Snow in Edinburgh

By Shaun Milne and Cara Sulieman

SCOTLAND was in the grip of a white hell last night – with little hope of any respite going into Christmas.

Police pleaded with people to stay and home and not travel as the country was hit by yet more snow storms.

The Met Office was forced to issue at least two severe weather warnings as blizzard conditions hit parts of the country.

In some areas temperature plunged to as low as minus 16 degrees.

Ice and treacherous driving conditions was said to be affecting the entire road network as gritting contractors struggled to clear routes.

Overwhelmed

Visibility on Scotland’s main motorway the M8 towards West Lothian was extremely poor with reports of motorists abandoning cars.

Conditions on the Edinburgh City Bypass were said to extremely hazardous in places with numerous break downs adding to the complications.

Lorries were reported to have jack-knifed at various locations.

Even routes in the city centre were affected with the likes of Lothian Road, Stockbridge and other key areas badly affected leading some to ask how prepared road chiefs had been.

But the council insisted they had been working overnight to clear the roads, and were simply overwhelmed by the snow.

A spokesman for Edinburgh City Council said: “We had teams out overnight in anticipation of the weather being bad.

“We had a full compliment of staff out on the morning shift. We’re bringing in extra staff as well to make sure the roads are safe for people.”

“Operating normally”

Flights airports across the country including Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow were subject to late cancellation.

Edinburgh Airport had to close for an hour yesterday morning to clear the snow that had gathered – delaying some flights.

A BAA spokeswoman said: “The airport was shut yesterday morning (Weds) to clear the runway but was reopened after about an hour.

“Before then it had been operating normally. As few flights are delayed but the airport has been running normally.”

But there was drama at Prestwick – which normally avoids the bad weather – when a Ryanair flight skidded off the runway while taxiing to the terminal.

Luckily no-one was hurt but the airport was closed while the aircraft was removed from the runway.

Train services were also affected not just by the weather directly, but because of drivers and staff struggling to get in for their shifts.

Schools closed

Police, the RAC, the AA and local councils were all swamped with calls from people needing help.

Lothian and Borders Police were so overwhelmed with calls from members of the public seeking advice that they urged them to contact Travel Scotland instead as they couldn’t deal with the demand.

Hospitals were standing by to receive any casualties affected by the cold or who suffered accidents in the hellish conditions.

A woman found frozen close to death earlier in the week was still fighting for her life in hospital.

While safety groups urged parents to ensure that children off school for the holidays were made aware about the dangers of frozen ponds and canals.

And schoolchildren in West Lothian got an early holiday as the schools shut on what was supposed to be the last day before Christmas.

Yet mid the gloom, some were benefiting.

DIY stores and garden centres reported surge in sales of snow shovels, road salt and heaters as customers looked to fight back.

Sold out sledges

Outdoor stores including Tiso and Trespass in Edinburgh said sales of gloves, hats and heavy duty winter clothing were all up.

Both stores had sold of sledges before yesterday’s (Weds) big snowfall, and had people coming through the doors for waterproof clothing.

A spokesman for Trespass said that they were expecting a post-snow rush on the purchase of ski-related gear.

He said: “When there’s been snow we see a lot of people coming in buying ski equipment because the weather has reminded them how much fun a ski holiday can be.”

Last night the Met Office issued further updates.

A Met Office spokeswoman said: “It was -5.4 Celsius in Edinburgh through Tuesday night to Wednesday morning.

“As of 9am yesterday (Weds) 7cm of snow had fallen at the airport.

“Temperatures yesterday got up to freezing during the day and last night (Weds – Thurs) it was -8 Celsius in Edinburgh and as low as -10 Celsius in rural areas.

“Today (Thurs) it may not get above freezing with temperatures staying around -1 or -2 Celsius. Looks like it is going to be dry and frosty and icy.”

See more of our videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

On 23 december 2009, a Ryanair Boeing,  performing flight from Dublin to Prestwick with 129 passengers onboard, came to a stop with the nose gear and right main gear on soft ground following landing at Prestwick Airport.

