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The strong currency and volcanoes has meant many stag and hen groups deciding to stay in the UK this summer.  Scotland can offer so many of the thrill seeking activities including rafting and cliff jumping to honda pilots and tank driving.  Edinburgh is still a top destination for stag weekends and hen nights according to Gobananas.

Some of the most popular stag and hen things to do:

• Paintball
• Quad biking
• Clay pigeon shooting
• White water rafting
• Canyoning
• Mini Highland Games
• Jelly Wrestling
• Fore Play Lessons
• pole dancing lessons

If you are coming to Scotland you should really try some Scottish activities, you can paintball anywhere, but there is only one place you can have your own mini highland games.

After having a energetic day, now its time for some full on night action :

• Nightclubs
• Bars
• Casinos
• Strippers
• Lap dancing clubs
• Comedy clubs
• Pole dancing clubs

For more ideas for a stag do or hen party visit

• www.gobananas.co.uk
• www.edinburghstagparty.com
• www.staghenscotland.com

Secondary teachers are feeling the heat with the new curriculum being brought in by the Curriculum for Excellence. It is learnt that majority of the teachers are not confident to deliver lessons for these new syllabus. Only 25% of the teachers seems fine with this new curriculum which will be brought in across the secondary schools in Scotland, says a survey.

This survey was conducted by the Ipsos-Mori on a sample of 15,000 teachers, and three in four told that they don’t feel confident to take class for the senior pupils.  The new curriculum will come into effect from August this year. It is also told that this new revision in the curriculum of Scottish education has come after a long time and it was long since the need for such a change was felt for.

Even there is a confusion on how to prepare the pupils for the  SQA exams associated with the curriculum. Teachers need to be well trained to take up the new curriculum and make sure the pupils are guided well. This new curriculum is thought to be a boon for the Scottish secondary education system.

The ash of the volcano eruption might have settled down, but it will take some more time for Scotland to overcome its aftermath. Though the impact of this volcanic eruption was such, that apart from the airline woes, it also hit the tourism revenue with the cancellation of many events. In all over 60 events were canceled or postponed due to this volcano eruption, causing a revenue loss of over £2 million.

Even though airlines were the main victims of this volcano eruption, it was the revenue for the tourism sector which took the back seat after this eruption saga. Loganair which provides most flights within Scotland to the Highlands and Islands on behalf of the Flybe has reported to have lost £1m due to the disruption. Many other airline companies to have faced a crunch time with this huge disruption.

Fear even persist for further volcanic activity which may again turn around the things. Whatever the situation might be the bottom line is that, Scotland has lost a great revenue in terms of its tourism and aviation due to this volcano menace. It was a travelers nightmare which many foreign nationals came across after this eruption made them stranded in the airports.

Hope this untoward volcano eruption won’t dent the tourism industry of Scotland and will keep the visitors flow intact.

News Source “

Glasgow, will be a green place to live in the days to come thanks to an innovative scheme that is being devised to cut down the carbon emissions and to chart out eco friendly energy generating systems to meet the  city’s growing needs. Power Sustainable Glasgow,a consortium,led by Strathclyde and with many eminent  scientists and  professors in its panel, has come out with a  report on how the city aims to become one of Europe’s most sustainable cities in the next decade.

The focus will be to reduce the carbon emissions by over 30% in the coming decade and to manage fuel deficit and to revitalize the city. The proposed green energy projects is expected to bring in over  £1.5billion of new investment into the city during that period.

Some of the recommendations in the report includes converting the sewerage and municipal wastes generated in the city to biogas and to create woodlands in barren ares to make it more green. Electrical vehicles will be promoted and oil and coal heating will be completely phased out. The local populace  will be encouraged to bring in a positive change in their behaviour and to incorporate eco friendly principles wherever possible in their day to day life.

The next phase of the project which includes the creation of an Energy Masterplan for the city, will be the first of its kind in the whole of the UK. The city centre of Glasgow have the highest density of energy consumption in Scotland and the innovative energy management system would ensure the optimum utilization of  integration of many related areas like  renewable energy, energy management  district heating and combined heat and power.

The holistic approach taken by the city is being watched with great interest all over the world , which would be learning from the Glasgow experience. Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of modern world and how best the countries can  strike a balance in meeting the increased demand for energy by keeping the carbon emissions under check and by promoting renewable energy technologies is going to make or break the economies of nations in the days ahead!

It was smiles all over, with flights regaining its operations after six-day long shutdown due to the ash clouds formed by the Icelandic volcano eruption. This news came as a respite for many passengers who were stranded for days at the airports. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced a phased reintroduction of UK airspace from 10pm. This whole deal has come up with a revision of the present rules, which states that the airlines have to make an intensive ash damage test of the aircraft before and after each flight. They are also asked to report any ash related incidents.

All this rules came in a unified manner involving manufacturers, airlines, the government and aviation bodies. These rules will be a great help to tackle such adverse situations, and has added a set of rules to be adhered by airlines under such situations. Even though, the flights have started operating, still it is told that, it may take few more days before all the stranded passengers reach home.

About 30 BA-flights operated en route for London, after week long shutdown, government is trying their level best to make sure all stranded passengers reach home safely. Alex Salmond, the First Minister, said One of the key lessons of this episode is that we must have the same empirical evidence about conditions in the air as we have on the ground upon which to base safe and intelligent decisions.” The passengers are glad after the flights started operations and many still awaits to get back home after all the pandemonium.

