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Aberdeen Hotel’s Superheroic Fundraising Effort for Kids

Nov 062015

With thanks to Eoin Smith, Senior Account Executive, Tricker PR.

Superheroics, baking expertise and sporting prowess: they’re maybe not the first things that spring to mind when you think of a successful hotel. But for staff at The Aberdeen Altens Hotel, raising thousands of pounds for a local charity is top on their super powered to-do list.

From team bowling nights to a breakfast bake sale – which attracted the Northsound One Breakfast Show team – the hotel’s staff have taken part in a variety of unusual fundraising challenges throughout 2015 to raise much needed funds for Aberdeen charity, Cash for Kids.

As part of Cash for Kids’ Bed Appeal, which seeks to provide much-needed beds for disadvantaged children, members of staff were sponsored to wear their pyjamas and slippers to work. The staff also participated in a bed making challenge for the appeal, putting their hospitality skills to the test to make the perfect bed against the clock.

Many of the team have also had their running shoes on, taking part in the Colour Me Rad race, and providing catering and marshalling for the annual Baker Hughes 10k.

Another event saw the staff dressed as superheroes performing random acts of kindness to those visiting the hotel. Most popular amongst guests was the effort of two members of staff who dressed as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and made it their mission to hand out the characters’ favourite food – pizza – to hotel guests.

Julia Leitch, Aberdeen Cluster Sales Office Manager, says,

“It was important to us that the charity we supported in 2015 worked with the local community. The staff were all involved in selecting the charity, and Cash for Kids ticked all the boxes: the work they do with children in the north east is incredibly important, and we are proud to have been fundraising for such a worthwhile cause.

“At the beginning of October we held out first ever Volunteer Recognition Dinner in the hotel, which celebrated the efforts of Cash for Kids’ volunteers. But the year is not over yet, and we are looking forward to taking part in even more fundraising events between now and Christmas.”

The Aberdeen Altens Hotel still has a number of fundraising events coming up. As part of Mission Christmas, the hotel will become a drop-off point for presents for disadvantaged children in the area. New and unwrapped gifts can be handed in for children and young people aged 0-18, and many of the staff have already pledged their support for the cause. The team will also aid the Coats for Kids Appeal.

The Aberdeen Altens Hotel is part of The Hotel Collection, which has two other venues in the city – The Caledonian Hotel and The Aberdeen Skyway Hotel. There are 446 bedrooms across the three venues, and each has conferencing and banqueting facilities. The Aberdeen Altens Hotel also has a health and leisure club. Further information is available at www.thehotelcollection.co.uk/aberdeen

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Aberdeen Fun Games Return To Beach Ballroom

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Nov 062015

With thanks to Eoin Smith, Senior Account Executive, Tricker PR.

Aberdeen hoteliers are showing their team spirit by banding together in order to provide a day of inclusive sporting activities for disadvantaged adults in the city.

The annual Aberdeen Fun Games return to the city’s Beach Ballroom, allowing around 120 young adults with physical and learning difficulties to take part in a series of sporting challenges, on Sunday November 8.

Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels’ Association (ACSHA) has run the event for over 20 years, in conjunction with Aberdeen City Council, and expects this year to be a resounding success.

As well as sponsoring the event, ACSHA also makes a donation to the Sport Aberdeen disability fund to support the provision of sporting activities across the city.

Jim Byers, honorary treasurer of ACSHA, has been a driving force behind the Aberdeen Fun Games since its inception. He says:

“These kinds of inclusive events are often run for children, however there are far fewer for adults in the north east. ACSHA founded the Aberdeen Fun Games alongside Aberdeen City Council over 20 years ago in order to provide an enjoyable experience for young adults with learning or physical difficulties.”

Throughout the day, teams of up to eight will compete in a series of challenges which cover a wide range of sporting disciplines – from adapted versions of basketball and field athletics to indoor curling and bowls. The Games are presided over by Bill Farquhar, another Aberdeen Fun Games stalwart, and the team that earns the most points across each sporting discipline will be presented with a trophy at the end of the competition.

All competitors will also be awarded a medal for their efforts, and the day’s activities will culminate with a buffet and disco.

