A RETIRED businessman leading the charge to buy Hearts said it was “almost inevitable” the club would have to quit Tynecastle.

Bob Jamieson has joined forces with an unnamed Edinburgh businessman and Jon Pritchett, CEO of American sports agency Club 9, to make the reported £5 million bid for the club’s shares.

The trio are understood to favour a move away from Tynecastle, with the main stand in particular need of substantial repair, and are looking to reignite old proposals to dismantle and rebuild sections of the ground.

The proposals could see the three newest stands, built in the 1990s, taken down and moved next to Murrayfield with a new main stand built to increase capacity.

New company HMFC Ltd, with Mr Jamieson currently the sole director, has been set up as “the vehicle” for the bid.

Peebles-based Mr Jamieson, who has a background in motorsports, told the Evening News: “If I have my chance I will still do whatever I can to remain at Tynecastle but I don’t think it’s likely because of the cost. I know fans would prefer to stay there but I think they understand.

“I’m a life-long Hearts supporter who has kept an interest in this club for some time.

“Hearts is a club with a great reputation, it is 140 years old and has the potential to attract a big customer base even around Edinburgh. Neutrals would come to Hearts because it is a nice venue and there would be space. They were always a glamour club for me and have a good reputation for doing things properly.”

Mr Jamieson was involved in previous offers to buy Hearts in 1999 and 2011.

Club 9 Sports has previously been involved in failed bids for clubs including Rangers and Sheffield Wednesday.

Administrators BDO have named Friday as the deadline for offers to buy Hearts with the united supporters group the Foundation of Hearts set to make an offer.

The Foundation has held informal talks with other interested parties including one fronted by former Scottish Rugby Union chief executive, Gordon McKie, although the alliance was quashed when the McKie group said it did not have the funds.

Around 5000 supporters have set up direct debits to help fund the club should a bid by the Foundation be successful.

William Morrin, 50, who is part of Save Our Hearts, said he was sceptical of the new bid.

He said: “The things I’ve heard about some of the names involved are not good. I’ve not heard anything positive about them at all and that they’ve been laughed out of places before. The last thing we need is for groups to be getting fans’ hopes up. One thing’s for sure about whoever comes in is we will not let this happen again.”

A MAN who lost his Edinburgh GP wife and unborn child to sepsis has set up a charity to raise awareness of the illness which claims about 37,000 lives in the UK every year. Fiona Agnew was 35 weeks pregnant when she developed symptoms and her daughter Isla Elspeth was stillborn.

Doctors could not save the 38-year-old mother and she died at Forth Valley Hospital in Larbert, Falkirk a few hours later

Craig Stobo, a senior manager at PricewaterhouseCooper, said he hopes that money raised by Feat, (Fiona Elizabeth Agnew Trust), launched 11 months after her death, will fund research into the relatively common but unrecognised illness.

Speaking of the double tragedy 43-year-old Craig said: “ It was the darkest period of my life. In one weekend my world was turned upside down”.

Sepsis is when the body’s response to an infection causes shock and multiple organ failure, often leading to death.

The most common examples of infection that trigger sepsis are pneumonia, urinary tract infections and meningitis.

Dr Agnew worked as a doctor in a GP surgery in Bo’ness and lived with Craig and son Robert in Edinburgh.

Mr Stob fell ill at the same time as his wife in August last year, although the source of infection has not been established. He has now fully recovered.

“While I was being treated with intravenous antibiotics in the acute ward of the Western General Hospital in Edinburgh, I learned that Fiona had also fallen ill.

“It turned out she had succumbed to the same condition, and was seriously ill in Forth Valley Hospital in Larbert.

Unfortunately, her symptoms advanced much quicker and her system was compromised due to her pregnancy.

“Isla was still born and a few hours later, despite the latest medical techniques, machines and antibiotics, Fiona died of sepsis and septic shock.”

Speaking of his own ordeal, which saw him hospitalised for over a week, Mr Stobo says he owes his survival to his late wife.

“I felt fine when I woke in the morning but only a few hours later I was at my desk feeling very cold and shivery, and by mid-afternoon I had a severe headache, nausea and a temperature.

“Fiona called me on her way to a 35-week scan and instinctively recognised that my symptoms weren’t just the flu or a virus.

She encouraged me to see my GP and get admitted to hospital and I have no doubt that without her early intervention, I wouldn’t be here today.

He continued: “Awareness of sepsis is still very low and is certainly not on a level with other diseases such as meningitis, heart disease or cancer. But this can change.

More information about Feat can be found at stopsepsis.org.uk and justgiving.com/feat.

MOURNERS have been turned away from a woman’s funeral after relatives won a last-minute bid to postpone the ceremony amid concerns about the cause of death.

Elizabeth McLean, 85, died from a lung condition late last month, but her two children moved for an interim 24-hour delay to the service as they appealed for an urgent police investigation.

Mourners, unaware of the development, were turned away as they arrived at Warriston Cemetery yesterday.

Distressed siblings Steven McLean and Ruth Van Doorn have raised suspicions about their mother’s death and revealed their anguish after being informed on July 2 – four days after she passed away.

Today, they spoke of their “devastation” at being “ignored” by Ferrylee Nursing Home, North Junction Street, where their mother lived out her last days, but the council-run facility denied any wrongdoing and said Mrs McLean’s final wishes were followed “closely”.

Police confirmed they are now reviewing circumstances surrounding the death and it’s unclear when the service will now take place.

Mr McLean, who lives in Warriston, said his mother had been “alert” during a family visit days before she died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“If they had told me that she had died quite suddenly from heart failure I wouldn’t have had a problem with that, but with COPD they don’t just die like that.

