Latest news with #Gifford
The Herald Scotland
16-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
New boss has 'faith' in formerly troubled mountain railway
It resumed service in February of this year but closed again in May for three weeks of annual maintenance, returning to service at the beginning of June. Read more: As a result of the 2018 closure and repair work the funicular's owner, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), took legal action against Galliford Try Infrastructure and AF Cruden Associates over the original design and construction of the mountain railway. That resulted in an £11m out-of-court settlement in August 2023. 'We've got – well I've certainly got – faith that it will be up and running for the foreseeable future," Mike Gifford told The Herald when asked about the funicular's current prospects. "It went through a very successful health and safety audit recently and we got an exemplary report back for that so we're really happy, and we're in a really good position. We're looking forward to seeing lots of visitors on it.' Mr Gifford took up the post of chief executive of Cairngorm Mountain Scotland Ltd (CMSL), a subsidiary of HIE, on June 16. He now has overall responsibility for day-to-day operations and strategic developments at the publicly-owned Cairngorm Estate, which covers 3,500 acres. In addition to winter sports, the resort has mountain biking tracks, adventure play, and mountain carting (Image: Cairngorm Mountain) Before it was closed, the funicular's operators estimated that it carried about 300,000 people annually. From the start of April to the end of June this year it carried 25,000 passengers. Mr Gifford said he is currently in the process of reviewing how its closure has impacted overall visitor numbers at the resort during the last several years. "Because we haven't had the centre up and fully running without the funicular, numbers have been a little bit down on [previous] years, but over the last six-week period we've had about 10,000 people through the door - that's the current figure," he said. "The funicular is vital to the operation here. It's how we get all our customers up to the top of the mountain to enjoy the views. Read more: "We're currently using it this year for the mountain carting, whereas last year we didn't because it wasn't in place, so yeah, it's got huge benefits for the mountain and the local area and local tourism." Mr Gifford said he is in the process of reviewing the Cairngorm Mountain Masterplan, which was published by HIE in June 2021 to outline a 25-year vision for the development of the estate. It is also expected that plans will soon be submitted to build the UK's longest and highest toboggan at Cairngorm Mountain, but this depends on receiving planning permission and getting funding in place for the project. The money is expected to come from a mixture of public and private sources. "We'd like to have that up and running for next summer, but obviously that does depend on lots of factors, but that would be a great addition to the hill," Mr Gifford said. The resort employs more than 90 people at peak season (Image: Cairngorm Mountain) He added: "We would like to see the masterplan continue and are working closely with HIE to make that happen. The toboggan will be the next big thing on the list and then we've got ideas for trying to improve the rest of the site." Asked about reports earlier this year of staff at Cairngorm Mountain being bullied, Mr Gifford said he couldn't comment on those allegations as they were prior to him joining the organisation. But going forward there is "certainly no place for bullying" at the resort, which employs more than 90 people during peak periods. "We're really looking forward to building on the team and having a very positive future up here," he said. "We've had several new starts recently and they're really enjoying their positions." Adding that the ultimate objective is to get Cairngorm Mountain "to the point where it is fully financially sustainable", he added: "We want to be the best mountain resort in the UK. That's our ultimate goal and constantly reviewing the masterplan, and also engaging with the local and users to gauge exactly what it is they want to see happening up on the mountain, that is really important for us."
