Archives for July 2010

What a great story on Good Morning Scotland this week about the builder from Falkirk who is on course to become a singing sensation. Martin Aeldred is 41 and apparently, influenced by his late father, who loved classical music, he took singing lessons in January of this year. Now seven months on - he's been invited to perform at an international peace day event in New York. How amazing and inspiring is that?

But music is a powerful tool, and very few people possess the gift. The Gaelic tradition, from which I come, is steeped in music. At school, my generation was expected to sing or play a musical instrument - it never occurred to me that there might be some people who couldn't sing - it was more a case of everyone can, but some are better than others. Music is a great way of bringing people together, its a language of its own and through it you can immediately alter a mood - from sorrow to joy, from loneliness to a feeling of belonging.

I particularly love the songs of my ancestors who were exiled to the farthest corners of the globe - powerful songs of longing for their homeland, which very few ever returned to or saw again. I think of the heartache they must have suffered, and in a world that is now within our reach at the press of a button, the sense of injustice is even harder to accept.

But songs are so evocative on so many levels, and while we as children would be encouraged to sing for the older members of the family, which we dreaded, we now celebrate so many milestones in our lives with other people's songs.

So remember if you want to send musical celebrations to someone you know - get in touch.

Cathy MacDonald presents The Greetings Programme, Sundays on BBC Radio Scotland at 0805 and available on BBC iPlayer.

So here we are, no I'm not quoting Bloc Party, although I guess I am. What I meant to say it's the last in our series of Edith Bowman's Album Show but that doesn't mean it's the end, hell no as we have been recommissioned to do a 2nd series towards the end of the year, YEAH. But for tonight we go out with a bang for this series with live music and chat from Tired Pony, 'Homegrown' comes from the first outing from Travis and everything from Frank Sinatra to Laura Marling coming up for you. I have been having so much fun doing this show and great to know I get to do it all over again. It's been extra special popping up to Glasgow to do the show live and there has been something special listening to tunes whilst I look down the Clyde and being in the homeland. Makes me feel all relaxed and happy from the inside out. Enjoy the show!

The alphabet challenge continues and Vic's looking for ideas and song suggestions for Get It On themes beginning with the letter "P" through to "S".

Post your suggestions on Bryan's blog, Facebook or you could email the team and they'll read the themes out on air.

This week, not so much a top tale, as two top tips.

First, after I spent a chunk of Tuesday's programme crowing about the absence of nasty, toxic, foot-savaging Weever Fish in Scotland (they like warm water and sandy beaches, and traditionally were found in places like Cornwall) it turns out I was wrong.

Thanks! Tracey Cruickshank:

"Oh how wrong you are ..... my husband was stung in the foot by a weever fish in the shallows on Portobello beach at the end of May 2010. They are now in Scottish inlets. Husband had to go to hospital who treated it completely wrong and he suffered swelling and pain for a month after.

We all have beach shoes now.

Beware !"

Good grief! Be careful out there folks!

And that hardy perennial, midges. How to deal with them? How about this from Helen Lockhart?

"Take up yarn dyeing. I am a small independent dyer, and I'm not bothered by midges at all in my workshop - I think it is the smell! Otherwise I second the bog myrtle option. We always carry a sprig with us when out walking in the hills near Stoer (coincidentally - having heard someone texting from the Old Man of Stoer). And we tuck a sprig in the dogs collars too to keep the midges off them."

So there you are. No tales, tips or indeed talk next week as I'm not broadcasting - I'm continuing The Barnard Challenge charity motorcycle ride in Ireland, Wales, England and Scotland before heading to the Belladrum Festival. See you there! Graham Stewart is in the afternoon hot seat.

As it's the last in the current series of Edith's show I asked producer Richard Murdoch to sum up the programmes - here's what he says:

We've had lots of fun on the Edith Bowman Album Show discovering new releases, revisiting some old favourites and playing you tracks from almost 120 different albums. We send our apologies to your bank balance but hope we've introduced you to some new music for your collection.

Ten things I've learnt from this series...

• The first album that Fatboy Slim loved was The Beatles Abbey Road
• Bombay Bicycle Club's Jamie MacColl is related to Ewan MacColl and Kirsty MacColl
• The Game was the first Queen album to feature a synth
• The South Pacific soundtrack was number 1 for the whole of 1959
• Mumford & Sons are influenced by Miles Davis' Kind Of Blue
• The first album Edith loved was Michael Jackson's Thriller
• Willie Nelson has released 81 studio albums...so far
• Gloria Gaynor's album Never Can Say Goodbye was responsible for the 12" remix
• Now That's What I Call Music was only intended to run for a couple of volumes...they're now upto Now 76
• Edith was a big A-ha fan.

If you tune in this Friday from 8pm you'll learn a few more things...

Peter Buck from REM's favourite album is something jazzy. Along with Gary Lightbody, his new band Tired Pony play two tracks from their debut album on the show.

The first album Paloma Faith bought was her attempt to fit in with everyone else. She also reveals her current favourite album.

Frankie Goes To Hollywood recorded, then shelved a cover of a Sex Pistols track. You'll also hear a snippet of a rare and previously unheard version of Relax and find out what classic albums ZTT are reissuing.

And we'll reveal the number 1 on the first ever album chart, this week in July 1956.

It might be the last in the present series of Edith Bowman's Album Show tonight from 8pm - but here's some exclusive news for you...it will return to BBC Radio Scotland in November, so alert your bank manager now.

Returning to Friday nights next week from 2000 is Another Country with Ricky Ross.

Past Lives is a documentary which investigates historical puzzles and quandaries for listeners. Presenter Mark Stephen tells us about his latest investigation.