“We want a full police investigation and a post-mortem to establish what happened.”

Mr McLean said he was still traumatised at not being able to pay his last respects to his late mother.

“If there were any signs she was on her last gasp we should have been told to come in and say our goodbyes,” he said. “We could maybe have given her a bit of comfort in her last hours but neither me nor my sister had that opportunity and you have to ask why.

We have been totally ignored and I don’t know how they can get away with that.”

Sister Ruth, 59, quizzed care home staff demanding to know why they hadn’t been informed.

She said: “They said the police had tried to contact Steven and had put a card through his door because he wasn’t in. I was shocked, which is a natural reaction. They arranged the funeral behind our back.”

A Police Scotland spokesman said they have been compelled to compile a report into the death by the procurator fiscal.

He said: “Police in Edinburgh responded to a care home in Leith on Friday, June 28 following the death of an 85-year-old woman.

“Officers who attended at the facility determined that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a death certificate was issued by the woman’s doctor.

“On the request of care home staff, police attended an address in Boat Green on June 28 to inform next of kin. However, the occupant was not within the property.

“Police Scotland is now reviewing the subsequent communication between officers and care home staff in ensuring next of kin had been informed.

“Following recent engagement with the woman’s family, we have been instructed by the procurator fiscal to submit a report into the circumstances surrounding her death.”

A council spokeswoman said: “Mrs McLean provided full instructions for the arrangements she would like to be made in the event of her death and these plans were 
followed closely by staff. “Unfortunately, her nominated next of kin – her son – did not provide a contact telephone number so could not be contacted by the care home. Police officers visited but were unable to locate him.”

THE law on class sizes has been branded “not fit for purpose” after a mother’s five-year-old child was refused entry to a popular Edinburgh primary school – even though places were available.

The mother, who asked not to be named, said she had filed an out-of-catchment request for a place in next session’s P1 class at Pentland Primary.

She expected her child would be let in as the school’s projected P1 intake for three classes in August was 66 – nine below the Scottish Government limit of 75.

But she was left stunned and angry when the request, re-submitted on appeal last month, was turned down because offering all of the available P1 places at the school would create a “bottleneck” when the children reach P4 in three years’ time.

Education chiefs said a composite teacher would be available at Pentland to alleviate roll pressures in P2 and P3. But they argued that squeezing all 75 youngsters into two P4 classes would force the school to hire an extra staff member, as not doing so would leave it in breach of the P4 limit of 33 per class.

The mother, who is friends with two other parents in the same situation, said: “I feel frustration. I know there are places there in P1 and I just feel that the council should hand them out.”

Adding to her bewilderment was the admission of three other children on appeal as 
excepted or “ghost” pupils, who will not count towards P1 rolls after the summer but will create accommodation headaches when they are officially added from P2 onwards.

It is understood “future stage” refusals based on capacity constraints further up a school are among the most common reasons for turning down P1 applications to primaries across Edinburgh.

“What they’re saying is that the three who got in do not count, but it means 69 have been accepted,” said the mother, whose older child attends Pentlands Primary.

“In P4, it means there will be a class of 35 and 34. What does the school do then?” She added: “Trying to get my children to two different schools in the morning will be very difficult.”

Opposition councillors said the confusion was evidence of flaws in the law on class sizes and urged reform.

Councillor Jason Rust, Conservative education spokesman and member for Colinton and Fairmilehead, said: “It shows the system is not entirely fit for purpose. There’s a difficulty at Pentlands and presumably it will put more pressure on staff – some children could receive less attention. There are set rules to keep everyone the same across the board but, when it comes to enforcement, the system is not meeting the intention.”

A council spokesman said: “If the panel allows an appeal then the council and school have to accept that decision. There is also no right of appeal for the council and schools will have to accommodate the 
pupils. The law also says that there is no limit on how many pupils can be successful in their appeal to a particular school.

“Every year we run a campaign advising parents to visit their local school to find out the benefits of sending their child there. We also highlight the risks associated with making out-of-catchment requests and that many may not be met due to increased space pressures.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “Councils have undertaken to maintain teacher numbers in line with pupil numbers and we will continue to work with them to deliver this.”

AN Irish woman whose dismembered body was found on Corstorphine Hill had left her husband in the months before visiting her tram worker son in Edinburgh.

Phyllis Dunleavy, 66, travelled to the Capital at the end of April, and is believed to have been last seen alive around a week later.

Her son, James Dunleavy – known as “Seamus” – appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday charged with murder following the discovery of her body in a shallow grave on June 6.

Dunleavy’s friend, Tariq Razaq, 39, said that the pensioner came over from Dublin to visit her son at his Balgreen Road flat, just a few minutes’ walk from the burial site.

Mr Razaq said that mother-of-three Mrs Dunleavy was a “very outgoing person”.

He added that 39-year-old Dunleavy, a labourer on the tram project, converted to Islam last autumn and attended a local mosque.

Mr Razaq, manager of a newsagent located below Dunleavy’s flat, said: “I met Seamus in October and we became good friends. I’d go to his flat for general chats.

“He had come over to Edinburgh ten years ago. He has a brother in the US, a sister, and parents in south Dublin. He’d been over to see them at Christmas.

“His mother came over on the ferry to visit Seamus in January for two weeks. I got to know her as I went to the flat every second or third night. I’d call her Auntie Dunleavy.

“We’d talk about life, current affairs, religion. She was a Catholic but not particularly devout. She’d been a housewife, raising her children.

“She seemed happy and full of life, but she told me that she’d had an unhappy marriage for 40 years.

