A SCANDINAVIAN syndicate is still in the hunt to buy Hearts – despite its initial recovery package being rejected by now axed club officials.

A consultant with connections to the consortium, which is made up of four Norwegian and two Swedish businessmen, today revealed the group had not given up their efforts to take over the embattled Jambos.

• Hearts get £1m cash boost as sponsor Wonga gives money early

Their continued interest was confirmed as administrators BDO set a July 12 deadline for all formal bids to be submitted.

The Nordic gang had made an offer of £500,000 to the club’s former Lithuanian directors just hours before it was confirmed they were entering administration.

The group – believed to be oil tycoons with links to the Capital – abandoned the bid after learning it would not guarantee saving the club.

However, Kai Isaksen, a spokesman for consultants Crest Sports Group, said the businessmen have now regrouped with a view to making a fresh bid.

He said: “They’re still interested – that is the bottom line. I think they’re deciding whether to go it alone or whether to make an approach with the Foundation [of Hearts], or with one of the other groups.

“From discussions early on, they are very open to 
co-operation.”

A planned press conference was shelved by the Scandinavians after Hearts officially declared they were going into administration, meaning the identity of the businessmen behind the push remains unknown.

Mr Isaksen said of the £500,000 offer: “There were some talks about how the Scandinavians could help out to avoid administration. They didn’t want Hearts to go into administration, with all the uncertainty that it brings.

“It was very difficult to get a guarantee that the club wouldn’t go into administration anyway. I believe £500,000, or just under £500,000, was the sum of money discussed, but the club had problems to guarantee that would be enough, which meant it didn’t go any further.”

Confirmation the Scandinavian bid remains alive came as season ticket sales edged closer to the 3000 called for by BDO’s Bryan Jackson to keep the club alive for the next four months.

Bonnyrigg father Alan Melrose, 42, was among those contributing to the tally – despite being a dedicated Rangers 
fan.

He bought three season tickets for his brother, niece and five-year-old daughter as well as paying £575 for a pair of boots auctioned off by former Hearts winger David Templeton. All proceeds will go to the Jambos.

Mr Melrose said he had acted because of his sympathy for Hearts’ situation, with his desire to help also motivated by wife Carol being a long-term Jambos season ticket holder.

He said: “It’s an absolute nightmare. I don’t think the SPL can lose Hearts, to be 
honest.”

Heriot-Watt University bosses are also doing their bit to ease Hearts’ financial crisis, having agreed to allow Riccarton to be used as a training ground despite being owed £150,000.

JUNK food should be banned from hospitals in a bid to tackle the nation’s obesity epidemic, doctors warned today.

The British Medical Association conference in Edinburgh was due to hear calls for sugary and fatty products, such as crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks, to become a thing of the past on NHS premises so the health service can lead by example.

The call comes after figures in Scotland last week showed the number of Scots dying from obesity has increased significantly in recent years.

The Scottish Government statistics showed obesity was mentioned on the death certificates of 212 people in 2011, compared with 181 in 2007.

Cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra has tabled a motion at the BMA’s annual meeting calling for an end to the sale of “junk food” so that patients are not encouraged to make unhealthy choices.

The medic said it was an important part of getting the profession’s “own house in order” in an attempt to stem the growing problem of obesity across the UK.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the doctor said NHS sites were not the location for mixed messages on diet.

Dr Malhotra said: “An oversupply of nutritionally poor and energy-dense foods loaded with sugar, salt and trans-fats, fuelled by aggressive and irresponsible marketing by the junk food industry, has even been allowed to hijack the very institutions that are supposed to set an example and promote positive health messages – our hospitals.”

The BMA conference was also due to hear calls for the organisation to lobby governments to make sure that where sugary and fatty drinks are on sale on NHS premises, they come with clear health warnings.

Earlier this year, the 
Academy of Medical Royal Colleges launched a campaign to make nutritional standards mandatory in hospitals, as they are in schools and prisons.

Professor Terence Stephenson, chair of the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, said: “If the NHS is to send out a message that it takes the obesity crisis seriously, it cannot recreate the same unhealthy environment inside hospitals as exists on the high street.”

Dr Charles Saunders, deputy chairman of the BMA’s 
Scottish Council, said: “People go into hospital to get better, so it is imperative that the food they receive there is healthy and nutritious. There is no place for junk food on hospital menus or other outlets within hospitals.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We have written to all NHS boards asking them to ensure healthier options are available from vending machines, by removing soft drinks with a high sugar content and positioning healthier choices more prominently.”

DETECTIVES investigating the murder of a woman whose dismembered body was found on Corstorphine Hill have sent her DNA profile to Europol in a bid to identify her.

Officers are hoping foreign police forces may have the victim’s DNA on their national databases as the push to discover her identity continues.

The murder probe was launched after a cyclist stumbled across a head protruding from a shallow grave on June 6.

Police believe that the murdered woman was dismembered before being transported to the makeshift burial site in a holdall.

Europol, based in The Hague, is the European Union’s law enforcement agency that handles criminal intelligence.

It is in liaision with hundreds of different law enforcement organisations, covering all 27 member states of the European Union and many other forces worldwide.
A Police Scotland source said officers on the murder inquiry team will be working “hand in glove” with back-room forensic staff to establish the victim’s identity.

He said: “The first thing the guys on the team would want is DNA from the dismembered victim. Once you have that unique touchstone it opens up a world of opportunity.

“It would be checked against the national DNA database for any matches domestically across Britain. But they’d also open it up globally. Other forces across the world now routinely swab for DNA as well, offering us a vital opportunity to match the victim’s profile.

“At the moment the hunt is not so much about my colleagues in CID hoping for a breakthrough, the real hard graft is being done by the guys in the white lab coats. Modern murder hunts are all about forensics. Get that right – and get a breakthrough there – and you’ve as good as caught your killer.”

The dead woman is described as being white, between 32 and 60 years old, with fair hair and about 5ft 2in tall. She could have been buried between one and six months ago.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police have circulated the profile of the victim to Europol and are following up requests as a result of this. Inquiries are ongoing and we are appealing for anyone with information to contact us.”

