Buzz Mag Spreads

8/9/2019 Buzz Mag Spreads

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s umm er

s umm er

ev er y t h i n g el s ei s j u s t n oi s e

style4travel4food and drink4culture4play 4careers www.buzzmag.org

Smart but casualClothing etiquette

for dummies

Dogs dinnerDavid Ramsden’s recipe

for restaurant success

Funny money Comedy as a career: why

it’s no laughing matter

Diamond geezer The international footballer

on his jewellery line, Twitter

and the World Cup

DaMarcus Beasley

everything else is just noise

buzz cov prf7.indd 1 30/03/2010 15:18



buzz cov prf7.indd 2 30/03/2010 15:18



everything else

is just

noiseEditors

Gráinne Byrne, Nick Eardley

Deputy editors

Shane de Barra, Anna Fenton, David Henderson

Production editorsClare CharlesRoderick McHardy

Lindsay Sharp

Sub editors

Miriam Armstrong, Lain Chan, Heather Donald,Rebecca Gordon, Stephanie McCormick, Matthew Smith

Features editors

Julia Bruce, Emma Cameron, Matthew Nelson, Kaye Nicolson

Online editors

Ross Haig, Ganesh Nagarajan, Una Purdie, Luke Rajczuk

Design editorsKatrin AdamGráinne Devine

Picture editorLindsay Brown

PA

Laurann de Verteuil

Advertising and distribution

Fiona Burns, Edwin Mashongayika, Patricia Pereira, Neil Stewart, Niketa Smith

Staff writers

Catherine Henderson, Amy Sutherland, Wendy Wan

With thanks to Kathleen Morgan, Derek Allan, David McCluskey

Sales managerTracy Norris

Intercepting the independent Edinburgh magazine market with a fresh offering of up-close and intimateinterviews, capital conversations, style, travel, and cultural musings – buzz talks to the City’s twenty-somethings.Say hello to your new seasonal pick-me-up.

buzz mag prf15.indd 1 30/03/2010 15:13



2 buzz summer 2010 | www.buzzmag.org 3

contents

16

36

56

10

Sparkling

talent

DaMarcus Beasley talks footballand jewellery

28

Golden game – DaMarcus Beasley 10

Comedy queen – Karen Koren 16

Ethical travel 20

A new life – Olivia Giles 24

Fertility time bomb 28

The art of ‘biz cas’ 32

Sneaks ‘n’ peeps 35

City focus 36

Scottish hostel chic 38

Top dog – David Ramsden 40

Shaken or stirred? 44

Cupcake heaven 45

Roxy house rules – Rupert Thomson 46

Isle of Lewis lmmaking – Mike Day 48

On the road – Pat Coll 50

Scottish gems 52

Gender-bending tness 54

Olympic obstacles – Eilidh Childs 56

Comedy Careers 58

Green Industries 61

Networking 62

buzz magazine is produced byMA Journalism and MSc Publishingstudents from the School of Arts andCreative Industries, Edinburgh NapierUniversity.

The views and opinions in this publicationare not necessarily those of the Schoolof Arts and Creative Industries, EdinburghNapier University.

Printed by: Woods of Perth Ltd

featured

style

travel

food and drink

culture

play

careers

buzz mag prf15.indd 2-3 30/03/2010 15:13



Check my status

Today is the best Tuesday I’ve had all weekComment Like

I drink Diet Coke so i can eat regular cakeComment Like

When you post something on facebook andyou have to click “Read more” to read yourpost, that means you talk too muchComment Like

I accidentally said “LOL” today. I thinkI deserve to be shotComment Like

I used to update my status everyday, but

now I only do it once a week and I don’t knowwhether to feel good or stupid about itComment Like

People are more violently opposed to fur thanleather because it’s safer to harass rich womenthan motorcycle gangsComment Like

At the cinema, which arm rest is your’s?Comment Like

S t a t u s u p

d a t e

s

5

? Although it contravenes all safety regulations, assuming you’ve

got all the living things – the wife and the child, the dogs, birds,

cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, chameleons and sh – I’d probably

save a photograph of my wife and I on our wedding day. It was

taken on an island in Indonesia, in those thin and distant days

before digital cameras and I only have one or two copies of it.

Bill Bailey’s house is on re.

He has 30 seconds to save

his most treasured possession.

What would the comedian have

at the top of his list We bring you some of the best

in online statuses

Check out Bill Bailey’s Bird Watching Bonanza Thursdays at 9pm on Sky1 | Image: courtesy of Sky

“

”

buzz mag prf15.indd 4-5 30/03/2010 15:13



The British are renowned for being tea lovers, so

where can you nd the best cuppa in Edinburgh?

Best of the restIf you want to treat your gran try afternoontea at The Sheraton, Festival Squareor The Balmoral , Princes Street. Bothoffer luxurious selections of cakes andsandwiches with a good classic cuppa.

Or if you like a tea party with a kicktry the Roseleaf on Sandport Place withtheir ‘Mad Hatter Tea Parties’ includingPot-tails (cocktails in teapots) or Kitsch on Bernard Street with their ‘Bubbly tea’ –afternoon tea with champagne substitute.

Way Out West

If you happen to be in Glasgow pop intorelaxing Tchai-Ovna, Otago Lane foryour choice of 80 different teas in pots ofvarious shapes and sizes.

thebestlocal… cuppa

Above left: a quirky

old fashioned treat,

hidden charm

Anteaques

Above centre:

heavenly funky and

tea cosy cute all at

the same time

Loopy Lorna’s

Above right: city

slickers can enjoy

a central cup of chai

in EteaketImages: Katrin Adam

Below right:

afternoon tea cakes

and sandwiches at

the Balmoral hotel

Image: Balmoral Hotel

Edinburgh

UniqueNeighbourhoodTreasure Anteaques, 17 Clerk Street0131 667 8466 www.anteaques.co.uk Owner Cedric Maynard serves teaamidst an array of antiques of all ages, but it’s by no means just a small sideincome. Upon request he can tell youthe secret of every single tea on theextensive menu and his attentive andfriendly personality is part of the charmof Anteaques. The selection of sconesand cakes is small but delicious, andserved in a way your grandmother

would be proud of. Tucked away in the back of this little shop you’re in a quiethaven away from the noise of Clerk Street, and if you like the mismatchedold-fashioned cups, saucers and plateson your table you can buy them rightthere on the spot. It’s an odd concept but incredibly warm and welcoming.

HomeBlendedHeaven Loopy Lorna’s Tea House,370-372 Morningside Road0131 447 9217 www.loopylornas.comThis cosy, bustling wee place offers a wide selection of tasty specially blend-ed teas in lovely old fashioned china

teacups. There is so much attention todetail in the décor, with funky wallpa-per mixed with clouds and butterfliespainted on the ceiling. Everything ishomemade from the huge array of deli-cious looking (and tasting) cakes to theindividual tea cosies that range fromknitted flowers to fluffy owls. The staff are friendly, helpful and really reflectthe personal feel of Loopy Lorna’s .They are also happy to top up the tea-pots when you are running low, whichis always a bonus.

CoolCityChic Eteaket , 41A Frederick Street0131 226 2982 www.eteaket.co.uk Eteaket offers a fresh, modernfeel and is the tea version of a coffeeshop. It is bright and spacious but hasa very social atmosphere. There is anextensive tea menu that is divided intoessential, select and rare teas. It alsooffers a selection of flavoured teas withsteamed milk to create long drinks. A nice touch is that when the tea ar-rives you are provided with a set of egg timers indicating how long the tea will take to brew with a timer each forlight, medium and strong.

If coffee is more your thing

try one of these delightful

caffeine temples

OldTownCharmThe Bakehouse, 46 Victoria Street0131 557 1157The Bakehouse must be the café that epitomisesEdinburgh. On the bend of Victoria Street you stepinto a tiny room barely the width of a doorway that isdominated by a bar full of the nest baked goods anda corkscrew staircase that would happily feature in achildhood fairy tale.

Carrying your order upstairs to a small room‘decorated’ with bare stone and an ancient woodenoor, it is hard not to feel at home. The mood compli-ments the exquisite coffee and rich treats, making

The Bakehouse a gem in the heart of the Old Town.

CrowningCakeGlory Falko Konditorei and Feinbäckerei ,185 Bruntseld Place0131 656 0763, www.falko.co.uk Falko is a bread heaven. The selection of German sour-doughs and pretzels is delicious and the coffee offers asolid selection between cappuccino and white coffee.

But you have to try the cakes to understand why Falko is magnicent. The German tradition is anafternoon treat of coffee and cake, so rather than be-ing a dessert and therefore dependent on a full meal,a piece of cake becomes a stand-alone meal. Dig intothe famous Sacher torte or berry trufe cake, a simplepiece of lemon tarte or some crumbly fruity numberto see for yourself. Falko is not about the coffee, butabout the experience. For that much needed sugarrush, a caffeine boost (the coffee is strong) andthat little piece of expat German Lebensart, Falko is perfect. Clare Charles, Katrin Adam

7 6

buzz mag prf15.indd 6-7 30/03/2010 15:13



As the days grow longer, and the skirtsshorter, we can almost sense the sweetsummer tang of strawberries and creamin anticipation of Britain’s greatestsporting tradition.

Wimbledon’s tennis tournamentis not only famous for its courtsiderefreshments and daring fashionendeavours – this year sees the returnof one of Scotland’s greatest tennissuccesses, Andy Murray, and it isinspiring to hear that another Scottishstar in the making will be hopingfor glory.

In November 2008 Colin Fleming,aged 26, teamed up with doubles partnerKen Skupski, and after progressingthrough the levels of professionaltournaments, the triumphant partnershiptook two ATP titles at the end of last year.

“I’ve been interested in tennis foras long as I can remember” saysFleming. “When I was young I playedfor the enjoyment and always wantedto improve, and it was only when Ireached 18 or 19, at Stirling University,that I started to look into playingprofessionally.”

Now a rst-class graduate, Fleminghas seen his lifestyle change dramatically,in a short time. “My career has been splitin two with playing professionally for twoyears before returning to university andstarting to play professionally again.”

Even as a full-time student, dedication

to the game did not waver. “At univer-sity I was still training a lot towards mytennis both on and off court but nowI don’t have the additional studyingon top so I can really give my tenniseverything I’ve got.”

Each year Fleming gains more insightand experience into the game that heloves, and although his professionaltennis career may have been put onpause for a couple years, it is not adecision that he regrets. “I’m very proudto have my degree to fall back on andfeel it has helped me mature mentally

and keep things in perspective in whatis at times a surreal life” he says. “I wishI had the maturity and outlook I havenow in my rst two years of playingprofessionally but am glad to have itnow and feel like I’ve got a lot of goodyears ahead of me!”

The honour and excitement thatcomes with playing at Wimbledonis clear to Fleming. With grass hispreferred terrain, he is looking forwardto the tournament more than ever.“All four of the Grand Slams are specialtournaments and Wimbledon is themost special of all. You can really feelthe tradition and history that comeswith the tournament and it’s particularlyspecial to play there as a Brit and havethe crowd behind you.

“I can’t wait for Wimbledon everyyear!” Julia Bruce

9

One to watch

Wimbledon wannabe

Colin Fleming fullsa boyhood dream

this summer

I m a g e : A c e M a g a z i n e

John Higgins MBE, 36 from Wishaw, Lanarkshire, is the current

Snooker World Champion and provisional world number one.I became hooked [on Dallas] after just two or three episodes,

mainly because of Victoria Principal and the other beautifulwomen on the programme…not JR and Bobby!

It’s just one of those things. Most evenings, when I wasyoung, I played football with my friends until my mum called timeat around about eight o’clock. On Wednesday nights at that timeDallas was on TV and I used to watch it whilst having my supper.

I do get teased for my secret passion, I appeared on CelebrityMastermind recently and my specialist subject was Dallas –I got a lot of text messages after that and I’m sure I’ll get moreafter this!

I’m often asked ‘Who shot JR?’ and the answer is KristinShepard, his sister-in-law; he was shot a few times, but Kristin,played by Mary Crosby, was revealed in an episode called WhoDone It. David Henderson

Image: supplied by Andrew Sinclair

Secretpassion

I appeared on Celebrity

Mastermind recently and my

specialist subject was Dallas

“”

8 buzz summer 2010 | www.buzzmag.org

buzz mag prf15.indd 8-9 30/03/2010 15:13



features feature 11interview damarcus beasley 11

He designs his own jewellery range and shares

a dressing room with Scottish football’s nest.

What more could DaMarcus Beasley possibly

want? How about the World Cup?

blingof King

10

buzz mag prf15.indd 10-11 30/03/2010 15:13



A lesson in style: “I love the Miamiring: it’s funky, it’s a little biturban. I hope people get intoblack diamonds more. The Diva

ring is my favourite women’s piece: it’sclassy, goes with night attire and worksduring the day.”

DaMarcus Beasley utters these wordsas if describing one of his moments ofartistry in the beautiful game; with theball at his feet, the little winger is anartist. This is no dressing room banter,

though. He means business. The USA international and Rangers FC playeris fashioning an accessory careeras a jewellery designer and has hisown collection of diamond encrusteddesigner fashion. It makes a change fromthe familiar pub-owning footballer cliché.

A hell of a change.“I always had a knack for jewellery,”

he explains. “When I was young and gotmy rst contract as a professional, I wentout and bought a necklace – a gold one.I’ve always been into it and what could bebetter than having my own collection?”

Beasley is famous in the blood-and-thunder world of the Scottish PremierLeague, where a diamond is the shapeof a mideld formation. Beas, as he likesto be called, laughs when asked if heis football’s king of bling, “I wouldn’t gothat far but the name has a nice ring to it.I’m doing something I enjoy and it takesmy mind off football.”

Beasley looks at home in theshowroom of The Diamond Studio in

Glasgow’s Argyll Arcade. The arcadewas Scotland’s rst shopping mall, builtin 1827 to sell diamonds to the wealthymerchants of the Empire’s second city.Outside, the mono-blocked pedestrianprecinct of Buchanan Street is home tothe major fashion labels – The DaMarcusCollection has joined the high street elite.

