Inverness Archives - Page 2 of 3

Stick With Fridge Magnets In Scottish Awards

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Feb 232012

By Suzanne Kelly.

Electro wizards Fridge Magnets have been nominated in the Best Electronic Act category at the Scottish Alternative Music Awards.

Fridge Magnets have already shared big stages with Calvin Harris, Alex Metric, Japanese Popstars and Burns and have played at T in the Park and Rockness.

With this nomination, they appear to be going from strength to strength. Their early demos have already been featured on Radio 1 and the Glaswegian/Aberdonian outfit are attracting attention from some big London labels.

The Scottish Alternative Music Awards ceremony takes place at the Garage, Glasgow on 1 March and you can cast your vote at http://officialsama.co.uk/vote/ by clicking Fridge Magnets in the Best Electronic Act category.

See them live:

March
1st – SAMA Awards and after-party, Glasgow
16th – Doghouse, Dundee
24th – Tunnels, Aberdeen
30th – 20 Rocks, Falkirk

April
13th – Chambre69, Glasgow with Hot Chip DJ Set
18th – Death Disco, London
21st – The Nest, LondonMay
5th – Hootenanys, Inverness

June
1st – Devils Disco, Edinburgh

View videos:

Death of Rock N Roll video http://bit.ly/dornrvid
Feeling Grows video http://bit.ly/feeling_grows

For further information:

Barry Saint
Studio 11
10 Acklam Road
London
0208 968 8236
barry@distiller-records.com
www.facebook.com/TheFridgeMagnets

Rock Challenge UK 2012 This Saturday 21.02.12

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Feb 162012

By Stephen Davy-Osborne.

This weekend will see secondary school pupils from across the region create a right song and dance in the Aberdeen heat of Rock Challenge UK.
The event, which takes place at the AECC on Saturday, will see performances put on by pupils of the city and shire’s academies on the big stage in front of a huge audience, each hoping to win a coveted place in the first ever Scottish final.

Scottish Regional Representative for Rock Challenge UK, Lesley-Ann Begg, said:

“This really is such a special event. It allows young people to get up there on the stage, at somewhere as big as the AECC, and put on a performance, doing something that they love, in front of all their friends and family.”

Rock Challenge is a world-wide performing arts competition for children aged 12-18. Young people perform with their school and are given eight minutes to express themselves through dance or drama. Ms Begg said:

“The idea behind Rock Challenge is to try and promote an adrenaline high, getting young people away from drink and drugs and into something more creative.”

After the Aberdeen heat this weekend, the winning acts will join the winners from the two other Scottish heats, held earlier in the month in Inverness and Arbroath, for the Scottish final in Dundee on June 23.

“This really is quite exciting,” Ms Begg added. “We’ve never had a final in Scotland before. In the past we have always had to travel down to Grimsby. This just shows how popular the event is becoming.”

Tickets for Saturday’s heat are available from the AECC Box Office and ticketmaster.co.uk

An Interview With Maggie Craig – Part 1

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Jan 122012

Voice reviewed ‘When The Clyde Ran Red’ a few weeks ago. So impressed was David Innes with Maggie Craig’s excellent take on a vital part of Scottish history, that he spent an afternoon in her cosy kitchen on the wrong side of the Balloch, discussing the book’s background, her passion for the subject, and much more besides. Here is Part One of that interview.

How much of your background is in ‘When The Clyde Ran Red’?

A lot of my background. My dad was very involved with Labour politics and was an Inverness town councillor in the 1940s. He moved to Glasgow and became election agent for Cyril Bence, the Labour MP for Dunbartonshire East after Davie Kirkwood, in the early 1950s.

My dad was born in Coatbridge in 1913, so grew up during the Depression. We were told stories about them going over the farmer’s dyke to nick a few neeps and the farmer turning a blind eye because he knew everyone was really hungry.

In fact my dad’s in the book. I discovered a big pile of my dad’s papers which showed he’d written to the Commissioner of Distressed Areas about the Scottish Allotments Scheme for the Unemployed. He was a great gardener and a railwayman and you know how these two things go together.

People say, “Let’s not talk about politics”, and you think, “If you ignore politics it won’t ignore you”. It was my dad’s lifeblood. I remember him crying about a neighbour’s baby who’d died and they’d no money even for a coffin. This would have been, I suppose, in the early 1930s. They wrapped the baby up in brown paper, and he said, “Tied up like a bloody parcel”, because nobody had any money.

There was always the big hoose and the mine owners. He went apoplectic about Sir Alec Douglas Home, who they were working for at one point, because they were living in the lap of luxury when their workers were living in poverty.

My dad was one of about ten and they were really a bright, clever family, and there was this idea that girls who were clever were going to work in factories at 14 and the boys didn’t get a chance either. It was such a waste of potential.

