Opinion Archives - Page 45 of 136

To Kill A Mocking Bird At HMT Aberdeen – A Review

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 202015

Reviewed by Duncan Harley.

Daniel Betts as Atticus Finch in ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ at HM Theatre Aberdeen until Saturday 21st February.

“Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird” says Miss Maudie in the 1960 Harper Lee classic.

In this, Christopher Sergel’s stage adaptation of the 55-year-old story, the central tenets of the novel, innocence and generosity, are well portrayed indeed.

From curtain rise to final bow, this production will delight theatre-goers and, crucially, fans of Harper Lee of all ages. It might even bring on a tear or three.

From the moment in Act One when the cast walk on stage, via the auditorium, the lights remain virtually undimmed; signalling to the audience that a degree of unbridled participation may be required.

Crucially, that participation does not require prior reading of the novel. All that is required is some attention and some imagination as the story unfolds.

Readings from the original novel are intertwined with the plot and the theatre-going audience is drawn seamlessly into small town Alabama in the steamy heat of the Depression-hit summer of 1933.

It takes but a few minutes to realise that this is a production like few others.

The set is almost bare aside from a few weathered chairs, some chalk-drawn town boundaries and an old rusted corrugated iron fence.

While novelist Harper Lee’s narrator Scout, played by leading lady Rosie Boore, swings on an old car tyre hung from the solitary tree in the Eastern corner of the yard, cast members recite extracts from time battered copies of the original novel.

This is the US Deep South at its most formidable. A place in time where racially-charged prejudice sits unmoving alongside a slow but inevitable force for reform. A story of injustice is about to be played out and only a very few could fail to be moved.

The tale is well known.

Local black man, Tom Robinson, played by Zackary Momoh of Holby City fame, is falsely accused of the rape of a white woman, and Scout’s dad, Atticus Finch, played by Daniel Betts, defends him despite the foregone conclusion of guilt due to simply being a “nigger”.

Daniel Betts as Atticus Finch. Credit: Johan Persson

Robinson is of course doomed, despite clear evidence that the accusers, Mayella Ewell and her father Bob, are lying.

Bob Ewell tries to exact revenge, imagining that he has been made a fool of, and is himself killed.

Scout embraces her father’s philosophy of sympathy and understanding despite her experiences of hatred and prejudice.

There is more. The story of Boo Radley, played by Christopher Akrill, for one; the riot scene where heroine Scout pours her childish innocence on the flame of the murderous intent of the townsfolk; plus of course the unrelenting sense of the injustice of it all.

The undoubted stars of the show are of course the child actors.

Scout’s childhood contemporaries Dill, played by Milo Panni, and Jem, played by William Price describe the unfolding drama.

Faultless, they excel. Alongside Atticus Finch, portrayed by Daniel Betts complete with round glasses and linen suit, they more than satisfy the (soon to be) legacy of Nelle Harper Lee.

For those of a critical nature, the English regional accents delivered via the actor readers of the narrative passages may be an issue, especially for those of us in Scotland. After all, this is a novel with a Yankee inner voice. Aside from that it is a faultless production.

Perhaps in a decade or so Harper Lee’s forthcoming sequel ‘Go Set a Watchman’ will be dramatised for theatre audiences. Meantime this Regent’s Park Open Air production is a must see.

In fact it would be a sin to miss it.

Directed by Timothy Sheader, ‘To Kill a Mocking Bird’ plays at HM Theatre Aberdeen until Saturday 21st February.

Tickets from Aberdeen Performing Arts Tel: 01224- 641122

Images © Johan Persson

Words © Duncan Harley

We Need To Talk About The Police No. 6 – Arrest Developments

Information, Opinion 10 Responses »

Feb 202015

If you are arrested in the UK, surely that means you’ve committed a crime. The stigma of being arrested can negatively impact your career prospects, your family and your social standing. The police only arrest those who are committing a crime, who have broken the law, and need to be stopped. Terrorism laws are there only for people intent on committing terrorist acts.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Suzanne Kelly reports as part of a continuing series.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent – If You Step Out Of Line

This year is the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta, which was meant to enshrine rights for all. Most of its principles are long since forgotten.

Tony Blair created a raft of legislation when in office, and arguably British citizens lost even more rights. Blair’s mania for media manipulation had many dire consequences, not least the ‘dodgy dossier.’

Not many remember the story of Walter Wolfgang. But we should.

“Walter Wolfgang age 82, was ejected from the hall [Labour Party Conference] after shouting “nonsense” as Foreign Secretary Jack Straw defended Iraq policy. How did New Labour treat a long-standing member who disagreed with the serpentine Straw? The fairly new terrorism laws were used to intimidate Wolfgang.

“Police later used powers under the Terrorism Act to prevent Mr Wolfgang’s re-entry [to the conference], but he was not arrested… Mr Wolfgang, who escaped Nazi Germany in 1937, is a member of the Stop the War Coalition.”

If a pensioner who heckles a speech supporting Blair’s attack on Iraq can be prevented from heckling because he might be a terrorist, how safe are we? Not safe at all is the answer. Can the threat of being arrested hinder legal, legitimate activities? Absolutely.

Arrest and Protest: A Case Study

It is not surprising that more and more people are turning to peaceful protest – we are losing our rights at the same time the 1% have widened the wealth gap, while in some instances avoiding tax, breaking banking laws and doing so with complete impunity. Many people consider the police to be an out-of-control, unilaterally-acting and capricious force. Facebook groups are documenting police brutality.

Just this week the chief constable Stephen House was accused of lying – the stop and search of children (with some 91% of the thousands searched being searched without any contraband found) is indeed continuing despite his assurances to the contrary. If protest is on the increase, perhaps the police should look to their actions as being causal.

This is an account from a peaceful protestor, Donnachadh McCarthy, who attended an Occupy Democracy event in London in early February.

