Press and Journal, The Aberdeen (UK) back issues from November 2007:
Remember remember
Nov 01, 2007 ... The countdown has begun for fireworks spectaculars across thenorth-east and Highlands. In Aberdeen, preparations are well underway for this year's annual City of Aberdeen fireworks display whichtakes place at the beach next Monday, November 5. The 20-minute spectacular, organised ...
Who you gonna call?
Nov 01, 2007 ... A Scots hotel is running ghost-hunting weekends after paranormalexperts tuned into a long-running feud featuring two oldadversaries. Scottish ghost-hunters have named the Winnock Hotel in Drymen asone of the most haunted places in Scotland. After hundreds of ghost-hunting ...
Reelin' and a-rockin' my way through a dizzy world of woe
Nov 01, 2007 ... I Don't think my wife really believed me when I told her Icouldn't lift the shopping out of the car boot in case I rolledheadfirst inside it. I barely believed it myself, so I couldn'tblame her for being sceptical. "Was it a free upgrade with your skiver's kit?" she asked. If ...
Bidding to stage the 2018 World Cup
Nov 01, 2007 ... The Football Association has thrown its hat into the ring byconfirming its intention to bid for the 2018 World Cup to be held inEngland. This would be quite a coup, especially coming so soon afterthe 2012 Olympics. However, holding two such prestigious events soclose together might count ...
Frustrations of being kept on hold
Nov 01, 2007 ... They call them customer-service lines, but there is nothingfriendly, helpful or easy about waiting on the phone for hours toservice-providers. An ICM poll has found that there is an average wait of almostfive minutes to speak to another human being when calling helplines,with ...
Analysing effects of supermarket chains
Nov 01, 2007 ... It Is DIFFICULT to gauge whether shoppers whose supermarkettrollies groan under the weight of various three-for-one products,or half-price lager offers, worry much about the overall effect theyare having on the economic landscape. The odds are that they worry very little. After ...
Feast of music and laughter
Nov 01, 2007 ... After a wait of more than two years, Eden Court Theatre inInverness reopens this Saturday, with legendary Scottish traditionalmusicians Aly Bain and Phil Cunningham topping the bill. Being the first act to perform in the new theatre is a hugehonour for the gifted duo, as they ...
30 days of night
Nov 01, 2007 ... Spare a thought for the lonely plight of vampires. Thesetormented souls are cursed to loiter in shadows, walking the Earthfor all eternity while the people they love grow old and die. Theyare hunted for sport, doomed to a splash of holy water or anunsightly stake though a withered ...
Bonfire treat
Nov 01, 2007 ... Serves 4, makes 12 tacos. 4 chicken breasts Old El Paso Spice Mix for Tacos 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil 2 medium tomatoes, chopped 1 avocado, diced 1 red onion, finely chopped 1 lettuce head, shredded 4 tablespoons ...
Globetrotter stops off at stovie central
Nov 01, 2007 ... The last time Nell Nelson came to Aberdeenshire was to makepancakes with Ballater "Rural" (Scottish Women's Rural Institute)for her STV series The Woman Who Ate Scotland. It was a testing experience. "All 'The Rural' were watching me on the TV monitor in anotherroom and I was ...
Death at a funeral
Nov 01, 2007 ... In The right hands, death can be a laughing matter. Frank Oz'svery British black comedy of secrets from beyond the grave harksback to the glorious farces of the 1940s, such as Kind Hearts andCoronets and Arsenic and Old Lace, with a distinctly modernsensibility: narcotic-fuelled ...
Let everything stop for tea
Nov 01, 2007 ... It's hard to beat the pleasure of afternoon tea with all itsrituals - warming the teapot, cutting crusts off the bread, andalways eating the sandwiches before the cake. This great British tradition is enjoying a huge revival afteryears of decline following the invasion of American ...
Deep in the forest, something stirs . . .
Nov 01, 2007 ... At This time of year, it's hard to beat an autumnal walk in thewoods. Above, sunlight filters through tree branches laden withamber-coloured leaves while, underfoot, brown earth and green mossare softly carpeted in leaves, 100 different shades of gold. It's irresistible - until ...
