MEDIA folk, especially in Glasgow, are known to have a predilection for all matters curry, and allmediascotland’s man at this week’s Scottish Curry Awards at the city’s Thistle Hotel spotted a few of the fraternity among the 600 or so guests.
Of course, it helped that the major sponsor of the event is The Sunday Post and it is run by Glasgow-based Oceanic Media Consulting which has several Asia-orientated publications in its stable – including the glossy A4, Love Curry.
And there was even a media triumph when curry blog, TrampyandtheTramp.blogspot.com, and its ardent contributors – Graeme, a freelance journalist, and Chris, who works in television and film – lifted the Curry Lover of the Year award.
The duo are quick to point out they are not professional food critics. Says Chris: “It’s certainly not a reviewing site. We’re not out to slate anyone, but we may offer constructive criticism if needed. If you read the blog you’ll find that there’s little about the food – it’s more about the whole experience.
“We aren’t restaurant professionals. I think the kind of curry restaurant we would run… well, we’d probably eat all the food and leave none for the customers. I think we will leave it to the pros and stay on the other side, with our faces pressed up against the glass, drooling.”
Among those present were Sarah Finlay, the current Miss Earth Scotland, and the daughter of journalists, Maggie Barry and David Finlay.
Maggie, who is now married to former Scotland goalkeeper, Alan Rough, is facing redundancy at the Scottish Daily Mirror, which has announced plans to cease its Scottish editionising. She was at the event to chaperone her daughter, who at the tender age of 23, has launched her own luxury chocolates business – Miss Coco, from a small factory in Cumbernauld.
The model-turned-entrepreneur, a geography graduate of Glasgow University, has travelled the world representing Scotland as Miss Earth Scotland.
Sarah, who used to work part-time at the Scottish Sunday Mail, as a copy girl, flew to Manila in the Philippines where more than 70 million viewers across the globe tuned into the final Miss Earth pageant.
Along with the contestants, dubbed “beauties with a cause”, Sarah had to help clean beaches and plant trees. But she was used to conservation work, having already travelled to Nicaragua and Costa Rica to volunteer on environmental projects.
