I realised today that on five occasions I have been sitting watching the telly and seen people I know suddenly appear. I don't mean actors, just ordinary people with ordinary jobs. I suppose if you know the fantastic Martin Compston, you'll see him quite a lot.

Am I an outlier? It's always been on STV or Alba, and I suppose that we have the same number of broadcast hours as England but with a much lower population, but it still seems a lot.

In case you are wondering, I have seen:

1. My fab old neighbour from Aberdeen. Still miss him.

2. An old boyfriend. Idiot. Don't miss him at all.

3. A woman who used to work for the same company as me and who lives in the village down the road.

4. A friend in the same profession but working for a different company.

5. My Gaelic teacher.

It seems a lot. Is it a lot?

Edit: I'm not overly upset about this, it's only a few quid, just thought it was odd that the (current, soon to be old) app doesn't seem to support special offers.

European wildcat (Felis silvestris) of Scottish origin. She was released in 2025, and these two kittens are her first litter. She was released into the wild as part of the recovery programme to save her species from extinction in Scotland.
Although European wildcats and domestic cats do share some similarities, the two species are actually separated by approximately one million years of evolution.

coo.

Will you consider MSc courses that are not BPS accredited?

Scottish-Egyptian here, like genuinely mixed-race (Scottish mum, Egyptian dad), bilingual and dual-national and have been deeply connected with both countries my whole life. Currently living in Scotland but I've lived in Egypt for long periods as well.

As far as I know, we're a very rare breed. I think I've only ever met one or two more Scottish-Egyptians in the wild but we might be more common than people think and I'd like to connect with you.

You may have never heard of Ahmed Ramzy and Mervat Amin, two actors from Egypt's golden age of cinema. Ahmed Ramzy was born to an Egyptian dad and Scottish mum, who was named Helen MacKay. You may already about Omar Sharif, who made it big in Western cinema (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago), whom Ahmed Ramzy went to school with in Alexandria's prestigious Victoria College.

Mervat Amin also had an Egyptian dad and Scottish mum although I couldn't any details about her family beyond that.

A wee bit of interesting lore for all of you and if you're Scottish-Egyptian yourself, give us a shout!

One concerned local observer, watching the smoke building over the hills from his own land, told the Strathy: “We really need to be asking why our Scottish helicopters are fighting fires in England.

“Yet again, we are second fiddle to England. The army has been asked to help we’re told, but only aircraft can put this out.”

Did the nc500 the other week and visited some nice wee spots.

Whaligoe is not too far south from Wick and has some stunning views. The cliffs are full of razorbill nests relatively close to you when at the base of the steps so great for photies.

Supposedly one rock face resembles an elephant but I couldn't really see it...

If you're up that way it's definitely worth the visit, during wetter weather there's a waterfall to enjoy. As is standard, if you have a dog keep them on a lead.

Get out there and enjoy yourselves!

https://archive.ph/DmvQJ

I am due to enter 2nd year of adult nursing studies at GCU in September. I am wondering if any past or present students studying the course have any advice or guidance that would be helpful.

I really appreciate any help you can provide.