IF confirmation were needed that sport can spring any number of surprises then Stuart McWatt proved it at the European Judo Open at Glasgow’s Emirates Arena, the biggest judo event to take place on British shores this year. The Inverurie teenager does
A deadly concoction of potent finishing and lethal defending conspired to swiftly kill off Dunfermline in a truly grim first half for the Fife club as St Mirren claimed a convincing 4-0 victory to march into the Petrofac Training Cup semi-finals.The East
WALES ended a 57-year wait to qualify for a major tournament despite Saturday's 2-0 defeat in Bosnia which kept alive the Balkan nation's hopes of joining them at the Euro 2016 finals.The result left the Welsh second in Group B on 18 points from nine
RATHER than running away from her own athletics mortality, Susan Partridge admits she has little choice but to embrace the sight of the end of the road.Life, work, everything, the Oban-born veteran admits, has at times continued in her absence in a parallel
IN Rugby World Cup 2015, captains live or die by their decisions. You can ask Chris Robshaw about that. The England back row has been widely castigated for the brainwave which caused him to instruct his players to kick for the corner rather than go
I EXPECTED Samoa to come at Scotland - but not quite in that manner. They were outstanding in the first half, and Scotland were probably lucky to be no more than three points behind at the break.They did give up a very soft try, scored by Tommy Seymour
SCOTLAND coach Vern Cotter praised the character and resilience of his team as they withstood a Samoan onslaught at St James’ Park to get the win they needed to progress to the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. Captain Greig Laidlaw scored 26 points
IT WAS dramatic throughout, and desperate at times, but in the end Scotland did just enough to claim the win they needed to go through to the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup.Samoa contributed massively to one of the most entertaining matches of
RATHER than running away from her own athletics mortality, Susan Partridge admits she has little choice but to embrace the sight of the end of the road. Life, work, everything, the Oban-born veteran admits, has at times continued in her absence in a parallel
Australia 15 Wales 6His Wallabies having tackled everything that moved Michael Cheika, their head coach, continued in similar vein as he clattered modern political correctness into touch when seeking a suitable metaphor to describe a rearguard effort
WHILE football has its own special one in Jose Mourinho, racing could have unearthed its own after Aidan O'Brien used those words to describe Air Force Blue following his scintillating victory in the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes.After watching Minding destroy
The tournament he helped revive could provide Luke Donald with his first European Tour title in more than three years, just a month after he was sacked by his caddie.Donald fired a flawless third round of 65 on the Marquess course at Woburn to finish
Queen's Park took their place in the last four by holding off Elgin City 2-1 at Hampden, again laying the foundations before the interval.Gus MacPherson's side took just two minutes to get in front when John Carter netted after Elgin had failed to properly
IS it possible to put a smile back on the face of a nation? It often seems that rugby and football are two different planets co-existing side by side in Scottish society and never the twain shall meet. Vern Cotter's side had enough pressure riding on
A first-half header from Derek Lyle proved sufficient to get Queen of the South back on track.After seven games without a win, it was a timely goal from Lyle – his seventh of the season – and it moved his team within a point of fourth-placed Falkirk.It
Poland defender Jakub Wawryzniak has backed Robert Lewandowski to prove he is the best striker in the world by ruining the Republic of Ireland's dream of automatic qualification for Euro 2016.The 27-year-old Bayern Munich striker goes into Sunday night's
NICO ROSBERG will start from pole position for today's Russian Grand Prix after edging out Lewis Hamilton in qualifying.The German, who is 48 points adrift of the Briton in the championship race, posted a best lap of one minute and 37.113 seconds to finish
Queen’s Park advanced to the semi-finals of the Petrofac Training Cup with a narrow win over League Two rivals Elgin City at Hampden. An early goal that was credited to John Carter and a second from Chris Duggan gave Gus MacPherson’s men a commanding
