Nick was a gift to this world. He lit up my life like no one else could and brought joy to everyone he met. He’s left me with a mountain of memories that I’ll cherish forever 💔
"Nick has been a wonderful colleague. He was a hugely talented journalist, presenter and author – and one of those rare people who light up the lives of everyone around them."
Head of News and Current Affairs at BBC Scotland Gary Smith pays tribute to Nick Sheridan.
If, like me, you’re sorely in need of some cheering up after Nick’s death, who better to put a smile on our faces than the man himself. Here he is creasing up while reading a news bulletin about a rampaging naked pensioner.
Nick singing Danny Boy back in 2022 in his angelic voice. A poignant, painful, prescient lament 💔
But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying,
If I am dead, as dead I well may be,
You'll come and find the place where I am lying,
And kneel and say an Ave there for me.
I’ll never forget Nick singing the Wexford Rebellion song Boolavogue to an enraptured audience at the Scotia, bringing the raucous open mic into a stunned silence. He went and hid immediately afterwards, embarrassed by the floods of compliments and offers of pints.
This
@BBCScotland
series sees
@lokiscottishrap
make some discoveries which from my bubble were a shocking and damning indictment on how we treat those who start out life with very poor odds. An absolutely essential bit of journalism for our times
Sound the cheesy tweet klaxon 📣🧀
Today is my last day at the BBC. I'm going freelance to focus on food reporting, broadcasting & climate stuff in the run up to COP in Glasgow🌍
It's been one of the hardest decisions of my life but here's hoping green pastures lie ahead 🙏
News of another distillery isn't going down well on Islay. People talking of a whisky Disneyland destroying the fabric of the island, lack of infrastructure, no space for cars on ferries, housing shortage. Zero mention of these issues in the reams of PR write up
.
@alaindebotton
always cuts a shrewd line through the political into the personal. Here he makes sense of modern existence and the mental health crisis, explains why Brexit is actually about sex, and how we can transcend existence through nature
We're in Glasgow for the next episode of
@BBCFoodProg
.
@leylakazim
and I are exploring the pivotal role of food for refugees & asylum seekers, building community, shaping identity and providing culturally appropriate spaces for new Scots in the city
To all the anti-vaxxers exploiting a young man’s death for their own selfish ends, might I suggest you read Nick’s excellent book, Breaking News – it’ll help you spot what’s real and what’s rubbish 💩
Aimed at 8–12-year-olds but you might learn a thing or two 😉
From ‘commotion lotion’ to fancy cocktail ingredient,
@jaegawise
and I explore the transformation of Buckfast this Sunday on the
@BBCFoodProg
at 12:30pm. Dinnae miss it
I wrote a love letter to my favourite pub for the folks at
@pelliclemag
. Little did I know I’d been documenting the precious final months under the stewardship of the Clancy clan, who’ve made this Glasgow’s most welcoming pub for over four decades.
I've been exploring how Scotland can become a Good Food Nation with
@SheilaDillon
for
@BBCFoodProg
, one where people take pride in the food they produce, buy, cook, serve and eat 🏴🥕👩🌾🐄👩🍳
There's a long journey ahead but buoyed by what's going on today. Coming up at 12:30 📻
I’ll be on
@BBCRadioScot
just after 10 today talking to my main man
@StephenJardine
about how to find wild mushrooms in your neck of the woods, and nerding out more generally about the fascinating world of fungi 🤓🍄🍁📻
Delighted to say the
@BBCFoodProg
that
@leylakazim
and I made with Arij and Ibrahim has been shortlisted in the radio category at the Refugee Festival Scotland Media Awards. Congrats to all the other incredible nominees & thanks
@scotrefcouncil
✨
What difference would it make to our lives if we paid attention to each and every aspect of how our food is made?
Today on
@bbcfoodprog
,
@cellarmansam
asks us to reevaluate the value of mindful & attentive food production, and questions whether this has now become a privilege.
I had a fun time speaking to media students at Strathclyde Uni about radio & podcasting as a so-called ‘guest lecturer’. Met some folks from Penn State’s journalism school, listened to a great
@Detroit67Book
indy monologue and drank Bru out of a wine glass. Thanks
@RhiannonDavies
"How can Scotland really become a ‘Good Food Nation’ with a neo-feudal oligarchy at the helm of its rural land?"
