text:
Erasing Memories

Long-term memories, particularly bad ones, could be dissolved if certain drugs are administered at just the right moment during recall
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Slipping on a pair of dark glasses, Agent Kay raises a mysterious handheld device before a crowd of shocked New Yorkers. Suddenly, the unit emits a brilliant flash of light that vaporizes all memory of a violent attack by space aliens from the minds of panicked earthlings who had just witnessed the horror. That little flashy thing, as Will Smith's character calls it in this scene from the movie Men in Black, is not entirely science fiction; neuroscientists know how to erase memories of the recent past, while leaving well-established memories intact. And new research suggests that even long-term memories could be deleted.

Erasing bad memories could be extremely therapeutic. Many people are haunted by painful experiences that cause lasting psychological problems. Forty-nine percent of rape victims suffer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as do 17 percent of people who survive serious vehicular accidents and 14 percent of those who unexpectedly lose a family member, according to the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Alliance. Uncontrollable feelings of fear and horror can overwhelm sufferers. Devastating social and psychiatric complications can result, including depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and suicide. Persistent fatigue, digestive disorders and unexplained chronic pain are also common. Sleep may offer no solace, as the distressing events return in vivid, recurring nightmares.

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Webroot acquires U.K.-based SaaS vendor Email Systems

Updated Nov. 28 at 1:39 p.m. EST.

Webroot Software, best known for its Spy Sweeper anti-spyware product, is moving into the software-as-a-service (SaaS) market via the acquisition of U.K.-based Email Systems.

Webroot did not reveal financial terms of the deal.

The purchase gives Webroot the tools to deliver to its North American customer base a variety of hosted messaging security services, including email archiving, image scanning and encryption and web filtering, as well as anti-spam, anti-phishing and anti-virus capabilities.

Peter Watkins, Webroot's president and CEO, told SCMagazineUS.com that an investigation into the market showed that the number of companies providing messaging security services via SaaS “was sparse,” adding that Email Systems had built a solid technology platform, taken it to market and proven its scalability and performance.

"We thought it was a wonderful opportunity to take that core technology and bring it into the U.S. with our presence," he added.

Email Systems protects more than 2.5 million email boxes worldwide and filters and scans more than 1.2 billion messages each month, according to Webroot.

“The acquisition moves Webroot into the high-growth security SaaS market," Brian Burke, program director of IDC's security products service, told SCMagazineUS.com. "This is really where the interest and high growth is. We expect revenue for the hosted messaging security market, which was just more than $300 million in 2006, to grow to $1.4 billion by 2011."

The hosted messaging security services arena has seen considerable consolidation in the past 12 months, said Burke.

"The big event was Google acquiring Postini, but Microsoft also bought FrontBridge and Websense acquired SurfControl,” he said. “It's clear there are lots of benefits to buying these hosted security vendors, so this makes sense on the Webroot side."

Burke added that the purchase also benefits Email Systems, because the Webroot name "gives them a recognized security brand in the U.S."

Changing direction makes sense for Webroot, which has focused primarily on anti-virus software, Eric Ogren, president of the Ogren Group, a consulting firm, told SCMagazineUS.com.

"Webroot has taken in well over $100 million in investment money with not a lot of market share growth to show for it. It makes sense to change business models and to diversify away from a security pure-play,” he said.

"Instead of competing with the likes of McAfee, Microsoft, Symantec and Trend Micro, the company can lay its sights on the likes of Marshal, MessageLabs and Proofpoint. Organizations will always need to communicate via email and web technologies, and this places Webroot squarely in a position for sustainable growth. Webroot will have to add data-loss protection [DLP] functionality, so expect a technology acquisition in this space."

Watkins said Webroot will quickly merge a variety of technical functions from the two companies. These include product development and quality assurance and support. The company also plans to build a U.S.-based data center.

Jon Oltsik, senior analyst with Enterprise Strategy Group, told SCMagazineUS.com that the acquisition comes at a time when many companies are expanding the reach of their products.

“Many of the desktop security players are extending their products and business models.  For example, McAfee added data-loss prevention in its client while Symantec supplemented SEP (Symantec Endpoint Protections) with NAC (network access control) functionality from Sygate,” he said. “To me, it is logical for Webroot to do the same, and managed services may be a good route given the company's strength in the SMB (small-medium business) space.”

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NewsHong Kong

Hong Kong launches first electric taxis

PUBLISHED : Saturday, 18 May, 2013, 6:15pm
UPDATED : Saturday, 18 May, 2013, 7:44pm

Hong Kong saw its first electric taxis hit the streets on Saturday in a step towards reducing the city’s high levels of roadside pollution.

The 45 bright red cars were launched by Chinese electric vehicle producer BYD, which is partly backed by US investment titan Warren Buffett.

Called the BYD e6, the five-door crossover sedans are powered by iron phosphate batteries and take two hours to charge, a statement from BYD said, adding that they can then travel for 300km.

The cars have been rented by the Hong Kong Taxi and Public Light Bus Association, which is testing them over the next six months.

“The idea of being environmentally friendly is a global trend and the electric car is one good example,” said Wong Chung Keung, president and chairman of the association.

“An electric car saves the cost of fuel and will allow our taxi drivers to earn more,” he added, saying that a normal taxi would cost HK$0.8 to run per kilometre while an electric car would cost HK$0.2-HK$0.3.

He called for more charging stations around the city to encourage taxi drivers to go electric - BYD said it is setting up 47 chargers in nine charging locations near car parks.

Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah was quoted in a BYD statement as welcoming the electric car and saying he was committed to “promoting environmental sustainability by laying the foundation for Hong Kong to become a zero emissions city”.

The government announced revisions to its air quality objectives for the first time in 25 years in January last year, after University of Hong Kong research showed pollution-related illnesses killed more than 3,000 residents a year.

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text:
Betting Pool

Single pool wagering will change betting as we know it

Jockey Club's 'strategic technology services agreement' with American firm Longitude will involve a move towards single pool wagering. Photo: David Wong

The announcement from the Jockey Club on Monday regarding its "strategic technology services agreement" with American firm Longitude was brief, prosaic and gave little away - but it has the potential to change racehorse wagering as we know it.

Wednesday, 24 April, 2013, 4:21am

Caulfield meeting gives insight into commingling effects

Brett Prebble was among familiar faces at Caulfield

Now that Hong Kong's participation in global commingling of betting pools seems a matter of when, not if, last weekend's Blue Diamond Stakes simulcast from Melbourne provided an interesting look at what that might mean for everyone.

27 Feb 2013 - 4:56am

HK$200m annual windfall for Hong Kong government in betting change

Hong Kong Jockey Club gets approval for the two-way combining of betting pools with foreign jurisdictions. Photo: David Wong

After more than six years of Jockey Club lobbying, the Home Affairs Bureau on Wednesday backed the two-way combining of betting pools with foreign jurisdictions, allowing overseas punters access to the larger and more attractive pools here.

7 Feb 2013 - 5:36am

Singapore & Co need the big fish like Hong Kong

The concept of the home pool is being badly stretched out of shape now with international simulcasting and Hong Kong's coverage of Singapore's big meeting revealed something of the future of commingling.

30 May 2012 - 12:00am

FlexiBet still bedding down after first meeting

With no figures released on the success or otherwise of Monday's FlexiBet launch, we were left to reflect on the arrival of the betting changes through the limited prism of the place pool.

To the naked eye, punters appeared to have embraced the change in the early stages of the meeting.

17 Sep 2008 - 12:00am

Reports on betting at Wuhan horse races pulled from websites

Authorities are trying to play down reports about the introduction of betting on horse races in Wuhan in the near future, fearing it will contradict the Communist Party's long-standing ban on gambling.

12 Jan 2008 - 12:00am

Illegal gaming means better deal for players

At 700 billion yuan a year, the mainland's market for illegal gambling is by far the world's largest.

While the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the mainland's two state-run lotteries, is keen to crack down on underground gaming, black-market bookmakers, numbers runners, internet casinos, backroom gambling halls and telebetting services targeting the mainland are rife.

5 Nov 2007 - 12:00am

AGTech to fix odds in time for Olympics

Mainland sports betting outlets to double to 3,000

Mainland lottery investor AGTech Holdings expects to receive approval from the State Council to launch fixed-odds sports betting products in time for next year's Beijing Olympics, according to chairman and majority shareholder John Sun Ho.

12 Jun 2007 - 12:00am

Changes to gambling ordinance cannot be realistically justified

The draconian amendments to the Gambling Ordinance come into effect tomorrow. Although they make the SAR Government and the Jockey Club the laughing stock of the real world, they are justified on the basis that they protect the public from the evils associated with betting which is not already part of our way of life.

