Union Terrace Gardens

Sir Ian Wood wants to concrete over Union Terrace Gardens and turn it into a "city square".

Jesus, where do I start with this.  Have you seen the plans.  Concrete central.  As a sop, there's a few trees thrown in for good measure, but essentially this is a slab of concrete.  Just what we need. 

Supporters claim there's more greenery than in the gardens as they are just now.  They've wheeled out a tame horticulturalist who claims all the plants and trees are dying in the gardens as they get little sunlight. Tenuous stuff in the extreme. 

Of course the idiots in charge of the city are in favour and the pathetic local rags are also in support.  This cabal of delinquents are so in awe of the likes of Sir Ian Wood and Stewart Milne (who is unsurprisingly also in favour) that if they suggested building a leaking nuclear reactor in place of the Gardens they'd enthusiastically back the plan.

The £50m pledged by Wood has to be supplemented by the Council to the tune of at least £60m.  Where in the name of Allah are they going to find that? 

It's very magnanimous of Sir Ian to wish to leave a legacy to the city, although there is worrying talk of businesses in the city being pressurised into backing the plan and I've yet to hear a "normal" person in favour. 

The likes of Union Terrace and Broad Street are windswept, cold places even on a decent summer's day.  We are not Barcelona, Florence or Paris.  We are Aberdeen and with our 5 days of nice weather a year, the last thing we need is a place to promenade.  Think of the mess the place will get in on a Saturday night!

Now I know the Gardens are not wonderful.  They are a no go area for many as they are full of junkies and winos.  But the plans already in place for the regeneration are solid.  Peacock Arts have a innovative plan for an Arts Centre, which already has planning permission. 

The Victorian toilets, closed by the monkeys in charge years ago, are a work of art in themselves and there's plans to turn them into a restaurant.  Spruce up the foliage, add a few cafes and coffee shops, get the Police to actually do their job and get rid of the jakeys, have the community wardens patrolling frequently and bob's your uncle.  It'll cost a shedload less than £50million.

If Sir Ian wants to spend £50m, might I suggest he volunteers to clean all the granite buildings on Union Street, regenerates the original city square at Castlegate , buys some more art for the already excellent Art Gallery and assists demolishing St Nicholas House and that glass carbuncle they've thrown up on the side of His Majesty's Theatre and give me the change.  :o)

But if he insists on concreting over the only greenery in the City Centre, then by all means do so as the New Pittodrie Stadium. 

Music tonight - how about a bit of jazz?  Cry me a River has been covered by every man/woman and their dog.  For me, Julie London's version is the definitive and best - download it and judge for yourself, you will not be disappointed - tremendous off key double bass, sultry, velvety vocals, sublime and haunting.

Local "Journalism" - Monkeys with Typewriters

Now this post may end up seeming extremely hypocritical, because if you think my purple prose tonight (and every other night for that matter) is utter pants, then it'll feel like the pot calling the kettle black.

But the fact of the matter is that the quality of "journalism" in the Press & Journal (Depressing Journal) and Evening Express (Evening Depress), the local Aberdeen papers is appalling.  This essentially dates back to a vicious industrial dispute many years ago when many top notch journos left and were replaced by anyone with a word processor.

The Evening Express relies on the latest gypsy encampment, oops I mean ethnic traveling fraternity base camp to be set up so they can stir up the locals, the breathtaking incompetence of the City Council and the Trump Resort pantomime to fill their pages.

The Press and Journal is obsessed with anything Sir Ian Wood does, even if it is concreting the only green space in the city centre to sate his ego, erm I mean create a lasting legacy.

Both have a complete and utter determination to run down the City's football club and in particular it's supporters.  I can't think of any other local papers who would continuously criticise their captive audience the way this shower do.  It was the AGM of Aberdeen Football Club last night and the rag took the opportunity to have a go at the fans who turned up because they didn't have a go at the board, alluding to an old myth about Don's fans being so quiet you can hear sweet papers being rustled.   Hilarious.

Aberdeen fans are targeted from all sides.  The Central Belt "newspapers" (the Sun and Record) attack us at every opportunity, printing complete lies about "vile" songs we've never sung, missiles we've never thrown and attacks on ex-Rangers players that never happened.  In a normal City the local paper would be the organ in which you could depend to fight back on these issues.  Up here, they fall in line with their backward, retarded cousins from the West Coast, who are only interested in deflecting any potential problems the Old Firm get themselves into with their obsession with a battle in Ireland over 300 years ago.

Most of these fuckwits who call themselves journalists can barely string a sentence together.  Thank god for the interweb, where various blogs and chat rooms, stir lively debate.  Of course there are still plenty zoomers about, but sifting through you can find intelligent individuals asking the pertinent questions without any agenda.

A quick shout out at this point to one of my loyal readers who has a weekly column in a local Aberdeenshire town paper, whose prose is positively Burns like compared to the kind of drivel you'll find in the sports pages of the City papers.

Music tonight, back to the 80s again with a cracking one hit wonder for you - "Let My People Go" by the Rainmakers.  Vocals are an acquired taste, infectious shouty chorus.

(Glasgow) Kiss Glencraft, Kate

So 160 years of Glencraft in Aberdeen are over. Designing and manufacturing mattresses and beds, this noble institution has been a employment lifeline for the blind and disabled. So many people have been put out of work in the "best placed country to beat the recession", but even in the avalanche of job losses this one stands out. The people who have been made redundant at Glencraft will struggle more than most to find alternative employment. Many have worked there all their working lives. Their jobs gave them independence and a source of pride and respect. These people are the real vulnerable in society and deserve as much assistance as possible to help them through this difficult time.

I see Salmond turned up with a "Task Force" for the media's consumption this week. How much that will help remains to be seen, but hey our esteemed First Minister got a photo opportunity and that's all that matters...............

Hearing the interviews with trustees of the firm and employees alike, you can feel the passion and loyalty this organisation instills in its workforce. They were genuinely devastated. Of course there has been mistakes made. The outside consultant who came with a six figure salary apparently, was obviously gutted in his interview with the media, but I wonder how good a job he did. Did you ever see or hear any advertisements for the company? Any incentives to go up to their factory for a look at their stock, any discounts which would make you choose them over the Bed Shed? No, me neither. Thanks to Mrs M for pointing this out by the way, credit where it's due!

But as is the norm nowadays, Aberdeen City Council need to take a long, hard look at themselves. They piss money up the wall giving themselves a shiny new headquarters but can't give an employer of blind and disabled people one last chance.

The interview with Kate Dean on the radio sickened me. This woman, binned from her job as Leader of the City Council because she'd overseen a financial meltdown which made it the laughing stock basket case of Scotland, was arrogant, dismissive and insensitive. "We've done all we can" was the line she spewed. No sympathy for the workers was forthcoming. It must be great to be useless at your job, get thrown out of it and land up in another cushy number (planning I believe). And of course there's that lovely gold plated pension to look forward to as well. This despicable smug PUBLIC SERVANT is the epitome of the Public Service's "I'm all right jack" attitude.

So good luck to the employees of Glencraft and here's hoping they get new jobs soon.

Music recommendation tonight is again bang up to date - the Noisettes, Every Now and Then. Lavish strings and a key change - you'll know by now I'm a sucker for both!