The Daily Thistle
The Daily Thistle – News From Scotland
Wednesday 4th October 2017
"Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you…. The heavens are full of twinkling lights this morning.. Stars for as far as you can see, a thick belt much like a rope stretches across the sky, the "Milky Way" in all it's glory... what an amazing sight.. I watch with awe as a meteor strikes the Earth's atmosphere at 35,000 mph and start to heat becoming incandescent as it descends towards the planet.. then as fast as it came, it vanishes from sight, burnt to nothing but gas …..
NAKED KIDNAP VICTIM ESCAPED FROM CAR BOOT IN EDINBURGH…. A naked kidnap victim fought his way out of the boot of a car where a gang was holding him captive as they drove through the streets of Edinburgh. Emmanuel Chidubem Emmanuel struggled with the kidnappers as they tried to force him back into the BMW X5 in front of shocked passers-by. At the High Court in Edinburgh, four men were convicted of assaulting and abducting Mr Emmanuel. Police said it was an "extremely frightening experience" for the victim.
Mr Emmanuel, 27, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire, was punched, kicked, and hit with a blunt weapon during his ordeal on 10 February. His clothing was cut and he was stripped, blindfolded and trussed up at a house in the Gilmerton area of the capital. The gang accessed his online bank account and took cash from it before putting him in the car.
He was driven through the city streets before he managed to disable the vehicle by pulling out fuses. He fought with his captors after the boot was opened at Buckstone Road.
Julie Arbuckle, 47, a social worker, witnessed the incident, which happened in broad daylight at 12:30, and called the police. Giving evidence, she said: "They were all kicking and punching him and trying to get him into the car. At one point the naked guy, they had got him in the car but he got out the other door." She said the incident was "frantic and shocking". She said the victim kept trying to get away and wriggle from their grasp. "He looked quite injured," she said. "His whole face was swollen." The social worker said she shouted at the attackers to get off him because the police were coming and they began to flee the scene. She said Mr Emmanuel came over to her car and said "thank you". She told him the police were on their way. Mr Emmanuel told the court he was trussed round the hands, legs and body and a bed sheet was wrapped over him and taped down. "I think I was gagged with a sock," he added.
HISTORIC SCOTTISH BUILDINGS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE UP FOR ANGEL AWARD…. They are examples of how to breathe new life into derelict historic properties or use construction to shine a light on Scotland’s past. A dozen projects from across the country have been shortlisted for the annual Scottish Heritage Angel Awards, ranging from the restoration of a Glasgow shipyard’s Victorian head office to the reconstruction of an Iron Age roundhouse in Whithorn. Among the most striking of the shortlisted buildings is Kirkmichael, a small medieval church on the remote Black Isle, that fell out of regular use in the late 1700s. It has recently been restored by a local community trust to house a unique collection of pre-Reformation gravestones and carvings from the nearby kirkyard. Also shortlisted is the refurbished Sail Loft - a row of 18th century cottages and outbuildings in the historic fishing village of Portsoy in Aberdeenshire - which will now be used as self-catering holiday lets. The grand former head office of the Fairfield shipbuilding company in Govan has also been nominated. While the shipyard remains open, the neighbouring listed Victorian structure found itself surplus to requirements in the 21st century and faced an uncertain future until it was taken over as a heritage centre. Categories in the Heritage Angel Awards include Best rescue of a historic building; Best contribution to a heritage project by a young person; Best rescue, recording or interpretation of a historic place; and Best craftsmanship or apprentice on a heritage rescue or repair project.
FETTERCAIRN JEWEL GOES ON PUBLIC DISPLAY FOR FIRST TIME…. A precious jewel discovered during the clear-out of a mansion house in Aberdeenshire has gone on public display for the first time. The “Fettercairn jewel”, an elaborate gold and enamel pendant locket set, was purchased by the National Museum of Scotland after it went up for auction in London earlier this year. Experts believe the previously unknown treasure, discovered in a closet off a library at Fettercairn House, in Aberdeenshire, could be linked to the famous Darnley Jewel and the Houe of Stuart. It is one of the most important early pieces in the Queen’s Royal Collection, which is believed to have been commissioned by Lady Margaret Douglas, mother-in-law of Mary Queen of Scots. The National Lottery and the Art Fund charity helped the museum meet the ￡236,500 cost of buying the jewel, which experts will now carefully examine and trace its history. A bidding war over the fate of the jewel - described by the auctioneeers as an important rediscovery for the history of Scottish Renaissance jewellery - saw it go under the hammer for far more than its expected price of between ￡30,000 and ￡50,000. Believed to protect its weather from lightning and plague, the jewel was part of a treasure trove of artefacts sold by the new owners of Fettercairn House, in Aberdeenshire. More than 400 works of art went under the hammer less than a year after the sale of the sprawling Mearns property severed ancestral links dating back to the late 18th century.
COMIC BOOK STARS INSPIRE DANCE ROUTINE FOR DUNDEE CULTURE BID…. A new “Dundee dance routine” inspired by some of its famous comic book characters created in the city has been released to help bolster its bid to become a European culture capital. It is hoped hundreds of people will turn out next month to perform Desperate Dan, Oor Wullie and Dennis the Menace moves after learning them from a new online tutorial. There are also nods to The Law, the hill overlooking the city, its famous city polar exploration vessel Discovery, the River Tay and the Mills Observatory. A football header is also incorporated in the routine as a tribute to the city’s footballing rivals, Dundee and Dundee United.
Organisers of the Dundee 2023 bid are staging a mass dance session at the new public park recently completed on the city’s waterfront on 7 October. A rehearsal is being staged the previous Wednesday to help Dundonians learn the new routine ahead of the two-hour event, which will be filmed to help promote Dundee’s bid and be used as part of its official application.
CANADIAN STORE GIVES PIPER HIS MARCHING ORDERS…. A daily bagpipe performance in a prominent Canadian department store begun 72 years ago in memory of its Scottish founder has been axed by the business’s new owner. Ogilvy’s department store, on Montreal’s St Catherine Street, has featured a daily piping performance since 1945, when businessman Aird Nesbitt launched a series of Scottish traditions including tartan shopping bags and store packaging to mark the store’s founder, James Angus Ogilvy, who founded the business after emigrating to Canada from Kirriemuir in the 1860s. Last week the performance, which saw the piper serenade customers from the fifth floor to street level for about 20 minutes at noon every day, took place for the final time. Piper Jeff McCarthy, who has performed at the shop since 1992, said it was a “sad and memorable day”. He said: “There is nothing more genuine than a piper pouring his heart and soul into his music. “Brigadier- General Aird Nesbitt knew it was a sound that comes and grabs you, a sound that lifts hearts and spirits. A sound that inspires people to greater things. And a sound that was deliciously and irrevocably Scottish.” Normand Ciarlo, divisional vice-president of Holt Renfrew and Ogilvy, which is now owned by the Selfridges Group, said: “After careful consideration, the decision was made to discontinue lunchtime concerts by the Ogilvy piper. “We would like to thank all Ogilvy pipers, past and present, for their contribution to the historical character of the store.
On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today,
Our look at Scotland today is of the Piper Jeff McCarthy, who has performed at the Ogilvy department store since 1992……
A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it's always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of "Colombian" Coffee and wish you a safe Wednesday 4th October 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming Jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00 am…on the streets of Estepona…
All good stuff....But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in
Be safe out there…
Robert McAngus