With thanks to Suzanne Kelly.
Cats Protection needs foster homes to look after a cat until a permanent home becomes available.
Whilst fostering, cats protection provide food, litter and pay all vets expenses.
Some cats find new homes very quickly but others may be in foster care for several months.
All foster cats are vet checked and neutered. We are always looking for permanent homes for the cats we have.
For more information call 01224740699
With thanks to Mike Martin.
Aberdeen & District CND are delighted to be hosting Alan Mackinnon, SCND executive member, who will be speaking on his new pamphlet: “Falling Eagle, Rising Dragon – The dangers of a new arms race in the Asia-Pacific region” at a public meeting on Monday 9th June.
The dangers of a new arms race in the Asia-Pacific region Obama’s ‘pivot’ to Asia has shifted America’s geo-strategic focus to the new realities of power across the world. Our guest speaker, Alan Mackinnon, will examine how this pivot is raising tensions in the region and could trigger a new Cold War with huge regional and global implications.
After the presentation there will be an opportunity for questions and contributions.
CND believes that to prevent any future mass destruction of human population the UK Government should:
Time and Date: 6:15pm, Monday, 9th June
Venue: Unite the Union, 42-44 King Street, AB24 2TJ
Website: http://www.banthebomb.org/
Contact: Mike on 0797-476-3082
Vamos Scotland (CQTC Group), a company whose purpose is to promote the Hispanic culture in the UK are currently organising the II European Young Entrepreneur Seminars. The next will take place in Aberdeen on 10th June. With thanks to Elena Sierra.
As Vamos Scotland (CQTC Group) is concerned about youth unemployment we are pleased to announce and bring to your attention the II European Young Entrepreneur Seminars and Integra-UK.
II European Young Entrepreneur Seminar and Integra-UK are conceived as a part of the initiatives that Vamos Scotland (CQTC Group) and the Ministry of Employment and Social Security are developing to support and make available useful information to young Spanish people who have questions about starting a business in the UK and to help them make their ideas a reality.
II European Young Entrepreneur Seminar will be held in 2 Scottish cities:
Aberdeen, 10th June at the Society of Advocates in Aberdeen, Concert Ct, Broad St, Aberdeen AB10. From 15:00 pm to 17:30 pm.
Glasgow, 25th September at Glasgow Union University, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Glasgow City G12 8. From 15:00 pm to 18:30 pm.
Through these seminars, we will introduce Integra-UK, the only exchange programme which gives aspiring Spanish entrepreneurs the chance to learn from experienced entrepreneurs running small businesses in Scotland.
The exchange of experience takes place during a 2 month programme, which helps the new Spanish entrepreneur acquire the skills needed to run a small firm in the UK.
Likewise, the attendees of these Seminars will have the opportunity to know what kind of services business adviser institutions like Business Gateway and Entrepreneurial Spark can offer them.
In addition, we will learn from the experience of young entrepreneurs that have already started their own business in Scotland. They will show us how useful the help from the advisory offices can be and of course, our intuition and creativity.
More Info:
www.cqtcgroup.com
www.integra-uk.org
First seminar edition
Facebook
Aberdeen tickets available on Eventbrite
Glasgow tickets available on Eventbrite
By Duncan Harley
It’s been quite a few years since the invasion of Europe by the Allied forces – three score and then ten in fact at the last count.
War of course generally sucks but this week the media is full of the stuff of legends.
The old beggars under sacks whom Wilfred Owen described are now medal sporting heroes despite their insistence that as scared 18 year olds they were just carrying out orders.
There is no disrespect here, only understanding.
According to military theorists such as Carl von Clausewitz:
“War is simply an extension of politics by a different means.”
According to those who are provided with the means to maim and kill at ground zero level it is another story.
“I have never been as scared” says Gordon Highlander Tam.
“The Taliban had moved back into our positions no less than 10 hours after we left. What was the point of us even being there. Every farmer in the area helped them. None of my platoon really understood why we were there to be honest. Those farmers were just caught in the middle. Then my mate got shot and we gave it to them big time.”
Old women who survived will tell the same story.
“Our job was to plot the movements of incoming enemy bombers then vector the fighter squadrons onto them” recalls 92 year old widow Rita Denson.
Now living in the Home Counties she recalls vividly the voices of the pilots as they went into battle.
