🎁 Letter from the Editor: Struggle fo r planes, trains and festive foods too

Even from a distance, it was a pathetic sight. In the middle of a beach in Northumberland, a lone duck sat, it’s head lolling from side to side. View email online

News Opinion Sport I N S I D E R Dec 23, 2022 Neil McIntosh Editor of The Scotsman Hello Voornaam from The Scotsman. Are you all set for Christmas? In my household it was an early start as we struggled to get the supermarket to sell us what we want, amid a known shortage of free-range turkeys, an inexplicable shortage of Brussels sprouts, and a complete dearth of anything alcoholic (the latter thanks to Scotland's licensing laws, which we explain here). There is more work to be done for us. I hope you're having better luck. We are, of course, in the middle of a wave of strikes across the UK, largely about pay and conditions. That has implications: if your shopping is going to require a train, I'd suggest you do it today: my colleague Alastair Dalton is keeping track - pardon the pun - of the disruption facing travellers over the next week or so. Unfortunately, even though ScotRail has settled its pay disputes, it is being undone by a wider row between the RMT union and Network Rail (plus 14 England-based train companies). It's a complicated picture, but the long and short of it is that trains start winding down early tomorrow afternoon, and will likely be very busy. Meanwhile, for our overseas readers, if you're travelling in to Scotland (or the wider UK) for Christmas, you could face some disruption as UK Border Force staff go on strike every day - except December 27 - until the end of the year. Military personnel and volunteers from the civil service have been trained up to check passports, and the airports seem confident all will be well. But last-minute gift purchases arriving by post may not arrive so smoothly: postal workers are on strike today and tomorrow. But perhaps the most worrying dispute involves NHS staff: the health service was already struggling with a very difficult winter season, and walkouts by staff and ambulance workers have only added to the sense of crisis. We report today the concerns of one doctor - Dr Lailah Peel, chair of the BMA's West of Scotland Regional Junior Doctors' Committee, who Tweeted that patients in Scotland's hospitals could die "for no other reason than the broken system failing them". That's a situation we will be keeping an eye on over the Christmas period (The Scotsman will continue to publish through the festive period, online and in print, with only one edition of Scotland on Sunday not being published, on Christmas Day itself). Looking ahead, don't miss our packed Christmas Eve edition of The Scotsman tomorrow: we'll have all the TV listings you need to plan your festive viewing, as well as the usual news, analysis, opinion, arts, books and sport. Our magazine cover star is Clare Grogan, who talks to Janet Christie about the renaissance of her new wave pop band Altered Images, and their appearance at Princes Street Gardens for the Night Afore Disco Party next week. I hope it's a package you can enjoy with a little peace, and perhaps a mince pie, before the big day itself. From everyone at The Scotsman, Merry Christmas to you and your family: we hope you have a peaceful and joyous few days. Now: to find some sprouts... Best wishes, Neil McIntosh Editor, The Scotsman Avian flu could have a lasting effect on free-range farming – Stephen Jardine Even from a distance, it was a pathetic sight. In the middle of a beach in Northumberland, a lone duck sat, it’s head lolling from side to side. Read more + Best Christmas Jokes 2022: Here are the 25 best Christmas one liners and puns to make you laugh Here are 25 of the best Christmas cracker jokes, one liners and puns so bad they are good and will make you laugh this Xmas. Read more + What was First Footing? The Scottish Hogmanay tradition and what it meant to Scotland... Singing “Auld Lang Syne” and toasting the bells with whisky are two Scottish New Year traditions that have spread across the world. Read more + 14 pictures capturing some of the year’s most historic moments in 2022 From the Queen’s funeral to the war in Ukraine, photographers at the Press Association have taken pictures that captured some of the year’s most historic moments. Read more +

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