Jet Slides Off Runway At Prestwick Airport

The end of season awards took place in November, and Prestwick all-rounder Calum Roger was a nominee for the second division all-rounder prize. Zahid ul Haq of Renfrew eventually won the prize, but it was due recognition to Calum who was Prestwick’s most successful batsman in 2009.

Calum Roger

]]> http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/12378-2350/ Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:21:48 +0000 michaelmacleod1 http://deadlinescotland.wordpress.com/2009/12/16/12378-2350/

By Michael MacLeod

THOUSANDS of passengers and 600 staff were facing a nightmare last night after a Scots airline went bust.

Edinburgh based operator flyglobespan – which only days earlier predicted a bright future of expansion and new investment – was in talks with administrators PriceCooperWaterhouse.

Many staff had been told not to turn up for work today (Thursday), online bookings were no longer available and calls to desks in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen were left ringing unanswered.

Suppliers too were left in the dark while even airports themselves were unable to confirm what was happening.

Reports broke at around 5.30pm stating that the troubled Scottish firm had been grounded by financial trouble.

Around 5,000 passengers are thought to have been affected.

Among the last in-bound flights due back to Britain was flight GSM 572 which was due to arrive in Edinburgh at 9.50pm last night.

“No staff”

There were no staff at the flyglobespan desk to confirm if that would still happen with the post abandoned and computers switched off.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said the two flights leaving the airport this morning (Thursday) were still on schedule.

Flyglobespan’s planes are due to jet out to Faro at 9am and Alicante at 11am.

A spokesman said: “At this moment there has been no official announcement by Globespan.

“We wouldn’t wish to comment further until we hear directly from them.

“There are two flights tomorrow which are still scheduled.”

The firm has been flying for 35 years and operates out of five British airports.

Little cheer

Their main source of income is from winter sun holidays and family traffic to Canada.

On Monday Flyglobespan founder Tom Dalrymple predicted “good news” of an imminent funding deal.

The chairman was reported as saying he was verging on the conclusion of a major funding deal.

He said: “This is good news for the company, our customers and our staff.”

But last night there seemed little to cheer for anyone planning a holiday or flight home.

The airline was founded in November 2002 under call sign GSM and flying to some 24 destinations at its peak including Canada, Faro, Egypt and Alicante.

Its first flights left from airports at Prestwick and Edinburgh in April 2003 using two Boeing 737-300 aircraft as part of the Globespan tour operator which has been trading for around 30 years.

It introduced domestic flights between Scotland and London in 2005 but pulled out of the already crowded low cost market a year later.

Instead it concentrated on routes to the Canadian and US markets, but again ran into trouble when it lost its ‘Skytrax’ rating in 2007 because of “product and service inconsistency”.

Only last year Dalrymple was voted one of Scotland’s most successful entrepreneurs by Management Today Magazine.

He left school aged 16 to begin work with Mackays Travel Agency in Edinburgh.

He left in 1974 to set up a breakaway firm – The Globespan Group.

Flyglobespan then followed in 2002 building up a fleet on 10 aircraft, with several more on order.

See more of our videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Key Professional Partnership Ltd (KPP) consists of two firms of Accountants – Richard Beattie & Co in Glasgow and GW Reid Associates in Ayr.

Although they mention individuals on their website much of the offerings seems to be aimed at businesses, both small family run and large companies, as they emphasise the payroll, bookkeeping, business planning and many other business advice services that they provide.

One of their specialist areas is acting as IR35 Accountants in Glasgow and the surrounding areas. For a mininal monthly fee (if you are a contractor) they will do your day to day bookkeeping and invoicing, process expense claims, VAT, PAYE and NI returns and complete annual accounts. They also offer to check your current and any future contracts to make sure that they are IR35 compliant thus saving you possible hassles with HMRC over your employment status.

by RORY REYNOLDS

A MAN who tried to kill a jeweller after robbing him on the way to his shop has been jailed for 10 years.

Alastair Thomson attacked Gareth Steven with a hammer and a knife as he walked to his shop in Prestwick, Ayrshire.

