Little girl reunited with her pet cat

Heather and Bo

By Cara Sulieman

A LITTLE girl who lost her pet cat on the same day as her doting granddad’s funeral has been re-united with the wayward kitty after a frantic fortnight long search.

Heather Wilson, five, was left distraught when Bo disappeared the same day that Barrie Wilson was laid to rest.

It was a double blow because he was the one who gave her the pet as a birthday present.

But a fortnight later the moggie turned up at the Scottish SPCA centre in Dunfermline in Fife where staff were able to track him back to the Wilson family for a surprise reunion.

Susan Boyle’s secret worry over new mum niece collapse

By Lauren Crooks

Britain’s Got Talent singer Susan Boyle is sick with worry after her favourite niece collapsed just weeks after giving birth to a baby boy.

Jacquelene Houston, 31, had been suffering dizzy spells, heaping stress on her famous aunt in the run up to the grand final of the contest.

Susan – who became an instant celebrity after her first appearance in the show and is competing for a chance to sing for the Queen on Saturday – has already snapped in public this week as pressure builds.

WORRY: Susan Boyle

And yesterday the tension mounted further as Jacquelene – daughter of Susan’s brother James – was rushed to hospital.

Collapsed

Medics said she had collapsed, falling down the stairs in her Bathgate home.

The news of the fall will add to Susan’s stress in the wake of Saturday’s live TV final – expected to be viewed by 100s of millions of people. Yesterday a close friend of Jacquelene said: “I was walking by and saw the ambulance outside their house.

“Jacqui has been having dizzy spells and I saw them going into the back.

“Stephen dumped his work van and jumped into their own car and sped off behind it.

“They are waiting to hear everything is okay.”

Big girls get ready to party

By Cara Sulieman
A NEW club night is starting up in Scotland – for “large ladies” only.

Big Girls Paradise is a clubbing sensation that has swept the country since the nineties, sadly leaving Scotland out.

But now a larger lady in Dumfries has organised the very first club night in Scotland for “big girls and the men who adore them.”

Kerry-Anne Jonsson – a size 28 – thinks it is important for women to get out of the house without fear of being ridiculed.

She said: “These nights are for women like myself and for men who like us the way we are so there is no need to fear you will be ridiculed.”

After watching a documentary about the club nights on Sky, Kerry-Anne realised it was something she wanted to be involved in.

She said: “It was something I was very passionate about. Being a bigger woman I have never had any problems.

“It has never stopped me doing anything I want to do and I want more big woman to feel more comfortable and confident about themselves.

“These nights are needed as society as it stands does not recognise bigger woman. Woman feel they can’t go out to clubs for the fear of being ridiculed and have pranks played on them by men.

“At least with these nights they can be who they want to be and the men who attend adore bigger woman.”

With no parties planned for Scotland, Kerry-Anne decided to get in touch with the founder, Linda Koch, and get the ball rolling.

Since starting in 1995, the nights have spread across the UK, with regular events in London, Cardiff, Manchester and Newcastle, amongst other places.

Linda Koch doesn’t feel as though people should be criticised for their weight, which is the main reason she set the organisation up.

She said: “I am a plus-sized woman but not because I sit on the couch all day. Your size doesn’t mean you are lazy; it could be medical in some cases.

“It should be a person’s own choice if they want to lose weight or stay the way they are. As long as it is not affecting their health why shouldn’t they be proud of their size?”

The scheme has had support from various organisations, including the size acceptance group Big People UK.

Jo Morley, from the group, said: “The word fat itself is an issue. It is used to insult people who are fat.

“How can you judge a person from their appearance without getting to know them?”

But others are worried that the club nights are encouraging people to be overweight, which may lead to health problems in the future.

Andy Carver, from the British Heart Foundation Scotland said: “It’s so important that people try to avoid becoming overweight and keep their waist measurement within the healthy range.”

The club night will be held at Locharbriggs Social Club in Dumfries on Friday 27 March.

Students spend £5000 on “good neighbour guide”

By Cara Sulieman
A GOOD behaviour guide for students is being put together using £5000 of taxpayers’ money.

In an effort to keep their neighbours happy, student leaders at Edinburgh University are asking their rowdy classmates to produce a “good neighbour guide”.

But instead of doing the hard work themselves, they’re spending the cash to get an external company to do it for them.

The £5000 comes from the South Central Neighbourhood Partnership, one of twelve groups set up by the City of Edinburgh Council to improve quality of life in the capital.

The research will find out what residents think of students, and what the city’s young residents can do to keep their neighbours happy.

Thomas Graham, external convener of the Edinburgh University Student’s Association, thinks that the study is essential to finding out exactly what problems students are causing.

He said: “There are two types of students who cause problems.

“There are those who just don’t realize that their behaviour is unacceptable because this is the first time that they have had to live within the community since leaving home.

“It is these students that we are tackling with the good neighbour guide so that they can learn what steps they can take to limit their negative impact on the community.

“Unfortunately there are also students who are just anti-social and they need to be dealt with by the police and other authorities.

“What we’re trying to do is limit the negative effect students have on the communities in which they live and try to focus on the positive impact we make.”

The good neighbour guide will give tips on keeping down noise levels, rubbish collection and how to move in and out without causing too much upset.

On top of £5000, both the university and the students’ association are providing money to fund the research.

EUSA president Adam Ramsay thinks that the survey will help students and local residents to get along better as neighbours and understand each other better.

He said: “We need to ensure we have good relations with our neighbours. It’s all too easy for university cities to slip into a ‘town and gown’ mentality.

“This research will be a small step which will help us find out where we are now, and how the local community perceives students.”

The idea has received the backing of politicians, as they wait to see what outcome the survey has.Murdo Fraser, Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning said: “This is an interesting idea and one that will clearly attract attention.

“Despite the use of taxpayers money, the motives behind it are clearly positive and so we should wait and see how this project develops before we say anything further.”