Waterproof by Andy Duffy

On the bank of a river somewhere in the Highlands, friends Alex and Gordon are trying to enjoy a weekend fishing trip. Alex is mouthy, talkative and thrilled with himself, a student whose mobile phone, so he says, contains the number of every good-looking woman in Dundee; so when Gordon throws Alex’s mobile phone into the river, things seem about to get nasty.

From Paisley to Paolo by Martin McCardie

Jack was born on the same day, in the same hospital as Paolo Nutini and he is a huge fan. When reality and fantasy combine to become the truth for him, he has to choose between the life he wishes he had, and the one he really has. He goes to a music festival in a stolen hearse to see Paolo with his two best friends, and nothing will ever be the same for them again.

Both plays were first shown at Oran Mor in Glasgow’s West End. We are delighted to work with the original producers in bringing these very funny plays to a wider audience throughout the country. Oran Mor’s ground-breaking lunchtime theatre programme a Play, a Pie and a Pint began in 2004 and now commissions 37 new plays a year. It produces the work of some of the UK’s most well-known writers as well as profiling the work of new and exciting theatrical voices. This is the first time Mull Theatre has worked in association with Oran Mor and we hope this will be just the start of a long association.

What is “Pop-up Theatre”

If the venue doesn’t usually have comfortable raked seating, it will have with the Mull Theatre Pop-Up Theatre tour where we bring the show, the set – and the seating too! Everyone can enjoy the full theatre experience with perfect views from anywhere in the audience.

Source: Mull Theatre

There’s plenty who will not need reminding of the hug party on Shetland this week – Up Helly Aa is the annual street festival supported by all kinds of activities running through to the end of the week. But this month is bursting with entertainment across all Scotland’s Islands – and if you’ve been keeping up with the likes of the Pulse, The Daily Record and The Sunday Times in the last week or so you’ll have seen confirmation of just how well people do entertainment on the islands.

Up Helly Aa
31 Jan 2012, Shetland Mainland

This is just the big day itself. It involves a series of marches and visitations, culminating in torch lit procession and Galley burning. There’s stand-up comedy, folk music and hours of performing acts and dancing in halls throughout the evening and early morning. This truly is a day you will never forget!

‘Auto Portraits’ and ‘Traces, Elements, Atmosphere’
7 Jan 2012 – 5 Feb 2012, Shetland Mainland

Once you’ve recovered, things to do include this striking exhibition of work by two artists at Lerwick’s stunning modern Museum and Archives.

Stand Up Comedy with Josie Long
4 Feb 2012, Mull

Just a short ferry hop across the sound. “Josie Long’s new show couldn’t be any better. It’s honest, intelligent, funny, and it’s exactly what Britain needs right now… Josie Long is poised to become the most important voice in British comedy” The Skinny*****

Papay Gyro Nights 2012 Art Festival
6 – 13 Feb 2012, Papa Westray, Orkney

An international contemporary art festival, originating from the ancient Papay tradition of the Night of The Gyros. An extraordinary week-long programme begins with a fire lit procession and includes theatre, video, film, workshops and a book launch.

Concert with Mike McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle
14 Feb 2012, Skye

Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker and John Doyle are three members of the acclaimed Transatlantic Sessions. With Mike and John McCusker having just finished a tour with Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler, it’s a rare chance to see three of the world’s finest musicians share a stage together.

Sally Magnusson’s Talk – ‘From Harris Tweed to Electric Cars – The Extraordinary History of Pee’
21 Feb 2012, Lewis

We’ll let broadcaster and journalist Sally Magnusson tell the stories that explain this, ahem, interesting title.

Rachel Sermanni with Special Guests
24 Feb 2012, Skye and 25 Feb 2012, Lewis

After months of anticipation, 20-year-old singer-songwriter Rachel Sermanni unleashes her debut ‘Black Currents’ EP on January 30th. Check-out the track “Breath Easy” on Joe Whiley’s January 24th Radio 2 show. A concert NOT to be missed!

Arran Bike Club Night Rides
2, 9, 16, 23 Feb 2012, Arran

Mountain Bike runs are off-road as much as possible, using forest tracks and single-track. Anyone is welcome to join, young or old, fit or not so fit – nobody gets left behind! This is a whole other way to see and sense the island landscape. Rides finish at around 8.30 or 9.00 pm. Just visiting? Hire your bikes locally…

Contact:
Scotland’s Islands,c/o Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Development Department, Sandwick Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2BW
Tel: 01851 822693
Email: info@scotlandsislands.com
Web: http://www.scotlandsislands.com/

26th January 2012 (1.30pm to 3.00pm)
Have you ever thought about doing some voluntary work but been unsure about what’s involved? Go along to the cafe on Thursday 26th January between 1.30 pm and 3.00 pm for free tea and cakes and an opportunity to chat about volunteer opportunities at the Museum, in the Glen and on the National Nature Reserves at Moine Mhor and Taynish. If you’re interested but unable to attend on that date please get in touch and Kilmartin House Museum will send you more information about the opportunities available which include walk guide, working in the garden and office work.

25th & 26th February 2012 (10am to 4pm) – a weekend of Aboriginal Art with Jan Hendry. Jan will help you draw inspiration from the Glen to produce your own piece of aboriginal style art. The weekend will include a walk in the Glen for inspiration, making your own aboriginal style paints and producing a piece of finished work. No previous drawing experience is necessary. This workshop is suitable for adults and accompanied teenagers and costs £55 per person which includes all materials. Booking essential.

Dates for your Diary:

• March 3rd – Seed Swap in Kilmartin Museum cafe
• March 7th – Exploring the Bryophytes of Argyll’s Ravines
• March 17th and 18th – Basketmaking with Jane Allan

Full details of all these and other 1st quarter events are available from the Kilmartin House Museum website:  www.kilmartin.org.

Source: Kilmartin House Museum

There are only 30 places available so pre-booking is essential, tickets are £10 (including a glass of wine & cheese & biscuits). Tickets are available by emailing admin@kilmartin.org or calling 01546 510278.

Linsey Aitken:  A highly regarded cellist and vocalist crossing genres from classical to folk. Trained on cello and piano at the RSAMD, she has performed professionally all over the UK from The Royal Alber Hall, to the sands of Calgary Bay in Mull. Collaborating regularly with composer Alan Craig, flautist/composer Louise Burnet, member of classical trio “Trois Femmes” and various quartets,he has taught at Edinburgh University, teaches Kodaly singing methodology working with young musicians from 3 years through to RSAMD. Founding member of folk band “The Cross Border band” she played and sang her way round Scotland, the Edinburgh Festival and other International festivals before joining The Ideal Band.

Ken Campbell:  Scottish singer/songwriter with a well established pedigree over 25 years, with five albums to date, festivals, concerts, TV and radio throughout Europe and beyond. Starting with Glasgow band “Molindinar”, then a much commended duo with Chris Miller [“Pipers Maggott” - Topic Records, London] he then established the highly successful “Ideal Band” following in the footsteps of Glasgow’s “Bob Smith’s Ideal Band” of the 1930’s. He subsequently toured with Cauld Wind Piper Hamish Moore, recorded two solo albums [“Going Solo” - Fellside & “Hand Pict” - Watercolour] whilst also working with cellist, singer, Wendy Weatherby, Stevie Lawrence [Rallion/Red Hot Chilli Pipers/Iron Horse] and Blair Cowan [Lloyd Cole and the Commotions] before reforming The Ideal Band in 2009.

Find out more by visiting: www.theidealbandscotland.co.uk

Kilmartin House
Kilmartin
Argyll
PA31 8RQ
Tel:  01546 510278
Email: museum@kilmartin.org
Web: www.kilmartin.org

Sarah is 19-years old and comes from Maidstone, Kent.  She has spent the past three years at Ballet West studying for her BA in Classical Ballet and Dance Performance. She has toured with the Ballet West performing company in Scotland and in China, dancing the role of the Snow Queen through the tour of The Nutcracker in 2010 and Juliet in Cumbernauld and Whenzhou in 2011.

The Scottish tour of Swan Lake begins on 20 January in nearby Oban, and travels to Stirling, Musselburgh, Cumbernauld, Giffnock, Pitlochry, finishing in Greenock on 3 March.  The production will be on tour in China in early summer.

Source: Ballet West

Our opening times are: Tuesday 20th to Sat 24th & Weds 28th to Sat 31st December, open as usual (10-4pm) during this festive period.

The cafe will be serving lunches, soups and toasties everyday from 12-3pm.

On Wednesday the 21st we have our last Cafe Curry of 2011! Come along and spice up your holidays! Served 12-3pm.

Also on the 21st is the last Woolly Wednesdays, 7-9pm, and only £2. Everyone is welcome.

On Friday the 23rd we have Mull Film Club showing ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ at 4pm. Join us for Mulled Wine and Nibbles at 3.30pm, £7 entry, £5 MFC members, Students & Children.

We wish everyone a fantastic Christmas and all the best for 2012 and we would especially like to thank everyone for their support,

from all the staff at An Tobar.

An Tobar, Tobermory, Isle of Mull PA75 6PB, United Kingdom

Source: An Tobar

Highlights include:

• A major 4-day conference at Balallan, Lewis, next September on ‘Recovering from the Clearances – Land Struggle, Re-settlement, and Community Land Ownership in the Hebrides’ to mark the 125^th anniversary of the Pairc Deer Raid
• A 2-day event in Barra to mark the centenary of the abandonment of Mingulay, including a boat trip to the island
• Evening talks by Sally Magnusson and Hugh Dan Maclennan
• A boat trip to the island of Stroma in Caithness, about which the Book Trust published a best-selling book in 2011
• Two guided walks (with commentary in Gaelic and English) to historic locations in Skye
• A special 1-day event to mark the 150^th anniversary of the Butt of Lewis lighthouse
• Other boat trips to Soay (Skye), Scarp (Harris), Wiay and Ronay (Uist), and historic islands in Loch Roag and deserted settlements in  Pairc (Lewis)
• Talks about Martin Martin in Mull, Islay, and Gigha, the first time the Book Trust have visited these islands

John Randall, chairman of the Book Trust, said: “2012 is the 10^th anniversary of the Book Trust, and I hope everyone – local people and visitors – will find something of interest. The events are open to all, although Book Trust members receive discounts for most events and new publications. Please come along, and indeed consider joining the Book Trust to take advantage of the increased range of benefits.”

For the complete programme of 2012 events, please see the attached list. For more details of other activities of the Book Trust, and membership, see www.theislandsbooktrust.com or phone Alayne Barton on 01851 820946 or John Randall on 01851 880365.

Source: Islands Book Trust

They have two Christmas Fayres taking place in December at the Victory Hall in Benderloch. There will be a delicious range of fresh locally produced food and unique hand crafted creativity available for all your Christmas presents.

The first Fayre is on Thursday 1st December 2011 and there are two sessions: 10 am. to 3 pm. and 5.30 pm. to 8 pm.

The second Fayre is Thursday 15th December 2011 which will be open from 10 am. to 7 pm with the bar open with a ceilidh for the rest of the evening.

The LORN producers (based in North Argyll) use the following portal: http://lorncommunity.ning.com/  to share what they are going to be doing for each market, as well as their other produce and services. You can get hold of them at any time, to order things outside market days.

LORN also have an active Facebook and Twitter presence and welcome you to join in : http://www.facebook.com/lornargyll and http://twitter.com/lorntweets

LORN website: www.lorn.org.uk
Email: admin@lorn.org.uk

Source: LORN

All the islands are hosting activities right through to the New Year (and beyond). There are night bike rides, internationally renowned musicians, food and dance, history and shooting, art and, of course, the Ba’. Scotland’s Islands has picked out a handful in their latest newsletter, but take a look on their website for other events: http://www.scotlandsislands.com/.  Scattered across the month there’s also all kinds of specially festive occasions such as the Christmas Fair at Mount Stuart on Bute, the Victorian Christmas at Arran’s Brodick Castle and Bookbug sessions all over the western and northern isles.

Read the newsletter in full by clicking on the following link: Scotlands Islands Newsletter – Christmans is coming to Scotland’s Islands

Source: Scotlands Islands

Kilmartin House Museum Jan-March 2012 programme

Drawing A Thread Workshop – Friday 4th November, 10am – 4pm

Experiment with drawing and mark making in hand and machine stitch. Combining traditional fabrics with paper, plastic, garden fleece, dishcloths and other recycled materials. You will have the opportunity to create several small works inspired by your drawings and doodles.

For beginners and advanced students, maximum of 8 places

All materials provided but if you have any interesting materials you would like to experiment with please bring them along. Bring your own sewing machine or contact us if you do not have your own. £50 (£45 members) including lunch in the Café.

Weaving Your World Workshop – Saturday 5th November, 10am – 4pm

A one-day workshop to create a small tapestry, inspired by your environment – sea/landscape of Mull. Exploring colour, surface and texture that can be achieved by using a wide range of materials, from recycled paper and plastic to traditional cotton, linen and wool.

For beginners and advanced students, maximum of 10 places

All materials provided but if you have any interesting materials you would like to experiment with please bring them along.

Inspirational references – If you have any photographs, objects, plants, stones, shells, flotsam jetsam that you would like to use as a reference please bring them along. £50 (£45 members) including lunch in the Café.

The exhibition opening is on Friday 4th of November, from 6-8pm. Everyone is welcome to come and meet Fiona, she will be giving a brief explanation into her fascinating work.

Our Woolly Wednesdays exhibition in Gallery II will also be opening tonight, refreshments will be served.

