THE LENINGRAD ALBUM at the MITCHELL LIBRARY

During the siege of Leningrad which lasted nearly 900 days and resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands civilians the People of Leningrad still managed in all these deprivations an album of thanks to the Scottish ( especially Airdrie and Coatbridge) People , the Album sent from Scotland gave to the starving and besieged civilians, according to a Leningrad headmistress " ... the unexpected gift gave them a chance to convince themselves, by demonstrating to others, that without food for their bodies, they could satisfy, through their own efforts, the hunger of their soul for beauty and art and harmony between nations."

You can get a fuller story in this article by a descendant of one the founding figures in getting the album of hope to the besieged city of Leningrad Wilma Stark.

"They trudged round the whole district, even during the blackout, collecting over 6,000 signatures - many more would have been collected but they only had a very short time-scale in which to gather the messages and signatures. They had to get them to London, and thereafter, they hoped, to Leningrad. With great care these signatures and messages were pasted into the pages of an album.
Margaret Plant designed the cover and decorated it with the local Buchanan Tartan, and lines from Burns' 'A Man's a Man for a' That'.
A deputation of housewives including Agnes Maxwell took the album to London and handed it over to the Soviet Embassy.
In 1988 the 'Dear Allies' book, written by Margaret Henderson was published by Monklands District Libraries. In this book Harry Walker spoke of the feelings of all those involved at that time in 1941... "We half-hoped that we would have some acknowledgement just to know that it had reached its destination."
In June 1942 a telegram was delivered to Agnes Maxwell, in Park Crescent, Airdrie. It confirmed that against all odds, the Scots Album had arrived.
Harry Walker remembered, "It was a miracle... It was unbelievable that women struggling with hunger and disease, and face to face with death, should find time to respond to our pledge of solidarity and admiration. The telegram was passed around with much gasping of disbelief, and weeping for joy."

 This article goes into more details about how the Woman of Airdrie worked tirelessly to gather signatures under a very tight timescale to send from Scotland to Leningrad.

"The late Harry Walker attended the committee meeting on that auspicious evening :

.“The eyes of the world were on Leningrad. We were all aware of the tremendous contribution of women volunteers defending the city, night and day, against the fascist forces.We had a large and enthusiastic women’s section in the Russia Today Society. All the women were deeply affected by what they had been hearing about Leningrad. They were desperately anxious to do something to feel part of the vast struggle that was taking place. The plight of Leningrad was the sole topic of discussion at that meeting. We agreed to act immediately, for we could not know how long the besieged city would hold out, the situation was so grave. We decided that a collection of women’s signatures should be made in both Airdrie and Coatbridge and somehow sent to the women of Leningrad with a message conveying our admiration and feelings of solidarity.”

You can see a 2 minute and 20 sec video news report from the BBC about the Leningrad Album in the link

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CHRISTY MOORE at the BARROWLANDS

It is hard to believe he is 70 years old , he has been touring for 50 years , his voice is fine and sweet but most importantly his music seems even more current and poignant now than when it was written , a sign of the regression of Human and Civil rights of our times in this age.

Here is a chilling yet inspiration version of No Time For Love:


And he finished of with an aborted version ive not heard before called Lonesome Boatman:

GHOSTS at THE TRON GLASGOW

This re-working of Ibsens play changes more things than just the words , but , importantly , it keeps faith with the original and adds more elements than mere scandal on a social scale , adding the very sinister dimensions of our very own under-investigated scandal among the powerful political elites.

As the description on the Tron website states 

"On the face of it, local councillor Helen Alving’s financial support for the creation of a Childhood Trust and the donation of her ‘big house’ to the Council to create a new looked-after children’s facility seems to be a magnanimously benevolent gesture to honour her late husband, the Captain.
With the unexpected arrival of her son Oswald 'from abroad’ however, Helen’s carefully constructed reality is torn apart, and the ghosts from their tormented past manifest grotesquely in shocking revelations of political corruption and abuse.
Megan Barker’s dark and gripping adaptation of the Ibsen classic exposes a litany of terrible secrets and the incontrovertible damage these have caused."