“Just a quick note to say that the police have informed my solicitor that no charges will be laid against me after their aggressive over the top mauling of me at the Occupy Democracy peaceful protest in Tarpaulin Square on Saturday evening.”

“The outrageous accusation that my standing peacefully beside Boris Johnson’s private security corporation guard (AOS), as they were seeking to evict peaceful pro-democracy protesters from Tarpaulin Square, with a cardboard placard shaped like a coffin, with the inscription “UK Democracy RIP – killed by corporate billionaires”, was seeking to “intimidate a court witness and deter them from giving evidence”, never had any substance whatsoever in fact.”

“As I said in my police statement “I gently, resolutely but firmly deny that I did anything to intimidate anyone at the peaceful protest in Parliament Square”.

“Yet about 12 police officers swarmed me, took me to the ground and threw me in a police van and then held me in solitary confinement for 16 hours, whilst they futilely tried to find non-existent evidence.”

“This FOURTH arrest whilst peacefully protesting in Tarpaulin Square over the last 5 months, will not deter me from being there for the next pro-democracy protest by Occupy Democracy on March 7th.”

“This leaves me still facing 6 other trumped up charges, including one trumped up charge of “common assault” for bumping into a private security guard whilst trying to protect a peaceful protester from being attacked by the guards. This trial is on June 18th. Four other charges relate to my standing peacefully with a folded tarpaulin under my arm.”

McCarthy sums it up rather succinctly when he writes:

“The capture of our democracy by The Prostitute State continues to destroy our planet and facilitate a criminal concentration of wealth in the hands of the 1%.”

Journalists Are Not Immune Either – Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney

Award-winning film maker, journalist, documentary maker – and police suspects: Anthony Baxter and Richard Phinney’s arrest at the Menie Estate was rightly condemned by the National Union of Journalists. Was the arrest intended to intimidate or stop them? You could be forgiven for thinking so:

“Shortly after the bulldozers moved in to destroy the Menie Estate dunes, we discovered Mr Trump’s workers had cut off the water supply to 86-year-old Molly Forbes – Michael’s elderly mother – for nearly a week, and so my Producer Richard Phinney and I went to interview Mr Trump’s chief greenkeeper who also doubled as head of building works.

“After the interview, Richard and I were both suddenly arrested on the property of another local resident – Susan Munro. We were then driven miles to Aberdeen, banged up in separate prison cells for several hours and stripped of our possessions. DNA, fingerprints and photos were all taken and camera equipment and footage impounded. We were both charged with ‘a breach of the peace’ a criminal offence which you can go to jail for in Scotland.

“The National Union of Journalists was furious and called our arrest ‘a blatant example of police interference stopping bona fide journalists from doing their job.’ The criminal charges were eventually thrown out by the Crown Office. But my arrest was a turning point, in what had become an extraordinary journey. I was now unwittingly part of a deeply disturbing and troubling story. And what had begun as an exercise to purely document what was happening, had now become a feature film – and I was in it.”

The way in which they were treated is virtually without precedent for journalists in the UK – let’s hope it stays that way.

The very broad-brush charge ‘breach of the peace’ can mean almost anything – no one is immune from being taken into custody on this charge in Scotland.

The two were released with a caution – this meant they never got their day in court –which would have allowed their legal team scope to clear their names completely. It also leaves a sword of Damocles over their heads – if they get into any further dealings with the police, this caution is on their record.

An abuse of power? A police intervention into journalism? It seems so.

Protect yourself – from the police

What do you do if you find yourself arrested? What should you do? Who do you call? What are your rights?

Here are some excellent resources:

http://www.youngscot.org/info/210-the-police-being-stopped-and-searched-or-moved-on
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland/law_s/law_legal_system_s/law_police_s/police_powers_scotland.htm
http://www.findlaw.co.uk/law/criminal/your_rights/7975.html

Some basic principles to keep aware of include:

the police must tell you that are under arrest as soon as is reasonably practicable.
“You do not have to say anything. However, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence” – unless it is otherwise impractical to do so.
the police should inform the suspect of their rights, which are as follows:
to notify someone of their arrest
to legal advice and assistance
to access the police Codes of Practice.
The police should also advise the suspect that their right to legal advice can be exercised at any time during the period of arrest (called ‘detention’).
All suspects have the right to receive free legal advice from a solicitor – either over the phone or in person – regardless of their financial status http://www.findlaw.co.uk/law/criminal/your_rights/7975.html

“Making a complaint

There are different courses of action you can take if you feel the police have treated you unfairly and you want to complain:-

use the police complaints procedure, which can result in an officer being disciplined, or in exceptional circumstances, prosecuted. This procedure cannot provide you with compensation
sue the police for damages. You will need to use a solicitor to do this
claim compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
ask for help from an MP, MSP or local councillor
contact the Procurator Fiscal if you think the police officer has broken the law

take collective action by joining or starting a campaign to monitor and change police practices.” http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/scotland/law_s/law_legal_system_s/law_police_s/police_powers_scotland.htm

Anyone with mental health issues is meant to have an appropriate responsible adult help them through the arrest procedure.

The state of the wider world today is no reason for UK citizens to surrender more of their privacy, their freedom and their basic rights. It is worthwhile making sure you know what legal protection you are entitled to.

Comments enabled – see comments box below. Note, all comments will be moderated.

MSPs Welcome Start Of AWPR Work

Aberdeenshire, Opinion 3 Responses »

Feb 202015

With thanks to Ann-Marie Parry, Parliamentary Assistant, Rt Hon Alex Salmond MSP

Aberdeenshire East MSP Alex Salmond and North East MSP Christian Allard have welcomed the start of construction work on the £745 million Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie-Tipperty road project today.
Construction will support around 1,500 jobs and over 100 apprenticeships, graduate places, and other training opportunities.

