Pubs from Fife and Stirlingshire were among the big winners at an industry awards ceremony The Scottish Entertainment and Hospitality Awards recognised the work of venues and companies across the country won the Best Independent Bar in the East title The Victoria Road establishment was also shortlisted for the Best Music Bar gong The Bawbee on Henderson Street in Bridge of Allan took home the Best Independent Bar in the Central Belt title In a Facebook post the bar said it was “thrilled and extremely proud” to win the award A spokesperson for the Golf Inn said: “Winning the title of Best Independent Bar in the East once again is more than just an accolade – it’s a symbol of dedication and the deep-rooted connection we share with our patrons and the local community “Taking home this prestigious award for another year reaffirms what our team has always believed – that our commitment to excellence and heartfelt hospitality is making a lasting impact.” Several other venues across the region were shortlisted The awards are decided by a combination of public nominations and voting along with visits by judges Director Warren Paul said: “It is a very tough time for everyone right now but it does seem the hospitality industry are really feeling the heat “People simply don’t have the money to go out as often as they did or they’re scared to spend the money they do have “That’s what our friends in hospitality provide.” Comments are currently disabled as they require cookies and it appears you've opted out of cookies on this site. To participate in the conversation, please adjust your cookie preferences in order to enable comments demanded her right to full education – and now hopes her success will inspire more deaf children to aim high Sun 4 May 2025 12.00 CESTLast modified on Sun 4 May 2025 22.03 CESTShareThe slogan on Niamdh Braid’s powder-blue sweatshirt puts it plainly enough: “I define my own deaf identity.” “We’re in a world that’s built for hearing people,” says the 16-year-old from Glenrothes in Fife “and we have to navigate through it to find what works best for us.” the teenager won a legal battle with her local council to have a British Sign Language interpreter in lessons after she realised how much of what was said in class she was missing out on but can struggle to follow in noisy environments and her preferred language is BSL she didn’t have any deaf people she could look up to on TV or on the news Now she hopes that through her advocacy “younger deaf kids can look up to me and see that they can achieve anything” Niamdh Braid at home ‘Why should she settle for average just because she’s deaf?’ asks her dad Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian“A lot of people think that because we can’t hear we can’t achieve high-earning jobs and go into good professions,” says Niamdh whose favourite subject is modern studies and who hopes to get into teaching then politics when she grows older “But the only thing we can’t do is hear – there’s nothing actually wrong with us We can do anything that we put our mind to.” Yet deaf children are eight times more likely to leave school with no qualifications according to the National Deaf Children’s Society which financially supported Niamdh’s legal action Niamdh was talking in advance of a report by MSPs that will reveal a significant fall in the number of specialist teachers of deaf people in Scotland It is prompting the NDCS to warn of a “growing crisis in deaf education” and lack of guidance from local authorities about what kind of support they should be providing deaf children in schools there was an assumption that she did not need support because she was still achieving decent grades an independent assessment by a deaf education specialist found she was only accessing 70% of what was being said in class even when her teacher wore a microphone transmitting to her hearing aids chips in: “If she was accessing 100% at the teaching Why should she settle for average just because she’s deaf?” Niamdh was ‘always tired’ from her struggles to hear in class Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianConstantly struggling to hear came at a heavy price asking to go to my bed at four o’clock before I’d had anything to eat.” At weekend she was too tired to go out with her friends After her request for a BSL interpreter was turned down first by her school and then by Fife council Niamdh felt she had no choice: “At this point it was getting close to my exams and I’d missed so much class already I wanted to launch the action under my own name because it was for me and I can voice my needs without the help of my parents.” she explained that “it’s always a hearing person that makes decisions for the deaf person Because hearing people don’t know what it’s like to go through life in a world that’s not built for them.” Early last year the tribunal ruled that Niamdh was being placed at “substantial disadvantage” but the appeals process was only