NICK PERCY is much more prepared for a World Championships second time around  after losing that star-struck sensation. The discus dynamo plans to survive tonight’s qualifying round and advance into Tuesday’s final in Oregon after extending his

Shiver me timbers folks, it was world Rum Day last week and I missed all the fun. Anyway, there’s nothing to say we can’t splice the mainbrace this week, especially as Scotland seems to be on a mission to compete with the Caribbean for dominance of

ST JOHNSTONE now need nothing short of a miracle to remain in the Premier Sports Cup as the Perth outfit once again failed to beat lower league opposition. Callum Davidson billed Saturday’s showdown with Queen of the South as a must win following

THOSE of you who thrash, clatter and batter away at a little dimpled ball for recreational purposes will appreciate that this daft auld game can drive you round the bloomin’ twist. At least we don’t have to worry about making a living from it.

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI has moved another step closer to joining Barcelona after Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer announced an agreement has been reached with the Catalan club. Lewandowski, 33, has one year left on his contract with Bayern but

The Horizontal Oak: A Life in Nature Polly Pullar Birlinn, £16.99   REVIEW BY ROSEMARY GORING The old oak in Ardnamurchan that gives nature writer Polly Pullar’s memoir its title has withstood “the wrath of the Atlantic” for decades

Words & Pictures: Diana Potter & Donald Erskine   St Vincent Street Church stands proudly as a monument to architectural innovation next to the modern high-rise office blocks on Glasgow’s famous financial street. The Greek gothic architecture

Cancellations, delays and lost baggage are setting a chaotic theme for overseas holidays this summer. Unsurprisingly, a trip to the airport now fills most people with dread. Unfortunately, there are no immediate solutions to the problems facing

NOW, you may think we’ve nothing to concern our pretty little heads over. You may be the type to dismiss Britain’s £2.3 trillion debt, the political detritus left by the soon-to-be-ex Prime Minister, the global warming crises . . . Oh, and let’s not

Nissan is growing its electric car line-up with its new Ariya. Ted Welford gets behind the wheel to see what it's like WHAT IS IT? If there are two areas where Nissan has more experience than most, it's building electric cars and crossovers

YOU may well have heard of the ‘Outlander Effect’. But the extent by which it is making a deep impression on Scotland’s tourism industry is staggering. Figures from VisitScotland earlier this month revealed around 1.7 million people visited spots

Sitting Pretty 16 July - 30 October. Entry from £15. Mount Stuart Rothesay, Isle of Bute PA20 9LR Five new park bench prototypes by Scotland based designers have been commissioned by Design Exhibition Scotland. The benches respond to Mount

THE SWEET REMNANTS OF SUMMER Alexander McCall Smith (Little, Brown, £18.99) Although The Sweet Remnants of Summer is the 14th novel from the ridiculously prolific Alexander McCall Smith to feature Isabel Dalhousie, it’s my first encounter

Ann Kay is retired and lives in West Dunbartonshire and revealed: “The main character in my story, Lily, experiences isolation because of her personal circumstances. Many people have become more isolated due to the pandemic so I wanted to explore this

Franco Manca, Stockbrdge, Edinburgh Franco Manca, the pioneers of sourdough pizza, have opened their second Edinburgh restaurant in Stockbridge, building on the success of Franco Manca’s sister location on south St Andrew Street, which regularly

IF I earned a pound for every time someone tells me I have the best job in the world, I really would have. A travel writer: the dream job. Swanning around the world from First Class to hot tub, Cristal in hand, occasionally getting my feather quill

By Jayne Stynes THE music industry has a problem, and it's a big one. Here's the thing, though – you're almost certainly unaware of it. When it comes to representing women, the industry that I've been part of for more than a decade is failing at

Kevin Kisner took advantage of favourable conditions with a birdie blitz at St Andrews as low scoring was the theme on the third day of the 150th Open Championship. The world number 25, who made the halfway cut on the mark of level par, revelled

MARGARET (‘Peggy’) Herbison arrived in the House of Commons in 1945, delighted to be part of Clement Attlee’s Labour landslide but knowing there was so much work to be done. Principally, she knew, in housing. Severe shortages of labour and materials

Roger Allam has played a wealth of characters in his time, from Prime Minister Henry Pelham in Pirates Of The Caribbean to Peter Mannion in The Thick Of It. Hollywood blockbusters sit alongside contemporary crime dramas in his resume. The 68-year-old's

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN RETURN (PG) Writer-director Lionel Jeffries' cherished film adaptation of The Railway Children, based on the novel by E Nesbit, has been chugging into the affections of British families for more than 50 years. Shot in West

As she releases her first solo book, Ixta Belfrage speaks to Prudence Wade about the power of fusion food. While most of us tend to get recipe inspiration from Instagram or cookbooks, Ixta Belfrage has another, more unusual outlet: her dreams.