For a jobbing radio presenter, Past Lives is a lesson in humility. Every time you kid yourself on that you know a little about Scottish history along comes another tidal wave of queries and questions that proves, beyond peradventure, that you know next to nuffink.

I mean, how many other BBC programmes get correspondence from listeners containing the sentence "if you'd like to see the underwater pyramids - bring a snorkel"?

How many other programmes team up a dapper septuagenarian with a rather glamorous Deputy Lord Lieutenant to talk about the perils of "cheap affection" and "funny-smelling lucozade"?

In a small bedroom cum office in Thornhill, I've been shown photographs of Kicking Horse, a survivor of the Battle of the Little Big Horn, (yup, the one that did for General George Armstrong Custer, the original "Gorgeous George"), and a band of genuine Kiowa warriors in Ghost shirts and feathered head-dresses, standing on the rocky shoreline at Broadsea where I used to play as a child.

I love the fact that an irate local minister once phoned up Blair Drummond Safari Park to complain about the troup of escaped baboons which were sitting on the kirkyard wall spoiling a funeral he was conducting.

Imagine my astonishment when a guy I'd drunk several pints with at the Kenmore Hotel, John Niven, a fella I'd been told had, "a painting and decorating business.... " turned out to be a world expert on medieval painting techniques. John leads one of the teams of top craftsmen and women currently restoring the Royal chambers at Stirling Castle.

The producer, Debbie McPhail and I wandered around the apartments with our mouths open - it's stunning, beyond stunning and we were even more gobsmacked when we realised just how priviliged we had been - there are people actually working on the project who haven't been allowed in to see it yet, castle staff have had to resort to keeking in the windows.

The days are sometimes long and the roads are sometimes even longer, but the people we meet are lovely folk and the stories they lead us to are almost always fascinating. Past Lives is great fun but don't ever think you "know" about Scottish history - we could be on five days a week and never come near scratching the surface.

Listen to Past Lives on BBC Radio Scotland Mondays, at 1130 and on iPlayer.

This Friday a brand new drama goes out on BBC Radio Scotland called Trouble and Shame. Producer, Kirsty Williams, tells us how they came up with the idea for the play and gives us an insight into producing theatre for the airwaves.

About a year ago my colleagues and I were discussing themes that writers might respond to for Radio Scotland dramas. The subject of Orange Walks came up because of some recent articles in the press claiming that there were more marches in Glasgow than in Belfast and Derry combined. This intrigued me and seemed like an interesting jumping off point for a writer.

In fact, it felt like an interesting jumping off point for David Ireland. He's a Belfast born writer in his early 30s who spent over a decade living and working in Glasgow. And he writes biting and insightful satires that often address the political and religious context of Northern Ireland.

So we asked David to come up with an idea for a play and Radio Scotland bought it. Trouble and Shame was the result. It's a play about a Glaswegian who kidnaps two Northern Irish politicians. It's satirical and absurdist but it's got a powerful punch.

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Pennie Latin tells us more about It's a Painful Business.

Can making a programme change your life? Well just possibly... I really wasn't sure how I would feel about fronting this programme. For one thing my working life exists very comfortably on the other side of the microphone - I'm a radio producer by trade not a presenter - but more than that presenting a programme about pain when you'd been suffering from pain for the past couple of years sounded a bit too close to the bone. Believe it or not work tends to be one of the places I can try to forget about pain for a bit and distract my brain with other more interesting topics so it wasn't without a strange combination of nervousness and intrigue that we set out on the journey of making this programme.

As a formerly very active person who's been floored by chronic sciatica following damage to my spine (possibly following the birth of my daughter) I've been plagued by all manner of questions about pain. Why is it so difficult to deal with psychologically? What gives it an ability to change even the strongest of characters even to the extent of wanting to give up on life with the people you most love? How and why does pain leave you feeling so worthless and useless to others? Surely there must be a way to beat pain psychologically even if you can't physically beat it? With these things spinning round my head the programme producer, Suzy Beaumont, and I set off on a whirlwind tour of Scotland.

In Dundee I learnt all about how the brain perceives pain from a fascinating conversation with Consultant Pain Specialist Jonathan Banister; in Inverness a wonderfully welcoming Pain Association group proved to me that I'm most definitely not alone in struggling to come to terms with my pain; then it was off to Stirling to meet Moira and Alyssa. Three year old Alyssa suffers from an incredibly rare condition which means she can't feel most pain and her mother Moira now describes 'pain as a gift'. When you hear what she's been through I think you'll agree with her but after my own rollercoaster ride with pain could I ever really start to see it as a gift?

You'll have to listen to the programme to find out where the journey did bring me to but one thing is certain after making 'It's a Painful Business' I'll never feel quite the same way about my pain or other people's again.

It's a Painful Business is broadcast on BBC Radio Scotland, Wednesday 28 July

This week, former Labour Home Secretary, Alan Johnson revealed that he'd once harboured dreams of becoming a popstar, and mentioned, in rather embarrassed fashion I suspect, that amongst the first music tracks he'd ever bought was the unfashionably "Fings ain't wot they used to be" by Max Bygraves.

It got me thinking about what my own first album or cassette purchase was - definitely not CD - and it was either Bob Dylan's Desire, or Paul Simon's There Goes Rhymin' Simon - nothing to be ashamed of, even if it does date me!

Both terrific, gifted artistes in their own right, who churned out even more memorable hits than those 70s greats. It's a good sign that I still come back to them, no matter the mood, but I tend to throw in a bit of Streisand now, and the ocassional piece of classical music - just to slow it all down.

Why don't you share some of your first musical tracks with us here on the Greetings programme, and you can even tie it all in with a dedication which we can feature on the show.

