2017 City of Culture Bid

The delegation are in Londonderry for the presentation phase.  Hopefully, it's first on as the best candidate on which to judge the rest of the bids against.  Fingers and toes crossed all round for a positive outcome.

But does it really matter?

Yes, it brings an injection of money at a time when funding for seemingly non-essential activity is at a premium.  But would it make a difference to how we see our city?  Do we need the recognition from outsiders to believe in ourselves?  Do we really need someone else to hold up a mirror before we accept that the ugly duckling is turning into a swan?

For all the kudos it will bring in some quarters, it will also increase the Frankie Boyle type jokes ...City of Kulture they'll say with a sneer, and what will that do to our fragile city ego?  Are we getting enough confidence to laugh at the jokes - seeing them as nothing more than an out of date stereotype?

I hope so, because if we don't win, it really shouldn't matter.  Dundee's on the up.  The intelligent theatre productions, the Literary Festival and Salons, the Science Festival, the festivals and exhibitions of all kinds, the community productions, the community spirit ... These have taken root.  By the people, for the people.  Who cares what anyone else thinks.

In 2017 or any other year - WE believe we are a City of Culture.

BBC Bid Summaries

Dundee Literary Festival - A L Kennedy

Good to see a Dundonian return to the local Literary Festival.  And what a local lass. Funny, nervy, erudite - a woman who couldn't wait to leave Dundee High School and head for brighter lights elsewhere.  Glad to hear her say that had the city had a theatre studies course she may have stayed.  Not that we'd ever be able hold such a wide ranging talent.  

She reminisced with the packed audience about her early Dundee life: the uncool DHS uniform, the peripatetic old Rep theatre and how the new one was built on the fundraising of tablet sales!  How Tayside House had never looked better (as a mound of rubble) and how great the future looked for the city.

Her first reading was about the past too.  Her grandfather sounded like the ideal we'd all have liked to have.  An ex-boxer who taught her about life, chiefly to not be afraid.  The first time he entered a ring he was afraid.  He lost not to his opponent, but to himself because he didn't believe he could win.  The second reading was also another warm one about waiting at a railway station, thinking of her godchildren and their waiting welcome; whether they were getting too old to hear her stories, and how they had begun to write them for her instead.

The last was a proper rant about workshops.  How, by being on the other side as a participant, led by a magician who so bullied and tormented it created a toxic impression.  No matter how tired she is when she's leading one, or irritable she feels with those who participate, she remembers being on the other side, and wants to be remembered as educating, enlightening and amusing. 

Why A L? Not, she said, because of feminism, or fear of sexism, but because her younger self was still too afraid of her opinions.  She liked the anonymity; no one was going to turn up at her door and berate her writing or disagree with her views if they didn't know her real name!

Alison Louise - you were brilliant; a much warmer person than the media image sometimes portrays.

Photo:H.Boellstiftung http://www.flickr.com/photos/boellstiftung/7209076348/

Ian Callum — A Life of Design

 

Jaguar F-type

The visit by Ian was part of a series of talks by some of the world’s leading designers held in the run up to the V&A at Dundee opening in 2017.  Not something I would normally be particularly interest in, but linked with a petrol head, this was a no brainer.  I had never heard of Ian or his brother, but they are a very big deal in the car design world, albeit with different manufacturers.  

 

His talk took us through his career from designing mirrors and switches at Ford to modernising the design of Jaguar, whilst respecting its history.

 

Ford Puma

 

Ian was an entertaining and informative speaker - knowledgeable not just about design but about the business of communication.  He is someone who cares about design, not in an elitist way, but believes things; cars, buildings, bathrooms, should be both functional and beautiful.  Of course, working for Jaguar his customers aren't looking at price, whilst those of us further down the price line have poor design foisted on us, and are told it's because we want cheapness above everything else.  Do we?  

 

Somehow, I doubt Ian would agree that it has to be one or the other.  In a crowded marketplace, good design is a differentiator not a sunk cost; something that producers have to wake up to - especially as we begin to move away from a throw away society. 

 

The fun takeaways from his talk:

• black is the cheapest car paint colour to produce and red the most expensive;
• never say something's "intuitive" to your CEO unless you want fired, and
• even if you've designed Aston Martins, it appears you still can't afford to own one.

