Latest news with #Leith
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
'I left Shetland to hunt whales in the Antarctic'
Gibbie Fraser was a teenager when he decided the best way to afford a motorbike like his friends on the west side of Shetland was to join the crew of a whaling vessel. Months later, at the age of 16, he was battling rough seas and violent storms in relentless pursuit of the largest animals on earth, 8,000 miles (13,000 km) from home in the South Atlantic ocean. Gibbie is one of several former Scottish whalers contributing to a new digital time capsule exploring the country's forgotten history in modern whaling. The Whalers' Memory Bank, launched in Dundee, aims to capture a snapshot of life onboard the whale-catching vessels around South Georgia and Antarctica between 1904 and 1965. "It was the highlight of my life," said Gibbie, who is chairman of the Shetland ex-Whalers Association. "I knew boys who had gone before and they came home the following summer with really nice motorcycles and I thought 'that's the way to do it'. "It was an adventure and when you are young, it is like a bit of a drug." 50 years on: Scots whaling recalled Now 83, he was among hundreds of Scots who joined boats along with largely Norwegian crew in the post-war years, when work was scarce. Many, like him, had grown up in small, coastal communities on Shetland, while others came from the Leith, in Edinburgh. The Edinburgh-based firm, Christian Salvesen, operated whale processing ports at the aptly named Leith Harbour at Stromness Bay in South Georgia, a British overseas territory about 870 miles (1,400 km) from the Falkland Islands. Gunners would fire harpoons aimed at killing and capturing blue, fin and humpback whales, which were brought aboard and processed at a centre in the island's main settlement, Grytviken. Gibbie began his career cooking and serving meals for the crew and cleaning the boat as a mess boy in the late 1950s. As the only non-smoker, he would also be sent above deck to steer at night while shipmates stayed below to play cards for cigarettes. He remembered the conditions on board being hard, but said there was a sense of "camaraderie" among the crew. "The catchers were wonderful boats and came through a lot of heavy weather, but you never walked along the aft end along the main deck, you had to go via the lifeboat deck because the main deck was awash most of the time," he said. "When you were in bed, you were not far from where the gun platform was. You were about a foot-and-a-half from where the sea was. You could hear it rushing by. "And it was daylight right round the clock. If you were among whales, then you kept going, you never stopped. It was right around the clock until the whales had disappeared." On one occasion, he recalled pursuing a fin whale in straight line for four hours before it was eventually captured. He said he "felt sorry" for the whales that were caught, adding he never wanted to see them suffer. "I realise that it was a warm-blooded animal that could feel pain like I could, and probably fear too," he said. "You always hoped that when the harpoon went in, that would kill it, it was never nice to see it struggle for a while." Gibbie completed four seasons aboard the boats and was only prevented from returning for a fifth when he suffered an arm injury in a crash involving his motorbike and a school bus at home in Shetland. The industry began to crumble in the early-1960s against the backdrop of more stringent government regulation and early environmental campaigns against the killing of the animals. However, by that point, whale stocks had become so low that the practice was "no longer deemed economically viable". The Edinburgh-based firm, Christian Salvesen, wound down its whaling operations in 1963. It is estimated about 176,000 whales were slaughtered and processed in South Georgia between 1904 and 1965. Historian Dan Snow helped launch the memory bank aboard the RRS Discovery in Dundee. The boat was built in the city as a research vessel which ferried explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton to the Antarctic in 1901. Dundee was centre of Scottish whaling throughout the 19th century when whale oil became an essential component for the softening of fabrics during jute production. Snow says elements of the Discovery's construction were inspired by the whaling vessels arriving in the city during that period. He told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland: "Discovery was an Antarctic survey vessel built in Dundee because it had that whaling expertise, built with all sorts of features that they learned from whaling ships. "It had things like rudders that lifted up into the hull and special strong hulls. "Through the memory bank, we've been able to save these stories, these testimonies about what it was like to go down there for months on end through the eternal summer of the Antarctic and chase whales, using world war two ships and radar equipment, it was like they were waging war on these whales." The memory bank has been produced by the South Georgia Heritage Trust and the South Georgia Museum. They worked with former whaling communities across Scotland to collect archive pictures and film, alongside several hundred items and oral histories and create a digital database, which can be viewed online. Helen Balfour, assistant curator of the museum, whose great-grandfather and grandfather were both whalers in South Georgia, said: "To understand more about what they saw, what they experienced and how they, their colleagues and families back home must have felt, is incredibly special. "It is amazing that over 60 years on from the whaling the camaraderie that exists between the whalers is just as strong." Whalers' Memory Bank
