By Rory Reynolds

A HANDWRITTEN Robert Burns poem worth £30,000 is to be displayed for the first time alongside some of Scotland’s most treasured artifacts.

The Battle of Sherramuir, a poem detailing the Jacobites’ fight against the king’s army at the height of the Jacobite rebellion, will be among the highlights of the Treasures exhibition in Edinburgh.

The Forlani Map – the first ever printed map of Scotland – and Sherlock Holmes tale The Adventure of the Illustrious Client, handwritten by Arthur Conan Doyle, are also expected to tempt the crowds out of the cold and into the renovated National Library of Scotland.

The map, which is the showpiece of the library’s collection of two million maps, dates back to 1546 and is derived from a document charting the British Isles.

Another highlight of the exhibition, which runs from this Thursday to the 8th January, is the signed order of the Massacre of Glencoe, a chilling document sanctioning the murder of senior members of the MacDonald clan by the Campbells.

The 300-year-old document ordered the Campbells to “putt all to the sword under seventy” those of the MacDonald clan.

Other famous documents include the Copperplate Map of Treasure Island, complete with X marking the spot of buried treasure.

The map was part of the 1895 memorial Edinburgh edition of Robert Louis Stevenson novels.

Martyn Wade of the National Library of Scotland, said: “We are very excited to be celebrating the year of Homecoming by offering members of the public the opportunity to see this collection of priceless Scottish treasures.

“The collection has a wide appeal, with pieces from iconic Scottish literary figures in Burns, Conan Doyle, Scott and Stevenson, and from key moments and movements in the history of Scotland, including the Covenanters, the Jacobites, the Union of the Parliaments and, of course, the massacre at Glencoe.

“I would encourage anyone interested in catching a glimpse of Scotland’s history to visit the library this winter.”

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By Rory Reynolds

THOUSANDS of patients with Parkinson’s disease are being misdiagnosed, costing the taxpayer £2.5million every year in bungled medication, according to a new study by Scots doctors.

Researchers at the Southern General in Glasgow have revealed that up to 6,300 patients in the UK suffering from little more than stiffness or hand tremors could have been diagnosed wrongly by GPs.

The authors of the Institute of Neurological Science report have said that as well as the sheer cost of mistakes, patients are not being treated for their actual health disorders.

Dr Kieran Breen from the Parkinson’s Disease Society, and one of the authors of the study said: “Some GPs take tremors as the main indication but only 70 per cent of sufferers have tremors.

“The patients should be referred to neurologists with more expertise and they will make a much more accurate diagnosis.

“If 5 per cent of the 120,000 Parkinson’s sufferers in Britain have been misdiagnosed, up to £2.5million is being spent on wasted medication a year.

“We didn’t find evidence that taking the drugs caused hard to the patients without Parkinson’s – but it could mean people were denied the correct drugs to improve their actual condition.”

The study found that on average those misdiagnosed with the disease had been on the wrong medication for six years, costing £370 per person for each year.

Independent MSP and Parkinson’s disease sufferer Margo MacDonald said: “I had no idea this was happening and I wonder if there may be a cluster of neurological conditions that are being mistaken for each other.

“I hope extra funding will be made available to investigate what conditions are being misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s.”

The report detailed how misdiagnosis had “significant implications to the practice of care for patients diagnosed as Parkinson’s Disorder”

It said: “This might be as high as 570 in Scotland and 6,300 in the UK, when adding the misdiagnosis rate for patients who did not meet selection criteria, but stopped anti-Parkinson medication successfully.”

Dean Marshall chairman of the Scottish GPs committee of the BMA, said that Parkinson’s was a difficult disease, but added: “If there is more training or education needed for GPs then that should be looked into.”

Around 120,000 people in the UK have Parkinson’s disease, which is a progressive neurological disorder that occurs when cells die in the part of the brain that controls movement.

A number of high-profile celebrities suffer from the disease, including boxing legend Muhammad Ali and film star Michael J Fox, who was diagnosed at the age of just 30.

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By Rory Reynolds

AC/DC front man Brian Johnson has revealed that when he’s not screaming out the band’s hits about women and whisky on tour, he enjoys a sedate drive along the A68 to Melrose.

The rock legend says he likes nothing more than to pull down his famous flat cap and hit the open road in Scotland.

The 62-year-old singer – whose band has sold 200 million albums – said that he comes to Scotland whenever he can to visit friends and unwind from their globe-spanning tours.

He said: “I love driving about up there, I used to go up a lot to Loch Lomond and Loch Ness, but you know my favourite place now? Melrose in the Borders.