ST MIRREN................4 (Gallagher 10, Mallan 22, 89, Watson 37, )DUNFERMLINE.........0St Mirren booked their place in the semi-final of the Petrofac Training Cup with a comfortable win that eased them past a hapless Dunfermline side.Three first-half
SCOTLAND’s hopes of reaching the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup were in the balance until the very end of this Pool B contest, but they just about deserved to go through thanks to a much-improved second half. A first-half blitz by the Samoans
A Danish zoo is planning to publicly dissect a year-old lion - a year after another park's decision to dissect and skin a giraffe and feed it to lions triggered massive online protests, a zookeeper said. He said the purpose of it was to give people
The Scottish public should be given the power to propose a second independence referendum rather than having one imposed upon them by a political party, according to Scottish Green co-convener Patrick Harvie. The pro-independence party has proposed
Geoffrey Howe, the minister whose devastating resignation speech effectively ended Margaret Thatcher's premiership, has died aged 88. Tributes have been paid to the former chancellor from across the political spectrum after he suffered a suspected
St James’ Park, Newcastle, kick-off 2.30pm. Live on ITV.WHAT’S AT STAKE?Scotland are out to secure second place in Pool B, which would take them through to a quarter-final against the winners of this afternoon’s Wales v Australia match. Samoa have an
SIMON BAIN While politicians have been quick to laud the new breed of small competitors in the energy market, the same phenomenon in telecoms has attracted less attention. One of the minnows taking on the big guns of broadband and their
EXCLUSIVE SIMON BAIN Pressure is mounting on Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan to call off the bank’s seven-year legal battle against bankrupt developer Derek Carlyle following his victory over the bank in the Supreme Court
Glasgow-born singer-songwriter Jim Diamond famed for hits such as I Should Have Known Better and I Won't Let You Down has died aged 64. His passing came less than a fortnight after he announced his mother Sarah had died. His family said they
If, as expected, an announcement is made in the next few days on the devolution of abortion law to Scotland, it will be the end of a very curious process. The SNP were enthusiastic about the change but now appear to be lukewarm. Labour were relaxed
Film writer and directorBorn: June 6, 1950.Died: October 5, 2015Chantal Akerman, who has died aged 65, never made much impact at the local Cineworld, but she was regarded by many critics and festival audiences as one of the most important and most challenging
Arpad GonczBorn: February 10, 1922;Died: October 6, 2015Arpad Goncz, who has died aged 93, survived a communist-era life sentence to become Hungary's first democratically chosen president.He was charged with treason and sentenced to life in prison by
THESE young woman walking arm-in-arm in the Butlins holiday camp at Ayr in 1960 seem happy enough, although the cardigans and headscarves would suggest a nippy wind blowing off the sea at the Heads of Ayr. Butlins, originally a navy camp, operated outside
There is nothing simple about living in France. Nothing. Every day is a battle between them and us – a bone-wearying non-stop, never ending, war. ‘They’ are everybody who either service or sell us something. Or rather are paid to either service
THE SNP needs to do more to woo England Nicola Sturgeon has suggested as she appeared to predict Scotland would still be part of the UK in five years’ time.The First Minister said that she hoped that by the time of the next general election, due in 2020
MARC WARREN'S growing stature in the game was no more evident than when he rebounded from an early double bogey to birdie three of his closing four holes on day two of the British Masters at Woburn.Warren’s level-par 71 score to remain at six under par
SCOTLAND Under-21 internationalist Jay Fulton faces top internationals in training at Swansea – so matches against France and Iceland hold no fears for the midfielder.Ricky Sbragia's side got their Euro Championship qualifying campaign off to a winning
NEW Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he is 'the Normal One' and is not setting out to join the ranks of Anfield greats.In a direct response to a question about Jose Mourinho's 'Special One' quip when he arrived for his first spell with Chelsea,
THE UK Government is preparing to announce the devolution of abortion law to the Scottish Parliament in the next few days.Senior Whitehall sources said that, given the “number of sensitivities” surrounding the issue, the announcement will be presented
