email or...
The one top table the SNP don't want to be at Question: What do the following small independent European countries have in common - Norway, Denmark, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Iceland? Answer: They are all members of NATO. The Grumpy SD finds it one of the (many) puzzles associated with those who support Scottish independence that, unlike the small independent European countries they seek...
Tuesday, 27 October 2009 A 1936 film that claimed to show the first evidence of the Loch Ness monster is among rarely-seen archive footage set to be shown in Scotland. The material can be seen at Glasgow Film Theatre and the National Library of Scotland (NLS) as part of Unesco's World Day for Audiovisual Heritage. It includes the UK's earliest-known personal wedding in 1905 and US actress Vera Reynolds...
Mercedes, the UK's only polar bear last week moved from her home in Edinburgh Zoo to her new home at the Highland Wildlife Park, near Kingussie. On Monday she was available for visitors to see her in her new 4 acre home in the Highlands. Mercedes had been in Edinburgh for 25 years. She was rescued from her native country, Canada after she was due to be shot. Unfortunately for Mercedes she had began...
The Edinburgh theater and street-performance festival in Scotland annually sends a buzz round the arts world; France's Avignon invariably features a cordon bleu international menu; and Adelaide and Singapore vie for the Asia-Pacific spotlight. Way back in 1988, Tokyo also aimed to be in such illustrious company, when the Tokyo International Arts Festival (TIF) was launched with great fanfare. Then,...
FOURTEEN of Scotland's top authors, including Ian Rankin and AL Kennedy, are set to travel to Canada as part of an event being backed by the Edinburgh International Book
Fantasy Island - home of the SNP's new caring sharing defence policy No sooner does the Grumpy SD blog on the lack of detail in the SNP's future defence plans post independence, then up pops SNP defence spokesperson/Westminster leader, (except when its Alex) Angus Robertson to tell the world that: 'Free' Scotland would allow English military forces to be based north of the border. Scotland and England...
More than 1,400 rock fans have strummed along together on imaginary guitars to set a new world record. The group at Brock University, Ontario, Canada took the record for the world's largest air guitar ensemble. Under the guidance of air guitar expert Lance “The Shred” Kasten they were taught a lesson on the art of playing the air guitar right before the record attempt. A Guinness World...
Is David Cameron - the Tory leader with the Scottish surname - cuddling up to Alex Salmond? It looks like it. Why? Because, I'm told, the Tory high command accepts that even if the party wins the general election, the very best it can hope for in Scotland is five seats and more likely only three. "David Cameron has pledged to come to Scotland for a meeting with the First Minister within a week...
Hello, Sailor Fancy being Robin Knox-Johnston for the weekend? Sure, but the kids would need some training in how to climb the mast and the wife would have to be introduced to the galley (just kidding!). Circumventing the Isle of Wight might be a goo...