What we learned this week…
OIL installations have become an integral part of life for those who live in the north-east, so there was excitement when Amazon Prime released the first trailer for its new six-part thriller The Rig, which features an all-star cast, including Martin Compston, Iain Glen and Mark Bonnar. The series about cataclysmic events in the North Sea has traces of the paranormal about it and starts its eagerly-anticipated run on January 6. Let’s just hope Compston lasts a bit longer than he did in Vigil.
NAIRN-BASED actress Tilda Swinton received the annual award from the International Federation of Film Archives, a global organisation dedicated to the preservation of moving image heritage. She spoke passionately about the importance of keeping cinemas open to their communities, even in difficult economic times. “We need big screens – or small ones,” said Swinton. “The village I live in used to have two cinemas. A tiny village, but it had two cinemas and a cultural vibrancy. It isn’t lost, but we have to be careful we keep going to the pictures. It’s not just about streaming.” Amen to that.
WHO you going to call when you are struggling in football? Peterhead gave an answer this week when they appointed former Scotland and Aberdeen star David Robertson to the Balmoor hot seat. The new manager doesn’t have his problems to seek, but he has spent several years in India with Real Kashmir; a club who were, quite literally, operating in a war zone. The Blue Toon should be a stroll in the park, by comparison.
A petition was launched to encourage Scottish rugby bosses to name one of the stands at Murrayfield after Doddie Weir, who died at 52, following a courageous battle with motor neurone disease. The former player, who was diagnosed in 2016, helped raise £8 million in the search for a cure and, although it’s too late for him, his wife Kathy was correct when she described the big lad as “an inspirational force of nature”.
A rural dwelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the fabled detective Sherlock Holmes, has been put on the market. Bignell Wood in the New Forest was listed for sale by its owner, Jane McIntyre, who has lived there for 16 years.
The prolific Scottish writer and campaigner once owned the property at Brook near Lyndhurst and regularly visited from 1925 until his death in 1930 after purchasing the property as a birthday present for his second wife, Jean Leckie.
THE number of endangered corncrakes on Skye has increased this year – despite an overall reduction of the birds throughout the country. A total of 14 males were recorded by RSPB Scotland, which was a significant increase of four on the figure in 2021.
Corncrakes are counted in 16 areas with the population on the island being described as “vitally important” to preserving the species. That’s why the Skye Crofting and Corncrake Partnership has been working alongside SAC Consulting to help farmers and crofters manage their land to improve the population of the birds.
OLYMPIC double gold medallist Heather Stanning has become Outfit Moray’s newest patron. The rower has strong links to the region having attended Gordonstoun and been awarded the freedom of Moray in 2016.
Ms Stanning, who secured a brace of Olympic titles in the women’s coxless pairs with her rowing partner, Helen Glover, is a full-time serving Army officer.
She said: “I am truly honoured to have the association with Outfit Moray and believe the good work you are doing for the wider community and young people is invaluable.”
PORTSOY is in the running for the European Film Commissions Network’s Location Award after providing a stunning backdrop in the last series of BBC’s acclaimed Peaky Blinders where it doubled for Newfoundland in Canada. You can vote for the north-east coastal village here.
QUARRY Studios in Aberdeenshire won Scotland’s Building of the Year award. The striking structure in Crathie can be found deep within Cairngorms National Park.
It was designed by, and is the current office of, Moxon Architects, and was given its name because it lies at the bottom of a former rubbish tip quarry.
CHRISTINE McVie, of Fleetwood Mac, one of the voices of a generation for many people who grew up in the 1970s, died aged 79. As somebody involved in the mega-selling LP Rumours, she wrote (and co-wrote) some of the band’s most memorable songs, including Don’t Stop, You Make Loving Fun and Little Lies.
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