This is baffling. I wonder do any of our North Briton brethren have any views? I’ve stayed in Perth a few times (I have a friend who lives there) and it’s the equivalent to Armagh. in NI, in that ALMOST NOTHING stays open after 5.30pm. The place iis desolate. A huge middle-class town with a nice, compact pedestrianised central area where absolutely nobody goes out.
Last time I was there me and Mrs H were among 4 people in a perfectly good restaurant, early evening, sunny day, with enough tables for 80 people. The other two people were parents of one of the waitresses. We ended up going to the pub with them afterwards, wondering what on earth was wrong with the town. And they lived there.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-37123369
You are right Colin. My wife was born there and we usually go a couple of times per year mainly because her parents graves are there. Perfectly pleasant town but not a party town by any stretch. Also a faint air of menace at closing time but in fairness that could also apply to any number of British towns. It does however have the best tea shop I know of on these Isles.
Now you mention, the two we went to a pub with did say there was one nearby pub to avoid at all costs.
Can I take it this is the Perth town elders’ last roll of the dice for royal charter/city status? Name o’Jaysus – Newry AND Lisburn are both cities. What’s that all about?
Edited to say: pardon my snark, I think Perth is finally a city. My apologies!
Edited to say: Perth’s been A City Once Again since 2012. Morto!
I nearly sprayed my coffee – thought you were referring to the home of Johnny Concheroo.
Perth, CoC? Hahahahahaha. No. Really. That’s a good one.
Hang on. You’re actually serious?
They said that about Hull…
I went to Perth a few years ago and you’re right, everything closes down at 6pm. It was even difficult to get something to eat. It is a nice looking town though with the river running through the centre and people salmon fishing in waders.
The thing that amazed me though was this:
Perth, Scotland – population 50,000
Perth, W.Australia – population 2.2 million
How did that happen?
It was only when you got to the salmon fishing that I realised that you weren’t talking about the Perth in Australia.
And of course Perth in Australia has a suburb called Kinross
I like Perth, though I have to say I couldn’t work out how a city of 2.2 million people didn’t seem to have a cinema.
I think I liked Fremantle a bit more though. It has the feel of a University town, which I’ve always liked, with some nice bookshops and of course the status of Bon Scott. Had my photo taken next to it and was amazed to discover that it’s lifesize. Bon wasn’t that much bigger than Angus. I don’t think AC/DC would have gone very far in the Rock & Roll Basketball Championships.
You mean cinemas in the city centre? There used to be a few but now they are all out in the suburban shopping malls. Of which there are dozens.
I remember as a youngster excitedly looking through the Home Office Encyclopaedia dear ol’ Dad had just brought home, and being puzzled to discover there was another Perth, and that “ours” didn’t get a mention.
Then again, I also wondered which part of South Wales looked enough like the eastern Oz seaboard to merit the naming of New South Wales.
The Far North Coast of NSW is the reason for the naming.
Though hardly Porthcrawl, there’s enough rain and therefore greenery to convince a sailor whose memory of the real thing might be somewhat wistful, nearly three years into an unpredictable voyage.
Stockholm has a suburb called Inverness. I’ve always found that rather bizarre.
And near me Perth, Ontario. Population 6,000.
It’s ‘a shot in the dark’ for sure, but It’s *Not* a Mystery for this top pop hitmaker:
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/local/perth-kinross/187558/pop-star-toyah-backs-perth-bid-city-culture/
Ah but “there’s a motorway, it’s a monument.”
There’ll be thunder in the tearooms.
Perth and Kinross used to elect Nicky Fairbairn as their MP, which shows at least that they have a sense of humour, in a kind of “wish you’d kept that joke to yourself” type way.
When I was a tour manager, we always used to stop off in Perth for 5 min wee stop after I had invariably forgotten to advise my elderly group to make sure they went to the toilet after their whisky distillery visit about 2 hours earlier.
Not sure why, but I hate that phrase – “showcase it to the world”.
Ditto ‘this will put (insert placename) on the map’. If it’s not already, you have a dodgy map.
Not only that, it’ll be ‘rewriting the history books’.
Just so long as it’s “world-class”
Och, cut ’em some slack. As I see it the idea of CoC is to spend some dosh to give it some culture. I prefer Stirling to be bored in to be fair.
Some culture… from a standing start.
Isn’t the idea of City of Culture to bring it to a city that needs it? Cities already swimming in culture , high employment etc don’t.
Long ago, or it seems like it, I finished off a Munro bagging expedition with a couple of grassy hills just off the A9. This was a Friday leaving us two days to get home. In the previous fortnight great things had been achieved, including the future Mrs never’s first ascent of the Inn Pin and a successful wild camping expedition to gather some remote Munros and a Corbett. I’d come through all this without incident but on the final hill of the final day I managed to slip on a grassy slope and bang my hand. It was a bit sore but didn’t seem too bad so we carried on with our itinerary.
Which included a overnight at Perth Youth Hostel (now closed). We had a good meal in pleasant restaurant whose name I forget, unfortunately, but its USP was a high level large guage model train set in action. The place was busy and had the feeling of somewhere that was “In” at the time. I think it was part of a very small chain – for a few years we kept the name in mind as a good place to go if an opportunity arose on one of our further bagging trips. (I “compleated” in 2005.)