“The most difficult were the Poles.
“They would break into Polish despite orders to only use English. No-one at Manston spoke Polish so we couldn’t understand a word of what they were saying. The worst was hearing the screams as they were shot down. It was part of the job to listen. I expect it was the same for the German controllers actually.”
Civilians also remember the carnage. Many years ago policeman’s son George Robertson from Aberdeen related how several dozen of his workmates had been killed while queuing to buy lunch just outside the Hall Russell shipyard in Aberdeen. He had been a young apprentice at the time and the memory of that dreadful day haunted him for the rest of his life.
“There were bodies everywhere” he recalled
“some minus arms and even heads, it was not a sight for any a young man to see!”
It was a bloody affair indeed and it shocked the city to the core.
It’s a clever thing D-Day. In military terms it signifies day one of a campaign.
some young men from Germany and Austria were sent to bomb Aberdeen
D-Day designates the start day of the operation when the day has not yet been determined, or where secrecy is essential. There is also H-Hour which designates the actual hour when all units initiate the action.
So the same D-Day and H-Hour apply for every unit meaning that delays and hold ups cannot add to the fog of war by creating false starts. If the start is delayed due to unforeseen circumstances such as weather or enemy action then the plan continues from day one, whenever that may eventually turn out to be.
Then of course there is M-minute and even S-second meaning that the military can timetable an invasion precisely using mathematical notation such as D+4+H-7= Four days after D-Day at some ungodly hour in the early morning when hopefully the enemy is asleep.
In the case of the invasion of 1944 German occupied France, D-Day was a full 24 hours after the planned date but due to the military timetabling system that made little difference to the planners who after all would not be going to France right away in any case.
In the lead up to D-Day some young men from Germany and Austria were sent to bomb Aberdeen. On D-14- 27,002 Fritz Rabe and his co-pilot Heinrich Bieroth died when their twin engine Heinkel bomber was attacked and shot down over Peterhead.
On D- 26,938 Herman Zeitzch , Walter Both, Karl Loffler and Werner Drexhage died in a plane crash off Cruden Bay.
On D- 26,993 Paul Plishke, Georg Kerkhoff, Herbert Huck and August Skoken died when their Heinkel HE111H-3 plane was shot down over Aberdeen and crashed into the Ice Rink in South Anderson Drive.
The youngest of those German fliers was 21, the oldest 24.
In the case of the Ice Rink deaths three Fighter aircraft from Dyce Aerodrome had been scrambled minutes after the first German bombs had exploded. They were manned by the pilots of Yellow Section 603 Squadron and were led by Pilot Officer J.R. Caister.
Seeing that the single German plane had become separated from the main attack force the three Spitfires headed towards it with the intention of shooting it down. The bomber pilot, sensing the danger headed out to sea only to be headed back inland by the pursuing fighters.
For around eight minutes or so the game of cat and mouse was played out over the Aberdeen skies. It was lunchtime and hundreds or more folk on the ground were able to observe the unfolding drama.
Eventually, after receiving several bursts of machine gun fire from Navy gunners on the roof of the Station Hotel and some quite ineffective shots from Torry Battery, which put the pursuing fighters at some risk, the German bomber burst into flames and began a slow but inevitable descent to earth.
Some at the time wondered if the pilot had tried to avoid crashing into houses in Morningside Crescent and South Anderson Drive.
Others assumed that he had been dead at the controls as perhaps was the rear gunner who seemingly continued to fire his machine gun all through the final descent. Whatever the truth was we will never know.
The end came suddenly and violently as the aircraft’s wingtip struck a tree at the foot of Anderson Drive near the junction with Rutherieston Road. Already alight and quite out of control the Heinkel bomber smashed into the newly built Aberdeen Ice Rink which collapsed in flames around it.
None of the aircrafts four man crew survived although one was reportedly found half way out of the aircrafts escape hatch with his parachute harness on. A ladies shoe was also found in the wreckage, perhaps the property of a wife or girlfriend who would never see her loved one again.
In true boys own rhetoric, the local newspaper of the day reported on a “Thrilling Dog-Fight with Spitfires” and “bullets rattling on our roof like a sea of hail”.
