Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

What we learned this week about junior doctors, bus gates, Lionesses and a farewell to Parky

Whether it was in Aberdeen or Australia, people were making headlines, only occasionally for the right reasons.

Junior doctors in Scotland have voted to accept a pay offer. Image: PA
Junior doctors in Scotland have voted to accept a pay offer. Image: PA

Scotland’s junior doctors voted to accept a pay offer from the Scottish government, which includes a 12.4% pay increase for 2023-24.

The result of the consultative vote of BMA Scotland members saw 81.64% vote in favour of the offer with a turnout of 71.24% and contrasted starkly with the situation in England, where junior doctors have so far taken part in five rounds of industrial action this year as a result of an ongoing pay dispute.

Health Secretary Michael Matheson said: “This is the single biggest investment in junior doctor pay since devolution [in 1999].”

Keir steers clear of Aberdeen

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made a quick trip to Scotland, but still avoided returning to Aberdeen since his controversial plan to scrap oil and gas production.

However, responding to his decision, the former Labour provost of the city, Barney Crockett, was scathing about the man whom the polls rate as favourite to be next PM.

He said: “The message is very clear. It’s drop dead as far as he is concerned.”

Fancy a bite for the night?

A swarm of midges (Culicoides impunctatus) on the rampage in Scotland.

It emerged that a number of paid midgie “volunteers” are wanted in Argyll to stand outside for eight hours to find out if a new product works.

The initiative in the middle of “midgie season” might represent a triumph of hope over experience, but the participants will be given a chance to protect themselves.

Smidge, which already creates one popular brand of midgie repellent, is looking for  intrepid souls to test themselves against the blighters with a penchant for blood.

Harrison’s happier with a snake

Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones character is famously terrified of snakes, but the veteran actor now has a real reptile – Tachymenoides harrisonfordi – named after him.

Ford, who is the vice-chairman of Conservation International, called it “humbling”, but expressed bemusement that he also has an ant and a spider called after him.

He said: “These scientists keep naming critters after me, but it’s always the ones that terrify children. I don’t understand that. I spend my free time cross-stitching. I sing lullabies to my basil plants, so they won’t fear the night.”

England waltz to win over Matildas

Euro 2022 women's football
England head coach Sarina Wiegman has guided the Lionesses to the World Cup final.

The Lionesses are on the cusp of football greatness, following their 3-1 win over Australia in Sydney to reach the World Cup final for the first time in their history.

After Sam Kerr cancelled out Ella Toone’s opener for England, it was Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo who stole the show with the decisive goals as they broke the host nation’s hearts and booked a showdown with Spain today.

Their male counterparts last won the competition in 1966, so Sarina Wiegman’s team are on the threshold of going where no British players under 75 have ever gone before.

Does it merit a Bank Holiday?

Politicians don’t normally jump on a bandwagon on these occasions – ha! – but there was disagreement between Rishi Sunak and Starmer over whether the country – erm, England – should get a day off if Wiegman’s players go on to lift the trophy.

Starmer called for a celebratory bank holiday, should England be successful in capturing the FIFA Women’s World Cup, but Sunak resisted the idea.

As one former player responded: “The fact we are even discussing these things shows how far the women’s game has progressed.”

Another ‘nail in coffin’ for the Deen

New signs and road markings have been installed on various Aberdeen streets. Image: Lauren Taylor/ DC Thomson.

Bill Gates might be stinking rich, but bus gates are a filthy subject in Aberdeen and new council plans for more have been described as “the final nail in the coffin” for the city.

Sections of both Bridge Street and Guild Street were closed last week while work began to install the final two bus gates.

The controversial project has been met with mounting anger from the public and three different petitions have been launched, urging councillors to scrap the new gates as well as allowing blue badge holders to use them.

Historic cache scandal in London

The British Museum in London sacked a member of staff and it was confirmed that police are investigating after treasures were reported “missing, stolen or damaged”.

Items including gold, jewellery and gems of semi-precious stones were among the items removed from the museum, which is one of the UK’s largest tourist attractions.

The PA news agency said it understood that the items had been taken before 2023 and the matter had happened over a “significant” period of time.

New price hike to cut queues

Organisers are taking measures to deal with the heavy traffic queues at Belladrum. Pic: Jason Hedges.

Organisers of Belladrum have revealed plans to introduce a parking charge in an attempt to avoid a repeat of this year’s traffic chaos.

Hundreds of gig-goers were forced to queue for hours to gain entry to the popular event at Belladrum Estate, with cars backing up along all the local roads.

Now, just days before the 2024 tickets go on sale, organisers have announced they are re-introducing a £12 parking pass for the whole weekend.

A farewell to Parky

Tributes were paid to the king of chat shows, Michael Parkinson, who died aged 88. During the 1970s, the Yorkshireman became famous for his interviews with the likes of Billy Connolly and Muhammad Ali and being attacked by Rod Hull’s Emu.

He also talked to Hollywood legends such as James Stewart, Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas and Lauren Bacall and was also a prolific journalist and author.

His one great regret was not managing to persuade Frank Sinatra to chew the fat. But Parky still did most things his way.

Conversation