Little bits of what you fancy
Nov 01, 2007 ... Starring theatre darlings Wayne Sleep, Robert Meadmore andMelanie Stace, Magic of the Musicals is a concert spectacular packedwith 50 songs from 25 of the world's favourite musicals. Whether you are a fan of west-end glamour, the originalTechnicolor star-studded films or even if ...
Top award
Nov 01, 2007 ... Stewart Milne Homes has been awarded a commendation for itsachievements at the Elmhill development in the Aberdeen CivicSociety 2007 Awards. The event, held at Aberdeen's Town & County Hall, was attended bythe Lord Provost and many key figures from Aberdeen's ...
Make your move
Nov 01, 2007 ... House-hunters eager to snap up a property at The Campusdevelopment at Hilton, Aberdeen, are being urged to move quickly. Some townhouses are still on offer at the huge development of 414homes on the site previously occupied by the University of Aberdeen. The grand homes can be ...
Call for probe as number of Scots dying in winter soars
Nov 01, 2007 ... A leading charity for the elderly last night called for aninquiry into what it called a "shocking" rise in the number ofdeaths in Scotland last winter. The difference in the number of deaths between the winter andneighbouring seasons topped 2,750 between December 2006 and ...
Rejected Scots movie handed oscar lifeline
Nov 01, 2007 ... The acclaimed Gaelic film, Seachd - The Inaccessible Pinnacle, may still stand a chance of being nominated for a top film award,the Press and Journal can reveal. The picture, the first Gaelic feature film, was overlooked foran Academy Award nomination for best foreign language ...
Wildlife wonder is vital part of angling experience
Nov 01, 2007 ... Scottish Natural Heritage has been working for more than a decadeon proposals to reintroduce European beavers to our rivers. Now, after many setbacks, it looks likely that a group of theseanimals, extinct in Scotland for the past 400 years, will bereleased into the Argyllshire ...
Ups and downs as Murray stays on target for place in Shanghai masters
Nov 01, 2007 ... British tennis number one Andy Murray is desperate to establishhimself as one of the best players in the world by earning a placein the Masters Cup in Shanghai. Murray's 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory against Jarkko Nieminen in thesecond round of the Paris Masters yesterday sent him one ...
Fletcher book is old news to cook
Nov 01, 2007 ... England batsman Alastair Cook insists he is not interested in anyof the sensational revelations in former head coach DuncanFletcher's new book. Fletcher, who was succeeded by Peter Moores in May, claimed in'Behind the Shades', which has been serialised by a nationalnewspaper, ...
Competition commission comes under fire from retailers
Nov 01, 2007 ... Independent Scots retailers last night accused the CompetitionCommission of letting them down after its report into the UK'smultibillion-pound grocery market called for planners to allow moresupermarkets. The report, which follows an 18-month inquiry, criticised the so-called big ...
SNP to ban new-build home sales to tenants
Nov 01, 2007 ... The right to buy new council and housing association homes is tobe scrapped as part of "radical proposals" to tackle Scotland'shousing crisis. The landmark policy introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980shas led to nearly 500,000 homes being bought by their tenants. It ...
Major denies delaying life-saving kit
Nov 01, 2007 ... An Army logistician was accused yesterday of failing to order thedistribution of life-saving bomb disabling kit to frontline Britishtroops in Iraq. Major David Towndrow, of the Royal Logistics Corps, appeared as awitness at the inquest of Gordon Gentle, 19, of the Royal ...
Salmond and McLeish launch poppy appeal
Nov 01, 2007 ... First Minister Alex Salmond and Scotland football team managerAlex McLeish joined up yesterday to launch this year's Scottishpoppy appeal. Mr Salmond and Mr McLeish were at the Lady Haig's Poppy Factoryin Edinburgh yesterday morning. The charity Poppyscotland organises the ...
Free canapes offer for critics' funerals
Nov 01, 2007 ... Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has attacked food critics and is offering to provide the canapes at their funerals free of charge. The Scots chef and TV star, whose New York restaurant GordonRamsay at the London was criticised in a New York Times review, sayshe is "sick to death of ...
