Menie Archives - Page 15 of 17

Old Susannah’s Journal No.34 – Police State Special

Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Environment, Information, Opinion No Responses »

May 062011

Voice’s Old Susannah casts her eye over recent events, stories, and terms and phrases familiar as well as freshly ‘spun’, which will be forever etched in the consciousness of the people of Aberdeen and the Northeast.

Old Susannah checked her mailbox every day for the past few weeks, but never did get the invitation to the royal wedding.

I still went to London – not to stand out side of the palace to look at two people kissing, mind you – but just to see some friends and catch up on the latest fashions. Just as well I didn’t go – I would have been wearing the same outfit and hat as Princess Beatrix (you remember the giant beige bow on her head?).

At the end of the day, I can safely say I was as emotional about the wedding as the rest of you .

Then it was time to vote. The votes are still rolling at while I am writing; no doubt there will be some surprises. Next year’s election will be key for Aberdeen; if we can only persuade the talented, selfless, intelligent individuals we have in the City Council to stay in place, we can look forward to more of the same prosperity, open government, security and prestige that we have today.

You won’t be surprised to hear that the Tullos Hill Roe Deer are still very high on every thinking person’s agenda – on the 10th I will approach HoMalone and her Committee, asking for a chance to speak on the subject.

Theoretically I shouldn’t be allowed to – the official papers for the Committee don’t mention the deer (these people don’t like mentioning deer, do they – whether in public consultations, or to the Torry Community Council).

No doubt they will let me speak, now that they know that Torry Community Council was bypassed in this sad affair and have unanimously condemned the cull. Malone is quoted in the P&J this week as saying if the money isn’t offered for fencing, then the deer die. Still, she sent me an email saying the Committee members were going to vote on the cull.

It is almost as if she is not sure of what is going on. Still, my being at the Council should give her and me a nice chance to chat and get to know each other. I hope she will be very happy in the £60 million Marischal building at her new desk in her new chair, safe in the knowledge she saved the taxpayer £225,000 for fencing.

But on with some definitions….

POLICE STATE SPECIAL

Firstly, most of the police are simply trying to keep the peace and keep us safe. Hats off to them. A small minority however are working for the rich and powerful, and some are (literally) taking the piss – I refer to the young officer who tried to dilute his drink-drive urine sample with water – what would have happened to one of us had we been caught in similar circumstances?

Patronise:
1. to support, fund, encourage – e.g. the Renaissance painters were patronised by the wealthy and powerful Borgia and DeMedici families. 2. to treat someone as infantile or childlike, or as otherwise incapable of understanding – unusually used in a derogatory sense.

A few months ago, our Grampian police cars sported the Stewart Milne Company logo – people who saw these cars did a double-take and stopped smoking funny cigarettes for a while – and then conducted some research.

It turns out that Stewart Milne Group is patronising the police by actually giving them money for some form of initiative or other. In return the police take Milne advertising on their cars. I have never seen this before. I think it is a great plan. Perhaps the BNP can pay for some new riot gear/crowd control equipment? Who knows where this patronising/advertising scheme can take us?

Coincidentally, a few months ago at the Loirston Loch development hearing, the cost of policing the brand-new stadium was discussed – and it was suggested that AFC would have to bear the costs of policing any events. I almost thought a faint shadow crossed Mr Milne’s shiny forehead at the words. How unfair! After all, the stadium will be to everyone’s benefit: the locals, farmers, wildlife – so we taxpayers should be proud to contribute. I may make an extra contribution and see if I can get the police to wear ‘Old Susannah’ or ‘Aberdeen Voice’ badges on their lapels – we shall see. At any rate, it must have been my imagination, but at this suggestion of AFC paying policing costs,

Fast forward to 2nd May and the Press & Journal. Our very own – or rather Stewart Milne’s very own Chief of Police, has made a statement that AFC stewards can handle everything, and police are not needed. I will have to take his word on this – he is the expert. Any comments he made will of course be free from the fact that Milne has patronised the police. No doubt a few stewards will have the same training, crowd control and knowledge of our local constabulary. I would be quite happy for the police to continue their normal duties (ie contacting social activists about their activities and ‘incidents’ – see below).

Things are now so safe and violence free in the world of Scottish Football that letter-bombs are being posted to football managers, little boys are headbutted for wearing the wrong team’s jersey, and behaviour at ‘Old Firm’ matches are reminiscent of candlelit suppers.

