THE WHO at the HYDRO GLASGOW

After the last Quadrophenia Tour the band promised a final visit playing their best hits from the last 50 years.This was the first night of the tour and their last ever visit to Glasgow.

This review from The Telegraph seems to be highly impressed and underwhelmed at the same time , though the quote about "thugs" is not how i heard the comment made on stage by Daltrey.

"A hits tour was promised, and that is exactly what a loud, ecstatic crowd got. Opening with the barrage of I Can’t Explain, Substitute and The Kids Are Alright, Daltrey and Townshend threw out classics like confetti.

The Who’s music lives or dies on its energy, and that can pose a problem for songs written in the flush of adolescence and played on a pension-boosting 50th anniversary tour. So while Substitute had a syncopated groove, the breathy barks of Daltrey’s vocals deprived it of its natural swagger, and I Can’t Explain was lively but too polite for its own good.

It was the slightly later material which flourished. I Can See For Miles was just loud and leery enough, but demonstrated just how much harmonic invention they sneaked into pop songs. Townshend didn’t look like a man desperate to call time on his touring career. Teasing Daltrey, flattering the crowd with the assertion that “Glasgow has a better class of thug” and conducting the band with nods and twitches of his loping, still-rangy body while throwing in a good number of windmills, he seemed in his element."

It was odd to see people looking at facebook on their mobiles whilst The Who were performing hit after hit in front of their face.The poor guy next to me got no likes despite game attempts , any many posts.
The video below i have included because it is quite close to the view i got ( it features "Wont Get Fooled Again"


And this is my all time favourite Who song called Baba O'Riley"

KATSURA SUNSHINE at GLASGOW UNIVERSITY

Katsura Sunshine is the only non-Japanese performer of the historical theatre tradition in Japan called Rakugo.It is a 400-year-old tradition of comic performance storytelling done in a one man minimalistic performance style dressed in kimono, kneeling on a cushion,  using only facial movements to play a whole host of characters , engaging the audience with a comic monologue describing a traditional story.

 According to his publicity Sunshine was born in Toronto, Ontario, to parents of Slovenian origin. In 2008, Sunshine was accepted as an apprentice to the great Rakugo storytelling master, Katsura Bunshi VI (then named Katsura Sanshi), and subsequently received the name Katsura Sunshine. Sunshine received his professional debut in Singapore the following year, and completed his three-year Rakugo apprenticeship in November, 2012. Sunshine is the first ever Western Rakugo storyteller in the history of the “Kamigata” Rakugo tradition, based in Osaka, and only the second ever in the history of Japan. He is the only Western professional Rakugo storyteller at the present time. Sunshine is also the Cultural Ambassador for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Japan.

There is a whole lot more information and history in Sunshines Official website  of the Rakugo tradition with its various protocols and a very demanding three year apprenticeship in which the pupil has to sit with and serve the Master for every day without fail as he learns the craft which is only performed by 700 performers who have graduated to become formal storytellers when " In order to become a recognized professional Rakugo storyteller, one must apprentice to a Rakugo master, from whom one receives a stage name. The apprenticeship lasts for three to four years, and is very strict. Depending on the master, the apprentice may not drink, smoke, or go on dates, and is subject to a strict curfew during the apprenticeship period. The apprentice cleans the master’s house, does laundry, cooking, preparing and folding kimonos, and other chores, and learns the art of storytelling by watching the master perform and imitating. Throughout one’s career, one is only allowed to perform a given story once permission to do that story has been granted by a master storyteller."

 "Every Rakugo story is preceded by a comic monologue which consists of the individual storyteller’s “material”, and can be about almost anything, much like stand-up comedy. The storyteller often takes advantage of this monologue to present hilarious explanations of how to enjoy and appreciate Rakugo stories, so that even the uninitiated can easily follow the story once it begins. Traditionally, the storyteller uses the monologue to “feel out” his audience, and actually decides which story to launch into once he can see what kind of audience he has."

The video below has Sunshine performing to a Scottish audience following his run at the Edinburgh Festival



And the video below traces the journey that made Sunshine into the first foreign performer of the Rakugo tradition

IS SECESSION IN THE AIR? THE CASES OF CATALONIA , SCOTLAND AND FLANDERS

The recent referendum on independence in Scotland has focused attention on the question of secession and sovereignty in other places , there are more than 60 Secessionist movements with the EU alone at this time.

The title "Secession" had been chosen by Prof. Brian Girvan over Independence or Self-determination as the term "Secession" is recognised by International Law whilst Independence or Self-determination are not.

Dr.Tom Lundberg , Brian Girvan and guests , it has to be said , came across on this occasion as the worst kind of Academics , self-absorbed Pub bores pontificating in a dry county.But there was some information and insights worth relating.

In the case of Belgium we have an example of how far Devolution can go without full Independent Statehood in the separation of Wallonia and Flanders , there is almost no interlap between the two communities where even the Socialist and Trade Union Movements are split by language and region.Flanders has a budget larger than the Belgian State.This is all possible because Secession  can be achieved under the umbrella of the EU  without the need for Wars from old style States.The EU also deserves credit for taking out the military component to the once deadly State issues of the Northern Ireland , Basque and some Regional Italian tensions which no national Parliaments in London,Madrid or Rome could ever have resolved without EU regulations giving the individual rights to non-discrimination and equality which have made the Eurozone into a region of rights for all rather than patronage of highly centralised National Governments which , in the case of the Major Government in the UK with the Ulster Unionists holding the balance of power, relied on entrenched reactionary local parties that would not allow equality legislation encroach of their historical positions of power.

Santiago Pérez-Nievas explained the historical issues concerning the Catalonia attempt to hold a referendum.Historically Spain has always been weak in terms of national cohesion for many centuries.The idea of a centrally governed Iberia has never set in any great force , even less so than a unified Italy.Spain  has a history of connections and alliances , always fluid, of Kingdoms and Cantons .20% of todays Spain does not have Castilian as a national language.Institutional development of Spain as national State has been haphazard between the centre ( sometimes not even the richest , or institutionally most developed , province of Spain) has had to respect the older , sometimes more established ,Kingdom states of Catalonia,Aragon, Basque and Andalusia .

Even when Spain had the first central parliament , The Basque National Party ( as the name implies it was not a pan-Iberian party )was the second oldest political party in Spain providing the first elected officials in 1910.Even the Spanish nationalist parties were basically trying to create a Central Northern Plain domination of executive decision making from traditional Royalist heartlands from Madrid.

Catalonia before the civil war was a highly developed self-sustained State which even had imperial interests in Cuba and the Spanish Caribbean.Having gone through an Industrial revolution and many local banking and credit interests able to fund its own development.

Francos dictatorship has to be seen as a Castilian Spanish Nationalist movement which was all about complete centralisation of all power , as well as culture , denying the regions even the right to their own language and ancient patron saints , yet alone political or economic power.Even now the call for autonomy or independence is seen as an attack on the very concept of Spain in the elite power circles of Madrid.This is why every legal and constitutional objection is being raised to prevent a break-away referendum.

Under Zapatero , the PSOE passed legislation in 2008 setting limits to integration , and conversely the ceiling to devolvement for Catalonia from Spanish rule.This meant the Rajoy Government could use constitutional arguments to limit the level of devolvement as well as restrict calls from the Catalan parties for a binding poll on Independence , a position which was backed by the ruling on the Spanish Constitutional Court nullifying the proposed November 9th referendum.