Listen to The Greetings Programme on Sunday Morning's from 0705 and available in iPlayer.

A few days back I posted questions written by Richard in the music team at BBC Radio Scotland for 80s Day. I promised to publish the results at 6pm today so here we go. (Oh dear - it's looking like I've got my Aneka's mixed up with my Kelly Marie's - sigh.)

• Status Quo kicked off Live Aid but who was the second act on the bill? - Style Council



• What was the first number 1 single of the 80s? - Pink Floyd 'Another Brick In The Wall'



• Name track one on the first ever Now That's What I Call Music album? - Phil Collins 'You Can't Hurry Love'



• What was the first number one single to be produced by Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes? - Kajaoogoo 'Too Shy'



• What's the best selling 80's soundtrack in the UK? Dirty Dancing ost



• Which 80's pop star's music videos featured cameo appearances from Neil Kinnock, Paul McCartney and Adrian Edmondson? Tracey Ullman



• Who duetted with Tina Turner at Live Aid? Mick Jagger



• Who is Helen Folasade Adu better known as? Sade



• What links Fine Young Cannibals, Tears For Fears and the cast of Grange Hill? They all have singers named Roland



• Who was the first Scottish act to have a number 1 single in the 1980's? Kelly Marie



• Which album was the first in history to be manufactured onto compact disc? ABBA's 'The Visitors'



• Name the first Stock Aitken & Waterman production to reach number 1? Dead Or Alive 'You Spin Me Round (like a record)'



• Tony Visconti was scheduled to produce David Bowie's album Let's Dance. Whose second release did he end up producing instead? Modern Romance



• Name the UK's best selling album of the 1980's. Dire Straits 'Brothers In Arms'



• Who originally dueted with Michael Jackson on the track State Of Shock, but was later replacd by Mick Jagger? Freddie Mercury



• What was the only million-selling single of the 1980s not to make number 1? Wham! 'Last Christmas/ Everything She Wants'



• Which famous sporting legend sang backing vocals on Tina Turner's We Don't Need Another Hero as part of the Kings House School choir? Lawrence Dallaglio



• The intro of which 80's number 1 was inspired by the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice? Blondie 'Atomic'



• Name the 80's pop star who had Julia Fordham and an Eastender's actress as part of her backing band. Mari Wilson



• What was the last number 1 of the 80s? Band Aid II 'Do They Know It's Christmas'

A Life in Question returns on Sunday for a new series. Presenter Colin MacKay tells us more:

Four decades of interviewing nine PMs, a score of Scottish Secretaries, and all four First Ministers has been the easy bit. Talking to people for A life in Question is the hard part.

As a political journalist I was on first-name terms with cabinet ministers. But the chances are I don't know anything about the people the programme's producers find.

So the programme stands or falls when that mic comes on and I say my initial "hello". Sure, I'll have the producer's copious research notes; but I am coming 'cold' to this man or woman - and the first laugh, or even a smile in the voice, is a welcome sign that any ice has been broken and we are on the way to another thought-provoking discussion.

Take Rob Parsons, who kicks off our new series on Sunday morning (25 July at 8:05): he advises people how to sort out their often troubled relationships with their children (as a father myself, I know whereof he speaks), but is very frank about the difficulties in his own marriage that gave him deeper insight into the plight of others. And if you want to know why the man who came to stay the night with Rob and his wife is still there thirty-three years later - well, tune in on Sunday and you'll find out!

Bad flats and rock stars we tried to look like...fortunately, no pictures of my Dave-Hill-from-Slade look actually survive.

There is, however, real commitment I think in Kenny Smithers' decision to 'do an Adam Ant'. Was this in Calanish on the island of Lewis? If so, extra points!

"The star I tried to copy was 'Adam Ant'. I had all the replica gear from the 'Prince Charming' video, I had the awful longish badly styled and crudely dyed black hair, all the face paint including white stripe across the nose and yes, the lipstick. I'll never forget my mothers face as she said 'well,well is this what it has come to! Dressing like a girl' and on reflection she was right. Needless to say the look was not persevered with. In fact i never got past the front door!"

James Walker from Edinburgh managed to combine terrible rentals with star-imitation:

"One of my first flats was in Shepherds Bush. Got bitten by cat fleas constantly! Mind you, the view out my window was the Blue Peter garden. My next flat had a noisy neighbour. Tumble dryer constantly on. Owner of said dryer? Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet - whom I dressed like! As a pirate!"

Then there was Nigel from Boddam, by Peterhead.

"I spent too many weekends, in hindsight, trying my hardest to look like Robert Smith from The Cure. Basketball boots. Skinny black cotton trousers. Extra long white double cuffed shirt. Extra long by having the tail of an identical shirt sown on. And a black baggy jumper. And obviously heavily back combed hair.No make up though! There are limits!"

My colleague Alistair Mooney who writes on the BBC Learning blog has sent us a link to this video of 80s technology - it's a fun, brief glimpse into the past. If it's of interest there's more at BBC Scotland Learning.

If you've looked at the blog recently you may have noticed me banging on about 80s day on Friday 23 July. While sorting through all the pics and promo notes from various producers about the day I started to wonder what the BBC Radio Scotland schedule looked like 25 years ago on July 23. (The image below is scanned from the Radio Times from that day.)

The exceptionally talented and ever busy singer-songwriter and mum, Karine Polwart tells us about the new series of exclusive sessions she's presenting for BBC Radio Scotland:

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T In The Park may only have lasted 3 days but the memories last a lot longer and my presenter Paul English and I set about scooping up bits and pieces from the weekend in Balado to keep you entertained deep into next week. We tramped every blade of mud-soaked grass to bring you a 5 and a half hour Culture Zone special full of the biggest names, the best bands, fan's festival memories and music from everyone from Eminem to Mumford and Sons.