In a city that likes footballers to be ashard as Beasley’s diamonds, few wouldbelieve a “tba” player would considerthis sideline. “This is completely different– clean cut,” Beasley acknowledges witha glint in his eye or maybe the twinklecomes from his gleaming diamondearring. “I didn’t go to college, I turnedpro straight out of high school, so I’veno background in it. I guess I’m just acreative person. I know what I like and Ihave a good idea what people will buy.”

You wonder what Scottish football

legends like Bill Shankly, Jock Stein orSir Matt Busby would make of Beasley’spassion. Not a bloody lot. The closestthey got to diamonds was the coal theyall mined in the collieries of Lanarkshireor Ayrshire. It’s a different world. Footballhas certainly changed.

Beasley was born in Fort Wayne,Indiana, in 1982. His elder brotherJamar was a teammate at ChicagoFire but since then Beasley has beenglobetrotting solo. Proudly independent,

he happily spends time in another areanot associated with footballers – thekitchen. “I’ve lived on my own since Iwas 17 and I’ve become a good cook,”he says, leaning back in his chair.“People may be surprised to hear that Ican do that but I cook almost every dayand I’m taking classes in Glasgow to getbetter. I’m like chef Beasley.”

Like most American sports stars,Beasley is media savvy. Many Scottishfootballers give journalists short shrift;he is unusually accommodating, sharinghis thoughts on Twitter. For most of histeammates, social networking means apint with the lads after training; Beasleyhas embraced the media phenomenon,giving followers daily updates.

“It’s a fun thing,” he says. “People liketo know what you are doing, what you’reup to. At rst I was against it but you getinto it and you nd yourself itching to ndout what people are saying about theirdaily lives and how they are doing…I’m following a couple of celebrities and

a couple of friends. Right now I’m mostlyfollowing singers like Bow Wow, P Diddy,

Ashton Kutcher and Ochocinco [ChadJavon], a wide receiver for Cincinnati.I guess some people are interested inreading what I’m doing.”

Tweet dreams are made of this

for fans and journalists – but not forRangers’ veteran manager, Walter Smith.Beasley’s boss at the Glasgow club isold school and prefers to keep the mediaat arm’s length. The thought of playersspouting opinions on life and footballdeepens the lines around Smith’s alreadyfurrowed brow.

“I get a lot of stick for Twitter,sometimes from the gaffer,” admitsBeasley. Smith took a dim view of thetime Beasley posted an uncomplimentary

joke about Rangers’ bitter rivals, Celtic.“I didn’t know what it meant,” says thefootballer in his defence. “I re-tweetedfrom someone else who’d sent it to me.I got a lot of stick for that in the papersand I wasn’t happy about that.”

When Beasley’s car was petrolbombed outside his home in the westend of Glasgow, it made big news on

both sides of the Atlantic. It raised safety

concerns but he reassured fans with aTweet: “Someone blew up my car today.Thanks again for ALL the messages andkind words. But, yeah, I’m doing ok andin the market for a new car! LOL.”

Rangers told Beasley not to discussthe re attack and he won’t disobeyorders. If the incident unsettled him,he hides it well. The boy from Indianaseems at home on the mean streets ofGlasgow, which proved inhospitablefor other high-prole footballers,including ex-Celtic player Neil Lennon.Beasley’s Rangers and US teammate,Maurice Edu – also African American– claimed on Twitter he was the victimof racism when leaving Rangers’ IbroxStadium last year. Edu tweeted: “Notsure what hurt more: result last night orbeing racially abused by [a] couple ofour own fans.”

I’ve always had a knack

for jewellery…what could

be better than having

my own collection?

Above: beadle’s

about – Rangers’DaMarcus Beasley

enjoys some old

rm banter with the

ceremonial beadles

in Glasgow’s jewel-

lery quarter

Image: Yoshi Kametani

interview damarcus beasley 13

“

”

buzz mag prf15.indd 12-13 30/03/2010 15:13



World Cup gems 32 nations travel; only one will leaveSouth Africa with football’s greatestprize

The hosts kick-off the 19th World Cup

nals against Mexico (June 11), thenal is one month and 60 games later

Bookmakers favourites: Brazil andSpain (joint favourites)

Beasley’s pick: Spain

“There are so many great nations thatcan win the World Cup but I really likeSpain and their type of football andI think they’ll go in with condencebeing reigning European Champions.”

Beasley’s World Cup Diary

June 12 v England: Rustenburg– Group C favourites

June 18 v Slovenia: Johannesburg– the former Yugoslav Republic beatRussia in play-off

June 23 v Algeria: Tshwane/Pretoria– Beasley faces Rangers teammateMadjid Bougherra

Beasley on England: “You are playingagainst some of the best players in theworld that you normally only see on TV.I was lucky because I played against alot of them when I was at ManchesterCity. That’ll be the most watchedgame because it’s England. Everybodyaround the world knows their players.”

Beasley on Algeria: “I had a feeling we’dget drawn together. Madjid Bougherrais a good friend of mine at Rangers andwe speak about it every day.”

Beasley says he hasn’t experiencedracism in Scotland but endured chantingfrom rival fans during a European inMontenegro. “Not bad” is his descriptionof life for an African American in Glasgow.

“I have had no racial differences inScotland. It was unlucky that Mo hadsomething after a game – it could havebeen a Rangers supporter, it may nothave been. It’s a shame that can stillhappen in football.

“There aren’t a lot of African Americans

in this country but at the same time I feelcomfortable. I’ve made a lot of friendsand the Scottish people have made mefeel very welcome from the beginning,although I couldn’t understand most of

them and I still have a hard time doingthat. Scotland is a place I’ll always comeback and visit.”

If DaMarcus Beasley leaves Scotland,it’ll be for football reasons; he may notget a new contract because Lloyds Bankis pressurising Rangers executives toreduce debt levels; the size of the playingsquad is likely to shrink along with thebudget.

Beasley, in typically American style,sees opportunity in the uncertainty.“It’s a huge summer for me,” he says.“I may stay and I may move on. I havea lot of ‘ifs’ at the moment but good ‘ifs’

if I stay t.”His tness, or lack of it, could inuence

Rangers’ decision. Beasley has suffereda sequence of injuries including a seriousknee ligament tear on a frozen pitch inStuttgart, while playing in the ChampionsLeague. This summer, though, he hasa global stage to showcase his skills.Beasley will go for gold in the World Cupin South Africa.

“I’m pushing to get there for myself,”says the player, who has already playedin two nals. “It also would be great forthe jewellery business. We launched inGlasgow and my biggest goal is to crack

America. My marketing team are workingovertime, talking to different stores andevents to get it out there and go for abig push in summer. I’m really condentand excited about the opportunity formy collection.”

Winning football’s crown jewels isgenerally viewed as being beyonda nation that calls football “soccer”.Beasley has an American dream. “I wasa kid growing up when we got our league,the MLS. I was 14 at the time it wasfounded and I remember that the talkback then [in 1996] was about 2010 being

America’s year to win the World Cup…our projected year to peak.”

His eyes sparkle at the suggestion.Beasley appreciates the media value

of participating in the world’s mostwatched sports event. When Americaplays England, Beasley hopes theglobal audience will boost his – and hiscollection’s – prole.

“It’s big – not as big as the John Terrysor Ashley Coles of England, but we havea really strong fan base and people in theStates now love soccer,” he says. “Kidsall know me and other internationals likeLandon Donovan and Freddy Adu –guys who’ve been around for a while –and I hope that prole will tie in withthe jewellery.”

Beasley insists his business is notreliant on on-eld results to be a winner:“I want the jewellery to stand out onits own without the help of the footballelement. I want people to walk into a storeand say ‘that’s a nice piece of jewellery’,

even though they don’t know me.”He is the rst footballer with a jewellery

collection – this diamond geezer has gotone up on the marketing phenomenonthat is England’s icon, a certainGoldenballs.

Beasley examines a silver pendantusing a jewellers’ magnifying glass,“This is called ‘Rising Star’ – I likethe ladieswear in the collection.” Heglances at his designer watch (diamondencrusted, naturally) and announces,“Hey, boss, I gotta go,” adding witha smirk, “I’m judging a modellingcompetition.” He strides through thearcade, his style and celebrity turningheads, pausing to tease the mall’sfootmen, Tam and Wullie, about theirtop hats and how their team, Celtic, isbehind Rangers. Back to the real worldfor DaMarcus Beasley. David Henderson

The talk was of 2010 being America’s year

Opposite page:

diamond geezer

– Beasley with

his collection


Far right: the left-

elder in action

Image: Glasgow Rangers

interview damarcus beasley 15

“ ”


buzz mag prf15.indd 14-15 30/03/2010 15:13



I’ve been in the office of KarenKoren for little more than twominutes before I hear her yell.“Sharon!” She is looking for her

make-up. Not to impress me I’mdisappointed to learn but to impressthe people awaiting her in Edinburgh’s Voodoo Rooms later on in the evening when her Gilded Balloon Comedy Circuit rides into town.

“Sharon!” she bellows again.It’s something she continues to do

for the duration of our time together.Every time the master calls, the Sharonin question sets coolly and efciently tothe task she’s entrusted with – rootingout a photograph for yours truly on

this occasion.The scene is reminiscent of Ozzy

Osbourne’s television antics but the con-stant summoning of Sharon is the only parallel with the ageing rock star’s life.

I dget with the pesky voice recorder Ihave brought to the interview – for somereason the blasted thing won’t work.

“Just put it down,” Koren says slightly irritated. I do as I’m told and voila, by some gift of divine intervention it works.My host simply smiles.

For 25 years Koren has been aninstitution in her native Edinburgh –a capital icon and cultural behemoth.Her inuence on the comedy industry,not simply conned to the city or indeedto Scotland, has in that time spreadthroughout the UK and beyond. Koren iscomedy and comedy Koren, woman andconcept inextricably linked.

Her ofce overlooking Edinburgh’sElm Row is a hall of fame in whichshe is the common dominator linkingthe inhabitants. Pictures of householdnames such as Bill Bailey, Dylan Moran,Jimmy Carr and Flight of the Conchordsadorn almost every inch of white space.They are her former pupils, long sincegraduated but forever part of her exclu-sive alumni of comic genius. The GildedBalloon which Koren founded in 1986 was where they found their calling. Itprovided a launch pad for their careers.The little remaining white space seemsto await the next star student patiently.

While many a comic wannabe sets outfrom a young age to make a successful liv-

ing in the comedy industry, Koren came atit in a roundabout way. She didn’t know life would lead her down this particular path.

Born in the Blackhall area of thecity, she moved to London in her lateteens to pursue a career in dance butreturned home shortly after she fellpregnant, aged 19.

“I was dancing, he [the father] was ina band – it was all very show-bizzy. Allthat nished once I had the baby. Then I worked in dental nursing, hairdressing,I was a scalp specialist for a while, wentto college and did a secretarial course.”

Looking at the woman it’s hardto imagine her arranging strands of housewives’ hair into individual curlsthen shoving them under a hairdryer forhours on end, before engrossing herself in an issue of Take a Break. It’s too staid,and Koren and staid don’t mix.

Koren was and remains glamorous.She shows me pictures of herself asa young 20-something and heck wasshe a beauty. Tall, blonde, good skinand born to Norwegian parents, shelived up to the Scandinavian stereotypeof good looks. Coupled with a vibrantpersona she nds difcult to contain,she was never going to follow a genericcareer path.

Working as a personal assistant in theNorwegian Consulate General broughtsome stability for a time but it had itslimitations, certainly when it came tocreativity. “I think I had to start workingfor myself, it was the only way to go” shesays. “There was no creativity at all and

there was nobody doing comedy at all inScotland when I started apart from maybeBilly Connolly.” Before long an oppor-tunity presented itself and Koren sailedcarefully into uncharted waters which inretrospect was a fairly simple transition.

“I had friends in London who werein drama college and who got into thealternative comedy scene down there which started in a strip club in Soho. Weall went on a day trip one Easter Sunday in the early eighties and got very very drunk and they told me I had to open aplace in Edinburgh for them to perform– so I did.”

As she describes those tentative early years in the business the names she dropsquickly raise an eyebrow.

“Mike Myers? As in Wayne’s World?” I stammer awkwardly. “Yes, yes,” she responds sharply, taken

aback by my surprise. “But I didn’tknow he was Scottish.”

“No, but he studied in Glasgow and dida festival with us, lovely guy. Yes he was very nice,” she says with a girlish grin.I move on.

By 1988 Koren had taken over at thehelm of the Gilded Balloon. From her base in the Cowgate area of Edinburghshe recruited the best talent she couldmuster, eager to make a success of it, andher venue.

My mistake is to refer to the successof the Gilded Balloon in the past tense:“What was the main success of it?” I ask.

“What was the success?” she barks,“We’re still going you know!”

I retreat, squirming uncomfortably inmy seat – she laughs, probably pickingup that I’m yet to recover from my voicerecorder induced trauma at the start of the interview. She introduced Late ‘n’Live, a 1-5 am comedy show that still runsfor the duration of the Edinburgh FestivalFringe. Popular with the public andcomedians alike, it was the foundationof her success.

“The main thing that gave us [GildedBalloon] our reputation was Late ‘n’ Live.It was loud and quite dangerous with a lotof great comperes over the years; peoplefrom Frank Skinner to Mark Lamarr,everybody in the business has done it atsome point. It gave us our reputation, you would see comedy you wouldn’t seeanywhere else. Comics came to watch andheckle other comics, it was their kindof venue.”

Opposite page:

in the spotlight –

Koren dreams

a dream at the

Gilded Balloon

Image: Steve Ullathorne

Above left:

Teviot Row

House, the Gilded

Balloon’s current

Fringe venue

Image: Gilded Balloon

Above right:

beauty in black –

an 18-year-old

Koren contemplateswhat life will bring

Image: Karen Koren

interview karen koren 1716

From Bill Bailey to Dylan Moran, Karen Koren

was behind some of British comedy’s greatest

breakthroughs. So now she’s 60, what next?

