Tower of strength
Pisa’s leans, Paris’s is made of metal and Biackpool’s is fairly illuminating. But now Glasgow is to have a tower of its own, an impressive landmark
I n— E g I I
I future. Launched in July 1992, the Glasgow Tower Competition brought in | 353 entries from all over Europe, with 3 the award of £10,000 finally going to
l Richard Harden Associates of London
, {or the above design. ‘The llorden scheme both reflects Glasgow’s
looks to the future,’ said the panel of judges. ‘As it turns both mechanically and according to the direction of the wind, this Tower would Diesel" different profiles through the day . . . a distinguished metropolitan monument.’ The £7000 second award went to Atlas Architect of Amsterdam. (AM)
standing out on the city’s skyline of the
history and, in its technical innovation,
i-
' I f" r»
fit
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The recent decision by lidinburgh District Councillors to extend their zoning policy for late night liquor licences will also restrict late-night dancing in the capital.
Edinburgh pubs on busy main streets in a three-mile square area will have to close before 1.30am following the Licensing Board's decision. while those on main streets will haye to close at lam and those on side streets at midnight. Premises such as clubs. where the liquor licence is granted as ancillary to the entertainment. will have to stop entry at 1.30am and shut at 3am. At present it is possible to groove the night away until 4am. with a handful of clubs staying open to 5am on a Saturday night for the die—hard dance fans.
‘1 hope that the policy will help to reduce the number of serious crimes in the city centre. and also things like street disturbance and vandalism.‘ said (‘ouncillor Margaret Mc(iregor. chair
Dancefloor threat
I of the Licensing Board. 'That is by no means guaranteed. but it is the best idea we've got.’ She points out that all those who are opposed to the new policy
i failed to put up any concrete proposals: i ’They were quite happy to preserye the i status quo and accept that crime is
; rising in the city centre.’
j (‘lub owners contacted by The List
| about the changes did not express any
! immediate concerns, so long as the new
. controls are brought in at the same time
g for pubs. ‘()ur bars don't do great business. people come here to dance.‘ i said Karen Aniola. promotions manager at The Vaults where the ayerage punter spends only £3 on drinks. However. it remains to be seen how ' late-night rayers will take the news and whether the drinking curbs will have a positive effect. The recent murder of a student on his way home from the pub ? took place before l.3()am. (Thom Dibdini
_ MPs stumble on knife laws
Despite widespread cross-party support and the backing of Secretary of State Ian Lang, parliamentary pettiness looks likely to hold up the implementation of tougher laws on the carrying of knives. Government whips, asked to introduce a non-controversial bill that would ensure Opposition co- operation, have suggested that Scottish MPs might disrupt proceedings in order to draw attention to a referendum on the Scottish constitution. A Scottish Television poll
showed, however, that 55 of 62 MPs 4 The List 26 February —1 1 March l‘)‘)3
contacted supported a change in the law, and that 52 of this 55 wanted the
l government to give high priority to
finding parliamentary time for the
3 required legislation.
' Changes in Scots law regarding
, knives would bring it in line with
England and Wales, where under the
; Criminal Justice Act 1988 it is an
' offence to carry an offensive weapon
; and where there are stricter
3 guidelines on selling blades to
g children. Without this legislative
I back-up, initiatives like Strathclyde
; Police’s Dperation Blade rely on the
; voluntary co-operation of shopkeepers
and wider use of existing stop-and-
! search powers. A total of 3047 knives
; were surrendered during the first
1 three weeks of Operation Blade’s
I amnesty period, but there has been no
i significant drop in knife attacks. (Alan Morrison)
! I
:- Suffrage or sufferanoe? ~ - 130 YOU WT?
wHAT n~ TAKES?
out.
Jacky Fleming is one of the cartoonists whose’s work is at the She Bites exhibition in Bannockburn, Stirling.
the day seem to have missed out on the opportunity. Even the maior television stations responded with “when, exactly, is international Women’s Day?’ Lets face it, none of us really believe that feminism has succeeded in its aims; ask any woman anywhere in the world if she’s experienced oppression or abuse purely because she’s a woman and you’ll get a unanimous response.
What do Scottish women think about International Women’s Day in 1993? It is a ‘perfect opportunity for maior institutions to focus on women’s issues,’ according to Lesley iiiddoch of Radio Scotland’s Speaking Out. ‘But it looks like we’ll have to force our way on to the agenda as we continue to be marginalised and trivialised by those in power.’
So until 1994, when he newly formed EllGEllDEii are planning to stage a ‘really big successful event’, are we stuck with a load of worthy old workshops? Of course not, and the listings prove it! (Charlotte Boss)
For details of international Women’s Day events, see 0pen listings on page 5].
International Women’s Day fails on Monday March 8th and despite more than half the world’s population qualifying for inclusion in the festivities, not a lot of people seem to know about it. So why does a festival that’s been going since the turn of the century, and which is recognised by the till as an official public holiday, still have such a low profile?
Born from a spate of demonstrations in America in 1910, where women were protesting about their sweat- shop worklng conditions and demanding the vote, this day marks the establishment of an organised women’s movement and a heightening of our political awareness. Although some might tell you otherwise, it has nothing whatsoever to do with the birthday on March 9 of that well known feminist role model: Barbie.
Despite its invisibility, March 8 will be celebrated by thousands of women across the world. Across Scotland comprehensive programmes of events have been arranged by most District Councils and women’s groups, but, sadly many institutions who could be instrumental in raising the profile of
_ Tax on List readers
There are growing fears that the government is planning to introduce VAT on magazines, newspapers and books in the forthcoming Budget. if implemented, VAT at the current standard rate would add a further 20p to the cover price of The List.
Such a rise would follow on from the recent cover price increase forced on us by the rapid fail in advertising revenue as the big businesses cut back their promotional activity to combat the recession. The same conditions have also obliged many other newspapers and magazines to raise their cover prices over the past year.
No one can deny that the recent exaggerated boom-bust cycle has left the government’s finances in a
i i i I
I i
desperate state, but to resort to what would amount to a tax on information, knowledge and literature is both wrong and shortsighted. Tax was last levied on the printed word in 1860, and when VAT was introduced 20 years ago, this area was exempted on ‘the general principle of avoiding a tax on knowledge’.
Campaigns to head off this threat are being organised by the Periodical Publishers Association and the llationai Book League, and it is to be hoped they will succeed. llo doubt the large media empires can survive any new tax regime but, as the PPA points out, any additional burdens imposed on independent titles, like The List, risks forcing many magazines to close. (Robin Hodge)