Despite this set back the 2nd generation of post Franco Catalan youngsters is growing.The Catalan Education system , which was allowed to officially use the language , as well as the National TV is locally based , giving a strong case for the pro-Independence movement which is unlikely to be lessened by the current stand-off between the secessionists and the centre creating a more hardline approach by both parties.

In the case of Scotland the real victory was when Cameron posed the West Lothian Question from the English point of view , which is the only real way Scotland can get Independence from London Control, which is if the Scots want more powers and accountability from elected officials closer to home then why should Scots we able to vote on English only matters in Westminster.A move which Conservatives , quite rightly , believe will mean Labour are in opposition for many years if not a generation because they cant have the 40-plus MPs which swing the balance of losing an Election in England to winning an Election in the UK.

It looks like New Labour could face wipe-out in Scotland as well as a backlash in England because of their conservative stance which the electorate of both Scotland and England believe was a betrayal of each other for the lust of temporal power , in Scotland because their stance could mean another long spell of government in London by parties not voted for by the Scottish Electorate and in England for allowing Scots to vote for policies that directly effect England even the MPs are not English.It is a fate New Labour entirely deserve for standing shoulder to shoulder with the BNP,UKIP,Orange Order and the Conservatives to deny Scotland an historic opportunity to control their own affairs from Home rather being locked into a  London-Centric cycle in which the Regions are the last to feel impacts of a boom and the first to taste recession in policies geared to look after London interests at the expense of the Regions.

TOM DEVINE at GLASGOW UNIVERSITY

Tom Devine is the leading authority on modern Scottish history and through his books (among them, 'The Great Highland Famine' and 'The Scottish Nation 1700 to 2000') that for most people Tom Devine will be best known.
Professor Tom Devine contends that the English created the British Empire , but the Scots ran it through the provision of Bankers, Administrators , Generals , Soldiers , Governors , Missionaries that England , which at the time only had Two Universities ( both Schools of Divinity) when Scotland had Four ( Mostly producing Technocrats , Lawyers , Engineers and Skilled Captains of Industry and Commerce) , more or less the ingredients of vast Imperial expansion and maintenance.
Sir Tom Devine has recently declared himself in favour of Independence for Scotland.

In this lecture entitled "An Empire of Commerce: Three Centuries of Scottish Enterprise in the East" we are told of the dry statistics and telling contributions of the massive Scottish presence that made the English Empire into the International dominating force in the 18th , 19th and most of the 20th Century.



The "High Noon" of Unionism , according to Devine , was in 1957 when Scotland was a nation returning more Conservative MPs than at any time before or since.Even though the final outcome of the referendum was 45-55% against Independence , he is adamant that the momentum away from staying in the Union from the high point of the late fifties is getting shorter and the option of Devo-Max will no longer be able to appease the drive towards full Independence.

In this lecture he tells the story of Scotland in The Union and also his conclusions about the present and future of Scotland.



In this lecture ( he comes on at the 4mins 30sec mark) he explains Scottish over-representation of the architects and cognitive drivers of the Empire meant to North America and the development of the Superpower of the late 20th and early 21st Century.

STEWART LEE at THE STAND EDINBURGH FRINGE

Had the pleasure of seeing Stewart Lee in his long run at the Stand , every show he tests out material on 2 separate topics to use for a TV show later in the year , the two topics he discussed are very close to my heart - Islam and Pish.Though new material the Islam portion was very close to this one.


 (The best joke on Islam ever comes at the 7mins30sec mark)

 He has a great record of doing fundraisers for the Palestinians , After the gig he was flogging his DVDs on a stall ,a tenner a go ,very touching and sad at the same time.I was so moved went on to buy one which he kindly signed.

MARK THOMAS CUCKOOED at the EDINBURGH FESTIVAL

This highly personal play deals with the tragic , sad and touching tale about how corporations destroy Humanity outward and in , based on the activists true experience campaigning for the anti-Arms trade organisation CAAT
In this  video he discusses the personal and social issues involved in the play.

This is a highly taut and polished one man play which brings all the intellectual , theatrical and stand-up comic skills of Thomas to create a genuine powerful drama of both Human and Social scale.



The production was the winner of this years Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award.

'Mark Thomas richly deserved the 2014 Freedom of Expression Award for Cuckooed. This should be compulsory viewing for everyone in the UK. The timely and very important issues include the erosion of our rights to privacy, and democratic activism without interference from the state, but ultimately it was about freedom of expression, which is the reason we created this award.'
Siobhan Reardon, Amnesty International's Scotland Programme Director"

This review from The Guardian gives a good overview of the production.

"For years, Martin appeared to work tirelessly for Campaign Against Arms Trade. He was warm, funny and apparently loyal. He was a good friend, turning up at the police station after Thomas's first arrest for activism. He was so loved that he was asked to be godparent to one activist's child. But he was being paid to spy on the group by BAE Systems, Britain's largest arms manufacturer. Who could ever have imagined it? This was a man who put a custard pie in the face of the former BAE head honcho, Richard Evans. A spy wouldn't do that, would he?
Part of the power of this neatly crafted one-man show is the way it exposes how easily we believe and how hard it is to accept that we have been duped. How without trust everything breaks down: friendships, partnerships, even our relationship with the state. Particularly our relationship with the state, in fact. If it turns out they are spying on us, why should we ever trust anything they say?"

BEOWULF adapted by SEAMUS HEANEY at the TRON THEATRE

An epic Scandinavian Tale , told by German Anglo Saxon invading colonists in England and translated by a Nobel Prize winning Gaelic Poet in the 20th century makes for quite a remarkable transfiguration on the views and angels this all time classic tale has made throughout the ages.

Once a story of all conquering machismo superheroes cleaving a heroically brutal darwinian manifest destiny through less worldly wise tribes ripe to be wiped out for the betterment of the forces of civilisation.The Heaney translation bring this tale , which even in the last century was seen as one of the expansion of the fittest , into a story of self-sacrifice and helping neighbours out in order to repel overseas invasions and tyrannical occupations , keeping your local region safe from outside expansionist forces.

This review from The Herald newspaper captures the mood that this was not in any way a rehearsed reading from this brilliant cast who performed without notes in what was very much a full production with a full atmospheric set.

"While by no means explicitly anti-war, in the current climate one can't help but think of what happens when real-life monsters invade small and vulnerable countries. There too, it seems, it is the women who are left to tell the bloodiest of tales."

And this review from the public reviews website  captures the strip down quality of Heaneys translation which bring the words ,and not the fantastical images,of the original the centrepiece of the work and its connection to audiences of today.

"Alone, Seamus Heaney’s translation reads with an elegant fluency; paired with the Tron Theatre Company Beowulf leaps to life in a flourish of literary devices set against a darkened and brooding stage. The distinct voices of three of Scotland’s finest actresses collectively portray the iconic tale of a Danish community under siege by the god-cursed monster, Grendal. From across the sea comes the heroic Geat warrior Beowulf, determined to protect the Danes and the Heorot Hall built by their King, the sole location of refuge and solidarity in the midst of their devastated community."