So yes, the police are being patronised by Milne. This has no influence on them at all. I wonder, though – why do I feel just a little patronised?

Intimidate:

Verb. to attempt to frighten with threats; to coerce, to deal with political activists.

I hope we are all behaving and keeping in line; if not, you might quite rightly get a social call from the police.

This may be to help them with an ‘incident’ or ‘inquiry’ about protest activity, your taking photos at Balmedie – sorry – Trumpland, or your publicising the fact Aberdeen City has one or two empty buildings which could be used. The police will show up at some convenient time, and to let you know they are not intimidating you, they might talk to your friends and employer.

If you have been so bold as to speak to security guards, then you will have some serious explaining to do – or that’s what some activists have just found out. If this happens to you, you can always ask to go to the police station for a chat rather than having them in your home. You can always call a lawyer and have them over should the police want a friendly word. But you should never go public with such a visit – this might make the police involved look bad. And we can’t have that.

Opportunity Theft:

Noun – a type of petty theivery facilitated by ease of access to the desired objects.

One October about 2-3 years ago, I found a wallet with a fair amount of cash – but the ID was in Polish, and I had no clue how to contact the rightful owner. So I dutifully turned it into the Grampian Police Station.

A woman in the lost and found property section (just through the door on the left as you enter the station) took the wallet. She didn’t seem that keen to take my details, so I offered them. I also asked her for a receipt, which she declined to give me – probably part of a cost-saving exercise so I thought. Some weeks passed, and I called to find out if the wallet had been returned to its owner. I spoke to a woman – I presume the same one who was extremely vague on the subject. “If the wallet isn’t claimed, you can have the money” she said.

A few months after that a small piece in the paper caught my eye: a woman working for the police had been arrested for…. stealing items from the lost property section. Apparently she had been ‘taking her work home with her’ over a number of months. I guess a girl’s got to supplement her income somehow. I have since found one or two other items – but if I can’t find out who owns them, then I hold onto them.

I don’t know what kind of sentence the woman received, but I am sure they will have wanted to make an example of her: we can’t have bad cops can we?

Military Manoeuvre:

Noun – to practice for battle conditions by scaring the bejesus out of the locals. Perhaps the invasion of northern Scotland is much more imminent than we realise: the armed forces are continuously staging ‘exercises’ in our airspace.

We need exercises – it helps burn fuel, increase the demand for military equipment, and thus stimulates the economy.

The truly vigilant jet pilot on exercise will be poised to intercept any aircraft in his path in the interests of national security. If any oil industry helicopters should happen to be in operation during a manoeuvre, then they get what they deserve. The military can hardly be expected to tell the civil aviation authorities that an exercise is underway – it would spoil the surprise.

Last July a passenger-carrying offshore helicopter was involved in a near-miss with a Typhoon jet – the jet pilot obviously mistook the copter for an invasion force, perhaps from Greenland or Faroe. Good on him – you can’t be too careful these days. The cost of a Typhoon jet is about £90 million in case you’re looking for a last-minute gift. There have been a few multimillion pound problems with delays, technical difficulties and the like – but I can speak for us all when I say we are much safer with these jets looking for enemies in our airspace.

You’ve Been Trumped – New Documentary Goes Viral

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Events, Featured, Information Comments Off

Mar 112011

With thanks to Martin Glegg and Helen Thomas.

You’ve Been Trumped – a new documentary investigating the social, economic and environmental impacts of the Donald Trump golf course development near Aberdeen, Scotland has gone viral – with an innovative crowd sourcing drive to finish the film in time for its world premiere at the beginning of May 2011.

The feature length film, which includes music from Jonsi, the lead singer of Sigur Ros, has been selected to premiere at ‘arguably the best showcase in the world for documentary’, according to its production team.

The filmmakers were arrested and put in prison cells by Grampian Police whilst making the film. The Director, Anthony Baxter was also handcuffed in what the National Union of Journalists described as ‘a blatant example of police interference aimed at stopping bona fide journalists from doing their job’.

Now, to complete the documentary for cinema release, the producers are embracing crowd sourcing, which has been pioneered by some of world’s top filmmakers such as Kevin Macdonald, the director of hit films such as Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland. The film is aiming to raise £12,000 in 50 days through the website Indiegogo.