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Producer Debbie McPhail tells us about Women on the Web a programme which examines the effects of the internet and social networking on women's lives.

According to recent articles in the press, women are taking over social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. When I asked award-winning journalist Edi Stark to find out why - I knew she'd be hard to convince that tweeting and blogging could be anything other than a waste of time.

Edi, who is renowned for her insightful interviews, is a big fan of face-to-face. What the words of her interviewees don't reveal can often be found in their eyes. So could she be convinced that tweeting or blogging could have any value at all?

Hearing about the Tweets of fellow journalist Alexandra Heminsley failed to convince her. Discovering that there was a virtual mother and toddlers group - didn't impress her either as Edi was never a fan of real mother and toddler groups.

There was definitely a flicker of admiration when she met former corporate lawyer Anna Louise Simpson. Anna Louise now runs her business Mama Tea, which is a range of herbal teas for every stage in pregnancy from her laptop at home.

When Anna Louise explained to Edi that she could strap her smart phone to the double buggy and even though the kids were crying she could do business through her twitter and Facebook accounts - Edi thought she was supermama! However - like any form of communication, social networking whether it's twitter, Facebook or blogs appears to be about making connections with other people with similar interests.

Perhaps no surprise then - that Edi began to crack when she discovered the blog of two incredibly fashionable women from Glasgow. Because Edi loves fashion! Ooh..look at these shoes...

Women on the Web is on BBC Radio Scotland, Wednesday at 1130 and available to listen again on iPlayer.

For BBC Radio Scotland 80s day on Friday 23 July, Another Country and Edith Bowman producer Richard Murdoch has penned an 80s music brain teaser just for fun (it's not a competition so no prizes I'm afraid) to help us get in the mood. As a trial run for this I tried my hand at answering the Qs and I'm still smarting at only getting 17/20. However, I've been told we can expect the correct answers and I'll publish them here on Friday at 6pm. In the meantime why not have a go?

• Status Quo kicked off Live Aid but who was the second act on the bill?



• What was the first number 1 single of the 80s?



• Name track one on the first ever Now That's What I Call Music album?



• What was the first number one single to be produced by Duran Duran's Nick Rhodes?



• What's the best selling 80's soundtrack in the UK?



• Which 80's pop star's music videos featured cameo appearances from Neil Kinnock, Paul McCartney and Adrian Edmondson?



• Who duetted with Tina Turner at Live Aid?



• Who is Helen Folasade Adu better known as?



• What links Fine Young Cannibals, Tears For Fears and the cast of Grange Hill?



• Who was the first Scottish act to have a number 1 single in the 1980's?



• Which album was the first in history to be manufactured onto compact disc?



• Name the first Stock Aitken & Waterman production to reach number 1?



• Tony Visconti was scheduled to produce David Bowie's album Let's Dance. Whose second release did he end up producing instead?



• Name the UK's best selling album of the 1980's



• Who originally dueted with Michael Jackson on the track State Of Shock, but was later replacd by Mick Jagger?



• What was the only million-selling single of the 1980s not to make number 1?



• Which famous sporting legend sang backing vocals on Tina Turner's We Don't Need Another Hero as part of the Kings House School choir?



• The intro of which 80's number 1 was inspired by the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice?



• Name the 80's pop star who had Julia Fordham and an Eastender's actress as part of her backing band.



• What was the last number 1 of the 80s?

Producer Gillian Russell tells us about tomorrow's special edition of The Music Café...

There was great excitement in The Music Café office when we managed to secure an exclusive interview with Rosanne Cash! Bruce MacGregor caught up with her the other day ahead of her appearance at The Big Tent Festival in Fife this weekend.

In a warm and open interview she tells Bruce about her latest album The List, which was based on an actual list of songs given to her by father, the legendary Johnny Cash. She also talks about her love of Scotland and how important it is for her to return to Fife where the Cash ancestors came from. Don't miss the interview in full - plus some of her gorgeous music - on Wednesday!

We've also got an interview with the woman who's been described as "the British Edith Piaf" - now that's quite an accolade and one which is much deserved for the marvellous Barb Jungr. Barb will be dropping in to preview her Edinburgh Festival show - The Men I Love - and we'll be hearing some of her sublime music.

And if that wasn't enough, award-winning Scots singer Karine Polwart will discussing her new BBC Radio Scotland series Karine Polwart - The Studio One Sessions which gets under way on Thursday 22nd July. You can hear a terrific preview track from the series on this week's Music Café.

Bruce had been telling us in a planning meeting about how nerve-wracking it is for a musician to do a live radio session and he should know! So it set us thinking about how important the live session is in today's increasingly digital and electronic world. Does the audience enjoy the sense of being at a "private" concert? He'll be chatting to Karine about whether playing live radio is still a way of showing you're a "real" musician?

And finally ... well, we couldn't really let the women take over totally so we'll be hearing Olaf Furniss's musings on the contribution that compilation albums have made to popular music with the release of Now That's What I Call Music number 76.

76?! Some of us are old enough to remember the first one!!

Listen to The Music Café Wednesday 1315 on BBC Radio Scotland.

There's quite a buzz round BBC Radio Scotland as the production teams gear up for Friday's 80s day - Get It On producer Miss Babs gives us an idea of what to expect.

On Friday this week BBC Radio Scotland is going back to the 80s...and I can't wait! Why not have a go at our 80s Pop Brain Teaser to get in the mood?