SCOTLAND V ENGLAND WOMANS HOCKEY COMMONWEALTH GAMES GLASGOW

I only found out later the Scotlands Womans team only turned profession five months before this match against a vastly experienced , expectant English team.After a very bright and disciplined start the Scots fell behind to a deft chip by the English forward and looked out of the match by the time a penalty corner was converted to make it 2-0.
The Scots crowd was temporarily silenced , allowing a very healthy English contingent to make themselves known all around the ground.But , the Scottish ladies stormed back with an inspired performance which energised the majority Scots into a state of passionate frenzy.A penalty corner just before half-time gave a hopeful lifeline and justice to a performance of great focus and temperament.
In the second half the Scots outclassed the increasingly physical and desperate English in all aspects except finishing , missing 6 penalty corners which in footballing equivalent is akin to 6 one on one chances with only the keeper to beat.
This Guardian report gives a semblance of the match

"Nikki Kidd, Scotland’s midfielder, worked harder than anyone to keep them in the game. “We took the game to them and really performed excellently so we’re absolutely gutted not to be progressing to the semi-finals,” she said. “We threw everything at them and I think we had them rattled ... we’ve come such a long way in the past few years. And we took another step again today. We did ourselves proud.”

The Scottish Hockey website also gives a reflection of the performance of the team from the low expectations prior to the tournament.
 

"Scotland Head Coach Gordon Shepherd added, “It was a fantastic performance, one I’m very proud of. I’m so proud of the players, I couldn’t have asked for any more from them.
“We prepared so well for this game, we had a game plan that very nearly came off. In the second half, I don’t know if I’ve seen them play with such conviction, they were amazing.
“We had the corners, we had the open play chances. We had six corners so no-one can say we didn’t create chances, but we just didn’t execute, that was the only thing."

Its good to see even the Woman can join the Men in giving Scotland heroic defeats which are to be more savoured than a mere win.

ENGLAND v NEW ZEALAND HOCKEY at the COMMONWEALTH GAMES GLASGOW

I went to the Hockey segment at the new National Hockey Centre at Glasgow Green not even knowing who was playing.The happened to be England v New Zealand with the winner getting to avoid a certain knock-out in the semi-finals against the rampant Australians , as dominant in hockey as the Germans are at football.

In the first half New Zealand played a deep pressing game at around their own halfway line , in hockey , unlike football, having most players in the midfield area means it is easy for the defence to bypass the hectic midfield and find the forwards by playing aerial or into the wings.The English defence passed the ball around themselves laterally without challenge and found the wingers who with a mixture of skill and guile managed to penetrate deep into the New Zealand defence , in saying that they only got a couple of close calls on goal in a goalless first half.

In the second half New Zealand got their tactics right , pressed high up the English defenders who then began to give the ball away allowing New Zealand to get quality possession in the vital last third.Soon the tone of the match changed and English resorted to a very rough and ungainly physical game with the player Jackson being a particularly vicious cad.New Zealand got a deserved goal from a penalty stroke.

Alas , the New Zealanders again pressed too deep allowing England to equalise.After that the momentum was with the English who had many chances to seal the game.Eventually the New Zealand team recovered their equanimity and got a late penalty corner winner.

This report from The Telegraph gives a fair reflection of a pulsating , highly intriguing game.

LAMPLIGHTER at the TRON GLASGOW

In conjunction with the Commonwealth Games there have been various cultural , artistic and musical festivals all around the city with the theme of Home Nations Festival with stories of all the nations of the Commonwealth coming "home" to tell their stories for all to share and take back to their homes.

One such performance was Jackie Kays The Lamplighter which took the audience on a journey through the dark heart of triangular trade of weapons ,slavery and sugar/tobacco. it features four women and a man tell the story beginning with the anguished tale of an eleven year old girl , the hideous perils of transportation in slave ships, the harrowing life on the plantations, and the genuine dark heart of the  growth of the British cities and the industrial revolution.

This Guardian article by the author gives the background research taken by the author
 in writing the play.

"I belong to Glasgow, dear old Glasgow town, but, alas, there is something the matter with Glasgow that's going round and round. Glasgow does not readily admit its history in the way that other cities in the United Kingdom have done - Bristol, Liverpool, London. Other cities are holding major events to commemorate the abolition. What's happening in Glasgow? - in the Gallery of Modern Art, for instance, which was originally Cunninghame Mansion, built in 1778, the splendid townhouse of William Cunningham, a tobacco baron? Or in Buchanan Street, the great shopping street, named after Andrew Buchanan, another tobacco lord, or in Jamaica Street, Tobago Street, the Kingston Bridge?
At school, I was taught about the industrial revolution, but not about the slave trade which financed and powered it. I was taught about the suffragettes, but not about the women abolitionists who came before them, and who went on to become them. Jane Smeal set up the Glasgow Ladies Emancipation Society in the 1830s. And as early as 1792, 13,000 Glasgow residents put their name to a petition to abolish slavery. I never learnt, for instance, that the movement to end slavery in the British Empire in the 18th century is probably the first human rights campaign in history."

In this video Jackie Kay discusses the history of six of her poems selected as part of the Scottish Set Text list for National 5 English.

EDWIN MORGAN DREAMS & OTHER NIGHTMARES at the TRON GLASGOW

Tron Theatre Artistic director states " Edwin Morgan's Dreams & Other Nightmares – Liz Lochhead's play about her friend
and fellow poet Edwin Morgan first appeared at Glasgay! in 2011, a year after
Morgan's death aged ninety. Set in a care home and based around conversations
with Morgan's biographer, Lochhead uses this a jumping off point to look at
Morgan's life as a gay man living a private life beyond his poetry in a vivid
eighty minutes of memory, imagination and poetic longing."

According to the description "Edwin Morgan’s last room in a nursing home in the West End of Glasgow.  Everything’s reduced to the barest essentials, just a bed, a wheelchair and a desk.  On a dark ordinary Friday afternoon in winter, middle-aged James, the poet’s biographer, friend and helper, there to do routine admin with the frail eighty seven year old, hears this urgent question from a deeply disturbed Morgan, who then recounts a series of vivid dreams, nightmares in fact, which have been disturbing him.
Images, poems, remembered lovers, regrets, rough trade, propositions accepted or avoided, truths, desires and lives surround the bed.  James, the listener, is disturbed too, trapped in his task like a reluctant interpreter/psychiatrist/amateur Freudian."

This review is from The Scotsman Newspaper from when the play originally came out earlier in the decade.

"The scene is a Glasgow care-home where Morgan lay dying, in the last year of his life; the key relationship is the one between Morgan and his friend and biographer, a fictional version of the real-life James McGonigal. Morgan feels he cannot write any more, but is suddenly assailed by three vivid and terrifying dreams. He clutches at James, and asks whether he thinks it possible that “a person could live two utterly different lives, without either self being aware of the other?”
Out of that central thought, Lochhead weaves a complex 80 minutes of memory, imagination, conversation, and poetry, in which Davie McKay plays both a lovable Morgan and – with less success – a cheeky, streetwise character who represents the poet’s “life force”. Part tribute to the intensity of a homosexual life that spanned the ages of secrecy and openness, part powerful reflection on Morgan’s modernity and restlessness, and part loving portrait of a city with its own double lives, Lochhead’s play is as rich as it is memorable; and even in its most awkward moments, the three actors – including Lewis Howden as the biographer, and Steven Duffy as a series of lovers – deliver it with a passion and care that speaks volumes, not least about the love that surrounds the immortal memory of Edwin Morgan."

The video below is the "Off The Page" programme featuring Edwin Morgan discussing his childhood and what , for him , was a bad period for Western Poetry post-war.
 

UNDER MILK WOOD at the TRON GLASGOW

Originally written , though never fully adapted , as a play this piece became more famous as a radio audio drama which itself was never adapted as Dylan Thomas passed away before he could return from a sojourn in America before he could complete the job.Thereafter the challenge has always been to get something that only partially translate to the stage in a way the audience can relate to and to bring drama to a radio play which has no grounding tempo.Yet , this can be seen as a metaphor for the lives of ordinary People so the lack of direction and action becomes the unfulfilled drama of the piece itself.

