There is little to like about the present predicament, but one thing I don’t miss is checking my diary every evening for a reminder of what tomorrow will bring. Our social life is not what you’d call a whirl, so usually memory can be relied on for the occasional gatherings. Here in Hoolet, socialising is often impromptu, a random encounter leading to a casual evening drink a few hours later, or a last-minute supper in a kitchen, so soon after the invite that nobody could possibly forget.

Sunday, April 19, 2020.

Caerlaverock Castle

KIRSTY WILSON, BEECHGROVE PRESENTER

Are you frightened of your garden? Terrified of killing your plants and overwhelmed by the sheer choice of species?

Location: Littleferry, Sutherland

If you're yearning for all the gardening shows that have been cancelled, you can still be inspired by exploring gorgeous virtual gardens now and throughout the summer, from the comfort of your armchair.

During the present crisis, many more of us are turning to Grow Your Own. This lets us enjoy much fresher and tastier veg than from a weekly shop, especially if that languishes in the fridge for days. And we won’t be relying on imports that could become less accessible.

HOLIDAYS may be temporarily on hold, but planning magical trips is still possible. Spontaneity shapes thrilling travel escapades, but there's also a case for careful, methodical planning. Often, the preparation – deciding on a route, reading up about a destination – can be just as enjoyable as the trip itself.

Inverness Botanic Gardens

Mercy Teams International and a local church in Phnom Penh bring an Easter celebration to parents and children living in the slum.

Mercy Teams International (MTI) strives to see local workers in each ministry field trained and equipped as leaders. MTI Cambodia is one example.

Koem Vannak, joining Logos Hope this month with his family, is the second OMer sent out from Cambodia since the work started there in 2006.

OM’s Mercy Teams International and an Out of the Comfort Zone outreach team partner to practically demonstrate God’s love in Kampong Speu.

OM MTI shares the love of Jesus and empowers children and families in Cambodia through English classes that prepare students for future employment.

OM MTI workers teach the Bible and foster a growing community of Jesus followers among a group of factory workers with polio.

OM intentionally disciples Cambodian staff so that they, in turn, can disciple others.

Abuse, alcohol, drugs, gangs and poverty are the daily realities for many in the slums. Many arrive at OM MTI looking for food, safety, conversation, advise and help.

OMer Joelma (Brazil) answers questions about her life and ministry in Cambodia.

An OM worker in Cambodia shares about how a new training she is attending is transforming the way she does ministry.

Bulgaria coach Luboslav Penev and his staff encouraged over 120 children taking part in a grassroots event in Sofia designed to increase participation in football and other sports.

Maltese Premier League club Tarxien Rainbows FC is enriching the lives of a group of youngsters through football with a groundbreaking training scheme for children with special needs.

The latest UEFA KISS workshop on the further development of women's football looked at ways of improving clubs' infrastructures as well as bolstering the foundations of the game.

The UEFA HatTrick programme has assisted in the construction of over 200 mini-pitches in Portugal since 2007, giving more youngsters the chance to play football in a safe environment.

A new youth academy in Ta' Qali for the island's outstanding talents has sharpened the focus of the Malta Football Association as it envisions a bright future for the game.

Over 120 children from the Minsk area enjoyed football-based activities on the day of the Belarus Super Cup match, highlighting the link between grassroots and elite football.

Taking place the same weekend as the UEFA Champions League final in May, the Lennart Johansson Academy Trophy gives youngsters from Europe's bigger clubs a chance to impress.

Football players and coaches of all levels from across Latvia have been invited by the Latvian Football Federation to take part in football-based activities for UEFA Grassroots Day.

Women's Under-17 teams gathered in Nyon for a friendly tournament this week, with associations welcoming UEFA's drive to give young players chances for further development.

A GROUP of Glasgow-based students are working on an international project to design the building blocks of a Moon base.

AN EDINBURGH-BASED hydrogen technology firm is to open the first public hydrogen refuelling station for vehicles in Scotland’s central belt.

If you can't see elderly parents, or friends with medical conditions, what can you do to keep in touch? You can send a letter, of course, or make a landline phone call, but video calls allow you to speak and see each other.

Someone is mortally wounded, shot to bits by a stormtrooper, hacked to pieces by a zombie, legs crushed by a Sergio Ramos tackle, or crippled when their go-kart careered into a cartoon tree.

SCOTTISH energy storage start-up Gravitricity has received £300,000 from government agency Innovate UK to explore the potential to use gold mine shafts in South Africa as energy stores.

OMEGA Diagnostics shares jumped 77 per cent after it announced it is part of the UK rapid test consortium working to jointly develop and manufacture an antibody test.

NEATEBOX, the Scottish technology firm which specialises in improving accessibility for people with disabilities, has been accepted into an accelerator programme run by Royal Bank of Scotland.

A BIOTECH veteran has hailed a Glasgow firm that claims to have discovered two separate potential treatments for Covid-19 patients for use before they are put on ventilators.

Police have issued more than 140 fixed-penalty notices to people flouting coronavirus lockdown rules in Scotland in the week since new powers came into force.

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.

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 an evening that began like any other night shift. Firefighters handed over at 6pm to start what they thought would have been a fairly routine night.