Aberdeen groups awarded £333,333 for eco projects

The team at ACVO has been in touch to tell us about the 13 community groups and charities that have been awarded grants from the Scottish government’s Just Transition Fund. These organisations will each receive a share of £333,333 for their environmentally friendly projects in Aberdeen, chosen by a public vote last month.

ACVO's Maggie Hepburn was impressed by the enthusiasm shown by the general public to be involved in voting for projects. She said: "I hope people can see that their votes have had real benefit for the third sector organisations who were successful.”


Local people guide how the region moves towards net zero

ACVO, who promote and foster the growth and participation of the Third Sector in Aberdeen, said the goal of the funding is to allow local people to have a say in how the region moves towards net zero emissions.

NESCAN Hub helps communities work together to organise climate projects, providing training, help and support. The two organisations have collaborated on distributing the grants. They have been focusing on projects that align with the needs and priorities of local communities.

Transportation is the main focus of many of the funding awards. Somebody Cares, Aberdeen Science Centre, Alcohol and Drugs Action, North East Sensory Services, Tillydrone Community Council and Camphill Wellbeing Trust have all chosen to use the grants to purchase and operate electric vehicles. This will of course help lower emissions for their services.

Cafe and community space Greyhope Bay has been awarded £11,000. This will be used to implement a recycling and waste management system at Torry Battery. Meanwhile, Cornhill Community Association has been awarded £16,625 to establish a community garden in the Cornhill/Stockethill area of the city.

ACVO and NESCAN Hub teamed up to distribute the grants

The 'Family Food: Fresh and Frugal' initiative at Garthdee Field Allotments has been awarded £20,789 in funding. This project involves allotment volunteers collaborating with students at Kaimhill Primary School to cultivate and cook their own vegetables. Additionally, The 9th Aberdeen Scout Group has been awarded £30,000 to make their Scout Hut in Broomhill more environmentally friendly. The group will achieve this through upgrades such as better insulation and roofing.

More green projects

Friends of Westfield Park got £10,400 for improvements to the park. They plan to add a container with a plant-covered "green roof" and also shelters for community events. The Allotment Market Stall, which takes place at parks across the city, received £13,590 to build a toilet that turns waste into compost at their Grove Nursery location.

Lastly, the Bonnymuir Green Community Trust has been awarded funding of £3,900 to assist in the maintenance of their community green space.

The Scottish Government launched the Just Transition Fund back in May 2022. This ten-year fund of £500 million is intended to help the North-East region transition to net-zero emissions.

Further details of the successful projects, as well as details of the free funding support offered by ACVO for charities and community groups in Aberdeen, can be found on their website.


Children in Need's Coast Walker to spend Hogmanay in Aberdeen

Former Atlantic rower and dad of three Chris Howard The Coast Walker is to spend hogmanay in Aberdeen as he continues his mammoth walk round the coast of Britain. He’ll arrive on 31st December, stay overnight and he needs YOUR help to raise funds for Children in Need.

Lockdown gave Chris a lot of time to think about how lucky his children are, but also to think about those who are in more difficult circumstances. He decided to turn the negative impact of coronavirus into something positive to give people and young people hope. Chris gave himself one year to complete the colossal 11000 mile challenge.



Relying on Community

He left Heacham in Norfolk on the 26th July and has braved the elements, carrying everything required to survive with him…mainly just a lightweight cook system and a bivvy bag to sleep in.

In big cities no one seems to talk to me or say hello. I’m really hoping Aberdeen might be different.
Chris Howard | The Coast Walker

Chris has relied on community for food and occasional accommodation to help him through his challenge since he set out. He told us ”Sometimes that’s been incredible and people have been hugely generous. Other times I’ve not spoken to anyone for weeks at a time and I’ve just wanted to cry. In big cities no one seems to talk to me or say hello, despite wearing a big backpack with a yellow pudsey flag. I’m really hoping Aberdeen might be different, especially as I’ll be spending NYE there!!!”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWYmPF1ZkGU

BBC Children in Need

BBC Children in Need works throughout the year to ensure that every child in the UK has a safe, happy and secure childhood, and the chance to reach their full potential. It relies on the energy and commitment of thousands of fundraisers and supporters across the UK, who donate their time and money to put on events supporting the Appeal.