As the review below from the Glasgow Herald states this staging was one of the better ones in which the only real star of the drama , the poetic words of Dylan himself , take centre stage in the tale that is as gladdening as it seems to be humdrum in the time in which it was written with the world settling into a stand-off cold war with the petrifying horrors of the atomic bomb and the slow recovery from WW2 with rations barely returning to pre-war levels still being a concern for the ordinary communities of the emerging post-war world.

" Nicholls takes full advantage of the Tron Community Company's resources to put quaking flesh on the rich bones of Thomas's big, rambunctious symphony of inner yearning, shattered dreams and hidden hopes that the play evolves into.
With the narrator's lines split three ways between the bar staff of Charlotte Lane's wood-lined howf, the rest of the townsfolk either prop up the bar or else sit in repose at a floor of tables until they spring into life to lay bare their hearts desires."

PAKISTAN V INDIA CHARITY CRICKET MATCH at CLYDESDALE GLASGOW

This was a charity match organised by the UCare Foundation between Scottish Pakistanis and Scottish Indians , the Pakistani team contained the brilliantly named Yasir Arafat , a talented professional who has recently played in a whitewash for the Senior Pakistan side in a whitewash of England.
The foodstalls were a big attraction for the large crowd who will soon be fasting during Ramadan in about a weeks time.The kids were fascinated by the large bouncy slides , a petting section containing owls and birds of prey and pony rides.
The stall dishing out free sliced mangoes was very popular for attenders of all ages.
The cricket was entertaining too , Pakistan made 152-7 after their 20 allotted overs.The Indian bowling and fielding performance was impressive , stopping many runs in the outfield and making catches near the boundary look very simple.
There was also a running commentary from an installed PA system that used the actual runs scored and overs bowled as a general guesstimate rather than a precise figure , at one stage the scoring went backwards so the century mark came , and went , and came back again over a period of two overs , going from 107 to 93 to 109.
Being a sub-contintental organised event there were many speeches and encomiums of self-important dignitaries who reminded the crowd many times over just how important they are just in case anyone failed to realise just how important these people are to them.
Alas the kids got a bit bored of all the activities and we had to leave before the Indian innings began.

Talking about important , this article sums up how important this highly enjoyable charity family gala event was for the organisers and the community.

Sai Majeed, Chairman of the Western District Cricket Union and captain of the Scottish Pakistani team, added:
"We are thrilled to be involved in this charity sports day, with such an exciting cricket match as its showpiece.
"In this year of the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow, the event aims to show the whole country how communities can come together in sport while raising money for charitable causes.
- See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

As part of the Scottish Asian Sports Gala T20 Commonwealth 2014 event, the match is a fund-raiser for the Ucare Foundation, which has along with the Pakitan Consulate and the Western District Cricket Union, organised the match. - See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

As part of the Scottish Asian Sports Gala T20 Commonwealth 2014 event, the match is a fund-raiser for the Ucare Foundation, which has along with the Pakitan Consulate and the Western District Cricket Union, organised the match. - See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

As part of the Scottish Asian Sports Gala T20 Commonwealth 2014 event, the match is a fund-raiser for the Ucare Foundation, which has along with the Pakitan Consulate and the Western District Cricket Union, organised the match. - See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

MODERN TIMES with LIVE BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at the CITY HALLS GLASGOW

For the very first time in Scotland the classic Charlie Chaplin film was shown with a full live orchestra playing the score written by Chaplin himself, restored and conducted by Timothy Brock.
This was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first screen appearance of the famous tramp character in film.
The film was one of the last great silent films made in an era when sound was taking over.Originally planned as an audio film Chaplin realised that the silent approach would create a better impact for his theme of the ordinary little man taking on the system of elites , who are the only ones granted the privilege of sound in the film critique of industrialised complex versus the citizen.

The musical score itself took over six months to complete , when ten days is the norm even today.Chaplin would play chords on his violin , tap out the notes on piano whilst his musical assistant arranger would convert the score into readable music for a large orchestra of over sixty four players.Though convoluted and requiring expertise help , it is very fair to say the score is Chaplins own work.

This review from The Scotsman sums up the historical evening.

"Such was the authentically Hollywood-style sweep and the velvety sonic sheen to the orchestra’s playing, not to mention Brock’s effortlessly impeccable synchronisation with the images (he clearly knew both the movie and the music inside out), that the score seemed to flow directly from the screen. It was only the bright immediacy of the sound and the vivid colours that Brock drew from the BBC SSO players – who were on top form, and seemed to relish the score’s lush melodies and sometimes frenetic rhythms – that reminded you there was a live band playing at all."

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO at the WEBSTERS THEATRE

Glasgows newest theatre welcomed a musical adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas tale of Betrayal , Honour and Revenge set to a heavy rock soundtrack.
Ive only been to one musical since i went to four Broadway ones , especially Jekyll and Hyde which skipped the dialogue to go straight into songs ,  and a light Opera in a three day spell ,ultimately suffering a severe bout of Too-Many-Musicals-Fatigue-Syndrome from which i still suffer an aversion to this day.
It has been so long i had forgotten the etiquette of applauding after each song , a somewhat disjointed and incongruous practice as if we should clap Hamlet whenever he successfully delivers a soliloquy without mishaps.
The good thing about this was the quality of dialogue between songs.A very impressive performance for only ten days rehearsal time.
The lead actor tells the background of the play in this Evening Times article.

"Alex and Webster's Theatre boss Pete Sneddon initially developed The Count as a period piece.
"But after seeing Macbeth, I realised this re-setting into a dirty, grungy, gritty world really worked. It brought people down to the basics of humanity.
"And it gave me the idea; why not set the Count in this post apocalyptic world?"
Alex, 27, explains: "We've taken the story and the characters out of the world of the book. This new world is set after a major war and there are only little pockets of survivors.
"These characters, in that context, are all very selfish. Even though there has been a great catastrophe, they are still holding onto their own past."

MY NAME IS.... at the TRON GLASAGOW

I remember the time when this story broke out in the press as this blurb explains "A captivating new play about love, family and shifting identities.
My Name is… tells the story behind a story that fleetingly hit headlines in 2006 and continues to resonate throughout the UK and beyond.
When 12-year old Gaby disappeared from her home in Scotland, the media announced that her Pakistani father, Farhan, had kidnapped her. The spiraling headlines were only momentarily silenced when it emerged that Gaby may have fled of her own accord, choosing to spend her life in Pakistan. To her Scottish mother Suzy's great distress, Gaby declared, 'my name is Ghazala' and turned her back on 'Gaby' and seemingly the West...
This moving verbatim play reveals a unique Scottish love story that began in early 80s Glasgow, a world away from the frantic ‘tug of love’ well documented in the world's press.
Tamasha is an award-winning theatre company. Successes like East is East, The Trouble with Asian Men and Snookered have won acclaim from audiences and critics alike."

The play was an intense experience in which sympathy and empathy and a compassion for the human side of all the characters comes out , this website of the play production company also contains an introductory video of the play.

In this video in which the cast members discuss the play we come ( especially at the 2mins-14 sec mark) to the original story and the guilt they feel over the casual assumptions that were automatically engendered which assumed the only reason someone could have of leaving the West for the East would be abduction or kidnap.
 

