Latest news with #MemoryBank
Scotsman
2 days ago
- General
- Scotsman
New project capturing memories of Scottish whaling communities launched by historian Dan Snow
The Whalers' Memory Bank brings together new and lost stories of Scottish whalers and their intrepid adventures on South Georgia island. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Over the last two years, the South Georgia Heritage Trust and the South Georgia Museum have been working alongside former whaling communities in Scotland to create The Whalers' Memory Bank. Launching on June 27 in Dundee, with help from historian Dan Snow, the Whalers' Memory Bank is a brand-new living, growing digital time capsule where veterans of the whaling industry, their families and communities have come together to share their stories with a wider audience. The project has been made possible by National Lottery players with funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It tells the story of modern whaling (between 1904-1965) in the Southern Hemisphere. British companies played a key role in the industry and had a largely Scottish workforce, attracting many working-class men with the promise of adventure and competitive wages. Whalers' Memory Bank montage. The Memory Bank enables visitors to the platform to better understand how whale products (which ranged from margarine to the production of soap and cosmetics) were such a vital resource during the 20th century, and an essential ingredient to how we not only fed and armed ourselves as a nation, but how they literally kept the wheels of Britain turning. It looks at whaling through the lens of the time rather than with hindsight, as it is something we simply can't imagine with whale preservation a cornerstone of worldwide conservation efforts today. Our shared memory of what was once an essential industry, and an integral part of Scottish social history, is fading. Importantly, The Whalers' Memory Bank has combined new and existing material, now captured in one place for the first time. To watch a short film (1 min 30) about the project, visit: Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Since the project launched in June 2023 the South Georgia Museum has run a number of workshops with whaling veterans where they shared their stories, knowledge and personal collections. The museum has also worked with other Scottish museums and has received several hundred items that also now form part of the Memory Bank. Whalers on South Georgia. As a result, the Memory Bank can provide insights into what life was like for whalers on South Georgia who had travelled 8,000 miles from home in Scotland to find work, due to its scarcity. The whaling stations and 'factory' ships were like mini-towns and there were many different roles including processing whales on land at the whaling station or on board a factory ship, working as a radio operator, 'mess boy', blacksmith or helicopter pilot searching for whales at sea. These fascinating real-life experiences are told through film, oral histories, photographs and more. Visitors to the Memory Bank will be able to find out more about the whaling community's lives as well as taking a 3D tour of a whaling station on South Georgia where a staggering 176,000 whales were processed island wide. Jayne Pierce, Project Director and Curator at the South Georgia Museum said: 'Since we launched the project in June 2023, we have been inundated with material for the Whalers' Memory Bank which showed us we were onto something in terms of people wanting to tell this untold story. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'It has really been a joint effort, bringing together former whalers, their families and their communities to hear their stories and get their help in shaping what the Memory Bank has become. It is their generosity in sharing their time and personal collections from videos, objects and photographs stored in attics, cupboards and drawers which has helped us create such a special and unique project. 'Through these personal stories, we really hope the Memory Bank will connect communities across local, national and international boundaries and dispel some of the myths around whaling by telling the story through the eyes of the people who lived and breathed it. What we have created is a richer experience than a simple online museum database - dynamic rather than static - uplifting and celebratory. 'Importantly, the Memory Bank is also underpinned by a digital database showing collections and archives from partner museums. We want the Memory Bank to become a way marker to other whaling resources – a one stop shop that is free to use and accessible – including links to other books and oral histories former whalers have produced which was really important for us to include.' Gibbie Fraser, Chair of the Shetland ex-Whalers Association said: 'On behalf of Shetland ex-Whalers Association veterans we are pleased to have helped shape the Whalers' Memory bank. We have an extensive collection of photos from the whaling years which we were at a loss as to what to do with until the Memory Bank came along and will save them for future generations to see. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'For many of us the whaling was a great adventure as well as a hard life and we really wanted to share this with the wider world. We hope people will get a better understanding of what life was like for us, our families and communities 8,000 miles away back home in Shetland.' Helen Balfour, Assistant Curator, South Georgia Museum said: 'Working on the Whalers' Memory Bank has been a real privilege, not least because it's been fascinating to learn more about my fellow Shetlanders' roles within the industry but also because of my family connections to South Georgia. Both my grandfathers and great-grandfather were whalers on South Georgia in the 1950s and 1930s, so to understand more about what they saw, what they experienced and how they, their colleagues and families back home must have felt, is incredibly special. It is amazing that over 60 years on from the whaling the camaraderie that exists between the whalers is just as strong and I hope you can see it reflected in the Whalers' Memory Bank.' Caroline Clark, Heritage Fund Director for Scotland, said: 'We take a very different view of whaling now but it was once an industry essential to the national economy and to the lives of these communities. Thanks to the support of National Lottery players, the Whalers' Memory Bank team have done an incredible job working with the former whaling communities to capture the personal stories of whalers and their families, exploring this important untold part of Scottish social history. We are delighted to see the Whalers' Memory Bank launched today and thank everyone who has taken the time to share their memories and personal collections with each other and the wider world.' Creating the Whalers' Memory Bank would not have been possible without support from the Scottish Fisheries Museum (Anstruther), the Scottish Maritime Museum (Irvine), the Shetland Museum & Archives and Dundee Heritage Trust's Verdant Works. The Salvesen Ex-Whalers Club and the Shetland ex-Whalers Association have also been instrumental in sharing their experiences and memories. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Whalers' Memory Bank is being unveiled as part of the new 'Whale of a Weekend' festival by the South Georgia Heritage Trust in Dundee. This spectacular three-day free festival brings art, science and adventure to Dundee waterfront and will showcase Scotland's deep-rooted connections to the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia. Also being unveiled for the first time is Scottish sculpture Michael Visocchi's brand-new Whale Memorial, Commensalis; a powerful tribute to the story of the whale's dark history and its resurgence in recent years. There will be interactive exhibitions, a host of family-friendly activities and exclusive talks from world-renowned polar explorers and scientists throughout the festival too.