An Tobar, The Tobermory Arts Centre. Argyll Terrace, Tobermory, Isle of Mull. PA75 6PB  Tel:01688 302211.

www.antobar.co.uk www.fionarhutchison.me.uk

Source: An Tobar

Here’s just ten events being staged across the islands in November. These are great clues to the tremendous welcome and pleasure you’ll get if you take a trip to our islands this autumn. This is a truly splendid time to visit, with the great outdoors in the day and warm fires, good food, fine words and stirring music in the evening.

The islands are not far, and these top-class events will make short trips all the more rewarding. Our selection spreads across the month and entices with easy hops to Arran, Skye and Raasay, Mull and Islay and short flights to Lewis and North Uist, Shetland and Orkney.

Gents Arran Golf Challenge

21 Oct – 6 Nov 2011, Arran

Come and take part in the Arran Challenge. Held at the Shiskine Golf Course, this small competition allows people of all abilities to take part to discover who is the overall champion! Play 3 rounds on the days of your choosing (provided they’re between now and 6th November). The best 2 count. Great value and superb prizes. Accommodation providers are offering great packages including entry to the competition, 3 rounds of golf and green fees. Some include Ferry travel to and from the Island.

The Shoogle Project: ‘Shooglenifty’ and ‘PlanB dance’

3-4 Nov, Skye

WARNING! May cause unrestrained movement of the body! Highly acclaimed dance company, plan B, invite you to join them for an explosive, toe-tapping, foot stomping night out! Featuring the highly infectious and energetic live music of Shooglenifty, the evening brings together these two dynamic forces in a meeting of music, dance, performance and a joint passion for really getting people moving.

Shetland Food Festival

5 – 13 Nov 2011, Busta, Shetland Mainland, Unst and Yell

Shetland produces some wonderful food: exceptional lamb, fine beef, sumptuous cheeses, superbly fresh fish and shellfish and some more unusual specialities such as seawater oatcakes, Shetland Black potatoes and more-ish fudge! This festival has events and participating eateries across the Shetland islands and is timed to tempt your palate while you enjoy the treasures of the Shetland Arts and Crafts Fair and the fabulous music of the Thomas Fraser Memorial Festival.

The Hunted – Visible Fictions

11 Nov 2011, Mull

There are paths you should not leave. There are dreams you should not dream. There are beasts in the forest that know your name. A lone girl dares to be something nobody has been – in a place nobody dares to go. The path is long, there will be trouble ahead and there are things out to get her . . . Take a deep breath, step into the unknown, and be prepared for your world to turn upside down. Join the hunt. This fantastic new theatre production is directed by Douglas Irvine, from the company that previously delighted audiences with The Curse of The Demeter and How To Steal A Diamond.

Buisneachd: Witchcraft, Sorcery, Enchantment (An Exhibition by Moira Maclean)

3 Oct 2011 – 19 Nov 2011, Lewis

The Outer Hebrides are saturated in tradition, custom and folklore. The talented Moira Maclean is from Lewis. She has immersed herself in the past by ‘raiding’ the abandoned croft houses on the Islands to explore issues of dereliction, decay, transience and diaspora, notably from a female, domestic perspective. Buisneachd focuses and assembles these ideas. Rescued domestic detritus, mirrors, bibles, maternal paraphernalia, accretions of wallpaper and images of abandoned spaces insinuate unseen forces and malign influences.

The Islay Sessions

11 – 13 Nov 2011, Islay

A brand new mini festival of live music, workshops, sessions and a grand concert ceilidh. There’s a stellar line-up of musicians from all across Scotland, including Anarkali, The Maverick Angels, Lori Watson & the Rule of Three, Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin and Darren Maclean. It’s guaranteed to be a lively weekend of traditional and folk music and Islay’s finest traditional musicians will be joining the sessions throughout the weekend too. There’s accommodation still remaining so book soon!

Harris Tweed – Past, Present and Future (celebrating the centenary of the Orb 1911-2011)

This one-day event, arranged by the Island Book Trust in conjunction with the Harris Tweed Authority, will mark the centenary of the Orb, the Harris Tweed registration symbol. Involving talks, poetry, film, story-telling and discussion sessions, the day’s programme reviews the history of this vitally important and distinctive island industry, celebrates its successes and achievements and reflects on the current and future challenges it faces.

Island Song Weekend

19 – 20 Nov 2011, Orkney Mainland

Artists from Shetland, the Western Isles, Highland and Aberdeenshire visit Orkney to entertain and teach participants about their native song tradition. The weekend is built around day-time workshops and topped off by two great concerts, the first in Kirkwall on Saturday 19th November, the second in Stromness on Sunday 20th.

An Evening with Meg Bateman

24 Nov 2011, North Uist

Fresh from her appearance at the Aldeburgh Festival at the beginning of the month, Meg Bateman will entertain and inform with an evening of enchanting poetry. Meg is one of the nation’s leading Gaelic poets. She teaches at the Gaelic college Sabhal Mòr Ostaig on the Isle of Skye and is an honorary senior lecturer at the University of St Andrews. She has brought out three collections of Gaelic poetry with English translations and has co-edited and translated three anthologies of medieval, 17th century and religious verse.

Calum’s Road

25 Nov, Raasay

A National Theatre of Scotland and Communicado Theatre Company co-production, Calum’s Road is an inspirational story – the stuff of modern folklore. It is the remarkable true story of one man’s single-minded determination to challenge the powers-that-be. It’s hardly believable that one man carved almost two miles of road out of the rocks and trees of north Raasay and here, now, is his story staged in the fresh new surroundings of Raasay’s Community Centre on the island where it all happened.

Scotland’s Islands website

Source: Scotland’s Islands

Julia Donaldson is the author of over 150 books for children and besides writing well – known books with Axel Scheffler including The Gruffalo, The Snail and the Whale and most recently Zog, she has collaborated with many other illustrators. Julia is also Patron of Artlink Central, a charity which puts artists, musicians and storytellers into schools, hospitals, prisons and community spaces to work with children and adults and help them develop their talent and creativity.

This exhibition aims to highlight the diverse range of approaches to illustration and focuses on the following artists who have worked with Julia over the years:

Jonathan Allen, Deborah Allwright, Debbie Boon, Anna Currey, Thomas Docherty, Karen George, Emily Gravett, Paul Hess, Sam McCullen, Lydia Monks, David Robert, Axel Scheffler, Nick Sharratt, Pam Smy, Joel Stewart and Charlotte Voake.

Source: Argyll & Bute Council

IN June 2011, the four artists who comprise the collective 6 ° West – Anne Devine, David Faithfull, Mhairi Killin and Veronica Slater – completed a week-long residency on Inch Kenneth (Innis Choinnich), a small island in private ownership a few miles north-east of Iona at the mouth of Loch na Keal.

Curated by Alicia Hendrick (the fifth member of the collective), the current show, which is open to visitors for one week only, is an essential response to the island, consisting of a one print each by Devine, Killin and Slater, and two by Faithfull.

Inch Kenneth installation (photo Jane Griffiths)

Although the response by each artist to the geology, history, landscape and genus loci of the island is unique, there are a number of striking threads of continuity to be found in the artists’ prints.

A wider understanding of both the residency process and the individual approaches of each artist to the challenges and opportunities of the isolated island environment has been provided in a remarkably fine collection of photographs by Shannon Tofts. Tofts’s work is both technically accomplished and artistically motivated, so that he achieves a rare combination of record and response.  Tofts is in a very real sense a collaborator, in that his vision derives from a sympathetic and emphatic response to the individuality of each artist.

Working in a recognisable personal idiom, Faithfull (working at Edinburgh Print Studios) has created a three-part image focussing on the relationship between the island’s geology, landscape and fragments of text from William Golding’s novel, Pincher Martin, in an approach which might be termed ‘geopoetic’. Faithfull’s approach is predominantly stylised and graphical; and although it’s clear that he is a gifted draughtsman and designer, his work can seem devoid of feeling.

Here, however, the central image, derived from a photograph, shows a cave on the shore of the island which might be read as a metaphor for a mouth and all the associations of noise, language and song which that connotes. In an allied work, more technological than geological, the image is of Inch Kenneth as plotted by a GPS system.

The central image of Devine’s print (made with print-maker Elspeth Lamb), is, somewhat coincidentally, Agnus Dei, ‘the Lamb of God’ and Devine is the only one of the artists to have acknowledged the religious context of the Island’s history in an explicit manner (Inch Kenneth houses a 13th century chapel of similar age to the 12^th century St Oran’s on Iona, and like St Oran’s has a collection of ‘Celtic’ cross-slabs). In a complex image, Devine has conflated religious vision with a geological perspective, suggesting, perhaps, that both views have a validity and a mystery.

Mhairi Killin’s ancestors were silversmiths on Iona, and she combines this ancient art with her contemporary artistic practice; each feeds into and complements the other. Here, various images such a stone markings, inscriptions and objects are woven together by silver wire suggesting a continuity between past and present.

Underpinning these images is a faint reproduction of a shipping chart, allowing for the introduction of idea of visual, historical and cultural ‘plotting’ and the contemporary metaphor of ‘mapping a territory’. A piece of text in the form of a silver tag describes a ‘grass covered cairn 550m North East of Inch Kenneth House’, suggesting a much older, Neolithic context to the island’s history.  Killin’s work is at once delicate and strong, tentative and forceful.

Continuing the cartographical trope, Veronica Slater has chosen to create an emotional and experiential map of her time on Inch Kenneth, concentrating on the dilapidated interior of the house itself as well as referring to aspects of the island’s history and landscape.

The house belonged at one point to the Mitford family, and it was here that Unity Mitford, a Nazi sympathiser, lived on following an attempted suicide; she died in Oban in 1948. Such strange and traumatic histories inform Slater’s image, which seems like the visual representation of layered memory where suggested synaptic events trigger series upon series of recollection.

In a similar way, Slater has created a series of twenty four works under the title Transit 24 Hour Tor Mor, which are on show at An Roth Community Enterprise Centre in Craignure on the east of Mull (until 31 March 2012). Some of these images link to the Inch Kenneth residency, while others range more freely in their diversity and scope.

However, central to Slater’s approach is an over-layering of imagery which suggests that seeing and the process of perception is complex, involving various stages. One work which might stand as a useful tool in deconstructing Slater’s approach is her representation of the head of a golden eagle.

This is what she describes as “an image of an image”, in that it is derived from an ubiquitous postcard on sale on the island. But Slater’s eagle suggests a new way of looking, as if an ‘icon’ had somehow become “de-iconized”, allowing for a fresh approach to seeing the reality of things, despite the fact that most people will never see a real golden eagle.

The Inch Kenneth exhibition will tour next year.

© Giles Sutherland, 2011

Links

• 6 ° West
• Giles Sutherland

Fred, although born and raised near Glasgow, became renowned for his mastery of the Gaelic piping tradition of South Uist. While his first – love instrument is the great Highland bagpipes his prowess has extended over the years to whistles, Scottish smallpipes (or reelpipes) and Irish uilleann pipes. He is also an outstanding composer and has taken the prestigious Macallan trophy at Brittany’s Festival Interceltique de Lorient seven times.

During the 1990s Fred was a member of Scottish super-group Clan Alba and also of Capercaillie, featuring with the latter in the United Artists film Rob Roy. In 2004 he wrote a large scale work with composer Mark Sheridan entitled Paracas which premiered as the opening concert at Glasgow’s Celtic Connections festival in January 2005. His most recent album Outlands was released in 2009 and received a four star review in The Scotsman.

Opening support at the Cairnbaan Hotel comes from Argyll pipers Chris Coates and David Provan, who will be performing their own crafted sets along with a special appearance of rising star vocalist Kim Carnie from Oban, all of whom are members of the cast of MOVE. Tickets for the concert are priced £10 and available from The Square Peg and Argyll Book Centre in Lochgilphead.

For further information Email: talk@wildbiscuit.com

Source: Wild Biscuit

Royal National Mod
Lewis
14-22 October 2011

Scotland’s premier Gaelic festival returns to the Outer Hebrides in 2011, providing opportunities for people of all ages to celebrate Gaelic linguistic and cultural heritage, including Gaelic music and song, dance, instrumental, drama and literature.

Although the focus of the Royal National Mod is on competition, the event also offers a wide and comprehensive programme of non-competitive events which include performances from some of Scotland’s top traditional musicians and Gaelic singers.

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/64/royal-national-mod

Scottish International Storytelling Festival (Summary of Island-Based Events)

21-30 October 2011

An ideal place to discover Scotland’s treasure-trove of stories in a lively celebration of storytelling performance exploring the links between Scotland’s rich storytelling heritage and other cultures. These island-based events take place on Bute, Fair Isle, Iona, Cumbrae, Mull, Skye, Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides.

This year the Festival is all about exploring and pursuing the island experience through story, myth, music, song and dance. Greek and Roman myths mix with sagas of the Celts in this ten day festival. Enjoy the traditions of Scotland’s Islands alongside Mediterranean tale spinners and musicians from Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Greece and Cyprus.

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/502/scottish-international-storytelling-festival-(summary-of-island-based-events)

Comedian Ed Byrne
Shetland mainland (24 October 2011 )
Orkney mainland (25 October)

As an observational stand up Ed Byrne, has played in major comedy venues across the UK and Ireland, including the Vaudeville, Riverside, and New Ambassadors theatres in London, and the Gaiety, Olympia, Ambassador, and Vicar St. theatres in Dublin. His UK tours and regular TV appearances are always hugely popular and well received by the critics.