31 May 2002 - 12:00am

Lottery for sport 'not serious gambling'

A sports lottery would not encourage gambling in society because it would not be 'serious betting', the Secretary for Home Affairs said yesterday.

Speaking on RTHK, Lam Woon-kwong said that in light of the massive budget deficit, the chances of the Government increasing funding for sport were slim and a lottery was a good solution.

28 May 2002 - 12:00am

Betting on World Cup finals approved

With spending on official sports lotteries of 14 billion yuan (HK$13.16 billion) last year, China has approved betting on the 2002 World Cup finals in an effort to capitalise on the national interest in soccer and stop illegal gambling.

6 Apr 2002 - 12:00am

Football gambling ready for kick-off

Soccer betting will start today in 12 major cities and provinces and it looks set to take China by storm, riding the wave of the national team's success in reaching the World Cup for the first time and the popular passion for gambling.

22 Oct 2001 - 12:00am


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NZ dollar falls below 85 US cts after Fonterra cuts payout

NZ dollar falls below 85 US cts after Fonterra cuts payout to farmers

By Tina Morrison

July 30 (BusinessDesk) - The New Zealand dollar dropped below 85 US cents for the first time in seven weeks after Fonterra Cooperative Group cut its forecast payout to dairy farmers and a stronger US currency saw the kiwi lose some of its allure.

The kiwi fell as low as 84.90 US cents overnight and was trading at 84.96 cents at 8am in Wellington, from 85.15 cents at 5pm yesterday. The trade-weighted index fell to 79.40 from 79.52

The New Zealand dollar underperformed other major currencies overnight amid broad US dollar strength, with the greenback holding close to this year's high against a basket of currencies. Optimism is building about a recovery in the world's largest economy ahead of major data and policy announcements this week starting with tonight's Federal Reserve meeting and second-quarter GDP data and private payrolls report. The kiwi has fallen half a cent since yesterday morning in the lead-up to Fonterra's announcement it would cut the 2015 forecast payout to $6 per kilogram of milk solids from a previous forecast of $7/kgMS and from a record $8.40 /kgMS in 2014.

"It was a night of broader based US dollar strength," said Bank of New Zealand currency strategist Raiko Shareef. "The New Zealand dollar was the major underperformer and that can broadly be attributed to the Fonterra news yesterday. That continues the pressure that has been building on kiwi for essentially all of July."

The local currency has declined 3.1 percent so far this month amid weaker-than-expected inflation and commodity prices and following Reserve Bank hints it may intervene to pull down the kiwi after signalling a pause in its hiking cycle.

"We have had a series of quite sharp setbacks for the kiwi, all fundamentally bringing it back in line with where it really should be," said the BNZ's Shareef. "The pressure is still lower."

Traders will now be looking for direction from the US, starting with tonight's key releases and ending the week with a key payrolls report on Friday. The kiwi may head down towards 84 US cents should the US announcements exceed expectations, Shareef said.

Today, New Zealand data is released on June building consents.

The kiwi slipped to 90.52 Australian cents from 90.62 cents yesterday, weakened to 63.36 euro cents from 63.40 cents, was little changed at 50.15 British pence from 50.17 pence and declined to 86.75 yen from 86.84 yen.

© Scoop Media

Business Headlines | Sci-Tech Headlines

Gordon Campbell: On Tiwai Point (And Saying “No” In Greece)

Its hard to see how Rio Tinto’s one month delay in announcing its intentions about the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is a good sign for (a) the jobs of the workers affected or (b) for the New Zealand taxpayer. More>>

Half Empty: Dairy Product Prices Extend Slide To Six-Year Low

Dairy product prices continued their slide, paced by whole milk power, in the latest GlobalDairyTrade auction, weakening to the lowest level in six years. More>>

Copper Broadband: Regulator Set To Keep Chorus Pricing Largely Unchanged

The Commerce Commission looks likely to settle on a price close to its original decision on what telecommunications network operator Chorus can charge its customers, though it probably won’t backdate any update. More>>

Lower Levy For Safer Cars: ACC Backtracks On Safety Assessments

Dog and Lemon: “The ACC has based the entire levy system on a set of badly flawed data from Monash University. This Monash data is riddled with errors and false assumptions; that’s the real reason for the multiple mistakes in setting ACC levies.” More>>

Fast Track: TPP Negotiations Set To Accelerate, Groser Says

Negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership will accelerate in July, with New Zealand officials working to stitch up a deal by the month's end, according to Trade Minister Tim Groser. More>>

Floods: Initial Assessment Of Economic Impact

Authorities around the region have compiled an initial impact assessment for the Ministry of Civil Defence, putting the estimated cost of flood recovery at around $120 million... this early estimate includes social, built, and economic costs to business, but doesn’t include costs to the rural sector. More>>

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NZ Sending Its Strongest Olympic Winter Games Team

NZ Sending Its Strongest Olympic Winter Games Team

With only a few days to go to the Olympic Winter Games, High Performance Sport NZ (HPSNZ) and the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) are expressing confidence in the team competing in Sochi.

HPSNZ Chief Executive Alex Baumann says the team announced recently by the New Zealand Olympic Committee is possibly the strongest and best prepared New Zealand has sent to an Olympic Winter Games.

``In Vancouver in 2010 we targeted top 10 places, but at the Sochi Games New Zealand is sending athletes who can make finals and have the potential to medal. This in part reflects the impact of our increased investment in Snow Sports New Zealand’s high performance programme over the past four years,’’ he says.

Last year HPSNZ provided an extra one-off $115,000 to help with preparations for the Sochi Games, which brought its investment to Snow Sports NZ in 2013 to $1.815m. This was on top of increases in funding over the previous few years, including additional investment from the New Zealand Olympic Committee through Olympic Solidarity.

The Government also helped establish a high performance centre in Wanaka where the athletes can train off the mountain. HPSNZ technical experts have also been working with the athletes in their build-up to Sochi, and some of them are part of the New Zealand support team going to the Games.
``For many of the athletes selected to the New Zealand team, this will be their first Olympics. It’s a tough environment to compete in but there have been some strong performances at World Cups in the lead up to these Games. They’re a talented group of athletes, who are ready to compete. Overall, it’s perhaps the most professionally prepared team we’ve ever sent to a Winter games,’’ Baumann says.

``With this investment and support there’s potential for New Zealand to do well, particularly in the freeski and snowboard slopestyle events but we have to be realistic. These events are new to the Olympic Winter Games and the nature of them is such that positions on the podium can change around a lot. For example over a six month period in the park and pipe disciplines during the 2013 Northern hemisphere season, 19 athletes claimed podiums.’’

“This is a new group of athletes that have had to work really hard to perform in World Cup competitions to meet toughened Olympic selection standards,’’ says Kereyn Smith, CEO of the New Zealand Olympic Committee. “They are full of potential and we’re looking forward to some strong performances in incredibly exciting, high adrenaline, high risk sports.”
Kereyn Smith added that the funding increases and strengthening performance planning and tougher selection standards have seen athletes’ international rankings improve. “We’ve selected athletes that have built a credible track record during Olympic qualification and we’re looking forward to more athletes going through to finals at Sochi 2014.”

-- Ends --

© Scoop Media

Culture Headlines | Health Headlines | Education Headlines

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text:
For venture investors, a startup's social-media efforts are a big deal | networking people and companies |

Better put your best foot forward on Twitter and Facebook. An investor might be watching.

A growing group of venture capitalists are taking social media into consideration before they decide to pour millions of dollars into a startup. They're checking how many online followers a company has, and how fast the numbers are growing. They're looking at the unfiltered consumer feedback companies get and how they respond. And they're assessing how creative startups are about managing marketing campaigns and leveraging their presence.

An impressive social-media effort, investors say, can show that a brand has a unique and appealing voice—and that it knows how to grab customers. And it can be the tipping point in the decision to back a startup.

To read the full article, click on the title...

Get your Free Business Plan Template here:

Angel Investing Formula: this video explains how to find and reach Angel Investors:

Via Marc Kneepkens


text:
Comment: Burned by role on screen

Clive Brazier at the MH17 crash site. Picture: Contributed

Clive Brazier at the MH17 crash site. Picture: Contributed

Have your say

THE horror of the downing of Flight MH17 by, most likely, Russian separatists, has dominated the news along with the bombing of Gaza and both events have once again thrown the role of TV reporters into the spotlight.

Unfortunately for Sky’s Colin Brazier, the experience has left him severely burned. The sight of him lifting up items from a suitcase lying among the wreckage-strewn fields in Ukraine was too much for viewers, who complain that it was inappropriate. Brazier, a veteran reporter, knew this himself and said so in the live report but it was too late to stop a storm of protest on Twitter and complaints to Ofcom.