Newsroom
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Newsroom
Small bets, high hopes for Wellington test
Rugby commentating legend Phil Gifford won't bet against the French when they take on the All Blacks in Wellington tomorrow night. 'It's France, I don't know what the hell I'm expecting to be honest,' he tells The Detail. 'It could go either way.' In today's episode of The Detail, Gifford discusses captaincy, Television Match Officials, the number 10 jersey, and – after 50 years of rugby journalism – he has some wise advice for those planning on waging a bet. 'Don't put a large amount of money that you can't afford on it, for goodness' sake. You might make your fortune, but on the other side of the coin, it is France. And anybody who bets large amounts of money either for or against France in rugby is really not being very sensible.' Despite fielding a B-team in New Zealand – part of their Rugby World Cup planning strategy – the French still proved competitive against a full-strength All Blacks side in Dunedin last week. They scored the first try and ultimately lost by only four points, 31-27. 'It was an extraordinary game, quite surreal in many ways because everybody expected the poor old French, I think, to be thrashed basically. 'I thought the French played exceptionally well. I thought that we played well in patches, certainly plenty of promise there with some of the players they have brought in, particularly young Fabian Holland, the lock, from the Highlanders. 'By and large, it was one of the weirdest test matches I've seen, but I certainly don't feel depressed about the All Blacks' prospects for this season.' For Saturday night's game, the All Blacks selectors have favoured consistency, naming a largely settled side with just two injury-enforced changes. Rieko Ioane moves to the right wing with Sevu Reece out with a concussion. Caleb Clarke makes the starting XV on the left. Patrick Tuipulotu will also start at lock with captain Scott Barrett out of the series due to a calf injury. Ardie Savea will replace Barrett as captain. '[Scott Barrett] is definitely a blow; he has proven himself, I think, with the Crusaders and the All Blacks. He's that sort of solid guy that you know every game he's going to go out there and leave absolutely everything on the field. 'When you watch Barrett in the last quarter of a game, that's when I think he's at his best because he really, really is an absolute workhorse, and he's also extremely good on defence, he's terrific on defence, and so he's a helluva blow.' But Gifford welcomes Savea as the replacement skipper. 'All of us love Ardie Savea, how could you not … for Moana Pacifica, he just played his heart out. He's a fabulous footballer … but are we expecting a bit too much of Ardie? Because he looked, to me, absolutely wrung out at the end of Super Rugby. 'But fingers crossed, he is the sort of guy that I would imagine, for example, in this next test coming up in Wellington, he will be playing the way he always does for 80 minutes of non-stop action.' Sports reports and commentary this week have been critical of referees and the overuse of Television Match Officials, and Gifford agrees that the TMOs slow down the game. 'You now have so many eyes on it [the game],' Gifford tells The Detail podcast. 'Every time they [the All Blacks] take a breath, it's examined by about three or four pairs of eyes. 'Once upon a time, when you were at the ground, you clapped and cheered and jumped up and down, or whatever you did, or you were in your living room, and you did the same thing. 'But now a try scored, you think 'Don't go to the TMO, don't go to the TMO, don't go to the TMO', but nine times out of 10 they do.' The second test kicks off at 7.05 pm Saturday. The French will be buoyed by their first test performance and will be looking to beat the All Blacks on home soil for the first time since 2009. But they have never beaten the All Blacks in Wellington, a record the Kiwi side will be determined to continue. Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here. You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.
The Advertiser
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
Central Coast Komodo dragons successfully pair for a second time
KOMODO dragons, Kraken, and Daenerys from the Australian Reptile Park have successfully mated for a second time, with eggs expected to arrive within a month. The modern-day dinosaurs surprised Central Coast wildlife keepers as they settled quickly and seemed to remember each other. "I couldn't believe how easy it was," operations manager Brandon Gifford said. The apex predators are notoriously difficult and dangerous to pair, as they are known for their aggression, he said. "There was definitely a bit of posturing at the start, but it was like they remembered each other. It felt almost affectionate, which is not something you usually say about Komodo dragons." The pair first bred in 2021, which resulted in the first-ever Komodo dragon hatchlings born in Australia. Mr Gifford hoped Daenerys would lay her eggs in a specifically designed nest box. "If successful, this would mark the second time the park contributes vital hatchlings to the global conservation population. The Komodo dragon is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with only an estimated 3,000-5,000 left in the wild due to habitat loss, natural disasters, and limited breeding females. Komodo dragons are the largest living species of lizard, growing up to three to four metres and weighing over 100kg. Mr Gifford