The scheme will be delivered in stages, with completion expected in winter 2017, around six months ahead of schedule.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the beginning of the work at Balmedie, one of the key communities to benefit from the AWPR, today.

Alex Salmond said:

“This is a brilliant day for residents all across the north-east of Scotland who will benefit from increased connectivity and shorter journey times.

“The construction of the AWPR is expected to create 1,500 jobs at its peak as well as 100 apprenticeships, graduate places and other training which means that young people will get valuable opportunities to enter the workplace.

“The AWPR will deliver much needed relief from the congestion in and around Aberdeen and I am delighted that sections of the road, such as the junctions around the Airport, will be finished as early as next year.

“With an estimated £6 billion of investment and 14,000 jobs expected to be created in the north-east over the next thirty years, it is clear that the AWPR will help to boost business and keep Aberdeen internationally competitive.”

Christian Allard (pictured) said:

“I am delighted that construction work on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route is now underway as this will have a huge impact on the road network in the north-east of Scotland.

“Not only will journey times greatly improve but construction will bring thousands of jobs to the region.

“With this £745 million development underway and expected to be complete 6 months ahead of schedule this Scottish Government is clearly committed to delivering for the north-east.”

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.]

Altered Sky – Tunnels, 4 February 2015

Aberdeen City, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 172015

Altered Sky invited Aberdeen Voice to their show at the Tunnels on 4 February. Suzanne Kelly has had her eye and ear on this act, and was happy to go. Photographs by George Mackie.

Altered Sky. Credit: George Mackie.

It would not be hard for a band like this to sign a deal that would make them lots of money: just do what a label tells them to do, wear far less clothes, concentrate on dance routines and let someone else write the music.

The 15+ minutes of fame seems to be what so many hopefuls want these days at any cost.

When you meet a group of people who prefer making music to making money /making headlines, it restores your faith.

Altered Sky is still in some ways a fledgling outfit, but they did go some way to restore my faith in music’s future.

I could have said pop’s future, thrashy pop’s future, pop/rock/indie/alt’s future – but it’s not that easy to put a label on their output, which is another reason to pay attention to Altered Sky.

The Glasgow-based band are Ana Nowosielska (Vocals, lyrics); Amy Blair (Drums/Vocals); Richard Passe (Guitars); and Ross Archibald (Bass); and for the purposes of the tour they are also joined by guitarist Ryan Zdrojewski.

It was about -4 degrees the night they were taking a late slot at The Tunnels. I wish I could tell you about the rest of the line-up, but I was only able to make it to the Altered Sky’s set. From accounts though, support acts TRAVIS OAKS + THE LIVER CONDITIONS + BEC SANDRIDGE impressed.

It was a Wednesday. It was freezing – anyone who hadn’t wound up in casualty from falling over on our icy pavements (note to city council – can’t you do something about this?) were staying in and staying warm.

The band was freezing as well.

Furthermore, with a young demographic, perhaps midweek late wasn’t the best time to get a large audience.

But audience size never should impact performance, and even if the crowd was smaller than I’d expected, we had a good set from the band.

The energy never fell from the moment Ana ran up onto the stage from the back of the venue. ‘Live in the World’ was, if I’m not wrong, performed for the first time live and went over wonderfully. Another new number (I believe) is ‘Song Bird’; it has a hypnotic, melodic opening.

‘Where I belong’ is performed with great energy and accuracy. The vocals, time signature changes, guitar work are highly polished yet fresh. ‘Apple Tree’ is for me another highlight.

This is still a very young band; they’re guiding their own course and making their own decisions, and singing about subjects and emotions they understand. It’s not about being wrecking balls. But it is ballsy. If their trajectory is any indication, and if they keep doing what they’re doing, the sky, altered or not, is where they are heading. I really wish them well.

After the show I spoke to Mel and Dwayne. Mel said:-

“I enjoyed seeing Altered Sky; they have so much energy; they’re so much fun to watch”

Dwayne had a similar verdict:

“Loved seeing Altered Sky; they are little firecrackers on stage and great to hear.”

In Conversation With Altered Sky

Earlier in the evening I get a few minutes to talk to the band before they go on; the dressing room’s table is crammed with soft drinks, crisp packets and junk food of every kind – no alcohol. Amy, Ana, Richard, Ross and Ryan all participate (you can listen to the interview here)

I tell them how refreshing it is to see a band that is fronted by a woman that doesn’t resort to selling sex to sell its music. And how good it is to see non-exploitative videos. We discuss a certain person who used teddy bears in their show, and that I consider Altered Sky the diametric opposite.

I ask about the lyrics which I find honest, interesting, and Ana says:

“Funnily enough it’s the music comes first, and by the time we hit the studio it’s ‘well we need some lyrics’. ‘Where I Belong’ was inspired by the story of The Wizard of Oz. One of the lyrics is ‘Wind up somehow this tin pumps blood.’ It’s keeping that fantasy feel alive.

“The rest of the song goes on to say you’ve got dreams; follow those dreams and if you got a place where you need to go and find them and be yourself, that’s your escape and that’s where you need to be.”

“Follow your dreams and don’t let anyone say otherwise.”

“Is that somewhere in your head or a physical place?” one of the band asks

“That’s probably something for the listener to find out for themselves.” Ana explains.

They met in Glasgow; many started music early ( was in school musicals). I suggest that music education has been severely cut – in Aberdeen anyway. Ana comments

“Amy and I went to school outside of Glasgow; I was in Edinburgh. There was a very strong connection with the music department. But to be honest you would be getting vouchers for computers first. I think it’s all about computers… it was 2007 when I left school – the internet café in school was new.”

It occurs to me that in the Aberdeen area you’d likely be discouraged from being a female drummer (sometimes I find Aberdeen a touch on the safe, conventional side – but this may be changing).

Amy says:-

“When I was at school I got approached by a teacher, and I was the one who they asked ‘do you want lessons?’ It was something I picked up kind of quick.”