There are a number of reasons why what he did was wrong. The entire crash site was a crime scene, whether it be criminal or war crime, and should not have been tampered with by anyone but the appropriate authorities. Then there was the possibility that he could have lifted a garment that uncovered a family photograph or another obviously identifiable item which would have then been broadcast live. It’s hard to imagine how losing one’s family in a plane crash could be made any worse, but watching as a journalist sifts through their luggage on live TV certainly isn’t going to act as kind of emotional balm. And yet I can understand how the mistake was made. While the site of a commercial plane crash site can never be described as ordinary, the wreckage of MH17 was indeed extraordinary, wedged as it was in the midst of a war zone where the rules appeared not to apply. Well, in fact, they did apply, it’s just
that there was no-one to administer them and so journalists, by their very nature, have a habit of pushing rules to their limit.

If you see all your colleagues wandering around the wreckage site, you are more than likely going to do so too, partially out of fear of missing a part of the story. For some reporters there is an adage in journalism that it’s often easier to apologise afterwards than to receive permission before. And Colin Brazier’s apology was swift and, I would, say heartfelt: “And so during that lunchtime broadcast I stood above a pile of belongings, pointing to items strewn across the ground. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted a pink drinking flask. It looked familiar. My six-year-old daughter, Kitty, has one just like it. I bent down and, what my Twitter critics cannot hear – because of the sound quality of internet replays of the broadcast – is that I had lost it. It is a cardinal sin of broadcasting, in my book anyway, to start blubbing on-air. I fought for some self-control, not thinking all that clearly as I did so. Too late, I realised that I was crossing a line. I thought aloud ‘We shouldn’t be doing this … this is a mistake’, an instant apology that was only selectively quoted by those determined to see what I did as a powerful example of journalistic vulturism.”

There may be those who will bay for his blood and insist that every mistake must be punished with the sack but I don’t think it is warranted in this occasion. He should, and hopefully will, keep his job, but unfortunately wherever he goes the story is going to follow around with him. He will wrongly be viewed as the modern equivalent of Damien in the Channel 4 comedy Drop the Dead Donkey who always carried a battered and blackened doll in his luggage along with a bouquet of flowers with a card bearing the word ‘Why?” as a means of embellishing the scene of any accident.

And yet world affairs correspondents and war reporters have a difficult job that requires courage and determination and, perhaps, just a dollop or two of foolhardiness. There is no guarantee that the blue helmet and flak jacket marked “Press” is going to protect them. The BBC’s Jeremy Bowen, the doyen of Middle Eastern reporters, knows this only too well. Back in 2000 while covering the conflict in Lebanon he was delivering a piece to camera, when the car in which he had been sitting only minutes before and in which his “fixer” and close friend Abed Takoush was still sitting, was struck by an Israeli rocket, killing Takoush instantly.

Yet still Bowen goes back time and time again to walk that narrow tightrope and report as accurately and fairly as possible on the latest twist in the Middle East crisis. A friend of mine pointed out that the term “Middle East Crisis” seems to have been fixed to the ticker-tape banner that runs along the bottom of our screens for decades now.

The grammar of TV reporting has also changed in recent years, with reporters apparently under pressure to film reports and pieces to camera as the events on which they are reporting unfold. For example, reporters jostle into position to deliver their piece to camera on the Queen’s visit at the exact second when the Queen passes directly behind them, thus giving the viewer further proof, if proof were actually required, that they are exactly where they should be, at the heart of the action. These types of “PTC” were particularly apparent on the first day of the plane disaster, with reporters trying to get themselves in shots with the families of the victims passing by in airport buses.

The most annoying, and potentially, dangerous piece to camera is the one where the reporter is driving a car while casually looking sideways to address the cameraman who is sitting in the passenger seat. This may be legal as the reporter usually has two hands on the wheel, unless he is using one hand to gesticulate, but I would argue that it can hardly be described as safe. Where is his concentration directed, is it really on driving the car or trying to remember the words to his report and to turn to address the camera at the right moment?

Michael Cockerall, Channel 4’s political reporter, recently tweeted his view that such practices should be banned by producers and I’m sure they will, but only some time in the future after there is a car crash as a consequence of such behaviour. I understand the reason behind such PTCs. They have a casual manner and give the sense of the journalist as a “gumshoe” on the case and literally in pursuit of the story, even if this does involve trundling behind a white van in the outskirts of Dagenham.

On the subject of television reporters, I do find it disappointing that the BBC has decided to sack all four dedicated reporters for Panorama including John Sweeney, celebrated perhaps for the wrong reasons for his YouTube tirade against a Scientology member but a dedicated reporter nonetheless, and our own Shelly Joffre. This means that for the first time in its 60-year history Panorama will have no dedicated reporters. The argument is that reporters will pitch ideas and be seconded to the programme or the editors will work with freelance journalists to develop investigations. Yet, as Sweeney pointed out, freelance journalists don’t have the power of staff reporters to argue against editors.

The consequence is that Panorama, once a great name in investigative journalism, is but a shadow of what it once was, less in fact as strictly speaking if there are no reporters, then there is no-one to even cast a shadow. TV reporters will always make mistakes, but like their less public comrades in print, magazines and online, their role remains an important one if we are to ever understand this tumultuous world in which we live.

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text:
Salmond: Royal Mail sale should follow referendum

The UK Government announced plans to float Royal Mail on the stock market earlier this week. Picture: Getty

The UK Government announced plans to float Royal Mail on the stock market earlier this week. Picture: Getty

Have your say

PLANS to privatise the Royal Mail should be put on hold until after the Scottish independence referendum, according to First Minister Alex Salmond.

He demanded the moratorium so people in Scotland can have their own say on what do with the public “asset” in the event of a Yes vote next September.

“The Scottish Government is firmly opposed to the privatisation of Royal Mail and this proposed sell-off of an essential public service should be subject to a moratorium until the result of Scotland’s referendum is known,” he said.

“Privatisation is a deeply flawed decision with potentially serious and long-term effects on Scotland’s rural communities and rural economy.”

A majority of Scotland’s MPs opposed the sell-off in a vote, which he said illustrates that decisions should be taken independently.

“I am therefore calling on the Prime Minister to put a halt to this deeply misguided action until the people of Scotland have had their say on Scotland’s future next year,” he said.

“The Royal Mail is a profit-making enterprise with massive public assets which are as much the people of Scotland’s as they are the rest of the UK’s. As a result, it is unacceptable for those assets to be sold off before the people are able to make their decision on Scotland’s future.

“The Royal Mail should be in public hands and following independence we will ensure that the people of Scotland have the opportunity to keep it that way. Across Europe there are many successful public postal services. In contrast no country has divided the post office network from the postal service as has been done in the UK as a preparation for sell off.

The UK Government confirmed last Thursday that it is pressing ahead with controversial plans by selling shares, sparking claims it was ‘’selling off the family silver’’.

UK ministers said it was a ‘’very exciting’’ day as details of a share sale were announced, but they were attacked by unions and opposition politicians.

Members of the public will be able to apply for shares - at a minimum of £750 - as well as institutional investors. Analysts expect the sell-off will make up to £3 billion.

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said the UK Government’s scheme will not affect the universal service.

“What this does is bring more money into the Royal Mail,” he told the BBC’s Sunday Politics.

“For years under Labour thousands of jobs were lost, many sub post offices closed. We stopped that decline, we’ve protected sub post offices, we’re investing in Royal Mail through this process.

“This will be good for Royal Mail. It will make it flourish.”

A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: “Private investment will allow Royal Mail to continue to deliver a 6 day a week service at a uniform price across the country.

“Royal Mail has an opportunity to grow. We can also combine the best of the public and private sectors. Whilst we all now send fewer letters, the growth in online retailing has meant an increase in the number of parcels being sent. We are in a strong position to meet this demand. We already have the largest UK delivery network and we are one of the most trusted companies in the UK. But we need to make significant investment to stay ahead of the competition. The Government’s financial position means that this investment must come from the private sector.

“Private investment will allow Royal Mail to grow our parcels business. This in turn will help us to continue to deliver the Universal Postal Service.

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text:
John Humphrys denies he planned humiliation

Have your say

RADIO 4 presenter John Humphrys has insisted he did not set out to humiliate George Entwistle during the on-air mauling that led to the BBC director general’s resignation.

The journalist was widely acknowledged as the man who sealed the fate of his boss with a bruising Today programme interview about the handling
of a series of crises at the
corporation.

