Environment Archives - Page 11 of 30

Bipeds, By-passes And Bye-bye Responsibility

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion 4 Responses »

Oct 112013

The other week, Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing caused a bit of a fuss by stating that the road system in Aberdeen was ‘an embarrassment and the worst in Scotland’. With his eyes firmly on the road ahead, our man in the driving seat, Fin Hall continues.

Barney Crockett, whose name incidentally comes up as Blarney with spell checker,
was outraged at these comments.

And rightly so, since it is the Scottish Government who has overall responsibility for the trunk roads in the country.

Meanwhile, MSP Lewis MacDonald, whilst agreeing with Mr Ewing, points out that the SNP government hasn’t started the AWPR despite almost 12 months having passed since the last stage of the appeal was heard.

Aberdeenshire Council member, Jim Gifford, also has a go at the Scottish Government over the lack of money that has been spent on NE roads.

All of these points are potentially valid, but the whole thing does smack of political point-scoring.

For a start, the Labour-led council has very short memories. It was the current incumbents’ predecessors who, for many a short-sighted year, publicly stated that we did not need a bypass, and actively encouraged us to take public transport, walk, or ride a bike. This was despite the fact that councillors themselves refused to do so stating that they, ‘…needed their cars to attend meetings all over the city’.

Oh, and the rest of us don’t, eh?

Funnily enough, the man at the head of this campaign, rejecting common sense, was one George Kirbride. At the time he was not an elected official, but a very opinionated civil servant, a man whose salary was paid by we tax payers.

He actively encouraged us all to cycle everywhere just as he did, because he didn’t drive. He wanted to build cycle lanes all over the city, the first one being out Cults way, which was apparently where he stayed. This futile example of a cycle way, is a mere white line painted around 18″ from the kerb, with no vehicle parking restrictions, thus totally negating its usefulness. It stopped around Mannofield.

NE drivers must surely be amongst the worst in the country

When all is said and done, the AWPR will not be a panacea in curing all traffic ills, and although it will certainly stop a vast volume of southbound and northbound traffic coming into the city, it will not make Aberdeen an idyllic, peaceful, fresh air city.

Much of the frustration and many problems in this part of the world are caused by the state of the traffic system, but drivers must take a goodly share of the blame. NE drivers must surely be amongst the worst in the country. Just check out the annual fatality list.

Indicators seem to be an added extra on most cars purchased up here, and lane discipline at roundabouts leaves a lot to be desired.

As for no entry signs and one way streets, forget about them.

Go down Stirling Street any day and you’ll see cars going down the street rather than travel 12 feet further along and travel down Exchange Street, the proper way. I have even seen a police car do this, and no, its blue lights were not flashing.

On these streets it is not uncommon to see cars parked facing the wrong way, as the owners know that City Wardens have the remit to book only vehicles parked outwith the parking zones, not parked in them facing the wrong way.

The police, in line with their budget cuts, pay absolutely no heed, thus perpetrating the vicious circle of irresponsibility.

The road saga is indicative of attitudes in modern society. As well as living in a world where blame culture predominates, we are now developing a parallel world, possibly blame culture’s twin – the idea that it is always someone else’s responsibility to get something done, rather than getting up off your backside and doing it yourself.

The AWPR will not solve the ills of the truly inadequate road system in the area, but it will surely assist in lessening congestion slightly. Provided that is, that the powers-that-be stop designating short cuts as rat runs and sticking road humps all over the place, forcing traffic on to already over-populated roads.

And stop passing the buck, just fix it.

Drivers need to stop thinking that the rules of the road are for everyone else and not for them, or that rules are in place to make your life awkward, rather than to help traffic flow swiftly and, above all, SAFELY!

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Swishing Aberdeen Forward

Aberdeen City, Community, Environment No Responses »

Sep 182013

How does a Friday night of wine, nibbles and vintage clothes swapping sound to you? Why not avoid the hustle and bustle of a weekend shopping trip and come along to Aberdeen Forward’s famous swish where your unused clothes can be swapped with like-minded swishers in a relaxing and informal setting.

If you want to grab a unique item or 2 whilst helping divert landfill, this Friday’s Swish is for you!

Starting at 6pm and finishing at 8pm this Friday, the event will provide you with a chance to clear out items you’ve never worn whilst getting a hold of some new pieces for your wardrobe.

When deciding which of your items to bring in please remember the following:

– All items should be high quality-please don’t bring damaged or dirty items.
– Donated items should be clean and either unworn or just worn once or twice. You want to bring something others will want to take away, not throw away!
– No Casual T-shirts, Vests, Earrings, Underwear or Swimwear will be accepted.

If you would like to come, please give us a quick call on 01224 560360, email cwe@aberdeenforward.org

The event is held at the Aberdeen Forward HQ, 2 Poynernook Road, AB11 5RW. Please arrive promptly for 6pm with your unwanted clothes at the ready!

Entry is £5 which includes a glass of fizz, nibbles and access to the Swish’. Non-alcoholic refreshments are also available including tea, coffee and juice.

Scots Pine As National Tree For Scotland?

Environment, News 2 Responses »

Sep 062013

With thanks to Richard Bunting.

As Scotland’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, Paul Wheelhouse, formally launches a consultation on whether Scotland should have a National Tree, the conservation charity Trees for Life has welcomed growing calls for the Scottish Government and Parliament to adopt the Scots pine.

The consultation on Scotland’s National Tree, requested by the Scottish Government, has been launched by Forestry Commission Scotland in Edinburgh.

Alan Watson Featherstone, Trees for Life’s Executive Director, said:

“The growing campaign for the Scots pine to be proclaimed Scotland’s National Tree is inspiring. The Scots pine is one of the world’s most beautiful trees, a powerful symbol of Scotland and a keystone species of the Caledonian Forest, which in turn is one of the country’s greatest national treasures.

“Declaring this remarkable and important species as our national tree in 2013, the year of Natural Scotland, would send a much-needed signal of support for Scotland’s beleaguered forests, and would boost the development of a uniquely Scottish national identity. The Scots pine’s natural range in the UK distinguishes Scotland from the rest of the country.”

Over 70 countries around the world, from Canada to Denmark to South Africa, have National Trees that provide important symbols for their national identities.

The Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is the largest and longest-lived tree in the CaledonianForest, and forms a ‘backbone’ in the forest ecosystem on which many other species depend.

The tree provides a home for special wildlife, including red squirrels, capercaillie, crossbills and crested tits. It offers ideal nesting sites for ospreys, shelter for deer and pine martens, and shade for twinflower, one-flowered wintergreen and blaeberries. The richly textured bark of a pine is a fantastic habitat for lichens, mosses and insects.

With increasing concerns about climate change, deforestation and biodiversity loss, the need for concerted action to conserve and regenerate Scotland’s native woodlands is more important than ever before.

Today, only a fraction of the former CaledonianForest survives, with its native pinewoods reduced to 35 isolated remnants. However, Trees for Life is restoring the forest to a wilderness region of 1,000 square miles in the Highlands to the west of Loch Ness and Inverness.

