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Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
We repeated our bizarre TRNSMT tradition – people absolutely love it
In 2024, they appeared dressed as bananas and decided to keep the tradition going PICKLE PALS We repeated our bizarre TRNSMT tradition – people absolutely love it Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THREE pals who met randomly at a Scots gig have carried on their bizarre TRNSMT tradition that is catching the eye of festival-goers. Calum Small, Aidan Ainsworth and Ajay Telese met at the Glasgow Green bash while watching The Snuts two years ago and have stayed pals ever since. Sign up for the Entertainment newsletter Sign up 1 The lads vowed to keep their costumes on amid today's sweltering heat Credit: Tom Farmer But the trio of music lovers have learned they turn heads at TRNSMT for their quirky outfit choices. The lads rocked up to Glasgow Green in their baffling choice of festival outfit, dressed as PICKLES! In 2024, they appeared dressed as bananas and decided to keep the tradition going, but this year they opted to don the look of the crunchy foodstuff. And they were dressed as the briny toppings while Glasgow is belted with a scorching 32C heat that sent music lovers diving for shade. Edinburgh Uni student Calum, 19, admitted their outfit choice may have 'lacked foresight' given the insanely warm weather but the lads insisted their TRNSMT tradition will go on. He said: 'But we did it last year dressed as bananas and it just went down from there. 'So we just kind of made it a thing, like a bit of Halloween fun.' Their get-ups have already been getting a good reaction from other revellers, who have been stopping them to say how much they love their baffling look. But although most people are ditching layers in Glasgow's warmest taps aff weather of the year, Aidan insists their foodie look will last. The data student, 19, was donning last year's banana costume and vowed to keep it on all day. How to survive TRNSMT 2025 He added: 'Yeah I think it should be alright for the rest of the day, it should be good.'
Press and Journal
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Press and Journal
Revellers give their views on Aberdeen May Day celebrations - saying it's 'bigger than New Year'
Thousands of revellers flocked to Aberdeen city centre today for May Day celebrations. DJ sets, events and parties starting as early as 12pm, got under way across the Granite City's bars and clubs. One of the most highly anticipated days in the north-east calendar, tickets were sold out weeks ago – with prices reaching up to £54. With a bank holiday today, Sunday May 4 was the perfect time for a celebrations to get started – with the party expected to continue well into the wee hours of the morning. Bars and clubs have been putting on extra staff and ordering extra staff for the occasion, meanwhile, youngsters are gearing up for an all-night affair. We asked revellers what they thought of the holiday. We also asked bar workers about how they were preparing for the big event. The first crowd we ran into were students Amy, Hannah and Ella – who are all 18 years old. They have tickets for Vodka Revolution and Soul and have waited patiently for this day since booking it in January. Amy told The Press and Journal: 'These two go to Glasgow and Edinburgh Uni so they came home specifically for this night. 'We were asking people in Glasgow if people had heard of it and literally no-one had – it was strange! 'It's just the night out you can rely on, everyone comes out for today – everyone has a bit of a drink and it's really good fun.' When asked when their night would end, Ella answered: 'For as long as possible!' Also speaking to The P&J on a lads' night out were a group six, headed up by Gregor, Zane and Layton – also all 18 – and they revealed their plans for the night ahead. Gregor said: 'For us, this is bigger than New Year. We've been waiting for this for months. 'This is our biggest day of the year. 'No-one has heard of it outside of here, but honestly its the best night – it's the only time you'll see everyone out.' Zane added: 'I had someone offer me £90 for one of my tickets a few days ago, the demand is crazy.' We also spoke to group of four Owen Duncan, 32, Marcus Chalk, 26, Lee Duncan , 27, and Ben Hadden. Owen joked : 'It's an all day event we planned but we are not sure we are going to make it until the end!' He continued: You can't beat May Day especially when the weather is good, by 4pm it gets absolutely heaving.' Lee added: 'I'm from Inverurie, and we all look forward to it there as well. It's a great day out.' Michelle Jamieson, 29, is the deputy manager for Slain's on Belmont Street and she was preparing for one of the pub's 'biggest days.' She said: 'Us based on Belmont Street is huge, the street is going to be packed end to end. This is the place to be. 'This is probably one of our biggest days for sure – other than Christmas – it will be our most crazy.' She revealed that her and her staff have been stocking up for the big day. She said: 'It's mostly the main spirits as well as Strongbow Dark Fruits that we have more of, things the younger crowd tend to like, so hopefully it's enough. 'We also have Saturday-level staffing on here, it's all hands on deck – but we have an experienced team and they all know how it goes. Veteran hospitality worker Meg Innes, 68, has worked in Aberdeen's bars for over 40 years, and told us of how big a day it is in the Granite City. She said: 'It's strange how May Day seems to be the biggest night out in Aberdeen, it isn't quite like that in other places.' She added: 'We have been excited for this day, it's always fun. 'I have such great memories of working on this day – and also going out and getting a bit drunk on this day! 'We used to march from pub to pub back in the glory days of May Day, and they are some of my favourite memories.' John Wymess, new owner of The Old King's Highway, also said that May Day is like 'a second Christmas' for Aberdeen. He said: 'May Day is really crucial for us. For our trade, this is like a second Christmas. 'If we were not busy on May Day – and the whole weekend to be honest – then I might start to worry!'