In its first day of crowd sourcing, You’ve Been Trumped raised almost £2,000 with donations coming in from around the world. The filmmakers are offering ‘Perks’ to contribute to the film, such as signed DVDs by jonsi, and a guided walk along the coast to the village where Local Hero was filmed. The story of the residents on the Menie Estate where Donald Trump is building a £750 million golf resort, has been likened to the classic 1983 film starring Burt Lancaster.

The exact location of the premiere of You’ve Been Trumped is top secret until a news launch on 23 March 2011.

Menie Masterplan Must Be Revised To Protect Residents

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Information, Opinion Comments Off

Feb 182011

By Bennachie Blether.

Residents at Menie who have spent years under threat of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) for their homes have breathed a sigh of relief with news of a statement from Donald Trump that his organisation will not ask Aberdeenshire Council to use their powers to purchase the land.

However, since the news broke last week, significant evidence in the form of a letter to planning chiefs at the council shows that Trump International Golf Links Scotland (TIGLS) did indeed ask for CPOs to be administered.

Menie resident David Milne issued a press release which also contained the letter in question. He said:

“There is an element of relief to be gained from the recent statement from Donald Trump regarding his decision not to use Compulsory Purchase Orders in relation to his housing development here at Menie. However, the statement has been treated with scepticism by myself and many others simply because in his statement he claims never to have actually requested CPOs in the first place, this is untrue.

“The letters show quite clearly that a formal request for CPOs to be used was made on March 4, 2009 and was the result of some considerable prior discussion. Therefore until such time a formal letter withdrawing the request is made public, this application can be reinstated at any time.”

Planning permission for the £750m championship golf course, 450 room hotel, 950 holiday apartments and 500 residential homes was granted in May 2009.

In a further twist to the ongoing saga, local councillor Debra Storr has written to Aberdeenshire Council to point out that as there is no prospect of Trump acquiring the properties of the Menie families, the Masterplan, which includes these properties, is no longer valid.

According to Councillor Storr:

“The Masterplan now needs to be redone to reflect the reality that the Trump Organisation is not going to get control of the land owned by the Menie families. The Trump Organisation has made it clear that it intends to work round these properties and Aberdeenshire Council needs to see the detail of that.

“I have therefore asked the council whether they have told the Trump Organisation that a revised masterplan is required and when we may expect to see the revised plans.

the council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period

“The Menie families are concerned that they will continue to suffer harassment by the Trump Organisation and therefore it is to everyone’s benefit if a revised Masterplan is submitted to show how the families will be able to peacefully enjoy their properties within the resort development.”

Ms Storr added:

“We have already seen the building of ‘temporary’ bunds at Hermit Point and Leyton Cottage. Therefore I do worry that Aberdeenshire’s cosy relationship with the developer will mean that the legitimate interests of the families will not be protected.”

Councillor Storr has written to both Iain Gabriel, director of Infrastructure Services, and Christine Gore, director of Corporate Services at Aberdeenshire Council asking for confirmation that the local authority has advised the Trump Organisation regarding the masterplan situation and when the revised masterplan can be expected.

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said:

“We are currently considering whether the approved masterplan for this development requires to be revisited.”

Commenting on the issue, Trump International executive vice president Sarah Malone gave the view:

“Debra Storr appears to be confused and is yet again attempting to create problems where there are none.”

However, fellow councillor Martin Ford backed Ms Storr’s call for new plans:

“The bid for compulsory purchase was just one of the unreasonable demands Mr Trump has made in connection with his proposed resort development. We will never know whether Aberdeenshire Council or the Scottish Government would have done Mr Trump’s bidding this time too.”

“One consequence of Mr Trump abandoning his demands for his neighbours homes is that the approved masterplan for the development is no longer implementable. It includes the land the residents’ homes are built on.

“This raised the question of whether the planning condition requiring a masterplan can now reasonably be said to have been fulfilled.

“In his statement, Mr Trump claims that he has ‘no interest in compulsory purchase’ and ‘never applied for it’. That is downright untrue.

“Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote to Aberdeenshire Council formally requesting the council to exercise its power of compulsory purchase to acquire eight plots of land on behalf of TIGLS. The eight properties were listed and included were the homes of four families.