The bid to address Scotland’s current lack of an official tree was begun by campaigner and Trees for Life supporter Alex Hamilton. MSPs began the process of potentially designating the Scots pine as one of Scotland’s official national symbols on the 8th January this year, when the Public Petitions Committee heard Mr Hamilton’s request that the Scottish Parliament urge the Scottish Government to proclaim the Scots pine as the National Tree of Scotland.

Alan Watson Featherstone accompanied Alex Hamilton at that committee meeting, adding Trees for Life’s support for the proposal.

Trees for Life is Scotland’s leading conservation volunteering charity. For details, see www.treesforlife.org.uk or call 0845 458 3505.

Background

Scots pine, the only tree named after Scotland, is the most widely distributed conifer in the world, with a natural range that stretches from beyond the Arctic Circle in Scandinavia to southern Spain and from western Scotland to the Okhotsk Sea in eastern Siberia. Despite this wide distribution, the Scots pine forests in Scotland are unique and distinct from those elsewhere because of the absence of any other native conifers.

In good situations in mainland Europe, the Scots pine can grow to 120 feet in height. In most of the pinewood remnants in Scotland today, the largest trees are about 65 feet tall, with exceptional trees recorded up to 90 feet high. Maximum girth at breast height is usually up to 8 feet, although some trees up to 12 feet in girth have been recorded.

Scots pine usually lives to an age of 250-300 years in Scotland, although a tree in one of the western pinewood remnants was discovered to be over 520 years old.

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Aberdeen Forward: The Very Big Giveaway 07.09.2013

Aberdeen City, Community No Responses »

Sep 052013

Aberdeen Forward, your local environmental charity, are once again holding the Very Big Giveaway Day on this Saturday, September the 7th!

As usual, individuals & schools can access FREE office furniture, stationery and arts and craft resources.

There will also be a book stand and various drop in craft stalls running throughout the day, including a handmade cosmetics stand, ‘Beadpop’ stand, an oil & glass stand and ‘Stencil’ handmade crafts!

There will also be a raffle (tickets £1 available now) with a range of excellent prizes from local businesses including a Meal for 4 at Nando’s, various Lush cosmetics gift sets, a round of golf at Murcar Links Golf Club, Coffee for 2 at Books and Beans, A glass fusing workshop with Oil & Glass Aberdeen and a FREE lampshade making course!

In addition, The Nappy Laundry will be running a pop-up nappy shop where you can get expert advice and access to a great range of real cloth nappies. Further to this, the Aberdeen Forward Baby Shop will be open, providing access to an excellent range of low-cost, high quality baby items from prams and nursery furniture to pushchairs and cots.

Entry to the Big Giveaway Day is £3.00 for adults, children under 16 are free. Any questions, queries or requests, get in touch with us by clicking here or calling 01224 560360.

‘Improve, Don’t Destroy’ – FoUTG’s Defiant Message

Aberdeen City, Information 18 Responses »

Aug 232013

To a background of calls for those sympathetic to the preservation and enhancement of Union Terrace Gardens to be extra-vigilant as the Wood Family Trust’s 12-month deadline for withdrawal of its strings-attached £55m ‘donation’ to ‘city centre transformation’ approached, a predictable and transparently-concerted campaign, backed by increasingly-vocal local press coverage has emerged.

Our democratically-elected representatives now appear to be under renewed pressure to reconsider their decision to take a prudent approach to financial risk and publish imminently alternative and affordable plans for city centre regeneration. ‘Stand firm’ seems to be the message from the Friends of Union Terrace Gardens. Thanks to Robin McIntosh.

Union Terrace Gardens are an emerald jewel in Aberdeen’s civic crown, and part of the city’s proud Common Good heritage.

When the Victorian public toilets were closed in the 1990s, the Gardens entered a period of ‘managed decline’ with virtually no capital expenditure attributed to them. The last five year period has seen a variety of groups comment on the potential of UTG, motivated by their particular opinions on what is best for Aberdeen.

The result has been further degradation of the park, its suitability for events and its facilities as we await a resolution on the future of this publicly-owned green space.

The Friends of UTG group has compiled a wide range of transformational and evolutionary ideas from its membership and has presented its Vision and Proposals to the council for consideration.

The cost of delivering these membership-originated projects will be but a fraction of the predicted £140m cost of the City Gardens Project, and the benefits of evolutionary change to the ‘feel’ of our city centre are clear.

Robin McIntosh, Chair of the Friends of UTG, said:

“It is now vital that we move forward in the spirit of Bon Accord (good agreement), and undertake a full sympathetic restoration of this green heart in our Granite City. A modern society requires a combination of history, culture and facilities, and we must find the funds to deliver this for Union Terrace Gardens, in the same way that we have for the outstanding Duthie Park.

“The Friends have already delivered some minor, but sustainable improvements – building nesting boxes and planting a Spring Walk and a Flanders Field poppy field for the WW1 Centenary in 2014.

“Larger capital projects will obviously require greater investment, and we are committed to continuing to work closely with the council, senior members of the administration, and any other interested parties, to secure finance to deliver a Garden with civic pride at its very heart.

“Our aim is to achieve the best possible outcome for the people of Aberdeen – improvements that are both affordable and which will allow the Gardens to remain in public ownership.”

FoUTG’s blog outlines its proposals and gives current news updates http://friendsofutg.com/

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Ian Wood And His Granite Can Of Worms

Aberdeen City, Featured, Opinion 11 Responses »

Aug 232013

By Suzanne Kelly.

The Press & Journal devoted its first five pages on 21 August to august business mogul Sir Ian Wood.

On the following day, while the Scotsman put the Ian Wood ultimatum on Page 23 (with the little matters of Syria and other news taking precedence), our P&J had Alex Salmond on the cover entreating us to take the Wood shillings, and the following three pages were likewise dedicated to the granite web (with one pro-Trump article also up front, undoubtedly for balance).

This ceaseless Aberdeen Journals attempt at blatantly trying to rewrite history ignores reality. The AJL owners must be convinced the public will buy into the brainwashing and forget the past. From what I’m told, this propaganda is not appreciated by a web-wearied (and possibly dwindling) readership.

The details which the P&J brazenly try to paper over may be of interest to anti-granite web factions. Those who had to fight against an onslaught of propaganda during the non-binding referendum need to be able to counter this latest myopic, self-serving pro-web media onslaught; a round up of the issues may help with this.

During the referendum a wave of factually inaccurate, expensive, garish leaflets and newspapers (created by an anonymous, clearly well-off group) bombarded City (and accidentally shire) residents. Let’s make sure the oversimplified argument ‘Aberdeen must take this generous £50 million gift’ is one gift horse that is looked in the mouth, pronounced diseased, and refused (again).

Here are a few select counter-arguments which the Press & Journal conveniently overlook.

1. Ian’s promises to go away

Wood was going to abandon the plan if the first consultation for the city garden project indicated the public didn’t want it. The illustrations which first did the rounds clearly showed a flat, barren, concrete or tile giant square, with one or two plants in a pot.

