More Gaelic to be used at Scottish Government under plan to save 'fragile' language The use of Gaelic is to increase at the Scottish Government under plans to save the “fragile” language. Latest official figures showed that 1.7 per cent of the population of Scotland – 87,056 people – could speak, write or understand Gaelic at the 2011 census. This was down by around 4,500 people on the 2001 figure. The draft plan also looks to “regularly explore and promote” opportunities to hold public meetings bilingually or in Gaelic. It's hoped the new initiative might play a part in saving the ancient language from dying out. What you need to know before we enter Level 0 This will (hopefully!) be the last weekend millions of Scots will be under semi-severe Covid restrictions. From Monday the nation will be placed in Level 0 - the closest to ‘normal’ of all four levels in the Scottish Government’s roadmap out of lockdown. What does that mean for those of us on the Scottish mainland? Quite a lot. There will be changes to the rules concerning social gatherings, weddings, live events, hospitality and more. Find out all the changes coming into effect from Monday here. Google criticised for sending walkers on ‘potentially fatal’ Ben Nevis routes A valuable lesson here for all us perhaps never to be overly reliant on Google Maps. Scottish mountaineering charities have hit out at Google for suggesting routes up Ben Nevis and other Munros they say are “potentially fatal” and could direct walkers over a cliff. The charity said Google also directs users into “life-threatening terrain” for other Munros. Thanks for reading, enjoy your weekend, Sam Shedden | 