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Press and Journal
5 days ago
- Business
- Press and Journal
David Knight: Council bosses need to act on Raac before Balnagask becomes broken-down ghetto of rebellion overlooking cruise ship harbour
There's a lot to be said for the personal touch – it can knock down walls and win people over with one small gesture. Unless the walls are made out of Raac (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete), it would seem. Someone famous once wrote how American bank tellers were trained to make customers feel as though they were old friends. I felt something similar when I met the King in Aberdeen when he was still Prince of Wales. A brief encounter of just a few minutes left a vivid lasting impression. It's just a knack which he has perfected over the years: as though you were special and the most important person in the room at that precise moment. Let's now take a look at the Raac people at Torry in Aberdeen, for example. Specifically, owners who bought their homes from the council or other private proprietors who had previously completed similar transactions with the authority. They now face ruin due to weaknesses in Raac 'concrete' used in construction years before (more Aero-looking than concrete, it's been said). Devastated to see Aberdeen City Council offering to 'rescue' their homes at slashed knockdown prices, at up to £50,000 less than they might have otherwise received The council much prefers to describe their offers as realistic 'current market value', but don't be silly – we know which is the more accurate description. An apparent lack of personal touch from council leaders amid such a personal crisis rankles with families, who plead to be compensated fairly. Official valuers come and go, cut-price offers made and that seems to be about it. This aloofness issue surfaced again when award-winning P&J journalist Lindsay Bruce grilled co-council leader Christian Allard about all things Raac. When asked pointedly about his lack of one-to-ones with those who were suffering he didn't really have a convincing answer. Actually he appeared to squirm like a seal out of water. Many a leader has come unstuck by not being around in person when disaster strikes a community. Now owners are digging in for a long battle. The authority cannot brick this up behind a fireplace and hope people abandon the fight or die off. A few days ago, community campaigners backed by the P&J met the council to offer compromises in search of a solution to cover their serious losses – incurred through no fault of their own. A difficult challenge as the council has appeared unwilling to budge so far. The event resonated with echoes of an infamous episode when Aberdeen bus-gate protesters took their own sensible compromises to the council in an attempt to protect city businesses from ruin – and had the door slammed in their faces, so to speak. Raac owners vow to stay-put in condemned houses until they get what they're owed as their once-vibrant community sadly goes to ruin around them. Do council bosses really want to see a broken-down ghetto of rebellion overlooking their shiny new cruise-ship harbour, with waves of affluent tourists passing by? Resembling surviving structures in a bombed-out wartime street; a monument to past follies? Call me simplistic or plain old-fashioned, but surely the buck goes back to the council in some form or other? After all, the properties carried serious hidden structural defects at the time they were offloaded to the public – irrespective of what was known then or now about Raac. It's now become depressingly normal for institutions to recompense victims today for yesterday's mistakes by past colleagues. And especially as warning bells were sounded by another Scottish council which condemned Raac houses nearly a quarter of a century ago. Is it fair to assume Aberdeen officials were aware of this and had assessed its impact on local owners? One Torry family member struck a chord with a particularly memorable quote. 'When they really want to do something they'll always find the money,' he said. Meaning governments and councils will always find the cash for any number of ideological projects to which suit their agenda. Or unless they happen to be a doctor, nurse, bin worker or train driver who wield enormous disproportionate power to win generous pay rises backed by dire threats to public health and safety. But not necessarily for the likes of Raac victims in Torry. If you're scraping a living in Torry you pose no threat and can be pushed around – no matter how unjust it is. Just like pensioners who discovered they were dispensable when Starmer and Reeves stole winter fuel payments from their back pockets. Do we now look to Swinney to unlock the door to housing cash or can Aberdeen Council be creative within its own housing budget? A roof is only a roof, but we feel the strain – and therefore the pain – of living beneath it when the world is about to cave in. David Knight is the long-serving former deputy editor of The Press and Journal To read more about the Raac crisis and our campaign click here. Trapped by Raac: 5000 reasons to keep fighting for Aberdeen homeowners impacted by concrete crisis
Press and Journal
23-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Wins for The Press and Journal at prestigious 46th Scottish Press Awards
The Press and Journal has been recognised at a national awards ceremony celebrating some of the best work in Scotland. The Scottish Press Awards showcase the journalistic talent working in local, regional and national news across Scotland. Trophies for the 46th event was handed out during an awards ceremony and dinner at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Glasgow on Thursday evening. The first to scoop a prize was Sean Wallace who took home Another award for the P&J team was which was awarded to Bryan Rutherford. Bryan also won with colleague Dale Haslam finishing runner-up. And to finish off a hat trick of awards on the night, Bryan also took home The Press and Journal also took home the award for, with editor Craig Walker accepting the award. Other recognitions included Keith Findlay who came runner-up for Financial/Business Journalist of the Year and Lindsay Bruce for the Nicola Barry Award. The Press and Journal also came runner-up for Campaign of the Year with the P&J Community Fund helping charities across the north and north-east. Other DC Thomson publications enjoyed success with The Sunday Post taking home the award for Campaign of the Year. Editor of The Press and Journal Craig Walker said: 'Last year was an exceptional year for The Press and Journal for so many reasons and I was delighted for us to receive 14 nominations at the Scottish Press Awards. 'Winning five awards and being highly commended in another four tonight gives us a further boost on top of knowing we are producing stories which champion and campaign for our communities. 'Our newsroom has evolved in a major way in recent years but at the heart of everything we do are the communities we serve, and have done for more than 275 years, across the north and north-east. 'Congratulations to Bryan and Sean for winning the top awards in their categories. Bryan's achievement tonight was particularly impressive as he took home three awards, including the prestigious journalist of the year prize. 'I'm also delighted for Keith, Dale and Lindsay who were highly commended. My thanks extends to everyone in our newsroom as our success tonight really is a team effort.'