Gareth, 30, was scarred for life in the attack which left him dying in a pool of blood in the street.

A passer-by previously told the High Court how she helped save his life after she found Gareth pleading for help after the savage attack in November 2007.

Martha Clark told the court: “He said ‘help me, help, me – tell my mum and dad that I love them.”

The incident saw Thomas make off with £50,000 worth of jewellery in a brief-case that he snatched from his victim who gave chase.

HIGH COURT: sitting at Livingston

Today at a hearing at the High Court sitting in Livingston Thomson was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty by a jury last month of robbing and attempting to murder the stricken jeweller.

He will also be placed on licence for two years when released.

Judge Lord Bracadale said that the extended custodial sentence was handed down because Thomson was prepared to use “extreme violence” against his victim.

He added that the incident was a particularly “savage” attack.

Risk

He said: “You left him in a condition that but for his rescue he could have died.

“The Consultant Surgeon did not expect him to survive.”

Gavin Anderson QC, speaking in defence of his client, told the court that Thomson had no previous conviction and was not otherwise deemed a “high risk” to the public.

DNA evidence heard previously helped with the conviction of Thomson’s Ayr United football scarf was found near the scene.

His victim Gareth was left with near fatal injuries to the head, diaphragm, stomach, spleen and liver in the brutal assault.

He had to undergo an emergency operation which left him with a scar running from his shoulder to his belly button.

During the trial, Gareth who had chased the robber for his brief case, previously recalled the attack. saying: “I grabbed him and he fell back down off the wall.

“I could clearly see he had my brief case in his left hand and a knife in his right.

“He spun round to show me the knife and I raised my hands towards him and emplored him ‘please don’t’.

“He said ‘don’t make me use this’.

“I reached out my right hand to take my briefcase and he stabbed me.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

By Shaun Milne

PASSENGER numbers have nose-dived at one of Scotland’s best known low-cost airports.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport said the number of people travelling through the Ayrshire hub are down 28 per cent year on year.

The plunge – to 152,000 passengers – was dismissed as being “in line with recent trends”.

But bosses are now pinning their hopes on winter-sun flights and summer bookings for 2010 to help see them through the recession.

Graeme Sweenie, chief commercial officer, admitted: “2009 has certainly been a challenging year for the airport.

Insisting that the airport’s prospects remained “excellent”, he pointed to the fact that operator Ryanair had recently laid on more winter flights as being a positive sign.

He added: “These new destinations are a huge vote of confidence in Glasgow Prestwick by Europe’s largest low fares airline.

Capacity

“The summer 2010 schedule is now on sale to over thirty destinations.”

“We understand that competing airlines at Glasgow Airport have reduced their capacity for summer 2010, so our strategy of being Scotland’s year-round gateway to sun, sea and sangria is working well for us, and hurting our competitors.”

Earlier this month figures released by aviation consultancy RDC Aviation showed that Britain’s 33 busiest airports had all reported lower figures for the first eight months of the year than previously.

British traveller are taking nine per cent fewer flights overall, it said, with Gatwick in London the biggest loser, seeing passenger traffic down by two million.

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

For those who don’t really know Scotland, we have put together a map with the routes that we have traveled since we arrived in September.

The RED Line indicates the route and the GREEN Dots indicates the places we have stayed in.

We will do up a new map for Ireland/Northern Ireland, once we have finished our travels here. And also a map of England (when we travel there).

September weekend Monday. Usually we go away today for a day trip. Usually we go down the coast to Largs. Usually its mobbed.

Planning ahead as normal, I checked accuweather.com – which is an absolutely amazing weather forecast site. Our experience of it is that it is 100% correct, down to postcodes though it sometimes gets it wrong by an hour either side but miles better than BBC or any of those sorts of forecasts. Anyway, the whole of Scotland today was destined to be cloudy but our chosen destination was rain between 10 and 12 and then between 4 and 6 so it was perfect for us. Outside of those times it was just going to be cloudy.

