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2175 (Rolls-Royce)
Squadron
Air Training Corps |
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2175 (Rolls-Royce)
Squadron
Air Training Corps |
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September / October 2004 Scotland’s Parliament By CWO Robert Hastie
In May 1999, a great step was taken in Scottish history. After almost three hundred years of absence, Scotland once again had a government to call its own. It was promised, back then that we would have a new Parliament, in Holyrood, Edinburgh, as a headquarters for this government. Now, four years over due, and more than ten times over budget, the Holyrood parliament opened in a spectacular ceremony attended by thousands, on Saturday the 9th of October 2004. Two of which were myself, CWO Robert Hastie of 2175 (Rolls-Royce) Squadron, and Pilot Officer Yasmeen Khan of 2452 (Shawlands) Squadron. The days events in opening the parliament have been heralded by some as “a land mark in 21st century democracy”. But with so much controversy in the building of such an establishment, did it meet the hype? As the only representatives of the Air Cadets at the event, it fell to us to be ambassadors for our organisation. It was an early start, as always, with a bus journey from Glasgow, where both of our squadrons are based. We were two of a thousand people from across Scotland who had been invited to participate in the “riding” down the Royal Mile (this is a stretch of road connecting Edinburgh Castle, with the Royal residence at Holyrood). The riding was part of the original opening ceremonies back in the 17th century. It illustrates the idea of parliament working, and walking side by side, in partnership with the people of Scotland. The group from today, which we were part of were selected to represent the diverse nature of modern Scotland, so, as you can imagine, there were people from all walks of life represented on the day; school teachers, government workers, youth organisations, humanitarian workers, and many more. There was even one gentleman whose full time occupation was to make and sail in Viking boats. Once we arrived in Edinburgh, an hour later, and after we had passed the security checks, the riding group were treated to breakfast. At 11:00 am, after all the groups representing Scotland were organised in to a marching order, an RAF Nimrod from Kinloss flew over head to signify the beginning of the riding down the Royal Mile. The bands began to play, and with Glasgow leading we proceeded to march. It began up at Parliament Hall, where in 1633, Charles I commanded the building of a dedicated parliament house, this was to stand from 1639 until the Union of 1707. As we passed down the road, with military escort on either side, and the barriers packed full of spectators, a sense of national pride began to sweep across the crowd. Music was playing and people were smiling, Scotland was on show. As the riding approached the City Chambers, I, being a clear foot taller than most, spotted a small podium, on which sat the First Minister, Jack McConnell MSP, the Presiding Officer, George Reid MSP (who was to host the days events) and Her Majesty the Queen. Needless to say, with this approaching fast there was a quick eyes left by us, and a salute (I will not elaborate on the details of the conversation before hand in which the phrase “should we salute?” was said, however, if there was ever a case of “when in doubt salute” this was it). As the end of the mile drew closer there were more and more spectators who carried banners about the controversy over the buildings beginning. It was pointed out to me by a friend that even the parliament in Westminster was late, even more so than Holyrood, also Westminster had eclipsed Holyrood in terms of over budget, so it maybe it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. By far the best comment made by anyone that day on the issue of the Parliaments delay or budget was from our friend who made the Viking boats. He saw the protestors, with their banners and their chants, marched straight up to them and simply said that he was there five years ago, outside the temporary home of the Scottish Executive, protesting for the new building. He added that it may be late and it may be over budget, but we’ve got it now, so let’s make the best of it that we can. Finer words were not spoken that day. We passed the Queen’s Holyrood residence, and entered the new building. It’s architecture, again an issue of controversy, was designed by a Spanish man called Enric Miralles. His design was based on the surrounding landscape, the flowers and painting of Charles Rennie Macintosh (one of Scotland’s most famous architects) and the upturned boats on the seashore for the roofs. He was quoted to say, of his design that it was a building “sitting in the land”. The different part of the building would seem to have grown out of the structure like leaves from a flower, and grass, garden paths, and ponds would link together all the parts of the four-acre site. An ambitious project, but unfortunately Enric Miralles became seriously ill during the construction of the building and later died. He would never see his