Jul 042018
 

A coalition of trade unions, political parties, and equality, faith, and campaign groups will hold events in Glasgow and Edinburgh on 13th and 14th of July to coincide with Trump’s planned visit to the UK.  With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.

Scotland United Against Trump is a coalition of organisations and individuals that have come together to protest against the policies and politics of Trump and the corporate interests for whom he governs.

It includes the STUC, SNP, Labour, and the Greens as well as Scotland Against Trump, the group which organised protests following his election in 2016.

The SNP has also spoken out to encourage people to stand up for Scotland’s values during the President’s visit.

Dave Moxham, STUC Deputy General Secretary, said:

“All of the organisations coming together for these protests agree that Donald Trump’s presidency is proving every bit as dangerous and divisive as people feared.

“Trump’s administration represents corrupt corporate interests – cutting taxes for the rich, attacking workers’ rights, undermining democracy, endangering action on climate change, and stoking resentment based on racism, sexism, transphobia and bigotry.

“At the very moment when the world needs more solidarity, more cooperation, and a greater commitment to justice, he proposes to build walls and wants to turn us against each other.”

Leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Richard Leonard said:

“There is understandable anger at the prospect of Donald Trump coming to Scotland and a strong desire across the country to show that he is not welcome here.

“Someone who holds such misogynist, racist and anti-trade union views, and withdraws the US from the Paris Climate Change Agreement, should not be given the ‘red carpet’ treatment.

Scottish Labour wants to see a world that stands up to intolerance, injustice and climate change and that is why we are working with Scotland United Against Trump campaign to ensure there is a mass protest if Trump does visit.”

Co-convenor of the Scottish Green Party, Patrick Harvie said:

“Scotland has seen the bullying, arrogant and delusional side of Donald Trump long before his election. Since becoming President the whole world has seen far worse, as he gives political space to white supremacists, and seeks to wreck international cooperation on climate change.

We should unite to show him he’s unwelcome, and demand that the UK Government stops treating this dangerous man as though his politics are legitimate.”

Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, said:

“Scotland and America have historic ties that go back centuries and that will not be undermined by the policies of one President. We share values with the American people of equality, diversity and support for human rights and must always stand up for those values when they are threatened.

The President’s approach threatens international co-operation on key issues like climate change and it is our job to show that we will not be put off our efforts by his opposition.

If President Trump visits we have an opportunity to show that we will never compromise our values and Trump will go back to America with a clear message that in Scotland we build bridges, not walls.”

Kirsty Haigh of the Campaign organisation, Scotland Unite Against Trump, said:

“Trump likes to talk up his Scottish connections – but we are going to show that his politics are not welcome here.

A growing coalition of organisations and campaigns are coming together to say that Scotland will stand united against Trump. Over the next month, we’re going to be building support for two massive days of actions with a rally in Glasgow and national demonstration and festival in Edinburgh.

We will also send a message to the Tory government that we will not tolerate their pandering to Trump.”

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Jul 212017
 

With thanks to Kieran Booth.

Following her hit 2015 show, Miss Myrtle Throgmorton OBE (pending) is returning to the 2017 Edinburgh Fringe with a brand new production.
The critics, in 2015, stayed away but the audience came in droves and through word of mouth, a brief stint with the Really Terrible Orchestra and some energetic flyering, the show was sold out most nights – and everyone had a hoot! [“Very, very funny” – STV]  

So the game old trout, ancient heckler and exuberant enthusiast for all things Scottish, is back, Stuffed and Mounted, mad-rabbiting on about the delights of a long life – giddy aunts, Burns, beards, Creamola Foam, Zimmer Zumba and much more.

Myrtle is created by former BBC Comedy producer Jennie Campbell / Chalmers, and has been developed over many years although Jennie admits that the original bag-for-life is now, worryingly, more ‘ego’ than ‘alter’.  Since her Fringe debut, Miss Throgmorton has been making appearances across the North East of Scotland at charity gigs, Burns Suppers and two sell-out runs at the Haddo Arts Festival.

Myrtle’s accumulated years are off-set by the youthful vigour of baritone, Colin Brockie and pianist, Richard Bailey who join her for the three-week run at the Fringe. The production could also be unique on the 2017 Festival as the cast and crew all come from rural Aberdeenshire: Colin from Ellon, Richard from Udny, and Jennie, Kieran and Mary from Barthol Chapel.

Myrtle is still chairman of the Surrey Association for Lonely, Misplaced Or Non-Domiciled Scots [ALEX] but has been rusticated from her sheltered housing scheme [a minor misunderstanding over a game of sardines with her friend Midriff Bulge] and now lives as the permanent resident in a once–grand hotel.