This week on Vittles, an essay about the Marquess and the market: Bute Yard, Scottish land reform, and neofeudalism by
@robbiejourno
Should we give a 💩 about terroir when it comes to whisky, or has it become a distraction from more important issues? I've been exploring the Scotch Industrial Complex, global conglomerates and barley production for
@vittleslondon
👇🥃🏭
A soul-nourishing day showing
@leylakazim
around Glasgow with Ibrahim from Sierra Leone and Arij from Syria. Lamb ribs at Calabash followed by this wondrous tableful at Damasqino. For a
@BBCFoodProg
out later this month
🚨Some GOOD media news: We're using the money we raised last year to double the size of our team by the end of 2024, hiring journalists in Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham, Liverpool and... London.
Yes, the time has come - as reported by today's
@FT
.
Govanhill is a place where the only constant is change, but can the area evolve for the benefit of all? Three of my neighbours shared their thoughts on gentrification with me for
@Govanhill_mag
. Susan summed it up in 7 words: “Coffee is great, but community is better.”
McLondon and the False Scots Culinary Dichotomy - here’s how haggis and deep-fried fare was trendified, and what it says about the stereotyping of Scottish food.
“Everyone from Bourdain to Vice has gleefully presented Scotland thusly: Glasgow, a den of culinary iniquity, deep-fried food and heart disease; the rest of Scotland, from Edinburgh to Ullapool, a rugged land of fresh and humble produce”
@robbiejourno
*Very excited* for this: Sound of Refugee Voices radio show – presented, created and edited by people with experience in the asylum system. This programme is going to be special! Shout out to
@Govanhill_mag
&
@RadioBuenaVida
for making it happen 📻👏🎙️
I've been fascinated by the surge in magnet fishing during the pandemic, and blown away by the passion and dedication for cleaning up and helping wildlife flourish. Oh and guns, bombs, and machetes. Some words I wrote with pics by
@PhotographRose
This weekend
@jaegawise
and producer
@robbiejourno
delve into the murky world of cask investment programmes, counterfeits and even burglary – as industry experts air their fears about bad actors entering the Scotch whisky market to make a quick buck.
The gals are all dolled up for their Christmas do - if you know small person who loves mystery, adventure and magic this Christmas with fabulous illustrations by
@davidoconnell
then look no further! 🎁🎄🎅🎉
@Gill_Books
@simonkids_UK
How did Scotland end up eating deep-fried everything and [insert variation of] haggis at every opportunity, all despite having one of the world's richest regional larders? McNeill's seminal book The Scots Kitchen sheds much light. tl;dr: Scotland, stop selling yersel shortbread!
"Scotland has become a place at ease with selling a culinary version of itself that is scarcely representative of what anyone in the country actually eats on a regular basis"
@robbiejourno
on The Scots Kitchen and how Scottish cuisine became a cliché.
The story of how Glasgow ended up with more urban motorway than any other city in the UK, and what the future now holds for Scotland's biggest city - told through almost a century of archive and new interviews 🚘📼📻🛣️
Will the hoary old stereotypes about Scottish food ever end, or are we consigned to making shite jokes about deep fried Mars bars until the apocalypse? Media here and in London are happy to represent our cuisine as nothing but variations on haggis, smoked salmon and shortbread.
So writes Patrick Colquhoun, whose family have owned the lands around the banks of Loch Lomond since 1150. Also a vice chair of Scottish Land Estates, the lobby group representing lairds, like his father, and the 432 landowners who own a lion's share of Scotland. Are ye feart?
"Egged on by activists and the Scottish Green Party, Humza Yousaf’s government has produced a bill dripping with red meat for land reformists" | ✍️ Patrick Colquhoun
A pleasure and a privilege to be part of
@bbcpodlitical
again. This week we welcome
@AmieIgoe
to the fold to chat the PM's Brexit deal,
@nickeardleybbc
creeping round the corridors of Westminster, Gerard Butler and cats versus dogs
There’s no better place to understand Scotland’s land ownership inequality than Bute.
Here, an aristocratic family have enjoyed a quasi-monopoly on land & resources since the 12th C.
Neofoodalism: the Marquess & the Food Market, for
@vittlesmagazine
Proud to have been part of this week’s
@bbcpodlitical
podcast featuring
@kezdugdale
on personality politics, our next PM, Indyref2 and the surprising uses of Vicks Vaporub
Live now and we’re kicking off with a track Shazammed on the streets of Govanhill, from Iranian band, Kiosk. Hear a tune you like locally? Shazam it and send it in!