Heather compares herself to Diana
Nov 01, 2007 ... Heather Mills McCartney claimed she was close to suicide,compared herself to Diana, Princess of Wales and accused Sir PaulMcCartney of stalling on their divorce settlement in dramatic TVinterviews yesterday. The estranged wife of Sir Paul, 65, pledged to campaign to changethe ...
Millions of hours spent hanging on the telephone
Nov 01, 2007 ... People waste a total of 60million hours each year on hold oncustomer service lines, research suggested yesterday. Callers were also exposed to 1.2billion tunes while kept waitingon the phone by service providers including utility suppliers andphone and internet providers, with ...
McCann attack on German magazine
Nov 01, 2007 ... A German satirical magazine's take on the publicity surroundingMadeleine McCann's disappearance was described by her parents'spokesman today as "extremely hurtful". The Titanic published a double-page spread in the form of anadvert for a supermarket, depicting a number of products ...
Happy ending as fairytale figure returns
Nov 01, 2007 ... A 5ft high model pixie which was stolen from one of the north-east's most popular family attractions was yesterday returned home. The fairytale creature was spotted lying on the side of the road,around three-quarters of a mile from Storybook Glen at Maryculter,where it had been ...
Crackdown leads to 16 drivers being caught using mobiles
Nov 01, 2007 ... Sixteen drivers were caught using their mobile phones behind thewheel during an eight-hour crackdown by police officers in Elgin, ithas emerged. All the drivers now face being slapped with a pounds60 fine andthree penalty points. For some the consequences of being caught may ...
MPs see challenges in delivering UK aid to Afghanistan
Nov 01, 2007 ... Two intrepid north-east MPs are returning to the UK after bravingTaliban bombs and bullets, worried that not enough British aid isgetting through to deprived communities in Afghanistan. Gordon Liberal Democrat Malcolm Bruce, chairman of the Commonsoverseas development committee, ...
School contest succeeds with fireworks safety message
Nov 01, 2007 ... A Poster competition for north-east pupils is helping to slashthe number of youngsters injured by fireworks. Fraserburgh and District Safety Group's annual schools contesthas been running for six years and regularly receives entries frommore than 600 pupils. Primary-age ...
Gritty crime thriller is Granite City bestseller
Nov 01, 2007 ... His tale of murder and corruption on the streets of Aberdeen wasshunned by the country's publishing houses. Lance Black's determination to get his gritty crime thriller intoprint has been rewarded with a place at the top of the bestsellerlist, however. Direct Action hit the ...
Safe driving scheme goes virtual to target young
Nov 01, 2007 ... A Safe driving campaign has gone virtual by joining a socialnetwork site to allow its target audience to keep up to date withdevelopments. The Safe Drive Stay Alive initiative has set up a page on theBebo website which is particularly popular with young people. The site ...
Witness quizzed over DNA found on victim's jeans
Nov 01, 2007 ... A Murder trial witness was yesterday asked to explain why his DNAwas on clothing worn by a nursery nurse on the night she vanishedmore than 27 years ago. Charles Lamont , 49, said he and Elizabeth McCabe had had asexual relationship - but he insisted it was well before the ...
Musical showcase should hit right note
Nov 01, 2007 ... Some of Scotland's finest young musicians are to unite to presentan exciting concert designed to display the vibrant and healthystate of the country's music scene. The third National Showcase of Excellence, being held onSaturday, November 10 at Strathpeffer Spa Pavilion, will ...
Members pay price of gym VAT
Nov 01, 2007 ... Members of council-run leisure centres and gyms could face a risein their fees after a Scottish council lost a landmark court battleover VAT. HM Revenue and Customs has warned more than 2,500 publicly-ownedleisure centres across the UK that they must levy VAT on their ...
Fraserburgh streets ahead for safety
Nov 01, 2007 ... Fraserburgh has emerged as one of the safest places to park yourcar in Britain. Motorists in the Buchan town are the least likely to be targetedby thieves, according to new figures released today. AlongsideIrvine in Ayrshire, Worthing in Sussex and Ayr, the north-east townhad no ...