IT began as a dare, an examination of nerve and endurance to weed out the fit from the weak, deemed so tough that only those with military training could hope to survive unbowed. The quest to be crowned as the Ironman of Hawaii by swimming 2.4 miles in
ENTERTAINER and comedian Karen Dunbar and world record breaking cyclist Graeme Obree last night walked off with two of the top prizes at the inaugural Icon Awards. The event, which celebrated Scotland's diverse LGBTI community, held a lavish ceremony
FOR MORE than 40 years his work has helped build a unique and distinctive voice for Scottish literature and is feted around the world. Yet London’s biggest publishers are still “elitist” and do not recognise Scottish culture, according to influential
AT last the Education Secretary has stopped dithering and now taken some action to end six months of misery at Glasgow Clyde College (“Legal threat over college sacking”, The Herald, October 9). However, let us not forget the context of this decision
By now, Gordon Brown must have staged more interventions than a celebrity psychiatrist. Whether the patients are responsive is, obviously, another matter. The man with the cure for whatever ails you doesn’t give up easily. Quite what Jeremy Corbyn
WORLD championship finalists Laura Muir and Eilidh Child head the shortlist for the Scottish Athlete of the Year award which will be presented at the sport’s annual dinner on October 31.The duo from Kinross are joined on a four-strong list of nominees
TEACHING unions have urged the new board at a crisis-hit Scottish college to investigate claims of a "bullying" culture.The call from the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) came after Education Secretary Angela Constance sacked the former
You would need to be desperate to take your family across the Firth of Clyde in a grossly overloaded inflatable boat. But if your home town was being bombed to smithereens in a brutal civil war, you just might think about it. That’s what is happening
ON the face of it, it was a good deal for the taxpayer. Anglian Water Business (AWB), the privatised utility which has been awarded the contract to supply all of Scotland's public bodies, will do it for £5million per year less than its nearest competitor
Tonight at Glasgow's Royal Concert Hall, Peter Oundjian will conduct the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) in a performance of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony. It promises to be powerful, stirring, expertly rendered and well-received by an appreciative
WITH the nights fair drawing in, it is time to get a little bit of "hygge" in all of our lives. The Danish word, pronounced "hue-gah", is typically translated into English as "cosiness".Yet, there is far more to it: the essence
ST ANDREW’S Halls in Glasgow had played host to many a headline act in its day, including Winston Churchill, The Queen and Bob Hope. The roof was never raised so high, however, than on the evening of March 9, 1914.Due to the likelihood of arrest, the
OVER decades the near everyday use of the word "concussion" in sport has, if you'll pardon the pun, lessened its impact. Recently, however, a reversion to more basic terminology has had a juddering effect on the public consciousness in re-categorising
New legislation to further protect Scotland's livestock from Bovine Tuberculosis (TB) came into effect yesterday.Bovine TB is a serious infectious disease of cattle that can be passed on to other animals. Under the new rules, specified non-bovine animals
The rules around single malts used to be pretty simple. The whisky was seldom if ever matured for less than a decade, and the age would be proudly displayed on the label. If you grew fond of a particular 12 year old, you might occasionally treat yourself
Thomas Moore of Standard Life Investments has topped the Herald’s fund manager league for the second month in a row, as the Edinburgh house claimed three of the top four places. The Citywire table measures rolling performance of managers in houses
AN old soldier with a remarkable story about his role in arresting war crimes suspect Anton Gecas is to be honoured with the Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, France’s highest distinction. Hugh Maguire, 95, is one of nine former servicemen who
Dylan Thomas urges his father to rage against the dying of the light in these powerful lines, reflecting a different perspective on “Light,” this year’s theme for National Poetry Day.DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHTDo not go gentle into that good
BACK in the 1980s, Scottish food journalism was a very different animal to what it is today. For example, linking Scotland with apple growing was the equivalent of a culinary oxymoron, and anyone growing them was regarded as a bit of an eccentric. Trying