Press and Journal
21-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Michies Pharmacy: Meet the family behind the iconic chemist
Before meeting the Michies' – the family behind the string of pharmacies across Aberdeen and the north-east – I asked a few friends what came to mind when they heard the name. I expected answers about the 100-year history, childhood trips to the shop at 391 Union Street – there since 1979 and still home to a friendly café in the basement – or maybe the Santa's Grotto the family ran each year. But no. Most just wanted to know what exactly is in the Union Street cafe's unbelievably delicious chocolate crispies. 'Ha!' laughs Charles Michie, the son of pharmacy founder Charles Michie and who at 83 still oversees the business alongside his brother John Michie, 84. 'It's a family secret.' I've had one — and it's incredible. 'Probably about a million calories,' John warns, but every single one is worth it. Sweet-treat recipes, however, aren't the only things the Michies like to keep to themselves. A search through the P&J archives turns up no family interviews, few photographs — and even fewer headlines. 'We don't like to make noise,' John whispers to me conspiratorially as he joins a cross-generational selection of Michies for a rare P&J photo. But hitting 100 years in business — as Michies did in 2021 — has made some noise inevitable. That milestone gave the Michies a reason to look back; and for the first time, share their story. Last year, the family commissioned freelance curator Lynne Clark to design an exhibition exploring the pharmacy's century-long story, drawing on a remarkable archive of objects and memories. Mounted in the basement of their Union Street store, there are hand-painted specie jars, drawers labelled in looping script, and elegant old ingredient containers. 'We used to make up our own ointments, cough mixtures, the lot,' says Charles, who even remembers mixing up what must have been one of Aberdeen's very first curry powder. 'There was a woman from the West End who ordered it once a year,' he says. 'I remember the shop reeking of it for days.' The exhibition also tells the story of the Michie family itself. Charles Alexander Michie trained as a pharmacist before serving in the Medical Corps during World War I. After the war, he opened his first shop at 123 Crown Street. By the 1950s, he had built a small chain, including the landmark 231 Union Street shop. He died in 1963, when John and Charles were just 23 and 21. His death left a vacancy at the head of the family business that his sons stepped into. It hadn't quite been the plan – John had been studying accountancy; Charles had wanted to become a vet. But duty called. 'Well, the bottom line was that it was the family business,' says Charles, who at the time still hadn't qualified as a chemist. One had to be brought in so they could legally stay open. So the brothers took over, and put in motion a family partnership that has lasted for more than 60 years. In that time, it has witnessed an expansion of Michies shops around the north-east and the boom years of the oil and gas miracle, all the way to the present day and the more modern issues of online shopping and bus gates. And yet, the business has endured, shaped by the brothers and their family's north-east farming background that valued hard work and loyalty. 'I don't think we took it over,' John says. 'I think it took US over.' With Charles and John in charge, expansion came gradually. After keeping the Union Street and Park Street pharmacies going through the 1960s, the brothers added a third in 1968 at Powis Terrace. More followed: Rosemount, Banchory, Laurencekirk, Inverbervie, Portlethen. New branches followed across the north-east — some, like Stonehaven, discovered by chance on a rainy day. 'There were quite a lot of pharmacists retiring,' Charles recalls, 'and they were quite happy that we should take them over, which is what we did.' But despite their hard work, both brothers put the success of the business down to something else – luck. 'Serendipity,' says John. 'Being in the right place at the right time.' They credit the timing of retirements, the loyalty of staff and the stability of having two brothers at the helm. They simply took opportunities as they came. Even the current flagship premises at 391 Union Street – a short walk from Charles Snr's original shop – came to them through a quirk of timing. It had space for both a shop and a basement café — a rare combination for a high street pharmacy. Opened in 1982, it remains the best-known of the seven Michies branches still running today. As the oil boom transformed Aberdeen, the Michies adapted — even briefly opening a tack shop for the city's growing equestrian set. 'There were no livery yards in Aberdeen,' John recalls. 'But once the oil workers started settling here, they brought their families — and their ponies.' Through all of this, Charles and John led the company together. Though ask them today how they did so, and they find it tough to explain. 'There's no dynamic, we just do our own thing,' John says with a laugh. Charles is equally circumspect. 'John gets on with the accounts, I do the pharmacy.' While the brothers' partnership has endured six decades, the environment around them is very different. And few places have felt that change more sharply than the city centre. Footfall has dropped by half since the brothers first opened their doors. And although services like podiatry and travel clinics help, they're increasingly fighting a tide of online delivery. 'The thing that's eroding our type of business is home delivery from a van,' John says. 