The Aberdeen Evening Express of that day reported in a heavily censored article that the enemy airplane made repeated attempts to head out to sea but was headed off repeatedly by the circling Spitfires. The bomber seemingly made a “last but vain effort to climb into cloud before being shot down in a hail of gunfire”.
The official record of the episode is more subdued and reads:
“9./KG26 Heinkel He 111H-3. Sortied to attack Leuchars airfield with harbour installations at Broughty Ferry, Dundee, as alternate. Shot down by Yellow Section No. 603 Squadron (Pilot Officer J. R. Caister, Pilot Officer G. K. Gilroy and Sergeant I. K. Arber) over Aberdeen 1.10 p.m. Crashed and burned out at the skating rink in South Anderson Drive. (Ff) Lt Herbert Huck, (Bf) Gefr Georg Kerkhoff, (Bm) Uffz Paul Plischke and (Beo) Fw August Skokan all killed. Aircraft 1H+FT a write-off. This crew were buried in Graves 155, 150, 149, and 152 in the Old Churchyard at Dyce on July 16, 1940.”
The German flyers were buried with full military honours in Old Dyce Cemetery just two days after the drama which led to their deaths
The fields and seas around the North East coastline are littered with reminders of that time.
There are wrecked U-boats off the Moray coast, crashed German planes off Peterhead and even a war grave in the form a sunken British Valentine tank in Findhorn Bay. Tales of spies landed by German seaplane’s at Crovie and Gardenstown abound also.
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace and a leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus was no doubt taking the mickey when he wrote the famous lines “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori” which roughly translated reads “It is sweet and fitting to die for your country”.
When D-Day is remembered this Friday, think of the old lines, remember the dead of all those wars and look to a future without conflict.
After all, the dead and wounded soldiers amongst us deserve it.
© Duncan Harley
All rights reserved
The Bookshop Band were formed in their local bookshop – Mr Bs Emporium of Reading Delights, Bath.
With thanks to Eoin Smith.
An evening of literary entertainment is set to take place in a popular Aberdeen bookshop on June 3, blending writing with world-class music and magic.
Bath musicians The Bookshop Band will headline the event at Waterstones on Union Bridge, which will also feature a reading from acclaimed author Alan Spence and a performance by local magician Eoin Smith.
Playing original songs inspired by the books they have read, The Bookshop Band play their unique brand of acoustic folk in bookshops around the UK and internationally.
Formed in their local bookshop – Mr Bs Emporium of Reading Delights – their repertoire now includes almost 100 songs inspired by an incredibly diverse range of books – from Booker Prize nominee Ruth Ozeki to Ian Rankin’s Rebus.
Alan Spence, whose latest novel Night Boat was published in 2013, has strong ties with Aberdeen as Professor in Creative Writing at the University of Aberdeen. Also a prolific writer of poetry and short stories, he has become one of Scotland’s most respected writers since the publication of his first collection, Its Colours They Are Fine, in 1977.
Over the past three years, magician Eoin Smith has become a regular face at variety and comedy nights in and around Aberdeen. Blending humour with jaw-dropping illusions, he is guaranteed to leave the audience spellbound and will also compere the show.
Eoin said:
“I studied English Literature at university, so performing at an event like this is a dream come true. I have a lot of time and respect for The Bookshop Band and Alan Spence, so to be appearing alongside them is sure to be a fantastic experience.
“I hope book lovers around Aberdeen jump on the opportunity to attend such an unusual show, and hope that music and magic fans will also come down to check out what promises to be a really unique evening.”
For more information, please visit www.facebook.com/autorockaberdeen
The Bookshop Band | Alan Spence | Eoin Smith
Waterstones, Union Bridge, Aberdeen
Tues 3 June 2014
Doors open 7pm
Tickets £8 – available in store and at www.wegottickets.com/autorock
By Ken Hutcheon.
People will be aware that there is a major development being proposed where the old council buildings are being demolished at Broad Street.
Several hundred went to see the exhibitions by MUSE (the developers) and indeed many put in their comments and often objections to the plans they saw.
The final plans have now been submitted to Aberdeen Council to obtain approval.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, MUSE did not take those approx. 1100 comments and objections into account when arriving at their final design. (See the web site below for a breakdown of the feedback responses given to MUSE at the first exhibitions). So now is the time to make your comments or objections really count.