Jim continues:

“When we first started the Aberdeen Fun Games, we held an outdoor ‘It’s A Knockout-style’ competition in Duthie Park, after which the city’s hotels would host the competitors for a meal. However, with the north east’s variable weather forecast, we made the decision to move indoors to the Beach Ballroom and we have never looked back.”

Staff from hotels across the north east volunteer their time on the day to assist the teams, judge each sporting challenge, and keep score. Jim says:

“The original aim of the Games was to create a fun event for less fortunate individuals than ourselves, and we believe that we have achieved that over the last two decades.

“It’s very easy for someone to donate money to a cause, but for the hotels and their staff to donate their time is something that is arguably much more valuable. Everyone involved in running the event comes away feeling very humbled by the whole experience.”

Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels’ Association represents 49 independently operated hotels and conference venues, along with a further nine associate members. These hotels provide around 4,500 bedrooms in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. ACSHA is committed to improving the quality and standard of hotel services and to furthering the overall standards of excellence and hospitality within the region.

For more information about Aberdeen City and Shire Hotels’ Association, visit www.aberdeenhotels.org

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CLAN To Host Christmas Fayre

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Nov 062015

With thanks to Phil Moar, Account Manager, Citrus Mix.

A leading north-east cancer support charity is giving people the chance to get into the festive spirit early this year when it hosts a Christmas Fayre next week.

The CLAN Cancer Support event will take place at CLAN House on Saturday, November 14, from 10am to 4pm.

A range of stalls will be on offer, giving attendees the chance to pick up potential Christmas gifts including various crafts, knitted goods, handbags, jewellery and scarves. Stocking-fillers, cards and wrapping paper will also be on display for purchase.

Entry fee is £2, which includes hot drink and home bake, with all funds raised going towards the charity’s provision of free support services to anyone affected by cancer across the north and north-east of Scotland.

Susan Crighton, CLAN’s fundraising manager, said:

“With Halloween now past, attentions are beginning to turn towards Christmas and we’re looking forward to hosting our annual fayre next week.

“This year’s line-up of goods and items is fantastic and will present the perfect opportunity for many to get their Christmas shopping started in earnest. Our Christmas Fayre is always a great way of picking up a couple of lovely presents alongside helping raise funds for a local charity; we hope you can join us on the day.”

For more information, please contact Moureen Wilson at CLAN on 01224 651028 or email moureen.wilson@clanhouse.org. More details on the event can also be found at www.clanhouse.org or through the charity’s dedicated social media channels.

CLAN Cancer Support is an independent charity which provides comfort support and information, free of charge, for anyone, of any age, affected by any type of cancer. CLAN aims to support people to reduce anxiety, stress and to increase their ability to cope with the effects of a serious illness.

Based in Aberdeen, the charity covers the whole of north-east Scotland, Moray, Orkney and Shetland. CLAN has a presence in Ballater, Banchory, Elgin, Inverurie, Fraserburgh, Lossiemouth, Peterhead, Stonehaven, Turriff, Kirkwall and Lerwick.

For further information about CLAN Cancer Support please call (01224) 647 000 or visit www.clanhouse.org

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Minke Whale Baby Boom Off Scotland’s West Coast?

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Nov 062015

With thanks to Richard Bunting, Director, Richard Bunting PR

Sightings of juvenile minke whales off Scotland’s west coast increased in 2015 to the highest ever recorded within a survey season.
Marine research expeditions carried out by Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust have indicated either a significant increase in actual numbers or an influx of minke whales from elsewhere.

The charity’s 2015 research season also recorded the highest annual number of common dolphin sightings since its expeditions began, with 723 individuals observed over 63 encounters.

The common dolphin was once uncommon in the Hebrides, but the trust’s encounter rate with the species has more than doubled over the past 12 years, also for reasons that remain unclear.

Kerry Froud, Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Biodiversity Officer, said:

“These intriguing changes in Scotland’s marine life highlight the importance of long-term monitoring of cetaceans – so that we can better understand what is happening in our waters, and then make management recommendations to better protect this world-class area of marine biodiversity.”