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/447/comedian-ed-byrne

Night Time Tour of the Spectacular
Mount Stuart
Bute
27 October 2011

Mount Stuart is claimed to be Britain’s most astounding Victorian gothic mansion. An opportunity to experience the house at its most peaceful. By candlelight and torchlight, your guide will lead you through the house on a specially devised route, taking in many private areas of the house.

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/507/night-time-tour-of-the-spectacular-mount-stuart

Shetland Food Festival
Shetland Mainland
5-13 November 2011

A celebration of mouth-watering Shetland produce, including some more unusual specialities such as seawater oatcakes, Shetland Black potatoes and more-ish fudge!

Food lovers’ events include cookery demonstrations, producers’ markets and Christmas craft fair. There’s also a ‘Ready, Steady, Shetland’ cook-off, where Shetlanders present their take on the popular TV programme, Ready, Steady, Cook.

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/440/shetland-food-festival
Harris Tweed – Past, Present and Future (celebrating the centenary of the Orb 1911-2011)
Lewis
18 November 2011

This one-day event marks the centenary of the orb by reviewing the history of this vitally important and distinctive island industry with a variety of engaging talks, poetry, film, story-telling and discussion sessions.

Arranged by the Island Book Trust in conjunction with the Harris Tweed Authority, the event will bring together people from different backgrounds to celebrate the island’s successes and achievements and reflecting on the current and future challenges it faces.

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/536/harris-tweed—past-present-and-future-(celebrating-the-centenary-of-the-orb-1911-2011)

The Ba
Kirkwall, Orkney mainland
25 December 2011 and 01 January 2012 

Forget about running with the bulls in Pamplona, for a truly fierce street sport, visitors should head to Orkney on either Christmas morning or New Year’s Day to watch in the annual Ba’ competition. Starting outside the majestic St Magnus Cathedral before raging through the streets of Kirkwall, The Ba’ is a traditional game of street rugby with participants from the opposing teams, The Uppies and The Doonies fight over the much prizes locally handmade leather Ba’ (ball). Spectators are welcome but be careful!

www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/491/the-ba

Up Helly Aa
Shetland mainland
31 January 2012

Shetland’s biggest fire festival, Up Helly Aa, celebrates Shetland’s history with a series of re-enactments, culminating in a torch lit procession and Viking Galley burning.  Considering it’s held in mid-winter on the same latitude as southern Greenland, Up Helly Aa has never been cancelled

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/434/up-helly-aa

Papay Gyro Nights 2012 Art Festival
Pap Westray, Orkney
6-13 February 2012

Papay Gyro Nights is an international film and video art, contemporary art, music and architecture festival based on folklore and tradition of Orkney. The Festival takes place in unique and remote settings on the island of Papa Westray. The idea of the festival has originated from the ancient Papay tradition of the Night of The Gyros. The Festival is also a reflection the island’s landscape and heritage as well as interpretation of tradition and ritual.

http://www.scotlandsislands.com/festivals-events/info/274/papay-gyro-nights-2012-art-festival

For more information on the Scotland’s Islands initiative visit: www.scotlandsislands.com

Source: Profile Plus

Coming together as the TMSA Young Trad Tour 2011, the group consists of the six finalists of this year’s BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year Award, together with the winner of the 2010 Award. They have recorded a studio album which is released to coincide with the tour of Scotland, which runs from 19 October to 6 November 2011.

Organised annually by the TMSA (Traditional Music & Song Association of Scotland), this year’s concert and workshop tour takes in Dundee, Kirkwall, Lyth, Inverness, Aberfeldy, Livingston, Campbeltown, Portree, St Andrews, Glasgow and Coldingham as well as being featuring in three BBC Radio Scotland programmes.

On tour are the Orcadian fiddler Kristan Harvey (2011 winner); Lorne MacDougall from Carradale, Argyll (pipes/whistles); Tina Rees from Glasgow (piano); Alistair Ogilvy from Strathblane (Scots song); Mairi Chaimbeul from Kyle of Lochalsh, Skye (clarsach/Gaelic song); Andrew Waite from Duns in the Scottish Borders (accordion) and 2010 winner, Dan Thorpe, from Inverurie (fiddle). The album was recorded at Castlesound Studios near Edinburgh, under the musical direction of renowned Scottish composer & virtuoso harpist, Corrina Hewat.

The TMSA Young Trad Tour 2011 is supported by The National Lottery through Creative Scotland who awarded the project from their Traditional Arts funding programme, a total of £23,000 on 15 April 2011. Andrew Dixon, Chief Executive, Creative Scotland, said: ‘Scotland’s traditional musical heritage is our global calling card and keeping these traditions alive through the skill and enthusiasm of our young people is fantastic. This tour offers up some brilliant talent for audiences across the country while taking the young people one step further in their career as musicians. If you haven’t got a ticket, please do buy one and enjoy performances from Scotland’s future stars.’

The programme is also supported by The Robertson Trust, Stagecoach Group and Glenfarg Folk Club.

Source: Martin Coull Management

The island of Inch Kenneth and its extraordinary house welcomed 6°WEST in June 2011 for a unique artists’ residency. An exhibition of a suite of prints from this residency will be shown at St Oran’s Chapel, Iona.

Artist members of the collective Anne Devine, David Faithfull, Mhairi Killin, Veronica Slater and curator Alicia Hendrick were ferried from Mull to the island to explore and spend time in residence at Inch Kenneth House. They were joined by photographer Shannon Tofts and art critic Georgina Coburn who documented their work. This residency afforded the group an opportunity to explore the multiple histories, ecology and geology of the island.

St Oran’s Chapel will house an exhibition of commissioned prints by each of the participating artists, developed from their residency on Inch Kenneth. The work will be experienced by candlelight as the chapel like Inch Kenneth house has no mains electricity. These prints will be accompanied by a series of photographic sketchbooks containing images by Shannon Tofts selected by each artist reflecting their time on the island. A commissioned essay by Georgina Coburn sets the work of 6°WEST in a contemporary art context.

Inch Kenneth is a culturally significant island with a fascinating history. It has its place in the sculptural tradition which flourished in the Middle Ages; a collection of medieval stone carvings survive in its 13th Century chapel. Boswell and Johnson visited its shores in 1773 as part of their tour of the Hebrides and in the 1940s it became the home to the eccentric Mitford Family. Historically there are strong links between the islands of Iona and Inch Kenneth, so 6°WEST is delighted to be given permission by Historic Scotland to show this new work at St Oran’s Chapel.

6°WEST received funding from Argyll and Bute Council, HI-Arts and Creative Scotland for their artists’ residency on the island of Inch Kenneth as part of the Year of Scotland’s Islands.

For more information: http://6degreeswest.blogspot.com

Details:

• Location: Isle of Iona
• Name of exhibition: Inch Kenneth by 6°WEST artist collective
• Description: The island of Inch Kenneth and it’s extraordinary house welcomes 6°WEST in June 2011 for a unique artist’s residency. An exhibition of a suite of prints developed from this residency will be shown at St. Oran’s Chapel.
• Date: 15-22nd October, 2011.
• Venue: St. Oran’s Chapel. Isle of Iona
• Time: Dawn until dusk
• Tel: 07590385571
• Contact: http://6degreeswest.blogspot.com/

DESPITE the enormous changes brought about by the industrial and technological revolutions, we have never stopped being spellbound by the fairy story. The world of woodcutters, wolves and forests should mean nothing to the modern child, yet the archetypal narratives of Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel and Snow White remain potent.

It is as if these ancient folk tales exist in a perpetual present tense: “Once upon a time there is,” and not, “Once upon a time there was”. It is with these same present-tense words that JC Marshall’s three-hander for teenagers begins. The Visible Fictions production evokes several classic fairytales in its coming-of-age story of an orphan girl who is lured into the dark forest by the prospect of becoming a hunter only to find herself turned into bait for the mythical white wolf.

The Hunted (photo Neil Thomas Douglas)

Like the classic bedtime tales, The Hunted is a metaphor for our journey towards adult independence. As she escapes the clutches of her guardian to join the village hunter on his night-time sortie, the girl discovers that not every grown-up can be trusted, that with rights come responsibilities, that vengeance is different from justice, and that the closer you get to self-knowledge, the more you’re ready to fall in love.

The playwright understands that every one of these discoveries is timeless, as pertinent now as it has been for generations. She takes the idea a step further, however, by throwing in some amateur quantum mechanics. I doubt her theory would pass muster with the editorial board of New Scientist, but for the purposes of the play, she makes us believe that a twist of the girl’s kaleidoscope makes it possible for a modern-day boy to get wrapped up in her story. Thus, “Once upon a time there is” runs in parallel to “Once upon a time there was”.

The boy’s story is lightly sketched – he’s a teenager reacting ferociously to his father’s domestic violence against his brother – but it’s enough to suggest modern-day children have to go on just as much a journey of self-discovery as Little Red Riding Hood. It also introduces the kind of mind-expanding Doctor Who-style sci-fi that goes down well with the target age range who are especially attuned to life’s wondrous possibilities.

All of this is strikingly done in Douglas Irvine’s production on a set (co-designed with Becky Minto) of dangling light bulbs, illuminating or obscuring the way through the dark forest. Kirsty Stuart is bullish as the girl, more aware of her strengths than conscious of her weaknesses, and a determined foil for Billy Mack’s faithless hunter and Roddy Cairns’ shell-shocked time-travelling boy. The science may be fanciful but the impulses run deep in an engrossing production.

© Mark Fisher, 2011

Links

• Visible Fictions
• Mark Fisher

• Five New Music 20×12 premieres to take place in January 2012, with a new work for bells bringing in the new year
• Exciting line-up of British composers and arts organisations bring outstanding new music to audiences across the UK and throughout the whole year
• Four premieres will be taking place in Scotland in Aberdeen, Edinburgh and the Isle of Mull.
• Four composers and commissioning organisations from across Scotland are included within the British line-up
• All twenty commissions to be presented across one weekend which celebrates composing –Southbank Centre,13-15 July 2012

Dates for the first set of premieres by New Music 20×12 Cultural Olympiad Composers are announced today by PRS for Music Foundation.  This ambitious and wide-ranging project, which is part of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, involves some of the UK’s leading composers from across a range of music genres.  Each composer has been commissioned to capture the spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games with a piece of music 12 minutes in length.

Premieres will take place the length and breadth of the UK at concert halls, arts centres, festivals, public spaces and, for one premiere, a prison – culminating in a weekend at Southbank Centre (13-15 July 2012) where all the works will be performed as part of a wider exploration of composing new music.

Premieres taking place in Scotland include;

• Gavin Higgins and Rambert Dance Company’s commission ‘What Wild Ecstasy’ is premiering at His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen on 15-17 February, 2012.
• Aidan O’Rourke and An Tobar, The Tobermory Arts Centre’s composition ‘TAT-1’ is premiering at the Tobermory Arts Centre, Isle of Mull on the 8 June, 2012.
• Oliver Searle and Drake Music Scotland’s composition ‘Technophonia’ is premiering at the Queen’s Hall Edinburgh on 15 June, 2012
• Richard Causton and European Union Youth Orchestras composition ‘Twenty-Seven Heavens’ is premiering at the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, on 23 August, 2012.

Leading voices in the field of contemporary classical music, including Mark-Anthony Turnage, Sally Beamish and Howard Skempton, were commissioned as part of New Music 20×12 along with dynamic names from the worlds of Jazz (Jason Yarde and Julian Joseph) and Folk (Aidan O’Rourke, Sheema  Mukherjee), to name but a few of the commissioned composers.  

The four Scottish commissions, which will be performed across Britain include;

• a piece by fiddler and composer Aidan O’Rourke who is working with An Tobar, The Tobermory Arts Centre to create ‘TAT-1’, a piece inspired by the first transatlantic telephone cable which ran from Aidan’s hometown;
• a composition by Sally Beamish who is working with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment to create ‘Spinal Chords’, a piece inspired by Melanie Reid, a columnist for The Times who broke her neck and back following a horse-riding accident.
• Oliver Searle and Drake Music Scotland’s piece ‘Technophonia’ which will challenge how the audience defines musical instruments and performing musicians.
• Finally Anna Meredith and National Youth Orchestra are creating a piece entitled ‘HandsFree’ which encourages young people to create music through beatboxing and clapping.

All 20 works will each receive at least three performances in 2012.  Additionally all the works – from the four corners of the UK – will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and released digitally by NMC recordings.

The most ambitious and wide-ranging partnership programme in PRS for Music Foundation’s history, New Music 20×12 showcases a huge variety of new music and performances that provide an opportunity for all sectors of society to engage with these once-in-a-lifetime commissions. Composer Howard Skempton’s work for bells, ‘Wild Bells to a Wild Sky’, will be the first to premiere on New Year’s Eve from All Saints Church in Kingston upon Thames and, following this, most months in 2012 will see different regions hosting a New Music 20×12 premiere.

The premieres include large-scale event pieces premiered in public spaces such as Trafalgar Square (Liz Liew and Andy Leung in partnership with Chinatown Arts Space will perform XX/XY as part of the Chinese New Year celebrations) and Salisbury Cathedral grounds (David Bruce’s commission ‘Fire’, an outdoor spectacle involving voices, horns and a fire artist); a work which brings together musicians and sportspeople (Joe Cutler’s ‘Ping!’ for the Coull String Quartet and 4 table tennis players) and a project that sees Mark-Anthony Turnage, one of the UK’s leading composers, premiering his New Music 20×12 commission at HMP Lowdham Grange, Nottinghamshire.

Other premieres will take place as far and wide as Bridport Electric Palace, Dorset; A.E. Harris Factory, Birmingham; The Tobermory Arts Centre, Isle of Mull; Liverpool Philharmonic Hall and Belfast Metropolitan Arts Centre.

