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A boast and a toast to Scotland’s coast

Oct 3

Posted by Jeff in Culture, Economy, Sport | 6 Comments

One of the areas in which Scotland punches well above its global weight is in terms of length of coastline it has at its disposal.

We enjoy 11,800km of sea-battered shoreline in Scotland. That’s 369% of England’s 3200km, 155% of Italy’s 7,600km, 161% of France’s 7,330km, 183% of Ireland’s 6,437km, approximately 66% of China’s £18,000km and infinitely bigger than Switzerland’s, Bolivia’s or Belgium’s 0km. Indeed our shores are so lovely in some places that a Carribbean country decided to use Scottish beaches in its tourist drive rather than its own sought-after sandy enclaves. On the 4.5 hour East Coast train stretch it is surely the sea-hugging 45 minutes down to Berwick that awards the best views.

In my sadly-not-so-recent travelling adventures there were several highlights, chief amongst them were swimming with dolphins, checking out the surfing at Bondi beach, eating some glorious fish and island hopping off the Vietnamese coast. Once in a lifetime some would say but, with a little bit of imagination and effort, all of the above could be permanent fixtures in any Scottish travelling itinerary thanks to our coast.

Whales, Dolphins and Sharks
I don’t know what it is about these creatures but there is a child-like delight in scanning the waves off the West coast (and parts of the East) knowing that there is a fair chance you may see one of them leap out from the watery depths.

Sadly hundreds of these animals, the dolphins in particular, are killed each year due to unsustainable fishing practises which are regrettably continuing, hopefully criminally so.

The healthier and livelier our seas and oceans are then the more likely that a gazing onlooker (tourist or otherwise) will enjoy that delightful experience of seeing that basking shark or pod of bottlenose dolphins.

That opportunity can be bottled, sold and banked for Scotland’s benefit, not to mention the personal benefits that living alongside a thriving nature brings.

Surfing
Scotland is sitting on a surfing goldmine and really is behind the curve in terms of utilising it to its full potential. One of my top highlights of my long period of living in Edinburgh was heading out to Dunbar to pick up a lesson on Belhaven Beach. 25 degree sunshine, 6 foot waves and regular drifts, it was perfect conditions and I was regrettably only one of two out there enjoying the free gift on that Saturday afternoon.

I see no reason why Dunbar, in time, can’t be an unmissable stopping off point for Lonely Planet-wielding backpackers travelling to the UK. A sweep of beachfront similar to that of Bondi Beach in Sydney, a headland perfectly ripe for a Surf School and restaurant/recreational village and only 15 minutes by train from Edinburgh City Centre. If I win the lottery I’ll be straight up there to get cracking on it.

This is of course to overlook Orkney, Thurso, Shetland etc; all world-class surfing locations that are a long way off realising their full potential and not yet luring enough bodacious, Quiksilver-clad thrill-seekers to their coastlines.

Fish
I was perhaps spoiled for seafood restaurants when I lived down at The Shore in Edinburgh with Kings Wark, Fishers, The Ship, Creelers, Teuchter’s Landing and Café Fish all less than three minutes away from my front door. That is to brazenly overlook the Michelin award winning Martin Wishart and Tom Kitchen which I was unable to save up enough pennies for.

It would be great if we saw an increase in line-caught fish and a decrease in mass-produced, processed seafood that relies on questionable catching techniques. We are blessed with bountiful waters and the efforts to protect them have been heartening. Why not really push our fishing heritage and pedigree further by including how to gut, fillet and cook a fish in the High School syllabus? Shouldn’t a country that boasts such a remarkable coastline ensure that it has those rudimentary seafood skills? It would certainly beat the Bran Cakes and Lentil Soup that I remember making as a jaded pupil in Home Economics class, a subject I got an F in despite my now being a keen cook.

Islands
Scotland has 790 islands. A quite remarkable tally and once again a thumping defeat over Switzerland, Belgium and Bolivia. I am loathe to say they are underused, two couples I know of honeymooned on two of them this very year, but their value, although largely qualitative, is something that should be considered and even quantified where possible.

