Latest news with #DuncanMcGlynn
Scotsman
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
A first look at the Edinburgh Tattoo as it celebrates 75 years
This year's show is titled The Heroes Who Made Us and aims to blend military precision and cultural heritage to celebrate those who have contributed to the Tattoo over the past seven decades. Its official opening night is Friday, August 1, but the first look pictures are from their dress rehearsal at Edinburgh Castle Esplanade in front of a preview audience. The British Army takes the Lead Service role this year, joined by over 900 performers from across the globe featuring talent from Poland, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Ukraine, and the United States of America. From choirs, marching bands and even drones take a look at the preview of the Edinburgh Tattoo. 1 . The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is back for its landmark 75th edition, honouring the heroes who have shaped its legacy. The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo is back for its landmark 75th edition, honouring the heroes who have shaped its legacy. | Duncan McGlynn Photo Sales 2 . Traditional Scottish dancers take to the stage to show off Scotlands talent. Traditional Scottish dancers take to the stage to show off Scotlands talent. | Duncan McGlynn Photo Sales 3 . In a year dedicated to honouring heroes, The Orchestra of Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, have travelled to Edinburgh, leaving Ukraine for the first time since 2018. In a year dedicated to honouring heroes, The Orchestra of Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, have travelled to Edinburgh, leaving Ukraine for the first time since 2018. | Duncan McGlynn Photo Sales 4 . Drones light up the sky to mark the 75th year of the Tattoo in Edinburgh. Drones light up the sky to mark the 75th year of the Tattoo in Edinburgh. | Duncan McGlynn Photo Sales
Sunday Post
24-06-2025
- Science
- Sunday Post
The museum team getting under the skin of the animal world around us
Get a weekly round-up of stories from The Sunday Post: Thank you for signing up to our Sunday Post newsletter. Something went wrong - please try again later. Sign Up From blue tits to blue whales, the skilled team of preparators at the National Museum of Scotland (NMS) have dissected, inspected, stuffed or displayed the lot. While some of their work with the blood and guts of dead animals isn't for the squeamish, they're playing a crucial role in conservation work around the world, as well as creating incredible exhibitions for us to marvel at. The latest display is the much-anticipated return of Monkeys: Our Primate Family, which returns to Edinburgh after a six-country world tour later this month. © Duncan McGlynn All the taxidermied primates featured are part of the NMS collection, which spans from dinosaurs and minerals to insects, birds and mammals. 'While the job definitely has its moments – climbing inside a 20 tonne whale carcass, for example – these are necessary steps to gain a much sought after specimens that can and will be used in our research collections,' explained curatorial preparator Georg Hantke. 'It is often gruesome, but these are valuable opportunities for finding out more.' Whale strandings The NMS collection is vast, with more than 10 million specimens in constant use for cutting edge scientific studies. Georg often gets called out to whale and dolphin strandings along the Scottish coast, when the animal sadly cannot be saved and their carcasses are in need of disposal. This includes an adult female sperm whale, beached on South Uist in 2019. 'Weighing more than 10 tonnes, this specimen was reduced to a skeleton and was taken back to the lab,' he explained. 'It had to lose about 95% of its original weight, and the waste had to be buried to leave the beach clean. 'This was only possible thanks to the team. Even so, the skeleton had to be moved about 800m back to our camp, with its skull alone too big to be moved by truck.' © Duncan McGlynn He also describes responding to an unprecedented mass stranding of almost 100 Cuvier's beaked whales washed up on Scotland's shores in October 2018. 'One whale on Eriskay's stomach contents were still present, giving us the rare opportunity to study its diet and the possible impacts of pollution,' he said. 'Once I'd taken all possible required measurements, I started taking blubber and tissue samples, removed soft parts, disarticulated bones and eventually carried the skeleton back to the van. 'Friendly farmers came with trucks and volunteers tried to help out. 'Was it okay to leave the flesh on the beach to rot, or should the animal remains be taken away? Is it a health hazard or a blessing for local wildlife? 'Luckily, in most cases people were used to seeing stranded whales and regarded them as an opportunity for local wildlife to feast on.' The collection The NMS collection is vast, with more than 10 million specimens in constant use for cutting edge scientific studies. They can come into the collection from a range of different sources, including animals which have died naturally in zoos, wildlife parks or the wild. 'We now collect around 150 whales and dolphins every year,' Georg said. 'For these specimens, volunteers around the country report beaching incidents to us. 