Donations are being accepted via The Coast Walker's website www.thecoastwalker.com

Chris has previously devised and participated in challenges such as rowing the Atlantic, long distance cycle rides and marathons. He’s always pushed himself hard to achieve things for the benefit of others. This time is different in that he’ll be entirely alone for long periods surviving on his wits, foraging and sleeping in the open and walking up to 30 miles a day for a whole year.

Chris Howard | The Coast Walker

Christmas Challenges

The colder weather has brought out the kindness in folk. Chris told us “as the weather has gotten colder people have been kind and friendly so far down the East coast. I’d not been used to seeing people having spent so long in the empty west and far north but I’m now on the home stretch at least having started in Norfolk 376 days ago (headed south).

He earned a well deserved break at Christmas, managing to celebrate with his family. He explained, “I got to take two days off to see my wife & children who came up to Inverness to meet me. I’d not seen them for nearly 6 months but now having said goodbye to them again I’m more determined than ever to get home.”

How to follow The Coast Walker's progress

The Coast Walker website
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube


Jane Spiers to step down as APA Chief Exec

Jane Spiers, chief executive of Aberdeen Performing Arts, is to stand down in the spring of 2022.

Janes time in charge of the cultural charitable trust has been one of great highs and lows. Perhaps the biggest project in her time was the 10M redevelopment of the Music Hall. Her team also launched three city festivals. True North, Granite Noir and the Blue Light youth arts festival all brought new cultural opportunities to the city.



Of course the Covid-19 pandemic was a huge challenge for the former book publisher. She worked tirelessly to make sure that APA remained solvent and to safeguard jobs. It reopened it's venues in recent weeks, and its great to see it in a relatively healthy state.

She spent a great deal of time as chief executive working to increase diversity. Both the work shown on stage and the increased engagement. Her work to further engage with the city's varied communities has been hailed by Aberdeen City Council culture spokesperson, Marie Boulton. She said, "Jane’s commitment to inclusivity in the arts is exemplary. She has significantly increased the range and diversity of people we reach through education and community programmes."

In 2019 Aberdeen Performing Arts was named Business of the year at the AGCC Northern Star Awards. Furthermore, Jane Spiers became the first woman to win a Lifetime Achievement Award.

"If I listened to my heart, I’d never leave Aberdeen Performing Arts"

On announcing that she was moving on, Jane seemed torn on the decision. She told us, "If I listened to my heart, I’d never leave Aberdeen Performing Arts but after a lifetime working in the arts, my head is telling me it’s time to step away. I’ve lived my dream job for the last ten years and it will be hard to say goodbye to my wonderful work family especially after what we’ve been through together in the last 18 months."

Craig Pike, Chairman of APA was keen to point out her leadership skills. He said, "She has been an inspirational and compassionate leader, never more in evidence than during the pandemic, tirelessly advocating and fundraising to keep us solvent, safeguard jobs and always with the welfare of her work family in mind."

Aberdeen Performing Arts will now being the search for Jane Spiers' replacement. If you like to know more about their recruitment process, check out the APA website.


About POST

Kevin Mitchell and Chris Sansbury founded POST from a desire to cut through the noise to share the great things that happen in Aberdeen. They therefore focus on community, culture and the interesting people of the city. The local artists, businesses and charities; photographers, musicians and entertainers; the people at a local level that make a positive impact on our city each and every day. So they use video, audio, writing and social media to amplify the voices in our community, and to ultimately give a platform to Aberdeen folk to engage and tell their own stories.

Recent work includes interviews with We Are Here Scotland founder Ica Headlam; Paralympic gold medalist, Neil FachieChef, an Aberdeen rapper who is pushing for success; an article by film director Mark Stirton about the state of high-rise buildings in the city; coverage of Nuart Aberdeen and TEDx Aberdeen, as well as coverage of British Art Show 9.

So visit postabdn.com now to read a great selection of interviews and articles.


The Fittie, Aberdeen

Using art and culture to improve life in Aberdeen

Lesley Anne Rose is the co-founder of Open Road, a creative operation based in Aberdeen. They use art and culture to improve health and wellbeing and the local environment. Her work at the Fittie Community Development Trust recently caught our attention. We asked her about Open Road's background, her hopes for the development and how we can build a better future for communities.


At Open Road we believe that culture and creativity inspired by people and place transforms lives. 

The Covid-19 pandemic, movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, as well as the local and global impacts of climate change have sparked turmoil, disruption, re-evaluation and, at times, chaos. The stories we tell about ourselves about the world have been tested and re-written. Long-silent voices are being heard. The push to make the world, and all of our lives, more equitable and sustainable grows ever stronger.

