Jun 192015
 

A satirical cornucopia of news stories, current events, anecdotes and statistics on the life and crimes – sorry – life and times of Donald Trump. Businessmen large and small, beautiful women, here’s all you need to know to convince yourselves Trump’s the partner for you. And – he wants to grow up to be President. Old Susannah aka Suzanne Kelly counts down.

DictionaryDonald Trump is not just another pretty face. Sure, he may have had the odd financial hiccough or two.

He may have done business with some less than savoury characters (Damian Bates of the P&J and the odd underworld shadowy figure).

But at heart he’s just a nice guy who wants to build a golf club – best in the world – that his dear saintly grandma would have loved. With no further ado, here are 19 reasons why this is the ideal business/matrimonial/golf/huntin’ & shootin’ partner for you.

  1. He’s going to stop Mexico from sending rapist druggie immigrants to the USA

In a remarkable video, Trump’s just explained how Mexico is ‘sending’ the good ole US of A people with problems. We’ve got to stop these foreigners from coming into a civilised country, riding roughshod over its laws, and taking over. If he’d have said this from his Menie estate golf clubhouse, where he flies in, having taken over two former SSSI sites and brought grief to the locals, it would have really driven the point home.

Listen to him talking about how to deal with these undesirable foreigners here:

  1. He’s into freedom of expression – unless you’re working for him and have something on your Facebook page that’s naughty and bad for the club’s reputation. How we all laughed when the highly-offended Trump International Golf Links Scotland management sacked its chef. Why did they get the hump?

The man had the temerity to have (stop reading if you are of a sensitive disposition, and skip to No 3) a shortbread that looked like a man’s private parts on his Facebook page. Sure, this was his own private Facebook page not linked to Trump, and someone else had put the offensive confection on the chef’s page, but when you’re dealing with financial titans of Trump’s moral fibre, there is no room for anything offensive. (See also No. 5 for further evidence of what is / is not offensive to publish).

The chef in question was going without his final pay for a while; he had a sick child. Was it the intervention of a local newspaper (hint: not the P&J) which was going to write further about this that helped get the chef his settlement? We’ll never know, as like anyone else who’s worked for the Donald, he may well have been gagged.

  1. The Donald can link you to some colourful characters.

While immigration from Mexico to the US is obviously a no-no to our man; Donald Trump once indicated that only Europeans should be allowed to come on over. Some of these acceptable types of immigrants and their children now do business with the man.

There is no room for racial discrimination; Trump’s been accused by others of having links to alleged criminals and organised crime figures from European as well as Asian backgrounds.

This article seems to assert there are possible links to organised crime and Donald Trump.

In this article questions are raised about Mr Trump’s links and as to whether the Scottish Government fully assessed any such issues

Aberdeenshire planning is aware of all of this; so were the Scottish reporters who granted him permission to take over Menie for his planned complex. But they decided it wasn’t relevant. There is a government/Police Scotland directive about looking out for organised crime operations – which may well flourish in property development (heaven forfend!). But as you and I know, there is often smoke without fire. I think Trump’s just vaping.

Since no laws about organised crime and what goes with it are being enforced in Scotland (in Trump’s case anyway), you’ll get to meet lots of influential people if you get in bed with the Donald.

  1. His Gran was Scottish

There can be no more persuasive argument than that Donald Trump boasts Scottish bloodlines. No wonder he’s always trying to get Barak Obama to produce a birth certificate; Obama might be one of those non-European raping drug dealers that snuck into America.

It was always something of a surprise that having The Don show up at Aberdeen Airport (estimated cost of one cancelled trip, according to the Police, cost the taxpayer £8000 in police costs) with beautiful girls, red carpets and a personal police escort hasn’t led to massive crowds waiving hankies and throwing flowers. He’s one of us after all (Old Susannah has Scottish roots too, but alas won’t be opening a golf course).

This love of all things Scottish and a disdain for third world people trying to better themselves is seen in the many ‘Made In China’ ties, shirts, souvenirs available with the Trump brand.

  1. He passes valuable skills and moral lessons to his children: Hunting is cool

Donald Jr. is a chip off the old blockhead. He is as much a conservationist as his father is an environmentalist (see No. 12). When Donald Jr posed with a severed elephant’s tail, it made some bleeding heart liberals angry.

You might think that with poachers reducing Africa’s elephant, rhino and big game population to the vanishing point that elephants were somehow benevolent creatures and should be saved. It’s just as Donald Jr. explained it in Anthony Baxter’s (see No. 20) film ‘A Dangerous Game’. If people like the Trumps didn’t go on safari with guns, Africans wouldn’t have shoes.

That kind f charity alone should convince you this is the business partner for you. Ladies will swoon at the braveness of the big hunter polishing his big gun too.

Forbes Magazine puts it all into perspective:

“First, what was with that elephant tail? Donald Jr. told me that TMZ didn’t report that Africans traditionally cut off the tail and make bracelets from the tail hair. TMZ didn’t seem to know—again, because they didn’t do any reporting—that Africans do this as a sign of respect for the fallen animal. And they didn’t report that elephants are over-populated in the area the Trumps hunted and so need to be hunted to prevent them from further destroying their habitat.

“They didn’t mention that when elephants overpopulate they literally rip down the forest. They didn’t note—and any conservation group could have told them this—the result of an overpopulated elephant herd is death by starvation and disease. Nor did they did contact the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority to find out that hunting is managed scientifically to benefit all species and the ecosystem.” 

As Groucho Marx once said in Animal Crackers:

“This morning I shot an elephant in my pyjamas – how it got in my pyjamas I’ll never know.” 

