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Scotsman
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Mountaineering Women by Joanna Croston review: 'In the way of every good woman, there's always a man'
When female mountaineers refer to hostile conditions, it might not be just the rockface they are talking about, writes Roger Cox Sign up to our Scotsman Rural News - A weekly of the Hay's Way tour of Scotland emailed direct to you. 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... Readers of two-score years or more will probably remember Jürgen the German, one of the more out-there characters from the 1990s BBC2 sketch show Harry Enfield and Chums. Played by Enfield in a tousled blonde wig and garish multicoloured anorak, this confused young tourist, holidaying alone in the UK, was forever being overcome with guilt for the crimes of Nazi Germany, and, having attempted to engage complete strangers in toe-curlingly awkward conversations, would always end up making ludicrously over-the-top apologies for 'ze conduct of my nation during ze vor.' Juliana Garcia | Roberto Espinosa Fernandez Well, any men planning to read Joanna Croston's fascinating new book Mountaineering Women, which tells the stories of 20 inspiring female climbers from Gwen Moffat (b.1924) to Brette Harrington (b.1992), supported by a carefully-curated selection of jaw-droppingly good photography, should expect to feel a bit like Jürgen, and be prepared to do a lot of apologising for the conduct of their sex during the last 100 years or so; because if there's one common theme linking many of the remarkable athletes in its pages together, it's the fact that their endeavours were either obstructed, misrepresented or otherwise hamstrung by men. In fact, if there's any truth in the saying that 'behind every great man there's a great woman', then on this evidence perhaps it's also true that standing in the way of every great woman there's usually at least one man, and very often more than one. READ MORE: Ten books about the outdoors to read this summer Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Take, for example, the incredible and also incredibly frustrating story of Ecuadorian climber Juliana Garcia (b.1984). Having made her first trip to Peru at the age of 17, and fallen in love with the mountains of the country's spectacular Cordillera Blanca, she set her sights on becoming a certified mountain guide. As Croston explains, however, once she'd started training with her home country's official mountain guiding organisation, the Association Ecuatoriana de Guias de Montana (ASEGUIM), she quickly discovered that 'the rules would be different for her and her male counterparts.' Still, in spite of the fact that 'some of her fellow guides felt that things were made intentionally more difficult for her' during the course, in an environment where 'an atmosphere of machismo reigned supreme', she put her head down and gained her guide's certificate. Juliana Garcia on Huandoy | Jarrin Unfortunately for Garcia though, it turned out the ASEGUIM wasn't recognised outside Ecuador, so if she wanted to work as a mountain guide elsewhere – including in her beloved Cordillera Blanca – then she would need a qualification from either Bolivia, Peru or Argentina, all of which had training programmes recognised by the International Federation of Mountain Guides (IFMG). So, undeterred, she travelled to Bolivia and entered their intensive three-month training programme. By this point, she had already established a new route on 6,070m Huandoy Este in Peru, recognised as a notable ascent by the committee of the Piolets d'Or in 2013, but her golden ice axe didn't cut any ice with her new instructors. 'They had never had a female candidate before,' Croston writes, 'and when it came time for the graduates to be announced, Garcia was ignored and, to her dismay, realised she had failed the training. Her instructors gave her no indication of how close she was to passing, nor did they provide feedback on what skills she needed to work on.' Still, Garcia had the last laugh: two years later she was elected president of ASEGUIM and, thanks to reforms she implemented, by 2017 Ecuadorian mountain guide training had been recognised by the IFMG, who awarded her an official guide's pin the same year. She has since led climbing groups all over South America, as well as in Greenland, the USA and Greece. Alison Hargreaves on Katenga | Mark Twight Other women in Mountaineering Women whose progress has in some way been hindered by the actions of men? Take your pick from Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to climb Mount Everest, who, as the only girl in a family of boys, was not permitted to go to school like her brothers, and had to leave home as a teenager in order to avoid an arranged marriage and pursue her climbing dreams; or Alison Hargreaves, the British climber pilloried by a (male-dominated) press for climbing the north face of the Eiger while five months pregnant and then 'isolated by a jealous male climbing community', as Croston puts it, after completing her ambitious 'Six Faces' project in the Alps in 1993; or indeed Gwen Moffat, who became the first certified mountain guide in Britain in spite of 'rampant discrimination against women in the men's world of climbing' and in doing so 'set an adventurous blueprint for other women guides to follow.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad If the mountaineering women in this book are all brave, resourceful and almost supernaturally determined, then the men (with a few notable exceptions) mostly serve the same narrative function as cornices, bergschrunds and overhangs – that is: obstacles to be overcome. Perhaps in the next 100 years we can do better.
