Callum Beattie and Peter Andre to headline Checkout Scotland
The event, which is already seeing tickets sell quickly, will host more than 600 retail industry colleagues for a night of music, while raising awareness and funds for GroceryAid, a charity supporting individuals in the grocery industry.
Read more:
Retired professor nears end of 5,000-mile UK trek that began in Glasgow
Callum, a Scottish chart-topping singer-songwriter, will perform just weeks before his anticipated show at the 12,000-capacity OVO Hydro.
Peter, a global music and TV star, will join him as a joint headline act at the festival.
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The Herald Scotland
39 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Buckie radio station to mark 50 years since launch
To understand Radio Buckie, a community radio station which began in the local school and went on to broadcast to hospitals and care homes across the region, one must first become acquainted with its founder - science teacher and former pirate disc jockey Jeff Jones. Fraser, now in his sixties, remembers him fondly. The Pirate Radio Scotland ship, the Comet, which transmitted for 20 months from 1966-67 (Image: NQ) He recalls: 'Back in the 1960s, there were a lot of ships in the North Sea which would broadcast music to Europe and the UK. Jeff was from Darlington and he broadcast from a ship called Radio 270. 'That is, until the Marine Offences bill came into force in 1967. His mum didn't want him to get arrested,' Fraser chuckles. Jones emerged onshore in Aberdeen, where he was studying at the university, and became one of the city's most popular DJs. He then moved to Paisley, where he took his broadcasting expertise to the local hospital radio and became a science teacher at St Aelred's High School. In 1973, Jones moved north to the town of Buckie, 62 miles north-west of Aberdeen. There, he worked as a chemistry teacher at Buckie High School. One day, Fraser says, Jones, who was known for his love of three-piece suits, made a rather interesting proposition to his teenaged charges. 'Jeff said: 'If anyone would like to get involved with broadcasting, come up after the lesson.' I was 15, so that really interested me. 'So I was part of the first group of pupils who set up the hospital radio in our classroom in Buckie High School. Jeff was the first to bring the idea of hospital radio to Buckie.' A young Keith Fraser (right) along with engineer Innes Flett in 1975. (Image: Supplied) The station, which went live in February 1975, was met with widespread community support, Fraser remembers. 'There were 12 to 15 pupils involved. We were given a Wednesday afternoon each week to do programming. Before long, a local care home in Buckie and the community centre were keen to host our shows. 'You have to remember,' he tells me. 'This was 50 years ago. We had a very active community Rotary Club who fundraised for us, and raised thousands of pounds.' Small-town set-up aside, the fledgling studio was run like a professional organisation. A landline connected the studio in Buckie High School to the nearby Seaforth Hospital. 'It introduced a group of young people to professional broadcasting. Jeff insisted that we do it professionally. We had a range of programming; country, Scottish music, easy-listening. We played Frank Sinatra and Perry Como.' READ MORE: 1970s luminaries such as Tammy Wynette, David Essex, and The Corries were interviewed on the station, which was an early proponent of Bruce Springsteen, according to Fraser. He adds: 'It was really quite a good grounding and a lot of people got very good experience in the industry. 'One of our broadcasters was Mike Holloway, who went on to work at Northsound in Aberdeen on their breakfast show, and was in charge of programming at Radio Clyde.' The group gathered in 2000 to celebrate 25 years since the station began. (Image: Supplied) However, changing technology and rising costs finally caught up to the station. Fraser explains: 'What really put the kibosh on the radio was our use of post office landlines to broadcast. It only cost £50 at first, but by the 1990s, it cost thousands every year. 'So the radio reverted back to its roots and provided music to kids at lunchtime for a few years." Programming stopped before the community radio station was relaunched in 2015. Looking back at the last 50 years, Fraser says the skills he learned as a part of Radio Buckie helped to set the stage for the rest of his life. 'We produced outside broadcasts and interviewed big stars. It was a good all-round grounding. 