“Aberdeenshire Council could and should have made it clear long ago that compulsory purchase was not an option it would support. To that extent, the council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period.

“The council’s shameful failure to stand up to Mr Trump’s bullying has caused lasting damage to its reputation.”

Councillor Ford also paid tribute to the Tripping Up Trump campaign, adding:

“I want to pay tribute to the well-organised and effective campaign run in support of the Menie residents.”

“The thousands of people who actively helped the Tripping Up Trump campaign were defending important principles, and last month’s statement from Mr Trump is effectively an admission that the campaign has worked. Thank you to everyone who took part.”

Trump “Never Applied” For CPOs – Really?

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Featured, News No Responses »

Feb 042011

By Fred Wilkinson with thanks to Aberdeenshire Cllr. Martin Ford.

According to Donald Trump ( as quoted in the Press And Journal 31.01.2011 ):

“We have consistently said that we have no interest in compulsory purchase and have never applied for it.”

The discussion which ensued in the form of readers comments below the article online has done nothing to clarify whether or not it is the case that Trump International Golf Links Scotland ever did pursue this course of action, and it would appear that the P&J do not feel obliged to clear this matter up.
However we at Aberdeen Voice are always willing to lend our fellow journos a hand, so if anyone out there at Aberdeen Journals are interested in helping out your confused readers, read on.

It’s a fair COP (anag) Donald

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 042011

By Helen Thomas.

The residents of Menie can celebrate. The threat of being forcibly evicted from their homes has been lifted.

As reported in The Press And Journal on Monday 31st Jan Donald Trump publicly states that he will not be asking Aberdeenshire Council to use Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) to evict residents from their homes to make way for his golf resort.

Of course he also states that, “we have not, and will not, request that Aberdeenshire Council use their CPO powers to purchase houses.”

His statement is designed to make himself out to be the victim of malicious lies, whilst the Menie residents are branded troublemakers.

Unfortunately for Mr Trump however, there is documented evidence that he did make the CPO request. In the press release http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/news/release.asp?newsID=1258 obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the Council states:

“The Council has been asked by the Trump Organisation to use its powers of compulsory purchase”.

Can it be any clearer? One does not have to be too cynical to guess that Trump’s statement is the result of a huge volume of negative publicity and a desperate attempt to manage the backlash. Resistance is growing and he knows it. People don’t like to be bullied and the threat of the use of CPOs against homeowners for his own gain is just that. Because of these lies, the Menie residents will be cautious in celebrating. They know the battle is not yet won and wonder what will come next. ( See STV Article and Video: Click Here )

They are not alone in their battle, however.

A small parcel of land next to Michael Forbes’s land, right in the heart of the potential development, has been bought by the campaigners and anyone can sign up to own a part of it. Nicknamed The Bunker, this piece of land, and the campaign solidarity it offers, is now owned by 10,000 people – and that number’s growing every day. The residents’ fight has reached every corner of the globe. The Facebook group has new requests from people wanting to join daily – from places as diverse as Florida, the Netherlands and Australia.

It’s not just ‘ordinary citizens’ either. Ex-Queen guitarist Brian May has pledged his support. The Green Party’s Leader and MP Caroline Lucas, author and broadcaster Cameron McNeish and film producer David Puttnam have all joined The Bunker.

The world is waking up to Donald Trump – and they’re doing it in Scotland.

If you would like to join The Bunker please visit http://www.trippinguptrump.com/the-bunker or join us on Facebook at http://www.trippinguptrump.com/the-bunker

Trump Rules Out Use Of CPOs

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Environment, Featured, Information No Responses »

Jan 312011

By Cllr Martin Ford.

In a statement issued earlier today by Trump International Golf Links Scotland, Donald Trump does appear, at last, to have ruled out using compulsory purchase to force his neighbours from their homes.

For the families concerned in particular, that must be a great relief.

I am delighted for them. They have shown great courage and strength.

The families have been living with the threat to their homes for over two years. While feelings of relief and joy will be dominant now, we must not forget that the residents should never have been put in this appalling position of uncertainty by Mr Trump in the first place. What Mr Trump has done today is withdraw a threat he should never have made.

In his statement, Mr Trump claims that he has ‘no interest in compulsory purchase’ and ‘never applied for it’. That is downright untrue. Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote to Aberdeenshire Council on 4 March 2009 formally requesting the Council to exercise its powers of compulsory purchase to acquire eight plots of land on behalf of Trump International Golf Links Scotland. The eight properties were listed. Included were the homes of four families.