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
'The club's on the up' - McGrath on choosing Hibs
Midfielder Jamie McGrath says the "upward trajectory" of Hibernian was a key factor in his decision to join the 28-year-old left Aberdeen at the end of last season to pen a four-year deal with the Dons' Scottish Premiership Irishman is happy to have "more stability" and is determined to help the side build on last season's third-placed what encouraged him to join the Leith club, he said: "The direction the club is going in, an upward trajectory. Seeing how they finished off the season, it looked a great place to be. "I've been linked with Hibs a few times in the past, I'm just happy to be here now. There are big European games to look forward to. We want to build on last year."
Telegraph
4 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
SNP civil servants request swimming pool and pay rise to return to office
The SNP's work-from-home civil servants requested the reopening of a swimming pool and a pay rise after being ordered back into the office for two days a week. The Scottish Government told its officials they must return to the office for 40 per cent of their working week from October as part of a drive to improve productivity. Internal responses from staff, obtained under a freedom of information request, showed widespread complaints about the change, including a request for a pay rise to cover commuting costs. One official requested the reopening of a swimming pool, which shut in 2020 during the Covid pandemic, at the Government's Victoria Quay offices in Leith. Among the other responses, obtained by The Scottish Sun, were a call for 'shush' spaces to relax at work and complaints about being deprived of longer lunchtime walks. Stephen Kerr, a Scottish Tory MSP, described the complaints as a ' masterclass in entitlement and woke whinging '. He added: 'Civil servants whinging about missing their lunchtime strolls and the swimming pool should remember who pays their wages. This is the SNP's Scotland – high taxes for working families while some public sector staff treat home working as a lifestyle choice. 'It's no wonder public services are in decline when the culture inside government is so divorced from reality. The public won't forget who let this attitude take root.' Previous SNP government guidance said there was no 'centrally fixed mandated number of days' that staff needed to attend the office, but there was an 'expectation' that they would do so 'at least once per week'. Under the new rules, civil servants must hit the average of being in the office for 40 per cent of the time over the course of a month, still allowing them to spend some weeks working entirely from home. The figure is lower than the equivalent Whitehall policy, which states that civil servants must spend at least 60 per cent of their time working at the office. Officials responded to the change using the Scottish Government's Saltire intranet service. One asked: 'Given that one of the reasons provided for discontinuing the provision of the swimming pool at VQ was the low number of staff in the office to use it, can I ask if this decision will now be revisited?' Another said: 'Close a swimming pool to save the environment and reduce emissions, while mandating thousands to travel another day a week seems a bit strange.' A third civil servant wrote: 'Many have made big decisions based on balance – whether that be starting a family, getting a pet, getting rid of cars; down to things like starting a new fitness class, being able to take that longer lunchtime walk for their mental health or meet a friend after work because there is no commute. 'The prospect of that now being taken away is undoubtedly causing stress and anxiety.' Kenny Gibson, the convener of Holyrood's finance and public administration committee, asked the Scottish Government's most senior civil servant about the change on Tuesday. Mr Gibson told Joe Griffin, who was appointed permanent secretary in March: 'There appears to be considerable resistance from some civil servants to what the public would perceive as a fairly modest proposal that they come into the office at least two days a week, with incredulity from many that they don't do that already. 'After all, public service workers, from refuge collectors to teachers to nurses, all have to be at work.' Mr Griffin said he had decided to increase the number of days officials must be in the office 'quite early on in my tenure' as there was evidence 'people working together in person are more likely to engage in high value activities.' Referring to the complaints, he said: 'Some people have reacted to that decision. I understand some of the anxieties that people have. We absolutely need to make sure that we are taking account of diversity and inclusion requirements, and how we do that, but the direction of travel is clear for the reasons that I've given.' He said he wanted to 'demonstrate the benefits' of getting staff into the office two days a week before 'going further in due course.'