Laughter

lines

buzz mag prf15.indd 16-17 30/03/2010 15:13




From humble beginnings, the Koreneffect was to snowball. She formed suc-cessful double-acts such as Mr Trellisand Phil Kay, and over a period of around 17 years, turned her venue intoa viable enterprise.

“For the rst year our turnover was£27k, just a small studio with 11 showsa day and then we went up to 150 showsa day and a turnover of nearly £2 millionduring the festival.”

Koren also underwent a massive

transformation. From a single parentgetting by, she grew into one of themost inuential gures in Britishshow business. She was proud of herachievements and had a right to be.The young woman who departedEdinburgh for the bright lights of London years earlier had ironically found the life she craved in the placeshe least expected to – home.

While home was kind to her, it wasalso to be cruel. In December 2002 thefruits of her hard labour quite liter-ally went up in ames as the worst rein Edinburgh’s modern history sweptthrough the Cowgate. Koren’s prized venue was decimated and unwantedmedia attention centred on her.

“I was shoved in front of the media because it was the biggest re in livingmemory in Edinburgh. Sky News andall these people were down on the streetlming and I had to speak to just aboutevery single news agency the day afterthe re.” She looks into the distance for a

moment with a melancholy smile, possibly reminiscing on times past with bittersweetness. The cassette in the voice recorder needs ipped. It makesa shrill sound similar to a re alarm.“Jesus we’re not burning again are we?”she exclaims amusingly. I make a balls of ipping the cassette. “What on earth have you done? Can’t you manage? We needto get this xed – Sharon?”

harsh lessons in life but she is still thelittle girl who never grew up.

She has no intention of retiring soon– the very thought of it repulses her.Using the oldest cliché in the showbiz

notebook, she insists the show willgo on.

“I care about comedy and I care aboutthe talent. I won’t be wrapping anythingup. What I will be doing is making surethat the business is alive and well andI have good people around me.”

She wants to explore pastures new.She’s been doing it all her life – it wouldn’t make sense for her to stopnow. But what is left for her to do in thecomedy game?

“Oh, there are loads of things,” sheexclaims wide-eyed with childish glee.“I have to do some television. I’d liketo produce something myself andI think I have a good eye. Artistically Icould do something, but I don’t know what – although I am working with aTV company at the moment and put insome ideas.” Watched over by numerous

Problem solved. Losing a lifetime’s work may be enough to break the spiritof a lesser person but Koren has never been prone to surrendering in the faceof adversity. It was a case of startingover – new risks, new overheads, new bloody venue.

In July 2002 she launched the GildedBalloon Two in Teviot, one of EdinburghUniversity’s Unions. They had always wanted her to move in so the partnership was mutually benecial, but starting over

again was a huge risk. Is Karen Koren stillon a quest to uncover the holy grails of comic talent or has she always been justa risk junkie seeking a x?

“Well if I told you the truth you’d go,‘Oh, that’s a load of bull.’”

“Try me,” I reply, coaxing her toelaborate.

At the age of 11 she lost her father andhad to adjust to a testing way of life. Hermother, then aged 34, was pregnant andrelied heavily on her young daughter.Koren became the shepherd of the ock.It moulded her outlook on life. Knownacross the industry as something of amother gure to her prospective stars,nurturing the person as well as the talent,early life had shaped her.

“I’m a single parent,” she explains. “I’vealways been on my own. My father died ina car accident when I was 11 and from thatday on everything changed and I had togo by myself. I found that out the hard way and I think that’s what it’s all about.

“I’m comforted by risk. It’s re-

ally really wrong especially at my age, because I really don’t want it any more but my whole life has been a risk. Imanaged to get my son into a fee-payingschool and got them [the school] to pay the fees, that’s what I’m like. It’s all been a challenge all the time so actually it’s not been money that worries meall that much – except once or twice a year when I’m worried about how we’regoing to survive – but it’s all relativeand living life on a knife-edge is how it’salways been.”

It’s difcult not to warm to a personso honest. Sure she can be abrasive, but she has a maternal and caringinstinct that belies her tough exterior.She is also wonderfully childlike in herexcitement and enthusiasm for life,reafrmed since celebrating her 60th birthday recently. She may have learnt

famous faces on the wall, she seemssomewhat prepared for the next ques-tion: “So are you going to be seeing any of your old friends while working on thistelevision project of yours?” “Maybe,

watch this space as they say.” She refusesto elaborate but her body language sug-gests she will be.

Sharon is looking agitated: Koren isgoing to be late for her engagement at the Voodoo Rooms, a nearby club. Time to wrap up but not before one last question:“What’s it like being an Edinburgh andindeed Scottish cultural icon?”

“Ha, that’s absolute nonsense,” shedeclares with the loudest laugh of theevening. Many believe the contrary.“Well that’s lovely, but God almighty,I mean I’m just an insecure wee girl. ButI like people and I like comedy. I’m notgone on the nance side of things butI’m also too good at picking on my ownfaults so actually, yeah you’re right, I’ma cultural icon.” Koren scampers off withSharon intent on enhancing that status.Shane de Barra

interview karen koren 19

Above: you sexy

thing – Koren joins

the Chippendales

onstage at the

Gilded Balloon

Image: Steve Ullathorne

I am just an insecure

wee girl. But I like

people and comedy

“”

buzz mag prf15.indd 18-19 30/03/2010 15:13



20 buzz summer 2010

It’s harder than you think, hammeringa nail into a wooden board. I didn’texpect it to be so difcult – I thoughtit was one of those rudimentary tasks

like spreading butter or opening a door.But it takes a modicum of skill and areasonable level of hand eye coordina-tion; I have neither. And it’s harder still when the inhabitants of a Cambodian village have gathered to watch and laughat your incompetence.

In high school the spice rack I assem-

bled in craft and design class looked likea victim of Cubism. I can barely assembleat pack furniture and have no practicalskills to speak of. Casting these obviouslimitations aside, a growing number of people like me have chosen to take a lessconventional holiday and volunteer in thedeveloping world. This type of travel isknown as “voluntourism” and it’s some-thing that Britain’s post Live Aid society has embraced. On the surface it wouldseem that this trend is benecial to allparties. But as I shift sand, saw wood andmassacre nail heads in the Cambodianheat I nd myself wondering what I’mgiving and who is really gaining from it.

There is a peculiar silence in theCambodian jungle, no tangible noise, just a primal hum that reverberatesinside your skull. But it’s a silence that isroutinely punctured. Feral blasts of baddance music are piped from distant boom boxes. A foul mouthed lizard sporadically squawks something that sounds like itcould be profane. Trees shake, mangoes

drop. And there is also the input andappraisals of the locals we are trying to build a house for. I’m hunched over a nailhead making occasional contact with my hammer, sweating profusely. The nail isgetting increasingly warped and mangledand with every misplaced stroke thechances of it ever being rmly embeddedin wood are diminishing. A local buildercrouches next to me, smiles and in adeparture from his usual garbled, murky English says something crystalline inmeaning: “Matt no good.”

He’s right of course. I wield a hammer with the guile and composure of a sexu-ally aggravated chimp. What must thesepeople think? There are three of us; tall,skinny, pale men from a land of skyscrap-ers and suspension bridges who couldn’teven rustle up a wooden hut betweenthem. The locals do all of the skilled

report voluntourism 21

Volunteering in developingcountries is becoming thegap-year craze. MatthewNelson tells his tale

Is voluntourism just humanitarian

holidaying

buzz mag prf15.indd 20-21 30/03/2010 15:14





A s Olivia Giles opens the doorto her south Edinburgh home,her determined and condentstride belies the fact that it’s

only thanks to two prosthetic limbs thatshe is walking at all. Yet it’s neither her walk nor the lack of hands that catch your attention, rather the engagingsmile, bouncing carefree curls andsparkling eyes.

Giles comes across as smart, intelligentand wise beyond her 44 years. The rst

two traits were no doubt honed duringher years as a successful Edinburgh lawyer – rising swiftly in the ranks, she wasa partner of a law rm at 30 and was seenin legal circles as a rising star. Wisdomthough is probably rooted in what life hasdelivered in the last eight years – becom-ing a quadruple amputee and at the sametime a personal inspiration to many.

Expertly manoeuvring the two new-est members of the household – catsLara and Oscar from the kitchen table,her physical dexterity cannot fail toimpress. But it’s Giles’s mental agility which makes the biggest impression:she seems unshackled by any mentalscars which could so easily have af-fected the rest of her life. So what hasenabled her to move on with a new lifein such a positive way?

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone” was an oftenrepeated mantra of Giles’s grandmotherand it’s this early inuence that Giles at-tributes to her take on life since all four

limbs were amputated in 2002. “I wasseen as a successful lawyer before but inreality I was constantly trying to provemy worth. Now I’m no longer afraid to be myself, after all what is the worstthing that could happen?” she says lean-ing back in her ofce chair, “it’s my show now and that gives me a fantastic feelingof liberation.”

It was on a February morning in 2002 when Giles’s life took a dramatic turn.Showing u-like symptoms she was seen by a locum GP who missed the signsof meningitis; a fast moving and oftenfatal infection causing blood vessels tohaemorrhage, the circulation systemto stop working and gangrene to set in.Early symptoms are easily confused withan everyday virus and this happened inGiles’s case – with valuable treatmenttime being lost.

I support the

rightto die.

I can see a pointwhere I might say

I don’t want to

do this any more

She rebuilt her life after

losing four limbs to

meningitis. She gives

hope to others with her

charity 500 Miles. So

why would Olivia Giles

consider assisted suicide?

interview olivia giles 25

“

”

buzz mag prf15.indd 24-25 30/03/2010 15:14



features feature 27

Giles came round on a hospitalbed a month later, all four limbs heavilybandaged and raw sores crisscrossingher body from where skin grafts hadbeen taken to cover her newly formedstumps. With consciousness of hersurroundings gradually taking shapeGiles’s inner strength and mentalcapacity took over: “I remember trying tohold a cup of water and a nurse sayingI couldn’t because I’d ‘got no hands’.Within that statement a seedof reality was sown but at the same timeI thought, ‘of course I’ve gothands – they’re in the bandages’.

As I looked around my visitors I knewI could ask them to explain what had

happened to me – but I also knew Iwasn’t ready for the answers they mightgive me. Ultimately I was in 100% selfpreservation mode.”

Subconsciously she was preparing forwhat was to come. Her nights were lledwith dreams of running, of inexplicablycold feet which couldn’t be warmed.

Asking for the additional support of ahospital psychologist Giles began toslowly accept what had happened. “Inthe end unwrapping the bandages, layerby layer, down to the gauze, seeingthe shape of my stumps, the colourof the wounds – allowed for a gradualrealisation,” she says. “Limb by limb untilin the end in the bath, still not allowingmyself to look at my legs. I looked atthe ceiling, at the tiles and then my eyesgradually lowered to my left leg and thetotal reality of the situation.”

Giles’s rst major breakthroughat the hospital was being given hermakeshift prosthetic legs and with themthe understanding that her knees couldbear her weight. Her life then couldbegin again, albeit taking a very differentdirection. “As I looked in the mirror,able to stand again, I thought ‘yes – Iknow her’. This was the rst time sinceregaining consciousness I allowed myselfto cry, not with pity but with hope andthe certainty that I’d walk out of there.”

Giles’s face lights up as she recallslearning to walk again. “This was a lifeafrming, joyous, optimistic time, almostlike being born again and going throughan accelerated childhood. Everything was

getting better. Yes, I’d never wear highheels again, half my clothes needed to goto the local charity shop, but everythingwas cushioned by the fact that I was aliveand thankful to be walking.”

Since 2007 her principal focushas been ‘500 miles’, a charity whichhas established clinics in Malawi andZambia to make and t prostheticsfor amputees. Still in its infancy, ‘500miles’ has already established threecentres, producing double the numberof prosthetics than originally planned.Previously the country’s amputees werefaced with the challenge of prostheticsfor only those who could afford themand a supply line which in no way metdemand. Giles is all too aware of thegood fortune of being an amputee inScotland, where the best care and stateof the art prosthetics are available.

It’s apparent that Giles’s positivedemeanour is set within a grounded reality. “When I think of my future I know it will betough. Being old could be horrendous” shesays. “I don’t know how long my kneeswill continue to bear my weight. That’swhy I support the current campaign on theright to die. I can see a point where I mightsay I don’t want to do this any more and Ishould have that right. But the bottom lineright now is that I could have so easily diedwhen I was 36, and since then I’ve hadeight years of a fantastic life.”

Giles has few regrets – ultimately herlife is focused on opening doors andwith them new opportunities but shedoes talk briey of her frustrations. In

particular looking back to her old life asa busy lawyer, with a work-life balancethat often didn’t allow her to enjoy theopportunities that were there for thetaking, Giles reects, “I didn’t climb allthe Munros when I could. One beautifulsunny June weekend when I stayed atthe computer working instead of takingthe chance to climb the Inaccessible

Pinnacle on Skye with friends, lookingback I can see how out of balancelife was.” She has no sooner voicedthis regret than she is moving on to talkabout her plans to build more clinics inMalawi and her concerns for creating thebest possible level of sustainability forthe project. It’s clear that Giles doesn’tdo anything in life by halves – total focusand dogged commitment is part of herpersonal DNA.

Reecting on the goals she hasreached over the last eight years, alongwith the countless achievements andthe lives and attitudes she has positivelyaffected it’s hard not to look forwardto hearing more about the seemingly

inaccessible pinnacles this determinedand assured woman will continueto scale.

More details on the 500 miles charityfor amputees and other disabled peoplein Zimbabwe and Malawi can be foundonline at www.500miles.co.ukCatherine Henderson

Opposite page:

Olivia in the ofce

of her south

Edinburgh home.


Above left: Giles in

Malawi at one of

three new clinics set

up by her charity.

