A GROCER has been charged and had her licence taken away from her after being accused of selling drink to underage youths.

Officers carried out a surveillance operation on the Open All Hours store in Eskview Terrace, Musselburgh, and also swooped on youngsters drinking in the area to gather evidence.

Shop owner Tracy McDonald was charged after a member of her staff allegedly sold alcohol to five under-18s on two separate occasions.

A special hearing of the East Lothian Licensing Board unanimously decided Ms McDonald was “no longer a fit and proper person” to sell alcohol and suspended her licence.

The suspension will last until October 24 when her licence comes before the board to be considered for renewal.

Musselburgh-based Inspector Colin Brown launched an investigation amid reports youths in the Stoneybank area were obtaining alcohol from the store.

A licensing officer visited Open All Hours as part of a Safer Scotland Alcohol Disorder Initiative on September 9 last year and advised staff to ask for suitable identification.

The same evening, police confiscated 24 litres of alcohol from youths nearby and officers found workers restocking the store’s shelves with alcohol.

Officers then launched an “authorised surveillance operation”, resulting in the charges against Ms McDonald. The case is due to be heard at Haddington Sheriff Court on September 21.

The board voted to suspend the licence after ruling the shop had caused a “public nuisance”.

Local residents said drunk youngsters plagued the area, causing disturbances and carrying out vandalism.

During last October and November, a total of 35 incidents and 34 reports of crimes in the vicinity of Stoneybank were linked to youths.

Colin Park, 54, a cleaner, said: “Large groups of kids hang round the shops. You don’t go near them because all you get is abuse.”

Fiona McLeod, a voluntary worker, said: “There are a lot of kids who drink and cause bother. They never seem to find it difficult to get alcohol.”

The five youths involved in the purchase of the alcohol were also reported to the Children’s Reporter and procurator fiscal along with another man identified as acting as an agent in buying drink for under-18s.

Superintendent Murdo MacIver, commander for East Lothian, said: “The availability of alcohol to underage youths is a significant contributory factor in street-related antisocial behaviour.

“The vast majority of licence holders are very responsible and adhere diligently to the conditions of their licences.

“I am delighted, however, that the licensing board has sent out a strong message to those who are not so inclined, that irresponsible conduct will not be tolerated.

“Working with local officers, we will vigorously pursue those who unlawfully make alcohol available to those who are under age.”

Slide Show >> The evolution of design from a narrow focus on aesthetics into a richer discipline that embraces branding, services, sustainability, medicine–even the comfort and safety of pilots and passengers–is on clear display in the 2007 International Design Excellence Awards. What had once been the preserve of engineers, business consultants, ecologists, and brand managers now falls within the growing purview of designers. Reflecting this expansion of the role and definition of design, the 2007 contest has been renamed from “Industrial Design” to “International Design.” Winners from 20 countries took gold, silver, and bronze prizes for service innovation in banking, mapping the interface between pilots and cockpit instruments, creating broad corporate and brand strategies, bolstering sustainability via electric cars, and remaking hammers and wrenches in new, better forms.

So dynamic is the field that it is attracting a new crop of talented people. The student work, in particular, was startlingly good in 2007, with students taking a record 10 of 81 prizes. (The contest is run independently by the Industrial Designers Society of America and sponsored by BusinessWeek.) The University of Cincinnati’s J. Ryan Eder garnered the Best of Show award for his concept for an exercise machine that accommodates both wheelchair-bound and fully mobile people.

The new name for IDEA also reflects the growing internationalization of the design scene. There were 595 foreign entries from 29 countries this year, as well as 1,096 U.S. entries. Design teams from Asia and Europe took a significant percentage of the awards. What were the key trends? The largest category of winners by far, some 13 of the 81, had an eco-design focus. The Tesla Roadster electric car took the gold with an exciting shape by the Lotus Design Studio in Britain and an all-electric plug-in engine. The Tesla is the un-Prius: a hot, fast sports car that’s also green. Herman Miller ( ) and fuseproject won a silver in design strategy for the LEAF lamp, which uses LED lighting to save energy. A hydrogen-fueled toy car, by Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies in Shanghai, took a silver.

A second big trend was reinvention, often using beautiful new forms to express older functionality. The gold-winning Fuego outdoor grill, by Robert Brunner, is designed to let everyone on your deck or patio gather around the sleek, island-like grill while you cook. The Home Hero Fire Extinguisher that captured a gold for the Arnell Group is so good-looking that people will want to display it–possibly making it more available in case of fire. ATOMdesign transformed the traditional framing hammer with a split head that reduces stress on the user. And Extremis introduced InUmbra, a redesigned patio umbrella that hides the pulleys and ropes above the umbrella.

