With thanks to Ann-Marie Parry.
Alex Salmond MSP has written to three Inverurie businesses to congratulate them on their success at the Scottish Independent Retail Awards.
The Aberdeenshire East MSP also lodged a motion at the Scottish Parliament in recognition of the awards.
Davidsons Butcher won the Butcher Shop of the Year for the North East area, Mitchells Dairy won Convenience Store of the Year for the North West region and the town’s Vanity won the Fashion/Accessories Retailer of the Year accolade for the North East.
The awards were announced on Sunday night at an awards ceremony in Glasgow.
Aberdeenshire East MSP Alex Salmond said:
“Inverurie has a wealth of independent retailers who offer so much variety and quality to local residents and visitors.
“I am delighted that these businesses have been recognised for all the hard work they do in promoting local produce and supporting the local economy.
“Both owners and staff alike should be very proud of their achievements.”
Salmond also welcomed new figures showing that Scotland is on course to exceed the target of 25,000 new Modern Apprenticeships this year – including a total of 1,034 starts in Aberdeenshire.
The figures released by Skills Development Scotland show that by the end of the third quarter of 2014/15 there were 19,517 modern apprenticeship starts in Scotland – 78 per cent of the total annual target and a two per cent increase on the same point last year.
Alex Salmond MSP said:
“These very welcome figures are testament to the Scottish Government’s commitment to investing in youth employment – creating almost 100,000 new apprenticeship opportunities over the last four years including a total of 1,034 starts in Aberdeenshire in 2014/15 so far.
“Apprenticeships play a key role in the Scottish Government’s efforts to promote youth employment and these figures are further evidence of the real results being achieved for young people across Aberdeenshire– but there is always more which could be done.
“With the full range of economic powers in Scotland’s hands rather than Westminster’s we can do even more to boost youth employment and give local young people the opportunities they deserve.
“It is time for the ‘extensive’ new powers we were promised from Westminster to be delivered to the Scottish Parliament as this would allow us to do even more to support young people in Aberdeenshire in to work.”
- Comments enabled – see comments box below. Note, all comments will be moderated.
[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.]
I read this enthralling piece with mounting excitement. Could this possibly be the dullest prose ever written in the Aberdeen Voice? Yes! Yes! Yes!
In a week when SNP parliamentary candidates have been exposed for fantasising about “sticking the nut” on political opponents and SNP councillors have resigned, amidst allegations of the leadership tampering with and refusing to publish details of votes cast to select candidates for the Westminster election, one might have expected Anne – Marie Parry and Alex Salmond to do a little better than this.
In attempting to enable Salmond to bask in the reflected glory of a few local businesses winning retail awards, Anne – Marie continues her role, embarked upon as an employee of Salmond’s chum Damian at the Press & Journal, in seeking to portray Mr Salmond as some sort of superhero of the Garioch. I seem to recall her then seeking to give Mr Salmond full credit for the erection of a waiting room at Inverurie Railway Station. Now she and Salmond appear to simply look for local good news and then try to be part of it by writing letters, making meaningful gestures and foisting it upon readers of Aberdeen Voice.
Notwithstanding the dubious nature of such claims, is it not time Ms Parry took her role more seriously and started trying to explain why Mr Salmond sought, in my view, to con the nation with mythical tales of EU advice, currency union and oil prices which would never ever, no matter what anyone said, fall below $113 per barrel? She might even convince him to make a speech on when we can expect to see the thousands of jobs he promised would be created, and the runway extension which would be required to deal with all those tourists flocking to his friend’s golf course at Menie?
Then again, perhaps she is wise to stick to the local shoppies.