Axel Piper

Britain’s latest scorcher is finally on the way out after parts of England, Scotland and Wales all nudged 30C on Sunday — the tail end of what’s been the UK’s third heatwave of the year. Records Tumble Before Temperatures Dip Saturday was the big one — Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales all logged their hottest day of 2025 so far.By Sunday, the heat lingered but dipped slightly as cloudier skies crept in. Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire topped the charts at 30.8C. In Scotland’s Highlands, Achnagart saw 30.4C. Cardiff’s Bute Park reached 30.2C, while Castlederg in Northern Ireland hit 27.1C. One line:…

Newcastle — just 90 minutes south of Edinburgh — has a knack for surprising even a seasoned Scot like me. From the rooftop of St James’ Park, you can see the hills that mark the border. But it’s the city itself that pulls you in: part Glasgow grit, part Edinburgh elegance, with a healthy dose of its own Geordie pride. A Football Citadel With a View Let’s be honest: I’m not much of a football fanatic. But clambering up 150 feet to the top of Newcastle United’s home turf, you can’t help but feel the club’s pull.The black-and-white stripes greet…

A 15-year-old boy and three adults lost their lives in separate tragic incidents across Scotland as crowds flocked to rivers and lochs to escape the searing heat. Search for Teen Ends in Heartbreak on River Kelvin The search began for a teenage boy who went missing in the River Kelvin in Glasgow on Saturday evening. Emergency crews were alerted around 6:40 p.m., launching a rescue operation that would last nearly five hours. By 11:30 p.m., the boy’s body was recovered near Maryhill Road. Police Scotland confirmed the death is not being treated as suspicious. One line: Locals gathered at the…

In what could become one of the UK’s heftiest data hub expansions yet, UK renewables firm Apatura is laying the groundwork for a vast new data center campus just north of the England-Scotland border. It’s big, green — and stirring up plenty of chatter in Coldstream. This week, Scottish Borders Council confirmed that Apatura’s proposed site won’t need a formal Environmental Impact Assessment before the full planning bid. But with a 300MW capacity on the table, questions about what’s next are far from over. Coldstream: From Farmland to Data Frontier? The planned development site sits on 69 hectares of greenfield…

In a tucked-away corner of Glasgow’s East End, something unprecedented is happening in Britain’s fight against drug deaths. Here, at the Thistle safer drug consumption facility, people can inject heroin or cocaine under medical supervision — legally, safely, and without fear of arrest. No back alleys. No judgment. Just a chance to survive another day. Scotland’s Sobering Numbers Scotland’s drug crisis isn’t new — it’s notorious. The country has the highest drug-related death rate in Europe. For years, public health leaders and families have called for action that puts compassion ahead of punishment. One-liner: The Thistle represents that shift. Backed…

Tattoo artists in West Dunbartonshire say they feel “ripped off” as they’re charged licensing fees up to four times higher than anywhere else in Scotland — and they want answers. Artists Cry Foul Over “Outrageous” Costs Red and Natalie, who run River Styx studio on Main Street in Alexandria, have gone public with their frustration after discovering they’re paying £2,033.50 to renew their tattoo license — compared to just £371 in Glasgow. “I feel ripped off and annoyed,” said Red. “Anybody in West Dunbartonshire would be annoyed. Why is it £2,000 here and £400 elsewhere?” One short line: He’s not…

Lower bills for Scottish households? Sounds like a no-brainer. But the UK government just closed the door on zonal electricity pricing — and the politics behind that choice are as charged as the grid itself. What Zonal Pricing Would Have Meant For years, Scotland’s abundant wind and hydro power have been a blessing — and a bone of contention. Zonal pricing would’ve set power prices based on local supply and demand. So in theory, Scots living near wind farms would pay less. Makes sense, right? Suppliers like Octopus Energy loved the idea. For rural Scots seeing turbines on every hill,…

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to meet US President Donald Trump in Scotland later this month, marking Trump’s first UK trip since his re-election. The meeting comes on the heels of their new trade deal that slashed US tariffs on British imports. A Surprise Reunion on Scottish Soil They only shook hands five months ago in the Oval Office, but a lot has shifted since then. Starmer, who has pitched himself as a steady pair of hands post-Brexit, now finds himself sharing tea and tartan with Trump — a president known for upending the rule book. Sources close…

Calls are growing for the return of subsidised civic restaurants to tackle food insecurity and give Scots access to a hot meal for just a few pounds — just like their grandparents did. Cheap, Filling Meals That Fed a Nation You’d be forgiven for thinking taxpayer-backed public diners were just wartime nostalgia. But they were once a staple across the UK. Before, during, and after both world wars, around 2,000 civic restaurants operated across Britain, nearly 100 of them in Scotland. Aberdeen’s Castle Restaurant alone served 4,000 customers in its first month back in 1941. People swapped cold sandwiches for…

A salmon farming giant is doing what landlords and councils haven’t managed — putting roofs over workers’ heads, right where they work. Bakkafrost Scotland just got the green light to build temporary accommodation units at its Scalpay site, tackling a housing squeeze that’s been choking its operations in the Western Isles. A Solution Born Out Of Necessity Try finding a flat on Harris these days. Good luck. That’s the harsh truth many workers face, and it’s been biting Bakkafrost hard. Recruiting folks is one thing — keeping them is another when there’s nowhere affordable to live. So they pitched a…