Back in December on Get It On we ran a week of themes going through the last 40 years in pop music - the one you embraced the most was 80s night. And it wasn't just the music - you shared with us the life experiences you had enjoyed at that time ....first jobs, first loves, student days. Most of all, you enthused about the music: everyone from Scritti Politti to Shakin Stevens.

After the show was finished Bryan and I started reminiscing and romanticizing about our lives in the 80s. I told him about dancing to Wham on a Greek Island, he told me about his ginger perm. It got us thinking.....what if we could persuade the boss to let us do a whole day devoted to the 1980s?

Bryan and I sent a note to Radio Scotland boss, JZ asking if we could, and next morning he appeared in the office getting all excited about fast cars, VCRs and Clare Grogan. And so, 80s day was born.

As the day approaches I've got a sneak preview of what's in store, and it's going to be a great day. Fred and his team will be looking back at the food, the fashions and the must have gadgets. Susan Calman looks at comedy in the 80s on the Comedy Café and then Tom has got two hours of music from the acts who made Live Aid the music event of the decade. At night there will be Vic's 80s indie disco, Edith's essential 80s albums...and of course Get it On.

For Friday's show, BB will be once again getting behind his mobile disco as we feature two hours of the ultimate 80s floor fillers - as chosen by you. I've sent him home to see if he still has his pastel coloured Miami Vice suit and loafers. Sadly, he wont be talked into getting his hair permed for Friday!

For me the decade began by watching Blondie herald in the 1980s live at the Apollo in Glasgow...the vast majority of the next 10 years were spent as a single girl, enjoying holidays with my friends, student days, few financial responsibilities and a lot of Simple Minds. I hope you'll share your own memories of the 80s with us on Friday - and check out the photos of the presenters and production teams on the website.....and we all thought we were so cool.

"And she shall have music wherever she goes" should have been my mantra this week, but it wasn't Banbury Cross that I visited but my home island of Lewis, where the 15th Hebridean Celtic festival started on Wednesday and ran till Saturday, where Celtic rock band Runrig headlined the closing concert. Great to get a few days at home with family and friends - especially when the distance can seem so far, what with 300 miles or so of road and a couple of hours by ferry.

At this time of year we like to catch up - there's something so right about remembering summer days - despite the weather - with those whom we love. It's a time of home-coming, of getting together. Indeed many visitors to the island try to ensure that their trip coincides with the Festival. And in between, we can keep in touch by post, by e-mail, or better still, with a musical dedication. Why don't you say Hello to someone you haven't seen in a while, or who has a special day coming up, by letting us know. We can choose the music for you if you like. Classical, traditional or a film score - just let us know what you'd like to hear and we'll give them a mention on the Greetings programme. Drop an e-mail to

[email protected]

Here are details about next week's Get it On.

Broadcaster Sally Magnusson concludes the Sally on Sunday series with a programme marking the 450th anniversary of the Reformation.

They don't often let me out of the Sally on Sunday studio, but on Monday I made it to Edinburgh to record a special edition for the 450th anniversary of the Reformation. I spent the morning trooping happily up and down the Royal Mile with a variety of guests. At each location we tried to untangle the truth from the myths. Stimulating stuff.

We started - of course - at John Knox House. Did Scotland's firebrand reformer ever live here? Er, nobody's sure, said Donald Smith, who runs the Scottish Storytelling Centre there. But he gave a spirited defence of the man as a much more rounded and complex character than the stereotype.



In fact, according to Harry Reid, another of my guests, Knox was a ladies' man, with a sense of humour and a penchant for wine: he ordered gallons of it to be distributed at his deathbed. Harry, author of the immensely readable "Reformation: The Dangerous Birth of the Modern World", is a former journalistic colleague of mine. Away from the microphone we reminisced about life at the long defunct Sunday Standard newspaper, which started life 30 years ago next year. These anniversaries are catching.

We moved up the hill to St Giles Cathedral at a spanking pace, casting longing glances at coffee shops along the way. Beside the famous statue of John Knox, former arts chief Richard Holloway lamented the destruction of religious art that accompanied the reforming zeal of the Protestants. Gangly Richard said the statue was much too tall - Knox had been quite a small man.

Historian Michael Lynch, another of my coterie, said they had used green and white paint to deface the walls of Catholic churches. Now, I reckon this is a Sally on Sunday scoop. Has anyone ever told Rangers that green and white, not blue, were the symbolic colours of Protestant dissent?

We ended up at the Scottish parliament, where we heard a spine-tingling rendition of Robert Burns' "A Man's a Man for a' That" from actor John Shedden. Burns, it turns out, was a product of the Reformation. As we all are, of course - but in much more complex ways than I realised. It's all quite fascinating.

Back for a new series of Sally on Sunday in time for the Pope's visit in September.

Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Liam McLeod updates us on the highlights, low scoring and bad weather from the St Andrews Open Championships.

The Open Championship, the jewel in golf's crown and when in Scotland, one of the highlights of the Scottish sporting calender.

Mid-July, the kids on holiday, ice cream vans dotted around periphery of the course.

The St Andrews sand being kissed by the sea with the stunning Fife town ready to welcome visitors from around the world as the medieval buildings glisten as the sun rises.

It's picture post card imagery.

So, why, upon my arrival the day before the championship began, did it look like I'd stepped onto the set of disaster movie the day after tomorrow?

I was greeted along with my colleague Thomas Mcguigan by the opposite of what mid-July should look and feel like.

I arrived in the media centre of the most famous golf course in the world for its biggest event and in the height if summer, soaked to the bone and suffering from brain freeze.

The 15 minute walk from the car park felt like 15 hours as we battled against the ridiculous and mistimed elements.

Now, if you thought we had it bad, try being a golfer who has to keep his ball as straight and narrow down the fairway as he can to give himself half a chance of finding the green.