Mr Entwistle, who had been in the post for less than two months, spent virtually his entire tenure trying to deal with the fall-out from the Jimmy Savile child abuse scandal.

The final nail in his coffin was the disclosure that Newsnight – which had been panned for not running a report exposing the scandal – had wrongly implicated Lord McAlpine, a former Tory party treasurer, in a child abuse scandal in north Wales in the 1970s and 1980s.

During an excruciating exchange on Radio 4’s Today last month, Mr Entwistle admitted that despite all the furore over the abuse scandal, he had been unaware that Newsnight was going to broadcast the north Wales report.

Mr Humphrys said yesterday that he believed the former director general struggled during the interview because he was trying to tell the truth.

The broadcaster revealed they did not speak afterwards because the programme was still running, but Mr Entwistle did approach him to shake his hand.

Mr Humphrys told Radio 4’s Broadcasting House programme “It was all rather sad. He did look pretty down, I must say. It wasn’t a happy moment … I both like and respect him, but you don’t want to see somebody facing that sort of interview.

“I didn’t set out to humiliate him, of course I didn’t. I asked what I thought at the time,
and hope, were perfectly valid questions.”

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text:
Eagles put a smile back on Rory McIlroy’s face

Rory McIlroy watches his drive at the PGA Championship at Wentworth. Picture: Getty

Rory McIlroy watches his drive at the PGA Championship at Wentworth. Picture: Getty

Have your say

NO BRIDE and only a few birdies. Two eagles, however, helped put a smile back on Rory McIlroy’s face the day after breaking off his engagement to tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.

In the circumstances, the 25-year-old’s four-under-par 68 in the first round of the BMW Championship was a remarkable effort, his card being lit up by a 2 at the seventh and a 3 at the long 12th.

“I can’t remember the last time I had two eagles in the one round,” he admitted afterwards, having received a warm welcome on the first tee earlier as he set out for his first outing since splitting from Wozniacki.

“At times, it was very difficult,” added McIlroy.

“But I’m just happy to be trying to put my head fully back into golf. It’s the best round I’ve had here for a while, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.

“I’m obviously six shots behind, but will try to close that deficit as much as possible tomorrow and see what happens.”

He revealed that he’d taken measures to shut himself out from the outside world away from the course. “I’ve not switched on my phone for a few days and have given my laptop away,” he said. “It’s like living in the 70s, which is nice.”

McIlroy went on to defend his decision to make the announcement on the eve of such a high-profile event. “I guess it was that much of it [his relationship with Wozniacki] was played out in the media that it was probably the best way to do it,” he commented.

“It was just a natural thing to do I guess.

“Look, everyone goes through it. It’s part of life and it’s tough. It’s the way it is. People that have come up to me have been very supportive and it’s been nice.”

His first eagle was a pitching wedge from 130 yards that landed off the green but spun back down a slope while the second was with a 5-iron that almost produced a career-first albatross. “It was a good day,” he declared. “This is a place I’ve notoriously struggled on in the past, but it was good to shoot something in the 60s.”

Late in the day, Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello came in with a 65 – 15 shots better than defending champion Matteo Manassero, who ran up a quadruple-bogey 9 at the 17th.

After a poor start, it was a better day for US Open champion Justin Rose, who recovered from dropping shots at the first three holes to card a 70.

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text:
Back Main

The Cinema In Orkney / Phoenix Cinema
Written and compiled by Kenny Thomson

Dedicated to the memories of Dougie Shearer and Billy Scollie

Phoenix Cinema

Dougie Shearer

Billy Scollie
A familiar and popular Kirkwall building affectionately known as 'The Picture House', in Junction Road, is now consigned to the history books having been demolished to make way for the new Womens Refuge.
The Phoenix Cinema, established by D. B. Peace and Co. (Pictures) Ltd. in 1955 and acknowledged at the time to be ‘the cheapest and best entertainment in town’ providing big screen thrills and spills for 43 years, is now but a distant memory.

The former owner, Dougie Shearer died in 2002, and it is sad to think that this last link with the Shearer family is now gone. The Phoenix was Dougies pride and joy.
Billy Scollie, former Projectionist at The Phoenix was dismantling the BTH Projectors, which have gone into storage along with the old cash desk ticket machine, and sadly died before the work was fully completed.

Kenny Thomson managed to snap some photos of Billy at work ‘in the guts of the machinery’  - the projectors which had been so carefully operated and maintained, originally by Alex Leisk, and latterly by Billy Scollie himself. They were originally installed in The Temperance Hall in 1951, and in all their 48 operating years there was only ever one major mechanical failure.

Billy said that it was sad to see the old place being destroyed as it held so many memories of people – staff and members of the public - many of whom themselves were real characters, perhaps more so than some of the stars we were seeing on the screen.

However, one fixture from the old Phoenix still exists, the clock, now over 50 years old, is in The New Phoenix, having been given a new glass face and illuminated in green rather than red.

To mark the passing of this familiar establishment, Kenny Thomson takes a look back at Orkneys cinematic history.

Entertainment in Kirkwall, even in the memory of our oldest inhabitants, never lacked sophistication. During the 1890s there were the convivial assemblies and in the hey day of Gilbert and Sullivan various groups produced their own operas, which often were laughter making local parodies on the originals. There then followed a graduation from fancy dress balls to charades and eventually magic lantern shows.

A new era was beginning and the 20th century mind was devising new ways of entertaining itself, in an atmosphere of scientific progress.

D. B. Peace, a Kirkwall cabinetmaker, was aware of the craving for modern entertainment within the generation of young folk who were growing up around him and he began to look at ways of satisfying the need. He was aware that in the south, roller skating was all the rage and of course youthful exuberance called for an active pastime.

With this in mind, he converted his Junction Road wood store into a roller skating rink in 1910.
Two professional instructors taught the patrons the intricacies of their art. Round and round they whirled on the fine maple wood floor, the graceful and the clumsy, tumbling and colliding, with the clattering of their roller skates drowned out by the music of the brass band.

Four years later, while storm clouds were gathering over Europe, a wonderful ‘new art’ was developing. Visitors to Orkney were telling marvellous tales about the animated pictures which they were seeing.
Some Orcadians had of course already seen moving pictures on the silver screen, as during the late 1800s, a mobile cinema operated by a man named Calder, had come to Orkney generally round about the time of the Lammas Market and this was continued for a short time by a Mr Bell.

On the big bright screens, the early stars including Charlie Chaplin, complete with his stick and bowler hat, were waging an irresistably comic war. Another war was beginning in Europe as the Kaiser was preparing to invade Belgium and in the midst of it all, Mr Peace was taking home to Orkney his first movie projector, a ‘Gaumont’ machine.

Electric Theatre
The roller skating rink was replaced by The Electric Theatre, (nowadays the site of Peaces Car Showroom) which became a wonderland for Orkney children and the subject of much head shaking discussion by grown ups, who were upset at the demise of the rink.

For fourteen years The Electric Theatre - with D. B. Peace senior himself as projectionist, later to be joined in the 1920’s by J. W. Sinclair (Jimmy Halfo) - was the most popular place of entertainment in Kirkwall, with unbelievable dramas and tear jerking cinema moralities flickering over the screen. To the delight of the threepenny seats (a penny - halfpenny at matinees), cowboys and Indians began to make their appearance and in simple sagas of good and evil, the children quickly began to distinguish between the ‘goodies’ and the ‘baddies’.

There was of course no soundtrack to the films as yet, so the musical accompaniment was provided by pianist Rose Petrie, and Dougie Shearer once recalled that as time passed, he was promoted to the post of ‘Musical Director’, which involved playing the old wind up gramophone at each show, at what he described as a good weekly wage of seven shillings (35p). Even with musical accompaniment for the films, ‘free comment’ from all over the hall followed the fortunes of the actors.

As time went by, Dougie's Grandfather paid a visit to the film renters in Glasgow and while he was there he heard about the new Brunswick Panatrope - an Electric Gramophone, ideal for the Electric Theatre which had its own electricity supply from a dynamo powered by a gas generator.
The Panatrope was ‘housed’ in a steel case with two turntables, BTH Pickups, 2 volume controls and a change over switch.
A technician from Glasgow installed the equipment which was ideal for accompanying the silent films and Dougie would use the music ‘Hearts and Flowers’ for serious love scenes and if there was a chase in the Cowboys and Indians films he used ‘The Storm’ from the William Tell Overture.