The public didn’t want this and said so. Ian Wood however did not go away. The pro City Garden Project factions then accused the public of not understanding the illustrations, claiming the drawings looked nothing like what was really on offer. And back they went to the drawing board, rather than backing away as initially promised.

All this time, the taxpayer was paying the bill via invoices submitted to the City via unelected quango, Aberdeen City and Shire Economic Future (formerly Forum – they created their own manifesto).
See: https://aberdeenvoice.com/2012/02/the-great-city-gardens-project-gravy-train/

I have lost count of the headlines similar to the current ones in which Sir Ian threatens to send his money to Africa, take the offer off the table, etc.etc. But one thing seems clear to me: this is not a man of his word, going by these broken promises alone.

1.1 Alex Salmond to the rescue? Has Salmond learned nothing from his intervention with Trump?

Ian and Alex Salmond shared correspondence, and the web was one of their topics. Salmond has again come to bat for his friend, and is flexing his muscle in the same city where he recently disregarded the rules and protocol, sauntered into a primary school during a by election and had a press and photo call.

One friend helping another is a heart-warming thing. Here is an excerpt from Wood to Salmond correspondence:-

“I have been particularly grateful for the support your Government have provided to the Aberdeen City Centre Regeneration Project which, as you know, I believe is vitally important for Aberdeen’s long-term economic future and wellbeing.

“The vote of Aberdeen City Council on 22nd August will be crucial, and if this is positive I will obviously allocate some of my time to support the development phase of this project in any way I can, and I know there will be an important role for Scottish Government to play in facilitating this. If the vote is negative, Wood Family Trust will have no choice but to withdraw their offer of funding.”
See – https://aberdeenvoice.com/2012/11/wood-to-salmond-01-08-12/

Let’s not forget Sir Ian’s signature appears on a letter to the First Minister from Aberdeen City Gardens Trust (which is meant to be Smith, Crosby and Massie). If he had control at ACSEF, over Salmond, and over the ACGT, then he pretty much will be calling all the shots should this web ever be woven. https://aberdeenvoice.com/2012/12/salmonds-web-exclusive-correspondence-revealed/

28 July 2012: Aberdeen City Gardens Trust, ACSEF and Wood to Salmond

“The concept designs will be available to exhibit to the public late September with the public asked to indicate their views… with the winning concept design presented to Aberdeen City Council to endorse.

“The current plan is that by mid-December the city council will be in a position to approve the TiF business case prior to it being submitted to the Scottish Futures Trust. It goes without saying that the Project will not proceed without TiF funding.

“We’d be very happy to discuss this with you further… We will also be seeking some further discussion with John Swinney…”
See – https://aberdeenvoice.com/2012/11/wood-smith-acgt-acsef-to-salmond-28-07-11/

The striking feature of this letter is that it indicates the city council is not in the driving seat.

The council is expected not to debate or vote; it is expected to ‘endorse’ and ‘approve.’

The Aberdeen City Gardens Trust (ACGT) is a private entity set up to run the City Gardens Project that listed Tom Smith (also of ACSEF, and formerly Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce) and Colin Crosby (A&GCoC) as its two directors.

It is therefore of further interest to note that in this letter of 28 July 2011, ACGT lobbies Salmond with praise for the scheme and seeks further meetings with both Salmond and Sturgeon.

There is the statement that the project will not proceed without TIF. Wood is still chasing it.

Despite many past promises (see previous Aberdeen Voice articles) Wood’s not going to go away any time soon. This being the case, it’s best to recollect some of the history of this saga.

2. The people were ignored when they rejected the web – twice; then the referendum was called. Labour rightly said the referendum was not legally binding and that they would not build the web if elected. They were elected. Any arguments about ‘people being ignored’ discount the past disregard pro-web forces showed when the public went against them.

Despite people like Rita Stephen visiting companies to talk up the new project, and telling groups that Peacock was not going to happen (before it had been officially killed off it seems to me), people said ‘no’ to the giant square. For that matter, I deliberately used the word ‘preposterous’ in my feedback during the first consultation. This word and my feedback never showed up on their master list of comments. I wonder how many other anti-square comments were omitted?

Eventually the Granite Web was selected as the project of choice. We didn’t get the chance to vote to keep and improve the gardens, even though councillors such as Willie Young were minuted as saying they wanted the public to have this option at an early stage. Letting us vote not to do any project, but to clean up and improve the gardens could have saved a great deal of time and money.

Gerry Brough, now departed from the Council, was minuted at the time as saying the public were not going to get this chance – by the wish of unelected members of other web-related committees. So, the web triumphed, and its drawings were put forward.

3. The web is hideous, makes not spatial or aesthetic sense, and that’s just the concept drawings. It would look far worse if ever built.

Lurid giant flowerbeds sprouted; children played, a woman sunbathed on top of a potato-chip-shaped wedge overhanging an outdoor theatre.

Giant ramps at steep angles jutted to the sky and back sharply down (for no apparent utilitarian purpose).

This was particularly insulting.

One of the propaganda fallacies which seem to stick is the gardens can’t be accessed.

Yes they can; there is a short, gently sloping ramp next to His Majesty’s Theatre; cars get in; people with prams and wheelchairs get in. And yet, the web proposes that these ramps will have some form of function.

If the public didn’t understand the drawings of the flat giant square, which seemed rather easy to grasp, why has no one from the pro-web side ever produced drawings showing what precisely the gardens would look like if they got a thumbs up?

Where are the Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning vents that would have to stick up from the garden to serve the underground spaces? Where are the drawings of the required safety features that would stop people jumping or falling from the potato chip wedge?

Click on pic to enlarge.

Where are the drawings showing what the granite-clad ramps would look like when they are made safe from people falling, jumping, or quite likely throwing objects on those below?

Stop and think for a moment what a disaster the real garden, fitted with legally required safety measures would look like.

I’ve put my hand to making one such drawing, and I welcome the architects’ submission of a fully safe, legally compliant drawing.

4. A gift is not a gift if you are told how to use it – and that you have to stump up £90 Million to get it.

I keep receiving junk mail, saying I’ve won a valuable prize. All I have to do to get that prize is to spend my own money to claim it. This type of sham sadly does take in some people. Sir Ian’s offer is its relative.

He will only give us this gift if we surrender our common good land, the park, to a private company, Aberdeen City Gardens Trust. There is no other use Wood will accept it seems for his ‘gift’ but to build in the park. And we have to pay nearly twice as much (by conservative estimate) to get rid of our park for parking, shops and a web.

TIF would have been a risk; this is undeniable. If the thing didn’t make money – and the projections were ridiculously high for its income and jobs creation (see past Aberdeen Voice issues), then the taxpayer would be stuck. TIF was never risk free, whatever anyone says – a loan of any kind is a risk, let alone on an unprecedented building work.

If it were a gift, it could have been put in the common good fund, for the city to decide how it were best spent. This is not a gift.

