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The Herald Scotland
10 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Want to follow the hottest new trend? Book yourself a coolcation
Of course, unlike my Swiss-raised husband, I grew up in Scotland. I know the shadow side of these rare sunny days. No, you will not get a lovely suntan, but turn the same livid pink as a 1980s prawn penny sweet after an hour in the sun. Yes, it's all fun and games while you're enjoying your third spritzer in your new summer dress patterned with some sort of citrus fruit. But after a day and a half, we all know it is the social if not legal contract of all Scots to retreat home, complain about how hot it is, how Scotland has no air conditioning and blame climate warming. I am, true to my Scottish genes, a mess in the heat. During a trip to Florence last year in August, I reacted so strongly to the sun that my face blew up like I'd done five rounds with Ken Buchanan, despite my broad "I'm a perimenopausal Scottish woman" straw hat and slathering on enough sunscreen to resemble a mime artist. Read more by Kerry Hudson And it seems I'm not alone in finding cooler climes, where your holiday photos won't make you look like a sweaty slab of cheese left on a windowsill, alluring. In fact, many travellers in Europe are eschewing crowded beach resorts for a "coolcation" to more clement Northern countries. While the coolcation became particularly popular last year it shows no signs of slowing down with Scandinavian Airlines data showing Stavanger, Norway, has seen a 38% increase in arrivals from Spain, Italy, and France in 2025. We also chose to visit Norway after seeing it billed as the "ultimate coolcation destination". I had never been to Norway before for the simple reason I always imagined it to be perilously expensive. But with the Norwegian krone at a historic low against the pound now is actually the most affordable time in a long time to go. With some budgeting, I don't think it cost us any more than visiting, say, Paris, Rome or Barcelona. This, I convinced my husband, was our best chance to see spectacular landscapes and enjoy what the Norwegians term "friluftsliv" – literally "open-air life". Because anyone who's travelled with a four-year-old boy knows they have more energy than a Duracell Bunny after 15 Red Bulls and you want that wee boy outside, running, jumping and swimming his way to an early night so you can have a glass of wine and peace to read your book. While it was very tempting to experience the midnight sun in the North we chose the ease of city-hopping along the West Coast starting in Bergen before travelling on to Stavanger and Oslo. Bergen is a beautiful mountain town with picture-perfect white, wooden houses. We were lucky enough to be there for Norwegian Constitution Day when everyone dresses in "bunad", old folk costumes, and I do mean everyone – I saw a punk wearing one with no irony whatsoever. This is also the last day of the legendary partying month for Norwegian teens and let me tell you, the drunken scenes outside a 3pm McDonald's rivalled anything I've seen in a British seaside town at 2am. However, Bergen is also home to one of the most beautiful mountaintop parks we've ever been to, with hidden wooden trolls for my little boy to hunt, a crystal clear lake to swim in and their own herd of adorable, friendly mountain goats. In Oslo, which the Wall Street Journal called the "newest capital of Nordic cool" and one of the most walkable cities in the world, we visited the achingly hip Munch Museum, marvelled over the stark modernism of the harbour and visited the absolutely unmissable Deichmann Bjørvika, Oslo's Central Library, where our boy played happily (and quietly!) for two full hours. We also ate some excellent pizza at Chicago and Brew, and went for a family swim with views of the city from the 37th floor of the Radisson Blu Plaza. But it was in Stavanger where we truly fell in love with Norway. Stavanger bills itself as "The edge of Norway". And during our few days there, we took a trip through the fjords, just one of over a thousand in Norway by the way, to see waterfalls, more mountain goats and Pulpit Rock, where Tom Cruise faces off with his nemesis Henry Cavill in Mission Impossible: Fallout. A view of Oslo, the newest capital of Nordic cool (Image: PA) But as an Aberdonian quine, it wasn't the majestic Norwegian fjords that held my attention, it was the city's legacy that I understood so well. It's former fishing port blessed with an oil boom in the 1970s and 80s that changed the small city in so many ways, and now with oil wealth on their side they are wondering what they will do next and how to invest in green renewable energy for future generations. I loved visiting, confounding all my expectations, both the Norwegian Canning Museum and the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, both modern, interactive and suitable for every age. As I walked the famous Fargegaten street, a long row of wooden houses painted in a carnival of colours, I felt a strange kinship with this town, hard to explain, unless you have also come from a city where the fishing industry has been completely surpassed by the boom of oil. For us, our Norway trip was a "coolcation" in every sense of the word and we have fully caught the addictive spirit of friluftsliv'. As the world heats up, I predict we, and many others, will keep seeking out coolcations. Kerry Hudson is an award-winning, bestselling novelist and memoirist. You can find her on Instagram and on Threads @ThatKerryHudson
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Josh Taylor and other great boxers from Scotland