The 1920’s came and went and Mr Peace decided that the time was right for him to bring the pictures to the main street. Spectacular developments were being freely predicted and so in 1928, the cabinetmakers shop in Albert Street was converted and greatly extended to house the new cinema.
The public crowded in to the fine new 300 seat Albert Kinema and on the 8th June 1931 for the first time, the audience heard the characters on the screen talking back.
The first ‘talkie’ at the Albert was ‘Blaze of Glory’. The projection equipment here was, like The Electric Theatre, Gaumont machines with BTH lamphouses and Colin Park was one of the projectionists. Alex Leisk who throughout the war had been with ENSA, joined the Kinema staff as a projectionist in 1946.
One of the greatest moments in the history of the ‘Albert’ was when it was chosen to present the world premiere of a film adapted from a book by an Orkney author and shot in Orkneys famous anchorage of Scapa Flow. The author Mr J. Storer Clouston and the director Mr Michael Powell were both present at the first public performance of ‘The Spy In Black,’ which starred Conrad Veidt.

D. B. Peace guided the fortunes of his cinema for almost 30 years and when he died in the spring of 1943, his daughter Mrs J. F. Shearer (along with her sons Tommy and Dougie), took over the management.

Albert Kinema Exterior

Albert Kinema Interior

The ‘Albert’ performed indispensable service to troops and civilians alike during the war years, with Mrs Shearers tearoom which had been set up within the Kinema, being removed to make way for extra seating to accommodate the vast increase in audience numbers attending the three shows daily - which were helping to counterbalance the grim news in the Press and on the Radio. Christmas Day at The Albert was always a family occasion, enjoyed by youngsters and parents alike and this was the only time of the year when the film start times were governed by the whereabouts of the ‘ba’ game! If the ba was in Albert Street, the patrons could not get in – or out of the Kinema.
Just as people were beginning to forget the wild thunder of guns around the ‘Flow’ and the tramp of army boots in Albert Street, a tragedy occurred.

Demolition of
Albert Kinema (1970s)

On the morning of Thursday May 8th 1947, flames were seen shooting from the upper windows of the Kinema by Boots the Chemists storeman Mr John Cooper and soon half the town was out to watch the fire hoses swishing back and forth, in an unsuccessful attempt to subdue the blaze. The crackling of the asbestos roof lining could be heard from as far away as Kirkwall Golf Course. “It was some blaze” recalled Dougie Shearer, who had watched the inferno from the upstairs of his home next door to the Kinema.

Such was the ferocity of the blaze that there was fear of nearby premises catching light. The business of A. M. Morgan had to move their stock of gun ammunition to safety for fear of explosion. In an hour or so all that was left of The Albert Kinema was a burnt out shell and for the first time since 1914, no one could go to the pictures.

Elma Wilson from Sanday recalled that she had travelled in to Kirkwall especially to see the film ‘Tarzan Escapes’, but the fire put paid to her plans.

Kirkwall wasn’t without a cinema for too long though, as the Temperance Hall (now Orkney Arts Theatre) which had operated as a Royal Navy Cinema during the war, was leased and for eight years until May 1955 the management maintained a regular service to its patrons, striving hard to counteract the difficulties of limited seating and the disadvantages of a building never intended for a cinema. In the knowledge that a new cinema would eventually be built, the management decided in 1951 to equip the Temperance Hall with two new British Thomson Houston (BTH) Projectors which would eventually be transferred to the new cinema.

The task of erecting a new building to replace the Albert Kinema was a frustrating one, as the authorities would not allow the building of a new cinema on the Albert Street site and so a fresh location had to be found.
Many sites were considered, including The Keelies just off Victoria Road Kirkwall (now an allotment) - but most were unsuitable in one way or another. Finally, Kirkwall Town Council agreed to grant the use of a site at The Crafty where the ‘new’ cinema opened on Tuesday June 14th 1955, rising figuratively from the ashes of the old. It was almost inevitable that this new ‘picture house’, far exceeding in equipment anything which had preceded it in Kirkwall, should be called ‘The Phoenix’.

The BTH Projectors were transferred to the new cinema and upgraded, in order that they could handle the latest development in movie entertainment - Cinemascope films. High intensity carbon arc lamps with 14.5 inch mirrors were fitted in order to cope with the large screen 29 ft wide by 16 ft in height. Engineers from Glasgow called to ‘service’ the machines every six weeks for their first few years of operation and these machines ran for nearly 50 years with only one major breakdown in that time.

Temperance Hall

Temperance Hall Interior

Temperence Hall today as Orkney Arts Centre

Phoenix construction photos gallery
The special screen of curved construction was made from a toughened plastic material, large enough to accommodate Cinemascope films but decreased in size for standard films by means of an automatically controlled black masking curtain. Before each performance, the beautiful silver – grey eleven drape satin front curtain was raised gently at the touch of a button in the projection room.

Coloured lighting was projected on to the curtain from the stage footlights and the lighting cove in the proscenium arch, giving a variety of colour combinations. It was once said by a regular patron that he didn’t care what film was showing, it was worth going to The Phoenix just to watch the beautiful illuminated curtain and its sequence of changing colours!

The Phoenix Cinema was erected by Mr Peace’s son - also named D.B.Peace (Junior) - in conjunction with the Shearer family, to provide better film entertainment for Orkney and to keep abreast of whatever the great art of the cinema might have in store.

The 650 seat Phoenix Cinema, a ‘Stadium’ style cinema, was part of the company of D.B. Peace and Co. (Pictures) Ltd of which D. B. Peace Jnr. was the head, and was officially opened by Provost James Flett of Kirkwall, who described it as a magnificent building, a credit to the management and to the town.
The project was perhaps the most costly venture ever undertaken by a private Kirkwall firm at that time.

Building construction Orkney Builders Ltd.
Site Checking T. Firth, Colwyn, Kirkwall
Foundation Testing R. Findlay and Sons Junction Road, Kirkwall
Foundation James Drever, Cliffdale, Cromwell Road, Kirkwall
Electrical and Plumbing Work J. Rendall and Son, Laing Street, Kirkwall
Plaster Work Andrew Tait, Cannola, Old Scapa Road, Kirkwall
Decorating George Bain, Broad Street, Kirkwall
Carpeting and Floorcoverings James Tait and Sons Broad Street, Kirkwall
Clerk of Works John S. Flett, Bignold Park Road, Kirkwall
Solicitors Macrae and Robertson, Albert Street, Kirkwall
Accountants Foubister and Bain, Broad Street, Kirkwall

Once the introductions and speeches were over, the lights dimmed, the curtain slowly lifted and the specially invited audience were treated to the first film performance, ‘Doctor In The House’ starring Dirk Bogard. It was a nerve racking time for Projectionist Alex Leisk who was always a perfectionist at what he did. The copy of the film dispatched from the distributors in Glasgow was in rather poor condition and not really suitable for showing at this special opening ceremony.

However Alex managed to check and splice the film and it ran without mishap. Notwithstanding, Alex was sick with worry! It was extremely important that the first public show should proceed without a hitch. Films were shown Monday to Saturday with two performances daily, the first ‘house’ at 5.30pm., the second at 8pm and three main programme changes every week. In addition there were matinees on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, with the occasional late show at 10.30 on Friday evenings.

Opening Announcement

Phoenix Cinema Gallery
Until the mid-sixties, the Saturday afternoon matinees were very popular with the Children and many an Orkney parent was happy to ‘bundle’ the kids off to The Phoenix for a couple of hours while they went shopping. When the feature lighting on the curtain changed to red, the kids knew that the performance was about to commence and a gigantic roar could be heard from the auditorium. Weekly serials such as Batman and Robin, had the youngsters on the edge of their seats, ending each episode on a ‘cliffhanger’ so that you had to come back the following week to see what had happened. You did not dare miss an episode. The main features for the matinees were generally films made by The Childrens Film Foundation.

In the projection box was Alex Leisk (whose career in films was to span some 30 years), Mac Johnston and Dougie Shearer, with Billy Scollie joining the team in 1963 as ‘apprentice’. In 1964 Billy took over the Wednesday evening and Saturday afternoon film shows in Stromness Town Hall from ‘Bunt’ Knight, operating the service with two Ross projectors which had been made in the 1930’s. Billy showed the films, which the week previous had been screened at The Phoenix, independently with full permission from the Phoenix management.

At the cinema cash desk was Rene Shearer, with her sisters Liane and Ella running the shop. Edgar Cook was to be found on duty at the door, along with D. B. Peace Jnr., later to be followed by Bob Craigie and Bill Raeburn amongst others, with Margaret Roxby, Vina Macgillivray, Bertha Archbold and June Bews as usherettes. Jock Mears was employed as cleaner and night watchman.

The ordering of films was a task usually carried out by Dougie Shearer, who received film travellers from such distributors as The Rank Organisation, Warner Brothers, British Lion, Columbia Pictures, MGM, Twentieth Century Fox plus some others. Some years ago he recalled with a smile, the time when he had six of the travellers to see in one day. Only the ‘unflappable’ Dougie Shearer could handle such a situation!

