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So, New Year's Eve has come and gone, and while the majority of people will be looking ahead to new resolutions, new plans, new diets, those at the and in have been fielding calls from journalists, who are asking for some plain news.

The end of last year was the deadline set for raising £50m to buy Titian's painting, Diana and Actaeon, from the Duke of Sutherland. That deadline has passed with no indication if the money has been raised. As a result, newspapers have been speculating. , with a £17.5m grant from the Scottish Executive. But there is no official confirmation of that amount.

The National Gallery in London will only say that very good progress has been made in both the fundraising and negotiation of terms in acquiring the painting. It was the Duke of Sutherland who imposed the 31 December deadline, and what's unclear now, is whether it has been extended.

I am told the initial deadline was for ensuring the money had been secured, and not a for an announcement. So we wait, and while we wait, the speculation over the amount forthcoming from the Scottish Executive has prompted a minor political row over the value of the painting.

Glasgow MP Ian Davidson told ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Scotland: "It's difficult to argue that this is a part of Britain's cultural heritage, when it's a picture by a long dead Venetian - it's not as if it's Jock McTitian".

There are bound to be many who agree with that sentiment, but I guarantee there will be just as many who think that is narrow-minded and playing to the lowest common denominator for political point-scoring. There was one story I was overwhelmed by, early in the campaign, where a woman had sent in a cheque with a very precise amount, and a note saying she hoped the painting could be saved for the nation. When called by the National Gallery and asked why she had sent such an amount, she said it was her weekly pension.