News.Scotland.Org

The Main Event 2010, the  only event in Scotland, dedicated to corporate events, hospitality and entertainment, will be bringing together some of the best event suppliers of Scotland at the SECC Glasgow on 11th  March from 9:30am – 5:30pm. Touted as one of the best B2B exhibitions in the whole of UK, this free event will attract not just entrepreneurs and business houses but fun loving families and groups as well who would be drawn by the entertainment options, stage shows and interactive sessions. Over 100 exhibitors are expected to participate in the show this year with many guest speaker sessions and special guests to make the exhibition a diverse experience.

Organized by QD events, SEC showcases the business events programmes and deals with many aspects of corporate team building and  merchandising, which would be tremendous use for the business houses in particular. The basic objective of this event is to unravel the latest trends in business world and to help you build the right connections with the best that Scotland has to offer.

The talk shows of special guests at the  MCL Theatre  will feature many renowned speakers  including Scotland’s own ‘Dragon’ fresh from the Den, Shaf Rasul, and T in the Park founder, Geoff Ellis who would share some of the best kept entrepreneurial secrets and success formulas from these self made luminaries from the business world apart from musical shows as well.

Scotiabank, the third largest bank in Canada in terms of deposits and market capitalization is all set to enter the banking market in Columbia for the first time after it bought the  Royal Bank of Scotland’s wholesale banking operation in Colombia. Royal Bank of Scotland grabbed headlines after having led a consortium that launched the world’s largest banking takeover, that of Dutch-based ABN Amro, before it was hit by the banking crisis, which in turn resulted in the bail out packages  from the British government.

Scotiabank, founded in 1832 in Halifax, Nova Scotia,ranks at number 120 on the Forbes Global 2000 listing. By the acquisition of the Royal Bank of Scotland , which is the largest banking group in Scotland, Scotiabank will ensure an overwhelming presence of Scotiabank in  Central and Latin American countries including  Mexico, Belize, El Salvador, and Panama.

The Colombian wholesale banking division of Scotiabank will be offering many services including deposit, loan and capital markets services to both corporate and commercial customers. In Latin America, it has a staff strength of over  31,870  members spread in 1,411 branches, kiosks and other offices and the operations are expected to contribute about 75$ million to its earnings . The acquisition of the wholesale banking operations in Columbia has had a positive effect on the shares of the Scotiabank, which ended 46 cents higher than its previous closing value.

Three years ago the Whisky Gods smiled and three crates of the now extinct blend of Mackinlay whisky were discovered, encased in ice for more than a century! The crates have now been recovered from where they lay buried under Ernest Shackleton’s hut during the failed expedition to the South Pole 1909.

And White and Mackay company which now owns the McKinley brand is waiting for a sample with hopes of recreating the famous blend.

The alcohol was removed from the ice by the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust, which had initially believed there were only two crates. However three crates of whisky and two crates of brandy have been recovered abandoned in the hut the team used on their daring expedition in 1907 -1909.

Had Shackleton and his team reached the South Pole he would have been the first person to reach it ahead of Amundsen who finally reached it in 1917.

For whisky-lovers it’s a chance to hopefully enjoy a long-lost blend IF the master blenders at Whyte and Mackay manage to recreate the blend.  Here’s a toast to Ernest Shackelton, he’s back in the news a hundred years later with the discovery of “Shackleton’s Whisky” as it is being called now! Cheers!

Huntly in Scotland is well-known for its Castles. The place has lots of interesting places to visit, relax and enjoy and the major attraction related to this place is its historic buildings. Besides the castles you have Brander Museum and Leith Hall. Most of the tourist visiting Huntly prefer to stay in this Castle and enjoy the contemporary food available here. Whisky lovers can look out for the Glendronach Distillery and the Duncan Taylor Whisky Shop.

Attractive parks for children like Bogie Dragon and the family can have equally better place to spend their time at Peregrine Wildwatch and Huntly Falconry Centre. Drive down to Kildrummy Castle Gardens for its tranquil atmosphere, there’s so much to do.

Amidst all this is tourism is the project by Huntly’s tourism – the construction of hostels. The project initiated in a way that will convert outbuildings into hostel. The need for this type of accommodation was long awaited and there isn’t much like this between Elgin and Aberdeen. This will also encourage other business in town and the project will be an added advantage for Huntly tourism in general. It is believed that the move will help tourism and will enhance the local economy.

There is no dearth of things to do in Huntly, the most popular activities can be fishing , cycling or pony trekking in the woods.

If you need to know more about Scotland travel and tourism, and whom to contact for your needs, please visit the our website on Scotland. The section of the website will give you all details you need to get when you visit Huntly.

Valentine’s Day is around the corner and couples all over Scotland are looking for new ways to celebrate. Eating seafood around this time of the year is a top thing to do; and in these times of recession we have a winner in seafood.  Move over, ye fancy lobsters and oysters, for the mollusc mussel is finding its day in the sun as the preferred aphrodisiac this Valentine’s day.