Scottish Sun
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
I'm a voice expert, here's how to use your Scottish accent to succeed like Billy Connolly and Ewan McGregor
A few tweaks in our delivery will allow us to be better understood IT'S MURRRDUR I'm a voice expert, here's how to use your Scottish accent to succeed like Billy Connolly and Ewan McGregor FOOTIE idol Gary Caldwell claimed an English ref recently red-carded him because of his accent, while Edinburgh Uni staff have taken training courses to tackle 'accent bias' against homegrown students. While a Scottish brogue can be a plus for actors like Ewan McGregor and the late Sir Sean Connery, it can also have a negative effect. Advertisement 3 Ewan McGregor's accent has been the key to his success 3 Mark McManus's Taggart rolled his Rs However, a leading UK voice coach believes Scots don't have to dull down their dulcet tones to get ahead. Chief Features Writer MATT BENDORIS speaks to communications coach Anthony Shuster about the pros and cons of a having strong Scottish voice. TAGGART'S famous catchphrase was 'There's been a murrrdur' but voice expert Anthony Shuster believes the way Scots roll their 'Rs' means 'murder' can sound like an entirely different word to English ears. That's just one example of different pronunciations that can make those from north of the border more difficult to understand. Advertisement However, Anthony insists that Scots are not murdering the English language by the way we speak. Instead he maintains that just a few tweaks in our delivery will allow us to be better understood not just by our English cousins, but far further afield. He said: 'Murder is the perfect example. You don't get that long, drawn-out vowel in most English accents. 'So the way Scots pronounce their Rs means that murder almost sounds like an entirely different word. Advertisement 'I think it's often this disparity between the sound that the listener is familiar with and the sound that they're hearing that makes them sort of instinctively flinch a little bit and go, 'what is this person saying?'.' RADA-trained actor Anthony, who has had TV roles in Casualty, Holby City and the Boris Johnson Covid drama This England, has become one of the UK's leading accent specialists over the last decade. Michael Parkinson's famous interview with Billy Connolly is a remarkable piece of telly – it gets better every year And while many of his clients don't have English as their first language, he says a lot of big businesses also send Scottish executives to him for training. He explains: 'I had one guy recently from the central belt who had a strong Scottish accent and said to me, 'I work with a lot of international clients and they just can't follow my accent'. Advertisement 'The first thing I explain is that you don't have to reduce your accent if you're Scottish. So I certainly do not encourage putting on some sort of posh English accent when you're at work because as soon as you start doing that you will feel like a fake. 'But what I do encourage them to think about is pacing and tone and to think about the experience of the listener. 'A lot of people, especially from the central belt, speak incredibly quickly. They don't have to work too hard to be understood by people from their neck of the woods. 'For those who are not so familiar with that accent then you have to work that little bit harder, but not necessarily by sounding any less Scottish. Advertisement 'You do need to respect the fact that you are going to need to slow that pace down a little bit and certainly pause more frequently.' Former Celtic and Scotland star Caldwell claimed he was sent to the stand from the dug-out as Exeter City boss during a League One encounter with Lincoln City in March because of his strong accent. And Anthony, 46, believes that 'accent bias' does exist. He said: 'I think accent had a part to play in this football manager getting pulled up. We can't deny that accent bias exists, because it can. Advertisement 'It's like you can already hear the cogs turning and people will start to pigeonhole you because of your accent. 'Then they'll make all their assumptions about what Russian people are like, or French people or Scottish people and they're going to start seeing you through that filter.' He adds: 'But rather than get hung up on whether people are being prejudiced, I think a lot of the time it is to do with the way brains work. It's like a cognitive thing. 'If you're hearing a sound that you're not very familiar with and you're having to work quite hard just to literally understand what somebody's saying, then you're actually less likely to trust them. Advertisement 'So you have less credibility, even though what you're saying might be totally sound. But if people find it harder to understand, they're less likely to buy into it.' But coming from an acting background, Warwickshire-born Anthony has also seen how a strong Scottish accent has worked for some of Scotland's showbiz greats. He says: 'Billy Connolly is probably the most famous Scottish person there is and his accent didn't noticeably, not to my ear anyway, get any milder when he moved to America. 'In fact his accent was his calling card. But while that works for a larger-than-life character like Billy, who lives life on the front foot, it won't work for different, perhaps quieter personalities. Advertisement 'That's when you get people shutting down a bit because the colleagues they are dealing with at work are unable to understand them.' However, Anthony does believe Billy's fellow Scots can take a leaf out of the Big Yin's book regarding communication skills for everyday life. He says: 'There are many things you can work on that are nothing to do with pronunciation. 'One major thing you can change is how much energy you use when you're speaking. 'Some people have got a monotone voice that fails to hold attention, especially if it's delivered in an unfamiliar accent. Advertisement 'But if you speak with more oomph — not necessarily pace — like Billy does then that will certainly help catch the listener's attention and makes them concentrate on what you are saying.'