Aberdeenshire Council could and should have made it clear long ago that compulsory purchase was not an option it would support. To that extent, the Council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period.

The Council’s shameful failure to stand up to Mr Trump’s bullying has caused lasting damage to its reputation.

I want to pay tribute to the well organised and effective campaign run by Tripping Up Trump in support of the Menie residents. The thousands of people who actively helped the Tripping Up Trump campaign were defending important principles.

Today’s statement from Mr Trump is effectively an admission that the campaign has worked. Thank you to everyone who took part.

Old Susannah writes…

Articles, Community, Creative Writing, Information, Satire and Humour No Responses »

Jan 212011

Old Susannah has been constantly on the go the past week. Here’s her travelogue…

On Friday I attended most of the public hearing on the Loirston Loch proposal at the Town House. Admittedly, I left before the full meeting ended, so missing Kate Dean’s concluding remarks, but I would have lost the will to live altogether, and I had to be at Peacock for 6pm.

Sorry I only lasted 8 hours at the hearing, but seeing as Kate was doing a great job of being impartial as convener, I left, in the knowledge that the stadium was in safe hands. See the article elsewhere in this edition of Voice.

Next day, the P&J printed an article favouring the stadium development which ignored all the practical problems and local objections, alongside a piece on Cove Rangers being allowed to move to new premises. Of course, these two developments in the Aberdeen footballing world are completely unrelated. Old Susannah must have wandered into a completely different public hearing from the one the P&J wrote about, as I missed the parts that proved how this stadium will not only make us all rich, but also make us the envy of the northern hemisphere. I came away with the subtle feeling that one or two of the residents might not be onside with putting a 21,000 seat stadium on their greenbelt.

The Peacock exhibition features Alicia Bruce’s photographic portraits of the residents facing potential eviction through compulsory purchase, so that Mr Trump can have the world’s most kitsch – sorry – most excellent, perfect, wonderful, swell, expensive golf course. A review and photos of the exhibition is elsewhere in Voice.

Finally, George Galloway and his moustache are in the news this week. He seems to be saying he will end his political career in Scotland. Has no one told him that his political career well and truly ended when he was on Big Brother pretending to be Rula Lenska’s cat? Respect….?

..and she shares the week’s defining moments in her Dictionary, Part 21

Embezzle

(Verb) To embezzle is to appropriate goods, property or money fraudulently when in a position of power, rather like when we pay Council Tax to local government with the false promise we’ll get something of value in return. Now it looks as if a City Council employee has been taking his work home with him literally – to the tune of somewhere between £300,000 and £400,000. It is understood the person and his wife are now ‘helping police with their enquiries’.

there is no fraud to worry about really, except the odd half million pound case like this one

Yes, it’s hard to understand how our well-run, efficient, properly audited and controlled City could have allowed such a thing to happen; ‘financial impropriety’ and ‘Aberdeen City Council’ are words you’d never expect to hear in the same sentence, I know.

Stringent controls are in place to prevent, for instance, property being sold below market value, property being sold to private developers when the City thinks it is really selling property to the NHS, or building work contract values escalating out of control, and the like. In fact there are ‘Investigation Managers’ and ‘Budget Analysts’ on the City’s efficient payroll.

But relax – there is no fraud to worry about really, except the odd half million pound case like this one, which clearly is a one-off and will never happen again.

Incandescent (Adjective) Incandescent is the ‘condition of glowing or emitting heat and light’. Indeed, it is often associated with lightbulbs but presumably less so with the new mercury-filled ones which don’t give out quite enough light for my taste. John Major famously took the word ‘incandescent’ and coupled it with his anger, coming up with the phrase, ‘not inconsiderably incandescent with rage’ to describe how he usually felt. This may have been his greatest contribution as Prime Minister, although we might want to ask Mrs Edwina Currie her opinion.

This adjective is still being used by the brightest stars in the political firmament, as no less a luminary than our own Kate Dean has told the press she is incandescent. No, not just her natural glow of warmth, charm and beauty; she is incandescent with anger.