5. So – what did happen to Peacock? Who had a role in its demise?

Peacock raised funds, came up with a plan (which did not please everyone, but it was far more architecturally and environmentally sound than the granite web). It was getting advice from Scottish Enterprise, which initially seemed happy to go along with the Peacock scheme.

Here is an extract from February 2009 from unelected quango, ACSEF’s minutes:

“The small sub-group which will drive the project forward will comprise ACSEF Board/MT members, supported by Zoe Corsi in her communication role. It will be chaired by Dave Blackwood, with Andrew Murphy, Mike Salter, Tom Smith, Abigail Tierney and David Littlejohn as core members, with others, including Andy Willox and Melfort Campbell, available to support as required. Dave Blackwood invited any other Board members who wished to be involved to advise him.

“Abigail Tierney will be the main interface with Peacock Visual Arts, supported by Dave Blackwood as required. Dave Blackwood will be the main contact with Sir Ian Wood and his representative Jennifer Craw.

“The Board will be provided with a summary outlining the facts around public funding to Peacock Visual Arts, key deliverables and timelines expected for the technical appraisal.

“The ACSEF website set up following Sir Ian Wood’s announcement has fulfilled its function and will be closed shortly, with clear communication on next steps.”

And then Peacock was dead, and Sir Ian’s city gardens project rose from the ashes.

Tell us exactly how this transformation came about Sir Ian, for we should be told.

You could have contributed to Peacock’s plan; even using remaining funds from your £50 million donation to embark on other projects, or (perish the thought) helping people in Aberdeen city and shire directly.

Our residential care homes, our schools, our arts education, our people with special needs could have benefitted, and there could have been a project to bring people back from the Union Square Mall into the city centre (should the mall have been approved in the first place, and what were the financial projections for the future of the existing independent retailers? It certainly has harmed city centre businesses).

Then Ian Wood, former Chair of Scottish Enterprise http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2000/06/f1eb0785-1ad2-4379-8fc1-9dd399024b7b decided, while SE was meant to be helping Peacock,to build a web. Peacock didn’t stand a chance.

Until we know all of the facts behind this volte face, you have to wonder what kind of ethics were in play. Speaking of ethics, a few more things to remember.

6. Spending other people’s money is easy as history shows – would this project turn into a mega cash cow and construction/consultation jobs for the usual suspects?

You could certainly be forgiven for asking this question. Here is a little piece on Sir Ian’s old Scottish Enterprise, and how while axing jobs, hospitality sucked up budget http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/193483/Outrage-over-Scottish-enterprise-chiefs-1m-hospitality-bill

Who would be keeping an eye on the spending for the web, the inevitable onslaught of consultants, the construction and likely overruns? Is this a gift horse or a cash cow for the boys? If ACSEF managed to bill the city for pro-web propaganda including £150 to take a picture showing the park to be ‘inaccessible’ what hope is there that people would act responsibly with £90 million of taxpayer-backed loans?

The original Aberdeen City Gardens Trust companies were private individuals – the usual suspects Tom Smith and Co., with no major project management or architectural skills on this scale. Would they really be in a position to manage this project keeping a reign on finances?
Arguably, Wood didn’t think so – he felt it necessary to pledge millions more for cost over-runs.

Some firms have done quite nicely so far; see https://aberdeenvoice.com/2012/02/the-great-city-gardens-project-gravy-train/

But as his pledges to back off if the garden project got the thumbs down have been conveniently ignored, and replaced by blackmail threats such as his latest pledge to put a project on the table which he will approve of by Christmas or he’s off to Africa with his £50 million, can you believe the over-run pledge or any pledge for that matter. And speaking of Africa…

7. Venture Philanthropy and helping Rwanda’s…Tea Plantation Owners

I invite the Wood Family Trust to explain how much money it has to hand, and how much it is spending on pensions for its members (when I last looked at the Office of the Scottish Charities Register, just under £30 million is sitting around, unused, and pensions were being paid to its members, who are the Wood Family plus Jennifer Craw…)

They can do whatever they want with their money; they can pay generous pensions to their board members. They may even be able to take this money to Africa. Will it go on victims of Rwanda’s social and health problems? Not directly – it will go to producing more tea. How this can be done without cutting more forest down will be interesting to learn; and I invite them to enlighten me.

Venture Philanthropy seems to be a newish phenomenon where the ‘donors’ sometimes expect some form of return for their ‘donation.’

8. Democracy out the window if the web comes in

There are planning laws; there are procedures for those who want to build. We have common good land; it is Union Terrace Gardens. If we give control of our land to Tom Smith and Co. in an unaccountable, arm’s-length company to build Wood’s web, where does that leave the right of the common man?

10. If you wanted to put something back into the community Sir Ian – why did you take £22K from a struggling local authority to pay for an ‘educational’ pilot promoting the idea of entrepreneurship?

Not only are people good at spending taxpayer money; they are also good at clawing money back from the taxpayer.

The city also paid the WFT £22,000 for an educational pilot scheme

The Wood Family Trust invoiced Aberdeen City Council for a pilot programme based on entrepreneurial philosophy. A billionaire taking money from the local council to carry out his programme, and wanting us to consider his generosity at the same time.

Wood Family Trust

The Wood Family Trust (WFT) is listed as having paid £160,000 towards the CGP referendum. The taxpayer chipped in £40,000.

The city also paid the WFT £22,000 for an educational pilot scheme involving Kincorth Academy ‘per contract’. What contract ACC and the WFT have entered into will make interesting reading. Perhaps other charitable trusts have contracted with ACC – but why a charity should be engaged by contract on an educational scheme is at present unclear.

https://aberdeenvoice.com/wp-content/gallery/images2/wood-family-trust-get-22-k-from-acc-nov-11.jpg

10. The granite web won’t cost the taxpayer anything. Rubbish. It’s cost us plenty already which could have gone on people – or just plain improving the gardens

Here is a small extract from the ‘Gravy Train’ article (link above).

Item	Description	Date	Amount
1	Technical Feasibility Study to undertake an engineering, cost and design appraisal of the development options for UTG, each incorporating an arts centre.	Jun 2009	£162k
2	Architect, Design & Project management fees for a Contemporary Arts Centre project	Feb 09/May 10	£226k
3	Consultation Report – City Square Project..	Mar 2010	£113,915
4	Union Terrace Gardens (TIF)-Tax Increment Financing	Mar 10 Oct 10 Nov 10	£71,959.65
5	Scottish Enterprise holds 22 copies of invoices relating to ACSEF approved spend for activities relating to stakeholder engagement, events management, and communications. [sic]	2009-10 2010-11	£51,766.60 £22,712.72

(source – Scottish Enterprise email exchange with Suzanne Kelly May 2011)

11. Speaking of morals – how about just paying the full amount of tax you should Sir Ian, without using offshore schemes?

12. Maybe if we had the benefit of his wealth via his fair share of taxes, we could see some real economic, social benefit.

Sir Ian, are you using any tax devices which allow money to avoid taxation, such as offshore payroll arrangements for you or WGPSN employees?