 

More about Ian Callum  

Photos from Flickr:

Jaguar: usf1fan2

Puma - http://www.flickr.com/photos/lutzifer/4442026174

 

Broughty Castle

In Dundee - My Way, Broughty Castle is a wee gem, probably better known to visitors than locals, who merely consider it a pretty focal point to the harbour or beach views.   

Still no bad for a Scots tower built in 1496 that’s withstood sieges and battles; during the rough wooing of Henry VIII and by General  Monck in the Civil War.  It lay in ruins until the perceived threat from France, reviving its empire under  Napolean III in the mid 1800s, when it was rebuilt as part of coastal defences.

Each floor is dedicated to a different exhibition:  Broughty Life through the ages; The Orchar Picture Collection; Flora and Fauna; the Armoury depicting those who defended the castle and Broughty; and finally the Observation Room with views over the wide sweep of the beach and the Tay.

 

And all this for FREE.   

Be a tourist for an afternoon - give it a visit.

Dundee Continental Market 2013

Dundee Continental Market, City Square was a delight.  

The revamped square works wonderfully as a venue, all the various food smells mixing temptingly in a relatively small area.  

The sun was shining, with everyone in a cheery mood tapping their feet to the fabulous sounds of the Rock Choir.  

There was a good trade at the German and Italian meats and, if you fancied something even more exotic, you could have kangeroo, ostrich and more.  

I stayed with the more traditional pies and cheeses, and whilst, temptation went into personal overdrive at the dark, shiny, velvet chocolates - I found a will of iron to resist.

There was a tabled area by the sound stage if you simply couldn't wait to sample some hot food, and wanted to wash it down with a selection from the euro beers.

The Kelpie Heads, Dundee

Wasn't it terrific to see the 15 foot high scale replicas of The Kelpies by Andy Scott in Dundee City Square during its tour of Scotland.  The real heads will flank the entrance to Helix Park in Falkirk and will be awe inspiring to see.  Even more so at night, as apparently they will be lit from within, there's even talk that it may be possible to install a lift to allow the heads to be used as a viewing platform.  

It would be fabulous to have something so impressive at the entrance to the new waterfront.  I know the We Dundee site had a few suggestions for bringing back the Arch, but something more up to date reflecting both the history of the waterfront and the modernity of the V&A building would be great.  I'm sure for the right idea, something representational with mass appeal, we could raise sufficient public subscription to fund it.

Whale of a Mistake?

Now that Tayside House has been removed, has Dundee created a new "most hated" building in the car park at East Whale Lane?  
 


The brutal, industrial design dominates the view driving westward along Dock Street.  The Ned Kahn inspired metal sheets may work at softening its form when you're standing directly in front of it - and the rippling wind effect is pleasant.  


BUT, from any other direction it's nothing more than a bare, concrete and steel skeleton.   The form follows function of new wave of architecture is more often just used as an excuse to down-size specifications to the cheapest possible box.  

Dundee City Developers, I thought we had learnt the lesson of the 60s and 70s?  It does not bode well for the new look waterfront if you can't hold out against the cheap 'something is better than nothing' viewpoint ... sometimes, and more often, it absolutely isn't.  If you want us to love and respect our city, give us the environment and buildings to love.

Jackie, the Musical, Gardyne Theatre

Jackie, the Musical Cast

Well actually, Jackie the Musical – isn’t really based on the teen mag, although it does feature prominently in the plot.  It’s actually about a woman called Jackie who's on the verge of divorce, clearing out the family home and finding a stash of her old Jackies.   

This leads to the appearance of her teen self who tries to give the “good advice” from Cathy & Claire, the “how to tell if he likes you” quizzes and other articles from the Jackie about how to handle “boys”.   Of course, the advice isn’t as relevant to her older, more cynical self, but is a great reminder to the 40+year old audience of how naive and innocent we once were.   
 
It’s a great ensemble piece, with lots of charm, wit, pathos and fun.  I particularly liked the toyboy/cougar number and the madness of This Town Aint Big Enough. For the performance I attended, the audience took a panto approach from the start as our teen idols pop up on the backscreen – David Cassidy, Donny Osmond, David Essex, Rod Stewart, Marc Bolan, etc.  I assume each night a different pop star will get the biggest whoop of appreciation.  The audience contribution is reminiscent of the Rock Horror Show with lots of whooping, aahing, and hissing of baddies, as well as joining in with the songs.  Great, great fun with a find yourself and your own confidence message that Cathy & Claire would be proud of. 