said they possess venomous bites that can be fatal, meaning the risk to keepers is significant. "Mating attempts must be carefully planned, closely monitored, and backed by extensive safety protocols," he said. Visitors can see both Kraken and Daenerys on display at the Australian Reptile Park during the Winter Wonderland school holiday events. Visitors can throw real snowballs, have their faces painted, and more. KOMODO dragons, Kraken, and Daenerys from the Australian Reptile Park have successfully mated for a second time, with eggs expected to arrive within a month. The modern-day dinosaurs surprised Central Coast wildlife keepers as they settled quickly and seemed to remember each other. "I couldn't believe how easy it was," operations manager Brandon Gifford said. The apex predators are notoriously difficult and dangerous to pair, as they are known for their aggression, he said. "There was definitely a bit of posturing at the start, but it was like they remembered each other. It felt almost affectionate, which is not something you usually say about Komodo dragons." The pair first bred in 2021, which resulted in the first-ever Komodo dragon hatchlings born in Australia. Mr Gifford hoped Daenerys would lay her eggs in a specifically designed nest box. "If successful, this would mark the second time the park contributes vital hatchlings to the global conservation population. The Komodo dragon is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with only an estimated 3,000-5,000 left in the wild due to habitat loss, natural disasters, and limited breeding females. Komodo dragons are the largest living species of lizard, growing up to three to four metres and weighing over 100kg. Mr Gifford said they possess venomous bites that can be fatal, meaning the risk to keepers is significant. "Mating attempts must be carefully planned, closely monitored, and backed by extensive safety protocols," he said. Visitors can see both Kraken and Daenerys on display at the Australian Reptile Park during the Winter Wonderland school holiday events. Visitors can throw real snowballs, have their faces painted, and more. KOMODO dragons, Kraken, and Daenerys from the Australian Reptile Park have successfully mated for a second time, with eggs expected to arrive within a month. The modern-day dinosaurs surprised Central Coast wildlife keepers as they settled quickly and seemed to remember each other. "I couldn't believe how easy it was," operations manager Brandon Gifford said. The apex predators are notoriously difficult and dangerous to pair, as they are known for their aggression, he said. "There was definitely a bit of posturing at the start, but it was like they remembered each other. It felt almost affectionate, which is not something you usually say about Komodo dragons." The pair first bred in 2021, which resulted in the first-ever Komodo dragon hatchlings born in Australia. Mr Gifford hoped Daenerys would lay her eggs in a specifically designed nest box. "If successful, this would mark the second time the park contributes vital hatchlings to the global conservation population. The Komodo dragon is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with only an estimated 3,000-5,000 left in the wild due to habitat loss, natural disasters, and limited breeding females. Komodo dragons are the largest living species of lizard, growing up to three to four metres and weighing over 100kg. Mr Gifford said they possess venomous bites that can be fatal, meaning the risk to keepers is significant. "Mating attempts must be carefully planned, closely monitored, and backed by extensive safety protocols," he said. Visitors can see both Kraken and Daenerys on display at the Australian Reptile Park during the Winter Wonderland school holiday events. Visitors can throw real snowballs, have their faces painted, and more. KOMODO dragons, Kraken, and Daenerys from the Australian Reptile Park have successfully mated for a second time, with eggs expected to arrive within a month. The modern-day dinosaurs surprised Central Coast wildlife keepers as they settled quickly and seemed to remember each other. "I couldn't believe how easy it was," operations manager Brandon Gifford said. The apex predators are notoriously difficult and dangerous to pair, as they are known for their aggression, he said. "There was definitely a bit of posturing at the start, but it was like they remembered each other. It felt almost affectionate, which is not something you usually say about Komodo dragons." The pair first bred in 2021, which resulted in the first-ever Komodo dragon hatchlings born in Australia. Mr Gifford hoped Daenerys would lay her eggs in a specifically designed nest box. "If successful, this would mark the second time the park contributes vital hatchlings to the global conservation population. The Komodo dragon is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with only an estimated 3,000-5,000 left in the wild due to habitat loss, natural disasters, and limited breeding females. Komodo dragons are the largest living species of lizard, growing up to three to four metres and weighing over 100kg. Mr Gifford said they possess venomous bites that can be fatal, meaning the risk to keepers is significant. "Mating attempts must be carefully planned, closely monitored, and backed by extensive safety protocols," he said. Visitors can see both Kraken and Daenerys on display at the Australian Reptile Park during the Winter Wonderland school holiday events. Visitors can throw real snowballs, have their faces painted, and more.
