Debate Night

Until recently, my only experience of attending a TV production was an appearance on the Channel 4 quiz show 15 to 1 back in 1999. After attending an audition in Edinburgh, I received a phone call two days later, asking if I was available to take part at short notice. As it happened, I was free and found myself flying first class to London. As the name suggests, the show began with 15 contestants and a single victor emerged. To survive the first round, you had to correctly answer at least one of two general knowledge questions. My only real goal was to overcome this initial hurdle but unfortunately I was unable to deliver the goods.

Skip forward almost a quarter of a century and I learned BBC Scotland was coming to Dunfermline to film an episode of Debate Night. The topical programme allows audience members to interact with a panel of politicians and other public figures. The production travels around the country and I decided to apply. This process involved completing an online form that asked about my past voting habits and future intentions at the ballot box. I also had to supply general personal details. This would be to ensure a broad spectrum of political views on the night, as well as a healthy demographic spread.

I received an email asking me to suggest a suitable time for a follow-up telephone conversation. After chatting about my application and confirming my availability for the show, I was invited to attend the filming at the drama studio within the Carnegie Hall. I was informed the size of the audience would be around 50. Further instructions were emailed out and guests were requested to bring photo ID and not to wear any clothing or jewellery that displayed political affiliations. I arrived at 6pm on the night. The debate is broadcast at 10.30 on the same evening. After presenting my passport and passing through a security check, I proceeded into the theatre's restaurant where complimentary tea, coffee and snacks were dispensed. Once everyone had checked in, host Stephen Jardine appeared and said a few words to the assembled throng. He has presented Debate Night since its launch in 2019 and he encouraged people to put up their hands during the show if they had something to say. Stephen stressed that the show revolves around audience participation and it's not really about letting politicians argue among themselves.

We filed into the small auditorium which has a bank of seating to the rear. I had previously seen plays and concerts here. An intimate setting for events that don't require the use of the main theatre. The floor manager explained there had been 400 applications for the Dunfermline broadcast. Before the panel appeared, a test question was performed with local high school modern studies students occupying the chairs. Aside from the educational aspect, the purpose of this exercise was to check the sound levels and camera angles. The debate was scheduled to be filmed in one go and the settings had to be right. Stephen Jardine recorded his introduction as the panel sat down and had their microphones clipped on. Left to right on the first photograph above, they were: Lesley Riddoch (journalist), Malcolm Offord (Conservative), Jackie Baillie (Labour), Stephen Jardine (presenter), Alison Thewliss (SNP) and Sarah Davidson (CEO of Carnegie Trust). After a warm-up topic, the debate began in earnest and was recorded straight through. All audience members had been given the opportunity to submit questions beforehand, although only four or five can be selected for discussion on the night. I was out of luck in this resect but eagerly anticipated the proceedings. We kicked off with an analysis of the recent by-election in Lanarkshire, where Labour had experienced a resurgence of support and took the Westminster seat from the SNP. This was followed by debates on the unfolding conflict in Israel, the health service and the state of policing in Scotland. I listened intently but didn't have a particular vocal contribution to make. My face did appear on screen a couple of times as the camera panned across the crowd. It was fascinating to observe the whole process and I'm glad I made the effort to apply. No offer to reimburse travel expenses though. Not really a complaint, as the show comes to the people.

Dundee Green Circular

A 25-mile walking and cycling route encircles the City of Dundee. Most of the pathway is off road and a 10-mile stretch runs along the coast. I decided to concentrate on the inland sections as I had already walked the entire waterfront. I chose Camperdown Park as a starting point and drove up there after dropping Nicole off at Abertay University.

I parked close to Camperdown House in the northwest corner of the city. The surrounding parkland is the largest area of green space in Dundee and over 100 unique species of tree can be found. The A-listed mansion - built in 1828 - is the oldest surviving Greek Revival property in Scotland and the wider grounds are listed in the national Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes. Camperdown Park was bought by the local authority in 1946 and now offers multiple leisure options, including a wildlife centre and golf course. This year the park hosted the high-profile BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend concert. The sun lit up the house nicely and I took several photographs with the impressive six-column portico to the fore. Formerly named the Lundie Estate, the lands of Camperdown came into being when the present mansion was completed. It replaced the earlier Duncan family property and the new title was a nod to the Royal Navy's success in the Battle of Camperdown, a 1797 North Sea conflict which saw the Dutch forces defeated. The British fleet was commanded by Admiral Adam Duncan, Baron of Lundie. As a reward for the success, his peerage was raised to Viscount Duncan of Camperdown. His son Robert Duncan commissioned the highly-regarded architect William Burn to design the new house. The grand building has no current use and Dundee Council has sought long-term tenants, to no apparent avail. Most recently, it hosted a vintage tearoom operated in conjunction with students from Dundee and Angus College. Proposals to convert the property to a hotel or office block have proved controversial. The Friends of Camperdown House organisation have lobbied for the establishment of a visitor experience detailing the Duncan family history and their place in Scotland's story. It would indeed be a great shame if this wonderful country residence slipped into dereliction. Finance is unfortunately in short supply among Scottish councils. I walked downhill past the wildlife centre, situated on the site of the old walled garden for Lundie House. The mini zoo contains a range of mammals and birds, some of them now rare in the wild. The best known inhabitants in recent years were the European brown bears Comet and Star. Both were in their 30s when they sadly passed away.

