The best judge of back row talent in world rugby says that John Barclay, who has announced his retirement from international rugby with immediate effect, …
Former Scotland captain John Barclay says the coronavirus shutdown has made him reconsider plans to retire. He said: “Adults are very good spreaders of the virus to other adults and to children. Did you see him socialise with anyone, do you know where he was, who did he meet and who did he speak to?
Not many people can say they got to live their boyhood dream, but I was lucky enough to have that honour and it is something I am unbelievably proud of. /4 Shetland and Orkney will see these storms throughout the morning and into the early afternoon before easing.More thunderstorms may develop later in southern areas and across the Highlands, Moray, Aberdeenshire and Perthshire.Travel disruption is expected throughout eastern parts of the country, with ScotRail services delayed and in some instances cancelled.In Perth trains are unable to run towards Inverness or depart south because of flooding in the station.ScotRail has asked commuters to check their journey before travelling and consider alternative transport where possible.Emergency services called to fires in early hours of Wednesday, after storms raged overnight.Thunderstorms bring flash flooding and travel chaosSerious injuries after train derails in AberdeenshireEmergency services were called to the separate fires in the early hours of Wednesday, after storms raged overnight.Firefighters tackled a blaze at a house in Reddingrig Place, Redding, around 4am, before a fire broke out at Thomas Johnston’s butcher shop in Brightons’ Main Street shortly before 5am.Police confirmed there were no injuries during either incident, however, significant damage has been caused to the roof of the butchers.Meanwhile, cars at the Cadgers Brae Brewers Fayre in Polmont have been submerged in water because of flooding.The area has been badly affected by the storms, with a month’s worth of rain falling overnight.It caused a significant breach on the Union Canal, east of the A801, between Polmont and Muiravonside.Scottish Canals confirmed it is on site, adding the breach has impacted the Edinburgh to Glasgow railway line.STV meteorologist Sean Batty said the east of the country experienced “some horrendous conditions overnight with frequent lightning, hailstones and torrential downpours.”He added: “It looks like Scotland has experienced over 1500 flashes of lightning through these storms with around 300-400 across the Lothians, Edinburgh, Fife, Falkirk and Clackmannanshire.“I’ve not seen rainfall totals this high for a long time, with some of the heaviest downpours around Edinburgh, West Lothian, Falkirk, Perth, west and central Fife.”Thunderstorms bring flash flooding and travel chaosSerious injuries after train derails in AberdeenshireBritain has been officially declared in recession for the first time since the financial crisis.Scotland loses 15,000 workers in three months of lockdownThe Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed the mammoth second quarter contraction, the worst in western Europe, and the UK’s nosedive into recession after a 2.2% fall in the first three months of 2020.The last time Britain was in recession was during the financial crisis in 2009.Chancellor Rishi Sunak said the figures “confirm that hard times are here”.“Hundreds of thousands of people have already lost their jobs, and sadly in the coming months many more will.“But while there are difficult choices to be made ahead, we will get through this, and I can assure people that nobody will be left without hope or opportunity.”A recession is defined as two successive quarters of decline in gross domestic product (GDP).But monthly figures showed the economy bounced back by 8.7% in June, following upwardly revised growth of 2.4% in May, as lockdown restrictions eased.The ONS said the economy was still a long way off from recovering the record falls seen in March and April after tumbling into “the largest recession on record”.Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician at the ONS, said: “The recession brought on by the coronavirus pandemic has led to the biggest fall in quarterly GDP on record.“The economy began to bounce back in June, with shops reopening, factories beginning to ramp up production and house-building continuing to recover.“Despite this, GDP in June still remains a sixth below its level in February, before the virus struck.“Overall, productivity saw its largest-ever fall in the second quarter.