Mar
22
2008
March, 22
The hot place which is attracting a lot of dwellers with its salient features and charm is the coastal town of Irvine in Ayrshire. This smart town is experiencing a huge property boom which is soaring faster than any where else in Scotland. The prices of properties have doubled in the last five years here, with more and more new buyers desperately buying their dream home here.
Looking at the land cost in the region for the past few years, we can make out that there has been a tremendous growth in Irvine property market. This beautiful place with its rich topography and easy connectivity with other adjoining places has attracted a lot of buyers over years. And now its among one of the top priorities of all property owners who are willing to buy a house. With easy connectivity to Glasgow, Kilmarnock and many other regions in the central belt, Irvine is an ideal place to bank on.
The trend of jump in the prices of properties in Scotland is not only restricted to Irvine, many other key areas are also in the race with steady a surge in the property costs. Along with Irvine, the other place which has attracted property buyers is Aberdeen which has witnessed a surge of 134 per cent in last five years. Kilmarnock also made its mark with a 120 per cent rise in house prices.
Among all these key places which are attracting many new property seekers with its varied attractions and feature, Edinburgh is still the most expensive of them all. Edinburgh shares the chart of top five places for property buyers with Dalkeith, Musselburgh and Inverurie.
So with so much happening in the property market, Scotland is becoming a prime destination for settlers and professionals finding their dream home here.

Oct
23
2007
Scotland, Oct 23: The SNP led Scottish government is stern on its stand against the nuclear weapons system which is stationed in Scotland. The Minister of Defence like the £20 billion replacement for Trident to be based on the Clyde. The government is determined to use all its power to stop the nuclear warheads being based north of the border.
The idea evolved after a summit including politicians, various unions, environmentalists and religious leaders held in Glasgow. Bruce Crawford, the Minister for Parliamentary business, announced a working group to consider the extent of powers that could be used to stop Trident’s successor being brought to Scotland by 2025. This meeting symbolised the beginning of a process to get rid of hazardous nuclear weapon in Scotland.
The minister further added that an expert group will look at the international law, transport, planning and environmental issues which are considered as possible obstacle to the government’s plan. The possible course of action by the government is to refuse planning permission for a dry dock to assist the nuclear submarines or make use of the international laws to prevent war crimes being committed in Scotland. The expert group will also consider the kind of strategy to be adopted by Scotland during the nuclear non-proliferation talks to be held in 2010.
The three hour long summit at Oran Mor, a former church situated in the West End of Glasgow, included SNP and Green MSPs, unions, anti-nuclear campaigners and the former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Very Rev Dr Alan McDonald. Neil Smith, director of corporate communications with the Ministry of Defence was one among the 40 participants of this summit. While commenting on the summit Mc Donald said: “The campaign is just getting intensified and this is a historic event but it is the beginning of the process. It has to gain momentum in the future to be fruitful.”
Mr Crawford said: “Majority of the people, MSPs and MPs were against Trident. Therefore the Scottish Government had the moral responsibility to use the power available to fight against the weapons system.”
The campaigners appreciated the move of giving shape to a working group and termed it as a historic move that helps Scotland to become free from nuclear weapons. While commenting on this Labour and Liberal Democrat MSP’s termed this as a ‘waste of time’ to debate a matter over which the Scottish government had no power.

Oct
16
2007

October, 16
Speculations were all over yesterday when a massive salmon landed on the banks of the River Ness. It was feared that this catch would smash the historic rod catch record by the young daughter of a Scottish ghillie set way back. The news about this giant salmon catch spread like fire and was soon circulated on the angling website. It was known that this River Ness monster was hooked and was later released on the Highland river.
After the wide spread of this catch speculations were made whether this River Ness monster will break the historic record set in1922. This historic record was named after Georgina Ballantyne, she caught a gargantuan salmon on the Glendelvine stretch of River Tay, the fish weighted 64lb. This amazing catch set a record for the largest salmon ever caught in the British Isles and also the heaviest freshwater fish caught by an angler in the British water.
According to a web-blog which stated the huge salmon was caught and was left unharmed, revealed that the fish measured accurately at 56in long and 50in around the girth. That means the fish was two inches longer than the previous record catch, which pointed out a chance for a new record on the cards. But still there were speculation and rumours all around with no accurate data available pointing out the exact weight and measurement of this monster catch.
According to Grant Sutherland, who has been ghillie on the Dochfour beat for past 20 years, one can not tell what exactly the weight of the fish would be, as the scale on the river bank can only weigh up to 30lb. He further added, I have never seen such a big fish in my life, it measured length was 56in which is really a big catch. In order to get the correct and accurate measurement of the fish pictures of this giant salmon has been sent to the government’s Feshwater Laboratory at Faskally near Pitlochry in Perthshire. It is expected that these experts will be able to figure out the weight and length of this monster.
Now all eyes are glued on the reports which the marine experts will release, that will be the deciding factor whether this River Ness Monster will set a new record in the British Isles. Even the officials of the British Record Fish Committee are eagerly waiting to know the weight of this giant catch before coming to any conclusion.

Oct
10
2007
Hey! Is the supermarket you shop a branded one, does it reflects your high standards; that’s the new trend of shopping. These are the factors people are looking, before stepping into a supermarket. These retail stores are now becoming a modern-day status symbol. Research suggests that the main reason for people giving much hype for selecting a supermarket is due to social snobbery. This transformation seems the same way as one selects a posh school. Study points out that shopper believe the selection of supermarket reflects their social status in the society. Even in race for social status customers are not at all bothered, if their wallet is becoming lighter.
This eye raising study revealed that, people feel ashamed to been spotted shopping in any supermarket which is not branded and posh. They expressed that shopping in these branded shops will make them seem richer. In the era of retail shopping even these plushy retailers are investing immensely on ads and publicity to flash them in the consumer market. Leigh Sparks, professor of retail studies at the university of Stirling said, about “78 per cent of shoppers don’t switch their main choice of supermarket every year,” “But that might be just because customers are familiar with their most frequent choice. Most weekly shopping is done by rote, so knowing where everything is can be just as important as brand image.”
Customer not often change their brands, to do this either they might have gone through some bad experience or any other genuine factor may be there. Only a little portion of customers opt for brands due to public perception, added Prof Leigh Sparks. Experts says, nowadays the mind set of customer has socialised, now they are not seen to be stocking up on three-for-two as this would make them seem cheap. Patrica Lopes, public relation manager for Germany chain Lidl said : “The British market is very different to Germany and it is fair to say it took some adjustment when Lidl first opened in Britain. There isn’t really anything like M&S in Germany. “I think consumers have become aware that they end up paying for all the fancy shelving in higher prices. Ultimately, if the quality and price of what you are selling is right then that speaks for itself.”
This change of modern shopping habits has now crossed the normal shopping culture, this time its more sophisticated and opulent. It may the race to look posh and rich in society or it may be the signal that, purchasing power of customer has increased now. Whatever the reason may be the one who is benefited is the high branded stores who are cashing in these days. So next time when you step out for shopping just give a thought are you also racing hard to prove your status.
