Scotland’s Storm Lee shows Braveheart in bid to win X Factor

By Christine Lavelle

SCOTS X FACTOR hopeful Storm Lee Gardner is gearing up for tomorrow night’s live show final by watching re-runs of hit film Braveheart.

He also wants to wear a kilt to perform on stage but has so far been thwarted by show bosses.

Older brother Gary Gardener, 40, who will be in the audience, said it was his way of trying to psyche himself up and counter the loneliness of being the only Scot left on the show.

Gary, from Sighthill in Edinburgh, said he thinks his younger brother Storm has been performing “incredibly well” on the show and all he needs to do now is to keep his focus.

He also travelled to London last weekend for the live shows with stepdaughter Shian, 25, and two children Amy, 14, Danny, 12, but only got a few minutes to speak to 37-year-old Storm.

He said: “I think he might be struggling a bit and is finding it hard to keep his focus because he is a bit lonely as he is the only Scot left in the competition, but I think seeing all of us there cheering him on really helped.

“He has been watching Braveheart repeatedly for the past couple of weeks, and really wanted to wear a kilt on stage but the show producers wouldn’t let him.”

GE2010: Tories on track to turn back time on Scotland

Deadline reporter PAUL THORNTON joined SNP leader Alex Salmond for an interview on the campaign trail during his journey between Edinburgh and Glasgow as the countdown to polling continues.

THE SNP has warned that Scotland is on track to be dragged back into a Thatcher like era even if the Tories fail to win any seats north of the Border.

During a coast to coast rail journey between Edinburgh and Glasgow, Nats leader Alex Salmond said only the prospect of a hung Parliament through voting for his party could stop that from happening.

Mr Salmond said: “We are now certain that there are only two possible outcomes to this election.

“One is a balanced Parliament.

“But we also have to look at the possibility that there is a Tory government.

“We are hoping for a balanced Parliament because that would allow for a strong block of SNP and Plaid Cymru, a Celtic block to get success for Scotland.

“David Cameron has refused to answer the question whether he is going to tear up the funding formula and have a special Scottish cut in addition to all the other spending cuts.

“It is an incredible claim by the Conservatives that even if they get no MPs at all in Scotland they will rule the country on the back of anyone who votes Liberal or Labour.

“That is what Margaret Thatcher used to do in the 80s and David Cameron seems to want to take us back to the 1980s.

“What we have got from Labour now, it looks like the last desperate throw of the dice, if they had said this at the start of the campaign then there might have been some logic to it but now in the last few days it looks like ‘oh dear, we are getting beat what can we think of to try to prop up our position?’.

General Election 2010

La Favorita serves up AA Rosette win for wood-fired pizza

By Shaun Milne

A SCOTS restaurant has been judged one of the best in the country after winning a top food gong – for serving up PIZZA.

La Favorita in Edinburgh has been crowned with a prestigious One Star AA Rosette usually only reserved for such famous high end eateries as The Witchery and The Tower.

And it makes it the first pizzeria EVER to pick up the accolade in Scotland.

Judges made a sneak visit to the Leith Walk restaurant on September 4 and said they were blown away by its traditional wood-burning pizza ovens, fresh use of ingredients and service.

Pizza

And last night jubilant owner Tony Crolla – who says he wants to have the best pizza restaurant in Britain – laughed that he could now set his sights on bagging a Michelin star to complete the set.

He grinned: “I’m surprised at receiving this award as we didn’t know the inspectors had been here – but at the same time I’m not surprised because I think we are one of the best restaurants out there.

“It is very flattering. “In particular, it’s very pleasing to be the first pizzeria to feature in these awards and to know we’re rubbing shoulders with other well-known names in the restaurant world.”

New exhibition to honour fight for vote

By Cara Sulieman

A NEW exhibition honouring the sacrifice of Scottish women who fought for their right to vote opens tomorrow.

To mark the 100th anniversary, the Museum of Edinburgh is collecting together stories of Scottish suffragettes.

They hope to demonstrate what part campaigners from across Scotland played in securing the vote.

And it will focus on a key moment of the campaign when, on October 10 1909, hundreds of men, women and children took to Princes Street in Edinburgh with banners and marched for the female vote.