The Sunday Herald back issues from February 2004:
Charm offensive; He photographed the beautiful people of the 20th Century, making them appear more beautiful still. But beneath the silver sheen, Cecil Beaton was an unhappy man who saw ugliness everywhere. As a major exhibition opens, Peter Ross examines his life, loves and legacy
Feb 01, 2004; ... "It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances" ThePicture Of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde CECIL Walter Hardy Beaton was born in London on January 14, 1904.Edward VII was on the throne. Oscar Wilde, buried in the Paris soilsince 1900, no longer cared much for shallowness ...
HIGH ANDMIGHTY
Feb 01, 2004; ... Photograph: Douglas McBride 8000mtramway, glasgowuntil february7hhhhH THOSE of us who have been hankering for the days when a show inTramway's main performance space was a buzzing cultural occasion wereamply satisfied by this ambitious mountaineering drama. SuspectCulture has ...
Hands of fate; Best-selling author Paul Auster explains how a near- death experience in an electrical storm sparked his obsession with chance
Feb 01, 2004; ... WHEN Paul Auster was 14 he nearly died. It was the summer of 1961and he was at camp in New York State for the third year in a row. Oneday he and the other boys in his group were taken on a hike. Soon itbegan to rain, lightly at first but it was not long before it wascoming down in ...
Toast to scotland's good health
Feb 01, 2004; ... States of Scotland: 2004 Edited by Kenneth Roy (ICS books,(pounds) 18) SCOTLAND'S temperature is taken more regularly than ahypochondriac's. Kenneth Roy, self-appointed chief medical officer,has asked 21 people to examine the patient and determine what exactlyits condition is ....
Don't Blow A Casket Think Out Of The Box; Spare the cuddies and the limos. Go green and avoid coughing up for a posh coffin
Feb 01, 2004; ... IN the space of 24 hours last week I met a man who sells platinumfunerals and another who had just buried his father in a cardboardcoffin. The platinum job was on offer from an insurance companyoffering peace of mind for your family when it comes to "those finalexpenses". There ...
For Folk's Sake; The Celtic Connections festival could be the saviour of traditional music, with trendy youngsters now passionate about a genre that seemed exclusive to old men with sprawling beards, finds Edd McCracken
Feb 01, 2004; ... Folk is dead - at least according to A Mighty Wind, a spoofdocumentary about folk music from the makers of Spinal Tap. Glasgow'scity-centre UGC cinema is just one multiplex showing the film, whichdepicts folk as no more than a musical and cultural sideshow peopledby beard-wearing protest ...
Empire Building; They namecheck an Austro-Hungarian aristocrat and once played illegal warehouse gigs using sunbeds for lighting. Franz Ferdinand tell Leon McDermott about their unusual path to critical and chart success
Feb 01, 2004; ... GLASGOW is a city with a rich tradition of marrying pop withintellect. From Orange Juice in the 1980s to bands like Belle AndSebastian today, the idea that you can have brains and a love forsugar-coated pop melodies has been a given. The latest in the line are Franz Ferdinand ...
Now let's have a proper inquiry into why we went to war with Iraq
Feb 01, 2004 ... "LET us begin by committing ourselves to the truth." In politicsthis kind of promise appears commonplace. Richard Nixon said it whenthe Republicans nominated him to run for the US presidency - apromise he never kept. Now the current President says: Jeez, I'm withthe rest of the ...
Readers'views
Feb 01, 2004 ... History in the making? I read with concern in Elizabeth McMeekin's article on LeeHolcombe's new book on the Appin murder that Holcombe concludes thatin some way this event was the end of clan warfare and the beginningof modern Scotland. James Stewart's remains were left ...
Offensive Charm Pays Off, For Now; Iain Macwhirter Marvels at the PM's triumphs shame the public trust him even less than before
Feb 01, 2004; ... With one bound, he was free. Or was he? Tony Blair kept his datewith destiny last week - more than that, he looked fate in the faceand spat in its eye. His job was on the line twice in the space of 48hours. But if he was worried or nervous, it didn't show. Whatever you think of Mr ...