finished building, but his widow attended the day as a representative of Miralles, and his firm. Inside the opening ceremony was in full swing, a number of guests filled the debating chamber, where all the Members of the Scottish Parliament sat in their seats. In the gallery were famous faces from Scottish entertainment, even Sir Sean Connery. Tribute songs were recited and a poem by Scotland’s Poet Laureate was read out in the chamber, with the crowd from the riding watching on giant screens arranged for the day, in other parts of the building. After this all those attending the day congregated in the main lobby, where a fabulous “cheese and wine” was underway. This allowed both of us to get some proper photo opportunities with the celebrities of the day. It wasn’t long before we bumped into the First Minister himself, who was more than happy to pose for the camera. As we mingled, talking to others about the day and the importance of the new building, we observed a path being carved out in the crowd by security men. As we approached we were able to see Her Majesty the Queen, walking slowly through, talking to people as she went. This was our chance to meet the Queen, and to get it on camera too. She immediately spotted that we were from the Air Training Corps, and briefly chatted, with all the gentle grace she is famed for, before heading off to mingle some more. The essential picture was taken. The rest of the day was taken up by different events occurring in each section of the new building, describing its function and educating the public on the duties carried out by MSP’s in the new Parliament; sections on design, the executive powers of the parliament, the phenomenal debating chamber, and the work done by civil servants in the building also. While in the lobby more cheese and wine was had by all to the sounds of some of Scotland’s best artists, young and old. The building itself was a sight to behold. I believe that all of Scotland, and Britain, at some point should take the time to come to Edinburgh, and see it for themselves. Not all may like its design, but you can’t please everyone. The best comment I heard about it was from the innocence of a small boy, who while running into the lobby stopped, and with a shear look of amazement in her eyes declared “This’d be a great place for a game of hide and seek!.” The building may have been late and over budget, but its here now. It’s not about how it came to be, it’s about what we go on and do from here. Scotland has a Parliament, and it’s now down to the people of Scotland, and the MSP’s who occupy that parliament, to make sure that we use it to its full capacity. It has a great deal of history behind it, and I believe, a great deal of potential in front of it. Isle of Bute Exploration By Cpl Chris Howson On the 10th of September until the 12th of September, 5 cadets attempted to get their Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award. The 5 cadets taking part were Cpl Smith, Cpl Finnie, Cdt Hastie, Cdt Morrison and myself. The hike involved staying at a campsite for 2 nights and walking for 3 days. In order to get to the isle of Bute we had to get the train to Wemyss Bay from Hillington West train station. After arriving at Wemyss Bay, we had to board a ferry which would take us to the island. Eventually we arrived at Rothesay port and set off on our first objective - to set up our tents at the campsite. The campsite was easy enough to locate, however, it was situated on top of a steep hill which we had to climb. After we had climbed up the hill and set up our tents, although already tired, we set off on our hike. We were travelling towards some standing stones which were located to the south of the island. It took us around 3 hours to get there, but it didn't seem like that as we were all laughing and really just having a good time. After a brief stop for lunch, we started the walk back north to the campsite. Still laughing and joking (and falling into marshes) we reached the campsite with no problems except for a few blisters and broken nails. That night, just as we were getting settled into our tents, we began to regret camping at the top of the hill. As we were on top of a hill, we had little protection from the wind. It was difficult to sleep with all the rain battering off the tent. I think I can say, we had a very restless night. Day 2 started off quite well. We were up early and had started the days hike by 9am. This time we were headed towards the West of the island. Again we were searching for standing stones but this time we had to cross a lot of marsh and farmland. It took us around two and a half hours to find them. Once found, we started to walk back to the campsite. After an hour we stopped to have lunch. We arrived at the campsite around half past three and we settled down for the night. This was when the weather started to get worse. It rained all night. We were in for a rough night again. On the third day we were to walk to the North of the island. There was another collection of standing stones there, and this was our last chance to find any information on them. We were determined to finish the hike by lunchtime, so we could get home for at least 4 O' clock ( we