So here we have a family of brave, intrepid hunters risking life and limb to stop elephants in their tracks. Now that you know the real facts, and that the tail was going to be made into a bracelet to celebrate the animal’s bravery or some such, defend the clan Trump. All I can say to those who criticise them for their hunting is ‘Tusk, tusk tusk’.

  1. He’s going to be President 

It’s not enough to run beauty pageants and golf courses; it’s not even enough to be a self-awarding award winner (see no. 9)  and an energy expert. The Donald wants to be president, and apparently he’s going for it. For some reason, he feels an affiliation for America’s right-wing Republican party; I am sure this surprised you greatly.

He has a plan to stop IS/ISIS in its tracks (but we can’t be told about it yet), and he’s going to build great big walls between the US and Mexico (those pesky raping druggie immigrants don’t you know). Watch for further developments. I feel much safer knowing that one day Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin may interface representing the US and Russia. Peace in our time may be imminent.

Most of us think of him as a modern incarnation of ‘Honest’ Abraham Lincoln (except Lincoln had better hair). However, The Washington Post is not as convinced of his honesty. They write:

“He won’t feel the need to strictly adhere to, well, the truth.” 

This is a shocking statement about how he may perform in a debate, and I hope he sues them. Here’s a great profile of the future president.

  1. He’s quite the ladies’ man

The world’s most beautiful women flock to the Donald. Dreams of running their fingers through his chequebook – sorry – his hair — bring the world’s most glamourous, self-esteem-filled women running. This sex appeal will surely rub off on all who are associated with him. Perhaps part of that appeal are all those photos of him looking thoughtful and self-possessed.  You might find yourself throwing interesting shapes with your mouth as well just like he does.

  1. Trump helps liberate women by running beauty pageants

It’s nice that Donald helps the fairer sex be all they can be – objects. If that weren’t good enough, if further proof if any were needed that there is no racism in the Trump organisation – the Miss Universe pageant is open to every beautiful woman willing to put on a bikini. Miss Universe is a completely above board exercise in finding out who looks best in a gown or a swimsuit. Can you believe one year a transgender person entered? It speaks volumes for Trump that they let this happen (eventually).

One sore loser claimed the pageant was fixed! Donald retaliated in the most refined, gentlemanly way possible – he sued her for $5,000,000. Obviously a beauty pageant would never be a fix.

  1. He’s won awards including the 6 Diamond Award

Donald Trump’s businesses have won awards. Winning is everything. What helps to win awards? Being one of the people behind the award scheme of course. The well-known American Academy of Hospitality game DT’s Menie Links a six diamond award. Diamond award, diamond geezer.

The prestigious 6 Diamond award had never been achieved before.  And what makes a 6 Diamond Award more special than a 5 Diamond award? Well, it’s one more, innit? For more details of what the award is about, you could enquire on the website – where you can see the Academy Trustees. The top row has a photo of one ‘Ambassador Extraordinaire’ – Donald Trump. I’m sure they will answer all questions about how the award winners are selected.

10. Trump’s a TV star – that means he must be popular.

No doubt this will be a vote winner. ‘President Donald Trump’ – this does have a certain ring to it. Alas, though – he may not be friends with people who helped his US version of ‘The Apprentice’ along the way. And those lucky female contestants? Here’s what Trump said:

All of the women on The Apprentice flirted with me – consciously or unconsciously. That’s to be expected.

Indeed it is. I’m surprised Damian Bates isn’t worried about his lovely bride Sarah ‘Face of Aberdeen’ working so closely with this sex magnet magnate.

  1. Donald’s helping to make Neil Young’s music popular

Neil Young is an obscure Canadian musician. Trump very kindly took Mr Young’s song ‘Keep on Rockin’ in the Free World’ and used it for his Presidential campaign song. You’d think that this would please Neil, but he’s having none of it. You just can’t please some people. I’ve no doubt the two men see eye on the major issues of the day – keeping Mexicans out of the US, building golf courses, beauty pageants, etc.

Perhaps they just need to sit down and have a chat. Word is that Neil’s desperate to do so.

  1. He will save us from Wind Power: he is an expert, and he ‘Is the Evidence’

Not content with bringing us beautiful women to look at and Chinese-made golf clothing, Trump will keep fighting to ensure that you and I have a wind-power free future. If you can believe it, the Scottish Government want to put wind farms where guests at the exclusive Trump Golf Scotland resort might have to look at them. This will be stopped at all costs. Trump was invited (naturally enough) to Holyrood for his expertise.

He explained his first hand knowledge of the effects of wind power on tourism. People apparently want a sedate, serene experience at an expensive resort, without having to look at an oversized, overblown, over-bearing eyesore. We have to pick our future: clean energy and a shift from our oil-based economy to renewables, or happy millionaire tourists. Best listen to the impartial expert.

  1. He furthers the careers of journalists

Without Trump’s complaint to the police and the subsequent arrest of journalists Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney, where would the two be now? As if getting bundled into the back of a police car for asking about a broken water main weren’t enough, Donald even agreed to be interviewed by Anthony for a subsequent documentary.

You can’t say Donald is heartless now can you? As well as helping these fledglings advance their profile, Trump is generous in his support of local press supremo, Damian Bates.

For all the information on Baxter, Phinney and the two related, award winning documentaries (note these awards were actually given out by bodies that neither journalist were personally involved in, just like Trump’s diamond award), just turn to the Press & Journal. Over the course of 5 years, 2 or three pieces appeared. Or, you can try the search feature on Aberdeen Voice.

  1. He helps people break into project planning

One day, there she was, sitting amid the costumed dummies of the Gordon Highlander Museum. The next, she’s sitting amid the costumed dummies at TGILS. Sarah Malone owes a great deal to Donald Trump for advancing her career from administrator of a museum to Vice President of a multi-million pound development.

