Alloa, Scotland News

I AM writing this on Shakespeare's birthday, which, as it happens, is also the day of England's patron saint, St George.

It's an intense and hedonistic experience which appeals most to the younger or the more devoted lovers of popular music, but astute and ambitious programming, as much as its size, has propelled T in the Park to near the very top of the UK festival league.

Almost 600 jobs were lost on Friday after liquidators from the accountancy firm, KPMG, were called in at Scottish Coal.

Making the most of yet another damp, dreich, late March day, Rhona and I "explored" a new-to-us low-level 6-mile walk, from Dollar to Pool of Muckhart and back.

However, a report by the Scottish Court Service has recommended that plans to shut Alloa Sheriff Court should not go ahead at this time.