The fact the champions match to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the championship was cancelled came as no surprise on Wednesday as I was sure the media tent was set to take flight.

Thankfully, today has been much kinder, not that it could have been much worse!

The scoring has been low, the top players have been on form and even the now much maligned world number one Tiger Woods is smiling and he'll have done precious little of that these past 8 months.

As I write this, one man smiling more than the rest is Rory McILroy.

The floppy haired northern Irishman set a new modern day course record and equalled the lowest score in any major with a 9 under par 63 first round. It was extraordinary.

The only person happier with that is my colleague Alison Walker who stuck 20 sheets on McILroy triumphing come Sunday last night.

At the moment that is looking a good bet even if the summer is suffering from amnesia.



Listen to Sportsound live on MW for up to date coverage of the Open Championship.

Some great stuff this week. The 'strange holidays' theme came from a news story that suggested the Swiss preferred going on cow-milking holidays to sunning themselves on the beach. I loved JT's tale of his childhood vacations in Glasgow:

"When I was wee I went for a week's holiday to a high rise flat in Paisley Road West, Glasgow. I spent the week gazing out the window watching the trams go by, watching the anaconda of Rangers fans going to the game and of course seeing the pubs tip out into a dark, sinister Saturday night. It certainly wasan education for a country boy in the late 1950s Scotland."

Then there were ironing disasters, following on from the siege in America where a young man took his mum hostage after she refused to do his ironing. Here's Maninacave:

For reasons best known to herself my wife went on ironing strike. So what, I thought - if a woman can do it so can I. It was going so well until the CD finished and I went to change it. To save time I had stacked 6 pairs of my wife's best silk briefs on top of each other. While i dithered over the CD selection the iron scorched through her expensive and lovely briefs - oops. The strike is off, by the way.

Having spent much of last weekend in Glasgow's Western Infirmary, I had nothing but praise for the great and glorious National Health Service, and this provoked some stories about other folks' excellent encounters with our health system...and of course those in other countries. There was Neil Halley, in Spain:

"I haven't been sampling the NHS but last week I was in hospital for a week in Spain, following an operation, where I learnt lots of new words that I hope to never use again. The most disappointing was when I was told that I was about to get what I thought was a milkshake only to discover that the words for milkshake and enema are very similar! The other valuable lesson learned yesterday - When Spain score the winning goal in the World Cup don't leap out of your seat if you're wearing a catheter.

Keep playing the good music as I'll be spending the next two weeks sitting on my balcony recuperating."

And finally, to put it all in perspective, Drew Vervan from the USA got in touch:

"I'm from the States, and, several years ago, while my girlfriend and I were on holiday in the UK, she needed some medical care - nothing serious, but she needed to see a doctor and get a prescription. We went to a hospital, and she was cared for immediately.

Based on our experiences in the USA, we were stunned at the speed, competancy, and courtesy of the medical care.

You're so lucky to have such a great healthcare system."

Cheers,

Drew

As the Open Championship gets underway, Elizabeth Clark, Senior Producer of the Zones, tells us about the programme she has put together which explores the history of golf.

A couple of years ago, I had the great pleasure of playing a BBC Scotland Knockout Golf match with Fred MacAulay. We had a great day out down on the Ayrshire coast and despite being 4 down at the turn, I kept my nerve and pulled it back to beat him at the 19th hole after we tied up the last. Fred was very gracious in defeat and I went on to be beaten in the next round by former newsman Alan Mackay.

Our 2010 knockout is underway. Fred is through to the next round already and I'm chancing my luck against Newsdrive's Nick Rougvie this weekend.

Read the rest of this entry

On the 23 July 2010, Radio Scotland is turning back the clock to the 1980s. We'll be telling you more about what's planned over the next few days, but I thought I'd begin by asking what your memories of the decade are?

I asked my colleagues in the Radio Scotland music department the very same question...

'Fame' the musical kick started a dance craze which saw some of us (me included I have to confess) don figure hugging lycra and woolly leg warmers to head to the nearest dance class. Just glad I have no photos!

Read the rest of this entry

The Radio Scotland weekly playlist has been updated to include the albums of the week from Edith Bowman, Iain Anderson and Tom Morton.

Ever thought about using dog training techniques to discipline your children? Presenter and comedian John Gavin certainly has and in this programme you can hear him try out these techniques on his brood.

He's written a few words telling us how he got on:

When you become a parent your ears can start bleeding from the amount of advice offered by all and sundry. So when I heard that the techniques of renowned dog behaviourist Cesar Millan, a.k.a. The Dog Whisperer, was gaining a cult following in the States amongst parents who were starting to use his dog taming techniques on their kids, with success, I thought I'd give it a go.

With three young girls, I am keen to avoid more of those "look Dad, this bra makes funny earmuff" moments in shops. Unconventional as it is, can Cesar make me a better dad?

I've subjected my parenting to dog behaviourist analysis, consulted dog and child experts, and had a go being Leader of the Pack. Tune in on Wednesday to find out if I am now king of the kennel or in the doghouse.

It's hard to believe that there's now over three years since I joined the Greetings team, joining an already illustrious list of presenters, including Howard Lockhart and Fr John Fitzsimmons. So you can well imagine my trepidation - not least as I struggled with a whole new genre of music - classical and operatic. Gender aside - what I share with my predecessors is a love of music and the sheer thrill of playing our listeners personal dedications, which accounts for the weekly eclectic mix.

There's something quite intimate about sharing musical messages with so many of our regular listeners - and long-standing and faithful many of you are - it's particularly exciting to hear from those of you who tune in via the internet. I suspect that the show becomes a bit of a home from home for you - and as a resident in a city other than my birth, I understand that feeling of homesickness and long that certain songs evoke.