concluded this spring it was the biggest relief I’ve ever felt,” says Niamdh She went out for a Chinese buffet meal with her parents and younger brother to celebrate Niamdh says hearing people should not make decisions for deaf people Photograph: Murdo MacLeod/The GuardianThe teenager who takes part in taekwondo competitions and is a devoted fan of the hospital drama series Grey’s Anatomy says she’s very lucky to have a close group of friends she’s known since nursery school “It’s all they’ve known with their friendship with me: if we’re talking they need to face me make sure there’s not too much noise in the background.” She feels strongly that young deaf people should be allowed to make their own choices about what support they access and that they are not a homogenous group: “Everyone has their own way of communicating “It’s the kid’s choice of what they want to be as a deaf person if they want to have the hearing technology if they want to be involved in the deaf community Fife council’s head of education and children’s services said: “We are continuing to work very closely with Niamdh and her family to meet her needs as identified by the outcomes of the tribunal.” A 38-year-old man has been reported after a two-vehicle crash near the Queensferry Crossing Emergency services were called to the M90 close to Inverkeithing at around 5.40pm on Sunday. Motorists faced delays on the southbound carriageway and the Junction 1B sliproad was closed for nearly two hours. In an update, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 5.35pm on Sunday we received a report of a crash involving two vehicles on the M90 near Inverkeithing and a 38-year-old man was taken to hospital for assessment “He will be reported to the procurator fiscal in connection with a road traffic offence.” Motorists were facing delays on the Queensferry Crossing after a two-vehicle crash Emergency services were called to the M90 southbound just after the Rosyth junction in Fife at around 5.40pm on Sunday Transport Scotland said the slip road at junction 1B southbound was closed for nearly two hours as a result of the collision The northbound carriageway was unaffected during the incident It’s understood there was at least one casualty at the scene The extent of their injuries is not yet known The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service initially dispatched three appliances to the scene A spokesman said: “We received reports of a two-vehicle accident on the southbound carriageway at 5.41pm “Appliances from Dunfermline and Lochgelly were dispatched to the scene “Two crews were stood down and the crew from Dunfermline made one vehicle safe A best-selling Fife crime author fears losing her career “at a stroke” following the “theft” of work by a global tech giant All nine of Marion Todd’s novels were included in a dataset used to train Meta’s new AI model The former lecturer and piano tutor’s books centre on fictional detective Clare Mackay They are among more than seven million copyrighted works downloaded without permission And Marion has added her voice to those of around 150 other authors calling for their removal could soon begin producing work replicating their style Marion said: “If it becomes very skilled it could finish my career at a stroke.” The Wormit author’s concerns echo those of Angus crime author Ed James Originally from Dundee, Marion Todd has just completed her 10th book It takes her between six and nine months to produce each book in her series she is concerned Meta will eventually be able to do it at the touch of a button She said: “My concern is it would then be possible for Meta to say ‘give me 100 Marion Todd books’ “They wouldn’t be very good to start with but the more they’re fed and the more they do it All of the affected works were taken from the “Lib Gen dataset” one of the largest collections of pirated books in the world Marion says book piracy has been around for a long time and is impossible to stop “You ask one to take it down and another one pops up “But crime author fans are voracious and the idea that my books could be replicated hundreds of times over is not good.” The Society of Authors held a protest outside Meta’s UK headquarters in London last month It has now written to Meta demanding compensation for affected writers “I’m fully behind the action being taken by the Society of Authors,” said Marion “I would also like to see some protection coming out from the Government in the form of licensing model.” Last year, Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the use of open source AI is progress and will be good for the world He added: “Since the models are open anyone is capable of testing for themselves as well “We must keep in mind that these models are trained by information that’s already on the internet so the starting point when considering harm should be whether a model can facilitate more harm than information that can quickly be retrieved from Google