“Driving around there is fabulous, it’s beautiful.”

And for the first time Brian revealed that he nearly passed up the chance to be in one of the biggest bands of the century.

He said: “I only went because I had other work lined up in London – a Hoover jingle advert.

Breaking into song, he added: “It’s the new Hoover, ooh. She such-a-sweet little movurgh – ooh yeargh.

“That ad got me £350, which is the most money I’d had in one go in my life.”

Brian also said that he will never forget the band’s gig in Glasgow during the summer, saying that the Hampden Roar is “no myth”.

He joked: “I swear to God the hairs on the back of my arms stood up and my old ticker was twitching like a rabbit’s nose.”

Obsession

AC/DC’s original line-up were Scots dominated, with Angus Young, his brother Malcolm and Bon Scott making up most of the band’s members.

Next year the band will celebrate the 30 years since Johnson took over the helm following the death of Bon Scott.

Brian added: “It’s brilliant that people remember Bon 30 years on.

“I met him once and he was one of those cool souls.”

The singer has just released his autobiography Rockers and Rollers, charting his career and his obsession with driving.

The band has made £58million in the past 12 months alone, with their latest LP getting to No1 in the charts in 29 countries.

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By Rory Reynolds

GRIEVING parents of a young Indian naval officer who had his throat slashed in a horrific attack have spoken of their shock that his racist killer could be free in just 18 years.

Kunal Mohanty was viciously slain by thug Christopher Miller – who later boasted of having “done a Paki” – while on a night out with friends in Glasgow.

The 30-year-old was killed just three days before he was to take his final exam at the city’s nautical college and return home to be with his pregnant wife, who was expecting their first baby.

His wife later lost their child.

Kunal’s father Devender said that Miller, 25, who was unanimously found guilty by a jury at the High Court in Glasgow last week, got off too lightly.

He said: “I know my son is never going to come back but we wanted a deterrent so that another man will not do this to somebody else.

“European countries are supposed to be well-educated, well-mannered and advanced – we did not expect this.

“My son went there for an exam, not to snatch somebody’s job, and it was just for the colour of his skin that he was murdered.

“I just have one grudge – that Miller should have been given more time so that he could not cause any pain for another family.

“I am not in favour of the death penalty, but I do think that if the murderer has a long punishment in jail then he will realise what he has done.”

On 27 March of this year Kunal and three friends were out for a takeaway when they were approached by Miller and asked if they had a cigarette.

When Kunal said he did not smoke, Miller pulled out a knife without warning and slit his throat.

Kunal’s mother Suman said that Miller should have been executed for killing her son.

She said: “I know my son is not going to come back but these sorts of criminals, they should be hanged.

“Society should be clean of these criminal elements who have no moral views – they are a burden on society.

“You can’t imagine how much pain a mother has in losing such a promising child.

“We were such a happy family and this was suddenly shattered – he was killed for nothing.”

Conservative justice spokesman Bill Aitkin MSP said: “This was a particularly brutal crime with racial overtones which deserved an exemplary sentence.

“The judge however in recognising that the absolutely minimum Miller will spend in jail is 18 years probably got it more or less right.

“But I can well understand the feelings of Mr and Mrs Mohanty.”

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By Rory Reynolds

THE FAMOUS pub where singing sensation Susan Boyle sang karaoke is run by one of Scotland’s most successful sex-for-sale sauna bosses.

Susan used to meet friends and sing her heart out at the Happy Valley Hotel in Blackburn, West Lothian, before she achieved worldwide fame.

But now it has been revealed that the man behind the friendly local is sleaze magnate Felice Di Resta – who also owns an Edinburgh lap dancing club and sex sauna.

Di Resta, who runs the hotel through his firm The Old Coach Inn Ltd, also owns Edinburgh strip club Bottoms Up, as well as the Ambassador Sauna.

The £1million-a-year company director said: “Susan still drops in for a drink and a visit.

“I’m going to buy her CD when it comes out, it’ll be a storm across the globe.

“When she comes back here to Blackburn she comes in to see her friends at her local.”

But Di Resta, 80, added: “I only met her once, around a year and a half ago, I don’t have any contact with her at all.”

He added that he is now “retired” from the family sauna business, but said he was still involved at the pub.

Di Resta, who was once dubbed Don Curly Wurly because people said he looks like an extra from The Godfather, is also the licensee for the hotel.

Undercover Cops

The Happy Valley Hotel has been visited by SuBo fans from around the world since the 48-year-old’s overnight global success.