Anyone with information can call Police Scotland on 101.

Detective Chief Inspector Keith Hardie, who is leading the inquiry, appeared on the BBC’s Crimewatch Roadshow programme last week to appeal for help in identifying the woman.

A claddagh ring, which has Irish Catholic connections and is popular among travellers, and three other rings, were found on the body.

DCI Hardie said his team could not rule out the possibility they had been planted by the killer to “distract” detectives.

The TV appeal sparked several calls from witnesses who saw a grey or gold Renault Scenic in Corstorphine Road, near the entrance to Corstorphine Hill, on two separate occasions in April, at about 10pm. Officers are still trying to trace the owner.

A TRADERS’ revolt has erupted in the Grassmarket with a clutch of shops facing legal action for withholding money from the firm charged with promoting the area.

Around 15 businesses have refused to pay annual fees worth hundreds of pounds to the Business Improvement District (BID) body amid a row over how it was elected.

A petition signed by 65 local business owners has been submitted to City Chambers demanding a February ballot that elected the BID – dubbed Greater Grassmarket – is rerun because of a “fishy” mandate.

The ballot is based on turn out and the businesses’ rateable value. A percentage of a firm’s rateable value is paid as an annual levy to the BID.

But BID chiefs say the ballot – which requires a 25 per cent turnout – was fair and insist the scheme offers members huge savings while bringing a “positive impact to the area”.

Gordon Thomson, a translator based at West Port, helped prepare the petition to void the election that attracted a 36 per cent turnout. He said: “We are concerned with the way the ballot was conducted and there is a lot of anger about this. The main point we are making is that this has gone through on a very small vote: 59 people out of 202 people voted for this BID and 34 voted against. We now have signatures from 65 people wanting the vote to be rerun which is more than the number of people who voted for it originally.”

Mr Thomson said many traders were stunned with bills which they “didn’t even know [were] happening”. He added: “We think it’s a very unfair way to impose a levy because the benefits we believe, if any, will go overwhelmingly to businesses who benefit from increased footfall. We feel small businesses are not going to benefit very much at all.”

Grassmarket jeweller Ian Clarkson said the format of the election was “fishy” as it excluded some larger businesses and said he knew many traders who would not pay.
He said: “We were told if we didn’t pay within 14 days a surcharge would be placed on it and legal action could be taken to reclaim the money.”

Georgia Artis, project manager of Greater Grassmarket, said the voting system was designed to ensure the wishes of smaller businesses were adequately represented.

She said: “Within five years I want the Grassmarket to become a levy-neutral area and I’m trying to ensure all businesses who are willing can make savings that are equal if not much more than the levy. The businesses that have got involved have saved anything from the equivalent of their levy to two, three, four, five times as much straight away.”

Cllr Frank Ross, convener of the Economy Committee, said: “In the interest of fairness to those who have paid the levy and to ensure the BID is able to deliver its business plan, non payment is pursued on behalf of the BID board.”

SCHOOL gym facilities are in line for a six-figure cash injection on the back of figures which show an increase in the number of kids doing sport to combat an obesity and diabetes epidemic.

Gym halls across the Capital will be upgraded thanks to the £243,000 spend, as education chiefs refused to rule out taking on more PE teachers, after the “corner turning” statistics revealed Edinburgh is ahead of a Scotland-wide trend on the uptake of physical education.

The boom in PE will help stave off a feared obesity and diabetes epidemic and has been hailed by retiring boxing champ Alex Arthur, who said the cash will help “play a massive part in dealing with the general health of kids”.

The former British, Commonwealth and WBO super featherweight title holder said: “It will breed more enthusiasm and encourage them to burn more energy when they are outside of school as well. It’s the best thing for the future of our youngsters.”

His verdict comes as the city makes impressive progress towards meeting a Scottish Government commitment that every pupil will benefit from at least two hours of PE in primary school each week, and two periods, or 100 minutes, in S1 to S4.

According to the latest figures, 89 per cent of primaries in Edinburgh now offer the recommended amount of PE – up ten per cent on last year – with 83 per cent of secondaries also making the grade.

And we can exclusively reveal that education chiefs have not ruled out drafting in extra teachers to ensure all Edinburgh schools hit the target by June next year.

Education leader Councillor Paul Godzik said: “By investing in new sports halls, fitness rooms and all-weather pitches, and working with local sports clubs, we can promote the vast range of sporting and fitness activities that exist and ensure we have a healthier Edinburgh.

“Continuing support from headteachers and staff with a clear focus on how PE is being delivered is vital to ensuring our children receive not just the required amount of hours but improved quality.”

City leaders said providing more PE in schools had been a “key priority” and that specialist development officers were helping to boost provision at primaries and secondaries across the Capital.

They revealed the city’s special school sector had also enjoyed a jump in participation, with 89 per cent of secondaries hitting government targets.

Gordon Murray, curricular leader in PE at St Augustine’s High, which offers pupils three 50-minute periods a week, said: “We provide a much wider range of activities because pupils have more time in the department now.”

But critics said there were still too many schools not offering enough PE.

Green MSP Alison Johnstone said: “It’s not good enough that many of our primary schools don’t provide at least two hours of PE a week. I would like there to be a focus on having much more time and a specific approach to engaging young women.”

IF the week has been dragging and you’re looking for something a bit unusual, tonight is your lucky night at the Edinburgh International Film Festival - The Surprise Movie is on at the Filmhouse and Cineworld at 6.05pm.

Last year they chose the impressive Lawless, starring Guy Pearce and Tom Hardy, and this year it could be anything unreleased that’s two hours long or less..

Tomorrow at the Filmhouse I’d recommend Stephen Finnigan’s Hawking, a documentary about the world’s most famous living scientist, Stephen Hawking, narrated by the man himself.

Covering his early years through to his rise to fame and obsession with being a public figure, this is an interesting portrait of a complex man which isn’t stuffed with complex science.

