More than £7 million awarded in City Heritage Trust grants

Funding of almost £8 million has been awarded for heritage projects in Scotland’s six cities. The  grants from Historic Scotland will be used to enhance conservation areas and maintain historic sites.

Edinburgh projects already mentioned include work on monuments in Greyfriars Kirkyard, repairs to an original Victorian shop front, and restoration of a 19th Century listed building. Dundee will see work take place within conservation areas, including work on ‘at risk’ buildings, together with further investment in the Riverside and Crown conservation areas of Inverness.

The grants are good news, especially at the moment when purse strings are being tightened, so something somewhere has to be suffering. Something that could happen under such circumstances is the assumption that big or well-known high-profile cities can look after themselves, and have some sort of magical pot of money that can be drawn on, unlike smaller conurbations. However, as one who lives in one of those ‘big, rich cities’, I know this is far from the case, having watched many worthy building fall into decay, ruin, and eventual vandalism and demolition.

Listing etc is all well and good, but apart from legal status and little protection, it does not come with any funds to maintain or restore properties.

Press release:

6 February 2012

Historic Scotland has announced that it will be offering £7.69m in City Heritage Trust grants over the next three years to Scotland’s six cities. The grants are designed to safeguard and enhance conservation areas, the historic environment and sense of place.

Glasgow will receive £2,550,000, Edinburgh will receive £2,145,000, and Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness and Stirling will each receive £750,000.

Fiona Hyslop, Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs said: “It is vital that we continue to improve the quality of our Scottish cities to make them better places to live, work and invest.

“Managing our historic environment creatively also contributes to sustainable economic growth by growing Scotland’s construction industry and increasing the availability and quality of traditional skills and materials. Using new skills and sustainable materials in the adaptation of existing buildings will also help support the historic environment’s transition to a low carbon economy.

“This investment builds on our Agenda for Cities and £7 million Cities Investment Fund, which has been launched to build the momentum to make sure our cities and their regions make the fullest possible contribution to sustained economic recovery – stimulating economic recovery and job creation.”

via Scotland’s six cities to benefit by £7.69 million in Historic Scotland grants.

There was further information appended to the release, which helps to explain some of the terms referred to in the release:

• The Year of Creative Scotland begins on January 1, 2012 and will spotlight and celebrate Scotland’s cultural and creative strengths on a world stage. Through a dynamic and exciting year-long programme of activity celebrating our world-class events, festivals, culture and heritage, the year puts Scotland’s culture and creativity in the international spotlight with a focus on cultural tourism and developing the events industry and creative sector in Scotland. More information about the programme can be found at: Year of Creative Scotland 2012 – VisitScotland. The Year of Creative Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland and VOCAL.
• More information and resources to help businesses engage with Year of Creative Scotland are available at VisitScotland.org > Year of Creative Toolkit
• More information about the Agenda for Cities can be found at Scotland’s Cities: Delivering for Scotland – In Collaboration with Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness and Stirling

Plan for major incident evacuation for Edinburgh central

While the rest of the country just panics as normal in the run up to the Christmas and New Year season, it seems the good people of Edinburgh have been given a little something extra to worry about over the season of goodwill.

I don’t know about them, but if I lived there, and I was given this advice (especially just prior to a period when the city centre will busier than usual with Christmas shopper, sales, visitors etc), I would be putting two and two together and coming up with five – or “What am I not being told about”, the timing of this ‘good advice’ is just a little to neat.

Come to think of it… didn’t the media carry stories about an asteroid just missing us recently?

Residents living in Edinburgh city centre are being urged to make up a “grab bag” of essential items as part of a major incident evacuation plan.

The special bag should include medication, car and house keys, cash and bank cards, glasses or contact lenses and items for children.

People are also urged to store next-of-kin details in a mobile phone, wallet or purse under the note ICE.

ICE stands for ‘in case of emergency’ for people looking for details.

The city centre area is roughly bordered by Haymarket, Queen Street, Regent Terrace and the Grassmarket, and includes locations such as Calton Hill, Edinburgh Castle and Holyrood Park.