STV News
5 days ago
- Sport
- STV News
Gray challenges Hibs to keep momentum and embrace Europa League challenge
Hibs head coach David Gray is excited about the team's Europa League challenge and wants his side to carry their momentum from last season into the new campaign. A strong second half to the season saw the Leith side climb to a third-place finish in the Premiership after a difficult start. That achievement looked set to guarantee group stage football in Europe in either the Europa League or at worst the Conference League but Aberdeen's surprise Scottish Cup final triumph over Celtic meant the Dons took the Europe League play-off spot and left Hibs facing three knock-out ties to reach the League Phase. The Easter Road club have been drawn to face Danish side Midtjylland in the second qualifying round next month and with pre-season training now underway, Gray says they can look forward to the tie. 'Everyone's come back with a spring in their step, as you'd expect off the back of last season,' he said, while speaking at the club's annual Ron Gordon Football Festival. 'And it's just trying to build on that momentum from last year.' Gray admitted it was difficult seeing Aberdeen's cup success make his own qualifying task more difficult but said the club had prepared for all scenarios and he didn't want it to detract in any way from how well his side had done in reaching Europe. 'We now know exactly what's happening,' he said. You know, you've got the added bonus of knowing exactly who your opponent is well in advance, so you can do all your work and make sure you're ready for that. 'Everyone will have their pre-season friendlies getting in place to try and get the players up to speed as quickly as you can. 'But it's certainly a really good one to look forward to. 'Something that's worked really well for us as a group was taking one game at a time, and I know that was where we found ourself last year. 'But clearly, because it is a knockout stage at this point, that is the way you're gonna have to look at it. 'There's no better one you start with. It's a brilliant opportunity. They're a real top side. 'We know that, but that is the reward for finishing third. That's the reward for coming to this football club and being successful and qualifying for European competitions, that you get the opportunity to test yourself against a really good side. 'The players I'm sure are going to be looking forward to, because I certainly am.' Gray also anticipates an exciting Premiership season and thinks the new faces in the league will bring a freshness and also a lot of competiveness. 'We had a fantastic season, finished third, and rightly so,' he said. 'The league does not lie by the end of the season, but the challenge now for myself, for the staff, for the players, is to make sure we keep improving. 'Because the league is so tough, we know that. And the teams coming up are going to add to that. 'You've obviously seen there's new managers in place that are going to want to implement their own styles as well. So it's going to be really competitive. 'It always is, but our challenge is, can we keep improving as a group?' Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
BBC News
5 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
High-flying Hibs can 'absolutely' get by Midtjylland
David Gray hopes the "feel-good factor" at Hibernian can continue with victory in their Europa League qualifier against Midtjylland, which he adds they "absolutely" can travel to Denmark on 24 July before welcoming the Danish Superliga runners-up to Leith in the second leg on 31 July."It's a difficult draw but one the players need to look forward to, I'm certainly looking forward to it, the fans will be looking forward to it - we all really need to look forward to it," the head coach told Sky Sports."There's a real feel-good factor around the club."We've demonstrated already that we're a very good side, there's a reason why we finished where we did in the league, the run we went on doesn't happen by accident. "We've got a very good group of players here who are constantly trying to get better. "We know we need to keep improving, that we don't rest on our laurels. There are a lot of improvements still to come but this is what you want to do when you come to this football club."The opportunity to try and play in Europe and test yourself against top teams. "We're definitely going to be tested, we need to be at the very top of our game but are we capable of getting a result? Absolutely."And we'll be going there with a game-plan and belief to try and get into the next round."