On Saturday afternoon at the Filmhouse there’s a chance to hear legendary animator, Richard Williams in conversation on his 80th birthday. Williams worked on The Pink Panther and Who Framed Roger Rabbit and will share his animation secrets with the audience.

Local filmmakers take centre stage on Saturday, with Mark Cousins’ A Story of Children and Film coming to the Filmhouse at 6.15pm and David Cairns’ Natan at the same venue at 8.30pm, looking at the career of filmmaker Bernard Natan, who founded film studio Pathé.

The EIFF comes to an end on Sunday with two very different films worth checking out.

The Filmhouse will screen American sci-fi, Upstream Colour, from Primer director, Shane Carruth, at 7.05pm, a tale of genetics, love and human evolution. At least that’s what I think it’s about, I’m still not 100 per cent certain three days after I saw it...

Finally, the closing night film is Karen Gillan’s latest, Not Another Happy Ending, which comes to the Festival Theatre at 8.45 and is sure to appeal to rom-com fans. Get there early enough to walk down the red carpet and hear Ms Gillan introduce the film.

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For more film comment visit {http://www.reelscotland.com.reelscotland.com.reelscotland.com}

DOCTORS have called for free fruit and vegetables to be made available to all children in primary schools in an effort to improve the future health of the nation.

Under initiatives already in place in Scotland, youngsters in P1 and P2 are given fruit and vegetables three days a week in schools.

But the British Medical Association conference in Edinburgh heard the handout should be extended to cover all primary-age children every day they are at school.

Doctors also backed calls for the price of fruit and veg to be reduced to make them more affordable and encourage more people to follow a healthier diet.

Chris Williams, a locum GP in Inverness, said teaching children about a healthy diet had to start early in life. “It is vital our children understand the relationship between food, health and wellbeing,” he said. “Providing a proper start is perhaps our best chance for people in our society to live longer, healthier lives.

“But it will take parents, teachers, doctors and government to all work together if we want to achieve such great things.”

Dr Williams said schools had a central role to play in helping young people develop their understanding of the many aspects of food – not just consuming it, but also “choosing it, cooking it and growing it”.

The delegates, gathered for the last day of the BMA’s annual meeting, voted in favour of free fruit and vegetable initiatives to be extended for all primary

children and for five days a week. They also backed calls for the BMA to campaign to lower the price of both fruit and vegetables to encourage more people to buy them.

A BMA Scotland spokeswoman said: “Rising levels of overweight and obese children are of great concern for the future health of our nation.

“By providing free fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren, we can ensure that those children who do not eat healthily at home are being exposed to healthy eating at school and are learning to enjoy more nutritious options. By giving children the tools to make the right choices, we can help prevent them becoming ill later in life.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “In Scotland, many primary schools already provide free fruit and vegetables to pupils, and it is up to each local authority whether they decide to provide free fruit and vegetables.”

Doctors yesterday also backed calls for a ban on junk food in hospitals, as reported in The Scotsman yesterday.

And cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra said: “It is appalling to observe on ward rounds patients, some of whom are not fully mobile, gorging on crisps, confectionery and sugary drinks – the very food items that may have contributed to their condition in the first place.

“That these consumables are sold to patients through portable hospital trolleys actually reflects a marketing strategy by junk food companies to make their products available and

accessible to anyone, anywhere and at any time.”

Dr Malhotra, who works in London, said it was “obscene” many hospitals had fast food venues on site, and corridors lined with vending machines. He said it was time to “stop selling sickness in NHS premises”.

But Shane Brennan, from the Association of Convenience Stores, questioned the effectiveness of a junk food ban in hospitals and said more education about healthy eating was needed. He said: “For a start, how do you define what is junk food? It is not about eating one

particular product. It is a pattern of bad eating that is the issue.”

Doctors also said rules prohibiting smoking near the entrances to hospitals were “routinely ignored” and called for health bosses to impose tougher penalties for staff or patients who break such rules. In Scotland, the Scottish Government has announced plans to ban smoking anywhere on NHS sites.

The conference also heard calls for the rest of the UK to follow Scotland’s proposals and introduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol.

But doctors rejected calls for proof children have been vaccinated to be made mandatory before they start school, saying parents should be educated and encouraged, not coerced into immunisation. This follows rising rates of measles in parts of the UK which were blamed on poor uptake of the MMR jab.

Scottish patients at risk of stroke ‘can wait weeks’

Patients in Scotland needing surgery to try to prevent a stroke can wait weeks for treatment, a report says.

Figures published by the Vascular Society reveal that in some areas patients wait an average of 30 days to undergo a procedure to remove blockages in their arteries after stroke-like symptoms.

The society yesterday also published individual mortality rates for vascular surgeons across the UK covering two common procedures.

The National Vascular Registry 2013 Report on Surgical Outcomes includes patients who had surgery for an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (AAA) – a swelling in the artery taking blood from the heart to the lower body – and stroke prevention surgery known as carotid endarterectomy.

The UK average mortality rate for AAA surgery stood at 2.2 per cent. While mortality rates for surgeons in Scotland ranged from 0 to 8.3 per, within the expected range.

Carotid endarterectomy is offered to patients who have suffered stroke-like symptoms, removing blockages in the arteries in an attempt to prevent a full stroke occurring.

On average 2.4 per cent of UK patients would suffer a stroke and/or die after the surgery, with rates ranging from 0/12.5 per cent for surgeons in Scotland. Again, none was outside expected levels.

But the figures also revealed the average delay between a patient suffering symptoms and having the surgery, which in Scotland ranged from an average of 11 days in Grampian to 30 days in Highland.

Some of this delay may be due to patients waiting to see a doctor, but most will occur after they have been referred for treatment.

Vascular Society president Professor Julian Scott said: “Surgeons in these tables should not be ranked

by their mortality

rate as there is a risk that they will be wrongly criticised and patients misled.

“Some are conducting extremely difficult surgery on very sick people so will have relatively high mortality rates.”