or other search results.” Former footballer Ally McCoist bowled over fans as he took to a Fife beach for a game of cricket The former Rangers star and TV pundit played wicketkeeper for Kilmacolm as they took on The Ship Inn Cricket Club in Elie Avid cricket fan McCoist represented the west coast team as beach cricket season got underway on Saturday The Ship Inn is the only pub in Britain with its own cricket team that plays on the beach said McCoist had promised some “secret weapons” ahead of the match He said: “The Kilmacolm team were ably bolstered by their wicketkeeper Ally McCoist who is always a wonderful addition to their team “The Ship have played Kilmacolm for each of the past nine seasons and have won each time “Ally promised some secret weapons to ensure a Kilmacolm win.” Although McCoist captured four wickets during the clash The Ship Inn Cricket Club were triumphant on the day as scores of fans watched on The former Scotland international later hosted a charity auction on behalf of the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation McCoist was great friends with Doddie Weir and has taken part in a number of fundraisers for the charity which was set up by the late Scotland rugby star in 2017 following his diagnosis with MND A “hardened” Fife paedophile was caught downloading twisted child abuse files just months after being released from jail began downloading vile files in November 2023 having only been liberated from prison that July Scally was subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order during some of his offending having previously jailed a decade ago for sex offences against a child He was labelled a “hardened offender” by the sheriff who jailed him again and ensured he will be under social work supervision once he is released At an earlier hearing at Dundee Sheriff Court prosecutor Joanne Ritchie said: “Police executed a search warrant at the home of the accused on August 29 2024 “The accused was not present and entry was forced with the assistance of a council joiner “A full search was carried out and three items were seized from the accused’s bedroom floor “They were two hard drives and a laptop Child sexual abuse material was found.” with a run-time totalling more than five-and-a-half hours They featured girls as young as four being sexually abused Scally, who has been on remand since September 2, admitted that between November 2023 and August 2024, he took or made and possessed indecent images of children at his home in Newburgh His solicitor Calum Harris said: “He’s clearly built up a record of similar offences “Ultimately the number of images and videos found is fairly low “He has spent a significant amount of time in custody.” Sheriff Gregor Murray jailed Scally for 20 months and placed him on the sex offenders register for five years The sheriff backdated Scally’s sentence to September and ordered him to be subject to post-release supervision for a year He told Scally: “You have a brief but highly analogous record of offending “You were only released from custody in July 2023 You almost immediately commenced offending again “It’s quite clear you’re a hardened offender who has no intention of desisting.” Agency worker Scally was sentenced to two years in prison after being convicted in 2015 of sexual offences against a child under the age of 13 Then, in 2022, he admitted flouting notification requirements that come with being on the sex offenders register by jetting off to Canary island Fuertaventura For more local court content visit our page or join us on Facebook Two Fife women have told of their shock at being mistaken for forensics police – when they were actually just cleaning a former hotel Concerned residents contacted The Courier after spotting people wearing white suits outside the former Greenside Hotel in Leslie on Sunday morning Others took to social media to report the forensics police presence sparking concerns that a major crime had taken place But the white-suited figures turned out to be Sofia Anderson and Gillian McIlravie carrying out a cleaning job in the 15-bedroom building were oblivious that concerns had been raised until The Courier turned up to investigate The pair, from Glenrothes said: “We came and had a look around on Saturday night to see what we were needing to do “There had been people living here in April but it’s now empty “We were helping someone out to clean the property as a favour “We were totally unaware of being pictured but were purely wearing the suits for cleaning “I could see why people might have thought we were forensics officers.” said they were only working there for the day She said: “We have watched a wee bit of CSI but we’ve just been doing a bit of vacuuming and cleaning when we came in here in the dark on Saturday “It’s hilarious reading some of the comments from people about what they thought might have been going on.” One neighbour who lives near the hotel had also become aware of the