The Scotsman back issues from July 2003:
A paler shade of white
Jul 01, 2003; ... White teeth may now be synonymous with Zadie Smith, but theliterary phenomenon has been matched by an interest in the realthing. For decades we Brits have adopted an uncaring attitude tocosmetic dentistry - fillings and crookedness are par for the course.In Scotland, the average ...
Another thing: No 29: The upgrade
Jul 01, 2003; ... THERE are few experiences as great as the pleasure you get fromturning left when entering an aircraft. As your fellow passengersturn towards Economy and the ignominy of crushed legs, cellophanemeals and a cacophony of crying children that even a pair of freeheadphones and a repeat ...
Reviews: Whistler: Artful gratitude
Jul 01, 2003; ... Exhibition Whistler***** HUNTERIAN ART GALLERY, GLASGOW It is Whistler's centenary. He died in 1903 and he is beinglavishly commemorated in Glasgow at the Hunterian Art Gallery. TheWhistler collection has been completely rehung and, indeed, the wholegallery has been revamped for ...
Reviews: Live reviews:Attempts On Her Life
Jul 01, 2003; ... THEATRE Attempts On Her Life*** RSAMD, GLASGOW MARTIN Crimp's Attempts On Her Life was first seen in London in1997, the year Tony Blair was elected; and despite its evidentbrilliance, the text is beginning, very subtly, to look its age. Subtitled "Seventeen Scenarios for the ...
And where were you?
Jul 01, 2003; ... Watercooler chat on a Monday morning usually centres around thedull vagaries of weekend television, or tales of derring-do at thelocal pub. But in offices across Scotland yesterday there was onlyone subject on everyone's lips and one question that neededanswering: were you at the Robbie ...
Revies: Measure for Measure: Little passion in the woods
Jul 01, 2003; ... THEATRE Measure for Measure*** BOTANIC GARDEN, GLASGOW Abeautiful, chilly June night in the Botanic Gardens; and on afixed stage in the green woodland, the Glasgow Repertory Company areperforming their third Shakespeare of the week. The costumes arevaguely Tudor, the voices - ...
Bavaria link-up to aid trade
Jul 01, 2003; ... A CO-OPERATION agreement between Scotland and Bavaria was signedyesterday with the hope of promoting business links between the tworegions. At a ceremony in Edinburgh's Signet Library, First Minister JackMcConnell and the Bavarian Europe minister, Reinhold Bocklet, put pento ...
Army joins assault on BBC's war
Jul 01, 2003; ... ARMY chiefs last night joined the attack on the BBC over itsaccuracy in reporting the war in Iraq, accusing it of painting adistorted picture of the British campaign. Senior figures in the army are furious about the BBC's coverage,which they say bears no relation to events on the ...
MS victim threatens sympathy suicide as cannabis trial nears end
Jul 01, 2003; ... A MULTIPLE sclerosis sufferer has threatened to kill herself ifthe cannabis campaigner, Biz Ivol, takes her own life after her courtcase tomorrow. Mrs Ivol, from South Ronaldsay in Orkney, went on trial last monthcharged with cultivating, possessing and supplying the drug which ...
Consultant fears care could be hit by cost of locums
Jul 01, 2003; ... DOCTORS have warned that millions of pounds are being spent eachyear on temporarily filling posts because of severe staff shortagesin the NHS in Scotland. Fears have been expressed about the rising costs of locums, whoare paid much higher rates than doctors permanently employed in ...
Medics give thumbs-down to hospital plan
Jul 01, 2003; ... DOCTORS voted overwhelmingly against foundation hospitalsyesterday, in the belief that they are creating a two-tier systemwithin the NHS. Although foundation hospitals have not been established inScotland, it is feared that hospitals in England could poach staff,as they will be ...
OFT launches inquiry into new car warranties
Jul 01, 2003; ... AN INVESTIGATION has been launched into warranties on new cars toexamine whether they restrict competition. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) said yesterday it would focusattention on the extent to which warranties prevent customers fromtaking their vehicle to a non-approved garage ...
Business leaders appeal to Wallace on water rates
Jul 01, 2003; ... SCOTTISH business leaders met with enterprise minister Jim Wallaceyesterday to hammer the case for lower water rates and highlight thedangers of planning reforms afoot at the Scottish Executive. Iain McMillan, director of the Confederation of British Industryin Scotland, met ...