'Despite the fact we know it's killing off shops, even my wife does it. Ninety percent of what she buys comes that way.' People come into town less often, and the very idea of a community pharmacy is being tested by large-scale chains and algorithms. If online delivery is eroding the high street, the Michies believe their secret weapon is something Amazon can't offer: people. Staff loyalty runs deep here — and goes both ways. Many employees have stayed for decades. Some met their partners on the job. Others brought their children in to work summer shifts, who then trained and qualified as pharmacists themselves. One Saturday girl is now lead pharmacist. 'She started on the shop floor,' says John. 'We put her through Robert Gordon's, and now she's one of our managers. Probably the best we've got.' With Charles now 83 and John 84, the obvious question is what happens next. There are a lot of younger Michies involved in the business, most visibly Charles' daughter Rosemary, who was behind the drive to collate the family archives. Dan Michie, John's grandson, tells me he's about to start business studies at Aberdeen university after practically growing up in the shops. His first job was as a teenager working in the basement cafe. Another of John's grandchildren, Lauren Michie, is also a student while working at Michies head office over the summer. For now, however, the brothers still have their hands on the tiller. John, ever the strategist, is already thinking about how their city-centre shop can adapt. He hopes to host community sessions on smoking cessation and long-term conditions. 'I think group settings work,' he says. 'People see their own challenges reflected in others. They support each other. That's what we want to build.' He's also keen to lean into NHS Scotland's growing push to make pharmacies a more central part of frontline healthcare — a shift both brothers see as vital for the future of their industry. As for Charles, he shows no sign of stepping away. He says it's a standing joke in the company that the only thing that will get him out of the shop is six feet long and two feet wide. As for the Michies recipe for success? Like the crispies, it's staying in the family.
Press and Journal
20-05-2025
- Press and Journal
Tourist claims he saw Nessie as passengers from biggest cruise ship of season enjoy ‘beautiful and green' Inverness
Thousands of passengers travelling on the largest cruise ship of the season packed Inverness today. MSC Preziosa, a £450 million luxury cruiser, tied up in the Port of Cromarty Firth carrying 4,300 passengers – more than the entire population of Invergordon. After the giant ship docked at around 6am, passengers flocked into dozens of tourist buses to see the Highlands for themselves. They first visited Loch Ness before being dropped just outside St Andrews Cathedral. The Press and Journal was there to welcome the first passengers arriving at around 9am. They told us their first impression of Inverness was how 'green' it is. Later in the day, around 1pm, those coming back to their buses described it as a 'little, beautiful city.' The Highlands were the first stop of MSC Preziosa, which departed Hamburg on Sunday. It left Invergordon this afternoon for Iceland, where it will stop for four days. Some passengers admitted Inverness 'wasn't the main attraction' of their holiday. However, they were pleasantly surprised by what the Highland capital had to offer. 'We're on our way to Iceland so that's kind of the main attraction but since it's stopped here, we're going to look around and wander around,' said Argentinian Maria Jose and her friend Maria, who is from the US. They added: 'We really like Inverness. Although we wanted to see the castle, but it's closed.' Similarly, Gino, 82, from Italy and Marina, 73, from Spain, explained they wanted to go to Iceland for their golden wedding anniversary. However, they said that they 'like' Inverness and that their favourite thing about the city is 'how green everything is.' Meanwhile, Julia, 41, and Frank, 46, from Germany, described Inverness as 'beautiful.' 'It's very nice, very green,' they said. Alberto, 38, and Carol 41, from Spain, also loved how green the Highland capital is. He said: 'It's gorgeous, very beautiful, I really like it because of how green it is.' Meanwhile, Carol said she was enjoying 'the small houses'. The P&J then spoke to tour guide Desire Ventura, who was supervising a group of Spanish and Italians. She said: 'They are loving it. They took a lot of photos of the traditional houses and they are loving the weather. 'They loved Loch Ness too.' Jorge and Maria Suarez, a married couple from Cuba who live in Miami, spoke to the P&J shortly after arriving in Inverness. Jorge, 70, said: 'My wife wanted to come because she watched Outlander. 'We don't know much about Inverness. We want to discover it, that's what I like. Because if I go to a place knowing it all, what's the point?' His first impression of the city was how 'beautiful and stunning' it is. We spoke to them three hours later before they jumped back on the bus. He added: 'Everything is so well-preserved. It's very beautiful. 'My favourite part was seeing the old buildings in the Crown area.' Meanwhile, Leoni, her dad Matias and grandma Rita, from Germany, think Inverness is 'a little, beautiful city.' Frank, 56, and Weibke, 52, also from Germany, said Inverness is a 'nice city' and that 'everywhere you look there's nature.' 'We also went to Loch Ness, but we didn't see Nessie,' they added. However, a Slovenian tourist claims to have had better luck in spotting the Loch Ness Monster. Dusan, 70, claims he saw her before arriving in Inverness. He said: 'I wanted to go to Inverness to see Nessie and I saw her, just the tail though. 'I was on the edge of the lake and then I started to see her. It was like seeing a UFO.' Later in Inverness, he was very impressed by Greig Street Bridge. He said: 'I went to the city centre and then I was on this bridge that was built in 1881. 'Then I went for a drink. The bridge was my favourite part of Inverness.'
