AGENDA
NEWS
THE ANNIVERSARY OF the Dunblane massacre will be marked by a book and a teleVision programme attempting to make sense of last year's events. However, there is little that can be done to prevent a similar tragedy, according to a top psychologist.
Speaking at the Edinburgh Science Festival next month, Gerard Bailes, a consultant forensic psychologist at the Norvic Clinic in East Anglia, will argue that science cannot spot individuals like Thomas Hamilton.
His talk, entitled
Guns And
Dangerousness will look at whether screening can determine those who are fit to hold a firearms licence.
'The reality is there isn’t a personality test around that fits this job,‘ he argues. ‘Even if a test could pick out personality difficulties, that wouldn't tell you what a person was likely to do. You can only pick out a Thomas Hamilton after the event.‘
However, his views do lend support to calls for a total handgun ban. ‘We make ourselves safer by having lights outside our houses, and alarms. Reducing the
accessibility of weapons can contribute to that,’ he explains.
Bailes admits that if guns weren‘t available, someone like Hamilton may have used other methods. However they wouldn’t be as destructive, he points out: ’If we want a society where there is less danger from guns, some people Will have to have their ciVil liberties restricted.’
The grim anniversary Will be marked by a documentary which claims that some good has come of the massacre. In Dunblane: Remembering Our Children,
Science can’t prevent another Dunblane says expert
to be shown on Scottish Television on 12 March, parents of the victims speak of the unique friendships and chain of support which has been built in the community in the aftermath.
Meanwhile the book Dunb/ane: Our Year Of Tears, published by Mainstream, is a series of interviews by two Sunday Mail journalists Peter Samson and Alan Crow. It examines events from the viewpoint of children, teachers, families and even rock star Chris de Burgh, with all profits and royalties going to Save The Children. (Stephen Naysmith)
Scots actors miss out on boom
ACTORS’ UNION EQUITY is campaigning for more television and film casting to be done in Scotland to prevent actors having to move to London.
Despite the success of Scottish-set films and television programmes like Trainspotting, The Crow Road, McCa/Ium and Taggart, Scottish actors struggle to get plum parts, according to Equity.
'A lot of Scottish actors are very disappointed that McCal/um is made in London,’ said Lorne Boswell, Equity‘s Scottish secretary. 'Most of the parts in Doctor Finlay and Taggart went down south. It is about time the industry acknowledged that talent does exist in Scotland.’
Many actors feel that to be taken seriously, they have to move south. Joe McFadden, star of The Crow Road and Small Faces, recently moved from Glasgow to London.
Although Small Faces was cast in Scotland, he was lucky to get the lead role in The Crow Road, he explains. ‘They had already done a lot of the casting before they came to Scotland. I don’t think they could fill the lead role.
‘It is a real shame actors feel they have to move south, but many feel directors don't take them seriously unless they have a London agent. There is so much talent in Scotland, it is as if directors are thinking "Where did all that come from?” They don't realise it was there all along.‘ (Stephen Naysmith)
Joe McFadden: took the low road
4 THEIJST 7-20 Mar 1997
T in the Park to take the high road
SCOTLAND‘S NATIONAL MUSIC festival T in the Park
.i l
will take place this year at Balado, near Kinross on the weekend of Saturday 12-Sunday 13 July. The festival‘s fourth outing will be on a larger site in the farming heartland of Perthshire as it had clearly
In the outgrown its roots.
k
park The previous two
years have seen sell-outs at the old Strathclyde Country Park site which had a maximum capacity of 30,000 per day. Balado, a farm which incorporates a disused air-strip, has a capacity of 40,000 per day, or 80,000 over the weekend.
Like last year, there will be six different stages: the Main Stage, the NME Stage, the Evening Session Stage in association with King Tut’s, the Slam Muzik Tent, the Scottish Talent Stage and the Ceilidh Tent.
Mystical guitar knights Kula Shaker and The Charlatans are both confirmed to headline the Main Stage on Saturday 12, while the NME Stage will be jointly headlined by Shed Seven and Placebo.
DF Concerts, the organisers of T in the Park, have always been keen to promote the non-musical attractions of the event and this year is no different. Other draws include a full- sized fun fair, a circus, cinema, the ever-popular games tent, al fresco theatre and mind-boggling displays of foolhardy derring-do from Scotland's skate kids and BMX fanatics.
Camping facilities will be laid on close to the site, and shower facilities and 24-hour cafes will ensure that post—gig discussion can continue into the night over a few coffees without anyone smelling too bad.
Stalls offering food and drink from around the world will compete with the main sponsor’s more home- grown delights.
A frequent shuttle bus service will run from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Perth and parking will be laid on for motorists. (Jonathan Trew)
Placebo: dispensing sugar-coated pop at T in the Park
The main attractions
FESTIVAL FAVOURITES DODGY are among the acts announced for the Main Stage on the Saturday 12, while the French madcap duo Daft Punk will perform in the Slam Muzik tent.
On Sunday 13, Brummie soul and R 'n‘ 8 re-inventors Ocean Colour Scene co-headline with an as yet unannounced act on the Main Stage. Grunge rockers Bush will also be playing the Main Stage, still trying to emulate the phenomenal success in the States which has so far eluded them in their home country.
The NME Stage will be graced by former Stone Rose guitarist John Squire‘s new band. The Seahorses. Also performing on the NME Stage on the Sunday are Mansun, the Chester four-piece whose recent
album, Attack Of The Grey Lantern, went straight in at pole position.
Other names released include Snug, Embrace and Scottish noiseniks Mogwai and Urusei Yatsura. No days or stages have been confirmed for these acts as yet and further acts will be announced over coming weeks.
Tickets for the festival cost £50 for the weekend and £28.50 for a single day, subject to booking fees. Tickets are available now by credit card only from the following credit card lines: Way Ahead (24 hrs): 0141 339 8383 TOCTA: 0131 557 6969 Ticket Centre Candleriggs: 0141 227 5511
Tickets will be available over the counter from the usual outlets from Saturday 15 March.