Each of the 20 works takes inspiration from the spirit of the Olympic Games but is utterly unique in the story it tells and the way it is realised.  Whether a new dance work from the Rambert Dance Company’s first Music Fellow Gavin Higgins, a new opera from Northern Irish composer Conor Mitchell, a work by Luke Carver Goss inspired by the relay race with poet Ian McMillan and the Yorkshire Youth Brass Band or Graham Fitkin’s piece written for the new Javelin Train which will run between St. Pancras Station and the Olympic site, each project is collaborative and a unique contribution to the Olympic celebrations.

Vanessa Reed, Executive Director of PRS for Music Foundation says:  “New Music 20×12 is a central part of the Olympics celebrations and people all over the country will have the opportunity to attend a special event which celebrates the excellence and imagination of some of the UK’s most exciting composers.  I am thrilled that each new work will receive three premieres and be accessible to so many people through the stunning array of nationwide performances and BBC Radio 3 broadcasts.”

Alan Davey, Chief Executive of Arts Council England, says: “As a principal funder of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, it’s fantastic to see our investment contribute to such a wide-ranging project that will bring extraordinary music to audiences right across the UK. The range of musical talent, not to mention venues, that are coming together like never before to celebrate 2012, will leave a powerful legacy for music long beyond the Games.”

Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative Development, Creative Scotland, said;

“New Music 20×12 brings the richness of composition and musical innovation to the heart of the Cultural Olympiad.   It is fantastic news that the compositions will be accessible to audiences from across the country whether that be at one of the concerts or through listening to it being broadcast on BBC 3, and the weekend at the Southbank Centre is a particularly exciting new development.  We are delighted to have such a strong Scottish presence within the line-up.’

Jillian Barker, founding patron says: “Two years on from our first discussions about New Music 20×12, it’s fantastic that our dream of putting new music centre stage of the Cultural Olympiad is starting to become a reality. We’re delighted that such an impressive range of organisations, composers and funding partners are working together to make this happen and I look forward to hearing every piece created for this once in a lifetime celebration.”

For more information: www.prsformusicfoundation.com/newmusic20x12

Source: Creative Scotland

Year two (2011/2012) will consist of a series of twilight CPD events. The CPD sessions are for anybody interested in learning and teaching who wants to develop a creative approach to education.

USING FILM WITHIN CfE

Andy Dougan, Lecturer, Digital Film and Television, Royal Conservatoire.

Andy will introduce ways that pupils can engage critically with film, television and other media in a way that promotes deeper learning and includes analysis techniques and practical collaboration methods.

Monday 31st October 2011 – Rhu Primary School

Tuesday 1st November 2011 – Kirn Primary, Dunoon

Wednesday 2nd November 2011 – Tarbert Academy

Thursday 3rd November 2011 – Park Primary, Oban

EXPLORING LITERACY THROUGH DRAMA

Education Team, Citizens Theatre

Boost young people’¬s enjoyment of writing and reading through fun, practical drama activities. Use these adaptable conventions across the curriculum and age ranges. Guaranteed to engage and focus your pupils’ learning.

Monday 21st November 2011- Rhu Primary School

Tuesday 22nd November 2011 – Kirn Primary School, Dunoon

Wednesday 23rd November 2011 – Tarbert Academy

Thursday 24th November 2011 – Park Primary, Oban

HOW ART CAN SUPPORT CfE

Joanna Maudsley, Schools Education Officer, National Galleries of Scotland

This session will explore innovative and creative approaches to looking at and talking about artworks. They will equip you with a broad range of skills to maximize the educational value of working with art across the curriculum.

Monday 27th February 2012 – Rhu Primary School

Tuesday 28th February 2012 – Kirn Primary School, Dunoon

Wednesday 29th February 2012 – Tarbert Academy

Thursday 1st March 2012 – Park Primary, Oban

All events will run from 4.30pm till 6.30pm latest.

Tea and coffee will be available. There are no charges for these courses.

To book a place email Fiona Blakey fiona.blakey@ea.argyll-bute.sch.uk

Source: J Saich

MULL Theatre’s tour of Hamish MacDonald’s new play about the Invergordon Mutiny is now around the half-way mark in an extended tour of Scotland.

THE writer is more usually associated with the Inverness-based Dogstar Theatre, where he is co-artistic director with Matthew Zajac, but this project was conceived specifically for Mull Theatre, and has been some time in the making.

Hamish MacDonald

NORTHINGS: Hamish, can you tell us how the project came about?

HAMISH MACDONALD: It was written for Mull Theatre, and there is a bit of history to the whole thing, in that at the beginning I had ideas for two different plays. The first one was a play about Patrick McGill, the navvy poet who came to Scotland during the earlier part of the 20th century and worked on the tattie picking and the hydro dam construction, and became a writer.

The problem there was that I wasn’t able to get the permissions I would have needed to go ahead with that one. The play very much required use of some sections of his literary work, and that wasn’t possible, so we put that idea to one side and opted to work on this one instead, which was this idea about the Invergordon Mutiny.

NORTHINGS: What sparked your interest in that one?

HAMISH MACDONALD:  I first heard about it when my father told me about it over a beer one night. That was how it started, and then my mother told me another story about something that had happened to her friend’s father, who was working on the Daily Worker.

He reported on the mutiny for the paper, and fled to Russia in 1931. I have some letters he sent to his daughter which suggest his reasons for going weren’t through choice, but he landed there at a horribly repressive stage in Soviet history. He goes to work for TASS, which is what happens to my character Finlay in the play, so it does reflect the realities of certain individuals lives, but in fictionalised form.

A number of the sailors also ended up going to the Soviet Union, and one of them, Len Wincott, who wrote Invergordon Mutineer, ended up in a labour camp for eleven years.

There seemed to me to be a lot of dramatic possibilities in what at the time was a major international event, but seen through the eyes of ordinary people. I saw the appeal of it as a piece of theatre right away.

Harry Ward as Connal McNab and Greg Powrie as the Interrogator in Mull Theatre's Singing Far Into The Night (photo Douglas Robertson)

NORTHINGS: It’s en event that seems to be a bit forgotten these days – we hear a lot about Red Clydeside, but not Red Invergordon.

HAMISH MACDONALD: It seems to be, and yet it was a momentous event at the time. It was not just that the sailors carried out an industrial action and brought the fleet to a standstill, but there were a lot of knock-on effects as well, including a panic in the stock exchange that led to Britain’s withdrawal from the gold standard, the fear that it might spread to the army and the police, and the King being placed under armed guard at Balmoral. It had a huge impact at the time.

NORTHINGS: So how have you structured the play around the mutiny?

HAMISH MACDONALD: The mutiny itself is at the centre of the play, but it isn’t directly addressed as the focus of the action, it is spread out in fragments. The play moves around quite widely in space and time – it begins in a psychiatric ward, and there are flashbacks to the street disturbances in Glasgow in 1931, when the naval rating Connal comes home on leave for two weeks.

From that point the path to the mutiny is explored over a kind of two-week curve, but beyond that curve it also explores more widely on the character’s lives – the other two principle characters are his brother and his lover, who flee to Russia, as a number of the people involved in the mutiny did. So the mutiny has impacted on them all in a dramatic way.

Harry Ward as Connal McNab and Barrie Hunter as Finlay McNab in Mull Theatre's Singing Far Into The Night (photo Douglas Robertson)

NORTHINGS: Did that structure lead to complexities in the staging of the play?

HAMISH MACDONALD: I think everything from the design to the movement massively complements the writing. It’s hard to be objective when you are the writer, and you can only judge on audience reaction, which was extremely positive on the preview and opening night. The staging has really come together with the design and the performances in a really strong and compelling way, I think, and I feel that will get even stronger over a six-week tour.

I don’t see it as terribly complex as a piece of work to watch – it demands a bit of thinking, but it is a way of telling a story that isn’t necessarily just moving in a line from point A to point B, although there is a linear thread through it anyway.

NORTHINGS: People are well used to that kind of narrative dislocation in film and television in any case, aren’t they?

HAMISH MACDONALD: Absolutely so, and it’s interesting that you mention film, because I think the production is quite filmic in itself, and there is a fantastic sound design as part of it that gives the whole thing a very cinematic feel for me.

There are definitely demands in dealing with the various shifts of location and so on, but I feel they have been met. The director, Alasdair McCrone, has used a very clever set by Alicia Hendrick which operates around a pair of dockyard gates that can adapt to various different uses and contexts, and could equally be in Scotland or the USSR.

They transform into many different things – a bar room, a railway station platform, and various other things, and it all worked very well. The most gratifying thing for me was that not only did the set work very well, it didn’t dominate the show – sometimes these things can become largely about moving a big piece of kit around the stage!

Barrie Hunter as sailor, Harry Ward as Connal McNab and the versatile gates in Mull Theatre's Singing Far Into The Night (photo Douglas Robertson)

NORTHINGS: Mull Theatre have emphasised some of the parallels with the current situation – then as now, Britain was under a coalition government imposing austerity measures, and there was unrest on the streets. Is that parallel kept implicit in your play?

HAMISH MACDONALD: They have to be implicit, largely because it is entirely coincidental. It wasn’t written to coincide with a coalition government and the summer riots in England – it was initially written five years ago, and that is all coincidental, although what it maybe tells you is that nothing changes!

NORTHINGS: And it offers the prospect of a meaty piece of theatre?

HAMISH MACDONALD: I hope so, and I have to say that I think the performers (Harry Ward, Helen McAlpine, Barrie Hunter and Greg Powrie) have done a tremendous job. It’s a play that has been a long time in the development – there have been three big versions of it, and I think in the end we got what we wanted, and it’s a more mature production than it might otherwise have been had we got underway earlier.

Helen McAlpine as Erica Thule in Mull Theatre's Singing Far Into The Night (photo Douglas Robertson)

NORTHINGS: I believe you are also busy wearing your Dogstar hat?

HAMISH MACDONALD: Full on! I’m producing a re-make of The Captain’s Collection, which we’ll be doing at Celtic Connections in January, and then touring in May 2012. I’m also going to Kiev to talk about Dogstar’s work and how it has been received internationally at a festival over there.

The project with the Tehran group that I described on Northings is also still going on. Dogstar is a project funded company, and we can only work in response to specific projects when we get the funding.

NORTHINGS: You are also a novelist – are you working on anything at this point?

HAMISH MACDONALD: Yes, in between all that, I’m working on a historical novel which has been sidelined for the last few weeks, but is also ongoing. It’s set around the conflict that developed in the 19^th century around the idea of deep time espoused by the geologist James Hutton, and the conflict that his discoveries caused with established religious ideas. It’s set just before the publication of Darwin’s On The Origin of Species, and takes in the conflict between Robert Chambers and Hugh Miller, so there is a Highland connection in there as well.

Singing Far Into The Night is on tour until the end of October – see Mull Theatre website (link below) for details.

© Kenny Mathieson, 2011

Links

• Mull Theatre
• Dogstar Theatre Company

Please see below a selection of events taking place in October and take a look at the Scotland’s Islands website for more: http://www.scotlandsislands.com/

Shetland Community Orchestra, 1 October, Shetland
The first of two concerts by the newly formed Shetland Community Orchestra, featuring well-known guest soloists and high profile conductors. Includes film music from Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean and James Bond.

Step We Gaels, 1 October, Mull
A series of Ceilidhs in Tiree Hall, Coll Hall, An Tobar and Iona Hall islands with daytime workshops provided. Open to all to give everyone an opportunity to “come and try” an instrument.

Singing Far into the Night – A New Play by Hamish MacDonald (Isle of Coll Hall & Other Venues)
A new play by Hamish MacDonald, commissioned by Mull Theatre. The scene is Glasgow 1931 ~ civil unrest, rioting and a society in turmoil as an impoverished working class feels disconnected from the roots of authority. Power is in the hands of the powerful: job losses, pay cuts and fear of poverty bring angry protests to the streets.

Scottish Crofting Federation’s Annual Gathering – “1886 and all that”, 3 – 4 October, Skye
The theme of the Annual Gathering this year will be crofting land tenure: past, present and future. There will be speakers on crofting history, crofting community and culture; the formation of crofting regulated tenure, other forms of land tenure, community ownership, use of common grazings and the current crofting law in regards to land tenure. Young Crofters will be meeting to discuss what they feel are the needs and aspirations of their generation.

Shetland’s 23rd Accordion and Fiddle Festival, 8 – 10 October, Shetland
A Scottish dance music festival featuring the best Shetland bands along with top Scottish and International players. Concerts and dances popular with both Shetland residents and visitors alike.

Royal National Mod, 14 -22 October, Lewis
Famous for celebrating Gaelic linguistic and cultural heritage, Scotland’s premier Gaelic festival provides opportunities for people of all ages to perform across a range of competitive disciplines including Gaelic music and song, dance, instrumental, drama and literature.

Skye Dance Xchange, 20 October, Skye
This first dance exchange will bring together young dancers from SkyeDance and Isle Dance, based on the isle of Lewis, to create, perform and then share their work at Sabhal mor Ostaig on the Isle of Skye. They will work with professional dance artist and gymnast Fiona Fyfe along with SkyeDance development officer Lorayne Mclucas and Isle Dance director, Kirstie MacDonald.