“We swapped phone numbers and we’d phone each other while she was in Dublin. She loved to talk and was a very outgoing person. She had a thick Irish accent like her son.”

He added: “On her second visit I actually let her into his flat because I had a key. She travelled with just her purse, handbag and a sports holdall.

“She told me that she had left her husband in February to move in with another man. She’d also been spending a lot of time with women from her extended family.

“She did not seem quite as happy this time. She went to Princes Street shopping and walking in Princes Street Gardens. While she was here she would never miss her soaps on TV.”

Mr Razaq said that he last saw Mrs Dunleavy alive on April 30 or May 1. He believed she had returned to Dublin in the days before May 7.

He said: “Mrs Dunleavy was about five foot tall but she could stand her ground in an argument. She was totally able-bodied and in good health.”

Detectives trying to 
identify her remains released photos of the distinctive rings she was wearing and, later, a facial reconstruction image which was recognised by a family member in Ireland who called police.

Mr Razaq added: “Mrs Dunleavy wore lots of rings. I never saw the appeal about the rings or I might have contacted police. The reconstruction also looked too young so I never made a connection.”

Craig Thomson, 28, a drainage engineer, lives above Dunleavy in Balgreen Road. He said: “I used to do the garden and he’d come out and have a chat. I knew he’d previously lived in Australia.

“I came back from work at around 3pm on Thursday and the police were here. Seamus came back at 4.30pm and they spoke to him in his flat.”

Dunleavy appeared in private before Sheriff Richard Clark and made no plea or declaration. The case was continued for further inquiry and he was remanded in custody.

IT was once the darling of online search in the early days of the internet thanks to its pioneering approach but AltaVista has now returned its last results page.

AltaVista.com was taken offline on Monday as part of a rationlisation of its product base by owners Yahoo Inc.

California-based AltaVista was introduced in 1995, three years before Google Inc. was founded. Eclipsed by Google in the early 2000s, AltaVista’s star had already faded by the time Yahoo acquired it as part of its $1.7 billion purchase of Overture Services Inc. in July 2003. Overture had bought AltaVista earlier that year from Massachusetts-based CMGI Inc.

Yahoo announced AltaVista’s fate on its Tumblr page late last month. Search industry expert Danny Sullivan likened AltaVista to a bright child neglected by its parents.

“You were loved. You really were,” Sullivan wrote in a blog post eulogizing the site. “People did not want to leave you. But despite adding new features, some of which Google copied, you couldn’t keep up with the pace and innovation of that company, which decided against becoming a portal like your corporate masters ordered for you.”

Indeed, AltaVista’s decline began after it expanded to become more like Yahoo, offering a bevy of online services instead of sticking solely with search. By the time the site reversed course, it was too late. Its finances were sinking and Google was on the rise.

Yahoo’s June 28 announcement of AltaVista’s end is brief. It’s buried as the eighth item on a list of other services the company is shutting down. Along with the mention of AltaVista’s July 8 expiration date, the post says only: “Please visit Yahoo Search for all of your searching needs.”

According to data from online research firm comScore, most people in the U.S. use Google for their search needs, followed by Microsoft’s Bing. Yahoo is in third place.

A new logo for Glasgow Airport has been revealed as part of a multimillion-pound investment.

The re-branding has a distinctive Scottish influence with the use of Saltire colours and features a thistle design along with the message, Proud to Serve Scotland.

The image is already on digital display screens, on the back of staff polo shirts and will be rolled out further during the next few months.

To mark the launch, a mascot version of the logo will be walking around the airport and meeting travellers today.

The airport logo has been unveiled during a £17 million pound revamp of the terminal in advance of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Amanda McMillan, managing director of Glasgow Airport, said: “When creating our new identity, we considered the many factors that make Glasgow Airport unique and the overwhelming theme was that the people who work here see it as more than a job.

“They carry out their day-to-day roles with great care and are passionate about delivering unrivalled customer service to the millions of people who travel through our doors every year. Our new strapline was therefore quite a logical choice as it articulates the tremendous sense of pride we take in serving Scotland.

“Through our continued investment and new logo,we are also sending out a clear message that Glasgow Airport is committed to playing its part in the successful delivery of what will be the biggest sporting event in Scotland’s history, when Glasgow plays host to the 2014 Commonwealth Games.”

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “Glasgow Airport will welcome tens of thousands of visitors from all over the world in the summer of 2014 and I am delighted it has reached such an important milestone in its investment programme with the launch of its new logo, which will give our guests an ever better welcome to the city.”

David Grevemberg, chief executive Glasgow 2014, said: “Glasgow Airport will be a key entry point for those attending the Games from elsewhere in the UK and internationally including athletes and team officials and we welcome the investment being made to help Glasgow’s global gateway to the Games make a positive first impression.”

The logo was designed by the agency Designline based in Paisley in Renfrewshire.

A JUROR who was too drunk to do her duty at the High Court trial of a teenage sex offender has escaped being found in contempt of court.

Nicola Glen, 35, stunned staff at Scotland’s supreme court when she phoned last Thursday morning to say she was too drunk to do her job.

She had spent the last nine days sitting on a jury considering evidence in a prosecution against 18-year-old Grant 
Farquhar.

Farquhar, of Edinburgh, was convicted on Friday of sexually assaulting three teenage girls aged between 13 to 15.

But Miss Glen – who had spent nine days with 14 other men and women listening to evidence in the case – was unable to hear the closing speeches in the proceedings against the accused. She had told staff in a phone call which was made shortly before 10am that she had been out drinking to 4am with work colleagues and was too drunk to attend court.

