Stay-at-home Scots give the castle record month
Herald Scotland
“Visitor numbers were up across the [visitor survey] samples we took, with Scottish visitor numbers rising by 6% and Russian visitors up by 25%.” He added the castle restaurant had recorded its best trade and its shops were also selling more souvenirs. …

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Ivan Gazidis talks about pride
Online Gooner
Never thought I would want the rather dubious background of the Russian to take control of our club, but that appears to be our only chance to get footballing minded people back onto our board eg DD, and one day restore the club back to being in touch …

The Guangdong Acrobatic Troupe's Swan Lake will thrill audiences and anger purists
The Independent
To stake out Swan Lake is to annex the very heartland of traditional western culture. The Chinese staging – which originated in a collaboration between the Guangdong Military Academy Troupe and the Shanghai City Dance Company – has travelled some …

Norwich City and QPR back in the Premier League after time away
The Guardian (blog)
Yet if Russian oligarchs, oil-rich Arabs, expensive imported players, suave continental coaches and something called Prozone have effected a shift so profound that the early 1990s sometimes feels like a piece of remote football history, former glories …

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Portfolio: Lluis Artus
The Independent
His photo series "La Platja" ("The Beach") provides a vivid collection of portraits he has taken on the Barcelona strip over the past four years, ranging, as seen here, from sculpted Brazilian boys hawking tickets to a local club night, to a Russian …

Exclusive: Tracy Beaker star in Ipswich Regent panto
East Anglian Daily Times
Bryony Rudkin, portfolio holder for culture at Ipswich Borough Council, said: “This Christmas the Ipswich Regent really has something for everyone. “In addition to the Russian Ice Stars in Cinderella on Ice, we will also be presenting an all-star panto …

Liverpool Academy of Arts presents Beatles exhibition Back From the USSR (GALLERY)
Liverpool Echo
June Lornie next to Russian Beatles items belonging to collector Sergey Radshenko. Take the so-called 'records on ribs', where illicit recordings of Beatles songs were etched on to old flexible x-rays. Fans also copied lyrics they heard in snatches of …

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Football supporters' trusts provide a model for a more democratic Britain
The Guardian
Hopefully one day in the not-too-distant future supporters' trusts such as the NUST will realise their goal of wresting power away from the Russian oligarchs and sportswear tycoons who currently maintain control of modern football behind an imperious …

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Keeping his mouth shut
Blackpool Gazette
“My grandfather on my father's side was Russian and he came over during the revolution,” says Paul. “It was a useful name at school because you could sneak in late and they would still be calling the register.” Surprisingly ventriloquism wasn't his …

The concept of greatness
7Cantonas (blog)
Jamie Carragher has spent his career performing side suplexes and Russian leg sweeps in the Liverpool penalty area in an era they have underachieved on a regular basis, yet the man on the street might easily describe him as a better defender than Wes …