Latest news with #Aberdeen-born
Press and Journal
08-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Nostalgia alert! PC Plum and Miss Hoolie reunite for Balamory reboot
PC Plum and Miss Hoolie have been spotted filming in the colourful streets of Tobermory, as it was confirmed that a Balamory reboot is underway. The BBC has officially commissioned a new series of the CBeebies favourite, which originally aired from 2002 to 2005. Some fans have even suggested the Balamory reboot is bigger than the Oasis reunion. Actor Andrew Agnew, who played the cheerful PC Plum, was seen in full costume in Tobermory on the Isle of Mull — the real-life setting for the fictional town. Wearing his trademark blue uniform and holding a notebook, PC Plum was pictured outside the pink and yellow houses that became instantly recognisable to young viewers across the UK. Miss Hoolie, meanwhile, has been popping up all over the place, and is ever patient with anyone who asks for a selfie. The original Balamory followed a group of characters living in a brightly coloured village, each with their own home, song and storyline. Its cast included Miss Hoolie, Archie the Inventor and Josie Jump, and the show was praised for its gentle humour and educational themes. Beloved stars Julie Wilson Nimmo (Miss Hoolie), Agnew (PC Plum), Kim Tserkezie (Penny Pocket) and Juliet Cadzow (Edie McCredie) are set to reprise their roles in the revamped series, which will air next year on CBeebies and BBC iPlayer. They will be joined by new characters, including Dr Ollie, played by Carl Spencer, and Ava Potts, played by Aberdeen-born Danielle Jam, who is a favourite of His Majesty's Theatre pantomimes. Isle of Mull Cheese was one location for a very cute visit from a little boy to see a dairy cow, with actor Carl Spencer taking on the role of a vet. A spokeswoman for Isle of Mull Cheese said: 'We are a dairy farm on Mull using all our milk to make into cheese and producing spirit from the whey.' And if you want to follow in the Balamory footsteps, they offer a farm shop cafe and factory tours. The Pier Cafe on the CalMac pier appears to have been a great vantage point for filming, and Balamory fans even managed to glimpse a music band starring PC Plum and Miss Hoolie. Crofter Karen Elwis, who grabbed a birthday selfie with cast members, said: 'I think filming will certainly have been interesting for the tourists. The presence of the cast and crew will have had temporary economic benefits — and the real tourism boost will come when the series airs.' Local shop Island Blue Tobermory has undergone a makeover for filming. It has been painted red to become Penny Pocket's shop. A spokesperson said on social media: 'We were thrilled to be approached to use our shopfront. The team have been friendly and professional throughout — and it's been a natural fit, given our love of colour.' The BBC said the reboot aims to 'reflect today's world while staying true to the spirit of the original'. PC Plum's return nearly 20 years on marks a new chapter for one of CBeebies' most iconic shows. The new series is expected to air in 2026. Get the best of Oban and the Hebrides – straight to your inbox Sign up for our weekly newsletter, curated by Oban-based reporter Louise Glen, for top local stories and community highlights. 👉 Subscribe here Join the chat on Facebook: West Coast Chat
The Herald Scotland
10-07-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Grave of First World War soldier identified as Aberdeen-born private
The grave was identified after extensive research by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC). A rededication service was held today at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Dadizeele New British Cemetry to honour the fallen soldier. Private John Lamond (Image: Handout) The grave of a missing soldier from the First World War has been identified more than 100 years after he fell in battle near Ypres, Belgium. Private John Lamond's previously unmarked grave has finally been identified and marked following extensive research by the Ministry of Defence's Joint Casualty and Compassionate Centre (JCCC), known as the 'MOD War Detectives'. A rededication service was held today (10 July) at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's (CWGC) Dadizeele New British Cemetery in Belgium to honour the Aberdeen-born soldier. The soldier was stationed in Belgium, near Gheluwe on the Ypres-Menin Road alongside the rest of the 1st/8th battalion Scottish Rifles. It was during the advance towards Menin that Private Lamond disappeared around October 14 or 15 1918. On October 23, 1919, an unknown British solder from the battalion was recovered from a marked but seemingly solitary grave just off the main Gheluwe-Menin road. Read More The grave marker bore the date October 15, 1918 but the body could not be identified at the time and was reburied in an unnamed grave. But now new research has discovered it is the Aberdeen soldier. JCCC Caseworker Alexia Clark said: "I am grateful to the researcher who originally submitted evidence suggesting the location of the graves of Private Lamond. In rededicating his grave, we have reunited his mortal remains with his name, ensuring that his sacrifice will not be forgotten." Fergus Read, Commemorations Case Officer at CWGC, said: "It was remarkable to review this case, which came in from two members of the public, and to uncover supporting evidence which led to the identification of Pte Lamond. 'It has been very moving to identify another casualty of the Great War, and to know that his grave is now commemorated by name."