The Green Circular is well signed throughout and covers a range of terrain. After emerging from Camperdown Park, I walked by industrial units then paralleled the A90 for a short distance, before taking a subway below the dual carriageway. I skirted the fringes of the Charleston district and passed the remains of the Balgarthno Stone Circle. Only one of the nine boulders remains upright and the site (now a scheduled monument) has endured centuries of weathering and a more recent problem, vandalism. The walk proceeded along the course of the Dundee and Newtyle Railway. Closed to all traffic in 1967, the downhill gradient was appreciable as I skirted the residential limits of the city. Presumably the post-war housing was built right up to the transport corridor. Imagine taking possession of a trackside property, only to see trains disappear soon after. Bummer! The original system was somewhat Heath Robinson, taking a direct route through the city and incorporating two rope-worked inclines within Dundee itself, controlled by stationary steam engines. There was also a tunnel under the eastern flank of the Law. Eventually this cumbersome process was eliminated by the building of a sweeping deviation route around the city perimeter - part of which I was currently tramping. Outward trains still had to gain height however and it must have been a tough slog uphill for the steam locomotives. The line was never an economic success and there has been little call for its re-introduction. Although no physical railway infrastructure remains today, the formation of the land made it obvious I was following the path of the old tracks. I continued down to the A85 (Riverside Avenue) where modern roads have obliterated all traces of the Newtyle Railway. This location marked the point I'd previously reached on the Green Circular trail while walking the shores of the Tay. Not wishing to re-tread old ground, I turned tail and headed back up the cuttings and embankments, returning to Camperdown Park.

I passed by the mansion house and wandered through an extensive area of wild meadow. This biodiverse habitat provides food and shelter for a range of species, including key pollinators such as bees. An information panel explained how it takes at least four years to establish a meadow, with an annual cut helping to support the growth of many flower types. The official route drifted out towards the park boundary but I decided to take a short cut between the tall trees, locating the exit by the A923 that led into Templeton Woods where the Green Circular continued. Originally part of the Camperdown Estate, the woodland was planted in the 19th century and covers 60 hectares. Beyond the northern fringe of Dundee lies the rural setting of Strathmartine and the Sidlaw Hills. A gap in the trees at the far end of the plantation revealed a country scene completely at odds with the urban mass not so far behind me. The path took me past the squat features of Gallow Hill Water Tower. A security fence surrounds the concrete structure. It marks the highest point within the municipal boundaries and the tower supplies much of Dundee and a few neighbouring settlements with treated drinking water. It is connected to the massive Backwater Reservoir near Kirriemuir, a place Nicole and I had visited during the summer. The trail then led to a disused water supply. Clatto Reservoir was opened in 1874 and served as a staging point for water brought from the Loch of Lintrathen, west of Kirriemuir. This arrangement ceased in 1972 and the square embanked reservoir is now used for recreational activities such as boating and fishing. The area was designated a country park in 1979 and I headed over to the visitors centre. The toilets were open but the rest of the building was closed. The water must freeze over regularly in winter as numerous signs warned people not to walk on the ice. I doubt if that particular trait will ever be eradicated from the human make-up. Perfectly rational people have lost their lives in a vain attempt to rescue a dog that has fallen through (and inevitably gets out of its own accord). By sheer chance, the lighting conditions were conducive to an excellent photograph. I still haven't progressed beyond the automatic settings on my camera. Happy to put my faith in AI here. Beyond Clatto, the trail runs through residential territory and I walked three quarters of a mile along Laird Road to the intersection with Strathmartine Road. I felt this was a good place to stop as I would be able to reach Strathmartine Road next time around by taking a direct line from the city centre. I backtracked to Camperdown Park and had a late lunch in the car, before driving back down to the university to collect Nicole and her friend Shauna, who was travelling with us. A suitable point to sign off from this post and continue when I walk the next section.