This review captures the dramatic emotional experiences that are felt by the audience throughout this genuine tragedy. 

 "Told in present day and flashback,it is Farhan and Suzy’s relationship which is the central core of the play. The first tentative courtship of a gauche ‘Gori’ teenager and her early twenties Asian boyfriend is charming, and cringingly recognisable­ sweet-­talking, bad dancing to the Bee Gees at a local Pollokshields disco and endless promises of domestic idyll, until the chasms between the cultures, often facilitated by Farhan’s conservative in­-laws, deepen. Suzy refuses to wear the veil upon her conversion, and Farhan divorces her on the grounds of apostasy, accusing her of being an unfit mother."

It has to be said if any blame is to be attached to any of the characters then it is to the Father who was the only adult in this drama and who opportunistically took advantage of the situation of taking liberties when it suited his desires and then turning dogmatically conservative when that side suited his needs.

The video below contains an in-depth interview with Arun Ghosh music and sound production

THOMAS MUIR - THE HIDDEN SPIRIT OF OUR TIMES

Known outwith Scotland as The Father of Democracy and Universal Suffrage at the time of Thomas Paine and a Hero of Rabbie Burns we hear very little about the pioneer and champion of Scottish Democracy.
According to the blurb "In 1986 Peter Arnott wrote a play about Thomas Muir for the Tron Theatre, directed by Michael Boyd and starring Kevin MacMonagle and Russell Hunter.  In the wake of the American and French Revolutions, Thomas Muir was transported to Australia in 1795 for organising the first national elected assembly in Scotland's history, The Friends of the People in 1792.  Robert Burns wrote Scots Wha Hae on the day Muir's trial started in 1794.  The letter he wrote with the first draft makes it clear who he had in mind: Wallace was an allegory for the real hero, Thomas Muir, a
champion for Democracy."

The play was a response to the original referendum in 1979 , an event in which the majority was denied. It takes place simultaneously between two places (Scotland and a prison ship on its way to Australia) and two times 1792/93 in Scotland and 1794 in Australia.The cast contained two members who performed in the original play in 1986.

As the leading voice of reform in Scotland, Muir suffered persecution and ultimately transportation for sedition for advocating democratic principles in Scotland when the Pitt-Dundas government feared democratic ideals as a threat to the status quo.

As a national figure associated with the ideals of democracy, Muir was essentially a democrat who believed in the people when the majority were not allowed to vote.

The first political prisoners transported to Australia were convicted in Edinburgh and were known as the "Scottish Political Martyrs."

He was born in 1765.

He attended the University of Glasgow from the age of 10 years and graduated with an MA at the age of 17 years: he was an Advocate in Law at the age of 22 years and practiced law in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

He was a product of the ‘Scottish Enlightenment’ and became a noted reformer and was a leader of Scottish ‘The Friends of the People’, the ‘United Scotsmen’ and a member of the ‘United Irishmen’.

Under his influence parliamentary reform societies were established all over Scotland. Muir was arrested on 4th August 1793, tried in Edinburgh on 30th August, and found guilty of having created disaffection by means of libel and seditious speeches.

He was banished to Botany Bay for 14 years. In 1796 he escaped and made his way to France, hailed as a hero and made a citizen of France.

Charges made against Thomas Muir in August 1793.

(a) That he attended meetings at Kirk-in-Tilloch and Milton, of a society for reform, in which he had delivered speeches in which he seditiously endeavoured to represent the government as oppressive and tyrannical.

(b) That he exhorted three people residing in Cadder, to buy and read Paine's Rights of Man.

(c) That he circulated the work of Thomas Paine, A Declaration of Rights, to the friends of reform in Paisley.

Lord Braxfield explained why he was sentencing Thomas Muir and the other leaders of the Convention in Edinburgh to be transported to Australia for fourteen years.

The British constitution is the best that ever was since the creation of the world, and it is not possible to make it better. Yet Mr. Muir has gone among the ignorant country people and told them Parliamentary Reform was absolutely necessary for preserving their liberty.

Thomas Muir, speech made at his trial on 30th August 1793.

What has been my crime? Not the lending to a relation of mine a copy of Mr Paine's work; not the giving away a few copies of an innocent and constitutional publication; but for having dared to be a strenuous and active advocate for an equal representation of the people, in the House of the people.

Thomas Muir, writing to the London Corresponding Society from prison on 24th April, 1794.

The spirit of freedom is not extinguished, but still remains its formal energy, in defiance of the artifices and the violence of despotism. Engaged in the sacred cause of Man, individual man is an atom of little value and when he recollects and contemplates the principles of his conduct, should disdain to use the term suffering. Without a vain affection for myself, I disdain the assumption of extraordinary merit. The man who has acted in obedience to the law of his conscience, has simply discharged his duty. 

You can get more information of this remarkable Man from the official Thomas Muir Website.

A SEASON IN THE CONGO at MAYFESTO

Aime Cesaire spent a few months in the embryonic , and ultimately still born suffocated democracy of post-colonial Africas Congo State , a diamond and precious mineral paradise that was made into a hell due to external colonial interference and internal instability caused by the ex-colonial and corporate machinations to get access to the riches of Africa by arming and supporting compliant secessationist movements to foreign Interests.
The play he wrote about his time records the first democratically elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba rise from resistor to trying to maintain the country from destructive forces both from within and without splitting it apart.The story follows an all to familiar path of resistance to colonial rule , election of a highly popular leader , a coup from a Military strongman who becomes a dictator ( the reviled Mobuto) supported and dependent to the West to whom a barely veiled corrupt elite hands over the riches of the land for a trifling price , thus starting the cycle of ever increasing poverty and debt leading to violence and perpetual disorder.This play had never been shown in Scotland before and shows the audience how the fate of a nation and its civilians wellbeing can depend on the actions of so few unseen actors controlling the hands of a few.

The the highly informative Video below charts the History of Lumumba , Congo and Colonisation.

JOCK : SCOTLAND ON TRIAL at the TRON

Author Alan Bissett performed two plays which were billed as scripted readings but were done with such professionalism they could easily have been full production ready to roll out at a moments notice.
The first play was an extract from "The Pure, The Dead and the Brilliant" , According to the Scotsman piece “The Pure, the Dead and the Brilliant is a rambunctious, energetic piece of agit-prop – in the good, rousing manner of a John McGrath play or Oh! What a Lovely War – staged in the supernatural world of Scottish mythology.
“The faeries are divided about the impact the referendum will have on them, and set to try and influence its outcome. Along the way, cliches about the Scots are subverted and some home truths about our situation are faced.”
The theme is about the Faeries discussing how to get a No vote by using a distorted "patriotic" version of History , Seduction using the Mythology of "Great" britishness and how it has been good for the world and , mainly , Fear which seems to be the desperate touchstone of the Better Together campaign.

" Falkirk-born Bissett, one of the foremost voices in the cultural movement for independence, claims the aim of the play, which he says will be steeped in Scottish folklore, will be to bring “don’t knows” closer to the “yes” side of the debate."

The second play , directed by Cheryl Martin with a co-performance with Mayfest festival director Andy Arnold  "Alan Bissett premieres a new work-in-progress posing the question: is Scotland the colonised or the coloniser?

A police interview room. A table. Two coffees. Jock has been huckled for a crime he says he didn't commit: theft from other countries. He has been spotted a the scene but was he manipulated by his bosses? Was he there out of need? Or is Jock, as he claims, the victim of imperialism himself?"