If so, do you think the public’s interests might be better served by your paying your fair share in tax for it to be deployed as government sees fit (not that I have a great deal of faith in government, but there is some democratic hope money will be spent as needed) rather on what is an overblown, badly-designed monstrous vanity project? Just asking.

Uncharacteristically, the P&J carried this on the subject: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2198187

13. We still need some fresh air. Ridiculous claims of ‘doubling’ the green space by building a web are a thin veneer easily scratched away – as would any turf planted on the raised garden floor would be as well.

This city has very few trees in its city centre. It also has two of Scotland’s most polluted roads according to Friends of the Earth.

Back off our garden; back off our trees.

What if?

If I had a tenth of his money, I would enhance the gardens (let people put in a small play area, let there be a café to encourage social use of the gardens; the parties that have been held are great for bringing people together). The gardens are not the problem.

I would take over brownfield site and regenerate; we could use social meeting places; places for older citizens to gather, places for people with mobility issues to socialize; places for children to safely play, to learn arts, to have fun.

I’d build Peacock or build an arts/social centre on brownfield. I’d give money to the bodies cruelly axed by Kate Dean.

I would not build parking in a garden; I would not chop trees down.

I would not continue to divide a city I had damaged while pursuing my egotistical, self-centered fantasy.

We do not need more shops.

If I had the time, money and energy of the P&J team, I could spin out another 10 pages of reasons why the web has to stay in the dustbin, and why its genesis should be fully investigated. For now I suggest averting your eyes from the P&J, remembering what actually took place, and thanking your stars it hasn’t been built yet.

Better still, tell your elected rep you want the whole thing investigated, the project denounced, and stop buying AJL papers until they start reporting news, not what they want to make happen.

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Cry Ma Beloved Scotland

Creative Writing, Opinion 1 Response »

Aug 092013

By Bob Smith.

Cry ma beloved Scotland
Greet at wir foolish wyes
Ye tak aboard wir excuses
An listen ti aa wir lies
.
Ye hiv an embracin beauty
An we listen tae yer wails
Yet we sacrifice yer landscapes
Tae satisfy business holy grails
.
In yer mountain an yer moorland
There is a majesty unsurpassed
Yet winfairms an great motorwyes
Are creepin ower ye fast

In yer hills an glens we marvel
At nature’s fecht ti survive
Ower muckle fowk on yer pathways
Ower hillside tracks they can drive
.
Cry again my beloved Scotland
Greet eence mair at wir foolish wyes
Ye try tae mend the destruction
As ye let oot some mournfu cries
.
There’s fowk as wid help ye
An stop the folly aat’s aroon
We need aa ti be richt brave
As some wid ding us doon

©Bob Smith “The Poetry Mannie” 2013

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Tullos Hill Revisited

Aberdeen City, Featured, Information, Opinion 9 Responses »

Aug 012013

On Sunday the 21^st of July a small group of people, previously brought together by their concerns regarding the culling of roe deer as part of the controversial ‘Tree for Every Citizen’ project, visited Tullos Hill. Fred Wilkinson reports.

The group wanted to take a look at what had changed since the culling of the deer and the planting of the trees. There was considerable upheaval associated with these, as well as the removal of vegetation and the erection of fences.
Armed with half a dozen cameras, from mobile phone additions to expensive professional devices, the group also wished to create a visual record of the beauty of the area and the wildlife in evidence.

As we walked along the top of the hill from the Altens Farm Road entrance, one of the first things we observed was that a vast area which months before had been quite brutally cleared of gorse, and all other vegetation for that matter, was now covered by new growth and crowned by an impressive display of foxgloves.

Various grasses and other common wild native plants contribute to the cover, making the area immeasurably more pleasant than it was the last time we had stood there.

The area in question has not been planted with trees, and therefore the reason for clearing it would seem to have been in order to expose deer to the marksman charged with culling 46 deer, of a population officially reported to have been around 30.

A less pleasing consequence of the clearing of gorse however is the spectacular spread of bracken, crowding out almost any other species of plant over a huge area where once was a much more varied range of wildlife alongside the gorse. This is quite an own goal, and would have been more so if further deer culls were planned. This is because bracken is significantly more efficient than gorse when it comes to hiding deer.

Additionally bracken is recognised as a potential fire hazard, and a plant which is poisonous to mammals, including humans. One wonders why it has been allowed to grow over such a huge area, obscuring previously visible minor footpaths, as well as views across the hill – now visible only to those individuals exceeding or approaching six feet in height.

Julie Thompson took advantage of the cairn to gain height and to take some pictures not only of the spread of the bracken, but also of the superb view over Tullos, Torry and the rest of the city.

We then made our way down the hill to the picnic area, having gathered shots of the many wildflowers including wild pansy, ragwort, tufted vetch, coltsfoot, dame’s violet, at least two varieties of buttercup, bird’s foot trefoil, kidney vetch, white clover, spear thistle, various white umbellifers including cow parsley and hogweed, ox eye daisy, rosebay willowherb, broad leaved willowherb, stinging nettle and groundsel.

We were already appreciating the variety of plant life in what is a mixed habitat. For all the gorse, broom and that invasion of bracken, there is room on the hill for all. Except deer it would seem.

Julie Thompson commented:

“Having previously visited shortly after the deer had been slaughtered, it was nice to see that the hill had recovered somewhat from what had appeared to be a scorched earth program. It’s such a shame that so much of the gorse – a fantastic habitat for birds & small mammals – has been superseded by bracken.”

At this point, we discussed the apparent lack of animal life. There is no evidence of deer, but rabbit droppings can be seen occasionally.

There is no shortage of insects and spiders, and it is heartening to see so many bees of at least 4 different varieties.

There is also evidence of snails, ants, grasshoppers, froghoppers, ladybirds, aphids, various flies and wasps including the rather creepy ichneumon wasp, which along with the sightings of moths and butterflies, including ringlets, small tortoiseshells, and small whites, suggested that there were caterpillars and other larvae to prey on.

However, compared to what we had witnessed on previous visits, birds seem scarce.

Julie Thomson observed:

“During the couple of hours that we were there, I only saw three or four small birds (gulls are everywhere, I don’t count them). For an area such as this, that is pretty shocking and just goes to show what damage has been done by removing so much of the gorse.”

On our first picnic two years ago, as well as the noticeable presence of small birds, a kestrel could be seen patrolling the north side of the hill. This predator was a good sign in that it was being sustained by a healthy number of smaller animals.

Lower down the hill, we encountered some different plants. We found poppies, smooth sow thistle, pineappleweed, scentless mayweed, knapweed, sedges, cleavers, dandelion, tormentil, shepherds purse, hawkweed, mouse-ear chickweed, dock, rats tail plantain, ribwort plantain, and red clover.

I was particularly excited to find a double buttercup.

I have no idea how frequently this occurs outwith an environment concerned with the cultivation and the specific aim of producing double-flowered varieties of plant, but this was certainly the first I had ever witnessed in a natural environment, albeit a reclaimed landfill site.