'If it will enrich our collections, I'll meet pathologists from the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme and carry out a necropsy (an animal autopsy) on the beach or at a local laboratory or the National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh. 'After the necropsy, samples are taken for our Biobank. It houses over 10,000 frozen tissue samples, containing a wealth of information that can be used for fundamental scientific research and supporting conservation management of endangered species.' © Supplied by National Museums Sco Georg first joined the museum as a volunteer and developed a keen interest in preparation, becoming a taxidermy assistant and later a preparator. Georg first joined the museum as a volunteer and developed a keen interest in preparation, becoming a taxidermy assistant and later a preparator. 'You must have respect for any organism and understand why you're about to work on it,' he said. 'We quite often learn more from a dead animal than from a living one. What they've been feeding on, if there are diseases, physiology, parasites, when they give birth, size, variation, ages. Sometimes we even find species new to the UK. 'Our research is varied but has contributed to our understanding of climate change in Scotland and further afield, informs conservation efforts around the world and has helped improve conditions for animals in captivity. 'I love being in the outdoors, collecting, picturing, and studying animals. 'Sometimes I get to travel to zoos or breeding centres in the Netherlands, Sweden, France and many other countries where I have worked on tigers, snow and amur leopards, or primates from every corner of the globe. 'I get to work on killer whales in the UK, fish in Australia, reptiles and amphibians in Mexico and Taiwan. 'You see so many fantastic places, meet incredibly interesting people and, most importantly, you get to work on some of the world's most endangered and rarest species. 'While much of this takes place behind the scenes, visitors will have the chance to see some of this material up close in the new exhibition.' Our Primate Family From huge gorillas to tiny mouse lemurs, Monkeys: Our Primate Family brings together more than 50 species and explores the incredible yet threatened lives of our closest animal relatives and continuing conservation efforts to protect their fragile habitats. First opened at the National Museum of Scotland in 2016 before embarking on an international tour, it returns to Edinburgh for a final time having been seen by over 500,000 visitors. © National Museums Scotland 'It will be good to see some old friends,' said curator Professor Andrew Kitchener. 'Coming up with the storyline for the exhibition, choosing the species and deciding how they should be posed has been an enormous privilege and great fun. 'It's a really interesting job having the privilege of being able to see these animals up close. 'It took a few years, but we were collecting the primates a lot longer than that. Some of them were living in the freezer, as it were, for many years until we were ready to do the exhibition. 'Acquiring the specimens in the first place to some extent is down to luck. 'The beautiful proboscis monkey we have in the exhibition was one of the last individuals in a European zoo that unfortunately died. We were able to bring it back to Edinburgh and show it in this magnificent roaring display.' © National Museums Scotland The exhibition captures primates acting as they would in the wild, showcasing how they've evolved and adapted, their unique methods of movement, and the tools they have developed to obtain food. It also reveals the fascinating ways they communicate and their complex social systems. 'There'll be very familiar species, like gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans and baboons, but also some more unusual ones,' Andrew said. 'There's an aye-aye, for example, a very peculiar lemur. When first discovered, it was thought to be a giant squirrel because of its rodent-like teeth. 'It uses its big ears to listen for beetle larvae within rotting trees. Then it can bite a little hole to get to the burrow and use its long finger to hook it out. It's an amazing piece of evolution and adaptation to that particular lifestyle.' Species under threat The final section of the exhibition looks at conservation as well as some of the threats humans pose to primates today, including the climate emergency, conflict, and the bush meat trade. © Phil Wilkinson 'Unfortunately, most primate species are now threatened with extinction,' Andrew said. 'There are some where there's literally just a few tens of individuals left. 'I think people feel empathy with primates because they recognise themselves within them, to some extent, because we're all very similar structurally. 'Even if some of our wrappers are different colours and shapes, a lot of basic behaviours are very alike. 'The exhibition has been very successful in engaging people about what they can do to change things in their lives to make that little bit of difference. If thousands or millions do a that, it adds up to a huge amount.' Monkeys: Our Primate Family is at the National Museum of Scotland from June 28. Kids go free thanks to support from the People's Postcode Lottery and discounts are available for those receiving Universal Credit and other benefits.
