The war on dog dirt is being fought on many fronts.

Our Dish the Dirt hotline is succeeding in encouraging members of the public across Edinburgh to shop lazy dog owners, allowing city council environmental wardens to target problem areas and hit offenders with fines.

For some, that is the only way they are going to get the message that allowing your pet to foul a public place is unacceptable, anti-social, and downright disgusting.

Others, however, may well respond to gentle encouragement to change their behaviour, taking their lead from responsible pet owners.

The Green Dog Walkers scheme launched today runs hand-in-hand with our campaign by creating an army of ambassadors.

By signing the pledge and agreeing to either wear one of the special GDW armbands or put a GDW collar on your dog, you can be a real example to others every time you are out for a walk.

Go on - take the pledge and go green!

An event for all

Congratulations all round to the staff and volunteers at the Edinburgh International Film Festival who produced an excellent programme this year.

It was only two years ago that the film festival’s very future was being debated.

But this year, audience numbers have been strong, there has been some red carpet glamour, and a huge number of premieres to keep the cinephiles happy.

To ensure its continued health, the EIFF much now reach out beyond its boundaries and encourage more ordinary residents to take part. Too many people in Edinburgh - the majority in fact - don’t see the film festival as their event. Yet these same people will happily go to the movies every month. Let’s get everyone in the Capital involved in 2014.

THE SCOTTISH Government today announced plans for a fresh offensive against the wildlife criminals who are continuing to persecute iconic birds of prey including the golden eagle and the sea eagle.

The raft of new measures include proposals to restrict the use of licences to trap and shoot wild birds on land where raptors are suspected to have been poisoned or illegally trapped or shot.

And a special task group is also to be formed to review whether the current penalties available for wildlife crime are adequate in acting as a deterrent.

Announcing the new measures, Paul Wheelhouse, Scotland’s Minister for Environment and Climate Change, said he was determined to end the “outdated, barbaric and criminal practices “ which continued to blight Scotland’s countryside.

He said that a number of recent reports and court cases suggested that wildlife crime, through the use of poisons, illegal trapping and shooting, was continuing to threaten Scotland’s birds of prey. Although 2012 had seen a reduction in poisoning cases, further measures were needed to help prevent more incidents.

‘Barbaric’

Mr Wheelhouse declared:” I am determined to stop illegal persecution of raptors that continues to blight the Scottish countryside. These outdated, barbaric and criminal practices put at risk some of our most magnificent wildlife and have horrified a wide range of people across Scotland and those who love Scotland.

“A number of recent reports, some of which are in the public domain and some of which are still subject to police enquiries, suggest that there is still a problem with the use of poison as well as cases involving illegal trapping and shooting. I have decided therefore that the time is right to bring forward some further measures which I hope will deter those involved in illegal activities. “

He continued: “Wildlife crime, and raptor persecution in particular, often takes place in remote locations or in the dark of night. By its very surreptitious nature, the likelihood of being seen by a member of the public who can report the matter to the authorities is small.

“I have spoken with the Lord Advocate, who maintains a close personal interest in all wildlife crime. We are both keen to maximise the opportunity for offences to be detected and offenders to be tracked down.

“The Lord Advocate has instructed the specialist prosecutors in the Wildlife and Environmental Crime Unit to work with Police Scotland to ensure that law enforcement utilises all investigative tools at their disposal in the fight against wildlife crime.”

Mr Wheelhouse, who is also chairman of PAW (Partnership for Action Against Wildlife Crime) Scotland, has also ordered Scottish Natural Heritage to examine how and when they could restrict the use of General Licences to trap and shoot wild birds on land where they have good reason to believe crimes have taken place. A group will also be established to review how wildlife crime is treated within the legal system including whether the penalties available are adequate.

Public outrage

Duncan Orr-Ewing, Head of Species and Land Management at RSPB Scotland, welcomed the plans for the new crackdown.. He said: “It is firmly established that the prevailing levels of human killing are having a devastating effect on the populations of some of our native bird of prey species, including golden eagle, hen harrier and red kite. Recent incidents involving the killing of golden eagles and other iconic bird of prey species have rightly caused public outrage.

“We welcome the clear leadership shown today by the Scottish Government indicating that these crimes will not be tolerated in modern Scotland. We support further sanctions to act as a deterrent, and to make it easier for the authorities to convict those involved. We hope that these measures will be implemented soon, and are well targeted to bear down on the organised crime behind much of this activity.“

A spokesman for the Scottish Gamekeepers Association added: “Any efforts to target those guilty of illegal practices are wholeheartedly welcomed by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association. The wrongful actions of the few do damage to the wildlife of Scotland and to the reputations of the vast majority of gamekeepers and game managers who operate responsibly and with care for nature in Scotland.”

He continued: “The Scottish Gamekeepers Association also welcomes the Minister’s emphasis on the Scottish legal system to impose the appropriate sanctions in these cases.

Can you locate this Edinburgh building?

THIS WEEK the EdinburghSketcher invites us to play the WhereArtI quiz...

