Four things you should know this morning

Forth Road Bridge set to re-open on January 4

After a month long closure, the Forth Road Bridge has its re-open date.

Engineers are working towards a deadline of having the bridge open again for traffic by Monday 4 January, following its closure after a crack was discovered in a truss under the carriageway.

The reopening date was made public as transport minister Derek Mackay agreed to release all documents about maintenance of the bridge after opposition parties demanded “full transparency” about when the government became aware of the need for urgent repairs.

Bridge operator Amey said the work was on schedule and that the bridge is expected to reopen to all vehicles on 4 January.

A spokeswoman for Amey said engineers were “working towards” having the bridge within that timescale, but noted that this was “dependent on weather conditions”.

How is it being repaired?

Sisters deliver toys to needy children in Scotland

Two Scottish sisters will bring a bit of festive cheer to families all over Glasgow after they collected more than 200 toys for needy children.

Orla and Marla Livingston, age seven and four, made posters and asked people in their community to donate toys to charity Children 1st, who will hand the gifts out to the families they work with.

It is the third year in a row that the sisters have instigated a toy drive for a good cause.

What did their mum say about it?

The history of traditional Scottish sayings

The Scots have their own language that developed quite separately from the English, although they share an common ancestor in Old English.

Over the centuries, English gradually became the dominant language in Scotland, and now, though valiant efforts are being made to revive the flagging spirit of the Scots language, there are many people who at best, know just a few words of it.

Here we take a look at a selection of Scottish words of wit and wisdom.

Health

Feed a cauld and starve a fever Traditional advice about giving nutritious food to people suffering with a cold is not always appropriate if they have a fever.

Fill fu’ and haud fu’ maks a stark man

Plenty of good food and drink makes a person strong.

A cauld needs the cook as muckle as the doctor

Nutritious food can cure a cold as effectively as medicine.

Find out some more sayings

Babies help beat bullying in schools

Bringing a baby into a classroom can reduce aggression and bullying in schoolchildren, a new study has found.

Pupils aged between five and eight, from 26 council areas across Scotland, took part in the programme, which saw a baby visit a primary class throughout the school year.

The study, carried out by charity Action for Children and university researchers, showed that aggression was 76 per cent lower in the children who took part in the programme, compared to those who did not.

Aggression in boys was found to be particularly lower following a visit by a baby and its parent.

The study also found a 53 per cent improvement in the proportion of pupils who increased in affective empathy.

Find out about the gender devide

Four things you should’ve learned yesterday