The studies were carried out between May to October by scientists and volunteers on board Silurian, the trust’s dedicated research yacht. The research forms part of the trust’s unique long-term monitoring of whales, dolphins and porpoises – collectively known as cetaceans – in the Hebrides. Information on basking sharks is also collected during the surveys.

A steady increase in the encounter rate with minke whale juveniles since 2011 was particularly marked this year, with the highest rate of young whales recorded since the trust started boat-based surveys in 2003. The 2015 surveys documented an encounter rate of 1 young minke whale per 286 km – three times the average over the trust’s entire dataset.

The minke whale is the smallest of the baleen whales – species which utilise baleen plates rather than teeth to feed – in the North Atlantic, measuring up to 10 metres in length, and is the most commonly sighted baleen whale species in the UK. Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust holds an identification catalogue of 125 minke whales known to have visited the Hebrides – of which some individuals return to the same areas annually, while others may only be passing through.

While an increase in the encounter rate with young minke whales is encouraging, there are still very serious issues regarding the conservation of this migratory species. To the north of Scotland, both Iceland and Norway still hunt minke whales. It remains unknown whether or not the minke whales that swim through Scottish waters frequent the waters where they risk being hunted.

The record number of common dolphin sightings – coupled with the most northerly sighting of the species ever recorded in September this year, off Tromso in Norway – suggests that changes are underway within our seas and oceans. The causes, and wider effects on the marine environment and other species, are still unclear – underlining the importance of on-going research.

Additionally, the number of white-beaked dolphin encounters almost doubled in comparison to 2014, although many of these encounters were made during one particular day of survey around the Butt of Lewis.

This rarer, colder water species is confined to the north Atlantic and prefers temperate to sub-Arctic waters – meaning that the warming of Hebridean seas, at a rate of 0.5°C per decade, is expected to exert increased pressure on the populations found off Scotland’s west coast.

White-beaked dolphins have been the focus of acoustic research by Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, with a study in 2013 discovering that white beaked dolphin populations off the east and west coasts of Scotland have distinct acoustic signatures, almost like accents.

Alongside warming seas and climate change, human activities causing increasing stress on cetaceans and basking sharks include fisheries by-catch, pollution, underwater noise and habitat loss.

Cetacean entanglement in litter and fishing gear can cause mobility problems, injury and even death, and the trust is working cooperatively with the fishing industry and other researchers in the UK to better understand this problem so that it can be addressed. This year, ironically whilst the Silurian crew was celebrating a volunteer’s 60th birthday, a bunch of balloons was retrieved from the water – a reminder that celebratory balloons, even if marketed as ‘biodegradable’, can have lasting consequences for our wider environment.

Silurian – previously used in filming of the BBC’s The Blue Planet series – covered more than 4,000 nautical miles in 2015, its crew of volunteers and marine scientists documenting more than 1,200 encounters with cetaceans and basking sharks, and recording almost 625 hours of underwater detections of cetaceans using specialist listening equipment.

Despite less than favourable weather conditions, the overall encounter rate remained steady, with eight sightings of cetaceans per 100 km recorded, compared to nine per 100 km in 2014 and five per 100 km in 2013.

The annual surveys depend on paying volunteers. In 2015, 69 dedicated volunteers clocked up 760 survey hours – working with marine scientists to conduct visual surveys and acoustic monitoring with hydrophones (underwater microphones) monitored by computers, and identifying individual cetaceans through photography of dorsal fins.

The trust – based in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull – is recruiting volunteers for its 2016 surveys, to live and work as citizen scientists onboard Silurian for expeditions of one to two weeks from April to September. Participation costs cover boat expenses, support the trust’s research programme and include accommodation, training, food and insurance. For details, contact Morven Russell at volunteercoordinator@hwdt.org, call 01688 302620, or visit www.hwdt.org.

Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust has been monitoring marine mega fauna in the Hebrides for 13 years, and is the only organisation collecting long-term data on such a large scale on Scotland’s west coast. A short film about its marine surveys can be seen at https://youtu.be/M_3r-GKfh8o.

Western Scotland’s seas are one of Europe’s most important habitats for cetaceans and one of the UK’s most biologically productive areas. So far 24 of the world’s 83 cetacean species have been recorded in the region, many being national and international conservation priority species.