The population in the area is estimated at 70,000 although this increases significantly during the summer.

All businesses in Edinburgh are also being urged to make sure they are geared up to evacuate parts of the capital in exceptional circumstances.

Evacuation process

They are being told to identify evacuation assembly points, make transport arrangements, give support for vulnerable groups and make arrangements for communications.

via BBC News – Major incident evacuation plan for Edinburgh centre.

Bagpipe music ban for tartan shops in Edinburgh

While some might wonder at the wisdom of instituting a ban on bagpipe music issuing forth from the tartan tourist shops in Edinburgh, especially as the Edinburgh Festivals have just got underway, I think there will be even more who will be raising their eyes to the heavens and saying “Thank you”.

As usual, the problem is nothing to do with the reasonable shops that have their wares playing away in the background of their establishments, so that patrons can audition what is on offer, but those who suffer from the “MORE IS BETTER” affliction, and find the need to hang loudspeakers in their doorways or on their shops fronts, connected to stereo system blasting the sound of bagpipes into the street, each trying to be louder than the folk next door. If they think it attracts customers, then in my case at least they are sadly mistaken, as the resulting cacophony just makes me run past the lot as quickly as possible. Nor would I part with even a penny to such a shop.

If memory serves me at all, I am sure this issue has been raised in the past, as the noise became unbearable

I’m surprised no-one has come to blows over this, since the skirl of the pipes may be a pleasant novelty when heard for a short time at reasonable volume, but becomes akin to the sound of cats on heat when overdone for hours on end, especially if you cannot get away from it. I can only assume the owners of offending establishments have earplugs in so they can ignore it for days on end.

If they’re that keen on having loud pipes, they should employ a live piper to play at their door.

Tourist shops in Edinburgh have been banned from playing loud bagpipe music out into the streets.

Environmental officers are patrolling the capital’s streets to make sure traders do not break new rules which came into force on Monday.

It follows complaints about the volume of bagpipe music played by some retailers.

Edinburgh City council has also received complaints of shops’ tartan goods blocking pavements.

It follows a meeting between Royal Mile traders and the council to agree on a “reasonable approach” to tackle the problems.

An Edinburgh City Council spokesman said: “While most shops do operate responsibly, there remain specific examples where this is not the case.”

via BBC News – Bagpipe music ban for tartan shops in Edinburgh.

Darien documents go on display in NLS Edinburgh

It’s a funny thing.

A few years ago, I came across a short article in a magazine. The subject was the Darien Scheme, and it seemed to be something that was so fundamental to the Union of Scotland and England, I couldn’t understand why I had never come across it before, or had any recollection of ever being told about it at school – but in those days, I wasn’t any sort of historian, and that was a class I could never wait to get out of – but I know I never heard a word about Darien there.

A Glasgow University article on The Darien Scheme concluded:

The consequences of the failure of the Darien Scheme were wide ranging. From hastening the Act of Union to the formation of the Royal Bank of Scotland, there are few events in Scottish history whose impact can be so readily traced to the present. In all respects the Spencer Collection contributes to our intellectual understanding of a tumultuous period in Scots and indeed British history.

Strangely, ever since I wrote about Darien in April 2010, the number of items appearing online appears to have jumped.

Could there be a connection?

We’ll never know, but…

Apparently for the first time, a number of rare documents that tell the story of the Darien project and its demise are being placed on display at the National Library of Scotland (NLS) in Edinburgh. Documents featured belong to both the Royal Bank of Scotland and the library.

The exhibition runs until August 2011.

National Library of Scotland

The Darien Scheme

In summary, the scheme was inspired by banker William Paterson, and saw Scotland invest a large proportion of its wealth in setting up a colony in Central America in 1698. The plan had been to set up a trading colony in Darien (now known as Panama) in 1698. It was a disaster. Thousands died during two attempts, and Scotland was plunged into economic crisis. The failure of the scheme led to the Act of Union in 1707, and that still seems to be a problem today.

Many, more detailed and deeply analysed, accounts of the scheme can be found online.