Scottish International Storytelling Festival – An Island Odyssey (Storytellers on Tour), 21 – 30 October, Various Islands
The Scottish International Storytelling Festival is an ideal place to discover Scotland’s treasure-trove of stories in a lively celebration of storytelling performance exploring the links between Scotland’s rich storytelling heritage and other cultures. This year the Festival is all about exploring and pursuing the island experience through story, myth, music, song and dance. Greek and Roman myths mix with sagas of the Celts in a ten day festival of unrivalled opportunity to enjoy the traditions of Scotland’s Islands alongside Mediterranean tale spinners and musicians from Corsica, Sardinia, Malta, Greece and Cyprus.

FACLAN: Island Conversion from Sceptic to Believer, 26 Oct 2011, Barra, Uist, Harris & Lewis
The transition of a Gaelic poet from Sceptic to Believer. Come along and hear Myles, who is one of the most acclaimed and talented Gaelic poets of his generation. Here with his wife, Margaret, they will be giving four presentations for Faclan 2011 in Uist, Barra, Harris, and Lewis.

Meet the Storytellers – Orkney Storytelling Festival (An Island Odyssey: Scottish International Storytelling Festival), 27 October, Orkney
A chance to meet the storytellers and performers taking part in the Orkney Storytelling Festival ~ get to know their backgrounds and hear some tales in a relaxed setting. Everyone is welcome.

The Lamp in the Seaward Window – The Art of Sylvia Wishart, to 5 Nov 2011, Orkney
The Pier Arts Centre is pleased to present an exhibition of drawings, paintings and prints by Orcadian artist Sylvia Wishart RSA (1936-2008). At the heart of Sylvia Wishart’s work is the landscape of her native Orkney. Her drawings and paintings express a distinct and singular approach to recording her subject. Her acute observation of the shifting seasons and the ever-changing patterns of human activity on the land convey a remarkable insight that reveals much more than just the visible.

Contact:

Scotland’s Islands,c/o Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Development Department, Sandwick Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, HS1 2BW
Tel: 01851 822693
Email: info@scotlandsislands.com

Source: Scotland’s Islands

EXHIBITION : TRANSIT – 24 Hour Tor Mor
an installation of paintings by Mull-based artist Veronica Slater.

OPEN EVENT:
Sunday 2nd October 3 to 6pm – with refreshments

EXHIBITION DATES:
2nd October 2011 to 31st March 2012

VENUE:
An Roth Community Enterprise Centre, Craignure, Isle of Mull.

TRANSIT – 24 Hour Tor Mor is a new body of work that has been installed in the passages and stairwells of An Roth to create a line of paintings that will lead the viewer through the building. The installation aims to activate these ‘transit areas’ by opening them up as imaginative ‘thinking spaces’ for the users of An Roth.

24 Hour Tor Mor is a series of paintings made on Mull that construct a sense of place through highly decorative and schematized images. The colourful and sumptuously painted surfaces generate a world of ‘altered states’, depicting domestic ornaments, bought from Island Castaways *MESS shops and representations of Mull & Iona landscape.

For more information visit www.veronicaslater.com  http://6degreeswest.blogspot.com and www.artofcreativeconnections.com

Source: V Slater

TRANSIT – 24 Hour Tor Mor

an installation of paintings by Mull-based artist Veronica Slater.

OPEN EVENT:

Sunday 2nd October 3 to 6pm – with refreshments

EXHIBITION DATES:

2nd October 2011 to 31st March 2012

VENUE:

An Roth Community Enterprise Centre, Craignure, Isle of Mull.

TRANSIT – 24 Hour Tor Mor is a new body of work that has been installed in the passages and stairwells of An Roth to create a line of paintings that will lead the viewer through the building. The installation aims to activate these ‘transit areas’ by opening them up as imaginative ‘thinking spaces’ for the users of An Roth.

24 Hour Tor Mor is a series of paintings made on Mull that construct a sense of place through highly decorative and schematized images. The colourful and sumptuously painted surfaces generate a world of ‘altered states’, depicting domestic ornaments, bought from Island Castaways *MESS shops and representations of Mull & Iona landscape.

* Mull & Iona Environmentally Sensitive Solution

Source: V Slater

TRANSIT – 24 Hour Tor Mor is a new body of work that has been installed in the passages and stairwells of An Roth to create a line of paintings that will lead the viewer through the building. The installation aims to activate these ‘transit areas’ by opening them up as imaginative ‘thinking spaces’ for the users of An Roth.

24 Hour Tor Mor is a series of paintings made on Mull that construct a sense of place through highly decorative and schematized images. The colourful and sumptuously painted surfaces generate a world of ‘altered states’, depicting domestic ornaments, bought from Island Castaways *MESS shops and representations of Mull & Iona landscape.

Details:

EXHIBITION TITLE: TRANSIT – 24 Hour Tor Mor – an installation of paintings by Mull-based artist Veronica Slater.

OPEN EVENT: Sunday 2nd October 2011 3 to 6pm – with refreshments

 EXHIBITION DATES: 2nd October 2011 to 31st March 2012

VENUE: An Roth Community Enterprise Centre, Craignure, Isle of Mull.

Contact details: Veronica Slater  Tel: 01681 700462
An Roth: www.mict.co.uk  Tel: 01680 812244

* Mull & Iona Environmentally Sensitive Solutions

Source: Veronica Slater

LAGAVULIN, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich, Bowmore, Ardbeg: not just the litany of legendary single malts treasured by whisky-lovers worldwide, but also the locations, in both distilleries and village halls, for most of the concerts making up the Islay Jazz Festival.

Jointly promoted by Jazz Scotland and Islay Arts Association, and currently sponsored by the pungently peaty Lagavulin – of which a complementary 16-year-old nip was offered to audiences at every gig – the festival this year marked its 13th outing, with not a whiff of that number’s customary ill luck.

Swedish singer Viktoria Tosltoy

Quite the contrary, in fact, with attendances among the busiest ever, and many visitors declaring 2011’s edition the best yet – no small accolade, given how the event’s unique blend of attractions, for jazz fans and musicians alike, have matured into an international reputation that belies its modest scale, a stature underscored by the BBC’s presence over the weekend, recording several shows for broadcast on both Radio Scotland and Radio 3.

This time drawing primarily from the contemporary Scottish and Scandinavian scenes, the Islay programme was as ever a model of high artistic quality allied to ingenious economy, with permutations from a corps of around 30 musicians lining up a total of 16 different acts, from soloists to septets. The multiple deployment of individual players makes a virtue of necessity by knitting them more collectively into the festival as a whole, capitalizing on the network of close relationships among Scottish jazzers in particular, while enabling them to enjoy displaying various strings to their bow.

The range of venues co-opted by the festival likewise adds value, not only via the distilleries’ intriguing mix of history, tradition and functionality, but also with Islay’s RSPB centre, where early arrivals could enjoy a guided birdwatching walk before the show, or the aptly-named Outback Gallery, a converted steading away up in Islay’s north-west corner, decked with diverse artworks and five minutes’ stroll from a beautiful deserted beach. Scattering concerts around the island, too, throughout the afternoon and evening, builds in opportunities to admire its splendid scenery, abetted by weather that substantially defied an unpromising forecast.

The first of Friday’s two concerts in the former maltings at Lagavulin distillery featured Swedish-born, Russian-descended singer Viktoria Tolstoy – great-granddaughter of iconic novelist Leo – accompanied by her regular sidemen Jacob Karlzon (piano), Hans Andersson (bass) and Rasmus Kihlberg (drums). While initial impressions of her voice seemed a close aural match to her willowy Nordic appearance, as her set progressed it revealed an impressively broad stylistic and expressive spectrum, taking in sultry Latin slinkiness in a cover of Prince’s ‘Te Amo Corazon’; languid sensuality in ‘Butterfly’, from her recent Letters to Herbie album; artful off-kilter passion in Esbjörg Svensson’s ‘Equilibrium’, and dusky, velvety soul in adapted Russian folk song ‘Little Pretty’.

Particularly notable among her band’s similarly strong and versatile support were Karlzon’s precisely chiselled yet freewheeling solos, foreshadowing his exhilarating headline performance – again flanked by Andersson and Kihlberg – on Sunday afternoon, which roved with expansive authority between dreamily delicate lyricism, dynamic drama and ebullient muscularity.

Tom Bancroft (photo credit www.johnneed.co.uk)

Back at Lagavulin, Tolstoy’s performance was followed by the debut outing of drummer Tom Bancroft’s new outfit Trio Red, also featuring English pianist Tom Cawley and Norwegian bassist Per Zanussi, performing mainly its leader’s own compositions, plus such varied borrowings as a mellow, breezy version of Charles Mingus’s ‘Jump Monk’ and a lovely interpretation of Jeff Buckley’s ‘Last Goodbye’, whose prevailing melancholy was offset by subtly affirmative undertones.

Bancroft’s idiosyncratic sources of inspiration were reflected in his pieces’ titles, prefaced by explanatory anecdotes that not only injected a shrewd note of comedy into the proceedings, but also gave an entry-point for appreciating the music. Thus ‘Boy Meets Boy Meets Girl Meets Girl’, for instance, vividly evoked the emotions and sensations of initial amorous attraction – across all possible gender combinations – while ‘Don’t Let Your Heart Get Broken Like Rickie Lee Jones’ was at once a gorgeous homage to a favourite musician and a tender father-daughter admonition.

Despite the ambitious, exploratory breadth of the players’ three-way conversation, its effervescent sense of the excitement Bancroft professed at launching the project, together with an adroit synthesis of the engaging and the challenging, lent it an openness that proved anything but forbidding.

A similar balance of adventurous creative mettle and more general accessibility characterized much of the weekend’s programme, including Saturday night’s terrific, often thrillingly tumultuous performance from pianist Brian Kellock, at Islay’s Gaelic cultural centre Ionad Chalium Chille Ile. Backed with corresponding verve by bassist Kenny Ellis and drummer Alyn Cosker, his set took exultant flight from material by the likes of Dexter Gordon, Horace Silver and Dizzy Gillespie, plus a few Broadway classics, to deliver as comprehensive a display of densely packed, masterfully articulated jazz pianism as you’ll hear anywhere.

Mario Caribe

Earlier the same day, Brass Jaw served up a lunchtime to remember at the aforementioned Outback Gallery, aligning alto, tenor and baritone saxes with trombone in ingenious arrangements of standards, pop tunes and originals, by turns fiercely funky and richly sonorous. In the late-night slot at Bowmore Hall, renowned Edinburgh soul/blues vocalist Subie Coleman led a hand-picked band including trumpeter Colin Steele, keyboardist Paul Harrison and saxophonist Konrad Wiszniewski, in freshly rendered yet resonantly faithful covers of songs by Cream, Gil Scott-Heron, Etta James and Shirley Bassey that delighted the listening and the dancing crowd alike.

Multi-instrumentalist Fraser Fifield – switching between bagpipes, whistles, soprano saz and cajon – and guitarist Graeme Stephen provided yet another contrasting highlight come Sunday teatime, with their boldly conceived, superbly synchronized and deftly dovetailed deconstructions of traditional and folk-derived tunes, further enriched by digital delays, echoes and loops. The final hurragh at Bruichladdich Hall came courtesy of Mario Caribé’s six-man tribute to crossover pioneers the Jazz Crusaders, reprising both their 1960s soul/bop and 70s funk-based repertoire with lashings of style, swagger and scorching solos.

© Sue Wilson, 2011

Links

• Islay Jazz Festival

The concerts will be taking place in the most unusual of places to allow members of the public the opportunity to hear live music for all and engage them in the wonderful world of chamber music. Tasters of the 500 concerts happening over the next year will be found at venues in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Ayr, Lockerbie, Falkirk, Dundee, Kircaldy, Gatehouse of Fleet, Inverness, Whithorn, Dunblane, Moffat, Perth and the Isle of Arran. The musicians will be taking over public spaces in hospitals, village fetes, shopping centres, supermarkets, art galleries, shops and more! The project will feature over 20 promoters and 75 musicians and to prove that chamber music can be more than just a string quartet the day will include the biggest variety of ensembles Scotland has to offer….

An example of one of the chamber ensembles taking part in the National Chamber Music Day is Daniel’s Beard, a chamber ensemble made up of some of Scotland’s top musicians based in Glasgow’s West End. In partnership with The Four Acres Charitable Trust, Daniel’s Beard has a performance residency in The Cottier Theatre, Hyndland, where the group performs regular concerts featuring music that is at the core of the chamber music repertoire alongside lesser known gems that they discover along the way…There is a core line up of violin, viola, clarinet, horn, cello and piano, but guest players regularly feature, so look out for Daniel’s Beard in all forms – string quartet, wind quintet, piano trio….and more.

Andrew Saunders, creator of Daniel’s Beard and the Cottiers Chamber Project, commented: “ Chamber Music is rooted in being the music of friends- it’s the musical equivalent of sitting down for a chat over coffee or a pint. People tend to dismiss it as the poor cousin of an orchestral spectacular or as old-fashioned and irrelevant, but they’re wrong! It’s music that challenges and inspires, music that is a personal journey for players and listeners alike. The National Chamber Music Day is about contacting new audiences and showing them that chamber music is relevant and exciting. Can you think of a better way to spend a day than a trip to Arran with your pals to play great music and have an adventure?”

Please see the complete list of ensembles and venues the groups will be performing below along with the links to read about these talented and unique ensembles taking part. Further information and updates can be found at www.emusicscotland.co.uk

 ● Travelling by Tuba, Ayr Music Club, Foyer of Ayr Hospital, 1-3pm.

● Maxwell String Quartet, Classic Music Live! Falkirk, Highgate Shopping Centre, 1-3pm.

● Karin Leitner (flute), Richard Morrison (baritone), Alina Bzhezhinska (harp), Cromarty Arts Trust, Fortrose Academy as part of the Black Isle Gathering, 1-3pm.