Her actions could have potentially jeopardised the prosecution against Mr Farquhar and judge Michael O’Grady QC ordered Miss Glen to appear in court on Friday. On Tuesday, he decided not to proceed against Miss Glen, of Edinburgh, on a charge of contempt. He came to the decision after hearing how Miss Glen had recently split from a long-term partner.

Judge O’Grady also said that he decided not to find Glen in contempt because she had been honest about being drunk and had given the court an “unreserved apology”.

He added: “I am persuaded to proceed no further. Your only saving grace is that you have been utterly honest.”

The story emerged following a hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh on Tuesday morning. It could not be reported until now for legal reasons.

Miss Glen had spent nine days hearing evidence against Farquhar. The court had heard how Farquhar subjected the youngsters to a series of sexual attacks between May and December 2012.

A jury took four hours to find Farquhar guilty of charges of sexual assault, having sex with underage girls and sending sexually explicit and offensive communications.

Farquhar, a prisoner of the Young Offenders Institute in Polmont, Stirlingshire, had entered pleas of not guilty. Temporary judge Michael O’Grady QC deferred sentence on Farquhar for reports about his character.

A MOUSE infestation in sheltered accommodation has left a pensioner “too terrified to sleep” after she woke up with a dead rodent in her bed.

Margaret Hughes, 82, has battled the vermin problem for a year, spending more than £100 on deterrents including noise-emitting sonar devices and poison.

But the grandmother-of-two said her 12-month battle has been in vain because the infestation has enveloped the entire complex at Lauriston Park.

The retired education worker, who has been there seven years, has cleaned droppings from her bedroom, kitchen and living room and caught several of the critters in bought and homemade mouse traps.

Now she is on the brink of moving out, and claimed Castle Rock – the body in charge of the sheltered accommodation block – refuses to act, insisting it is the tenant’s 
responsibility.

She said: “It’s a living hell and I’m at my wits’ end. I’m so paranoid about them that I can’t sleep. It’s affecting my health.

“I’m petrified of them and don’t want to stay here any more. I’m an 82-year-old woman but it’s been left to me to sort out.

“I’ve tried everything from buying four of the sonar devices to putting down poison. But the problem’s not just in my flat, they’re all through the building.

“We pay enough to them already, we can’t afford to pay £90 for each flat to get someone out. They should take responsibility.”

Margaret, who pays nearly £400 a month to stay in the one-bedroom property, said she does not want the upheaval of moving but feels there is no alternative.

Neighbour Howard Little, 68, said the problem started in January. He said: “I’ve already caught five and released them out in the garden but I don’t really want them about.

“There’s one I’ve tried to catch it but this one’s too smart for me. It will come in and sit in the middle of the floor. Sometimes it brings a pal as well.”

Fellow resident Ella Livingstone, 85, who has lived in the complex for 14 years, has also been left stressed after night visits by the pests.

She said: “They’re a health hazard and something needs to be done but I don’t think Castle Rock are prepared to spend anything the way things are.”

George Buchan, of Pestforce Edinburgh, said flats in the city were particularly susceptible and he was getting called to mouse infestations every day.

He said: “If they get established, they just keep breeding. The only way to eradicate it is to proof the flat and make sure they go elsewhere.

“The biggest problem is that landlords aren’t always willing to stump up for it which is a problem when people are part of shared buildings.”

Despite the residents’ concerns, however, a spokesman for Castle Rock insisted it had found no evidence of mice, and said customers had a responsibility to keep their property in a good and clean condition in order to prevent infestations. He said: “We will respond promptly to reports of vermin and pest infestation in common areas of buildings, and will offer advice and assistance to eradicate the problem in customer’s homes. Customers should contact their local authority who may charge for this service.

“In this instance, we have had the communal areas of the building inspected and no evidence of mice has been found.”

THE stink of petrol on board the ticking time bomb is a smell Tom Davidson will never forget.

It was 1942 and he was just 20. The young man from Wallyford had started as a flight controller on board escort and fighter carrier HMS Searcher – a vessel that would be assigned a key task in protecting some of the Arctic Convoys travelling to the Soviet Union during the Second World War.

Now 91, the veteran will today be officially presented with the Arctic Star medal by the Lord Lieutenant of Midlothian, Patrick Prenter.

The honour was awarded for the first time this year in recognition of service to the Arctic convoys that sailed from Britain from August 1941 until May 1945 to deliver urgently needed supplies to the Soviet Union.

His time with the Royal Navy would take him to the far reaches of the globe – to Burma, Sri Lanka and America – but as he flicked through a scrapbook of extraordinary pictures from his time on board he admitted he would fear for his life every time he stepped on that ship.

“It was a time bomb,” he said.

“There was 50,000 gallons of petrol forward and 50,000 gallons of petrol aft and 30-odd aircraft full to the gunnels with petrol and guns and bombs.

“One went up on the Clyde. Everyone died on it. There was no smoking on board. They’d take you up to the foredeck and put a bullet in you if they caught you smoking. They had to because it was stinking of petrol, because the aircraft were always getting refuelled.

“It was a time bomb, simple as that. You were glad to get ashore.”

HMS Searcher, which operated out of Liverpool, participated in attacks on key German battleship Tirpitz at her base in northern Norway during 1944.

The carrier would later be involved in the Allied invasion of Southern France known as Operation Dragoon.

Tom, who lived through those experiences, recalled hitting a fierce storm off the Scandinavian coast in freezing conditions as they set out to bomb the Tirpitz.

