This is right up my Street
ADVENTURE PUTS SMILE ON VIPOND’S FACE Musician and TV presenter Dougie says lockdown had him on a downer but things started to look up once he got out into the hills
FORMER Coronation Street star Tracie Bennett is returning to the soap after more than 20 years.
Her alter-ego, Sharon Bentley, was last seen on the cobbles in 1999.
The West End and Broadway actress will be back in Weatherfield 39 years after she first arrived as a troubled teenager. Bennett said her return is a “dream come true” and is “absolutely thrilled” to reprise the role of the errant foster daughter of Rita (Barbara Knox), 22 years after leaving.
IT WAS while slaloming down the un-pisted slopes of the Cairngorms in January that Dougie Vipond realised just how long he’d had the blues.
“I got into a bad place, with the second lockdown,” said the presenter and drummer with Deacon Blue.
“I put on a lot of weight and I got really, really down. I was utterly unable to motivate myself to do anything and was eating and drinking far too much. All that can drive you into a bad place mentally.”
The 54-year-old’s lifestyle is normally not without its glamour.
A week before the pandemic erupted in 2020, he was celebrating City of Love, the Deacon Blue album which went top four in the UK charts, his band’s biggest success since 1994.
He’d just completed a tour of New Zealand and Australia, and was preparing to embark on a string of dates touring across Europe and the UK.
But the virus wrecked those plans, scuttling schedules that would have seen him perform at London’s Royal Albert Hall and Glasgow’s Hydro, instead putting Dougie on a trajectory for the same downer as millions of us.
“I actually had Covid during the first lockdown,” he said.
“But I remember a strange feeling of optimism, opening my bedroom window when people were clapping for carers for the first time.
“There was a feeling we could work through this together, and it was the start of spring.
“But with the second one, I think people were angry and frustrated. That anger was sitting just below the surface for a lot of people. I was in a bad mood for ages.”
With restrictions allowing for the coverage of current affairs, Dougie was able to continue filming on BBC Scotland’s Landward, and the Adventure Show, which returns tonight.
And it was while engaging with the great outdoors that he started to get his mojo back.
He said: “If you look back on some of the Landwards we filmed over that time you can see my face getting fatter and fatter,” he said, laughing.
“I used to do three 50-mile rides a week quite comfortably, but then I got myself into this routine of not doing stuff, and got caught in that cycle – not doing anything then getting miserable about it.
“I’ve even coached other people to do ‘walk-runs’, although it’s not always so easy to take your own advice.
“But The Adventure Show helped me get back into doing stuff to make myself feel better. I’m not as fit as I was but the last couple of months I’ve been running and riding a bit more and breathing fresh air again which I desperately need to do.”
The return of the programme sees Dougie heading for the hills around Glenmore, strapping on his skis for some back-country skiing – the only option with resorts being closed.
“It really did lift the heart,” he said. “The hills were covered in snow and the conditions were really settled. It felt like we could have been anywhere in the world.
“We met some people out there who were back-country skiing, from the local area. For your mental well-being as well as your physical health, the good it does is immeasurable.”
Dougie found himself breaking new ground as a musician last year, recording an album in an environment he couldn’t have imagined.
With the tour cancelled, Deacon Blue opted to give fans a series of songs recorded during lockdown in each member’s home. It was followed last month by a mini-album, Riding On the Tide of Love.
Dougie recorded his parts in band guitarist Gregor Philps’s home studio in Dundee when restrictions were sufficiently relaxed in the summer.
He said: “Gregor had been reading this stuff on how this mic should be next to that one, and had been working out triangulations. I said, ‘It’s fine – I’ll just hit the b **** y things.’
“It was really different. When we’re making an album, we normally set up in a studio and play together. It’s a creative process and part of the joy of being in a band.
“But we had no option. There was a bit of second-guessing involved, going in on my own and recording things. Listening to demos and having everyone else put their bits on top was weird. But there are some really great songs on the record.”
The band’s tour has now been rescheduled for later this year, Covid permitting.
“I am excited. There’s a good chance it will go ahead and I’m desperate for it,” said Dougie.
“People’s emotions have been tested in ways they’ve never been tested before, and how we get out of that mentally is going to be really significant.
“The collective experience for the audience and the crowd will be incredible. There will be tears, on stage and off.” ● The Adventure Show is on BBC Scotland tonight at 7pm. Deacon Blue’s Riding On the Tide of Love is out now.
BARBIE’S boyfriend Ken celebrates his 60th birthday this week. And, although he still has the same sculpted good looks and toned torso, he has gone through many different incarnations across the decades.
Introduced in 1961, Ken first appeared alongside Barbie in an advert and was labelled her “best friend”.
He certainly didn’t draw too much focus from her high-fashion style, referring slacks and a cardigan.
He became an overnight sensation when Ken’s beach look was revealed including tight red trunks, cork sandals and a yellow towel.
There were suggestions in the early evolution of Ken that perhaps a bulge might be included to suggest realism and reaffirm his male form.
But the research and design team decided it was better for makers Mattel if his groin stayed flat at the front.
As his popularity grew in the 70s, his wardrobe selection expanded. Influential US and UK designers were clamouring to create his gear.
In one incarnation, he was given a beard and sideburns.
