Friday 25th March 2011 Dry Ski Slope saved
Hillend dry ski slope in Midlothian has been saved after receiving
almost £1m in funding. The Midlothian Snowsports Centre was threatened
with closure when funding was withdrawn by Midlothian Council.
SportsScotland stepped in to save the centre pledging £533,000 in
February which has been matched by £400,000 from the Scottish
government. The council is now looking at efficiency measures at the
ski slope and plans to increase ticket prices next year. There are
also plans to refurbish the visitor centre and to provide a new
sledging run and larger areas for intermediate skiers. Edinburgh and the Lothians

Wednesday 23rd March 2011 Ferret lets the train take the strain
Staff at Edinburgh’s Haymarket station rescued a ferret that appears
to have arrived on a train from London. The ferret, subsequently named
Mickey by animal welfare officers, appeared on platform four at the
same time as a train from London arrived. Insp Jenny Scott, of the
Scottish SPCA, said: "When I arrived to collect the ferret the staff
had managed to catch him and put him in a box. We're not sure if he
has escaped from someone's house nearby or if he has ventured further
and travelled all the way from England on the train. He's very
friendly so he is obviously someone's pet. We'd love to return him to
his owner as I'm sure they'll be missing him a lot.". Edinburgh and the Lothians

Wednesday 23rd February 2011 Edinburgh Castle is Scotland’s number one visitor attraction
Edinburgh Castle has topped the list of Scotland’s most popular
attractions with 1.2 million visitors last year. Culture Minister
Fiona Hyslop said: "The castle has sustained its numbers in the face
of two unprecedented events - the ash cloud at the beginning of the
year and the extreme weather at the end of the year, and on the back
of a very strong season the year before” Edinburgh and the Lothians

Monday 3rd January 2011 Former Celtic assistant manager’s medals stolen
Raiders have stolen two medals belonging to Celtic's former assistant
manager during a break-in. The thieves helped themselves to the medals
belonging to Mark Venus from his house in Edinburgh. Police said the
incident took place in Morningside sometime between midnight and 0600
GMT on Wednesday 29 December. One medal is from the English
Championship League season 2007-08 for West Bromwich Albion. The other
is from English Division 3 season 89-90 for Wolves. A Lothian and
Borders police spokesperson said: "These items are of tremendous
sentimental value, so I would appeal to anyone with any information to
get in touch so we can reunite them with their owner. They are very
unusual, distinctive pieces so I would ask people to stay alert if
they are offered for sale." Edinburgh and the Lothians

Friday 31st December 2010 Huge crowds at the start of Hogmanay
Crowds of more 25,000 people took part in a torchlight procession
through Edinburgh to kick off Hogmanay and the city's New Year
festival. The event at Parliament Square marked the beginning of
four-days of festivities and celebrations. According to organisers,
attendance at Thursday night's event had been "record-breaking".
Fireworks marked the beginning of the procession, which went down The
Mound, along Princes Street to Calton Hill. A Viking longship was
burned on Calton Hill as a light and firework show took place. Pete
Irvine, artistic director of Edinburgh's Hogmanay, said: "It's great
to start the four days of Edinburgh's Hogmanay with a record-breaking
crowd for the Torchlight Procession. We've started the New Year
celebrations around the world and shown people that Edinburgh once
again is the place to be for Hogmanay." Edinburgh and the Lothians

Friday 19th November 2010 Man avoids jail after driving on frozen canal
A man whose car sank through the ice as he attempted to drive on a
frozen canal in West Lothian has narrowly avoided a jail sentence.
Andrew Nisbet, 25, was instead given 200 hours community service after
pleaded guilty to driving in a reckless manner on the Union Canal at
Bridgend, West Lothian, on 11 January 2010. At Livingston Sheriff
Court, Nisbet's own lawyer said he was "the only person daft enough"
to attempt the stunt. Less than a mile into his crazy journey, his car
crashed through the ice. Nisbet, his passenger James Naismith, 22, and
Mr Naismith's West Highland terrier, Jimmy, narrowly escaped drowning
in the process. Edinburgh and the Lothians

Wednesday 3rd November 2010 Edinburgh tram chief resigns
The chairman of Edinburgh's troubled trams project, David Mackay, has
resigned his post. The transport expert, who was chairman of both
Edinburgh Trams and Lothian Buses, criticised the German contractors
after stepping down. Mr Mackay was interviewed by The Scotsman
newspaper where he described Bilfinger Berger as "delinquent". The
£545m system is now on hold due to a dispute between the contractor
and city-council owned tram developer Tie. Mr Mackay told the
newspaper: "Bilfinger Berger was a delinquent contractor who scented a
victim, who probably greatly underbid and would use the contract to
make life extremely difficult for the city. And they have done exactly
that. We had found crazy things like underground chambers on Princes
Street and cables were not where they should be - it was hell on
wheels." Despite the troubles there is still hoped that the new tram
network will be finished by the end of 2012. Edinburgh and the Lothians

Monday 9th August 2010 Edinburgh Festival Cavalcade through Holyrood Park marks start of annual fes
Tens of thousands of people lined a route through Holyrood Park to witness the Edinburgh Festivals' Cavalcade to mark the start of the Edinburgh Festival. The annual parade had to be moved to the park last year because of tram works on the usual route through Princes Street. 150 motorcycles led the parade, which also featured a many of the cast from The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. 2,500 took part in the parade and as many as 100,000 turned out in the Edinburgh sunshine to witness the spectacle. Cavalcade director David Todd said: "The weather was absolutely glorious and it was one of the smoother running parades of recent years. I am pleased to be able to present the cavalcade, making use of the space in Holyrood Park and its natural geography and keeping the core spectacular elements of the cavalcade itself as the heart of the day." Edinburgh and the Lothians

Friday 6th August 2010 RBS in Edinburgh to be targeted by activists
Activists have said they will target the headquarters of RBS in Edinburgh as part of their forthcoming ‘Camp for Climate Action’. The group say they wish to highlight deals by the bank which they claim contribute to climate change. The Camp for Climate Action is set to start from 19 August with protesters expected to target the bank on 23 August. The campaign group said RBS is financing the fossil fuel industry in the UK and around the world. Ruth Brown, a community worker from London, said: "Destructive projects like open-cast coal mines in the UK are only made possible through finance from banks like RBS. The government bailed them out, and now they use their profits to destroy our communities and are causing catastrophic climate change." Edinburgh and the Lothians

Friday 2nd July 2010 Anger at Edinburgh Airport’s £1 drop-off fee
Despite angry opposition, Edinburgh Airport is going ahead with plans
to introduce a £1 charge for dropping off passengers at its terminal
building. The charge will come into effect on motorists dropping
passengers off in a private vehicle from October. Passengers wishing
to avoid the fee will have to use the drop-off zone at the long-stay
car park area of the airport and catch a bus to the terminal.
Edinburgh’s airport is Scotland's busiest handling more than nine
million passengers a year. Edinburgh and the Lothians