HALFWAY THROUGH Highland 2007, and the reception has been – perhaps inevitably – rather mixed. There are plenty of events, but also a feeling that much of it is not all that relevant to the stated aims of promoting Highland culture, and taking it to the rest of Scotland and beyond.

Fiona Hampton wrote a spirited defence of their work in the Inverness Courier in response to a critical Leader column (read the original Leader here and Fiona’s response here , but others are also voicing disquiet at the balance of events).

One focal point for that disquiet is, of course, Sir Elton John. Widely touted as one of the major events in the programme, and the launching pad for the new InvernessFest, his appearance will undoubtedly bring many visitors to the city and please his fans in the region.

But Highland Culture? Not by any criteria, and there are those who think the money invested in what is undoubtedly a one-off splash (and one that certainly would not have happened without Highland 2007) could have been better invested in more indigenous projects.

It’s an argument that will rumble on. The inaugural InvernessFest also includes its Edinburgh-style military tattoo at Fort George and a fringe that – while singularly failing to impress our resident cartoonist – at least brings some welcome local work to the event.

It is by no means the only festival around this month, though. Well-established events like Ceòlas, Mendelssohn on Mull, the popular Hebridean Celtic Festival, Fèis An Eilein/The Skye Festival, Butelive and Speyfest are all taking place around the region as the summer season continues in full swing.

Our main interview this month is with Nairn-born puppeteer Symon Macintyre, whose company, The Puppet Lab, are involved in various projects in Inverness and elsewhere in the coming months. Tabula Rasa Dance Company provide our HITN profile this month, while Gaelic singer Christine Primrose (who will be performing at Fèis An Eilein) is our From the Archive choice.

Northings has never subscribed to the prevailing wisdom that on-line articles have to be short to feed our withering attention spans, but our Speakout this month, Robert Livingston’s provocative essay on his days at the Third Eye Centre in Glasgow, sets a new record at a little over 5,500 words – so much so that we have opted to make it available as more user-friendly pdf download.

The Third Eye was a genuine cultural icon for Glaswegians of a certain age (including me), and Robert’s account of working there and the lessons to be drawn now from the whole experience is a fascinating and still very relevant one. Oh, and I rather liked that Ginsberg reading at the time ….

I suspect we have also achieved a new Northings record for the number of reviews we carried in June, and while I’m not promising to try to beat that this month, there will be plenty of fresh material going on-line throughout the month, so keep checking back for updates. And if you are going to Elton, do enjoy it.

We are looking at introducing a number of improvements to Northings in the coming months, of which more in due course. We are also still very interested in recruiting writers and – in particular – reviewers from all around the region. If you would like to be considered as a potential contributor, please e-mail your details and an example of your work to info@hi-arts.co.uk,  marked for attention of Kenny Mathieson.

Kenny Mathieson
Commissioning Editor, Northings

Kenny Mathieson lives and works in Boat of Garten, Strathspey. He studied American and English Literature at the University of East Anglia, graduating with a BA (First Class) in 1978, and a PhD in 1983. He has been a freelance writer on various arts-related subjects since 1982, and contributes to the Inverness Courier, The Scotsman, The Herald, The List, and other publications. He has contributed to numerous reference books, and has written books on jazz and Celtic music.