I remember my aunt telling me about how the doctor would come out. It cost five shillings, but they’d a good doctor who’d say, “I’ll get it next time, Liz”. My aunt says they were on first name terms with the doctor, who must have been an idealistic man who saw himself on the same level as the miners he was treating. When you think of some doctors now who insist on their status, it’s an interesting turnaround.

You grew up in the Glasgow area?

I grew up in Clydebank. My dad then got a job as station master which moved us from Clydebank to Bearsden, quite an interesting culture shock! My mother had come from a farm, and the station house we lived in came with a third of an acre of ground which my dad was proud of. It was semi-rural. He came from Carnwath and loved being in the country.

If you go there now the industry’s gone and it’s back to being a rural area. A lot of these Clydeside places were. There were shipyards and tenements, but you went up to the farm to buy eggs. I think there was a love of the land even in industrial areas.

My mother’s from Barthol Chapel on the Haddo House Estate and she used to talk about Lord and Lady Aberdeen. I don’t think her family was as poor as my dad’s, but she told me that her mother sometimes had to sell their butter and buy margarine. That really hit me – the one benefit of being on the land is that your children are going to have healthy food, but that wasn’t always the case.

I think their rural background helped them speak fantastic Scots. There are words my mother used that we still use, like “fair forfochen”. Because my dad came from what he called the Upper Ward of Lanarkshire he had that rich Scots and that’s all running through the book too.

I think there’s an obvious really good prose rhythm in the book, and that possibly explains it, but it’s your passion for the subject that really shines through.

I grew up with it and thought a couple of years ago that it was time I wrote another non-fiction book. I thought, “What do I feel passionately about?” and the book’s the answer.

I went and looked at some of the other books and some of them are pretty dreadful. The Legend of Red Clydeside is hard going, and you come up against the party line quite often. The Marx Memorial Library gave me permission to quote from Helen Crawford which a lot of people said they wouldn’t allow.

You also have to make a judgement about what’s been written and have to say to yourself when reading some of the memoirs, “You’re presenting yourself in a bit of a heroic light here”. I love the wee vignettes, and I don’t think they’re frivolous. Like when James Maxton gives Davie Kirkwood a clean hanky when he gets arrested because he always liked to have one. Somehow you think, “Well, that’s true!”

I think I had a passion to write about it because it seems to have been forgotten. People are talking about austerity nowadays, and I think, “Not yet”. We’re not at the level of poverty where people couldn’t go to work because they didn’t have a pair of shoes, or they had to share a pair of shoes with their sister.

We’re now seeing the prospect of our children doing less well than we did, which is very hard because you want your children to do better than you’ve done. Both my husband and myself are working class kids who’ve made good but you feel as though you’re almost being hit for that – the idea that if you can afford to send your kids to university, you have to bear this cost. This is fine, but you don’t have the cushion that someone like David Cameron has. I had to have a full grant to go to university otherwise I couldn’t have gone.

Next week: The author speaks about her books on the Jacobites, ‘Bare-Arsed Banditti: The Men of the ‘45’ and ‘Damn Rebel Bitches; The Women of the ‘45’, and how this period of Scottish history is misunderstood and worthy of re-evaluation.

Those of you who want to meet Maggie and hear a bit more about her influences have the opportunity on Saturday 21 January when she and fellow writer Kenneth Steven will be at The Central Library, Aberdeen at 11.00 to talk about their love of books.

Westburn Tennis Roundup – 06.01.12

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Jan 062012

With thanks to Dave Macdermid.

Milly Wood, the grand-daughter of top world veteran player Jimmy, is the new Stewart Milne Group Indoor Championships Girls 12 & Under Singles Champion. The Braid youngster, whose father is former North County player Jimmy jnr, came through two tough sets in the final at Westburn Tennis Centre to get the better of Daphne Pratt (The Parklangley Club): the score 7-5, 7-5.

The 16 & Under title was won by Stirling’s Hannah Worsley, who proved too strong for Rubislaw’s Fiona Hamilton: winning 6-1, 6-1.

There were no surprises in the boys events with Russell Graham (Kinnoull), Scott Macaulay (Newlands) and Cameron Bowie (Barnton Park) all living up to their top billing in the 18, 16 and 12 & Under competitions respectively.

The senior events will take place this weekend at Westburn Tennis Centre.

Results:

BOYS SINGLES – 18 & Under Semi Finals – R. Graham (Kinnoull) bt N. Orismaa (DL West End Glasgow) 5-7, 6-1, (10-8); R. Martin (Inverness) w.o. M. Williamson (Dollar) scr.

Final – Graham bt Martin 6-2, 6-1.

