Celebrating Scotland’s first game since 1998. Image - iStock First Minister John Swinney will propose Monday 15 June 2026 is designated a national bank holiday to mark Scotland’s participation in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. This will allow individuals, businesses and other organisations in Scotland to celebrate after the men’s team play their opening game against Haiti in Boston. The First Minister said: “Scotland qualifying for the men’s World Cup was a rema

Murray Gee Mac is preparing to release a new single tomorrow marking another chapter in a long and varied musical career that began in his teens. Murray Gee Mac, who is from Ardrossan, will release Goodbye on tomorrow Monday 5 January. Lionel Richie wrote the song and country music legend Kenny Rogers originally recorded it. Known for its reflective lyrics and emotional depth, the ballad explores themes of love, loss and remembrance. Murray has recorded the song as a personal

The Kilmarnock FC first-team squad made a heartwarming visit to the children’s wards at University Hospital Crosshouse on Monday to help spread the Christmas spirit. Club captain Brad Lyons led a squad of teammates, spending time with many local babies, children and teenagers who will have to spend the Christmas period in hospital. The visit was not only an opportunity for the young patients to meet their football heroes, but also a chance for the players to connect with staf

Local man, Michael Kirkum, from Kilwinning has made another generous donation to the children’s ward at University Hospital Crosshouse. Michael approached local businesses asking them to make a contribution, and he received a staggering response. Michael delivered the festive gifts, including toys and over 1000 selection boxes, to delighted staff at the ward. The gifts will be distributed to those children who unfortunately have to be in hospital over the festive season. NHS

Stagecoach South Scotland is celebrating the countdown to Christmas with the launch of its first-ever Golden Ticket Giveaway, offering customers the chance to discover a £10 Love2Shop voucher on selected bus services across Angus, Perth & Kinross, Dundee, Fife, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire. Beginning Monday 22 December, 150 Golden Tickets will be distributed across Stagecoach’s South Scotland, with customers encouraged to “keep their eyes peeled” for festive surprises on board. T

Ayr SNP MSP Siobhian Brown has blasted the UK Labour Government for failing to get a grip of a crisis at the DVSA after it was revealed waiting times of up to six months are likely to last for another year. Image - AA   The UK Labour Government, which has full responsibility for driving tests, previously pledged to cut waiting times down to seven weeks by the end of 2025 with Transport Minister Heidi Alexander declaring, “we’re acting fast to get Britain’s drivers moving” – b

Heavy and persistent rain may lead to flooding and travel disruption Valid 18:00 Saturday until 09:00 Monday - Covers all areas of Ayrshire. Outbreaks of rain will spread in from the northwest during Saturday afternoon and last through Sunday before finally clearing away on Monday morning. The rain will be persistent and heavy at times with accumulations 40-60 mm developing quite widely. Across high ground totals during this event could exceed 100 mm. Strong southwesterly win

More than 2,000 people in Ayrshire and Arran are waiting for a cardiac appointment.  The findings are detailed in Public Health Scotland’s Scottish Cardiac Audit Programme 2025, published last month.   The most recent data, for June this year, shows 2,403 people on the outpatient waiting list for cardiology, down from 2,574 in June 2024. That list is typically for people waiting for a consultation regarding an appointment with a cardiologist. The Scottish Government’s wait ti

A new report published this week by the Covid Counter Fraud Commissioner has revealed that fraud and error across the UK Conservative Government’s Covid support schemes between 2019 and 2024 cost taxpayers £10.9 billion. Image - UK Gov The Commissioner found major economic support programmes, including furlough, bounce-back loans, and Eat Out to Help Out, were introduced with a ‘high level of fraud risk’ and minimal safeguards, leaving public funds vulnerable and creating opp

The first viewings of Wicked for Good which hits cinemas this Friday is set to sellout at the Ayr Astoria Merlin cinema. The movie which will predominantly be shown on screen 4, the biggest screen currently in use is expected to attract large crowds, during the 1st instalment of wicked last year lines of people where seen outside the cinema with almost every sitting sold out. Anyone looking to attend the first viewings are advised to book online to avoid disappointment at the

A range of service changes will take place across the network including here in Ayrshire which includes the Ayr service 7 being replaced with a new 3B service. Ayrshire Service 97 Ayr – Craig Tara Holiday Park Our seasonal service 97 will no longer operate from Tuesday 2nd December, the last day of service will be Monday 1st December and will return in March 2026.   Service 12 Ardrossan – Stevenston Services on a Sunday will now depart every 70 minutes. See timetable here .