The audience will be her ‘fellow diners’ and much conversation and banter will ensue as she shares her opinion on pretty much everything [advanced age is so liberating], punctuated by live and original music from Richard, some ‘proper’ singing from Colin and a little nifty hip work from Myrtle herself.  

Once again, every show will end with a surprise guest joining Myrtle for cheery chat over the coffee and mints. The audience is completely unaware who the guest will be – indeed Myrtle herself may not be entirely up to speed until just before the off.

2015 guests included Rory Bremner, Arnold Brown, Lieven Schiere and Alan Cumming. 

It could be a TV celebrity, an acclaimed author, the face of a familiar radio voice, a rising star, an unknown character with a story to tell, someone with a great, undiscovered show or the joker from the café on the corner…  A truly potluck surprise, in the spirit of the Fringe, and every one a guaranteed delight!

After a brief career as a London lawyer, and a briefer one cleaning houses, Jennie Campbell joined BBC Radio Comedy as a producer of such programmes as Week Ending, The News Quiz and The Edinburgh Festival Compilations, scouting the Fringe in the 80s for hungry new young talent.
On moving to Scotland, she switched from satirical news to the real thing and has been variously a radio presenter [Newsweek Scotland], news and current affairs producer, director of theatre, opera and musicals, drama teacher, arts organizer, serial committee member and session clerk.

With Myrtle Throgmorton, Jennie makes a long overdue return to her comedy roots.

Venue: Mint Studio | Greenside @ Infirmary St. [Venue 236]                   
Dates: 4th – 26th August [not Sundays]                     
Time: 18.25 [55 mins]                                                          

Tickets: £10/£9/£5 

Box Office: edfringe.com / 0131 618 0758
Website: www.myrtleproductions.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/myrtlethrog
Twitter: www.twitter.com/myrtlethrog   (@myrtlethrog)

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May 182017
 

By Craig Chisholm.

Inverness based promoter Stephen Robertson is slowly but surely making a name for himself in the world of music promotion.

Over the past year he has put on big names such as Motown star Martha Reeves, The Bad Shepherds, who feature comedian Adrian Edmonston, dub and reggae legend Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Manchester indie stalwarts The Fall, Radio 6 DJ Craig Charles with his popular Funk and Soul Club and former PIL bassist Jah Wobble, with his band Invaders of The Heart, among others.

Though based up North he has put a formidable line up of talented acts on in Aberdeen venues such as Café Drummond, The Tunnels and The Lemon Tree.

He’s also been racking up the miles to promote gigs in Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Stephen started back in the promotion business back 2006 when he started booking acts for several venues in Inverness. In 2014 he started TwentyTen and took things a step further, booking bands in Aberdeen and not just in the Highlands.

As well as established names he has also put on shows by up and coming bands such as Teleman, Fatherson, Bloodlines and Vokovi – all of whom are destined for bigger things.

Upcoming TwentyTen gigs in Aberdeen include an appearance by critically acclaimed influential New York band Swans and a rare intimate acoustic gig by The Rifles.

Coming up in Aberdeen –

  • May 18th – The Rifles (Unplugged) – The Tunnels
  • May 19th – Swans – The Lemon Tree
  • May 21st – Matt Anderson – The Tunnels
  • May 22nd – Natives – The Tunnels
  • June 3rd – Popes of Chillitown – Café Drummond

Tickets are available to these gigs – as well as others in Inverness, Glasgow Dundee and Edinburgh from – https://www.fatsoma.com/twentyten

Facebook –  https://www.facebook.com/TwentyTenEvents/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/2010Management?lang=en

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May 122017
 

With thanks to Ian McLaren, PR account manager, Innes Associates.

Aberdeenshire’s Lonach Highlanders are set to make a mark as they debut at this year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

Seventy-five of Strathdon’s kilted clansmen will travel to the capital in August to be part of the iconic annual spectacle as it celebrates Scotland’s clans.

The men have been invited to be part of the performance on Monday, 14 August by Lord Forbes, chief of the Forbes clan.

In front of an audience of around 8,500 people, including many international visitors, the highlanders will parade onto Edinburgh Castle’s Esplanade to herald the start of the evening’s performance. Dressed in full highland regalia and armed with their traditional eight-foot long pikes, the men will create an imposing sight for the gathered crowd.

With a history stretching back to 1823 when the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society was formed, the Lonach Highlanders are believed to be the largest body of non-military men to carry ceremonial weapons in Britain. Membership is drawn from residents of the local area who descend from the Forbes, Wallace and Gordon clans. Society membership currently stands at 227 men, under the patronage of Sir James Forbes, 8th Baronet of Newe and Edinglassie.

The theme of this year’s Tattoo is a Splash of Tartan, something that the Lonach Highlanders will admirably provide. To mark Scotland’s Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology, Tattoo organisers have teamed up with The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs to celebrate the country’s clan heritage and national fabric, and their influence around the world.