You really don’t need much experience to take on project management of a golf resort complex. You don’t even have to know about golf. If you’re a size 10, not too tall, and have connections with the press, you too can find yourself at the helm of a project like Sarah has. You just need determination, a beauty contest trophy, and a husband in charge of a newspaper. Oh, and of course, a benevolent benefactor such as Donald has kindly been to Sarah.

  1. He helps keep extras and background artists in work 

A few years back, an angry mob protested against wind farms. They were all very much motivated in their cause – motivated by the money they were being paid by Trump to show up that is. Now he’s apparently given work to yet more up and coming actors and extras to show up in support of his campaign launch; apparently the going rate was $50.

  1. Trump knows good fences make good neighbours

When he thinks big, he things big. He plans to make a wall between the USA and Mexico as already mentioned. Sounds like a plan. A plan that he would have.

He’s got some form here in Scotland. When Susan Munro refused to sell her home to a Trump minion, Neil Hobday, who was pretending to be a tourist in love with Scotland, Trump simply got the bulldozers in. Now where her kitchen window once looked out across the fields to the sea, she sees a huge mound of earth with weeds and dying trees on it.

The newly-created mound of earth was not on any of the approved plans for the area, but he’s not one to stick to the approved plans, is he – what a loveable maverick.

He even hired environmentalists to write a report saying that the existing families were better off with these mounds of earth blocking their light and views. The experts didn’t bother to speak to the homeowners; they just wrote the report without disturbing them. How’s that for being considerate?

This wall was meant to be lowered considerably. That’s not happened, and any day now, our trusty Shire enforcers will make him comply. Sure they will. The Munros loved it when all the dirt and sand from the newly-created mound blew into their home, their garden and their automobile engines. Good times.

  1. He plants trees

Trump loves to plant lots and lots of trees at Menie. The mounds of earth he erected by Susie Munro and the Milne’s homes didn’t do enough to hide these Scottish cottages from the rich patrons he wanted to attract. So, he started planting pine trees on them. The trees, oddly enough, didn’t like growing on top of a sandy pile of dirt at the beach (when did you last see a pine forest close to the sea?)

The trees get watered by minions, the trees turn brown, the trees die and are replaced. Some might think this is spiteful, wasteful, and not fair on homeowners (or on the trees doomed to die). But you have to admit, this self-proclaimed environmentalist has planted plenty of trees.

  1. He’s got great business sense

It’s uncanny how he can make money. Despite 4 or so corporate bankruptcies leaving all sorts of small businesses and employees in the red, the Donald just keeps going. I guess we can thank his kindly bankers and benefactors to a degree, but it’s really all down to his skill.

  1. He is as modest as he is honest

On one occasion the man said:

“I think the only difference between me and the other candidates is that I’m more honest and my women are more beautiful.”

God only knows what the other candidates were like.

These are a few of the many, many reasons you want to be doing business with the man lovingly known as Clownface Von F*ckstick.’ Thinking of aligning with him? Go right ahead.

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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.]

Jun 192015
 

With thanks to Stuart Donaldson MP.

MencapReception - Learning DIsability Week2

Stuart Donaldson MP at Mencap Reception – Learning Disability Week

Stuart Donaldson MP attended a Royal Mencap Society reception in the House of Commons on Wednesday to celebrate Learning Disability Week.
He spoke to people with a learning disability, carers and family members about their personal experiences, the challenges they face and the changes they want to see in society. There were speeches from people with a learning disability and their families as well as Mencap President Brian Rix.

He listened to a speech from 27 year old Vijay, who has a learning disability and played an active role in Mencap’s Hear My Voice campaign. 

The campaign saw over 800 local candidates in the lead up to the general election pledge their support. 151 of them were elected as MPs – meaning over a fifth of the new Parliament pledged to listen more attentively to people with a learning disability and their families.

There are 1.4 million people with a learning disability in the UK but many feel they are not listened to by those in power and the issues they that are important to them – like hate crime, welfare, better healthcare and education – are often not talked about.

Commenting, Stuart Donaldson MP said:

“I was honoured to attend the Mencap reception in Parliament to hear from people with learning disabilities, and to help celebrate Learning Disability Week. People with a learning disability and their families are as much a part of our society as anyone else and deserve to have their voices heard on the issues that matter to them. I am listening and I hope that many more MPs will do the same by getting on board and supporting Mencap and Learning Disability Week”

Jan Tregelles, Mencap’s chief executive, said:

“It is encouraging to see so many MPs listening to people with a learning disability and their families about the problems they face and the change they want to see in the new Parliament. They are the experts in what matters to them, so newly elected MPs should be listening to what they have to say throughout the new Parliament”

Lord Brian Rix, Mencap President, said:

“There are 1.4 million people in the UK with a learning disability and 6 million more family members and carers connected to them. However they often tell us they feel they are not listened to by politicians and subsequently many of the challenges they face go unheard and unresolved. We are asking new Members of Parliament to listen to what people with a learning disability and their families have to say.”

  • 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.]

Jun 192015
 

Laurence JonespicBlues Rock Aberdeen’s next eye-catching show brings Laurence Jones to the city.

With his third album What’s It Gonna Be attracting unanimous critical praise, Jones will play at The Tunnels on Monday June 22, with his ubiquitous and faithful bassman Roger Inniss and drummer Miri Miettinen

Voted Young Artist of the Year in the 2014 British Blues Awards and representing the UK in the 2015 European Blues Challenge, his is no X Factor-type fluke or hype.

Not yet in his mid-20s, Jones has paid his dues and has the receipts, having supported, among others, Walter Trout, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and King King. 2014’s Ruf Records Blues Caravan saw Jones tour Europe in the company of Albert Castiglia and Christine Skjolberg.