The arrival of Grampian Television in 1966 had a significant effect on audience figures and to try and counter this, Tuesdays and Fridays were given over to Bingo, which really went against the grain as far as D.B.Peace Jnr. was concerned. The Bingo evenings literally ‘saved the day’ at least for a while and were supervised by Mac Johnston who acted as Bingo Caller and who had agreed to help out temporarily until someone permanent was found. Mac held this ‘temporary’ post for fourteen years!
Films were therefore cut to 4 days each week, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

With the advent of colour television in the seventies, the cinema audiences were further depleted, although films such as ‘Grease’, ‘Saturday Night Fever’, ‘Jaws’ and ‘E.T. The Extra Terrestrial’ did excellent business, proving that if the product was good, the people would turn out. Video had appeared on the scene by the early eighties and was almost the final nail in the coffin when film performances were further cut to two nights weekly.

This unfortunate downturn continued, leaving the Shearer family no option but to sell the Phoenix in October 1985 to Orkney Islands Council, effectively ending their 73 year association with cinema in Orkney.

It seemed apparent at the time, that this was indeed the end of ‘picture going’ in Orkney in general, but a new company was formed called Orkney Entertainments Limited, who indicated their interest in leasing the Phoenix from Orkney Islands Council for the purpose of running film shows twice weekly. The Council supported this proposal and film shows re-commenced during November 1985. At this point it was considered necessary to install a large stage for concerts and this was added in the auditorium at the expense of 100 or so stalls seats. Some time later, the cinemas sound system was upgraded to ‘ultra stereo surround sound’ which significantly enhanced the audio enjoyment for the public. Apart from this, very little changed over the years, the original chandeliers in the foyer were replaced with fluorescent strip lighting, the illuminated flower boxes above the cash desk and shop kiosk were removed and in the projection room, the slide projector which enabled messages to be flashed up on the screen was removed along with a 16mm film projector on which were run the local newsreels filmed by Dougie himself.
There were plans to convert the Phoenix into a theatre and transfer the cinema to the Arts Theatre in Mill Street, but this never got off the ground.

When Satellite Television came on the go, the commercial viability once again was severely tested and in 1992 Orkney Islands Council Education and Recreation Department itself took control of the film shows and with Billy Scollie as Projectionist / Manager, a regular service continued. Billy had many fond memories of The Phoenix and was especially pleased to be projectionist for the film ‘Venus Peter’, which premiered at The Phoenix on Midsummers day 1989 as part of The St Magnus Festival.
Billys favourite films included the 1970’s Sun Classic films starring Dan Haggerty as ‘Grizzly Adams’ and the epic movies such as Ben Hur along with the old westerns and magnificent musicals, all sadly gone from the screens these days.

Dougie Shearer, whose favourite film of all time was ‘Singing In The Rain’, maintained an interest in and was a regular visitor to the cinema even after it was sold to Orkney Islands Council. The Phoenix had screened over 5,000 films in its 43 years and topping the charts as the number one film was Grease which attracted an audience of 4,220 on its first run in September 1978, beating the previous best for Jaws in April 1977.

Over the years many well known personalities have graced the Phoenix stage: Robert Wilson, Jimmy Shand, Jim Macleod, The Corries, Bridie Gallagher, Ruby Murray, Edwin Heath (Hypnotist), Boxcar Willie, Susan McCann, Philomena Begley, Hank Locklin, Manson Grant and The Dynamos, Colorado, the 114 strong National Youth Orchestra of Scotland, Boxing and Wrestling Matches, plus the ever popular Miss Orkney Talent Contests, and in more recent years, Del Amitri, The Indians, Billy Connolly and Barbara Dixon, but to name just a few. Many local bands made their first appearance at The Phoenix and went on to greater things.

Phoenix Records produced a number of discs in the 1960’s including ‘Owre The Ferry’, ‘Orkney Goes Dancing With The Vikings’, ‘Billy Jolly Sings’ etc etc. The recording engineer was Bert Stockan and the actual recordings were made in the cinema itself. The record sleeve photographs were the work of the multi talented Dougie Shearer who combined the art of photography with a keen interest in sound recording as well. A point worthy of note is that Dougie was actually following a family tradition, as his Grandfather D. B. Peace Senior, used to make sound recordings back in the old days, on an Edison Bell machine with cylindrical discs.

Dougies skill as a keen photographer, led him, along with his nephew Donald, to create a photography business which was called Phoenix Photos, concentrating on commercial, wedding and newspaper photography. Their famous photograph of a Loganair Islander aircraft flying past The Old Man of Hoy, featured prominently on Loganair publicity for many years. The photography business expanded and two darkrooms were created in the cinema, one beside the projection room and one at the stage end of the building where most of the colour work was processed.

The Phoenix, with all the character of a 1950’s style cinema sadly came to the end of its working life on 28th November 1998. Many people will have their own memories of favourite films, or concerts, perhaps even bingo. For a goodly number of Orkney folk, it has always been there and was the most northerly working cinema in the U.K.

Special ‘nostalgic’ events took place during the cinemas emotional final week of operation in November 1998 and this included a bingo evening on Tuesday 24th November, and a concert, ‘Farewell To The Phoenix’ on Friday evening 27th November, featuring a host of local talent. The last picture shown was the war time drama ‘The Land Girls’ on Saturday 28th November and once the final image had flickered from the screen, Dougie Shearer, the former owner of the cinema who had been invited along by the staff for the evening, closed the doors of what had been his ‘pride and joy’ for the very last time.

Phoenix Closure Gallery

Prior to the final show, Dougie Shearer on behalf of The Phoenix Staff, presented the Projectionist / Manager Billy Scollie with a framed photograph of the cinema auditorium taken by Mr W. Marr prior to its opening in 1955.

Phoenix Cinema Demolition Gallery

An additional gallery of interior pictures during demolition can be found here, courtesy Kevin Kirkness.

New Phoenix Cinema
In the spring of 1999 a “New Phoenix” rose up from the old in the shape of a fully equipped modern cinema at the new Pickaquoy Sports Centre – The New Phoenix Cinema ensures that the work of D.B.Peace Senior, D.B.Peace Junior, Dougie Shearer and Billy Scollie will carry on and that Orkney still has a cinema of its own. This in itself is a tribute to those who have given most of their lives to providing thousands of Orkney folk with ‘a night out at the pictures’.

At the farewell concert James Oliver Alexander paid a very fitting tribute to the Phoenix:-

You arose from the ashes of the ‘Albert Kinema’,
You once were the North’s most popular cinema
But like all men you are doomed to perish,
Tho’ the mem’ries we have we will always cherish.
We entered your door and paid our money,
Had a kiss and a cuddle at the back of the balcony-
And in the stalls, when we were boys
Got threatened with eviction for makin’ a noise
The image of our idols on the silver screen
And live: Rock Bands’ Daniel and Ann Breen
Miss Orkney contests and Talent Show,
The first recording of ‘Scapa Flow’.
Every year at the St Magnus Festival
National Orchestras grand and classical.
Orkney’s own orchestra and choir
In that great Oratorio ‘Handel’s Messiah’
We remember too the ‘two little ducks’
The ‘two fat ladies’ and ‘Clickity – click’.
You may have forgotten Mickey Mouse
But you’ll remember the night you shouted ‘House’
Some will have many more mem’ries to tell
We all loved you!! We will all miss you!
Phoenix, Farewell! Farewell!

The signs which were originally above the door of The Electric Theatre which opened in 1914 have been sympathetically restored by Mr Harold Esson from Dounby and at Dougie Shearers request these signs are now on display at Harolds museum.

Additional photos of the Phoenix can be seen here.

Back Main


text:
The Bridge Builder

Scouter's Minute

The Bridge Builder:

An old man traveling a long highway,

Came at the evening cold and gray,

To a chasm, vast and deep and wide.

The old man crossed in the twilight dim,

The sullen stream held no fears for him,

But he turned when safe on the other side,

And built a bridge to span the tide.

"Old man," cried a fellow pilgrim near,

"You're wasting your time in building here."

"Your journey will end with the closing day;

"You never again will pass this way.

"You have crossed the chasm deep and wide,

Why build you this bridge at evening tide?"

The builder lifted his old gray head,

"Good friend, in the path I have come," he said.

"There followeth after me today."

"A youth whose feet must pass this way. "

"This stream which has been as naught to me,

To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be."

 "He, too, must cross in the twilight dim--

 Good friend, I am building this bridge for him."

