Latest news with #Ayrshire
Daily Record
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Cameron Menzies on trading plumbing for the oche as Scottish darts ace eyes up European Open glory
The Scottish star has opened up on his career hopes as he raids into last 16 of the tournament in Leverkusen, Germany Battling Cameron Menzies reckons he'd have got the sack if he didn't quit work to pursue his darting dream. But the Scottish star says he can still go back to the plumbing graft if doesn't fulfil his ambitions of competing consistently and regularly with the best in darts. Menzies produced another outstanding display to defeat defending champion Dave Chisnall and move into the last 16 of the European Darts Open. His career is taking off and he is having even more board time having recently given up his previous post. The Ayrshire ace is reaping the rewards, but said: 'I only quit my job as I got to the point it was either quit or sacked as I was never there. 'They gave me a choice. I was letting them down as I was travelling mental. I'm never home and I don't know how the Premier League players do it. It gives me more time to practice. Now I've got time it's good. Now there's no excuses. Now it's up to me. 'I'll give it two years, if it fails me I can go back. I'm quite lucky as I can get a job because of my trade. But it's working well. My most important aim is keeping my Tour Card. 'But the way it's worked out for me is I've done better than I thought than I would.' Menzies won a decider against Chisnall after fighting back and, speaking to DartsNews, he said: 'I'm making darts quite hard, as soon as I go like 4-1 down or 4-2 down or whatever it is, you kind of just go bugger it and then you start flowing because I'm quite a fast player so you start getting the rhythm because you think you're going to lose sometimes. 'Next thing the 140's and 180's start coming in so at the start of the game I was trying too hard. I was dropping too short a lot. I done it later on as well but I kind of thought 4-1 down I'm going out. 'That's darts for you though. I'm my own worst enemy, I get caught up in my head a lot. That one I wouldn't say it was fighting spirit I'd say there I just thought I was getting beat. 'I know myself personally and I'm sure a lot of players are the same, you can rattle off three or four legs playing awesome. 'You've seen it on stage with the best players in the world, they do it more common than me that's why they're there. They can rattle off three or four legs with no reply. You can't compete with that. 'I know sometimes I can do that. I kind of felt I did what I had to do yesterday to get to the Saturday. So this is a bonus. 'I've known Dave even before I was a PDC player. So I've known Dave for donkeys (years). Dave done a thing in my village, the only exhibition we've ever done was Dave and he was great so I respect Dave. He's a big scorer. He can score with the best of them if not better.' 'Maybe not the best of throws with his snatch. But Jocky Wilson was exactly the same. Chizzy is Chizzy, he's a great player and a great person. I'm buzzing to beat him. I want to make the European finals as I've never done it.' Menzies now faces Ritchie Edhouse and said: 'Ritchie's maybe not been as good as he was last year. He had a cracking game there. He won the European finals last year, he can play. 'If you 90 in the rankings and down they all can play. We all can beat each other. The best players in the world can just do it more frequently. If I don't step up, I'll be out. I need to play well to win that game.'
Daily Record
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Nicola Benedetti brings first solo tour for a decade to Ayrshire
Grammy Award winning violinist Nicola Benedetti will embark on a 14-date tour of the UK and Ireland in October. Ayrshire musician Nicola Benedetti will bring her first solo tour in over a decade to Ayr. The Grammy Award winning violinist is set to embark on a 14-date tour of the UK and Ireland in October. An Evening with Nicola Benedetti and Friends will debut in Basingstoke on October 12 before taking to the stage at Ayr Town Hall on October 31. Combining solo performances with storytelling, Nicola will share a selection of shorter works - romantic, virtuosic and some Celtic and folk-inspired. The approach to these concerts will be intimate and personal, with Nicola joined onstage by close colleagues including Brazilian guitarist Plínio Fernandes and accordionist Samuele Telari. Speaking ahead of the tour, Benedetti said: "It has been over ten years since my last full tour of the UK and having recently come off maternity leave, I am particularly excited to perform in so many beautiful venues, reconnect with audiences I haven't seen in some time and play for and chat to people in a fun and personal setting. "I will be joined by fantastic musicians including guitarist Plinio Fernandes and accordionist Samuele Telari." Throughout the two-month tour, Benedetti will visit Basingstoke, Dundee, Dumfries, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Inverness, Glasgow, Ayr, Manchester, Dublin, London, Poole, Belfast and Harrogate. Repertoire will include Paganini's Caprice Nos 1 and 24; Sarasate's Carmen Fantasie and Navarra, and Wieniawki's Polonaise arranged by Steve Goss; Ponce's Estrellita and Maxwell-Davis' Farewell to Stromness arranged by Paul Campbell; Bloch's Prayer and Debussy's Beau Soir arranged by Simon Parkin, Maria Teresa von Paradis' Sicilienne arranged by Juliette Pochin and Jay Unger's Ashokan Farewell. This full programme will be released on Nicola Benedetti's next album on Decca Classics to coincide with the tour and will also include new commissions and arrangements of traditional Scottish music by piper Brìghde Chaimbeul. Born and raised in Ayrshire, Benedetti is Grammy award winning violinist and two-time winner of Best Female Artist at the Classical BRIT Awards.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Business