Two or three clans will be represented at each performance during the Tattoo’s three-week run. On the night of the Lonach Highlander’s attendance, both the Forbes and Wallace clans will muster on the castle esplanade and their Scottish ancestry celebrated.

This is a fantastic opportunity for the society and the highlanders to help promote our history and heritage

The highlanders’ trip to Edinburgh comes just 12 days before their own annual gathering takes place in Bellabeg, Aberdeenshire.

Attracting crowds of up to 10,000 people, the Lonach Highland Gathering and Games is one of north-east Scotland’s leading traditional highland games.

This year’s event on Saturday, 26 August marks the 176th time the gathering has been held. It will once again commence with the Lonach Highlanders embarking on six-mile march round the local area, following in the footsteps of their forefathers and continuing a near two-hundred year-old tradition.

Jennifer Stewart, secretary and chief executive of the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society, said:

“The Lonach Highland and Friendly Society is honoured to have been invited to participate in this year’s Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This is the first time that the Lonach Highlanders have been present at the event and there is huge excitement amongst those taking part.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for the society and the highlanders to help promote our history and heritage, the Lonach Gathering, Aberdeenshire and highland games in general. Television recording will be taking place on the night that we are parading. If we make the director’s cut then there is potential for millions of people around the world to learn about Lonach.

“Attending the Tattoo will be a great warm up for the 176th Lonach Highland Gathering and Games just 12 days later on Saturday, 26 August. If you think the sight of 75 Lonach Highlanders marching is special, the sight and sound of 200 of them, pikes aloft, marching through picturesque Strathdon is one to behold, and not to be missed.”

Ringside seat tickets for the 176th Lonach Highland Gathering and Games are on sale now, priced from £12 for adults and £7 for children. Visit www.lonach.org for full details.

Established in 1823, by Sir Charles Forbes, 1st Baronet of Newe and Edinglassie, the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society is a charitable organisation based in Strathdon, Aberdeenshire. The society organises the annual Lonach Gathering at Bellabeg Park, Strathdon, which is held on the fourth Saturday of August.

The main attraction at the gathering is the march of the Lonach Highlanders, a unique body of non-military men. Further information on the Lonach Highland and Friendly Society, the Lonach Highlanders and the annual Lonach Highland Gathering can be found at www.lonach.org.

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Oct 212016
 

With thanks to Ian McLaren, PR account manager, Innes Associates.

From the park

Kincardine Castle is hosting The Nomads Tent Roadshow this autumn.

An Aberdeenshire castle will be transformed into an Eastern bazaar later this month as a Scottish home furnishing, textile and gift company opens a pop-up shop inside its historic walls.

Kincardine Castle on Royal Deeside, which is not normally open to the public, will throw open its Victorian doors to visitors when The Nomads Tent Roadshow arrives later this month.

The pop-up shop will run from Friday, 28 October until Sunday, 06 November and feature a wide range of authentic Middle and Far Eastern goods available for purchase, bringing a flavour of the Orient to the oldest village on Deeside.

The Nomads Tent is a popular Edinburgh-based warehouse that sells a range of items, including carpets, rugs, furniture, pottery, lanterns, Christmas decorations, scarves and jewellery. All of which is sourced from markets and bazaars in countries including India, Turkey, Vietnam and Morocco.

A private family residence, Kincardine Castle is widely used as a venue for meetings, conferences, corporate events and weddings.  It also offers group accommodation in 16 of its bedrooms. The Nomads Tent pop-up eastern bazaar will give the public a chance to venture inside this late Victorian arts and crafts style castle free of charge.

As part of the 10-day event, a series of fringe events will also be held at the castle, which sits on the outskirts of Kincardine O’Neil, four miles east of Aboyne. On Tuesday, 01 November a dinner and illustrated talk on the origins and imagery of Persian garden carpets will be held, with money being raised for Scottish children’s charity Children 1st.

Tea, coffee and light lunches will be available in the castle each day during the roadshow, but Kincardine’s monthly pop-up café with its more extensive lunch menu will take place on Friday, 04 November.  Two half-day cookery classes will also take place at the castle. Run by Kincardine Cookery, the class on Saturday, 05 November will feature Middle Eastern cuisine, while Indian cookery will be covered on Sunday, 06 November.

Nicky Bradford of Kincardine Castle said:

“We are very excited that The Nomads Tent Roadshow is pitching up at Kincardine for 10 days this autumn to set out its wares. The pop-up shop is a great way to experience some of the huge range of authentic eastern furnishings, textiles and gifts that it offers, including some Christmas items.

“It is shaping up to be a brilliant few days with something for everyone. Food features in all the fringe events, providing a platform for us to showcase some of the fantastic local produce that is grown in Deeside.

