Andy Murray to be honoured with homecoming parade

By Michael MacLeod

TENNIS star Andy Murray will be treated to a spectacular homecoming party – whether or not he wins Wimbledon.

The Scottish Government are drawing up plans up to give the 22 year-old a hero’s welcome that he’ll never forget when he returns home from SW19.

The world number three would become the first Brit to win the exclusive championship since Fred Perry.

Far from hiding from the challenge, Murray even wore a t-shirt emblazoned with “1936” – the year Perry won the title – after his quarter final straight sets win against Spain’s Juan Carlos Ferrero on Wednesday.

He plays American Andy Roddick in the semi final tonight (fri) with the mouth-watering prospect of a final against former champion Roger Federer.

Scotland’s culture minister Michael Russell revealed that the Scottish Government want to embrace the Dunblane-born player with a special celebration.

He said: “Andy is a wonderful star and a tremendous sportsman.

“He will always deserve a homecoming celebration and he will always get one – win or lose, he is going to get one.”

Murray mania takes hold of Andy Murray ‘s home town of Dunblane

By CARA SULIEMAN, in Dunblane

ANDY MURRAY’S home town of Dunblane is gearing up for a weekend of Murray mania – convinced their local hero can make it through to Sunday’s Wimbledon final.

With Andy Murray scheduled to play in the semi final today (fri) a huge wave of excitement and expectation has washed over the Stirlingshire town.

Everywhere posters and good luck messages have been stuck up in window or walls while people on  street corners are full of talk about nothing else.

Scots tennis star hit by recession

By Cara Sulieman

A FUTURE Scots tennis star tipped for success by Tim Henman and Andy Murray’s mum could see her career stall – after the recession left her dad redundant.

Emma Devine’s father Kenneth has lost his job, meaning her parents won’t be able to pay for her expensive training regime any longer.

Kenneth and wife Kathy Devine have been coughing up the £35,000 annual bill for Emma to attend the Justine Henin tennis camp in Belgium where she is trained by Carlos Rodriguez.

But now they face pulling her out of the camp for financial reasons – damaging the 14-year-old’s future in the sport.

Shock for sacked card shop staff

By Cara Sulieman

HUNDREDS of shocked card shop staff were told they were losing their jobs in a phone call from bosses yesterday – some given just 24-hrs notice that they are being shelved.

Managers at Birthdays branches across the country received a phone call from their area managers yesterday informing them of the decision after almost a month of uncertainty.

And one store, in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, will be shutting its doors for the last time tonight.

The rest are expected to shut-up shop on Monday. Doors will be locked at 5.30pm with no closing down sale.

Stirling Albion fans’ cup final plea

By Paul Thornton

A GROUP of fans hoping to buy their club and save it from financial ruin are appealing to cup final fans to help them raise the £140,000 they need.

Fans of Stirling Albion FC have said they have the backing of all four groups of supporters involved in the Scottish and English cup finals, which are held tomorrow (Saturday).

The BuyStirlingAlbion.org.uk campaign want to buy the club which is facing administration and say that if every fan who attends the finals donates £1 they will be able to push ahead with their plans.

New life in the fast lane

The McAuley family; Michael, Evan, Kerri and Chloe (left to right)

By Cara Sulieman

A NEW mum gave birth on the hard shoulder during rush hour traffic after she failed to get to the hospital in time.

Kerri McAuley, 31, was five days overdue when she started to get contractions in the early hours of the morning.

An hour later they were getting closer together and her husband, Michael, 33, prepared to take her to hospital.

But as they were getting ready to leave their house in Polmont, Kerri started to worry that the baby was well on its way and asked Michael to call the ambulance.

Sheep in Scotland still contain Chernobyl radiation

By Cara Sulieman

SHEEP in Scotland still carry traces of radiation from Chernobyl – over 20 years since the catastrophic explosion.

A huge cloud of radioactivity spread across Europe after the nuclear reactor in the Ukraine overheated and blew up – and five farms across Scotland are still suffering from the mistakes made in 1986.

The affected farms are in Stirling and Ayrshire and are thought to cover around 7000 hectares of land.

Almost 3000 sheep are still contaminated by the radiation, and are subject to restrictions from the Food Standard Agency (FSA).

Burke to get honorary degree from uni that banned him

By Cara Sulieman

SCOTTISH playwright Gregory Burke is to receive an honorary degree from his old university – despite being banned from the campus for battering another student.

The author of Black Watch was only allowed to visit Stirling University for lectures and to go to the library after attacking a man who looked at him “the wrong way.”

At the time, the fight caused outrage and led to calls for him to be expelled from the university all together.

But Burke left after two years of his politics and economics course and ended up working in a series of low-paid jobs before he started his writing career.

Beating the credit crunch with gold coins

By Cara Sulieman

SCOTS auctioneers are beating the credit crunch by cashing in on the rising price of gold and silver.

Lyon and Turnbull are getting ready for their upcoming silver and jewellery sale in May, and have already accumulated a mountain of gold sovereigns, worth £35,000.

The price of silver has increased by 30 per cent in the last five months – leading to an increase in the number of people flogging their precious items.

All sorts of gold and silver items, from gold sovereigns to silver candlesticks are going under the hammer to raise much needed cash.

Colin Fraser from the auctioneers said: “Silver is often seen as the poor man’s gold.

“As the price of gold increases on the bullion market so does silver, it is one of the best times to sell as there are plenty of customers out there eager to buy.”

“We are planning two silver sales to meet the demand, the first will be in May and the second, an exclusively Scottish Silver and Wemyss Sale, will be held in August.

“This follows the success of our Scottish Silver and Wemyss sale last year.”

The last time the auctioneers held their silver and jewellery sale a George III Irish presentation silver gilt snuffbox sold for a whopping £9375.

Police appeal for missing Jim Greig

By Cara Sulieman

POLICE are appealing for help trying to track down a man who has gone missing after he failed to show up at his local pub.

Sixty-nine year old Jim Greig hasn’t been seen or heard from since last week by family or staff at his regular pub.

He is a well-known figure around his home in the Links Avenue area of Musselburgh, especially in the Sportsman Bar.

Friends and family have also failed to hear anything from him, and are worried about his safety.

As police don’t have a confirmed last sighting of Jim, and say they can’t even be sure when exactly he went missing.

He is described as white, 5ft 8ins tall, of medium build with balding grey hair.

Although he is usually seen with a dark coloured beanie hat, it isn’t known what he was wearing went he went missing.

A police spokesman said: “It is extremely unusual for Jim not to get in touch with his family or friends, and they are growing increasingly concerned for his welfare.

“We would appeal to anyone who may have seen him, or has any information regarding his whereabouts, to contact us immediately.”

Anyone with information should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or Crimestoppers in complete anonymity on 0800 555 111.