Aberdeenshire weekend

Our friend Caroline recently moved to the village of Blackburn, a few miles beyond the Aberdeen urban area. We were invited up for a weekend and decided to go at the end of September, when there would still be a decent amount of daylight. I took the bus to Dundee after work and met Nicole outside Abertay University. From there, we drove up the A90 and branched on to the the A96 - the trunk road that links Aberdeen and Inverness. It was dark when we pulled into Blackburn on the Friday evening. Caroline had cooked lasagne and we ate heartily before turning in for the night.

The plan for the following day was to drive out to Cruden Bay on the coast. After a leisurely home breakfast, we stopped for ice cream at the Forrest Farm organic dairy, before cruising around the A90 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route that runs around the city perimeter and makes it far easier to reach towns to the north. Cruden Bay lies seven miles south of Peterhead and has a population of 1500. We wandered around the small harbour and spotted a redshank (pictured) standing on the quayside. A rather sickly looking razorbill was swimming nearby. Bird flu has hit the Scottish coastal regions hard and we would soon encounter harrowing evidence of the disease. Cruden Bay today attracts golfers and day trippers but there was a major attempt in late Victorian times to establish the area as a prime seaside holiday destination. Key to the development was the arrival of the railway. A 15-mile branch line was built between Ellon and Boddam. Constructed by the Great North of Scotland Railway Company, the route opened for business in 1897. It served Boddam Harbour and local stone quarries but a vital component of the scheme was the connection to the luxurious Cruden Bay Hotel. Built from local red sandstone in Scottish Baronial style, the upmarket resort had 55 rooms, tennis courts, croquet lawns, bowling greens and an adjacent golf course. Notable guests included Prime Ministers Henry Asquith and David Lloyd George, while future leader Winston Churchill also stayed. The hotel even had its own little electric tramway for transporting people and luggage to and from Cruden Bay Station. Unlike similar railway-linked leisure developments at Gleneagles and Turnberry, the Aberdeenshire bolthole was not a long-term success and the hotel closed its doors in the 1930s, its fate having been sealed by the withdrawal of passenger services on the branch line. The army used the grand building as a training base for the Gordon Highlanders regiment during WW2 and the tramway carried local goods until 1941. The hotel never reopened after the war and was demolished in 1947, the branch line being wound up the following year. Nothing remains of the hotel or railway station but I did spot the pillars of an old viaduct as we drove into the village. The two tramcars are now on display in the Grampian Museum of Transport.

We crossed the Water of Cruden on a wooden footbridge and went for a walk along the beautiful beach. A mile and a half long, the golden sands are a pleasure to traverse but we were dismayed to see several dead birds strewn along the shore. Closer inspection revealed them to be guillemots, a type of seabird adversely affected by the current flu epidemic that has killed tens of thousands of birds in Scotland. No effective treatment has been found. The Cruden Bay Hotel may be long gone but the remains of another opulent building still stand slightly further up the coast. Slains Castle overlooks the sea and has been abandoned since 1922. It was the ancestral home of the Earls of Erroll. A path leads from the village centre through the woods and after half a mile I could see the ruins looming ahead. The former stately home is best known for allegedly inspiring the Dracula novel, published in 1897 and written by Irishman Bram Stoker. He came to Cruden Bay regularly for his summer holiday and is believed to have commenced work on the vampire tale while residing in the nearby Kilmarnock Arms Hotel - still trading today. The guest book containing his signature in 1894 and 1895 also survives. Slains Castle isn't name-checked in Dracula but a description of its octagonal room does appear. The mysterious aristocratic vampire eventually became firmly embedded in popular culture but Stoker remained a part-time author until his death in 1912. Two of his other books are set in Cruden Bay. Access to the castle was unimpeded and it sits next to the Buchan Coastal Path, a seven-mile route that begins at Boddam, just below the major fishing port of Peterhead. Only the shell of the building remains but you can wander freely among the ruins. The roof was stripped of its lead a whole century ago and the elements have long since won the battle. The oldest parts date from 1597 but the house was extensively remodelled in 1837, when the 18th Earl married a daughter of King William IV. The exposed stonework is augmented by courses of red brick, which delineate the new additions. By the turn of the 20th century, the castle was being rented out as a high-class holiday home. Winston Churchill spent two nights here in 1908 as a guest of Prime Minister Asquith.