Daily Record
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
BBC Two Doors Down confirms Christmas Special on the way with new cast photo
Two Doors Down was axed following the tragic death of the show's creator Simon Carlyle in 2023. The BBC has confirmed that a Two Doors Down Christmas Special is on the way, just a couple of months after one of the stars teased its shock comeback. The Scottish comedy favourite is poised for a festive return this year. The news comes after the tragic passing of the programme's creator, Simon Carlyle, at just 48 years old. The programme was axed in 2023 following Simon's death, but rumours had been swirling about a revisit. Simon's writing partner Gregor Sharp initially said he felt unable to continue the series without Simon's creative contribution. However, both the cast and devoted viewers were delighted when whispers surfaced suggesting Gregor had reconsidered and was penning a Christmas episode. Today, Thursday, July 17, BBC Scotland confirmed the return to Latimer Street by posting a photo of the much-loved cast including Elaine C Smith, Alex Norton, Jonathan Watson, and Arabella Weir reuniting for a festive episode. Kieran Hodgson, 37, who portrays Gordon, previously told the Record: "The first day on set without Simon will be tough for everyone. He was such an integral part of the filming let alone the writing. He was there every day all day. "He was our friend. He was giving us notes. He was supervising it and guiding it. "Not to have him there will be really ghostly and I can imagine there will be some tears and some moments of silence." Two Doors Down began as a standalone Hogmanay pilot in 2013, before taking three years to reach its first complete series on BBC2 in 2016. The narrative revolves around Alex Norton and Arabella Weir as Eric and Beth Baird, their son Ian (Jamie Quinn) with his partner Gordon, portrayed by Kieran, and their eclectic Latimer Crescent neighbours. This includes the forthright Christine (Elaine C Smith), the tempestuous Cathy and Colin (Doon Mackichan and Jonathan Watson), and the semi-newcomers Alan and Michelle, played by Grado and Joy McAvoy. The series, which featured six seasons and four Christmas specials on BBC2, finally struck gold when BBC bosses decided to move it to BBC1 in 2022 for a festive special. Tragically, Simon passed away in August 2023, just before the seventh series, which he had filmed, aired that November, missing the show's triumphant transition to prime time. "It's lovely that Gregor feels he can write it now," Gordon added. "I'm sure it'll be just as brilliant as it ever was." With the comeback official, anticipation is growing among viewers as to what adventures await the group when they reunite to shoot the Christmas Special . Some have already taken to social media to share their predictions. But don't worry, we don't believe in any potential spoilers. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
CHRISTOPHER STEVENS reviews Bookish on U&Alibi: Foyle's War fan? Then try Gatiss's eccentric bookshop-owning sleuth
Bookish on U&Alibi When the film star and songwriter Ivor Novello was refused a licence to run his gas-guzzling chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce during the war, a besotted fan came to his rescue. Miss Grace Constable doted on him. Their relationship was platonic — but Novello, who was gay, was delighted to let her register his car to the electricity company where she worked, as an 'essential vehicle'. The ruse proved a disaster. Novello was found out, prosecuted and given eight weeks in Wormwood Scrubs. Would the sentence have been lighter if he hadn't been so flamboyantly camp, in an era when sex between men was illegal? Mark Gatiss, the writer and star of Bookish, set in post-war London, certainly thinks so. His character, amateur sleuth Gabriel Book, is only too aware that the local police sergeant (Blake Harrison) has suspicions about his sexuality. 'He's just waiting for his chance to collar me,' Book frets. 