Scotsman
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
The first 'fully accessible' Edinburgh Festival Fringe venue to be launched this summer
The fully accessible venues for people with visual impairment (VI) are the first of their kind at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The first fully accessible Fringe venue for people with visual impairment is to be created this summer. Some shows at Zoo, which runs three city venues during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, will have audio description, as well as providing live programme notes and tactile touch tours before performances of three shows due to be held at the site. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The accessibility has been pioneered by Extant, a professional performing arts company of blind and visually impaired artists, in partnership with Sight Scotland and Visually Impaired Creators Scotland (VICS). Big Little Sister is one of the shows which will be fully accessible to people with visual impairment. | Big Little Sister Last year, there were about only 40 shows across the whole of the Edinburgh Fringe with audio description. The three shows set to take part in the trial are Holly Gifford's Big Little Sister, Shaper/Caper's Small Town Boys and Full Out Formula/Almanac Projects' I Think It Could Work. Ms Gifford said: 'We're so excited to be working with Extant to provide access performances of our show. The story we're telling is one that needs to reach the right audiences, and being part of Enhance not only makes that possible, it expands what storytelling means to us.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Extant approach is designed to cater to a range of productions and budgets. Options offered to participating shows include simple self-descriptions for solo performers, pre-recorded audio introductions that describe key visual elements of a show, and headset-based live audio description written and delivered by trained professionals. Extant, which was formed in 1997 by founder Maria Oshodi and a group of professional visually impaired artists, also has expertise in working directly with creative teams to embed inclusive practices into the fabric of the work through integrated or creative audio description. The company aims to redress invisibility of blind and partially sighted artists, explore new creative territories and become a dynamic, political space to articulate and celebrate what visual impairment brings to the performing arts. Zoo venues staff will receive visual impairment awareness training led by Extant's experienced facilitators, with the goal of making sure accessible practice is properly understood. Touch tour training will also be provided to the creative teams for the three shows. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The programme will include the return of Extant's annual Open House on Access, creating space for conversation, inspiration and practical advice on making the arts more inclusive. Tam Gilbert, Extant's trainee artistic director, said: 'Extant are thrilled to be partnering with Zoo this year to increase accessibility for visually impaired audiences at Edinburgh Fringe.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Yahoo
‘Made for sex': the hedonistic party palaces of New York's Fire Island – and the blond bombshell who made them
Posters advertising a 'bear weekend' cling to the utility poles on Fire Island, punctuating the wooden boardwalks that meander through a lush dune landscape of beach grass and pitch pine. It's not a celebration of grizzlies, by the looks of the flyers, but of large bearded men in small swimming trunks, bobbing in the pools and sprawled on the sundecks of mid-century modernist homes. You might also find them frolicking in the bushes of this idyllic car-free island, a nature reserve of an unusual kind that stretches in a 30-mile sliver of sand off the coast of Long Island in New York. Over the last century, Fire Island Pines, as the central square-mile section of this sandy spit is known, has evolved into something of a queer Xanadu. Now counting about 600 homes, it is a place of mythic weekend-long parties and carnal pleasure, a byword for bacchanalia and fleshy hedonism – but also simply a secluded haven where people can be themselves. He stole his first commission from another architect by seducing the clients – with whom he briefly formed a throuple 'My most vivid memory of my first visit here in the late 90s is being able to hold my boyfriend's hand in public without fear,' says Christopher Rawlins, architect and co-founder of Pines Modern, a non-profit dedicated to celebrating the modern architecture of the island. The palpable sense of community and liberation here is, he says, 'what happens when people who are accustomed to a certain degree of fear no longer feel it.' That was even more the case for Horace Gifford, an architect who arrived here in 1960, aged 28 and bored with working in a dull office in Manhattan and determined to make his mark in the sand. Over the next two decades, the young Floridian would build 63 holiday homes here, channelling his native beach culture into a seductive vision of breezy, timber-framed modernism that would define the look of the Pines – and beach homes – for the rest of the century. Long before the term sustainability was invented, Gifford's houses were models of compact, light-touch living with the land. While others were building sprawling mansions in the Hamptons, Gifford encouraged his clients to reduce their footprints, strip away extraneous details, and submit to what Rawlins describes as 'an artful form of camping'. Clad with planks of raw cedar inside and out, interspersing solid volumes with walls of glass, and crowned with angled roofs to 'reach out and grab for light', his homes felt at one with the island – and celebrated its sexually liberated way of life with voyeuristic relish. Few had heard of Gifford until Rawlins began digging in the archives for his seminal book, Fire Island Modernist, first published in 2013 and long out of print, but now expanded and updated with new photography and additional homes. Gifford had been criminally overlooked, in part thanks to his own criminal record, which had put him off ever applying for his architect's licence, in a state where licensed professionals had to be 'of good moral character'. Like many others of the period, Gifford was arrested during a police raid on Fire Island in 1965, in a dune cruising zone known as the Meat Rack. Such raids happened throughout the 60s, with police threatening felony sodomy charges for anyone who challenged their misdemeanour arrests. Names were published in newspapers and careers ground to a halt. 