He said: “It was horrendous. The waves were 30-40 feet. We had to turn back. The admiral said the boat was going to tip over. The raging sea, when she hit you, she hit you with a thump and she vibrated. On one trip, the sides started to split because she wasn’t riveted.”

Losing planes over the side of the ship was one of the biggest problems. Among an extensive collection of photos kept by Tom is a black and white picture of Lieutenant Sharpe trapped inside a fighter half submerged in the water.

“Taking off and landing had to be spot on,” Tom said. “Sharpe was taking off and he must have put on one of his brakes. Instead of going straight forward, the plane swung round and struck the ladder and ended up overboard. We had ropes and nets to pull him out.”

There were light-hearted moments despite the constant threat of conflict.

A fox terrier cross called Spud was adopted and became a permanent crew mate. Tom said: “He had an official number. We picked him up somewhere. You pick lots of things up when you come on board.

“One young guy even had a 10-month-old bairn and we couldn’t get it off him. He said he paid for the bairn. We had the police on board and the military police. He wouldn’t give this bairn up. He was going to take it home.”

A WRANGLE over the lease agreement for a mothballed cinema has forced the building’s grand relaunch as an entertainment complex to be postponed.

Entrepreneur Gerry Boyle – brother of singing sensation SuBo – said problems with reaching an agreement with site owner Duddingston House Properties [DHP] had delayed the re-opening of the former Odeon on Clerk Street.

The problems mean plans for SuBo to perform songs from a yet-to-be-released fifth album at the reopening have had to be shelved, with an alternative event arranged in Blackpool to satisfy booked talent.

But Mr Boyle said with paperwork now just days away from being finalised, passers-by could expect the To Lease sign hanging outside the disused cinema to be removed within the next fortnight.

The 58-year-old is looking to turn the building into an entertainment complex 
showcasing Las Vegas-inspired cabaret acts.

August 2 had originally been targeted as the date for relaunching the A-listed venue, which will be rebranded as The Instant Arena.

But Mr Boyle said reaching an agreement over the lease conditions with DHP had proven “a bit of a nightmare”.

He said: “Unfortunately, we’re about six months behind schedule because of this. Although we remain determined to open the place, it’s obviously not going to be for August 2. Everyone’s on hold.”

It is understood a disagreement over internal spending priorities added to delays.

Restoring the upstairs art deco auditorium into a 600-seat theatre venue and opening a downstairs coffee lounge and a first-floor tearooms and Champagne bar are among plans.

Champagne brand Laurent-Perrier has been in formal discussions to become a commercial partner in the venture for the next five years.

An artist’s impression, above, showing the design for the venue’s Champagne bar to be known as Scruples has been released for the first time today in a sign of the grand ambitions by Mr Boyle’s company An Instant World.

Mr Boyle still wants to hold a “soft” relaunch of the venue before the Festival is finished to reassure local residents the venue is “coming alive”.

He denied he had been overly ambitious by aiming for a major August reopening for an estimated start-up cost of just £250,000, adding: “Had we been able to agree all the clauses with the owners, that time was realistic.

“Our plans remain the same. It’s not are we going to do it, it’s when we’re going to do it. It’s going to be worth it. That’s why we’re riding the roller coaster.”

DHP managing director Bruce Hare denied negotiations over the building had been protracted, and said: “The lease is due for completion this week. Works will then commence by both our contractors and by An Instant World.”

The 1930s building has twice been threatened with demolition since it closed a decade ago.

Save the Odeon campaigner Tom Pate said: “I’m certain it’s going to happen. I don’t think there’s any sign that anyone’s going to walk away from this. It’s a shame it’s going to be so late, but the important thing is to get the building open.”

THE grief-stricken family of the first person to die as a result of last year’s legionella crisis have revealed that they are still struggling to come to terms with the tragedy.

Bert Air passed away in June last year, aged 56, hours after being rushed to the Royal Infirmary. He was the first of three people to die as a result of contracting legionnaires’ disease, and it is believed he became infected while working on a building site in Gorgie.

More than a year on, his partner of 12 years, Rena MacDonald, and two of his siblings said they cannot begin to put the tragedy behind them until they know what caused Mr Air’s death, and are furious at the way they have been treated.

They said the authorities have not been in touch for months and that Mr Air’s mother, 83-year-old Hannah, had died broken-hearted in December after giving up on life following the devastating news of her son’s death.

Ms MacDonald, 55, said: “No-one in the family can get closure until we know what’s happened. I don’t know if I’ll be relieved or angry when we get the results, but we need to know. I’m just angry at the moment. The last letter I had was six months ago. I don’t know how they think people can accept what’s happened and not want answers.

“For me, his brothers and sister, there’s a part missing.”

Sandra Somerville, Mr Air’s younger sister, said: “It’s been horrendous, and we’re still going through it. It should never have happened to a guy his age. The only thing he had was high blood pressure. Then all of a sudden he was gone..

“Me and my three brothers had to go in to Astley Ainslie Hospital and break the news that he’d passed away to my mother. She just burst out crying saying ‘my laddie, my laddie’. She just gave up towards the end.”

The 50-year-old added: “I went on holiday to Tenerife, I thought it would make me feel better, but I just couldn’t stop crying. I just feel like we’ve been totally ignored.”

Mr Air’s younger brother, 55-year-old John, also expressed frustration. He said: “It’s been more than a year and we feel nothing’s been done.”

A interim report into the outbreak is due to be made public by NHS Lothian this month, although it is understood key information on the source of the outbreak will not be included as a police and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation, under direction of the Crown Office, is ongoing.