A website has been set up at www.marischalsquare.weebly.com which shows the wonderful perspective in Central Aberdeen we are about to lose for generations unless you object by following the links on the web site which will take you through to Aberdeen City Planning.
There you can view the latest plans and make comments or objections to the plans online while on their site. These comments/objections will form part of the report which will go to Aberdeen City Planning Committee and have to be taken into account when the Council make their final decision on the plans.
After some correspondence with Aberdeen City the cut off date for objections or comments has been changed from 06/06/2014 to 18/06/2014 so there is time to lodge your comments on the plans.
Interesting music promotions present The Phantom Band and Adam Stafford at The Tunnels on Friday 6 June 2014
Even the most adventurous alchemists return to their favoured base elements in the pursuit of maximum potency.
So it was that The Phantom Band – those wilfully mercurial outriders – reached album number three seeking a return to the first principles of performance that brought them together to begin with.
Strange Friend (due for release on 2nd June) was, in vocalist Rick Anthony’s words, borne out of:
“a desire to try and get back to that feeling of it just being a bunch of us in a room playing music together.”
It’s an attempt to capture the six of them live; raw, rugged, perhaps looser, but still fit to burst with earworms and oddities from every nook and cranny.
Strange Friend doesn’t have one firm concept at its root but several, infused with multiple meanings it reflects the constant percolation of voices within the Scottish six-piece, all jostling for their say.
Says Anthony of the album’s title:
“It can indirectly refer to a lot of different things,
“Living in a world that’s increasingly hyper-connected through the internet yet increasingly disconnected in terms of actual real human relationships. It could also refer to the band and our relationships to each other; our individual relationship to the band as a thing; our relationship to this particular album. It’s like a strange friend that we can’t quite shake. Or our relationship to music as a whole.”
Yet musically Strange Friend is perhaps the most straight-up set of recordings the band have put to wax.
Fans of their previous critically-acclaimed albums, fear not; those burbling, fluttering electronics that drag their sound through a wormhole and out into the 70’s alongside the soundtracks of John Carpenter and the kosmische of Kraftwerk and Neu! remain; the elements of folk; the woozy organ sounds.
The difference is now it feels as though an imaginary thread’s been pulled tight through it all; The Phantom Band were always a rock band that enjoyed pushing the pre-conceptions of what that could mean – never the other way round. Strange Friend, take the driving opening track and first single, ‘The Wind That Cried The World’.
Singer, Rick Redbeard commented:
“The verses have a kind of nursery rhyme musical naivety and we wanted the choruses to just sort of blast in. The lyrics were kind of stream of consciousness that alludes somewhat to the inherent meaninglessness and randomness of artistic creation. The whole track acts as a nice opener and first single; a sort of a statement of intent after being away for so long.”
It’s been three and a half years since anyone heard anything from The Phantom Band, something that they disregard as a notable time away.
“We’ve always moved at our own glacial pace,” says guitarist Duncan Marquiss.
Yet, with due respect to the group, their absence has been long enough to have been felt; their time taken in getting the record together was down partly to the inevitabilities of outside lives, partly due to a change of drummer – with Iain Stewart now behind the kit – and partly because of the fiercely democratic ethos the band has maintained since its beginning.
Strange Friend, like their previous outings, is the sound of six clearly distinct personalities attempting to inflict their will on the rest of the group – it’s no surprise the phrase ‘love/hate’ is brought up repeatedly by all its members in an attempt to describe their relationship with the band as an entity – but it’s that fission between each other’s contributions that provides the intangible individuality of their music.
“Like all true utopias it can feel impossible to maintain,” admits Marquiss.
“But we’d have fallen apart long ago if any one band member took the reins, and that friction between people throws up music that no single person in the band would have imagined otherwise. I still hope our utopia will turn into whisky fountains and flying sandwiches.”
It’s something that you can’t help but feel would be fully deserved for these most strange but wonderful returning friends.
Adam Stafford is a musician and filmmaker from Falkirk, Central Scotland. Now based in Glasgow he is the founder of Wise Blood Industries and was the singer and songwriter in the group Y’all is Fantasy Island (active between 05-11).
In November 2010 he recorded the solo LP Build a Harbour Immediately which was co-produced by Paul Savage (Mogwai/ex-Delgados) in Chem 19 Studios. It was released on Wise Blood in August 2011 to critical acclaim and featured on many End-of-Year lists in the music blogging community (read them HERE).