- Sky News
Scottish government scraps plan for new national park in Galloway
Plans to create Scotland's third national park in Galloway and Ayrshire have been scrapped, the Scottish government has announced. Galloway was last year chosen as the preferred location for the nation's newest national park. A public consultation was carried out by NatureScot, with local residents, communities, businesses and interested parties invited to share their views on the proposal. Plans for the scheme - mostly in Dumfries and Galloway but also extending into parts of South and East Ayrshire - proved contentious. Supporters argued it would put the region on the map, boost the local economy, and prevent it from becoming a "dumping ground for inappropriate windfarms". However, opponents claimed making it more difficult for developers to secure planning permission for projects would negatively affect economic activity in the area. Other concerns raised included house prices potentially being pushed up, as well as the region's ability to cope with any additional tourism. In an update at the Scottish parliament on Thursday, rural affairs secretary Mairi Gougeon told MSPs that 54% of those who engaged with the consultation opposed the plans, while 42% supported it. Taking into account local responses alone, 57% were found to be in opposition compared to 40% in favour. Proposal hasn't 'garnered sufficient local support' Ms Gougeon said: "Based on the evidence gathered during the investigation and consultation, the reporter has advised that, whilst it considers that the proposed area meets the conditions for a national park set out in the legislation, the proposal does not have sufficient clarity, nor has it garnered sufficient local support to proceed to the next stage of designation." The MSP added: "We have weighed up the arguments for and against the creation of a new national park in the area, taking full account of the potential economic, social and environmental factors, and we have come to the conclusion not to proceed with the designation of a national park in Galloway and Ayrshire. "I realise that this decision will be very disappointing for those who have been campaigning for a new national park in Galloway over many years." There are currently 15 national parks in the UK - two in Scotland, 10 in England and three in Wales. Cairngorms National Park and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park are the two north of the border. The power-sharing Bute House Agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens in 2021 led to the Scottish government pledging that "at least one" new park would be designated by spring 2026. Galloway saw off competition from areas in the Scottish Borders, Lochaber, Loch Awe and Tay Forest. The joint Galloway National Park Association (GNPA) and Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO Biosphere (GSABP) bid touted the area as "Scotland in miniature" with its "diverse landscapes and stunning coastline, its outstanding biodiversity and rich cultural heritage". What was the public consultation? Ms Gougeon said NatureScot's public consultation ran for 14 weeks from November 2024 until February 2025. More than 5,000 surveys were completed and more than 1,000 people attended events that were held in relation to the plans. Meetings were also held with local authorities and community councils, and with representatives from the farming, forestry, tourism, renewables and conservation sectors. 'Heated debate' Ms Gougeon said public interest in the proposal had "proven to be huge" and generated "both strong support and strong opposition". She added: "At times, the debate has become quite heated." Ms Gougeon said while the designation of a new national park will not go ahead in Galloway and Ayrshire, the Scottish government "remains committed" and will "remain open" to proposals for new national parks in the future. 'Devastating news' Scottish Greens MSP Mark Ruskell said it was "devastating news for the local community and nature". He added: "By scrapping plans for the third national park in Galloway, the Scottish government has slammed the door on the economic investment and new powers this designation could bring." David Hope-Jones, chief executive of the South of Scotland Destination Alliance (SSDA), said the decision was a "missed opportunity to attract sustained investment in visitor management, visitor experience and visitor infrastructure". He added: "In deciding not to back the Galloway National Park, we call on the Scottish government to outline how, through new investment, the same sustainable economic results can be achieved." Campaigners 'relieved' Scottish Land & Estates (SLE) said it was the "right" decision. Director of policy Stephen Young said: "The Scottish government still has an important role to play in shaping a successful future for Galloway by supporting the infrastructure and conditions that rural businesses need to thrive. "We welcome the government's commitment to backing the region's long-term prosperity." Liz Hitschmann, co-founder of No Galloway National Park, said the campaign group was "relieved" with the decision. She added: "There is no question Dumfries and Galloway needs investment in our infrastructure, but it did not need millions frittered away on another layer of bureaucracy which could override local wishes, and the many government-funded organisations in the area need to deliver that investment."