“Kincardine Castle has always welcomed people and has a real buzz to it when packed with guests.  Over the past 30 years we’ve worked to increase the number and variety of events that can be held here, but we’ve never opened the castle up to visitors for so many days at a time. We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to our historic home.”

The Nomads Tent Roadshow will take place at Kincardine Castle from Friday, 28 October until Sunday, 06 November, opening daily between 10:00am and 5:00pm, except on Sundays when it will open at 11:30am.

Kincardine Castle is the centrepiece of the 3,000-acre Kincardine Estate, which is owned and managed by Andrew and Nicky Bradford. The estate was bought in the 1880s by Andrew’s great-grandmother and the castle remains a private family residence. Built in 1894, the castle was designed by architects David Niven and Herbert Wigglesworth.

The building incorporates elements of five centuries of castle architecture in its design, starting with the 14th century style square keep tower.  Kincardine Castle is available for hire for a range of events, including meetings, conferences, dinners and weddings. Sixteen bedrooms in the castle provide overnight accommodation for groups of six or more.

For further information Kincardine Castle, visit www.kincardinecastle.com or telephone 01339 884225.

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Feb 202015
 

One hundred columns ago, Old Susannah wrote on the theme of how propaganda permeates our media and government, and how it’s used by the powerful to steer us and to blinker us. Times haven’t changed. By Suzanne Kelly

DictionaryIt’s been a confusing week in the Deen; it’s been very hard to read the signs. Not least the signs pointing the way to the tourist board. An eagle-eyed local restaurateur (and pal) Steve Bothwell noticed that signs near the green point people in the wrong directions; those who wanted tourist info are merrily sent the wrong way.

If only we had some way to fix this problem. Word is those responsible for this error are planning to solve the problem by having the tourist board moved to a location near where the sign points.

All things considered, I think we’re on our way to being a modern, major Scottish city like Edinburgh.  We may still be able to escalate the St Nicholas House/Muse plans into our own Holyrood.

Holyrood of course was a well defined, precisely-run, on budget project which created the lovely building which fits so beautifully into the existing architecture of Edinburgh. If the building leaks, creaks and looks like its facade was drawn badly on the back of an envelope by someone using their foot and a crayon that just means it’s adventurous.

Perhaps we’ll yet have our own Tram scheme; we did have a councillor in the last administration calling for a monorail. Again Edinburgh handled that wonderfully well.

But as we learned this week, Edinburgh’s taken property management to a whole new level this week. Mandarins in the council managed to sell the historic Parliament building:  the only problem was that it didn’t actually own it – Edinburgh’s citizens do.

Or should I say Edinburgh’s citizens did own it. Scottish property ownership expert Andy Wightman’s account of this imaginative sale can be found here.  Aberdeen readers may be interested to know that the property in question was considered common good. At least you wouldn’t find anyone around the Granite City trying to appropriate common good land, Wood you?

Back here in the Glass City – sorry – Granite City, the Lord Provost decided that a motion to stop the Muse project was ‘incompetent’. It’s good to know the city is continuing to stop incompetence wherever and whenever they find it. Perhaps they want a word with the people who put up the tourist board sign though.

If only there was some way for the city to see whether or not people wanted a glass box or green space. Perhaps if a few hundred people protested, lobbied and campaigned. STV has a little poll going on; and while it’s a close-run thing, about 90% of people don’t want Muse’s glass box building.

Some people felt they were slightly misled over what would and wouldn’t happen to the St Nick’s site.  While it’s not like a politician to ever mislead anyone, perhaps a few propaganda-related definitions may remind us that once in a blue moon, we should question the information put before us.  And with that, a few definitions.

Emotive: (English adjective) Condition of having feelings and impulses not associated with logic or fact.

One thing we can’t have is people with feelings getting in the way of those who don’t have any.  The favoured propaganda tactic  to quash these Emos is to call them names, even if this paradoxically implies that those doing the name-calling are being aggressive, bullying and abrasive.   This is a strategy beloved of the SNH for those of us who want to find means to manage our environment without killing animals unnecessarily.

The Scotsman’s headline set the tone last week, portraying the people and organisations opposed to deer culling as ‘angry’. You see, if you’re angry – you’re emotional. A good headline should set the tone of the article to come.

I hope no one will be embarrassed by how emotive I got in commenting on this Scotsman article, but here is a comment I made:

“It’s disappointing that so many of the comments on this page have to sink to insulting those who oppose the cull. I’ve been studying for some years now the draconian proposals and guidelines that SNH have created about deer populations. You could be forgiven for thinking that the latest SNH guidelines were written by the pro-hunting lobby. In Aberdeen, a hill which supported a few dozen deer for decades with meadowland and gorse had no starvation issues.