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Winter Clothing Appeal Aims To Keep Kids Cosy

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Oct 292015

A north-east charity is aiming to ensure that hundreds of local children living in poverty are warm on their walk to school this winter. With thanks to Ian McLaren, PR account manager, Innes Associates.

Cash for Kids has launched its annual Coats for Kids appeal in order to fulfil an anticipated 600 applications for children’s winter clothing vouchers.

In order to meet the expected demand, the Aberdeen-based charity needs to raise over £30,000 to fund the purchase of a warm winter coat, a pair of winter boots and a scarf, hat and gloves for every child to keep the winter chill away.

This is the third consecutive year in which Cash for Kids has organised the Coats for Kids appeal.

The appeal was initially launched after the charity received a significant number of applications in its quarterly grant funding programme from families requesting funding to purchase winter clothing for their children.

Cash for Kids, which supports sick, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people under the age of 18 living in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, works with support workers, social workers and community groups to identify those children who are in need of new winter clothing.

The charity has struck a deal with a leading retailer to provide vouchers to the families in need. These vouchers can then be redeemed against the purchase of children’s winter wear.

Michelle Ferguson, charity manager, said:

“Winter is a time when family finances can become very stretched. There are an estimated 12,000 children in north-east Scotland living in poverty and some of their parents cannot afford to purchase warm winter clothing for their children. There are obvious health reasons why youngsters should be cosy when walking to school or playing outside in winter.

“In 2014, we were inundated with applications and expect similar high demand this year. We received an incredible response last year with a large number of public and corporate donations which enabled us to fulfil all applications. To do the same again this year would be tremendous, meaning that all of the children in north-east Scotland who may not otherwise be kitted out in warm winter clothing are ready for whatever winter can throw at them.”

In addition to running specific appeals, Cash for Kids provides quarterly grant funding to support sick, disabled and disadvantaged children and young people under the age of 18 throughout Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Funding is distributed at the end of January, April, July and October every year and is available to individuals, families and community groups. All applications must be endorsed by a third party, such as a social worker or health visitor.

Any individuals, organisations or businesses that wish to support this year’s Coats for Kids appeal should contact Michelle Ferguson on 01224 337010 or michelle.ferguson@northsound.co.uk, or visit www.northsound1.com/coats.

Cash for Kids is Northsound Radio’s listeners’ charity. It makes grants to individuals, families, children’s groups, organisations and projects throughout the Northsound transmission area. All money is raised locally and spent locally to benefit local disabled and disadvantaged children and young people under 18. More information on Cash for Kids can be found at www.northsound1.com/cashforkids, or telephone 01224 337010.

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Rebecca At HMT: Duncan Harley Reviews

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Oct 292015

Emma Rice has taken the Daphne Du Maurier 1938 bestseller out of the box, shaken it about a bit and injected a good measure of humour. Does it work? Duncan Harley reviews Rebecca at HM Theatre, Aberdeen.

Lizzie Winkler as Bea and Andy Williams as Giles in REBECCA photo by Steve Tanner.

Billed as a study in jealousy, and described by Du Maurier as “a sinister … psychological and rather macabre … tale about a woman who marries a widower”, the story is indeed a dark one.

Following the mysterious death of Rebecca, his first wife, Maxim de Winter returns to his Manderley estate in Cornwall with a new bride, Mrs de Winter.

From the outset, all is not as it seems and the new mistress of the house sets out to uncover the secrets of the past.

Along the way she must stand up to the sinister housekeeper Mrs Danvers, assert her new-found authority and finally enable her new husband to come to terms with the unburied memories which desperately haunt him.

Says Rice:

“Rebecca challenges us from the grave with her lack of care for society’s rules … I celebrate all of the wonderful female characters … from the passionate and loyal Mrs Danvers to the new Mrs de Winter, who wakes from her fairy tale slumber in front of our very eyes.”

Gender roles are to the fore in this adaptation. Men are men, and get up to man-like things such as drinking and womanising. Women are women and get up to dressing up and organising things. The exception to the rule is the unseen but omnipresent and very dead Rebecca de Winter, a manipulative sexual predator, incapable of love and intent only on satisfying her own pleasure.