Agathe could qualify for Scotland call-up; Celtic pair may be eligible to take part in World Cup 2006 qualifying campaign
Feb 01, 2004; ... CELTIC'S Didier Agathe could be eligible to play for Scotland intime for the 2006 World Cup qualifying matches. This August marks thefifth anniversary of Agathe's arrival in Britain, a point at which hetheoretically becomes eligible to apply to the Home Office to becomea naturalised ...
Glasgow is Games favourite
Feb 01, 2004; ... Sports Minister Frank McAveety has given the green light toScottish cities hoping to bid for the Commonwealth Games. Theselection process will get under way this month. Cities will be invited to make their case to the CommonwealthGames Council for Scotland (CGCS). But the Sunday ...
Vogts consults lawyers over slur
Feb 01, 2004; ... Scotland manager Berti Vogts last night accused his Dunfermlinecounterpart, Jimmy Calderwood, of racism over a remark he made aboutGermans being untrustworthy. Vogts has arranged meetings with hislawyer and SFA chief executive David Taylor to decide what to donext. "I cannot ...
Rockin' the free period
Feb 01, 2004; ... the big movieschool of rock A rudimentary glance at the premisefor School Of Rock might cause many cinemagoers to hightail it out ofthe multiplex as quickly as possible. A wannabe rock star who fakeshis way into a job as a supply teacher. A class full of cute kidsjust waiting to have ...
JOYSTICK DIVISION game of the Week
Feb 01, 2004 ... PRINCE OF PERSIA: THE SANDS OF TIME The hype: Control time itself as you attempt toescape a cursed castle! The reality: The real gimmick of this sublime 3D platform game isthe fluid, instinctive control mechanism. Soon, you'll be running upwalls and engaging in balletic ...
Stepping stone
Feb 01, 2004; ... There's a lot of fuss being made over Joss Stone and her voice.Not just about its qualities - rich and smoky, the kind of voice thatsings break-up songs in Memphis blues clubs at 3am - but about thefact that Stone is only 16 and, therefore, has no right to be singingabout deeply felt ...
On throng
Feb 01, 2004; ... The unusual suspectsglasgow royal concert hall 4/5 stars pO'girlglasgow royal concert hall 4/5 stars Red clydesidetron theatre,glasgow 3/5 stars ONE of the perennial frustrations facing Celtic Connections is therefusal of the London-based media to pay it a blind bit of ...
A few good menus in Glasgow
Feb 01, 2004; ... The City Merchant 97 Candleriggs 0141-553 1577 Two-course meal(pounds) 9.50 "I've known the owners since we were boys, so I have astrong personal bias. It's a real Italian restaurant, the kind thatused to have red checked tablecloths. They've had a lifetime ofservice and they know how to ...
Ladies' nights at the Citz
Feb 01, 2004; ... It is a full seven months since the Citizens Theatre appointedJeremy Raison as artistic director. However, following the 34-yeardirectorial triumvirate of Giles Havergal, Philip Prowse and RobertDavid MacDonald, the theatre has been in no rush to force Raison'shands. The closing shows of ...
Oh brother, here thou art; The arrival of the ageing Frank de Boer is brilliant news for his twin and the Dutch national team, but what is the benefit for Rangers? The capture of a striker or an intimidating defender should have been Alex McLeish's priority, says Michael Grant
Feb 01, 2004; ... Camp Nou in Barcelona holds 98,000 fans and is the largestfootball stadium in Europe. The Ali Sami Yen in Istanbul isGalatasaray's home and considered one of the most intimidating venuesin football. These great crucibles are in Frank de Boer's past andhis days in Spanish and Turkish ...
SPL stuck with BBC as rivals stay out of picture; Consultants have been hired to assess interest in the TV rights for the Premierleague, but the response will be muted, finds Michael Grant
Feb 01, 2004; ... THE future of Scottish football could have been determined in asfew as five telephone calls. When the sports rights consultants ReelEnterprises began making approaches to broadcasters, offering themthe chance to bid for the exclusive television rights to show SPLfootball from next ...