Image: BBC

Above right: Giles

with her Doctor

of Laws degree

at Robert Gordon

University, Aberdeen

Image: Herald & TimesGroup

interview olivia giles 27

The bottom line right now is that I could

have so easily died when I was 36, and since

then I’ve had eight years of a fantastic life

“”

26

buzz mag prf15.indd 26-27 30/03/2010 15:14





report fertility MOT 31

It’s worth noting that a Tory think tank headed up by Tory candidate JuliaManning recently recommended remov-ing all funding for IVF in order to cutcosts within the NHS, should they cometo power at the next election. Of course,the Scottish Parliament retains thepower to make its own decisions overNHS funding, but the danger of remov-ing funding is very real given the currentshrinkage of the public funding purse.

Years of trying to start a family and

facing the emotional turmoil of repeatedfailure can have a devastating effect ona couple’s relationship, with nancialstress being one of the biggest problems.Repeated attempts at IVF can becomeprohibitively expensive (one coursecosts on average between £4,000and £8,000).

So can Fertility MOTs help those whoknow they want to have a family oneday? While the test can’t guarantee you will be fertile indenitely, it can certainly act as a wake up call for many couples,according to Professor Bill Ledger, afertility expert at Shefeld University.He advocates that all women should takethe test by the time they are 30 years old.His critics argue that a positive fertility test might lull couples into a false senseof security, making them think they still have plenty of time, whereas infact, the test is only valid for a year –the fertility of a couple could changeat any time, sometimes rapidly.

Dr Hamish Wallace of Edinburgh

University and Professor ThomasKelsey of St Andrews University releasedtheir research ndings in January 2010estimating that for 95% of women by the age of 30 their facility to produce eggshas dropped to only 12% and by the ageof 40 years only 3% remains.

Laura, 37, from Edinburgh took the test largely out of curiosity, find-ing that she still is producing plenty of healthy eggs and should have noproblems conceiving, for the momentat least. However, she admits that theprocess was a ‘wake up and smell thecoffee’ moment.

“I think when you’ve got two fertil-ity experts sitting there telling youthat you must get a move on and if you want to have a child, do it soonerrather than later, it has made me think OK, it’s great I’m fertile now – the

They decided to delay starting afamily until he came home from servingin the British army in Iraq. But after a year of trying, they visited the doctor foradvice. To David’s shock, tests showedthat his fertility, or lack of it, were at theroot of the problem. “I just assumed it wouldn’t be me. I don’t know why – Isuppose it’s not often you hear of maleinfertility. It seems quite arrogant now to assume that it would be Rachel whohad the problem. I literally went into

the doctor’s appointment to collect theresults prepared to comfort and sym-pathise with Rachel but it was me whoneeded the emotional support. If I’mhonest, I felt like my manhood was inquestion. I was absolutely gutted.”

Fortunately, David and Rachel arereceiving help to conceive and they arehopeful that they will soon have a fam-ily. Professor Anderson explains that“there is no denitive study to show thecauses of male infertility. Age does notseem to be a factor in the way that it isfor women, but it is the combination of each partner’s fertility that will dictatetheir ability to conceive. It’s not a black and white situation.” There is no treat-ment for men with low sperm counts, but their chances of fathering a childcan depend on the relative fertility of their female partner and this can be as-sisted by IVF treatments. Of course, theeffectiveness of that treatment will beaffected by the usual factors, includingthe age of the woman.

There are a number of other barriersthat are not always considered whenplanning a late family. Waiting listsfor IVF (in vitro fertilisation) in NHSLothians are the worst in Scotland ata startling 3 years, compared to theBorders where there is no waiting list atall. There is a post code lottery for fer-tility treatment with each health boardsetting different parameters for thoseeligible. NHS Lothians currently offers2 cycles of IVF per couple but that isavailable only to those who have beenin a stable relationship for 12 months,the woman must be under 38 yearsof age at the start of treatment, neitherpartner can have been sterilised previ-ously and they must have no childrenliving at home, including adoptedchildren. So, free IVF simply isn’t therefor everyone.

situation could change but maybe I doneed to do something about it now”.

This is exactly the reaction thatProfessor Ledger is hoping the test willprovoke. Parenthood is certainly notfor everyone, but Professor Ledger isquick to defend the test. He explainedthat it is there for anyone who wantsto use it and insists that the medicalprofession is not trying to suggest thatall women must have babies – they’remerely saying that if they do, it would

be very wise to think about tryingsooner, not later, if they want to avoidthe pain and distress of not being ableto conceive at all.

The very fact that men and womenare delaying starting a family is a reec-tion of bigger changes in society. Ourgrandparents had their children in theirearly 20s. Our own parents generally started their family in their mid to late20s, and today, that has risen to the30s. People can choose not to have afamily at all, or they can control exactly when they plan to start trying for afamily. What they cannot control is theinevitable biological clock from ticking.It might be time to promote a secondmessage that encourages both men and women to take their fertility seriously and to make no assumptions. After all,many infertility issues can be helped by medical intervention, as long as it isn’tleft too late.

For 95% of women by theage of 30 their facility to

produce eggs has dropped

to only 12%

As Professor Ledger concludes:“It’s just an unfortunate reality of the world in which we now live, the life-style that people adopt, the pressureson women to get through university,have a good career, make money,contribute to the joint income – there’sa lot of complicated social issues, butclearly the pressures on people in ourlifetime are to defer bringing childreninto the world…but you can’t beat the biology!” Tracy Norris

“”

Previous page:

is your biological

clock ticking?

Opposite page top:

leaving it later can

lead to increased

worry

Opposite page

bottom: up to 1 in

10 men in the UK

suffer from infertilityImages: istockphoto

buzz mag prf15.indd 30-31 30/03/2010 15:14



The idea of formal business wearevokes visionsof jackets andties for men andpower suits for

women. But whatabout ‘business

casual’; the ambigu-ous, oxymoronic phrase

that causes wardrobemalfunctions across the

country? Succeed in nurtur-ing this look, and the ofce will be your oyster. Fail,and you could become theclothing pariah of your workplace.

Karen Finlayson, com-pany director of Renideo

style consultancy, hassome handy hints on

how to adapt your wardrobe.

“The rst word in‘business casual’,

is business, and Idon’t think many people actually remember that.They imme-diately hearcasual andthink: ‘thismeans I haveto look really relaxed’.So rst andforemost

recognise that it’s not as formal as business dress, but you still have to be smart.”

Finlayson emphasises the impor-tance of tailoring in any outt: “Chinosand loose shirts are not a good look. If you wore the same outt but well tai-lored, it would immediately look better”she says. “When you remove the jacketand tie, then what you’ve got left has tolook smart.”

And colour schemes can be another way of maintaining the balance; lightercolours help make an outt seem lessformal. “Dark colours are basically moreauthoritative; think of the black suitsand the white shirts worn by the police”adds Finlayson. “You don’t want that

high a contrast. Lighter colours can ap-pear less ofcial, but you can still choosethe same kinds of clothes.”

This will vary between environ-ments and it is essential to remember your situation. A traditional company’sinterpretation is going to be very dif-ferent from a younger, more modern,equivalent.

With these tips in mind, we look at a few key styles that will help equip you for dealing with the businesscasual conundrum.

MenIn line with Finlayson’s advice, although‘business casual’ gestures towards amore casual look, this does not meanthat jeans and t-shirts are allowed,regardless of how comfortable you may nd them. However, a smart jumper

Anna Fenton and Wendy Wan address

the classic conundrum of

1Military 2 in 1shirt dress £40Jane Normanwww.janenorman.co.uk

2Pure cotton boldstripe shirt £25Marks and Spencerwww.marksandspencer.com

3V-neck cotton

jumper £15Marks and Spencerwww.marksandspencer.com

or shirt will not fail to impress, whilsttrousers with a wool mix are ideal. Woolis breathable, comfortable and does notcrease easily, yet is smart enough for work and can be worn with somethingas simple as a jumper or a shirt.

A solid coloured shirt is easy to wear, especially if the colour is muted.If opting for a printed shirt, outlandishpatterns can be overwhelming.Stripes, on the other hand, can bemore approachable.

There are many different outts thatcould meet the standard of your compa-ny, and still allow you to be fashionable.The best thing about ‘business casual’ is you no longer need to feel stied every-day in a suit and tie. But there are a few

rules to bear in mind. As you are dressing for work, you

want your superiors and co-workersto treat you professionally. Stick toa few classic pieces; a v-neck jumperor a simple shirt will keep you on theright side of business casual. Don’t beafraid to add some colour to your outt, just remember to err towards the con-servative side.

WomenThose who have their own sense of style tend to nd a company dress codeoppressive, and casting off the shacklesof a stiff collar and heels in the work-place can be a liberating experience. Forothers, treading the treacherous lines between smart and casual can be daunt-ing, and it can be difcult to spot thedifference between work and after-work

Dressing down days

‘businesscasual’

M a i n I m a g e : S a i n s b u r y ’ s T u C l o t h i n g

32

clothes. Business casual for women isnot as clear-cut as for men, but many of the same guidelines do apply.

Finding the right shirt can really setthe tone of an outt. As Finlayson sug-gests, a lighter colour can be less formal.Look for patterns, and don’t be afraid toexperiment with colours. Bear in mind,the best colour in the world is the onethat you look good in.

Generally, denim is only acceptable where it is dark or black and form-t-ting. Although leggings are everywherethis season, in most cases they aretoo relaxed.

The modern shift dress is chic,feminine and neat, making it ideal forthis look. Smart, yet understated and

feminine, it is a serious sort of dress –think of Audrey Hepburn in her timelessGivenchy black shift in Breakfast atTiffany’s. Worn well, a shift can look polished, rened and can take you fromthe workplace to after work drinks.Think of accessorising a tunic or a shiftdress with a simple waist belt for a mod-ern twist to a timeless classic.

And less is more when it comes toaccessories at work. As Coco Chanelonce said; “always take off one thing before you leave the house.”

Finally, no matter how formal orcasual your work atmosphere is, it’s im-portant to feel good in the clothes you’rein. Although wearing your personality on your sleeve can be inappropriate inthe more extravagant cases, your clothesshould compliment your personality,not drown it out.

style dresing down days 33

1 2 3

buzz mag prf15.indd 32-33 30/03/2010 15:14



You are unique. A one-off. A snowake. An original. And now you can havethe shoes to prove it.

Customising trainers has come a long way from the days when scrawlingyour initials in felt tip pen was considered a design overhaul. Now all of the majorfootwear companies offer easy access to simple customisation programmes. TheNike iD [nikeid.nike.com] site allows users to tinker with set templates and tart uptheir Air Force Ones with never before seen colour-ways. Puma offers a Mongolianshoe BBQ service that lets you cook up the perfect plimsole from a menu ofmaterials and colours. So you can kiss your Chuck Taylors and your Air Jordans

goodbye. Now your shoes can really say something about you: your own name,your initials or a suitable alias.

They say that the eyes are the true window to the soul. They are wrong –your feet dene you, a point proven by celebrities. Kanye West was famouslystylised as a black Jesus on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. One areawhere Kanye undoubtedly trumps the son of god is footwear. Jesus had tomake do with sandals while Kanye kicks customs designed in collaborationwith Louis Vuitton. Thankfully for those of us who are burdened withmortality, Kanye isn’t a selsh man – his shoes will be released to thegeneral public in June. Paris Hilton is also muscling in on the action.Not content with having her own clothing and cosmetics linesshe also has shoes specically designed for her. Paris wearsStar Sparkles, essentially a pair of standard Converse All Starssprinkled with Swarovski crystals.

If you are so inclined you can take things even further.The clever people at solecreator.co.uk have designed aprogramme that allows you to scrawl your own artwork allover an innocent shoe. You can even upload pictures.What better way is there to tell your girlfriend you loveher than to trample over her face all day?Matthew Nelson

If the shoe ts, wear it.

Then put your name on it

Sole creator

style get that style 3534

I m a g e :

M a r k

H a s s

l e r , w w w . k

i c k a n

d s

t y l e

. d e

Flight of theaviator

1 River Island Sunglasses |

£14.99 | River Island

4 Diamantë Trim Aviators |

£12 | Jane Norman

2 Womens Colourful Aviators |

£5 | George at Asda

5 White Sunglasses Criminal |

£10 | House of Fraser

3 Pilot Sunglasses with pouch |

£1.50 | Primark

6 Mens Sunglasses |

£12 | Next

Get retrospective this summer

and channel your inner Maverick

buzz mag prf15.indd 34-35 30/03/2010 15:14



travel budapest 37

It usually happens about once a year. You’ve saved up all your hard-earned cashfor a holiday, be it a mini-break or some-thing more far-ung. But then crops up the

dilemma of where to go? Perhaps you’vealready visited the more obvious destina-tions and fancy somewhere a bit different.

Hungary’s thriving capital offers a littlesomething for everyone and is comparableto Paris; remnants of its illustrious revo-lutionary history are nestled next to somesophisticated restaurants and bars.

Budapest counts three WorldHeritage sites among its key attractions– the Banks of the Danube, Buda CastleQuarter and Andrássy Avenue and itsenvirons – and it is hard to nd land-scapes more beautiful than these.

There is a current buzz amongst the ec-lectic streets of Budapest, which indicatesa city on the rise; this is best seen in thethriving bar scene – particularly aroundthe Liszt Ferenc Tér area – and gives ita younger, edgier feel than many of itsrival European cities.

Budapest now boasts restaurants thatcan truly claim to be haute cuisine. Mostly found around The Var, they include theglitzy Fortuna Restaurant, which has its

own Champagne cellar. Further aeldfrom the Buda more modest deals can befound including much choice in world res-taurants as well as local Magyar cooking.The local cuisine is worth a try – basedon centuries-old recipes and includingpaprikas, nokedli dumplings and goulash– Hungary’s national dish.

Like most prominent European citiesBudapest is home to many ne museums.Especially worth visiting are the LudwigMuseum of Modern Art and the BudapestHistory Museum, which is located inthe atmospheric Buda Castle. The GreatSynagogue is the largest in Europe andalso has aJewish museum attached.