In a present where even the Conservative Party backs gay marriage and Hollywood producers rush to bring LGBT issues to the big screen, it's easy to forget a past in which a song called (Sing If You're) Glad To Be Gay could be banned by the BBC. For the
WHEN I was eight years old, my dad set up a charity to help people in danger escape from the war in Bosnia. He had seen a film about the holocaust in the Second World War and afterwards had said to my mum, "If anything like that happened again, I
MENTION The Thirty-Nine Steps to anyone of a certain age and they will respond by reminding you of the classic scene in which Robert Donat, as Richard Hannay in Alfred Hitchcock’s masterly 1935 screen adaptation, hangs from the Forth Bridge after his
Asiama, GlasgowTHE roasted ducks still hang in the little kitchen window alongside garishly pink char sui and, yes, there’s soft shelled crab on the menu. The pork belly in the three roast, we could have had four, is crisply skinned like only the Chinese
The Lloyds share sale could help create a new generation of investors in the stock market and a positive shift in financial culture, the UK’s wealth managers said this week. Analysts said the chancellor’s generous terms meant that anyone applying
NAOMI CAINE Banks and building societies are cutting the rates on personal loans in a bid to attract more borrowers. The average rate for a £7500 loan over five years is now 4.4per cent, compared with 6.4per cent in 2103, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk
JOHN Aitchison is telling a hair-raising story about the time a hungry polar bear wanted to eat him. He was filming in the remote archipelago of Svalbard in the Norwegian Arctic at the time. "This one could clearly smell me," he says. "The bear
In The Road to Little Dribbling, Bill Bryson often allows himself to digress from pure travelogue. In one instance he posits questions to detect whether you are on the brink of becoming “dangerously stupid”; in another he says it is reasonable for us
"Well, your tonsils are a bit gunky so I'll give you something. Rest today. Drink plenty. And just make sure and don't be doing any deep kissing."The doctor is talking to Daughter Number Two. I am in the room. She can see me. "Deep kissing
In 1711 the St Kitts Assembly passed a law stating that if any "slave oppose, struggle or strike any white person . . . the said Negro shall be publicly whipped; but in case such white person be hurt, the slave shall be sentenced to death".
Beware of plants that use suckers – shoots springing up from the roots – as well as seeds to spread. We all enjoy shrubs that produce cheering spring flowers with the bonus of fine autumn colour. Think how fragrant lilacs burst on the scene in spring
However you spell it – dal, daal, dahl – dal is a thick, spicy stew made from pulses and a staple of Asian diets from India to Sri Lanka. It is delicious served on its own or with boiled rice, chapatis, nan bread or poppadoms. This week's recipe uses
Could human nature be changing? It sounds unbelievable. History is crammed with conflict, often on a grand scale. Isn’t the propensity for violence simply hardwired into our brains? The late Colin Wilson, author of 1950s classic The Outsider, thought
Behind the amorphous shapes on the cover lies an extraordinary book of short stories, which could alternatively have been entitled “Home”. Unlike most short story collections, which dart hither and yon, Pond gains its strength by staying put and examining
Long thought to have been lost forever, this is the first, unpublished novel by French literary experimentalist Georges Perec, unearthed by his translator and biographer, David Bellos. Perec, who died in 1982 aged 45, was both an adventurous writer –
Exerting control over their environment is frequently cited as one of the distinguishing characteristics of the human race. Chris Powici knows better. Human beings do crop up in his poems, here and there, but they’re largely dwarfed by the elemental enormity
Under-fire referee Willie Collum is so accustomed to taking flak that the brutal assessment of his abilities delivered by Hearts manager Robbie Neilson following his side’s defeat at Hamilton would surely have rolled off his back like the proverbial water
I’VE been musing this past week on the matter of lunch, and specifically, lunch and music, as new brochures have come tumbling through the door. Generally, I range from diffident to indifferent on the question of lunch. I don’t remember the concept