Underlining his growing stature, Jones was invited to play at the Royal Albert Hall on 15 June to celebrate the music of blues giant Leadbelly. What’s It Gonna Be includes a tribute version of the great man’s ‘Good Morning Blues’, even sampling the original. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3RGnSKNy6c

Reviews have compared him to Eric Clapton and Buddy Guy and he’s been described as “the future of the blues”.

His ongoing battle with Crohn’s disease is no secret and the launch party for What’s It Gonna Be  raised over £1600 for Crohns’ and Colitis UK.

Support Graham and Kenny’s terrific promotional efforts and hear some top-class modern blues in what is a considerable coup for Blues Rock Aberdeen. Tickets cost £10 plus booking fee from Aberdeen Performing Arts. http://tinyurl.com/oa9adee Doors open at 19:30.

Links:

http://www.laurencejonesmusic.com
https://www.facebook.com/bluesrockaberdeen
https://www.facebook.com/crohnsandcolitisuk/posts/1127072767318778

 

Jun 152015
 

The eagerly awaited Jurassic World is now in cinemas, almost fifteen years after Jurassic Park III. Aberdeen Voice’s Andrew Watson sized up this latest offering.

vuepicsqMaybe a dozen people tops came to Vue on Shiprow the morning of its release. You’d suppose that while many people were at work, there could be no telling how many geeks, including this reporter, would arrive in plenty time for the cinema doors to open.

Generally, there was some good suspense that you’d come to expect from this series of films. Evading the clamping jaws of a predator so narrowly you almost can’t bear to watch, sort of thing.

However, it could be said that the very teasing trailers this past few months were maybe better than the film itself.

Probably the key incentive to actually go and watch is to get more than just a fleeting glimpse of what the film calls the Indominus Rex, the film’s chief antagonist. A bit like what lured audiences into seeing the Godzilla-esque creature in Cloverfield a few years back.

It starts with Zach Mitchell (Nick Robinson) and his younger brother, Gray (Ty Simpkins), seeing their parents off at the airport. They’re visiting auntie Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard), who’s operations manager of a dinosaur theme park.

She’d promised her sister she would spend quality time with her nephews, but instead palms them off to her assistant. The latter proves not diligent enough, and the boys are left to themselves for the most part.

In the film, dinosaurs are widely regarded as old hat after the events of the previous three instalments. To maintain interest in the park, geneticists deem it necessary to genetically alter their makeup.

As an aside, notice the head of genetics, played by B.D. Wong, is the only recurring character in the film. You may remember a much younger version of him in the first Jurassic Park movie.

When the hybrid in question breaks loose from its enclosure, Chris Pratt, who starred in Guardians of the Galaxy, comes to the rescue as Velociraptor trainer, Owen Grady.

Although the island is being evacuated, Zach and Gray have waded into dangerous off road territory, in search of something more than the typical attraction.

This is a bit like the first film when everybody, bored with what little to sightsee on the planned tour, jumps out their vehicles to get a closer look at an ill Triceratops.

The comparisons to the previous films don’t end there.

The Mitchell brothers are then terrorised by the Indominus in their globular method of transport, called a ‘gyrosphere’. This is evocative of the Tyrannosaurus Rex tearing strips out of the tour jeep in Jurassic Park, as brother and sister struggle to evade its killer jaws.

Nothing can quite top the cliff edge scene in The Lost World, though. How did Jeff Goldblum and company escape that trailer in one piece, all hanging from a rope as it was tipped into the sea and rocks below?

You could add the Spinosaurus scenes in Jurassic Park III attacking the crashed plane lodged in the tree, and the boat in the water at the end.

Anyway, the film continues with conspiring forces, and additional antagonists. These profiteers seek the prehistoric carnivores as modern weapons of war.

Recurring in almost every film, these people are the lawyer in Jurassic Park, and the hunters and businessmen seeking to bring the ‘exhibits’ to the mainland in The Lost World.

This theme, if you will, is only tenuously made in Jurassic Park III via Dr Grant’s charge who tries to steal Velociraptor eggs for monetary reasons.

Closing Jurassic World, there’s a battle maybe even better than the one in the recent King Kong adapation, where the super simian takes on three Tyrannosaurs.

This sort of scene and theme repetition throughout the series is most welcome. Though some may consider it lazy, it could conceivably be regarded clever. Classical music repeats certain motifs, each time slightly modulated, to give shape, so why not in modern cinema?

Jun 112015
 

The horror flick series Insidious has now reached its third outing. Aberdeen Voice’s Andrew Watson reviews Chapter 3, a prequel to the first two films.

vuepicNot many people came to view this supernatural chiller at Vue on Shiprow for Saturday lunchtime’s showing, the film having being released only the previous day.

You can see why, in a way. Though sometimes genuinely scary, it could be frustratingly hackneyed.

Anyway, single father Sean Brenner (Dermot Mulroney) juggles work and two kids to feed. His eldest, Quinn, it seems, while trying to be a mother to her younger brother (Tate Berney), harbours ambitions as an actress. 

The stresses of this perceivably mould her into an introvert.

The film opens with her seeking advice from medium, Lin Shaye, who reprises her role as Elise Rainier from the previous two films. Quinn’s mother has passed recently and Quinn wants guidance.

Though Elise has long quit her professional capacity doing psychic readings, she agrees just this one more time.

Perturbed by the seemingly negative energies in the room, having sought Quinn’s mother in the spirit world, she warns the teenager to cease her yearning. She says if you call out one dead person, others hear, too.

Surprise, surprise, it wouldn’t be an hour or two sat in the screening if this advice was heeded. There’s an innocent game of knock-and-response on the wall splitting Quinn and her next door neighbour.

Only he’s not even there. It all kicks off from there, really.