Could we run more ambitious, more tourist-friendly island cruise boats? Old junk boats snaking through Harrs, Rum and Eigg at a leisurely pace with well chosen activities and areas of historic interest along the way? Maybe such events already exist but if all we are relying on to get around off the West coast is the reliable, no-nonsense CalMac, then I think there’s more that could be achieved.

It’s difficult to put into words the frustration that living away from a coastline brings with my now being based in London. The Thames, you won’t be surprised to hear, just doesn’t cut it somehow. Scotland’s coastline needs to be treasured, cultivated, leveraged, protected and enjoyed as much as possible and while this is generally the case already, there is so much more that can be realised from it.

So pick up that surf board, that fishing rod, those boardies or that CalMac explorer pass, cast off the bowlines and enjoy.

(Note – Yes, those photos really were taken in Scotland)

Art for Art’s Sake

Sep 30

Posted by Guest Blog in Culture, Economy | 4 Comments

Today, Better Nation’s first guest blog, written by Mairi Sharratt. Mairi is a poet who blogs at www.alumpinthethroat.wordpress.com, and can be found on Twitter here.

I Value The Arts badgeTalks of cuts are the theme for the year, perhaps even the next few years, and everyone wants to know where the cuts are going to be made.

Notice how the political discussion has now completely moved away from the bankers’ responsibility and a Robin Hood Tax to how people will be paying.

So at the moment every organisation and charity is fighting to keep its funding, and it looks like, if predictions are correct, that we are going to see a widening of the already great chasm that is the gap between rich and poor. Not just in wealth but also in education and health outcomes too.

Out of all of the organisations that are fighting against cuts, movements to save arts funding is one of the ones I have most problems with. As a declaration of interests I am moderately successful as a poet, with a few publications and anthologies under my belt. I know many writers and creative people who have benefited from funding and if I was to be offered funding so I could write full time, I would take it.

However, my problem is not with the funding of the arts themselves, but the arguments put forward to defend them. For a long time any argument defending cuts in arts was based on the facts that arts “enrich” us. This is always a difficult argument, as how we consume culture and what culture we chose to consume is mixed up with our identity. Therefore if someone sees the arts as purely highbrow and views themselves as a low brow type of person they will not be persuaded by this argument – which could be seen as a failure of the arts to define themselves as all-encompassing.

Bring out recent research, however, that shows how much the arts add to the economy, and you have a much stronger way to persuade those who don’t believe in their inherent value. However, I am left worried by this new strand of defence. Mainly because I firstly see nothing wrong with the fact that not everyone likes or appreciates your work (did I mention I’m a poet?) and secondly, I believe that it could fundamentally weaken the arts in the long run.

We are told that it is proved that the arts now add to the economy, and that is one of the reasons why funding should continue. Where does this leave arts organisation that don’t add to the economy? There are a lot out there doing great work, such as ArtLink who work with people who experience disadvantage and disability, Art in Hospitals and other organisations who assist artists and writers to work with inmates in prisons. I imagine it is pretty hard to make an economic argument for these organisations, although you can definitely make a social and wellbeing one.

If the economic impact argument is accepted and there are further rounds of cuts, how will arts organisations who have no discernable economic impact defend themselves? They are essentially left weaker than their more profitable cousins. Another fact that backs up the economic arguments for the arts is that “eight out of ten of the top visitor attractions in the UK are museums”. That’s great, but are those eight museums all concentrated in one or two areas of the country? Are they all exhibiting work and buying it on an ongoing basis from contemporary British artists, photographers, sculptors, writers and others? I think the answer is probably no.

My fear is that in making a virtue of the economic impact of the arts we leave the part of the arts that cannot demonstrate direct economic benefits weakened and vulnerable, and that is likely to be the ones that have real social benefit for those who access them and for artists who are at important points in their development. Organisations such as Save the Arts are of course still arguing that the arts fundamentally enrich our lives, however I worry that if the discourse on the usefulness of the arts starts to focus on its economic value, and that this is accepted by the majority of people as the arts’ primary raison d’être, then we come one step closer to being a society that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.