The very intense and powerful productions left the audience emotionally exhausted , in the video below the set designer explains the process of coming up with the modern and minimal set than allows the script to play the central role with minimum distractions and allowing the audience to engage with the fullest imagination to the many lessons to be drawn from the present that this play first illuminated over a century ago.



This review from The Scotsman gives the best overview of the play though they do overplay the change of tone of the play. 

" What Barker is trying to do, in other words, is to combine the outline of Ibsen’s plot with a 21st century meditation on historic sex abuse, and on the lengths to which some establishment figures will go to conceal and perpetuate these crimes; and it has to be said that the effort to shift the narrative in that direction often pulls the play well out of shape."

TOM DEVINE at the STIRLING LIBRARY GLASGOW

It was very fitting that this high profile overview of Scotlands role in the "nefarious trade" at this years Glasgow Black History Month was hosted in what was once a Mansion built and owned by one of Glasgows Tobacco Lords.

It was quite a privilege to be addressed in a small setting by a World class academic who gave a talk virtually along the same lines to the assembled ranks of MSPs in the Scottish Parliament in the video below to a small intimate audience of less than 30 persons.

The title of the talk was Amnesia and Denial: Scotland and Transatlantic Slavery.This addresses the great paradox of Scotland being the main beneficiary of slave exploitation and yet also being in the forefront to abolish Slavery not only in British controlled areas but also non-British run parts of the New world.When compensation claims were made to provide reparations for the loss of slave-run businesses Scotland ( with about 10% of the population) accounted for 15% of the claims.Yet , consistently, petitions to end slavery at parliament in London prior to it being abolished amounted to a third of them coming from Scotland.More tobacco went to Glasgows ports than all the rest of the UK put together.



3.2 Million slaves were transported from Africa to the Caribbean and North America , though Scotland was only directly involved in 4,500 it run plantations and syndicated that exploited over half of them and their descendants , so though the participation of accruing the raw Human material was slight the vast infrastructures that absorbed then was vast.

Only recently is Scottish academic scholarship beginning to piece together the story in the last few years that brings shame , though ultimately a proper atonement, for Scotland in the 21st century.Scotland was not a victim but a main participant in the creation of the British Empire and Colonial project and all its excesses to the World suffered and still endures today and only by recognising its role can it help heals the scars and deep wounds that must be healed.

After the 46 minute mark a panel , including Stephen Mullan who conducts walking tours of the landmarks associated with Glasgows slave trading links ,discusses and adds more detail to the topics discussed.

THE ART AND POLITICS OF DIEGO RIVERA

The Govanhill Baths Community Trust was the location of this lecture of the iconic Mexican Painter and Muralist Diego Rivera.
Firstly there was an Introduction by Fatima Uygun on the nature of Art and Class , a brilliant piece of historical and cultural analysis with the added perception that all revolutions from the grassroots have always had the dimension of Artists articulating the currents of the time , which is why Art must belong to the People and not be co-opted by the establishment or commodifying commercial interests.

Colin Poole gave an in depth  biographical  account underlying the philosophical and intellectual currents that gave rise to Riveras art in revolutionary Mexico of the early 20th century.

 This link details an exchange of letters between Rivera and Rockefeller after a Mural to be made at the Rockefeller Centre was de-commissioned , notable in this exchange of letters is the compromise suggestion by Rivera to save the Mural which was not taken up.

The video below features music by Robbie Robertson and some of the painting and murals of Rivera.


You can get a more detailed history of Riveras politics and political relationships in the 30s and 40s in this link.

THE SEIGE at the TRON

You would think all thespians would welcome and relish the prospect of oppressed victims getting the chance to tell their own story in their own words, but apparently not the vile , sectarian , contemptible charlatan Maureen Lipman.But , as Al-Raee says in this article  
says  "The most sad thing about the people who are saying that the play is advocating for terrorism is that none of them came and saw the play," says Al-Raee. "They don't actually understand what they are talking about.".

