Railway back on track but Dons are derailed

HIGHEST RAILWAY

Britain’s highest railway finally reopened on Thursday – four years after structural problems shut it down.

The Cairngorm funicular, near Aviemore, had been closed since September 2018, but the Scottish Government provided £16 million towards the £25m cost of fixing the railway, which is owned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

The service, inset right, which opened in 2001 costing £26m, connects a base station with a restaurant and ski area more than 1,000m up Cairn Gorm mountain.

CRUISE TOURISM

Talking of transport developments, a squad of tourism volunteers will welcome passengers from the first of more than 25 cruise ships which are booked to berth at the £400m South Harbour in Aberdeen during 2023.

Visit Aberdeenshire chief executive Chris Foy said he would also be at the meet-and-greet when the 663ft AID Aaura arrives in the city, carrying 1,200 guests, on April 28.

DONS DEFEATED

Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin seemed set for the sack after the Dons slumped to a 1-0 defeat in the Scottish Cup to Darvel, who orchestrated what has been described as the greatest shock in the tournament’s history.

There was silence from the club for nearly 48 hours, prompting wags to wonder if it was offering Goodwin, inset right, time to move out of the Granite City.

However, on Wednesday evening, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack confirmed the boss has been given a stay of execution – although it has been made clear an immediate improvement in results, starting with this afternoon’s match against Hibs in Edinburgh, is needed to spare him from getting the axe from his post.

UP HELLY AA

Girls will take part in Junior Up Helly Aa for the first time in its history when it returns to Shetland next week. Organisers decided to lift the gender restrictions at the Viking festival in line with the changes made at the main event.

A total of 27 girls will be among the 108 junior guizers playing an active role in the fire festival for the first time on January 31.

BAND’S DISNEY LINK

They’ve advanced from the Western Isles to international stardom. And now, music by Peat & Diesel will feature in a new Disney superhero comedy series.

The Lewis-based band, inset below, formed by fisherman Boydie MacLeod, electrician Innes Scott and delivery driver

Uilly Macleod, have a cult following. The trio said they were delighted to be asked for use of their music in an episode of Extraordinary.

RECONSTRUCTION

Researchers at Glasgow Caledonian University released a reconstructed image of a man found dead in 2011.

His remains were discovered in woodlands near Balmore Golf Course in East Dunbartonshire in 2011. Yet, despite appeals, police have been unable to identify him. There were no suspicious circumstances around the death. Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland’s nonemergency line, email coldcaseunit@gcu.ac.uk or phone 0141 331 3235.

CAT’S 130-MILE TRIP

A cat which went missing from the Highlands on Hogmanay returned home after being found 130 miles away in a skip at a Perth recycling yard.

The two-year-old tabby, named Ginger, was reported missing in Alness on December 31.

The family had started to give up hope. But the far-travelled feline was microchipped and came home to be spoilt rotten by its owners.

MAKING WAVES

Acclaimed Aberdeen house music producer and DJ Ronnie Pacitti is making waves on BBC Radio 1. His tracks have been played on the nation’s biggest radio station by DJs including Jack Saunders, Charlie Tee, Sarah Story, Jaguar and Danny Howard.

Ronnie began producing and DJ-ing in his early teens.

His father, Ronnie Snr, was also an influential DJ. So it’s hardly surprising his boy’s career is on track.

BEE HARM

The UK Government gave emergency authorisation for the use of a pesticide previously banned because of the harm it can cause to bees.

Permission to use a neonicotinoid on sugar beet seeds has been granted to protect the crop from a damaging virus spread by aphids.

But the controversial decision ignored advice from an independent panel of pesticide experts and campaign group Friends of the Earth said it was “incredibly brazen”.

GOING APE

A study at St Andrews University showed that humans share elements of a common language with apes, understanding many gestures that wild chimps and bonobos use to communicate.

Dr Kirsty Graham said it is “a shared gesture vocabulary across all ape species including us”.

Sceptical? Just try Union Street at midnight for more evidence!