All posts tagged: Scotlands

Scotland’s rare opening win takes pressure off, says coach Clarke

Scotland’s rare opening win takes pressure off, says coach Clarke

Published by Sam Flores

BOSTON, June 13 : Scotland manager Steve Clarke said his side would be under less pressure going into their remaining World Cup Group C games after winning their opening match at a major tournament for the first time since 1982 with a 1-0 win over Haiti on Saturday. Clarke’s Scotland failed to win a single game at the last two Euros, and with Morocco and Brazil still to come at the World Cup, beating Haiti was seen as essential to have any chance of making it past the group stage for the first time. “The next two games against teams inside the World top 10 will be tough games, but obviously we’re going into them with a little bit less pressure than everybody put on us going into this game,” Clarke told reporters. “As well as everyone else, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves going into the first game. “If we defend as well as we did there and show the same resilience and hopefully play a little bit better with the ball …

Scotland’s Tartan Army digs deep into pockets for World Cup return

Scotland’s Tartan Army digs deep into pockets for World Cup return

Published by Sam Flores

BOSTON, June 12 : Scotland’s raucous Tartan Army of supporters massed in downtown Boston on Friday, with fans saying they had no qualms about the thousands of dollars they are spending to see their team return to the World Cup after a 28-year absence. “I’ve spent the kids’ inheritance,” joked Willie Dowie, 61, over a beer after giving a lung-busting rendition of “Flower of Scotland” on his bagpipes to fellow fans in the Dubliner Irish Pub near the city’s waterfront. Dowie – who emigrated from Scotland to Australia 42 years ago – and his wife Caroline arrived in Boston on Thursday after a 30-hour journey from Adelaide ahead of the Scots’ opening match of the tournament against Haiti on Saturday. The couple paid $4,000 for four tickets to see the team’s first two World Cup matches since 1998 but said the high prices – plus the airfares and accommodation costs – were worth it. “This is a trip of a lifetime for us,” Caroline, 58, said. “If we wait another 28 years, we will be …

Scotland’s ancient human-made islands are dripping with secrets

Scotland’s ancient human-made islands are dripping with secrets

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. Mysterious and ancient human-made islands of timber and stone have endured amidst Scotland’s more well-known standing stones, Roman forts, and 18th century battlefields. Called crannogs, archeologists were initially not so sure what purpose these islands served, but were relatively confident that most of them date back to between the Iron Age (800 BCE to 400 CE) and the post medieval period (1550 to 1800). That is, until local diver Chris Murray found pottery fragments that were much older than they should have been. Murray discovered the pottery remains from a crannog in the Isle of Lewis, part of the Outer Hebrides island chain on the country’s northwestern coast. Experts at the National Museum at Edinburgh were bewildered to discover that they were Neolithic …

Where to find Scotland’s best seafood. Clue: these places are just metres from the water | Scotland holidays

Where to find Scotland’s best seafood. Clue: these places are just metres from the water | Scotland holidays

Published by Sam Flores

The best oysters of my life arrive on a polystyrene tray, eaten elbow-to-elbow with strangers at a table littered with empty shells and damp paper napkins. We huddle beneath a tarpaulin, sheltering from the fine spray of rain rattling on the roof, the wind whipping around the hulking CalMac ferry moored metres away, and the beady-eyed scavenging gulls. “Have you tried this? You have to,” says a woman who has driven from Glasgow just to eat here, pressing a rollmop herring into my hand. I take a bite, the thick skin giving way to sweet and salty flesh, juices running down my chin. Elegant dining this is not, but all the better for it. This is Oban Seafood Hut, tucked beside the ferry terminal for boats heading into the Sound of Mull. Diners shuffle around a shared table, listening for order numbers, with plates piled high with langoustines, crab and oysters. It’s cash only. In the back room, a team of women butter thick slices of soft white bread for crab sandwiches, wrapping them in …

England spoil Scotland’s party to take top spot in Women’s Six Nations

England spoil Scotland’s party to take top spot in Women’s Six Nations

Published by Sam Flores

A record-breaking party for Scottish sport, and England spoilt it. On the day of the largest standalone crowd for a women’s sporting fixture north of the border, beating the near-19,000 who witnessed Scotland defeat Jamaica at Hampden Park in 2019, England’s march towards an eighth successive Six Nations title continued with aplomb, as John Mitchell’s world champions delivered a 12-try clinic at Murrayfield. England were depleted but one might not have known, inflicting Scotland’s heaviest defeat in this fixture since 2011. In hindsight, and taking into account the extraordinary depth at Mitchell’s disposal, it seems bonkers to peg them with an availability crisis but the truth is that no other side – women’s or men’s – in the world could cope with England’s absentee list and continue with such dominance. Three second rows, Zoe Stratford, Abbie Ward and Rosie Galligan, are pregnant, as is hooker Lark Atkin-Davies, while five others have suffered championship-ending injuries. Seven of the 13 forwards who played in last autumn’s World Cup final win were absent, including Alex Matthews who is …

Scotland’s main political party leaders set for first TV debate of election

Scotland’s main political party leaders set for first TV debate of election

Published by Sam Flores

(Left to right, top row) First Minister and SNP leader John Swinney, Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay, Scottish Green Party co-leader Ross Greer. (Left to right bottom row) Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton and Reform UK, Scotland leader Malcolm Offord, in Edinburgh, during the 2026 Scottish Election campaign. (Jane Barlow/PA) PA Wire Source link

As Scotland’s smoking ban turns 20, a look at its impact – and what more can be done

As Scotland’s smoking ban turns 20, a look at its impact – and what more can be done

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore At 6am on a quiet Sunday morning 20 years ago today, Scotland became the first UK nation to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces. It was a landmark moment in public health policy, and new research shows just how much has changed since. Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke has fallen by 96 per cent in Scotland since the legislation came into force on March 26 2006. But our new study, published in the journal Tobacco Induced Diseases, reveals that nearly one in four people are still being exposed to tobacco smoke in settings the law does not fully cover. This raises the question of what it will take to finish what the ban started. The Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 made it illegal to smoke inside bars, restaurants, public transport and almost all workplaces. While there had been …

Glasgow Central: Scotland’s busiest station still closed after ‘Blitz-like’ fire | UK News

Glasgow Central: Scotland’s busiest station still closed after ‘Blitz-like’ fire | UK News

Published by Sam Flores

Scotland’s busiest railway station will remain closed for a third day today after a devastating fire at a nearby vape shop. The blaze in Union Street, close to Glasgow Central Station, gutted several neighbouring businesses. While the station itself is thought to have escaped major damage, trains have been cancelled since Sunday. All services to and from the station have been suspended and disruption is expected to last beyond today, too, with safety inspections needing to be carried out. Network Rail said: “While the fire is now under control, emergency services are still on-site, and we continue to support their response.” Its statement added: “Timescales for reopening will only be confirmed once we are able to safely gain access and carry out the necessary checks.” Passengers are advised to continue to seek alternative travel arrangements. Avanti West Coast has said an amended service will run to Preston, Carlisle and Motherwell, “enabling customers to connect with trains to Edinburgh and local services to the Glasgow area”. ScotRail’s chief operating officer David Ross said: “We know this …