David Bell, a senior solicitor with legal firm Irwin Mitchell, is representing Mr Air’s family as well as several others affected by last year’s outbreak. He said: “We have been pressing for findings to be made available, or at least a cogent explanation as to why they aren’t available. We’ve been bashing our heads against a brick wall.

“We are finding it very, very frustrating. We’re now more than a year down the line. During other outbreaks results have been made available within weeks or a few months. We understand an investigation is ongoing but that does not justify the complete wall of silence. The victims feel they’ve been sidelined and neglected.”

A Cabinet Office spokeswoman, on behalf of the HSE, said: “Investigations are in their concluding stages and reports are being prepared.”

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The circumstances of the legionnaires’ outbreak in Edinburgh are the subject of a highly complex ongoing investigation by the enforcing authorities for Health and Safety legislation, in liaison with COPFS.

“The families of those who died continue to be updated on significant developments.”

I NEVER knew that you tuned a bongo drum by whacking it with a mallet. At least, I’m assuming that’s what the percussionist perched high above the stalls was doing ahead of Disney’s Lion King press night at the Birmingham Hippodrome, last Thursday.

The second time I’d watched the smash-hit musical, which has been running on London’s West End for 14 years, Thursday’s performance proved simply untouchable - better by far, in my opinion, than its older, West End sibling, which I saw earlier this year.

Vibrant, colourful, energetic and visually entrancing this touring production is further emboldened by some spectacular performances, and that, after all, is what theatre is about. special mentions for Gugwana Dlamini’s adorable Rafiki, Cleveland Cathnott’s regal Mufasa and Nicolas Nkuna’s fallible Simba.

Dlamini and Nkuna lead the ensemble in the reprise of He Lives In You, which is arguably the most uplifting piece of musical theatre you’ll ever see.

Welshman Meilyr Sion’s ‘cod-Scottish’ Zazu should, however, prove interesting north of the border, but then that’s one of the things that endears me to The Lion King - it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither should we.

From The Proclaimers to Riverdance, the Edinburgh Fringe to Tight Fit (remember Wimoweh), unexpected references are certain to elicit the odd knowing chuckle, the cast delivering them with tongues firmly in cheek. One in particular ‘ad-lib’ could prove to be a show-stopper in the Capital come October.

At the after-show party, where the sheer scale of the ensemble became apparent as they gathered in their finery for a glass of fizz and bite of supper, the buzz was electric.

You’d think that after an evening of singing and dancing for a living, the last thing the 120-plus strong company would want to do was dance some more, but in no time the makeshift dance floor was indeed the liveliest place in the theatre. It’s that energy and the elusive ‘Disney magic’ that makes this show something special. The attention to detail on the intricate costumes quite breathtaking, despite the fact that much of it is so fine, it can’t be seen from the auditorium.

Safe to say, then, if the London production of The Lion King is the pride of the West End, this one is definitely king of the touring jungle.

Any day now. Nobby Clark, vocalist and founder member of the Bay City Rollers, tells me he expects to hear from his legal advisors in New York the bottom line on the never-ending wrangle on royalties for the Rollers. Lots of money involved, as you can imagine.

Says Nobby: “It’s been a see-you-in-court scenario for us seemingly for ever and we’re at the light-at-the-end-of-that-tunnel stage. We’ve hung on in there.”

Nobby hasn’t been twiddling his thumbs. He’s into a four-week stint hosting Backtracking for Castle FM and, of more import, he has virtually finished writing his autobiography.

“Seven years of my life as a Roller. So much to put on paper and it’s been a real buzz getting it all out of my system.”

Afterwords . . .

. . . chirpy Katherine Jenkins talking: “I love history and I have a photographic memory. It really helped with music sometimes when I can’t remember things that I can see on the page. It doesn’t always work. It doesn’t work with numbers at all.” I must get down to Scarborough Open Air Theatre. Katie’s there August 3 on her summer concert tour. She can’t make Edinburgh.

TAKING your first steps into primary school is a stressful time for both parents and children. But in Edinburgh the process can be even more complicated.

The pressure on P1 places at many Edinburgh schools in now intense as a result of soaring rolls coupled with school closures in the past. Indeed, education chiefs are expecting a further 20 per cent rise over the next seven years.

So although there are around 5000 spare places in the Capital’s primary estate, council leaders have admitted these are not in the right areas to meet demand.

Understandably many parents make requests to put their children in primaries outside of the area they live in, so-called “out-of-catchment requests”.

But the decision on which applications succeed and how this is communicated to parents is not always clear to those involved.

Our story today highlights another example of how mums and dads are being left bewildered.

A five-year-old seeking access to Pentland Primary has been rejected even though the projected intake for August is 66 – nine short of the Scottish Government maximum. The school insists that it cannot accept 75 pupils as by the time this cohort reach Primary Four, they will not have the capacity to accommodate them all.

The situation is further complicated by parents who have appealed a P1 rejection. Those pupils who succeed are not actually placed on the official P1 school roll, leading to the informal tag of “ghost children”.

It is obvious to everyone involved that the rules need to be clear and need to be enforced. A major review of how the entire system operates, led by the Scottish Government, needs to happen.

In the short term the city council has committed £10.5 million for temporary classrooms at the most popular schools, but this is just a sticking plaster solution. The redrawing of catchment areas must also be on the agenda.

SCOTTISH Labour leader Johann Lamont has unveiled the latest changes to her frontbench team with four backbench MSPs promoted to shadow minister posts.

Ms Lamont named Mark Griffin as shadow minister for transport and veterans, and Mary Fee as a housing spokeswoman - both of who were part of the intake of Labour MSPs at the 2011 election.