So, we picked up Sheila at 10.30 and off we went tootling down the motorway unburdened by typical Monday traffic – it’s a holiday!  The sky was cloudy and the rain intermittent and light, and non-disruptive. Turning off the motorway eventually we motored down through and past Johnstone, Beith and other small villages. After only a few minutes into the journey, I could feel the vibes in the car; like some kind of telepathic message reaching my brain; they became stronger the longer we drove and the deeper into the country we went, the worse it got; the guilt grew in my brain.

” Ok”, I said, “who could go a scone and a nice cup of tea?” Sheila was first to pipe up (she’s 83!) ” Oh that would be very nice”. We pulled into a new place (well its about 3 or 4 years old) called Graze. It’s got no website so I can’t help you any more with that. Its nice, a bit clinical kind of furniture and bright yellow walls. The scones were big and warm and the tea generous and just under £3 per head.

By the time we went back out the rain had stopped (it was just after 12pm) and after a discussion about microgeneration – remember, I’m almost an expert now! – we took the long hill (must be about a mile and a half) down into Saltcoats. Saltcoats’ name is derived from the town’s earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water, carried out in small houses along the beach known as ‘cots’.

The girls got out and went to amuse themselves in the town. I decided to go for a walk and add to my target for the month. I set off briskly and returned past the Beach. The wind was curiously warm despite blowing at 40 miles per hour and launching sand at my face like I was a piece of rusty metal being sandblasted. It was actually enjoyable being buffeted by the late summer breeze!

After a while we drove South to Prestwick for an early dinner. We often go to the Toby Carvery (Now it’s called the Carlton Hotel) and while the hotel is undergoing something of a facelift, the carvery is tired and service is dreadful. I had to complain today about the vegetables being just lukewarm; was referred to as he/ that guy there in the course of the waitress dealing with my complaint, and when one of the chefs asked another “How did this happen?” (meaning allowing vegetables to go lukewarm, the other just looked at his watch, muttered something about 3.30 and retired to the kitchen). Never got an answer yet and got nothing off the bill either so avoid this one if you can – we will in future. I suspect they should either have checked them or changed them at 3.30 and didn’t.

It was almost dark by the time we finished and so we headed North and homewards but managed a small detour past Coia’s cafe in Duke Street. Check it out here.

So here we are back home, ice cream now finished.

Blog written and watching Corrie.

A perfect end to a perfect day.

JohnF

Prestwick – a three plane book, but only one can land – is the first thriller to be launched at BeWrite Books as I arrived. Written by David Hough, it’s a cliff-hanger great read and you can find details here.

Bicycle Clips: Warm pre-breakfast bike ride this morning. 20 Celsius so I didn’t really need my flourescent yellow shower proof jacket. I had to stop and tuck it on top of my panniers. At least it added  to visibility for motorists charging up behind me. Actually there weren’t many. I choose quiet rural lanes so that it is mainly tractors and other cyclists who overtake me. On busier roads I’ve slipped into the habit of switching on my rear LED even in daytime. I use the rolling light mode cos the straight on / off flash seems annoying to me. To my surprise having the rear light on does seem to make overtaking drivers keep back more until it is safer and to overtake farther from my elbow. Maybe they think I must be such an amateur and so keep their distance.

With mixed feelings I’ve finished the first and second draft of  magic realism fantasy, Xaghra’s Revenge. It’s based on the true mass-abduction of the Mediterranean island of Gozo in 1551 by pirates, and the fictional retribution. Immense satisfaction in doing the research on Gozo and Malta, and in the writing. It’s been lacerated by my fellow critquers in the BSFA Orbiters and is being given another close read  by Les Floyd. I’ve sent a synopsis and three chaps to my US agent, but now thinking it might be better published by a UK or European publisher.  I’ve a feeling the Americans know little about the Maltese islands whereas Brits and Germans use it as their sunshine location.

Exit, Pursued by a Bee is still selling online. Also at Borders in Cheshire Oaks and hey, I have a book signing in Waterstones, Trafford Centre, Manchester on Saturday August 15th 1-4pm. There will be sweets. Because Exit has metallic spheres emerging from the Earth, I need spherical silver confectionary. Sadly the nearest I can find are white chocolate Maltesers and Imperial Mints. I wonder if they gather time too? Come along to my signing, even if only for a natter, point and laugh.