Press and Journal
20-05-2025
- General
- Press and Journal
A look inside S/S Hestmanden - the Norwegain warship berthed in Aberdeen this week
Anyone passing Port of Aberdeen yesterday may have noticed an almost-200ft warship sailing into the harbour. The impressive S/S Hestmanden is visiting the Granite City as part of Liberation Convoy – a month-long journey across the North Sea. She is one of five Norwegian vessels taking part in the project to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day. 'This is the first time she has left Norway in 60 years,' historian Ragnhild Bie told The Press and Journal. Hestmanden has visited Lerwick, Stromness and Kirkwall in recent weeks with almost 10,000 people taking the opportunity to step onboard. Now, those in the north-east can immerse themselves in the merchant cargo ship's 114-year history. The P&J was invited along for a tour led by Ragnhild and the ship's captain, Hallvard Klungtveit. 'As far as we know, it's the first time the ship has been in Aberdeen since during the war in April 1944,' he said. 'She knew her way in, she was steering perfectly, and we were met by dolphins.' As we arrived, several people were already making their way around the vessel – soaking in the history and the sunshine. Hestmanden is the only preserved Norwegian cargo vessel to have sailed in convoys during both the First World War and Second World War. She now operates as a floating museum which is open during the summer in Norway. 'This is not just a museum building,' Captain Hallvard said. 'This is a living museum. 'We have people living onboard, we have food cooking in the galley, we have heat in the engine room. 'She's alive.' The crew carry out maintenance during the winter, including on the engine which was built in Scotland in 1911. 'We try to keep everything as original as we can, all of the equipment and the engine,' Ragnhild said. 'We just have to update the radios and electronic maps to be safe and secure.' Each year, volunteers dedicate around 18,000 hours to keep Hestmanden running smoothly. Since the late 1940s, she has been fuelled by diesel which is manually fired up in the engine room. 'Per hour, she burns around 280 litres of diesel,' the captain shares. 'She's an expensive lady.' From the wheelhouse and sailor's cabins, to the lounge for first-class passengers and the captain's salon, the public have access to much of the ship. Visitors can truly immerse themselves in Hestmanden's history, spending hours making their way around all of the displays. One of the sections is dedicated to the Shetland Bus – the perilous route which Hestmanden travelled during the Second World War. She and a group of fishing boats were used to smuggle soldiers, secret agents and freedom fighters between Nazi-occupied Norway and Shetland. Ragnhild said: 'For many Norwegians, Scotland became a home away from home.' 'We hope visitors leave the ship having learnt something, Catain Hallvard added. 'A lot of young people were sailing during the war, some as young as 14, and we want to share that history with young people today.' Captain Hallvard, Ragnhild and all the other crew members are looking forward to welcoming more visitors onboard and sharing more of Hestmanden's stories. Early in her life, the merchant cargo ship gained the nickname: 'the lucky ship'. The historian explained: 'Hestmanden was attacked outside of Swansea by a German bomber that flew so low it knocked out the mast. 'They dropped several bombs but they all missed, so Hestmanden has been called 'the lucky ship' since.' Hestmanden is open to the public on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week between 11am and 5pm. 'The convoy has been great,' Ragnhild said. 'Aberdeen and Norway still have a very close connection today. 'We're honoured to come here and continue that relationship. 'It's been so much fun having school children and visitors onboard. 'Hopefully we'll be able to come again – sooner than another 80 years!'