This play challenges the accepted official narrative that Scotland was the first victim of English colonisation and empire-building with the increasingly disconcerting and academically credible emerging one that Scottish input was the main component which made the British Empire the "success" by providing  a steady stream of Administrators , Managers , Soldiers , Architects of Imperial Policy , Missionaries and Technicians far greater than the proportion of population of Scots in the United Kingdom.

Tom Devine , Adam Smith and Henderson all make appearances for and against the prosecution in a trial with balances both the victimhood and willing collaborator arguments of Scotlands role in the Empire in a compelling play which gives convincing arguments for both sides of the story , but the theme of ending the Union as being the only way for Scotland to Atone and make Amends and rectify its role in the World in the last Three Centuries does come out as the best way forward into the 21st Century for not only Scotland but also for the large part of the World on which Scotlands story was stages.  

Here is Alan Bissett contributing to the Independence debate in his native Falkirk.


And finally an excellent poem by him called "Vote Britain" which captures the state of fear from the vote No camp.

THE TEMPEST at the TRON GLASGOW

This production contains a young , mainly female , cast in a play that is sometimes criticised for the lack of depth and independence of the female parts in an otherwise play which tells a narrative of the "other" from the point of view of the victim.

"The text has been slightly edited" is a part of the blurb that may disconcert many in the audience , but , as Mike Scott defended his changing of the words of W.B.Yeats to fit in the the "music" of his tribute album an artists , no matter how legendary , work should be a source of faithful admiration , not a dogma to be beholden to.

And so director Andy Arnold allows Aime Cesaire have the first and last words in this production which gives prominence to the post-colonial themes of the play by writers from the colonies telling the story of their people to the descendants of the colonialists.

"Usurped as the Duke of Milan by his brother Antonio and the King of Naples, Prospero and his daughter Miranda are exiled to live on a remote island, served by their deformed slave Caliban, the island’s only inhabitant, and the spirit Ariel. Using the magic arts, Prospero rules over the island and when he divines that his enemies are close by, sees the opportunity to wreak his long-awaited revenge.  Conjuring up a terrifying storm, he shipwrecks the men responsible for his banishment, using every element of sorcery in his gift to orchestrate his rightful return home. 
Magic and the supernatural abound in Shakespeare’s famous colonial play, as Prospero’s control of the elements underpins his journey from betrayal to revenge and ultimate forgiveness.
Performed by the postgraduate acting students from the MA in Classical and Contemporary Text programme."

This review from The Herald gives a good background to the play and production.

"Coincidentally, I had been talking top the RCS about doing a classic piece, and that is why I thought of doing The Tempest, but taking a different slant on it, heightening the colonial elements that are in it. It has always been a colonial play, but in this production, Caliban is very much played as someone with great dignity and who has a certain moral authority in the piece, and that makes it a very appropriate piece."
Arnold has also opted to open and close the play with words by Cesaire, who, as well as a life's work as a writer, thinker and activist, taught radical thinker Frantz Fanon, who, like Cesaire, was born on the island of Martinique.
"Cesaire has become an important part of the festival," says Arnold. "When I thought about looking at colonialism in Mayfesto, I knew I wanted some kind of staging of Cesaire's epic poem Return To My Native Land, which I have had on my bedside table, as it were, since my student days. It is a really powerful, visceral and beautiful poem to stage, so I knew I wanted that to be part of Mayfesto.
"I was not familiar with Cesaire's other work, although I had heard of A Season In The Congo from a production at the Young Vic. Then I found out he had done his own version of The Tempest, called A Tempete, in which Caliban is more of a freedom fighter and Prospero is a white slave trader. There is a beautiful prologue and epilogue, in which Caliban has the last word, so I have topped and tailed this production with Cesaire's words, as well as programming readings of these other pieces as part of Mayfesto as a homage to this great unsung writer."

The young cast brilliantly acted the play with some stunning facial expressions which would have given a deep emotional depth to the production even without the need for words.

The play is part of the Mayfesto Festival which has a theme of Colonisation as told by the victims which is a very suitable one for the year in which the city hosts the Commonwealth Games.The video below gives an indication of the types of work on display.

YES at the CLYDE AUDITORIUM

Always had an ambition to see my favourite 100 songs ever performed live ( not that you can ever make such a list) , but i never thought that "Close To The Edge" , "Siberian Khatru" and "Awaken" would ever be added to that list tonight.

This review gets most thing of the evening right , though i found the sound excellent.

"This current Yes tour intrigued me though and I thought it was about time I immersed myself in an evening of Yessong. The set tonight, and on this current jaunt, is made up of three of the band’s best loved albums played in their entirety, namely ‘Close To The Edge’, ‘Going For The One’ and ‘The Yes Album’, a prog fans dream set. The fact that most of the dates sold out completely, well in advance, is testament to the band’s status as one of the giants of prog rock."

The playing of what would be considered some of the most difficult rock songs to perform live was a masterful mix of a fresh jagged sound that all live shows should have with faultless harmony that makes the audience believe playing this kind of stuff is a piece of cake.

Firstly we had the very first time the whole Close To The Edge Album has been performed in its entirity in Glasgow.

Close To The Edge:


Siberian Khatru:


The Going For The One Album had many surprisingly catchy songs which are in their element when done live.



This were finished of with an album made in the heady psychedelic summer of 1970 , at time in which 2/3rds of the audience was not even born , which is the best tribute i can think captures the enduring magic of Yes.

After all that they even had time for an Encore version of Roundabout.

HIROSHIMA IN 2013 at STRATHCLYDE UNIVERSITY

The above picture was taken on the evening prior to the 2013 anniversary of the 1945 Nuclear Bombing of the city.The hosts of JapanDesk Scotland were also there making a documentary of what this devastating event meant for the victims of the time and also the current youth of the City that literally rose from the ashes.The Dome featured has become an iconic landmark for the aftermath of the destruction , built by a Czech architect as a symbol of the City fathers desire to become more modern and cosmopolitan by creating modern buildings based on European designs."The main building exhibits victims' belongings and references which show the misery of the bomb attack. You will see a burnt lunch box, a tricycle which a 3-year-old boy was riding, etc., which reflect the instantaneous destruction and strike right at the heart of visitors. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum was designed by a group headed by Kenzo Tange, who also designed the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. The strength of humanity rising up from the ruins is expressed in the piloti-style space under the main building. People visit the museum throughout the year and should be moved to a desire not to repeat the same misery anymore and consider deeply whether atomic weapons currently present are really necessary or not for our future."

The memorial is inscribed "Let All Souls Here Rest In Peace , For We Shall Not Repeat The Evil" , this has had many political considerations over the years as to who is referred in the "We" , is it the US dropping on the Nuclear Bomb on the ultimate civilian target, Imperial Japanese Policies or Humanity throughout the generations itself.

One of the longer lasting evils was citizens in Hiroshima at the time had to pretend throughout the decades they were not from the city for fear of being unable to marry or be treated as incubators of diseases , real or imagined.The model for the official monument built later was 2 years old at the time of the bombing , 10 years later she was diagnosed with leukemia.The 20,000 Korean victims did not even have recognition for their losses until 1970 , with their commemorative monument being built away from the official one many years later from private subscriptions from Korean descendants.

                                              Sadako Sasaki , a symbol of innocent victims of Hiroshima

Under the US occupation of Japan which lasted until 1952 all discourse about the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was off limits , especially as the later constitution and military set-up included Japan being part of the US Nuclear security umbrella.With Nuclear Japan being an inescapable fixture the debate among survivors to support efforts to the peaceful uses of Nuclear Power.