This sketch was used for my WhereArtI quiz a couple of Mondays ago. Do you recognise the building? If you do let me know below, or on the Scostman facebook page {http://www.facebook.com/scotsmanonline|HERE|Link to facebook} where you will see a higher quality version of the sketch. I’ll let you know the answer this time tomorrow :)

You can see the full sketch on the {http://www.facebook.com/scotsmanonline|Scotsman facebook page|Link to facebook}.

• And remember EdinburghSketcher’s weekly WhereArtI sketch quiz is live every Monday at 8am {http://edinburghsketcher.com/wherearti|WhereArtI|Link to website}. How well do you know Edinburgh?

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This is Debbie Harry talking from her home in New York: “I am vain about my looks. But as I get older I sort of wonder how people will respond to me. When I’m an old prune. Maybe I’ll get sad. But I can always look back at my old pictures and say ‘God, I was cute!’ I’ve had a good run really.”

The 68-year-old prune, her birthday today, makes a come-back at the Usher Hall tomorrow. With custard, please, Deborah!

The truth is out

Another of those damn surveys but, hey, listen. Just one person in five believes that MPs tell the truth. Do me a favour and make that one in four.

Up to 72 per cent of MPs in general have been voted untrustworthy, more interested in themselves than in their country. As if we didn’t know.

Swim for it

Now get the hell out’s what I say. We’ve just deported back to Australia the nutter who screwed up last year’s Boat Race, swimming in the paths of Oxford and Cambridge.

And quite right, too. Trumpeted a Home Office official: “Those who come to the UK must abide by our laws.”

The journey a designer takes from collection to world domination is bespoke to the individual.

And although no one story is the same when a designer finds fame, parallels can be drawn and a blueprint laid out to aid their adventure.

Education is the jumping-off point, be it art school a la Jonathan Saunders or apprenticeship like Alexander McQueen.

During the last few months I’ve been going behind the scenes of the fashion world to find out what it really takes for a designer to crack the industry.

As my journey reaches the halfway point, one element comes up time and time again as I talk with insiders from all walks of the business.

Connections.

It all begins from the base around you, irrespective of where those roots lie.

Friends and family are the jumping-off network to a wide-scale web.

Wayne and Gerradine Hemingway roped in aunties and their mates to staff sewing machines when Macy’s first big order came Red or Dead’s way.

Christopher Kane attributes the partnership with his sister Tammy as the reason Donatella Versace took an interest. The synergy in their sibling relationship mirroring the one she had with brother Gianni.

That person standing right beside you could have the capacity to change your life – all you have to do is talk about it with them.

• {http://www.twitter.comlynnemccrossan|Follow Lynne McCrossan on Twitter|www.twitter.comlynnemccrossan}

• {http://www.lynnemccrossan.com|Check out Lynne’s Website|http://www.lynnemccrossan.com}

• {http://www.lynne-mccrossan.blogspot.com|Lynne’s blog|www.lynne-mccrossan.blogspot.com}

We normally don’t have much luck with our Scottish weather. But finally we do seem – after what feels to have been several years of gloomy summers – to have the summertime we’ve all be longing for.

Let’s be honest, we all love a bit of sunshine. But what the tempting glimpses of summer of late have shown us is that sunny days are also very good for local businesses – and that’s something we all should be happy about.

In simple terms, as soon as the sun comes out, it tempts many of us to go outside. From trips to Portobello beach, to coastal runs to Gullane and North Berwick to garden barbecues, there’s nothing like a spot of sunshine to help us all enjoy the tourist destinations under our noses.

That’s a great boost for the many businesses in Edinburgh and the Lothians, most of them small or sole traders, who have continued to trade successfully despite the combination of the economic downturn and the awful summer weather that has blighted Scotland in the past few years.

An upturn in business means more supplies are ordered from other local businesses, more staff get hired, or part-time staff work more hours, allowing them to spend more in the local economy – and so the circle of benefits continues.

One example to illustrate this is the surge in alfresco dining, an activity usually associated with an expensive holiday on the Med but which is now back on the agenda for many.

Our businesses at Goblin Ha’ and The Golf Inn are already up almost a third, with diners taking advantage of our outdoor spaces. That’s mainly down to an upturn in visitors coming from Edinburgh and beyond returning to a more nostalgic “let’s go out for a drive” culture in the long summer evenings and weekends.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s great to see such a surge in commerce, but I appreciate it’s too easy for local firms to rely solely on the weather.

Knowing Scotland, it could all be a distant memory as you get out the brollies the very next day. So I believe the business community itself needs to think more about the consumer experience to ensure the customer is happy at all times – with good food and great service – and keeps returning when the weather fades.

But in the meantime, let’s embrace the summer. And if you do head out to enjoy a lazy day at the beach or an evening meal, just think of the value you’ll be bringing to help local businesses get back on their feet.

Rob Reeley is the owner of Goblin Ha’ in Gifford and the Golf Inn Hotel in Gullane.