Contributor  Mike Menefee

Comment  Author: Ms Will Allen Dromgoole

Date Entered  05-Mar-2001

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text:
Things to Come 3 - War on Business

The businesses of America are the enemy.

In 1925, right in the middle of a massive economic boom, President Calvin Coolidge gave a speech in which he created a memorable quote:

The chief business of the American people is business. They are profoundly concerned with producing, buying, selling, investing and prospering in the world. I am strongly of the opinion that the great majority of people will always find these the moving impulses of our life.

Indeed, America has long been famous as a place where people want to do business - that's what the American Dream is all about.  Americans want to better themselves, to work hard, to be rewarded for their efforts, to create something other people want to buy.

There is business in Europe as well, but the popular attitude is different.  Historically, "tradesmen" were looked down upon as a lower class by the noble elites who were noble and elite precisely because they did no work.  A rich man who'd earned his money through establishing factories and producing useful goods would always be somehow a lesser breed than some lord who did nothing beyond hunting, cricket, and perhaps government service of some kind.

Of course, Europeans want a comfortable life just like anybody else; if you didn't happen to be born a lord, becoming a rich tradesman wasn't a bad second-best.  In the Napoleonic era, England was derided as "a nation of shopkeepers," but it was the economic activity of those derisory shopkeepers that paid for the military forces that allowed England to defeat Napoleon.

Since World War II, though, Europe has moved away from the world of hard work, as every European country has established a comfy welfare state and oppressively large bureaucracy to fund and enforce it.  We've written extensively about the problems that arise when multiple generations of a family have no experience of work, no concept or what it means to do anything useful or productive, and no need to learn how.  The citizens of Greece have been so coddled by their welfare state that they're rioting in the streets as it collapses - never mind that there is no money, it's the government's job to provide my pension / welfare check / free education / featherbedded salary regardless!

What happens when the individuals who make up a society lose their grasp on the concept that you must produce more than you take out or the whole system will collapse?  Instead of having dreams of inventions and startups, they pursue cushy government make-work jobs.

None other than  Michelle Obama explained her belief that non-jobs are the best jobs, in a graduation speech telling America's young what they ought to do with their lives:

I became the executive director of Public Allies, a nonprofit organization that trained young people to pursue careers in public service. Oh, I was earning a fraction of my law firm salary, and I added years to my student loan repayment process. But let me tell you, I woke up every morning feeling engaged and inspired in ways that I had never felt before. (Applause.) I spent every day feeling like I was doing something that truly made a difference in people’s lives.

What "truly makes a difference in people's lives"?  Training them to go to work for the government!

It could be argued that Michelle's law-firm job was a non-job too; certainly most legal work doesn't add to the economy and she was an affirmative action hire anyway.   In 2008, then-Senator Obama made the argument even more plainly in a commencement address of his own at Wesleyan University:

You can take your diploma, walk off this stage, and chase only after the big house and the nice suits and the other things that our money culture says you should buy. You can choose to narrow your concerns and live life in a way that tries to keep your story separate from America's.  But I hope you don't.

He went on to extol the virtues, not just of working for the goverment as a teacher, but of "serving the community" as an environmental protestor or other agitator.   Now, there's nothing wrong with exercising your right to free speech, but is spending lives in "jobs" that are by their nature nonproductive really the way to improve America's economy?

Yet for so many graduates, particularly of elite colleges, they'd sooner move back into Mom's basement than accept a job at a <gasp!> company that <horrors!> actually Does Something beyond moving paper around.  Is it any wonder we've hollowed out America's industrial base, when our best and brightest are being brought up to believe actual productive work is beneath both them and the country?  The fact that there aren't any real jobs available for them certainly doesn't help either.

Instead, they're raised to do something not just unproductive, but actually destructive.  We'll look at what's coming in the realm of regulation in the next article in this series.

Petrarch is a contributing editor for Scragged.  Read other articles by Petrarch or other articles on Business.
Reader Comments

Modern technology has allowed a much larger proportion of the population to be parasites rather than producers. As the Western world descends into third-world status, more and more people will have to work in order to subsist. Of course there will be an adjustment period or great chaos and suffering.

December 11, 2012 7:14 PM

Hey, look, it's working!

"Over the past four years, prosperity has increased around the globe, while it has remained stagnant in the United States, the Legatum Institute reports. As a result, the Institute ranked the United States 12th out of 142 countries on its 2012 Prosperity Index, putting the country outside the top ten for the first time."

Mission accomplished, Obama!

December 17, 2012 2:48 PM
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Hero Arts - BasicGrey - Knee Highs and Bow Ties Collection - Repositionable Rubber Stamps - Tiny Heart Background

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Description & Information

Hero Arts and Basic Grey have merged their talents to bring you a new line of stamps that coordinate with the Basic Grey Kneehighs and Bowties Collection. This stamp is rubber-faced with a full-sized indexed label for precise and easy placement. It clings to acrylic blocks and then remove for easy storage. And you can use them again and again. Each package includes one stamp that measures approximately 5" x 6" and other features include:
  • Hero Arts' clings are made with genuine all-natural rubber and a hand-cut premium "cling" backing
  • Imprinted for accurate stamping placement
  • Easy to store with image indexing
  • Deepest etch for precise impressions
  • Always clings to acrylic blocks
  • Non-toxic, latex, phthalate free and Made in the USA

  • SKU: bg-xha-cg604 UPC: 085700888486

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Challenge Winner - 1st Place 220 points (current score) Uploaded: Oct 18, 2012
Viewed 450 times.
About this scrapbook page:
Just had to try and use this new Photoshop7 that was given to me for the challenge: Make Yourself Famous 18: Thanks for viewing and comment will turn into a Normal Human Being Again! LOL
Design credits:
Scrapbook Max2
Photos: Google Chrome & Glamour Shots, Lakeland Mall, Florida
Photoshop: Morphing and touch-up of photo
Paint.net: Blending and Sharpened photo
Kit: Halloween Party, By: Designs by Joan Craft Crave, Freebie
Kit: Violine, By: MiMi Concepts, Digiscrapbookingboutique.ch, Freebie
Wordart: Mine

Comments for this page: (view all 19 comments)
bluebrat05 says:
Beautiful morphing and page!
Oct 22, 2012
ScrapDaddy says:
What a hoot! Funny Halloween page ~ cleverly done.
Oct 21, 2012
LadynRed_44 says:
Great Page!!
Oct 20, 2012
zanthia says:
wonderful page!
Oct 20, 2012
ApriltheScrapaholic says:
Loved the adams family too. You look great. Love the page. Thanks for entering my challenge.
Oct 19, 2012
Ferro says:
Terrific page!!! Sorry I copy and paste the comment the next few days
Oct 19, 2012
sugarpops says:
Gorgeous Challenge page
Oct 19, 2012
Corel says:
Fabulous page!!
Oct 19, 2012
Xguern66 says:
Ha ha you've done it again - super page.
Oct 18, 2012
NannytoSadie says:
fab page
Oct 18, 2012
This scrapbook appears in the following galleries:
This scrapbook appears in the following challenges (click a challenge name to go to that challenge):
This scrapbook has the following tags:
Post and Share this page on Blogs and other Websites by copying and pasting this link:
  ©2006-2014, Patent Pending, Aurora Digital Imaging, Ltd. Beta 5.0
The most fun digital scrapbooking site on the Internet. Free digital scrapbooking software, scrapbook templates,
scrapbook embellishments and backgrounds. Beautiful scrapbook prints and photobooks.


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270 points (current score) Uploaded: Nov 22, 2009
Viewed 160 times.
About this scrapbook page:
*Fantasy Extraction Fun challenge*

Matthew's Dream
Design credits:
Various Kristin Aagard samplers/kits (Spaced Out, Wonder, Ocean, Rain Rain)

photo by me

I had a hard time extracting this pic for some reason LOL so it's kinda cruddy along the edges - just don't look too closely LMAO!