Recently he has been concentrating on live solo work and films. He has won seven international awards for his short documentary The Shutdown, made in collaboration with novelist Alan Bissett, directed a music video for The Twilight Sad’s single Seven Years of Letters (winner of Best Video at the New Scottish Music Awards 2011).
He recently completed a 2nd short film No Hope For Men Below (2012), a poetic dramatisation of The Redding Pit Disaster in Falkirk 1923.
In July 2013 Stafford issued the follow-up to Harbour, titled Imaginary Walls Collapse via Edinburgh label Song, by Toad and Canadian imprint Kingfisher Bluez to unanimously positive reviews.
In April 2014, Imaginary Walls Collapse was long-listed for The Scottish Album of the Year Award.
The Phantom Band + Adam Stafford
Friday 6 June 2014
The Tunnels (Room 1),
Carnegies Brae,
Aberdeen AB10 1BF.Phone (01224) 211121
Doors 8.00pm
Tickets £9+bf in adv / £11 on door
Available from http://www.wegottickets.com/event/268191
Limited amount will be available (no booking fee for cash sales) from iiMusic, The Academy, Belmont St.
http://www.facebook.com/interestingmusicpromotions
http://www.twitter.com/IMP_aberdeen
2014 is the 50th anniversary of the terrifying outbreak of typhoid in Aberdeen City
In part two of his article Duncan Harley looks at some of the issues surrounding the episode in which the people of the beleaguered city of Aberdeen literally ate the evidence while officials from MAFF (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) seemingly connived to sell the remaining stocks of corned beef abroad.
Initially the press were largely unaware of the 1964 Aberdeen typhoid outbreak but as the numbers of hospital admissions grew it became obvious that an epidemic was in progress.
Headlines proclaimed a ‘City under siege’ and the situation was not helped by the proclamation of the then Medical Officer of Health, Dr MacQueen:
“We’re not a leper colony! End this hysteria”.
His subsequent advice to both Aberdonians and holidaymakers alike to avoid swimming or paddling in the sea led to a local paper headlining on ‘Beach Bombshell’ and pretty effectively killed off any short term prospect of the return of the lucrative ‘Glasgow holiday trade’ to the beach seafront area.
Described by a colleague as ‘a bulldog with the hide of a rhinoceros’ Dr MacQueen’s strategy of innovative traditionalism has been seen by some as an attempt to protect and extend his department’s services.
He was judged by some to have made excessive use of the media and to have turned the outbreak into an event approaching a national crisis. Indeed the Milne Report into the handling and course of the epidemic commented that:
“we consider that the methods used by the Medical Officer of Health” were
“not wholly justified.”
By the end of May 1964 the MOH was advising the national press that Aberdeen was now ‘a beleaguered city’ and suggesting that Aberdonians should not venture outside the city boundaries. Outsiders should ‘stay away’ he said.
Public baths, youth clubs and sports clubs closed down for the duration and even the Police Pipe Band, who would later be on hand to play for the Typhoid Queen had to cancel an appearance in Renfrew.
Even the normally sedate Sunday Times newspaper got in on the act with an exclusive which claimed that the Granite City’s image as a clean modern city was erroneous. Seemingly Aberdeen was in reality a city suffering chronic housing problems and poor sanitation. Such histrionic rubbish only served to deepen the crisis.
The news of the epidemic was reported around the globe with one Spanish periodical reporting that the streets of Aberdeen were littered with unburied rotting corpses waiting to be thrown into the sea.
Although the tourist trade was first to suffer with hotels being particularly hard hit there were significant effects felt all over the North East. Caravan sites and hotels began refusing bookings from Aberdonians, butchery and fresh produce firms saw their customers sourcing goods elsewhere rather than risk buying from a city under siege.
The Elgin based wholesale fruit firm Reeve Ltd found it necessary to announce that none of their merchandise was coming from Aberdeen and a grocer in Forres told customers that it had cancelled all supplies from the city and now only sourced from firms in the South of Scotland
Alexander’s Bus Company reported a marked decrease in ticket sales with some services running virtually empty and at one stage panic ensued when a local Aberdeen butcher’s Thistle Street shop was wrongly identified as being the source of the outbreak.