Edinburgh Festival Fireworks has new sponsor for 2011

It’s funny how some things change over time, some perceptibly, some imperceptibly, and the Edinburgh Festival has plenty of both.

Changes to the Edinburgh Festival over many years have meant that I can’t find anything that attract me to this ‘official’ event – it used to attract entertainment from the Continent, but this as evaporated, leaving only opera and concerts, neither of which does anything for me.

Over time, I became a refugee that found a new home in the shows of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, better known as just The Fringe, which is the real star, no matter how much the organisers may like to promote the ‘official’ programme.

However, that official programme is still the host of the Festival Fireworks show – apparently there’s a concert associated with it, but unless you are one of the privileged few (or take a radio), then this is irrelevant.

Having been sponsored by Glenlivet and Bank of Scotland over its 28 year life, the latter after a 16-year sponsorship deal worth £4 million, the grand firework finale now has its third sponsor as the bank has ended its support.

The new sponsor is Virgin Money, the financial services division of the Virgin Group, which recently secured a lease for new headquarters in the city, at St Andrew Square.

I have to confess to not having been able to make the finale for some years, and part of the reason was the problem of the show’s own success.We used to be able to camp out (not literally) near the bridge over Waverley Station, which gave a great view of the fireworks on the castle, and of the sky above.

However, as the size if the crowd grew, and the hand of officialdom spread wider and wider with restrictions and control of access, this became harder and harder to achieve, and I was taking someone who could not walk to a better vantage point.

Local knowledge meant I was able to find suitable vantage point on the roads leading into the city, but even these began to fill up with increased numbers seeking refuge from the controls of the city, and the increased numbers that were attending anyway, and we eventually gave up, as the only way to guarantee a good spot was to get there early, and that wasn’t practical.

But, it’s still a great show, as they throw so much of it up into the sky, and don’t concentrate on the lucky few that are near the castle.

National Museum of Scotland set to re-open after refurbishment

Prior to its closure for refurbishment, and in the ‘bad old days’ when such Scottish museums charged for admittance, I used to go through to the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh once a week, when the museum stayed open until 8 pm, and entry was free after 5 pm. Because I wasn’t subject to time or cash limits – I must have totalled about 150 hours of visits – I was able to take my time and explore the place in detail.

The tricky part was making sure I arrived in Edinburgh at the right time, just as the street parking charges expired at 6:30 pm. Getting there too early meant the zealous traffic wardens would pounce without mercy, and being too late would mean the spaces vacated by workers in the area were gone – and that would waste valuable visiting time.

In the beginning, I didn’t even realise that the older building in Chambers Street was part of the newer building seen from King George V Bridge, which had been receiving most/all of the publicity, being relatively new. It was some time before I realised that the new and old building were connected by a series of walkways connecting the floors – which actually worked out quite well, as I was able to concentrate on the newer building, then discover the older building and its collections.

Both buildings contained stunning collections (and should have even more now), and the evening opening brought an advantage I only came to appreciate in later years – peace and quiet to explore and enjoy the exhibits.

One of the best aspects is that the Edinburgh museum can be recommended as a great place to visit without any detriment to Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, as the two are quite different, and complementary.

The Chambers Street building has been closed in part for some three years, while a £46 million refurbishment has seen the original interior restored and storage areas turned into public space to make it one of the UK’s largest museums – with 20,000 objects across 36 galleries, staff have been busy installing 8,000 objects into 16 new galleries.

The new galleries are due to re-open on Friday, July 29, 2011.

The project was jointly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Scottish Government, and private donations.

Although it’s part of the new building, rather than the Chambers Street section, I suggest you don’t miss the door that leads out onto the roof of the museum. It was certainly something of a secret when I was visiting, and had so little signage to identify it that I only noticed its existence when I saw some other visitors coming back indoors. At the time, I wasn’t even sure visitors were allowed to go there. The view is superb.

Disappointing story of ‘Made in Scotland’ prosecution

When I first saw news of a fine in regard of a Made in Scotland claim I was fairly pleased, as this is the sort of thing that should probably be dealt with without much ceremony, in order to protect the brand identity.

