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The Herald Scotland
6 days ago
- General
- The Herald Scotland
Letting libraries crumble is attacking the vulnerable
Libraries have always been more than shelves and silence. They're vital spaces for the whole community and one of the few places where you're not expected to buy a coffee just to sit down. In today's digital world, they're a lifeline for those who can't afford broadband or don't have access to a printer. We talk about levelling up, tackling isolation, improving literacy, supporting mental health – libraries do all of that and more with far too little credit. It's not just short-sighted to let them crumble; it's attacking the vulnerable. If we're serious about building a fairer, more equal Scotland, we need to stop treating libraries like optional extras. They are – and always have been – lifelines. Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, Tayport. Read more letters Definition of a hate crime To be a hate crime in Scotland, something must first be a crime. Then, for any crime, if it is proven in court that the motive was prejudice on grounds such as race, religion or sexual orientation, the crime is recorded as a hate crime. The motive can then be taken into account by the sheriff in deciding an appropriate sentence. That's been the law for 15 years and more. Tearing down the street decorations for a parade is likely to be the crime of vandalism. In the case of the Arran Pride march ("A hate crime on Arran? No, just a sign of where we are", Mark Smith, The Herald, June 2), the fact that it was an LGBTI+ event and was targeted in that way suggests that it may in fact have been a prejudice-motivated crime. In that case it's right that the police look into that. Whether it ends up recorded as a crime, and potentially prejudice-motivated, depends on what evidence there is. Mark Smith suggests that the perpetrator may have been a gay person who doesn't like the rainbow flag. Hypothetical, dare I say imaginary, based only on his own views about trans people it seems, and frankly a great example of victim-blaming. Disliking what a flag represents suggests more than a dislike of the colours or design, it suggests disliking the inclusion of those that the flag represents – the wide and diverse LGB+ community alongside the people of colour who founded the LGBTI+ movement, those lost within the AIDS crisis and of course, trans people. It's hardly surprising that the police might consider this flag being torn down to have been motivated by prejudice and hate. The Equality Network's Scottish Trans team were at Arran Pride, and we're happy to report that despite the vandalism the night before, everyone had a really great time with locals – celebrating everyone's diversity and calling for a better Scotland for everyone. Rebecca Don Kennedy, CEO, Equality Network, Edinburgh. Glasgow's transport shame I fully agree with Stuart Neville (Letters, June 3) who comments on the fact that Subway travel in Glasgow is a difficult and confusing experience if you are not familiar with all the stations on its circular route, due mainly to the lack of any visual indication of which station the train is approaching, in spite of over £28 million spent on its upgrade. As Mr Neville says there are the occasional spoken announcements, some of which are understandable and some not. I am also somewhat puzzled as to why after this lengthy and expensive revamp the service frequency is less than in the days of the previous "Clockwork Orange" system. Another obvious drawback is the fact that the service stops operating at 6pm on a Sunday, something that was previously blamed on the need for extra maintenance to keep ageing rolling stock and infrastructure working. Sadly the Subway seems to be like the rest of our city's disjointed and expensive public transport in that passengers come, by some distance, a poor second to what suits the various operators in Glasgow. The city centre is no longer the thriving and busy place it once was as retail, hospitality, theatres and music venues suffer from the lack of footfall. Surely it is obvious that easy-to-use and affordable public transport is a must to help Glasgow get back to being the city it once was. William Gold, Glasgow. A train on the revamped Glasgow Underground (Image: SPT) Educating Nigel AJ Clarence (Letters, June 2) remarks on Nigel Farage's likeness to one Joe E Brown. As one of your older readers, I have always thought Mr Farage unnervingly like 1950s ventriloquist dummy Archie Andrews, in oh so many ways. Rosemary Parker, Troon. Memories of Canada scheme In the "100 years ago" section today (The Herald, June 3) mention is made of a scheme for young boys to go to Canada. My mother's brother was sent to Canada aged 16 with £2 in his pocket in 1929 under this scheme. It was run by the British Immigration and Colonisation Association of Canada (BICA). It would be considered very controversial nowadays as its slogan was "Keep Canada British". They had an office in Bath Street, Glasgow. Boys aged 14 to 18 were recruited to work as farm hands for 10 shillings a week with full board. Boys who went out under this scheme and who saved £100 by the age of 21 would receive a loan of £100 from the Canadian Government to set up their own farm. My uncle returned to Glasgow in 1931 having completed his first three years. He returned under the scheme in late 1931. However the coldest weather on record hit East Ontario in late December 1933 and my grandmother paid for his return home. He spoke about his time in Canada often. It was not easy for many of the young farm labourers. Some were badly treated and lived in wooden shacks. There was very little supervision of essentially a fairly wild bunch of teenage lads from modest backgrounds. He was aware of one lad who had not been paid, was molested by the farmer, and stole food. Then he found himself in prison and was deported. However my relative struck lucky and was well treated. Eric Flack, Glasgow.