 From the website of The Freedom Theatre established by a combination of Jewish and Palestinian
 Artists the mission of this admirable social civilian project is "The Freedom Theatre is developing a vibrant and creative artistic community in the northern part of the West Bank. While emphasizing professionalism and innovation, the aim of the theatre is also to empower youth and women in the community and to explore the potential of arts as an important catalyst for social change."
 The Board of The Freedom Theatre contains , according to clowns like Lipman , such terrorist advocates as Noam Chomsky and Judith Butler.

You can see the trailer for this highly passionate and humane play in this video


This review from The Herald newspaper gives a sense of the profound impression the play makes on a fair audience

"As performed by an all male cast of six, there is an impassioned partisan rawness to what follows, as we flit between the siege itself and the men's lives afterwards far from their homeland. The latter is told simply and directly without contrition, and when the tour guide takes a selfie with the audience, it's as if the entire world is captured in its light"

STEWART LEE at the ARMADILLO SECC GLASGOW

Islam and Pish were again on the menu for this show in front a large venue crowd , both subjects are very close to my heart.It was interesting to see how the material from his last summer gigs at the Stand in Edinburgh have evolved.The second half contained his experiences of UKIP and English Nationalism.

The set was almost similar to this 2 part recording from an earlier concert in Cheltenham
Part 1 Islam and Pish



Part 2 English Nationalism

RED AMNESIA at the GFT

This review from The Hollywood Reporter gives a perceptive synopsis of the themes of this Modern Chinese mystery thriller.

"As the title suggests, Red Amnesia considers the selective memory that erases past stains as contemporary China continues its frantic sprint to become a social and economic superpower. Wang Xiaoshuai's latest is somewhat bipolar, beginning as an unhurried mystery about the harassment of an elderly widow before abruptly switching gears more than halfway through to take an unsentimental plunge into the past. Combining elements of melodrama and thriller with a strong political subtext, this is a challenging work that guards its secrets closely but builds cumulative power."

Though the article is quite wrong to describe the main characters home as a "shabby apartment" , for Chinese standards she lives in a well-off upper civil service quarter with leafy suburban streets away from the noise and air-pollution of Beijing with each apartment block having ample greenery and gardens of varies flora.The very kind of place that a successful apparatchik who negotiated the vagaries of Maoist times with all the guile and ruthlessness required would aspire hope to retire to.This becomes very pivotal to the plot and conclusion of the film.

OCEAN COLOUR SCENE at the ROYAL CONCERT HALL

"Having sold millions of records and headlined arenas around the world, Steve, Simon and Oscar from Ocean Colour Scene have reached their landmark 25th anniversary. To celebrate, the three of them will play a very special UK tour in concert halls accompanied by Q Strings.
These shows are the latest chapter in a remarkable career that’s seen OCS rise from Breton shirt-wearing Stone Roses disciples to one of Britpop’s biggest bands (their 1998 arena tour was the biggest by any UK group that year). In their 25 years together, they’ve enjoyed five Top 10 albums, six Top 10 singles and a mantelpiece full of awards.
But behind all the swagger and the style were great songs, with words and melodies that found their way into your head and heart."
The diehard fans could name every tune in 1 note , going hysterical before the guys even strummed the first cord.The song below was a particular favourite
So Low



Pared down , it was remarkable how very much there is a distinctive Motown feel to all the songs , no matter the theme , whether happy or melancholy , the songs have an upbeat foundation and the kind of harmony one would expect if Marvin Gaye or Bobby Womack were writing and performing music today.

