Sheep get a roof with a view with EICC extension

There was a healthy turnout last week at the 9th annual German-British Chamber of Industry & Commerce bash in Edinburgh.

The city’s International Conference Centre (EICC) was aflow with Teutonic offerings, including some excellent wines, mini bratwursts and a sprinkling of shiny new Mercedes, all courtesy of the sponsors. EICC chief executive Hans Rissmann, who is also president of the German-British Chamber in Scotland, was in typically ebullient form as he ran through the many highlights of the EICC’s soon-to-be-completed extension. Chief among these is a grass roof, “perfect for those needing to graze their sheep”, we were told.

And Malcolm Roughead, chief executive of VisitScotland, was on hand to describe the myriad opportunities to capitalise on Scottish tourism coming up in 2014, including the Commonwealth Games and Ryder Cup. That “other big event” scheduled to take place late next year was carefully skirted around…

A drive to win is needed

You’re never too young to become the next great Scottish engineer – now Taqa, the Abu Dhabi national oil company, has launched a search to find the next Lord Kelvin, Thomas Telford or James Watt.

The oil producer, which has a base in Aberdeen, is sponsoring a competition for pupils that lets them build and then race their own electric cars. Last year more than 600 pupils from 40 schools took part in the Greenpower Challenge; organisers are expecting even more entries this year.

The cars will be raced at the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford on 14 and 15 June. Why didn’t they have anything like that when we were at school?

Gill offers world on a plate

A CHINESE man, an Indian and a Scotsman all met up in a kitchen… It might sound like the start of a joke, but it’s actually the start of a new culinary venture bringing the world on a plate to the Quay Complex in Musselburgh.

The Quay World Banquet has recruited chefs from the three countries to prepare dishes from around the world, but despite its international offering the restaurant will be a distinctly family affair. It is the brainchild of entrepreneur and Secret Millionaire participant Charan Gill and his daughter, Jaspreet.

The duo have invested £160,000 into transforming the Quay’s restaurant and kitchen to create its novel “one kitchen, many cuisines” concept, which they hope will appeal to families with divided culinary loyalties.

Bee project could be sweet

HOW do you turn £25,000 into 25 million bees? I have no idea, so you will have to ask Paul Holmes, chairman of Kelvin Valley Honey. He says that is what he will do with prize money he won in a Dragon’s Den-style competition run by the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The community-owned group in Kilsyth may be a charity, but at 10,000 bees per pound, they can strike a veritable honey of a deal.