As the documentary pointed out Even today many ordinary Hiroshima citizens will not talk about the issue , the subject being taboo on political and social levels.Japanese textbooks cover the events in only a few sentences without the context of the bombings being looked into.

Even in diplomatic circles Ambassadors and diplomatic corps are not taught about the issue and it is considered taboo for older hands to describe the aftermath silence on the issue to younger diplomatic staff to the extent they are not aware of the issues , causes and consequences of the period.Diplomats Old and New complain "Post-war Japan is not allowed its own diplomacy, diplomats have to pretend."

One of the few attempts to discuss the events and aftermath was "Children of Hiroshima," commissioned by the Japan Teachers Union and based on a compilation of testimonies by a university professor, Arata Osada, combines documentary naturalism with lyrical and frankly sentimental passages. The bombing is recalled through a horrific, surreal montage that anticipates some of the wild imagery Mr. Shindo would bring to later, horror-inflected movies like "Onibaba" (1964) and "Kuroneko" (1968). But the overall tone is heartfelt and determined, as Takako, visiting the small handful of her former kindergarten students who survived, encounters both unbearable sadness and fragile optimism."

You can see it in the link below:


Because of the education curriculum Japanese Children only study Hiroshima in a detached  way , the issue is not even incorporated in the state curriculum with even August 6th being marked in a lowkey abstract way , this means younger Japanese dont feel confident the issue because they do not know much about them.

The video below gives a good overview of the present day remembrance of the awful bombings.


And below is the Korean Memorial to the victims that very few in Japan and the US recognise.

TEMPLETON CARPET FACTORY DISASTER 1899 at the MITCHELL LIBRARY

Bill Black presented a lecture about a largely forgotten incident that resulted in the deaths of 29 young Woman due to a massive structural fault in the design of one of Glasgows most famous landmarks.The story is surrounded by a lot of myths and downright erroneous information that has seeped in considerably into the "official" narrative , especially the false notion that "repeated design proposals had been rejected by Glasgow Corporation".In fact there is only a very small desultory sentence that appears in the records of the Glasgow Corporation of the time which suggest planning consent ( such as there was at the time) was given to Templeton for the building on a passing nod without any consultation or in-depth consideration from the planning authorities.

This blog contains some artifacts and newspaper illustrations of the reports of the disaster at the time.

This report from the Evening Times Newspaper gives an update about the restoration of a monument from the ladies that died in the disaster.

"The names of the 29 workers who died live on mirroring the tender ages of Victorian Britain's workforce: sisters Elizabeth, 17, and 21-year-old Agnes Broadfoot; Margaret Arthur, 20; Margaret Blair, 16; Helen Bradley, 21; Margaret Cassidy, 18; Lilias Davitt, 19; Agnes Dickson, 16; Jane Duffie, 20; Janet Gibson, 16; Dinah Gillies, 19; Jean Glass, 20; Sarah Groves, 22; Ellen Wallace, 23; Margaret McCartney, 17; Minnie McGarrigle, 24; Agnes McGregor, 17; Martha Mackie, 20; Elizabeth McMillan, 15; Rose Ann McMillan, 21; Jeannie Marshall, 22; Jemima Morris, 23; Grace McQuillan, 19; Margaret Shields, 22; Elizabeth Sinclair, 25; Mary Ann Stewart, 16; Annie Strathearn, 19; Mary Turnbull, 15 and Annie Wilson, just 14."

This blog entry gives some stories from the relatives of the victims

"I have an old bible that was presented to my Gran, Catherine Dunsmore in around 188?.
It states that it was presented to her because of the calamity that occurred in Greenhead, Glasgow in 188?. Couldn't find any old records of an incident around that time ............
I found out about the Templeton Building through your website. I had been looking for an answer to a message in my Gran's bible which gave her sympathy for the Greenhead Incident in 1889. She was only 13 and must have been a survivor.
Thank you for solving a mystery for me."

CHRISTY MOORE at the ROYAL CONCERT HALL GLASGOW

Went to this concert with a friend who was going for the first time to a Christy Moore concert.Sometimes we take for granted just how good he is having seen him so many times over the years so it was refreshing to see someone gobsmacked and in awe like the first time i was seeing him.He was so moved he brought two live CDs right away and talked about very little since.

There are no really decent videos of this concert available , none that do justice to the raw emotion and power only those who have seen him live can feel and know all about , though im glad my friend has joined the list ,but the two below are about the best.

Cliffs of Dooneen


and Ordinary Man

TOM LEONARD : MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN at AYEWRITE

Tom Leonard has navigated the very treacherous ( they are no socialists! , he cries) waters of the Bertolt Brecht Foundation to create a moving , current , Scottish version of the classic play written around the beginning of WW2.According to the Amazon blurb"the Thirty Years War becomes the War on Terror and Mother Courage is a working-class woman from the West of Scotland speaking the racy working-class nonstandard language of Glasgow. The rest of the cast speak varieties of English language subtly shaded for irony, accent and all the social hierarchies carried by diction and regional language in a land where diction is an index of class."

The original Mother Courage comes from a Novel of the 17th Century dealing with the horrors of The 30 Years War which claims over a quarter of the population of the present day Germanic lands ( a total that would amount to about 25 Million souls using todays populations)and led to the current and entirely understandable concern Germany has even today about any conflict in Europe being a potential catalyst for major upheavals within Germany itself.Even in surveys carried out in 1955 ,when the pain and loss of WW2 was still barely a decade old, still considered the events of 1618-1648 as the most traumatic and destructive period of German history.

The talk contained many segments from a select group of actors who had done a rehearsed reading of the play at The Tron the night before.If and when it does get permission to be an official stage production it promises to be a very moving piece that would capture and enhance the original conception by Brecht.

An entry from his journal blog gives a good indication of the immense amount and thought had has gone into this four year project to do justice to the original and add to the theme of the play which is that "the war" never does seem to go away , especially not for the poorer classes which either have to fight it or suffer the costs and depredations of the intervening periods, it is always with us to a lesser or greater degree depending on where we wage it , to that end Tom made the very pertinent observation that if the pullout from Afghanistan happens it will be the first time in over a 100 years that Britain has not been engaged in some form or another in military action , though the prospects of some form of "Humanitarian" campaign before the pullout may continue this very inglorious record.

"Talking with the actors about Mother Courage and her Children on Saturday and Sunday, I mentioned that in the middle of translating I bought the print books of  the Scottish artist Muirhead Bone’s series The Western Front that he made for the War Office in 1917. It seemed appropriate whilst I was as it were travelling across the desolate war terrain of Mother Courage’s Europe, to travel visually with Muirhead Bone—whose work I have always liked—on his journey through the devastated war terrain of France.  
It struck me as no more than my getting “mental atmosphere” as I wrote, but after  listening to the end of the play on Saturday and Sunday  

it struck me that the translation in the last line had of course been triggered at the back of my mind by the famous recruiting poster of those days YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU. The last line is a kind of bitter parthian invocation to the audience.

I put up two of the Muirhead Bone posters on my journal while translating the play in July 2010. This one below is another in the series, the foreground including, according to its accompanying description, old trenches and dugouts."