Comments for this page: (view all 25 comments)
>¡< Marifer says:
Aww! this is so sweet! Lovely kit!
Aug 2, 2010
Pelle says:
Dec 3, 2009
Claudia says:
10+10 challenge points..This is sooooo SWEET!!!!
Nov 27, 2009
Lavender Passion says:
Super Duper extraction scrap, love the LO!
Nov 26, 2009
gingersnaps says:
great page and wonderful extraction! he is adorable!
Nov 24, 2009
Moongirl says:
Lovely page!
Nov 24, 2009
marieluisemueller says:
Cute page!
Nov 24, 2009
Lyndaljane says:
Awesome page 10+
Nov 23, 2009
sugarpops says:
cute page

Nov 23, 2009
Grandma M says:
awe - how cute is this xx
Nov 23, 2009
This scrapbook appears in the following galleries:
This scrapbook appears in the following challenges (click a challenge name to go to that challenge):
This scrapbook has the following tags:
Post and Share this page on Blogs and other Websites by copying and pasting this link:
  ©2006-2014, Patent Pending, Aurora Digital Imaging, Ltd. Beta 5.0
The most fun digital scrapbooking site on the Internet. Free digital scrapbooking software, scrapbook templates,
scrapbook embellishments and backgrounds. Beautiful scrapbook prints and photobooks.


text:
The Who's Who of Scrapbooking

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Scrapbooking Events this Weekend

There is lots happening this weekend! Here are a few scrapping events, but I’m sure there are more:

Scrapmeet 3, organized by, in the Philippines is happening this weekend. Teaching (virtually) is Valerie Salmon and Wes Thomsen‘s Scrapped movie is also going to be shown. To read our previous post on the event, click here.

ARTistry, organized by Lazar StudioWERX is also running this weekend in Richmond, B.C. Teaching are Donna Downey, Ali Edwards and Claudine Hellmuth. For our previous post about this event, click here. Claudine is blogging while away at the event – you can read her updates here.

Camp Croppin’ in Calgary is also happening this weekend. Teaching are Lisa Bearnson, Emily Adams, and many more. Emily is blogging while on the event – you can read her updates here.

  1. Posted 8 years, 3 months ago | Permalink

    I have only recently discovered this blog and I’M IN LOVE! :D It’s THE place to come for up to date info!

    Speaking of up to date info…Kristina Contes will be teaching 2 awesome mini book classes at in Bel Air MD April 21.

  2. Posted 8 years, 3 months ago | Permalink

    Oh Angie! Thank you soooo much for remembering! So nice of you! We just concluded our event (we are GMT +8 remember?) and everyone simply had a blast (as we have hoped!). The kids had a great time scrapping (under the watchful eyes of their moms), the mommies had a great time watching Wes and his “analysis” of why were so “paper-crazy” and the retailers had a great time meeting customers and fresh faces armed with fresh stocks from all over the globe! It was FUN and it was all because of people like you and Valerie who helped us every step of the way!

    Valerie’s voice was taped so she can personally announce her Sketch and Scrap choices (thousands of miles away!) and she really felt “close” like she was there — case you havent figured it out yet — Filipino scrappers adore her tremendously! Haha!

    Thank you… thank you Angie! And more hits to your site! THIS is where we get our lowdown on anything and everything “scrapping!” Keep it up!

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© Copyright 2007 Angie Redhead. All Rights Reserved Blog Consultant | Sitemap | Scrapbooking Blog


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John Cusack circles UK spy thriller Kickback

EXCLUSIVE: The Frozen Ground star in talks to join crime-thriller about renegade detective.

John Cusack is in negotiations to star in UK spy thriller Kickback.

Written and to be directed by Raza Mallal of Yorkshire-based Talking Lens Productions, the crime-thriller has been in the works for some time but has new impetus with the interest of the Con Air and High Fidelity star, who joins attached cast including Mischa Barton, Sean Astin, Michael Biehn, Noureen DeWulf, John Hannah and Tamer Hassan.

Kickback, also known as Shoot the Breeze, follows a renegade Moscow detective investigating the murder of a female war journalist. He becomes embroiled in a web of counter espionage involving chemical warfare, and the assassination of the Russian president.

It marks Mallal’s directorial debut and he is co-producing with Kevan Van Thompson and executive producer Ilja Rosendahl of Scene Bridge Entertainment. DoP Douglas Milsome is attached.

Raza described Cusack’s interest as “the last piece of a jigsaw we began putting together more than two years ago”.

Phil Rochester of Talking Lens told ScreenDaily that the production has backing from private German investors and sponsorship and product placement deals as well as interest from sales outfits and distributors.

The production hailed Cusack’s interest as “the first time an independent Yorkshire-based production company has seduced a Hollywood star to play in an independently-produced feature.”

The revised shoot date for the production is winter 2013 with script amendments currently underway.

Cusack’s 2013 credits include The Frozen Ground, Adult World and The Numbers Station while upcoming features include Grand Piano, Lee Daniels’ The Butler and Five Minutes to Live.

The prolific actor’s 2014 releases are set to include Motel, Drive Hard, Love and Mercy and Maps to the Stars.

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Trinity Tales (1975)

Courtesy of BBC

Main image of Trinity Tales (1975)
BBC2, 21/11-26/12/1975
6 x 50 min, colour
DirectorsTristan De Vere Cole
 Roger Tucker
ProducerDavid Rose
Written byAlan Plater
Author of the Original WorkGeoffrey Chaucer
MusicAlex Glasgow

Cast: Bill Maynard (Stan the fryer); Francis Matthews (Eric the prologue); Colin Farrell (Nick the driver); Gaye Brown (the wife of Batley Alice); John Stratton (the man of Law Smith); Susan Littler (Judy the Judy); Paul Copley (Dave the joiner); Peter Benson (Reuben)

Show full cast and credits

Six modern pilgrims - on their way to a Rugby Cup Final at Wembley - amuse themselves by swapping tales.

Show full synopsis

The recent TV updating of Geoffrey Chaucer's 'The Canterbury Tales' (Canterbury Tales, BBC, 2003) was not the first: Alan Plater's six-part version, Trinity Tales, preceded it by nearly 20 years.

Plater retained Chaucer's framework, of tales told to pass the time on a long journey; this time the travellers are northern rugby league supporters on their way to the Cup Final at Wembley, in a minibus, via several public houses. Plater even retains a narrator, Eric the Prologue, to stand in for Chaucer - a device that is not wholly successful - and allows him to star in one of the tales. Plater's selection of tales includes two of the best-known - the Miller's and the Wife of Bath's - others are based on The Reeve's Tale, the Knight's Tale and the Franklin's Tale. The prize for the best tale is a free fish and chip supper from Stan the Fryer. These 'pilgrims' are strictly plebeian; only Eric the Prologue, as the 'writer', has any pretensions, and they are intellectual rather than class-driven and quickly quashed by his companions. One of Plater's running jokes has Eric constantly thwarted in telling his own tale.

The travellers meet surprisingly few people on their way, with the notable exception of the lugubrious Brummie Reuben, publican at The Copper's Nark, who they save from attempted suicide because the pub is doing such poor business. Reuben's only companion is his stuffed goldfish, Peggy, and he is a bizarre and wonderful creation by Plater.

Plater employs different styles for his adaptation; the final episode, 'The Man of Law's Tale', is a pastiche of The Sting (US, 1973). He also makes sly fun of the TV drama conventions of the time, for example, cutting to scenes of crashing waves whenever the characters engage in sex. Each of the 'pilgrims' - and Eric - appears in the tales, which all happen to demonstrate their 'own' characteristics - lechery, greed, cunning, innocence, etc. There are a lot of comic songs, with lyrics by Plater, a few rhyming couplets for Eric and some pretty terrible bar-room jokes.

While most of the writing is very inventive, occasionally it becomes twee. Some critics at the time felt that the tales could have stood on their own, as half-hour comedy plays, without the supporting narrative. It remains an impressive achievement, however, with Plater retaining the essential spirit of the original, with all of its bawdiness, rambunctiousness and common humanity.

Janet Moat

Click titles to see or read more

Video Clips
1. The agreement (4:34)
2. Taking the time (4:07)
3. 'All the doors look alike' (4:23)
Complete episode: 'The Joiner's Tale' (50:06)
Plater, Alan (1935-2010)
TV Literary Adaptation


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No Nonsense

No Nonsense All-Purpose Primer White 750ml

Product Code: 45084

Specially developed oil-based formula for multi-surface priming. Suitable for use on interior and exterior bare wood, metal and hardboard. Recoat in 12-24 hours. Covers approx. 12m²/Ltr.

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No Nonsense All-Purpose Primer White 750ml 4.1 5 9 9
undercaot no nonsense Its a good general purpose U-coat works well and is not too pricey 9 Mar 2015
A very good primer I used it to prime MDF and it has done an excellent job even though I have applied only 1 coat with "No Nonsense High Density Mini Roller Sleeves, Gloss 4"" to both faces of the board. However I would recommend applying at least 2 coats to the edges. 19 Feb 2015
Great Price For the money i can't fault, does the job, brilliant. 16 Aug 2014
Does the job Used it to paint bare wood and it worked well. A little thin perhaps but covered well. 15 Jul 2014
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Brand No Nonsense
Coating Finishing Volume 750 ml
Coating Finishing Volume 750 ml
Colour White
Pack Size 1
Parent Colour White
Product Type All-Purpose Primer