Latest news with #Graeme
Yahoo
a day ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Politicians enjoy a taster session at local bowls club
Local politicians enjoyed a taster session at Newport Indoor Bowls Centre. John Griffiths MS and Jessica Morden MP were welcomed to the centre by Welsh representatives Gavin and Kelly. They were given a tour of the facilities and discussed the centre's ambitions with director Graeme Howard and his team. Mr Griffiths said: "I was pleased to visit the Newport Indoors Bowls centre as part of my ongoing Active Newport campaign. "A lot of the conversation we had was around the importance of strong partnerships – and it was great to hear about the work Graeme and his team are looking to do with others at the Glebelands to improve sporting provision in this part of Newport. "I haven't had a go at bowls for over thirty years so it was nice to also have a go at a sport which requires lots of skill." Ms Morden said: "It was a real pleasure to visit Newport Bowls Club and to hear directly from Graeme and the team about the club and the huge successes of some of the players who train there. "I look forward to joining the team again when they're hosting a tournament."
Glasgow Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Former bouncer's Glasgow gangland drama becomes surprise smash TV hit
Anton O'Donnell came up with the idea for the six-episode pilot Concrete Jungle, which aired on STV earlier this year, as he worked on the doors of bars on Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, talking with his colleagues about other hit shows like The Wire and The Sopranos. The 'gritty' gangland drama tells the story of emerging Glasgow gangster Jamie McGregor, who when double-crossed in a drug deal, must use any means necessary to repay a huge debt. O'Donnell said he spent all his free time, and sometimes even while working on the doors, writing his screenplay, which took around two years to complete. The amateur filmmaker said that after he completed the script, he sent it to a few competitions, but after getting nowhere with it he then decided he would film the series from scratch by himself. 'I sent it into the BBC writers' room competition, and a Channel 4 competition, and when I got the replies to say, 'thanks, you've been unsuccessful on this occasion,' I was like, 'no, I'm not letting this one go',' O'Donnell said. 'Like I do believe in this one.' Having zero experience in the filmmaking industry didn't stop O'Donnell from pursuing his 'passion project' which he said he was just 'obsessed' with and struck an unlikely creative partnership with cinematographer Bryan McIntyre, after putting an advert up on Gumtree. (Image: Supplied) After taking a week off work to shoot the first episode together, the pair realised that to fulfil O'Donnell's creative ambition, they would need to enlist more people to get involved with the project, so co-director and editor, Graeme Watt, was quickly involved too. 'Graeme would do the lights. Brian would do the sound. Then Graeme would do the camera. I would do the sound, holding the boom mics and all that stuff,' O'Donnell joked, retelling some of the chaotic beginnings of their first couple of shoots. Shooting over almost a decade did have its challenges with continuity between filming being one of them, O'Donnell made sure he was 'all over it' so that the scenes blended perfectly despite, in some cases, being shot months apart. 'I was all over the continuity in terms of clothing and things like that, but there were challenges because Ryan, who's in the opening scene, had to grow his hair long for a movie that he was in. 'So, he turned up with this long hair and I'm going 'Oh my, what will I do', so we had to get him a beanie cap in that opening scene in the robbery. 'So, he's wearing a beanie cap because he's got long hair, and he didn't have long hair in the rest of the episode. (Image: Supplied) O'Donnell added: 'Sometimes you just have to kind of think fast, and then there's actually scenes that get cut out because, like my weight, my weight was just kind of jumping all over the place. 'I was pretty consistent, but some scenes I'm a wee bit heavier, but there were a couple of scenes where I was unwell, and I lost a ton of weight and I actually had to cut those scenes out of the show, because it was so obvious I'd lost so much weight.' The trio spent around eight years shooting the series intermittently with a budget of only around £5000, with most of the funding coming out of O'Donnell's pocket. Concrete Jungle spent 10 weeks in the STV Player's most-watched list, claiming the number one spot when it aired back in March. (Image: Supplied) The broadcaster picked up the series following a chance encounter between STV's Jonathan Tate and O'Donnell at the first-ever Screen Writers Festival last year after the Paisley-based filmmaker fielded a question to Iain Smith during a live Q&A. O'Donnell said he was grilled by the legendary Hollywood producer after he asked: 'How do I get it out there? How do I take it to the next level, because I believe in it.' The exchange caught the eye of Tate, who then approached O'Donnell about the series during a break and asked him to send over the series, as he is a fan of crime dramas. 'As soon as I sent it over, he was like, 'By the way, I absolutely love this',' O'Donnell said. 'He said, 'I'm not gonna lie to you, it's a bit of a gamble for us because we've never had anything this gritty before, but I've watched it, and I absolutely loved it'.' (Image: Supplied) O'Donnell said he was overwhelmed with the amount of support he has received since Concrete Jungle aired on the STV Player. 'I honestly can't even put it into any words, and I don't even think its sunk in yet,' he said. READ NEXT: I saw Gary Barlow perform in Glasgow's Armadillo - my verdict READ NEXT: I saw Sophie Ellis-Bextor perform in Glasgow's Armadillo - my verdict The 39-year-old said that he believes that following the success of his series has helped 'open the door' to other independent talent in Scotland. O'Donnell added that Tate is a 'huge champion' of Scottish talent and that he is pleased to see STV backing more grassroots productions. 'I've actually seen people who followed me on social media making comments to me saying, 'you're setting the standard when it comes to filmmaking' and then a couple of months later, because they're doing their own thing as well, they're saying that they've now agreed the deal to have their stuff showcased in STV. 'I think Concrete Jungle has opened the door for other people to get the stuff on there as well.' O'Donnell said that he is now putting the final touches on his next pitch, which is to make Concrete Jungle's pilot into a full-fledged series or even a full-length feature film. He will also be joining Tate this week at the inaugural Glasgow Telly Festival, where he is hoping to retell his story in a bid to inspire more people to 'believe' in their own projects like he did.