'They got Ivor Novello for his petrol coupons.' Bookish is crammed with these little historical asides, adding to a sense of period that in places becomes almost stifling. The dull colours of the 1940s, copen blue and ming green, soak the sets of this detective serial. Excursion of the week 'I'm enjoying this!' chirped 79-year-old Josie, as a mountaineer team helped her to safety in a howling gale, on SOS: Extreme Rescues (BBC2). Moments earlier, she'd been trapped on the brink of a 3,000ft drop on Mt Snowdon. Not my idea of fun. Every outdoor scene is criss-crossed with vintage Lanchester saloons and Daimlers, men in flat caps on bicycles, newsboys yelling the headlines, shoe blacks, and stallholders with barrows. A bomb site is the first location for the discovery of a body. An old-fashioned chemist's shop, the windows stacked with bottles, is the second. The underlying message is that this isn't merely a different era but another world. Book is married, to his childhood sweetheart Trottie (Polly Walker), who runs the wallpaper shop next-door to his second-hand book emporium. They live over the premises, and at bedtime snuggle up in a flouncy, flowery boudoir — before Book abruptly bids her, 'Farewell, my lovely,' and disappears to his own bachelor quarters. 'It's complicated,' Trottie sighs to their new lodger (Jack, a young jailbird played by Connor Finch). Complicated doesn't cover it. On nights when fog is swirling under the railway arches, Book goes cruising for casual sex with men. The challenge for Gatiss is to make Book eccentric and mysterious without being creepy. He's a middle-aged man, obsessed with unnatural deaths and eagerly generous to waifs and strays such as Jack, or Nora (Buket Komur), a teenager whose parents were killed in an air-raid. Add to that his arch and supercilious manner ('Without tea,' he sighs, 'I am merely unreconstituted dust'), and you might think twice before wandering into his shop for a browse. But the plotting of this double bill was deft, and guest star Daniel Mays was given plenty of scope for a wildly emotional performance as a chirpy butcher who takes his game of dominos a bit too seriously. If you liked Foyle's War and Grantchester, give this a try.
Scottish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Woke Netflix bosses AXE iconic moment from Pride & Prejudice remake for ridiculous reason
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) MR Darcy's wet top will be packed away for a Pride and Prejudice remake to avoid objectifying men. A dripping Colin Firth emerging from a lake got fans drooling in 1995. 2 Netflix's Pride and Prejudice remake will not feature a wet Mr Darcy - played here by Colin Firth Credit: BBC 2 The decision to axe the iconic scene is the latest woke nonsense The Sun's Wokeipedia campaign has identified But woke Netflix bosses have ruled there will be no repeat when actor Jack Lowden plays Mr Darcy in its forthcoming version of Jane Austen's classic novel. Non-binary Emma Corrin has been cast as the heroine Elizabeth Bennet in the drama, potentially dropping later this year. A TV insider said many fans would be disappointed as the famous BBC scene 'got millions of women hot under the collar'. They added: 'It is also credited for sparking subsequent moments of male objectification on screen — like Aidan Turner's famous topless scything scene in Poldark. 'But Netflix execs have made it clear they don't want a repeat.' A sodden Mr Darcy topped a 2013 poll of favourite TV scenes but it did not feature in Austen's 1813 novel. Last year the shirt which was worn in the scene went up for auction and was sold for £20,000. Netflix was approached for comment. Emma Corrin in fresh career boost as non-binary star is set to play iconic role in new Netflix show Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
The Irish Sun
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Woke Netflix bosses AXE iconic moment from Pride & Prejudice remake for ridiculous reason
MR Darcy's wet top will be packed away for a Pride and Prejudice remake to avoid objectifying men. A dripping 2 Netflix's Pride and Prejudice remake will not feature a wet Mr Darcy - played here by Colin Firth Credit: BBC 2 The decision to axe the iconic scene is the latest woke nonsense The Sun's Wokeipedia campaign has identified But woke Netflix bosses have ruled there will be no repeat when actor Jack Lowden plays Mr Darcy in its Non-binary A TV insider said many fans would be disappointed as the famous BBC scene 'got millions of women hot under the collar'. They added: 'It is also credited for sparking subsequent moments of male objectification on screen — like read more on netflix 'But Netflix execs have made it clear they don't want a repeat.' A sodden Mr Darcy topped a 2013 poll of favourite TV scenes but it did not feature in Austen's 1813 novel. Last year the shirt which was worn in the scene went up for auction and was sold for £20,000. Netflix was approached for comment. Most read in News TV Emma Corrin in fresh career boost as non-binary star is set to play iconic role in new Netflix show Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