Paranoia reached a peak when the catch of an Aberdeen fishing boat was seized after the skipper became ill with suspected typhoid. The matter was discussed at the daily crisis meeting in the council offices.
After some deliberation, during which it was pointed out that ‘unless the crew are in the habit of defecating in the hold, there is no scientific reason to suppose that the fish pose a health risk’, the catch was duly released for sale and public consumption.
For patients and relatives the experience was more serious however.
Placed in isolation wards and uncertain as to when or even if they would be allowed home, patients had to endure weeks of treatment separated from friends and family. Stories of visitors communicating with relatives through locked glass windows are common and as one Old Meldrum man recalls:
“I couldn’t understand why my father and mother weren’t allowed at my bedside, later when I was allowed up we would talk at the ward window, which was of course closed. This went on in my case for about 5 weeks. Luckily I have not had any long lasting effects from the illness but it must have been really hard for the younger children.”
Many others have similar stories.
Compared to the human cost of the Lanarkshire E. coli outbreak – twenty one deaths, Aberdeen’s typhoid epidemic’s total of three deaths pales into insignificance, however the after effects rumbled on for years.
government stockpiles of corned beef at the time contained further quantities of infected Rosario cans
Businesses in some cases never recovered and jobs were lost.
Tourism never really returned to previous heights and the local economy suffered until North Sea Oil finally came to the rescue.
In the wake of the outbreak there were enquiries at both local and national level, the Milne Enquiry being perhaps the most influential. In summary the Milne Report squarely places the source of the infection on infected corn beef imported from the Rosario factory in the Argentine and further stated that there was no evidence that the infected meat had come from government stockpiles.
The fact that the UK government stockpiles of corned beef at the time contained further quantities of infected Rosario cans was seemingly not an issue for Milne and his report concluded that:
“where canned meats are produced under satisfactory hygienic conditions – they will be free from any health hazard.”
It took almost 10 years for the existing emergency corned beef stocks in UK government run warehouses to be disposed of. The main method of disposal was the exporting the now suspect food to other markets abroad with a proviso that the meat should be re-processed.
Not only had the citizens of Aberdeen eaten the evidence from the initial source of the outbreak but over the years subsequent to the Milne Committee’s deliberation, the unsuspecting citizens of many other countries consumed the evidence which remained.
As a postscript, Michael Noble MP then Secretary of State for Scotland announced in September 1964 that in the light of the Aberdeen Typhoid Epidemic he would ensure that ‘additional funding’ would be made available to any local authority in Scotland ‘wishing to provide hand washing facilities within public conveniences’. He urged that councils should take up this generous offer before the end of the financial year.
Aberdonians were of course by this time already in the habit of washing their hands at every available opportunity despite the comment by Buff Hardie and his mates that:
“we never washed wir hands unless we did the lavvie first.”
© Duncan Harley 2014
All rights reserved
see also https://aberdeenvoice.com/2013/09/food-hygiene-hand-washing-and-remembering-typhoid/
Shannon Milne, Volunteer Co-ordinator awarding the Saltire Award ( for 50 and 100 hours volunteering ) and Summit Award recognising outstanding contribution as a volunteer to Francesca Falcone.
With thanks to Kathryn Russell.
An Aberdeen student has been recognised for the time she has contributed to volunteering, as well as receiving a further award recognising her outstanding contribution as a volunteer.
Francesca Falcone has achieved Saltire Awards for 50 and 100 hours of volunteering as a Volunteer Support Worker with local charity RAS (Rape and Abuse Support).
RAS provides support for survivors of rape, sexual abuse or sexual exploitation, as well as working within the community to develop awareness of these and surrounding issues.
Ms Falcone started the sixty hours of training with RAS in 2012, completing it in spring 2013 after passing the assessment, and began volunteering with RAS providing telephone support on the helpline, and also working one-to-one with survivors of sexual violence.
Chair of RAS, Kathryn Russell praised the commitment of the Aberdeen student saying:
“We are delighted that Francesca’s commitment to volunteering has been recognised in this way. It is not only a fantastic achievement in terms of the hours she has committed to providing vital support to the users of our service but we are also pleased that Francesca has been recognised for her outstanding contribution to RAS by being awarded the Summit Award, which is peer assessed by a panel of Saltire Ambassadors who decide who merits the Award.”