Analysis: Out of the mouths of little children, but not in every case
Jul 01, 2003; ... IT'S HARD to credit that, only 30 years ago, the idea of a judgespeaking to children in custody cases was so novel as to be describedas revolutionary. The late Lord Dunpark, the architect of the switch away from anattitude that a child should be seen, not heard, used to recall ...
New bid for Debenhams as Hamleys reassesses sale
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE rollercoaster of retailing takeovers on the high street rockedinto life again yesterday when department store Debenhams said it hadhad a second approach and toy shop Hamleys dropped its recommendationfor a previous bid. Hamleys had earlier backed an increased 226p-per-share ...
Hospital parking charge cut rejected to stop 'park and ride'
Jul 01, 2003; ... CALLS for parking charges to be reduced to GBP 1 a day at the newRoyal Infirmary of Edinburgh were yesterday rejected at a publicinquiry. The Edinburgh South MP, Nigel Griffiths, demanded to know why GBP10-a-day parking charges at the flagship hospital could not bereduced - ...
Canal welcomes return of freight
Jul 01, 2003; ... A CANAL whose past cargoes included dead bodies for Edinburghanatomists yesterday saw the return of freight for the first time in70 years. A barge carrying building materials made an inaugural journeyalong the Union canal literally to test the water for potentialfreight ...
Rise in European confidence boosts Scots exporters
Jul 01, 2003; ... SCOTS exporters received a boost to their outlook yesterday as thelatest polls of business and consumer confidence in the eurozonerevealed a modest upturn in optimism. According to polls conducted by the European Commission, corporateconfidence moved up in June and appears to be ...
Britain facing an energy shortfall
Jul 01, 2003; ... BRITAIN will become overwhelmingly dependent upon energy sourcesvia pipelines from politically unstable countries in less than 20years, a new report has warned. The State of the Nation 2003 report, published by the Institutionof Civil Engineers (ICE), reveals a potential 80 per ...
Golden State out of cash thanks to budget fight
Jul 01, 2003; ... CALIFORNIA faced a midnight reckoning yesterday in a fiscal crisisprompted by a record 38 billion dollars (GBP 23 billion) budgetdeficit. With state legislators struggling to finalise a budget by lastnight's deadline, universities have warned summer classes could becancelled and ...
6,000 jobs could go in fire service
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE government yesterday moved to capitalise on the end of thefirefighters' dispute by announcing proposals which could mean 6,000jobs disappearing in the most sweeping reform of the fire servicesince the 1930s. The changes, set out in a white paper, would involve a ...
MPs vote for ban on hunting
Jul 01, 2003; ... MPs last night voted for a complete hunting ban in England andWales, setting themselves on a collision course with the House ofLords and the countryside lobby in a battle likely to rage throughoutthe summer. In a surprise defeat, the government removed its "middle way"compromise ...
Galloway to face inquiry on Iraq fund
Jul 01, 2003; ... GEORGE Galloway is to face a full investigation into accusationsthat he used money from a charity set up to benefit an Iraqi girl tobankroll his personal political campaign in the Middle East. The Glasgow Kelvin MP, who has already been suspended from theLabour Party, is to be ...
Fatal crash gangster tracked by intelligence
Jul 01, 2003; ... A SCOTS gangster who was killed in a car crash on Spain's Costadel Sol was understood to be the focus of an information gatheringoperation by one of the UK's top intelligence agencies when he died. The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) was understoodto be tracking the ...
Tributes to a true screen legend
Jul 01, 2003; ... GEORGE Bush, the president of the United States, led tributes tothe Hollywood actress Katharine Hepburn, yesterday, saying she wouldbe remembered as one of America's "artistic treasures". Hepburn, who won an unmatched four best actress Oscars during hercareer, died peacefully on ...
House prices in near-record rise
Jul 01, 2003; ... SCOTTISH house prices have rebounded from a three-month lull toenjoy near-record rises in the quarter to June. New figures from the mortgage lender Nationwide, due to bepublished today, will show that the average Scots home changed handsfor 13-15 per cent more than in the same ...