The impacts of these times on the cultural sector have been seismic as social distancing prevents us coming together
Lesley Anne Rose

The motivation, means and momentum for innovation and unstoppable change are all in place. The impact of these times on the cultural sector have been seismic as social distancing prevents us coming together. New ways to distribute and show work open up and deep inequalities within organisational structures and privilege come under scrutiny. Within the drive for change the power of storytelling, the need for creativity and the role of culture in holding space to heal the past, connect in the present and vision for the future has been keenly felt. 

Owning our identity and history

We know that whoever owns our stories, news, art, and culture, also owns our identities and history. Our aspiration is to empower and enable individuals, communities, cities and countries to own their stories, give voice to their visions and take steps towards healthier and more sustainable futures for themselves and each other. 

Our place and believe that the North is a place of ‘other’ where we do things differently to the South. Extremes of light and dark, global oil and the closeness of Scandinavia influence us creatively, socially and economically. All of these factors, along with the need for compassion, have underpinned a new business plan we have spent the last six months creating. This plan is underpinned by our new mission to be a creative, entrepreneurial organisation rooted in North East Scotland (‘the North’), but with a global vision. We use arts, culture, heritage and the natural landscape which contributes towards health and wellbeing, tourism and environmental sustainability. 

When we saw the launch of Creative Scotland’s Culture Collective, we knew that we could use it to make a positive difference to Aberdeen. 

About Culture Collective

Culture Collective is a pilot programme from Creative Scotland. It aims to build a network of creative practitioners, organisations and communities. They'll work together to create a positive difference locally and nationally in response to COVID-19. The programme focuses on community engaged creative activity, supporting projects where creative practitioners and communities work collaboratively. Importantly they are responding to the impact of COVID-19, providing employment opportunities for creatives. They'll actively engage people in shaping the future cultural life of their community.

Photo by Glen Rankin

Open Road is working with the Fittie Community Development Trust (FCDT) a charity established to support the harbour-side community in Aberdeen. The people of Fittie set up the FCDT to buy an old Gospel Hall and develop it as a venue for the wellbeing of residents and benefit of visitors. Wider Trust aims include community development and partnership working. 

Fittie residents are both long-term and recent. In summer Fittie can receive up to 1,000 visitors a week which creates a complex relationships between locals and visitors. Fittie sits at the mouth of a global oil port. Complexity also exists between the heritage of the past. The current reality of a city pivoting away from an economy dependant on oil and gas. And, as a coastal community, the impacts of climate change on the future of the village.

Bringing on creatives to the project

With the aim of addressing the impacts of COVID-19 and wider social, economic and environmental influences on community and city, our project will contract three creative practitioners to each work in residence for up to a year. One will create a programme of creative initiatives and participatory events to bring the Hall and community connections back to life. Another will further a project focusing on stories of migration in Aberdeen, linking with visitors, other communities and Aberdeen harbour. The third will focus on the impacts of climate change for coastal communities and the transition to net-zero carbon emissions. 

Community cohesion, the movement of people and climate change are all inter-linked. Through collectively developed briefs the artists will reach across the generations of residents. Linking these aspects of community heritage with the impacts of the current pandemic and environmental issues with a vision for a new future. The project's focus will be The Hall.

Creatives are being encouraged to work across, but be respectful to the physical footprint of the community and consider practices such as community mapping. Planning will be responsive to on-going COVID-19 guidelines with digital spaces all part of the plan. We're also bringing on an early career creative producer on board to help us deliver the project. 

Telling the Story of Change

One of our aims is to help people, communities and organisations tell their stories and the story of change. Story telling helps us answer questions so we can tackle problems with courage, risk-taking and creativity. Stories connect people to their passions, to shared identify and hope. They bring re-conciliation and an understanding that we are not the same as before, as well as help re-build for a better future. This is needed on individual, collective, organisational and sector levels.

Through our Culture Collective project we aim to tell the story of change within our community and set this against a local, national and global narrative. This will include live events, podcasts, filmed content, story sharing and other creative outputs. We will link our activity with the wider Culture Collective network, Climate Reality Leadership, the road to COP26 and beyond. 