IT might just be the best job in the world – as long as you like a dram.

Biddy Mulligan’s bar in the Capital is expecting to be drowning in offers after advertising for a “freelance whisky consultant” to come in and help keep its stock of 120 whiskies in good shape. There’s no pay, but then the job is not strenuous. According to general manager Donal Hurrell, it will involve “turning up, admiring the vast whisky collection and recommending the best.”

Call of Duty for Capital’s retired gals

WHILE young women across Scotland are getting back into the habit of knitting with trendy stitch’n’bitch sessions, it seems the older generation are going the other way – with a new survey suggesting almost half of Edinburgh’s retired women have swapped knitting needles for a games controller.

A huge number of over-65s describe themselves as video-gamers, although they do stick to puzzle games rather than war simulators such as Call of Duty.

Working their ticket

DOZENS of people who found what appeared to be parking tickets on their cars in George Street were left bemused after reading the small print. The cheeky “tickets” featuring realistic warnings, were issued by Edinbroke council and were actually a promotion for a local club night.

A deadly mistake

Author Irvine Welsh was forced to apologise to his followers on Twitter after mistakenly tweeting about the death of Nelson Mandela – after someone sent him a link to a fake news website. In true Welsh style, his response to finding out he had been duped cannot be reprinted here.

IS it possible for charities to do too good a job in raising ­awareness, to be so active and generate so many reports and column inches that we all become over-familiar with the cause?

If so, breast cancer must be getting pretty close. And perhaps the only reason I can get away with saying that, is that I have had it, worn the T-shirt, flashed the pink ribbon and had the mastectomy.

I was extremely fortunate and didn’t need any chemotherapy or follow-up treatments other than a belt-and-braces five-year course of Tamoxifen.

So I was interested to hear that the same drug was now being offered as an alternative to preventative ­mastectomy for women at high risk of developing the disease. Certainly a double mastectomy, just in case you might go on to develop breast cancer, seems a bit drastic, so the more ­options the better.

What disturbed me though was the way it was reported as being a relatively simple solution. “A pill to prevent breast cancer”. Oh yes, the possible side effects were mentioned, but without full appreciation of what these might entail.

If you have had breast cancer, been through the surgery to put bits of you in the bucket, and are relying on Tamoxifen to prevent it coming back and spreading, these side effects seem minimal. Hot flushes, erratic hormonal behaviour and menopausal confusion are tame next to the chemo you might have required. Another possible side effect is cancer of the womb. That requires monitoring too and for me involved a couple of minor ops for biopsies along the way just to make sure that reducing the recurrence in one area hadn’t fired it up in another. Again, I was lucky, though I met one Edinburgh woman who went through the nightmare of developing womb cancer because of the treatment she’d received for breast cancer – Tamoxifen.

Charities have been very efficient in getting across the message that one in eight women will get breast cancer. In fact I’ve done my share of speaking to groups on that very ­subject. The problem is with public perception. We have a tendency to think that something so common must be preventable, and to think that modern medicine is an exact ­science of magic bullets and outright cures rather than an educated guess at best treatment on the basis of ­research and probabilities. The idea of a pill as an alternative to breast ­removal seems like a no-brainer.

Yet, knowing what I know now, and if I had been a suitable candidate, I can say without any doubt that I would have gone for surgery any day. That seems a ­simpler solution than being well and so far ­cancer-free, yet choosing to depend on a powerful drug that might help me stay that way or might simply cause cancer in another area not to mention playing havoc with my hormones and making me feel even slightly ill.

Who knows, but I imagine ­Angelina Jolie had the same options and chose the knife.

Keep the money coming in to those charities. There is still a very long way to go.

Agenda unfair to a gender

FEMALE workers at Dumfries and Galloway Council have won a landmark ruling from the Supreme Court in London giving women the right to the same pay as men doing a job of equal value. The Institute of Directors’ David Watt describes it as “a frightening judgement” and one that could seriously damage businesses.

Tough. They’ve had plenty of time to introduce equal pay. Some might close as a result and some jobs might be lost. But the alternative – letting them continue to exploit people – would simply facilitate an ongoing race to the bottom as far as employee rights are concerned, resulting in far worse damage to the economy.

Unclassy way to welcome the First Minister

COUNCILLORS in Aberdeen have asked for an investigation into Alex Salmond’s conduct because he breached child protection and security rules by taking up an invitation from a PTA member to pop into a local school and meet Primary 6 pupils – without the head teacher’s permission. What “risk” do they think he and his aides posed?

At worst it was a breach of polite protocol. Most head teachers would be delighted that their children had a chance to meet the First Minister, regardless of his political party. Can you imagine a headteacher in England being anything other than welcoming to an unexpected visit by the Prime Minister?

Plain speaking from Osborne

GEORGE Osborne has announced that out-of-work benefit payments will not be paid to those who cannot speak English, at least to the standard expected from nine-year-olds. That’s not to say they shouldn’t be able to work here if they can find a job where there’s an interpreter, or where some sort of sign language and pidgeon English is sufficient. But if someone can’t be bothered either to work or to learn English to give themselves the best chance of getting a job, why did they come here, if not to leech off the system?