They’re in their 20;s they’ve been playing since they were in their teens, and all seem to have gravitated to music and performing from an early age.

Richard didn’t start playing until he was 17:

“I had some lessons; the whole class got some acoustic guitars.”

I blurt out ‘oh no!’ – before I could explain that being ambidextrous myself, I know that people get steered to be right-handed very often in school.

“Thanks for your pity”

Richard jokes; I explain what I’d meant; we laugh. He continues:

“There was one left-handed guitar; it was a horrible thing to play; it left your fingers bleeding. I hated it; I really despised it. It was in my 6^th year when I was that I picked up my dad’s guitar; I thought ‘this is fun’ and away I went. It wasn’t so much me learning in school as picking it up myself. In school everyone has piano or violin lessons; if you don’t like it, then it’s hell.”

I suggest that having a crap school instrument can turn people off from music; no one argues with that.

I ask Ross how he got into bass.

“I never got into it in school. Everyone gets their two years’ compulsory music at school; but I wasn’t interest in it at school from an educational point of view.

“I got into the electric guitar from my stepdad who’s a fantastic rock guitarist; he taught me my first 3 chords (I think that’s as many chords as some outfits I can think of know full stop).

“I spent six months to a year playing to myself. Some of my mates started a school band and needed a bass player because there aren’t any (we all laugh); there was no point having 3 guitarists so I tried the bass. Since then I’m self-taught.”

As a last question I ask them who they’re listening to and what influences they have.

Ana says:

“Influences for me start from video games; which is really really strange because I’m the predominant songwriter; I’ll write the song, write the music part of it, bring it to the table and everyone will have their input and we’ll have the finished produce. I’m interested by video music because it’s very layered; bass lines, synth lines then a guitar then this… piano.

“I like bands like Escape the Fate; I’m influenced by their music a lot. Amy and I have this thing about Escape the Fate – melody through guitar through drums through bass through vocals that you don’t forget; everything’s got something memorable about it. And what I’m listening to right now? Slipknot.”

It’s Richard’s turn to answer the question:

“I’ve like quite a range of music; when I started I was very into my heavy metal; that’s what encouraged me to play guitar. Since then horizons opened to see all kinds of other music; anything. I like some virtuoso acoustic musicians; people like Beck playing just now; amazing. A whole range of stuff; rock bands.”

Ryan says:

“I was a strange kid; I was into techno. Nirvana was the first band I got really into. Then I got into heavier and heavier music; My Bloody Valentine. I listen to a lot of Blink 182… Paramore was an influence.”

Ross adds:

“To begin with when I started bass I was listening to Dream Theatre, Rush and a lot of Prog Rock stuff. But at the moment I’m listening to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and a lot of Biffy Clyro.”

Amy is last:

“When I first started I was into a lot of Indy stuff; that’s all I was exposed to really, pretty much Chili Peppers. Then I went through my angsty teenage phase as you do .. I like Blink 182; a lot of pop punk.”

I thank them for their time; and look forward to their set, nearly as much as they seem to be looking forward to demolishing the food and drink that’s left.

BrewDog’s Beatnik Brew-In: Shareholder Saturday, Ellon

Featured, Information, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 172015

Last week BrewDog invited its shareholders – over 14,000 of us – for a day at the Ellon Brewery, DogTap & bottleshop. The hundred or so who attended enjoyed a great day out. Shareholder Suzanne Kelly reports.

Beer Chandelier

BrewDog opened up the newly-expanded Ellon brewery to shareholders on 7 February; it was to tour the brewery, see the new DogTap & bottleshop, taste beers and have fun.

The day’s main event was to help create a new beer – Bounty Hunter. This will be a chocolaty, coconutty stout (lactose, coconut chip and chocolate). We were invited to take part in the ‘mashing in’ (mixing the grains into the heated water, the early stage of the brewing process) and to help design the stout’s label.

You can’t say that shareholders aren’t appreciated by the company. A full programme of events saw us meet at BrewDog Aberdeen for coffee before taking a coach to the Ellon brewery (we all chipped in £5 each for the round trip).

On the way I sat with Chris who tells me he’s been with the company for 6 months. In the course of talking we discussed how the spent grains are sent to local farmers for their animals; he seemed very up on the company’s sustainability credentials (something I care about as well).

On arrival we were welcomed by Becky. We waited in the bar for a second busload of attendees. The inimitable artwork associated with BrewDog adorns the walls; the chandelier is made of BrewDog bottles. The artwork you’ll see at the brewery and many of the bars is mainly down to Fisher, a BrewDog employee who was general manager at the Aberdeen bar, worked at the Edinburgh bar & Leeds bar, and led beer tasting sessions as well as creating this art. More on the art later.

A blackboard explains the basics of brewing. Nearby is a poster advertising a chocolate and beer evening on Friday 13 February. If you don’t think chocolate and beer belong together, you might want to think again.

We were shown through to the newly-extended brewery where we talked and enjoyed a few beers. I spoke with friends Andrew and Michael (his brother-in-law had got him interested in the company) and Simon from Southampton, himself a brewer (his outfit is Rusty Prop ). Then we got down to the brewing.

Master brewers James and Bowman got the cacao nibs, grains and coconut chips together, and pretty soon the scents of malt, roasted grain, chocolate and coconut seemed everywhere. (The beer will be called ‘Bounty Hunter’ – no doubt the chocolate bar’s taste will be evoked by the finished stout in due time).

Art & Craft Beer

I went to the main bar to seek vegetarian fare. I ran into Fisher, and we got talking about art. He’s more than happy to talk about the opportunities BrewDog has created for him. Over the entrance is a painted mural of two dogs facing each other; I note their gums seem to be in fluorescent paint. Across from them is neon lettering proclaiming ‘without us, we are nothing’. When the rest of the bar is dark, the neon shows up the florescent paint in the murals.

