Highlands top for UK tourists

A fantastic boost for income/tourism and business in the Highlands of Scotland but hopefully not all these soon to arrive tourists will be driving.

With many roads in very poor conditions after 2 very cold winters in a row, heavy traffic is an issue, not to mention terrible drivers and ignorance of how to drive on single track roads.

People who learn to drive in the city and spend most of their time driving on motorways or other straight roads are not only a hindrance on Scottish roads but are in many cases the cause of so many road accidents (this is aimed at all city drivers, including Scottish ones).

The poorest driving I see, and unfortunately on a very regular basis, are the ones who speed up on the straight and break, doing 30 miles an hour around any slight bend or curve in the road. This means those who know the roads are held up on the bends but don’t get the opportunity to over-take on the straight. This is bad and dangerous driving, causes frustration and encourages people to take more risks than they normally would. It is no wonder the amount of road traffic accidents more than trebles (all over the UK, not just in the Scottish Highlands).

While most people are more than happy (and indeed welcome) tourists to their area, we would very much appreciate it if many more of you would use public transport instead of frustrating people/causing accidents.

Enjoy your holiday but please take the bus/train ;D

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-13599177

Icelandic Ash Cloud Grounds Flights – Again

The Icelandic Grimsvotn volcano is at it again, belching out smoke/ash/pryoclasic bits into the atmosphere and grounding flights in Scotland once again.

So many travellers will be stranded once more, trying to get to or indeed, come back from, locations that are part of a holiday, or a business trip, or for whatever other reason they may be travelling.

Some ignorant environmentalists will be hailing this as a boon for the airways but indeed, volcanic spewings are almost never beneficial.

Acid rain, anyone? That’s right, acid rain is a common side effect of a large amount of volcanic material (most often the large amounts of sulphur) billowing up into the stratosphere. It has happened before (Sweden was bombarded by acid rain less than 50 years ago) and it will no doubt happen again.

Don’t get me wrong, this is not a huge cause for panic yet, and especially not within the UK or mainland Europe, no, it is the Scandinavian countries who most often bare the brunt of this rather nasty side effect.

This is most certainly going to have an effect (a direct, not a side effect) on the weather and especially on climate temperatures. If you will remember back to the last time this happened (last year), we had a cool summer and a really cool (though short) winter.

Lets hope this year will have less disruption and no signs of acid rain or any other nasty side effects.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13498477

Rothesay to get lottery funding of 1.5mn!

Rothesay, on the Isle of Bute, is to be given £1.5mn as a ‘revamp’ from the heritage lottery fund. This money is to go towards building regeneration.

Now is it just me or could this money not be used for far better things, like helping get people back to work or going to support care services, health services, or a whole host of other far more worthy causes, rather than making Rothesay prettier?! Having been to Rothesay, I know it is a pretty town and really does not need this cash.

This appears to be a terrible token gesture by someone who has no concept of what would genuinely benefit the town and the island community.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-13412133

Osama Dead and Gone

This is such an odd and negative start to a usually cheerful month.

While I do believe in justice and I do think that criminals need to be brought to justice, the thought of celebrating the dead of anyone is not only revolting, it is amoral, regardless of the person. When we celebrate killing someone we become as bad as we perceive them to be.

A legal, sanctioned trial and (where believed necessary) execution is something that should be solemn, an ending to a nightmare for the victims and their families. None of this occurred when America killed Osama bin Laden. Regardless of whether this is a justified killing (that really isn’t the issue here), celebrating the death of another human being is just wrong.

I am so shocked that people who call themselves Christian can do this. Christianity is about forgiveness and acceptance (much like Islam), not about celebrating when hearing of someone’s death.

My heart goes out to the families of those lost on the 11th of September, I hope this may bring you some peace. I hope you can find closure and that something good may come of this.

I urge the US to show a little caution here. The situation with America –v- the Middle East/Islam is a precarious one. Rubbing salt in what must at the moment be a wound will merely provoke retaliation. I truly hope this is not the case, there have been enough lives lost already. I hope President Obama takes this into account.

http://writing.wikinut.com/Questioning-the-Celebrations-of-Osama-bin-Laden-s-Death/25qsnfly/

Peace be upon you (literally).