THE adhesive stamp’s history dates back to early 19th century Britain, but the traditional stamp as we know it has changed with the introduction of barcodes and with 200 days left to use up old stamps, not everyone is on board.   Way back in

Container-grown food can be very tasty. It needn’t matter whether you’re using heritage or modern varieties: the secret is good fruit-ripening sunlight for releasing sugars, good compost and regular feeding to top up compost nutrients. And freshly

What is it? A handy and compact massage gun to ease and reinvigorate tired muscles. Good points? Utilising a powerful 24-volt brushless motor, the C3 massage gun has enough vigour to soften and free up stiff muscle fibres. With 20 adjustable

DID you buy anything on Amazon Prime Day? I know I did. First time ever! You’re surprised. You say: “Normally, you’re aloof. Now you’re running with the common herd?” Correct. If there’s a sale at 80 per cent off, usually I let the mob wade in,

AJAX defender Lisandro Martinez is in England to finalise his move to Manchester United. Erik ten Hag’s rebuild is beginning to pick up pace, with the acquisition of Feyenoord left-back Tyrell Malacia complemented by the confirmation of Christian

SCOTT MCTOMINAY believes the determination to make amends for last season combined with Erik ten Hag’s fresh approach can help turn Manchester United back into trophy contenders. The Old Trafford giants have not won any silverware since 2017 and

CHELSEA have completed the signing of centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly from Napoli for a reported fee of around £34million. The 31-year-old becomes the club’s second acquisition of the summer following their move for England forward Raheem Sterling

Ask anyone who has interviewed celebrities before and they will tell you that, normally, you’re sat in a room with the interviewee alongside their PR people taking notes or advising the star what to say. But this interview was different. In a townhouse

When looking down from above and afar, the hundreds of islands that make up the Maldives loosely resemble an inverted night sky. Countless islands, sandbanks, atolls and turquoise reefs scattered in a sea of deepest blue stand out like the stars

CELTIC are back at home this weekend for the first time since lifting the Premiership title in May. Ange Postecoglou's men take on Blackburn Rovers in what is sure to be a decent pre-season test for the Scottish champions. Celtic returned home

THE way Andy Wightman views the land is different from how most of us see it. As we sit in front of his log cabin in the woods and take in the view, all I see is the steep plunge of vegetation down to the river below, sun glinting off green leaves,

Former MSP and land rights campaigner, Andy Wightman has expressed his disappointment at Scottish Government's consultation for a new Land Reform Bill, published on July 4, saying, “that the opportunity has been missed to enact more fundamental change

Catch me if you can. All that was missing from Cameron Smith’s barnstorming charge during round two of the 150th Open Championship was a rousing bugle call. It was a day that had started as dour and as damp as a torpedoed battleship. By the time

Andy Goram: An appreciation by Robert McElroy Born: April 13, 1964; Died: July 2, 2022. ANDY Goram, who has died at the age of just 58, was indisputably one of the all-time great goalkeepers in British football. Seven years at Ibrox

IT's all about sustainability here at the eco-friendly Open. Well, apart from this diary, of course. “It really is unsustainable,” muttered the sports editor as he pored over my latest emission while glowering like Greta Thunberg watching someone shove

WITH my body still recovering from last week’s ride with Ed Clancy, this week was a week of good days and other days where my legs refused to work.  One man who I know wasn’t experiencing similar issues was Tom Pidcock.  The Olympic Mountain

IT says it all about Jake Wightman’s aspirations that despite finishing a hugely creditable tenth in the Olympic 1500m final last summer, he knew he was still some way off where he wanted to be.  So his winter following the Tokyo Olympics was spent

SCOTTISH football has often been accused of a degree of insularity over the years. Whether it be the same old names getting thrown up whenever the managerial merry-go-round gets into full swing, or the propensity for teams outwith the Old Firm to only

ANSWER me this. Did you feel just a tiny bit sorry for Boris Johnson this week when he summoned up his best brave face and told fellow MPs he would demit office with his tousled head held high? Did you sense that, around him, one or two political

THE LATE SUMMER light bounces off Vinicombe Street, refracting through that smoked glass front, catching expensive piano blacks, stark whites and mirrored walls while Bob Dylan‘s so rock me mama like a wagon wheel, rock me mamma murmurs from the walls