Woolies wishing for happy Christmas
Nov 01, 2007 ... Retailer Woolworths reported weaker store sales yesterday as itgeared up for the Christmas trading season in cautious mood. It said like-for-like sales from its retail business were 0.4%lower in the 38 weeks to October 27, compared with growth of 0.6%seen in the six months to ...
Grant's malt master the toast of New York
Nov 01, 2007 ... The longest serving master blender and malt master in whisky hasbeen honoured in New York. David Stewart, 62, of William Grant and Sons, collected alifetime achievement award. US-based Malt Advocate magazine, which reports on whiskies fromaround the world, delivered the ...
Retail rally lifts spirits in the city
Nov 01, 2007 ... Market report RETAIL stocks rallied yesterday as takeover talk and the results of a Competition Commission inquiry into supermarkets liftedshares. Currys owner DSG International charged more than 7% ahead to129.5p amid speculation of a possible US takeover ...
Sterling climbs against dollar as fed cuts us rates
Nov 01, 2007 ... The pound broke the 2.08 mark yesterday as interest-ratedevelopments on both sides of the Atlantic drove the currencyhigher. Sterling's latest rise - to a level not seen since early 1981 -came after stronger-than-expected house-price figures from theNationwide reduced the ...
Nuclear shipments cancelled
Nov 01, 2007 ... Scots waters will no longer act as a passage for the transport ofpotentially dangerous cargo from Sweden, after the country said itwould end the shipment of nuclear waste to one of the UK's biggestreprocessing plants. The announcement was made yesterday by Swedish Minister of ...
Witness quizzed over DNA discovery
Nov 01, 2007 ... A Murder trial witness was yesterday asked to explain why his DNAwas on clothing worn by a nursery nurse on the night she vanishedmore than 27 years ago. Charles Lamont, 49, said he and Elizabeth McCabe had had a sexualrelationship - but he insisted it was well before the night ...
Pupils get graphic illustration of the worst effects of drinking too much alcohol
Nov 01, 2007 ... Alcohol awareness groups visited a Moray high school yesterday inan effort to educate youngsters about the dangers of binge drinking. Second-year pupils at Forres Academy attended interactiveworkshops run by their school nurse and staff from NHS HealthImprovement and Moray's Drug ...
Police appeal after cars are damaged
Nov 01, 2007 ... Police are appealing for information after damage was caused totwo cars in a Moray fishing village. Residents in Grant Street, Burghead, awoke last Friday to findthe wing mirrors on their cars had been damaged. Police believe vandals may have struck some time between 6pm ...
Asda customers join in protest
Nov 01, 2007 ... Environmental campaigners have thanked shoppers in Elgin fortheir positive response to a packaging action day. Customers at the town's Asda store, on Edgar Road, werepetitioned by campaigners for about an hour on Saturday. They were encouraged to return waste packaging to ...
Mason's ceremonial articles returned
Nov 01, 2007 ... A Masonic ceremonial sword stolen from a Moray village hall hasbeen mysteriously returned. A wooden-handled hatchet belonging to the Portknockie MasonicLodge has also turned up following an appeal by police in the Pressand Journal earlier this week. The items, which were ...
Fochabers patrols step up after spate of thefts
Nov 01, 2007 ... Police have stepped-up patrols in a Moray village following aspate of house break-ins, and homeowners are being warned to beextra vigilant. The first break-in was reported more than a month ago onSeptember 21 and three further addresses in Fochabers have beentargeted by thieves ...
Primary school and arts centre welcome a Royal visitor
Nov 01, 2007 ... A new primary school at Cawdor and a community and arts centre inNairn rolled out the red carpet for a royal visit yesterday. Both were officially opened by the Princess Royal during hervisit to the Highlands. Earlier in the day the princess visited St Andrew's Cathedral, ...
Nicholson gives Dons a cup lift
Nov 01, 2007 ... Barry Nicholson scored the first hat-trick of his professionalcareer as the Dons cantered into the semi-finals of the League Cupwith victory against Caley Thistle at Pittodrie last night. But the win came at a high price, with Jamie Smith and DerekYoung joining a rapidly growing ...