It was a huge loss for the people of Scotland this sunday with the demise of the noted broadcaster and actor Tom Fleming. Fleming, 82 died at the St Columba’s Hospice here in Edinburgh. His distinctive voice has served the people of Scotland for almost over 30 years, being part of all major occasions including the Queen’s coronation, Diana’s funeral and the opening of the Scottish parliament, Fleming was a commentator to remember for long .

Being multi-talented, Fleming along with broadcasting was also good at acting, directing and poetry. He has been an asset for the country with exemplary services to the Scottish art. Born in Edinburgh, Fleming even played the lead role in the first ever full-length televised drama production from Scotland,’The Black Eye’. His works were rewarded with an OBE in 1980, and he also became a doctor of Heriot-Watt University during 1984, Fleming was also a fellow of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in 1986.

Broadcaster and actor Tom Fleming, entertained and informed millions, he has done commentary for consecutive Tattoos from 1966 until 2009. He has also been actively part of many art and theatre works and also led the corporate Minister of Canonmills church in Edinburgh for 20 years. In his career, Fleming has commentated for a whole lot of events along with the Queen’s silver jubilee, ten funerals and even two royal weddings.

His major achievements includes his tenure with BBC as a commentator for the VE and VJ Day commemorations, Fleming was also known for his annual commentary on the Cenotaph service in London. Along with all this, Fleming too have been part of many other functions and events, both on stage and air, his voice and style of presentation made him distinct from others. To pay tribute to this class person, came many journalist, dignitaries and friends who gathered to bid adieu to their loved star.

News Source : Scotsman

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Air traffic remains paralyzed, due to the poor visibility caused by the volcano ash cloud, which  continues to hit the flight operations in and around Scotland. Met officials indicated a chance for the winds to change the direction clearing up the clouds. But things remained the same, forcing many flight operators to cancel their scheduled flights for today. With the cloud of ash making things difficult for thousands of air travelers, the travel industry felt to be hit badly with the present situation. Meanwhile the eruption in the Iceland has come up as a cruse for all those Scots who are stranded abroad. Scientists have even stated that, the eruption from the volcano can continue for months, which may even worsen the situation.

To help out the stranded passengers, the Scottish government has arranged for an additional rail, bus and ferry services giving some respite to the passengers. Even the government is looking out for more solutions to end this chaos, which has made people restless. Apart from the miseries for the travelers, this eruption has so far caused a massive loss of revenue for the Scottish tourism industry.

Government and travel authorities are working day and night to bring back all those travelers who are stranded abroad. Even measures have been taken to make sure things get back to normalcy soon, but without the volcanic ash ends disrupting the air traffic, flight across UK have to remain grounded.

Art  lovers have something to cheer, with the biggest ever exhibition, to open this week at the Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Museum. This exhibition will showcase the work of the artists, ‘The Glasgow Boys’. Works of Sir John Lavery, Sir James Guthrie and EdwardAtkinson Hornel will be among the different works at the show. It was told that, more than 140 works will be shown in the exhibition held at Glasgow, from where later it will move on to London.

Slated to open up on Friday, this exhibition portrays a rare collection of the art works of this group, who were a sensation after their first art show late in 1885. Their distinctive use of colour, natural pattern and impact of light, is what makes their work different from others.  Their style was way more different and their works included realistic pictures of real people, in real places around the city.

The exhibition, thus brings  in all their works together, which makes this to be the first Glasgow Boys exhibition in more than 40 years.  It is felt that, this will be surely one of the best collection one can look forward, presenting the works of the Glasgow Boys.

A conference of leading scientists will be held in St Andrews, marking the 30th anniversary of the association for International Cancer Researcher (AICR). The latest advances in cancer research will be discussed in this conference, which will be attended by over 200 researchers from 28 different countries. Among the other delegates includes, the Nobel prize winner Sir ‘Tim Hunt’ and cancer survivor ‘Dave Cook’.

This conference will be a massive event which will target the study and research done in cancer and its  treatments. Even this conference will highlight the studies being conducted in laboratory based cancer research and it also aim to explore new ventures to find out new ways for a better treatment. The AICR based in St Andrews even awards grants to cancer scientists around the world for further study and prevention of this disease.

It is also found that, cancer claims many lives in Scotland every year, with breast cancer being the major cause for death.

To tackle the growing problem of suicidal deaths in Scotland, a TV advert is initiated, which will be aired during the commercial breaks in Scotland. This ad is aimed, to educate and make people aware of the support, which is available for them all the time and they just need to speak up. Meanwhile, it is learnt that suicide has become one of the major cause for death in Scotland, with two people taking their lives every single day.

This new advert, has been made to target the youth audience, the ad features a young man going about his daily life, when his friend notices him to be sad and dejected and ask’s him is he OK. The young man starts to choke and his friend performs the Heimlich Manoeuvre on him. Out of his mouth comes the word ’suicidal’. Later both the friends starts a conversation, with the telephone number for the Breathing Space appearing on the screen.

This campaign is targeted, to encourage people to talk about what they feel and their problems are, in order to seek the right help, rather going for suicides, said Public Health Minister, Shona Robinson. She also added that, the people committing suicides don’t want to die, they just wish to end the pain they are going through.

It is really the need of the hour, to put a break to the increase in suicidal cases in Scotland and with this ad we are telling the people that you have someone at your help all the time. What you need is, to break that silence and speak out your pain, rather to succumb.

News Source  : BBC News

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