Traditionally Rebecca is a morbidly dark tale but Emma Rice has lightened the story line somewhat. Sea shanties, performed by a sou’wester clad troop of jolly Cornish sailor men, lighten up the darkly intense mood and a Warhorse style puppet-dog sticks his nose into groins everywhere. There are episodes of knockabout and slapstick and at one point Jack – Rebecca’s cousin and ex-lover – attempts the great double-flickaroo’ cigarette trick.

Perhaps the most unlikely comedy turn comes via Katy Owen. Alongside playing the anguished harbour-side waif Ben, she plays Robert – the young Welsh house-boy. In a series of rollickingly hilarious skits Katy literally has the theatre audience in stitches.

Imogen Sage as Mrs de Winter, and Emily Raymond as the creepy Mrs Danvers, excel and LeslieTravers’ stage set is a triumph. Doubling both as decaying stately home and stormy quayside, the set appropriately suggests a place where nothing is as it seems. Rebecca’s wrecked boat becomes the wine cellar; the parlour effortlessly morphs into a boathouse and later a storm-swept harbour mouth.

If criticism were due, it would be on the grounds of a slightly hurried second half. The plot involves a lot of soul-searching and problem-solving, and at times the action moves perceptibly too fast for those unfamiliar with the storyline to follow. The notion of a Judge Jeffries style coastguard, played by Andy Williams, was also hard to swallow. But in them far off days in Cornwall, perhaps the local Coastguard did indeed double as hangman.

All in all though, the production works wonderfully well and the entire cast gave a polished and thoroughly professional performance.

After the final curtain call and as we all made our way down to the exits, a fellow theatre-goer was heard to remark:

“I wonder what Daphne would have made of it all?”

Her companion whispered:

“I think she would have approved wholeheartedly.”

Adapted and Directed by Emma Rice – Rebecca plays at HM Theatre Aberdeen until Saturday 31st October

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

Words © Duncan Harley, Images © Steve Tanner

Mental Health Aberdeen Gets Fundraising Boost

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Oct 222015

With thanks to Jessica Murphy, Senior Account Executive, Citrus Mix.

A ceilidh held in aid of Mental Health Aberdeen (MHA) has brought in thousands of pounds to help the charity.
Employees at oil and gas consultancy ADIL danced their way to raising £3,000 for MHA – their chosen charity of the year.

Staff at ADIL have not just been donning their dancing shoes to support the charity – earlier this year they also pulled up their sleeves, gave up their spare time and helped MHA paint its offices.

The company’s continued support has so far brought in more than £6,400.

Astrid Whyte, chief executive of MHA, said:

“The support we receive from companies in Aberdeen is so important and makes such a difference to us. Staff at ADIL have raised a fantastic amount for us already throughout the year and we would like to thank them for their generous efforts so far.

“We are particularly appreciative of gestures like this in the current economic climate. Demand for our services continues to grow throughout the north-east and support like this is invaluable to us as we work hard to meet requirements. Holding events also helps us to build up our profile and make people aware of what we do, as well as letting them know we are here to help.

“We work throughout Aberdeen and the north-east and there is a strong need for the services we offer, which range from our Companions Befriending Service to youth counselling sessions. We want to continue providing and improving these services in local communities in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, and kind gestures like this make all the difference to us in achieving that.”

Peter Brawley, operations and improvements manager at ADIL, said:

“MHA is a fantastic charity and it is great to know that the money we have raised will be going towards such a good cause.

“Despite the situation that the oil industry is currently in, we believe that it is still crucial to provide support to our community and we will do whatever we can to do so.”

Founded in 1950, MHA offers a range of resources which include emotional and practical support, information and advice, support with helping overcoming social isolation, links and access to other community resources as well as activities promoting mental wellbeing. Based in Aberdeen, the charity has centres throughout the north-east in towns including Aboyne, Banff, Ellon, Peterhead and Inverurie.

The organisation was among the first to provide community care – with its first residential project, a group home for discharged psychiatric patients, opened more than 35 years ago. MHA has also been providing day services continuously for over 60 years.