By Michael MacLeod

PASSENGERS had to flee across a runway after a plane engine caught fire just moments before take off.

Fire crews surrounded a Flybe jet at Edinburgh Airport after the pilot spotted smoke bellowing past his cockpit.

He grabbed a fire extinguisher and ushered all 24 passengers off the jet, which was bound for the Isle of Man.

The scare stemmed from a propeller motor which caught fire minutes before the plane was taxied to the Turnhouse runway on Tuesday afternoon.
Scots-based carrier Loganiar was yesterday forced to apologise for the emergency, which they described as “a minor incident.”

But one airport worker, who asked not to be named, said passengers were in shock following their escape.

They said: “The passengers were on the flight and it was getting ready to taxi off when the engine on the left side caught fire.

“There were about six fire engines and a really bad burning smell.

“There was panic and when people got off they looked to be in shock.

“The captain got his fire extinguisher out, but I don’t think it came to that because the fire engines arrived quickly.”

Loganair, which is based at Prestwick, Ayrshire, said the plane was immediately grounded to allow an investigation to be carried out.

A spokeswoman for the airline said: “Loganair can confirm that flight BE6813 from Edinburgh to the Isle of Man was involved in a minor incident before departure.

“Whilst starting its engines and before leaving the parking stand, smoke was seen coming from one of the aircraft’s engines.

“The engines and electrical systems were immediately shut down by the crew and, as a precautionary measure, the 24 passengers and three crew members were evacuated.

“The airport fire service attended the aircraft but took no action.

“Loganair would like to offer its sincere apologies to all customers whose journeys have been disrupted by this incident.”

The flight, which had been due to take off at 1.50pm, was delayed for several hours while a replacement plane was found.

Earlier this month a full scale emergency was declared at Edinburgh Airport after an Air France flight also reported engine trouble.

The plane, bound for London City Airport, was forced to land shortly after taking to the air when the pilot reported hearing a “clunking” noise from the engine.

Boeing 737-73A VQ-BDI (msn 28497) touches down at Glasgow (Prestwick) in the dazzling new 2009 livery. Copyright Photo: Fred Seggie.

Moskovia Airlines (formerly Gromov Air) (Moscow-Zhukovsky) has added its first Boeing 737-700. The new type has also helped to usher in a new color scheme.

Lo prometido es deuda, así que aquí empieza mi guía personal sobre esa ciudad que tanto quiero, Glasgow. En un par de días subiré la segunda parte, que será más de cosas que hacer, dónde comer y cosas útiles, pero bueno, tenía que empezar por el principio. Es una lástima que sea una guía de Glasgow desde Vigo, pero qué se le va a hacer. A ver si grabo un episodio de la guía por allá pronto (hay que ser optimistas siempre, jeje).

Añado fotos para ilustrar un poquito la entrada

Buchanan Street

Apple Store

Metro de Glasgow (SPT)

Buchanan Bus Station

Central Station

Here is a picture of the condo available in Prestwick.  It is offered at $900/month with a $900 deposit.  Call IPRES Inc., Realtors @ 745-0209 to get more  information or visit www.203sugarwood.info   It will be available March 1.

Thanks, Don Steinmetz

Avon condo for rent

For reasons I shan’t go into here just yet, I’m hoping to have reason to make more frequent trips back to Belfast in the coming months. The eco friendly option is the attractively priced train and ferry, but it’s slow and no use for a day trip. The budget choice has to be Ryanair, who fly from Prestwick Airport to Belfast City Airport.

Here’s the booking screen for a flight in March that I researched this afternoon:

Yep, the fare is just £0.01.

How do they subsidise such cheap air fares? Well, perhaps by allowing Google Ads to sell advertising space to Ryanair’s direct competitors on the same page:

I have another nice 2 bedroom 2 bath condo in Avon that will be coming available March 1, 2009.  This is a very quiet area on the West side of Avon.  Very nice home for $900/month which includes water, sewer, trash, and lawn care.  It has a one car attached garage and a office/den.  For more information please call me at 317-745-0209 or email don@youripres.com. 