● Cosmopolitan String Quartet, Dumfries Music Club, The Loreburn Shopping Centre, 1-3pm

● Scottish Reed Trio, Dunblane Cathedral Arts Guild, Marks and Spencer, Dunblane, 1-3pm

● Arunda Wind Trio, Dundee Chamber Music, Overgate Shopping Centre, 2-4pm

● Liquid Architecture, Gatehouse Music Society, Faed Art Gallery, 1-3pm

● Amici Cello Trio, Glenkens and District Music Club, Co-Op, Castle Douglas, 1-3pm

● Daniels Beard, Isle of Arran Music Society, Kilmory Hall Fete 1-3pm

● Amici Winds, Kirkcaldy Music Society, Shopping Mall, 1-3pm

● Duo Concertante, Linlithgow Arts Guild, Tesco, 1-3pm

● Sax Ecosse, Lockerbie Music, Tesco, 12-2pm

● Modera Moderna, Moffat Music Society, Scottish Woollen Mill, 2.30-4.30pm

● The Campbell Duo, Music in Peebles, Theatre Café, Eastgate Theatre, 1-3pm

● Alban Minstrels, Music Nairn, Sainsburys, 1-3pm

● Flercussion, Perth Chamber Music Society, Dobbies Garden World, 1-3pm

● Williams Duo, Laigh Room, St Cecilia’s Hall and Museum of Instruments in Edinburgh, 1-3pm

● Lucy Russell (violin), Heather Tuach (cello), Swallow Theatre Association, Old Bank Bookshop in Wigtown, 1-2pm

● Pure Brass, Westbourne Music, Queen Street Station, Glasgow, 12-1.30pm

● Artic Winds, Westbourne Music, Glasgow venue TBC, 1-3pm

● The Rope & Duck Company, Woodend Music Society, Lang Byre Gallery and Buchanans Bistro, Woodend Barn, 1-3pm

Enterprise Music Scotland is a charity funded by Creative Scotland to support top quality live chamber music concerts. It represents over 80 chamber music clubs throughout Scotland made up entirely of voluntary promoters who actively programme and promote chamber concerts throughout the year. Helping to facilitate access for all to live music across the whole Scottish community, the promoters engage professional musicians to visit and perform in their local venues ranging from local church halls, community spaces, schools and local concert halls.

Helen McVey, Executive Manager, Enterprise Music Scotland, commented:

“EMS is a truly special organisation. We provide assistance to make over 500 concerts a year across the whole of Scotland a reality. This day will pair up musicians with promoters to work together to profile the abundance of high quality live music events available in local areas. The day is timed to profile the work of EMS – I’m really excited and hope to see a positive impact on audience numbers after the event. Enterprise Music Scotland develops audiences through local contacts – it’s the people on committees throughout Scotland who do all the hard work!”

 www.karinleitner.com www.alina-harpist.co.uk  www.richardmorrison.co.uk

Source: Cromarty Arts Trust

A Healthy Mix? takes place at The Council Chambers, Argyll & Bute Council Headquarters, Lochgilphead, Argyll PA31 8RT; 12.00 to 16.00, Tuesday 27th September 2011.

How might Argyll and Bute benefit from a more integrated approach to Cultural Tourism? Is ‘social enterprise’ the area where arts organisations and tourism businesses come together? Do the arts and heritage fit comfortably under the single banner of ‘culture’? Where do Gaelic, and environmental issues, fit into the picture? A Healthy Mix? aims to offer an opportunity to learn more about each sector, to share experiences, and to hear about some of the forms of support that are out there.

This is a pertinent time to discuss these issues, given the opportunities being presented by 2012, the year of the Olympics and the Year of Creative Scotland, and 2014, the Year of Homecoming and of the Commonwealth Games.

There is a limited number of places left at this free event – to register go to http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2118591765

There are also opportunities to join the seminar by Video Conferencing at Rothesay and Dunoon. If you would like to register for a place at either of these VC locations please e mail: john@hi-arts.co.uk (no later than 4.00pm Thursday 22nd).

Source: HI~Arts

The exhibition includes work by Margaret Mellis: paintings & constructions in wood, Ann Stokes: Ceramics, Telfer Stokes: constructions in metal and Charlotte Mellis: Ceramics

Following on from previous exhibitions which have represented two generations of makers/artists from one family, the Collins now brings together for the first time, work by four members of the Mellis Stokes family.

The late Margaret Mellis was only 15 when she enrolled in painting at Edinburgh College of Art and was held in high regard by her tutors, including Peploe. After studying in Europe, she and her husband, the acclaimed writer Adrian Stokes, moved to St Ives where they were joined by Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo and other emerging avant-garde artists .While the latter elected to set up an artists’ community in St Ives, Margaret, her son Telfer Stokes and second husband, Francis Davidson, moved to Southwold where, from 1978 onwards, she began to move away from painting to her famous constructions in driftwood collected on the local beach.

Telfer Stokes trained at the Slade, London and at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, New York and from 1971 focused on the publication of artists’ books under his Scotland-based company, Weproductions. Having returned to the family home in Southwold, his practice now concentrates on constructions in re-cycled metal which compliment well, Margaret’s pieces in the exhibition.

Ann Stokes, Margaret’s younger sister trained as a dancer and began working with clay in the 1960’s. Largely self-taught, she produces decorative, thrown tableware as well as delightful carved and sculpted birds, animals, mirrors and trees, from her Hampstead studio.

Charlotte Mellis was encouraged to take up ceramics after being taught to throw pots by her aunt Ann. While studying at Harrogate College of Art under Tim Proud, she became interested in hand-built forms, inspired by a love of architecture and photography, but continued to produce slip glazed tableware alongside her more sculptural work in studios in the north of England. Today, Charlotte works from her home on the Isle of Mull and is represented in the exhibition by a series of sculptural forms inspired by rundown buildings in S. African townships and Scottish corrugated iron huts.

Supported by an illustrated catalogue with essay by Giles Sutherland.

Also available: monographs on Ann Stokes and Margaret Mellis, recently published by Lund Humphries, and a DVD documentary on Margaret Mellis.

Collins Gallery, 22 Richmond Street, Glasgow G1 1XQ
Tel: 0141 548 2558 /E: collinsgallery@strath.ac.uk / Web: www. collinsgallery.strath.ac.uk

Source: Collins Gallery

The exhibition opened with a preview and poetry readings on 17th September 2011.

Source: Louise Oppenheimer

The title comes from a family story from Lewis. The cook has thrown all the cutlery over the side of the boat along with the washing up water. He breaks the news to the skipper by posing the question – Is a thing lost….. if you know where it is?

This exhibition explores storytelling in many forms. Originated by Ian Stephen, working with several artistic partners, linking Scottish mainland arts organizations and the Island arts centres in Orkney, Lewis, Uist and Mull.

Ian has looked back on several journeys, usually by sea and he and other artists also tell the stories of new voyages, made during the project. The log of these explorations is told in different ways by the photographers, painters, print-makers, film-makers and musicians involved. There are drawings, sculptures, videos, music, installations  – and there is a range of works made by linked artists in collaboration. But all of these artists are essentially storytellers in the project.

This show has become a chart, tracing a route, told in stories along the sea-roads.

Collaborating artists include:

Emmanuelle Waeckerlé , Peter Urpeth, Maggie Nicols, Colin Myers, Louise Milne, Joe Mahony, Sean Martin, John McNaught, Andy Mackinnon, Pat Law, Sandra Kennedy, and school pupils from the Western Isles

Look out for details of events later in October where you can hear Ian tell some of the stories live.

The opening night is the 15th September, 6.30- 8.30pm. Refreshments will be served, everyone is welcome to attend.

The exhibition runs from the 16th Sept – 29th Oct.

Source: An Tobar

I WALKED into Port Ellen Primary School for the first time in almost 20 years and a few distant bells rang in my head.

Being a former pupil of Bowmore Primary meant I’d only ever been in this school a few times in my life and so the urge to line up quietly at the door, change into sandshoes when inside and sit cross-legged on the assembly hall floor was kept to a minimum, thankfully, as I’m sure I would have been asked to leave.

The venue for Islay’s 6^th Book Festival was buzzing with people browsing the bookstalls (in the assembly hall where I didn’t once sit on the floor) and chatting comfortably over coffee and cake. I relaxed immediately.

Alistair Moffat and Ruth Rendell (photo Lynn Stewart)

I saw some familiar and unfamiliar faces, but what I was most struck by was the mix of adults and children that were milling around waiting for the day to begin. I’m not sure which group looked most excited, but with the impressive line up of authors that were on offer over the two-day event it was hardly surprising.

Previous festivals have included a number of celebrated authors such as Isla Dewar, Joan Lingard, Iain Banks, Mairi Hedderwick, and Julia Donaldson amongst others (you can browse through previous years’ programmes on the book festival website – see below). This year’s programme was no exception and, if possible, only served to raise the standard even higher.

Speakers for this year’s children’s programme were Debi Gliori, Allan Burnett, John Fardell, Jess Smith, Cathy MacPhail and Hannah Titania Middleton, while the adult programme consisted of talks from Kenneth Cox, Alistair Moffat, Jess Smith once again, and world famous crime author Ruth Rendell.

Baroness Rendell kicked off the festival, and what a start. We were ushered into a classroom and seated ten minutes early to ensure the notoriously punctual opening speaker could begin on time. Rendell was poised and elegant as she entered and chair of the festival, Diana Buller, welcomed the audience while Lord George Robertson of Port Ellen introduced his fellow House of Lords peer. Lord Robertson’s easy manner certainly relaxed the audience and the humourous banter between the two life peers served to relax even further.

The prolific crime author read from her new book The Vault and spoke about its inception and it being the first sequel she has ever written. Rendell’s psychological thriller A Sight for Sore Eyes (1999) is continued in The Vault, with the most noted difference being that the latest novel is part of Rendell’s popular Inspector Wexford series, where the initial novel was not.

The talk was humourous and relaxed and after almost half a century of being a professional writer, it’s no surprise. Rendell answered questions from the audience and talked about feeling obliged to retire Wexford in the latest work because of having put in print that that he was in his early 50s when he first appeared in From Doon with Death in 1964. Twenty-two outings later and she feels the time has come. Retiring him instead of killing him off leaves scope for assisting unofficially from the sidelines, which is the case in The Vault.

The next three sessions I attended all took place upstairs, as I sat in amongst the children. I should say it was because I wanted to get a feel for the festival as a whole, but I’m not sure anyone would believe me…

Children’s author and historian, Allan Burnett, succeeded in bringing history to life with his energetic manner by getting the children involved and asking what history meant to them. Allan’s And All That series of books livens up notable characters and periods of history, making them more akin to reading exciting adventure stories rather than learning about history. Getting the audience (not me, unfortunately) to dress up as famous historical figures and putting them on a timeline really made them understand the scale of what was being discussed while having fun, the very best way to learn in my opinion.

A Fairy character made up by the children (photo Lynn Stewart)

John Fardell, author and illustrator of such works as Manfred the Baddie and The Seven Professors of the Far North, certainly brought his stories to life through his animated reading. Fardell spoke about the difference between his picture books and chapter books, explaining that sometimes the pictures are more important in a particular story and sometimes it’s the words. He told us he now spends his time moving between the two. He talked about how he got his ideas and showed us where he writes his notes and makes his scribbles before he got the children involved in coming up with a story and the pictures to go along with it.

The story was built on with enthusiasm and the level of imagination in the room was outstanding. The resulting story involved a man called Dodo who disguised himself as a woman called Joanna (in order to trick men and then steal their money) who lived in a disused factory in the deserts of North Africa, travelled on a motorcycle to a place called Naanaare (silent ‘e’) in order to steal money from a knight called Sir Adam, but was captured by the pasta trees while Sir Adam slept soundly unaware… Plot for your next book, perhaps, John?

Jess Smith, a traditional storyteller from Scotland’s Perthshire travelling people, regaled us with tales she heard as a child while travelling around in a blue bus, as well as slightly adapted or combined stories, and she was one of the most engaging storytellers I have ever heard. I felt myself leaning in to get closer to the words and the story – any closer and I would have been sitting at her feet.

Kicking off Sunday (after the free coffee and cakes) was Scottish historian Alistair Moffat, another very competent and relaxed speaker. I felt after yesterday’s overdose of children’s authors I should attend some of the adult events today, and I’m very glad I did. Director of Borders and Lennoxlove Book Festivals and author of such works as The Scots: A Genetic Journey and The Faded Map: Lost Kingdoms of Scotland, Moffat kept the talk light and humourous as he took us, very briefly, through our own history and provided images of Romans invading Colchester on elephants and impressing the Essex boys.

Alistair then demonstrated his interviewing skills in the next session as he spoke to Ruth Rendell about her successful career, after he introduced her and asked how she was in Gaelic, to which she replied “glè mhath”. He was an assured questioner, but certainly met his match with Rendell whose answers were always to the point. There is no messing about with this lady, and in several answers expressed that she never really much thought about the future. When asked by Diana, the festival chair, whether she had enjoyed her time on Islay the answer that came was “enormously”. Seeing the audience reaction to her talks and interviews, I am certain the feeling is mutual.

Hannah Titania Middleton signing her book (photo Lynn Stewart)

The last session of the festival I attended was local children’s author, poet and illustrator Hannah Titania Middleton, whose enchanting poetry reading, harp playing and singing added a bit of magic to the festival. She handed out tiaras, crowns and fairy and seal puppets to the audience while she told the children that she used her experiences of growing up here on Islay as inspiration for her stories and poetry. She then helped the children make up their own poem about a fairy called Felicity who came from Port Ellen.