Edinburgh Reporter
05-07-2025
- Sport
- Edinburgh Reporter
Teenager Janik celebrates winning gold with Scotland
Edinburgh schoolboy, Eryk Janik, helped Scotland's under-16 shore fishing squad to hook the gold medal in the Home Nations for the first time since 2003. What's more, the team went into the three-day event in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, with only four anglers instead of five, with one member aged only 12, and including three debutants and under the wing of a manager in his first major competition. And the youngest member, Franky Hamilton from Angus, aged 12, won his zone on each of the three days. Gold was achieved despite the boys arriving just before the official opening due to cost, and without any practice at the two nominated venues. Nuno Santos, the squad's Glasgow-based manager, said: 'It's like a fairy tale. The squad came together only three months ago and, if anybody had suggested we would win gold, then I would have said we had no chance. 'However, the boys and their parents went with it and now look what we have achieved.' Hamilton plus Janik, who has only one cap, earned last year, Loui Wemyss (Tayside), and Jai McKinney (Ayrshire), faced tricky conditions on the beach for two days at Longfield Wall on the Foyle Estuary and Benone Strand. Santos, and his assistant, Billy Buckley (Uddingston), who stepped in when the nominated assistant, Sean Baxter, a Cowdenbeath-based tackle shop owner, could not make the trip for business reasons, said: 'The boys were phenomenal. 'They came together three months ago and they listened. We fast-tracked them through, we had practices and they delivered under pressure.' Going into the prestige event with only four anglers meant the team could not slip up and Santos explained: 'The other teams had five members and so we knew that we could not afford to have a blank or come last in any of the three days, otherwise that would have been it for us. 'However, we won the first day and I told the boys to go out and do their best in Day Two. They did and we came second. 'It was all to play for on Day Three. England and Ireland were close and in with a chance. We knew it would be tough. 'The boys came through and we won all of our zones which was amazing to clinch gold. To be frank, we pulled a rabbit out of a hat here.' He added: 'The boys were brilliant, they were well-behaved, we had great banter in the squad and this is the first time since 2003 since Scotland last won gold at Junior (under-16) level in the Home Nations. 'I cannot speak highly enough about the group. They learned fast. Franky has only been fishing for about a year, Eryk, Loui and Jai only took up fishing about two years ago, and their hard work in preparing for this has paid off with gold.' The ladies team won gold in their event for the first time after three silver medals. The squad included Aberdeen-born Buffy McAvoy, formerly from Edinburgh but now living in Glenrothes, plus debutant, Margo Robinson, from Dumbarton, Aussie-born Joanne Barlow from Brighton – she qualifies because of her Scottish-born mother – Gill Coutts from Largs and Lesley Maby (Cumbria). McAvoy said: 'Well, we've just gone and done it, winning gold.' Their manager is Kevin Lewis from Broughty Ferry, Tayside, and Robinson is a member of Scotland's ladies carp fishing team and Barlow is a former captain of the carp team. Lewis confirmed that Coutts won her zone on all three days, an 'amazing' achievement, and Robinson performed well in her first sea fishing international. He added: 'What can I say as the Scottish ladies manager, we have finally done it and won gold. I'm so proud of the ladies in the way they fished and listened (in the build-up).' PICTURE: Scotland (left to right): Billy Buckley (assistant manager), Jai McKinney, Eryk Janik, Franky Hamilton, Loui Wemyss, Nuno Santos (manager). Supplied by Nuno Santos. Like this: Like Related
The Herald Scotland
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Why Aberdeen's loss-making business model can give them edge on rivals
Whether Aberdeen can build upon their historic Scottish Gas Scottish Cup triumph over their Parkhead rivals at Hampden back in May and add more silverware to their trophy cabinet has, despite the arrival of no fewer than four new players at Pittodrie in recent weeks, scarcely merited a mention. The announcement this week that chairman and majority shareholder Dave Cormack and director Tom Crotty have promised to plough in £8m of fresh investment has hardly given those who occupy boardrooms across the land palpitations either. Read more: That is, even on these shores, a trifling amount in the modern game. Plus, the vast majority of it will be spent building an indoor pitch at their training ground. The hour-long Red TV interview with Aberdeen-born, United States-based software entrepreneur Cormack that was posted on You Tube