THEY think it will just go away. English Tories, and maybe some of their Scottish colleagues too – seem to believe that demand for independence will just evaporate. It’s as if they view Scottish nationalists as overexcited pre-schoolers who’ll

YES, several political commentators claim I’ve been a little difficult to read of late – that Anna Karenina, and Nicola Sturgeon’s legal challenge, are simpler to comprehend – but bear with me, I’m sure I can explain myself. I believe in traditional

SEVERAL analyses have begun to form since Nicola Sturgeon made her latest independence pledge. All of them agree there is virtually no chance of the UK Supreme Court ruling that Holyrood can legislate on its own for a new independence referendum. Moreover

BRIGHTON. By day it is fun, sea, and seriously silly property prices. After dark it would give Sodom and Gomorrah a run for its money, or at least that’s the way the place was presented in Night Coppers (Channel 4, Tuesday). Imagine what it would be

Our cartoonist Steven Camley’s take on the rise to prominence of Penny Mordaunt on July 16, 2022. Framed prints of Steven Camley's cartoons are available by calling 0141 302 6210. Unframed cartoons can be purchased by visiting our website thepicturedesk.co.uk

Trendy tonic water brand Fever-Tree has been hit by glass and labour shortages that have jacked up shipping costs to the US. The London-based company said it is experiencing an "exceptionally challenging environment" as a lack of workers in the

Burberry has become the latest upmarket brand to report struggling sales in China, raising further concerns about the future of what is arguably the world’s most important luxury market. The fashion house said strict Covid lockdowns in China triggered

Well that’s an odd choice for an opener, thought your previewer as she looked at the line up for the The South Bank Show (Sky Arts, free to view, Wednesday, 10pm). Frank Skinner scheduled to sit down with Melvyn Bragg the first week, then Helen

By David Thomson With the turmoil in UK politics following the recent resignation of Boris Johnson investors may be wondering just how much of an effect politics has on investment markets. Politics has always had the potential to impact the stock

By Ian McConnell Business Editor ANTONIO Horta-Osorio, former chief executive of Bank of Scotland owner Lloyds Banking Group, is joining Italy’s Mediobanca as a senior adviser. The Milan-based bank, which has activities spanning wealth

IN the race of the Omicron sub-variants, BA.5 has outcompeted its rivals. By June 20, genomic sequencing shows that it was making up 55 per cent of all cases in Scotland. The first known case of BA.5 Scotland was identified on March 14. For

I CAN'T be the only person who was haunted by the videos shown last night (July 14) on Channel 4 News of a sweet little Ukrainian girl from the city of Vinnytsia, a central city far from the front line of the fighting in the Donbas. In one, she

One of Scotland’s top scientists was suspended from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) after a complaint from an individual about whom he allegedly made an insulting remark. Professor Lee Cronin, Regius Chair of Chemistry at Glasgow University

IT is a sign of where we are with the contest for the leadership of the Conservative party that the name that has been on the candidates’ lips most is Margaret Thatcher and the name we have heard least is Boris Johnson. With naked haste, the contenders

Wacky races THE contest to crown the next leader of the Conservative Party – who will also get a wee shotty at being Prime Minister – is well under way. In the lead at the moment is hingmy, closely followed by what’s ‘er name. Though the

FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon has set the scene on how Scotland’s natural resources could be better managed in future in the next instalment of a series of independence papers. Laying out more of the stall in the second of the publications, Ms

If you're not a fan of the hit games Wordle or Heardle then maybe try the movie spin-off Framed.  Described as a game for 'cinephiles and casual movie watchers alike' it is inspired by the worldwide popular guessing games.  The game sees a

Are you a Top 40 champion? Do you know your boybands inside out? Try out the daily musical brainteaser Heardle to find out. If you're anything like us, you've been agonising over the New York Times' mind-bender for months now. Described as

Wordle has taken the world by storm, and if you’ve not given in to playing the daily game, we can guarantee you’ve seen the elusive squares all over social media. The aim of the game is to find a 5 letter word in only six attempts. The game

Do you know a Wordle fanatic? Turn them on to the ultimate word game mind-bender: Quordle. Whether you've aced the music spin-off Heardle and you've got the Film version Framed beat, it might be time to raise the stakes.  Described by some

A common Omicron symptom is affecting men and women differently as infection rates rise in the UK. 40% of women are suffering with fatigue as a result of contracting the Omicron variant of Covid-19 while just a third of men are affected, new research

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