Listen here:
Incredibly incredibly proud of
@KatieAnneRevell
not only for cycling about 75km with me this weekend but also for this article featuring her work with
@farmerama__
in the Observer
More from
@PeterKrykant
as he risks arrest to set up a Drugs Consumption Van. It's illegal as it would facilitate drug use. But he says people “are injecting in squalid conditions in alleyways and parks" amid an HIV outbreak among addicts.
In our final (non-seasonal) feature of the year
@robbiejourno
heads to Glasgow to meet brewer-meets-philosopher Gareth Young of
@BreweryEpochal
. Enjoy this bumper length interview, with photos from oor Jonny right here:
Big development in the whisky cask investment story: The Advertising Standards Authority has launched a probe into online adverts claiming consumers can make returns as high as 20%. More here:
I spent a few months at
@Thelaurieston
last year, getting to know the inimitable Clancy family and writing a love letter to my favourite pub. Sláinte 🍻
The Laurieston has been sold to a private investor who says the pub will continue to run as it has for the past 40 years, with a member of the Clancy family remaining involved 🍻
Listen to me chatting to
@Fionasstalker
about the
@SocialBite_
Sleep in the Park on
@BBCRadioScot
from 1hr47:30secs. My scepticism vanished when I saw the compassion and fundraising efforts of people taking part last year.
Chatting to a woman in Glasgow caring for her brother who’s disabled. Electric wheelchair costs too much to charge up so she’s using his old non-electric one instead. One small light on in his house to save money. Not using electric chair hoist. I’m in tears
#CostOfLivingCrisis
It's fair game to criticise and critique, but this piece feels garbled and sanctimonious. I'm biased, sure, but Vittles is doing more than any other food publication I can think of to champion diverse and emerging voices, and takes its readers very seriously indeed.
The single greatest fact in modern political history is the success of the wealthy & powerful in convincing ordinary people that other ordinary people, culturally different to them, are a greater threat to them than the carbon capitalism of the wealthy & powerful—James McDougall.
5 days using London’s world-beating public transport system. 12 hours back in Glasgow: exorbitant ticket prices, long waits for buses, queues of people because late buses are full up, traffic jams, cars and taxis everywhere, pedestrians walking in cycle lanes. Sigh.
I’m excited to share something I’ve been working on for the past few months for the good folks
@pelliclemag
. A love letter to a favourite pub of mine 🧡🍻 🥹
Our jam-packed free email newsletter sends tomorrow morning. Get updated on our latest feature, as well as other bits and bobs from us at Pellicle, by signing up here. (Photo is a clue about the subject of tomorrow's feature!)
Few things have filled me with as much hope for humanity as hearing how the Sikh community in Scotland reacted to the pandemic - coming together to feed the hungry and help those most in need. Read more in the article below👇
"Whether you’re homeless or whether you’re a rich person, everyone is treated the same, it doesn’t matter."
Read how the Sikh community played an important role in helping to keep Glaswegians fed during the pandemic.
It’s so touching to see Nick inspiring a new generation of journalists in this video. He absolutely adored the kids he met on his book tours across Ireland and Scotland, and undoubtedly left an indelible impression on so many. Omnia vincit veritas; the truth conquers above all.
In Dec 2021 Nick Sheridan published a book called "Breaking News, How to Tell What's Real From What's Rubbish".
In June 2022 he visited a school in Kilkenny to talk about how to spot fake news.
Save the date: on Jan 13th the UK's leading scientists, writers, chefs, farmers & campaigners will be taking part in discussions about the wonders and importance of food diversity.
Visit or follow
@eating2extinct
to get involved.
#fooddiversityday
The Provand's Lordship on Castle Street in Glasgow. Built by Andrew Muirhead, the Bishop of Glasgow, in 1471 as part of the Saint Nicholas's Hospital, it's one of the few buildings in the city to survive from the Medieval period.
#glasgow
#architecture
#glasgowbuildings
Some overdue justice for the survivors of John Brownlee's campaign of cruelty and abuse.
The BBC series In Dark Corners set about righting this historic wrong – it's a troubling listen told with compassion, righteousness and journalistic grit 👏
Triumph for the
@edinburghacad
survivors - former housemaster John Brownlee found guilty on 38 charges of cruelty and violent abuse of the children in his care, over 20 years.