Edinburgh Reporter
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Edinburgh Reporter
Aiming to raise £25,000 for My Name'5 Doddie Foundation
The founder of Royal & Awesome golf, Graeme Smeaton, is taking on the challenge of playing five rounds of golf every day for five days at the beginning of June. He aims to raise £25,000 for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation supporting MND research by starting to play at 4.30am and probably not finishing until around 10pm. Royal & Awesome will donate 15% of the sales of their Doddie Weir range to the cause. Graeme will play every round in East Lothian, where he grew up, including the courses at Gullane, Luffness, Kilspindie and Longniddry in his itinerary. And he will not be all alone out there on the fairways. A few Scotland rugby stars, John Barclay, Andy Irvine and Roger Baird along with some friends of Doddie will accompany him in his charity challenge – hopefully with enough banter among them to keep him going. During the challenge he will walk 125 miles, hit more than 2,000 shots and may only get about 25 hours of sleep… Doddie Weir's son Hamish and the friends and family of MND campaigner, Scott Stewart who died in December last year will also take part. The idea for the challenge comes from the late Doddie Weir's number 5 strip. Graeme will wear clothing from his own Royal & Awesome Doddie tartan range. Graeme said: 'These courses are where I fell in love with golf. 'So to take on this challenge here, for a cause as meaningful as My Name'5 Doddie Foundation's feels incredibly special. 'I'm aiming to raise £25,000 but the main goal is to raise awareness of the incredible work the Foundation does to raise vital funds for MND research. This is nothing compared to what people living with MND go through every day. I just want to do my bit – and hopefully inspire donations along the way.' Paul Thompson, Director of Fundraising and Communications at My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, said: 'Graeme's challenge is bold, brilliant, and full of heart – exactly the kind of energy Doddie brought to life. We're incredibly grateful for his support and can't wait to see him take on all 25 rounds. He's doing something extraordinary to help fund vital research and raise awareness of MND.' Follow Graeme and his fundraising challenge on Instagram here. Like this: Like Related
The National
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Former bouncer's Glasgow gangland drama becomes surprise smash TV hit
Anton O'Donnell came up with the idea for the six-episode pilot Concrete Jungle, which aired on STV earlier this year, as he worked on the doors of bars on Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, talking with his colleagues about other hit shows like The Wire and The Sopranos. The 'gritty' gangland drama tells the story of emerging Glasgow gangster Jamie McGregor, who when double-crossed in a drug deal, must use any means necessary to repay a huge debt. O'Donnell said he spent all his free time, and sometimes even while working on the doors, writing his screenplay, which took around two years to complete. READ MORE: Stirling charity running festival calls for 'Bravehearts' to join ultra races The amateur filmmaker said that after he completed the script, he sent it to a few competitions, but after getting nowhere with it he then decided he would film the series from scratch by himself. 'I sent it into the BBC writers' room competition, and a Channel 4 competition, and when I got the replies to say, 'thanks, you've been unsuccessful on this occasion,' I was like, 'no, I'm not letting this one go',' O'Donnell said. 'Like I do believe in this one.' Having zero experience in the filmmaking industry didn't stop O'Donnell from pursuing his 'passion project' which he said he was just 'obsessed' with and struck an unlikely creative partnership with cinematographer Bryan McIntyre, after putting an advert up on Gumtree. (Image: Supplied) After taking a week off work to shoot the first episode together, the pair realised that to fulfil O'Donnell's creative ambition, they would need to enlist more people to get involved with the project, so co-director and editor, Graeme Watt, was quickly involved too. 'Graeme would do the lights. Brian would do the sound. Then Graeme would do the camera. I would do the sound, holding the boom mics and all that stuff,' O'Donnell joked, retelling some of the chaotic beginnings of their first couple of shoots. Shooting over almost a decade did have its challenges with continuity between filming being one of them, O'Donnell made sure he was 'all over it' so that the scenes blended perfectly despite, in some cases, being shot months apart. 'I was all over the continuity in terms of clothing and things like that, but there were challenges because Ryan, who's in the opening scene, had to grow his hair long for a movie that he was in. 'So, he turned up with this long hair and I'm going 'Oh my, what will I do', so we had to get him a beanie cap in that opening scene in the robbery. 'So, he's wearing a beanie cap because he's got long hair, and he didn't have long hair in the rest of the episode. (Image: Supplied) O'Donnell added: 'Sometimes you just have to kind of think fast, and then there's actually scenes that get cut out because, like my weight, my weight was just kind of jumping all over the place. 