THIS time last year the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the Crown Office were united in great fanfare about groundbreaking new legislation designed to tackle domestic abuse.

A 53-year-old man has been arrested in connection with smuggling firearms into the country.

A man has been found dead outside of a police station in Ayrshire.

Police have charged a man after a spate of poisonings killed birds of prey over a two-year period.

GUTTING news for great swathes of the Great British public - eating chips is not exercise.

Scotland's crime levels have dropped by around 25% since lockdown measures were introduced.

PRISON governors have been handed the power to veto prisoners they have concerns over being released early - as plans are pushed forward for up to 450 prisoners to be freed to allow inmates to socially distance in cells.

A Russian tycoon who bought former Rangers owner Craig Whyte’s Highland castle is to stand trial over an alleged £8 million fraud.

St Kilda

We look back on the past lives of Sauchiehall street.

Clachan Bridge

YESTERDAY would have been your birthday. January 24. Six months older than me for six months, I’d remind you. Normally I would have spent the weeks between Christmas and now trying to think of something original to buy you. And then, at the last moment, I’d just buy you another book.

It was 3pm on May 8 1945 when Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill addressed the nation from the Cabinet Room announcing that “we may allow ourselves a brief period of rejoicing,” but that message instead led to three days of partying in Glasgow’s George Square, children were given time off school and families were looking forward to being reunited again.

There will be no street parties on the 75th anniversary of VE Day on Friday, and it’s uncertain how many will participate in the virtual versions being touted on social media.

It dates back to1885 and started out as a fund to help military families at home while the Second Expeditionary Force set sail for Egypt. Major James Gildea wrote a letter appealing for money and a fund was set up to provide allowances.

Colin Grassie is to stand down as chairman of the board of Scottish Rugby at August’s AGM.

WHETHER through shrewd planning, good fortune or a bit of both, Edinburgh managed to complete the bulk of their business for next season before rugby came grinding to a halt. When precisely play resumes is, of course, unknown and out of their control, but they are at least confident that they will be in good shape to hit the ground running.

WITH the usual proviso that nothing, but nothing, in sport is in any way important when human lives are at stake due to coronavirus, nevertheless I do think it is time for some realism to surface in rugby – and other sports I could name.

EDINBURGH coach Richard Cockerill has taken two vital steps in rebuilding his squad for next season by signing stand-off Jono Lance from Worcester and centre Matt Gordon from London Scottish. With Simon Hickey and Matt Scott leaving at the end of the season, cover for both positions was a priority.

It was 25 years ago this month that the sporting world witnessed a miracle when the former pariah state of South Africa hosted what many people still consider to be the best ever Rugby World Cup finals.

THE SRU would be “very happy” to host the Scottish Cup semi-final between Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian at BT Murrayfield, the governing body’s Chief Operating Officer revealed yesterday.

Edinburgh Rugby have announced the signing of three Scottish qualified youngsters in Nathan Chamberlain, Ben Muncaster and Dan Gamble on academy deals which will turn into full-time contracts next summer, and head coach Richard Cockerill has promised that three current academy prospects in Rory Darge, Connor Boyle and Sam Grahamslaw will soon be elevated to the senior squad ahead of next season.

By Kristy Dorsey

TEMPORARY walking and cycling routes are set to pop-up across Scotland in a bid to improve social distancing while Scots are now being advised to wear face coverings in “enclosed spaces”.

Global carbon emissions from energy are expected to fall by almost 8% in 2020 in the biggest drop in history as a result of the pandemic, experts said.

SCOTLAND’S workers could stay put in rural communities in the post-lockdown world - boosting countryside economies and cutting commuter traffic, a Holyrood cabinet secretary has suggested.

Scotland needs to plant up to one billion trees to achieve the country’s ambitious climate change goals and help the economy recover from the coronavirus crisis, a group of environmental consultants have said.

A SCOTTISH clean energy company has secured a key part in a six-figure contract for a hydrogen fuel project in Northern Ireland.

It is a tiny spit of land that lies in the Firth of Clyde two miles off the coast of Troon where colonies of seabirds have made their homes for centuries.

For many people, lockdown has meant looking for joy in the natural world around us.

Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections

Celtic Connections

The Celtic Connections roots and traditional music festival recorded 100,000 visits this January.

WHEN Malian quartet Songhoy Blues performed at last year's Celtic Connections, audiences were treated to a form of music appealingly dubbed “desert blues”. A user-friendly term, it sounds like it could have been dreamed up by a marketing agency and applied equally well to a perfume, a brand of jeans or a chain of upmarket Tex-Mex restaurants.

Celtic Connections

From Thursday 16 January to Sunday 2 February 2020, musicians from across the world will take part in over 300 events in venues throughout Glasgow for the UK's premier celebration of celtic music.

THE Celtic Connections music festival last night lifted the curtain on next year’s line up – and revealed it will be kicking off the 700th celebrations of the Declaration of Arbroath.

FOR decades, both Celtic and Rangers have dominated the national conversation when it comes to football in Scotland. The vast majority of issues seem to revolve around the two Glasgow clubs and, predictably, the issue of how to conclude the Premiership campaign has been boiled down to whether or not Celtic should be crowned champions if – as is looking increasingly likely – the 2019/20 campaign is unable to be played to a finish.

Rangers make Glasgow? Well, they certainly make it interesting.

THE most important lesson in life is to always travel in hope rather than expectation. That way the almost inevitable disappointment that follows isn’t quite as crushing. A cheery thought for these troubled times.

Speak to anyone involved in Scottish football and they'll tell you that the current crop of Under-16 players coming through the academy systems are among the best they've seen.

WOULD you still celebrate a cup final win for your team if you knew for absolute certain the game had been rigged?

SO, is it a smoking gun after all? Or is it just a damp water pistol?

Cate Devine

Swadish – Modern Indian Cuisine

It has been the major success story of the alcohol industry in recent years. Once thought of as a drink for the older generation, now you will find that gin, be it pink, flavoured or colour changing, has become one of the most popular spirits in the country. There have been no shortage of bars leaping on the bandwagon, to offer up drinks to connoisseurs, but where are the best places to go in Scotland? We’ve narrowed it down to 10 of the best.

I TOOK a bottle of Cot home the other day to share with a friend and his reaction got me thinking about the subject matter for this week's column, so here’s to wines and blends you may not have come across.