Scots house prices prove strength with rebound
Jul 01, 2003; ... SCOTTISH house prices bounced back from a three-month lull toenjoy near-record rises between April and June, The Scotsman canreveal. At their peak in the fourth quarter of 2002, Scots homes weregaining 16 per cent a year in value. As war fears spiralled in thefirst three months ...
Marconi takes another step forward with BT deal
Jul 01, 2003; ... MARCONI Corporation, the telecoms equipment maker that last monthemerged from a life-saving financial restructuring, showed furthersigns of recovery yesterday by winning a three-year deal to upgradeBT's broadband network. The contract is worth only "tens of millions" of pounds in ...
Beach cameras will target 'boy racers' and football trouble
Jul 01, 2003; ... A GBP 200,000 CCTV system aimed at helping to crack down on crimeon Aberdeen's busy Beach Boulevard came into operation for the firsttime yesterday. Five new CCTV cameras have been positioned along the BeachBoulevard and Links Road to provide maximum coverage of a wide sweepof ...
Bid to save convent from being sold to developers
Jul 01, 2003; ... A GROUP of Roman Catholic parishioners in Aberdeen have launchedan 11th-hour bid to save a convent in the West End being sold todevelopers. Aberdeen's Convent of the Sacred Heart in Queen's Lane South hasbeen put on the market with an asking price of GBP 600,000. AndThursday has ...
Flagship hospital spread deadly superbug
Jul 01, 2003; ... A DAMNING report on one of the country's flagship hospitals hasblamed poor hygiene among staff for the spread of the deadlysuperbug, MRSA. The leaked document, seen by The Scotsman, suggests that doctorsat Edinburgh Royal Infirmary knew MRSA was a "major problem" but theyfailed ...
Call to ban danger ships in Minch
Jul 01, 2003; ... AN MSP has called for the Minch to be made a no-go area for shipswith potentially hazardous cargoes, after a vessel sank off the westHighlands. The Cypriot-registered Jambo, carrying a 3,300-tonne cargo of zincsulphide, hit rocks at the Summer Isles, near the entrance to ...
Scots Tory's shadow role
Jul 01, 2003; ... PETER Duncan, Scotland's only Tory MP, has been rewarded for hisloyalty to the leadership by being appointed a shadow minister. Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative Party leader, carried out amini reshuffle last night, promoting a number of back-benchers,including Mr Duncan, to ...
No 10 scales down attack against BBC over dossier
Jul 01, 2003; ... DOWNING Street yesterday denied it has called a "truce" in itsbattle with the BBC, but signalled it will now tone down its claimthat the broadcaster falsely accused it of doctoring the Iraqdossier. No 10 made clear it will not be releasing any more offensives inthe next few ...
Gay marriage plan for Scotland threatens to provoke new battle
Jul 01, 2003; ... JACK McCONNELL is to risk battle with family value campaigners byproposing a system of gay "marriages" in Scotland to avoid beingsteamrollered into it by Whitehall. The First Minister will decide this month whether to introduce hisown civil relationships plan in the Family Law ...
Pressure on Blair after allegations against new minister
Jul 01, 2003; ... TONY Blair was under pressure yesterday to justify the appointmentof Margaret Hodge as children's minister, after fresh allegations that she could have done more to confront one of Britain's worstchild abuse scandals when she was leader of Islington Council 13years ago. Mrs ...
Union leader criticises Labour's work policies
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE new left-wing leader of the giant transport workers' union hasaccused the government of "surrendering" to big business overemployment rights and said that British workers were being treated assecond-class citizens. Tony Woodley yesterday launched a stinging attack on ministers ...
VisitScotland.com GBP 1.4m in red
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE internet company which was set up to operate Scotland'sofficial tourist website has run up a loss of almost GBP 1.5 millionin just ten months, it emerged last night. The Scotsman has learned that VisitScotland.com is GBP 1.4 millionin the red and is not expected to break even ...
Scotland's population declines to a 56-year low
Jul 01, 2003; ... SCOTLAND'S population has fallen to little more than five million,its lowest level since 1947, new figures have revealed. The office of the Registrar General for Scotland said thecontinued decline is due to increased emigration coupled with a fallin the number of births ....