The Day We caught the Train


Though it was the first time i have seen them a lot of the songs sounded familiar , without realising i would have heard them many many times of the radio in the 90's , especially this one
One For The Road

QUEENS OF SYRIA at the GFT

One of the oldest plays ever written about war and its affects om Woman Euripides Trojan Women
 was staged in Amman, Jordan last Winter, a two thousand year old play about war and its aftermath and the catastrophic devastation of civilian life. But in this unique staging the  actors , none who have previous acting experience before  had gone through identical experiences to the characters they portrayed, just just across the border in their home of Syria where they were all refugee survivors living the existence of day to day concerns , worries , anxieties in an uncertain present with the prospects for the future lying between bad and worse as their Families and Homes are destroyed by the ongoing war in their beloved homeland for which they pine , long and yearn for on an hour to hour basis.Many tell harrowing tales of a lost husband, a son, a brother.
 Like Hecuba, the queen of Troy,  each of them had suffer grief and loss in their own way.

The women work to incorporate their stories into the play, as a way of communicating to the world what had happened to them and plead to hear , empathise and accept their story. This film will tells the story of 40 women who were brought together in a drama workshop to tell the world their 21st century stories through an ancient play from 415BC, in one unique performance.

  Queens of Syria trailer from Yasmin Fedda on Vimeo.

This review from The Variety gives a very good overview of the project and the delicate , revealing and tender filming by director Yasmin Fedda

"Fedda’s interest is the process — how these traumatized women react to Euripides, and how they respond to Abu Saada and coach Mohammad’s exercises, in which they’re given freedom to incorporate their stories into the performance. Some blossom: Confident, sociable Fatima sees the play as a way of communicating and understanding her experiences: “Hecuba is so close to me.” Another identifies with Cassandra and her desire for vengeance. As the weeks pass, those who remain visibly relax before the cameras, benefiting from the experience of working together as a group and the energy that comes from the act of self-expression. The final staging is both choral and singular, the stark immediacy of their traumas given added potency, thanks to the uniform blackness of their clothes and the minimalist production design.
“I have reached the end of my sorrows,” the women recite in unison, similar to Hecuba’s line as she departs from Troy: “This surely is the last, the utmost limit this, of all my sorrows.” Like Euripides, Fedda knows this is a sorrow that lingers, and as their refugee status becomes ossified, and the women face ever more difficult decisions about the possibility of returning to a destroyed country, their grief will not have reached an end."

You can get a lot more information including background to the project , the profiles of the film makers from the dedicated website for this exceptional and endearing story.

THEEB at the GFT

This captivating story shot in the breath-taking sparse , yet immense, mountain scenery of Southern Jordan gives an Arabic-Bedouin perspective of the time of Lawrence of Arabia in what will soon be the centenary anniversary of the Picot-Sykes carve-up of the Arab World of which we are still feeling the terrifying shockwaves today.

The beauty of the film is the multi-layered themes are presented in an almost implicit time stands still way , as if the landscape and the shimmering milky way are telling the tale from the vantage of permanent virtues being temporally interrupted by the short time values of vice , something the land and the sky have seen come and go many times before.



This review from Variety gives a fair account of the plot and themes in the film.

"Like all well-done adventure tales, especially those with an intimate human focus and an expansive, epic vision, “Theeb” works on multiple levels. On the one hand, it’s the story of a young boy who witnesses his beloved brother’s death and has to survive the inhospitable desert while thinking of ways to restore his family’s honor — classic horse-opera material, complete with marauding bandits. By making his protag a young boy however, the director sidesteps the usual black-and-white, honor-and-revenge mainstays of the genre, which certainly exist here but are tempered by Theeb’s youth and uncertainty.

Then there’s the historical context, which Abu Nowar very much wants audiences to understand — intro titles are far too ubiquitous in contempo cinema, yet this is one case where a brief explanation of Ottoman-British enmity might come in handy, especially given the West’s distressing ignorance of the subject (“Lawrence of Arabia,” shot nearby, covers similar ground). “Theeb” is set at the moment when the Bedouin lifestyle was on the cusp of radical change, and pilgrim guides like Hussein were made redundant by trains going all the way to Mecca. Young Theeb is a witness to these shifts, his survival dependent on the training he receives watching his brother, but his future as a traditional nomad is coming to an end."