Unfortunately I did not get to experience all of the authors because of the two programmes running parallel to one another, and so while I missed the sessions from nurseryman and gardener, Kenneth Cox, whose book Scotland for Gardeners won the Garden Media Guild Awards 2009 reference book of the year, I did hear mutterings over coffee from those more green-fingered than myself that he was very enjoyable and knowledgeable, and after writing nine books on the subject of plants I would expect nothing less.

Sessions from the children’s programme I was unable to attend were Debi Gliori and Cathy MacPhail. Gliori is another author and illustrator combined who has published over 60 pictures books and is author of the Pure Dead series for older children while Cathy MacPhail is back this year after she proved a popular contributor to last year’s festival. MacPhail’s work includes gritty, urban stories, which are aimed at older children and teenage readers and has achieved critical acclaim by winning the Kathleen Fidler Award with her first novel Run, Zan, Run, and the Scottish Arts Council Award with her second, Fighting Back. Here’s hoping she returns again so I can catch her next time.

The amount of energy and organising that went into the festival was evident from beginning to end and having the opportunity to interact with the authors through signings or even while browsing the bookstalls, or over coffee really gave the whole event a very personal and informal touch, and it would have been wonderful to have something like this while growing up on the island. One of the most important elements is the events and workshops that are available to the children, and the festival committee ensures as many children as possible are given the opportunity to get involved by arranging school events with the authors before the weekend festival, so that even those who are not able to attend the two days still benefit from the experience.

The festival is now in its sixth year and from what I’ve seen is going from strength to strength, and I hope it continues to do so, because it certainly deserves to with the effort and work that is put into making this available to the island. I am most definitely looking forward to next year already.

© Lynn Stewart, 2011

Links

• Islay Book Festival

Singing Far into the Night - Mull Theatre (Tuesday 20th September, starts 7.30pm. Tickets £9/£7)

It’s1931and revolution is in the air. British authority is shaken by the uprising at Invergordon and the world changes beyond recognition. Based on real lives and events in Scotland and Russia, a play about love, courage, mutiny and loss…

Dougie MacLean in Concert - Cragganmore Productions (Thursday 22nd September, doors open 7.00pm). Refreshments available, BYOB.

Tickets are available from The Galley of Lorne Inn 01852 500284 and Ardfern Village Store.

Kreestan Sennakie’s Magical Story Emporium & Dead Dad Dog (Details tbc) Wednesday 12th October.

Two plays by Quids In Theatre Company. Again this is not run by the arts group, further information will be given when available.

The Tempest - AJTC Theatre Company (Tuesday 8th November, starts 7.30pm. Tickets £8/£5)

An old man is comatose and near death…the play of The Tempest is his last living second, a time in which his loss is assuaged and his enemies forgiven. With an enchanting mesh of mime, masking, movement, and the music of voice, the two actors conjure storms and apparitions, lay bare treasons and counterplot, and finally transport you to a ‘brave new world’ of love and reconciliation.

Unless otherwise stated, tickets can be reserved on the usual number 01852 500746 or by emailing cvh.artsevents@gmail.com  or buy them online at the booth. www.thebooth.org.uk

Web: http://www.craignishvillagehall.org.uk

Source: J Saich

And to go with the weather, there’s even more going on this month, from blues and guitar music in Shetland to top class folk and rock on Lewis and Skye, science on Orkney, literature on Islay and truly stunning art in Orkney and at Caledoniart in London’s Mayfair.

Our island people have surpassed themselves thus far, and September is yet another cracker. Take a look at these samples – and don’t forget! It’s two short and easy hops from Mayfair to all the island groups…

Traces in Time – Sylvia Wishart Exhibition, from 1 September ~ Orkney

An exhibition, book and tour of work by the late Orcadian artist Sylvia Wishart.  The artist’s work, which was rarely exhibited during her lifetime, celebrates Orkney’s changing natural environment.

Island of Ideas ~ Where Science Meets People 1 – 7 September ~ Orkney

To mark the Year of Scotland’s Islands, Orkney International Science Festival reaches out across the whole group of islands with talks and activities, organised in collaboration with the various communities.

Arran on Film 2 – 10 September ~ Arran

As part of the year of Scotland’s Islands, the McLellan Art’s Festival will this year host an evening of Arran on Film with Mike Alexander films which will be an interesting addition.

Islay Book Festival 3 – 4 September ~ Islay

A full and varied programme for adults and children alike.  This year’s special guest is the renowned crime writer Ruth Rendell. Other authors include Alistair Moffat, Kenneth Cox, and storyteller, Jess Smith.

Wordplay ~ Shetland’s 10th Annual Book Festival 2 – 4 September ~ Shetland

Welcoming writers of local, national and international renown, Wordplay features a mix of readings, writing workshops, children’s theatre events and book signings offering a unique opportunity for readers and writers to meet with their favourite authors, hear them read their work and answer questions.

Blas 9 – 17 September ~ Skye, Raasay, Eigg

Blas celebrates the Year of Scotland’s Islands with a series of “Island Cèildhs” showcasing some of our best known Gaelic singers from the islands, along with great traditional accompaniment. The taste of a real cèilidh is coming your way!

Bonnie Boat 10 September ~ Skye

The Celeste, a dazzling sailing boat covered in 60,000 inch-square mirror tiles, will be moored in Portree where it will broadcast songs and stories from the island, collected by artists Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich.

1st Bute International Guitar Festival (The Big F) 16 – 18 September ~ Bute

Presented by Transclyde Music, what promises to be a great festival is to be held at various venues in Rothesay and other locations on the Isle of Bute. Acts include Dick Gaughan, Henry McCullogh, Nick Harper, Panama Red, Johnny Dickinson and Coustie plus many more!

Isle of Harris Mountain Festival 24 Sep – 1 Oct ~ Harris

The inaugural Isle of Harris Mountain Festival will feature an exciting program of guided walks, talks, sea kayaking, mountain films, and more!  Confirmed Guest Speakers are well known TV presenter and lifelong mountain enthusiast Cameron McNeish and Laurie Campbell, Scotland’s best known natural history photographer.

Caledoniart 26 Sep – 1 Oct ~ London

John Lowrie Morrison (Jolomo); Mike Healey; Robert Kelsey; Jamie Hageman; Vega; Alan Anderson; Erni Upton; Willie Fulton; Fiona Macrae; and Laurence Broderick.

Scotland’s Islands

Source: Scotland’s Islands

OVER a hundred people gathered to enter a wide and long room with a window to Jura and excellent acoustics.

THE flamenco guitarist Paco Pena sat to play a varied series of Flamenco pieces. The skill was almost taken for granted after you tuned into it. You just came to know the dexterity would be there, meeting the pauses. And the perfection that comes from years of disciplined work allows something emotional to ring.

Flamenco guitarist Paco Pena

Poetry is like that too.  I’ve been thinking about craft – the role of the makar (Scots for poet by trade).  I remember when it was a dilemna – going for the chimings and  jarrings that prompt the syllables up for the jig, against the restraint that dares to leave lines simple. The sway between the close crafting of George Mackay Brown and the expressionist bold strokes – the no going back – of Iain Crichton Smith. In fact I brought the Brown Collected Poems along to share some in the evenings at Crear.

The issue is perhaps easier to deal with when you can step aside from personal ownership of a poem. Maybe that’s why I found translating such a good game.

After a week together, the island poets all had translations they were happy to sign off. You may have read some in the last chapter and if so you can judge for yourself. Thanks to the unobtrusive but sharp editorial skills of Robyn Marsack (Director of the Scottish poetry library), these were arranged into a balance of voices and languages and theme.

About 70 souls stayed on at Crear to hear our work.  It was a balanced selection and all read out loud and clear. But our new friend Carolyn, a French woman on a summer job, away from the world of Parisian theatre, made a pertinent remark. She had observed the way we interacted all week – the work and play and essential banter – but that part had not come across in the more formal setting.

From the reading at Crear (courtesy Literature Across Frontiers)

So when we were transported across Scotland to present our reading at Edinburgh Book Festival, we decided to loosen it up a bit. We dropped a poem or two and allowed time for intros which would share something of the processes of the translations as well as the results. This time the feedback is that this was a good development.

Not only are we all still speaking but we seem to have become friends in a short time.  It would be shite as reality TV.

It would be more difficult for me to move on if it were not for the next project coming into sharp focus. I’ll soon be traveling with storytellers from other Islands – and that also includes an Irish teller as a link between the Odyssean voyages to the Mediterranean islands. So I’m going to leave you with the short versions of Maria Rosa’s poems, made with Robyn, the New Zealander.

And these will help form my own personal bridge into working with Angus Peter Campbell as we revv up for our outer isles road movie. No Harleys have been issued as yet, but I have been delving into Homer (without the Simpsons). We are into the territory of the ballads. Terse narratives will unfold,  though there will be lyrical touches. I will go to his own Book Festival event on Thursday and tune into his new prose.

So here are these ballads from the Catalan, bridges to other islands,  and they didn’t really seem very foreign in either  content or style.

Poems by  Maria Rosa Llabrés

A Tale

There’s a magic world inside the well.

Over leaf, under leaf.

They told you to beware Maria,

the woman with the hook.

But don’t be afraid, Catalina,

go down into the dark

through the green moss

and don’t forget to say

Over leaf, under leaf.

After a way of ferns

there’s nothing to be seen.

Your love thrives on mystery

as long as you don’t wake him.

He’ll appear at midnight.

Over leaf under leaf.

The love of three oranges

from an Italian  folk tale, told in Majorca

Joanota is looking down into the well.

For an instant she believes she’s beautiful.

But it’s not her own face. Catalina’s young laugh

breaks the dream into a thousand bits.

Joanota is sad now –

her needle spell drains Catalina.

Joanota still has no right to the king’s son.

She’s just ugly.

Circe

Out of the very black of the storm

she rose up with the strangest brightness

in her sea-weed eyes.

Laughing at the line of warriors, the

coming and going, the slipping by, disarmed,

unmanned.  So their features took on

her chiselled lines in a greenish light.

So she will always be adored

prevailing

over their arrogant shadows.

Phaon

No I won’t jump into the swell for you

boatman with your tan skin.

Your own pale sea

has a surface calm.

I’ll only let the sun

caress my closed eyes.

I’m thinking of you

on a concealed beach

composed of countless white shells.

Translated by Ian Stephen and Robyn Marsack.

© Ian Stephen, 2011

Links

• Ian Stephen

• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 1
• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 2
• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 3
• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 4

• Literature Across Frontiers

The performance, Evolution to Devolution, will take place in the Members’ Restaurant at 12.30pm on Saturday 27th August 2011.

The show has been developed specifically for the festival. It combines a selection from the Company’s repertoire, with some material written for the event, to plot significant milestones in the history of Scotland.

The event creates a unique opportunity for Three Wee Crows Theatre Company to be ambassadors for theatre and tourism in Argyll and Bute whilst showcasing their work in the Parliament building in Holyrood.

For more information visit http://www.threeweecrows.co.uk/

Source: Three Wee Crows

IN true west coast island style the rain was out in force to welcome us to the door of Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle, the bright sun over Loch Indaal cunningly deceptive as the heavens opened, and didn’t seem in any hurry to close again.

This, however, did not deter the folk who ventured out in support of the local artists who were exhibiting work in the centre just outside Bowmore, the welcoming atmosphere of the spacious central atrium ideal for seeking refuge from the summer storm.

The opening of the two-week long exhibition offered wine and a selection of cheese and biscuits as a reward to the brave souls who decided not to be put off by the dreich Islay rain.

The exhibition was initiated by one of the exhibiting artists, Mairi MacKay, who, having recently left the island for pastures new after sixteen years, made the trip back especially to host the night and support the other exhibitors.

Watercolours by Ailis Dewer from the exhibition (photo Lynn Stewart)

Speaking of how the idea for the exhibition came into being, Mairi explained that during her time as a teacher of Gaelic in Islay High School she would see the work of pupils being displayed in the corridor outside the art rooms and often found the work of two pupils in particular seemed to stand out.

Not so many years later a casual discussion with one of the former pupils set Mairi to thinking it was a pity that such talent was confined to the school corridors and that there were few opportunities for young artists to present their work to the wider community on the island – and so the idea to create such an opportunity was born.

The former pupils in question were local residents Ailis Dewer and Jenny Husthwaite, and the talent on display here this evening shows that a notion that started life as an informal chat one night out on the “deoch” (for the non-Gaelic speakers out there, this translates to a night on the tiles, as it were) was a very good idea indeed.

Ailis is now a student of textiles at Glasgow School of Art, and while Jenny does not formally study the subject her artistic flair shone superlatively through the pieces she had on display. Jenny explained she doesn’t often get the chance to indulge in her passion, but I’m glad she managed to grab some precious time to produce the pieces for the exhibition. It would have been a far less colourful wall without them.

Jenny’s work tended to be more abstract, where the spectator’s eye is filled with the vibrant explosion of colour and bold lines, making you want to stand further back to allow the mind to take in the whole vivid composition in its entirety, while Ailis’s elegant watercolours draw the eyes in for a closer look at the breathtaking detail and stunning accuracy of the representations of nature that dominated her displays.

Work from the show by Jenny Husthwaite (photo Lynn Stewart)

As someone who is not particularly knowledgeable about artistic movements, styles or terms, I am not looking to analyse any of the works I saw tonight, but my eye can appreciate aesthetic merit when it sees it, and the main thing I took away from tonight is the “can do” attitude that was exemplified by the people involved, proving the significance of the ever relevant old adage of “if you want something done, do it yourself”.