'I wasn't a shrinking violet, but radio gave me a lot more confidence in dealing with people. I brought a lot of that to my later career.' In the early 1980s, Fraser was living in Aberdeen when he received a call from Jones, asking him to help a group of locals set up a hospital radio at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary. Fraser, who was in the midst of a degree programme at Robert Gordon Institute of Technology (now RGU), answered the call. Read more: 'Grampian Hospital Radio was set up in 1981. I was the first chair,' he tells me, proudly adding: 'And it is still going today, broadcasting 24/7 over the internet. Fraser, who worked in the records department at Robert Gordon University (RGU) for many years, has retained his love for community radio. 'I still do two programmes for Grampian, a Sunday morning breakfast show and a Sunday afternoon contemporary charts slot,' he tells me. 'Folks from as far away as Japan and Brazil listen in.' Meanwhile, Jones had a long career as a part-time newsreader in north-east radio circles, where he could be heard across the decades on Moray Firth Radio, BBC Aberdeen, Northsound, and even BBC Radio 2. Yet, time has taken its toll, and while the original members of Radio Buckie get together to reminisce every five or ten years, the group's founder is no longer among them. The group, pictured in 2015 to celebrate 40 years. Jeff Jones is third from right. (Image: Supplied) Jones, who died in 2019, is remembered as a bastion of the Moray community. Over the years, he served as a chartered chemist, Girl Guide ambassador, newspaper contributor, and justice of the peace. His absence makes Radio Buckie's 50 year reunion, which will be celebrated at a special reunion lunch in November, all the more poignant. 'This will likely be the last time the original group will be able to come together,' Fraser says, rather matter of factly. 'November 27th would have been Jeff's 80th birthday, so I felt it was fitting that we met up then.' Indeed, as the gang gets together one last time, they will doubtless be toasting the pirate DJ who brought them all together, so many years ago.
Daily Record
2 hours ago
- Daily Record
Outlander's Caitriona Balfe in tears as she reflects on favourite episode
Caitriona Balfe and Sam Heughan fondly reflected on filming season two of Diana Gabaldon's well-loved franchise when the Irish actress became emotional. Caitriona Balfe became tearful as she sat down alongside co-star Sam Heughan to discuss one of their favourite episodes of the beloved Outlander franchise. Fans are already mourning the loss of its eighth and final season before it has even aired. Balfe, who plays leading role of Claire Fraser, alongside Sam, in his role as Highland warrior Jamie Fraser, joined a panel to discuss some behind the scenes snippets from shooting one of their favourite episodes. The Irish actress, 45, became emotional in the clip, which was shared to social media. There was a chorus of admiration from the watching audience, as Sam playfully joked she was "still crying" as the actress wiped away tears. The pair discussed the season 2 finale episode, Dragonfly in Amber, and gave some behind-the-scenes insights from filming. Caitriona referred to Kinloch Rannoch, where the famous time-travelling stones are situated as a "very special place". She recalled turning up for filming that morning like "Disney himself had turned up and sprinkled snow everywhere." She continued, "The sun was shining, it was beautiful. Then we took our 200 crew and they stamped on it," Caitriona joked. "We done about two takes and it looked like a mud bath." "But I think it was one of our favourite scenes that day ever," she divulged, "The crew cried that day, and that's a feat. If you can get hairy Scottish crew to cry you know you've done something right." Sam interjected as he also fondly reminisced on the moment as being "beautiful". In Outlander Season 2, Claire and Jamie travel to France to try and prevent the Jacobite uprising, facing political intrigue and personal challenges, while Claire's 20th-century life with Frank also unfolds, ultimately leading to Claire's return to the past and a reunion with Jamie. The historical romance, based on Diana Gabaldon's best-selling book franchise, has amassed fans across the globe who have fallen in love with lead characters Caitriona Balfe (Claire Fraser) and Sam Heughan (Jamie Fraser). And whilst we all await the dreaded final chapter of their epic love story, some fans can't get enough and have been binge watching the Starz show from the beginning. Take a closer look at more behind-the-scenes snaps from filming series 2 here.