Delegates fear austerity is harming health of poor

Reductions in the welfare benefits received by some people will damage the health of those already living in disadvantaged circumstances, doctors

believe.

Delegates at the British Medical Association conference in Edinburgh expressed growing concerns about the changes to the benefits system, noting that health inequalities between the richest and poorest are an increasing problem.

Dr JS Bamrah said research showed that many people were dying prematurely due to health inequalities, and the lower a person’s social status was, the worse their health became.

“Although there are inequities in care across the NHS, they do not account for the huge health inequality,” he said.

“The more significant effect arises from social and economic factors on health. The greater the levels of deprivation it seems, the lower the average life expectancy.”

Professor Averil Mansfield, chair of the BMA’s board of science, said they had concerns that cuts in child benefit and other austerity measures were detrimental to people’s health.

Dr Alan McDevitt, chairman of the BMA’s Scottish GPs committee, said: “The BMA is very concerned about the impact that UK welfare reform legislation is having on the people of Scotland.

“A reduction in income is likely to lead to poorer quality of health for individuals and increased health inequalities for our nation as a whole.”

Dr McDevitt said GPs in many areas were being “overwhelmed” by the number of patients seeking additional information to support their appeals in challenging decisions on incapacity benefits. “This is impacting on practice time which would otherwise have been spent on health concerns,” he said.

There’s a small hotel with a wishing well. No there isn’t. Not in Edinburgh. It’s the first line from an evergreen song by Rodgers and Hart and sung by Sinatra in Pal Joey. But there’s a 249-room hotel in Edinburgh that can turn David Welch all rhapsodic.

He has managed the George these last eight years until he retires at 58 next month. Seen a raft of changes as the George expanded sideways and upwards to the “Panorama” seven storeys up with panoramic vistas of Edinburgh the likes of which I’d never seen to rival since Harvey Nicks where in-with-bricks director Gordon Drummond, having masterminded the refurb of the restaurant/bar, remains intensely possessive about St Andrew Square.

Chester-born David Welch has been in hotels from 15. Little he doesn’t know about the industry. Worked in and around Manchester and Birmingham. First stop up here the Mount Royal in Princes Street 1985-89, on to the Scandic Crowne/Plaza before the George in 2005.

An anecdote to recall involving Prince Philip, a guest at the Scandic Crowne, but to be saved, stored for the memoirs.

PH Hotels, the George’s owners, have offered him consultancy work in his retirement that will keep him domiciled in Edinburgh. What he thinks of Princes Street, George Street and pollution in our city centre is for future columns.

Five star news

Last of the legendary line. Delighted to relate that Lawrie Reilly, who alone has survived his Famous Five Hibernian team-mates, is “progressing well” in the Western General. Wife Iris tells me from their home: “Lawrie wasn’t well enough to go to Hampden for the cup final and, as you know, he rarely missed a match at Easter Road this past season. But we’re all cracking on, aren’t we?” Lawrie is 84.

They brought the Scottish town of Stoneybridge to national television, introduced the most boring man in the world and inspired a cult following that endures 20 years after their last episode aired.

But should the cast of Channel 4 sketch show Absolutely return to our TV screens in 2013?

When, in 1989, the first episode arrived on our screens, complete with a mainly Scottish cast including Jack Docherty, Moray Hunter and Gordon Kennedy, we were starved of the kind of alternative and innovative comedy they were about to send our way.

Today we’re used to sharing an evening’s TV spoilers and quotes on Twitter and Facebook, hashtagging them to within an inch of their lives, but back in the day we were content with quoting one-liners to each other and discussing last night’s viewing at school, in the student union or at work.

The Absolutely team didn’t disappoint, with weekly meetings of Stoneybridge Town Council inspiring fans to repeat the word “Stoneybridge” in a high pitched tone – you probably had to be there – before going on to quote John Sparkes’ latest monologue in a terrible Welsh brogue.

Over four years and 28 episodes we grew to love the increasingly insane cast of characters, tuning in to see how McGlashan (Docherty) would insult the English or Calum Gilhooley would discuss his anorak.

Absolutely made it to TV just ahead of Vic Reeves Big Night Out and a few years before BBC Two’s Fast Show, perhaps never quite extending into popular culture in quite the same way, but the fans are still loyal today.

With a DVD release of every episode, streaming episodes on 4OD and a recent mini-reunion on Radio 4’s Sketchorama, the programme is never too far from reach and rumours continue to circulate that a TV return could be on the cards.

Would McGlashan’s nationalism still be funny in a pre-independence referendum Scotland? Should Stoneybridge councillors reconvene and promote the town via social networking to a new generation? Would the fans want the show back?

Absolutely.

Our interview with Kevin McKidd yesterday, where he discussed visiting old haunts on a recent trip to the Capital, prompted Witchery tours co-founder Robin Mitchell to tweet a picture of McKidd . . . on an old haunt.

The picture was taken when McKidd was in his early 20s and working as a “jumper-outer” on one of Edinburgh’s famous ghost tours.

TOTT is sure plenty of readers would now have no problem with the award-winning actor jumping out at them in the dark . . .

Single, driver, for the Fat Cat to the Gyle

NO doubt most people in Edinburgh have a few choice words to describe the trams, but May Macleod from Currie has taken to Facebook in a bid to gather suggestions for naming the individual vehicles once they start running next year.

Some suggestions so far include Prince, Queen, Charlotte and South Broadway. Others reflect popular concerns about the cost of the project, White Elephant and Fat Cat. Ms Macleod’s own suggestion is Pretty Penny.

Faultless judgement?

The return of Wimbledon also means a return to Twitter of possibly the world’s most unlikely tennis commentator in Irvine Welsh, who peppered yesterday’s match with observations such as this gem: “Good call from Murray against the evil imperialist English judges who just hate us.”

I work with a zombie

AS fans of Ian Rankin will know, the author is fond of avoiding the attention of his editor whenever possible – and now Rankin he has revealed why: “Same editor for 20 years and every book gets same comment: ‘let’s get inside the characters’ heads more’. I fear my editor’s a zombie...”