In years past, most IDEA awards went to computers and other high-tech products. Not so in 2007. But Samsung Electronics did get a gold for its LCD Monitor Mobius, designed with IDEO. A new hinging system allows the base and monitor to move to a user’s individual comfort level. New this year were awards for service innovation. Citicorp ( ) Credit Services and Ziba Design Inc. won a bronze for the SmartMoney RFID card, which can fit on a keychain. You make a payment simply by waving it near a receiver. The Bank of America ( )/IDEO team won a bronze for the Keep the Change program, which encourages people to save as if they’re putting change in a jar. The bank’s program also won a rare Catalyst award. These are given to well-designed products that are especially successful in the marketplace. Catalyst jury leader Keith Yamashita, chairman of Stone Yamashita Partners, said, “BofA used design to study, map, and ultimately inspire how people save.”

The one product that won the most awards–two gold IDEAs and one silver plus one Catalyst honorable mention–was the Eclipse 500 Very Light Jet by IDEO and Eclipse Aviation. The Eclipse jet won in IDEA’s research, interaction design, and transportation categories. Yamashita had this to say: “The impressive point in this case is how much economic value this program has created by using design in strategic ways.”

IDEO took seven IDEA awards, four gold, one silver, two bronze, plus four Catalyst prizes. They won none in 2006. Other big winners were Formation Design Group with three IDEAs, and Smart Design, which also picked up three. Continuum won a Catalyst Honorable Mention for its work with Master Lock Co. and a bronze IDEA. Four U.S. companies, Eclipse Aviation, Belkin, Stanley Works, and Timberland, took top honors. The jury was tough this year. Only 20 golds were given, compared with 27 in 2006 and 38 in 2005. For additional award winners, read on. READER REVIEWS

Judith Weir, composer
Proms Chamber Music 7: Ensemble Sequentia (August 27)

We know that all the great epic poems from Homer onwards were sung to music. The words have been preserved, but the music doesn’t seem to have been written down. This means about 1,500 years’ worth of music is missing. So it’s very brave and imaginative that Benjamin Bagsby, with his group Sequentia, has been willing to hazard many convincing guesses about how very early music was played and sung. One important source for him has been the still-living performance tradition of Icelandic sagas. In this Proms programme, entitled Songs of a Rhineland Harper, we’re promised the famous Icelandic Atlakvida - the Lay of Attila the Hun - which is the first recorded telling of the doomed story of the Rhinegold. There was only another 850 years to go before Richard Wagner grappled with this tale again, turning it into one of western music’s most extraordinary events: the Ring Cycle.

Philip Langridge, tenor
Prom 70: The Damnation of Faust (September 6)

If I was to choose only one Prom, after sobbing myself to sleep for having missed all the others, it would have to be this performance of Berlioz’s The Damnation of Faust. Berlioz because I love his music; The Damnation of Faust because I sang it only once and never had the chance again; the Boston Symphony Orchestra because their playing has been transformed by their music director, James Levine. This team can play almost anything: I sang Schoenberg’s Moses und Aron with them this season, and they played it like chamber music, so beautifully and expressively. That was also under Levine, who is probably the best conductor of singers in the world, a man who makes music happen. Watch out for some musical fireworks.

Daniel Hope, violinist
Prom 1: BBCSO/Jiri Belohlavek (July 13)

I would queue for tickets for the opening night to hear Paul Watkins play the Elgar Cello Concerto. Paul is not only a wonderful cellist, but an extremely fine conductor with whom I have worked on many occasions. British music is a special characteristic of the Proms; Watkins has an understanding of British music that colours every performance with magical hues.

Simon Holt, composer
Proms Chamber Music 8: Angela Hewitt (September 3)

When all else fails and I feel myself becoming jaded and in need of something with an inherently strong and definite sense of itself, Bach is the composer I return to. In this Prom, Angela Hewitt plays the first and fourth Bach partitas, with two Scarlatti sonatas in between. The Allemande of the fourth partita is a favourite. I rarely play the piano these days, as I work exclusively at the computer (I was only ever a piano player at best in any case, never a pianist), but having those distinctively chosen and inhabited notes under the fingers was always such an education and a joy. I will be intrigued to hear what Hewitt, a wonderfully intelligent player, has to bring to it all. I shall listen online, as usual, staring out at the view from my Spanish home.

Evelyn Glennie, percussionist
Prom 23: BBCSO/ Esa-Pekka Salonen (July 30)

It’s virtually impossible to describe the energy one feels when two incredible musicians share a platform. This is the case when I have been exposed to the chemistry between Esa-Pekka Salonen and Yefim Bronfman in the past. The respect, energy and sheer joy of music-making is unmistakable. I have long been asking Esa-Pekka to write a piece for percussion and piano. The diversity of his musical interests and his growing reputation as a composer will make this an exciting Prom. With Ravel and Berlioz, we have composers who are masters of orchestration and sound colour. From a percussionist’s perspective, this repertoire creates a life-long exploration of control and technique.