NHS Lothian’s decision to withdraw funding for homeopathy is a slap in the face for the patients who attended the public meetings during the health board’s “consultation” and who were overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the service.

The scant regard Professor Alex McMahon and his colleagues have given to the views of patients appears to be the antithesis of current thinking within the NHS on how to improve healthcare provision.

Don Berwick, the health quality expert brought in by the government to deal with problems following the Mid-Staffs debacle, has stated that the way to improve quality in health care is to put the patient, their family and their community at the absolute centre of all decision making. His simple suggestion – to ask the patient: “What can I do for you today?” Then quietly listen to what they have to say.

NHS Lothian, however, prefers to base its decisions on the results of an online survey, which by its own admission, anyone from anywhere could respond to and claim to live in Lothian.

On learning of the health board’s online survey, those opposed to homeopathy were exhorting their supporters, wherever they lived, to complete the questionnaire.

This led to the results being skewed and unrepresentative of the views of local people.

Is this putting patients and the local community at the centre of all decision making?

It is often stated by those opposed to complementary medicine that there is no evidence supporting the efficacy of homeopathy as a medical therapy. This simply is not true. The balance of evidence from clinical trials and patient reported outcome studies shows there is a therapeutic benefit from using homeopathy to treat certain conditions.

The BHA accepts this is not conclusive evidence of efficacy, but homeopathy is not the only medical therapy where this is the case. The BMJ has published an evidence check of 3000 therapies used in the NHS and found 50 per cent had “unknown effectiveness”. Will NHS Lothian be withdrawing funding for these therapies too?

To axe the homeopathic service on economic grounds makes no sense either, for patients currently receiving homeopathic treatment are not going to disappear. Many of them have chronic problems and have found help from homeopathy after undergoing a series of costly conventional treatments that have failed to provide relief from their symptoms.

Withdrawing funding for homeopathy will inevitably result in an increase in GP appointments, referrals to secondary care services and prescribing costs for conventional medicine – a strange approach to making the health service more cost effective.

To tell patients receiving homeopathic treatment that it has been decided that their choice of treatment, although prescribed by a medical doctor, is a bad one and will be denied them, is autocratic and not centred on the patient, their family or their community.

Is this the new NHS? Highly paid health service managers telling patients to give up their right to make decisions about their own health care choices, and instead defer that responsibility to opinion polls, the results of which have been influenced by people from outside the community.

If so, then it is not only homeopathy that is at risk in Lothian.

John Cook is chairman of the British Homeopathic Association

FAMOUS Grouse overtook Bell’s to become the best-selling blended whisky in the UK in the past year, helping parent group Edrington to grow its sales by 6 per cent to a record £591.3 million.

Promotions for the Queen’s diamond jubilee helped boost sales at home, while overseas it became the world’s fourth-largest “standard” Scotch, overtaking Grant’s and Dewar’s.

Profits grew by 13 per cent to £168.6m, allowing the Robertson Trust – Scotland’s largest grant-giving charity, which owns Edgrinton – to up its donations to £15.3m from £14.7m. Chief executive Ian Curle’s pay fell to £1.29m from £1.34m after he received less from incentive plans.

Curle {http://www.scotsman.com/business/management/famous-grouse-maker-in-10m-expansion-1-2969165|told The Scotsman last month|story on Edrington’s expansion plans} that he is considering expanding production.

A FACIAL reconstruction of a murder victim, discovered on Corstorphine Hill, has been released by police trying to identify her.

The middle-aged woman was found by a cyclist, having been killed and dismembered before being dumped in a shallow grave.

Detective Chief Inspector Keith Hardie, who is leading the investigation, said: “It is now 25 days since this woman’s body was discovered.

“In that time we have worked with a range of experts and agencies to help us get more information on who she might be and how she came to be in Edinburgh.

“Today, thanks to the work of facial reconstruction experts at Dundee University, we have released an image of the woman’s face.

“We are confident that this is a very accurate representation of how the woman looked and so I’m asking the public - does the image resemble someone you know but perhaps haven’t seen or heard from for some time?

“As I’ve said from the outset, this is someone’s daughter, she could be someone’s mother.

“Somebody know who she is and when we’ve established her identity, we’ll have gone a long way to establishing who was responsible for her murder.”

THE driver of a car, which overturned in a crash on a rural road in Angus in which his three teenage passengers were injured, was in a critical condition in hospital today.

The Tayside Division of Police Scotland are continuing their investigation into the accident at 3.40am on Sunday morning on the B9113 Forfar to Montrose road, close to the crossroads to Turin and Balgavies.The Black Peugeot 106 in which the four men were travelling ended on its roof after colliding with a wall.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “Tayside Division officers and a trauma team attended and the four occupants of the car were taken by ambulance to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. The driver of the car, a 19 year-old man, is in a critical condition in Ninewells Hospital with head and chest injuries.