Clyde Blowers targets China as 'top earner'
Feb 01, 2004; ... CLYDE BLOWERS, a Glasgow-based industrial group, will open itsfourth base in China this week. Executive director Bill Thomsonpredicts the country will become the group's top revenue-earner as ittakes advantage of growth opportunities in a range of sectorsincluding iron and steel ....
JAPANESE are hot on Scottish air conditioning success story
Feb 01, 2004 ... DAIKIN, the Japanese industrial giant, is finalising a deal to buyMacQueen Air Conditioning, one of the fastest-growing engineeringservices firms in Scotland. David MacQueen, the firm's founder and major shareholder, said thesale, for an undisclosed sum, should be complete by the ...
Stay mutual drive for Standard Life
Feb 01, 2004; ... EDINBURGH-based assurer Standard Life, which last week cut bonusesfor the fourth time in two years, would serve its customers better byselling off capital-hungry subsidiaries and opting to retain itsmutual status, according to actuaries and independent financialadvisers. Ronnie ...
McEwan's Lager 'dead within 18 months'
Feb 01, 2004; ... McEwan's Lager, once a serious challenger to market leadingTennent's will be "dead within 18 months", according to sources atrival brewers. Mike Lees, managing director of Tennent Caledonian Breweries,said: "That [McEwan's Lager] will not be on the market in 18 months. "It ...
Coming up this week
Feb 01, 2004 ... Women Into Business Conference 2004 at the Royal Concert ...
Gas Call Services wins (pounds) 2m tender
Feb 01, 2004 ... Gas Call Services, the Easterhouse-based gas service and centralheating maintenance company, has won a multi-million pound contractwith Falkirk Council. The four-year contract, worth more than (pounds) 2 million, willsee GCS, whose clients include Glasgow and Aberdeen city ...
Glasgow internet services firm set to announce (pounds) 500,000 deal
Feb 01, 2004 ... Iomart has pulled off a (pounds) 500,000 deal in its web servicesdivision, it will be announced to the stock market tomorrow. The acquisition, which is believed to have been signed off onFriday, will help lift the Glasgow-based internet services company'ssagging share price ....
IT giant thinks small to target new market
Feb 01, 2004; ... Britain will be the test bed for computer giant Oracle'sapplication-on-demand initiative targeting small and medium-sizedenterprises (SME) with the web-based products. The American company, whose customer-base has historically beenlarge multi-nationals and public sector ...
Has George overcooked the US's fiscal goose?; Alf Young; on oversized deficits
Feb 01, 2004; ... THE irresistible rise in the US federal budget deficit is nowreaching nosebleed territory. Last year, fuelled by George W Bush'sgreat tax giveaway to the already-rich and rapidly mounting spendingon homeland security, it hit a new record, $375 billion. Last week the Congressional ...
Look after your staff and they will look after you
Feb 01, 2004 ... Employees are key to building businesses, according to a panel ofexperts at the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award launchlast week. Strong pro-employee values and looking after staff in the goodtimes to help see you though the hard times were stressed by membersof the ...
A Leeson too late for the learning
Feb 01, 2004 ... History may repeat itself first as tragedy, then as farce - asKarl Marx memorably declaimed - but Scandalmonger suspects that theshareholders of National Australia Bank are not finding it veryfunny. Over the past week NAB has had to admit that its losses fromapparently ...
(pounds) 4bn profits leap puts HBOS into high street's top three
Feb 01, 2004; ... HBOS, poised to announce a 24% surge in profits to (pounds) 3.9billion on February 25, is on track to overtake Barclays as the UK'sthird most profitable bank within a year. Shrugging off concerns over its handling of branding and branchclosures in Scotland, as well as wider fears ...
Is the 'quango king' the man to inspire business?