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Carol Vorderman shares ruthless 'competitive' streak as new show kicks off
Tackling thrilling puzzles in Celebrity Puzzling, Carol Vorderman revealed she tried to be a good sport - but her competitive nature eventually caught up with her. She's famous for her quick mathematical brain, but that didn't stop Carol Vorderman 's competitive streak coming out in Celebrity Puzzling. 'At first, I thought I'd be very gracious and allow my fellow guests to answer the question so the world can see how clever they are,' she says, 'But after about half an hour, the genteel lady aspect went out of the window. I'm very competitive.' It didn't go unnoticed by host Jeremy Vine, who fronts the eight-part series. 'During the final round, Memory Bank, Carol had a technique that I'm still trying to work out,' he says, 'But the look of concentration she had - it was like Roger Federer, a laser!' In this brand new Channel 5 show, Jeremy plays quizmaster and referee as team captains Carol Vorderman and Sally Lindsay take on mind-bending mental challenges alongside a rotating cast of celebrity guests. Each episode sees a fresh pair of famous faces join the fray - Gareth Malone and Ore Oduba start us off, with Scarlett Moffatt, Stephen Bailey, Melvin Odoom, Miles Jupp, Dom Joly and more queuing up to flex their grey matter. Jeremy says he often found himself 'constantly' itching to join in. 'I didn't always have the answers,' he says, 'But I quickly realised that, as the quiz master, you feel locked out. You can't shout the answer out. That's the price you pay for watching these competitors do battle.' Some of the guests surprised even him. 'I knew Shaun Williamson would be nervous about it,' he says, 'It's not his usual territory. But I could see he knew stuff and was having a good time.' He was particularly interested in watching goalie David James take on the challenge. 'Sportspeople's brains just work differently. It was enjoyable to watch.' The show's six-round structure keeps things lively, but one segment in particular gave Carol a headache: Cinema Cypher, where film titles are hidden behind a string of symbols. 'I found it hard because I had to go backwards,' she says, 'I'm absolutely rubbish with movie titles. I know The Godfather series, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars but I couldn't tell you what their names are, though I've probably seen all of those multiple times.' She came unstuck when trying to work out School of Rock. 'When the clue said it was a Jack Black film, I thought of all the movies I knew and tried to make them fit,' she admits. 'I forced it rather than trying to work it out. I didn't know the movie title.' But she revelled in the challenge. 'That's the worst thing I did but I really enjoyed trying to work it out,' she says. For Carol, however, the biggest novelty wasn't the puzzles - it was being a captain. 'I can't remember ever being a team captain before and I really enjoyed it." 'This was interesting because I was with Scarlett Morfatt on one show and then Paul Sinha another show. In terms of general knowledge, that's vast - Paul is one of the top quizzers in the country!' But what makes the show shine is its clever tailoring: questions are curated for the guests' strengths. 'The questions were totally geared to those celebs,' says Carol, 'I didn't know pop bands but Scarlett did. It was brilliantly done.' Her long-standing friendship with Sally Lindsay added an extra layer of warmth to filming. 'Sally is just a joy,' she says, 'She's actually one of my best friends so it was a joy to be with her even though the way our brains work is different. We're both Northern, feisty women and we like a laugh. So I loved being in that studio.' Carol's lifelong love of puzzles runs deep. 'I've always loved puzzles. When I was a child, I used to buy old maths books,' she remembers. 'They were my puzzles. I would sit at home with my pencil and go against the clock. Chess is one of the big ones.' That passion led her to hosting the 1993 world chess match between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short. It was the Kremlin's first ever commercial event - a speed chess championship. These days, she's a devoted Sudoku fan, happily losing herself in grids during long train rides back to Bristol from filming. Jeremy's relationship with puzzles is equally personal. 'My dad, who died about six years ago, was a big fan of Carol's,' he says, 'He was a mathematician and he spent his life in higher education and he was obsessed with one thing which was aligning the prime numbers, only divisible by one. He spent half a century with notepads trying to work it out. That's my memory of holidays - my dad sitting with a pad and a pencil, trying to work it out this living secret.' Celebrity Puzzling is, at its heart, a show about connection. There's rivalry, bursts of laughter and moments of real camaraderie that make it a joy to watch. So grab a cuppa, fluff the cushions and settle in - Celebrity Puzzling invites you to switch off the chaos and stretch your brain.
