Shift Happens

Sometimes size does matter.

Interesting video, though I'm not sure how accurate the facts are, but I suppose it helps to give a wake-up call about how the world is changing.

Just how are the traditional education systems going to cope with this level of change?

At some point, they will need to embrace e-learning technologies. The question is whether they will embrace them from a position of strength, or if they will be overtaken by events.

Radical Examination of the Pro Team Strategy

The SRU have announced a radical examination of its' pro team strategy, with the suggestion that they may base one of their team in England.

Scotland currently have three fully professional teams, based in Edinburgh, Glasgow and the Borders. The Edinburgh team was franchised out last year, whilst the Borders team is struggling on the park and in the stands with crowds substantially lower that what the SRU had stated as an acceptable baseline.

I'm guessing that the implications of this review is that the SRU will confirm the need to have three pro teams in order to develop the necessary talent for the national squad, however the ongoing difficulties of the Borders will be dealt with by disbanding this team and changing the focus of that investment to a team based in England, with the assumption that it will be London Scottish who get the investment.

Whilst being based in England, London Scottish is already a Member Club of the SRU. However, following a flirt with pro rugby in the 90's they reformed and joined the regional leagues.

You would expect London Scottish to command a far bigger paying audience than that which the Borders currently enjoy, and I would think London Scottish in the Magners league, playing the likes of Munster and the Scarlets, would be a significant draw.

No doubt there will be significant disagreement within the traditional rugby grounds around the Borders, but so far this team has just not worked in the professional era.

The other question is whether the SRU will also do something with the Glasgow team. It wasn't too long ago that there were a couple of interested parties looking at a franchise for this team, both of whom were looking a change from the current Hugenden venue.

Living up there, and slightly to one side

Great video from Sir Ken Robinson about the drastic need to change our education systems.

20 minutes long, and some great lines in it. Heres a few, but you will need to watch the video to get the context:

Live up there, and slightly to one side

They live in their heads

There body is a way of getting their heads to meetings.

Education system is predicated on academic ability

The whole structure of academic education is shifting below our feet.

People who had to move to think

Rethink the fundamental principle upon which we are educating our children

Old Firm Interim Results

Rangers posted interim results which show turnover down £29.1m to £23m, whilst a half year £6.1m profit was turned into a loss of £1.4m.

In contrast, Celtic have increased turnover 41% to £46.8m, with a profit of £17.9m compared to a loss of £1m last year.

All this just goes to show the importance of Champions League football to the financials of the big two in Scotland. A Champions League run, and you make a profit, but without it, you're in the red.

Rangers didn't make the CL this year, but they have had a successful UEFA cup run, but financially this is nothing compared to CL football.

The Herald points out that Paul Le Guen spent £4m on 11 players during his short reign, whilst the Celtic results show that additions to the intangible assets (players I'm guessing), were £6.3m. Celtic also made a profit on player transactions of £7m.

Another worry for Rangers must be that these results include the guaranteed payment from JJB, without which profit figures would have looked a whole lot scarier.

Celtic are currently heading the SPL by a substantial margin, and the financials put them in a similar position. But these results show that whilst the SPL is the bread & butter, both Celtic and Rangers have operations which are geared up to run on something a little more potent than bread & butter.

A Rugby Manifesto

It's only a few months till the local elections are held, and the SRU have decided to get in on the act by producing their own manifesto - Developing Rugby, Improving Scotland.

I don't think "The role of Rugby in the wider political agenda" actually tells us anything new, but I suppose it is aimed at politicians.

One to Keep an Eye On

Mike Ashley is to float his Sports Direct International retail operation on the stock market at an initial price of between 250p to 310p each.

Known for the Sports World retail brand, it also turns out that the business incorporates both the Lillywhites and the Original Shoe Company outlets.

And on top of that they own the Dunlop Slazenger, Karrimor, Kangol, Lonsdale and Donnay brands.

It also looks as though Mike Ashley himself also owns significant stakes in competitors such as Blacks, JJB and JD Sports.

Birds - Autumn 2006 - Books

Books included in the Autumn 2006 edition of Birds magazine from the RSPB.

SWT - Autumn 2006 - Books

Books included within the Autumn 2006 edition of Scottish Wildlife.

New Species Discovered

The Scottish Wildlife Trust are reporting that a new species of fly has been discovered in Scotland.

In researching a book for Scottish Natural Heritage (The Nature of the Cairngorms: Diversity in a Changing Environment) a small black Christii fly was discovered. This was amongst more than 20 other plants, invertibrates and fungi species which are reportly new to the UK.

Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us

Interesting video