16 & Under Final – S. Macaulay (Newlands) bt C. Macgeoch (Gosling) 7-6 (3), 6-0.

12 & Under Final – C. Bowie (Barnton Park) bt A. Hepburn (Nairn) 6-3, 6-3.

GIRLS SINGLES 16 & Under Semi Finals – H. Worsley (Stirling) bt J. Curran (Aboyne) 6-1, 6-3; F. Hamilton (Rubislaw) bt F. Fleming (Rubislaw) 6-0, 6-0.

Final – Worsley bt Hamilton 6-1, 6-1.

12 & Under Semi Finals – D. Pratt (The Parklangley Club) bt J. Campbell (Nairn) 6-0, 6-1; M. Wood (Braid) bt A. Burns (Stonehaven) 6-2, 6-3.

Final – Wood bt Pratt 7-5, 7-5.

Nestrans Tracking NE Rail Improvements

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Dec 012011

Issued on behalf of Nestrans by The BIG Partnership. With thanks to Dave Macdermid.

Nestrans, the statutory regional transport partnership for NE Scotland, will be submitting its views to Transport Scotland’s Rail 2014 consultation following a positive meeting with members of the North East Transport Consultative Forum.

Derick Murray, Nestrans Director, commented:

“The meeting was extremely useful and covered a variety of rail-related subjects, including through trains to London, commuter trains, Sunday services, overcrowding and comfort levels on the current rolling stock. Once these matters have been discussed and a considered response prepared, we will be writing to Transport Scotland with our input to the consultation.”

Murray hopes that the Nestrans response will result in further enhancements for NE rail passengers. ScotRail has already agreed to introduce additional carriages adding 500 seats to Aberdeen–Inverness services from 12 December as a result of Nestrans raising concerns about overcrowding. This is “excellent news for passengers”, he believes.

Further good news is that from the same day, the 2105 Aberdeen–Edinburgh service will call at Laurencekirk from Monday to Saturday, giving a later last train back from Aberdeen on Saturday nights.

The 0941 Glasgow–Aberdeen service will stop at Laurencekirk and Stonehaven on Saturdays, as well as weekdays.

The Nestrans board will consider its response to Transport Scotland on February 15 with the consultation closing on 20 February.

Dunfermline 3 Aberdeen 3 – East End Park 26.11.11

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Nov 282011

This match really underlined how the sport of football can toy with the emotions of its followers. At half time Dunfermline would have bitten off hands for a point, but in the end it was Aberdeen who felt relieved to snatch a share – and yet, both teams will feel as if they could or should have won the game. Philip Sim reports.

The Dons undoubtedly controlled more of the match and created a greater quantity and quality of chances, but it was the home side who somehow found themselves 3-1 ahead – and indeed, it could have been 4-1 if not for a terrific save from visiting keeper David Gonzalez.

Ten minutes of madness at the back soured what had been developing into a decent Aberdeen performance.
It’s little consolation that the Dons have now quadrupled their away goals tally for the season, as they remain rooted second-bottom of the SPL.

Aberdeen’s back line will come in for some deserved criticism after an all-too familiar second-half collapse, but special mention once again has to go to Andrew Considine, arguably his team’s most effective performer this season. The centre half has looked solid in defence and has popped up with vital goals several times already this term, and it was hardly a surprise that he broke the deadlock.

The fact a defender can be so lauded in a team which is shipping so many goals speaks to the nature of this match – while undoubtedly an entertaining affair, it was as laden with negatives as positives. While Aberdeen found themselves trailing 3-1 to a team who haven’t won a home match all season, they then showed great character and resolve to come back and tie the match, and came within inches of a winner in the final seconds.

Craig Brown will again point to his side’s statistical superiority, and while it’s true that the Dons largely bossed the first half, made plenty of chances and won endless corners, all too often they showed profligacy in front of goal. Josh Magennis was the main offender, missing four good chances including an open goal before he finally netted the late equaliser.

A cutting edge up front has been Aberdeen’s key failing this season, and a quick glance at the SPL’s top scorers confirms this – Scott Vernon just makes it the top 15, while Inverness, the only team separating the Dons from bottom of the league, have both Andrew Shinnie and Gregory Tade.

Beyond the striking issues and occasional defensive standstill, the result points out how fragile Aberdeen are, looking distinctly makeshift after losing just a few players to injury. Kari Arnason would be badly missed from any midfield in the country, but really it was Scott Vernon’s absence that hurt the Dons here.

With Rory Fallon withdrawn presumably due to injury after an anonymous first half and Mo Chalali off on international duty – still the only situation where he has actually scored a goal – the absence of Vernon leaves Aberdeen with a front duo of Magennis and Darren Mackie. This is not a pairing which will strike fear into the hearts of many SPL defenders, especially given the scant service they tend to receive – Richard Foster remains the team’s only source of width, given the uninspiring form of eternal substitute Peter Pawlett.

