Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

Carnegie welcomes the decision of Lauder College to rename itself Carnegie College from January 2008, after a survey found that people seemed to believe it was based in the Borders rather than Fife. The invoice for the useage of Mr Carnegie’s name and imagery is already in the post to the College’s Principal, Professor Bill McIntosh.

Press-ing complaints.

Carnegie notes the appointment of Fifer Esther Roberton to the London-based Press Complaints’ Commission (PCC). He would also highlight the fact that Ms Roberton herself wasn’t exactly free of press comment during her time as the Chairwoman of Fife Health Board between 2000 and 2004, and also for the fact that whilst undertaking that challenging role she was also then appointed to another as the Chair of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council. She also even managed to not make the first cut of the list of Labour candidates for the first Scottish Parliament elections in 1999, something which attracted press comment.

As Esther herself reportedly said, “I’ve been involved in the media for 15 years, and have been on the receiving end of it at times.” Well said Esther, hopefully that experience will inform your decisions going forward.

The White Elephant.

Anyone who drives along the M90 northbound through Fife passes what is arguably the economic misadventure for which the phrase, "White Elephant" was invented, namely the mothballed former Motorola plant just outside of Dunfermline.

The multi-million pound plant was built using £16 million of public money ten years ago and has never produced a semiconductor, or indeed anything else, in anger, but still Fife Enterprise appear to believe that the facility may yet come good and justify its description as a "strategically important site which boasts development opportunities for various industrial sectors and has the potential to generate significant employment opportunities in Fife."

The plant's owners have included Hyundai, the Motorola and then Freescale which has become the latest company to try and rid itself of the plant by seeking offers on the open market. Perhaps its time to admit failure and accept that the days of major inward investment, especially in the electronic sector, into Scotland are long gone given the emergence of the far east and indeed Eastern Europe. Its called facing up to reality.

Fife is not alone.

So, in the last nine years there have been no fewer than thirty one Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) reported in Fife, with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) noting that in 2005 there were 156 sightings across Britain with four of these reported as occurring in Fife.

Carnegie cannot say he is surprised by these findings, or rather lack of them, or indeed the fact that the "Kingdom" seems to have more than its fair share. After all, if you had just travelled thousands of light years, and travelled billions of miles across the Universe wouldn't you want to pitch up in Fife?

Welcome to That's Fife.

This blog has been inspired by the idiosyncrasies of Fife and the fact that, for a variety of reasons, the profile of Fife on the Scottish, UK and international stages has never been higher.

Fife boasts having the new British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown MP, as one of its Members of Parliament and most famous sons. Liberal Democrat Leader, Sir Menzies Campbell MP, is a Fife MP, and given the increased prominence of philanthropy, Fife can also claim to be the birthplace of arguably one of the world's most famous industrialists and philanthropists, Andrew Carnegie, who's generosity is still being felt nearly one hundred years after his death.

But as anyone knows, on crossing the Forth Road Bridge into "The Kingdom" and heading in the direction of Dunfermline Abbey where a dozen Kings and Queens of Scotland are buried, one of the first things encountered is the odour from a sewage treatment works ... and Fife is also one of the UK's "hotspots" for sighting Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs).

From the sublime to the ridiculous, this blog hopes to chronicle them all ... You'll have had your tea then?