The 80s saw the arrival of Malibu Ken and the first representation of ethnic diversity.
More questionable was the arrival of Fashionista Ken with manbun and cornrows in 2017 as well as a six-pack stomach.
Ken has always been a keen swimmer, tennis player and golfer among other sports.
In 1975 Gold Olympic Medal Kens came in the form of Swimming Ken and Skiing Ken. His career has been as diverse as his sporting life and he’s had more than 30 jobs. Ken has been a doctor, a firefighter, a lifeguard, a tennis coach and pilot. He’s also tested the waters of the gig economy with a stint as a hipster barista. No longer the cloned Ken of yesteryear, today’s doll is celebrated in many forms. There are three different body types, nine skin tones and 10 eye colours. New for this year, there is a Ken with afro hair and Ken in a wheelchair. Toy expert Peter Jenkinson said: “Often written off as oldfashioned among a world of digital play and streamed content, the Barbie brand, which of course counts Ken in its number, has had a successful year during the pandemic as tangible toys were once again bought by kids and parents shopping online. “Shares in Mattel are up almost 50 per cent and sales of the range have seen the best growth in two decades. “Ken and Barbie are timeless toys although they have rightly evolved along the way. “Mattel have always been careful to protect the brand and maintain their relevancy. Barbie is still the number one-selling toy in the world.” In terms of relationships, it’s been a rocky path for Ken and Barbie and the couple have been more on and off than Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth. Mattel broke the news the couple had split in 2004. In 2006 they had reunited… only for them to split once again. Barbie had already appeared in many films when Ken made his bigscreen debut in 2010’s Toy Story 3. He made more than 50 costume changes in the film and later Barbie and Ken were revealed to be an item again. To celebrate the 60th anniversary, Mattel teamed with Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson and recreated some of Ken’s most memorable looks. There’s plenty of obsessing about the multi-talented doll in
Ken and Barbie are timeless but have rightly evolved PETER JENKINSON TOY EXPERT ON MATTEL ICONS
the real world. Quentin Dehar, a 24-year-old French TV personality who aspires to be like Ken, was in a relationship with Barbielike Anastasia Reskoss.
The two began dating over their shared interest in the dolls but sadly split.
Then there’s Rodrigo
Alves, 37, a flight attendant who has spent tens of thousands to achieve a Ken-like look but has now gender-transitioned, is known as Jessica and looks more like Barbie.
One of the most dram-atic of the Ken lookalikes is Justin Jedlica, a plastic surgery consultant who has undergone more than 300 cosmetic procedures after having his first a nose job at 18.
He has since spent millions on plastic surgery.
Many of his procedures, which include custom back implants, shoulder implants and multiple nose jobs, have been paid for by male fans. He even starred in a documentary about body modifications – The Human Ken Doll.
Expert Peter adds: “Much has been written about Barbie’s new looks and careers over the years, but Ken has been much forgotten.
“Now he’s 60 will he become retired Ken with a bus pass and slippers instead of a sports car? I don’t think so.
“He’ll be forever 21.”
EDITED BY SALLY McLEAN
IT’LL come as no surprise to most parents that a study by Oxford University showed levels of stress, depression and anxiety among mums, dads and carers have soared during the past 12 months.
Lockdown combined with work commitments and home schooling have taken a toll.
“Being a parent isn’t easy at the best of times,” said Michelle Terry, CEO of the men’s health charity Movember.
“However, the pandemic has exacerbated the pressure parents are under and many feel overwhelmed by the demands of looking after children.”
Research shows positive parenting techniques, also known as authoritative parenting, can help to improve most common behavioural issues.
Positive parenting is based on the idea that good behaviour can be taught without resorting to shouting or punishment. Parents who follow this strategy actively help the child learn how to manage situations more appropriately while remaining calm themselves.
For example, instead of shouting at a child for drawing on the walls, get them to take responsibility for clearing it up.
To help teach these strategies, Movember has launched Family Man, a free online course. It is designed to appeal to fathers, who are often reluctant to take part in parenting courses, counting for less than a fifth of participants.
But it can be used by anyone who looks after kids.
The course uses animation to look at different situations, such as a battle over the dinner table or a public tantrum. The techniques work for children of all ages because they focus on encouraging positive behaviour, and improvements can be seen in just two weeks.
For Chris, who lives in London with his wife, Larisa, it’s been a game-changer.
He said: “I was asking the children to do things countless times and they didn’t appear to be paying any attention at all. It was as though I was just background noise.”
Chris put some of the tactics from the course into practice.
He said: “The best piece of advice was that I should stop phrasing things as a question.
“So instead of saying: ‘Do you want to tidy your room?’ I say: ‘I would like you to go upstairs now and put your toys away’.”
Adapted from ParentWorks, designed by Professor Mark Dadds at Sydney University, Family Man has been vetted by a panel of psychologists.
Prof Dadds said: “Our study showed this type of intervention was successful in reducing behavioural problems, ineffective parenting, couple conflict and improving parental mental health.”
After just a few weeks, Chris and Larisa have noticed changes in their children’s behaviour.
He said: “Our kids try to play us off against each other but if you agree on an approach together, there will be less conflict and that makes life less stressful for everyone.” ●Family Man is available free at familyman.movember.com