Travel: The Ligurian Mountains, Italy
WHEN you tire of the French Riviera’s celebrity lifestyle, the beautiful scenery, historic villages and delicious food of the Ligurian Mountains are the perfect tonic.Discovering unusual fruit and...
View ArticleRoger Cox: The secret to sea kayaking is knowing when to stay at home,...
SIMON Willis’s book, The Scottish Sea Kayak Trail, gives me what I call the risk versus reward shivers. It’s the feeling I get when I see a picture of a surfer riding a giant, perfect wave, or of a...
View ArticleHolyrood urged not to copy Westminster business rates plan
FEARS have been raised that Scottish firms could face a “disastrous” delay in expected rates revaluations after the UK government postponed its business property taxes review until 2017. Peter Muir,...
View ArticleRestaurant review: Chaophraya, Glasgow
GIANNI Versace, Saddam Hussein, Roman Abramovich. If I was a panellist (alongside Eve Pollard) on popular Eighties telly programme Through the Keyhole, and Loyd Grossman showed me a video clip of...
View ArticleDavid Hoey: Lies, damned by lies, and what to do if the boss asks you to fib
THIS month there have been two reported cases in which a senior member of staff had instructed a junior employee to lie. In one case a chief constable allegedly told a junior member of staff to lie...
View ArticleMixture of pesticides hastens last flight of the bumblebee
EXPOSING bumblebees to a combination of two widely-used pesticides hits individual bees and threatens the survival of their colony, scientists have found.Research that aimed to mimic conditions in the...
View ArticleSNP party conference: Neil pledges to keep free personal care for elderly
health secretary Alex Neil has pledged to maintain free personal care for the elderly and free prescriptions.Mr Neil insisted that as long as the SNP was in power people would not have to pay for care...
View ArticleFacebook boss to lead the Tech City Investment Organisation
THE UK government has lured a senior executive from social networking giant Facebook to lead a taxpayer-backed venture to create London’s answer to Silicon Valley.Joanna Shields, Facebook’s managing...
View ArticleOutdoors: Otter spotter
IF YOU want to see river otters, you will need to get up early and know where to look There’s a smudge of silver on the wooden path beside the water’s edge. Just a glint on the wet wood and I have to...
View ArticleTeaching Oscar for Scots ‘visionary’ in special education
THE headteacher of a Scottish special needs school, described as a “visionary” in her field, has been recognised with a lifetime achievement award.Lorraine Stobie, of Southcraig Campus, Ayr, took the...
View ArticleCash-rich firms handing record dividends to shareholders
Investors in UK companies received “unprecedented” dividends in the third quarter as cash-rich companies handed back funds sitting unused on their balance sheets, a new report has found.Total payouts...
View ArticleWine: If you’re looking to learn more about wine these books are a good place...
A QUESTION I get asked frequently by long-term wine-lovers and beginners alike: which books would I recommend to learn about wine? There is one tome I consider as the best one-stop reference for all...
View ArticleTaxi maker Manganese Bronze turns to Chinese investor for £15m rescue
MANGANESE Bronze, the maker of London’s iconic black taxis, is understood to be in talks with Chinese shareholder Geely to throw the British engineer a £15 million financial life line.Geely, which took...
View ArticleNationwide tipped to enter battle for RBS’s branches
Nationwide Building Society is considering making a bid for the 316 branches that Royal Bank of Scotland was due to sell to Santander, it was reported yesterday.The mutual is looking at an offer as...
View ArticleFish skin may offer scientists tips on designing optical devices
THE skin of silvery fish such as sardines and herring acts as an “invisibility cloak” against predators and may offer scientists useful tips on designing optical devices, according to new research.The...
View ArticleShooting and fishing: Of all the tagged woodcock from the UK, Rocket has...
IT IS more than likely that Rocket, my adopted woodcock, is a daddy by now, according to the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust.I don’t think woodcock males are very paternal so his brood, if indeed...
View ArticleScottish firms hold better credit ratings than rivals across the UK
Scottish firms are less likely to go bust than those in the rest of Britain thanks to their better credit ratings, according to a new survey that further stokes the debate over whether independence...
View ArticleFrom the archive: Legume and doom - 22 October, 2007
THE price of peas and other vegetables have soared by as much as 65 per cent because of this summer’s floods, according to the latest industry figures. The sharp price rises in legumes, including peas...
View ArticlePlea for more use of regional airports
The Government should look to the regions to boost air travel, an airport chief has said.Access to airports should be improved and tourism to regional areas supported, according to Bristol Airport...
View ArticleAlbion aims to raise £15m through top-up scheme for VCT investment
A VENTURE capital investment firm that holds stakes in a medical technology outfit in Edinburgh and a renewable energy plant in Perth has launched a “top-up” scheme to raise £15 million.London-based...
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