still had to get the ferry and the train remember?) We set off bright and early again. Today we had to climb a few hills, but it wasn't that bad. Just as we were in sight of the standing stones we came to a fence which separated two fields. This wasn't just any old fence - it was an electric fence! We didn't notice until we saw a sign saying "DANGER - ELECTRIC!" in bold letters. I closely examined the fence and noticed that the fence just looked like an ordinary piece of string. I jumped to the conclusion that string doesn't conduct electricity. How wrong I was! Feeling brave, I grabbed the fence and I didn't feel anything for at least 3 seconds! Just as I thought it was safe, I felt a sudden shock travel through my body. I was jolted backwards, I couldn't believe it! I had been electrocuted! After a brief period in which I received some slagging from the other cadets, we started to walk back to Rothesay. Once there, we relaxed a bit. We stopped for lunch before jumping on the ferry to go home. We had completed the hike for our Silver Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Overall, I would say that the hike was a great success. This was mainly due to the fact that we were all just laughing and joking and we never got lost once! I feel that it was the best hike that I have ever been on and I would gladly do it again - even if it is just for fun. I would also encourage any other cadet to take part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme as it is a very enjoyable experience and you will also learn a few things. Rob Roy Hike By Cpl Neil Finnie From the 25th to the 27th of September, I along with Cpl Kayani, Cpl Smith, Cdt Howson and Cdt Hastie went on our qualifier hike for our silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. We met at the squadron at eight o’clock on the Saturday morning and had a laugh about Kayani’s pink trousers. We left at eight fifteen and arrived at Calendar at quarter to ten. We walked for ten minutes and Cpl Kayani wanted a break so we stopped for five minutes. We reached Srathyre at half two and had our lunch. They only took an hour so it wasn’t that bad. We finally arrived at the campsite at five o’clock and quickly put up the tents and had dinner. Then Cdt Hastie and I went up to Rob Roy’s grave to find out information on it because that was the purpose of the hike. We got up at seven o’clock on the Sunday morning and left the campsite at nine. There was rumours that day two was a killer but we didn’t think it was that bad and the path didn’t disappear. We got to the camp at half four and set up our tents. We were all in good moods because we knew day three was easy. On day three we were making excellent progress but we could have gone faster if Cpl Kayani’s legs didn’t chafe. We reached Calendar at one o’clock and got our first real meal in three days, a chippy. When we got back to the squadron we set up the tents in the main hall to air them and then we went home. I think the hike was a complete success and we are looking forward to cycling for our gold award next year. Regional Swimming By Cdt Fraser McLean On the 10th of October Sgt Vines and I went to the Regional Swimming finals in Rosyth. We met up with the other finalists at Glasgow Buchanan Street at 9 O’clock on the Sunday morning (along with Cdt McGregor for support!) before getting a coach to the Navy Base for the competition. After a quick warm-up the finals began. First was the Individual races in which Sgt Vines won gold! Then the relays began. I was taking part in the Glasgow and West of Scotland junior relay team. When it came to our turn we were in lane 5. I swam front crawl it was a really close race but eventually we ended up 3rd. I was very happy with getting a bronze as it was my 1st time at a regional event. It was a great day out for all the competitors! Instructor Cadet Training Course By Sgt Chris McMillan Last month myself and CWO Hastie attended the third Instructor Cadet Training Course at Garelochhead Army Training Camp. We stayed for two nights and undertook many interesting classes. The first thing to happen when we arrived was we were to sign in and be split into two flights. Every morning each flight was inspected for their uniform and cleanliness of billets (accomodation). The classes involved first aid, leadership, drill, interview techniques, instructor technique and important rules and regulations, including health and safety. Over the weekend we carried out many practical activities which were marked for our ability. The activities were very strenuous and fun to be involved with. They included lots of drill, leadership, an interview and a group presentation on health and safety within the Air Training Corps. At the end of the weekend we had a final parade to see who had passed, this is where the cadets were meant to be getting their white instructor tabs, but unfortunately, this could not happen, we were only presented with our Certificates and got our tabs presented back at the squadron. CWO Hastie was awarded with the ASTRA Cup for having the best marks on the course, and I graduated in the top half of the class. I now have my white tabs and can now take classes and projects competently. |