'I was pretty consistent, but some scenes I'm a wee bit heavier, but there were a couple of scenes where I was unwell, and I lost a ton of weight and I actually had to cut those scenes out of the show, because it was so obvious I'd lost so much weight.' The trio spent around eight years shooting the series intermittently with a budget of only around £5000, with most of the funding coming out of O'Donnell's pocket. Concrete Jungle spent 10 weeks in the STV Player's most-watched list, claiming the number one spot when it aired back in March. (Image: Supplied) The broadcaster picked up the series following a chance encounter between STV's Jonathan Tate and O'Donnell at the first-ever Screen Writers Festival last year after the Paisley-based filmmaker fielded a question to Iain Smith during a live Q&A. O'Donnell said he was grilled by the legendary Hollywood producer after he asked: 'How do I get it out there? How do I take it to the next level, because I believe in it.' The exchange caught the eye of Tate, who then approached O'Donnell about the series during a break and asked him to send over the series, as he is a fan of crime dramas. 'As soon as I sent it over, he was like, 'By the way, I absolutely love this',' O'Donnell said. 'He said, 'I'm not gonna lie to you, it's a bit of a gamble for us because we've never had anything this gritty before, but I've watched it, and I absolutely loved it'.' (Image: Supplied) O'Donnell said he was overwhelmed with the amount of support he has received since Concrete Jungle aired on the STV Player. 'I honestly can't even put it into any words, and I don't even think its sunk in yet,' he said. The 39-year-old said that he believes that following the success of his series has helped 'open the door' to other independent talent in Scotland. O'Donnell added that Tate is a 'huge champion' of Scottish talent and that he is pleased to see STV backing more grassroots productions. 'I've actually seen people who followed me on social media making comments to me saying, 'you're setting the standard when it comes to filmmaking' and then a couple of months later, because they're doing their own thing as well, they're saying that they've now agreed the deal to have their stuff showcased in STV. 'I think Concrete Jungle has opened the door for other people to get the stuff on there as well.' O'Donnell said that he is now putting the final touches on his next pitch, which is to make Concrete Jungle's pilot into a full-fledged series or even a full-length feature film. He will also be joining Tate this week at the inaugural Glasgow Telly Festival, where he is hoping to retell his story in a bid to inspire more people to 'believe' in their own projects like he did.
Daily Record
4 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Scots man fundraising for Doddie Weir charity to play 25 golf rounds in 5 days
"This is nothing compared to what people living with MND go through every day. I just want to do my bit - and hopefully inspire donations along the way." A Scots man is set to play 25 rounds of golf over five days to honour the late rugby legend Doddie Weir, and fundraise for research into motor neurone disease (MND). Graeme Smeaton aims to raise £25,000 for the My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, set up in memory of Weir, who died aged 52 in 2022 following a battle with the condition. Between Monday, June 2 and Friday, June 6, he will walk a total of 125 miles and hit over 2,000 shots, with less than 25 hours of sleep over the five days. The challenge will be staged on East Lothian courses at Gullane, Luffness, Kilspindie and Longniddry. Ahead of the impressive feat, he said: "These courses are where I fell in love with golf. "So to take on this challenge here, for a cause as meaningful as My Name'5 Doddie Foundation's feels incredibly special. "I'm aiming to raise £25,000 but the main goal is to raise awareness of the incredible work the Foundation does to raise vital funds for MND research. "This is nothing compared to what people living with MND go through every day. I just want to do my bit - and hopefully inspire donations along the way." Graeme's JustGiving page has already amassed over £2,000 in donations, with just over a week to go until his challenge kicks off. He will be joined by former Scotland rugby internationals John Barclay, Andy Irvine, and Roger Baird will join him across the week to keep pace and morale high. Also involved will be Doddie's son Hamish Weir, and friends and family of MND campaigner Scott Stewart, who lost his battle with MND in December 2024. 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'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Graeme will don trousers in the official Doddie tartan designed in memory of Weir. The trousers were created by Graeme's own company Royal and Awesome, which produces eye-catching and colourful golf clothing. 15% of each sale will go to the charity. Paul Thompson, director of fundraising and communications at My Name'5 Doddie Foundation, said: "Graeme's challenge is bold, brilliant, and full of heart, exactly the kind of energy Doddie brought to life. "We're incredibly grateful for his support and can't wait to see him take on all 25 rounds. He's doing something extraordinary to help fund vital research and raise awareness of MND." Graeme's fundraising page can be found here. He will also post updates about his challenge on his Instagram account.
