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Live and direct: 52 5 Sarah H
eaney
Take the hi-tech road
The launching of a new telly station is always an event. As digital channel 52 arrives, the creators tell us why it's a refreshing Change. \VO'CSI Brian Donaldson
Knowrng your audrence rs halt’ the battle As cable and drgrtal terrestrial channel S2 sets to er‘ter the lrves of a large proportrOn of the Scottish vrexswrx; publrc, the people behrnd the plan rnsrst they have therr linger on the pulse and are set to steal the hearts of the natron ‘It has more of the shows that people rn the age group we are targetrng want to watch,’ belreves Sarah Heaney, the presenter of 52 MW, the channel’s rnternet/clubs/vrdeo/ 'nusrc/relatronshrps/gossrp/nrovres rnaga/rne show
That age group rs the 1635 spread and the channel's bosses belreve they have found the rrght mrx to get them turned on and stay there. 'One of the problems wrtn Grampran or Scottish rs that you have to serve a pluralrty of tastes and appeal to all sorts of age groups,’ states Scott Ferguson, Controller 0" Scottish Televrsron 'One of the things that S2 allows us to do rs to appeal to an age group that rs a brt more selective The younger televrsron
audrence rs more specrfrc about what they watch so what S2 allows us to do rs to schedule programmes :n tandem wrth our other channels and offer a brt of choice '
The openrng nrght's schedule should offer a glrmpse as to the chorce on
offer 52 L/ve, Kylre lvlrnogue rn concert, C/rve james Meets The Supermodels, cult chrller Jacob’s
Ladder, Robson Green's Touch/ng Evrl, Aussre Elle lvlcFeast on Sex, Guys And V/deotapes and American Football are on the menu The potential audrence rs estrmated to be 170,000 homes whrch the S2 producers believe \Vlll go for new programmes such as US srtcorn fvlagg/e l/v’rnters’, musrc shows Box Set and Chartburn, sport such as World Cup rugby and snowboarding and the flagshrp shov.’ S2 lrve
Much of the early (l‘iilCiSll‘. has been directed at the lack of new programmrng and a prolrferatron of repeats ‘We are very selective about the repeats,’ states Ferguson 'We have a relatronsnrp with lTV \VlllCl‘. means we have access to all these old programmes that UK L.\.'rng or UK Gold would grve the'r eye teeth for.’ And as Sarah Heaney rnsrsts' 'You can". ever get sick of watchrng Jerry Sprrn er'
' $2 egins on Fri 30 Apr, 4pm—2am.
A selection from 52's schedule
FOOD & DRINK
The Art House
When the people behind the new Art House Hotel started converting the former Education House on Glasgow’s Bath Street, they had no idea what they would uncover. For years, the only people that saw inside the building were those who worked there and the students who collected their grant cheques from the place.
Yet, despite such an unpromising bureaucratic background, the building had in fact been hiding eight fantastic, stained glass windows. As well as depicting assorted crafts and trades, the panes also featured the diamonds, clubs, hearts and spades of a pack of cards in their design. A spot of historical sleuthing has yet to unravel the story of the windows, although the smart money says that they were either used to decorate a card room in a gentlemen's club or they had some connection to the city’s trade guilds.
Whatever their past, they are presently employed as backlit design features in the Art House’s fine dining restaurant, The Arc. Under the glazed eyes of the window's subjects, customers can tuck into a predominantly, although not exclusively, fish-based menu. The starters range from the simplicity of six Loch Etive oysters with shallot vinegar at £6.95 to the extravagance of 309 of Sevruga caviar with blinis and creme fraiche at £25 or £35 for 509. The mains follow a similar theme with seared tuna, grilled Dover soles and poached plaice battling for supremacy against the lobster thermidor. Non- finned alternatives include a truffle roasted Bresse chicken with pomme dauphinoise, spinach and sauce Albufera.
Downstairs, past the copper-leafed lions rampant on the wallpaper, is the more modestly priced Art House Grill Rotisserie. Comprising a distinct bar, rotisserie, Japanese grill and a soon to be opened oyster bar in the conservatory, this place has got most angles covered. From pea and ham soup to a pint of pink prawns with garlic mayo via Bang Bang Chicken salad and lamb brochettes, they've got the lot. Without wishing to carp on (sorry) about the fish, it's a measure of the importance which the Art House attaches to fish and seafood that they employ their own d:dicated fish merchant to source all their goodies.
To go the full Art House Hotel hog, they have 68 rooms for hire. Eight of them are executive suites with three of the walls lined with velvet while the fourth boasts a huge stained glass window. Irresistible for anybody who has ever had a penchant for the gothic. (Jonathan Trew)
The Art House Hotel, 729 Bath Street, G/asgow Te/ Old: 227 6/89
A window to fine eating at the Art House
52 Live lvlon Sun, 7pm The channel’s centrc—rprece rs a half-hour of Sll()\Vl)l/, sport, news, revrews of clubs, mowes, websrtes and rnusrc, and rntervrews rn Scotland and abroad Presented by Sarah Heaney
Board Wild Wed, rnrdnrght Frlmed across the world rn locations such as FIJI, Costa Rica and Norway, thrs rs the channel’s extreme sports programme wrth the |:l<es of skateboardrng, snowboardrng, bungee jumping and windsurfing Presented by MTV's Veronica Rerth
Themed Nights leTOUS trrnes The frrst themed nrght arrives on the launch weekend Sun 2 May, 7 30pm) ‘.‘J|Il‘. the New Romantrc's rulflrng some feathers
Spit or swallow
It's all in the best possible taste. Few drinks are gurte as refreshing as a G and T. For best results, put three rce cubes rn a tall glass and cover the rce \Vrth a healthy measure of grn Squeeze a wedge of Irme in and then fill wrth fresh tonrc Don't slump on any of the rngredrents Cheap tonrc wrll rurn a good grn and lrrne rs rnevrtably more rnterestrng than lemon
Bombay Sapphire (around {13' £14} A prernrurn London dry gin, Bombay Sapphire rs rnt'used wrth ten different botanrc'als or flavourrngs compared wrth the usual four or frve The result rs a
subtle aroma w=th Mills of orange
zest It's sllgl‘t‘y, although not ur‘plcursantiy, orly o." the palate but has a very lrght and flowery taste A very delicate grn
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Plymouth Gin .a'ound £13 flzll Again a pre'h'urn owed gln, thrs recently relaunched brand rs made w'rth Dartmoor water and rs drstrlled rn unrgue copper pot strlls At 41 2% alcohol by volume, 't packs a punch lt has a strong, splr'rtuous aroma (ll‘.(l a." almost Vrsc'uous consrster‘cy Tne'e's gurte a pronounced an.seed havocrr making thrs brurser a strong contender t'or cocktails where rt wrll holcr rls own easrly rJorrathan lr'ew
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