Granite Fittie Community Hall basking in the sunshine, with a blue bicycle in front of it. Markings on front show it was built in 1951.
Photo by Chris Sansbury

In doing so we aim to raise the profile of the cultural sector in Aberdeen and its potential to work with and make a difference to communities. We'll also provide much needed paid opportunities for freelancers within the sector. 

With recruitment in progress, we are right at the start of this journey. We're excited to see how it develops and are looking forward to sharing progress as we go. 


Find out more

Huge thanks to Lesley Ann for taking the time to share her thoughts. You can find out more about Open Road on their website, Twitter and Facebook. Art and culture in Aberdeen is one of the main focuses of POST and we'll check in on this project in the future.

Also, check out our conversation with Ica Headlam. He is an Aberdeen creative who shines a spotlight on the work of many others. His focus on Aberdeen’s artists, musicians and creative businesses put him at the centre of a renaissance of the city's creative scene.


Belmont Cinema prepares to welcome back film fans

Aberdeen's independent cinema is ready to open it's doors after weeks of closure due to Covid restrictions

Cinemas across Scotland reopened on May 17, but the Belmont Filmhouse Cinema in Aberdeen took a little more time to prepare for the their moment to welcome back film fans. Monday 31 May is their big day with moviegoers excited to experience the best in independent cinema. We asked manager Colin Farquhar what to expect.


We’re really excited to come visit again so we thought it was time to check in. If people haven’t visited you since the pandemic started, what should folk expect as they walk in the building with regards to buying tickets, grabbing a coffee and sitting down in their seat?

So essentially it's the same as September for now. Plenty hand sanitiser and queuing systems. People should book in advance if at all possible and pay with card. And in screens they're being kept apart in our pod system, which separates folk into households. Mask wearing in cinemas and foyers is still mandatory unless you're munching on popcorn. We greet everyone at the door and go through the rules with them.

How have your team responded to their return and to what I imagine is a whole host of new training?

Luckily it's much and such the same training as before - just refreshers. We had anticipated some changes to guidance but none really materialized. Everyone has been great and enthusiastic to get back to work, but some anxieties exist of course, which is totally understandable given the circumstance. Although we're nearly there now some of team still aren't vaccinated - we'll be asking customer to bear that in mind as they return.

Is the Belmont opening fully, or are there bits that will stay closed for a little while longer?

We're going to keep the bar closed for now - there's confusing and slightly contradictory guidance around how bars work in cinemas, different rules with spacing, Test and Protect etc. There's the obvious difference that bars are 1m but the cinemas are 2m spacing, but there's also differences around how you serve someone a drink when they're going to the film vs how they are served if they sit in the bar. So we'll feel our way into that. We're also quite skinny on staff at the moment and rules around furlough combined with ongoing tier 3 closure worries bring challenges around recruitment - so we'll keep the bar closed till later in summer when we've assessed how we can meet all those challenges.

What movies are you excited to share with the public over the next few weeks?

FIRST COW. I love Kelly Reichardt. I think I watched Meek's Cutoff twice through lockdown. Masterpiece. So I can't wait to see that and I'd encourage people to do the same. Nomadland is the one selling most tickets at the moment and Chloe Zhao is brilliant. The lineup is great - films have materialized for reopening this time more handily than last year. A lot of these films have been waiting in wings for freedom and screens for nearly 18 months now, so it's great then are finally out there. I think Sound Of Metal for example was finished in 2019.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRUWVT87mt8

Apart from buying tickets, what are some ways that folk can support The Belmont just now?
Just spread the word that we're back! Folk can still buy memberships and we'll be doing a free Student and Young Persons membership when we reopen. This will give students and 16-25 year olds access to £5 films all the time. They can also help by chatting with us - give us feedback; tell us what you want and what you want to see and we'll see what we can do.

The Belmont turned 20 at the tail end of last year, do you have plans to celebrate that milestone at some point in the months ahead?

Oh. I had quite forgotten amidst the pandemic that that particular anniversary had passed. And we've all had so much cake anyway over the past 15 months...we'll see!


And on that cliffhanger, we'd like to thank Colin very much for his time. Don't forget, you can buy tickets for the best in independent cinema from belmontfilmhouse.com, and follow their latest news on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. You can also read our fantastic Temp Check interview with Colin about how he coped with the first part of the Covid-19 lockdown.


Temp Check : Colin Farquhar from Belmont Filmhouse

We've now faced restrictions to our lives in Aberdeen for the past 8 months. While Covid-19 has meant that we all have to share the burden of stopping the spread of the virus, there’s a cost to our mental health. We decided to check in with Aberdeen folk to see how they are coping at this point. As a result we hopefully learn a little bit more about them along the way.

