Nicola Sturgeon reflects on her arrest and her trans policies in exclusive interview
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Leader Live
40 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Voice coaching with Sir Sean Connery was ‘surreal', Nicola Sturgeon says
She initially thought the famous Scottish actor might be joking when he tried to teach her how to deepen her voice. Recalling how he got her to talk with a bit of paper between her teeth, she said this had 'got to count as one of the more surreal episodes in my life'. It was in 2004, when the SNP were still in opposition at Holyrood, that Connery had asked if she would meet him, Ms Sturgeon said. She spoke about her meeting with the film star to the BBC Newscast podcast as her memoir, Frankly, was published. Ms Sturgeon recalled: 'Sean had been in Edinburgh and asked if I would go see him and I went along to New Club, which is one of these old private members' clubs in Edinburgh, and had this one-to-one session with Sean, where he said he thought I could do with deepening my voice in interviews, and he was going to teach me how to do it.' She continued: 'Basically, it consisted of me with a rolled up bit of paper between my teeth where he gave me things to say, and he said this was how he had learned to deepen his voice in acting. 'And it worked while I was doing it. At first I was like 'is he taking the piss'. 'But then it started to work.' However, she said that while the method 'I guess does work when you are filming scenes as an actor', she said she 'would have looked a bit odd' if she was 'sitting in a television interview with my teeth clamped together'. Connery, a high-profile supporter of Scottish independence, died in October 2020 at the age of 90.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir rewrites history with confidence
Nicola Sturgeon's memoir has claimed independence from factual accuracy. The book, Frankly, is littered with small errors, such as the former first minister's claim that the reconvened Scottish parliament of 1999 contained more women than had ever been elected to Westminster. This could not have been achieved even if every single MSP had been a woman, but it evaded a fact-checker's pen. Other mistakes are more personal. Sturgeon recalls how, after wiping out all bar one of the Labour MPs in Scotland in 2015, she boarded a flight for London to wild applause. She even claims that Tom Harris, one of the defeated MPs, was there looking on. 'It isn't true,' said Harris, who was confused with another ex-MP. 'What is the point of the anecdote in the first place other than to crow … about a defeated opponent?' Harris said. 'Stay classy, Nic.' This would be another example of Sturgeon's self-proclaimed emotional intelligence. It's three strikes and you're out for Jeremy Hunt as he insists he will not seek the Tory leadership again. The former chancellor told The Rest Is Politics that his wife 'would have something to say' if he ran a fourth time, which left one of his hosts very upset. 'I'll encourage you to think again,' said the banished Conservative Rory Stewart. 'You're the one person who would make me rejoin the Conservative Party and come in behind you.' Good news for Mrs Hunt — the Stewart endorsement is more fatal than hemlock. Among the cast of The Thick of It, the actor Alex Macqueen was a politics nerd sans pareil. The man who played the blue-skies thinker Julius Nicholson once worked as a tour guide in the Houses of Parliament, which he said was 'a Disney cruise liner for politicos'. However, this analogy only works if Mickey Mouse's ship was a little unseaworthy. 'It was a luxurious place to work,' Macqueen told Times Radio. 'But I know there are regular fires that break out and it needs a bit of TLC.' Oh, it all shambles along — the nice thing about the fires in Westminster is that they're soon put out by the leaks. The comedian Jimmy Carr is still paying for past mistakes. Carr, who is the Ken Dodd of his generation, though not when it comes to the comedy, is doing two shows a night on his current tour. 'One show at 7pm and one at 9.30pm,' he explained. 'One for me and one for HMRC.' Carr's career survived revelations about his tax affairs, which is good for him as he loves the work. Asked by an audience member in Bath if he would do his job free, he said: 'Probably. In fact, I think that effectively happened once when the tax bill came in.' The chat show presenter Graham Norton spends an awful lot of time saying nice things about people, and this can come back to bite him. He recalls that a friend was once raving to him about a book so much that she promised to get Norton a copy. He was excited, but when the book was delivered the friend informed Norton that he'd already read it. 'No, I haven't,' he said. 'I don't remember anything about this book at all.' When he then picked up the novel, he saw his name on the cover. It was beneath the quote 'Unforgettable characters'.