Simon Callow, actor
Prom 19: Hallй/Mark Elder (July 27)

In the world of orchestral music, there is nothing more exciting than a great orchestra hitting new heights under a new conductor, or a formerly great orchestra returning to its former glory. Over the past few years, Mark Elder has liberated the Hallй Orchestra from doldrums that were as much psychological as musical. Elder has given them back their swagger. Their Prom is a superb showcase for their current fine form. Strauss’s early tone poem Macbeth, making up in vitality for what it lacks in subtlety; the last of Britten’s electrifying collaborations with the poet who transformed his life and his work, Auden; and finally Nielsen’s life-enhancing Inextinguishable Symphony. This concert offers big, public music, crackling with nervous energy, with the potential of raising the Albert Hall’s roof to the rafters. One to remember for the rest of one’s life, I imagine.

Simon Bainbridge, composer
Prom 61: Birmingham Contemporary Music Group/Oliver Knussen (August 29)

This promises to be a real treat. The two Olly Knussen pieces date from very different periods in his career, but both are imbued with his characteristic mastery, and in Requiem: Songs for Sue, one hears a deeply personal, poignant and expressive musical world emerge. Webern’s Five Pieces for Orchestra, written in 1926, are a miracle of composition, each one lasting barely a minute. Within these tiny time-frames, there is a wealth of extraordinary instrumental colour and detail. They should sound most effective in the vast spaces of the Albert Hall. I heard Julian Anderson’s Book of Hours in Toronto earlier this year. It is a brilliantly imagined, scintillating melange of sound, combining the ensemble with electronics. It is one of the few pieces in this genre that I feel really works.

Mark Elder, conductor
Prom 35: From Bards to Blues (August

Despite the many other temptations - and I would particularly like to hear my friend and colleague Gianandrea Noseda conduct Mahler’s 10th Symphony - the outstanding Prom for me is this Cleo Laine and Johnnie Dankworth evening. I have known Dankworth’s Shakespeare and All That Jazz since the days of LPs, and I conducted Ellington’s Shakespeare suite Such Sweet Thunder in Manchester a few years ago. What great music, and what wonderful vehicles for the artistry of those great musicians. The evening is a tribute to the Proms’ range and diversity.

Myleene Klass, Classic FM DJ
Prom 8: BBC Philharmonic/Vassily Sinaisky (July 19)

This will be an amazing night. I’m a huge fan of Rachmaninov; his writing is accessible yet intricate. I absolutely love Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and often play it on my show. I’m also looking forward to the Arvo Part piece, Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten; I’m not as familiar with it but I know it is beautiful. Having played with the Philharmonic, I know they’ll do justice to the pieces.

Nitin Sawnhey, musician and composer
Prom 11: BBC National Orchestra of Wales/Thierry Fischer (July 21)

This features Debussy’s Prйlude а l’Aprиs-Midi d’Une Faune. I grew up playing Debussy’s Arabesque and Clair De Lune on the piano from when I was very young and was mesmerised by his work. He was always way ahead of his time in his use of harmony, mood and imagery, but most of all he was a master of emotional catharsis.

Jiri Belohlavek, conductor
Prom 68: Vienna Philharmonic/Daniel Barenboim (September 4)

I would like to hear this concert for a whole host of reasons. First: it’s a very interesting programme of music from south-eastern Europe, which I feel very close to. Second: to listen to the Vienna Philharmonic playing this type of music will be a fresh, new experience. Third: I admire the vast musical talents of Daniel Barenboim. Fourth: I hope to hear the VPO in better shape than one year ago at their Prague Spring Festival performance.

Robin Ticciati, conductor
Prom 15: Verdi’s Macbeth (July 24)

In the Proms this year there are some wonderful combinations, such as Mahler with Abbado, Bruckner with Haitink and Sibelius with Davis. However, after seeing Vladimir Jurowski put together this year’s Glyndebourne production of Verdi’s Macbeth, I would not miss the opportunity to hear both the LPO and the Glyndebourne Chorus perform this concert version. When Macduff (Peter Auty) laments the massacre of his family in the fourth act, I’m sure it will touch the heart of everyone in the audience.

Claire Booth, soprano
Proms 53 and 54 (August 24)

These two proms, on the same day, encapsulate all that I love about music. I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to hear Bruckner’s Eighth with such a wonderful orchestra-and-conductor combination as the Concertgebouw and Haitink. I was introduced to Bruckner by a friend at university and remember listening constantly to his symphonies on car journeys up and down the country.

This is followed by a great piano programme. I really admire Pierre-Laurent Aimard’s playing, and to set Ligeti’s Йtudes with Haydn and Beethoven shows how repertoire from different centuries can be related. It should be a fabulous performance.

The Proms are at the Royal Albert Hall and Cadogan Hall, London, from July 13 to September 8. Details: 020-7589 8212 and «www.bbc.co.uk».