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Conference: Can Social Finance Create A Fairer Society?

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Oct 222015

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

Transforming how money is used for social good – and to create a fairer society across Scotland – will be in the spotlight in Edinburgh next month, at the country’s first conference focused on social finance.

John Swinney, Deputy First Minister of the Scottish Government, will open the event at Edinburgh’s Roxburghe Hotel on Thursday 19 November, and a range of international experts will be speaking on social finance, investment and banking.

Delegates will hear how social finance can achieve major benefits for society, the environment and people’s wellbeing.

The conference – ‘Social Finance: Social Investment: Social Banking – What makes them Social?’ – is being hosted by Scottish Community Re: Investment Trust, an independent charity working to influence, inform and assist the Scottish third sector to align its financial resources and planning with its aspirations for a more social and environmentally just Scotland.

Deirdre Forsyth, Chair of Scottish Community Re: Investment Trust, said:

“This pioneering conference will explore how Scotland’s third sector – which makes such a vital, positive difference to Scottish society – can enhance its social impact through more sustainable, collaborative and socially responsible use of its money.”

Workshops and discussions will include crowdfunding campaigns, community shares, social banks and more.

Speakers include Eric Holterhues, Head of SRI Funds at Triodos Investment Management BV in The Netherlands; Rod Ashley, Chief Executive at Scotland’s Airdrie Savings Bank; Adrian Saches, Client Executive at GLS Social Bank in Germany; Dan Gregory, Blogger at Common Capital; and Peter Quarmby, Founding Director of Community Sector Banking in Australia.

The event is part of Scottish Community Re: Investment Trust’s ambition to transform Scotland’s third sector finances. The trust says that the sector lacks a financial framework suited to its values and ways of working – with challenges including scattered resources, unsuitable financial products, and a lack of Scottish-focused banks offering a transparent way to invest ethically.

For details of ticket prices and to book in advance, please see www.scrt.scot.

Principle sponsor of the conference is Airdrie Savings Bank (https://airdriesavingsbank.com). Other sponsors include Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Zero Waste Scotland.

Rod Ashley said:

“Airdrie Savings Bank is delighted to sponsor this conference. We are a not for profit community bank with no shareholders, governed by a Board made up, principally, of unremunerated Trustees. All returns are for the communities and customers we serve. The bank is committed to social justice within a sustainable economy and is pioneering Scotland’s engagement in banking which considers its environmental, cultural and social impact.”

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Bibo Keeley’s Banned Artwork BrewDog Premier

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Oct 222015

Artist Bibo Keeley’s work ‘FREE AS A BIRD’ was banned by Aberdeen’s North East Scotland College (NESCOL) earlier this year, where she was studying Art and Design as a mature student. But it can now be seen for the first time when it is exhibited at the BrewDog Bar in Aberdeen’s Gallowgate on 22 October 2015 from 7pm.

FREE AS A BIRD is a feminist artwork which denounces gender inequality. However, senior College management issued a banning order on the piece and denied Bibo Keeley the opportunity to exhibit her work at the College’s Creative End of Year Show.

This act of artistic censorship caused outrage among many people, both locally and on social media.

Meanwhile, the artwork has gained academic recognition, e.g. in the article ‘Bibo Keeley’s artwork in the context of North American, Scottish and British feminist art’ by art historians and Aberdeen University Lecturers Dr. Fern Insh and Dr. Amy Bryzgel:
Now the original artwork by Bibo Keeley will be the unveiled at an opening event at BrewDog Bar.

The artist will be present, and will introduce the work and the background as to how it came about.

There will be photo opportunities and the chance for discussions.

Bibo Keeley says

“I am delighted that I now have the opportunity to exhibit my work in public. I found it incredible that anyone would ban this artwork in the first place, because the work is very clearly aimed at promoting gender equality.”

Bibo Keeley’s website can be found here

The Nicest Monday Ever? Barenaked Ladies In Town

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Oct 192015

There are various stereotypes that Canadians have to live with – they wear plaid shirts, are always chilled out and friendly, and have a good sense of humour. The Barenaked Ladies might be where this idea comes from; it’s a long time since a bunch of guys on tour looked like they were wide-eyed, appreciative of their fans and host cities, and genuinely looked like they were having the time of their life in the Beach Ballroom. Suzanne Kelly reports; photography by Julie Thompson.

