The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Flights of fancy
Michael Alexander speaks to John Bullough, founder and chairman of Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, who believes the return of the Stone of Destiny can single-handedly change the future of Perth city centre
The informed people are going to get it – the uninformed and ignorant are going to respond with anger
When Perthshire businessman, charity founder and part-time police officer John Bullough thinks of all the projects he’s been involved with over the years where the initial reaction from the community has been sceptical, he is drawn to the words of 19th Century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche who said “and those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music”.
It’s a positive analogy that John uses when he thinks back to the initial proposal for Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance (SCAA) at Perth Airport in 2010 and his ongoing role at the forefront of the campaign to bring the Stone of Destiny home to Perth.
But far from being put off by what others see as impossible, the 51-year-old former Army officer describes such obstacles as his “happy place” that make him even more determined to succeed.
“If you are wanting to work on a project that’s really going to create positive change, then people are going to fight against it,” John says.
“The informed people are going to buy it – the uninformed and ignorant are going to respond with anger.
“But the greatest measure of any disruptor project for the future is how roundly it is rejected – how many times it is told to F-off!
“Certainly, for me, that was the case as far as Scotland’s Charity
Air Ambulance was concerned and regarding the Stone of Destiny – pretty much everybody telling you we couldn’t do it, which to me is like a red rag to a bull!
“You know you are on to something when you are told it can’t be done, but hopefully my best work is yet to come!”
Born in Brampton, Cumbria, and brought up at Huntingtower, near Perth, the former Glenalmond College pupil and Sandhurst graduate served with the Scots Guards during the first Gulf War and in Northern Ireland – leaving the Army after five years with the rank of captain.
One of the most difficult decisions of his life – and “certainly one of the darkest moments” – came in March 2016 when “changing times” forced him and his wife Georgina to close longestablished family-run department store McEwens of Perth, which went into administration with the loss of 110 jobs.
The company had traded at its
St John Street site since March 1868 and also had branches in Ballater and Oban.
John misses the staff and customers every day. He knows he and his wife did everything they could to “keep that unsustainable business going”.
“I hope that under very difficult circumstances we conducted ourselves with integrity and compassion,” he adds.
However, despite Perth High Street – along with every high street in Britain – facing incredible pressures even before Covid-19 started to bite, John believes
Perth city centre has a great future and he is in no doubt it is “perfectly positioned to have the renaissance it deserves”.
He feels “very privileged” to have been chairman of Perth City Development Board from its formation in 2012 until earlier this year.
A key to the future of Perth includes an environmental agenda, as recently laid out by new Perth City Leadership Forum chairman Mike Robinson, through his ambition for Perth to become Europe’s most sustainable small city.
However, with retail decisions increasingly dominated by online and out-of-town shopping even before coronavirus, John said the future vision also acknowledged that retail, while essential, is no longer the primary reason why people visit city centres. Instead, it’s all about culture, cuisine, leisure and a day-out experience for the whole family.
It’s with that in mind that he has been at the forefront of a campaign to bring the Stone of Destiny back to Perth. He helped launch the project over a decade ago alongside retired headmaster Mike Beale and the late Roddy Young, who also worked together to help instigate the idea for the SCAA.
John said of all the projects the Perth City Development Board worked on, the Stone of Destiny has the potential to “single-handedly change the future of our city centre”.
“The stone is one of the world’s greatest and most romantic national artefacts and we have got an opportunity to tell the story of Scotland and the potential to create an internationally renowned cultural destination that would drive hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city centre,” he said, adding that his family have a personal connection to the stone as his wife, Lady Georgina Bullough – the daughter of the late Earl of Mansfield – was born and brought up at Scone Palace.
“Perth city has been the centre of Scotland’s history from the 9th Century and there’s an opportunity for us to be able to tell that story and put Perth back in its place.
“There is an exceptionally professional proposal submitted to the Scottish Government for the stone to be relocated from Edinburgh Castle to a purpose-built cultural facility in the City Hall.
“The matter is with the Scottish Government who are hopefully going to be announcing their decision in the near future, but the signs are extremely encouraging – hopefully it’s just a matter of time.”
John laughs when he says he’s “never had an original idea in his life”.
However, what he brings to the table when working with others, he says, is a “very stubborn” streak and a “bloodyminded tenacity” that refuses to accept when he’s told something can’t be done.
That was certainly the case with the formation of SCAA. He’s incredibly proud that the charity, of which he is founding chairman, launched its first Helimed76 helicopter at Perth Airport in 2013 and was recently able to launch its second helicopter Helimed79 at Aberdeen – the decision being taken during lockdown despite not reaching their full funding target.
The highly successful project is