Volunteer Co-ordinator Shannon Milne added:
“At RAS, we have a strong volunteer program offering a range of opportunities for anyone to join our team of fantastic volunteers. If anyone is interested in volunteering, I would encourage them to get in touch for more information.”
RAS can be contacted for details on volunteering at info@rasane.org.uk.
Ms Falcone has also completed her Social Work degree at RGU, and her dissertation was entitled: ‘Surviving? An exploration of the impact of rape and barriers for survivors in disclosing to professional services‘.
Ms Falcone expects to continue volunteering with people who have experienced sexual violence, as well as developing a career in social work.
On Friday night, the 16th of May, Aberdeen Art Gallery hosted an opening evening for adults. The verdict: huge success. Suzanne Kelly attended.
A programme of fun, varied, creative, and thought-provoking activities awaited the many visitors to Aberdeen Art Gallery on Friday 16th.
When closing time came at 10 p.m., it came too soon.
The activities were, by and large, based around the theme of World War I.
Local historian, published writer, and my former neighbour Graeme Milne held writing workshops.
Participants selected random words pulled from an envelope and composed poems on the war theme.
The theme was beautifully, touchingly and sometimes humorously brought to life in a series of postcards Milne showed the attendees, and by the poems he read. One postcard from Christmas Day 1914 is reproduced at the end of this article.
Peacock Visual Arts had a massively popular printing workshop. Visitors queued and talked about the events, while waiting to choose from a number of famous WWI propaganda images and create their own screen print in a choice of colours of ink and paper. Alphabet blocks and ink also allowed those participating to create their own propaganda posters.
Finished posters by the score hung to dry on a line; Kitchener’s famous image was surreally reproduced in many colours. Peacock didn’t stop printing all evening.
People milled around exhibitions, tried on period costumes and posed for photos, and wrote telegrams. Paper crane making gave people the chance to hide origami cranes in the gallery for people to discover the next day. Another popular activity was designing and making poppies.
People worked in near silence as they concentrated on making individual poppies from felt, ribbon, paper and tulle; these were mounted on rings, pins and headbands. The interactive, informative, creative, and overall fun nature of these events made the night the success it was.
Wartime sketching workshops allowed people to try their skills at quickly capturing models in army uniform. A prize was awarded during one session to Marion Black, who had this to say about the evening:
“I think there should be more things like this in Aberdeen; I think the creative art scene needs to be encouraged. I study history of art, and there’s not that much out there for events; there’s Peacock and a few others… we have an amazing gallery; the collection here is amazing.”
This event was part of the Festival of Museums event programme taking place across Scotland from Friday 16th May to Sunday 18th May 2014. Visit http://festivalofmuseums.com/ for details.
Before the event, Anna Shortland, the informal learning officer and event co-ordinator for Aberdeen Art Gallery, said:
“The Art Gallery is an amazing, unique place at any time of the day, and so we are confident that people will have a brilliant night.
“We know that our visitors are keen to see the gallery in a more informal and social context – having fun in a museum or art gallery is not just for children but for adults too. The line-up is sure to bring in new audiences and we’ve already had lots of interest in this event.”
The evening was exactly the sort of event Aberdeen needs: well thought out behind the scenes, and spontaneous, fun, unrestricting and educational for the attendees. More like this please! But amid all the creating, singing and socialising, I could not forget the words on the postcard that ‘Jamie’ wrote to his mother.
His words in pencil were quite faint; the card they are on is ageing, but the sentiment of a young man at war, thinking of home on a Christmas Day, are something I will remember for a long time:
“December 25 1914 – Dear Mother, This is a board to remind (thou) it is Xmas, but as this is the day of ______ it well may be in time for next Xmas. At any rate it will be in time for the new year or sometime after it. We are holding Xmas day so we are getting a fed [sic] off them so we will have to make it as merry as we can. I am longing for a few lines from you soon. Hoping this Xmas you are all well, and wishing you all a Happy New Year as this leaves me in the best of spirits, but would of [sic] been pleased holding the New Year at home. This is Xmas day in Italy – Jamie”
– I found myself hoping that this ‘Jamie’ made it home and saw many more Xmas days; so many never made it home again.