Feb 01, 2004 ... The announcement that Sir John Ward is to be the new chairman ofScottish Enterprise has not exactly been universally welcomed withinthe business community. Various senior figures have talked privately of their "amazed"reaction to the news, a reaction that was apparently shared by ...
Scots stake claim on employee ownership
Feb 01, 2004 ... Scotland's record in financial and economic innovation isremarkable. Not only is Adam Smith the founder of modern economics,but many things, from the overdraft, through the investment trust tothe "hole in the wall" cash machine, have been invented or developedhere. Perhaps there ...
Making waves with wireless band
Feb 01, 2004 ... A Scottish firm has secured (pounds) 130,000 worth of contractsfrom "desperate" customers wanting to take advantage of the radiofrequency band that becomes available to UK organisations tomorrow. Glasgow-based communication equipment provider Boston Networks,headed by Keith ...
Xperian revamps image and staff
Feb 01, 2004 ... Xperian has launched a rebranding exercise and poached three keyexecutives from rival firms in a bid to take advantage of a techupturn. The Edinburgh-based company, which installs and services Microsoftproducts for small and medium-sized businesses, also said it wasfundraising ...
Haggis samosas, curry restaurants and video rental empires ethnic minorities are boosting Scotland's economy. But is their passion being nurtured?
Feb 01, 2004; ... GUESTS of Edinburgh City Council got into the spirit of RobertBurns' international brotherhood of man last week by tucking intohaggis samosas at a Burns Supper. The fusion of Scots and Punjabicuisine was concocted by local entrepreneur Shaheen Unis, the dynamicPakistan-born businesswoman ...
How to avoid selling up to your rivals when it's time to move on " When an entrepreneur wants to leave his company, are there better solutions than just selling out? Ken Symon reports on the Baxi Partnership's innovative answer: employee ownership
Feb 01, 2004; ... It is often a real dilemma. What do entrepreneurs who are wantingto exit their enterprise or family firms with no successor ready totake over do with their business? For many business owners, the most obvious option is a trade saleto a competitor in the same field. That certainly ...
Scotland looks set to miss out on the technology upswing; Technology firms across the world are gearing up to take advantage of a revitalised IT market, yet it seems their Scottish counterparts may lose out on the benefits. Julia Fields reports
Feb 01, 2004; ... Scottish companies will likely miss the wave of technologyflotations expected to follow the announcement last week thatCambridge Silicon Radio will seek a listing on the stock exchange,according to industry observers. The wireless chip designer confirmed that it would float 25% ...
All change at Paddy's market : With hammers in hand NV Properties took its first step on the property ladder. Now its aim is fixed on a Glasgow institution, finds Arthur MacMillan
Feb 01, 2004; ... WHEN Farahbod Nakhaei and Homan Varghaei entered the propertymarket they did so with sledgehammers in hand as they demolished oneof the walls of a dilapidated flat in Glasgow's west end. Nakhaei, an architect, had worked on dozens of constructiondevelopments during his career, but ...
Coalminers benefit as pension asset fund lets five properties in the capital
Feb 01, 2004; ... A COALMINERS' pension group has let five retail units, which arepart of a swathe of property it owns in Edinburgh. Coal Pension Properties confounded its critics by securing tenantsfor the shops at the Walk, a pedestrianised street which runs from StAndrew Square to the St James's ...
BBC presses ahead with appointment of Scottish controller as speculation grows over Dyke's future
Feb 01, 2004; ... SENIOR BBC executives seem determined that the fallout from theHutton Inquiry will not delay the appointment of the corporation'scontroller in Scotland. There had been fears the resignation of director general Greg Dykecould throw the process off track. But preliminary interviews ...
A friend for giving you extra; Since the merger of Bank of Scotland and Halifax, the public has been left confused by a mixed brand message. Ian Fraser investigates
Feb 01, 2004; ... MONOLITH or multi-brander? These are the two extremes of bankbranding and marketing. On one hand is the monolithic approachfavoured by global giants HSBC and Citigroup, both of which like toslap their group names on all their activities across the globe. At the other extreme come ...