Scrutineer: Retailers proving popular in the latest takeover stakes
Jul 01, 2003; ... Cheap money, low share prices and underlying property values makehigh street stores easy targets JUST as the late 1990s were known for the telephone and technologyboom, and 2000-01 for the dotcom crash, 2002-03 will be synonymouswith the retailing takeover derby. It is ...
Tracker: BPI's first-half in line with expectations
Jul 01, 2003 ... BPI's first-half in line with expectations BRITISH Polythene Industries, the Greenock-based plastics group,yesterday announced first-half trading had been "broadly in line withthe board's expectations". The company added that the sale of itspaper bag business, Welton Bibby & Baron ...
Vivendi ordered to pay GBP 14m to ousted chief
Jul 01, 2003; ... MEDIA group Vivendi Universal has been ordered to pay 20.6 millioneuros (GBP 14.3 million) to ousted chief executive Jean-Marie Messierby the New York tribunal, a US body that provides arbitration for out-of-court settlement of disputes. It rejected Vivendi's claim that the ...
Lease of life for historic station
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE historic fabric of Edinburgh's Waverley Station will bepreserved under three options now being considered for theredevelopment of the A-listed Victorian complex. A 1998 GBP 400 million Railtrack masterplan for Scotland's mostcritical rail project now looks certain to be scaled ...
Early end to tariffs gives Scotch a lift
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE Scotch whisky industry will receive a major boost today aseight Eastern European countries lift import tariffs on the nationaldrink. The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) said the countries - the CzechRepublic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia andSlovenia - ...
Connery tops poll for worst accent in a film
Jul 01, 2003; ... SIR Sean Connery's much-maligned attempt at an Irish lilt has beennamed the worst film accent of all time. His portrayal of tough cop Jim Malone in the 1987 film, TheUntouchables, barely disguising his ubiquitous Scottish accent, topsthe poll in the film magazine Empire ....
WPP narrowly avoids Sorrell pay deal fiasco
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE controversial three-year contract for Sir Martin Sorrell,chief executive of WPP, could be cut later this year after itsboardroom pay policy narrowly avoided the embarrassment of beingvoted down at the advertising giant's annual meeting yesterday. Stanley "Bud" Morten, the ...
Beckett demands Scottish support for 'new' CAP
Jul 01, 2003; ... CLAIMING last week's deal on European Union farm policy as theblueprint for the next 50 years, Margaret Beckett made it clearyesterday that she expected the Scottish Executive to sign up to itin full. There is no free ride, said Beckett, Secretary of State forEnvironment, Food ...
Government 'is turning doctors into suffocated bean counters'
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE chairman of the British Medical Association launched ascathing attack on the government yesterday - stating that doctorswere being turned into bean counters. Dr Ian Bogle said the responsibility of professionals within theNational Health Service was being suffocated while ...
Loyalty earns sole Scots Tory MP a shadow role
Jul 01, 2003; ... PETER Duncan, Scotland's only Tory MP, has been rewarded for hisloyalty to the leadership by being appointed a shadow minister. Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative Party leader, carried out amini reshuffle last night, promoting a number of backbenchers,including Mr Duncan, to ...
Arthur's express promise
Jul 01, 2003; ... AS the most significant contest between two Scottish boxers for 30years, Alex Arthur's defence of his British super-featherweight titleagainst Willie Limond on Saturday week at the Braehead Arena requireslittle in the way of hype. As the Edinburgh champion and his Glaswegian ...
Henman right on schedule
Jul 01, 2003; ... ONE wonders what Tim Henman does to enjoy himself in his sparetime. Does he thrash himself with a branch, seek to annoy a hive ofbees? Is pain his life-force, his only nourishment? He greeted this eventide match with David Nalbandian as thoughborn to commune with the stars, but ...
Johnston opens new chapter with Annabel
Jul 01, 2003; ... HAMILTON favourite-backers will be hoping to see poetry in motionthis afternoon when Mark Johnston introduces another well-bred fillyin Annabel Lee. The daughter of Halling, who is named after one of Edgar AllanPoe's works, makes her racecourse debut in a six-furlong maiden, ...
Philippoussis holds nerve to wreck the Agassi dream
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE dream is over - for another year, possibly forever. In thebest match of the tournament so far, Andre Agassi lost 3-6, 6-2, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6 to the unseeded Mark Philippoussis, in the processperhaps waving goodbye to his long-cherished hopes of becomingWimbledon champion for the second ...