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Fate of new Galloway national park proposals to be revealed
The fate of plans to create Scotland's third national park in Galloway are set to be revealed in a Holyrood proposals - which could see the area join the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs - have proved Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon will update MSPs following a consultation carried out by and opponents of the plans are waiting to hear if they will move forward, be dropped or deferred until the next parliamentary session. How did we get here? Scotland currently has two national parks but it is more than 20 years since a new one was created.A power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens in 2021 agreed that "at least one" would be designated by the end of this parliamentary session in that political agreement collapsed in 2024, the national park process has started in 2022 on where the park could be sited and Galloway was announced as the potential location for a new national park in July last after an opposition campaign was launched and an extended consultation was carried out over 14 has delivered its report on that feedback to the Scottish government which is now to decide the way scheme - should it proceed - would mainly be in Dumfries and Galloway but would extend into parts of Ayrshire. For and against Campaigners in favour of the designation say it could put the region on the map and boost the local opponents have argued it would push up house prices, increase bureaucracy and put transport infrastructure under have been waiting to hear the latest announcement from the Scottish Galloway National Park campaign co-founder Elizabeth Hitschmann said they could not speculate what would be in the statement. However, she said the whole idea had been a "complete dog's breakfast from the start" in which a "very small group of unrepresentative activists wrongly claimed there was overwhelming support".She said people in Galloway had "no faith" in any stage of the process including the selection of the area, consultation and the rejection of calls for a referendum and a review of the existing Hitschmann added: "The strength of opposition to any form of national park in Galloway is so great that we think it would be madness for any party to impose something that so many people clearly don't want."It would certainly be a wise decision to call a halt now before any more time and public money is wasted." But Rob Lucas, who chairs of the Galloway National Park Association, called for the designation to be given to a "forgotten corner" of Scotland without delay."Galloway desperately needs a national park to give it the long-term certainty and commitment that has been missing for so long," he said."Our area has a fragile economy and remains among the poorest rural areas in the UK, despite two decades of intensive forestry, farm aggregation and large-scale renewables."We need a different approach that works with nature to build a resilient and sustainable future for local people."That call has been backed by Action to Protect Rural Scotland and the Scottish Campaign for National a designation order was issued that would trigger another round of consultation before the status is earliest that could happen would be spring 2026.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
The sad rise in promflation with £700 dresses & flashy limos that force kids out of event – and how school's changing it
PROM can be one of the most important events in the school calendar for teenagers. It's the perfect chance to mark the end of exams and finishing up school, and having one last celebration with friends before heading off to college, university or work after summer. But along with the glitz and glamour of getting dressed up, prom season can put financial pressure on both teens and parents. There are even fears that the cost of living crisis is leaving some pupils forced to miss out because they simply can't afford it. Indeed, the total bill can quickly spiral out of control once you've added up outfits, shoes, hair, makeup and corsages on top of the ticket price. Dresses off the rail can cost anything from £50 to £700, with custom-made frocks priced even higher. To help make the event truly inclusive, a school in Scotland has launched a donation service to take the stress out of buying a suit or dress, with 300 up for grabs so far. Auchenharvie Academy in Stevenston, Ayrshire, has already seen teenagers sampling the gifted dresses. Delighted with the one she found, 18-year-old Muirren Shearer told STV News: 'It's really helpful for anyone who can't afford to pay £500 for a dress, and they're all designer so no one would know you've got it for free.' Teachers had feared some pupils would not attend if they couldn't afford a suitable outfit and hailed the scheme for making "dreams come true". After witnessing schoolkids arrive in flashy limos, a horse and cart and even a helicopter, a bus has also been arranged to ensure everyone arrives in the same fashion. Auchenharvie Academy's Deputy Head Linda Davis said: 'This year everyone is travelling to the prom by the same method of transport, because it puts everyone on a level playing field. 'It's very important that all children are made to feel special, and that's why we do what we do.' An Ayrshire community group is also helping out with the scheme by reaching out to local businesses and volunteers to cover extra touches including makeup and nails free of charge. Saltcoats Link Up's Carol Boyd said: 'People have a lot of dresses, whether it's their own prom dress, wedding dress or special occasion dress… it sits in the wardrobe. 'Through their kindness, care and generosity we're able to support young people to get access to dresses, and make memories that will last forever.'