Daily Mail
30-04-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Why former plumber Murray's steady flow of goals could see him spring to player prize and international honours
Simon Murray has enjoyed a life less ordinary in football. In an age in which sanitised academies have largely rendered the scout at the side of the park redundant, the Dundee forward's path to the top has been circuitous and colourful. His talent ripped up Tayside's junior leagues where he was a prolific goalscorer with Downfield, Tayport and Dundee Violet. He was briefly under the wings of Dundee United and Dundee as a teenager, yet his exploits on their doorsteps oddly didn't merit a second look. A time-served tradesman, he got his hands dirty to make ends meet. Then came the itchy feet. 'I was a plumber in Dundee, fully qualified, but I was just labouring in Australia, for a Scottish roofer called Jock, funnily enough,' he explained of a move he made when he was 21. 'I was banging in 40 goals a season and I wasn't getting an opportunity. So, I thought I'd go travelling a bit. 'Not that I'd given up on the opportunity and making a career out of football, but I just wanted to try a few things first. It's funny how it works. I never played football for a full year.' Had it not been for the intervention of John McGlashan, Murray's break from the sport might never have ended. His manager at Tayport, McGlashan needed no convincing that the striker's talent was worthy of a bigger stage. 'John phoned me and said that I needed to get back, that I was missing the opportunity to get back into the professional leagues,' Murray recalled of a man who sadly passed away in 2018 aged just 50, adding: 'John said he'd get me that opportunity. He was manager of Dundee Violet at the time. We had eight games left and were bottom of the league. I went and scored 15 goals towards the end of the season. We stayed up. 'He got me trials at Arbroath. I just went to one training session in Perth. Paul Sheerin was the manager. I met him in McDonald's the next day. He offered me £30 a week and I told him immediately I'd sign.' Murray did well enough at Gayfield for Dundee United to belatedly show interest. Just not well enough to merit a regular first-team place when he signed. The same sense of underappreciation followed him to Hibs. He was loaned to Dundee before moving to Bidvest Wits in South Africa to little fanfare. When he looked to return to Scotland in 2020, Queen's Park, then in League Two, was his only option. 'It's definitely something I've always got,' he said. 'But it's not about rejection. I don't need to prove anybody wrong. I just need to prove myself right. 'Even now, I get a sense of: 'He's not good enough'. But that's good enough for me. It just gives you that extra motivation to do your talking on the pitch.' Even after firing the Spiders to back-to-back promotions, the doubters remained. Ross County, who Murray joined at the age of 31, were the first top-fight club to truly trust him. He repaid this by keeping them in the Premiership via a play-off win against Partick Thistle, then repeated the trick a year ago against Raith with his final goals tally standing at 23. He's now just one short of that total in the colours of his boyhood heroes. With Dundee only two points above the Staggies, Dark Blues fans must hope their talisman has a few yet to come. 'The worst thing you can do is get relegated,' he said. 'But hopefully we don't need to worry about that.' He felt an affinity with Tony Docherty from the moment they first talked last summer. The manager has given him a sense of worth that he's not always enjoyed. 'When you have somebody that gives you that sort of trust, it's massive,' said Murray. 'I met him in the summer and we spoke quite a lot. He wanted me to come back to my home city and be the main man. 'I've always thought that if I was given an opportunity by somebody then I wanted to reward them by how I go about my business. Thankfully, I've managed to play well for him. 'He's played a big part for me. When Joe (Shaughnessy) wasn't there, I was made captain as well. He trusts me, so it's a good feeling to have from your manager.' It's been a rollercoaster of a Premiership season for Dundee supporters. Their side can't stop scoring goals (fourth highest with 51) but can't stop conceding them (the most lost with 71). Provided it all comes out in the wash, though, Murray will have given them many moments to savour. 'Probably the derby ones,' he said when asked for his favourite goals. 'Obviously, beating Dundee United away from home for the first time in 20 years. 'Then we beat them in the Scottish Cup and I scored the winner... they're always the good ones, especially when you score the only goal in the game.' Regardless of what transpires, the last of those doubters have presumably gone into hiding. Murray turned 33 in March and has just made the shortlist for PFA Scotland's Player of the Year award. Callum McGregor, another nominee, is the latest to make his case for international recognition. At long last, it seems the journeyman has arrived. 'All I would say — it's amazing for people to come out and talk about me like that,' said Murray. 'There are players in the league who have done it before; Stephen O'Donnell, Andrew Considine. They were older but managed to get recognition. 'I'm just concentrating on myself, playing football and just enjoying it. I'm (the joint) top goalscorer in Scotland. That's a great achievement as well. 'I love playing football, love playing on a matchday. It's the best day of the week, turning up on a Saturday and you're ready to go toe to toe. That's what I love about it. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. 'Hopefully, I'll keep fit and injury-free. Since my injury, I've done a lot in the gym and look after myself. 'If I could get to 40, I'll take it from there and see what happens.'