“The roe deer live a short span, and foxes are well known predator as are man (we had five deer poached last year in the area I’m talking about – Tullos) and dogs. The SNH now says a herd size for this hill will be only 3 or 4 animals. The SNH don’t explain how this can be a healthy gene pool – how could they? Anyone who protests the punishing guidelines is, as comments on here show, insulted and denigrated.

“The fact is it is becoming a nice little earner to turn meadowland into forest; my city has spent at least £200,000 so far to transform Tullos – when several thousand residents signed a petition to leave the hill alone. In the mean time, SNH last counted 19 deer in the entire city green belt and urban fringe. We won’t have any deer left if the SNH’s position goes unchallenged.

“The people who manage private land may also be forced to kill more deer than they think is sensible. When there are humane ways to control deer numbers, why are we choosing culling as a first and only option? No it is not scientific and has no historic basis at least in my area.”

What caused this gushing show of emotion on my part? Here are some of the rational, measured comments made on the article by pro deer culling people:

“The animal rights groups made a big fuss about “game management” claiming that it was cruel, akin to killing Bambi…sound familiar? Now the deer have over-populated and are starting to starve to death. It pays to listen to the experts who know what they are doing and disregard the sappy tree huggers.”

“These animal charities are notorious for attracting vicious and malevolent people, and so I hope the people of Perthshire will keep an extra-careful eye on them.”

and

“We can thank these so called animal rights nutters for releasing Mink into the wild and all the damage they have done to our natural wild life…. These campaigners should be prosecuted for promoting animal cruelty, because as has been said by many others below, the deer population is out of control and many die slowly of starvation and disease…..”

Well, that’s me told. Heaven forbid the pro-culling posts were orchestrated or that people who hid behind pseudonyms were part of the authorities trying to convince the rest of us that if you’re against deer culls you’re being emotional. Heaven also forbid that the SNH had issued any press releases that fed into the line the Scotsman chose to take. That would never happen.

Being emotional is of course a major failing in a person in this day and age; if you do somehow have any emotions left after the constant bombardment we’re subject to of violence, racism, misogyny, animal abuse, best keep those emotions hidden.  You see, if you have any emotional reaction to something, then this means you are incapable of exercising any logic or intelligence. The two can’t be separated. Therefore, if you are against deer culling, you are unintelligent.

In this week’s papers we’re told that the subject of sentencing is also ‘emotive.’  You don’t say.

Happily, all sentencing in Scotland is proportional, measured, and no favouritism is ever shown to the powerful, the police, or the famous. I still fondly remember how a local policeman was cleared of looking up info on his ex regarding a drug case. The court found someone else must have accessed the data – using the accused’s password.

No doubt the police are looking for the real culprit – someone else in the force with the accused’s password who would have wanted info on the accused’s ex. Makes sense to me.

Not only is sentencing emotive, it can also be complicated. I’m as amazed as you are. Happily, the government is setting up yet another board, and no doubt sentencing, which the likes of  you and I can’t hope to understand of course, will be handled just as fairly in the future as it is now.

The Government in fact is committed to making justice ‘FAIR, FAST AND FLEXIBLE JUSTICE‘.

Well, it can be fast. It certainly is flexible. I guess two out of three ain’t bad.

Misinformation:

How do you get your own way in politics? As is the case here in Aberdeen, by persuasion with facts and reason. However, on the rare occasion the public need to be guided just that little bit more.

Back when the new St Nick’s proposal was first launched at the city’s art gallery (itself soon to be closed for a few years for a tasteful destruction of its marble stair and for a portacabin tm to be plunked on top of it), a consultation was held. It was wonderful to see the pretty drawings. Obviously though, the details were meant to be left to the architects of this city’s current architecture – our planners and those with big chequebooks.

With the people we have controlling the master (?) plan, many of whom have important titles like ‘Dr’ and so on, we’ll be the rival of Washington DC, Paris and London in just a few more years. If not, we may wind up twinned with Milton Keynes or Redditch. Anyway, I wrote to the city with my (emotive) criticisms of the scheme. In due course, I was invited to give a 5 minute deputation to the full council (Result!) on what I thought was wrong with the scheme.

A whole 5 minutes – and all I had to do was spend the entire day off work hanging around in the Town House.

I wondered – Should I take a day off work, buy a new frock, get a Valerie Watt spray tan and have my nails done and come and make a speech for 5 minutes? No doubt concerns of traffic congestion, pollution, architectural concerns, etc. would have won the day.

I called someone at the council and we discussed the pros and cons of this deputation. The word on the street as it were was that the decision to build glass boxes on the former St Nicholas House site was metaphorically set in stone. I could come along, but in the view of my contact, it would not make a difference. I don’t want to get my source in trouble; like me, they had been told it was too late to make any change.

We both believed this to be true. So I declined my chance to bring up a few emotive issues about St Nick’s former site.

