Golfer sinks two hole-in-ones in two weeks

 

Jim Tait

 

By Cara Sulieman

A GOLFER has followed up his first hole-in-one after 35 years by sinking two in the space of a fortnight to earn his hat trick.

Jim Tait first hit a hole-in-one in 1974, and earlier this month he achieved the seemingly impossible by doing it again – this time on the seventh straight at Murrayfield Golf Course.

The 62-year-old said: “I couldn’t believe it when it sailed in. I was golfing with a friend who said ‘that was a very good shot’ while it was still flying through the air, then he trailed off.

“We were shocked and leapt up to shake hands. I never, ever thought I would get another one.”

Black Watch raid smashes bomb making network

by Shaun Milne

SOLDIERS from the 3rd Battalion The Black Watch have smashed a vital network of tunnels used by enemy insurgents to launch attacks against British troops in Afghanistan – capturing a series of deadly bomb making factories.

Hundreds of Scots from the Royal Regiment of Scotland poured into the enemy front line under the cover of darkness to launch the surprise attack on Monday in the deadly Howz-e-Maded area in the Zhari district in the south.

Supported by fast jet air support, gun fire from 40 Regiment Royal Artillery, Canadian tanks and attack helicopters, the Scots were ferried in aboard three waves of six massive Chinook helicopters to kick off the assault.

The lightening raid not only saw ISAF troops capture what had been a stronghold for insurgents, but saw at least two motorbikes rigged as suicide bombs and a series of roadside bomb factories seized.

Captured

As dawn broke after the initial exchange, troops also captured guns, ammo, 28kg of explosives, communications equipment, medical supplies, recoilless rifle and a grenade launcher abandoned.

They had been used to target coalition forces for months, but captured as Bravo Company and Alpha Company surrounded their targets before fighting off a series of desperate counterattacks.

Corporal Richard Clark, 25, from Dunfermline, Fife, said: “All the months and years of training simply kicked in – the insurgents never stood a chance.”

Proud parents of Emeli Sande always knew she would be star

Diane and Joel Sande with their superstar daughter Emeli (centre)

 

 

By Cara Sulieman

THE proud parents of Scots MOBO songstress Emeli Sande said they always had faith their “little girl” would make it big in music – before watching her perform before a TV audience of millions last night.

Thrilled Diane and Joel Sande travelled down from the family home in Alford, Aberdeenshire last night (Wed) to watch their daughter perform on stage at the SECC in Glasgow with rapper Chipmunk.

And whilst for many this is just the start of the talented singer’s career, for her parents it is the result of many years hard work.

It culminated in last night’s performance of Diamond Rings, written by the talented Scots student, and nominated for Best Song.

Locals from Gordon Brown’s home constituency give their verdict on conference speech

By Oliver Farrimond

LOCALS from Gordon Brown’s home constituency gave their verdict on his keynote conference speech yesterday.

Residents of Kirkcaldy, Fife, watched his speech at O’Connell’s bar – and most said they were unimpressed.

Jim Lynch, 51, said that he would have liked to have seen Brown address the war in Afghanistan.

The science and engineering trainer, a Kirkcaldy local, said: “Whenever something happens in the world Britain always gets involved.

“I think a lot of people have been left asking why we are there in the first place.

“I would have liked to have seen him talk about the issue properly, and maybe promise that more of that money would be spent here at home.”

Mobo awards to boost Scottish ecomony despite claims that Glasgow is ‘too white’

By Cara Sulieman & Oliver Farrimond

TONIGHT’S Mobo Awards in Glasgow are on course to deliver a massive £1 million boost to the Scottish economy.

The last remaining tickets went on sale yesterday for the event which will see the likes of Jermaine Jackson, JLS and Kelly Rowland appear from the red carpet at the SECC.

Paul Bush, chief executive of EventScotland, said he hoped staging the show could start the ball rolling to bring other high profile events like the Brits north of the Border too.

That’s despite a row suggesting Glasgow should never have been chosen ahead of the likes of mixed raced cities such as Birmingham or Manchester because its population is too white.

Journalist and one of the original Mobo award panellists Paul McKenzie said in an interview earlier this week that Glasgow wasn’t multi-cultural enough to hold the event.

Shopping mob storm closed department to get festive gifts

By Rory Reynolds

STUNNED staff at one of Scotland’s most famous department stores watched on in amazement as customers crawled under security barriers to raid a newly stocked Christmas department.

More than a dozen people simply could not wait to get their hands on the festive stock at Edinburgh department store Jenners in Edinburgh – despite there still being three months to go until Christmas.

Staff had to tell the customers to go back to the main store area and leave their baubles alone after the surprise raid on Friday.

The excited mob had descended on the closed area and grabbed shiny baubles, luxury crackers, coloured tinsel and board games, some of which is only on display until sales start in December.

Shocked Sue Farrer, sales manager at Jenners, said she was gobsmacked by how keen people were to get their hands on the Christmas goods.

100 prize pigeons massacred in brutal arson attack

By Rory Reynolds

MORE than 100 top racing pigeons have been burned alive in a horrific arson attack.

Police are investigating the torching of top racing pigeon breeder Willy Pryde’s garden – in which £15,000 worth of prize birds were lost.

Willy has blasted the culprits as being “evil” and said those who carried out the massacre are inhuman.

The trainer and his family, from Gorebridge, Midlothian, rushed out to their garden to witness the horrific sight of their prize flock ablaze.

They tried in vain to save their champion pigeons but just 16 of 120 survived the attack, which occurred at around 4am on Saturday.

Car boot kidnap nurse feels ready to return to work

By Rory Reynolds

A BRAVE nurse who survived being locked in the boot of her own car in sub-zero temperatures for 10 days after being kidnapped says she wants to return to work – just two months after her attacker’s trial.

Magdeline Makola – a nurse at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary – said she wants to get on with her career and return to normal life after her near-death kidnapping in December of last year.

The 38-year-old was subjected to a horrific ordeal after fellow South African Justice Ngema bound, gagged, and left her for dead in the boot of her own Vauxhall Astra on 15 December.

The 35-year-old illegal immigrant pleaded guilty to 14 charges and was sentenced to eight years in prison for putting the hard-working nurse through the nightmare.

Ngema was told he may never be released as a result of a lifelong restriction order which may extend his eight-year term.

Police plan to wipe out gangsters’ assets

By Rory Reynolds

POLICE plan to seize a staggering £10million in cash and assets from drug dealers, fraudsters and pimps in a dramatic new crackdown on organised crime.

Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill and senior police at Lothian and Borders Police today announced a major offensive on the gangsters who plague communities in the east of Scotland.

Specialist teams have already identified the assets of 35 criminal groups through intelligence gathering over the last six months and the new strategy aims to cripple the gangs by “hitting criminals in the pocket.”

The details of £9.8million in assets have been forwarded the Crown Office to be seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Police have also identified six gangs in the Lothians area that are listed in the top 20 worst in the country, according to threat level.

Tiso thief was “easy” catch for police

By Michael MacLeod

A CAMPING shop worker stole over £18,000 of mountaineering gear before selling it on eBay.

But police said it was “easy” to catch dozy Andrew Pringle because he made buyers on the internet auction site pay directly to his personal bankcard.

The 22 year-old sneaked equipment out of the warehouse of the Tiso shop in Edinburgh where he worked.

The firm’s Commercial Street store in Edinburgh lost on out on an estimated £36,400 of potential income from the goods, had they been sold at the recommended retail prices.

But it took shop bosses over a year to realise the gear had gone missing and that one of their own staff members was the culprit.