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JANUARY has a habit of feeling incessantly long doesn't it?
In Scotland especially, what with those short days and never-ending nights.
I've had this niggling wee lurgy throughout the month and started to think I may be slightly immunocompromised due to my time with Covid-19.
Or perhaps it's my inability to take my daily Scottish Government-recommended Vitamin D supplement – much to my dad's chagrin, who tells me to pop that pill almost every time we speak.
But all that aside, I’ve actually found myself feeling pretty optimistic about 2025 so far.
No, not because I'm contractually obliged to be. You know, what with the advent of this newsletter and all. I truly think it's been quite a positive month overall.
I mean, the very-delayed Glen Sannox ferry formally entered service on January 13 – bringing an important vessel to CalMac’s busiest route between Troon and Brodick. Oh, and proving that miracles do happen.
Also, we must be doing something right in Scotland. I’m talking about the news that Scotland’s population is expected to grow thanks to domestic migration from elsewhere in the UK.
It was also encouraging to see that Scotland is set to buck the trend and see child poverty rates fall over the next four years.
I’d like to shine a spotlight on Rebecca Young (below), an S2 pupil at Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow.
She beat 70,000 other entrants this month to win a highly coveted UK-wide engineering competition for designing a solar-powered blanket to help the homeless. Inspiring stuff!
Meanwhile, I’m usually used to reporting on businesses closing as a journalist.
So, it was welcome news to hear about how the historic Belmont Cinema in Aberdeen is set to reopen after a funding boost.
In conservation news, a seal colony in Scotland reported an especially remarkable count of 2039 pups this month, the third-highest ever. I mean, look at them.
NatureScot said it was a real success story, adding: “Grey seals are one of the rarest seals in the world. We often hear doom and gloom about climate change and overfishing, so a species thriving like this is really rare.”
Zero bills you say? Sounds too good to be true.
Well, Octopus Energy has announced it is expanding its world-first Zero Bills tariff into Scotland and people across the country will soon be able to benefit from moving into homes that promise no bills for at least 10 years.
My colleague Steph looked into it here.
Finally, I know this is a Scotland-specific newsletter, but I’d be remiss in not mentioning the ceasefire in Gaza.
Yes, it's precarious, there’s still a long way to go and those images of Palestinians returning to what is essentially rubble are heart-breaking.
But this was an important step, an opportunity for many to hopefully breathe and rebuild.