Fast forward a few months, and it seems both my source and I were misinformed. The city won’t lose a hundred million pounds if we say no to the current design.

The future of the site has seen one or two little changes since that consultation at the art gallery.   Today the story is that we’re getting that glass office after all.  Somehow this will revitalise our retail sector, cure baldness, and make billions of jobs.  I wonder what the story will be tomorrow.

Yellow Journalism: (org. USA  – compound noun) Sensationalising or fabricating stories in order to both sell newspapers and to influence opinions.

This term hardly matters in today’s modern, well-informed age, but just for historical interest, here’s a word on yellow journalism.  In  days gone by newspaper giants Hearst and Pulitzer were fighting for supremacy in the US market, there was the occasional bit of creative licence taken with the facts.  A fight for a cartoon strip featuring ‘the yellow’ kid – a very popular feature – lent its name to a kind of journalism where facts don’t get in the way of a story, where hatred can be inflamed to influence opinion, and where the powerful are pulling the strings, often distracting people from the truth by the use of sensationalism, propaganda and misinformation.  This was the time of American expansionism, and a few little wars here and there.  Isn’t it great to be in the enlightened age?

As described on one website:

The rise of yellow journalism helped to create a climate conducive to the outbreak of international conflict and the expansion of U.S. influence overseas, but it did not by itself cause the war.

“In spite of Hearst’s often quoted statement—“You furnish the pictures, I’ll provide the war!”—other factors played a greater role in leading to the outbreak of war. The papers did not create anti-Spanish sentiments out of thin air, nor did the publishers fabricate the events to which the U.S. public and politicians reacted so strongly.”

Of course, a newspaper editor has several responsibilities to balance. One – to make lots of dosh for the shareholders. Two – to take lots of dosh for the sponsors and advertisers, who must be kept happy at all costs. Three – to make people buy the newspaper in the first place. It’s a tough job.

Remember the giant Evening Express headlines about ‘packets of white powder’ being found on an offshore oil installation? The implication was it was illegal drugs, and the paper milked it for all it was worth. Alas!  it was only cold medicine. You’ll remember the paper’s headlines announcing it had made a mistake. Or perhaps not.

Some papers such as the Daily Mail are subject to similar creative embellishments. Emotive headlines are a great way to get facts across to us emotive, slow-witted people, especially about immigrants, benefit scroungers, foreigners and other kinds of undesirables. It’s also a good way to sell papers.

News Blackout: (modern English compound noun) To deliberately withhold news and information.

If they don’t know about it, they can’t be upset about it. Whether it’s the P&J veritably ignoring stories about Donald Trump having underworld links, sometimes it’s best to have a media blackout. We’ve all those hoards of incoming tourists to think about, and Sarah Malone needs a new pair of Choos. Best a newspaper editor is selective with what stories they print.

That’s the case these days at London-based news institution The Telegraph.

The paper is just a little on the conservative side, and its rational, balanced, live-and-let live owners, the Barclay Brothers, have been doing a great job of livening things up.

Once the paper of choice for Tories it’s far more inclusive now, with stories about women with three breasts (that wasn’t quite true). Any story about business profits, exam results, you name it is usually dressed up with a picture of a pretty girl – and of course all the guys like their news served up like that. Private Eye magazine has cruelly made fun of the paper’s use of ‘fruity’ girls, and accuses the Torygraph (as PE calls it) of ‘dumbing down’.

It’s not really dumbing down if you decide not to trouble your readership with stories that are either boring or complicated (which is pretty much the same thing).  Take for instance the stories circulating about HSBC (‘the world’s local bank’) being somewhat in a pickle, the Telegraph decided that it wasn’t much of a story. So there are some questions about the bank’s operations, a wee black hole in its books and its Swiss offices being raided by police and the like.

HSBC has also apparently helped wealthy people avoid paying tax – that’s hardly news is it? While the rest of the UK’s papers were covering this story, the Torygraph was ignoring it. It’s almost as if the Barclay Bros had rich, powerful interest to protect – but surely not.

I’m certainly not suggesting that the government, quangos, media, police and our local politicians are manipulative, self-serving, devious or dishonest – heaven forbid. But I am beginning to have my doubts.

Next week- an updated who’s who of the great and powerful of city and shire.

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[Aberdeen Voice accepts and welcomes contributions from all sides/angles pertaining to any issue. Views and opinions expressed in any article are entirely those of the writer/contributor, and inclusion in our publication does not constitute support or endorsement of these by Aberdeen Voice as an organisation or any of its team members.]

Nov 142014
 

In yet another of the controversial 52 part series Duncan Harley and Janice Catto take cognisance of the political comments on a wall near you.

Leith knows no bounds 2

It’s more than 25 years since the story of Leith was painted larger than life itself on the gable end of a tenement on North Junction Street.