Who’s upset Kate? The Scottish Government transport authorities have had the gall to criticise Aberdeen’s public transport management – the nerve!

outsiders might mistakenly think we have problems. I hope that an apology to Kate is on the way

As if there was anything to criticise. Kate’s main problem is that she didn’t have a chance to defend the City’s sterling record on public transport. The frequent bus services, the low prices, the potholes, the bus lanes.Apparently we’ve created one million pounds worth of bus lanes recently, part of the reason traffic moves so swiftly.

The well thought-out transport arrangements for Union Square and the bus and railway stations are greatly appreciated by people with mobility problems as well as car drivers and bus passengers, who, in rush hour or late night shopping days, can spend ages window-shopping at Union Square from the comfort of their own cars. Building the new AFC stadium is going to add 80 buses at current estimate and 1400 cars to the mix on Wellington Road, pollution levels on which can be higher than national recommended levels, but with the new bus lanes, well, it will be fine.

Part of Ms Dean’s problem is that Aberdeen wasn’t invited to the particular meeting where the criticism was levelled, so she could not defend our excellent system. Clearly a system as perfect as ours would not be able to stand on its own merits for others to marvel at – outsiders might mistakenly think we have problems. I hope that an apology to Kate is on the way.

Joined-up government.

How do things in the public sector work so well?

How do our governors manage to accomplish so much good with our tax money so efficiently?

The answer is that we have ‘joined-up government’.

The term ‘joined-up government’ is defined as ‘a method of governing wherein all departments and branches communicate efficiently with each other and act together purposefully and effectively towards well-defined objectives – but you don’t need me to tell you that’s what you’ve got in the ‘deen.

It is little wonder that international property developers want to come here when they see how ‘joined up’ we are.

It’s hard to pick out just one example pertaining to our government in terms of its ‘joined-up’ thinking, so I’ll take the most recent one. In the P&J on 19 January, there’s a story of how Scottish Enterprise and Aberdeen City Council work in harmony to our benefit.

Peacock Art Gallery, you may recall, had managed to secure a large grant from the Arts Council to build new premises. Like vultures smelling blood, the City and Scottish Enterprise moved in to offer assistance. They assisted Peacock right out of its plans for the Union Terrace Gardens arts centre it had proposed.

But what becomes of the grant from the Arts Council? It’s now probably lost forever, and we have the amusing spectacle of Aberdeen City v Scottish Enterprise. The blame game is on. Who did what and when is being argued over in the press as these two entities try to blame each other for the loss. Strangely enough, many years back, the Arts Council had ring-fenced a few million for an arts centre in the Castlegate. This money too was lost forever. A deadline approached, and the City Council seems not to have known anything about it, despite having a Council representative attending the relevant meetings. It is little wonder that international property developers want to come here when they see how ‘joined up’ we are. They know when they see examples like the latest drama over Peacock funding unfold, that we are people to be reckoned with – smart, astute business minds working in conjunction. There is no way we will be fooled or taken advantage of when great minds are in control. Not here.

On a serious note

Spare a thought for Sandy Ingram, the 79 year-old man found severely beaten in June of last year. He will now need full-time care, and can never return to the home he knew. Apparently he had seen two men on his property before he was assaulted. Whilst the residents in his area of Newmachar are now more vigilant regarding strangers, and are reporting suspicious behaviour to police, it comes too late for the Ingram family.

Someone out there knows what happened to him which is still a mystery to the rest of us. If you don’t come forward you are as guilty as if you’d hurt this elderly man yourself. And the next time someone else gets permanently injured or worse, you’ll have to live knowing you could have prevented it.

Even if you just suspect something, make an anonymous call. Do the right thing.

Trump’s Investment – A Lifeline Or A Human Cost?

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Jan 212011

‘Voice’ reader Jim Talbot responds to an article published in last week’s issue and offers an alternative view on the value of Donald Trump’s investment in the North East.

There is much to admire in Stephen Bremner’s article, most notably, his clear loyalty and commitment to his native land and his dislike of Mr Trump’s alleged bullying tactics.

Unfortunately, I cannot claim a birth origin in the North East, although my wife originates from these parts, nevertheless, I do feel a sincere loyalty to the area and a great love of the area itself, its history, culture and people.