Daily Record
4 hours ago
- Daily Record
Scottish Oasis fans say goodbye to Rock 'n' Roll stars after epic Murrayfield gigs
Oasis have finished their three-gig run in Edinburgh's Murrayfield in what some might say were "biblical" and "truly magical" shows. Oasis fans in Scotland have said goodbye to Rock 'n' Roll stars Liam and Noel Gallagher after an epic three-day spectacular at Murrayfield. Tonight's show in Edinburgh marked the end of Oasis' Supersonic run in the capital after last playing in Scotland 16 years ago. More than 200,000 fans attended the sold-out shows across the three nights, with around 67,000 people packing out the venue this evening in what some might say was a "biblical" and "truly magical" gig. Support acts, Britpop act Cast from Liverpool and rocker Richard Ashcroft, dazzled fans with their individual repertoires, which included hits like Walkaway and Bitter Sweet Symphony, before the Mancunian brothers took to the stage like a champagne supernova each night. Fans who successfully snapped up tickets for the Oasis 25 dates back in September 2024 had waited 332 days to see the band's first Scottish dates since the Gallagher brothers began a well-publicised and long running feud that split the band. It was no wonder that fans who had travelled from across the world, including as far as Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Columbia, greeted the band with a Wonderwall of noise, excitement and appreciation that helped blow the roof off the stadium. Excited fans from near and far spoke to the Record earlier today as they queued up for one of Edinburgh's most coveted ever shows. Civil servant Meeho Lee, 33, and data analyst Ra Young, 31, came from Seoul to witness their favourite band play in Edinburgh. Meeho said: 'I was a huge fan of Oasis since I was a high school student. After I heard they were reuniting, my friend and I got tickets to come here. 'It was a lot of preparation with plane tickets and hotels. It was expensive but it's been worth it. Edinburgh is a very attractive city and the beer is delicious.' Closer to home, Pharmaceuticals worker Grant Taylor, 43, from Irvine, arrived with his son Evan, 10. Evan said: 'I'm buzzing. I started listening to Oasis when I was seven and we got tickets last year. It will be mental. I am looking forward to Cigarettes & Alcohol and Live Forever.' Grant added: 'I saw them at Hampden in 2005. We stood on the hills when they played Irvine Beach and tried to hear it but it was lashing down. We got tickets for this in the pre-sale before everybody else was struggling with Ticketmaster's site crashing. I'm looking forward to Cast, Richard Ashcroft and Oasis and will be reliving my youth. This will blow us away.' The gig saw several iconic moments, including the pair blasting Edinburgh council for generalising about their fans, and Noel's influencer daughter sporting a Celtic FC tracksuit in the crowd. Alongside that, two men who scarily resembled the Gallagher brothers turned countless heads outside the venue on Saturday. The Liam and Noel knock-offs, named Glen and Max, were promoting BAFTA award winning provocateur Alison Jackson's Fringe show, Faking Famous: You Can Be a Celebrity Too, where she invites audience members on stage and turns them into uncanny lookalikes of A-list celebs. The reunion show was even more special for one diehard Oasis fan - Shell Hodge - after she was proposed to during her favourite song 'Slide Away' by her partner of six years, Dwayne Yuill. Thrilled Shell, 40, said: 'I was singing along and the next thing Dwayne's on one knee holding out a ring. Dwayne really took me by surprise but his timing couldn't have been better. It was just perfect.' Their last concert in Scotland before reuniting had been in June 2009. Hundreds of locals also gathered to hear the muted strains of the show in nearby parks and residential areas up to a mile away. Despite hugging each other onstage, Noel and Liam chose to stay in separate hotels during their stay in Scotland with Liam bringing his family to the Gleneagles Hotel. Noel was joined by his daughter Anais at the capital's Caledonian hotel. The Murrayfield shows followed similar reunion concerts in Cardiff, Manchester and London. The band will play their next UK and Ireland dates in Dublin this weekend. They'll kick off the North American leg on August 24, in Toronto, Canada before returning to the UK to wrap up the UK shows at Wembley on September 27 and 28. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