However last month barmaid Annemarie McCormack – who has often been interviewed on TV – was jailed for nearly three years for her involvement after a £30,000 police drugs sting.

McCormack put undercover cops in touch with dealers after they approached her at the pub.

Locals said that they had no idea that Di Resta was involved in the Happy Valley, and were shocked that a sauna boss was involved in their pub.

One regular said: “I always used to see Susan in here before she was on Britain’s Got Talent.

“But I’m pretty sure she didn’t know that some sort of filth-peddler ran the place – I had no idea either until recently.

“I think this is going to be the talk of the steamie for quite a while – I don’t think anyone will quite believe it.”

Susan’s debut album is released next week – just a few months after she first appeared in at the Clyde Auditorium in Glasgow.

In a recent interview, Susan revealed she always felt like an outsider until her success this year, adding that her parents were told by doctors “not to expect too much” from her because of her mild learning difficulties.

She also spoke about her breakdown and admittance to The Priory earlier this year, but promised fans that she is “not the wee frightened lassie anymore.”

The singer is currently back in Scotland to visit friends, and has been seen eating at pubs and restaurants in Bathgate, near her hometown of Blackburn.

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By Oliver Farrimond

A TINY book of Robert Burns’ poems is set to be blasted into SPACE.

The miniature book will dock with the International Space Station next year after being carried into orbit by an American astronaut.

A distant relative of Scotland’s Bard, Alan Archibald, donated the book to a space school after discovering he was distantly related to Burns last year.

Alan, an electronics engineer at the University of Strathclyde, said: ““As it’s the year of Homecoming I thought it would be nice to celebrate Burns and the Space School by sending the Bard’s words into space.

“Although the songs are very old, his words remain well-known and loved across the world.

“He was quite a character and it seemed fitting that we celebrate his work in an unusual way.

“I suppose it’s one small book for man, one giant message for mankind.”

The book contains 14 poems and songs, and will accompany NASA pilot Tony Antonelli on Space Shuttle Atlantis to the International Space Station during May of next year.

Engineer Alan had the idea after discovering he was Rabbie’s great-great-great-great-great-nephew last year.

He added: “There had been a rumour in our family for a number of years that we were related to Burns, but nobody knew what the relationship was.

“I decided to check it out and began to look at documents, include birth and death certificates.”

Celebrate

After discovering the link, he tracked down the tiny book and decided to have it blasted into space to celebrate both his own discovery, and the 250th anniversary of the Bard’s birth.

Alan then passed on the thumb-sized book on to a group of Scots students on a trip to Space School at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre in Houston, Texas – via First Minister Alex Salmond.

The First Minister said: “In the Year of Homecoming when we celebrate the global influence of Robert Burns, it’s fantastic to see our national poet’s legacy travel even further.

“Launching this miniature book of poems into space is an excellent way to highlight the many great contributions that Scotland has given to the world.

“Great Scottish minds have been at the forefront of innovation for centuries and our excellent reputation continues today.”

After returning from its cosmic trip, it is hoped that the book will become an exhibit at the Burns Museum at Alloway when it opens next year.

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By Oliver Farrimond

FURIOUS Scottish World War Two veterans are demanding an apology from a renowned historical writer after he accused them of COWARDICE.

Anthony Beevor’s eagerly anticipated new work – titled “D-Day – The Battle for Normandy” – contends that Scottish troops failed in key objectives during the landing, badly letting down Allied forces.

And now livid vets are “disgusted” by the passages, and say that Beevor should have interviewed them rather than relying on secondary sources.

Quoting a Canadian major, Beevor wrote: “The thing that shocked me was the 51st Highland Division.

“The Scotties threw away their weapons and equipment and fled.”

Another quote from Field Marshal Montgomery describes the 51st Highland Division as “at present not battle worthy – it does not fight with determination and has failed in every operation it has been given to do.”

But surviving veterans of the Normandy landings have hit out at the claims, describing them as a “gross injustice”.

They say that the 51st Highland Division – which includes the Black Watch – played an important role in the fierce fighting that followed the amphibious invasion of the Normandy beaches.

Dr Tom Renouf, secretary of the 51st Highland Division Veterans Association, said that although the unit had suffered from poor leadership, the courage of the soldiers had never been in doubt.

He said: “This myth that the 51st Highland Division had lost its bottle must not be propagated.

“It is true our initial commander, Major General Bullen-Smith, had failed to inspire confidence and was replaced prior to the breakout.