We discuss all things paint and design. He shows me a remarkably striking Welsh red dragon he’s done for the Cardiff bar which opened late 2014; I adore it, and will be making my way to the new Welsh location when next I can. The pie is taking a long time to come – I’m expecting someone will just be reheating some pre-made pie.

Fisher had recommended the flavour; sweet potato and feta.

BrewDog’s pies come fresh from Pieminister.

The pie eventually comes: it’s well worth the wait, and must have been freshly made; I feel guilty for trying to hurry it along and for my assumption it was just going to be a case of reheating something in a microwave.

Apologies. It’s also in biodegradable packaging with biodegradable cutlery.

The reason for my haste was that I didn’t want to miss a thing going on in the brewery. I arrive back at my table just in time for the business end of today’s events: Martin and James are about to give an overview of their company’s – our company’s – performance.

Share And Share I Like

“The truth is that unless you drink in their pubs or buy a lot from their website then it it [sic] probably wouldn’t count as a good ‘investment’.”

“Their success is entirely due to hipster popularity. Once all the “cool dudes” stop being interested in beer, BrewDog will slip back into obscurity.” – forum comments from http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4665869

“If BrewDog continue to brew excellent beer whilst growing as they have done, then you should make your money back and more, but that is missing the point. If you believe in what BrewDog are doing, and believe that they are genuinely in it for the love of beer and not simply financial gain then you should invest. If you think the numbers don’t add up and it’s not a ‘good investment’ then you shouldn’t.

“The decision is up to you, and BrewDog have been extremely open and honest about what they are offering, and what they’re not.” – http://www.eatingisntcheating.co.uk/2011/07/is-brewdogs-share-offer-taking-us-for.html

From market stall to first small share offering to the present, there has been absolutely no slip in BrewDog’s passion or in their attention to detail.

In 2011 the company raised £2 million with a second release of shares, Equity for Punks II; they also raised £4.25m in Equity for Punks III in 2013. They then spent £6.5 million on the Ellon brewery. Their profit margins continue to escalate to dizzying levels – yet compared to the big boys like Diageo (who you may remember tried to cheat the BrewDog team out of an award), they are still comparably small.

We wondered what James Watt and Martin Dickie would tell us today. We are getting very used to hearing good news from them, and today we got more. The good news includes:

• BrewDog is a Living Wage Employer (more info here http://www.livingwage.org.uk/employers )
• BrewDog is now in 52 countries, with a Barcelona bar opening next week opens Tuesday 10th for Equity Punk launch, open to general public Wednesday 11th
• BrewDog Brighton will open in June of this year all being well, and Southampton soon.
• Idlewild will play the AGM again this year on 6 June (Martin and James promise that there will not be the long lines of people queuing for beer they had last time – over 4,000 people attended, and getting a beer was a long process it must be admitted)
• There will be a shareholder beer club featuring limited edition craft beer
• More canned beers will be produced (including personal favourite Jackhammer) – enabling export without losing quality

What do they want? To keep making great craft beer and to ‘be the best employer ever’. The shareholders are with them on both points, and any staff member I’ve ever spoken with seems to think BrewDog already is top dog in terms of employment.

Martin’s mentioned that American giant Coors cut production by 600,000 barrels in 2013/14 – this is about the amount the entire craft brewing sector gained.

The brewery here in Ellon has greatly grown, it aims to produce some 172,000 HL of beer this coming year – still making it a small player compared to the likes of the American brewers.

What makes a company too big?

There’s big and there’s too Big

Some of BrewDog’s detractors claim the company is now ‘too big’. Should the company start acting like a monopoly seeking to control production, distribution – and making political donations – I’ll consider it too big. But that seems to be how at least one multinational drinks company is carrying on. News broke this week of the behaviour of brewing multinationals in Canadian politics, and if I were a shareholder, I’d be selling up. As the Globe & Mail put it:

“The Beer Store’s corporate owners have funnelled more than $1.1-million to Ontario politicians in the past decade, as they successfully held on to their lucrative private monopoly.

“The company – owned by foreign brewing giants Anheuser-Busch InBev SA, Molson Coors Brewing Co. and Sapporo Breweries Ltd. – enjoys a government-protected stranglehold on beer retail, codified in a secret deal with the province.” – http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/beer-stores

I wonder whether BrewDog detractors will put as much energy into complaining about brewery giants and their retail arms donating hundreds and thousands of Canadian dollars to politicians. No doubt those who think the Watt Dickie company is ‘too big’ will be quick to jump on this important story.

In the early share offering days, some internet investment gurus warned that this was nothing more than ‘a beer club’ – some had less kind things to say. Other pundits were all in favour of their style and their business model. I ask one of the staff about the share value. She advises that when people were first allowed to trade/sell shares in October 2014, the price wound up being £125.

It also seems that many people were willing to part with one or two shares, but few if any people completely divested. Everyone here today seems to have a shared vision based on a passion for beer.

A Matter of Taste

It’s time to taste some beer. We start with India Pale Weizen , made in collaboration with one of the world’s oldest breweries, Weihenstephan. It’s a delicious wheat concoction with the bitter elements of Jackhammer. The hops are Simcoe and Centennial. My table is happy. We’ve also been joined by two more craft beer lovers, and we are all literally comparing notes.

Next we get to taste how the beer we’ve come together to brew is progressing: we drink the wort (the wort is what you get from mashing in- so just the dark sugary liquid you get from the malts- this is before adding hops/other ingredients). It’s delicious – my table asks for more.

This wort is hinting at a very great beer to come in a few weeks’ time.

The third tasting comes a bit late for my table; we’d already enjoyed a pint (or so) of Bourbon Baby, a dark, oaty chocolaty strong drink aged in bourbon casks. It’s another success.

Finally we taste a new version of BrewDog’s Paradox Paradox Compass Box – the staff member talking us through this whimsically suggests it should be drunk by a fire place while sitting in a wing chair, with a fluffy cat nearby. I wonder whether she’s been looking through my flat’s window of a winter night?