on Wednesday, however, was fascinating and suggested that more good times may well lie ahead for the north-east outfit in the forthcoming campaigns. Even if he did say, 'We're making a decision to lose £3m or £4m operationally a year as a club'. Much has been made about how data analytics will drive Hearts' recruitment efforts now that Bloom, who has enjoyed great joy with Brighton down in England and Royal Union Saint-Gilloise over in Belgium using such methods, is a major player behind the scenes. Hopes are high among the Jambos support that Jamestown Analytics, the company owned by the mathematics whizz who is known as The Lizard on the poker circuit, will be able to unearth a few outstanding players for affordable fees in the transfer market who can enable them to compete with larger and richer rivals. It was a route which Rangers decided to go down back in 2023 when they overhauled their scouting department, brought in a raft of new personnel to key positions and moved to a data-led operation which relied more heavily on video analysis than had previously been the case. But Cormack, who stated that he expected Swedish manager Jimmy Thelin to bring in around eight new recruits in total before the summer window closes on August 31, pointed out that is exactly the approach which Aberdeen have been taking for some time now. It is a strategy which has enabled them to turn a profit on their incomings and outgoings and to spend far more money on transfer fees and player wages than they would be able to if they relied on gate receipts, sponsorship money and television income alone because they are confident they will recoup their outlay and more further down the line. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) They made in excess of £8m from the departures of Bojan Miovski (Giron), Duk (Leganes) and Connor Barron (Rangers) last season. The year before that they banked over £3m from Ylber Ramadani (Lecce) and Ross McCrorie (Bristol City) being offloaded. Three years ago, the sales of Calvin Ramsay (Liverpool) and Lewis Ferguson (Bologna) swelled their bank balance by over £7m. A couple of seasons before that, Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest) and Sam Cosgrove (Birmingham City) exited for over £5m. 'We have got a squad planning and recruitment team in place now which I think will stand us in good stead,' said Cormack. 'Everyone is talking about these analytics and algorithms which everybody is using. But we have been using those for five or six years now. Miovski, Ramadani, a number of players, have come through that. We have tapped in to that.' The Aberdeen chairman expects winger Topi Keskinen, who featured prominently for Finland at the European Under-21 Championship finals in Slovakia this summer and scored goals in draws with the Netherlands and Denmark, to be the next recruit to bring in a sizeable return on their investment. 'There is a reason we have paid £1m for Topi,' he said. 'Listen, in the last five years we have managed to sell just over £20m worth of players. That is significant income for us. The trick is balancing that with being competitive. 'Our scouting needs to be excellent so we can unearth and get value from players. But people want to come to Aberdeen now because they know they will get an opportunity to move on to a bigger club.' Read more: Cormack has come in for fierce criticism from supporters and media commentators – including from this correspondent – during the six years that he has been chairman despite the huge sums of money which he has personally ploughed in to his boyhood heroes. Before Thelin was brought in last summer, he had a poor track record when it came to appointing managers. The team's results at home and abroad had often left a great deal to be desired because of his bad choices. But he is hopeful that Graeme Shinnie and his team mates can improve further despite having to deal with European group stage football once again next term – something which they struggled badly with when they got into the Conference League two years ago – and play against revitalised Hearts and Rangers teams. 'It's always good to have competition,' he said. 'It's never a worry, it's a challenge. This multi-club environment is an approach other clubs (Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers) are taking is new. But I think it is important we focus on what Aberdeen are doing. You will never get all of your recruitment right. The industry average is 50 per cent. We need to be at 70 to 80 per cent. 'Listen, if I fall under a bus tomorrow I don't want to leave the club in a poor financial position. It has to stand on its own two feet. But we're making a decision to lose £3m or £4m operationally a year as a club. What we have got today is a player trading environment which is allowing us to punch above our weight in terms of recruiting and player wages.'
