Duncan Harley

On July 2 1687 James II disbanded the English parliament, on the same day in 1900 Sibelius premiered Finlandia in Helsinki. July 2 1941 saw Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit premiered in London. And on July 2 1863, the participants @ the Battle of Gettysburg began a second day of bloodshed. Here in Aberdeen on July 2 2019 there were roadworks outside Robert Gordons and the Triple Kirks was bristling with scaffolding. The Belmont Cinema featured a few popular films and the first ever Doric Film Festival took place alongside the mainly Hollywood offerings such as Toy Story 4, The Queens Corgi and Boyle's Yesterday. Developed and presented by Frieda Morrison of Scots Radio fame it was a lively affair and, alongside some really splendid entries from schools, individuals and groups there were fine speeches from a variety of folk. I particularly liked the school entries and Meethill Primary headed the pack with a quite splendid docu-Doric take on the Bloo Toon.  Alongside the fi...

With thanks to Rachel Campbell of Aberdeen Performing Arts One of the stars of a new drama about the lure and the risks of life on the ocean has spoken about her own life growing up in Aberdeen as the daughter of a deep-sea diver. Sophia  McLean is taking her first major Scottish role in  Lost at Sea, playing Shona, a young woman returning to her home village searching for answers about her fisherman father ’ s death. Lost at Sea,  by Moray writer Morna Young, comes to His Majesty ’ s Theatre, Aberdeen, from 9 to 11 May as part of its world premiere tour and Sophia is one of several cast members with links to the North East. She said:   “I’ m thrilled that my first major stage role in Scotland should be one about North East Scotland where I ’ m from, and that it ’ s written in the  Doric that I grew up with; living  in Aberdeen shire and visiting my Dad’s family  in  Elgin . “ When I was wee, you didn ’ t get often get maj...

It's maybe just a few weeks till the annual anniversary of the demise of Bob Smith. I am always ahead of the game and just thought that you might be happy to remember the splendid man.  Bob famously spent a latter career slaving over adverts for an uncaring local paper and was a fierce critic of Donald Trump. He would never miss an opportunity to mention Trump in his popular poems, which featured weekly in Aberdeen Voice. He features in my two books along with the likes of Wallace, Bruce, Byron and T.E. Lawrence. And why not.  All in all, Bob contributed in excess of 200 poems to the Aberdeen Voice and had a few of his pieces published in the glossy Leopard. There maybe should have been a book but he never made it into that sort of print. Occasionally I think of the man. For some strange reason, his memory popped up today despite the few more weeks till the anniversary of his passing. Here, for what it's worth, is his take on the Doric: A’ve ayewis spak the Dori...

Jamie Fleeman lies buried at Longside churchyard. Alongside the usual information one might expect to find on a gravestone are his last words which read “Dinna bury me like a beast”. Known far and wide as “The Laird of Udny’s Fool” Jamie was employed by a local laird who, alongside paying him to look after his geese, looked upon him as a kind of family jester. Described as having a “large round head with dull hair that stood on end giving the impression he had been scared out of his wits" , Jamie is specifically mentioned in various publications including the New Statistical Account of Scotland of 1845: “No offence is meant by introducing here the name of an individual who had a county - if not a national - reputation, and whose printed memorabilia have gone through several editions. This was Jamie Fleeman, the Laird of Udny's fool, who flourished here about the middle of last century. His name appears frequently in the session's list of paupers and his sayings and do...

The Whitby Dracula connection is well established and has been extensively written about. Bram Stoker’s life and times have also been well documented. But until now, the story of how Stoker came to pen possibly the most talked about gothic novel in history whilst on vacation in and around Cruden Bay has been largely unknown. Outwardly, Cruden Bay is just one of many coastal villages which dot the Aberdeenshire coastline. Claims to fame include a connection with Norwegian aviator Tryggve Gran, who took off from the local sands on an epic flight over the North Sea to Stavanger in the July of 1914. Then there is the story of the Cruden Bay golf hotel where, for a few years at least, the rich and the famous came to relax and take in the sea air along the links. There were vague tales about how Bram Stoker and his family had spent a few holidays in the area and the local hotel could point to an entry in the guest book written by Stoker and promising to come again. But, until...

As the new book nears completion I have had time to reflect on some still-to-be completed writing projects. Few of us live to be much beyond a hundred and there are quite a few unpublished tales stuck within my bulging filing cabinet. An armoured train, manned by a Polish Dad’s Army regiment which once patrolled the Buchan permanent way plus a piece about the last of the Covesea millwrights lead the pack and the strange tale of sculptor Alexander Brodie’s lonely suicide are just examples of the buried genre. Then there is the story of a long-lost number 10 Bluebird buried at Rothienorman, a Victorian Music Hall sandal scandal and that quite splendid tale of the last voyage of the Girl Pat. I could go on … But where to begin. The lack of a regional magazine, now that Leopard has been abandoned by the university and then swallowed by a bigger fish, has led to a dearth of publication places and in the big scheme of things even David Toulmin has been cast aside by the powers...

Duncan Harley Reviews The last time I witnessed a Flying Pigs production was in far off 2016. Titled Dreich Encounter it failed to disappoint and I recall penning the immortal words “Father Ted meets Ivor Cutler utterly fails to describe this production adequately … reminiscent of Cutler’s Glasgow classic  “Life in a Scotch Sitting Room”, [Flying Pigs]  gently parody the folk memories of the North east.” Not much has happened to alter my opinion and this year’s splendidly polished offering features around thirty of what Flying Pigs term their best glaikit hits . Entitled Now That’s What I Call Methlick , and incorporating classic sketches involving the likes of Hilton John, The Bakery Wifies plus of course Mither: Nasal Hair , the show takes the form of a musical comedy/sketch review of all things Aberdonian. The opening set comprises classic numbers from The Buckie Drifters. As Craig Pike enthuses about his shingles a tartan-trewed backing group launch into...