St Andrew’s Day
St Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland and the Scottish flag is a St Andrew’s Cross as legends have it that he was crucified on a cross that shape.
St Andrew’s Day is on 30 November amd has since 2007 been a public holiday in Scotland.
NOTE: The term bank holiday comes from the fact that the laws governing statutory holidays in the United Kingdom are contained in the Banking and Financial Dealings Acts. The last one was the **Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971"". Subsequent holidays have amended that act.
Helicopter crash in Glasgow
On the evening of 29 November 2013 (St Andrew’s Eve) a police helicopter flying over the city centre of Glasgow plunged into a crowded public house on the river side.
The latest news story from the BBC is obtainable here.
An earlier version in a more readable format is available here.
Notes
- As Günter suggested the roof was not a concrete one as can be seen from these pictures of the helicopter being removed.
- Police Scotland is the name of the Police Force in Scotland having been formed into one unit on 01 April 2013. Before then Policing was carried out by eight regional police forces and an Agency. Its full name is Police Service of Scotland or in Gaelic Seirbheis Phollis na h-Alba.
- The Crown Office is the independent prosecution service for Scotland and works with the Procurator Fiscal, an ancient office that is unique to Scotland.
- The National Health Service Scotland is the publicly funded health service for Scotland. This plus the three other services in the other constituent parts of the UK (Wales, Northern Ireland and England) make up the NHS as a whole. It is free at the point of delivery to all legally resident people in the UK and paid for by taxation.
h2. Next week 09 December 2013##
We plan to discuss the Scottish Independence Referendum and what is happening at the moment.