I take issue with Mr Bremner’s assertion that only a small minority oppose The Donald’s great plan for the Great Dunes of Scotland. ( see Aberdeen voice article published 14th Jan. ) Certainly, if you believe all that you read in the local commercial press, then you might be led to that conclusion. The local newspaper reporting on this issue has been abysmally biased and at times quite inflammatory, particularly in the way in which certain elected representatives have been the target of tabloid character assassination.

I have a wide circle of friends here in Aberdeenshire, from all walks of life, and it is my experience that the vast majority are either disinterested or cannot see the relevance of the affair to much more fundamental issues, or do indeed oppose the development, even if they do not choose to give voice to their opposition. I have to say that such opposition has, within my earshot, even been expressed by ardent members of the golfing fraternity.

“Fit dae we need anither golf course fer, ye cannae fill the eins we hae” was one comment made, borne out by the fairly frequent and fervent recruitment campaigns and special offers run by many local golf courses, not to mention those golf courses which are under threat of closure or the golf developments which have been shelved…..but then perhaps The Donald’s real agenda was never just golf?

Absolutely crucial human rights are being ignored

What about spin off investment from The Donald’s scheme? Jobs in construction, outfitting, sales, catering and other service activities, not to mention the supply of materials during and after?

Friends in America have highlighted the trend for such egotistically grandiose developments to create very few jobs within a specific area, and for materials as well as labour to be sourced at the cheapest rate going from whatever source available – not to mention that even Mr Trump has had to scale back his operations during the current recession, with projects axed!. There will probably be no loyalty to local people and the local economy to be found in such a development. The rhetoric spouted by those members of the local business community concerning the amount of trade such a development will bring to the area is largely pie in the sky, mere wishful thinking. There are no such guarantees given by such hard nosed businessmen as The Donald.

In many ways, Donald Trump, and men like him, are to be admired for their drive and obvious enthusiasm, however, all too often the people who are forgotten are the ‘little people’ – the Michael Forbes and David Milnes of this world. In other words, you and I. Absolutely crucial human rights are being ignored and appallingly dangerous legal precedents are being set in this affair – and all because local business leaders are scared to death that the major local industry, the oil industry, is about to fold.

Climate warming scaremongering (and part of my research background was in aspects of climate change) together with an anti-global anti-oil lobby are driving the western world towards the brink of an energy supply disaster which will bring down governments and lay waste to otherwise prosperous countries. Contrary to what some would have you believe, the oil industry in the North East of Scotland is flourishing. As the traditional oil companies shrink, change direction or consolidate after major pollution incidents (due to sheer incompetence?), other “new boys” are taking their place.

The oil industry… can act as a springboard for the development of other industries.

These new oil companies are often locally based and more firmly rooted in the area. They have drive and enthusiasm for what they do – and there is plenty of oil out there with new fields being discovered on a regular basis.

Oil is an essential part of our economy and, despite the pessimistic predictions of some, could potentially be with us for the foreseeable future. Even if oil based energy and industry were to collapse, there would be generations of jobs involved in decommissioning, unless we were to leave unused plant to fester and pollute. No, the truth is that the oil industry here in the North East of Scotland, as highlighted in the Council’s own Structure Plan, is alive and well and has a potentially healthy future. Most importantly, it can act as a springboard for the development of other industries such as biotechnology, alternative energy, pharmaceuticals, scientific research, and many more.

As for tourism, well as long as it is overseen by quangos such as Visit Scotland (formerly the Scottish Tourist Board), what hope? So many friends in the tourist industry locally, at best express disappointment with the support they receive from such sources, and at worst state that it is a total waste of money.

Perhaps The Donald’s great scheme – and a few others from other notable individuals – should be seen for what it is. Castles in the air!

Pictures At An Exhibition

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Events, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Jan 212011

By Suzanne Kelly.

Peacock Visual Arts is hosting two exhibitions at present; Aberdeen Voice was on hand for the opening on 14th January of “Menie: a portrait of a North-East coastal community in conflict” photographic portraits by Alicia Bruce.

To describe in simple terms the method of working used to create the images in this show, Alicia Bruce takes iconic painted portraits from art history and re-creates them.
In this instance she spent time with the inhabitants of Menie who have lived under the threat of being displaced by the Trump golf development.

As she acknowledges, she is neither the first nor the only photographer to use past art as source material for recreations, but as an essay on the exhibition by Catriona McAra explains (and as the work demonstrates) Bruce stamps something personal and clearly reflective of Scotland on her portraits. The subjects have lived with the stress caused by the Trump development for quite some time, and their faces reflect this in varying degrees. All of the subjects have several characteristics in common which Bruce successfully catches – different kinds of strength and earnestness.