Gradually these incidents escalate; hospitalising her, breaking her legs, and damaging her neck. Soon it’s not just a fight of the physical, as events spiral out of control, so much so, that her own soul is at stake.

Elise is once again persuaded to help, and even online house haunting bloggers are enlisted. Together the combine towards the film’s resolution.

From this bit onwards it all gets a bit corny. Psychic doing battle with evil spirits. Mortal woman tossing inconceivably evil, malignant and powerful forces with just a shove. Saving the day in The Matrix was more believable.

The saccharine ending, however, was thankfully tempered with, if not reality, some semblance of where the story goes from thereon.

If you were largely unimpressed with the hackneyed horror or corny combat, at the very least the story arc, if you’ve watched the previous two, keeps you at least a little bit interested and mildly curious.

Jun 112015
 
Aberdeen Train Station May 2015

Aberdeen Train Station, May 2015, This may be the first view of the city to meet a visitor’s eye.

Victoria McAleer writes to Aberdeen Voice of her disappointment regarding how Aberdeen presents itself as a tourist destination.

I have lived  in the city for 18 months  now (after living in the shire for 8 years)and I’m well aware of it’s history and main focus on the oil and gas industry.

It seems the city has been buffered by the economic buoyancy that the oil and gas sector provided, compared to other cities in the UK.

I am also aware that at present there is a downturn in the sector and many people have been made redundant.

My native Liverpool, like many other cities, especially in the Northern half of the country was without such an industry and in the 80’s and 90’s unemployment was rife.

The city looked at what it had to offer and the groundwork was done to regenerate the Albert Dock area, spring boarding a total revamp of the city centre and more focus was paid to tourism and welcoming people to the city.

It’s proved invaluable. The city has gone from strength to strength and attracts people from all over the world.

Orrel Road Station Liverpool May 2015

Orrel Road Station Liverpool, May 2015. A cleaner, more welcoming environment.

It is of course helped by having attractions such as The Tate Gallery, The Beatles Museum, The Slavery Museum, The Walker Art Gallery, to name but a few and by other attractions such as the historic waterfront ferries and football.

This has all been achieved by hard work and the determination of people who were proud of their city, because, believe me it was not a place you would have spent a weekend in the 80’s.

It seems to me that Aberdeen tourism is a half hearted affair, probably because Aberdeen has never had to rely on anything else but oil and gas.

Which is a great shame.

The basics are already here. Great beaches and architecture.

What is missing though is a proper museum/gallery.

I know Aberdeen is of much smaller population than Liverpool, but this population is swelled greatly by all the oil and gas employees who live in the city during the week and use the resources, infrastructure and so forth.

Why couldn’t one of these multi billion pound companies sponsor a new museum/gallery and give something back to the people of Aberdeen from whom they have taken so much ?

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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.]

Jun 112015
 

The presence of the nude in art: a tradition from prehistory to the present. The Venus of Willendorf (c. 25,000 bc); the Classical Laocoon and his Sons marble; Michelangelo’s David; Manet’s Le Dejeunner sur l’herbe – all instantly recognisable artwork featuring nude figures, male and female. Most higher art institutions offer life drawing classes and understand and encourage the use of the nude in contemporary art practice. But, alas, Bibo Keeley is studying ART AND DESIGN in Aberdeen IN THE ART AND DESIGN DEPARTMENT of North East Scotland College – where the female nipple will not be tolerated. By Suzanne Kelly

Bibo Keeley FREE AS A BIRD poster VERBOTEN by Rob Wallen Principal and Chief Executive of NESCOL A starlet’s nipple ‘accidentally’ spills out of their ball gown on the red carpet spells headline news in print and online. A singer flashes onstage; no one bats an eyeball.

A singer uses her sex to swing into the top twenty astride a wrecking ball, nude – some might call that clever marketing. Others might call it exploitation.

When visual artist Bibo Keeley chose to use the female chest to draw attention to sexual discrimination, hypocrisy, inequality, and sexual choice issues, initially her art college instructor was supportive.

When her work was put forward for the END-OF-YEAR exhibition, it was rejected, and she was told to ‘HANG something else’. No further explanation was given.

Was it hand gestures used by some of the models, whose faces were obscured by bird-like masks? Was it the nipples? Apparently the nipples proved to be too much, BUT EVEN a suggested alternative with nipples marked out by CENSOR STRIPS was suggested – BUT THIS OPTION WAS REJECTED ALSO.

Although the banning order came from HIGH UP IN THE COLLEGE, two women MEMBERS OF STAFF delivered the censorship decree to her, AND WHEN ASKED refused to back her right to show the female torso. Bibo says:

“I could not believe that anyone would consider banning this artwork because the work is very clearly designed to promote gender equality.

“However, somebody obviously decided that my artwork could be offensive to somebody somewhere. The same one-man-censorship-committee completely failed to see how offensive this ban is to me as an artist and to the participants who collaborated with me on the piece; and it is surely deeply offensive to every woman who believes in equal rights.

“I think banning artwork with such an empowering message shows a total lack of respect for the college’s own students and it also undermines the teaching staff in the Art and Design department who support their students’ creativity.”

The college operates under the Scottish Government’s ‘Curriculum For Excellence’ which aims to produce Successful Learners, Confident Individuals, Responsible Citizens and Effective Contributors. It does not aim to produce artists who avoid anything which upsets people who promote gender discrimination.

“I am an artist. I take inspiration from issues which are important to me. And I have no interest in presenting work just to please other people.”

The last time that I saw an attempt at banning the nude in an art context was in 1996. Edinburgh College of Art had a book of Robert Mapplethorpe male nudes.

Bibo Keeley FREE AS A BIRD censored version VERBOTEN by Rob Wallen NESCOL Principal and Chief ExecutiveJPGFor reasons known only to themselves, the police decided the book should be confiscated and banned.