Scottish Sun
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
World's oldest lemur celebrates birthday at Scots zoo – almost double the expected age
The mature primate reached a staggering 39 years old yesterday, around twice its expected lifespan OLD FUR HIS KIND World's oldest lemur celebrates birthday at Scots zoo – almost double the expected age Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A SCOTS zoo has celebrated the birthday of the world's oldest lemur living in captivity. The Five Sisters Zoo in West Calder, West Lothian, houses the creature, named Stumpy. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 Stumpy has been recognised as the word's oldest ring-tailed Lemur living in captivity Credit: Duncan McGlynn 4 The creature has celebrated its 39th birthday Credit: Five Sisters Zoo 4 Lemurs are expected to live to between 20 and 25 years in captivity Credit: Five Sisters Zoo The mature primate reached a staggering 39 years old yesterday, around twice its expected lifespan. Guinness World Records has formally recognised the impressive milestone. Stumpy, named after his shortened tail, has been hailed as "a firm favourite with staff and visitors" at the zoo. He was born in June 1986 in Surrey, before being moved north of the border in 2005. Stumpy also has two sons at the zoo, 20-year-old Julian and 21-year-old Red. The average life expectancy of ring-tailed lemurs is between 20 and 25 years in captivity and 20 years in the wild. Stumpy has been described as surprisingly fit for his age, but his eyesight has declined over the years and he also has some stiffness in his joints. To mark the special occasion, staff at the zoo made him a cake, that he tucked into with his sons. Five Sisters' Senior Animal Keeper, Gemma Varley, said: 'He's a sweet boy. 'He loves to sunbathe and eat fresh browse - his favourite is willow - and he loves sweet potato. Cops launch hunt for 'man with knife' spotted in Scots play park 'Stumpy's birthday is a big event. He celebrates with his sons and enjoys a bit of birthday cake made from special primate pellet. "While he does have some arthritis, he has been blessed with good health. He does need some extra care, such as daily medications for his arthritis, weekly weigh-ins and his scent glands often overgrow. "But he allows us to trim these voluntarily through positive-reinforcement training.' Senior manager at Five Sisters Zoo, Gary Curran, added: "Stumpy has been an extraordinary part of our Five Sisters Zoo family for two decades. "We are honoured that, at 39 years old, his remarkable longevity – undoubtedly a credit to the dedicated care he has received – has been formally recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest lemur." Guinness World Records' senior managing editor, Adam Millward, said: "Reaching such a grand age – we're talking living well over a decade beyond what is typical for your kind – is impressive for any species. "With this record, there's now no question that Stumpy has truly earned his stripes."
Scottish Sun
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Robbie Williams kisses fan in Murrayfield crowd before he belts out Sunshine on Leith
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ROBBIE Williams planted a kiss on a lucky fan while serenading her with his smash hit She's The One. The former Take That heartthrob, 51, kicked off his European tour with a bang tonight, performing to a roaring crowd of 70,000 people at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium. 3 Robbie Williams kicked off his European tour at Murrayfield tonight Credit: Duncan McGlynn 3 Fans braved the rain rocking Stetson hats and plastic ponchos Credit: Duncan McGlynn 3 But one lucky fan got closer to Robbie than she ever could have imagined Credit: Duncan McGlynn Dedicated fans braved the drizzle, rocking Stetson hats and plastic ponchos. The Angels legend donned a vest and tracksuit bottoms before changing into a jumpsuit. Fans lapped up his hits including Rock DJ and Let Me Entertain You. Scots singing sensation and Pop Idol winner Michelle McManus also joined Robbie on stage for a show-stopping duet of Take That's Relight My Fire. We previously told how Michelle, 45, had confessed she was more nervous about performing with Robbie than she was when she sang in front of the Pope. But the pair wowed the crowd tonight with their powerhouse vocals. And one lucky fan got closer to Robbie than she could have ever dreamed. As the singer worked the crowd at the barrier, he stopped to serenade her with the emotional lyrics to She's The One. The fan clung to her idol, and as Robbie delivered the final line of She's The One, he leaned in and planted a kiss on her lips, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Robbie then moved seamlessly into a heartfelt rendition of The Proclaimers' Sunshine on Leith. Robbie Williams records new music video in central London But the pop legend sparked a bit of a stir when he said: 'I think that's a better song than You'll Never Walk Alone. And the other thing is, why do Hearts of Midlothian f*****g boo that song? I don't get it. Are you here, Hearts?' The comment split the audience, with some fans erupting into cheers and others booing loudly. Robbie shot back with, 'None of that s**t,' before powering on with his performance.