However, as I read the report of the case, it seemed to me that I was reading the story of another ‘soft target’,  and rather than some forger or the like having been caught manufacturing and labelling cheap rubbish from overseas as Scottish product, I was looking at a case of poor management and employee indifference. Both are regrettable, but surely not what Trading Standards should be slapping a fine of £4,500 on an apparently otherwise reputable business.

By all accounts, a mistake was made, but not in the labelling of the actual product, or of the price being charged. Both appear to have been correct, with the product itself labelled ‘Made in China’, and the price charged reflecting this less than desirable origin.

The problem, apparently agreed by all parties, lay only in the labelling of the shelf the product was placed on for sale – which had a shelf edge label identifying the origin of its content as Scottish.

I don’t dispute the error, or that some finger-smacking was warranted, but since an examination of the product on the shelf would quickly reveal a disparity between the two, surely the correct procedure, even for Trading Standards if they want to be perceived as the traders’ friend, and not an adversary, would have been to raise the issue at the point of discovery, and carry out an audit of the product in the shop. This would have shown whether there was an organised effort to ‘mislead’ customers, or a mistake, and could have been dealt with using a smaller and possibly more appropriate consequence.

The sad thing is that there doesn’t even seem to be any argument that the labelling was anything more than a mistake, but the case was still taken to court – raising legal costs – when it might possibly have been dealt with without padding out some lawyers’ wallets.

Either we don’t have the full story, or perhaps Trading Standards decided to ‘make an example’ and ‘send a message’ in this case.

It seems a shame that fixed traders can be so easily dealt with, but rogue traders who are clearly dealing in forged, misleading, or otherwise deliberately dishonest practices can make their escape by running away if they are posing as street-traders or stall-holders, and are all but untraceable as they have no proper premises, or any of the usual registrations, insurances, or other trappings of a reputable business.

I’m sure there are many more deserving cases of ‘misleading’ customers over product and description – within the Royal Mile and its environs – that Trading Standards could descend on, but I also think they would require a lot more work to bring to court than this one, and might even see the officers involved being threatened. Something we just saw in a recent BBC documentary when a reporter, complete with film crew and security staff on hand, confronted an illegal tobacco trader, and was assaulted on camera for her efforts.

Update

A few days after the programme aired, the following news story was published, with details of the attackers and their appearance in court:

BBC News – Man in court over BBC crew attack at Barras Market

The One O’Clock Gun celebrates 150 years in Edinburgh

It’s funny how one can be completely unaware of something that should be reasonably obvious, or a fact that should have come to light a long time ago.

Although I have been visiting Edinburgh for many years, I can’t recall ever having been there when the famous One O’Clock Gun has been fired. There would seem to be a number of reasons for this, mainly that I usually get there too late in the day, or in the evening, which seems to be when most of the performances I like to catch at the Edinburgh Festival (or Fringe to be more accurate) take place. However, I have just learned – while reading about the 150th anniversary of the gun – that it doesn’t fire on Sundays, and that’s the only day I’m likely to land there early enough to have heard it.

Well, I least I know now, and have even learned something new.

Edinburgh One O'Clock Gun 2010 © william

The reason for the gun’s signal lies in the presence of the docks at Leith. Accurate timekeeping at sea is an essential prerequisite for the determination of longitude, and ships could use this carefully timed signal to set the clocks, or chronometers.

Prior to this, the signal had been sent by a ‘Time Ball’ set on a tower on Calton Hill, adjacent to the observatory on the same hill. The ball would be raised before one o’clock, and then dropped on the hour. The problem with this method was that the boats had to arrange for an observer to watch for the signal – and be able to see it -  and then convey the event to their clock. All these operations could lead to an error in the setting, which would lead to an error when they tried to fix their positions at sea.