I spot droppings which suggested evidence of a fox, but knowing that the hill is popular with dog walkers, and lacking spectacles stronger than I need for anything other than reading, and also lacking the expertise to determine for certain the origin of said poo, I decided against pulling it apart.

However I am happy to entertain the possibility that there are foxes there, and the abundance of another sort of poo suggests that there is a population of rabbits sufficient to sustain a small number.

By now we can see the recently planted trees, or at least, we see an abundance of upright green cylinders. Each has its own story which contributes to the bigger picture.

The good news is that most of the trees that we saw were alive, although few appeared to be thriving.

Ironically, the area where last year’s mock funeral for the deer took place appeared to have the largest proportion of dead trees.
http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-288243902/mock-funeral-staged-protest.html

Then there are the trees we didn’t see, or rather couldn’t see, as they were obscured by weeds inside their tubes.

Whether those trees are alive or dead is anyone’s guess, but what is clear is that their chances of survival are compromised at the very least.

We had agreed that we were there to observe, discuss and record, and not to disturb or interfere with anything.

We therefore refrained from removing weeds to look for the trees, ensuring zero possibility of any action on our part causing damage to trees or their protective tubes.

We examined an area which remained stripped of vegetation other than weed filled tubes and dead trees, the soil exposed to reveal an array of household and industrial waste.

On seeing the half-buried plastic bags and containers, various scraps of metal including what appeared to be an industrial steel cable and a rusted steel rod which would have been used once to reinforce concrete, Torry resident Sheila Anderson commented:

“I am glad I never saw what the hill was like before the planting, I would have been so upset right now”

Unfortunately, unable to evaluate those weed-hidden saplings, which make up a sizeable proportion of the plantation, it is impossible to put an accurate figure on the percentage of trees which have survived so far. However the scale of neglect is abundantly clear.

Alex Mitchell commented:

“It looks like the deer were doing us a favour controlling the weeds.”

We saw many tubes with plumes of weed growth sprouting from them. Often it was as if we were looking at small sturdy trees with green plastic trunks and a lavish crown of weed growth.

I had barely started writing this report when I learned that Councillor Jean Morrison, on behalf of Aberdeen City Council, has collected a commendation in the New Native Woods Awards relating to the tree planting on Tullos Hill.

Difficult as it is to evaluate the general health of the newly planted trees, no-one in our party regarded what we saw as worthy of winning an award, leaving us wondering what criteria were applied, and what observations were carried out and
when.

I have since emailed Councillor Morrison and await answers to a series of questions of questions relating to the above. Some 10 days on, I still await answers.

We were promised a tree for every citizen.

46 deer were killed to facilitate this pledge. Large areas of vegetation, which constituted a habitat for a great many birds, mammals, insects and other animals were removed.

However we evaluate this it is certain that the number of trees which have survived falls embarrassingly short of the number of citizens. It is also certain that deer have played no part in the failure of trees to survive.

Having a fairly good knowledge of native wild plants, it was apparent to me that some of the weeds we saw growing up inside the tubes had reached heights that they would not have achieved naturally. Without the support of the tubes, the effect of wind, and their own weight would have limited their height, making them more likely to offer the neighbouring trees the required space and light to sustain them.

It appears that no management whatsoever of the plantation has been carried out since the trees were put into the ground.

I must make it clear that although I and a great many others were opposed to the Tullos Hill deer cull, no-one has expressed to me any wish for the trees to fail.

That would not bring back the deer, and would result only in taxpayers’ money being used to pay back the grant on account of failed planting, as has happened previously.

Rather, we believe that as the trees have been planted, already at great cost both in terms of finance, damage, and a number of animals which were once considered of sufficient value to grace the pages of council-produced tourist information brochures, that the council has a duty to each citizen for whom they planted a tree, to manage the plantation and ensure the survival of as many trees as possible, and to replace every single casualty.

Suzanne Kelly reacted:

“We paid the consultant some £70K for this; we also had to repay £43,800 for the first tree planting which failed. The causes of failure were listed as deer, wrong size of tree guards, and importantly failure to keep weeds in check.

“The deer were destroyed for this scheme, and it is very disturbing that no one is looking after the trees. We all saw the condition of the soil on Sunday – it is filled with large stones and industrial and household waste.

The soil matrix was of concern to the Forestry Commission, too. If the trees don’t take in the end, and I don’t believe they will, I want those responsible for forcing this scheme on us to be held accountable.”

Having examined hundreds of trees and weed filled tubes over a wide area, we made our way back along the north part of the hill, finding more plant species to add to our list. Self heal, creeping thistle, sorrel and yellow rattle were visible in the grassy meadow areas, and as we approached the wooded part to the west, we encountered areas of boggy moorland with mosses, browned from the recent dry conditions, and heathers.

Having gathered hundreds of photographs and seen first hand the ‘lie of the land’, we discussed our mixed feelings about our findings.

On the bright side, despite the poor soil which covers much of the hill, particularly that part which was formerly landfill, there is an impressive variety of plant life providing stunning displays of colour and interesting fragrances. Added to that spectacle there is also the impressive view over the city which few locations can equal.

It stands to reason that if the wild areas are left to develop naturally, more species of plants and animals will find a niche in such a diverse habitat.

There is also evidence that the trees, if managed properly, can survive, at least in some areas. Their growth is likely to be slow, and they will not achieve their natural height.

The bracken is of concern. Bracken certainly has its place, but unchecked, it dominates, squeezing out other plants, and also any animal species associated with those displaced plants. If there is any regime of management of the Tullos Hill environment, this needs to be examined and acted on.

With the fine weather we have enjoyed over the past fortnight looking likely to continue, at least intermittently, I recommend to anyone who has not set foot on Tullos Hill to do so and see for themselves that in spite of the less pleasing aspects I have mentioned, this is indeed a beautiful and unique part of our city well worth speaking up for in order to preserve its uniqueness for future generations – for plant and animal as well as human to enjoy.

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Blaikiewell Horses: Salmond Rides In

Aberdeen City, Featured, News No Responses »

Jul 122013

By Suzanne Kelly.

As Blaikiewell Animal Sanctuary and Redwing Riding School continue to fight for a fair settlement, First Minister Alex Salmond has weighed in, suggesting the matter be expedited and handled fairly.

The sanctuary for 60 horses and its associated riding school sit in the path of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route; compulsory purchase orders mean they have to find more land.

Finding suitable grazing fields, stabling and habitat for the rescued animals is difficult, much more so when the compensation on offer did not take account of the needs of the sanctuary’s animals.

Any new site has to offer as much grazing land as the present site; the cost of feeding horses is continuing to increase; grazing over the summer months helps alleviate the costs.

The increases in the costs associated with keeping horses and ponies has led to a nation-wide epidemic of vulnerable animals being abandoned.

When rescued, animals are often in need of immediate veterinary care and shoeing.

Bureaucrats even threatened to halt last Saturday’s annual horse show, even though they did not need the show grounds. Negotiations have thus far not reached a compromise.