New government statistics reveal that the numbers of children in city primary school’s benefiting from at least two hours of PE a week is 
rising.

Against a backdrop of spiralling obesity and a growing trend towards sedentary lifestyles, this is welcome news.

Getting kids moving when they are young is essential for health and confidence, while the wider benefits of sport are well 
understood.

However, the two-hour target is modest and still does not compare favourably with many of our European neighbours. In fact, the two hours of PE should only be viewed as a starting point.

With the majority of schools now reaching the goal, the Scottish Government should take on the role of the ever more demanding team coach and set new tougher objectives for local authorities, encouraging them to go further in improving the health of our young people.

This, of course, will require greater investment in staff and in facilities. But this would be money well spent.

In this regard, Edinburgh’s commitment to spend an additional £243,000 on gym halls and pitches is to be welcomed.

Give a Liddell respect

What a great idea it is to have a day dedicated to celebrating the incredible Eric 
Liddell.

The man, who we recently named top of our 100 Greatest list, fully deserves the honour of having his remarkable life story shared as widely as possible.

It may not draw the same crowds that turned on that day in 1925 but recreating his famous walk from Hope Terrace to Waverley Station sounds like a fantastic event and we hope it is well supported.

Who knows? Eric Liddell Day may soon become a regular fixture on the Edinburgh calendar.

AWARD-WINNING singer songwriter Dougie MacLean has been added to the Hall of Fame by one of Scotland’s leading music festivals.

The musician, most famous for writing Caledonia - regarded as Scotland’s alternative national anthem - has also been invited to become an ambassador for the Hebridean Celtic Festival.

MacLean, 58, marks 40 years as a professional musician next year and in January received the Radio 2 Lifetime Achievement Award.

He has also won a string of other honours, including an OBE, Tartan Clef Awards and a gold disc for sales of over 500,000 for his music used in the film, the Last of the Mohicans.

His association with HebCelt dates from 1996 when he appeared at the first festival.

This year he is one of the headline acts at the 18th event - from 17-20 July in Stornoway - along with Van Morrison, Capercaillie, the Battlefield Band and the Red Hot Chilli Pipers.

For the last 20 years he has also had a house in Lewis and is a regular visitor to the area when not touring around the world.

HebCelt’s Hall of Fame was established in 2010 to mark its 15th anniversary, and the first inductees were Julie Fowlis, Runrig and the Peatbog Faeries.

Since then it has been opened out to the audience to vote for outstanding performances or contributions to the event and Irish songstress Imelda May, Karen Matheson from Capercaillie and local musician Jane Hepburn have also joined the elite group.

While ambassadors have no formal roles to perform, they help promote HebCelt and the Hebrides at home and abroad.

Caroline MacLennan, the festival director, said: “We have the greatest respect for Dougie as a musician, songwriter and performer. But we are also well aware of his wider support and promotion of the Gaelic language and culture and his strong connection to the area through his adopted home in Lewis.

“I think the induction is timeous, given his forthcoming headlining show at the 18th festival, and the fact he will reach a significant milestone of his own next year.”

MacLean, who runs his own event, Perthshire Amber - The Dougie MacLean Festival, which is in its ninth year and will be held from 25 October- 3 November this year, added: “I am delighted to accept HebCelt’s invitation to join the Hall of Fame and feel honoured to represent such a prestigious event as an ambassador.

“I have a long association with the festival, going back to the inaugural event, and have always supported its efforts to promote and encourage traditional music. This will give me fresh impetus to spread the word on my travels.”

The 18th HebCelt is attracting attention from around the world with tickets having already been snapped up by fans across the UK and Ireland, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and America.

SEE ALSO:

• Interview: Dougie MacLean

IT’S the end of term at Holyrood and MSPs are about to head off on their summer break. With the sun shining, sporadically at least, politicians will allow themselves – and the voters – some respite from the referendum.

But don’t expect an entirely politics-free ­summer. With the historic decision on Scotland’s constitutional future looming ever closer, the two sides of the debate will find it hard to resist the temptation to carry on campaigning. Insiders predict a lull for a few weeks before both the Scottish and UK governments publish further reports setting out the arguments on different aspects of the case for and against independence.

And when MSPs return from the summer recess there will be just a year to go to the big day.

One punter this week placed a 
confident £200,000 bet on a No vote on September 18. Polls continue to show support for independence well short of a majority, but Nationalists have seized on the results of a Panelbase survey last month which found people split 44 per cent No, 36 per cent Yes – in other words a lead of just eight per cent for the anti-independence cause. If people thought the UK was going to leave the European Union, the split was 44-44.

Alex Salmond’s election successes in 2007 and 2011 have shown he is the master of surprises, winning through when the odds are against him. An SNP insider points out the party went into 2011, the year of the last Holyrood election, 15 points behind in the polls and ended up winning by 15 points.

Mr Salmond signalled in a recent magazine interview that he did not believe the campaign proper had even begun. “This is the phoney war,” he said.

It’s not clear whether the ­comment should be interpreted as a promise that things are going to get better than the party point-scoring experienced so far or just a threat of even more intensified Punch and Judy politics.

But Yes campaign strategists have long said their first task is to get ­people to think about the issues. Many voters, they insist, have not made up their minds on independence and are open to persuasion. They now see publication of the ­Scottish ­Government’s white paper in the autumn, spelling out the case for ­independence, as the next key milestone. “We’ll see what transpires after that,” says one source.

In his magazine interview, Mr ­Salmond attacked the anti-independence Better Together campaign as “wholly negative” and predicted it would “run out of steam”. He said: “The campaign is a bit like Dracula in one of those Hammer films – it will be dragged out in the light of day and crumble.”

The No campaigners remain ­confident that Scots will not be lured into taking the “one-way ticket to an uncertain future” which they claim independence represents.

Warnings that independence could mean losing access to the BBC iPlayer or not being able to play the National Lottery have brought accusations of scaremongering. But concerns about what currency a go-it-alone Scotland would use and fears over their ­pensions are more likely to make people pause for thought.