Anyway, the following morning my hand was still sore and I had to drive a major part of the journey South. It was decided between us (the future Mrs never, a mountaineering chum* and myself) that a trip to A&E was in order.
So off we went to Perth A&E. I recall it seemed all new and sparkly and I received excellent attention and it turned out nothing was broken.
What really stuck in my mind was that I was asked several times, and rather pointedly, if I’d “punched somebody”. This left me with the impression that the fall out from Friday Night Rough-Housing was something that Perth A&E were conditioned to.
(* Hello Doug, if you’re listening.)
As long as it wasn’t Doug that you punched, momentarily imagining that you were on a ‘Doug bagging’ trip. Maybe that’s what all those yobbos in the dodgy pubs are up to: not fighting at all, just bagging Dougs.
Actually for us there was a list of “Dougs” to be bagged – a “Doug” was, or even is, a pub in the UK over 300m (I may be wrong about the height).
A definitive list was never defined, in fact the list never got much beyond the pub where the concept emerged and the Tan Hill Inn.
After a suitable period of defocused temporal perception Mrs never retrieved the name – “Littlejohn’s” – from a far flung corner of her mind. She also recalled another decor feature – a complete lavatory mounted high on one wall and lavatory seats as wall hangings elsewhere.
what the fuck is a munro , that causes one to bag it and have expeditions for this very purpose.
It’s something to do with mountaineering
Here you go, Mr Wells. The lowdown on a Munro:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munro
This summer I was in Scotland for the first time in 25 years. Mrs duco and I visited the Munros Bar near Talisker on Skye. Great place. I was served haggis by a chef wearing a Castro-style Cuban revolutionary outfit. Bizarre.
Wonderful anecdote, Aardvark. The (now closed) was very poignant.
I agree with Dai: the COC is a chance to give a city a boost.
More mirth for Perth!
I forgot to add that the only time I visited Perth I noticed that the theatre in the main street in the centre of town was showing an amateur dramatic production of Mike Leigh’s Abigail’s Party. I very nearly went, but it was £25 to get in. But, even so, there’s your culture right there
I wonder what Abigail’s Party would look like today if they updated the characters? Do the characters of Abigail’s Party exist anymore? Her middle class divorcee neighbour probably does, still listening to The Archers and worrying about her daughter. But Abigail and her husband? Do social-climbing estate agents still exist?
How about Ange and her monosyllabic husband? My wife often says that’s me at any social gathering with civilians
Well, how often does the word “Mahavishnu” come up in everyday conversation?
Equally, “Heard the new Zappa album?” seems comes up far less often at a family bbq than “Watch the big game on Saturday?” for some strange reason.
Johnny, Angela likes Demis Roussos. Tony likes Demis Roussos, I like Demis Roussos, and Sue would like to hear Demis Roussos: so please, d’you think we could have Demis Roussos on?
All that Demis Roussos. It’s worse than @minibreakfast ‘s house after a car boot sale bonanza.
“It’s a shame he’s so fat though.”
“He doesn’t sound it though, Ange”
Hey! I own not a note of DR’s music. I’m off to a midweek boot sale in a minute. If I see any Demis I’ll get you some, as per our Private Message exchange. What was the other thing you were after? Oh yes, that’s right – some Tijuana on Hallmark 🙂
You mean you’ve never inadvertently picked up any DR after a “how much for the box, mate?” style transaction?
I now have a sudden urge for a ‘cheesy-pineappley one’.
I can’t believe JC couldn’t rustle up some Aphrodite’s Child frankly
Didn’t get any Demis yesterday, JC, just these. Can you guess which one was 50p?
http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p773/minibreakfast/DSCN0104_zpslhgt90zt.jpg
Anything with a Bowie connection has probably gone through the roof recently, so not Mr Lawrence.
The Two Ronnies must have serious kitsch irony value for @beany and his ilk, so not that one either.
Which just leaves the Lindsey Buckingham LP. Judging how hard his albums are to sell at any price, it has to be that one.
Thanks retro. It’s still hard to believe that Demis, along with Vangelis, was in Vertigo label Greek progsters Aphrodite’s Child.
Even weirder is that their records are worth big money now. It’s the swirl label connection, you see.
@minibreakfast don’t tell me you paid for The Two Ronnies one?
“Kitsch irony value?”
I am bloody well saving them for the nation Mr @johnny-concheroo Your ancestors will thank me one day. If the Two Ronnies are worth 50p each then I am rich.
It was the Two Ronnies one! Irresistible.
I was over-thinking it, wasn’t I?
I reckon it deserves it for this…
To be fair, it does host the annual Southern Fried Festival of American roots music:
http://www.horsecross.co.uk/southern-fried-festival
I believe the Inverness to Euston sleeper goes through Perth and there are some great 50s photos of the A4 Pacifics at Perth station along the riverfront
The sole shining beacon of culture in Perth is my pal Jim Malcolm. Here’s one of his own songs:
I like his stuff. I don’t know him but I know a fair bit of his music.
Perth, I love the place and Perthshire – but culture, I don’t think so.
As an aside I was in Armagh on a Sunday lunchtime a couple of weeks back and I didn’t think much of it at all.
From one city to another:
Belinda Carlisle’s ‘Heaven is a Place in Perth’.