Curiously Tom refers to a very Celtic connection he feels towards Mother Courage and her attitudes to the trials and tribulations of her life and family tragedies.This may not be far from the truth as in T.M Devines book about the Scottish role in the Empire  from 1600-1815 gives details of many Scots mercenary soldiers and sometimes their families travelling the German and polish lands selling merchandise when not employed for military service in the very manner that Mother Courage plies her trade.Ironically there were so many Scots in Poland under-cutting the locals and cornering semi-skilled trades that many Polish Cities enacted laws to prevent Scots taking the local Poles jobs.How things have turned around in the last four centuries.

SUN SHUYUN at the AYEWRTE FESTIVAL

Sun Shuyun followed in the footsteps of Xuanzang, a 7th century monk who travelled over a period of 18 years ( 13 spent studying at a famous seat of Buddhist learning in India) from Central China to India and back to bring Buddhism to China, his travels inspired the classic novel called Monkey. Shuyun’s journey presents a hero whose achievements should be better known in Modern China yet alone the world, whilst examining the current state of the regions in which she travels.

This review from The Guardian captures the Book and the talk given by the author. 

"It's hard to think of a western equivalent: if you combine Marco Polo and St Columba it gives some idea of Xuanzang's range. But when Sun was growing up, Xuanzang had been usurped in the popular imagination in China by a magical monkey. He was never exactly a household name in the west. Only in the countries that he visited and documented so meticulously is he remembered with gratitude and appreciation. To them he left, in many cases, the only - and in most, the best - descriptive account of their countries. He was an intrepid pilgrim, an extraordinary travel writer and a cultural ambassador whose determination and courage were second to none.
After several years of study, Xuanzang had become dissatisfied with the doctrinal contradictions of the competing schools of Buddhism. He resolved to travel to India in search of the authentic message of the Buddha. As darkness was falling one evening in August 627, he slipped out of the Western Gate of Chang'an (present day Xian) and set off."

It was a testimony to the great faith of her Grandmother that Shuyun wavered many times on the brink of breakdown in a greety-face show of remorse and guilt for the way she , her family and the state treated a woman of great dignity and reserve , surely a metaphor for us all.

GLASGOWS OPIUM WARS at AYEWRITE FESTIVAL

Attending this event was as close as we are likely to feel as the German youth of today would be bewildered , baffled and horrified at the utter inhumanity and barbarity of their forefathers in dealing with other races , the difference being the Germans have recognised , apologised , atoned , gone a long way to rectifying and vowed never to repeat their actions in this or any other generation.While we have never apologised or even accepted culpability in a crime that claimed up to 12 million ( though no one ever bothered counting) lives , more than twice the number of the Holocaust.

What frightens even more is that this was a very Scottish holocaust inflicted on the Chinese with Glasgow playing an infamous role in what must still rank as the very worst poison of the lethal cocktail of imperialism, colonialism , international man-made mass murder in what can only be called the perfect storm of Capitalism laid bare for all to see.

Glasgow has been slowly , far behind Hull,Liverpool and Bristol, dealing with its history of slavery and exploitation in the Caribbean. But there are other conflicts less well known and equally important. In association with the Confucius Institute, Stuart Kelly and Brian Holton discussed the role Glasgow and Scotland played in the 19th century Opium Wars, from the burning of the Peking Library to the “industrial espionage” of tea cultivation, as well as belated one-sided moves towards peace and reconciliation.The positive aspect of this event was the interest attracting a large audience which made the organisers have to move it to a larger hall which was to capacity.

Like India before it fell sway to British Influence , China was one of the worlds richest economies , self-sufficient and only trading in silver with the european powers.It was also technologically advanced to have superior yields of agricultural production than Britain achieved even after the Industrial revolution had transformed the British country side to produce foodstuffs for the expanding cities.All indices about disease prevention were also superior to the UK at the time.

Tea was a vital resource for the British exchequer , a tenth of all duties came from tea , enough to found the Royal Navy for six months of the year.Nearly half of Europes gold flowed into the Chinese treasury , a crippling amount that Britain could not afford over a long period.Hence the desire to discover the secret of Chinas tea production and make it on British dominated lands in India.Another problem was what could be sold to China instead of Silver , the answers came from Scotland , the very British mixture of one of the biggest acts of Industrial espionage and the most blatant and grotesque Wars to sell narcotics ever waged.

This article from The Scotsman tells of the scottish connection to the Opium wars.

"A great proponent of Adam Smith, Matheson saw in China the obvious necessity for free trade.
"Did not the laws of nature," he asked, "oblige all people to mingle freely with each other?" His conclusion was obvious. China must open and he believed Britain would do it.
So began a process which historian and broadcaster Saul David considers to be one of the most unforgivable acts of empire, saying:
"It was one of the blackest marks in the Imperial story, capitalism and mercantilism at its worst.""

This segment of a BBC documentary gives a synopsis of the conditions prior to the Opium Wars


And the video below has the Global Launch of the Book "The Opium War" by Julia Lovell



This article by Mark Sutherland-Fisher puts to rest the notion of Scots being the first victims of the English rather than the architects of British Imperialism and Colonialism which historians are finding to be the case.

"In truth the wealth and grandeur of Glasgow and some other places in
Lanarkshire and West Central Scotland were funded by some of the darkest
activities of Scots in the past 300 years. However remember we cannot impose
on our ancestors the moral high ground we consider entitled to in the early
21st century. Probably in 300 years our descendants will look back and be
equally disgusted by things we have done or have sanctioned today.

If you are lucky enough to be in Glasgow on a day when it is not raining,
then just walk around with your eyes open and upwards, admire the stunning
architecture, visit the world famous galleries and see the impressive
exhibits. Just don't ponder too long on how they were paid for and the
manner in which they were acquired!
Mark"

MILES JUPP at the CITIZENS THEATRE GLASGOW

When i saw him a few years back Miles Jupp was starting out , carving a name for himself as a caricature of a snob mocking the antics and lifestyles of the poor , the irony being he was actually mocking the outlook of the snobs.

Many years later he has fully developed and honed his talents , the act becoming more powerful as it gets subtler.

The review perfectly captures the act he performed at the citizens.

"From his plummy accent and hapless self-deprecation to his total ignorance of modern youth culture, there has always been an element of Bertie Wooster about Miles Jupp’s stand-up. He tends to give the impression he’d be more at home in P.G. Wodehouse’s world of cosseted young bachelors than among the more humdrum realities of 21st-century life."

THE SCOTTISH WOMENS HOSPITAL ARCHIVE: WOMENS CONTRIBUTION TO WW1

This was a talk by archivist Lyn Crawford exploring the contribution that the women of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service made to the First World War. Fourteen hospital units were set up in France and Serbia and were entirely staffed by women - from surgeons and physicians to cooks and chauffeurs.

This Serbian Documentary gives a tribute to Scottish Nurses contribution to that severe and forgotten front.

"It was during a visit to Belgrade, Serbia that I was first made aware of the Scottish Woman’s Hospitals and the work they did during the First World War. What saddened me was that the women involved are known about and revered in Serbia, yet their work and achievements are barely recognised in the country they came from.
In Serbia one will see statues, monuments and streets named after these women, although in the place they came from these women have been virtually completely overlooked. Britain likes to make a show of celebrating and respecting heroes of war, and even in some cases fictional accounts of war heroism in film, but has not acknowledged the work, bravery and altruism of these women in a time when women did not have a presence of being involved in direct conflict and were certainly not encouraged to do so."

This website gives more information of the background and contribution of these Scottish Nurses more celebrated in Serbia than Scotland.

Virtually all the leading lights and members of these organisations were suffragettes or believers in the movement.Their contribution and organisational skills gave vital experience , and eventually led to Woman getting the Vote in the 1920s.