Gross Injustice

“But to say we never fought with determination is a gross injustice.”

The group say that they are seeking a formal apology from Beevor.

D-Day landings veteran Ron Titterton, 88, added: “In Normandy, the fighting was ferocious.

“We were under attack by mortars constantly – 760 in one afternoon – but my regiment held the line for 10 days.

“Montgomery sent 10,000 cigarettes to be shared between the men, and he wouldn’t do that if he didn’t think we’d done a sterling job.”

The 62-year-old historian, who has written a series of popular histories of the Second World War including best-seller “Stalingrad”, defended the claims in his book.

He said: “The 51st Highland Division went through a bad patch, but its morale and fighting ability was rapidly restored in late July, as I emphasise in my book.”

By Oliver Farrimond

A SCOTS knitwear company has had to almost double its staff to cope with a new order of school uniforms – for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Lochaven International, based in Ayrshire, have supplied the iconic school uniforms for the Harry Potter film series since 2001, and have just finished producing 400 garments for the sixth instalment of the series.

However a 25,000-fold surge in internet traffic has meant that the firm have now had to bolster their staffing levels, after online Harry Potter fans found out that the movie’s woolly garments were made in Scotland.

Since then they have been bombarded with orders for Hogwarts outfits, and have had to double in size to cope with the demand as work has commenced on uniforms for the smash series’ dramatic final instalment.

Managing director Keith Murray said: “The order book is completely full, and we’re jam-packed with work.

“Even if you take Harry Potter out of the equation we’re working at full capacity.”

With garment production at the company’s mill pushed to the limit, Lochaven plans to bolster its staff to 40.

The firm produced 400 lambswool cardigans, jumpers and tanktops for the boy wizard’s most recent screen outing – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – which smashed worldwide box-office records.

In addition to outfitting Potter, Weasley and company, the firm has also been in negotiations with Warner Brothers to supply clothes for a new Harry Potter theme park.

Potter fans at the park, which is due to open in Florida next year, would be able to buy Scots-made woolen uniforms of Hogwarts four school houses – Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

Managing director Keith Murray added that he hoped that the company would gain valuable promotion from the move.

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By Paul Thornton

A COMPANY boss who sexually harassed his former receptionist has been jailed for faking evidence at the employment tribunal where she fought for compensation.

Jason Robinson, 36, made repeated and unwanted advances towards Susan Moffat while she worked at his drive hire firm.

The mum-of-three took the company director to an employment tribunal and eventually won almost £29,500 in compensation.

But Robinson presented fake documents – including a formal warning and contract of employment – at the hearing in a bid to dodge a pay-out.

Mrs Moffat’s forged signatures were on the documents which were passed to the tribunal held in Edinburgh.

After seeing the documents Mrs Moffat denied that she had seen or signed them and produced paper work with her real signature as proof.

The tribunal tipped-off cops and Robinson made a full confession when he was interviewed by them.

And at Edinburgh Sheriff Court the dad-of-one was jailed for four months after he admitted perverting the course of justice.

Sheriff Isobell McColl described Robinson’s actions as a “premeditated forgery” and said that it was among the most serious cases she had seen.

Fiscal depute Alexis Armit told the court how Mrs Moffat had been sacked by Robinson in June 2006.

Miss Armit said: “Mrs Moffat was employed as a receptionist at Robinson’s car hire firm between December 5, 2005 and June 10, 2006.

“During the employment she was paid her wages in cash and there was never a contract of employment produced or signed.

“After incidents between Mrs Moffat and Robinson, Mrs Moffat was sacked in June 2006.”

Mrs Moffat went on to take Robinson to an employment tribunal, which was held in Edinburgh in March 2007.

At that hearing Robinson represented himself and used a faked contract of employment as well as a faked formal warning letter on which he forged Mrs Moffat’s signature as productions.

After Mrs Moffat told the tribunal that the signature was not hers Robinson stopped turning up for the hearings and Mrs Moffat was awarded £29,500.

Robinson’s lawyer, Virgil Crawford, said his client had paid all the compensation to his former employee and that he now realised “the folly of his actions”.

Mr Crawford said Robinson’s wife was not expecting their second child and asked Sheriff McColl to consider community service rather than jail.

He added: “Clearly he was entirely foolish in his actions in producing false documents to the tribunal.

“What can be said for him is that he did not persist in matters after the criminality was pointed out to him.

“He did pervert the course of justice in relation to the procedure rather than the outcome.”