Labour MSP Margaret McCulloch, who was also elected in 2011, had been handed the role of deputy whip, a post that will see her help to take charge of party discipline at Holyrood.

The shadow minister for children was named as Jayne Baxter, who only became an MSP after senior Labour figure John Park left Holyrood to become a trade union official at the end of last year.

Former Labour minister Jackie Baillie is the party’s new shadow cabinet secretary for social justice, equalities and welfare.

Ms Lamont had already announced that Ms Baillie would be leaving her previous portfolio of health, but remain in the shadow cabinet when initial changes to the frontbench were unveiled last month.

THE Welsh Assembly recently voted by an overwhelming majority to approve Welsh Labour’s Human Transplantation Bill, which will move organ donation in Wales to an opt-out system. This pioneering move is something that I hope can be brought forward in 
Scotland.

Scotland has made real progress in increasing the number of potential donors on the register. However, there are still too many people dying whilst on a waiting list for a transplant.

At present, there are around 600 patients on such lists and in the last year for which figures are available 34 Scots died before a donated organ could be found. Faced with these tragedies, and following the example set by Wales, I believe we can, and should, be bolder.

Currently, carrying a donor card – something 90 per cent of us say we support but far fewer actually get round to doing – does not guarantee that your wishes, your consent, is respected. Families are, at the worst possible time, asked to make the decision for us. Even amongst those of us who do carry the card, we do not always find it easy, or find the time, to discuss the issues with our families and to be clear with them about our wishes.

The result is that some potentially live-saving donations may not take place. That is not to blame families who, if they feel uncertain, are understandably likely to opt not to donate.

In contrast, an opt-out system guarantees that those who decide against donation during life are able to add their names to a register which means their families will not be faced with the difficult decision at the end of our life. Put simply, opt-out provides certainty for those who don’t want to donate that the donation will not be considered at all.

I believe that a “soft” opt-out system would be best. This system means that families will still be involved in the procedure and will be fully able to stop donation if they are aware that an individual would have objected – for example, on religious, but in fact on any, grounds – even if they didn’t get round to registering this decision on the opt-out register.

I have said that I will consult on an opt-out donation bill in Scotland if the Scottish Government rules it out when it publishes its own plans for reviewing the organ donation system, which is expected in coming weeks.

I know that not everyone agrees, and that this is a difficult call on a sensitive subject, but I think that Scotland should have this debate and decide for ourselves if the current system really can be improved any further, or if an opt-out law would save more lives. I believe there is an appetite for this discussion.

In the meantime, our system remains opt-in, so if you are one of the 90 per cent who support life-saving organ donation, go to www.organ
donationscotland.org to sign up – and don’t forget to tell your loved ones about your decision.

• Drew Smith is a Labour list MSP for Glasgow.

Great human events have their roots in history. So it is with Egypt and other Arab lands. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 saw Britain and France become the dominant forces – Britain in the Gulf, Palestine and Egypt, with France gaining hegemony in Syria, Lebanon and north Africa.

Neither sought to bring the Arabs towards democracy. The British ruled through the Emirs and Sheiks, bought by subsidies. Back then the ruler of Dubai was allocated £250,000 a year, doled out by the British political officer. The UK secured control of Egypt, the Suez Canal, Red Sea, Yemen, Oman and the Gulf Sheikdoms, all of which lay along the route to the jewel in the crown of the Empire – India.

Iraq, created by the UK, had the Emir Faisal, a war comrade of Lawrence of Arabia, foisted upon the people after the French booted him out of Syria. Faisal had never been to Iraq before the British made him king. 
Jordan was created for his brother, Abdullah. The British controlled both.

So, in the formative decades of the modern world that emerged after the First World War, the Arabs were deliberately kept in a primitive political condition. Not for them the development of institutions and practices that underpin democracy, such as an impartial judiciary, honest police, freedom of speech, rule of law, free trade unions, free political parties, unfettered intellectual hubs in universities, discussion groups, think-tanks, through which people learn to govern themselves and build tolerances of a variety of views.

The Arab people were manipulated, lied to and humiliated at the hands of those in power, and their puppets. During the Second World War, Egypt, nominally independent, was in fact strictly controlled by the British Ambassador. When the Egyptian king appointed an anti-British prime minister, British troops and tanks advanced on the royal palace. The king was instructed to sack him. He did.

This subordinate position was not universally accepted. Educated Arabs objected. Egypt was in the strange position of not being formally at war with Germany, but required to play “host” to a British army fighting a German one on its border. Chief among the objectors were the originators of the Muslim Brotherhood. They argued that the reason for the humiliation of foreign control was because the people had strayed from the path of Islam. They were, at first, a 
minority.

In 1953, the Egyptian military acted against a corrupt and servile monarchy. Nasser emerged as president of a republic. He took on Britain by nationalising the Suez Canal, and on the back of that incredibly popular action launched a crusade for Arab nationalism throughout the region. He suppressed the Muslim Brotherhood, who believed his secular path was a false one.

Nasser’s Arab nationalism was destroyed by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The old Sheiks and the new rulers of Egypt were again in the hands of foreign masters – the United States and to lesser extent the British. The normal situation – humiliation and subservience – prevailed. Suppressed though it was, the Muslim Brotherhood didn’t disappear. They settled themselves among the population, especially the rural and urban poor, who had no welfare system. The Muslim Brotherhood provided the social care needed, and so built up a formidable support among people.

When the Western-backed corrupt regime of Hosni Mubarak collapsed, a fair election was won by the Brotherhood. But when Islamic parties win elections, they get short shrift. In Algeria, the Islamic winner was ousted by the army. In Palestine, Hamas was refused recognition. Now the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is stripped of power by a military coup.

