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Post by dreamy on Oct 9, 2005 18:44:18 GMT 10
As interesting as it certainly was for all those in the USA who are interested in Scotland and England and/or their own heritage...I think when the Queen is allowing such a thing it's the financial interest that counts most there...
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Post by LLady on Oct 9, 2005 19:27:34 GMT 10
Good Morning America - From Palace of Holyroodhouse Viewers of the popular US breakfast show "Good Morning America" have been treated to the programme being presented from inside royal castles and palaces this week. The Queen gave permission for access for a live broadcast from Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and also the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the royal official residence in Scotland. Presenter Nick Watt was dressed in a kilt for that one - he is after all a former pupil of Glenalmond College near Perth. Viewers were treated to the skirl of the pipes, courtesy of his old school's pipe band. It is thought that such programmes have never been done before and they will not only respond to interest in the US about royalty and heritage, but will also be a tremendous free advertisement for UK tourism. But although access to the buildings was granted, the Queen herself stayed out of the limelight in her summer holiday home of Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, which was not included in the Royal breakfast show. Very cool!
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Post by braveheart007 on Oct 9, 2005 23:19:55 GMT 10
What a pity most Scots living in Scotland will never see the insides of these castles stolen from them in the first place Ian
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Post by dreamy on Oct 10, 2005 0:00:06 GMT 10
How true, Ian.
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Post by LLady on Oct 10, 2005 12:27:22 GMT 10
What a pity most Scots living in Scotland will never see the insides of these castles stolen from them in the first place Ian That's terrible Ian, and unfair!
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Oct 10, 2005 18:26:28 GMT 10
Holyrood I found was the hardest place to get into, went there a number of times, and because Princess Anne was there was closed to the public, no warning, nothing. Very annoying #angry#
The castle is more assessible but I`ve always found Holyrood to be a more interesting place but being the official residence, it pays to check.
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Post by andi on Nov 3, 2005 19:24:59 GMT 10
Hospital denies girl, 4, visit from tooth fairyA four-year-old girl who had four teeth removed during an operation was stopped from taking them home for the tooth fairy because doctors classed them as "body parts". Kimberly Cumming's mother, Lorraine, was told that the teeth had to be disposed of by Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. Mrs Cumming had explained the tooth fairy story to make her daughter less anxious about the procedure to remove a rotten tooth. During the operation the dental surgeon took out another three teeth to prevent the rot from spreading. Mrs Cumming said Kimberly was looking forward to putting the teeth under her pillow in exchange for cash. NHS Highland defended the procedure yesterday and said: "To reduce the risk of cross- infection we routinely retain and dispose of teeth extracted. This is particularly important when the tooth is infected." Mrs Cumming said: "I asked the surgeon for the teeth and was refused." She added: "I was told teeth were now classed as body parts and had to be disposed of by the hospital. "I explained that my daughter had been excited at the prospect of getting money from the tooth fairy, but she just shrugged and walked away." news.scotsman.com/inverness.cfm?id=2175692005
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Post by andi on Nov 3, 2005 19:26:49 GMT 10
Scotland's homeless hits record numberHomelessness has hit a record high in Scotland with an average 57,000 applications for official homeless status last year, almost four times the level seen in the depth of the 1980s recession. One in every 100 Scots applied for homeless status for the second year running, according to figures released for 2004-5. While officials highlighted the slowing rise in homeless applications - 1 per cent over the year - opposition parties said the overall total was a scandal and pointed to record number of children in temporary accommodation. Under new laws, introduced by MSPs in 2001 and 2003, councils are now mandated to provide permanent accommodation to anyone assessed as homeless. This has vastly expanded the field from the estimated 350 who sleep rough in Scotland. Yesterday's figures show an application is made every three minutes of the working day - the lion's share of them in Glasgow. But the city has still seen its applications drop by 20 per cent, while Dundee's rose by 21 per cent over the year. There is no link between official homeless figure and the economy. In 1983, Scotland saw 15,540 homeless applications, only half of which were approved. However, in 2004-5, three-quarters of the 57,000 applications were approved. news.scotsman.com/scotland.cfm?id=2181662005
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Post by andi on Nov 3, 2005 19:28:16 GMT 10
Forth Bridge toll proposed to reduce congestion
Higher toll charges for cars without passengers and an increase in the use of park-and-ride sites were among a raft of measures proposed yesterday to reduce congestion on the Forth Road Bridge. news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=2156172005
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Post by LLady on Nov 6, 2005 7:27:11 GMT 10
Interesting
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Nov 27, 2005 19:38:42 GMT 10
Scotland's Police Don't Need Guns The most senior police officer in Scotland issued a statement this week aimed at heading off any discussion of providing firearms to the police as a matter of course. In the wake of terrorist attacks in recent years, the public has certainly become more aware of armed police in special circumstances, such as at airports. And there are specially trained armed police officers who attend incidents when they are needed. But generally police have only a (large) wooden truncheon and a knife-proof vest with which to defend themselves - plus training in unarmed combat. Over the years, although there has been an increase in England and Wales in the number of crimes recorded by the police in which guns were reported to have been used (up from below 14,000 in 1995 to over 24,000 in recent years), the number of such incidents fell in Scotland from under 1,800 to around 1,000 over the same period. And the number of deaths caused by firearms in Scotland is 0.1 per 100,000 of the population. That compares with 0.3 in Australia, 0.5 in Canada, 0.8 in Italy - and 4.4 in the US.
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Elly
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Post by Elly on Nov 27, 2005 19:41:25 GMT 10
The Forth Estuary Transport Authority (Feta), which manages the Forth Road Bridge, has approved the introduction of variable tolls on the bridge which will see them soar from £1 to £4 for cars using the bridge at rush hours. There would be a 50% discount for cars with at least two passengers. The aim is partly to reduce the volume of traffic at peak times and also to raise revenue to pay for repairs to the rusting cables which have recently come to light. The increased tolls were approved on the casting vote of the chairman, with five members opposing the new charges and five voting in favour. Board members representing Fife and West Lothian (the areas closest to the two ends of the bridge) were particularly opposed to the changes. They argue that for many people there is no real alternative to the bridge and if they are on fixed working hours they are forced to travel at peak times. Currently, 80% of the cars crossing at the rush hour only carry the driver.
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