ScotRail has recorded its busiest day of 2025 to date, with around 340,000 journeys being made across Scotland’s Railway on Saturday, 8 November. The record number of journeys (337,441) exceeded previous peaks achieved in August during the Oasis concerts and the Edinburgh Festivals, which saw around 326,000 journeys made. It also marks the train operator’s second-busiest day under public ownership, which began in April 2022. A sell-out match at Scottish Gas Murrayfield betwee

The Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) has boosted its staffing by bringing in almost 100 new recruits ahead of winter. The extra staff were announced today (Tuesday, 11 November) by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, Neil Gray while visiting the Service’s East Ambulance Control Centre (ACC) in South Queensferry. The new staff include 25 call handlers who are based in the Service’s ambulance control centres and 22 staff, including GPs, clinical advisors and advan

Persistent and at times heavy rain is expected during Tuesday, leading to a difficult evening commute and flooding in a few places. Valid 10:00 Tuesday until 23:59 Tuesday Rain is expected to arrive from the south during Tuesday morning, turning heavy at times during Tuesday afternoon. The most persistent and heaviest rain is most likely, but not exclusively, to be on south-facing high ground, particularly for Dumfries and Galloway. 20-40 mm of rain is likely to fall quite wi

Local SNP MSP Siobhian Brown has backed the Scottish Government’s recent Land Reform Bill, which has passed its final stage in Parliament, giving more power over decisions on land back to local communities, including here in South Ayrshire. The Bill, dubbed the most radical land reform legislation in the history of devolution, includes a range of measures to improve decisions on land including:   ·       Giving Scottish Ministers new lotting powers on land sales over 1,000 he

Stagecoach South Scotland has teamed up with Ayr United and The Night Before Christmas Campaign to help bring festive joy to children and families across Ayrshire this festive period. Now in its fourth year of support for the charity, Stagecoach is calling on fans and members of the local area to donate gifts at Somerset Park ahead of Ayr United’s home fixture against Arbroath on Saturday 15 November. The goal will be to fill an entire bus with presents that will be distribut

Last month Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council assumed the role of Chair of the Ayrshire Joint Economic Committee - the regional decision-making body governing the Ayrshire Growth Deal and the Regional Economic Strategy.   In this piece he shares his thoughts and hopes for the Growth Deal over the coming months. “It’s a real honour to be taking on this role and to represent the region, our partners and investors and to support all that is happening in Ayr

Stagecoach has announced the launch of its new South Scotland Operating Company; bringing together the current West Scotland and East Scotland operations under one aligned structure focused on delivering even better value and services for customers and communities.   The unification will incorporate the existing West Scotland operations across Ayrshire and Lanarkshire and the East Scotland network serving Fife, Perth and Kinross, Dundee, Tayside and Angus.   The newly amalgam

Due to a failure of the electricity supply between Kilwinning and Dalry, the line closed and ScotRail will be unable to run trains through the area at present. As ScotRail are unable to run services through this area, they are having to revise/cancel the following services. • Glasgow Central to Ayr will Start/Terminate Johnstone • Ayr to Glasgow Central- Start/Terminate Kilwinning • Glasgow Central to Ardrossan Harbour - will be Suspended • Glasgow Central to Largs - Start/Te

Could your dog be a lifesaver? Pet Blood Bank UK is currently appealing for dogs in Ayr to come forward as blood donors to help save the lives of other dogs. Dalblair Vets in Ayr is one of the charity’s host venues and they are looking for happy, healthy, and confident dogs to register for their donation sessions.   Pet Blood Bank is just like the human blood service, but for dogs. They collect blood donations from donor dogs across the UK which then go towards helping to sav