Dad builds miniature church for festive treat

5 years ago

A FATHER has brightened up his children’s Christmas by building an intricate and detailed miniature church – which took him more than a hundred hours. Joiner Eddie Coutts took on the painstaking endeavour for his young son and daughter. The 49-year-old crafted an intricately detailed model church with a working clock and manse for his garden. His fascinating project even lights up in the dark and shows patterns on a replica stained glass window. Eddie’s home in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire, has now become a local attraction. Although he built the model with 11-year-old daughter Nicole and eight-year-old son Leon in mind, Mr Coutts said the process had “brought out the child in him”.

10 years ago

THE Queen’s Sculptor in Scotland has compared the removal of the statues from Glasgow’s main civic space with the Taliban’s destruction of the ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan in Afghanistan a decade ago. Sandy Stoddart made the claim in a devastating criticism of the city council’s proposed revamp of George Square. He accused it of sacrificing the “riot of peace, empathy, calm, diligence, philanthropy and tranquility” generated by the dozen statues for “the cause of tents and events, funded by Coca-cola and fuelled by Macdonald’s”. He said 200 years of history was being eradicated to provide space for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

25 years ago

THE cult movie Trainspotting and the hit BBC Scotland series The Crow Road shared the top honours at last night’s glittering Bafta Scotland award ceremony in Glasgow, capturing one quarter of the prizes between them. Ewan Mcgregor was named best film actor, beating off strong opposition in the shape of his Trainspotting co-star Robert Carlyle and Billy Connolly, who had been nominated for his performance in Mrs Brown. The controversial drug culture movie also won the award for best feature film, beating Ken Loach’s Carla’s Song and Mrs Brown.

50 years ago

AN attack on Glasgow Corporation for not taking action to save Hampden Park was made yesterday in Glasgow by Mr James Farrell, a director of Celtic Football Club, during a national conference sponsored by the corporation on football hooliganism. Mr Farrell said it was time the corporation did something concrete to help the clubs instead of telling them how to run their business. The conference was attended by representatives of Scottish and English clubs, police forces, and local authorities.

100 years ago

MR Winston Churchill has sent the following letter to Mr James Allison, hon. secretary of Dundee Liberal Association: - “I have received with great pleasure your letter conveying to me the resolution passed by the Executive Committee of Dundee Liberal Association. I am touched by the exceedingly kind terms in which the committee have referred to my long representation of the city in Parliament. Mrs Churchill also desires me to express her thanks for the compliment which you have paid her. I must now endeavour to restore my health, and for that purpose a considerable period of rest will be necessary.”