Too soon it’s time to go back; the traffic is awful. The heartier shareholders head to the BrewDog bar.

I am heading home for that comfy chair by the fire, my cats, and a final small drink of the night; a ‘Dog B’. I think to myself, ‘the boys have done it again’ – then I realise, having seen their wives and beautiful babies at the today, maybe they’re not ‘boys’ any more. I think instead – well done to James, Martin, their growing families and to all of us who’re on this successful, wild, delicious ride. Same again please.

Comments enabled – see comments box below. Note, all comments will be moderated.

MSPs Welcome Progress At NHS Grampian

Aberdeen City, Articles, Opinion 2 Responses »

Feb 172015

With thanks to Ann-Marie Parry.

SNP MSPs Alex Salmond and Christian Allard have welcomed the “real progress” being made by NHS Grampian in addressing the recommendations of the Healthcare Improvement Scotland report published December last year.

Today’s update from NHS Grampian shows the work they are taking forward to recruit more nurses, better investigate and respond to complaints and develop sustainable plans to further improve unscheduled care.

The update comes ahead of Health Secretary Shona Robison’s visit to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary today.

Aberdeenshire East MSP Alex Salmond said:

“I am very pleased that the new leadership team at NHS Grampian are making real progress in implementing the Healthcare Improvement Scotland recommendations.

“I welcome the health board’s plans to recruit more nurses and take forward a strategy to make unscheduled care work better for patients.

“This SNP Government is committed to ensuring that this progress continues as is clear from the £49.1 million increase to the health board’s budget.

“This is the highest increases of any health board in Scotland and will bring NHS Grampian within 1% parity of NRAC, the NHS funding formula.”

North East MSP Christian Allard attended a NHS Grampian briefing for MSPs on Friday.

Commenting, Mr Allard (pictured) said:

“Staff at NHS Grampian are amongst the best working in NHS Scotland and they should be given high praise for the level of care they provide to North East patients.

“Last week’s meeting with the NHS Grampian Board was very positive and this has been backed up by today’s update on the Healthcare Improvement Scotland action plan.”

Comments enabled – see comments box below. Note, all comments will be moderated.

Old Susannah No. 171 – Still All Loved up

Opinion, Satire and Humour 9 Responses »

Feb 122015

Following on from last week’s Valentine’s Day themed column, Old Susannah is still feeling the love. After all, this is Aberdeen. By Suzanne Kelly.

Tally ho! The Deen is awash in romance; you can smell it in the air. Then again, that might just be a nasty whiff coming in from the sewerage plant.

In major news, it seems that civilisation may not end if we don’t build a glass office building next to Marischal College. Millions of jobs were to go, connectivity would be lost, and we’d lose our vibrant and dynamic edge that our planners have worked so hard for a decade or so to give us. However, it seems that protestors may interfere with our modern progress. After all, when has the city ever ignored protestors before?

We can’t thank our planning supremos enough for making us the 2014 Carbuncle Award Winner. Surely now that we’ve got this award, the city of culture award can’t be far behind.

I’m sure the awards will start flooding in, just like all those extra tourists clogging the roads from the airport to Trump Links and MacLeod House.

In fact, with all the good feeling and love in the air, here’s a few affectionate definitions.

Mutual Admiration Society: (English Compound Noun) An assembly of like-minded groups or people to share affection and respect.

It would have been enough to restore anyone’s faith in human nature; I’m sorry my invite was somehow lost in the post. But this past week, Donald Trump, Aberdeen Journals Ltd, Damian Bates, and other journalism superstars got together to pat themselves on the back, and sing the praises of journalism today.

It was hugs and kisses all ‘round when 60 business leaders (<swoon!>) got together to sing the praises of the Scottish Newspaper Society. These respected figures included Trump, as well as a few respectable figures from quangos and some nice banking VIPs.

And what do businessmen like most about our newspapers? Is it for impartiality, for thorough, unhindered, unbiased investigative journalism? Here’s what The Donald said:

“I’ve had my battles with the Scottish press and seen my fair share of tough headlines, but the impact of advertising in the Scottish media – particularly The Press and Journal and Evening Express – can’t be underestimated,”
– http://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/02/09/donald-trump-joins-scottish-business-figures-backing-campaign-scotlands-newspapers

What do the executives value? Advertising. What more can you want from a newspaper? Absorbency, I suppose.

That the Scottish Newspaper Society sought Trump’s endorsement doesn’t make the group look at all uninformed, star-struck, advertising-starved or parochial. After all, Trump does get into the papers now and then. In the rest of the world, it’s for reasons such as failing golf clubs, bankruptcy, links to organised crime, lawsuits and environmental damage. But that’s just negative nit-picking by The Haters.

Here, executives, newspapers and little people like us love him because he flies into town and has a red carpet when he lands. It’s because he hired our local sweetheart Sarah Malone Bates and used her extensive golf and real estate experience to forge our boring coastline into something else. And not what has he given us? Billions of pounds, millions of jobs, put us on the map, and of course the world’s best golf course ever. Really.

Any battles he’s had with the Scottish press have sadly either faded from my ageing memory, or have not been with the Press & Journal: I wonder why? I guess love is blind.

You can see the full list of business figures backing Scottish newspapers on the Scottish Newspaper Society website – that will keep you busy for many happy hours. Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Federation, Trump, etc. etc.: This is a mutual admiration society like no other.

COMPETITION TIME: How many organisations on this list have links to ACSEF? Answers on a (large) postcard; winner gets a BrewDog or a P&J – their choice.

And what does a paper do to earn this lavish praise from otherwise neutral billionaire Donald Trump? What kinds of riveting articles command his respect? What incisive slants on local stories are we being served up this week? Old Susannah is happy to serve up some examples.

