BB FANS

Hello Cameron, long time no see!

Just wondering, as you are a Beethoven fan, whether you're thinking of watching the live broadcast of the Mass in C from the proms this year?

Just so you know this IS coming, last weeks as well. Too much to do in too little time but once tomorrow is by there will be more spare time, even more by thursday!

I have to say, after our performance of it at this year's St Magnus Festival, I think any other will pale. However, I may tune in to see how they do!

JK

When is that going to be on?

Long time no see alright! Hope you're well.

JK?

Get away! REALLY? If I had BBC4 I'd watch for sure!

(JK = just kidding... I think anyway)

doesn't stop you watching anything from BBC on iPlayer.

Erm I can't find the paper from last week so this week's will have to do.

Main bit is about names and their meanings... including the down right stupid ones. Officials in New Zealand have disallowed names such as Fat Boy, Yeah Detroit and twins called Fish and Chips yet did allow Benson and Hedges and Number 16 Bus Shelter (what the....?). The court let a wee 9 year old change her name from Talula does the hula from Hawaii. Also about the names "celebrities" sometimes give their kids.

Being in Aberdeen for Tartan Day at the weekend - see thread below.

The Rowett Insitutute needing 20 "meaty men" for a study, gives details but don't think there are any men from Aberdeen on here anyway...?

Elton John getting an ice cream flavour named after him in the US by a shop in Vermont in honour of his first gig there - it is called 'Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'.

Controversy over proposed wind turbines near Aberdeen and believing although we need to save power we need a method for the long term.

Main bit is about mobile phones and how the amount we use them increases every year... each week "we" send 1.4 billion texts which is about 3 a day each and where he didn't think he was bad with his mobile phone he looked at it and saw there was 877 messages in his inbox and 305 sent. (that is a LOT of texts you've not replied to!!) About how he'd be lost without the numbers saved on his phone etc and how they're one of the most likely things to be found left in hire cars...

Gala week at home last weekend and it all went well, other than the firework display that couldn't go ahead due to the weather.

The issues with the post offices closing down again and not being impressed at having the petrol money of driving to the replacement post office to pick up a letter which hadn't been stamped which cost him £1.27... especially as it was from the Inland Revenue!

Pictures of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's twins being sold to a magazine for a "record" sum, Jennifer Lopez held the previous record at £3 million.

Trying to decide which events, shows, concerts etc to go to when he's in Aberdeen.

Sorry this never got done this week. I have been on holiday and wasn't in the area where the EE is sold to buy a copy and summarise it - sorry. Tomorrow's will be done.

Hmmm never happened last week either but I'm not apologising as it was a mental week and I never even thought about it!
A-n-y-w-a-y...

Saving money and how these days young people don't learn how to do it. Speaks about how they had bank books that they were encouraged to take into primary school each week with a wee sum of money to save. How these days every second advert is about debts etc and how when he worked before he bought his house his colleagues used to be mad when he'd be surprised it was pay day already. Says how young people today get "very little" training about money management.

(personally I kind of disagree... having only left school about 2 years ago we did get quite a few lessons on money etc in P&SE in 4th, 5th and 6th year - i obviously have no idea if that is the case in every school but we certainly got a fair bit so i guess there it was if you took heed. the lady from the Bank of Scotland used to come to primary school every Tuesday as well to take our penny and write it in our wee books with the squirrel on them!)

Grinning at New Kids on the Block doing their first gig in the UK since the early 1990s - thinking they may have to change their name though.

Sales on cabriolets are up 20% on this time last year and wondering what the sales would be like if there actually was sun...

Balfour Castle where he used to play as a child is up for sale for £2.7 million. It is rare as it is a 'calendar castle' with seven turrets for the days of the week, 12 external doors for the months, 52 rooms and 365 panes of glass.

Christmas cuts already from the council with no Nativity display, no panto tickets being given to community groups and no party for the children after switching on the Christmas lights. Wondering what'll be next to go.

That's interesting about Balfour Castle.

Yes! I had no idea at the time (obviously). It's a beautiful place.

Full thing this week... sorry last week's isn't done yet. I have the paper in my bag so will do it if I get 10 minutes not to be trying to do a million things at the same time while online!

