IT’S almost time for the last supper. Though not quite. Another 24 hours will have to pass before the concluding morsel is munched, the final nibble on the edge of no more. After that, a little part of Scotland’s living history will die.

IT’S been an up and down sort of day for Imran Akhtar. And in a much too literal sense, as far as he’s concerned. First, he had to clamber on top of the roof of the Ottoman Coffee House on Glasgow’s Berkeley Street, to make sure the temporary tarpaulin was still in place and keeping out the wind, rain, hail and snow. (It’s been one of those typical Scottish afternoons, with the weather behaving like a plump maiden aunt’s two-layered chocolate box. In other words, way too many delights

Zinfandel Gastro Bar

Temaki

Amazon still has some nice deals right now on Kindle e-readers and Fire tablets — up to $30 off, plus $5 in ebook credits on select purchases, and 3 months of Kindle Unlimited for $0.99.

WELL that didn’t take long. Scotland’s latest experiment in direct democracy was all but killed off this week, barely two months after Nicola Sturgeon announced it.

WHAT a difference a Prime Minister makes. There used to be a time, back before it wasn’t an obstacle to promotion, that Jackson Carlaw was aghast at the idea of a no-deal Brexit.

“Scotland”, declared a young Alex Salmond in May 1975, “knows from bitter experience what treatment is in store for a powerless region of a common market.”

In his new book, “The End of British Party Politics?”, the political scientist Roger Awan-Scully captures the paradox of last year’s general election in Scotland.

A couple of weeks ago, I attended an “in conversation” event with the American sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild at Harvard University.

Scotland’s golf courses have been urged to close in the wake of the Government’s latest measures to combat the coronavirus.

THERE will be many of us who embrace technology with all the ham-fisted ineptitude of a fumbling, muttering old colonel trying to unravel the stubborn, sticky wrapping of a barley sugar.

It was 50 years ago this week that one of the greatest golfers ever to grace the greens set out on his quest to win his first US Masters championship.

Scottish Golf today revealed that no date has been set for the sport in this country to restart and stressed that lockdown restrictions will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Chief executive of the Scotch Whisky Association Karen Betts explains why she thinks the Scottish 'water of life' is so special.

WELL, here we go again, folks. It’s time to take a look at the perfect wines for Christmas so sit back, relax and let’s go down the rabbit hole together.

People arriving in the UK could be forced to quarantine for two weeks to halt the spread of coronavirus under plans for the "second phase" of the Government's response.

Eurostar says all its passengers must wear face masks as a safeguard against Covid-19, effective from Monday.

It was set up by tourism leaders to create an authentic picture of Scotland during the coronavirus lockdown by opening a window to people’s experiences while they stay at home.

FRANKLY? The restaurant world is going mad. Consider this: I order a home delivery from Yu-ca-taco early on Friday evening. For Saturday night. By text of course.

IN April 2004, the Victoria & Albert museum in London staged an exhibition of the work of Vivienne Westwood. The show was a celebration and a culmination of the fashion designer’s move from the margins of the industry in the 1970s, where she was creating clothes for the punks who hung around the King’s Road, to her 21st-century incarnation as first among equals in British haute couture.

A FEW weeks ago, Wendy James was trending on Twitter. It’s been happening quite often over the last few months, a result of BBC Four’s repeats of Top of the Pops reaching 1988 and 1989, the years in which a pink-lipsticked, bra-flaunting James launched herself on the public consciousness as the brash, blonde frontwoman of Transvision Vamp.

Glasgow's Summer Nights at the Bandstand festival has become the latest major music event to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

WE start at the low point. “It’s hard doing music,” Jill O’Sullivan admits. “I love it. I feel compelled to sing and play and write. But I was thinking of quitting.”

Mardi Gras in New Orleans has always had a gothic element. The voodoo culture dates from the African American diaspora, though it’s now mostly for tourists. But this year there was an authentically macabre dimension to Fat Tuesday.

A is for Audible

As millions of students nationwide start to settle into virtual learning programs to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a massive new research analysis sounds another note of caution about the effects of exposing significantly more screen time.

K-12 teachers are faced with a question many likely thought they'd never have to ask: How often during the school day do my students need to see me and when?

SCOTTISH Government ministers have appealed to Westminster for financial support to be handed over to universities during the Covid-19 pandemic amid a pledge that Holyrood is “ready to stand by” institutions.

Everyone who knows anything about education seems to now be running a livestream from their room, and the explosion of home-schooling resources can be enough to send a busy parent into lockdown meltdown. That's why we've created a check-list of some of the books and sites that could help. It’s not all about BBC Bitesize and the Khan Academy – it can be all the more fun when you go a little off the beaten path.

FIVE new nursery extensions being built at schools across Edinburgh have been thrown into doubt after the company building the facilities entered administration.

A national union for principals is campaigning to increase its membership, drafting in part off the momentum created by the surge in educator activism over the past two years.

Both the AFT and the NEA vowed to engage their members more deeply this year in deciding who to back for the White House. How well have they done?

BORIS Johnson has said Britain needs the "same spirit of national endeavour" to defeat the coronavirus as Second World War veterans demonstrated to topple Adolf Hitler.

MSPs have penned a letter to the head of the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) - highlighting “deep unease” by teachers at plans to overhaul exams amid the lockdown.

By the single most important metric, charter schools are succeeding, argues Bruno V. Manno.

The answer is unclear but "the threat is real," English-language-learner advocacy groups say. The advocates say the Education Department has evaded their questions about the future of the office of English-language acquisition.

While President Donald Trump signed executive orders this week that could have widespread impact on immigrant communities, many in K-12 education await word on his decision on Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.

Just before Christmas, federal lawmakers sent President Donald Trump the Foundations for Evidenced-Based Policymaking Act of 2017, which aims to improve how federal data is used, shared, and protected.

As expected, the Education Department has delayed a rule that would require states to take a standardized approach in evaluating districts for minority bias in special education.

The Education Department outlines when and how schools must respond to reports of sexual assault and harassment under the Trump administration's interpretation of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex discrimination.

The new question-of-the-week is: What are your best classroom-management tips?

Experimenting with new types and arrangements of furniture can radically change your students' classroom experience, writes Julia Cin.

Dr. Debbie Silver, Dr. PJ Caposey, Serena Pariser, Timothy Hilton, Dr. Beth Gotcher, Paula Mellom, Rebecca Hixon, and Jodi Weber offer their commentaries on how best to handle classroom management.

Cindy Garcia, Gianna Cassetta, Amanda Koonlaba, Ed.S., Chelonnda Seroyer, Dennis Griffin Jr., Janice Wyatt-Ross, Barry Saide, and Dr. Vance Austin contribute their classroom-management suggestions.

The video-sharing platform is a huge hit with teens and some teachers are beginning to integrate it into their lessons. But cyberbullying and data privacy are big concerns, experts say.

Popularized by social media, new classroom arrangements are all the rage in K-12. But experts and educators caution there is more to it than just moving desks around.

Students are understandably anxious about COVID-19. Teachers must address those fears in age-appropriate and educational ways, writes 4th grade teacher Ivy Higgins.

When teachers use more praise and fewer reprimands in the classroom, it seems to help students stay on-task and behave better, according to a new study.