The National
04-07-2025
- Business
- The National
Why Aberdeen's loss-making business model can give them edge on rivals
Brighton owner and professional gambler Tony Bloom buying a 29 per cent stake in the Gorgie outfit for £9.86m and a consortium comprising the 49ers Enterprises and American tycoon Andrew Cavenagh completing their £75m takeover of the Govan giants has sent ripples throughout the game in this country. Whether Aberdeen can build upon their historic Scottish Gas Scottish Cup triumph over their Parkhead rivals at Hampden back in May and add more silverware to their trophy cabinet has, despite the arrival of no fewer than four new players at Pittodrie in recent weeks, scarcely merited a mention. The announcement this week that chairman and majority shareholder Dave Cormack and director Tom Crotty have promised to plough in £8m of fresh investment has hardly given those who occupy boardrooms across the land palpitations either. Read more: That is, even on these shores, a trifling amount in the modern game. Plus, the vast majority of it will be spent building an indoor pitch at their training ground. The hour-long Red TV interview with Aberdeen-born, United States-based software entrepreneur Cormack that was posted on You Tube on Wednesday, however, was fascinating and suggested that more good times may well lie ahead for the north-east outfit in the forthcoming campaigns. Even if he did say, 'We're making a decision to lose £3m or £4m operationally a year as a club'. Much has been made about how data analytics will drive Hearts' recruitment efforts now that Bloom, who has enjoyed great joy with Brighton down in England and Royal Union Saint-Gilloise over in Belgium using such methods, is a major player behind the scenes. Hopes are high among the Jambos support that Jamestown Analytics, the company owned by the mathematics whizz who is known as The Lizard on the poker circuit, will be able to unearth a few outstanding players for affordable fees in the transfer market who can enable them to compete with larger and richer rivals. It was a route which Rangers decided to go down back in 2023 when they overhauled their scouting department, brought in a raft of new personnel to key positions and moved to a data-led operation which relied more heavily on video analysis than had previously been the case. But Cormack, who stated that he expected Swedish manager Jimmy Thelin to bring in around eight new recruits in total before the summer window closes on August 31, pointed out that is exactly the approach which Aberdeen have been taking for some time now. It is a strategy which has enabled them to turn a profit on their incomings and outgoings and to spend far more money on transfer fees and player wages than they would be able to if they relied on gate receipts, sponsorship money and television income alone because they are confident they will recoup their outlay and more further down the line. (Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group) They made in excess of £8m from the departures of Bojan Miovski (Giron), Duk (Leganes) and Connor Barron (Rangers) last season. The year before that they banked over £3m from Ylber Ramadani (Lecce) and Ross McCrorie (Bristol City) being offloaded. Three years ago, the sales of Calvin Ramsay (Liverpool) and Lewis Ferguson (Bologna) swelled their bank balance by over £7m. A couple of seasons before that, Scott McKenna (Nottingham Forest) and Sam Cosgrove (Birmingham City) exited for over £5m. 'We have got a squad planning and recruitment team in place now which I think will stand us in good stead,' said Cormack. 'Everyone is talking about these analytics and algorithms which everybody is using. But we have been using those for five or six years now. Miovski, Ramadani, a number of players, have come through that. We have tapped in to that.' The Aberdeen chairman expects winger Topi Keskinen, who featured prominently for Finland at the European Under-21 Championship finals in Slovakia this summer and scored goals in draws with the Netherlands and Denmark, to be the next recruit to bring in a sizeable return on their investment. 'There is a reason we have paid £1m for Topi,' he said. 'Listen, in the last five years we have managed to sell just over £20m worth of players. That is significant income for us. The trick is balancing that with being competitive. 'Our scouting needs to be excellent so we can unearth and get value from players. But people want to come to Aberdeen now because they know they will get an opportunity to move on to a bigger club.' Read more: Cormack has come in for fierce criticism from supporters and media commentators – including from this correspondent – during the six years that he has been chairman despite the huge sums of money which he has personally ploughed in to his boyhood heroes. Before Thelin was brought in last summer, he had a poor track record when it came to appointing managers. The team's results at home and abroad had often left a great deal to be desired because of his bad choices. But he is hopeful that Graeme Shinnie and his team mates can improve further despite having to deal with European group stage football once again next term – something which they struggled badly with when they got into the Conference League two years ago – and play against revitalised Hearts and Rangers teams. 'It's always good to have competition,' he said. 'It's never a worry, it's a challenge. This multi-club environment is an approach other clubs (Hearts, Hibernian and Rangers) are taking is new. But I think it is important we focus on what Aberdeen are doing. You will never get all of your recruitment right. The industry average is 50 per cent. We need to be at 70 to 80 per cent. 'Listen, if I fall under a bus tomorrow I don't want to leave the club in a poor financial position. It has to stand on its own two feet. But we're making a decision to lose £3m or £4m operationally a year as a club. What we have got today is a player trading environment which is allowing us to punch above our weight in terms of recruiting and player wages.'