Brown and indeed many of the supporters might be looking forward to the January transfer window and a strengthening of the squad, but there are six more games to be negotiated before then.

Depending on whether your glass is half full or half empty (discounting the rather vocal minority of fans who broke their glass and went home in a huff at 3-1) these six are all winnable games in a league as evenly balanced as the SPL outside of the Old Firm. On the empty-glass relegation-dogfight hand, maybe a point away from home against a fellow struggler is a decent result – but this was the type of game that Aberdeen really need to look to win if they are going to build a move up the table.

Campaign To Protect Landing Slots Launched

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Oct 212011

Individuals and organisations throughout the North of Scotland are being encouraged to get behind a campaign to ensure current connectivity to and from London and the rest of the world is maintained in future years. In this piece issued on behalf of Nestrans & HITRANS by The BIG Partnership, Nestrans sets out its position.

Nestrans and HITRANS, the statutory regional transport partnerships for the North-east and Highlands and Islands respectively, are hoping to persuade the European Union to exert powers to protect the current slots enjoyed by Aberdeen and Inverness, particularly in light of the proposed development of High Speed Rail to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Chair of Nestrans Ian Yuill explains the rationale behind the move:

“The business case for High Speed Rail being extended to Edinburgh and Glasgow is significantly stronger than the case for London to Birmingham and supporting such an extension would provide significant benefits to London and England. This will not only come from increased connectivity between the central belt of Scotland and the North and Midlands of England benefiting both sides of the border but will also reduce very substantially the numbers of flights between the major cities of the UK and London. This reduction in flights will free up slots at London airports that can be used for other destinations.

“Nestrans and HITRANS have argued that for the small proportion of the country’s population not directly benefiting from this huge national investment, that proportion whose surface journey time to London would be over the recognised three hours cut off time, which would include Aberdeen, Inverness, Belfast, Newquay, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, alternative arrangements should be made to secure the connectivity required.

“This would mean securing access for existing landing slots at south east airports for these peripheral regions and, speaking on behalf of the North-east of Scotland, it cannot be overemphasised how important an issue this is. This is not about improving the level of service and through it access to our key markets but maintaining it at a time when the critical south east airports are full and pressure is on regional services to give way to long haul routes. “

In addition to collating the views of businesses and individuals, Nestrans and HITRANS are currently looking for politicians to add their weight to the debate in advance of the UK Government’s aviation consultation, from which the EU will consider options for aviation policy going forward.

HITRANS chairman Duncan MacIntyre said:

“The whole country can benefit from the massive investment in High Speed Rail and the bright economic future of the North of Scotland can be achieved to the benefit of the UK economy as well as locally if our air connectivity is not compromised.

“Our global businesses are making it clear that they wish to anchor in the North but that this is a decision that will be influenced greatly by their ability to do business from their current location.”

OS No. 54 – Vermin, Parasites, And “Cultural” Spaces

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Oct 132011

Old Susannah looks back at the week that was and wonders who’s up to what and why. By Suzanne Kelly.

Old Susannah is having trouble sleeping at the moment for several reasons. Firstly, there is the sheer excitement over the UTG design competition – which design will I fall in love with? What will be built that will make the world beat a path to Aberdeen for coffee, baguettes and monorail rides? Will Paris, New York and Rome empty as people come to Union Square and the new UTG?
Secondly, I am worried about Ms Aileen ‘Homalone’ who has dropped out of the public eye, and refuses (to date) to answer questions about the finances needed for the phase 2 attempt to plant trees on Tullos, and the money to shoot those extremely hungry deer. It looks as if there isn’t any money, but no one’s talking to the public just now.

I did email to say ‘C’mon Aileen’ – and she replied that ‘an officer (if not a gentleman) would get back to me’.

I gently reminded Homalone that she had at least a little responsibility for the scheme to rid Tullos of vermin deer and plant 89,000 trees where trees had failed before, as she’d taken a wee bit of the public relations credit for this great scheme to begin with. I expect as soon as she turns her razor-sharp mind to the task of analysing all the facts and figures regarding the tree planting, deer and slaughter, she’ll revert to me asap.

I don’t think I’ll hold my breath though.

You may recall the deer are under the death sentence because we must be cheap when using ‘the public purse,’ and Aileen being a good Lib Dem can’t stand any waste of public money. Quite right.

No such restrictions apply to buying crucial carriage clocks and expensive pens from the Common Good Fund.

If you are in Inverness, you have to apply to use the common good fund there, and a committee decides if your charity should get a bit of the fund. They seem to have helped quite a number of deserving causes, and the application procedure is the same for the rich and the poor, believe it or not. It is not quite as easy to get a handle on who has their fingers on Aberdeen’s CGF sporran strings. But I digress – again.