The students banded together; the staff were supportive, and the clumsy attempt at supressing one of the great photographers of the human form was roundly and resolutely seen off.

If those responsible for arts education have taken on censorship roles in Aberdeen in defiance of free expression, and millennium-spanning  artistic tradition, especially in light of contemporary media practice, then are they fit guardians for arts education? Arguably not.

If Aberdeen didn’t get shortlisted as a city of culture candidate in the last round of the cultural beauty contest, perhaps it is these myopic, conservative, ill-informed, repressed, sexist and prudish sensibilities that are at least in part to blame.

On finding out the work is to be banned by the COLLEGE, several arts practitioners, education professionals, and venues have expressed support and solidarity.  A show of Bibo’s work locally is under discussion.   One acclaimed local figurative artist said of the decision:

“The bare naked truth Suzanne, is the powers that be, who took this decision are protecting their own bare arses. They don’t want to be associated with a possible Daily Mail style backlash. So much for free expression.”

More on the COLLEGE, the artist and the banned nipples will follow.

About Bibo Keeley:

 I am a HNC (Higher National Certificate) mature student of Art and Design at NESCOL, starting at Gray’s School of Art in September.

I am also an Artist in my own right:

In recent years I have contributed to numerous exhibitions, including Aberdeen Artists Society (2014), Paisley Art Institute 124th Annual Exhibition (2012), Fabric of the Land Aberdeen (2014), Perth Museum and Art Gallery (2013), and Clydebank Art Gallery & Museum (2014 + 2015).

This year (2015) I have also had a two-artists-show at Art Village in Glasgow as part of the Glasgow Southside Fringe festival, a solo exhibition at Macduff Town Hall as part of the COAST festival, and I had some of my artwork displayed (as part of a two-artists-show) at the Scottish Parliament at MSP Anne McTaggart’s launch of the organ-donation-opt-out-bill. 

My next two-artists-exhibition will be later this month (June 2015) at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital in Clydebank.

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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.]

Jun 082015
 

Rapid_Departure_Hero_Diver2 Duncan HarleyBy Duncan Harley

The premise of Rapid Departure, the latest touring production by Moray-based Right Lines Productions is quite simple.

Environmental calamities are on the increase and extreme weather conditions can arise at any moment.

The surrounding area has been hit by a freak flood and the locals, aka the audience, are guided to the safety of the Boganlochan Village Hall, the designated Emergency Rest Centre.

The local council take charge of the crisis in the person of part-time seasonal grass strimmer Eric, played by Ewan Donald of River City fame. As the flood waters rise, so questions arise.

How would we all cope with such a fraught situation? Does this style of interactive theatre engage the audience? Will our hero save the locals from a watery end?

If the audience reviews are anything to go by, the production has hit a high note.

At the Kemnay Village Hall performance, audience feedback included the following:

“Fab – loved it!! Great cast and writing. Even made the teenagers laugh! Would make a great BBC special.”

“A fab night. Pure genius. Great script, great acting and great singing. Well done Euan & Dave.”

In all honesty, this production is a delight from beginning to end. At the Kemnay performance word must have gotten around that there would be a degree of audience participation and the front seats visibly filled up last. But no matter: no one was safe! In a series of hilarious but gentle audience engagements, the mail was delivered, food was distributed and sandbags given out. At points there was literally not a dry eye in the house!

Sing-along renderings of You Are My Sunshine and The Muckle Spate of 63 added to the fun, and within the first few minutes it was clear that a real treat was in store.

Rapid Departure is of course the latest production by Moray-based Right Lines Productions, the team responsible for theatrical comedies such as Who Bares Wins and The Accidental Death of an Accordionist.

Following rehearsals and an opening night on Eigg, the 90-minute production toured venues as far afield as Knoydart, Portmahomack and Fochabers, before swinging south to Kemnay, Pitlochry and finally Birnam.

Directed by Mark Saunders, whose professional career includes full-time lecturing at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the production’s key elements of seriously educational farce are expertly exploited. Writers Dave Smith and Euan Martin’s script intended that a drama be made out of a crisis and that is exactly what Mark has delivered!

Rapid_Departure_Kemnay_VillageEstrid Barton is no stranger to Right Lines. She played Trish in the hit Pitlochry Festival Theatre production of Whisky Kisses. In her Rapid Departure role as the community-spirited Gloria, she amply sets the scene from the very start, and adds a confident comedic presence to the
show.

Alongside Albert, played by James Bryce, who with over a hundred plays under his hat also wrote the music for the show, Flora, played by Helen MacKay deserves special mention; not least for her dramatic entrance and mid-show white water puppet performance.

A veteran of The Cone Gatherers and Sunset Song, her vibrant and bright stage presence added much-needed positivity to the inhabitants of the Boganlochan Emergency Rest Centre audience, just when the weather seemed to be taking a turn for the worse.

As the arguments about global warming, re-wilding, renewable energy and of course the impact of flooding flow back and forth, Barry Hunter’s impressive macho presence as Connal borders at times on the Crocodile Dundee. The butt of many jokes, his vying with Eric for the affections of young Flora works well in the context of the central themes of the play.

With ultra realistic sound effects including rolls of thunder plus a truly memorable soup scene complete with a Paul Hogan-style big knife, Rapid Departure is a hilariously educational touring theatre production not to be missed.

True to form, Right Lines have triumphed yet again.

To check whether Rapid Departures is playing at a village hall near you see

http://rightlines.net/rightlines/rapid-departure/

Tickets from www.neatshows.org.uk

Words and images © Duncan Harley

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Jun 052015
 

Voice’s Old Susannah takes a look over the past week’s events in the ‘Deen and beyond. By Suzanne Kelly.