Kennedy and the Dumfries angle
Feb 01, 2004 ... THE protracted retirement of Murray Ritchie, Scottish politicaleditor of The Herald until last Wednesday, has taken up much of thelatter part of his career. The final farewell, to cap 33 years under one masthead, came at abash in - of all places - The Scotsman hotel in Edinburgh, ...
Cut-price Star is Scottish hit after passing 100k sales
Feb 01, 2004; ... THE owners of the Scottish Sun have admitted that increased salesof the Daily Star is putting pressure on its circulation. The Richard Desmond-owned title broke the 100,000 barrier for thefirst time north of the border last week, according to Daily Star ofScotland editor Nick ...
Coalition parties set for clash on student fees and voting reform
Feb 01, 2004; ... The two parties in the Scottish Executive coalition are headingfor rifts on twin fronts, with the LibDems refusing to back JackMcConnell on raising the payments new graduates will soon startpaying, while Labour MSPs are pushing for the controversial councilvoting reform to be limited to ...
Get down to business and gain experience, industry tells MSPs
Feb 01, 2004; ... Business leaders have rebuked MSPs for failing to take advantageof a pioneering scheme set up to give them experience of life inindustry. CBI Scotland and the Federation of Small Businesses challengedMSPs to "get their act together" and become involved in the ScottishParliament ...
1: The DESTRUCTION of the BBC; The long-awaited Hutton report and Alastair Campbell's victory in his bitter battle with the BBC may have brought the corporation to its knees, but gloating may be premature. Support for the broadcaster is growing and the government is losing the war for the public's trust
Feb 01, 2004; ... "WHEN we received the letter from Campbell complaining about areport by Andrew Gilligan broadcast by the Radio 4 Today programme,the big mistake was to defend our reporting in the general senserather than replying to the specific complaints," says the BBCexecutive with the benefit of ...
HUTTON: the aftermath; Five-page special report
Feb 01, 2004 ... It was the week the Prime Minister looked political death in theface and escaped in a manner which would have put Houdini to shame;the week that the BBC lost its bitter battle with the government andlooked in danger of imploding; the week when, at last, seniorAmerican officials admitted ...
Mistakes can be worth making; COMMENTARY: Lord Hutton's criticism of Andrew Gilligan's report should not be allowed to stifle investigative journalism. By Iain Macwhirter
Feb 01, 2004; ... Since contrition is the order of the day, let me take thisopportunity to apologise, unreservedly, for errors in my coverage ofthe Hutton Inquiry. Lessons have to be learned. I now realise I waswrong to believe that a 70-year-old Northern Irish High Court judgewas likely to give an ...
2: The heart of the matter... did Iraq have WMD?; There's plenty of evidence that Saddam had ditched WMD, but little to show how the Blair government came to a contrary conclusion.
Feb 01, 2004; ... TONY Blair and Alastair Campbell are clinging desperately to theirstory that Iraq had an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction (WMD),but they are members of an ever dwindling club. In America, WMD claims are unravelling fast. David Kay, the headof the Iraq Survey Group picked by ...
3: THE CREDIBILITY GAP; Why is there is a chasm between what we expected from the inquiry and what we got? For the answer, look to the author's background, says Political Editor Douglas Fraser.
Feb 01, 2004; ... It was probably the longest and most momentous mumble in Britishpolitical history, monotonously sifting evidence and torturingsentences with layers of legalistic, subordinate clauses. Without the drama that might have accompanied the subject matterof suicide, weapons of mass ...
4: Blair's great escapes; It was meant to be his toughest week in politics, but while Tony has emerged victorious, he is in no way unscathed. Westminster Editor James Cusick reports
Feb 01, 2004; ... It was the predicted political funeral that turned into anescapology festival. Five narrow votes clinched victory, a whiter-than-white, squeaky-clean, guilt-free verdict from Lord Hutton andtear-filled resignations to enjoy from his BBC enemies as they fellon their swords. If this is ...