It seemed at one stage Transport Scotland was trying to treat Blaikiewell and Redwing as simply being a commercial entity; the truth is that Redwing exists to slightly offset the considerable costs of feeding, stabling, shoeing and providing veterinary care to more than 60 horses.

However, there is much public support for Blaikiewell, witnessed by several petitions, local politicians and concerned supporters and Alex Salmond sent a letter of support to Keith Brown, MSP, Minister for Transport and Veterans.

In this letter of 3 July, Salmond asks for Brown’s assurances that:

” …. both Transport Scotland and the District Valuer are engaging fully and properly with Ms Petrie and that all viable options for compensation and relocating are explored.”

Mavis Petrie said:

“We are very pleased that Alex Salmond is looking into the situation and we will keep him advised of developments.”

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Round And About, June 2013

Aberdeen City, Information No Responses »

Jun 252013

Alex Mitchell makes a welcome return to Voice, his insights inspired by his walks around the city and his musing on contemporary affairs.

January 22. Looked out the window this morning and thought, ‘Snaa’s all gone’, then switched on the radio to find that the roads are very hazardous 15-plus miles in all directions out of Aberdeen but especially in the rural hinterland.

One begins to wonder whether it is actually a feasible proposition to live in these inland places.

Winter conditions are obviously much more extreme and also persist much longer – they set in earlier and end later – than on the coast.

Everything is so much more time and trouble, takes so much longer – basic survival becomes the overarching preoccupation, crowding out other interests and concerns.

Even the summers in these inland locations are oppressive – just too hot, no cooling sea breezes, no access to the coast and dead, still air.

This, of course, is why humanity has always tended to cluster around seaports, river estuaries and coastal locations, quite apart from the business and employment opportunities associated with ports, the rivers and the sea – trade, commerce, import/export, fishing, boat and shipbuilding and transportation.

February 10. A Sunday afternoon spent in Union Terrace Gardens, assembling birds’ nesting boxes from kits with a view to building up the resident wildlife.

Cold, rain and sleet, but we were in a sheltered spot under the arches which support Union Terrace itself. Back to the Gardens the following Friday to see the fifteen birds’ nesting boxes, now varnished, being located high up on the trees by skilled personnel with a cherry-picker.

A much milder, Spring-like day, bright and sunny and clumps of snowdrops in evidence.

This is the kind of small-scale incremental improvement, largely undertaken by volunteers, which can transform our civic amenities at modest expense.

February 17. To Holburn Junction and west end of Union Street. Bell’s Hotel is in a very run-down state, the bar still open for business but otherwise closed up, the frontage ill-maintained with much vegetation and a large tree growing out of upper storeys.

Plans for redevelopment, extending the building back to Justice Mill Lane, seem to have stalled.

Further along, in the old Watt & Grant building, one of a clutch of gents’ outfitters, G*Raw, is having a closing-down sale, advertising 70% off. Aberdeen City Council has reluctantly granted planning permission for change of use to a bar/restaurant.

The long-established Austin Reed premises are in poor condition and are advertised for rent, but it is difficult to find tenants for any premises westward of the Music Hall – too far from the main centres of retail activity in St Nicholas Street, Union Bridge and the Union Square mega-mall.

Along Bon Accord Street and Langstane Place to Justice Mill Lane: the Radisson Park Inn hotel looks as tacky and out-of-place as ever, its paintwork and finishes deteriorating already. Similarly, the Travelodge at the other end of the IQ office building. Across Justice Mill Lane, the former Budz Bar premises, closed for refurbishment in 2007 and never reopened, are a major eyesore.

We have become so indoctrinated into regarding property as a wonderful can’t-fail asset and investment that it is difficult to accept that property can, in fact, be effectively worthless or even a net liability, costing more to service and maintain than it can ever earn in rent or other income.

The familiar pattern in the city centre has usually been that ground-floor premises can be let out for use as shops, bars, restaurants and fast-food outlets, but that upper floors are left unlet and unused.

it is difficult, if not impossible, to force landlords to maintain unwanted buildings to an acceptable standard

Upstairs premises used to accommodate professionals such as dentists, tailors, solicitors, architects and accountants, but less so nowadays, perhaps because of the lack of modern facilities, car parking or uncongenial surroundings. The question would obviously arise as to whether it is possible to operate conventional business activity in a street or locality largely given over to pubs and bars.

Much the same would apply to the residential accommodation which used to prevail on the uppermost floors of these old buildings, where the means of exit in the event of fire might be a concern.

The private-sector solution to buildings which are expensive to maintain but which can be neither sold nor let out would be to demolish.

‘Listing’ and Conservation Area status operate to prevent such action, but it is difficult, if not impossible, to force landlords to maintain unwanted buildings to an acceptable standard; many proprietors simply cannot afford to do so, in the absence of any income stream.

Some may resort to deliberate fire-raising to remove a building regarded as a financial liability and money-pit. Derelict and empty buildings are quite likely to be set on fire anyway, by vandals, tramps and rough sleepers.

This is pretty much the position we had reached in relation to MarischalCollege some years ago. The building was impossibly expensive for its owners, the University of Aberdeen, to maintain to any acceptable standard, given that they had little use for it.

There was no serious prospect of sale or of finding a suitable tenant. The private-sector response would have been to demolish, but that was unacceptable to public opinion.

In the meantime, like much of Union Street and the city centre, Marischal College was deteriorating and quite likely to be set on fire and burn down. The only available solution was, in effect, to take the building into public ownership on the basis of a 175-year lease to Aberdeen City Council, since when it has been renovated and put to productive use.

The Council should be able to buy the buildings at modest expense – the landlords want out, after all

This seems to me to be the only workable solution to other such instances of ‘market failure’, where no private-sector solution is forthcoming or acceptable, such as the former Watt & Grant buildings on Union Street and the Victoria Buildings at the foot of Bridge Street, facing down Guild Street.

The Council should be able to buy the buildings at modest expense – the landlords want out, after all – and purchase and renovation costs might form the basis of a future TIF application, given the improving effect on the whole surrounding area which we have already seen happen to spectacular effect with Marischal College and Broad Street.

March 7. The Criterion Bar, Guild Street: a proposal to convert to a Sainsbury’s supermarket.

This used to be an iconic Aberdeen pub, occupying a prominent corner site opposite the railway and bus stations, and was an obvious port of call for many a thirsty traveller or football fan. It had an attractive Edwardian-style interior, featuring much carved wood and etched glass, apparently now largely destroyed.

The pub had been closed these last two years pending another proposal to convert to a Rice & Spice food store.

Whether or not a Sainsbury’s will be of greater utility or amenity than the long-established Criterion Bar remains to be seen. There are two other bars nearby, Aitchie’s Lounge and the Lorne Bar in Trinity Lane, behind the Tivoli Theatre, and of course the Carmelite Hotel.

April 30. Sunny, but cold and windy. Parked the car at the Union Square mega-mall and walked up to M&S via the Green and Correction Wynd, Xmas gift voucher in pocket.