DictionaryTally ho! There are many vibrant, dynamic, connected smart successful goings-on as summertime draws near to the Granite City. I had a tasty affordable dinner at Amarone; it may be a chain, but its mozzarella is second to none.

On Sunday I attended my first BrewDog Home Brewers’ tasting session – a dozen or so home brewers met up to taste a wide range of homemade craft beers of all sorts; some were amazing; some a bit challenging. The BrewDog AGM is this coming Saturday; as is the Taste of Grampian, both of which seem to be bigger and better every year.

A wide variety of events are around the corner; the Gray’s School of Art Degree show opens on the 19th June.  The word is that this year will be particularly impressive.

The Moorings, Tunnels, Drummonds and Lemon Tree have lots of great bands coming up (Gerry Jablonski Band plays the Moorings the 4th; which is the place to head after the BrewDog AGM). Black Grape plays on the 5th of July. Old Susannah remembers the last time she saw this band in London. By the end of the night the entire venue became one big backstage after show party. Bez danced up to me, and I asked him how he was doing. “WIDE” was the reply.

More on Black Grape soon. With all this going on, I hope the city has seen fit to order more crowd barriers and hire a few thousand security guards. Can’t be too careful.

Great news! ‘Tally ho!’ might once again be the cry heard in the countryside if the newly re-elected Conservatives get their way. David Cameron’s got his priorities right, and his head is well screwed on his shoulders as it ever was post-election. Now that our banks are no longer in crisis (financial banks, not food banks that is), and the NHS is safe, it’s time to worry about the issues that really matter to us all. Like chasing and killing foxes.

After all, ripping these vermin to shreds is traditional, and isn’t that what the Conservatives are all about – ripping things to shreds – sorry, I meant to say traditions? I for one am happy we’ve had such a fair and proper election, and I’m happy to trust Westminster to keep giving us the kind of government we deserved and voted in.

Here we are, we’ve never had it so good, and yet there are one or two people out there who seem to want to stir up trouble and find fault. Some people think that some multinationals are happy to poison us all to make a profit. Others aren’t sure the police are always completely fair, believe it or not.

Still other worrywarts have it in their heads that the banks have behaved dishonestly and that we’ll be bailing them out again before long. I say to them, get out into the countryside; go on a good British fox hunt, and soon you’ll forget all these minor paranoid unsubstantiated fears.

For such sceptical souls, perhaps a few definitions may help them become as trusting, uncritical and accepting as I am.

Fact-finding mission: (Modern English noun) – to seek verification or otherwise for data.

Pity the poor misunderstood Metro reader who wrote into the paper’s advice team, which answered him on 28 May. If you read his heart-breaking letter in the feature entitled ‘How can I trust my girlfriend’ you’ll see that some hussy or other has her hooks in this poor trusting man. The poor guy went on a little fact-finding mission in the noble cause of trying to find out whether or not his girlfriend was trustworthy.

He decided to test her honour by snooping into her phone and her emails. ‘Fair enough’ I can practically hear you say. It turns out that the woman in question hadn’t told him she had in the past been married and was now divorced! What a breach of trust! I hope he’s given her the boot.

As ever, clues to the relationship’s doom were in the man’s letter. He described the woman as ‘smart, funny, independent, sexy and extremely successful.’ Smart is never an attractive quality in a woman; funny is best left to blokes, and as to independence – well, that’s simply not done. If she was sexy, then she might well have looked at other men before this prince arrived on the scene, and going through her correspondence seems a reasonable way to check how honest she is.

If she was successful, then she must have had a rich boyfriend or husband along the way, kind of like the way it’s done here in Aberdeen by our prettier faces. If you love someone, set them free. If you really love someone, bug their phone, put a keystroke counter on their laptop, and go through their messages when you can. Relationships are built on trust after all.

Take for instance the trust between the electorate and the government.

The government shows us how much it trusts us, and we should show some respect in return. Sure they may want to impose some random named guardian to interface and interact with your child whether or not you are a good or bad parent. They may be using undercover spies to infiltrate legal protest groups, and even to stir up trouble in those groups which wouldn’t have happened otherwise.

The government may be spying – sorry, I meant to say ‘fact-finding’ on all of our emails, phonecalls and naughty Instagram photos. They may want to train your children from birth to be answerable to a ‘named person’ (more on that in a separate article) who’ll have input into your family life. It’s not that they don’t trust us. It’s certainly not that they want the private sector making huge profits from outsourced spying and other services after making deals with lobbyists.

Why are they treating us like potential if not actual criminals? It’s because they care.

‘Taking the Mickey’/ ‘Taking the Michael’ / ‘Taking the Carmichael’: (Modern English and Scottish slang phrases) To make fun of, to insult someone’s intelligence by tricking them; to mock.

“Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters” Albert Einstein said (I got this from the internet, so it’s true). I don’t know who Einstein may have had in mind when he came up with that little gem, but it could well have been newly-re-elected Orkney & Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael.

Some people feel Carmichael may have been taking the mickey at election time. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If you hadn’t heard, there was this little matter of a wee practical joke he played. Carmichael accidently leaked a fake memo purporting to concern Nicola Sturgeon and the French ambassador. Someone told me this was some kind of a French Letter. In this document, it seemed Sturgeon would have preferred Cameron as PM over Milliband (Milliband was apparently someone else running for office.

Like you, I never heard of him before, either). If anything Charm-Michael was doing Sturgeon a favour by trying to make her look even more popular. After all, Cameron was the people’s choice.

Some people have no sense of humour however; and headlines like ‘Alistair Carmichael facing sleaze probe over memo leak’ seem to imply there was something wrong with what he did. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/alistair-carmichael-facing-sleaze-probe-over-memo-leak.1433245837.