Thirdly, I can’t sleep now that I know it’s OK to shoot small mammals and birds on Tullos Hill whenever you want – you just need a permit and the right kind of gun. I am amazed that no one’s been shot there yet. I am also amazed that people still like to hunt living things, but I guess I need to acknowledge that the law allows this.

So do keep walking on Tullos, but keep in mind bullets can travel long distances, and wear your bright clothes and your bulletproof vest. And for goodness sake, don’t wear any of those novelty deer antler headbands.

Vermin:

(noun) 1. insects such as lice, ticks or fleas (or the more fashionable bedbugs plaguing New York at present) which can lead to infestations. 2. birds and mammals that eat other animals / game. 3. animals which are after the same food as people or domestic animals (How dare they!).

The police sent me some detailed answers about the gunman spotted on Tullos Hill in early September after I did one of my little FOI requests. The hunter would not legally have been after the roe deer – but the police made it clear that such ‘sportspeople’ are allowed to shoot ‘vermin’. The police definition of what constitutes vermin seems to include deer. So the next time you and a roe deer are trying to nibble the same 2,000 trees, just kill it – as long as you have a permit and are using the right kind of bullets and rifle. Result!

But if the deer aren’t after the same quarter-pounder you want, and the squirrels (red, black, grey – I don’t discriminate) aren’t after your chocolate shake – then are they really vermin? The vermin label put on these wild animals justifies the gamekeeper poisoning the birds of prey, the snare-setter (snares are still legal for some reason) who kills indiscriminately, and the council targeting the Tullos Hill deer.

Speaking of the council (well some of them anyway), I’d best move to another definition before someone comes gunning for me. And for some reason, a related word comes to mind now that I’ve mentioned our City Council.

Parasite:

(noun – English ) an insect or other creature which feeds off of a host animal to the host’s detriment.

Let’s consider bloodsuckers, worms, leeches and ticks. These are some of the parasitic vermin infesting your city council. You do have the right ammo to despatch them – or at least you will come May elections with your vote. The parasites in question feed of resources such as The Common Good Fund, Council Taxes and all-expense paid hospitality.

Like a swarm of locusts, they descend on areas such as the AECC and the Beach Ballroom if so much as a free sandwich can be had. Parasites such as these are notoriously thirsty, and can empty cases of drink in nanoseconds.

Do not get too close to such creatures – they may well carry disease. Do instead hide your money (offshore if possible), and guard any green spaces, which these parasites can easily destroy if not kept in check.

“Cultural” spaces:

(noun, English Modern) a wholly new concept of “space” where “Cultural” “events” can take place. Not to be confused with existing businesses or arenas and spaces they have for cultural events.

If it’s not hard enough for me to get any sleep with everything else going on, the Evening Express told us on 8 October that there is a ‘plan’ to attract ‘top performers (!)’ to Aberdeen. This brand-new idea, never before attempted, would see the ‘proposed new park over (?!!) Union Terrace Gardens’ filled with “cultural” spaces. (By the way, the quotes around the word “cultural” appear in the Evening Express piece on this subject, so I’d better leave them in).

“Culture” of course is something that we people not in ACC, ACSEF, or SEG can’t really appreciate or understand. ( Remember – Stewart Spence, stalwart of the Marcliffe wrote to the P&J last week to call people opposed to these great new plans ‘NIMBYS and luddites’. Who can argue with him?).

The AECC – long propped up by the taxpayer – and the Lemon Tree (likewise on a taxpayer sub) have never attempted to bring Top Performers here before. Likewise none of the independently-owned bars and clubs (not supported by taxpayers by the way) have tried this either. Some years ago I got my hopes very high about Top Performers coming here, but in the end, Geri Haliwell had to pull out of doing the AECC.

Now in another guise, Scottish Enterprise might not really be permitted to shell out large amounts of taxpayer cash to create “cultural” spaces if these new inventions borne of taxpayer money would compete with already-existing public funded and/or private spaces.

But the story with UTG is different somehow – kind of like when Scottish Enterprise took the money the Arts Council had earmarked for Peacock (who had wanted to , er, create a “cultural” space in UTG first). Hmm – I must remember to soon define ‘intellectual property’, ‘copyright’, ‘lawsuit’ and ‘moral rights’.

I for one am happy to subsidise the AECC directly and indirectly (the City Council somehow needs to rent large amounts of office space at the AECC despite its large roster of properties) as well as subsidise the other city-owned venues AND find some 140 million towards yet another “cultural” space under/in/over Union Terrace Gardens. And if the private sector of the music/entertainment industry in Aberdeen can’t compete, then that’s just showbusiness.

