The Daily Thistle
Wednesday 18th January 2017
“Madainn Mhath” …Fellow Scot, I hope the day brings joy to you… The last man to walk on the Moon, Gene Cernan, Died yesterday at the age of 82.. To me, He was out of this world. The large, gregarious astronaut flew in space three times, and was one of only three men to visit the moon twice. The former naval aviator’s first launch in 1966 was nearly a disaster: He became exhausted during a spacewalk and almost didn’t make it back to the hatch. On his December 1972 Apollo 17 mission Cernan’s spoke for all of us as he left the capsule.. Now when I walk Bella in the morning and look up at the Moon I will always be reminded of Cernan’s famous words as he exited the lunar module: “Oh my golly! Unbelievable!”
THE FORMER CHAIRMAN of UKIP in Scotland has admitted making vulgar phone calls to 10 different women. Arthur ‘Misty’ Thackeray, who was chief of staff for the party’s MEP David Coburn, appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court. He pleaded guilty to offences which occurred between October 2007 and December 2015. Sheriff Martin Jones QC deferred sentence until next month and continued bail. The court heard all of the calls took place at Thackeray’s home in Glasgow, at 1 Colme Street in Edinburgh and “elsewhere”.
Thackeray admitted nine charges of intentionally sending, or directing “sexual verbal communication” between December 2010 an December 2015. One charge pre-dates the Sexual Offences Act introduced in 2009 and was a breach of the peace charge between October 2007 and February 2008.
A DISGRACED teacher posed as a lawyer to send a child abuse fantasy letter to a jailed paedophile he had met in prison, a court heard. Robert Lightband wrote “legal correspondence” on the envelope of the 14-page document to Jason Jordan to avoid prison staff opening it. A court heard the letter contained “graphic and distressing” descriptions of the abuse of children. Lightband, 70, will be sentenced in February. The former history teacher, who was sacked from Dundee’s Menzieshill High School in 2002 for possessing child abuse material, was jailed for four months on a separate indecent images charge last March. Dundee Sheriff Court was told that Lightband had “acquainted” Jordan in Perth Prison’s sex offender unit. Depute fiscal Vicki Bell told the court that Lightband was released from prison last May. She said: “The letter purported to be legal correspondence from ‘Goodwin Moir’.” “In general prison staff don’t open legal mail. “Staff checked the Law Society website and there was no firm of Goodwin Moir listed. “They opened the letter and it contained references to sexual abuse of children.”
PEOPLE WITH a rare bone condition that can cause them to have hundreds of fractures during their lifetime are being urged to trial a new treatment. Edinburgh researchers have received £1.5m to conduct the study, which will involve 390 people with a condition called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). The six-year trial will test the combination of two therapies used to treat a different bone condition. Researchers will track the participants for up to five years. About half of the study’s participants will be treated with a drug called teriparatide followed by treatment with another drug called zoledronic acid. The other half will receive standard care. OI is caused by genetic mutations that lead to abnormalities in a component of bone called collagen. People with the disease have extremely fragile bones that break easily, often from mild trauma or for no apparent cause. Both teriparatide and zoledronic acid are established treatments for the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis but this is the first time they have been tested in combination as therapies for OI. The study, led by the University of Edinburgh, will involve 25 hospitals in the UK and one in the Republic of Ireland. It is being funded by The National Institute for Health Research Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme.
Prof Stuart Ralston, of the University of Edinburgh’s centre for genomic and experimental medicine, said: “This is potentially a game-changing trial since it is the first study that had been specifically designed to investigate whether any treatment can prevent fractures in osteogenesis imperfecta. “If the results are positive, it could herald a new dawn in the treatment of this rare but devastating condition.”
AYRSHIRE NEW POTATOES are in line to have their identity protected under European law. The UK government has applied for the county’s new potatoes and the “Ayrshire earlies” brand to be granted Protected Geographical Indicator (PGI) status by Brussels.
The proposal was put forward by a growers’ group based in Girvan. If successful, Ayrshire new potatoes would join more than 70 UK food and drink products with PGI status. These include Arbroath smokies and Stornoway black pudding. Only three other types of potato in the UK, including the Jersey Royal, already have the status. In November, applications were also lodged for Dundee cake and Forfar bridies to be protected. The Ayrshire application went through a Scottish government consultation last year, without objections being lodged. The application cites evidence of commercial potato farming in Ayrshire as far back as 1793. The sandy soil and milder weather made it ideal for early sowing and early harvests, with potatoes typically getting to market within seven days of harvesting. Farmers traditionally used seaweed from Ayrshire beaches as fertiliser, and manure from local dairy farms. From 1859, they adopted growing practices learned in Jersey. The following year, the trade was helped by a rail link from Girvan to Glasgow. In 1918, records show a peak of potato farming in the county, with 11,400 acres under potatoes. The protected status application says that in 1951, the main occupation in the town of Maybole was in South Ayrshire early potatoes — planted in February, and harvested from early May until the end of July.
THE UK government’s business department has launched a review of Scotland’s law on limited partnerships. The move follows claims that the law is being exploited as a money-laundering front for international organised crime. The legal status of a limited liability partnership can be protected from scrutiny. It also gives the partners the capacity to handle money that is not open to their English equivalents. Concerns about criminal activity have been highlighted in reports published in The Herald newspaper.
The issue has also been raised by SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) said it was calling for evidence at the start of its review, following “the sharp growth” of limited partnerships in Scotland. It said their number had more than trebled since 2011, while there was a rise of less than 50% south of the border. Last year, the Herald reported that shell firms advertised as “Scottish zero-tax offshore companies” were being marketed across the European Union.
AND FINALLY.. A schoolboy from North Ayrshire has been arrested over comments made on social media. It is understood police officers went to a secondary school in Irvine on Monday as part of an investigation into Facebook messages. A police spokeswoman said a 17-year-old boy had been detained in connection with an alleged offence under the Communications Act. He was expected to appear at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court later.
The Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that on Monday, January 16, police received a report of an alleged offence contrary to the Communications Act 2003. “As a result of police enquiries, a 17-year-old boy was arrested in connection with the incident. “A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.” A spokesman for North Ayrshire Council said: “As the matter is now subject to court proceedings, it would be inappropriate for the council to comment.”
On that note I will say that I hope you have enjoyed the news from Scotland today, Looking back to our roots and with clear eyes to the future…
Our look at Scotland today is of the night sky over Old Nenthorn. Malcolm Parnell was there on a quiet weekend break from Edinburgh…. All I can say is “Oh my golly! Unbelievable!”…
A Sincere Thank You for your company and Thank You for your likes and comments I love them and always try to reply, so please keep them coming, it’s always good fun, As is my custom, I will go and get myself another mug of “Colombian” Coffee and wish you a safe Wednesday 18th January 2017 from my home on the southern coast of Spain, where the blue waters of the Alboran Sea washes the coast of Africa and Europe and the smell of the night blooming jasmine and Honeysuckle fills the air…and a crazy old guy and his dog Bella go out for a walk at 4:00am…on the streets of Estepona…
All good stuff….But remember it’s a dangerous world we live in ….. Be safe out there…
Robert McAngus
