Mar 082012
 

The Council has taken a bit of a pasting recently, probably in Voice as much as anywhere. That’s what happens when we invite citizens to pen articles for us. One of Aberdeen Voice’s founders, Ross Cunningham, makes a welcome return by musing on some of the things that councils responsible for the city actually got right over the years.

Let’s face it, our city council is pretty woeful.
Hundreds of millions in debt, essential services cut, hair-brained schemes to revamp the city centre and deafness to those who wish to voice their opinions on the city itself.

But, was it always like this? Surely our great city’s leaders must have been competent once upon a time?

I’m sure there are many more fantastic schemes the council has facilitated over the years that I’ve left out, so please feel free to add to the list. But first try these…..

1. Raising Union Street to street level from Union Terrace to Castlegate

What a superb plan. It almost bankrupted the city when it was built in the 19th century but that was the problem of Aberdonians back then and not ours. Can you imagine having to go downhill and back up again to get from KFC to Poundland? No thank you!

2. Putting the Canal Street signpost on top of a pole instead of at street level

Brilliant! We were all tired of seeing people scoring out the C and S to formulate a crude and badly-spelled statement. To hell with delivery drivers unfamiliar to the area who may not have a TomTom to guide them. Someone needs to treat these things anally!

3. Britain In Bloom champions umpteen times

Being an ex-gardener, the floral displays in the city have always delighted me. Considering we are surrounded by grey, the colour and vibrancy the flowers provided were always a welcome sight. It looks like we may have a new place to show off our horticultural nous very soon. I’d rather we just did up the old one.

4. Revamping Marischal College

It’s amazing what you can do with a pressure washer nowadays. The granite sparkles with a freshness not seen for at least half a century – apart from the old church on the side – and it sits across the road from the recently-evacuated monstrosity. Still, the view from the never-ending queue to wait to discuss inaccuracies on your council tax bill is better than it ever has been.

5. Rebranding the city arms logo

Does anyone remember when the leopards on the city logo looked a bit too fierce and menacing? Surely not the sort of image the city would wish to portray? The answer? Make them look more like a cartoon drawn by an infant, with their tongues sticking out. Sorted.

Aug 202010
 

By Ross Cunningham.

Aberdeen. The Granite City. As Billy Connolly once said, ‘’you could walk an elephant down Union Street and nobody would notice.’’ Such an obvious joke relating to the most prevalent colour of our fair city yet one which evokes a question in my mind: Does the greyness of Aberdeen affect it’s citizens and in what way?

Firstly, it would be helpful to assess how Aberdonians are generally perceived, both by outsiders and ourselves. Continue reading »

Jul 232010
 

By Ross Cunningham.

There has been much controversy aired recently about benefits and those claiming them. With a new coalition government in place, they hurriedly arranged an emergency budget to set about slashing the £150bn deficit in public finances. One of the higher-spending areas is benefits. In 2009-10, it is estimated that £3.1bn was overpaid in benefits due to error and fraud. Conversely, estimates show that £1.3bn was underpaid due to error and fraud. You would be inclined to believe that the second statistic is of less concern as is the perception that overpayment has been made to people who neither need nor deserve it. But how is it decided who is worthy of benefits and who is not? Who makes these decisions and who else is involved?

Continue reading »

Jul 232010
 

By Dave Innes and Ross Cunningham.

What on (or below) earth are The Gothic Dorics, – a name evocative of a hellish hybrid ancient monochrome architectural structure lost in a bewildered modern world – and furthermore, what is their version of reality?

They have already staked their claim as the NE’s – and the world’s – first Doom-Tekno outfit. Three Aberdeen souls who have triumphed, despite the handicap of being too slothful to get things together, in creating an album due for release – or perhaps that should be escape – on Saturday 24 July when they debut at the city’s Moorings Bar. Aberdeen Voice discussed with the band its somewhat ‘interesting’ approach to lyrics and music. Continue reading »

Jul 022010
 

By Ross Cunningham.

Deportees

The Deportees in concert.

The Deportees are a 5-piece folky-rocky-country-ish tuneful outfit from Aberdeen. It would be unfair to lump them into a specific genre, hence the rather linguistically-incorrect introduction, but they certainly have a discernible folk influence with a strong emphasis on vocal harmonies. They’re recently formed and deserve checking out.  Singer and guitarist Adam Keenan spoke with Aberdeen Voice’s Ross Cunningham.
Continue reading »