Pink party to launch moonlight walk
Nov 01, 2007 ... A Pink party to raise money for breast cancer takes place atBanff this weekend with music by local band Wonderland and DeveronFM. The Fife Lodge Hotel is the venue on Saturday from 8.30pm. Moneyraised will go to the patient oncology fund ...
Nicholson spells treble trouble for shaky Inverness
Nov 01, 2007 ... Victory at a canter for the Dons as they were handed serenepassage towards the semi-finals of the League Cup by a shambolicCaley Thistle defence. Caley Thistle handed three goals to the home team in a bizarreopening half at Pittodrie last night. Barry Nicholson took the ...
We were superb in the first half
Nov 01, 2007 ... I was very angry with the players after the Falkirk game onSunday but in the first half against Caley Thistle we were superb. But it was a victory which came at a price and we are severelylimited in terms of our attacking options. Jamie Smith and Derek Young were both injured ...
Lampard to the rescue after foxes bite back
Nov 01, 2007 ... Frank Lampard completed a hat-trick in stoppage time as EnglishLeague Cup holders Chelsea survived an almighty scare to beatLeicester City 4-3 and reach the quarter-finals. City shocked the Stamford Bridge crowd by taking a sixth-minutelead through Gareth McAuley. But two neat ...
Still pushing the self-destruct button
Nov 01, 2007 ... Caley Thistle's defensive shambles resurfaced for Inverness player-manager Craig Brewster's return to Pittodrie last night. The Highlanders looked to have eradicated their early-seasonhabit of conceding soft goals, but their concentration was foundwanting against the Dons in this ...
Will's word of warning to the home nations as Olympic chiefs seek a British football team
Nov 01, 2007 ... British Olympic chiefs' hopes of entering a British soccer teamfor the London Olympics in 2012 have been dealt a major blow afterScotland's David Will warned that such a move would threaten theseparate identities of the four home nations. Will spent 17 years as a Fifa ...
English FA launches bold bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals
Nov 01, 2007 ... The English FA yesterday cast aside its caution and announcedthat England will join the race to host the 2018 World Cup. A board meeting at Soho Square - expected to merely take thefirst tentative steps towards a bid - ended with the FA'sdirectors immediately declaring their ...
Masterplan for brochreveals new community
Nov 01, 2007 ... More than 600 houses, shops and a school could be built inFraserburgh as part of a big expansion of the town, it emergedyesterday. A masterplan has been drawn up for land at Kirkton, to the southof the town, between the A90 Aberdeen to Fraserburgh road and theA981 Strichen ...
Ill-fated power plant for mid east
Nov 01, 2007 ... Technology being developed for an ill-fated green power plantproposed for the north-east is now expected to be used in the MiddleEast. The world-beating Peterhead project was killed off in the springafter the UK Government further delayed a decision on whether toback the ...
Persistence pays for writer
Nov 01, 2007 ... His tale of murder and corruption on the streets of Aberdeen wasshunned by the country's publishing houses. Lance Black's determination to get his gritty crime thriller intoprint has been rewarded with a place at the top of the bestsellerlist however. Direct Action hit the shelves ...
Hunt for north-east descendants of prussian field marshal
Nov 01, 2007 ... One of the world's leading genetic historians could lead a huntfor the descendants of a north-east-born Prussian field marshal andhis mistress - a prisoner of war whom he captured in the 17thcentury. Professor Brian Sykes of Oxford University, is investigating thelegacy of ...
Right to buy for new builds is scrapped by SNP
Nov 01, 2007 ... The right to buy new council and housing association homes is tobe scrapped as part of "radical proposals" to tackle Scotland'shousing crisis, it was announced yesterday. The landmark policy introduced by Margaret Thatcher in the 1980shas led to nearly 500,000 homes being bought ...
Reprimand over leaked announcement
Nov 01, 2007 ... The Scottish Government received an embarrassing reprimandyesterday after details of a key ministerial housing announcementwere leaked to the media. Scottish Parliament Presiding Officer Alex Fergusson stoppedHealth and Wellbeing Secretary Nicola Sturgeon from giving astatement, ...