“The front seat passenger, a 19 year-old man, sustained a head injury and is in a serious but stable condition in Ninewells Hospital. One of the back seat passengers, a 19 year-old man, sustained a number of facial fractures and underwent surgery in Ninewells Hospital. He’s in a stable condition. The other backseat passenger, a 17 year-old man, sustained significant bruising but was not seriously injured.”

He added: “ The road was closed for a number of hours to allow crash investigators to examine the scene. It has since been reopened. Anyone who witnessed the incident take place or anyone who remembers seeing the Peugeot 106 car on the road should get in touch with Police Scotland Tayside Division on 101 or speak to any police officer.”

APPLE Inc has applied for a trademark for “iWatch” in Japan, a patent official said on Monday, signaling the iPhone maker may be moving ahead with plans for a watch-like device as gadget makers turn their attention to wearable computers.

The trademark application, submitted on June 3 and released on the Japan Patent Office website on June 27, would cover computers, computer peripherals and wristwatches, the official said. He said it was unknown how long the application process would require.

An Apple spokesman in Japan could not immediately be reached for comment.

Speculation has mounted that Apple is preparing to launch an iWatch and CEO Tim Cook told a gathering of tech and media executives a month ago that wearable products were ripe for exploration, but added he was skeptical, including about Google Inc’s recently unveiled Glass which combines a mobile computer and eyeglasses.

“There’s nothing that’s going to convince a kid who has never worn glasses or a band or a watch to wear one, or at least I haven’t seen it,” Cook said.

Wearable devices are considered a potential area for hit products as smartphones such as the iPhone and Samsung Electronics Co’s Galaxy series are losing their ability to impress consumers and investors.

Samsung, which has leapfrogged Apple as the world’s leading smartphone maker, is also developing a wearable device similar to a wristwatch, a source with knowledge of the matter has said.

The New York Times reported in February that Apple was experimenting with the design of a device similar to a wristwatch that would operate on the same iOS platform as its iPhone and iPad and would be made with curved glass.

Read more on the Apple iWatch

• iWatch patent details revealed

• Samsung confirms plans for iWatch rival

Voters will find it “impossible to understand” if MPs are awarded a bumper pay rise, Nick Clegg has warned.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he would not accept an award well in excess of the pay increases for other public sector workers.

His warning came amid reports that the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) is considering giving MPs a pay rise of about £7,500, taking Westminster salaries to £75,000.

Speaking at the first of his planned monthly Whitehall news conferences, Mr Clegg made clear that such a rise would be unacceptable to voters.

“My own view is that the public would find it impossible to understand – particularly as [there are] millions of people in the public sector whose pay is only increasing by 1 per cent – that their parliamentary representatives at a time like this would be receiving pay increases far in excess of that 1 per cent increase,” he said.

“Speaking for myself, I would certainly seek to do whatever I can to make sure that either this decision is not taken in the first place – but that’s out of my hands – but, secondly, if it were to be taken, not to take that pay increase.”

Prime Minister David Cameron has already urged Ipsa to “show restraint” warning it would be “unthinkable” to make Westminster more expensive to the taxpayer, while Labour leader Ed Miliband has also signalled his opposition to such a large increase.

Sources have indicated the regulator would suggest raising MPs’ pay to £75,000 a year, in a series of increases starting in 2015, coupled with much higher pension contributions.

Mr Cameron said he did not know what the independent body would recommend.

But he added: “Whatever Ipsa recommends we can’t see the cost of politics or Westminster going up.

“We should see the cost of Westminster go down.”

He added: “Anything would be unthinkable unless the cost of politics was frozen and cut, so I’ll wait and see what Ipsa have to say.

“What I said to Ipsa was that restraint is necessary.”

The Prime Minister’s plans to cut costs by reducing the number of MPs by 50 to 600 were ruined when the Liberal Democrats turned against them after Tory opposition blocked reform of the Lords.

Mr Cameron said: “I famously had a plan for reducing the House of Commons which was nearly there.

“Actually, the House of Commons voted for it. I’m the first Prime Minister who achieved this feat of getting the House of Commons to reduce their number.

“For one reason or another that fell apart.”

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps said it would be for the next parliament to decide on the Ipsa recommendations but that the Tory manifesto would “more than likely say that in the next parliament the costs of politics should fall”.

He repeatedly declined to say whether he would personally refuse a large rise, telling BBC News: “I am clear that, in times of austerity, everybody should be a part of that and I am also clear, on behalf of the Conservative Party, that in the next parliament – and these recommendations which have not even come out yet are about the next parliament in 2015 – that we would not want to see the cost of politics rise.”

A Downing Street spokesman declined to say whether the Prime Minister would accept any increase in his MP’s salary recommended by Ipsa.

SEE ALSO:

David Maddox: Rewarding MPs may be price worth paying

TWO more people have been admitted to hospital with Legionnaires’ Disease in the greater Glasgow area, taking the number of confirmed cases to five.

