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Scotland is in mourning after the death of John Byrne, a renowned playwright, artist and designer, who passed away peacefully on Thursday at the age of 83. Byrne was best known for his play The Slab Boys Trilogy, which explored working-class life in Scotland, and the TV series Tutti Frutti, which starred Robbie Coltrane and Emma Thompson. He was also a prolific painter, printmaker and theatre designer, whose distinctive style earned him acclaim and admiration. A life of creativity and passion Byrne was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire, in 1940, into a family of Irish Catholic descent. He grew up in…

The Problem of Unaffordable Rents The housing crisis in Scotland has reached a critical point, as many tenants struggle to pay their rents amid the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, the average rent in Scotland increased by 2.3% in the year to September 2023, while the average wage decreased by 1.2% in the same period. This means that many renters are spending more than a third of their income on housing, leaving them with little money for other essential needs. The problem is especially acute in urban areas,…

The Scottish National Party (SNP) has denied media reports of a Covid affair between two unnamed politicians, calling the stories “categorically untrue”. The party issued a statement in the wake of two vague reports alleging that two politicians had broken lockdown rules and had an extramarital affair during the pandemic. The media reports The media reports, which did not name the politicians involved, claimed that one of them was married and had children, while the other was single. The reports also suggested that the affair had caused tensions within the SNP and that some party members were aware of it.…

The Scottish Parliament has introduced a new measure to prevent protests and disruptions inside its premises. The parliament has purchased phone-signal blocking pouches, which are designed to stop mobile phones from receiving or making calls, texts, or internet access. What are the phone-signal blocking pouches? The phone-signal blocking pouches are small fabric bags that have a special lining that blocks electromagnetic signals. When a phone is placed inside the pouch, it becomes isolated from any network or wireless connection. The pouches are also known as Faraday bags, after the scientist Michael Faraday, who invented the concept of a cage that blocks…

The long-standing dispute over the Elgin Marbles, a set of 17 ancient sculptures taken from the Parthenon temple in Athens by a British diplomat in the early 19th century, has taken a new turn as a Scottish estate is facing questions over its possession of some of the artefacts. The Broomhall House collection Broomhall House, the ancestral home of the Earls of Elgin, is located in Fife, Scotland. It is currently a luxury venue for weddings, events, and film productions. However, it also holds a private collection of ancient Greek artefacts, including some of the sculptures that Lord Elgin removed from…

The community of Montrose in Angus has expressed its anger and disappointment after their charity Christmas tree was vandalised for the seventh year in a row. The tree, which was donated by a local farmer, was decorated with lights and baubles by volunteers from the Montrose Emergency Services Group (MESG). The group raises money for various causes, including the RNLI, the Scottish Ambulance Service and the British Heart Foundation. Tree cut down and ornaments stolen The vandalism occurred on Saturday night, when unknown culprits cut down the tree and stole some of the ornaments. The tree was located at the…