THE phrase "it is saved in the cloud" is one heard on an almost daily basis but what does this buzz term of the technology world actually mean? For many people, the intricacies of cloud computing remain as mystical and intangible as the lost city of
Has it really taken Generation X frontman and solo star Billy Idol this long to write an autobiography? What’s he been doing with his time? Well, Drugs and debauchery seem to have occupied quite a bit of it. Dancing With Myself opens with Bill at a
COURT orders have been granted to remove home owners threatening to prevent the demolition of Glasgow's notorious Red Road flats, it has emerged.Police Scotland officers will temporarily evict the residents who live nearby to allow the 32-storey tower
ON Thursday's edition of BBC's Question Time, David Dimbleby cut across Stewart Hosie's reply to a question by admonishing him for making reference to Scotland, as the programme was coming from Leicester. The inference clearly being that nobody in Leicester
JOHN Elder (Letters, October 9) missed some of the more hysterical myths about fracking such as earthquakes, air pollution, water shortages, global warming, radiation discharge and even cancer. His own case is weak, because shale is typically fractured
I TAKE Oxfam Scotland’s report on inequality with more than a pinch of salt (“Charity highlights wealth of richest families”, The Herald, October 8). For a start, thousands of people are at Calais trying to enter Britain in order to enjoy the standard
THE principle of the separation of powers may be an 18th century concept, but it is essential to any modern democracy which values the rule of law. When it is breached, the proper administration of justice and due process is put at risk. It was manifestly
I AGREE wholeheartedly with Doug Gillon ("An Open and shut case as an era of broadcasting at the BBC concludes" Agenda, October 7) that we should make our opinions clear to the BBC Charter Review Consultation. As licence fee payers we are entitled
THE First Minister and her party are trying to frame policies for a different world from that which is actually taking shape. Despite an impending energy crisis the SNP has imposed a moratorium on fracking (“Fracking row: Moratorium is extended”, The
THE principal of the national centre for Gaelic has been named ambassador of the year for the language and culture as the Royal National Mod held its opening night. Professor Boyd Robertson, who heads up Sabhal M?r Ostaig, was given the accolade
THE SNP's once extensive range of '56' merchandise was abruptly axed after Michelle Thomson's departure. But what if you'd already forked out for a bag, t-shirt or mug bearing the now out of date number of nationalist MPs? You're stuck with
COLIN McLEANInvestors may be surprised to find how much commodities matter for their portfolios. With the recent collapse in the shares of many mining companies, investment reports for the third quarter may not be happy reading for many. Far from offering
With autumn in full swing and our Indian summer well and truly behind us, it's time to start peering in shop windows to do more than just check your reflection. So if you're out and about today, look beyond the poorly-dressed flesh and blood dummy staring
The name of the Fairfield Halls, Croydon, will always have resonance for those of us of a certain rock'n'roll age. It was a regular stop on the tour circuit for all the bands of the 1970s, still crops up on gig lists (Nils Lofgren is there at the end
Like many people who saw the hugely popular Glasgow Boys exhibition at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum five years ago, I was taken by the joyful vivacity of Arthur Melville’s beautiful watercolours. Most were new to me – and a revelation. Something
A CONTROVERSIAL construction firm set up by Labour council chiefs is facing the prospect of dismantlement in a bid to safeguard up to 1,000 jobs.Glasgow City Council is in talks over the future of its highest profile arms-length body City Building, including
An astrophysicist has been crowned the World Porridge Making Champion. Simon Rookyard, who just two weeks ago submitted his PhD thesis on pulsars, has taken the title at the World Porridge Making Championship held in the Scottish Highland village
A rally driver has died and another is in hospital following a crash on the Isle of Mull. Andy Mort, 47, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. John MacCrone, 26, suffered serious injuries and was airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth University
Greece's first migrant processing centre is to open over the next 10 days, allowing migrants and refugees to be flown to other EU countries - mostly of their preference - and have their asylum applications processed there. Dimitris Avramopoulos