The Herald Scotland
3 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
TV gardener's 'doon the watter' promise to his family
'We talk about it all the time and they keep asking to go,' he says. 'I can still remember it now, that smell of seaweed and the sound of the paddles, it was so much a part of my childhood.' Filming commitments mean that Domoney may have to miss this summer's sailing schedule, but he will be in Scotland later this year when he cuts the ribbon on the National Gardening & Outdoor Living Show, which takes place at the Royal Highland Centre Edinburgh on July 26 and 27. The show is a brand new event and it will bring together top nurseries selling plants suitable for Scottish gardens as well as a traditional flower show with cut flowers, crafts and vegetables, alongside bonsai displays and koi carp exhibits and a Potting Shed Stage, where Domoney will be sharing his knowledge of growing and gardening. That knowledge built on long experience, which began when, as a Scout, he turned his 'Bob-A-Job' efforts, cutting grass for his neighbours, into a pocket-money business before, at the age of 16, taking up a three-year-apprenticeship with a leading garden centre chain. It was a route that offered training, education and practical, hands-on experience and which provided the foundation for a stellar career that has involved senior positions with DIY multiples and the founding of his own, hugely successful garden design and consultation business. Read More: Domoney has designed gardens for high profile celebrities and commercial clients, as well as winning 34 Royal Horticultural Society medals including a clutch of Chelsea golds. He has founded both the Community Street, community and schools gardening campaign, and the Young Gardeners of the Year competition, received royal accolades and been admitted as a 'Fellow' to a long list of eminent organisations, including the Linnean Society, the world's oldest organisation dedicated to botany. He is one of the most experienced and knowledgeable of all TV gardeners, yet when broadcasting live from the greenhouse of his home in Warwickshire, demonstrating to viewers of This Morning how to squeeze the maximum amount of colour out of their window boxes, or wielding a spade in a suburban patch on Love Your Garden, he has a down-to-earth, approachable style that makes him sound more like the capable bloke at the local allotments rather than the bona fide member of gardening royalty that he actually is. (Image: David Domoney) 'I've always loved talking to people about plants,' he says. 'I did it when I worked for the garden centre, giving advice to customers, then from that I moved to making video clips when I was working for one of the big chains and from that came the opportunity to work on TV.' That work has included making more than 120 gardens alongside Alan Titchmarsh and the Love Your Garden team as well as a series of instant transformations carried out live on daytime TV. 'The first thing that the participants would know about it was when I rang the doorbell at ten past ten in the morning and I had an hour and 50 minutes to complete the job.' Domoney keeps finding new ways to express the passion that took him into the industry at a young age and most recently that has taken the form of a new book, 'Plants with Superpowers' that took two years of research to complete. 'Did you know that you can charge your mobile phone using a potato or that walnuts don't just look like brains, they can help our grey matter to function better?' From the incredible longevity of the Ginkgo biloba tree, which has been around for 250 million years, or the Gas plant, which can spontaneously combust, Domoney says he was captivated by the stories that he uncovered. He'll be sharing some of these on stage at the National Gardening & Outdoor Living Show, along with giving advice on how to make the most of any garden. And if you want to know in advance the secrets of creating your dream garden, then here are David Domoney's top ten tips for transforming your outdoor space: 1. The garden is your own, personal environment so make it work for you. 2. Create something that is manageable. For instance, if you have lots of plants in pots then you are going to be doing a lot of watering. 3. Lawns are calming, they soften the garden and a well kept lawn will produce more oxygen than a patch of rainforest of the same size. 4. Make it a place that appeals to all the senses. Include plants with different textures and those like mint and rosemary which smell wonderful when you touch them. Try too to include the sound of running water. 5. Think of your garden as somewhere that can support your health so aim to grow currants, blueberries, strawberries and other fruits and vegetables. 6. If you only have room for one tree, make it an apple. It will give you flowers, foliage and fruit and because the trees come in different sizes there's one for every garden. 7. Fill your home with houseplants, they bring the outdoors inside. Your window sills are the perfect environment for growing a whole range of beautiful plants. 8. Take care of the wildlife in your garden. Feed the birds and grow plants that are beneficial to insects. 9. The secret of any great garden lies in the soil, it is teeming with life and you can boost it with home made compost, so don't get rid of garden waste or vegetable scraps, compost them instead. 10. Aim to have something in flower in every month of the year. It won't just make your garden look better but it will also help insects to flourish. Tickets to the National Gardening & Outdoor Living Show are available from Enter HORTI30 in the code box to get 30% off a £15 day ticket.