Blair prepares to call inquiry into Iraq war ... if Bush lets him; Dyke: 'Campbell bullied the BBC'
Feb 01, 2004; ... TONY Blair is preparing the ground to launch an independentinquiry to investigate the intelligence that justified war againstIraq but only if President Bush calls for one first. Both inquiries would then run simultaneously in Washington andLondon. Although Number 10 was ...
Why we must focus on Afghanistan once more; REALPOLITIK TREVOR ROYLE With recovery in Afghanistan little more than theory while attention is on Iraq, the world must heed the foreboding stirrings of serious violence in the area
Feb 01, 2004; ... The killings have a dreadful inevitability about them. The shotscome from the hidden dark or the bomb is detonated by the last actionof a human hand. Another soldier lies dead, or a vehicle and itsoccupants are vapourised. Vile acts - and ones that are only too familiar in ...
Firefighters: 'proposed cuts would have made toll worse'
Feb 01, 2004; ... THE Scottish fire service was engaged in a fierce war of wordslast night in the wake of the Uddingston care home tragedy, withfirefighters claiming their bosses and the Executive are puttinglives at risk, and fire chiefs accusing the brigade union ofoffensive opportunism and misinformed ...
Ten die in care home freak fire; Mystery over why 'small but intense' fire killed so many
Feb 01, 2004; ... A police officer on duty at the home yesterday Photograph: ReutersAn investigation began last night into how a "very small" fire at aScottish nursing home silently killed 10 residents as they slept. The occupants of Rosepark Care Home in Uddingston, near Glasgow,were overcome by ...
JUNGLE BELLE's assets slump
Feb 01, 2004; ... NOT since Charles Darwin discovered the secret of life by studyingturtles in the Galapagos Islands has there been a more excitingscientific breakthrough. I am referring, of course, to the strangecase of Jordan's sagging breasts. For those of you who have been on a spaceship to ...
McConnell: Tories are our opposition
Feb 01, 2004; ... Jack McConnell yesterday declared that the Scottish NationalistParty is no longer the main alternative to Labour and that theConservatives now pose the greater challenge to his administration. The First Minister's comments, given at a Labour party meeting inStirling, represented a ...
Ride of honour for Supercop
Feb 01, 2004; ... COMEDIAN Rikki Fulton, who died last week, will have a specialescort of Supercops on his final journey on Tuesday. The Scots actorwho made a nation laugh at the antics of a daft and dim trafficpoliceman in Scotch And Wry will be accompanied by six motorcycleofficers as a tribute ....
SQA to meet councils as English boards eye opportunity
Feb 01, 2004; ... SCOTTISH council leaders are to meet with the country's exams andqualifications agency in an attempt to defuse a row over proposedprice increases. Ewan Aitken, education spokesman for the Convention Of ScottishLocal Authorities (Cosla), is to have a crisis meeting with ...
Silent killer struck while they slept; Few outward signs of the care- home fire that left 10 dead and three critical; 'Two breaths of these fumes would be enough to kill'
Feb 01, 2004; ... There are few visible signs at the Rosepark Care Home of the firewhich has claimed 10 lives and left three others hanging in thebalance. At the scene of the worst care home tragedy the UK has seen for 40years, the two-storey building looks remarkably intact, save for afew ...
Conservationists alarmedby rural development push
Feb 01, 2004; ... NEW proposals by the Scottish Executive, which foresees areas ofprotected rural landscapes - such as national parks - beingdeveloped, have been heavily criticised by environmental groups. The Planning For Rural Development consultation document,published last week, suggests that ...
Official:children placed at risk by failing social work departments; Damning report highlights missed targets, understaffing and delays
Feb 01, 2004; ... CHILDREN are being put at risk across Scotland because social workdepartments are understaffed, resources are at breaking point and keytargets are not being met. The damning findings of chief inspector of social work AngusSkinner have been accepted by local authorities, but they ...