You can read more on the event, and of its connection with Greyfriar’s Bobby, a little Skye Terrier which was cared for by the elderly John Gray for the last two years of his life. After Gray died, the little dog was said to have guarded his grave for fourteen years, capturing the heart of the Lord Provost, William Chambers (whose statue stands nearby on Chambers Street). Chambers organised for the Town Council to pay for Bobby’s dog licence, and saved him from being rounded up and destroyed. Bobby was buried just outside the graveyard, near where his stone now stands. One of the most famous images of Edinburgh is the statue of Bobby on the George IV Bridge, near the entrance to the graveyard, where it was erected the year after Bobby died on January 14,1872.

Edinburgh’s One O’Clock Gun celebrations begin

More celebrations

More reports of events related to the One O’Clock Gun arrived in June, when a re-enactment of the first firing in 1861 took place to mark its first ever firing…

It was first fired from the historic setting in the capital on 7 June 1861, and has continued ever since, except during the two world wars.

The gun was originally a 64-pounder cannon mounted on the Half-Moon Battery.

It is now a L118 Light Gun, fired manually by the district gunner, Sgt Jamie Shannon, from the Mills Mount Battery.

BBC News – Celebration for Edinburgh’s One O’Clock Gun anniversary

Grenade found in Edinburgh University building basement

May seems to be a busy month for munitions finds, as the third to catch my eye has appeared in Edinburgh, in the university no less.

The scene was the university’s careers office in the city’s Buccleuch Place, which is undergoing renovation.

The device, described as a grenade, was discovered by workmen who found the device in the basement of the building, stopped work just before lunchtime, evacuated the building and contacted bomb disposal. Police also closed the street and cordoned off the area.

It’s not clear exactly what the explosive ordnance team removed, but it was later suggested in the news that the device was not thought to be live, and had been removed for destruction.

An odd place to find a grenade, be it a live or a practice device.

In an unusual error for the BBC, their story described the team as ‘ordinance’, rather than ordnance, in a quote from a police spokesman. A common error they should be aware of: ordinance is a legal term, while ordnance… isn’t.

See the last line of BBC News – Road closed after university grenade found, until they perhaps spot and fix it one day.

Conference: Scotland’s Glass, October 2010

Old glassblowing pic from Scotland's Glass

An International Conference to celebrate 400 years of glassmaking in Scotland is being held at Edinburgh College of Art between October 1 and 4, 2010.

The conference is part of a year-long celebration of glass making in Scotland, the following speakers have already been confirmed for this event.

The following details are reproduced from the event’s own web site details, which should be consulted for any subsequent changes which may take place:

Speaker	Subject
Brian Blench Formerly Head of Decorative Arts, Glasgow Museums	Helen Munro Turner and her Students
Stephen Pollock-Hill Chairman of The British Glass Education Trust, and curator of the Museum of 20th Century British Domestic Glass	The Scottish Glass Industry in the latter part of the 20th century – a revival?
Graham Cooley	Loch, Heather & Peat: Domnhall O’Broin & Caithness Glass
Andy Nowson (Author)	Caithness Glass Paperweights – 1969-2009 – A 40 year Adventure Pushing the Boundaries…
Geoffrey Seddon	Jacobite Rebellion and Scottish Glass
Siobhan Healy (Glass Artist)	Natural form in Design
Patty Niemann (Glass Artist)	Her work and forms of glass body adornment

Also speaking will be Jill Turnbull, an expert on the early history of Scottish glass, and eminent experts Nigel Benson and Simon Cottle (Bonhams).

This is intended to be a multi-stream conference for around 200 delegates covering all aspects of Glass: History, Collecting, Making, Art, Technology, Archaeology, Architecture, Industry. Combined with demonstrations and workshops.

You can visit ScotlandsGlass.co.uk for further information on glass and glassmaking.

A brochure is being printed to show every place in Scotland where one can see glass: not just museums, but buildings, makers and, it is hoped, archaeological sites. Every building included will be encouraged to open its doors to the public during 2010. All of the glass businesses based in Scotland are including in the brochure, but the organisers are appealing for information about any glass business not included, and also about any other glassmakers with a Scottish connection that are working elsewhere in the world.