We are in a democracy after all – the richest amongst us get to either be on boards or appoint boards to do what they want done with public spaces – all in the name of “culture”.

If we don’t ‘get it’, then we are indeed the NIMBYS and luddites Spency thinks we all are. I shall remember his words when I next book a dinner or a hotel.

Those who oppose the UTG project (not that it is defined yet – not even Old Susannah could do that if the city can’t) will be laughing out of the other side of their faces when I’m having a large latte before Toto opens up for Geri Haliwell near the monorail at the Wood memorial car park “cultural” space centre. So there. Gives those luddites something to think about doesn’t it?

I have to digress again – it is because some of us can’t understand how wonderful the whole project is that we oppose it. It is all crystal clear, but here is a little helpful guide as to who’s doing what about our “culture” space / UTG project. Here is my little luddites guide to the simple way things work

1. Locum Consultants – apparently a part of the Collier Group – have been hired to ‘find uses’ for ‘some kind of performance and exhibition space’ created by the UTG project. Appointed (by whom I don’t know).

(By the way I can find a ‘Locum Consultants’ in Surrey and a ‘Collier International’ in Manchester. Unless there are companies with those names in Scotland, I guess no one here was up to the job of filling the “cultural” space. I could be wrong, I could be right).

2. The Aberdeen City Gardens Trust (ACGT) – works on ‘how to use “cultural” spaces inside (?!!) the proposed new park over Union Terrace Gardens’. Unelected. (This seems to be a “Private, Limited by guarantee, no share capital, use of ‘Limited’ exemption” kind of an affair – which makes sense as the Taxpayer is paying for it at least in part, and it will be involved in the future of a public asset. Result!) Or in words a child could understand – taken from the website: http://thecitygardenproject.com/news

“Aberdeen City Gardens Trust has been set up, under the auspices of the City Garden Project management board, as a special purpose vehicle to channel funding for the project and deliver key activities within the project plan. The Trust will operate using best practice procurement procedures and will be accountable for the delivery of activities to project management board.

“The Trust will also receive £375,000 of Scottish Enterprise funding from its available funds for major infrastructure projects.

“Cllr John Stewart, chairman of the City Garden Project management board, said: “The fact that Aberdeen City Council is making no revenue contribution to the project means it is necessary to be imaginative in the way in which non-council finance levered into the project is managed. The creation of the Trust presents us with an ideal solution. Equally, it will allow for contracting of the required services involved in the next steps and for the project to progress to the design competition stage and complete the business case for the TIF application. Through the TIF we will be to access funding not otherwise available to invest in the art gallery and the St Nicholas House site, enhancing and reinvigorating our city centre.”

“The founding directors of the Trust are Tom Smith and Colin Crosby who will be joined by Directors from Aberdeen City Council and others involved in the project in due course”.

3. The City Gardens Monitoring Group – exists to hide its doings and to decide that the public should not vote on the option of leaving the gardens as they are in the current design competition for the 6 finalists (chosen by an unelected group and guaranteed loads of dosh for getting this far). The Group redacted its minutes to the point you had no idea who was in it (unless you cut and pasted the redacted text and found none other than Aileen Malone was involved). Unelected.

But for those of you still not clear, here is an excerpt of who’s who and who’s doing what where from our City’s very own website: http://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/

“The membership of the Project Monitoring Group comprises Councillors Malone (Chair), Boulton, McDonald, Kirsty West, Wisely, Young and Yuill.

“For reference, the membership of the City Garden Project Management Board comprises Councillor John Stewart (Chair), Councillor Callum McCaig and Valerie Watts, ACC; Tom Smith and Colin Crosby, ACSEF; Jennifer Craw, the Wood Family Trust; Bob Collier, Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce; John Michie, Aberdeen City Centre Association; Lavina Massie, the Aberdeen City Alliance, Maggie McGinlay, Scottish Enterprise and Paul Harris, Gray’s School of Art.

“The membership of the Project Implementation Team comprises Tom Smith (Chair), Colin Crosby and John Michie, ACSEF; Gerry Brough, Hugh Murdoch and Patricia Cassidy, ACC; Jennifer Craw, the Wood Family Trust; Maggie McGinlay, Scottish Enterprise; Derick Murray, Nestrans; Audrey Laidlaw, Network Rail and Iain Munro, Creative Scotland”.

This diverse membership of people with no vested interests in the project going ahead or not will reassure us all. But somehow, I still can’t get any sleep.

4. Malcolm Reading – a design consultancy which shortlisted the winning entries in the design competiton, an amazing feat, as there was and is no design brief in existence approved by ACC. What Malcolm Reading will earn is unknown; how exactly it was appointed is also a mystery to me.