• Legionnaires’ disease cases in greater Glasgow rise to five after two more people admitted to hospital

• Two patients are responding well to treatment in hospital, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde say

• All cases being linked to Renfrew area

A possible link to Renfrew is being investigated by public health authorities after it emerged that all five people being treated for the disease had some connection with the area.

The outbreak comes just over a year after three people died and more than a hundred were treated after an outbreak of

Legionnaire’s Disease in the west of Edinburgh.

Investigations are ongoing in Renfrew to try to trace a possible source of the latest outbreak, which cannot be passed from person to person, but is often linked to an environmental cause – such as inadequately cleaned cooling towers.

Health experts in Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the two most recent cases follow another three cases which were reported last week.

The two patients are being treated in hospital and are responding well to treatment, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) said.

Two of the patients diagnosed last week have already been released from hospital while the third is described as in a stable condition and responding well to treatment.

Two of the five cases live in the Renfrew area and the other three have either visited or worked there during the two-week incubation period of the disease.

Dr Gillian Penrice, NHSGGC consultant in public health, said: “Through our detailed interviews with the five cases we have established that they have all had some connection to the Renfrew area.

“So far Renfrew appears to be the only common factor that we have identified between the cases. As such we are focusing our further investigations in this area for any possible sources of the disease.

“We are working closely with our partners in Renfrewshire Council, other local authorities, the Health and Safety Executive and Health Protection Scotland to investigate possible sources.

“These investigations include visiting all water cooling towers within a 6km radius of the homes of the Renfrew cases, which follows national guidance on the investigation of such cases.”

The Edinburgh outbreak last summer led to the deaths of three men among 101 confirmed and suspected cases.

Although public health bodies carried out a survey of cooling towers in the area the source of the outbreak was never identified.

Last month, one of the victims of the Edinburgh outbreak called for a public inquiry – saying too many questions had been left unanswered.

John McLaren, who lives in Gorgie was admitted to hospital in May last year and is believed to have been the first Edinburgh resident diagnosed with the disease in the 2012 outbreak.

Th 64-year-old, who spent three weeks in intensive care said: “I’m just so incredibly frustrated by the lack of information. Right from the start there seems to have been a wall of silence. None of the authorities have ever given us real information.

“I hate to think about something similar happening again, but how can we learn lessons if no information is being shared.”

Legionnaires’ disease is an uncommon but serious form of pneumonia, caused by bacteria distributed widely in natural and artificial water supplies.

The symptoms include headache, fever, dry cough, breathing difficulties, stomach pains and diarrhoea.

The health board said water cooling towers in the Renfrewshire area are being treated with chemicals as a precautionary measure.

SEE ALSO

• {http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/transport/legionella-bacteria-found-at-tram-depot-1-2819433|Legionella bacteria found at tram depot|March 4, 2013}

People are getting “suspicious” about the delay in implementing the Leveson proposals on press regulation, former Cabinet minister Lord Fowler said today.

• Lord Fowler questions delay in press regulations proposed in wake of Leveson inquiry

• Anger as the Press’ draft of the Royal Charter is given “precedence” by the Privy Council over charter drafted by the Government

The Tory peer and former journalist said it was nearly four months since Parliament overwhelmingly agreed a way forward that “protected the freedom of the press but also the public from the abuse of press power”.

He raised his concerns in the House of Lords as the Government came under pressure to explain why the press-backed draft Royal Charter on regulation was being considered by the Privy Council before an alternative cross-party version.

The cross-party version was agreed in the light of Lord Justice Leveson’s investigation into press ethics following the phone-hacking scandal.

Lord Fowler asked Cabinet Office spokesman Lord Wallace of Saltaire: “Are you aware that many people today are suspicious about the long delay in implementing these proposals?

“We believe we have had the debate and, basically, now we should just get on with it.”

Lord Wallace said “some elements” of the March 18 cross-party agreement had been implemented.

“On 30 April the Press Board of Finance petitioned the Privy Council with its own draft Royal Charter which is now being considered,” he said.

“When that has been considered the conclusions will be published and the submission of the Government’s own Royal Charter will come up again.”

For the Opposition, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara said Parliament agreed in March to send the cross-party draft Royal Charter to the Privy Council in time for their May meeting, but that had not happened.

“Can you confirm Parliament’s Leveson compliant Royal Charter will be submitted to the Privy Council for approval at the 10 July meeting?” he demanded.

Lord Wallace said it was “not appropriate” for the Privy Council to consider more than one Royal Charter at the same time on the same issue.

“You may consider that the press board has been extremely clever in what it has done and draw your conclusions from that,” he said.

And he added: “The Press Board of Finance submitted their petition to the Privy Council before the Government had presented its own Royal Charter. I understand that that gives it precedence over the Government’s own Royal Charter.”

Former Tory Cabinet minister Lord Forsyth demanded: “Can you explain how the Government got second in the queue on a matter of this importance?”

Lord Wallace told him: “I suspect there was some very fast footwork by the press.”