During the summer months theSzechenyi Thermal Baths appeal for both bathing and a spot of spa pampering.

If you are looking for a romantictreat then Budapest has a wide range

Forget Paris

Above left:

Budapest by night

– view of Budapest

Chain Bridge

Above right: hot

and steamy – the

palatial Szechenyi

Thermal Baths

Images: Budapest

Tourist Info

Hungary’s capital Budapest has all the trappings

for a memorable city break – without the clichés

I m a g e s : B u d a p e s t T o u r i s m O

f c e

of luxury hotels including the sophis-ticated art deco stylings of the FourSeasons Gresham Palace, and the New York Palace Boscolo Hotel with its de-

signer New York Café or luxurious spa.However, if your purse-strings area bit tighter, Budapest also offers severaldecent higher-end hostels from under£10 a night in with excellent city centrelocations, such as the Aventura BoutiqueHostel, the Blue Danube Hostel or theBaroque Hostel.

Eastern Europe is still considerably cheaper than the West but pricesare creeping up so it’s worth checkingout as soon as possible. Easyjet,Ryanair and British Airways y fromseveral destinations in the UK anda direct ight from Glasgow can costas little as £30.

So the next time you’re wondering where to go with friends or a lovedone look no further than Budapest – we love its buzz.Miriam Armstrong

Budapest FactsSitting astride the Danube river, Budapest is renowned forits architectural beauty, with baroque, neoclassical and artnouveau clusters around the city.

Known as the ‘City of Spas’, it boasts over a dozen thermalbaths supported by natural hot springs.

With exceptional cheap food and drink, and buzzingnightlife, Hungary’s capital is forging itself another identity asthe party city for the whole region.

Sziget Festival

Budapest is home to the renowned Sziget Festival, one

of the biggest music and cultural festivals in Europe.The line-up this year includes Faithless, Iron Maiden, Muse

and the Specials and boasts various other activities availablesuch as belly dancing, bungee jumping and Hungarianlessons.

The festival takes over the island of Obuda on the Danubeand is held from 9-16th August this year.www.szigetfest.co.uk

Flights to Budapest

Direct ights are twice weekly and depart from Glasgow(Prestwick) on Sundays and Wednesdays with Ryanair from£30 return. www.ryanair.com/en

Flights from Edinburgh will involve a change, and tendto cost from £220 if booked in advance.

Tourist Info

The Hungarian currency is forint (Ft).

July and August are the hottest months to visit Budapestwith an average temperature of 26°C.

Budapest is amongst the most sun-rich cities in Europe,with up to 2,500 hours of sunshine throughout the year.www.budapestinfo.hu

Hotels Atrium Fashion Hotelwww.atriumhotelbudapest.comRooms from £53

Hotel Normafawww.normafahotel.comRooms from £67

Art’otel Budapest, by Park Plazawww.artotels.comRooms from £99

Hotels mentioned in article:

Four Seasons Gresham Palacewww.fourseasons.com/budapest/ Rooms from £240

New York Palace Boscolo Hotel:http://www.boscolohotels.com/eng/hotels/new_york_palace/luxury-hotel-budapest.htmRooms from £107

buzz mag prf15.indd 36-37 30/03/2010 15:14



places, and more people from differentages, lifestyles and backgrounds wantto sample the hostel experience.

Hostels have also raised theirprole recently due to ‘The Hoscars’,the award ceremony for ‘hostel of the year’. Despite Scotland missing out onthis prestigious award, our nation’shostels have their own unique quali-ties. For example, Carbisdale Castle was built for the Duchess of Sutherlandin 1906 and was once a royal refuge.The SYHA’s Loch Lomond hostel was built on the site of Robert the Bruce’shunting lodge and their Melrose build-ing is a Georgian mansion. A veteran

hosteller said, “My own experienceof hostelling in Scotland over the last15 years has been varied – I stayed inmodern hostels in the city, and smallremote hostels in the Highlands andislands. Hostelling is a great opportu-nity to meet people from all over the world”. And hostelling in Scotland hasthe potential to provide a cultural andhistorical experience whilst the isolatedhighland hostels are an ideal alternativeto camping; the walls will keep you safefrom the man-eating midges!

Some of Scotland’s exciting new hostels are right on our doorstep. ArtRoch, a new hostel in the Grassmarket,exemplies the quirky touches of Scottish hostelling. It sits on the site of the Flodden wall; historical sources say it housed the Jacobean army, and threehundred years ago it was a Salvation

Army hostel for destitute women. Theinterior tells a different story; the smellof fresh paint lingers in the air, the wallsare covered with kitsch paintings andstenciled hearts, and random life sizesheep statues are scattered here andthere. If there was a hostel version of ‘changing rooms’ this would be it.Of course, if you live in Edinburgh youare unlikely to stay there, but it is de-nitely worth a visit. It’s also a good placeto leave the in-laws if you’ve convenient-ly run out of space at yours. What’s more,if you mention you’re a buzz readerthere’s a discount in it for you.

Hostels are a safe, sure and diverse

alternative to hotels. They give you thatfriendly homely feeling when far away,and closer to home you can rediscoverareas with fresh perspective. Why travelthe world when an extraordinary holiday is on your doorstep? Heather Donald

travel hostelling 39

Hostelling has changed

a lot, but we still face

people’s old-fashioned

and negative images

of what hostels are like

Opposite page:

a cheeky smile from

the friendly staff in

Art Roch hostel

Above left: kitsch

hostel wall art

Above right: come

in from the dreich

weather to the com-

fort of Art Roch

Above bottom:

the eclectic lounge

area is a real talking

pointImages: Lindsay Brown

“

”

Hostelling in Scotland hascome a long way in the l ast20 years: there are nowover sixty hostels, visited

by around 500’000 travellers a year.Most now go by a hotel-like starsystem, with larger hostels offeringprivate rooms, ensuite facilities andrestaurants. Self-catering kitchens andlaundries are also serious attractionsto a wide range of visitors. Prices varyfrom a budget-friendly £10 a night toover £100. Variety is integral to the hos-tel brand; they have become the mostexible accommodation for every purse

and preference, from businessmento couples, families to hen parties.

Victor Bourne, the treasurer of theScottish Youth Hostel Associationagrees, “Hostelling has changed alot lately, but we still face people’sold-fashioned and negative images ofwhat hostels are like”. Daily chores andsleeping in freezing cold dormitoriesreside in the past, as do the stereotypicalresidents. However, hostels still retaintheir unique quality: the opportunity tosocialise with people from all differentwalks of life. This is the main reason forstaying in these weird and wonderful

Backpack to thefuture

Biting back at a bedbug past –

hostels have upped their game


buzz mag prf15.indd 38-39 30/03/2010 15:15




Where, for less than a tenner,can you eat a well con-structed dish, accompanied by a glass of wine, savoured

just a stone’s throw from Edinburgh’soh so fashionable George Street?

You’d have worn out a great deal of shoe leather to answer that questionup until 2007 when David Ramsdenopened The Dogs on Hanover Street.The restaurant has since been joined by fellow players in the Edinburgh RamsdenEmpire, with Dogs Amore, Under Dogs

and the new puppy on the block Sea Dogs.Ramsden is not a newcomer to the

Edinburgh restaurant scene, previously earning his stripes at Fitz Henry in Leith.This position gained him a reputation (attimes as mixed as a good salad) for nedining. Yet a lack of nesse and charm inthe front of house department – includ-ing frequent notable verbal outbursts– gave rise to a cacophony of barbedcustomer reviews. His next venture,Rogues, was to prove his nemesis.Hidden away in Edinburgh’s insurancequarter off Lothian Road, this venturestripped Ramsden of his restaurantstripes in the most brutal of ways, slidinginto liquidation and causing a majorpersonal rethink.

Refreshingly honest in this PR-ledage, Ramsden says of this experience,“When Rogues collapsed my life did

with it. I lost everything and it took three years to nd a new direction.”That new direction has Ramsden’spersonality stamped through it like astick of rock. “I’m an extreme character,so I was never going to go for a middlepass.” Moving away from ne dining, which he now describes as an “elusivechalice”, Ramsden describes The Dogsas “anti-design, anti-style, anti-fuss andultimately perfectly imperfect.”

Ramsden himself could be describedas perfectly imperfect; he puts his

neurotic obsessive qualities at the heartof his current success and past failures. A school boy with undiagnosed (and atthe time) unknown dyslexia, Ramsdensaw this as his main motivation to gettinginto the restaurant trade at all, “I uffedschool – was let down by the school sys-tem. In many ways I was the detritus thatit left behind. It wasn’t until I was in my forties that I was diagnosed as dyslexic.”

Stick thin, he has a chiselled faceand eyes that suggest an inner manicdrive. This tunnel vision that has nodoubt supported Ramsden during hisre-immersion into the choppy waters of the restaurant business at a time whenother restaurateurs were being savagely culled by a recession labelled the worstsince the Second World War.

Ramsden still gets emotional whenhe talks of the collapse of Rogues.

Opposite page:

Ramsden, a full

on personal-

ity dominating the

Edinburgh restau-

rant scene.

Perfectingthe imperfect

M a i n i m a g e : L e s l e y J o n e s

After overcoming undiagnosed dyslexia,

the occasionally quirky and volatile

David Ramsden talks about his passion

for food and surviving tough times

buzz mag prf15.indd 40-41 30/03/2010 15:15




300g Arborio rice

1l light vegetable stock

2 shallots, nely diced

1 clove garlic, nely chopped

100ml white wine

150g butter 100g freshly grated parmesan

olive oil

2 dsp nely choppedat leaf parsley

150g mixed mushrooms(including button,at cap and chestnut)

Bring stock to boil. Roast mushrooms in avery hot oven until golden brown. Cool andslice. Saute onion and garlic in the olive oiland 50g of the butter. Season. Add the riceand mix well.

When the rice is hot to the touch,add the white wine and cook until

absorbed by the rice. Add a ladle of hotstock and stir until absorbed. Repeatuntil the rice is cooked al dente. Whenthe rice is nearly cooked, add the roastmushrooms. Stir in the chopped parsleyand remove from the heat.

Mix in the remaining butter andparmesan and mix well.

Check seasoning and serve.

He says with an audible intake of breath, “When Rogues failed I wasdevastated – that restaurant was theculmination of everything I had learntin the restaurant business and I’d failed. At 50 years old, it was a difcult time tolearn I’d been on a hiding to nothing.I ended up in therapy, completely lost. When Rogues went down my convic-tion and my belief systems went with it, working in the other restaurants was a way of nding new stimuli. I had to keep

looking for a new direction.”Ramsden admits that a major part

of his reason for keeping going at thattime was his wife, artist and designerRoz McKnight, who he calls his life andhis support. When reasons to keep going were as sparse as trufes in a forest hisdogs also proved to be faithful allies.“Naming the restaurant The Dogs isan acknowledgement to the role my dogsplayed in those years.” He says, “they were always glad to see me, needed to be taken for walks, never questioned my self worth – to them I was never a loser.”

Some of the characteristics often attributedto people with dyslexia include creativity,adaptability, high energy levels, multi-tasking ability, resourcefulness, willingnessto take risks and the ability to hyper-focus.

It’s not difcult to nd other successfuldyslexics. A host of the world’s best-known celebrities and businessmen

are believed to suffer from the condition,as well as Nobel Laureates and Harvardacademics.

Some famous names linked withdyslexia include:

Richard Branson

Robbie Williams

Noel Gallagher

John Lennon

Walt Disney

Henry Ford

Entrepreneurial spiritIn a recent report from the Cass BusinessSchool, 35% of entrepreneurs in Americaidentied themselves as dyslexic. Theauthor of the report described dyslexicsas “extraordinarily creative” in overcomingthe problems associated with startinga business.

Statistics from Britain suggest thatdyslexics make up a smaller proportionof entrepreneurs in the UK – around 20%.

Just 5% of the population are dyslexic,but double this number could suffer fromsome element of the condition.

The Cass study points to dyslexics’delegation strengths, oral communicationand problem solving skills as important intheir success in the business world.

There are many combinations ofsymptoms that can be labelled dyslexia.No two people who have dyslexia willhave the same set of symptoms, butmany nd working with spoken wordschallenging, whilst others suffer fromproblems with short-term memory,sequencing and organisation. Thesecontribute to the spelling problems oftenassociation with the condition.

Contrary to common perceptions,dyslexia is not just about reversingnumbers and letters and only 30% ofdyslexic people suffer from this form.

Read Ramsden’s customer reviewsonline and you’ll quickly see that hisexperience hasn’t culled his personal-ity. “I never read my own press” hesays. I have little patience for people judging my personality. I’m an emo-tional person, that comes out in my restaurants.I celebrate my emotions and at theend of the day I’d rather be loved or be hated than be bland.”

Ultimately, opening when the

economy was stripped down to the bone, it appears that The Dogs hadtiming on its side – ostentation was nolonger on the menu and with slimmeddown bank accounts, back to basicsand good, honest food was increasingly being considered “de rigueur”.

As the age of bling departs more ventures like The Dogs, which bringgood food at an economical pricealong with a level of honesty on aplate, is the kind of imperfect perfec-tion many diners will be looking for.Catherine Henderson

David Ramsden’s parsley and roast mushroom risotto serves 6

Dyslexia – a gift to be valued?

food and drink david ramsden 43

seadogsNew addition to the pack opened inFebruary – serves seafood and vegetar-ian dishes only.43 Rose Street, EH2 2NH0131 225 8028 www.seadogsonline.co.uk [email protected]

amoredogsNeighbour to its predecessor, offeringan Italian twist to the original formula.104 Hanover Street, EH2 1DR 0131 220 5155 www.amoredogs.co.uk

[email protected]

thedogs

The original member of Ramsden’srestaurant family, centrally located withgood value food and wine.110 Hanover Street, EH2 1DR 0131 220 1208 www.thedogsonline.co.uk [email protected]

I m a g e s : K a t r i n A d a m

buzz mag prf15.indd 42-43 30/03/2010 15:15



food shaken 45

Not too long ago basic cocktails such as

martinis and cosmopolitans were seenas exotic, and for the most part, beyondthe reach of our wallets. They conjuredimages of beautiful Russian vixensseductively chewing martini-drenchedolives while locked in a battle of wits withMr. Bond. As much status symbols astasty tipples, many aspired to drink themeven if they could not afford them.

