IT was in this week in 1728 that an Edinburgh merchant, William Hog or Hogg, asked his bank to allow him to take more money from his account than was in it. The Royal Bank of Scotland agreed, and thus the world’s first overdraft was arranged. Source

A Pembrokeshire ice cream company has promised to remove the phrase “Little England beyond Wales” from its packaging, after a social media outcry from local customers. Source

SCOTLAND’S west coast ferry network is facing major problems due to its ageing fleet of vessels, the managing director of CalMac has said. Source

“Communism equals Soviets plus electrification,” Vladimir Lenin once quipped. We could rewrite that for the age of climate crisis, and the biospheric (and Putin-averse) momentum against fossil fuels. Call it “survival equals electrification powered by renewables”. Source

  This week, energy industry leaders asked the UK Government to step in and do something about an energy crisis that is spinning out of control. They pointed out that power supply companies cannot deal with this. It is not the job of business leaders to mitigate the catastrophic effects of the huge and rapid increases […] Source

I WAS disturbed to read Source

A ONE-EYED cat has been helicoptered to Aberdeen after being discovered hidden in a storage container on a North Sea oil platform. Source

A MULTI-BILLION pound deal in the North Sea could increase costs and reduce the quality of service for oil and gas producers, the competition regulator fears. Source

FIRST Bus workers, represented by Unite the Union, have rejected an “insulting” pay offer and as a result will go on strike in May. Source

ONE of the Conservative Party’s biggest donors was listed as a director of a firm secretly owned by a sanctioned Russian oligarch with close ties ti Vlaimir Putin. Source

SANTANDER is cutting branch opening hours this summer as it scales back in-person services. Source

WAR is all about sacrifice. That much I was reminded of again sadly during my recent time in Ukraine. It never ceases to equally amaze and inspire me, the extent to which ordinary people are prepared to make extraordinary commitments in standing up for the values they hold dear. Source

A RARE “forgotten” cask of whisky, bought for £5000 30 years ago, is expected to set a world record when sold. Source