speculation online She said: “I read it on two local Facebook groups and saw the picture of people in hazmat suits “At no point did I see any police cars and I did start to think In 2021, the former Greenside Hotel had an application approved to be transformed into a homeless hostel Fife Flyers were crowned the new kings of British ice hockey on May 5 1985 in front of then-record 7,300 fans at Wembley Arena It was the biggest crowd to watch a game in Britain since the 1960s The 9-4 win over Murrayfield Racers secured a first British Championship since 1978 It was the underdog tale no one saw coming Club historian John Ross said the summer of 1984 was a watershed for the Flyers a productive youth development programme and considerable commercial and media interest – every indication of success except a trophy-winning team,” he told me Flyers team manager John Haig and vice-chairman Jack Dryburgh undertook an extensive scouting mission in Toronto in June 1984 “Their brief was simple – bring back three men who could transform a struggling side into a championship outfit “Along with a valuable transatlantic contact Cameron Killoran the pair spent a fortnight assessing over 80 recommended players “Eventually they chose their three men not solely on grounds of playing ability but mindful of maturity marketability and adaptability to the British scene.” the club believed the trio was what was required off the ice as well as on it He was 34 and had played in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers Stoyanovich was playing for Nova Scotia Voyageurs in the American Hockey League Brown joined from the University of Western Ontario The imports blended seamlessly with local talent like Andy Linton John said: “In a still semi-professional era coach Plumb understood the conflicting demands on time and fitness and coaxed the best from weary limbs and minds “He got to know and charmed families and employers “He knew that the team was bigger than just a bunch of hockey players Plumb valued the full squad and created the best team spirit the Flyers had known for years.” Crowds doubled and ice hockey surpassed football The Flyers were pulling in a bigger attendance than Raith Rovers No mean feat given it was the time of the miners’ strike and mass unemployment Among the fans was world darts champion Jocky Wilson He became so enthusiastic that he sponsored winger Chic Cottrell in 1984 The Plumb-inspired Flyers were challenging for silverware again They finished runners-up in the Autumn Cup after being defeated by Durham Wasps John said the Flyers could have been forever the bridesmaid that season “The league campaign had seen the Flyers first win in Edinburgh for six years and they were the first team to take a point against the Durham Wasps in the north east in that same time span,” he said “The reigning champions Dundee Rockets lost five of the six league and cup matches against the Flyers which was the exactly how the Flyers had fared against Dundee the previous season – the tide had turned “The Rockets were also defeated in the Scottish Cup final by the Flyers “The Flyers gained their first piece of silverware.” The Heineken Premier Division was a tight affair with the Flyers finishing second to the Wasps by two points in a title race which went down to the wire The Rockets finished seventh after losing 8-5 to the Flyers in a midweek game The top six in the final standings qualified for the Heineken Championship play-offs The quarter-final involved a round-robin three-team group stage Flyers won all four matches against Ayr Bruins and Cleveland Bombers The classic 9-8 win against Ayr at Kirkcaldy Ice Rink was shown on BBC Grandstand Stoyanovich got the winner with two minutes to the buzzer They were joined by Murrayfield Racers and Streatham Redskins Flyers headed to Wembley on a 15-game winning streak John said: “For small-town Kirkcaldy the Wembley weekend was an adventure in itself with a scramble for transport and accommodation as it suddenly seemed possible that the dream could come true over 1,000 Flyers’ fans journeyed south to London to roar their team on “It was the Flyers first appearance at Wembley “The town was riding the wave that had been created all season long by this team.” Flyers played the Redskins in the first semi-final on Saturday May 4 at 1.30pm Brown and Stoyanovich all grabbing a hat-trick each Racers defeated the Bruins 13-4 in the second semi-final at 7.30pm Wembley Arena was packed with 7,300 spectators and millions of viewers watched live on BBC Two’s Sunday Grandstand in the company of Des Lynam It was expected to be a close game between the two great rivals Brown opened the scoring after only two minutes Plumb made it 3-0 on 10 minutes with a power play goal Murrayfield scored through John Hay before Chic Cottrell netted from close-range for Flyers and Stoyanovich increased the lead to 5-1 Brown completed his hat-trick with two fine goals in the last 90 seconds