I’m not planning to apply for a job at the Union Square Mall. And not just because white helmets are usually reserved for the high heid-yins. I couldn’t believe the carry on surrounding helmets at the £250m construction site. Hats off to the Health and Safety Executive – for once they confirmed that there are no daft rules for coloured helmets!


Anybody earning between £6,035 and £40,835 a year should see an extra £60 on their wage slip this month. The controversial ‘10p tax’ debacle back in April takes effect as of yesterday. Folk should be £120 better off, so in addition to this month’s bonus, you can expect £10 a month from now till March. Make sure to check your wages!


The ongoing tit-for-tat between some of the UK’s most glam celebs continues to rage. I mentioned recently Kerry Katona’s lack of savings nous when she was declared bankrupt following a big tax bill. Jordan as hit out at Katona too saying she’d rather own 100 pairs of shoes outright than have a fleet of sportscars on HP. She’s no dumb blonde.



I don’t think it’s just me who is baffled by this proposed local income tax. The First Minister Alex Salmond has laid out plans for a 3p in the pound rise in income tax whilst at the same time doing away with the council tax. His advisors currently estimate that the change will mean that the average family would be between £350 and £535 better off each year. And yet bodies such as the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Scottish TUC and even Yvette Cooper, Chief Secretary to the Treasury seem to think it will be a detrimental move. There are some figures wrong somewhere. Let’s sort that out before we decide.


So the lights are off, the fireworks have fizzled out and the dust has finally settled at the most famous house this side of the Sydney waterfront.
Friday night’s Big Brother final saw Mikey Hughes, the straight-talking radio producer from Kilwinning, as runner-up and Rachel Rice take the winner’s crown and the £100,000 prize after thirteen weeks of incarceration.
I was all geared up for the final, having had a deliberately relaxing evening mowing my Mum’s grass and sitting with my finale-viewing supplies beside me on the couch.
It’s a funny sensation watching the series at all, but watching the final feels very odd. I can’t explain why I get such a nervous feeling or why I prefer to watch it on my own. Maybe there’s a subconscious link back to our final, which I can’t remember at all. I can remember our opening night no bother at all; the carpets, the furniture, the green grassy rug, even the bread bin and cutlery. But I have no personal recollection of the final night. Just two scars on my shins where I must have run into one of the barriers!
I love Davina, but I couldn’t believe what I was hearing during Rachel’s winner’s interview. Rather than focus on what she’d been like as a housemate, Davina seemed to hammer home all the negative points the losing housemates had cast up against her. And on one of the supplementary programmes after the final was shown, the normally sweet presenter challenged Rachel on whether she would split her winnings with the other finalists. It seemed unfair and decidedly uncalled-for.
When it came to it, the final stacked up much as I’d hoped. The first two out, Darnell and Rex, were both valid housemates – I always enjoy watching interesting people, and those two certainly were. Whether I’d enjoy sharing a house with them is another matter.
With Ozzie Sara out next my night was almost complete. I’m not a fan of putting extra housemates in during the series, and I didn’t want this Sheila-come-lately to win. Which left Mikey and Rachel’s fans to battle it out. Mind you, I didn’t mind which of those two won it, and there was no battle between them.
One of the best things to come out of our Big Brother was the friends we made and I really value the fact that some of us are still in touch. And I think Rachel and Mikey will be as fortunate.
I wonder what next year will have in store!

Thanks Jezi

So sorry this hasn't been done for ages Christine. Had a lot on and keep forgetting.

Main bit is about reusing plastic bags and how they're aiming to half plastic bag use in Scotland by half over the next 6 months with ideas like the shop people keeping them behind the counter rather than having loads freely available. They're now looking the change disposable drink cups.

The queen hosting Blue Peter's 50th birthday party which is happening at Buckingham Palace.

The calls to bring yellow American style buses into the NE to hopefully reduce accidents. (Not in the column but within a couple of weeks of eachother two children have had fatal accidents coming off school buses in Aberdeenshire in recent weeks.)

Different jobs affecting your waist line with lorry drivers, lawyers, IT people etc being biggest and travel agents, estate agents and call centre people being smallest.

A church in Glasgow's congregation being given £40k to try and build a church out of things like old tyres.

No worries Jezi.