But Labour’s Lord Richard, a former leader of the House, asked: “Are you seriously saying that the order in which the Privy Council considers these matters is the order in which they are submitted to the Privy Council?

“If that is so, it is a most incredible position. Is there no way in which the Privy Council can draw up a list of priorities as to what they wish to consider first?

“Or are they solely bound by whoever gets his head through the door first is the one that is considered first? It’s ludicrous.”

Lord Wallace said he had taken on board the strength of feeling on the issue.

A look ahead to the best one-off events and festivals taking place in Scotland this week, including the East Neuk Festival, gigs from Belle & Sebastian and Adam Stafford, Bard in the Botanics and the Kelburn Garden Party.

Music: Belle & Sebastian

Ironworks, Inverness

Mon 1 Jul, 7pm, £25; more info

Scotland’s biggest cult band have been quiet of late while frontman Stuart Murdoch has been filming God Help The Girl, the celluloid version of the album of the same name. But now, B&S are stirring again with plans to release a compilation of b-sides and rarities called The Third Eye Centre, a slew of festival dates and talk of recording again in the autumn. Before all of that, though, they play their first-ever gig in Inverness.

Festival: East Neuk Festival

Various venues, East Neuk, Fife

Wed 3 – Sun 7 Jul; more info

As if you need any more reason to visit this picturesque part of the Fife coastline, with its fishing villages, beaches and historic harbours, the East Neuk Festival provides several anyway. The multi-genre programme covers everything from classical music (The Tokyo String Quartet and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra) to literature (Andrew Greig with The Incredible String Band’s Mike Heron) and art.

Music: Adam Stafford

Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh

Thu 4 Jul, 7.30pm, £6; more info

Former Y’All Is Fantasy Island frontman turned alt-pop solo artist Adam Stafford is set to release another excellent album, Imaginary Walls Collapse, this time through Edinburgh’s Song, by Toad record label. You can hear tracks from this, alongside a few choice cuts from his debut, 2011′s Build a Harbour Immediately, in the intimate setting of the Wee Red Bar. First class support comes from RM Hubbert and Siobhan Wilson.

Theatre: Bard in the Botanics

Botanic Gardens, Glasgow

Throughout July; more info

When it rains, it’s hell; but on a beautiful summer evening, it’s as close to heaven – and to the heart of Shakespeare – as Scottish theatre can take you. So risk the weather, and head off to Glasgow’s Botanic Gardens for this year’s Shakespeare season. Director Gordon Barr’s Othello runs for another week; and it’s followed, in July, by a light-hearted remix of Much Ado About Nothing, and a short, sharp Julius Caesar, in the Kibble Palace.

Film: Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

Selected cinemas, including Glasgow Film Theatre

From Fri 5 Jul; more info

Three young women face seven years in a Russian prison for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral. But who is really on trial in a case that has gripped the nation and the world beyond – the artists or the society they live in? Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s absorbing documentary takes us straight into the centre of the ensuing trial, with extraordinary access.

Festival: Kelburn Garden Party

Kelburn Castle, near Largs

Sat 6, Sun 7 Jul, £69 for weekend; more info

Festival season continues, and this weekend it’s Kelburn Garden Party’s turn. Like the finest boutique events, this weekender boasts an eclectic smattering of artists, musicians and DJs, as well as family activities and special events to make the most of the unique, historic setting. Acts appearing this year include Mr Scruff, Hidden Orchestra and Conquering Animal Sound.

Music: Mendelssohn on Mull

Various venues, Mull

Until Sat 6 Jul; more info

It’s worth getting over to Mull this week for the 25th Mendelssohn on Mull Festival. At the heart of the music-making are three string groups performing in a variety of charming venues, from Iona Abbey to Duart Castle. The artists will play a variety of quartets, quintets, sextets and octets by Schubert, Shostakovich, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Haydn and Mozart. Apart from Iona Abbey, all concerts are free of charge.

Art: Tomorrow Never Knows: Ed Atkins and Naheed Raza

CCA, Glasgow

Until 20 July; more info

The Jerwood/Film and Video Umbrella Awards allow moving image artists to pilot new ideas by offering financial and structural support, and two recent recipients are showing new commissions at the CCA in Glasgow. Ed Atkins has recently hurtled into the art stratosphere showing at Chisenhale, the Tate and this year’s Venice biennale, while Naheed Raza’s scientific background informs her elegant exploration of the strange world of cryonics.

Days out: Fife Regatta

Fairlie Quay Marina, Largs, Ayrshire

Until Fri 5 Jul; more info

Don’t be fooled by the name, because this Regatta is far from the East Neuk, and is actually all about welcoming back the yachts built by William Fife & son in the town between the turn of the 20th century and 1940. Even if you’re not lucky enough to be out at sea, anyone can look on at the nautical action from the shores during this eight-day event.

Days out: Linlithgow Civic Festival

Various venues, Linlithgow

From Sun 7 Jul; more info

A celebration of Scottish culture with ceilidhs, dances and sport events in the West Lothian town. The yearly event is fortnight of traditional music performances, ceilidhs, a gala, sport events and dances.