The 20th Earl sold Slains in 1916, ending more than 300 years of family occupation. After a spell in the hands of wealthy shipping magnate Sir John Ellerman (who never visited), the castle was purchased by Dundee firm Charles Brand Ltd who cynically tore the place apart and sold off whatever they could. A sad end to a striking mansion in a magnificent location. A recent proposal to convert the remains into holiday apartments fizzled out and B-listed status has now been secured to prevent similar schemes gaining a foothold. There were quite a few people milling around and I poked my head into a pitch-black cellar. It was also possible to ascend the spiral staircase in the tower, although I only climbed a short section. The gaping windows led to a sheer drop. I should imagine if you found yourself in the castle alone, the spirits of the undead would make their presence felt. Particularly when the wind howls. We walked back to the car and I read an information panel that described an aviation exploit from 1914. Norwegian Tryggve Gran took off in his monoplane from a field near the Cruden Bay Hotel. His intention was to complete the first flight across the North Sea. A fog bank was encountered on the first attempt and he turned back, landing on and overshooting the beach to finish up in the water. Gran gave it another go and was halfway towards his homeland when the engine cut out and the aircraft plummeted. Fortunately the downdraught forced the propellers back into action and he regained control just 30 metres above the waves. Gran reached Norway after a total of four hours and ten minutes in the air. The flight is regarded as one of the great early journeys and Gran returned to Cruden Bay in 1971 to unveil a memorial dedicated to his achievement. These pilots must have been fearless, literally throwing caution to the wind.

We drove back to Blackburn and ordered an Indian takeaway to sustain us through the marathon first round of Strictly Come Dancing. Afterwards we watched a fictional aviation legend return to the cockpit - Tom Cruise as Maverick in the follow-up to the classic Top Gun movie from 1986. Cruise made a decent fist of reprising the heroic role and the special effects were breathtaking. Well worth a watch, even if you happen to be sceptical. On Sunday, we set out for Inverurie, around 10 miles distant. Caroline remained at home as she had to study and Nicole and I stopped at Forrest Farm, this time ordering pizza for an alfresco lunch. A short drive along the A96 brought us to Inverurie, an affluent market town of 15,000 people that lies in a region of Aberdeenshire known as the Garioch. The River Don runs close by and the Aberdeen to Inverness railway passes through. Paper was manufactured here until 2009 but the area's best-known industrial pedigree is the enormous locomotive works for the Great North of Scotland Railway. Closed in 1969 during the British Rail era, the former carriage and wagon workshop now houses the Garioch Heritage Centre. The museum opened in 2017 and received an award the following year - presented by the Association for Industrial Archaeology - honouring the most creative re-use of an industrial building. Naturally, the place was on my hit list and we were given a warm welcome upon arrival. The café and shop were situated on the ground floor, with the exhibits upstairs. One of the guides offered to show me around and the first display was dedicated to a transport corridor from the industrial revolution, but not the iron road. In front of me were the remains of a barge, thought to be the last vessel to work on the Aberdeenshire Canal. The cast-iron craft was unearthed in 2021 and is at least 170 years old. After being found protruding from the undergrowth on an industrial estate, the local council utilised the collective muscle of Garioch Rugby Club to help pull the historic boat out of the ground. Running between Aberdeen and Inverurie, the canal carried traffic from 1805 until 1853. Both cargo and passengers were transported and a direct connection to Aberdeen Harbour was established in 1834. Ultimately the coming of the railway rang the death knell for the waterway and a deal was struck to build the tracks upon the course of the canal. The gallery showcased a wide range of artefacts from the region's social and industrial past. There was even a life-sized model of Queen Victoria, clad in her mourning attire. The monarch and her husband had visited nearby Haddo House in 1857. The Tait paper mill was one of the county's largest employers and still had a staff of over 500 in the 1990s, when demand was already much reduced. Papermaking has now virtually disappeared from Scotland, due to competition from Asian plants in a globalised market. I studied the scale model of the locomotive works and marvelled at the fine detail. It took 10 painstaking years to construct and even features a moving train! Several photos of engineering activities were on display and pride of place in the room was given to the crane apparatus used to lift carriages from their bogies. This piece of kit was in daily use throughout the life of the workshop from 1902 to 1969.

The works had been refitted a decade earlier to accommodate diesel traction but the slimming down of the national rail network in the 1960s meant that several major engineering sites across the land had to go. Thus almost 70 years of building and repairing rolling stock came to an end in Inverurie. The industry had been chiefly responsible for the town's rapid expansion in the early 20th century and the railway heritage lives on through the local football team - Inverurie Loco Works - who compete in the Highland League. The industrial land is now occupied by retail units, modern housing and the museum. A line once branched off to Oldmeldrum, five miles away. The passenger service on this route was never a success and ceased in 1931. Agricultural produce was transported and the tracks also served the Glen Garioch Distillery (one of the oldest in Scotland). Changing freight distribution patterns rendered the branch unviable and it was axed in 1966. The development of the North Sea oil industry in the 1970s was aided by the presence of many skilled workers in the general Aberdeen area. The museum visit had proved highly educational and we bought a few jars of local jam and chutney from the gift shop. Always nice to make some sort of donation. Particularly when entrance is free. We were given a sneak preview of the gallery on the ground floor, where a fashion exhibition was due to open the following week. Various community events are staged on the premises and I hope the centre continues to thrive.