80 year-old loco steams to the rescue of stranded flyers

By Michael MacLeod and Cara Sulieman

IT goes at a top speed of 75mph, takes 11 hours to reach London, and stops for an hour in York.

But desperate business travellers turned to a steam train for salvation yesterday to help get them to London and beat a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland which had left their planes stranded at Edinburgh Airport.

The “Coronation” cross-border pleasure journey steamed to the rescue on a scheduled run from Waverley Station in the Scottish capital as a handful of fed up flyers decided to let the train take the strain instead.

Edinburgh set for all-night arts festival

By Zoë Keown

Festival fever could be hitting Edinburgh more than once a year as talks for an all-night arts festival has been unveiled for the capital.

Following in the footsteps of Paris and Rome, The Nuit Blanche or White Night festival will see the doors of many of the city’s most esteemed galleries and cultural centres open to the public for free events after dark.

Bathed in a pool of blue light, the city’s best loved landmarks such as the castle and St Giles Cathedral could well be given the attention they deserve all night long.

Horse Served on Scottish Menu

By Andrea McCallum

AN EDINBURGH restaurant has become the first in Scotland to serve horse steak on their menu.

The Scottish capital’s French eaterie L’Escargot Bleu is now offering diners a choice of pan-fried horse rump steak or horse meat steak tartare.

An 8.5kg entire horse rump was delivered to the restaurant direct from Rungis market in Paris – the biggest food market in the world.

Although the meat is new to Scotland, about 70,000 horses are eaten in France every year.

McCartney vows to wow Scots fans after 30 years

By Rory Reynolds

SIR PAUL McCartney wants to play in Scotland for the first time in three decades, it has been revealed.

The Beatles legend last played in Scotland since 1979, when he treated fans to an appearance with rock band Wings in Glasgow.

But now the 67-year-old, who owns a farm on Kintyre, and famously released the anthem Mull of Kintyre, wants to do a UK tour to take in Scotland.

McCartney has asked gig promoters to look into a date north of the border as part of a ‘Union Jack’ tour.

The rock star previously had to pull out of a gig at Celtic Park in 2003 as part of the Back In The World Tour after losing his voice.

MSPs to look into blood donations after hearing schoolboy’s petition

From left to right: Gorgon Mokwa, Andrew Dannet, Ben Jones and Aiden McKenzie from Alness Academy

By Cara Sulieman

THE Scottish Parliament is to investigate the best way to raise awareness of the need for blood donors – after a schoolboy urged MSPs to start paying people for donations.

The Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament dismissed the idea to reward blood donors with cash.

But the move has spurred them into finding out just how else they can increase the number of donors.

Andrew Dannet, 16, submitted the original petition to the committee calling on them to do something about the low numbers of donors in Scotland.

The assassination of Paris Hilton

By Cara Sulieman

HOTEL heiress Paris Hilton is in for a shock if she visits Edinburgh this summer – the cast of a new play are planning her assassination.

The production, called the Assassination of Paris Hilton, is by London based group Racked Theatre.

It sees two girls in the bathroom of a nightclub in Holywood planning the star’s death because they are sick of celebrity culture.

But the writer insists that she has nothing against Hilton herself and the play is about celebrity rather than any particular star.

Megan Ford, an artistic director of the theatre group and writer of the play, said: “I feel the need to mention, that despite the controversial title, the play is not an attack on Paris Hilton, but rather a depiction of female relationships and the culture of celebrity worship.”

Giant attraction for the granite city

The ferris wheel in Belfast

By Cara Sulieman

THE GRANITE city is to get a new giant tourist attraction that will allow visitors to gaze over the rooftops.

Planning permission has been lodged with Aberdeen City Council to build a 130 ft Ferris wheel in the city centre from September to January next year.

It used to stand at the end of the Champs Elysee win Paris and was a favourite of then President Jacques Chirac.

If granted, it will allow visitors to hop inside one of the 30 individual pods and enjoy views over the city during the winter months.

Woman sparks mid-air terror

By Paul Thornton

A SUICIDAL woman tried to open a door on a passenger aeroplane as it travelled at 32,000 feet.

The pilot of the plane said Ann Gilmour’s bid to leap from the aircraft could have had “catastrophic” consequences for the 100 passengers on board.

Terrified cabin crew had to drag the 47-year-old from the door during the Air France flight to Edinburgh.

The Glasgow woman later told police she planned to jump from the vehicle because it would be “a good way to die”.

And at Edinburgh Sheriff Court she admitted culpable and reckless conduct after psychiatrists ruled she was fit to plead guilty.

Models strut their stuff at launch of Edinburgh College of Art fashion show

By Oliver Farrimond

EDINBURGH fashion students showcased their years work yesterday in a glamorous fashion show at the Edinburgh College of Art.

Hundreds gathered to watch the event, which featured professional models strutting their stuff in a variety of luxurious fabrics and elaborate costumes.

The show represents the culmination of a year’s hard work for many students, and for some it is the final show of their degree.

Many will hope to go on to a successful career in one of the fashion industry’s “big four” cities of Milan, London, Paris and New York City.

The show runs from Wednesday 6th May until the 9th, and is widely regarded as a key date in the Capital’s cultural calendar.

Among the collections was an exclusive range of Scottish fabrics from the Borders-based Lochcarron of Scotland.

Gordon Ramsay’s new Paris restaurant branded ‘boring’ by renowned French food critic

By Oliver Farrimond

FEARED French food critic Francois Simon has slammed Gordon Ramsay’s new Parisian restaurant, saying that it serves up ‘photocopier food’.

Simon accused the Scottish born master-chef’s dishes of being ‘repetitive’ and ‘not interesting’.

His withering remarks will come as bad news to Ramsay, whose culinary empire is reportedly suffering from the effects of the global recession.

Speaking in an interview, Simon said: “Quite frankly, it’s just another gastronomic restaurant: boring, pompous and very expensive – I’d already eaten the same thing in Tokyo and all his restaurants in London.

“It’s a cuisine of duplication – repetitive cuisine is not interesting. It’s like a photocopier: it is Xerox food.”

His criticism came despite the restaurant being awarded two stars from the Michelin Guide.

Gordon Ramsey now has 12 Michelin stars to his name.

And short-tempered Scot said last March at the opening of the restaurant that he had “had a belly-full of the French coming over here and telling us how s**t our food is.”

The restaurant – which has only ten tables – is at the Trianon Hotel in Versailles, one of France’s most history-steeped and picturesque regions.

But Francois Simon said that he would rather eat in one of the local bistros.

He added: “It’s great for Gordon Ramsay, as he’s someone who works very hard and has a great deal of talent and has perfectly understood how international gastronomy functions.

“But it’s as if you invited me to dinner and offered me a pre-prepared dish you bought from a shop.

“Of course it’s good and you’ve warmed it up nicely, but I’m not interested in tasting it. I want to taste YOUR food.”

Simon Francois is world-famous for his devastating criticism – his surly columns for Le Figaro are legendary, and the character Anton Ego in the Disney-Pixar animated film Ratatouille is based on him.

Foie gras, roasted fig and Scottish venison were among the dishes tested out by Simon at the 75-seat brasserie.

A spokesman for Gordon Ramsay said that he had full faith in his team of chefs at the restaurant, and that they were delighted to receive two Michelin stars.