Now partly hidden behind a bush the wall art, penned by Tim Chalk, Paul Grime and David Wilkinson, went up at about the same time as the Berlin Wall came down.

At a time when the once prosperous town of Leith was at its lowest ebb, the Scottish Development Agency found some cash to fund a three-story high mural capturing the pivotal moments in Leith’s living memory.

Part of an economic re-generation programme, this gable end art piece was the culmination of a series of minor artwork programmes intended to take Leith to new artistic heights.

Tim Chalk recently told the media that:

“It was very much the fact that Leith was going through this huge change. It had been a thriving prosperous place right through the Nineteenth Century and into the Twenties and by the time this mural was painted in 1986 it was in a really depressed state.”

Tim described the people of 1980s Leith as having a “bruised pride” as a result of the “run down” condition of the area and the questions that it presented for the future.

“There was the inevitable anxiety that the whole process was going to be a gentrification and all the original Leithers were going to be edged out and obviously there has been an element of that but I think people were looking at similar things that were happing in other parts of the country and there were a lot of understandable anxieties.”

 “It was at a time when there was a strong mural movement in the country and there were a lot of us who saw murals as serving the same purpose. We wanted to produce works of art that were in public places that gave a voice to people and told their story rather than rarefied images in galleries which were purely personal views.

“The idea was to get as many voices as possible from Leith speaking through the mural.”

Now twinned with Rio de Janeiro and with the Royal Yacht Britannia hidden behind a bland shopping centre, Leith is not what it was yet again.

Mind you, neither is the faded gable end mural at the end of North Junction Street.

When we asked the staff of Leith Library about the gable end mural we wrote the following:

“In a surprise urban move, Leith library service gets asked about the 80ft by 140ft graphic on the gable end of the building on the road outside the main door.
– so what’s that wall all about?
– que?
– There is an 80ft by 140ft graphic portraying workers and shipbuilding and theatre painted on to the wall outside your door. Can you please tell me about it?
– que?

– There is an 80ft by 140ft graphic portraying workers and shipbuilding and theatre painted on to the wall outside your door. Can you please tell me about it?
– que?
– It’s huge, in fact there it is just outside your window, look at the big red flag.
– Let me ask a colleague please.

– Can I help you please?
– There is an 80ft by 140ft graphic portraying workers and shipbuilding and theatre painted on to the wall outside your door. Can you please tell me about it?
– we get asked that often. I suppose we should know.

– As a library service?
– Yes, that as well.

– Let me ask a colleague please?

– So what’s that 80ft by 140ft graphic portraying workers and shipbuilding and theatre painted on to the wall outside your door, Jesus wept.

– Maybe we can Google it.

 – It’s just outside.
– Where?
– Your window.
– Erm. Where?
– Over there.

– Helen, can you help?
– Can I help with what, who are all those people?
– It’s just outside, it has a red flag and some images of workers plus some big trees. What the fuck is wrong with you people?

(Stage left … head proud Library assistants remain engrossed in Google. Whatever happened to common sense?)”

Should you be inspired to try your hand at wall art, an instructional video by Northern Exposure can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeYR0vKNspQ

Next time we will be checking out the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

Aberdeen Voice does not condone the painting of buildings without the express permission of all relevant authorities. Aberdeen Voice accepts and welcomes contributions from all sides/angles pertaining to any issue. Views and opinions expressed in any article are entirely those of the writer/contributor, and inclusion in our publication does not constitute support or endorsement of these by Aberdeen Voice as an organisation or any of its team members. There are no figures of speech intended and no animals were exploited in the writing of this piece.

Just saying you understand …

Yours contritely, Duncan Harley and Janice Catto.

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Sep 062013
 
The Dalai Llama In Inverness.

The Dalai Lama In Inverness.

By Duncan Harley.

It has been just over a year since the Dalai Lama visited Edinburgh, Dundee and Inverness.

The good folk of Dundee welcomed him with open arms and presented Tibet’s spiritual leader with a meditation stool and some very loud applause.

Some children from the city’s deaf school sang a song to him and several Dundee politicians refused to meet him. Seemingly, the Chinese Consul General to Scotland had met council leaders from all three cities scheduled for the tour.

The issue was raised during First Minister’s Questions in the Scottish Parliament, where opposition parties claimed China had put pressure on the SNP government over the visit.

First Minister Alex Salmond had visited China in December 2011 to strengthen trade, arts and cultural links following the arrival of two giant pandas at Edinburgh Zoo. One of the pandas may now be pregnant.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon warned parties not to politicise what was a ‘pastoral’ visit, saying that no UK government ministers were meeting the Dalai Lama during his trip.

A UK government source later pointed out that both Prime Minister David Cameron and his deputy, Nick Clegg, met the Dalai Lama in May.