The show started with – and I’m heartbroken at having missed most of it — Men At Work’s inimitable Colin Hay. Hay’s got a few projects out, not least a film coming soon and a re-release of his album Havana Rocks on vinyl – details here. The Men at Work might have stopped working a few decades back, but he’s working the vocals and playing beautifully, as I see when he does ‘Who Can It Be Now?’ with the Ladies. He’s got one of the most distinctive voices in pop for decades, and it’s sounding wonderful.

Before the Barenaked Ladies come on, I talk to Fiona and Iain who tell me they’re long-term fans (the band has been going for nearly 30 years) and they’re dying to hear them live tonight.

Looks as if most of the audience knows the material as the night progresses, everyone’s singing along, even to the challenging ‘Big Bang Theory’ theme tune. The act is known for its clever, slick lyrics, and it’s clear they’ve had an impact on this crowd.

As well as the speedy rollercoaster that’s the Big Bang Theory theme tune, I find myself enjoying the slower, gentler ‘Duct Tape Heart’. Then there’s the humorous ‘If I had a Million Dollars.’ Even the photographers are singing along.

The only people not necessarily enjoying themselves are the three security guards at the front of the stage, who have been the subject of some of the good-hearted banter; being the centre of attention doesn’t seem to sit too well on these guards. But this evening’s turned into a cabaret, a comedy show, a rap improv night, and honestly, for a Monday night in Aberdeen, I can’t remember seeing such a collective good time.

Hay looks like he’s enjoying himself; the Barenaked Ladies are filled with an innocent, sweet kind of enthusiasm few people are possessed of. They’ve been wandering through Aberdeen today, seeking pinball thrills. We’re told that Ed came to the Moorings – sorry Krakatoa and got the number one score. I can officially confirm I’ve seen this is true. He’s told us all about it like an excited fifteen year old.

They seem like a bunch of big kids. Big cheerful Canadian kids.

I really hope they are having as much fun as it looks. I’m convinced this must be true when they deliver an Aberdeen-themed rap number near the encore.

The encore – Zeppelin. Rock & Roll; a nice fresh take on this classic has the ballroom fans – it’s sold out by the way – as cheery as the band is. It’s a competent take, or I’d have slated them severely. By the way, the band are (according to their website):

“After 27 years together, over 14 million albums sold, and multiple Juno Awards and Grammy nominations, Silverball, the cerebral band’s fourteenth album finds the long-standing partnership of Ed Robertson (guitar, vocals), Jim Creeggan (bass, vocals), Kevin Hearn (keyboard, guitar, vocals) and Tyler Stewart (drums, vocals) firing on all cylinders.”

But by these last few songs, every band member’s taken a tour of duty round the stage and I’m almost losing track of who is supposed to be singing, drumming or playing what guitar. They’re described as cerebral and I’ll give them that – not in a cold egghead condescending kind of way, but in terms of writing and playing, there are no weak links in this machine, which is probably why it’s kept going.

If they’re keeping it fresh for their audience, it’s because they’re keeping it fresh for themselves witnessed by the way they have totally personalised this evening, tailoring it like a Saville Row bespoke tailor, to Aberdeen.

I wish I could remember the words they sang about Aberdeen – I tried to catch it in a notebook, but the Barenaked Ladies are too fast for the likes of me. Mercurial? Absolutely.

When / if they next come back this way, I’m going to come back. Should I get a chance to see Hay again anytime soon, I’ll be on it. Really couldn’t have asked for a more all-round entertaining, cheerful evening.

Set list (thanks Julie)

Get Back Up, Old Apartment, Odds Are, Gonna Walk, Matter Of Time, Easy, Brian Wilson, Narrow Streets, Who Can It Be Now? – With Colin Hay, Falling For The First Time, Did I Say That Out Loud?, Passcode, Light Up My Room, Duct Tape Heart, Pinch Me – With Colin Hay, Big Bang, One Week, If I Had A Million Dollars, Barenaked Rap, Drawing, Rock & Roll.

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