In recent times things have changed;we’re all connoisseurs of the nicer thingsin life. Go back ten years and who wouldhave thought Gordon Ramsay and MarcoPierre White would be household names.Programmes such as Come Dine with Me and The F Word have brought the culinaryworld into the mainstream. The net resultis a demand for the ner things in life; wewant them and we’ll pay for them.

With popularity comes a desire forexperimentation. While once we werecontent to satisfy our thirst with a simplescrewdriver (one measure vodka and adash of OJ), today our taste buds are alittle more demanding, we want daiquiris,

margaritas, and we want them frozen. Barstaff across Edinburgh are evolving withthe times to satisfy our thirst.

While once bar work consisted ofmerely pulling a pint or measuring a dram,today the trade knows no boundaries.Today’s cocktail bar is a veritable hub ofinnovation and creation; bartenders nowresemble Heston Blumenthal, armed withblowtorches and liquid nitrogen to liven-up your beverages.

Mixologists, as they like to beknown, may not share the status ofRamsey & Co, but they can certainlycompete in terms of innovation. Take atrip to one of Edinburgh’s ne cocktailbars like Bond No9 in Leith or Brambleof Queen St, and you’ll nd the drinkslist as mind-boggling to the taste budsas the complex menu of a Michelinstar restaurant.

We teamed up with Bond No.9 to

provide you with some refreshing delightsfor the coming summer months so youdon’t have venture out of the comfortof your own home to enjoy the cocktailexperience.

From the famous setting of MagnoliaBakery in New York, to your localStarbucks, these tiny bites of joy areeverywhere. There has, however, been aslight update since the 1950’s – they areno longer labelled as fairy cakes. In alldifferent colours and avours, a cupcakeis the perfect treat to go with yourafternoon cup of tea – earl grey tea leavesonly please, none of your conventionalteabag nonsense.

Perhaps it is the unstable vibeproduced by Britain’s economy spirallingout of control, or maybe just an ache fora simpler time, but there is no denyingthat retro is back. Boxsets of 24 andthe latest iPhones have been swappedfor The Secret Garden, notelets and allthings Cath Kidston. The cupcake erahas returned and Nichola Reith, ownerof cupcake business Velvet Kitchen inGlasgow, was quick to identify and actupon the growing craze.

Inspired three years ago whilst in New

York with her two sisters, Reith discoveredher love for cupcakes. “I was obsessed witheating them, and it was then I realised therewas nothing quite like it in Scotland andI had always had the notion of starting myown business.” Reith explains that eventhe traditional wedding cake is beingreplaced by old fashioned cake standspiled high with vanilla, strawberry, andchocolate swirls, decorated tastefully byedible silver dragons.

The best part is you don’t need to travelall the way to New York to indulge in thistasty new trend. Simply look out yourfavourite oral tea dress, recover your tattycopy of Wuthering Heights and kick backwith a cupcake.www.velvetkitchen.co.uk Julia Bruce

Image: Velvet Kitchen

Sweet

obsessions

The drinking classesShane de Barra muses our martini mindsets and

waxes mixologically on Edinburgh’s cocktail culture

buzz favourites

1. Moscow Mule 50ml vodka

25ml fresh lime

15ml sugar syrup (gomme)

dash Angostura bitters

Top ginger beer

To Serve: 12oz highball glass, limewedge garnish

Method: Shake all ingredients together,except the ginger beer. Strain and topwith ginger beer. (Can be built in the glassalso if no shaker but not as nice)

2. Honeyed Cardamom Rickey 50ml gin

4 fresh cardamom pods

teaspoon runny honey

25ml fresh lime

12.5ml sugar syrup (gomme)

Top soda water

To serve: 12oz highball glass, lime wedgeand cardamom garnish

Method: Muddle the cardamom in ashaker/glass then shake all ingredientstogether, except the soda. Strain and topwith soda water. (Can be built in the glassalso if no shaker but not as nice)

3. The Witchery (Bond No9 original) 50ml saffron gin (can be bought

or recipe to make below) 6-8 fresh mint leaves

12.5ml fresh lemon

12.5ml sugar syrup (gomme)

Top Champagne

To serve: Sling ideally or 12ozhighball glass

Method: Stir the mint and gin on crushedice in a glass, add lemon and sugarsyrup. Top up with more crushed iceuntil the glass is 4/5 full, stir then topwith champagne. Finish with a stack ofcrushed ice and mint sprig.

To make saffron gin: add 2 teaspoonssaffron to 700ml bottle of gin. Leaveto infuse for 24 hours then strain outthe saffron.

Below: weird and

wonderful treatsin Edinburgh’s

cocktail scene

Image: supplied by

Bramble


buzz mag prf15.indd 44-45 30/03/2010 15:15



46 buzz summer 2010 | www.buzzmag.org culture resurrection 47

Undergoing something of acultural revival, The Roxy ArtHouse is bringing in a new agefor Edinburgh’s arts scene.

Community charity Edinburgh UniversitySettlement’s latest purchase, andformer home to much-loved independ-ent music outt The Bowery, the 19thcentury church is about to become thecity’s latest year-round, internationallyrecognised arts centre.

In charge of proceedings, artistic

director Rupert Thomson is, withoutdoubt, a busy man. A former editorof The Skinny, the 27-year-old cuthis teeth forging the free culturemagazine’s identity, much to the delightof Scotland’s creative population. Butis Thomson, who’s been part of themagazine since leaving university, readyfor a task of The Roxy’s scale? “It wasa big decision to leave The Skinny.” Headmits. “But at the same time it fe elslike this is a chance to build somethingthat’s going to be more directly creativeand more my own thing.”

Also co-founder of i ndependentmusic-download site Ten Tracks, there’sno questioning Thomson’s indie-musickudos. His grassroots connectionswith the music scene are evidenced inThe Roxy’s indigenous line-up, kickingoff with the likes of rock troupe DeathStar 4 and Edinburgh blues band DocRodent. He’s quick to promote thevenue’s diversity; “We’re looking tomake it a music venue for people who

are into niche forms of music but acrossthe spectrum. And make it, yeah, themost exciting wee venue i n Edinburgh.

“I think commissioning artwork thatwould be an integral part of the buildingwould be a really strong aspect of whatwe could do here” he explains. Eludingfull-on competition from low-key gigspots like Sneaky Pete’s and CabaretVoltaire, Thomson’s plan to turn TheRoxy into an ‘internationally recognisedarts venue’ may be what sets it apart.“You would be properly paying localartists to do something that would bepart of the fabric of something whichwould be a real meeting point forcreative people.”

Hoping to preserve the multi-sensory appeal of The Roxy’s recentHidden Door festival, a weekend-longmixed-media arts event, Thomson

intends on fully exploiting the church’scomplex interior. The inspired useof hidden passageways and secretstages to accommodate artists mightalso, according to Thomson, give itthe edge over its successful westcoast counterparts, “One of the wayswe could distinguish ourselves fromGlasgow venues like the Arches and theTramway is in the nature of the buildingwe’re in, as well as being just a differentcity. Rather than being post-industrial,

this is post-religious,” he suggests.“We’re a decommissioned church, andI think that’s quite tting for Edinburghas Edinburgh in the 21st century islooking to promote creativity in a post-faith environment, so that’s hopefullysome of the sort of theory that will playinto what goes on curatorially here.”

Despite Thomson’s laudable effort,there’s no denying the closure ofThe Roxy’s much-loved predecessor,The Bowery, hit something of a bumnote with its loyal community. Onlyone year into its residence in thebuilding, the breakaway arts venue hadbecome a regular haunt for Edinburgh’sindie kids, none of whom were readyto lose their personal, lo- space.But Thomson is in no rush to makechanges. With a user-friendly attitudetoward programming similar to previousowners, he’s determined to maintainthe modest environment they lovinglynurtured; “We’re going to build a stageand we’re also going to invest in some

of the latest, most high tech, but alsoenvironmentally friendly lights,” he says.“But although the specications will goup considerably, the look and feel of itshouldn’t change too much, becauseit’s got that great atmosphere – peelingpaint, and arty designs on the wall.”

Taking on board The Roxy’sreputation as well as its sprawlingdimensions, Rupert Thomson hasa lot to prove. But there’s no doubtthe edgling artistic director has thegusto for the job. When a sked whathe expects the daunting project willachieve, he’s reassuringly enthusiastic;“There’s just a gap in the cultural marketin general for events that are just a l ittlebit different,” he claims. “Ideas-ledcreativity could do with a champion.

And I hope The Roxy can serve as afocus for that.” Rebecca Gordon

Opposite page:

Rupert Thomson

enjoying the lo-

charms of the

Roxy Bar

Image: Lindsay Brown

The resurrectionFormer editor of The Skinny, Rupert Thomson

aims to revive Edinburgh’s art scene and is

praying for success

buzz mag prf15.indd 46-47 30/03/2010 15:15



48 buzz summer 2010 | www.buzzmag.org culture one ne day 49

In a top oor at high above the dinof Edinburgh city centre, Mike Day sits in his friend’s living room aslight pours in through a bay window.

He reclines into the sofa with his ngersknotted on his lap; his feet are restingon the long wooden coffee table in frontof him, his eyes stare at the ceiling.I can only imagine what is runningthrough his head.

Day is in the process of editing his rstlm, The Guga Hunters of Ness, so it is nosurprise that he has a lot on his mind.

He has only recently turned 30, butlistening to him talk is like reading a

novel by Robert Louis Stevenson andIan Fleming combined: tales of battling waves and tempestuous winds, yacht rac-ing from Tasmania to Sydney, shootingpictures in Jerusalem – my mind bogglesas he tells me how he got started in lm. While working as a lawyer in London,he decided he would swap the courtroom for the editing room.

“I made three short lms and they all got into lm festivals; that spurredme on to develop one of the three, adocumentary on a crofter in Skye calledThe Last Crofter . That lm got intoCambridge Super8 Film Festival; it was

Opposite page:

his window to the

world – personal

experience informs

all of Day’s work.

Right: top gear –

Day taught himself

the rudiments of

lmmaking by

reading books.

shot in super 8mm lm and the sound was recorded on an iPod. It was a fairly steep learning curve and I learned neverto do that again. I got an HD cameraand went and tried to remake it. In themeantime whenever I came home from work I was studying the reading listfrom lm schools, editing and writing,every hour I could. It got to the point where I had to give up one of the two,so I resigned as a lawyer. I left London,

moved onto a boat and sailed aroundthe west coast for three months, which is when I found the story of theguga hunters.”

For two weeks of every year, ten menfrom Ness (an isolated village in theNorth of Lewis) sail for 18 hours to theremote rock of Sula Sgeir to hunt theguga – a young gannet. The hunters kill2000 birds and take them back to Nessto share out between the villagers.

To the people of Ness – a village witha population of less than one thousand– the guga is a delicacy and a formof cultural afrmation. As Scotland’slandscape changes, small symbolicpractices on islands such as Sula Sgeirare in danger of being forgotten as oldtraditions die out.

Running concurrently with the story of change in a remote Scottish villageis the epic story of Day’s own battle topreserve the guga hunt on lm; the trip was a serious test of his endurance.

“Our typical lming day started

at about 4am. We would sail to SulaSgier to where the hunters were and I would get ashore for about six and lmthem; the day would end when the lightnished. We would then get back, down-load the day’s footage, have dinner aboutmidnight and get to our bunks at about1am and then get up again at 3.30amto start all over again. I didn’t sleep formore than ve minutes at a time forabout four days during the nal sectionof it and before that I’m not sure how much I really slept either.”

He was privileged to nally taste theprecious guga on the second Sunday he was on the island.

“The hunters wait until then to havetheir guga, because they don’t work ona Sunday. To eat a guga you take a slabof blubber and skin, a piece of meat andthen a piece of potato and eat with your

hands and then wash it down with aglass of milk; that’s the traditional way to eat it. The hunters actually mix it withChicken Tonight and also make Chinesedishes and curry out of it. There is agreat recipe that says ‘put a large stonein the pot with the guga and boil it untilthe stone is tender and then throw away the guga and eat the stone.’ It says a lotabout the way some people say it tastes.”

Although Day’s life has been diverseto say the least, he is fascinated by marginalised groups, whether it be theguga hunters of Ness battling to preservea dying tradition or the crofter who faces

losing the only way of life he has known.This interest is evident again in his mostrecent project.

“I am working on a feature scriptat the moment; and I was also commis-sioned by the Lexi cinema in Londonto make a series of lms. They are asocial enterprise and they give 100%of their prots to a village calledLynedoch in South Africa which isrun by the Sustainability Institute.”

It’s obvious now why he enjoys loung-ing on the sofa so much; it’s a luxury his packed schedule doesn’t afford himoften. At the beginning of the interview he appeared to have a lot in his mind.Not every man can share his mind withan audience and maintain their interest, but something tells me that the world isabout to get very interested in Mike Day. Neil Stewart

Mike Day takes time out from editing his rst

feature length lm to talk about giving up his

career as a lawyer to pursue his rst love andtell the tale of a remote island’s tradition

I m a g e s : C o l i n M a c d o n a l d

Oneneday…

buzz mag prf15.indd 48-49 30/03/2010 15:15




Keep onmoving

culture pat coll 51

A sinewy silhouette, all in leather; black eyed and warm skinned;he could be from anywhere.Born with an Irish forename

in London 1974 – “the year of funk” –to a New Yorker and a Glaswegian, forPatrick Coll, life’s journey brought anintermittent battle of self-identity.