One No insider admits voters still don’t feel they’re getting information they can trust from either camp. “They just see two groups having a rammy –and they’re not impressed.”

Unfortunately for them, if Mr ­Salmond is right that this is still the phoney war, it could be we ain’t seen nothing yet.

IT starts sometime around Easter. The unbidden thought surfaces that there are only a few months left until the seven blank weeks of the school summer holidays loom, but like the suggestion of beginning to buy Christmas presents in July, it gets pushed to the back of the mind where it rattles around with other “to do” ideas like cleaning the dirt out of the door jam or putting the kids’ old toys on eBay.

By the beginning of June it has become more pressing, like the gnawing pain of a toothache. Holidays are coming . . . holidays are coming. A Coke advert of creeping dread.

I spent a lot of time at my gran’s during the primary school summer holidays. My parents both worked, there were no such things as sports camps or week-long drama groups or even CBeebies, so the holidays stretched out in a never-ending stream of boredom with the occasional sojourn to Yellowcraigs or Dalkeith Adventure Park.

You might think that, 30-odd years on, things would be different. To some extent they are in that there are many and various choices of where to send your kids all day while you work if you’ve got the money. Holiday clubs, knowing they’ve got you over a barrel stuffed with sports equipment, and depending on how many kids you have, can cost the equivalent of a week’s holiday abroad.

Trying to juggle childcare at any time is hard for working parents – especially those with no family to help out or who are single parents. The school summer holidays feel like they’re there to make a mockery out of your attempts to earn money and be a good parent.

A look on websites such as netmums shows just how desperate the organisation gets, between splitting time off work between parents – dependent on how much annual leave they’re entitled to – childminders, in-laws and the ultimate possibility: seven weeks of unpaid leave and the financial impact that will have.

There’s certainly no mention of having one of those family holidays that are constantly advertised on TV at the moment. Those are taken, if at all, during term time.

Not that I’m advocating the reduction of the school summer holidays. For children the break is incredibly beneficial – especially when you consider that we start them in school at a far younger age than most of the rest of Europe. What we need to is a shift in thinking about childcare and how society should deal with it and pay for it.

In Finland the kids get 11 weeks off in the summer, start school aged eight and spend the shortest hours in the classroom, yet it is apparently the most successful country in the EU in educational terms. Swedish schools take ten weeks off in the summer – time which can be covered easily thanks to a system of 480 days of paid parental leave and childcare costs based on family incomes with a government enforced maximum – so a month’s nursery costs are on average around £130. Imagine. Of course, higher taxes are levied, but as the saying goes, you gets what you pays for.

Surely reducing stress levels on working parents – who pay their taxes – would be a good thing for employers, employee and most importantly, the children.

In the meantime the juggling continues. Look out for me on the Fringe.

Never forgotten

PRESERVATION of the “practice” First World War trenches at Dreghorn as a monument of national significance is to be warmly welcomed. They are a real physical way of helping to ensure that we will never forget.

Bats life in the Craighouse row

THE campaign to save the green space at Craighouse from a housing development is still ongoing and the latest weapon is . . . the pipistrelle bat.

According to Friends of Craighouse, the council is attempting to drop the nature conservation designation of the buildings and grounds to allow development – yet this is where these protected tiny creatures live, and doing anything to affect them, such as wiping out their habitat – is illegal according to Scottish Natural Heritage. Planners love regulations but these must be driving them absolutely batty.

Crown appeal for McCourt welcome

IT is excellent news that the Crown Office has decided – perhaps at the behest of thousands of petitioners – to appeal the lenient sentence handed out to Gary McCourt for his careless driving.

A five-year ban after he knocked pensioner Audrey Fyfe from her bike in an ­accident which resulted in her death is nowhere near enough – and certainly not when you take into account his carelessness behind the wheel also killed cyclist George Dalgity three decades ago.

If he’d been drunk McCourt would automatically have received a lifetime ban among other punishments. Why is being sober and careless better?

A message to all drivers needs to be sent, so a life driving ban for ­McCourt is the only option.

Bridge’s name is not too bad

SO the new, and apparently unnecessary bridge, across the Firth of Forth is to be christened the Queensferry Crossing. I voted for St Margaret’s Bridge, (well I would wouldn’t I?) but I suppose the new name does what it says on the tin.

Ultimately it’ll just be called the new bridge or the ‘Ferry Bridge. Let’s just be thankful we won’t have to pay the ferryman to cross – well, not yet anyway.

CO-operative retailer Scotmid is poised to expand its presence south of the Border after agreeing a deal to swallow a smaller peer in the Lake District.

The Edinburgh-based group, which owns almost 200 food stores across Scotland, hopes to complete the deal with Penrith Co-operative in the autumn, subject to member approval.

The firm already operates in England through its Semichem discount health and beauty chain, but subsuming the smaller Penrith business would mark its first move into food retailing outside Scotland.

Scotmid, headed by chief executive John Brodie, employs almost 5,000 staff. In addition to its retail operations, the society owns funeral and property businesses and has been seeking further opportunities to expand since buying the Botterills convenience store chain in 2010.

A spokesman for Scotmid said: “We’ve been working with Penrith over the past few years, helping it in areas such as governance, membership and IT.

“Being good co-operative neighbours, we have built up a good relationship. Taking this to the next stage seems the right thing to do.”

Penrith, owned by about 25,000 members and founded in 1890, is headed by chief executive John Mills with 179 staff and nine shops and Post Offices across County Durham and Cumbria, offering free food deliveries.

The society generated a turn-over of £13 million in the year to 7 January. That compares with annual sales of £428m at Scotmid, which has almost 250,000 members.

The deal, which the two firms are describing as a merger because no cash will change hands, would be the first for Scotmid since 2010, when it paid an undisclosed sum for the 51-store Botterills chain, which traded under the Spar banner.

The acquired stores were rebranded as Scotmid outlets, but the firm’s spokesman said it was too early to say whether the Penrith name would be retained.