🚨 Ever since we raised money last year, I've been talking to a brilliant journalist in Glasgow about setting up a new title there. To do it, we need a second staff writer, so please get in touch if that's you. Given the drama of 🏴 politics right now, the timing feels 👌.
TLDR: Scottish people eat disgusting shite like deep fried mars bars, boiled tatties and entrails. But don't fear you unwashed rogues, some chefs have taken your god awful cuisine and made it presentable to patrons of gorgeous gastropubs and east London eateries. Rejoice!
Once again, a total privilege to help with this community effort - hear the incredible work
@sikhsinscotland
have been doing delivering food parcels across Scotland throughout the pandemic from 2pm today or listen back
@RadioBuenaVida
later
For anyone in need of a distraction today, the next episode of our radio show airs today from 2-3pm on !
It's another celebration of the communities and cultures of Greater Govanhill, this time focussing on food.
Part 3 of Landed is here! Col Gordon
@waltorangeboy
examines Scotland's role within the UK's grim colonial history, speaks to Land in Our Names co-founder Josina Calliste to dig deeper, and asks how is it to be a person of colour in Scotland today? Listen:
One of my neighbours I spoke to for a piece about gentrification for
@Govanhill_mag
has had to move out so the flat can go on the market. Maybe these things are inevitable – it's happened to me and many others – but it makes me sad
Climate change is a pact with the devil for UK winemakers, bringing historic harvests & years when no grapes are harvested at all.
@jaegawise
& I explore the good, the bad & the ugly side of winemaking in a world of rising temperatures & extreme weather
Here’s some recently developed film photos of Glasgow’s motorway.
I’m interested in capturing it from
a human scale, as a pedestrian, public transport user and cyclist - in the way that most Glaswegians interact with it, a majority of whom don’t have access to a car 🖤📷🤍
One of the highlights of making this episode of
@BBCFoodProg
was discovering this old clip of the inimitable Annie Mizen doing a blind tasting of English sparkling wine and Champagne 🍾 She gets tipsy off a few sips and starts absolutely creasing herself at her own jokes 😂
It’s tiny I know but I’m overjoyed with this cheeky wee porcini I found in the park. His family had been brutally massacred by a lawnmower. I rescued him but then accidentally ate him
#foraging
#cep
#pennybun
Just emailed myself to check my out of office is on, to which I received an automated out of office from my own email, to which I received an automated email from my own email responding to my own email, to which I received another email...53 emails in & counting make it stop pls
A real standout from the incredible podcast that is
@disgracelandpod
- it's refreshingly different and quite unlike anything else you're likely to listen to
NOW AVAILABLE: Homeless. Locked up for vandalism. Addicted to heroin and taken by love,
#CourtneyLove
. Find out what drove
#KurtCobain
to make great music and ultimately over the edge. Part 1 of the Kurt and Courtney story. Listen free on Apple Podcasts;
Yer man
@jasonleitch
doing an absolute turn on
@BBCRadioScot
this morning. Easily understandable information communicated very clearly about how we all respond to the
#coronavirus
- public service broadcasting at its best, dare I say
@ScotNational
For the benefit of those who haven't read the article, the comments are from a joke made on Twitter in 2015. Sweeney said the comments were a “crass and failed attempt at humour”. He didn't actually own shares in BAE.
There are now 9 distilleries for a pop. of 3.2k. Port Ellen is almost finished, and another 3 on the way. You might think Ileachs would be largely happy but this is an island with full employment. Tankers erode the roads & many can't get their cars on the ferry or find housing
Delighted to see the
#GoodFoodNation
bill passed at last, bolstered by the creation of a Food Commission. It's all down to the tireless work of so many groups and individuals and is years in the making
👏👩🌾🍽️🥕🏴
We did it together! The
#GoodFoodNation
Bill is here thanks to the years of collaboration and campaigning by individuals, groups and MSPs from across Scotland
@GFNCampaign
Do you like nature? Do you love solutions?
@AnnaPloszajski
and I have been part of an exciting new podcast. Episode 1 is all about nature based solutions. Expect oyster brawls, whisky innovation and climate resilient cities
@HeriotWattUni
@Bespoken_UK
I was worried this might be exploitative or seedy - it was nothing of the sort. This is a serious look at Scotland's drug epidemic, handling it with care, reflecting the heavy human cost and asking tough Qs
@PeteKrykant_OPC
you had me holding back tears 🌹