Latest news with #Kirkcaldy
The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
Cannabis plants worth £7m seized by police in raid at former college campus
Police have seized cannabis plants worth an estimated £7 million after carrying out a raid at a derelict former college, the highest value cultivation of the drug ever found. Nairn Campus in Kirkcaldy, Fife, was once part of a 7.65-acre site owned by Fife College, however it closed in 2016 and was sub-divided. The derelict building on High Street was found to be a cannabis farm, with 5,000 plants, during a search by officers with a warrant at around 12.40pm on Wednesday. Police Scotland said inquiries are ongoing. Officers said the previous highest value cannabis cultivation was one worth up to £6.3 million which was found in a property on Kirkcaldy's High Street in May 2022, with a man later appearing in court in connection with the find. Sergeant Johny Lister said: 'This is a very significant recovery and is an example of our efforts to disrupt the activity of illegal drugs in Scotland. 'Drugs cause misery in our communities. 'This recovery also underlines our commitment to the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce and the country's Serious Organised Crime Strategy. 'The public has an important role to play in helping Police Scotland target those responsible for the cultivation, supply and sale of illegal substances. 'Anyone with any information or concerns about drugs in their community can call Police Scotland on 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.'
Times
15 hours ago
- Times
Life on the farm has never looked as good as this
Mossy dry stone walls have an indescribable charm. Perhaps it's their quiet defiance, the way these ancient feats of engineering have stood long enough to be claimed by nature. As you leave Kirkcaldy, driving up into the patchwork of ancient fields above the Firth of Forth, their charm is heightened by the way the town — best known for its linoleum — suddenly melts into a landscape where these walls seem to be the only human fingerprints. Heading past rolling fields, with spring poking its head above the parapet and only the occasional russet of a Highland cow catching the eye, it feels as if there is nobody else here. Then, rounding a bend, my friend Anna and I happen upon Banchory Farm. Here, dotted around a warm pink farmhouse where owners Jane and Jonathan Manifold live with their two children, six farmhands' cottages have been converted into luxury rental cottages. Our home for the weekend is The Grieves, a two-bedroom cottage named after the farm manager, or 'grieve', who once lived here. A beautiful vase of hyacinths and tulips, as well as a basket groaning with seasonal produce, welcome us in an impeccably appointed, brass-knobbed deVOL kitchen. Cottagecore floral wallpaper, marble bathroom tiles — you'd never guess that The Grieves, now impeccably restored, had rising damp and no central heating a few years ago. Jane explains how they've also installed air source heat pumps, planted 4,500 trees and rewilded field edges around the cottages. We make porcini mushroom pasta from our welcome basket ingredients, run luxurious baths in the master bedroom then slip into linen bedding in our high-ceilinged but cosy double rooms to sleep the sort of sleep you get only after swapping city for deep, dark countryside. The next morning, after a hearty breakfast (again courtesy of the cornucopian gift basket), we follow the Manifolds' helpfully detailed guidebook to Falkland, former seat of Stuart kings and perhaps the most handsome of Scotland's royal burghs. The village, about 30 miles away at the foot of the Lomond Hills in the lovely Howe of Fife, has been frequently used as a filming location for Outlander. Fans of the show will know it as a stand-in for the Highlands where Frank Randall and Claire Beauchamp go on their honeymoon. • Falkland Palace — who can resist the draw of the world's oldest tennis court? After peeking up charming cobbled streets and briefly exploring Falkland Palace, the royal hunting lodge favoured by Mary, Queen of Scots, we tackle East Lomond, site of a prehistoric hillfort that the Picts chose as their lofty seat of power. The final 150 metres have us wedging toes into footholds but the sweeping summit views down over forest, field and the Firth of Forth mean we quickly forget the strain. Back at Banchory, Jane has arranged for Lesley Brown, a touring masseuse, to work out the kinks from our walk. The rest of the day drifts by in a haze of indulgence — a wander around Loch Leven, where we pause to spy on birds from a hide and browse the farm shop on its banks, a dinner of scallops and halibut at the family-run Wee Restaurant in North Queensferry, then Bananagrams in The Grieves' snug sitting room. • 16 of the most beautiful places in Scotland On our final night, which comes far too fast, Anna and I find ourselves in the garden in front of a crackling fire pit. The books, which we really did intend to read, are cast aside in favour of simply sitting in the cool, relaxing air. We are backlit by the warm light from the kitchen of our home-from-home, snug under the blue tartan rugs left thoughtfully in the boot room. We sit there as night falls, looking out beyond the wall at the foot of 'our' garden, laughing and swapping stories until the fire dies to embers and we retreat indoors. It's the kind of night that stays with you. As we pack up the next morning, we lament how quickly the trip has gone. Some places just make you want to linger, gathering moss like those old stone walls above Kirkcaldy. Lottie Hayton was a guest of Banchory Farm ( which has one night self-catering for two from £120
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
NHS Fife nurse in gender tribunal meets MSPs at Holyrood
The nurse at the centre of a high-profile employment tribunal about single-sex spaces has told MSPs about the appalling ordeal she has endured just for standing up for women's rights. Sandie Peggie yesterday lifted the lid on the major impact the tribunal with NHS Fife has had on her life and career. The 50-year-old is said to have described the scale of 'discrimination and harassment' she has endured for speaking out about having to undress in front of transgender doctor Beth Upton at Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay, who took part in the private talks alongside other Tory MSPs, said it is 'outrageous' that her career has been 'destroyed' and life consumed by a 'suffocating legal process'. Ms Peggie also met with Labour MSPs, the Alba Party's Ash Regan and the SNP's Michelle Thomson at the Scottish parliament. However, First Minister John Swinney and his deputy Kate Forbes declined an invite. Following the talks, Ms Peggie's solicitor Margaret Gribbon said: 'Politicians needed to hear directly from Sandie to understand how the sheer depth of the discrimination and harassment she and women like her have endured in workplaces – in her case, as a nurse with 30 years unblemished service, simply because she objected to having to undress in front of a man.' Mr Findlay, pictured, said: 'Sandie has paid a massive price for her brave and principled stand against the SNP government's promotion of gender politics which now infects Scotland's entire public sector.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Supreme Court ruling has ‘changed landscape' of Peggie tribunal
