Neil Drysdale
@neildrysdale.bsky.social
Aberdeen-based author, ghostwriter and crossword compiler. “Simmy”, the autobiography of Neil Simpson, will be published on May 11, 2026. Now looking for other book projects. [email protected]
Sad news that The Blue Lamp in Aberdeen is closing. It has been a cherished venue for decades and featured in John Byrne’s “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, with Ken Stott, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan and Eddi Reader. The latter told me about her love for “The Lampie!” www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-time...
Eddi Reader recalls filming 'Your Cheatin' Heart' in Aberdeen and enjoying the 'iconic' Blue Lamp
It was one of the most cherished TV series ever made in Scotland - not least because John Byrne's 'Your Cheatin' Heart' was only broadcast once back in 1990.
www.pressandjournal.co.uk
December 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Sad news that The Blue Lamp in Aberdeen is closing. It has been a cherished venue for decades and featured in John Byrne’s “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, with Ken Stott, Tilda Swinton, Peter Mullan and Eddi Reader. The latter told me about her love for “The Lampie!” www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-time...
This was a very poignant chat with the Average White Band’s Hamish Stuart who was in a good mood in a bar in New York in 1980. Then the news came through about the murder of John Lennon and everything changed in a heartbeat! www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-time...
Average White Band star Hamish Stuart recalls the shock across New York after John Lennon's murder
Hamish Stuart was in a positive frame of mind when he travelled back to his New York home in early December 40 years ago. He and his mates had just
www.thecourier.co.uk
December 8, 2025 at 2:00 PM
This was a very poignant chat with the Average White Band’s Hamish Stuart who was in a good mood in a bar in New York in 1980. Then the news came through about the murder of John Lennon and everything changed in a heartbeat! www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/past-time...
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Ross-Shire Journal, 1923. Kenneth Mackenzie of Evanton was not one to miss an advertising opportunity: never mind the wonders of Ancient Egypt; buy a bike.
December 7, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Ross-Shire Journal, 1923. Kenneth Mackenzie of Evanton was not one to miss an advertising opportunity: never mind the wonders of Ancient Egypt; buy a bike.
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Anna Maxwell Martin looks back: ‘I was bullied a little bit, but it didn’t affect me because I was a happy weirdo’
Anna Maxwell Martin looks back: ‘I was bullied a little bit, but it didn’t affect me because I was a happy weirdo’
The actor on being an introverted extrovert, performing as a pearly queen, and becoming a single mother when her husband died
www.theguardian.com
December 7, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Anna Maxwell Martin looks back: ‘I was bullied a little bit, but it didn’t affect me because I was a happy weirdo’
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Reform’s record £9m crypto donation is just the latest offering from abroad
Two thirds of funds given to Nigel Farage’s party this parliament have come from donors with overseas interests
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Two thirds of funds given to Nigel Farage’s party this parliament have come from donors with overseas interests
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Reform’s record £9m crypto donation is just the latest offering from abroad | The Observer
observer.co.uk
December 7, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Reform’s record £9m crypto donation is just the latest offering from abroad
Two thirds of funds given to Nigel Farage’s party this parliament have come from donors with overseas interests
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Two thirds of funds given to Nigel Farage’s party this parliament have come from donors with overseas interests
observer.co.uk/news/politic...
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Finally someone hurt his feeling: Musk says EU 'should be abolished' after fine against X. The social media platform owned by the world's richest person was slapped with a fine of €120 million for breaking the European Union's digital rules.
LONG LIVE EU
LONG LIVE EU
December 7, 2025 at 9:48 AM
Finally someone hurt his feeling: Musk says EU 'should be abolished' after fine against X. The social media platform owned by the world's richest person was slapped with a fine of €120 million for breaking the European Union's digital rules.
LONG LIVE EU
LONG LIVE EU
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Nigel Farage won't apologise for his history of racism because "if he apologised, he would be turning to his own support base and saying, ‘You’re all guilty too,'" a Reform source tells the Times.
So essentially he was a racist and he believes his supporters are racists too
So essentially he was a racist and he believes his supporters are racists too
December 7, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Nigel Farage won't apologise for his history of racism because "if he apologised, he would be turning to his own support base and saying, ‘You’re all guilty too,'" a Reform source tells the Times.
So essentially he was a racist and he believes his supporters are racists too
So essentially he was a racist and he believes his supporters are racists too
I loved doing this! www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-time...
John Lennon had Scotland in his heart and Durness inspired a Beatles classic
There is a rugged beauty to the landscape around Durness, the little village of just 350 people, which lies on the north-west tip of Scotland. The journey
www.pressandjournal.co.uk
December 6, 2025 at 8:11 PM
I loved doing this! www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/past-time...
I went to school in the 70s, was a bit of a “swot” - I did Latin and Greek - and was called a “poof”, a “cu*t” and other names. Then, in 1977, I was beaten up by a man called William Beck. I was lucky that I escaped with just bruises. Beck became a serious criminal!
December 5, 2025 at 9:07 PM
I went to school in the 70s, was a bit of a “swot” - I did Latin and Greek - and was called a “poof”, a “cu*t” and other names. Then, in 1977, I was beaten up by a man called William Beck. I was lucky that I escaped with just bruises. Beck became a serious criminal!
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
“I’ll never forget the look of hatred he had for me, simply for existing.... Nigel Farage has suggested it’s inconceivable that anyone could recall such events of more than four decades ago. I would simply ask: can a victim of such abuse ever forget?” Yinka Bankole
I’ll never forget the look of hatred Nigel Farage had for me at school, simply for existing
The Reform UK leader doubts people can recall their abuse from years ago. I’ve never forgotten his – it felt malicious
www.theguardian.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:36 PM
“I’ll never forget the look of hatred he had for me, simply for existing.... Nigel Farage has suggested it’s inconceivable that anyone could recall such events of more than four decades ago. I would simply ask: can a victim of such abuse ever forget?” Yinka Bankole
Why not pronounce yourself a “Prince of Peace” at your nearest burger joint this weekend? It couldn’t be any less ridiculous than the scenes at that absurd World Cup draw!