'They would entrap and beat the crap out of the guys,' recalls one of Gifford's clients in the book, 'then drag them down the boardwalks and corral them at the harbour-front like dead fish!' Gifford's arrest might have put paid to his professional licensure, but that didn't hinder his success on Fire Island. He was a statuesque, charismatic blond, who had been voted 'best looking boy' at school, and few could resist his charms. He turned heads as he strode down the beach from meeting to meeting, 'wearing a Speedo and carrying an attache case', as one amused client recalls. He once hosted an elegant black-tie party – where that was the only item of dress people wore. 'He understood his power over people,' says Rawlins. And he started how he meant to go on. He stole his first Fire Island commission from another architect by seducing the clients, with whom he briefly formed a throuple. 'He affected a quiet vulnerability,' recalls one college friend, who majored in psychology, and found Gifford a fascinating study. 'But he was anything but. He was ferociously narcissistic.' It worked a charm with the press. A 1964 issue of The American Home magazine declared Gifford to be 'undoubtedly the top beach-house designer in the country'. Another newspaper headline in 1968 cooed 'He Sends Cutting Edges into the Sky', while the New York Times singled out his work in a travelling exhibition of beach house architecture the same year. They highlighted his treehouse-like design for textile designer Murray Fishman, raised on a series of chunky wooden columns, which doubled up as hidden cupboards. As Gifford joked to Fishman: 'You will now have 20 closets to come out of.' Sometimes the references were more risque. In a chapter titled Form Follows Foreplay, Rawlins describes how Gifford designed a fur-lined 'make-out loft' for Stuart Roeder, a Warner Brothers' PR man known for his wild parties. With its lusty loft suspended above a couch-rimmed conversation pit, the house provided a lurid backdrop for the 1970 pornographic film, The Fire Island Kids. A year later, the island provided the setting for Boys in the Sand, the first gay porn film to go mainstream, which cemented the Pines' reputation as a place of 'bronzed skin, stripped-bare facades of cedar and glass, flaxen hair, and shimmering pools,' as Rawlins writes. It was the perfect calling card for Gifford's more raunchy work, which included homes with multi-man outdoor showers, bathrooms with big picture windows facing the boardwalks and 'telescoping' interiors, choreographed like stage sets for the enjoyment (and enticement) of passersby. Gifford would even sometimes commission 'peephole' style photographs of the interiors, as if to hint at the imminent indiscretions. As Fire Island's reputation grew, so did the fame of its residents. In 1977, after divorcing his first wife, Calvin Klein bought one of Gifford's beachfront homes. He then hired the architect to convert it into a souped-up party pad, adding a black-lined pool, a 'pool boy's quarters', a gym and a garden. 'It was amazing,' Klein recalled in 2013, 'the ultimate hedonist house. I mean, it was made for sex.' Following a series of unsympathetic additions, Rawlins is now busy restoring the house to its original splendour, as he has for a number of other homes in the Pines. By the 1970s, Gifford's designs had evolved from their humble beach shack origins. As the island's foliage matured, the ground enriched by leaching septic tanks, he developed 'upside down' floor plans that raised sunny living areas above shaded bedrooms. Budgets also grew. The owners of Broadway Maintenance, a lighting company, commissioned Lipkins House, a home that pulsated along the beachfront with disco energy. Inside, a sunken living area led down to a windowless den lined with electric blue shag carpet and a mirrored ceiling, with lights that throbbed in time to the music. Its current owners are delighted with its ingenious details, like a hidden bar, cylindrical showers and clever sun-loungers that can be lifted out of the poolside wall, all still intact. 'We bought it just as Hurricane Sandy hit,' they tell me. 'Both our neighbours lost their pools and their decks, but miraculously we were OK.' They look out at the beach, across a freshly planted protective sand berm, studded with clumps of new grass like a hair transplant. It was recently rebuilt, at a cost of $52m, after the previous $207m beach fortification – completed in 2019 and designed to withstand a 44-year storm event – was washed away in just four years. 'We shouldn't even be allowed to have houses here,' the owner tells me, with a guilty look. 'It's a nature reserve. But the homes are 'grand fathered' in. When the hurricane hit, I thought, 'My God, what have we done?'' Fire Island Pines has already been decimated once. Just as it reached its free-spirited, out-of-the-closet peak of liberation, Gifford's generation was wiped out by Aids, the architect himself included, at the age of 59. The island became a ghostly place of mourning in the 1980s and 90s. But it is booming once again. House prices have rocketed, fuelled by the Covid pandemic and the arrival of high-speed internet, with the island's fame boosted by a 2022 romcom bearing its name. Sexual freedom has also been turbo-charged once again by the advent of PrEP, an HIV-preventive drug. Homes are getting bigger too, as new owners join lots together and bulldoze the quaint shacks of old, with an eye for lucrative short-term rentals. Watching the waves crash against the shore, as contractors drive piles for ever bigger, bloated beach houses, raised up on stilts against the floods, Gifford's light-touch legacy looks just as fragile as ever.