First up we check in with Colin Farquhar, Head of Cinema at the Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen’s last independent cinema. They have been forced to close again recently because film distribution in the UK has ground to a halt.


Hey Colin. Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions about how you are currently dealing with life in pandemic Aberdeen. We’ll start off with a simple one…how are you doing right now?

Good…I think. It’s a strange time for everyone and that includes me. I’ve been part-time furloughed since Saturday (7th November 2020) and that will be an adjustment as I hadn’t been before. Quite often we go on holiday at this time of year. I have a feeling of absence about that, as we obviously can’t travel. Generally good, though. I’ve held up fairly well this year. I’m proud of as, like most folk, I can be fragile as well.

Tell us a little bit about your background.

I grew up in Whitehills which is a wee fishing village of about a thousand people. It's on the Banffshire coast. Beautiful place, not much to do, but I’m very grateful for the prettiness and people when I go back. I moved to Aberdeen to do Media and Communications at Aberdeen College in 2003 when I was 18. Then after a bit of course juggling did English Lit. at Aberdeen Uni, graduating in 2009. I got a part-time job at the Belmont at the end of 2007.

My folks are mostly fishing and farming stock. Dad worked on boats until he decided it was too hard a life (I can’t disagree). My Mum was a nurse at Ladysbridge, which is a now mostly closed mental health hospital just outside the village. My direct family and much of my extended family, work in social care now.

What made you fall in love with movies?

I guess the first thing that comes to mind is a cupboard in my Mum’s house. It was full of recorded VHSs from my early teens. Stuff that I was still much too young to watch. I’d write the name of the film on the side of the black box in marker pen. It was an attempt to make it more readable — Taxi Driver, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Deer Hunter. So there was dozens of these tapes at home that I’d watch a lot. Those late night Channel 4 films.

Prior to that I have a lot of fond memories of going to Elgin and Aberdeen to the cinema as a kid to watch films. Big day was the first time we watched two films in the cinema on one day. My wee brother wanted to watch MiB and I was keen on Jurassic Park: The Lost World. I think that Jurassic Park, and I’ll refer to that original film rather than the entire franchise. It had a huge impact on me in terms of what cinema can achieve. I was the right age, it got me into dinosaurs. It’s still the first film I think of when someone talks about the spectacle of cinema or the cinema. It remains one of my favourite films.

What is your favourite part of your working day?

I guess all jobs have their routine to them. Whenever I get to step away from the admin and talk to customers is a bright spot. You end up talking about films and that’s nice. I feel I’ve been able to do that a lot more recently. One upside of COVID on cinema is that we’ve been able to brush away a lot of the cobwebs. We've been able to focus on the real core stuff like my team and the punters. I’ve enjoyed that immensely.

Working in a cinema is also just full of the occasional pinches that you work in a cinema. So when you do something in a projection room when a film is playing and even a wee glance at the light through the window reminds you of the magic…that romantic stuff. We’re lucky enough that you manage to experience that at least once a week.

Without having to deal with the public quite so much, did you have time to develop any new skills…or catch up on some great movies?

I spent a lot of time reading Scot Gov COVID regulation. I’m unsure if that’s a new skill…Usually I’d try and apply downtime to reading but I’ve found concentrating on that more difficult than usual this year.

I did watch quite a lot of films. MUBI had a great run of Bergman stuff through the summer so I saw Cries and Whispers and The Silence and Autumn Sonata and a few others for the first time. I also watched Le Cercle Rouge which I hadn’t seen before. It’s probably the best film I’ve watched all year. It was also great ton catch up on a lot of films. That was until we reopened but work has been pretty full on since then.

I also walked around the city a lot, particularly in early lockdown. In November I moved flat, so did a lot of trekking around the West End and out to Cults and around Hazelhead. I was mostly back in the office from mid-June. From that point on it was pretty much full bore in terms of reopening planning. So it limits what you can apply yourself to. My headspace was always focused on the mechanics of how Belmont would run, operationally anyway.

How has your community helped both you and The Belmont through lockdown?

The response from the community for our fundraising was amazing. I never expected to raise that amount. It was quite overwhelming. I’ve really felt like people rallied round us and that’s from the hardcore membership and audience to folk who used to come but moved away and then the friends and family of the staff. It helped keep me going. I was still working on my own at that point and reading the letters in particular that came in with the donations (lots of people still send cheques instead of donating online) was lovely.