Scotmid underwent a major diversification in 1995 when it bought Semichem, and four years later it acquired Northern Irish rival Options. The chain now has more than 140 stores in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England.

In 2010 it launched its Fragrance House venture, selling designer perfumes and aftershaves from seven outlets in Aberdeen, Dundee, Falkirk, Glasgow, Greenock and Livingston.

Operating profits at the Scotmid group dipped from £6.5m to £6m last year, which Brodie blamed on a number of one-off factors, including the cost of a strategic review aimed at addressing “process” problems that had arisen from the various acquisitions.

Scotmid traces its roots back to 1859, when the St Cuthbert’s Co-operative Society was formed. It merged with the Dalziel Co-op in 1981, creating the Scottish Midland Co-operative Society.

SCOTLAND’S future in the UK offers only “continued austerity” as the main pro-union parties back the cuts agenda, Alex Salmond today warned.

But Labour leader Johann Lamont insisted that an independent Scotland would face even harsher austerity than the UK amid concerns that SNP “big business” tax breaks will see major job cuts.

The leaders clashed today during the final First Ministers Questions session at Holyrood before the Summer recess.

Ms Lamont questioned how a separate Scotland could have a different policy from the rest of the UK - which is expected to have some controls over public spending and borrowing if Scotland retains sterling.

Westminster “would be unwilling to concede” any oversight from Scotland over fiscal policies in the UK, she added.

“The First Minister needs to get serious,” she said.

“The fact is that the First Minister plans even greater austerity in an independent Scotland.

“He is planning a 3% cut in corporation tax for bankers and big business - that will cost in the real world £850 million each and every year.”

She said that is the equivalent of 7,000 jobs a year, according to research by the Scottish Parliament.

“When the First Minister says he doesn’t like George Osborne’s economics, isn’t that because he thinks he hasn’t gone far enough - his plan is to cut taxes deeper than the Tories.”

Corporation tax

Mr Salmond insisted that Scottish Government analysis makes it clear that a corporation tax cut will attract multi-national firms to Scotland and create up to 27,000 jobs.

Labour leader Ed Miliband insisted at the weekend that the party would not reverse the bulk of the Tory cuts if it comes to power.

Mr Salmond insisted this was the “major development in politics over the past few weeks.”

“This shift of the Labour party onto Tory ground is not just a fundamental mistake it’s a lesson for the Scottish people.

“The unionist parties - Tory-Labour, Labour-Tory, offer nothing but continued austerity.

“What is offered by an independent Scotland is investment, progress and social justice in this society.”

He referred to a speech last year by Ms Lamont which pledged to review the affordability of universal benefits in Scotland and talked about a “something for nothing society.”

“She wasn’t taking about corporation tax - she was talking about taking peoples’ bus passes away, she was talking about tuition fees for students, she was talking about free personal care, she was talking about reversing all of the great social gains of this Parliament,” Mr Salmond said.

Aberdeen’s Tullos Hill Wood has been highly commended at Scotland’s Finest Wood Awards, which recognises excellent woodland ownership and management.

The trees were planted as part of the Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods project, which has seen the planting of some six million trees across the UK, creating hundreds of Jubilee Woods, 60 special Diamonds Woods and 25 Princess Woods.

In Scotland there are 20 Diamond Woods, each over 60 acres in size, of which Tullos Hill Wood in the south of Aberdeen is one.

It was highly commended in the New Native Woods category at Scotland’s Finest Wood Awards.

Councillor Jean Morrison, vice-convener of Aberdeen City Council’s Housing and Environment Committee, said: “The hill itself is one of Aberdeen’s most popular beauty spots so it is vital that we preserve and enhance this area for future generations.

“This ambitious project - part of the council’s award-winning Tree for Every Citizen scheme - has gone a long way to achieving that and it is fantastic to see the hard work of everyone involved is continually being recognised.

“Tullos Hill Wood has been designed so that the sweeping vistas across the city and the sea are preserved. This has not only helped revitalise the landscape of Tullos Hill but also help promote its wildlife and archaeological significance.

“Public access has also been improved so the hill can continue to thrive and be used for a range of activities for people from all walks of life.”

Chartered Forester Chris Piper, who oversaw the planting on behalf of Aberdeen City Council, added: “I am absolutely delighted for Aberdeen City Council and must commend the authority for the vision it has shown on Tullos Hill.

“The judges focussed on the many positive opportunities the project has triggered and I am delighted it has received the recognition it so rightly deserves.”

Peter Wilson, Director of Scotland’s Finest Woods Awards, said: “As ever the judges have been impressed by the dedication and enthusiasm of everyone involved in each of the schemes they have visited, and equally with the very impressive, high quality applications.”

Tullos Hill Wood received the Royal seal of approval in March during a Buckingham Palace reception hosted by HRH the Princess Royal. Princess Anne is the patron of the Woodland Trust’s Jubilee Woods project.

POLICE have issued further CCTV footage of a missing student on the day of her last confirmed sighting.

• New CCTV footage of Yulia Solodyankina has been released by Police Scotland

• Clip shows Russian student’s last known whereabouts, at Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus Station on Friday, 7 June

Yulia Solodyankina, a 22-year-old Russian who was studying physics at Edinburgh University, was reported missing on Wednesday June 12.

The images show Miss Solodyankina inside Buchanan Street bus station in Glasgow at 4.55pm on Friday June 7.

She walks across the station’s concourse, enters a newsagent, after a minute she leaves, turns around and walks out of view below the information sign.

Miss Solodyankina took a Citylink bus to Glasgow from Edinburgh’s St Andrew Square at 3.25pm.

Chief Inspector Mark Patterson said: “The CCTV footage confirms that Yulia was in Buchanan Street bus station at 4.55pm on Friday June 7 and we continue to carry out inquiries to establish her movements after this point.

“We know that she travelled to Glasgow on a Citylink bus that left St Andrew Square bus station earlier that afternoon and we would appeal to any passengers who had contact with Yulia during that bus journey to come forward.