One exciting aspect of presenting the show is that I stumble across songs I haven't heard in years, usually tunes I grew up with and had all but forgotten, so it can be a bit of a trip down memory lane for me too.

Music is a powerful way of removing barriers, of breaking the ice and it's a really simple way of remembering someone, or something - friend or family, or perhaps someone who needs cheering up. And most especially for all those of you who tune in on your own - it's a pleasure to have your company and to share my stories with you. Keep listening on a Sunday morning and keep in touch

Get It On continues with the alphabet theme and Bryan gives us an idea of what we might expect on next week's show:

Get in touch through the blog, on Facebook, send us an email or call 0500 92 95 00 during the show with your suggestions.

The BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician 2011 award registration opens today for entrants aged 16-27 inclusive.

The award exists to encourage young musicians to keep their tradition alive and to maximise their musical potential by the pursuit of a career in traditional music. The winner will be provided with the necessary tools and advice they require to launch a career in traditional music.

The most recent winners have included fiddle player Daniel Thorpe (2010), fiddle player Ruairidh Macmillan (2009), singer and guitarist Ewan Robertson (2008) and gaelic singer Catriona Watt (2007). Others who have gone on to have a successful career are multi-instrumentalist Anna Massie (2003) and singer Emily Smith (2002).

Interested? Then download the flyer for more information and complete the application form and post along with a ten minute recording of your work, a short biography and paragraph about your commitment to traditional music as a career to the address provided within the terms and conditions. Closing date is Friday 20 August 2010.

Rich Preston from the Café's team has sent us this blog about how they use Twitter.

How BBC Radio Scotland producers find stories, grab guests and share with their audience on the Twitter micro-blogging service.

Millions of people around the world use Twitter to share their thoughts, keep up-to-speed with what's happening in the world, interact with friends, interact with strangers, and much more besides. Twitter has hit the headlines due to its instant and open nature - the story of the plane crash in the Hudson was first broken on Twitter, and it became an important source of information during the Iranian election protests in 2009.

It's very simple - you post a message in 140 characters or less. Anyone who likes what you say can choose to 'follow' you, getting regular updates on what you're posting. And what you post (or 'Tweet') is also searchable by other Twitter users and on the wider web.

For programme-makers, we like to shout about what we're doing. Radio Scotland's Book, Culture, Movie, Comedy Café and Festival Cafe programmes have been on Twitter for nearly a year now and have built up a strong profile in this area. And we're adding more and more followers every day.

Regardless of followers, however, your Tweets are searchable by anyone on the internet. So if you post something about a big celeb coming in to your studio, anyone who's searching for the latest on that celeb can stumble across your Tweet. What a great way to bring new listeners to the programme!

In the fast-paced, quick-turnaround world of daily live shows, we're able to update our followers on what we're doing, what's coming up on the programme and what we'd like to talk about. But more importantly we're able to get feedback from our listeners and interact directly with the people who make up our audience. Gone are the days of writing a letter to your favourite radio programme - you can Tweet us and get chatting straight away.

I've been giving 'Tweetorials' to my fellow Radio Café colleagues (or 'Twits'?) about how to get the most out of Twitter and everyone's enthusiastic about the ways we can use Twitter to get the most out of our programmes. Through punchy posts, @replies and hashtags (if you're not a Tweeter then that'll mean nothing to you...) we've been keeping in touch with the people behind the stories we're interested in, we've booked guests and we've taken questions from our listeners.

As we get into the swing of setting up for the Edinburgh Festivals and launching our special Festival Café programme, Twitter is going to be one of our main tools for keeping us up to speed with what's happening and what people think, as well as letting people know what we're doing on our programmes and chatting with the audience about what they want to hear.

Enough of the Twitter jargon and morphed lexicon for now...to see what we've been saying, you can find (and follow) us on Twitter:

• BBCBookCafe
• BBCCultureCafe
• BBCMovieCafe
• BBCComedyCafe
• BBCKitchenCafe
• BBCFestivalCafe

There are of course other BBC Radio Scotland programmes on Twitter too:

• Iain Anderson Show
• Sportsound
• BBC Orkney
• BBC Shetland (Sideways)

Some glorious stuff this week - a million thanks to the folk whose creative brilliance makes the programme what it is!

My train trip up from London (13-amp sockets in the carriage marked 'laptops and mobile phones only') provoked my mulling over their deployment for, say, cooking a meal with a portable microwave. Brendan in Muckhart then told me that

'on the early morning commuter train from limerick to Dublin, I saw four regulars cook breakfast with a toaster on the train plugs. One owned the toaster, one the butter, bread etc.' Fantastic.

Then there were the stories about expenses claims, notably James's 'friend in IT': 'A mate of mine worked for an IT company, each worker had a company credit card for hotels,meals etc. One day when 3 or 4 of the guys were at lunch a call came through saying the company went bust. My mate asked the waiter who at the end of the day was responsible for the card, he was told the company. Then followed the biggest party with the champers flowing so much the hotel had to get more in. The cost was all put on the credit cards.' This kind of thing could never happen nowadays, of course...

Stephen on team building events reminisced about one our own Brian Taylor was involved in, but pride of place has to go to this extraordinary story about a birthday treat that went somewhat awry. It's from Peter in Eaglesham:

'My wife Edith bought me a trip in a hot air balloon for one of my birthdays.

We went up in a beautiful evening , blue sky, no clouds, perfect visibility and warm.

There we were floating along enjoying the banter and identifying interesting and well known landmarks when suddenly the silence was shattered by a huge roar shortly followed by another and out of nowhere two jet fighters appeared and circled us menacingly (well they wouldn't mince, would they?)