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have marked World Mental Health Day by meeting young people and hearing their stories of how they battled the issue and are now helping others to do the same. Kate and William looked visibly moved as they spoke
Ten people from two families, including a mother, father and a five-month-old baby, have been killed in a fire in Ireland. Five children under 10 are believed to be among the dead after the blaze broke out at a halting site for travellers in Carrickmines
People are dying from air "poisoned" by the aviation industry which has "consistently lied" about expanding Heathrow airport, the shadow chancellor has said. John McDonnell addressed hundreds of people gathered in London's Parliament Square for
A student singled out by Oregon college gunman Christopher Harper-Mercer as the "lucky one" to survive and deliver a package to police has spoken for the first time about the massacre. In a written statement, Mathew Downing, 18, said his ears were
Eighty six people have died in two bomb explosions which targeted a peace rally by leftist and Kurdish activists in the Turkish capital Ankara, the country's health minister said. The explosions occurred seconds apart outside Ankara's main train
by Tony Jones AN academic and a screenwriter who were instrumental in the discovery of Richard III’s remains have said the Queen was fascinated by their story. The Queen presented Edinburgh-based writer Philippa Langley and historian John Ashdown-Hill
MARGARET Thatcher was warned to soften her Iron Lady image and display a more caring side, newly released documents show. Chief press secretary Bernard Ingham wrote a carefully worded memo to the former Prime Minister setting out her “natural assets
The "racist apartheid" state of Israel should face an economic and cultural boycott until it withdraws to pre-1967 borders and senior political and military personnel are tried for war crimes, according to a motion put before the Scottish Green conference
Leigh Griffiths, James McArthur, James Morrison, Charlie Mulgrew and Jordan Rhodes have withdrawn from the Scotland squad for the final qualifier against Gibraltar in Faro on Sunday. The Scottish Football Association confirmed the withdrawals in
A new permanent rock trap is to be installed to safeguard against rock falls at Edinburgh Castle. Work will begin on Monday to install the new structure which will replace a temporary barrier put in place in mid-2013. The new structure will
Jim Carrey twice carried the coffin at his ex-girlfriend's funeral as she was taken to her final resting place beside her late father. Cathriona White, remembered as a loving daddy's girl who wanted the world to be a better place, was found in
A "catastrophic price" will be paid if a third runway is built at Heathrow airport, the Tory London mayoral candidate has said. Zac Goldsmith told a rally in London's Parliament Square that expanding the UK's largest airport would make the capital's
Police have said they are becoming increasingly concerned for a missing Englishwoman who is thought to be travelling in Scotland. Katie Grout, 23, from Berwick, was reported missing after leaving her home in the town at 7am on Thursday. She
THE family of murdered bride Anni Dewani have said their “battle” will continue after a coroner ruled there is no “sufficient cause to resume an inquest” into her death. Millionaire businessman Shrien Dewani was cleared last year of orchestrating
A SERIES of failings contributed to the death of a mentally ill woman who jumped off a cliff while holding her newborn baby, a coroner has ruled. Charlotte Bevan walked out of St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol on a cold December night last year
ITV2 faces a legal bill running to millions of pounds after a judge ruled that presenter Peter Andre fabricated his evidence during the channel’s court battle with a TV production firm. The company must pay Neville Hendricks’ firm “substantial
THE battle to win over current account customers has been ramped up with TSB offering £125 to people who switch. The cash offer, which runs until November 2, is available to customers who open its Classic Plus account through the MoneySupermarket
A RARE Picasso masterpiece from his prized Blue Period is to go up for auction. Sotheby’s New York believes there will be strong interest when the La Gommeuse oil-on-canvas goes up for sale on November 5 with an estimated £39 million price tag.
A British soldier has become an overnight multimillionaire after winning more than £13.2 million on a 25p stake. Jon Heywood, who has toured Afghanistan, won the fortune after placing his bet online. And after a tough year in which the 26-year-old