There is strength and defiance wonderfully captured in the powerful re-creation of the iconic Grant Wood ‘American Gothic’ painting. In this reworking featuring Michael and Sheila Forbes, Michael’s folded, tattooed arms block the would-be adversary from taking the land and farm he stands before, confrontationally facing an invisible Donald Trump, and the gallery viewer is put in Trump’s place, staring in Forbes’ eyes. When the Voice team arrived early at the show, this piece was the first thing we could see as we peered through the gallery doors – powerful, immediately both familiar and new and it made a bold statement of strength that is still fresh in my memory.

The striking desolate beauty of the Menie Landscape is ever present in the photographs, and, like the lost ways of life the original paintings captured, the viewer is left wondering if these portraits are capturing a people and environment doomed to soon be lost themselves like the art they are re-creating. It is this idea that takes the photo of Molly with a gaggle of geese and changes it from a whimsical re-creation of a happier time but instead something poignant.

The show was well attended, and feelings inside the gallery ran high. Molly Forbes said she was ‘most pleased’ with the work; she seemed somewhat overwhelmed and genuinely impressed. Comments given to the Voice and other media present were all powerful; Gordon Maloney had this to say:

“At its heart, this is not a question of what benefit this development could bring to the North East, although it’s very questionable that it would bring any. The question here is how much are we willing to sacrifice for economic gain. Do we want to live in a world where people are evicted from their homes and unique and beautiful stretches of land are ripped up to make way for hotels for rich tourists? I don’t. That’s why it is crucial to show the human side of this story; we can never forget that these are people’s lives, not just what economists derisively call ‘externalities’“.

Along with the Bruce portraits, the back of the gallery area had been used for a projection of the grey north sea waters. Bruce also created a series of shots of boundary markers, taken at different points in time. Near a visitors’ signing book there was a small collection in a simple frame of cards that had been sent in support to the Menie residents. Perhaps the most poignant and heartfelt message can be found on a Christmas card sent to Molly Forbes.

My recommendation is to go to this exhibit and think about what will happen to these people and their world.

Peacock Exhibition

Image 1 of 7

Credit: CSD Images

Trump Investment Vital To Continued Prosperity.

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Jan 142011

By Stephen Bremner.

Money talks, but of late the people of Scotland have been notably quiet. Few people have been unaffected by the recession and the country is bracing itself for the looming cuts within the public sector. The people of the Northeast however can take some solace from the fact that their main industry for the last couple of decades is still going strong.

I often wonder what would have become of Aberdeen and its surrounding area had ‘Black Gold’ not been discovered, what with the demise of fishing, and a tourism industry that is still struggling to take off. Corporate machines flocked to the area to cash in on our newfound discovery and the good people of Aberdeen welcomed them with one hand and grabbed a fistful of dollars with the other.

I do not condone Donald Trump’s bullying tactics, but have the foresight to see that this is an opportunity that cannot go a begging

Aberdeen is now one of the most affluent areas in Scotland if not the UK, and the rest of the country look on with glowing green eyes. Yet we have been repeatedly warned that these good times will not last forever and in the next 20 years or so, if experts are to be believed, oil related employment will continue to fall and signal the exodus of Johnny Foreigner and his Yankee Dollar.

A stroke of luck then that an American Billionaire has chosen ‘God’s Country’ to host one of the world’s premium golf developments. Not so, according to a small minority who would rather reject any form of investment in order to get their faces in the national press.

Whilst I feel slightly sorry for Mr Forbes et al at facing the prospect of a CPO, any sympathy I have is outweighed by the prospect of the area that I was born in and raised being decimated by a lack of investment and surely going the same way as some of the impoverished areas in the north of England.

I do not condone Donald Trump’s bullying tactics, but have the foresight to see that this is an opportunity that cannot go a begging. Did the people who so vehemently oppose Trump and his millions also stand up and react so vocally against Shell, BP, Chevron etc, the masters in bullying and harassment of people and governments?

The simple fact is that investment of this magnitude should not be sniffed at. The doors that this development will open could provide a significant and sustained income for the region and may allow the good times to continue.

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