The head of a women's rights group has said the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman has 'changed the landscape' of the ongoing tribunal involving nurse Sandie Peggie. Maya Forstater, chief executive of campaign group Sex Matters, was speaking during a visit to Holyrood with Ms Peggie on Tuesday, where the pair met a number of politicians to discuss the impact the legal proceedings have had on Ms Peggie. The nurse, who has worked at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy for 30 years, was suspended by NHS Fife after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. She took the health board and Dr Upton to an employment tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. The visit to Holyrood also came shortly after a letter from Sex Matters to the Scottish Government threatening legal action if they did not implement April's Supreme Court judgement on biological sex in equalities law. The ruling stated said the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex, which has implications for access to single-sex spaces. Asked how the judgment had affected the ongoing tribunal, Ms Forstater said: 'I think it's really changed the landscape. You can't ignore it. 'But in practical terms, it was only about people with Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs), and the doctor in this case didn't have (a) GRC. 'So, what NHS Fife was doing was unlawful before the Supreme Court judgment (and) it's definitely unlawful now. And I think everyone can see that.' She said of Tuesday's meetings that it had been 'important' for politicians to hear what Ms Peggie had been through as as result of 'bad policies that NHS Fife, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government (are) still sticking with'. She went on: 'All the politicians we met really understand the human impact of this on women. 'That Sandie's rights at work were abused because of bad policies, bad decisions, right from the top. 'And what they heard was the real human impact on her.' She added that there was 'really no excuse' for delaying the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment. 'The law is clear from the moment that the Supreme Court gave their judgment, the Scottish Government, all public bodies, all private employers, were obliged to act,' she said. Tribunal hearings took place in February and it will resume in July. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay was one of the politicians that Sandie Peggie met during her visit. Commenting afterwards, he said: 'It was a privilege to meet Sandie Peggie and to hear a first-hand account of her appalling ordeal. 'It is outrageous that a dedicated NHS nurse's career has been destroyed and her life consumed by a suffocating legal process simply because she stood up for women's rights. 'Sandie has paid a massive price for her brave and principled stand against the SNP Government's promotion of gender politics which now infects Scotland's entire public sector. 'NHS Fife should stop squandering vast sums of taxpayers' cash on this nonsense and every state agency in Scotland must now respect the law and women's rights.'
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Supreme Court ruling has ‘changed landscape' of Peggie tribunal
The head of a women's rights group has said the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman has 'changed the landscape' of the ongoing tribunal involving nurse Sandie Peggie. Maya Forstater, chief executive of campaign group Sex Matters, was speaking during a visit to Holyrood with Ms Peggie on Tuesday, where the pair met a number of politicians to discuss the impact the legal proceedings have had on Ms Peggie. The nurse, who has worked at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy for 30 years, was suspended by NHS Fife after she complained about having to share a changing room with transgender medic Dr Beth Upton. She took the health board and Dr Upton to an employment tribunal, lodging a complaint of sexual harassment or harassment related to a protected belief under Section 26 of the Equality Act 2010. The visit to Holyrood also came shortly after a letter from Sex Matters to the Scottish Government threatening legal action if they did not implement April's Supreme Court judgement on biological sex in equalities law. The ruling stated said the words 'woman' and 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex, which has implications for access to single-sex spaces. Asked how the judgment had affected the ongoing tribunal, Ms Forstater said: 'I think it's really changed the landscape. You can't ignore it. 'But in practical terms, it was only about people with Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs), and the doctor in this case didn't have (a) GRC. 'So, what NHS Fife was doing was unlawful before the Supreme Court judgment (and) it's definitely unlawful now. And I think everyone can see that.' She said of Tuesday's meetings that it had been 'important' for politicians to hear what Ms Peggie had been through as as result of 'bad policies that NHS Fife, NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government (are) still sticking with'. She went on: 'All the politicians we met really understand the human impact of this on women. 'That Sandie's rights at work were abused because of bad policies, bad decisions, right from the top. 'And what they heard was the real human impact on her.' She added that there was 'really no excuse' for delaying the implementation of the Supreme Court judgment. 'The law is clear from the moment that the Supreme Court gave their judgment, the Scottish Government, all public bodies, all private employers, were obliged to act,' she said. Tribunal hearings took place in February and it will resume in July. Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay was one of the politicians that Sandie Peggie met during her visit. Commenting afterwards, he said: 'It was a privilege to meet Sandie Peggie and to hear a first-hand account of her appalling ordeal. 'It is outrageous that a dedicated NHS nurse's career has been destroyed and her life consumed by a suffocating legal process simply because she stood up for women's rights. 'Sandie has paid a massive price for her brave and principled stand against the SNP Government's promotion of gender politics which now infects Scotland's entire public sector. 'NHS Fife should stop squandering vast sums of taxpayers' cash on this nonsense and every state agency in Scotland must now respect the law and women's rights.' NHS Fife and the Scottish Government have been approached for comment.