Photo: Chris Sansbury

The latest closure of the Belmont must have felt like a real blow. Tell us about that decision.

It was hard — I think this year has been quite an acute demonstration of how much we mean to people and that makes these decisions really tough. You know how much people will miss you if you close. The reality was every film we had booked for November dropped off the slate. The audience also petered away a little after the PM announced harder restrictions down south so we felt it became the common sense decision to shut.

But, it’s not March. March was, in all honesty, frightening. On this occasion we felt we were making a controlled choice and although finances will remain a worry for some time we know what we have. Thanks to support grants from Screen Scotland and the extension of the furlough scheme we’re in a better place. All being well we’ll reopen early December and then get into the Xmas stuff.

I take it you have a date in your head for the reopening of the cinema, which I’m sure you don’t want to commit to just yet, but what will influence that final decision to open?

Ideally we’re looking at 4th December but I wouldn’t want anyone to take that as verbatim. If lockdown extends down south then that sets as back, as would a lockdown in Scotland. I’m also expecting the UK and Scottish Governments to relax household rules for Xmas. That might yet have a trade off with other restrictions. If there’s one thing we’ve learned this year it’s that everything is subject to change, so you’ve got to be realistic, flexible and patient.

I think this year has been quite an acute demonstration of how much we mean to people and that makes these decisions really tough. You know how much people will miss you if you close.

Who has inspired you recently?

I think everyone to an extent. Seeing people having the will to get on with things and go to work in a year like this has been quite astonishing. I see that in my team, colleagues in Edinburgh and my friends.

My Dad, specifically. I hope he wouldn’t mind me mentioning this but my Dad lost his wife in early in the pandemic to cancer. It was all very quick and sudden. He was due to go back to work when the pandemic was at its peak in mid-April and I told him no one would judge him if he took another week or two off work. He told me that that may be considered selfish and back to work he went. I’ve definitely carried that in my head since. He’s been a star. My brother has also had a kid among all these so that’s been a wee celebration amongst everything. It keeps you going.

Also, with the realisation that it can come across as contrived to point to politicians, particularly current ones, I have a lot of admiration for how Nicola Sturgeon has handled the pandemic. That’s not to say the Scottish Government have done everything perfectly, but being able to get up in front of the country every day for six months and talk them through it is quite a feat. It’s a good example. As someone who manages people it helps a lot.

Do you think you have been changed by the pandemic?

This will be a long answer — I’m not sure. I am someone who is perennially asking myself what I’m good at or what my nature is and this pandemic breeds more of that, so you lose perspective on yourself the same as any other time.

It has made me value more what is close to me; but at the same time I miss travelling. It does teach you can get by on simple pleasures and routine; but the weeks where I just stuck to work and cooking were the weeks I really needed to do something different at the weekend. Ultimately I think we’ve all found out a lot about balance, but we all knew that already really.

One thing definitely — I’ve found I’m far more resilient than I ever thought and for someone who struggled with anxiety through their 20s that has been reassuring. I’m proud of that. Perhaps that’s learning to give up control a little in a situation you can’t possibly. If I carry that out the other side of the pandemic and can apply it to the micro stuff to I think that’s a positive change.

I’ve found I’m far more resilient than I ever thought and for someone who struggled with anxiety through their 20s that has been reassuring. I’m proud of that.

Another realisation is — and I’m unsure this is a change — is just how time passes. It’s just as subjective as everything else and it just siphons away like an elastic blob down a drain if you let it. Books or hill-walks or films or pints in the pub with your pals are the checkpoints that slow it down a little. So, I hope I’ll learn to do stuff I enjoy more and that I’ll remember. Those experiences are wee pauses that slow down time and I think, strangely, lengthen it, at least in memory. If that realization leads me to taking life less seriously, or working less, or procrastinating less then that’ll be a positive change too.


Thank you so much to Colin for his time and frankness. You can follow both him and the Belmont Filmhouse on Twitter. If you would like to support Aberdeen’s local independent cinema on a regular basis, consider getting an annual subscription…it gets you some great benefits too.

We’ll be publishing regular temp checks over the next few weeks…keep in touch on Twitter and Facebook. If you haven't already, check out our interview with Stuart McPhee, manager of Siberia Bar and Hotel.