It’s welcome back with the first podcast of 2025.
The headlines across the media read ” Edinburgh’s Hogmanay cancelled”. When it’s the Unique Events and Assembly commercial events, on behalf of the Edinburgh City Council, that have been called off what does this tell us about the commodification of not just Hogmanay?
Complaints also flooded in about both BBC Scotland and STV’s Hogmanay shows. Other than BBC Alba where was the representation of vibrant Scottish culture so admirably showcased by folk like the late Martyn Bennett?
Martyn Bennett’s music and Danny MacAskill’s cycling on the Cuillin – 81 million views!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ_IQS3VKjA ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ_IQS3VKjA )
Grit Orchestra gig – just two seats left!!https://tickets.glasgowlife.org.uk/34209/34210 ( https://emea01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftickets.glasgowlife.org.uk%2F34209%2F34210&data=05%7C02%7C%7C87377384372c4414780508dd2f247f0f%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C638718555966444279%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=T5SP%2Bgup4uYeDP8%2BSqraLYbGPGHzyONsLIpYUlgsoag%3D&reserved=0 )
We also reflect on our own holiday experiences and thoughts at this particularly reflective time of year.
Link to Hebridean burial film below
https://x.com/LesleyRiddoch/status/1876598275693859210 ( https://x.com/LesleyRiddoch/status/1876598275693859210 )
Lesley also talks about her new video venture creating, as she puts it herself “Wee films as I move about Scotland.”
Meanwhile back on the Scottish political front Lesley asks where was the reference to independence in John Swinney’s New Year speech?
Anas Sarwar on Monday declared he would enact a “fundamental reorganisation” of Scottish government with a bonfire of the quangos if Labour formed the next government. When pressed on the detail he mentioned Health Boards. Despite its origin is there merit in the idea?
He appeared on Good Morning Scotland on Tuesday and was subjected to a rigorous interview by Laura Maxwell on the upcoming Scottish Budget, WASPI debate day , the 2 Child Benefit Cap, the Winter Fuel Allowance and what, if any influence he had on UK Labour government policy.
After our section on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Awards and the ignoring of Scottish Olympian Duncan Scott listener Leslie Wilson got in touch about a similar situation with the coverage of curling on BBC Scotland in particular the World Number 1 Bruce Mouat team.
Should Sportscene and Sportsound be simply renamed Fitbascene and Fitbasound?
The Lesley Riddoch Podcast
Episode 856
January 7, 2025
★ Episode details: https://share.transistor.fm/s/bdb7db15
★ Additional episodes: http://lesleyriddoch.com/podcast
7 Comments
I'm a peely wally version of myself
Aye. Far I come fae we cry it "affa nae weel"
thank you both 💜
Bliadhna mhath ùr, tae the pair o ye.
Great show!
Any thoughts on SALVO and Liberation.scot?
Absolutely bang on re the ferries. Please can you highlight and talk about Dr Stuart Ballantyne (a Scottish ship designer and builder in Australia) – he designs and builds twin-hulled ferries for customers the world over, at a fraction of the cost, and which run much cheaper than single hulled ferries? He offered to help the SNP Scottish Government, and they refused his help. For the cost of the 2 ferries we could have renewed ALL of our ferry fleet, AND have a successful ship builder in Scotland exporting ferries all round the world. How very short-sighted of our government. Our Scottish transport secretary has no experience whatsoever in maritime transport. I don't think she even has experience in any transport. Utterly ridiculous.
I listened to Wendell Berry the other day….and I thought how wise his words when it comes to you discuss here…"
“I don’t trade in that commodity, of last words, or what would be the thing that I would tell to President Obama if I could tell him something. I don’t think it is reductable to anything short enough to tell the president. I don’t think I know anything that is reducible to a Last Word.
People today like to trade in that kind of stuff, but it is stuff. It doesn’t amount to much.
What really interests me is the possibility that we humans can make sense. And this is an issue, a formal issue, of the greatest urgency and gravity. What are the conditions within which we human beings can make sense? Within what limits are our minds effective?
Now I’ve been griping about this to some of my friends lately.
We’ve had two generations of college-bred people now who have really been indoctrinated with the idea that every big problem has a big solution.
And I just don’t believe it.
The big problems we have now are going to be solved, if ever they are solved, by hundreds of people accepting local responsibilities for small problems. They are never going to get famous; they’re never going to get ‘tenure’ for this. But this is the way it has to work.
We are not very smart, we humans. And the idea that someone could come up with a big solution to a big problem is always dangerous.
It always comes up with a simple, simple solution. People who make simple solutions always make trouble. And they’re always surprised at the trouble they make.
So, to hell with the last words. Let us try to make one sentence that’s rightly positioned within a manageable context, so that we can utter it to somebody else so that they’ll understand it. And that we’d then be on the way to defining a job of work that we could actually do.”
And absolutely nothing from “PISHY NAPPY” John Swinney who just says the same thing over and over again and absolutely nothing done. NATIONALIST SCUM who are alone guilty of the ruination of this once proud and beautiful nation SCOTLAND.