Thankfully, this august politician has lots of allies. The people who voted him in are happy to stand by him; many of them with pitchforks, torches. If you don’t believe he’s got lots of support left after his beau jest cost the taxpayer some £1,400,000, don’t take my word for it: Alistair Carmichael says so himself, and that’s good enough for me http://www.scotsman.com/news/uk/i-ve-lots-of-support-alistair-carmichael-insists-1-3788374

Sadly there are some people who just won’t take their better’s word, and need a bit of hand holding and reassurance when they feel they’ve been slightly misused, tricked, cheated, conned and defrauded. To allay fears, nothing works quite so well as a testimonial.

Testimonial: (English noun) A statement given in support of a cause or person by someone with gravitas.

Carmichael indeed has his friends, and none perhaps better than Lib Dem Sir Malcolm Bruce.

Rushing to the aid of besieged Carmichael, Sir Malcolm said:-

“Politicians regularly tell lies and Parliament would “empty” if they were punished for it a Liberal Democrat politician had admitted.

Sir Malcolm Bruce, who stood down as an MP at the election, was asked on BBC Radio 4 whether lying was widespread in public life.

“No, well, yes. Lots of people have told lies and you know perfectly well that to be true,” he responded.

“If you are suggesting every MP who has never quite told the truth or even told a brazen lie, including cabinet ministers, including prime ministers, [should be removed] we would clear out the House of Commons very fast, I would suggest,” he added.

Sir Malcolm was defending his colleague, Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael, who admitted that he had ordered the leak of a document after saying he had nothing to do with it. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/politicians-lie-a-lot-admits-liberal-democrat-politician-10275934.html

I’m sure that should be enough to silence even the staunchest Carmichael critic. To summarise Sir Malcolm’s position, Lots of people lie and that’s perfectly true. Old Susannah started to think about this in light of the shocking revelation that there are liars in the House of Commons. I started to wonder… if Bruce is in the House, and he’s telling me truthfully that the house is full of liars, and that’s the truth, then is he lying about that or telling the truth.

Several bottles of BrewDog’s Vote Sepp later (itself named after the trustworthy fearless FIFA leader Mr Blatter), I found myself no wiser than before.

Bruce’s position that lies shouldn’t be punished (Certainly the Conservatives go along with this longstanding LibDem position too) is something we should all go along with. If MPs who lied were punished, Bruce says the House of Commons would soon be empty. Where on earth would we be then?

I was going to get on to another trust-related definition in reply to a fan’s comment on a recent column. I intended to talk about the Wood Family Trust’s Wood Family Foundation taking £10 million of the £50 million it has sensibly sitting around to build a parking lot.

I was going to explain that by avoiding several million pounds a year, the prudent billionaire out there can save a ton of cash, and then decide how the government that should have had the cash to do with as it saw fit will instead be tugging the collective forelock when given a gift which represents a small portion of the tax avoided, and wax lyrical about the generosity of the gift. But coupled with grappling with Sir Malcolm Bruce’s logic, I started to feel a bit light headed.

Perhaps we’ll go there another time.

On those rare occasions on which I find myself a bit wary of whom or what I should put my trust in, or perplexed by the logic of my betters like Carmichael and Bruce, I like to relax with television shows like Britain’s Got Talent. You can’t beat it or its contestants for good old-fashioned genuine honest talent, can you? If it turns out that the most talented person to be found in the whole of the Kingdom happens to be a dog trainer, fair enough.

What could be more entertaining than watching an animal that’s been trained to walk along a tightrope with strings digging into the pads of its paws?

At least we know we have a real, honest-to goodness, gimmick and trickery free winner. If the dog we thought we were watching refused to do the tightrope trick (I feel sorry for the poor trainer), then it’s fair enough to use a stunt double for the dog, even if that little fact was kept a bit quiet. Nothing dishonest about that, is there? Woof woof.

Remember, that rabbit that was tortured to death on Danish radio (to prove how hypocritical people are who eat meat but don’t like animal cruelty – a great lesson) was a gentle, trusting creature until its last educational minutes.

Next week: an overdue look at the property portfolio of our city council, the council that can’t manage to house everyone, but which has over 1400 properties of various kinds. And definitions to include Paradox, Hoist by their own petard, and libel.

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Jun 052015
 

Funky Blues Promotions Aberdeen are proud to announce the return of Hamilton Loomis and his band to the city, playing at The Blue Lamp on 12 June 2015, following his successful Drummonds gig in 2014.

Hamilton Loomis (1)“If blues, soul and rock can be said to form a triangle, you’ll find Hamilton Loomis right in the centre of it” (Guitar Player magazine)

Hamilton Loomis is among those bringing blues into the 21st Century, redefining it for contemporary audiences and uniting music lovers all over the world in blues appreciation.

Having learned to play guitar and drums at a young age, by his early teens he was playing in his family’s Texan doo-wop group.

Among the many who saw Hamilton’s talent and potential early on, was Texas blues legend the late Bo Diddley, and by the time Hamilton was 18 he had performed in front of thousands at the Delta Blues Festival and was beginning to write and arrange his own material.

His self-released 1994 debut CD Hamilton received a Grammy Nomination for Best Contemporary Blues  Album, and he went on to complete Kickin’ It, his first Blind Pig Records release in 2003, his original approach devoured by an audience hungry for something fresh in roots music.

Touring non-stop since 2001, Hamilton has introduced his funkified Texas music to audiences worldwide, whilst also grabbing two Best Artist award titles in England and Wales.

Tickets are available from the venue or from Aberdeen Box Office 01224 641122.

Funky Blues Aberdeen Facebook page www.facebook.com/FunkyBluesAberdeen has more details.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHAzZACgWS0
www.hamiltonloomis.com