5. The BIG Partnership – a PR consultancy which tells us how great it all is going to be. I don’t know how they were appointed or what they will earn. (not to be confused with ‘The Big Sleep’.) STOP PRESS: The BIG Partnership has recently announced a new client: The Wood Family Trust.

6. ACSEF – A board of business people and city officials who, well, do what they like. Includes one impartial Mr S Milne. Known for issuing warning as to dire consequences for Aberdeen if we don’t build on the garden. ACSEF is an invention of ACC, and funded at least in part by the public purse which we are all so keen to use sparingly.

7. Genus Loci – a document produced supporting ideas for the Garden’s future as long as these don’t include a garden for the future. Famous for proposing the monorail idea.

8. Scottish Enterprise – a quango, unelected, on a mere £750 million or so per year which holds meetings, and supplies members to sit on the board of ACSEF, and who gave the world Jennifer Craw, now on the Wood Family Trust. Which of course has a seat or seats on the secretive City Gardens Monitoring Group – or was it the Aberdeen City Gardens Trust. Unelected and expensive.

9. Wood Family Trust – er, apparently the wood family and/or friends who want to get rid of the wood in the gardens apparently, for “cultural” spaces. Apparently not elected. This Trust has possibly one or two overlapping areas with some of these other groups, maybe.

10. Project Implementation Team – are on hand to implement the project whether or not the public want them to.

Now that you see how simple it all is, I trust that there will be no more whining about the expense of paying all these companies off, signing a lease for a few thousand years for the gardens, or whinging about issues of ‘transparency’.

As that little Meerkat person on TV would say, ‘Simples’.

I was going to define ‘Impartiality’ this week as well, and how it relates to TIF, BID, and so on. However, I now have a headache for some reason, and there is a knock on my door which may be the sherrif coming for my furniture. ‘Impartiality’ it is for next week then. And ‘Old Boys’ Network’, ‘Nepotism’ and ‘Greed’.

Good night all.

Rangers 2 Aberdeen 0 – Ibrox Stadium 28/8/11

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Aug 292011

Defeats at Ibrox are becoming rather run of the mill for Aberdeen, and while words like “spirited” and “plucky” will be attributed to the Dons’ performance today, many fans will be wondering why their side waited until the second half to show any attacking ambition. Philip Sim reports.

Aberdeen are yet to score on their travels in the SPL this season and in the first half didn’t look likely to change that record. They lined up with a rather negative, defensive 4-5-1 formation despite the recent woes of their opponents.
Even with a five man midfield there was precious little width, with Rob Milsom and Ryan Jack deployed on the flanks.

The Dons had plenty of the ball in the opening period, often stringing together sequences of ten or more passes across the middle of the park, making the extra man count, but attacks broke down almost before they’d even got as far as lone striker Scott Vernon.

While they did prove difficult to break down – David Gonzalez barely touched the ball other than to pick Steven Davis’ 15th minute opener out of the net – they offered absolutely nothing going forward, not even drawing a save from Allan McGregor in the hosts goal in the first half.

The introduction of Peter Pawlett for Jack in at half time introduced pace and width to what had been a dour game for the first time, and there was almost an immediate impact. Scott Vernon raced clear seconds after the restart but was forced wide by McGregor.

Pawlett then burst free down the left and laid back for McArdle to cross, and McGregor pulled off a fantastic full-stretch save to prevent Carlos Bocanegra’s looping header going in as an own goal. Ricky Foster – who spent last season on loan at Ibrox – hurled himself onto the rebound but his diving header came back off the crossbar. Fraser Fyvie and Kari Arnason both fired in efforts from range as the Dons put the hosts under the cosh.

After Dons boss Craig Brown introduced new signing Mohamed Chalali for defender Rory McArdle, Rangers responded by moving to a more defensive formation akin to that the visitors adopted in the first half, dropping Bedoya into midfield. It was they who now benefited from having an extra man in the middle, Chalali having joined Josh Magennis in the Dons attack, and this was telling from the way Pawlett and Fyvie faded from the game. Isaac Osbourne was still winning every 50-50 ball and many more, but his side struggled to find space to craft an opening.

Aberdeen’s control over the game faltered as Rangers looked to close it out at 1 – 0. They were gifted a scarcely deserved second right at the death courtesy of David Gonzalez, who fumbled a powerful Davis free-kick loose into the box for Steven Naismith to tap home.

This added a little more gloss to the result than the hosts merited, having looked increasingly beleaguered since half time.

Once again Aberdeen can take heart from their performance in portions of the game, and the result flatters Rangers to an extent as they were not the better side by a clear two goal margin. But Craig Brown needs to learn lessons from this – his team have only ever performed for half of a game so far this season, and this has rarely produced results. They have shown themselves capable of playing good football, but are unable to produce this with any consistency.