Mr Crawford said that although Mrs Moffat had been claiming just £1,750 in unpaid wages and bonuses, Robinson ended up paying £29, 500.

But Sheriff McColl said that the incident was among the most serious examples of perverting the course of justice that she had seen.

She said: “It was not incorrect, it was a premeditated forgery.

“I consider that this is one of the most serious cases of attempting to pervert the course of justice that has come before this court.

“Certainly that I have ever seen.

“Courts and tribunals can only make decisions based on evidence from true documents and fair statements.

“An attempt to influence the decisions by forging documents undermines the whole system.”

Sheriff McColl said that community service would not act as a strong enough deterrent to others and said she had to jail Robinson.

She said she had reduced a sentence of six months to four months because Robinson, of McNab Gardens, Falkirk, had admitted his crime.

Robinson wept as he was led to custody.

By Oliver Farrimond

SCOTTISH charities are missing out on vital donations from wills, with recession-hit families preferring to secure more money for their loved ones.

Slashed interest rates and plunging property prices have left Scots rushing to ensure that their families don’t miss out on vital legacies in favour of charitable donations.

Edinburgh-based law firm Gibson Kerr have estimated that the total value of charitable donations left in wills has HALVED over the last eighteen months.

Fiona Rasmusen, partner at Gibson Kerr, said: “We all know the credit crunch has had a huge effect on many people in Scotland and the rest of the UK.

“Many people have investments in savings accounts, shares and property, but these have been badly hit by the economic downturn.

“One significant development of this has seen people opt to change the details of their wills to reflect these difficult decisions.

“With savings and investments worth far less than they used to be, people are deciding to leave more money to their families and loved ones – and less to external organisations. “

“It would appear that there is a desire to avoid any upset in a family by ensuring donations to loved ones does not reduce as a result of the credit crunch.”

Lucy McTernan, deputy chief executive of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations admitted that this was “yet another blow” for Scotland’s flagging voluntary sector.

She said: “The voluntary sector is facing really tough times in the recession, due to falling income and rising demand.

Budgets

“The impact of this fall in the value of legacy donations is yet another blow and will be strongly felt by charities, social enterprises and voluntary organisations right across Scotland.”

Many charities depend hugely on legacy donations as a vital source of funds, and to many a drop has meant a cut in budgets.

Some even have dedicated legacy departments devoted to working with potential donors.

Ginny Harris, legacies and marketing manager for Barnados, said that the British charity sector as a whole had seen a drop in legacies left in the form of property and investments.

She said: “Donations in the form of residual legacies have fallen by 5.5%, as property prices and share values have fallen during the recession.

“This is across the whole UK sector, rather than just Barnados, but charities like ours are certainly seeing the effects of this drop.

“They are a hugely important part of our funding, and as a result we have a much tighter budget this year than the year before.

“Going forward, it’s important that charities invest time and marketing into making the public aware that legacies are an option.

She added: “We are not anticipating a change for at least the next couple of years.”

Confidence

Gibson Kerr estimate that legacy gifts to charities that are left as part of people’s wills are now around half the value of what they were two years ago.

And until the economy recovers along with consumer confidence, the Edinburgh-based firm predict lean times ahead for charities that depend on legacy donations.

Fiona Rasmusen added: “If you have a property or share portfolio that is worth £50,000 less than it was a few years ago, you will want to ensure that your family doesn’t lose out as a result of this.

“Therefore, you’ll look to amend other parts of your will and will give money that would have originally gone to a charity to your family instead.

“In some cases, that will mean a will that was perhaps split 70:30 – family donations v charitable donations – is now being changed to 80:20 or even 90:10.

“Charities, in particular, are suffering from this shift in attitude. Just a few years ago, you would get people leaving fairly large donation to an organisation such as the Scottish SPCA or Cancer Research in their will, but now those legacies are much smaller.”

Colin Flinn, head of fundraising for Veterans Scotland, said that charities had to show sensitivity when discussing potential legacy donations.

Family

He said: “First of all, any charity should understand hat family comes first.

“If you do feel that there is money you do have, once you have thought of family and friends, one would hope that you might think of charitable organisations, but it’s a process that comes after many years’ work.

“There’s not much charities can do about the situation but it is mostly about keeping in touch with your supporters.”

“It’s about going to long-standing supporters and explaining those issues, and being proactive and engaging – but family always comes first.”

Michelle Grubb, head of marketing and communications for the Scottish SPCA, added: “Legacies account for around 50 per cent of our total income, so they are vital source of revenue for us as a charity, particularly as we do not receive any government or lottery funding.”

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