The Herald Scotland
30-04-2025
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Simon Murray: From Dundee's juniors to PFA Scotland nominee
"My last junior team was Dundee Violet, but it was mostly Tayport for me," he said. "I came back with John McGlashan. I actually did a bit of travelling in Australia when I was 21. I went away for a year. I had a problem with shin splints. Then John phoned me and said that I needed to get back, that I was missing the opportunity to get back into the professional leagues. John said he'd get me that opportunity. He was manager of Dundee Violet at the time. We had eight games left, they were bottom of the league, and I went and scored 15 goals towards the end of the season. We stayed up. He got me trials at Arbroath. I just went to one training session in Perth - Paul Sheerin was the manager - and I met him in McDonald's the next day. He offered me £30 a week and I told him immediately I'd sign." Murray's stint in Oz clearly did him no harm. Labouring for a Scottish roofer named Jock may have been the closest he got to physical endurance while away, mind you. Now the sole non-Celtic PFA Scotland Player of the Year nominee for 2024/25, the 33-year-old has come quite a distance from his days of buckling down and grafting on site, as well as developing his trade at junior level, as much as he had an outstanding few moments of madness in the latter. "That's where you learn. I was 16 years old, and I was playing against tough defenders. There were a few games - Arnadale, Arniston - I was up against old school players, and they'd just elbow you off the ball and this thing and the next. Read more: "I'd never been part of a fine system. But there was one time, I'd had about £20 worth of fines and I was thinking 'I don't want to pay this.' I was on about £4 a week back then. The way we used to do the warm up, the assistant manager was in the semi-circle on the pitch and all the boys were running round. One of them, the captain, said, 'If you peel off the back and sprint into Cas and floor him, I'll let you off with the fines.' So, we were jogging around, and I peeled off and, full force, smashed him. All the boys, it was just hilarity. But he never got up. He had to go to hospital. I'd broken his rib. "I got off with my fine, though, that was the most important thing. But the whole dressing room, that's where I learned a lot. These boys weren't in it for the money or anything like that. It was just all about the togetherness and just winning. That's where I get my sort of winning attitude, just enjoyment of winning." Murray's 22 goals across all competitions this season make him one of Scotland's top marksmen. He is just one strike away from equalling his tally from last season at Ross County. The forward spent a year and a half in the Highlands but understandably couldn't resist when his boyhood club came calling in the summer. "Travelling up to County and back to family in Dundee, that was bringing stress. Travelling in cars for two hours and that - it was bringing problems. It does catch up on you. "It wasn't the only draw in coming to Dundee, it's a great club and that and I'm from there. But the added bonus is that I live only about 45 seconds from the training ground. It was the best move I could get. When I came, I'd missed the pre-season with Dundee because I was to-ing and fro-ing with Ross County. I probably never really started hitting form until November, December. "From that time, I started playing more like I was last year at County. From then I've kind of kept my consistency levels pretty much the same. In terms of that and the goals, it's been good this season. But I should also say that I feel I'm playing in a pretty good attacking team. We score a lot of goals, and it's great to play in." (Image: Steve Welsh - PA) Tony Docherty was widely lauded for guiding Dundee to a memorable top six finish last season, and rightly so. His team haven't enjoyed parallel levels of success this campaign, however, and they remain just two points ahead of a relegation play-off place with four games to go. Regardless, Murray loves working under the man dubbed 'The Doc'. "When you have somebody that gives you that sort of trust, it's massive. I met him in the summer and we spoke quite a lot. He wanted me to come back to my home city and be the main man. I've always thought that if I'd been given an opportunity by somebody, I wanted to reward them by how I go about my business. Thankfully, I've managed to play well for him." Read more: The fruits, or in this case, goals, of Murray's labour could have been enjoyed by Dundee long before he made his debut for the club at 32. Indeed, he spent time in their, and United's, academy as a pre-teen. A young Murray was never fancied. While rejection doesn't fuel him over two decades on, an inherent desire to continually prove his abilities does. "It was someone's opinion that I wasn't good enough. Dundee's academy wasn't what it is like now. It wasn't as good a setup, and Dundee United's was the same. Maybe just at the time, I wasn't good enough. But it's not about rejection, I don't need to prove anybody wrong. I just need to prove myself right. Even now, I get a sense of 'He's not good enough'. But that's good enough for me…because it just gives you that extra motivation to do your talking on the pitch." Given he was roofing with Jock back in the mid-2010s, it has be to admired that Murray has managed to make a living out of football. Getting to the top is one thing, but staying there is another, at least that's what one of the striker's old teammates told him. "Obviously, I was an apprentice plumber and playing junior football. You're doing a hard sort of graft. I loved that at the time. You were having a laugh too and it's a different sort of camaraderie also. It's