200 EVACUATED AS FIRE RIPS THROUGH FLATS

The fire broke out at the building on Lancefield Quay, on the north bank of the River Clyde, at about 18:40 on Monday. Sixty firefighters and 15 appliances tackled the “well-developed” blaze in the second floor of the three-storey building. No-one was hurt. One senior firefighter said they did a “remarkable job in very challenging circumstances”, due to wind and rain.

SNP LET DOWN HOMELESS AT EVERY LEVEL

Fiona McPhail, principal solicitor for Shelter Scotland, said the case is about “one of the most fundamental rights homeless people have in Scotland”. “When in the crisis of homelessness, our laws say that temporary accommodation should be provided. Too often Glasgow has failed in that most basic duty,” she added.
A petition with around 10,000 signatures, including Annie Lennox, Robert Carlyle, KT Tunstall and Val McDermid, calling for a law to secure a legal right to a home, will be presented to the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday.

BOOKS: WAVES ON THE SHORE REVIEW

When the island was inhabited, it didn’t have a church or public house and then the school closed. There was no electricity until 2003 to serve the population, which the census recorded was at one time as high as 128.
Some of the islanders who left return from time to time to attend to farming chores, and several of their houses have been purchased as holiday homes by people from Ireland and other European countries. The author, Bernadette Conroy, who quit once but returned later to her post as Inishturk shed the last members of its indigenous population, deserves great praise for her work and for the skilful way she has drawn together the fascinating material for this new book. The Clifden Festival’s Artistic Director, Dr Brendan Flynn, is to be congratulated for having the commendable good sense to promote this book.
• Waves on the Shore is available from The Clifden Bookshop, other good bookshops such as Kenny’s Bookshop and Charlie O’Beirne’s in Galway, and on-line from the usual outlets.

END

1 24 25 26 27 28 39