This is one of the first fine, sunny days for weeks, but the Green is completely empty at 2.30 on this weekday afternoon, with nobody going into or coming out of the various premises. Much the same absence of pedestrian footfall evident in Hadden Street.

The longer-term problem with the decline of M&S is that they have always been a mainstay and linchpin of the nation’s High Streets

Through the tunnel under Union Street and up Correction Wynd – an agreeable medieval ambience in the vicinity of the Mither Kirk, but again not a soul – not even a ghostly soul from the Ghaist-raw – to be seen. Along St Nicholas Lane, past the Prince of Wales, to M&S, which is advertising a sale, up to 70% off.

There is a glaring disconnect between M&S’s TV advertising and in-store displays, invariably featuring slender, snake-hipped young people, and the reality of the small numbers of mostly elderly customers trailing wearily around their overheated menswear department looking for a pair of trousers that might conceivably fit the larger person.

I settle for a pair of shoes I don’t really need or want – got to offload the gift voucher somehow.

The problem with having only elderly customers, especially elderly customers who don’t buy much, is that we oldies must sooner or later fall off the perch, and where will M&S, not to mention the Conservative and Unionist Party, or Aberdeen Journals, be left then?

The longer-term problem with the decline of M&S is that they have always been a mainstay and linchpin of the nation’s High Streets – a destination store, in fact – and if there is less and less reason to go back there, then the High Street and our town centres are even deader than we thought.

Walked back to the mega-mall via Correction Wynd and Carmelite Street. The rowan trees planted in enclosures alongside the Aberdeen Market in Hadden Street and in Carmelite Street and Rennie’s Wynd seem to be taking hold and coming on now, but the surrounding shrubs are being overwhelmed by faster-growing weeds.

Container gardening is a very labour-intensive business, as I am sure we all know, and ACC may not have the manpower to do it properly.

May 15. Mary Portas, self-styled Queen of Shops, is back on TV, now trying to work her dubious magic on the nation’s High Streets. She is in the Kentish seaside resort of Margate, being whiny and self-pitying when local traders refuse to let her into their public meeting on the not-unreasonable grounds that she had slandered the town on an earlier visit.

One might as well try to persuade people to take their holidays in Albania

Ms Portas had no real idea what to do about Margate and neither would I, Margate being the equivalent of a Lanarkshire mining town where the coal ran out decades ago.

At one stage Mary P is back in London, trying to persuade the throngs of mostly young people descending on Camden Market to spend their Saturday in Margate instead.

The point unintentionally made here is that people come to Camden because it offers something they want – the antiques and vintage fashion market, the surrounding specialist shops, the pubs, cafés and bars, the whole scene and ambience. People travel from Margate to Camden to experience this.

Nobody travels from Camden to Margate. One might as well try to persuade people to take their holidays in Albania.

The issue is partly one of scale.

A large community can support all kinds of special-interest activities because even just 1% of the population of London, or even of Bristol or Edinburgh, is still a lot of people, with considerable combined spending-power; but 1% of the population of, say, Banchory is only about fifty people, and 1% of the population of a village might be about five people.

Minority or special-interest activities which may well be viable business opportunities in a city or large town are unlikely to be so in a small town or village. A city will normally be able to support a university, possibly two universities, which are large employers in their own right and give rise to many spin-off activities.

Villages, on the other hand, are all too often unable to support as much as a primary school, a pub, a fish and chip shop or an Indian takeaway.

This lack of business opportunities, jobs or choice of employer means that small village communities are of little interest or use to anyone who has to earn a living, and even middle-class retirees tend to shun depressed and run-down places like Margate.

Salesmanship seems to be a fast-shrinking area of employment

Last year I wasted a day in Ecclefechan, Dumfriesshire, which really did seem like the Village Of The Damned, even on a sunny weekday. If a community is to remain viable it simply has to have an economic base of investment, enterprise and employment.

One of the most significant trends of our time is the gradual disappearance of secure and decently-remunerated jobs, such as allow people to lead an independent, adult existence, leave the parental home, get a place of their own and, in due course, finance the purchase of a house in a neighbourhood fit to raise a family in.

One might think of the hierarchy of staff who would be employed in a High Street bank back in the days of Dad’s Army, as compared with the skeleton staff of a modern bank, of which there are in any case far fewer than there used to be. Similarly, insurance offices and travel agents.

Salesmanship seems to be a fast-shrinking area of employment. When do we interact with a salesman/woman nowadays, except perhaps when buying a car?

The internet means that things we used to pay people to do we can now do for ourselves. This reduces the cost of living and makes poverty more bearable, but it also means fewer job opportunities and lower wages in many of such jobs as remain, for example, in journalism.

The recent council elections in England revealed a high degree of discontent in rural communities such as Boston, King’s Lynn and Wisbech to the effect that there are simply no decent jobs, or jobs that pay a living wage. The jobs there used to be on the land, in farming, have largely been mechanised out of existence.

The point was made that locally, the average wage has converged on the National Minimum Wage of about £6-7 per hour, whilst quite a few employers in practice contrive to pay even less than the Minimum Wage.

I was a bit concerned, since it is not normally a good sign when whales and dolphins come up-river

Employee benefits such as pensions have been cut back and working conditions are deteriorating. People are caught by the twin pincers of falling wages and rising house prices. The average wage no longer finances the purchase of the average house, or indeed any house.

Such council housing as existed was sold off in the 1980s and the tied cottages occupied by farm workers are long gone.

Local discontent tends to target East European immigrants, but their impact is mixed.

They compete for certain kinds of work and housing, possibly driving wages down and rents up, but some industries – fruit-picking, fruit and veg processing and hotels – would not survive without immigrant labour, and their children sustain enrolment in local schools, many of which would otherwise close.

Immigration from Eastern Europe is probably one of the few dynamising elements of the Fenland economy, if the truth be told, and the same may also be true of much of Scotland.

June 4. The BBC’s Springwatch has highlighted the activities of the dolphins which congregate around the entrance to Aberdeen harbour. The first time I saw these creatures I was a bit concerned, since it is not normally a good sign when whales and dolphins come up-river, usually suggesting that they are lost and confused.

Dolphins and whales would normally avoid a noisy, heavily-trafficked locale such as the harbour entrance. The attraction for the Aberdeen dolphin pod is the confluence of fresh water coming down the River Dee and the salt water of the North Sea.

Salmon, returning up-river to breed, can only access the river of their birth via the narrow harbour entrance, and are thus easy pickings for the waiting dolphins. The Aberdeen dolphins were described as ‘large, fat, talkative, loud and they repeat themselves’.

They have evolved as larger animals to cope with the cold North Sea, acquiring an extra layer of blubber in the process. They chatter a lot between themselves, loudly and repetitively, so as to be able to work as a team to trap the incoming salmon.

In effect, the dolphins are having to shout to make themselves heard against the background of submarine noise generated by ships moving in and out of the harbour. They have become a significant visitor attraction viewed from the Nigg car park and elsewhere.

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