Alan McIntosh

Jun 5, 2024 | scottishbeacon.com | Devon McCole |Alan McIntosh |Broughton Spurtle

“The guy who started it all off had seen the state of the Millburn Church in Renton, which was an A-listed building, the state of disrepair it had gotten into because nobody had done anything with it and didn’t want Kilmaronock to go the same way.” Mary Sweetland, is part of a group who saved the historic Kilmaronock Church, nestled along the historic route connecting Balloch and Stirling.

Jun 5, 2024 | scottishbeacon.com | Alan McIntosh |Broughton Spurtle

Broughton Primary and Higher Grade School opened in November 1896 to much acclaim and excitement. Controversy attended lavish spending in such a (then) comparatively rustic setting. Critics asked why state-of-the-art facilities, including a heated swimming pool in the basement, should be located here when the grinding poverty and overcrowded conditions of schoolchildren in the Old Town were so obviously in need of attention.

Nov 1, 2023 | scottishbeacon.com | Gregor McMurtrie |Alan McIntosh |Broughton Spurtle

The latest “Mearns Voices” podcast from local writing group “Mearns Writers” is now available online, just in time for Hallowe’en. The podcast brings a selection of work from the Aberdeenshire-based writing group. The new episode features a Doric ghost story written and performed by Alistair Lawrie. “The Wind” is a sinister tale of a young man returning to an East Coast fishing town during an ungodly storm. Not unlike Stonehaven during Storm Babet, perhaps?

Nov 1, 2023 | scottishbeacon.com | Alan McIntosh |Broughton Spurtle |Brian Palmer

Phase 1 of Edinburgh Council’s review of 46 community councils’ governance arrangements and boundaries began last month and consultation will continue until 18 Dec. This is the first statutory review since 2019, and its eventual recommendations will aim to reflect population and development changes across the capital and identify ways in which community councils could be more representative and better run. Increased budgets would help but aren’t on offer.

Oct 2, 2023 | scottishbeacon.com | Alan McIntosh |Broughton Spurtle

Most schools in Orkney were closed for three days, the 26th, 27th and 28th of September, as school staff members of the trade union UNISON took industrial action after rejecting the latest pay offer from Local Authority organisation COSLA. From early years to secondary, schools closed their doors to children and young people as the three days of strike action took place. UNISON Orkney Local Services Branch is Orkney’s largest trade union branch, with over 600 members.