just what you're used to. But when you see the side of being a professional footballer... I remember someone saying to me - he was playing for Albion Rovers at the time - that the hard part is not getting full-time, it's staying full-time. Staying in that environment - that's the hardest bit. It's not getting the opportunity, it's staying there for a prolonged length of time. "So I think when I went into Dundee United, and I saw the Sean Dillons and John Rankins and how they went about it all, I just tried to copy them and emulate how they looked after their selves." Rankin played deep into his 30s, while Dillon remains a regular for Montrose at the age of 41. If Murray can prolong his career to the extent of the Irish stalwart, he'll be happy, even if his good lady may not feel the same. "Obviously, I look after myself. I still feel I've got a lot of miles in the tank. If I can get to 40, that would be a decent achievement. 40 is probably the aim, although I'm not sure what the wife would say. I definitely want to do as much now as I can. I don't know what I'd do without football on a Saturday, to be honest. At the moment, I'm just enjoying it. Hopefully, keep fit and injury-free. Since my injury, I've done a lot in the gym and look after myself. If I could get to 40, I'll take it from there and see what happens." Read more: If Murray does indeed make it to 40, not only will it be an admirable achievement for a player who wasn't initially fancied to go pro, but it also means we'll more than likely see him find the back of the net countless times over in the coming years. Recognised for his fine goalscoring form this season as a PFA Scotland Player of the Year nominee, Murray doesn't take praise from his fellow players lightly. "Obviously, you play against them week in week out, and it's pretty good you're on the pitch, and they maybe recognise what you are offering your team. Or if you're a hard opponent against them. When you get a vote, it's pretty special." Callum McGregor voted in favour of Murray winning the prestigious award. "He's done amazing," said the Celtic skipper. "The one if I had to pick outside Celtic, he has been the outstanding candidate. He's scored a lot of goals, he's scored in big games and he's actually played really well against us as well. So he's given us problems. I always look at who's been good against us as well and try and pick somebody from that. He more than deserves his place." Although McGregor hung up his international boots at the age of 31 to focus on club football, he thinks Steve Clarke would be wise to consider handing Murray a call-up as Scotland begin their preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a duo of friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein in June. "He's the type of guy that would represent Scotland in the best possible way. He works as hard as he possibly can. He's sprinting about the pitch constantly. He's always trying to help his team. He's trying to set the tone. And then when you score that number of goals as well, then you know he's got a goal in him. Like I said, he'd probably be the perfect candidate. If he was going to get there in the summer, then who knows? "You've seen everybody has different journeys and you see some of the England boys as well that have come in late on and done really well. [It's the] same with Scotland as well. I don't think there should ever be an age limit on when you can get back in the squad or get your first cap or whatever it is. If you're doing well in the moment, of course, you need a bit of luck as well, then I don't think there should be a limit on that. If you're doing well and you deserve it, then you should be in." Ever-humble, Murray wouldn't hesitate to represent his country, should the call one day come. "All I would say is that it's amazing for people to come out and talk about me like that. I'm the top goal scorer in Scotland, that's a great achievement as well. At least, for the moment…we'll see how that ends. If I could do that, and can play like people in the squad aren't, then who knows? I'll just try to keep doing what I am. "I love playing football, love playing on a matchday. It's the best day of the week, turning up on a Saturday, and you're ready to go toe to toe. That's what I love about it. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing." Dundee face Motherwell this weekend in their penultimate home game of the season. Perhaps Clarke's watchful eyes will gaze over Dens Park as Murray looks to perpetuate his local hero status and ensure his boyhood club remain in the top-flight.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Buddies monitor Nigeria keeper amid top-flight trials'
Goalkeeper Nathaniel Nwosu, who won a Nigeria cap in November 2022 but currently plays for Tayport in the Midlands League, is to join Aberdeen on trial this week having spent last week with St Johnstone and with Stoke City, St Mirren, Dunfermline Athletic and Dumbarton all monitoring the 19-year-old. (The Herald), externalStephen Robinson would seem like an obvious and logical choice as the new Hearts head coach given his success with Scottish Premiership rivals St Mirren, but there are a number of other possible contenders. (The Scotsman), externalRead Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.
BBC News
28-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Nigeria keeper heads for Saints after Dons trial'
Goalkeeper Nathaniel Nwosu, who won a Nigeria cap in November 2022 but currently plays for Tayport in the Midlands League, is to join Aberdeen on trial this week having spent last week with St Johnstone and with Stoke City, St Mirren, Dunfermline Athletic and Dumbarton all monitoring the 19-year-old. (The Herald), externalRead Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.