Mussels are less expensive than oysters and the past two years have seen restaurants all over Scotland opting more for mussels. Mussels may not have the high price-tag that oysters have but they do contain a lot of minerals like magnesium, copper, iodine, iron, selenium, and zinc all great for your libido.

Scottish mussels are also of the best quality say the experts and if you have a romantic dinner planned chances are that you’ll be ordering moules marinières over other expensive oyster dishes. Using your hands and feeding one another can be just what you need this Valentine’s Day.

So if you’re in restaurants in Edinburgh or Glasgow or for that matter anywhere in Scotland in the next two weeks don’t forget to have a plate of mussels cooked in white wine and garlic.

The cabin crew at British Airways have decided to hit where it really matters – a strike during the holidays beginning from December 22nd to Jan 2nd 2010. The thousands of BA flights affected would include most of those between Scotland and London, which carry up to 7,000 people a day. Half of those passengers connect with other BA flights and there are thousands booked for the winter holidays.

The strike is planned in protest to proposed pay and job cuts that BA is planning to ease its pension deficit of £3.7 billion which is likely to more than double to £8 billion this year. Unite union’s 13000 cabin crew are expected to join the strike even though they are paid double that of other airlines like Virgin.

Thousands of passengers who travel between London and Scotland are likely to be affected as they have to catch connecting British Airways flights. However flights between Edinburgh and Glasgow and London City airport will be among the few BA services unaffected as they are run by the subsidiary, BA CityFlyer.

If you’re travelling to Scotland all you can hope this late in the month is that the Unite calls off the strike or find connecting flights on other airlines. East Scotland is expecting a white Christmas this year as snowfall begins here.

Loch Ness and the Great Glen have both been aiming to get UNESCO World Heritage recognition and they have deliberately kept Nessie out of this bid. Nessie and its myth aside , this is to create awareness of the area which in turn will  bring about £25 million to the economy and hundreds of jobs to Scotland.

The Loch Ness monster is no longer a monster in that sense of the word as filmmakers take creative liberties. From a monster in the 1935 film to a friendly kelpie or water horse in 2007, Nessie has been packaged into numerous avatars on celluloid. Films made over the years including Bollywood horrors were examined and shown at the Glasgow Film Theatre and the National Library of Scotland (NLS) as part of Unesco’s World Day for Audiovisual Heritage.

Water horse or monster, Nessie is still what will draw in the crowds. Stare at the deep waters of the loch and you can’t help but see or think you’ve seen a dark shape move in the waters. In the times we are in, we all long for magic and fantastic tales and sometimes need to believe in a friendly, misjudged monster. And it’s good for business!

The Scottish bed and breakfast and self catering business players can have a sigh of relief with the new fire and safety guidance which was published for public consultation Minister for Community Safety. This new proposal suggests a massive drop in the cost of the fire and safety requirements. The guidance ensures that the fire and safety requirements are applied consistently and even proportionately to the size of property which the previous guidance lacked.

Being a key revenue gainer for the tourism sector and property owners this new proposal has come up as a boon for the thriving Scottish Tourism Industry.

One more prime  feature of this proposal is its benefits for both the owners of those cottages and even the guests by availing them proper safety from the ever-present risk of fire.

Meanwhile Scotland estimates about 7000 bed and breakfast and self catering cottage with the fire and safety requirements costing them £1,5376 as per previous guidance in comparison to the new guidance costing them only £1,090. Which means these cottages owners can reduce an excess burden of £14,286.

Well, I hope this new guidance comes up to be a real advantage to the Scotland tourism industry and will even attract more and more tourists and holiday seekers to go for these self catering cottages and B&B’s.

Salient feature : The new guidance developed to directly address these concerns will maintain fire safety levels while reducing the average investment in safety equipment by over 90 per cent.

Just 6 miles from Edinburgh Airport close to South Queensbury, comes the new UK sensation, Dakota Forthbridge, with a unique hotel experience. It is aimed at people visiting on business in Edinburgh Livingstone and travel via Edinburgh Airport. If you are on a leisure visit to Forthbridge, Edinburgh and Knockhill, this hotel would offer a totally different experience from the mainstream hotels in Scotland.

Offering innovative style and an unexpected level of good service at an affordable price , the place has a philosophy that is straightforward in doing things brilliantly. The Dakota Grill concept is very simple- No compromise and no corners cut, fantastic food and best local suppliers. Expertly prepared by the finest emerging young chefs from all corners of UK, it uses the best seasonal produce around the British Isles.

More over it is the first Scottish restaurant that is eligible to use the prestigious Marine Stewardship Council(MSC) logo besides the certified sustainable seafood dishes. It has Won the Scottish Seafood Restaurant of the Year 2009, Scottish Hotel Restaurant of the Year 2008 awards and Scottish Restaurant of the Year 2008.

The five meeting rooms provide stylish air conditioned areas to conduct business and it is aimed at training and board room meetings market.

So have a great time from the usual stress of work in this splendid hotel.

Facilities

• Television
• Air Conditioning
• Bathroom
• Room Service
• Internet Access/Wi-Fi