Check us out online at www.youripres.com

Thanks, Don Steinmetz

For a limited time HUD is offering a $100 down payment program for owner occupied purchasers using FHA financing on its listings.  These are FHA foreclosed properties.  It is also offering a $1000 sales allowance to owner occupant purchasers which will be credited at closing.  In addition HUD will pay up to (and may not to exceed) 3% of all closing costs considered to be reasonable and customary in the jurisdiction where the property is located.

With these incentives now is a great time for first time home buyers to be thinking about purchasing a HUD listed home. 

If you would like more information on HUD homes available in the Danville Indiana (and surrounding communities) area please feel free to contact us at 317-745-0209.  Visit us on-line at www.youripres.com  We are a HUD certified broker and would be happy to assist you in subnitting your HUD offer

Thanks, Don Steinmetz

Some of the towns we specialize in are Avon, Amo, Brownsburg, Clayton, Coatesville, Danville, Fillmore, Lizton, Mooresville, Plainfield, Pittsboro, North Salem.  In Hendricks, Putnam, Morgan, Boone, and western Marion counties.

Is the market starting to pick up?  I believe the low interest rates have started getting some buyers back into the market.  Over the past two weeks we have had three homes that we were writing offers on get offers accepted by other purchasers. 

Buyers planning on trading up may have seen how the savings on a larger home will offset any loss on the sale of their current home.  Selling a past $100k home in a declining market of 10% will mean a  sale of $90k (a loss of $10k) Buying a $200k dollar home at the same 10% decline would be a purchase of $180k (a savings of $20k) for a net gain of $10K. 

Buyers could be realizing the benefit of the historic low interest rates we have today.  In this market a further decline of even another 10% could be immediately nullified by a rate increase of even 1% on a 30 year mortgage.

The most compelling reason to buy?  It very well could be that in the complete history of real estate never have prices fallen and not recovered.  Have you heard on the news any stories of home prices that have never recovered?  The market is always going to have peaks and troughs (highs and lows) but it has always been in a historic upward trend.  We may never see some the bargains we are seeing in today’s market.  If you have been thinking about buying, or have out grown your current home and would like to move up, now is the time to get a good deal on your new home and have a great interest rate to help keep your home affordable.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us anytime at 317-745-0209 or you can search for houses on-line 24 hours/day at www.youripres.com

Thanks, Don Steinmetz

Den 2 januari, precis vid det nya årets allra första stapplande dagar, utspelade sig ett mäktigt slag på den lilla flygplatsen Prestwick i den allra mest väderbitna och regntungaste delen av sydvästra Skottland. Den hårda och mycket tålamodspåfrestande bataljen stod mellan den tappert kämpande, men ack så underlägsne, Homo Sapiens Sapiens och den hänsyslöse och närmast hånfulle och tillika överlägsne nallemaskinen som gång på gång retfullt enkelt avfärdade alla tappra försök till nalle-återbäring.

Fredrik kämpar tappert mot en överlägsen motståndare.

Fredrik är tvungen att till slut se sig besegrad. Han är chanslös.

Kampen pågick nog i uppemot en timme utan framgång och den ödesdigra förlusten syntes nära förestående. Men. Till sist lyckades dock en man besegra den fruktansvärda maskinen och fiska upp en hjälplös nallebjörn. Och ja, jag talar givetvis om klubbägarn.

A short walk today with much better weather. I hopped on the train back up to Troon and walked along the Barassie Beach towards the harbour area of Troon. The route led on to the esplanade at Prestwick which was a lovely walk in the late autumn sunshine. I walked along to the end of the esplanade but missed the signpost along the beach at the end of the esplanade. so I had to head inland a little following the Sustrans cycle route through the back streets until I reached the other side of the golf course. From here I walked passed a rather run down industrial estate complete with gas works. The road then took me along the main street after crossing the bridge over the river. A lovely short walk and a welcome change from yesterday’s rain soak.