“Aberdeen store could be turned into 5 smaller stores.”

We’ll remember where we were when we heard this story.

And then if you want a good laugh (even if it’s at the victim’s expense), we had:

“Man found guilty of putting face in woman’s cleavage”

As the story advised:

“A MAN who clamped his mouth to a stranger’s chest during a night out has been ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work. Remigiusz Zdziech was found guilty of putting his face in a woman’s cleavage while on a night out.

“The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, felt “distressed and shaken” by the incident. Zdziech, 28, denied the offence but was found guilty.”

I guess what one paper describes as ‘putting face in woman’s cleavage/clamping a mouth to a stranger’s chest’ is what some of the rest of us might be tempted to call a sexual assault and leave the specifics out of it to spare the victim any further distress – but there you go. If it’s good enough for Damian Bates to publish, then it’s good enough for us to accept without question.

And yet somehow Old Susannah can’t help but feel there is just the slightest hint of sexism in the writing. But I’m just a silly old woman anyway.

Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder: (English saying) – belief that being away from loved ones makes them love you more.

Never was a saying more true than this past week when our former Chief Executive Valerie Watts decided to play hard to get. Our former leader was to have been questioned at a hearing into the letter sent out last year, wherein it was stated that the city council wanted to stay in the Union. Everyone missed Valerie tremendously. If anyone could have given an honest and complete explanation, it would have been her.

Indeed, when it comes to her honesty, it is beyond question by miles. And here’s just a small sample of why that’s so.

So what kept her from her beloved former city? In her current job in Belfast, the Permanent Secretary had invited her to a meeting. Picture how conflicted and torn she must have been! Choosing between a meeting with her new lovely boss and her old love of Aberdeen. Some say she could have chosen to meet the Permanent Secretary another time (perhaps for movie and a meal – not to rush into anything of course), and come here to see us. But she chose to make us wait.

We will be waiting, Valerie. The whole hearing has been kicked into the long grass by this femme fatale with her natural looking suntan and honest smile. Let’s hope next time she’s supposed to appear at a hearing on this matter she doesn’t have a pedicure or facial planned instead. See you soon Valerie. We’ll wait.

Erotic Love: (Compound English Noun) Form of affection or desire which is sexual in nature

What could say ‘I love you’ more than a few lashes with a leather cat ‘o nine tails? What says ‘I care’ more than a complicated set of ropes and pulleys? How best to demonstrate the ties that bind you to someone than by tying them up?

You won’t be aware of this due to the lack of hype, advertising and promotion, but a romantic film is about to hit the big screen (in a non-violent, loving sort of way). Fifty Shades of Gray is coming (ahem) to a cinema near you soon. Is it (as I already suggested on Facebook – sorry) just money for old rope? No, this spanking new spanking film is set to change how the middle classes do DIY.

Hard to believe, but I’m told the film is even more riveting than the dialogue in the book. I’d go see it myself, but I’m a little tied up right now.

Don’t worry though – it can’t possibly lead to any further lack of respect to women. How could it?

Have fun all you B&Q-ers; best get down to the superstore before they run out of winches, pulleys, rope, cord and chains. Say good bye to spontaneity with a few DIY projects that will have that spare bedroom all decked up as if it were a haunt of Jeffrey Archer’s.

But what happens when you and your beloved eventually fall out and have an argument? Will you feel stupid, used, creepy, lame, ashamed, cheap, weird? Of course not – off you’ll go to your mini-dungeon locked room, and the dominant one will be pulling the strings once more.

I’m sure no one will ever carry this too far, get hurt or need to call the fire department and the sanitation services. Have fun, and remember, love isn’t dead. It’s just gagged, blindfolded and trussed up somewhere.

Happy Valentine’s Day all.

Comments enabled – see comments box below. Note, all comments will be moderated.

End Council Tax Freeze Say Councillors

Aberdeenshire, Opinion 2 Responses »

Feb 122015

With thanks to Martin Ford.

Two Aberdeenshire councillors are calling for an end to the Council Tax freeze as their council faces up to £50 million in budget cuts over the next four years.

The call comes in the week Aberdeenshire and other councils across Scotland set their revenue budgets for the next financial year.

“This cannot go on,” said Green councillor Martin Ford.

“It’s the elephant in the room on budget day. Most councillors know the Council Tax freeze is unsustainable, but aren’t prepared to say so.”

Allowing for inflation, a freeze in cash terms is actually a real-terms cut in income to the Council. Meanwhile, Aberdeenshire is having to plan for demand-led spending pressures due to rising school rolls and increasing numbers of very elderly people.

“The inevitable consequence of a continuation of the Council Tax freeze is more cuts in public services,” said Democratic Independent councillor Paul Johnston.

“Expecting the Council to do more with less, year after year, is not realistic.”

The Scottish Government has ensured that councils do not increase the Council Tax by threatening a lower grant settlement if the Council Tax is increased – ensuring any reasonable increase in Council Tax would leave the council in an even worse position financially than maintaining the Tax freeze.

“Local Government has effectively been reduced to local administration,” said Cllr Martin Ford.

“The Council’s total budget is essentially decided for it by the Scottish Government. The councillors are just left with deciding which are the least damaging cuts to make – the alternative option of avoiding cuts by raising some additional tax revenue having been blocked.

“The decision on the balance to strike between cutting council services or raising some additional tax income should be taken locally, not by the SNP government in Edinburgh.”

The current Band D Council Tax in Aberdeenshire is £1,141. A one per cent increase would result in a Band D rate of £1,152, or eleven pounds a year more, only 21 pence extra per week. An increase equal to the current Retail Price Index (RPI) of 1.6 per cent would see the Aberdeenshire Band D Council Tax set at £1,159.

“Scottish Government politicians must trust the people of Aberdeenshire with tax raising powers, in the same way as they want tax powers from Westminster,” said Cllr Paul Johnston.