Find more things to do on our events website, WOW247.co.uk

Edinburgh Town Council yesterday decided fee paying should be continued in municipal general hospitals, and a remit was made to the Town Clerk and the City Chamberlain to report as to whether any alteration should be made in the method of admission to hospitals.

A Socialist motion to abolish fee paying was defeated by 32 votes to 13. A proposal to set up a Corporation Works Department for housing led to considerable discussion, and was rejected by a large majority. By 39 votes to 16 the minute of the last meeting of the Council relating to the reconstruction of the Waverley Market was approved. The proposal is to extend the market over the Waverley Station for about 30 square yards. This will involve the raising of the roof of the market by four feet, and the erection of a cupola on a line not less than 160 feet south of Princes Street.

Events, birthdays and anniversaries for 2 July

2 JULY

1644: The Battle of Marston Moor took place near York. The Cromwellian victory over the Royalist Cavaliers under Prince Rupert was the turning point in the Civil War.

1865: The Salvation Army was started by William Booth.

1881: James Garfield, 20th United States president, was shot by Charles Guiteau in Washington DC. He died on 19 September.

1890: Brussels Act was passed by international conference to eradicate African slave trade and liquor traffic with primitive peoples.

1900: The second Olympic Games opened in Paris.

1900: Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin flew his first airship from a field on the outskirts of Berlin.

1940: The Vichy government was formed after the collapse of France, with Henri Pétain as head of state.

1940: More than 440 interned Italians, many from families settled in Scotland, drowned when German submarine sank British prison ship Arandora Star on her way to Canada.

1966: France exploded atomic bomb at a Pacific atoll in first of series of six tests.

1972: Indira Gandhi and president Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto signed agreement ending the Indo-Pakistan war.

1990: Failure of ventilation system in pedestrian tunnel linking holy city of Mecca and tent city caused stampede in which 1,400 pilgrims died.

1990: Imelda Marcos, wife of the former president of the Philippines, found not guilty of fraud in New York.

1994: Colombian World Cup star Andres Escobar, who scored an own goal as his side was knocked out of the tournament, was shot dead after returning home.

2001: Barry George was jailed for life at the Old Bailey for the murder of the television presenter Jill Dando on the doorstep of her home in west London in 1999. His conviction was judged unsafe by the Court of Appeal and was quashed in 2007. After a retrial, on 1 August 2008 he was found not guilty and freed.

2002: Steve Fossett, an American millionaire businessman, became the first person to fly a balloon solo round the world. In February 2008, five months after he and his light aircraft went missing on flight in Nevada, a Chicago court declared him officially dead.

2008: Ingrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages held by Farc guerrillas, were rescued by the Colombian armed forces.

BIRTHDAYS

Jerry Hall, actress and model, 57; Lee Boardman, actor, 41; Kenneth Clarke, MP, chancellor of the Exchequer 1993-7, Secretary of State for Justice, Lord Chancellor, 73; Peter Kay, actor and comedian, 40; Mark Kermode, film critic, 50; Lindsay Lohan, actress, 27; Lord Mackay of Clashfern KT, Lord High Chancellor 1987-97, 86; Lord Owen, foreign secretary 1977-80, 75; George Simpson, Baron Simpson of Dunkeld, chief executive, Marconi 1996-2001, 71.

ANNIVERSARIES

Births: 1489 Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; 1903 Lord Home of the Hirsel, Prime Minister 1963-64; 1903 King Olav V of Norway; 1904 Rene Lacoste, tennis champion.

Deaths: 1566 Nostradamus, astrologer; 1778 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, philosopher; 1937 Amelia Earhart, aviator (disappeared in the Pacific); 1961 Ernest Hemingway, novelist; 1973 Betty Grable, actress; 1977 Vladimir Nabokov, novelist; 1 997 James Stewart, actor; 2010 Dame Beryl Bainbridge DBE, novelist.

Recruitment specialist Search Consultancy doubled its operating profits last year as it diversified into outsourcing.

It posted an operating profit of £3.1 million for 2012, up from £1.5m in 2011. The firm, founded in Glasgow in 1987, grew turnover by 8 per cent to £125m. It now employs 550 staff at 14 offices across the UK, including bases in Aberdeen, Dundee, Dunfermline and Edinburgh.

Chief executive Grahame Caswell said Search’s strategic push into delivering outsourcing services as well as traditional recruitment was one of drivers behind its improved performance.

“We believe there is significant capacity in the market to expand this area of the business and we expect our next results to benefit further from this strategic initiative,” he said.

Caswell said the consultancy had significantly improved its financial performance in what has been a “challenging” economic climate for the recruitment industry.

He added: “This period has given us the opportunity to consolidate our position in the market, review our direction and establish a platform to realise new sales opportunities across what we see as a rapidly improving marketplace.

“This strategy has been reflected in a number of new business wins during the financial year, which have contributed to our improved financial performance.”