Murrayfield threw everything at netminder Andy Donald in the second period Jim Lynch pulled one back three minutes into the final period Stoyanovich struck for Flyers just 20 seconds later Gordon McDougall and John Hay reduced the deficit to 8-4 but Jimmy Pennycook ended the Edinburgh side’s hopes with a goal five minutes from time The buzzer sparked wild celebrations on the ice and in the stands “The obvious stars were of course the three Canadians – Danny Brown Dave Stoyanovich and Ron Plumb,” said John They were all chosen for the end of season all-star team Plumb was awarded coach of the year and Stoyanovich broke the scoring records at that time in the Heineken League by eclipsing Roy Halpin of the Rockets “His 171 goals (and 277 points in total) across all competitions in the season also remains the most of any player in any season in history for the Flyers,” said John “That said it wasn’t a three-man show “Despite winning 9-4 it was the netminder who picked up man of the match “Andy Donald was a key player throughout the season.” The majority of fans thronged the ice rink a couple of days later to celebrate with the team who were also given a civic reception at the Townhouse in Kirkcaldy The last word goes to John “A near-perfect weekend’s work left the opposition outplayed and outclassed and by the end of Wembley 85 nobody could deny that the Flyers were worthy British champions “The transformation was complete.” A 33-year-old woman has been charged after two dogs attacked another dog in Fife Police were called to the incident in a park off Station Road in Thornton on Tuesday Two people were hurt while trying to separate the animals Both dogs involved in the attack were taken to a vet and put down while the injured dog was taken for treatment In an update, a Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We can confirm that a 33-year-old female has since been charged for a number of offences under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and will be reported to the procurator fiscal.” Community Sergeant Martyn Reidie said: “We fully understand the concerns that are being raised in the village about the circumstances surrounding this incident I will be attending the Thornton community council meeting on Monday so I can listen to these concerns directly we executed a drugs search warrant at an address in Thornton “A quantity of class A and C drugs were found and a 39-year-old male will be reported to the procurator fiscal “As the community sergeant, I want you to know that we do take these things seriously and want to hear directly from you.” St Andrews rock-themed restaurant Ziggy’s has announced it is closing after 42 years The popular venue is run by husband and wife Phil and Annie Wishart who count many celebrities and even royalty among their customers Open Golf champions and other well-known faces have all dined at the Murray Place spot courtesy of former England footballer Ian Wright and Ryder Cup stalwart Ian Poulter “It disappeared one night and we assumed it would turn up in a hotel room,” said Phil “It turned out they had taken it as a prank “They took it on a European tour and there were photographs of it with celebrities in a golf magazine they came back and brought the coyote back with them.” Phil and Annie insist their regular customers are just as important to them And that’s why their phone has been ringing off the hook as people clamour for a table on May 10 Ziggy’s is St Andrews‘ longest-serving independent family-run restaurant The idea was sparked during a trip to London where Phil and Annie spotted long queues outside the Hard Rock Cafe in the middle of winter “I’ve always been interested in music and that was the beginning of it,” Phil said The couple set about filling the venue with original rock music memorabilia And their walls are now covered with signed photos guitars and posters from some of the world’s top artists and a rock soundtrack made Ziggy’s a go-to institution “We’ve seen massive changes in the town over the years,” said Phil “We’ve seen them come and go but we’ve just kept our head down and built up a good clientele base.” Ziggy’s became a favourite of Prince William during his time at St Andrews University “He used to phone to book and called himself Mr Wales and we’ve tried to treat everybody the same way “During the Open Championship we didn’t take any bookings and had long queues “Some celebrities would come to the front and try to get in but we’d very politely tell them to join the queue.” New owners are poised to take over the Ziggy’s premises they are planning to refurbish and change the name before reopening with their own venture Meanwhile, Phil and Annie are considering auctioning off their huge collection of memorabilia in aid of St Andrews Foodbank And they teased it could return at some point “Ziggy’s won’t be appearing again for a while but there might be something else,” said Phil so might be looking to do something.”