The faith that was shown in local talent and the time spent ensuring they were not left in the shadows of the school corridors but rather out there for people to see, appreciate and be proud of is what is, for me, the most valuable outcome of this event.

There is an abundance of artistic talent and worth on the island, even if we don’t always know it’s there. Tonight’s effort is a welcome reminder and, more than anything, shows how important it is to not hang around waiting patiently for opportunity to come a-knocking, but to make sure you knock on its door first.

Completing the exhibition were some striking photographs on canvas of scenes around Islay, and wonderfully intricate match-craft by local residents Bobby Whittam and Jim Wilson, respectively; contemporary hand-crafted jewellery by a friend of Mairi’s, Cassie Law, and last but not least Mairi herself – a very talented but modest artist – who had a variety of wonderful arts and crafts on display, including some beautiful drawings that were both pensive and poignant in their stillness, where you couldn’t help but wonder what thoughts the figures might have been thinking.

Intricate match-craft by Jim Wilson (photo Lynn Stewart)

The night was made all the more meaningful as Mairi explained that the donations asked for on entry, as well as any profit made by the sale of Mairi’s work in particular, will be given to the Linda Norgrove Foundation. Linda was tragically murdered in Afghanistan in October last year, and the foundation set up in her memory is a grant-giving trust that provides funding for women and children affected by the war in Afghanistan.

Linda was an aid worker who grew up on Mairi’s native island of Lewis, and Mairi’s dedication to the cause was evident in her sincere and heartfelt words.

The exhibition will be on display for people to look at and browse over the next two weeks, and as luck would have it the centre’s café is also situated in the atrium, surrounded by the artwork, which means you can effortlessly drink in the art while drinking in a coffee, and if anything happens to take your fancy, most of the work is for sale, apart from a few personal items that were for display only.

So, even if not an art lover or enthusiast there are plenty of reasons to bring you out in support: local talent and initiative, worthy charitable causes and, of course, a nice cuppa and a good blether.

© Lynn Stewart, 2011

Links

• Ionad Chaluim Chille Ìle

The Medicine Show will present its own stage at The Big F – Bute International Guitar Festival, featuring:

Cousti - Glasgow’s Blue/Country Rockers are blazing a trail across The Festival circuit and gathering fans and plaudits like Alan McGee, and The BBC’s Bob Harris, Iain Anderson, Janice Forsyth and Ravi Sagoo for their accomplished blend of Roots Rock following the release of the new album Strings To Tracks.

Panama Red - So, you ask yourself, who is this Panama Red? The answer is simple, an original Texas Jewboy and a co-writer with Kinky Friedman, Billy Joe Shaver and Ronny Elliott, Panama Red was a fixture in the 1970s Music Row Outlaw movement in Nashville. His sphere of influence has grown lately to include an annual stint on and in European stages and bars. His irreverent stage comments are interspersed with original, intelligent songs which have been described as “honest’, “elegant’, and “soulful”, by such luminaries as Kinky Friedman, Marshall Chapman and David Olney (also at The Big F). He currently lives “just far enough” outside of Nashville

Cara Luft – Cara Luft is a widely-respected and well-travelled member of the Canadian folk/roots music community. With The Wailin’ Jennys she created one of the most talked about folk groups of the last ten years and recorded the exquisite 40 Days, winner of the 2005 Juno award for Best Roots Recording (Group). Since leaving the trio she has wowed audiences and critics with her solo performances across North America and Europe. Critics have drawn comparisons to Julie Miller, June Tabor, Gillian Welch, Linda Thompson and Brit folk-rockers Pentangle. Cara’s last solo album, The Light Fantastic, has garnered superlatives far and wide.

Isaac Sutherland - Son of Highland legendry guitarist Johnny Fats, Isaac grew up steeped in music, a phenomenon, multi talented multi-instrumentalist, he was lead guitarist with Caithness European Country Festival Headliners Colorado by the time he was 14, these days adding record producer to his many talents, working from his own qpq production studio at the family home at Dunnet Head Light House, he drums with Cousti but also plays Guitar and writes song like no one else.

More guests to follow.

The Big F line-up includes: Dick Gaughan (Scotland) – Steve James (USA) – Panama Red (USA) – Johnny Dickinson (GB) – Preston Reed (USA) – Henry McCullough (Eire) – Rodnet Brannigan (USA) – David Olney and Sergio Webb (USA) – Cara Luft (Canada) – Richard And Marta (Canada/Columbia) – Siobhan Skates and Rosemary Wood (Australia/Ireland) – Jon Strong Band (GB) – Acousticrat (Scotland) – Hokum Hotshots (GB) – Martin Stephenson Band (GB) Lee Patterson (Scotland) – Jonny Boyle (GB) – Alan Murphy Band (Scotland) – Gary Miller (Scotland) – Jack Burness (GB) – Cousti (Scotland) – Tim Wood (GB) – Appalachian Mist (Scotland) – In Cahoots (Scotland), plus local rock bands: Dark Stanley, Little Bay, Fluff And The VooDoo Wah, Sonic Templars.

www.buteguitarfestival.co.uk

The Pavilion Cafe, Rothesay, Isle of Bute, Sat. 17th Sept., 3pm to 11pm

Source: Rob Ellen

THERE is a story of the factor’s boat leaving St Kilda and getting caught in a southerly gale. They run for it on the bare pole and make a landfall at North Rona. You would think they would find hope and shelter on that farmed offshore island.  But the families have not survived. Because rats from a ship have eaten their grain.

THIS is an unusual story, for the West of Scotland. I was able to tell it to Jo Shapcott (poet by trade) and two oceanographers, about to set sail for north of Lewis on Song of the Whale because it’s a story of survival. The carpenter is the hero, like the thrawn Dundonian who helped save the Shackleton expedition. He collected remnants of timber and repaired their vessel so it took them to Stornoway. Memorial services had already been said for that boatload of survivors.

But the catch is that Rona had a name for being a fertile Island. So much so that there were very rarely single births of lambs or calves. And the factor’s wife, in due course, gave birth to a fine set of twins.

Ian Stephen (centre) is flanked by his fellow translators at Crear

Things also seem to come in pairs, here at Crear in Argyll. The study area for our small community of island poets and translators has not one but a brace of Steinway grands. The flamenco guitarist Paco Pena will play here on Saturday before we sound out the results of our discussions and drafting.  It seems an ideal venue for music, with an ultra wide angle view on the Sound of Jura. Though the drilling rainfall is audible on the insulated roof.

But we also see a high pair of golden eagles doing regular flypasts.

We have been for walks, as groups or individuals but really we have been working in a very focused and sustained way. Most of us had a small crisis on day one, when the provisional translations seemed so far from any worthwhile mark. Now there are nods.  It looks likely that we have some ringing language to present here at Crear and on to the Edinburgh Book Festival on Sunday.

So I’d like to continue the log of a voyage into the journey through the geography known to poets from Cyprus, Malta, Majorca, Ireland and Scotland.

Let’s start with a poem from Jenan Selçuk. This is one I took along the searoads of a week or two ago.  Now I’ve heard the poet’s voice and we’ve had a glass and eaten together.

Decomposition

The cadaver gnaws on growing nails

of diminishing days

deeper, deeper

down to the quick.

Outside, winter’s set of false-teeth chatters.

He watches the dripping water

collect.

He doesn’t tell anyone that

the tapwater of the city

comes from the sea.

He keeps wondering why he wonders

about things

no-one cares about.

He caresses the dust

of plastic flowers in plastic pots.

Spreads his ointment of healthgiving  herbs

on his balls, before bedtime.

Sailing boats, laden with rain,

slide away into the dark

from the illegal ports of his country.

Orion rises

whirling from side to side

like a semazan with arms wide

to the skies.

Translated by Ian Stephen and Robyn Marsack

Crear, Argyll, Scotland, 2011

I was invited to this workshop by Robyn Marsack, director of the Scottish Poetry Library. Through her, I’ve met with Alexandra Buchler, director of Literature Across Frontiers. Robyn’s sneaky photo was sent to me, as a detached view of a part of the process of translations. But Robyn is a respected editor of many years standing.  She couldn’t resist entering the workshop area once the socket-sets were out and the engineering opened for scrutiny.

We seem to have become one team of translators, questioning and hearing the Catalan, Turkish or Maltese. Meanwhile Miriam Gamble, a fine poet, born and reared in Belfast, probes and proposes other lines of language with the Mediterranean poets.

This translation has come a long way in a short period. It has changed from the version sketched fast as a steel sailboat worked through the drizzle in the sound of Shiants. Three people with a compulsion to work language to fine-ness have met and been able to listen to each other’s voices. I know you can skype or text or mail but now I’ve the feeling that the process of translation is well-served by meeting.

Busy translating in Crear (photo Robyn Marsack)

HAVE you ever found yourself repeating received wisdoms? I caught my own words after they were out of my gob, repeating statements about the general lack of a sense of geography in a majority of citizens of the USA. I’ve never been to the USA.

This week I realised I had only the most vague idea of how the sea-route turns into the Mediterranean. I would not have been able to place the Archipelagoes in order along the way. But there is a large and fairly recent edition of the Times Atlas of the World, here in the oak-floored translators’ retreat, in Crear, Argyll.

I did already have a general sense of the placing of Gigha. That one’s tucked up a bit before or after you clear the demanding Mull, depending on where you’re coming from. I could also see Jura in relation to Islay and have a sense of the short span to Rathlin Island, even if it wasn’t possible to pick out the detail in the cloud that came with bursts of rain. I’ve had to take a bearing and identify these Scottish points in my recent past. But this week was a different breed of voyage.

It was an encounter with a range of languages as well as personalities. Last night we gathered to listen to Catalan; the Cypriot  versions of Turkish; Maltese and the accents of Belfast English and Stornoway English.   The dialogues have been continuing all week and hours have disappeared. We seem to be left with a body of translations which have been negotiated between the poet and the fellow poet who has  rendered it into a new poem in another language.

Usually we’ve worked from literal translations sprinkled with another drawn language of notes and questions. This is an easier track than one which involves threading a faint way through a previous translation. Some poets are trusting and encourage their translator to find a new angle – to pass on the sense and sound and tone of a poem by re-imagining it in a new language. Others want the challenge of seeking equivalents for rhythms and line-lengths and suggestions of meanings.

Let’s go to Malta for a specific example. Miriam Gamble, now a Glasgwegian with a Belfast voice, worked with Adrian Grima to make a new English version from his literal translation of a poem which has a friendship at its heart and a narrative of politics and crossings of one sea. I also worked on the same poem in a separate forum of questioning and suggesting.  We’ll read both our translations tonight, around Adrian’s original.

It seems to me that this situation – a poem in its original language and two very different approaches to making a version in English – might give a strong hint of what this workshop is about.  So here are the versions, with the permission of the poets and translators and Literature Across Frontiers.

The Sea Swell

How do you squeeze all that heart into a thin soul?

The salt burst of the Med is in your eyes.

Silent strife – the hard-headed in a hostile setting.

Your arms are quick to give a hug, Abder,

but you won’t sell out

for the hug, the hamburger or the donut.

But your embrace will close-in on itself

and so will this self-harming sea.

At the end of the day

all the large and small martyrdoms

in Algeria and everywhere else

will not be enough for them

so you’ll need to go

and I’ll have to meet you in France and you

will carry the pistol print in your temple.

You’ll tell me your story in the French tongue

from your other shore of remembered things,

the ones you took into that big heart.

This is not the place for its solid beat

even though you refuse to admit it.

This devious sea has promised you

the planet in the palm of your hand

and you stretch out for it

despite the taunts and the slappings down.

There’s nowhere for it –  that heart of yours.

And even you don’t believe it can

be housed in any other cage

In your eyes there’s the little house by the sea,

the place where you could observe great things

but it’s been occupied by others now

and your place is here

with the sense of weak answering waves

from the shore that’s now the far side.

Adrian Grima, translated Ian Stephen

For  Abder

Why seed your heart

in such inimical soil?

Your eyes are Mediterranean spray,

the mute battle

between tides and a rock-hugging people.

You smile and will not yield:

not for love, not money or bread.

But seas are self-destroying creatures,

and just so, Abder,

so it will be with you in the end.

These martyrdoms

will not suffice.

When we meet, pasts skeined

from our hands,  you will speak

in the cleft tongue of the city,

the city dream its dreams of glass.

There, the house by the sea.

And here, what passes as your destiny:

listening to waves breaking,

breaking on the other side.

Trans. Miriam Gamble

Adrian Grima reads while Ian Stephen looks on (photo courtesy Literature Across Frontiers)

There’s another short example to be quoted in full.  The Majorcan poet Maria Rosa Llabrés offered us a tight memory of one moment in European history, from one Islander’s perspective.  Here is my own translation, devised with Maria Rosa alongside the translation into Turkish Cypriot language by Jenan Selçuk. The texts might give clues to the huge possibilities opened by the challenge of crossing languages and ignoring frontiers.

Maria Rosa handed some short prose sketches of fragments from stories and legends. Some of these are now associated with one version by one author – Homer for an example. But it seems to me now that stories are a bit more than stepping-stones in our oceans. Imagery and narrative offer us an easier way to link one mind and another, even though the communicators are operating in a different island language.

Time evaporated as Maria Rosa sat close to Robyn Marsack and myself.  We entered these stories together and made new short versions of them, seeking elegance. Our small team is happy to share them so thanks to the open nature of this forum, we can post them as examples.

© Ian Stephen, 2011

Links

• Ian Stephen

• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 1
• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 2
• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 3
• Farewell and Ahoy, Part 5