Having left London at the age of fourfor Ayrshire, Coll related to his father’sroots. At 14, his move to Scotland’scapital saw him spend two decadesfomenting his love of sound in the city’s vibrant music scene as a DJ, singer andproducer, all the while trying to gureout where he tted in best. He describeshis journey as fugitive-like; always ght-ing to belong. His accent doesn’t help; adulcet Glaswegian twang, despite neveractually living there.

A pilgrimage to New York in 2007

made Coll value his dual UK and UScitizenship, and the perks of beingable to switch between the two.“Growing up I didn’t really appreciatethe advantage of dual nationality –I was just trying to fit in,” he says.“Now I realise that I’m very privilegedto have a multicultural and multina-tional background.”

Currently based in Brooklyn, Collexudes contentment when talking aboutthe City: “The urge to live there is overwhelming, although I’m the only one inmy immediate family who feels that.”

Of his impending return to Washington Heights, he gets lost inmemories. “I lived there before andloved it. I used to go chill on the banksof the Hudson River near ColumbiaHospital by the George WashingtonBridge and felt very welcome. It was

only after my mum told me she was born in that very hospital and her momhad worked there as a nurse. It felt very special. I’m looking forward to going back.” He smiles.

Of his rst two years in NYC he says:“It felt good to connect with that ma-triarchal, American side of myself afterreally connecting through my father’sScots-Irish side in the UK.

“The feeling I started having in New York was that my muse and creativity eventually send me into a state of exile, whether I like it not. When I am alone,or feel that I am, I turn to my experi-ences and create.”

In New York he discovered music to be the conduit of self-understanding, the breaker of the boundaries. “It occurredto me that creativity, is just that, andit will do whatever it takes to create

the necessary conditions for creation. We don’t really have control over it.”

His aptly named EP, The Exile, was released under his artistic nameReachout. “Reach for Short,” he smirks.It was launched with three parties in his“home towns’’ of New York, Londonand Edinburgh.

Reecting on a cathartic productionprocess he says: “Finding home within myself and wherever I go –I was getting the exile out of my system.I felt these songs came from a pointof isolation and that the title encapsu-lated that.’’

So, what about the next journey?“I plan to produce an EP called TheRestless Native featuring tracks thatI produced for other artists, and tocontinue having fun with the live shows.”Gráinne Byrne

Opposite page:

“Growing up I didn’t

really appreciate the

advantage of dual

nationality – I was

just trying to t in”

Making tracks and making music go hand

in hand for Pat Coll

Musical inuences – “Brian Eno, TalkingHeads, The Beatles, lots of electro, lots ofrock. David Bowie. Kate Bush, Beck, TVOn The Radio…”

Musical style – “It’s always evolving Ifeel, obviously Hip Hop will always be inthe sound but I’d like to be known as anartist that has his own style.” Favourite book – “The Widow’s Son –Robert Anton Wilson”

Favourite view – “From the top of Arthur’s Seat.” Dening moment – “Finally nishing theFly Baby album and having the releaseparty in NY, as I’d always intended yearsprior. It felt really special but I’d like tothink my dening moment is still onthe horizon.”

www.reachoot.comwww.myspace.com/reachoot

t h e b u z

z

o n P a t C

o l l

I m a g e : T h e S t i l l G r o u p

buzz mag prf15.indd 50-51 30/03/2010 15:15



52 buzz summer 2010 | www.buzzmag.org culture feature 53

The Trick is to Keep Breathing

When thinking of Scottish novels chances are you’ll be imagining misty mountains, braveennobled patriots and savage yet romantichighland heroes. Our choice for a novel youmight not have read – but probably should –is the antithesis of this.

The debut novel by Janice Galloway, TheTrick is to Keep Breathing was published tocritical acclaim in 1989 and charts the break-down of the main protagonist Joy after thedeath of her married lover.

Galloway conveys the emotionalanguish and isolation of Joy’s bereave-ment with sharp fragmented sentencesand original subversions of splinteredtypography.

This all sounds a bit heavy-going butthe novel is kept from being merely morose by Galloway’s sharp wit. Amusing sub-characters and exploration of small pleasurein everyday monotony ensure a stark butrewarding read. Miriam Armstrong

W h y d o n ’ t I k n o w t h i s ? Cocteau Twins

One of Scotland’s most intriguing bands,the Cocteau Twins consisted of lead vocalistElizabeth Fraser and guitarist Robin Guthrie.Hailing from Grangemouth they had a stringof successful albums in the 80s and 90s.

Foremost to the band’s success were theethereal vocals of Fraser, which despitesometimes being linguistically indistin-guishable, were always understandable in

conveying the pain and fragility of humanemotions. But before you get worrying ashes

of Enya and Celtic Elves fear not;Cocteau Twins added bite as back up.Crunching 80s drum machines and brittledistorted guitars created a rich backdropof sounds.

Comparisons with Kate Bush were alwaysinevitable, yet the band shared more similari-ties with their inuences, Siouxsie and theBanshees and The Birthday Present.

To hear their sound at its most fully formedlisten to 1990’s Heaven or Las Vegas.

Red Road

A debut lm by Andrea Arnold, Red Road is aclaustrophobic portrait of modern life, explor-ing themes of reconciliation and revenge.

It centres on Jackie, a CCTV workerobserving the notorious Red Road councilestate in the Barmulloch area of Glasgow.Her dedication to her job becomes a xation when she spots a gure from her past and begins to follow him, resulting in inevitably taut confrontation.

Like many modern Scottish lms, Red Roadlms Glasgow from its grittiest, greyest angle

but in Jackie you nd a heroine so realistically determined and strong that the melancholy backdrop never overwhelms the lm. Themystery aspect keeps viewers guessing untilthe end (who is the man and what has he doneto Jackie?) and the stylish air of dogma stylesets the lm apart from similar dramas.

Andrea Arnold may have won plaudits forher recently released Fish Tank but it’s worthseeking out her debut work for a mesmeris-ingly detailed, but never clichéd, depiction of modern Scottish life.

With every other magazine boasting the best

new lms, or the trendiest upcoming band

of the minute, we here at buzz have decided

to be reective. Inspired by the culture of our

Scottish homeland we have a few suggestions

of some less-shouted about classics

s umm

er

everything else is just noise

What are you buzzing about?

www.buzzmag.orgJoin us online

buzz mag prf15.indd 52-53 30/03/2010 15:15



play feature 55

broken down. During my lesson at FitnessChicks (the target clientele is hinted at inthe title) instructor Sarah Munro tells meto grip my pole, stand on my tiptoes andwiggle my butt. The latter two are thingsthat I have little experience of, and all threeare things I feel very self conscious aboutdoing in public. After a few minutes oflooking like the Tin Man trying to freestyleI start to loosen up and soon I’m shakingmy hindquarters like an arthritic J-Lo.

In no time I’m spinning around thepole. This is harder than it looks andrequires a certain amount of strength.Using your arms and legs as levers tospin yourself around a steel shaft isalso slightly terrifying. I worry that I willthrust too hard and come unstuck; I have

visions of myself ying off the pole andinto a nearby wall. But these fears areunfounded, my vice like grip and generallack of explosive strength mean thatI gently whirl round the pole beforeslowly slithering to the ground like anelderly sloth.

The next day I have a variety of achesand pains. Some are from tired musclesin my arms and legs. Others are becauseI’m a man and so possess all of therelevant appendages that go with that.

As I allude to in my Facebook status, poledancing is painful if you have testicles.They also get in the way – I’m certain thatI could have spun with far greater easehad I been without my manhood. So itlooks like my pole dancing career mayhave been prematurely curtailed, and(given the nature of the injuries I suffered)my fertility with it.

Kaye’s view

I have to admit that my party piece aftera few drinks is to challenge my malefriends to an arm wrestle. Ladylike Iknow; I’m not exactly well-known forbeing the epitome of feminine grace.But when Matt suggested that I try outa boxing tness class I suddenly wasn’tas cocky – the thought of humiliatingmyself in a boxing ring certainly did notappeal. However, since he had sufferedfor the sake of a good article, leaving his

male pride at the door to embark on apole dancing class, I thought it was onlyfair to man up (so to speak) and join himfor an ‘Ultimate Fitness’ lesson at theEdinburgh Boxing Academy.

My expectations of a class full ofmenacing muscle men were thrown fromthe start, when I looked around to seea vast array of ages, tness levels andexperience in the room. Being one of onlytwo girls in the class, I still worried that Iwould struggle to keep up, and embarrassmyself by putting a muscle out. Theintense warm up did nothing to inspire mycondence – and it was quite clear thatworse was yet to come. But although thehour was incredibly challenging, it was alsovery fun, and I was relieved to see I wasnot alone in feeling pushed to the limit.Our cameraman Neil was on the sidelinescapturing every strained facial expression

and the various profanities being muttered– all in all, not a recipe for attractive footage(although guaranteed to be entertaining!).When I was paired with Keith the instructorfor some intensive exercises with a 5kgmedicine ball, I was genuinely terried;the guy is no man for slacking. I somehowmanaged to survive though, and hisencouragement spurred me on when Ithought I couldn’t take any more painfulsitup-lift-crunch combinations.

Needless to say, I was in a lot ofpain for a few days afterwards; it hurt tolaugh let alone consider doing any otherexercise. But as they say, no pain nogain – and I can’t think of a more full-onworkout to improve your tness levels.Contrary to many preconceptions, boxingis so much more than just throwingpunches, and is suitable for a much widervariety of people – including the fairersex. After the recent news that women’sboxing will nally become an Olympicsport, it couldn’t be a better time for girlsto don some boxing gloves and try it out.

And hopefully that will be the case – whatbetter way to show off your girl power?For the moment, I’ll stick to my new poledancing hobby, however I’d never saynever to another boxing class. Maybe itwould be the secret to nally winning anarm wrestle in the pub.

Above: the female

of the species is

more deadly than

the male

Opposite page:

monkey man

Matthew looking

graceful on the pole

Images: Lindsay Brown

play gender swap tness 55

Kaye Nicolson and Matthew Nelson strip

down to their shorts and t-shirts and

go off in search of the ultimate genderbending alternative tness workout

Matthew’s view

Facebook is undoubtedly a treasuretrove of tat; an anthology of theeveryday musings of nitwits. It’s an idiotbandwagon that we have all willinglyleapt on. Occasionally I scroll through myold status updates so that I can carefullyplot the trajectory of my own regression.It’s also a handy way of charting mymovements. A few weeks ago I didsomething that many of you may deempeculiar, my status read as follows:

I went pole dancing today. Let me tellyou that spinning round a metal pole legsakimbo is quite uncomfortable if you havethe male equipment.

Those of you with a traditional mindsetmight nd this idea unsettling. But genderbarriers are dissolving: more men are

moisturising and tending to their unrulybody hair. Why shouldn’t we trespassinto feminine domains? If Kaye Nicolsoncan box (see opposite page) in herleisure time then I must be allowedto shimmy up and down metal polewithout having to join the re brigade.

The mosaic of mental images thatthe words “pole dancing” summonare largely formed by seedy clubsand the Demi Moore lm Striptease.I had never considered it to haveany real health benets. Also, Ihad never really thought of lookingbeyond the obvious displays oftalent and admiring the athleticism

and skill of the dancers. But I do now– pole dancing is a lot harder to dothan it is to watch.

Firstly there are certain mentalbarriers and inhibitions that need to be

54

Blood, sweat and fears –gender swap tness

buzz mag prf15.indd 54-55 30/03/2010 15:15



T he Winter Olympics are now behind us and British athletesare gearing up for the home runto London 2012.

Chris Hoy’s remarkable 2008 per-formance, bringing home a magnicentthree gold medals (the rst BritishOlympian since 1908 to achieve sucha feat), served to inspire many youngScots to make their own bids forOlympic glory.

Eilidh Childs, 23, is a 400m hurdlerand one of the leading lights in theScottish sporting world, with her eye onOlympic glory. It’s a chilly Sunday after-noon in February when we meet Childsand her coach Stuart Hogg at their localclub, Pitreavie near Dunfermline.

“The school where I work as a PEteacher (Perth Grammar) has been real-ly supportive and given me all the timethat I need to compete. They know thatI run and they know I’m an athlete, and

they have been really exible. I have anathletics club at the school and the kidsask me to show them how to hurdle.They’re really keen and interested.”

In 2009, she succeeded in pullingoff her most successful season to date while working full time as a teacher, but now works just 2 days a week. As a ‘development athlete’ with UK Sport she has received funding to makethis level of commitment feasible.

“Before getting the funding I wasn’treally getting the recovery time Ineeded. The funding makes a hugedifference – it means I can just concen-trate on the training.”

Childs started her athletic careeras a cross country runner, but optedto race the 800m. It was her older sister who introduced her to the hurdles andprompted the realisation at the ageof 17 that her long distance staminacombined with her hurdling ability made her the perfect athlete for the400m hurdles.

The European Championships in July in Barcelona is her rst focus for 2010.Childs is hoping to beat her silver medalof last year and bring home a gold. Thenthere is a break over the summer untilthe Commonwealth Games in Octoberin New Delhi. 2011 will focus on theEuropean Championships oncemore and then, of course, theultimate goal will be the LondonOlympics in 2012 and a place inthe nal.

“It seems like ages away, andthen I realise it’s not that longat all. It’s difcult not to get tooahead of myself and just take

each day as it comes. It’s alwaysthere on my radar but I need tokeep grounded.” The incentiveof racing in front of a homecrowd simply cannot beunderestimated andcertainly for TeamGB, the pressure toperform will be tem-pered by the hugegroundswell of support they canexpect at every event in 2012.

When I ask coach StuartHogg how he rates herchances hetells me thathe never talks

Childs is all too aware of her responsi- bilities as a role model to her pupils.

When asked who inspires her sheeagerly lists Chris Hoy as one of herown role models. Because he’s a superbathlete? Well yes, but also because he’sa fellow Hearts supporter, “and he’s just so rounded and humble abouteverything he’s achieved.”

With a rigorous training schedule thatonly allows one day off per week she haslearnt that she has to be an athlete allthe time. “I need to eat the right things,go to bed at a sociable hour. The sociallife takes a back seat.” But Childs has asupportive family and a boyfriend who was himself an athlete until injury putpaid to his own ambitions.