With the SPL taking a break for international matches next week, this is a good time to take stock. The squad is beginning to gel well and the new signings – Osbourne and Arnason in particular, although Mawene was also solid at Ibrox – look a distinct improvement on those they replaced.

However there is still a real lack of width in the team, and it appears that Mohamed Chalali has been signed as an out-and-out striker. If a wide man – a left-footed version of Peter Pawlett, if possible – isn’t a priority before the transfer window closes, then Brown needs to better utilise the personnel that he has. His side have been at their best in recent fixtures when stretching other teams, going at them with width and pace, but the team is seldom set up to do that.

Every game this season, the complaints have been the same – width, creativity, finishing, and consistency – if Aberdeen were to play for 90 minutes the way they have in half-hour spells against Rangers, Hearts and Inverness, they would have a lot more than four points on the board right now. The team undoubtedly has a solid base with plenty to build on there, but as things stand it remains some way from being a finished product.

Aberdeen 1 Dundee 0 – Pittodrie Stadium 23/08/11

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Aug 242011

Most teams would greet a tie against lower-league opposition in the cup as a good thing, but a series of embarrassing upsets in recent years have left Aberdeen fans rather wary when facing smaller sides. As a result they will gleefully accept any kind of win in these circumstances, even by the narrowest of margins – and that is precisely what their team produced here. Philip Sim reports from Pittodrie.

The Dons looked comfortable without ever really impressing, and should have had it in them to find the second goal which would have killed the game.
They are creating a lot more chances than during the early-season goal drought, but finishing remains poor.

Josh Magennis, Darren Mackie and Ryan Jack all missed first-half chances, while Kari Arnason saw his long-range drive well saved.
The Dons seemed at their best when going at the Dundee defence at pace, something the front pairing of Mackie and Magennis have in abundance, and this is how they carved out the best chances of the game.

The solitary goal of the tie was well-taken by the much-maligned Darren Mackie, turning on Chris Clark’s knockdown from a Peter Pawlett cross before firing high into the net past veteran Dee’s keeper Rab Douglas.

Pawlett looked lively for much of the first half, speeding past his marker with ease time and time again and even drawing a save from Douglas, but the young winger appeared subdued after being floored by a flying elbow from Gary Irvine.

That attack went completely unpunished by referee John McKendrick, who did little to endear himself to the home support with a succession of bizarre decisions. There seemed to be a fundamental lack of consistency from the whistler, who as chair of the referees’ union was instrumental in winning officials a pay rise over the summer.

As with the weekend win over Inverness, the Dons faded somewhat in the second half, after a fashion appearing content to hold out and defend their narrow lead. Craig Brown’s hand was forced somewhat tactically when he had to replace first Arnason and then Clark due to injury – Clark’s in particular looking serious, a real worry for a player who was making his first start after an injury lay-off.

Aberdeen’s play after the forced changes lacked any of the fluency shown in flashes in the first half.

In the middle of the park in particular they lacked composure, rarely dwelling on the ball, always looking to fire forward long passes for Mackie and Magennis to chase. Fraser Fyvie did his best to fill in the Arnason/Milsom role of midfield creator, but still doesn’t look nearly as sharp as he did prior to his serious injury last season – hopefully this will come with time and games.

Ricky Foster’s pace again caused problems for the opposition, and he actually had a second-half goal disallowed for offside after smashing home a Pawlett drive which came off the post. His running and that of Pawlett and Jack, supporting the pace of Mackie and Magennis, gave the Dons good width at times, but the supply from the centre was inconsistent despite the typically strong tackling and defensive play of Osbourne.

Dundee by contrast never looked entirely likely to put the ball in the net.

Although the Division One side had plenty of the ball in the second half in particular and applied substantial pressure on the Dons rearguard, debutant goalkeeper Jason Brown only had two saves of note to make. Graham Bayne gave Andy Considine a torrid time fighting for headers, but the Dee’s never seriously troubled Brown’s clean sheet, with most of their opportunities restricted to long-range efforts.

The Pittodrie faithful – the paltry 5,722 of them – were given the first opportunity to see new Dons signing Mohamed Chalali, after the Algerian U23 captain replaced Clark on the hour mark. He showed good pace and willingness to run directly at defenders, but fluffed the two chances he was presented with badly. To be fair, he had flown overnight from Greece to take part in the match, so only the most hardened cynics in the support will be leaping to judge him already.

A win is a win, at the end of the day, and Aberdeen can advance into the next round of the cup with some confidence that the lower-league hoodoo has been put to bed at last. It may be at a steep price, depending on the severity of the injuries to Clark and Arnason, but it seems hopeful now that the Dons can build on the weekend win against Inverness and get their season underway at last.

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