December 5, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Why not pronounce yourself a “Prince of Peace” at your nearest burger joint this weekend? It couldn’t be any less ridiculous than the scenes at that absurd World Cup draw!
Scotland drawn alongside Brazil and Morocco in World Cup draw is evoking strong 1998 vibes. Mind you, we also have Haiti, which gives me the chance to reprise this classic from my favourite band! youtu.be/dKMCz1b2RxE
Haitian Divorce
YouTube video by Steely Dan - Topic
youtu.be
December 5, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Scotland drawn alongside Brazil and Morocco in World Cup draw is evoking strong 1998 vibes. Mind you, we also have Haiti, which gives me the chance to reprise this classic from my favourite band! youtu.be/dKMCz1b2RxE
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Zia Yusuf - the unelected multimillionaire policy chief of Reform - makes his fourth Question Time appearance tonight.
The party has five MPs
The party has five MPs
December 4, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Zia Yusuf - the unelected multimillionaire policy chief of Reform - makes his fourth Question Time appearance tonight.
The party has five MPs
The party has five MPs
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Who would have even heard of the spiv, Farage, if it wasn't for the Brexitory Broadcasting Cartel endlessly promoting him?
"Reform leader suggests he would boycott BBC"
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
"Reform leader suggests he would boycott BBC"
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Farage turns on broadcasters over racism allegations as number of claims hits 28
Reform leader suggests he would boycott BBC, saying he has had letter from Dulwich pupils defending him
www.theguardian.com
December 4, 2025 at 7:59 PM
Who would have even heard of the spiv, Farage, if it wasn't for the Brexitory Broadcasting Cartel endlessly promoting him?
"Reform leader suggests he would boycott BBC"
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
"Reform leader suggests he would boycott BBC"
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
That woman who committed the abuse at Fornethy House should have been sent to prison. I don’t care if she is 77, what she did was abominable!
December 3, 2025 at 6:03 PM
That woman who committed the abuse at Fornethy House should have been sent to prison. I don’t care if she is 77, what she did was abominable!
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
I’d be worried if we got the Queens speech this Christmas ( these people walk amongst us)
December 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
I’d be worried if we got the Queens speech this Christmas ( these people walk amongst us)
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
I had to check whether the double S really appeared, as displayed in the image below. Yes, it really did!
December 3, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I had to check whether the double S really appeared, as displayed in the image below. Yes, it really did!
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Pleased to discover that slightly misnaming the national chess championship you won as a school child is a much more serious offence than repeatedly racially abusing your fellow pupils and telling them they should go to the gas chamber
December 3, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Pleased to discover that slightly misnaming the national chess championship you won as a school child is a much more serious offence than repeatedly racially abusing your fellow pupils and telling them they should go to the gas chamber
This is excellent news: a new multi-million-pound centre which will drastically reduce waiting times for many cancer patients in the north east and will open next June. Great work by charities UCAN and Friends of ANCHOR! www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6906...
Exclusive: Work to begin on new ARI centre for cancer patients which will slash waiting times
NHS Grampian has joined forces with UCAN and Friends of Anchor to create a new fast service for patients with urological cancers, designed to have patients get all their scans and diagnostic tests don...
www.pressandjournal.co.uk
December 3, 2025 at 3:33 PM
This is excellent news: a new multi-million-pound centre which will drastically reduce waiting times for many cancer patients in the north east and will open next June. Great work by charities UCAN and Friends of ANCHOR! www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6906...
Vue Aberdeen cinema is closing next month, with the loss of 29 jobs. It’s another blow for the entertainment sector in the city, but Matt Buchanan, who is leading the campaign to reopen the Belmont, told me it won’t have any impact on his plans! www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6905...
New Belmont boss: 'My heart goes out to Vue staff but we're still all systems go for reopening'
The news of the closure of Vue has left Matt Buchanan 'gutted', but he insists it will have no impact on Belmont Filmhouse plans.
www.pressandjournal.co.uk
December 2, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Vue Aberdeen cinema is closing next month, with the loss of 29 jobs. It’s another blow for the entertainment sector in the city, but Matt Buchanan, who is leading the campaign to reopen the Belmont, told me it won’t have any impact on his plans! www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/6905...
Reposted by Neil Drysdale
Was this really the only place Cove Rangers boss Paul Hartley could stand for this interview? Mind you, it did make me laugh at the end of a seriously depressing news programme!
December 1, 2025 at 6:29 PM
Was this really the only place Cove Rangers boss Paul Hartley could stand for this interview? Mind you, it did make me laugh at the end of a seriously depressing news programme!
Happy St Andrew’s Day to Scots, wherever you are in the world!
November 30, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Happy St Andrew’s Day to Scots, wherever you are in the world!
Then there is this. With the wonderful Patti Austin for company! youtu.be/a0TVgow_CVM
Moody's Mood
YouTube video by George Benson - Topic
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Then there is this. With the wonderful Patti Austin for company! youtu.be/a0TVgow_CVM
The best version by a country mile. George Benson is so talented, as were the Count Basie band members who joined him on this joyous track! youtu.be/BlxsKYrbnns
George Benson – Beyond The Sea (La Mer)
YouTube video by Shpresina
youtu.be
November 29, 2025 at 3:59 PM
The best version by a country mile. George Benson is so talented, as were the Count Basie band members who joined him on this joyous track! youtu.be/BlxsKYrbnns