You will, however, fail to hear that word from Western leaders, secretly happy to see power won in the ballot box taken away by that which comes out of the barrel of a gun. As our leaders preach democracy around the world, they leave the stench of 
hypocrisy behind them.

Andy shows we aren’t inferior

Nothing new in the No campaign, Project Fear. Scots have been brainwashed for generations into accepting we are inferior, inadequate and will head for disaster if we let go the hand of big cousin England.

It’s a wonder Andy Murray believed he could win, him being a Scot like the rest of us.

Job’s a bad ’un in Labour row

Unite is right to try and rid Ed Miliband’s Labour of the political elite who have never done a real job in their lives, and replace them with workers who have.

But paying for 200 “new” members with one cheque has ended up playing into the hands of that very elite.

HE’S the butcher aiming to prove he’s all that jazz – and if early indications are anything to go by, his upcoming show is going to steak fans’ breath away.

Iain Hunter from Pathhead, has been dubbed “The Singing Butcher” and will perform at the Tron Kirk as part of the Edinburgh International Jazz Festival on July 25.

Now it’s been revealed that the show is a sell-out and Iain insists he’s doing it for his country. He said: “I’m singing for Scotland.”

Auld Reekie Roller Girls over the moon

Edinburgh’s Auld Reekie Roller Girls have just returned from the US after a successful run at Philadelphia’s East Coast Derby Extravaganza Roller Derby tournament, having given the American teams more than they bargained for – in more ways than one.

During one particularly enthusiastic bout one unnamed team member found herself momentarily mooning, after another player accidently pulled down her shorts and pants while attempting to pass her.

Heading for meltdown

LET’S hope city Conservative campaigner Mark Brown wasn’t staring into a crystal ball when he tweeted: “The heat is apparently melting some of Scotland’s rail network. I hope it doesn’t do the same to the Edinburgh Tram tracks . . .”. Failing that, watch out for leaves on the line.

Luther beats Murray

Wimbledon champion Andy Murray might have performed wonders – but he hasn’t impressed page 3 girl Lucy V.

She was less than chuffed to find the documentary Man Behind the Racquet being repeated on BBC1, tweeting: “Yes we all know he’s amazing, but I want to watch Luther!”

ELECTRIC bikes are being offered for hire in the Cairngorms National Park – allowing visitors to explore the area in an environmentally-friendly way.

A network of free charge points has been put in place and the electric bikes are available to hire from a number of sites.

The initiative was launched with the assistance of intrepid cycling pensioner Penny Weir, from Aviemore, who has completed a number of long distance rides.

Aged 70, she cycled coast to coast across Canada, some 4,000 miles, for charity.

The Cairngorms E-Bike Project is set to bring many benefits to the National Park from offering more sustainable travel options for visitors to providing a new tourism opportunity for local businesses.

It will also enable those who thought that cycling was perhaps beyond them – due to ability, fitness or age – to enjoy a good day’s cycling with friends and family again.

Penny Weir said: “I must admit, I had reservations about e-bikes because I considered them for much older people, then I realised – that was me.

“But after trying the e-bikes, I am pleased to say that I think they are fabulous. I was thrilled with the sensation of the first push down on the peddle and the boost of power that it gives you.

“I am sure these bikes will make cycling accessible to more people and I can highly recommend them to visitors to the Cairngorms National Park because enjoying the area by bike gives people a whole new and different perspective.”

Specially designed route maps have been published promoting various scenic bike rides with information on where to go and what to see – as well as where hire and charge points can be found.

There are more than 25 electric bikes available for hire at various locations across the UK’s largest National Park at a cost of around £25 per day.

Bikes are equipped with a battery that provides up to 30-40 miles of assisted cycling and charging the bike up is completely free of charge at designated points, ranging from visitor attractions to coffee shops.

Like normal bikes, electric bikes are powered by human effort but can provide a boost on request, which is probably very welcome in a location like the Cairngorms National Park where the topography and sometimes windy weather can challenge even the fittest of cyclists.

The bikes themselves look no different to regular bikes and have a range of gears. However at any point the rider can choose to switch on the electric power to help ride up hills with relative ease and no sweat.

Mike Dennison, the Cairngorms E-Bike project officer, said: “Over 30 local businesses have come together to form a network of E-Bike rental and battery charging points so visitors can hire an E-Bike from any number of locations around the Park.

“Using our specially designed maps, they can follow scenic routes linking visitor attractions, viewpoints and places of interest, stopping off en route at a designated cafe or local business to recharge their batteries both literally and metaphorically.”

He added: “E-Bikes offer a healthy and environmentally friendly means of travelling, are good fun and are really easy to ride.

“They make cycling accessible to everyone, irrespective of their age and ability and everyone who has ridden one has climbed off with a smile on their face.

“It’s amazing how much more you see from the seat of a bike and I personally think it’s a much better day out in the Park than in a car.”

The first of its kind in Scotland, it is being funded by the Scottish Government Energy and Climate Change Directorate and is being delivered by Sustrans in partnership with the CNPA and Electric Travel CIC.

A number of successful networks are already operational in National Parks in England and Wales.

The park authority convener Duncan Bryden said: “The E-Bike Project is definitely a flagship one for the Park Authority because it is set to deliver a wide’ range of benefits to the Park and for Scotland.

“From helping to grow the economy by providing new business opportunities, to helping to tackle climate change with greener transport options available to people and then there is the benefit to peoples’ health by encouraging more active lifestyles. I have thoroughly enjoyed my e-bike experience today.”

• Click here for a full list of charging points