The balloon pilot was obviously worried so he got on his walkie talkie or flighie talkie, and we soon learned that we were flying on the evening of the first anniversary of 9/11.

As you might remember the Americans in particular but also their allies were very nervous about some sort of repeat attack from the air so all flights had to have special clearance - from what I gathered we didn't - presumably because the operators didn't think a balloon would have come into the potential attacker category.

The words "shot down" and "radio our position" etc were mentioned several times as the jets continued to buzz around. Eventually with the pilot of the balloon clearly very nervous we were all getting our brown trousers on.

He at last confirmed to us what the problem was and said we had been advised to cut the flight short and get down ASAP if not sooner.

So to cut a long story short we immediately ditched in the middle of nowhere just missing a rather well made drystain dyke on the way down.

Eventually we were rescued and lived to tell the tale.

To this day Edith swears she didn't know it was the anniversary of 9/11 and about the shoot from the sky any unauthorised flights - but I am not so sure. My wife does have a sense of humour, she bought me a Biggles flyers helmet and a white silk scarf for my following birthday.

Still not convinced though about what she did and didn't know about that night.'

Here at The Zones we pride ourselves in giving new life to old favourites and we're proud to be revisiting a variety of programmes featuring one of Scotland's best known voices - Jimmie Macgregor.

In the course of a broadcasting career that lasted nearly 40 years he has been an ever-present force in the Scottish cultural landscape. Whether it was performing with his longtime collaborator Robin Hall on TV institutions like the "Tonight" programme and "The White Heather Club" or marching up and down every hill in Scotland for BBC Scotland or bringing together the best of Scottish culture in his long-running radio programme Macgregor's Gathering, Jimmie's influence and popularity should not be forgotten. So we're excited to announce that this week's Celtic Zone will feature a number of music programmes from Jimmie's radio career here at BBC Radio Scotland.

There is a three part series from 2004 in which Jimmie looks back on his long and illustrious career, there are editions of Macgregor's Gathering where he travels to the Shetland Folk Festival in 1986, Nova Scotia in 1990 and takes a walk round Glasgow to retrace Robert Burns connection with the city in 1987. There is also a series that he made for Radio 2 in 1993 looking at his part in the Folk Revival of the 1960s and 70s which may or may not feature a rendition of his classic pop hit "Football Crazy"!

So celebrate one of the great Scottish broadcasters by visiting this week's Celtic Zone.

Ah the fresh sea air of Fife. It's so lovely to be home and having a few days of respite before the madness of T In The Park takes my breath away. I really can't wait.

I'll be with you once again this Friday (9 July) with another Album Show, an Album Show with a slight twist this week. We all love films yes? We all love a lot of the music in films yes? Well why not celebrate the music in film by doing a whole Edith Bowman Album show on soundtracks? That is exactly what we are doing and believe me you will not believe what we are playing until you hear it. Even then as you listen in the car, at home, at work or in your bedroom i guarantee there will be gasps of 'NO WAY,' from quite a few of you.

The hardest thing has been to keep it down to two hours. I keep emailing producer Richard to say, 'what about this, what about that.' I'm just waiting to get an email restraining order off him. So expect the unexpected this week, i'm not giving you any clues, you'll just have to tune in to hear our amazing track listing.

I'm sitting typing away in my mum's kitchen as we are waiting for some family to come round for dinner (which I've helped cook, obviously), the sun is beating through the windows as I introduce Ma Bowman to the delights of Lissie and her debut album. I played you a track from it a couple of weeks ago and I just love it more and more. Mum says she rather likes it, always a good sign. She was banging on about Mumford and Sons today as my nephew was trying to show my son how to play his toy accordian - made me laugh a lot.

So I'll leave you for now and hope you'll join me on Friday at 8pm for our soundtrack special, then over the weekend on BBC Radio 1 for all the best coverage of T In The Park. xxx

Have a sneeky peek at next week's themes below: Leave your requests on the blog, on Facebook, get in touch by email or phone 0500 92 95 00 during the show and Nicola will pass on your suggestions.

Our humble Beechgrove Potting Shed Patio Garden has been the butt of many jokes here at the BBC in Aberdeen. Indeed, as I stepped outside to take pictures for the blog entry, my rather cynical colleagues in News guffawed when I told them what I was doing - 'A Lesson in Neglect', they laughed.

Ok, we admit it, our plants aren't in the best of shape but this does go to give a realistic picture of how a busy person's patio garden may turn out. Erratic watering and late feeding may have taken its toll but appearances don't count for everything. As you can see from the pictures, we have a courgette and some tomatoes, despite the plant looking like it's on its last legs.

Our beans are flowering and the basil on the windowsill next to my desk is almost ready for people to help themselves to at lunchtimes. Hidden away at the side of the car park, our tatties housed in old tyres are coming along nicely too. Because we've been so busy dotting around the country with Out of Doors and the Beechgrove Potting Shed lately - Fort William to Mallaig train journey, Gardening Scotland, Royal Highland Show etc - some of the more caring and green fingered BBC staff here have started getting involved in looking after the Patio Garden, largely because they feel sorry for it!

The big dread though for us amateurs every week is when our professional gardeners come here on a Sunday for the live broadcast of the BPS and take a look at our efforts. This week, Jim McColl's going to be using the Patio Garden as an example to illustrate his advice on Summer watering - I feel a blush coming on as I'm reduced to naughty school girl status again. The greatest pleasure I derive from the whole process is not only seeing things grow, but observing even the most hard-nosed of colleagues being drawn to our little collection of pots at the front door, despite their disdainful utterings.