More milestones and miscellany from 2011
N
N is for News of the World. Rupert Murdoch’s pride and joy, once the biggest selling English language newspaper in the world, printed for the last time in July as a result of the phone hacking scandal. The final headline: ‘Thank You & Goodbye’.
N is also for Names. Jack was the most popular choice of boy’s name in 2011 while Sophie topped the list for the girls.
O
O is for Oscars. The King’s Speech was the big winner in 2011, winning Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay Oscars.
O is also for Old Firm. While the Glasgow giants continue to dominate Scottish football, the ‘ugly sisters’ haven’t had their troubles to seek in 2011. Rangers have a huge tax demand hanging over them and new owner Craig Whyte came under the spotlight for past business practices. Celtic, meanwhile, had the dubious distinction of being dismissed from European competitions no less than three times before Christmas. There were also letter bombs to prominent Celtic figures and manager Neil Lennon was assaulted. New legislation to tackle sectarianism and bigotry was introduced but will changes to the law have any impact on the behaviour of some of the more ‘diehard’ fans?
P
P is for Minimum Pricing for alcohol. The SNP government failed to get this through parliament during their last term but now, with a working majority at Holyrood, the way is clear for legislation to be passed to tackle one of Scotland’s biggest and most entrenched social problems. Health chiefs are delighted, the licensed trade and supermarket chains less so. Farewell, two litre bottles of strong cider for 99p.
P is also for Pensions. Public sector trade unions took to the streets in a series of well-supported strikes to protest about changes to pension provision. Workers are being asked to work years longer and to contribute more to their pension schemes. Unions say it’s wrong that workers – including many low-paid – should pay the price for banker’s greed and mistakes. The government remains unmoved and pensions will remain a live issue in 2012.
Q
Q is for Queen Elizabeth. The Royals had a very successful 2011 with two weddings (see below) and a well-received tour of Canada. The only concern was the hospitalisation of Prince Philip in December with a heart problem. The 90 year old Duke of Edinburgh was forced to miss the traditional Boxing Day shoot at Sandringham, which was a disappointment for Philip but good news for the pheasants. Prince Philip has since been discharged and is ready to tackle a full programme of events to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 – much, much more on this story in the months ahead.
R
R is for Riots. England was hit by a series of riots in August, initially sparked off by the shooting of a young man in Tottenham. Just what his death had to do with the subsequent looting, arson and vandalism wave which spread like wildfire across the country is unclear, however.
R is also for Rugby World Cup. The event was held in New Zealand this year. New Zealand won – Scotland and England under-performed. No surprises there, then.
S
S is for Alex Salmond, Scotland’s foremost politician by a distance in 2011. The SNP’s historic victory in May initiated the resignation of three party leaders in Scotland – Labour’s Iain Gray, Tory Annabel Goldie and Lib-Dem Tavish Scott. The three main opposition parties now have new leaders in place – Johann Lamont, Ruth Davidson and Willie Rennie – but will any of them be able to land a telling blow on Wee Eck?
S is also for St Paul’s Cathedral, scene of an anti-capitalist protest camp which brought about the resignation of a number of senior church figures in November. So far protests have not brought about the resignation of any penitent bankers, though.
T
T is for Trams. Edinburgh’s longest running story was never far from the headlines again in another turbulent year for the beleaguered project. However a ‘milestone’ was reached in December when the tram depot at Gogar was finally completed and handed over to the city council. Still no trams on the streets of Edinburgh, though – completion date of the now much-truncated route is 2014.
T is also for Tsunami. Japan was struck by an earthquake and massive tsunami in March, killing over 18,000 people and making tens of thousands more homeless. The cost of rebuilding the stricken area is expected to reach over £150 billion.
U
U is for unemployment. UK unemployment reached a 17 year high in August with 2.57 million people registered unemployed. The jobless total for 16 -24 year olds was particularly high at 991,000 – a jobless rate of 21.3%. It’s expected that the unemployment rate will reach 2.85 million in 2012 as more jobs are lost in the pubic sector, with little sign so far that the private sector will be able to provide more job opportunities.
V
V is for racing driver Sebastian Vettel. The young German carried all before him in 2011, gaining eleven Grand Prix victories for his Red Bull team over the course of the Formula One season.
W
W is for Wedding. Not one but two Royal Weddings in 2011 – the nation’s sweethearts Kate and Wills were married at Westminster in April, while Zara Phillips wed rugby player Mike Tindall in a relatively ‘low-key’ ceremony in Edinburgh’s Canongate in July. The public cost for policing that ‘private family affair’ – a ‘low-key’ £400,000!
X
X is for X Factor. Girl band Little Mix won it this year. End of story – move on.
X is also for Xmas (well, nearly). This year’s Christmas Number One was The Military Wives with Gareth Malone’s ‘Wherever You Are’.
Y
Y is for YouTube. The most watched video of 2011 was Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby ft. Ludacris’ with 468, 272, 752 hits.
Z
Z is for Zoo and the arrival in Edinburgh of two pandas from China in December. Yes, unemployment’s rising, everybody’s feeling the pinch, the Euro’s in crisis and the trams are nowhere to be seen but hey – we’ve got Tian Tian and Yang Guang! It’s pandamonium!
Happy New Year!
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