Ms Sturgeon – standing in for Mr Salmond, who had been on a US trade visit – said, ‘There has been no discussion or contact whatsoever between the Scottish government and Dundee City Council about the visit of the Dalai Lama.’

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie claimed Mr Salmond had displayed an ‘ambiguous attitude’ to the issue of China’s human rights record.

He urged Ms Sturgeon to condemn practices in the country, which he said included the detention of 500000 people without trial, and forcing women to have abortions.

The Dalai Lama, one of the world’s most revered leaders, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 and was awarded the £1.1m Templeton Prize at St Paul’s Cathedral in 2012 for his engagement with science and people beyond his religious traditions.

He has lived in exile in Dharamsala in northern India since 1959.

He’s an awfully nice man. The folk of Inverness, Embra and Dundee agree.

When he came to Inverness he was shown the usual tourist places. When asked about local politics he said, ‘I like my cats but hate what they do’.

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Feb 082013
 

By David Innes.

The Office of National Statistics report of 23 January shows that unemployment in Scotland among those aged 16 to 24, reduced by 23000 (4.8%) from September to November 2012. 19.9% of our young people remain unemployed. The UK rate is 21%.

John Swinney, Finance Secretary was delighted:-

“These figures show that unemployment in Scotland has continued to fall for the second monthly release. The strong performance in youth unemployment over the year is particularly welcome. This month’s release sees the largest annual drop in the youth unemployment rate since the data series began in 2006.”

Angela Constance, Youth Employment Minister agreed:-

Youth unemployment in Scotland is at its lowest level since March to May 2011. Our actions to improve youth employment rates have included a guarantee of a place in education or training for every 16-19 year old through Opportunities for All, funding 25000 Modern Apprenticeships in each year of the current parliament and £8.5m to create 1400 jobs in the third sector through Community Jobs Scotland.”

An Employer Recruitment Incentive will be launched to support small companies willing to give young people jobs, backed by £15m of Holyrood funding and by £10m of European Structural funding.

Reinforcing the views he expressed in a Voice interview earlier this year, Anderson Construction Managing Director, Kenny Anderson, commented:-

“We are lucky that the self -financed Construction Industry Training Board screens potential apprentices for interview and recruitment thereafter, but demand for places outstrips supply even in Aberdeen.

“As a small company we do our bit, but it’s harder for the larger companies who used to recruit substantial numbers of apprentices annually, as they are now competing with management contractors who generally do not recruit site staff but use agencies and sub-contractors to provide the labour.”

Yet, whilst the youth unemployment rate sits at 20% and the overall rate is nearly 8%, one boss of a growing national company is frustrated at his business’s inability to fill vacancies in Aberdeen.

Jeremy Miles, Edinburgh-based Managing Director of the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative declared:-

The big problem we have is in recruiting mechanics. It seems the oil and gas industry hoovers up anyone who has all their fingers in place.

“At present we have a couple of co-ordinator roles for senior shop floor staff and in sales. We’re desperate to recruit staff for our workshop and will soon be looking to bump up our head count for summer, but filling the current vacancies is already proving difficult.”

It was Norman Tebbit who made the notorious comment about the need for the unemployed to get on their bikes and look for work during the austerity years of the 1980s. Maybe in Aberdeen, which remains largely prosperous there’s are opportunities to take the Chingford Skinhead’s advice and kill two birds with one stone.

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2013/01/lmsjan230113
www.andersonconstruction.co.uk
www.edinburghbicycle.com/comms/site_about/job-vacancies.htm

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Nov 302012
 

Enduring Punk band The Vibrators will be at Glasgow’s Ivory Black on Friday 30 November. Touring in place of Knox is Nigel Bennett from The Members. Ivory Black is on Oswald Street, Glasgow.

The Vibrators just returned from an extended tour of the US.  Bennett, who has a solo album just out entitled ‘Truth or Consequences’ had this to say:-

“I love playing  Scotland; Ivory Black always has a good crowd and we’re all looking forward to being here again.”

The Vibrators were founded by Ian ‘Knox’ Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John ‘Eddie’ Edwards. They first came to public notice at the 100 Club when they backed Chris Spedding in 1976. On Spedding’s recommendation, Mickie Most signed them to his label RAK Records. Most produced their first single, “We Vibrate”. The band also backed Spedding on his single, “Pogo Dancing”. Knox is currently living in London and is involved in artwork and solo projects rather than the rigours of touring with the band.

The Vibrators recorded sessions for John Peel at BBC Radio 1 in October 1976, June 1977, and February 1978. They were one of the pioneering punk bands that played at London’s Roxy Club.

The Vibrators also play Edinburgh on Saturday 1 December .  They will be at The Citrus Club40-42 Grindlay Street; the Lurkers are supporting.