“Likewise we would appeal to anyone else who has seen or heard from Yulia since she was last seen in Buchanan Street to contact us.”

The missing woman, who speaks fluent English with a strong Russian accent, is described as being 5ft 6in, with a small mole on her left cheek.

Previous CCTV footage released by police shows the student walking in South Bridge in Edinburgh, close to the junction with Infirmary Street, at 2.50pm prior to her bus journey on June 7.

The footage shows her wearing a dark coat with a belt, dark shoulder bag, a red and orange scarf, grey trousers and brown shoes with white laces.

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SCOTLAND’S top dentists have been drafted in to help police identity the woman whose dismembered remains were found in a shallow grave in Edinburgh.

Experts from the Edinburgh Dental Institute have been called in to help after forensic analysis determined the woman had undergone expensive cosmetic dental work.

The woman’s body was discovered within a wooded area of Corstorphine Hill in Edinburgh on Thursday June 6 after a cyclist come across a head unearthed from a shallow grave.

Detective Chief Inspector Keith Hardie from Police Scotland’s Major Investigation Team, who is leading the inquiry, said: “Since this woman’s body was found we have had an excellent response from the public, but we are still awaiting that crucial piece of information which will help us identify her.

“We have already highlighted the fact that she had extensive cosmetic dental work. Thanks to help from the Edinburgh Dental Institute, we have now established a great deal of information around the implants and veneers.

“As a result we are now sharing that information through dental trade publications in the hope that dental professionals might recognise details of the work and bring us closer to identifying this woman.

“I remain confident that, with the help of the public and expert advice, we will find out who this woman is and find those responsible for her murder.”

The dead woman, who police estimate was buried between one and six months ago, is described as being between 32 and 60 years old, white with fair hair, and about 5ft 2in tall.

Detectives believe the woman was dismembered before being brought to the site in a holdall.

Four distinctive rings were found with the body, including a heart-shaped Claddagh ring, sometimes associated with the Irish Catholic travelling community.

However, DCI Hardie said last week that they could not rule out the possibility that the rings had been planted by the murderer to “distract” detectives.

It has also emerged that the DNA profile of the murdered woman is being sent to Europol, the European Union’s law enforcement agency that deals with crime and terrorism, in a bid to identify the body.

Detectives are hoping the law enforcement agency’s national databases can assist in tracking down the woman’s identity.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “Police have circulated the profile of the victim to Europol and are following up requests as a result of this. Inquiries are ongoing and we are appealing for anybody with information to contact us.”

Read more on the Corstorphine Hill body

• Police turn to motor trade

• Body’s DNA sent to Europol

• Police have number of leads

SCOTLAND’S farmers would be receive lower EU payments under independence, the UK’s Minister for Europe David Lidington warned the SNP government today.

• UK Europe Minister David Lidington says farmers in independent Scotland would receive lower EU payments under independence

• Spain, Romania, Poland and Croatia may all veto Scotland’s application, Lidington says

• Scotland would threaten current agricultural subsidies received by eastern European counties

The Conservative minister claimed that an independent Scotland applying to join the EU would have to accept the lower level subsidies for agriculture handed to other nations that had recently become member states.

Mr Lidington insisted that Scotland would be in the same position as nations from Eastern and Central Europe, who he said do not get “their full notional entitlement to agricultural support”.

Mr Lindington also suggested Scotland could face vetoes from Poland, Romania, Croatia and Spain for EU member status.

“It’s not just Spain where the debate about autonomy or even separation is a part of politics,” he said.

“Five EU member states still refuse to recognise Kosovo.

“For Scotland to become a member of the EU in its own right it has to have the unanimous consent of every other member state, not just to the principle of membership but to all the terms of that membership.

“Just one dissenting vote is enough to block accession, or to block any stage of accession, so if one country felt strongly that an independent Scotland should be required to accept the euro then they would have the power of veto.

Farmers

The minister made the claim at Holyrood after he spoke to the parliament’s European and external relations committee today.

Mr Lidington told journalists that an independent Scotland’s status as a new EU member would mean the country’s farmers received less generous European payments than they currently get as part of the UK.

He said: “On agricultural policy, the new member states of eastern and central Europe would have to accept a situation now where they don’t get their full notional entitlement to agricultural support.

“It’s only slowly being transferred to the big recipients in western Europe, so Scotland applying to join the EU would presumably either have to accept that lower level of agricultural support to be in line with all of the other member states, or all of the other eastern European countries would have to agree to Scotland leapfrogging them to get the full entitlement before they got it.

“Would Poland, Romania, Croatia be happy with that? I don’t know but this is another question which it seems to me has not been properly addressed.”

The SNP government insists that an independent Scotland would inherit EU membership from the UK and would be able to negotiate a cut-price membership, with opt-outs from the euro and passport-free travel zone.

However, Mr Lidington said that an independent Scotland would have to seek the unanimous approval of EU member states to rejoin.

The UK minister warned that Scotland could be blocked from joining the EU by nations with internal secessionist movements.

He said: “Just one dissenting vote is enough to block accession, or to block any stage of accession, so if one country felt strongly that an independent Scotland should be required to accept the euro then they

would have the power of veto. It’s not just Spain where the debate about autonomy or even separation is a part of politics.

“Five EU member states still refuse to recognise Kosovo.

“For Scotland to become a member of the EU in its own right it has to have the unanimous consent of every other member state, not just to the principle of membership but to all the terms of that membership.”

However, an SNP government spokesman dismissed Mr Lidington’s claims and suggested that other EU nations would be denied access to Scottish waters if Scotland was blocked from joining.

The spokesman said: “I don’t think Mr Lidington’s comments stack up.

The analogy doesn’t work as he was talking about countries that came into the EU from outside.

“Scotland is already part of the EU and already receives EU agricultural funding.”

“Do other countries want to be blocked from access to the North Sea. Do Spanish and Portuguese fishermen want to be blocked from Scotland’s waters. I don’t think so.”

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