When Josh Taylor goes into the ring on Saturday night against Ekow Essuman, he will be fighting for more than a victory. Instead, Taylor, 19-2 (13), will be looking to assert his place amongst Scotland's boxing greats. The former unified light-welterweight champion has seen his career dip in recent years: a highly disputed win over Jack Catterall just over three years ago was followed by decisive unanimous decision losses to Teofimo Lopez in New York and, in the return fight that was held in Leeds, to Catterall. Now, after a year away from the ring, Taylor will return at the weekend against Ekow Essuman, 21-1 (8), in a bout for the vacant WBO international welterweight title. Essuman is no pushover, being a former British and WBO European champion, with his only loss being on points over twelve rounds against Harry Scarff. Despite living in Edinburgh, Taylor will be the hometown fighter as the event is to be held at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow. In taking to the ring, Taylor follows in a long line of great Scottish fighters. Ken Buchanan Buchanan, 61-8 (28), who died a little over two years ago, is probably best known for his losing effort in 1972 against Roberto Durán. But the Edinburgh fighter was a fine boxer and an undisputed lightweight world champion. He went to Puerto Rico in 1970 and outpointed the great Ismael Laguna, then went on to win the WBC lightweight title against Ruben Navarro in Los Angeles, before defending it once more against Laguna in New York. However, he ran into Durán in 1972 and, after Durán hit him low ('I think about you every time I piss,' Buchanan told the Panamanian years later), the referee counted Buchanan out in the fifth round. After that loss, Buchanan gradually moved out of the top division. There was no rematch against Durán and despite winning the British title, the locations for Buchanan's bouts moved further and further from the bright lights until his retirement in 1982. Alex Arthur There was a time when Alex Arthur, 31-3 (21), was the sole shining light in Scottish boxing. The Edinburgh fighter held the British, European, and WBO super-featherweight titles during the early 2000s, making repeated appearances at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh. Despite a fifth-round loss to Michael Gomez in 2003, the faithful kept their faith. At the peak of his career, Arthur outpointed Ricky Burns to pick up the British, Commonwealth, and European titles. A loss to Nicky Cook in 2008 spelled the end of his being at the top levels and despite winning five of his last six, Arthur's career faded to an end in 2012. Ricky Burns Burns, 45-8-1 (17), had his last fight at the end of 2023, so he may still appear within a ring. Back then, he stopped fellow Scot Willie Limond in five rounds in Glasgow in a match that few wanted to see. But Burns had been special in his career, winning the British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles in 2007 and 2008. At world-class level, Burns beat Roman Martinez for the WBO world super-featherweight title in 2010, then defended it against Andreas Evensen, Joseph Laryea, Nicky Cook, Michael Katsidis, Moses Paulus, Kevin Mitchell, Jose A. Gonzalez-Ramos, and Raymundo Beltran. Burns lost to pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford by decision in 2014, after which his career began to diminish. He lost again immediately after the Crawford fight before travelling to Hidalgo, Texas, to face Omar Figueroa Jr. Eventually, after a series of less-impressive wins, he lost to Julius Indongo and Anthony Crolla. Jim Watt Like his contemporary Ken Buchanan, the Glaswegian Watt, 38-8 (27), was a world lightweight champion. He also lost a close, competitive fight against countryman Ken Buchanan in 1973. Watt won his title in 1979 against Alfredo Pitalua at the famous Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. He then defended it five times before coming up against all-time great Nicaraguan Alexis Arguello, 77-8 (62), in 1981. In possibly the best performance of his career from a historical perspective, Watt went fifteen rounds against Arguello, losing a fairly narrow decision. It would be Watt's last fight. Scott Harrison There may never be a larger 'What if…' question in UK boxing than, 'What if Scott Harrison had been able to remain on the right side of the law?'. The Glasgow fighter, 27-3-2 (15), held the British and Commonwealth titles, then moved up to world class by stopping Victor Santiago in six rounds for the WBO world featherweight title. Harrison then moved through Julio Pablo Chacon and Wayne McCullough, before losing a split decision in Glasgow to Manuel Medina. Harrison reversed that result four months later and then made six defences before legal troubles and a spot of time in a Spanish prison kept him on the sidelines for seven years. He returned in 2012 and had two fights that year against less-than-stellar opposition before losing a wide unanimous decision to Liam Walsh in 2013. Benny Lynch Flyweight world champion Benny Lynch died young at thirty-three years old, but those three-decades-and-a-bit were lived hard. Lynch learned his profession in the boxing booths of the 1920s and 1930s, then turned professional as the new decade began. After living the British and European titles, Lynch beat Small Montana for the world title in 1937, unifying the division's belts for the first time (he had beaten Pat Palmer for the NBA title the year before). Lynch defended in Glasgow but forfeited a year later. Legal issues and alcoholism swiftly undid Lynch's career, and he passed away just a few years later in 1943.