“This is all about trust on tax. Trust Aberdeenshire to take decisions on tax for Aberdeenshire.”

Cllr Ford added:

“Even a one per cent rise in the Council Tax would prevent some cuts in public services,”

Aberdeenshire Council is budgeting for a Council Tax income in the next financial year of £124.658 million. A one per cent increase in the Council Tax would increase revenue to £125.905 million. An RPI-linked 1.6 per cent increase in the Council Tax would bring the Council almost £2 million extra income.

“An extra £2 million annual income would certainly not enable the Council to avoid cutting some services over the next several years,” said Cllr Paul Johnston.

“But it would prevent the most undesirable cuts.”

Comments enabled – see comments box below. Note, all comments will be moderated.

Birdsong At HMT – A Review.

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 122015

Reviewed by Duncan Harley.

Playwright R. C. Sherriff recalled in his autobiography that almost every theatre management in London had turned down his 1928 drama Journey’s End.

“They said that people didn’t want war plays.”

This latest theatre production of Sebastian Faulk’s novel Birdsong, adapted for stage by Rachel Wagstaff, proves beyond doubt that even today, some 100 years after the start of the first “War to end all wars” public appetite for war drama is as strong as ever.

Alternating between the trenches of the Somme and the Amiens Chateau of the Aizaire household the production follows young British officer Stephen Wraysford, played by Edmund Wiseman, as he progresses through a tempestuous and doomed love affair with Isabelle Azaire, played by leading lady Emily Bowker.

The plot takes us underground into the darkly surreal world of the unquestioning Jack Firebrace, played effortlessly by Peter Duncan of Blue Peter fame. Jack, a sapper, is tasked with tunnelling underneath the battleground in order to plant explosives below enemy positions. It is here, in these tunnels that Stephen is finally faced with the pointlessness of conflict and it is here that he is resurrected as a human being.

This is no Journey’s End in stature and a century on from the events portrayed who could expect otherwise. Writers such as Sassoon, Graves and Remarque saturated the genre almost a century ago with ease. They were of course present as both witnesses and combatants.

The beauty of the stage version of Birdsong lies in its shocking starkness. Yes there are a good few humorous one liners and yes there are the usual clichés, albeit expressed in fresh ways. The endlessly repeated Lions led by Donkeys quote becomes a quiet reflection by Stephen on General Haig’s leadership qualities.

Wire cutters are issued despite assurances from above that the bombardment has destroyed the barbed wire defences. A soldier hangs from the barb wire, his legs shot off by machine gun fire. Who can avoid such repetitions? They are after all the reality of what happened.

Of particular note were the performances of Max Bowden as the young Private Tipper and musician/folk artist James Findlay whose haunting melodies set the mood from early on in the first act.

In creating darkly lit underground scenes, grim trenches and the delightful Amiens Chateau, set designer Victoria Spearing has triumphed. Scene changes were seamless and the tunnelling galleries appeared truly frightening.

Lighting and sound left little to the imagination. Indeed it was surprising that the rumble of artillery and exploding of underground mines failed to attract the emergency services.

All in all this is a brave adaptation. Sebastian Faulks’s, after all, took 503 pages to tell his story. The stage version of the story has but two hours and ten minutes to highlight the period 1910 – 1918.

Well worth seeing, this production will not disappoint.

Directed and produced by Alastair Whatley, Birdsong plays at HM Theatre Aberdeen until Saturday 14th February.

Tickets from Aberdeen Box Office: 01224 641122

Images: Jack Ladenburg.

Eric Auld Retrospective: A Kind Of Homecoming

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 122015

Eric Auld – teacher, artist, source of inspiration for many of Aberdeen’s painters passed away towards the end of 2013. The Rendezvous Gallery on Forest Avenue is holding a retrospective show of his work, organised in part by his daughters. The show opened to a full, appreciative house on Friday 6 February. Suzanne Kelly was in attendance.

Aberdeen Trams, Castlegate, 1950 by Eric Auld. Rendezvous Gallery

Eric Auld will remain one of our area’s most influential and loved artists. He captured Aberdeen’s harbour, day to day life in his still life work, Highland games pageantry, and the natural beauty of his life models.
As a teacher in Kincorth he influenced many students. One such is Keith Byers, local portrait painter/artist. Keith’s life drawing work is being highlighted in the Rendezvous Gallery’s window as part of the Auld exhibition.

Perhaps the most striking of Auld’s work is the large self-portrait which is also shown on the front of the show’s catalogue.

His still lifes with fish and loaves of bread are gentle, pleasing works; his accomplished nudes are natural and unpretentious. Some of the land and seascapes become bold and expressionistic and are very striking works. Clearly Auld was able to work across various styles and traditions.

As the gallery’s website explains:

“Eric Auld, an artist with an inherent talent for painting, was a member of a well-known artistic, Aberdeen family. His father, Alexander, and his mother, Margaret, were both art students at Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen. Margaret, herself accomplished in the painting of still lifes, encouraged Eric to follow an artistic career.

“Eric’s sister Rozelle, who married the architect Valentino Morrocco (brother of Alberto) in her turn encouraged her own sons, Nicholas and Jack, to become professional artists.

“From 1948 to 1953, Eric attended Gray’s School of Art where, under the tutelage of Alberto Morrocco, Hugh Adam Crawford and Robert Sivell, he immersed himself in art. During his period at Gray’s, he had his first solo exhibition at the then well-known art cinema, the Gaumont, at 181 Union Street, Aberdeen. According to his diaries, this proved a great success.”

The gallery on the opening night is packed with former friends, students and art lovers. In many ways this show not only charts Auld’s progression as an artist but also shows changing tastes, techniques, and at the same time captures a changing local environment and society. The show is up through 28 February.

It really is a must for anyone who is interested in the North East’s visual arts culture.

Comments enabled – see comments box below. Note, all comments will be moderated.

Older Entries Newer Entries