“I just have to make sure I’ve alwaysgot my athletics head switched on,” shesays – something she has learnt sincetransferring to her new coach StuartHogg a year and half ago. In the years

she has been with him she has shedmore than three kilos in weight, trainsmore effectively and has improved herperformance times signicantly.

about limits to what his athletes canachieve. “Eilidh’s got real guts. She’stough and she’s determined andshe’s got a strong heart.”

When Childs competes at theCommonwealth Games, she does soas a Scottish athlete under the Saltire. As a member of Team GB at theOlympics, she would be competingunder the Union Jack. As a proud Scot,how does she feel about that?

“I love Scotland and I love compet-

ing for Scotland, but when I’m outthere racing, I’m on my own and I’mracing for me. But I would love to beon that podium listening to The Flowerof Scotland playing.” With the nextCommonwealth Games being held inGlasgow in 2014, the goal of winninga gold medal there, in front of a homecrowd and hearing her national anthemplay must be a huge motivation?“That would be ideal,” she says witha grin. Tracy Norris

The nal hurdleOlympics 2012

Main image: Childs

reects on the chal-

lenge ahead

Bottom left: Childs

training with coach

Stuart Hogg

Images: Yoshi Kametani

Eilidh Childs discusses the obstacles that

stand between her and Olympic glory

play olympics 2012 5756

buzz mag prf15.indd 56-57 30/03/2010 15:15




L

aughter, according to thesaying, is the best medicine.From taking solace in your ownmisfortune, to removing the

sting from a potentially awkward situa-tion, comedy is seen by all but the mostsullen as a way of letting off steam. FromShakespearean satire to the happy-chap-py routine of Michael McIntyre, laughterhas always helped us unwind.

For many, however, the art of tellinga good joke is much more than a recrea-tional time-ller. As the grasp of comedy widens, encompassing more air timeon television and radio, it is rapidly catapulting its most successful practi-tioners to meteoric heights. Comedy in the 21st century looks like rock ‘n’ rolldid in the fties.

And just as the musical revolution of the mid 20th century saw those in theirteens to late twenties try their hand atthe most exciting money-spinner of thetime, more are taking the prospect of acareer in comedy seriously.

Dr Chris Ritchie set up the UK’srst degree in comedy at SouthamptonSolent University four years ago. A sea-soned comedian who studied post-war

comedy for his PhD, Ritchie believesthe simplicity of kick-starting a comedy career is one of the most endearing at-tributes of the trade.

“Comedy is the only area of performance which has an open door.Film making, music, art and theatreall require ridiculous logics to makethem happen. Stand-up requires youand a few jokes. Getting on the circuitis easy and the dedicated talent will win out.”

This easy access is allowing an in-creasing number of relative youngstersto make a living out of being funny.From showcases at the EdinburghFringe to open-mic nights around thecountry, more and more baby-facedcomics are taking to the stage.

Rising star Daniel Sloss is a perfectexample. Playing his rst gig at

The Stand in Edinburgh weeks after his17th birthday in 2008, two years laterhe is hot property in the stand-up circuit.

“I always knew I wanted to be in

comedy…I got my fth year exam results back and they were awful, so we thoughtUni clearly wasn’t an option. I decidedI’d give it a shot.”

Shadowing Scotland’s second mostfamous comedy export – Frankie Boyle– at the 2007 Fringe, the Fifer developedhis material quickly before throwinghimself onto the circuit.

“There used to be so many middleaged comedians because they’d got tothat stage in their life where they couldthink I’m going to give it a try, maybetheir job wasn’t going so well. But stand-up is huge now. Just look at McIntyre’sroad show. Kids are brought up with it.”

Sloss is clearly a condent performer,and claims to have never seen nervesas a problem. Self belief is a trait thatmakes a comedian. Whether it’s a con-dence that comes from reciting materialover and over as in the youngster’s case,or the ability to convince your audiencethat you are good at what you do, being able to come across as a natural

is a must.“Believing in yourself” is the best way

to counter nerves, according to Ritchie.“A nervous comic makes a nervous au-dience and they will be less responsive.”

Making your way in a new eld isnever easy, especially one where someof your counterparts will be mostfamous for tearing apart the personasof those in the public eye. Comedy has a reputation for being a cutthroatprofession. The often thin line betweensuccess and failure leads many to pre-sume that fellow comics are less than welcoming of new competition. Not so,says Sloss.

“Before I got into it my mum hadsome friends in comedy who said eve-rybody is really bitchy backstage. Butthey’re not; they’re lovely people. Yeah, you get c**ts, but you get c**ts

careers money for fun 59

Opposite page:

on top of the world

– Daniel Sloss is

climbing his way up

the comedy ladder

Money for fun?You’re having a laugh

What does it take to be successful in

the comedy world? buzz takes a look

at the ups and downs of the increasingly

popular world of stand-up careers

I m a g e s : S i l v i a F o t e v a

buzz mag prf15.indd 58-59 30/03/2010 15:15




Scotland is one of the few places on theglobe that is packed with a combinationof ecological resources which can – and

in fact will – engender a compellingrenewable energy industry. Policy-makers,scientists, and entrepreneurs are alreadystriding forward to gracefully harnessthe country’s mighty natural resources;including her wind and waves.

Solar and geothermal forces will alsobe used to generate economic andenvironmental benets for the peopleof Scotland and for entrepreneurs aroundthe globe, as the shortage of energy isa worldwide dilemma. The ebb and owof the North Sea tide is just one typeof power found off the coast of theOrkney Islands.

“Last year Scotland passed a ClimateChange Act which has been laudedaround the world as being one of themost progressive pieces of legislationin connection with climate change,”says Shirley-Anne Somerville, a memberof the Scottish Parliament’s ClimateChange Committee.

More Local Jobs

To synchronise with upcoming Scottish andEuropean legislation, the City of Edinburghand Midlothian councils have establishedthe Zero Waste project, which aims todecrease household waste. Starting thisspring it looks at private contractors’proposals for a regenerative wastetreatment facility in Midlothian.

“The plant’s construction will start nosooner than 2015, yet it is estimated that300 jobs in construction will be createdat that time, and then an estimated 40long-term operational jobs will follow,”says Kelly Murphy, the CommunicationsManager for the project.

In January, the Crown Estate grantedrights to Seagreen Wind Energy, aconsortium made up by the companiesSSE (Scottish and Southern Energy plc)and Fluor Ltd, to construct nearly 1000wind turbines in Moray Firth and the Firth

of Forth off the coast of Fife. The projectwill create up to 2000 green jobs in Fifealone by 2020.

Greasy to Squeaky Clean

A similarly-named company, SeaEnergyRenewables, is expected to partake inthe building of a wind farm on the MorayFirth site. The company is a subsidiaryof SeaEnergy plc, which is based in

Aberdeen. Formally known as RamcoEnergy PLS, the company decided to shiftits investments away from oil and gasin order to focus solely on the offshorewind business.

It’s ahead of the curve in transitioningto renewable energy. The oil and gasindustries have taken on a bad reputationover the years, with environmentaland wildlife activists admonishingthem for their role in damaging theNorth Sea following nearly 50 years ofoil exploitation. Everyday operationsincluded setting off underwaterexplosions, dumping drill cuttings ontothe sea bed, submerging chemical-coatedrigs and pipelines into the sea, and aringnoise and light pollution into habitats.

These offences are only in addition to theoccasional accidental catastrophe, whichhave even claimed human lives.

The emergence of green industries hassucceeded in gathering immense publicsupport. On Facebook, a group called “Puta wind farm in my backyard if you like,because I’m not an idiot” grew to almost40,000 members by February. The group’sdescription includes a reproach to peoplewho object to the sight of wind farms.It wryly remarks: “Oh no, we don’t wantthose turbines out there, they make a slightswishing noise, which disrupts the soundof the main road and ruins the view of thelandll site.”

Clean energy will offer opportunities toengineers, ecologists, business managers,and more. For the latest list of green jobopenings, visit www.scottishrenewables.com and click on careers.

Green collaruprisingLindsay Brown questions whether green

is king in Scotland

in every job.” The less obvious com-petitor, the heckler, is something thatmost comedians seem to be unafraid of.Rather than being an obstacle to over-comein rowdy club gigs, Ritchie believes vocal cynics can be an asset:

“When you are heckled it is thechance to go off script so it is a posi-tive thing. You should have a couple of prepared responses ranging from mild tosavage, but spontaneity is the best thing.

name means, as with most performancecareers, that an abundance of energy is apre-requisite. “It is not just the domainof youth but it helps to start as young aspossible,” says Ritchie.

“It is tiring and it needs the staminathat younger folk have. A lot of comedi-ans mellow as they get older and this is because of the energy levels required forcontinued performances.”

Getting older is not the only problem.Time is a precious commodity, and

constant travelling often leaves littletime for anything else. Susan Calman, who abandoned her career as a lawyer to work in comedy in 2005, sees this as thecentral downfall. “The main issue is beingaway from home such a lot. I miss outon friends birthdays and have to make aconscious effort to t people in. It can bequite lonely when you are on the road.”

As it continues to be for emergingrock stars, alcohol is another temptingdemon that comedians need to resist.

“Comedy lives in bars and clubs, so thetemptation to drink far too much is alwaysthere,” Ritchie says. And whilst Johnny Vegas may have made his name based ona near-paralytic act, it removes the controlover the audience so central to a successfulgig. “You have to be more sober than youraudience to deal with them.”

Comedy is now a “multi billion-dollarindustry” highlights Ritchie, and youonly have to think about Jonathan Rossto realise how lucrative a comedy career be. For those who can stay sober and

thrive on the limelight, it is an increas-ingly attractive option. But there are, of course, a few ground rules to follow.

“You need good business sense andto not piss anyone off on the way up,”says Ritchie. “Comedians who are dif-cult face difcult careers.”

“Be smart; don’t turn down good gigs because of money. It will pay off eventu-ally as does all hard work.”

Although the medicine on offer is notthe same as the life saving type that givesdoctors their job satisfaction, the ability to have an audience eating out of yourhand rings as true for comedy as it doesfor popular musicians, and dwarfs thatof the average career. As in JonathanRoss’ case, the pay can be huge. With just one caveat. You do need to be funny. Nick Eardley

If you cannot respond wittily to a remark you shouldn’t be on stage.”

And youth, according to Sloss, can bea distinct advantage.

“I think people assumed because Ilooked so young that if they heckled

me I would break down and cry. A lot of the time it’s hard to

compose yourself when you’re being heckled because if ithappens at the right momentit throws you completely off

your train of thought…I’vefound there’s no way to emas-culate a man better in front of his girlfriend than havea 19-year-old rip the shit out

a thirty year old man.”Being young helpsin other ways. Thededication neededto make your

I think people

assumed because

I looked so young

that if they heckled

me I would break

down and cry

careers green jobs 61

I m a g e s :

h t t p : / / w w w . f

i c k r . c o m

/ p h o

t o s

/ w a r r e n s

k i /

“

”

buzz mag prf15.indd 60-61 30/03/2010 15:15





buzz ten best

t h ings to do t h is summer

in Ed in burg h

Chilling wi th friends a t one

o f the beer gardens tha t po

ps up during the Fes ti val,

the combo o f cider, dancin

g and fresh o ys ters is a real

winner.

Mar i- A nne Maske w, 2 3, H

a ymarke t

When i t is reasonabl y warm, p

la ying pi tch and pu t t in the

Meado ws wi th ma tes,

follo wed b y a pin t a t the Links Bar, or jus t w

alking up and do wn the Ro

yal Mile -

there’s al wa ys a grea t bu z z

during the Fes ti val.

Dec lan de Lac y S taun ton,

2 3, Ire land

Drinking prosecco in the su

n on A r thur’s Sea t wi th chu

ms. Sean Mor ton, 2 8 London

Drinking a co

ld cider wi th ma tes in the Me

ado ws – sun ou t, thro wing

a Frisbee,

tunes on! Caro l ine Ho wes, 2

9, G lasgo w

I lo ve when i t’s a sunn y da y

and you can escape to one

o f Edinburgh’s local

beaches such as Por tobello or

Dunbar. You can do all sor

ts, m y fa vouri te is ki te-

ying bu t you ha ve to be care ful, I disloca ted m y

shoulder las t summer!

S tep han ie Wason, 2 4, To l

lcross

A s an ac tor, I ha ve to make

the annual trip to Edinburg

h for the Edinburgh Film

Fes ti val. The y al wa ys ha ve

such a mi xed bag o f lms a

nd I lo ve going to the open

air cinemas to wa tch all m y

old fa vouri tes. I t reall y is a m

us t.

Dre w M i l lar, 22, London

Chilling ou t in the Meado ws

in the summer mon ths wi th

friends. You reall y can’ t

bea t a disposable BBQ foll

o wed b y an ice cream a t th

e famous Luca’s.

Me lan ie Ro t hn ie

, 22, Ha ymarke t

Rambling up the Ro yal Mile

to check ou t the cra z y s tre

e t per formers and some

comed y then coming do wn

via the Mound for some su

nba thing in Princes S tree t

Gardens! N ico la Tooe y, 2 6,

W i l lo w brae

Go check ou t wha t’s on a t t

he Pleasance i t’s the bes t p

lace to hang ou t when the

Fes ti val’s on – plen t y o f ou td

oor bars! Or ha ve a da y b y

the sea in Nor th Ber wick.

T im Mon tgomer y, 2 7, Com

e l y Bank

Hike o ver A r thur’s Sea t to D

uddings ton and go to the Sh

eep’s Heid pub b y

the loch. M ike B lumen t ha l, 2 3, Ne w ing

ton

Comp i led b y Emma Cam

eron, A nna Fen ton and G

rá inne B yrne


s : :

t o p – h

t t p : / / w w w . f

i c k r . c o m

/ p h o

t o s

/ j u l i c r o c

k e

t t / | m

i d

d l e t o p –

h t t p : / / w w w . f

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