 

Like Mamma Mia, there’s a foot-stomping, lung bursting singalong encore that leaves everyone on an absolute high.

If Sunshine on Leith and Mamma Mia made it to celluloid it’s only a matter of time before Jackie, the Musical does as well.

See the BBC newspage for much more info

Doors Open Day 2013

Isn't Doors Open Day (or should that be weekend) a great idea.  A chance to see behind the doors of places that we regularly pass by and get a sneaky peek into.  For this year's tour behind the scenes, I chose:  

Verdant Works - not the standard factory tour, but a chance to get personal with some of the historical artefacts and hear about how they acquire these.  Like a lot of Dundonians there's the personal connection with the mills and facinating to hear it's the everyday stuff such as the weavers' aprons that are so rare - they only have one of these most common items.  Were also treated to some of the Discovery collection too and it was wonderful to actually touch things like the billy cans used on the expedition.   We also got to handle (with the white cotton gloves provided) the photo albums detailing the building and launch.   Never knew that all these photos have now been digitalised and are freely available on the Dundee Heritage Trust website: www.dhtcollections.com.

Central Mosque - Dundee's first purpose-built mosque that  I've driven passed and wondered whether it was like the touristy versions in holiday destinations, but never a 'workaday' version.  Of course, it is - why wouldn't it be, only less pretty!  The imans took time to explain and demonstrate what they do, aiming to dispel the some of the myths about Islam.  A very friendly experience, that was a bit spoiled by an evangelical young guy as we were leaving - not necessarily trying to convert, but still too full on for the kind of day it was.


Morgan Academy - I was never a pupil, but thought it would be interesting to see how they blended a new school behind the orginal facade.  We were taken on a tour by one of the 6th year pupils, who was a credit to the school and very proud of it.  It's certainly a far cry from the kind of large, formal classrooms of my day.  I could almost imagine school being fun now!!  The views from the tower over the Stobswell and Dens Road area were more than worth the climb up the spiral stair.

Doors Open is a terrific experience.  Everyone is sooo proud and enthusiastic about wanting to share their 'place' with the public it makes for a fascinating and different day out and I'm already looking for 2014.

2013 Flower & Food Festival

Well that was an interesting first visit.  The sun shone and the crowds were out.  Had a brief glimpse of Great British Bake Off's Paul Hollywood's hand on the overhead screen in the mobbed food tent before I decided I get a better view on the telly an home.  Instead, of telly heroes, went off to find some local food heroes.  
 
As a cheese-a-phile, were lots of types to try - cranberry and other fruity varieties were my favourite, although there lots of smoky and chilli blends too.  With nibbles of cheese, organic chocolate, oatcakes/crackers with preserves, and spicy dips - no lunch was needed.  All this was washed down with a few tots of declicious fruity ciders, wines and whiskies - trying to figure out how many tots make a unit was impossible - honest Mr Constable, I've not been drinking, hic!

There were lots of pretty, flawless flower blooms that people must have spent a bonkers amount of time perfecting.  

There was also the over-sized veg section ... ooh resist the temptation to ask if that's a giant marrow in your hand or are you really pleased to see me? 

 
Lots of non-food stuff too - craft tent had lots of pretty things that tempted pound notes from my wallet. As a novice gardener, there was advice a plenty on improving soil, encouraging worms and attracting wildlife.
 
 
 The musical entertainment was varied with the Rock Choir and Havana Swing.  

A big cheer to the marshalls for the car parking arrangements - I was dreading long tailbacks in/out, but compared to some other events, it was so easy to arrive and leave with barely a queue.

A big boo to the organisers though, for not giving any timetable information.  I missed a couple of musical acts I would have like to see because I didn't know when they were on - and inside the tents you couldn't hear the PA announcements.  There was a map at the entrance, so would it have been so difficult to add a schedule there as well!

Dundeecake - Protected Status

What better way to start a blog about Dundee - My Way than a celebration of my Blog Name.

An application is being lodged to gain European Protective Indication status for Dundee Cake.  It's distinctive recipe began development in the city in the late 1700’s to the kitchens of the marmalade inventor Janet Keiller, making it a thoroughly Dundonian delicacy which deserves European recognition for its unique characteristics and long association with this city.  

People want to know they are buying the real deal and achieving PGI status will ensure people at home and abroad will know Dundee for its nutty, fruitcakes!!!

 

http://news.scotland.gov.uk/News/A-slice-of-recognition-3cf.aspx