Sharapova crashes out as big five cruise into last eight
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE arduous, Maria Sharapova does straight away. The routine, bycontrast, takes her a bit more time. That, at least, would appear tobe the case after the Russian prodigy lost in three sets yesterday toher compatriot Svetlana Kuznetsova. Having seen off the No11 seed Jelena Dokic ...
Diary: Driving into the rough
Jul 01, 2003; ... THE annual golf outing between the MSPs and Holyrood hacks washeld up because the transport minister had problems with his ...transport. Nicol Stephen was two hours late getting to St Andrews Bay,complaining about the state of roads. (St Andrews does not have arail station) ....
Ringing the bells of change
Jul 02, 2003; ... Once the giddy excitement surrounding a marriage proposal wearsoff, it is replaced with the scary prospect of organising a wedding. Choosing a venue is the first mountain to climb, a task made allthe more terrifying by friends who tell you that all the good onesare booked up years ...
Reviews: Fiddler on the Roof
Jul 02, 2003; ... THEATRE Fiddler on the Roof*** PLAYHOUSE, EDINBURGH IF I were a rich man I'd pay to replace Paul Nicholas as Tevye inthis show. Yes, he can sing, and he charms ladies of a certain age,but he's simply not right for the part. No-one's expecting anotherTopol - it's fair to say he ...
Radio Reviews: Histories past, present and personal
Jul 02, 2003; ... Stark Talk, Radio Scotland, Sunday Private Passions, Radio 3, Saturday Mike Harding, Radio 2, Wednesday The Scots are repressed - it's official. And a good thing, too.That, more or less, was the view of Atlantichopping Oxford historianNiall Ferguson, who came out ...
Reviews: Man and Superman AND How the Other Half Loves: That old battle of the sexes
Jul 02, 2003; ... THEATRE Man and Superman **** PITLOCHRY FESTIVAL THEATRE How the Other Half Loves**** KING'S THEATRE, GLASGOW It's a contradictory business, great theatre; and it's from thesecontradictions that it draws its most explosive and compellingenergy. Shakespeare was in many ways a ...
Reviews: One Minute: Confronting the unbearable
Jul 02, 2003; ... THEATRE One Minute**** THE TRON, GLASGOW There are things, in nature, so blindingly intense that we cansometimes see them more clearly if we don't try to look straight atthem. By coincidence, on the day that Simon Stephens's One Minuteopened at the Tron, the subject at the centre ...
Reviews: Attempts on her Life
Jul 02, 2003; ... THEATRE Attempts on her Life*** RSAMD, GLASGOW MARTIN Crimp's Attempts on Her Life was first seen in London in1997, the year Tony Blair was elected; and despite its evidentbrilliance, the text is beginning, very subtly, to look its age. Subtitled "Seventeen Scenarios for the ...
Here's a really sad idea: extend the silly season
Jul 02, 2003; ... Question: Which of the following are genuine "Silly Season"stories and which are merely figments of a weary reporter's ripenedimagination? 1) Dozens of hermit crabs whose shells have beendecorated in a range of themed outfits competed in a beauty pageantheld in Ocean City, New Jersey for ...
SMEs weigh up future after financial double whammy
Jul 02, 2003; ... TAKE one weak economy. Mix with Scottish water, at extortionaterates. Bring to the boil with the final ingredient in this recipe fordisaster - soaring insurance bills. Small firms in Scotland are reeling from a second blow on top ofrocketing water charges - and it is bringing many ...
Blow to BA as S&P 'junks' shares
Jul 02, 2003; ... DEBT-RIDDLED British Airways was left shocked yesterday after ithad its corporate credit rating slashed to "junk" status as Standard& Poor's raised questions over the company's financial health. Shares in BA tumbled 6 per cent in light of the decision, althoughthey later rallied ...
Beckham begins his reign in Spain
Jul 02, 2003; ... IN A blaze of publicity without precedent in the world of sport,David Beckham arrived in Spain yesterday to complete the formalitiesof his GBP 25 million move from Manchester United to Real Madrid. Many acquisitions have cost the Spanish club more, and severalmembers of the Real ...