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Northings User wrote a new post, Marketing at the Right Price Point, on the site Northings

Wed, 15 Feb 2012 17:03:51 +0000

I was reading an interesting article in Gift Focus Magazine recently about getting the price point right for your creations. Gift Focus is a gift ware trade magazine sent to retailers throughout the UK. In the first edition of 2012, an ‘Industry Insight’ article was focused on getting the right price point for your goods. […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Making Progress maker's films: Filming with Jennifer Cantwell, on the site Northings

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 15:51:06 +0000

In the run up to starting on my fourth and final Making Progress maker’s film I was pretty excited for a variety of reasons, not least because finally I was to be working on my home turf! Throughout this project I have loved very much travelling around new and strange parts of the Scottish Highlands, meeting […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Making Progress makers films: Filming with Nick Ross, on the site Northings

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 16:15:44 +0000

Another slightly late blog entry although if truth be known I’ve been struggling to write about my day filming with Nick without it looking like I just copied and pasted the blog I wrote about filming with Patricia and changed a couple of words here and there… In short it went like this: the original plans […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Making Progress Makers' Films: Filming with Patricia in Caithness, on the site Northings

Mon, 02 May 2011 12:46:40 +0000

Ok, so stupidly this will be a photoless blog entry. I got so carried away with the moving pictures I completely forgot to get any not moving ones. Lesson officially learned. Although this is very much in keeping with the rest of the entry as it was a day of learning lessons all round. For example, […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Third Making Progress makers’ films visit: Caroline Dear in Skye, on the site Northings

Mon, 02 May 2011 11:22:20 +0000

My third visit was to Caroline Dear, in Fangan which is a wee collection of houses a few miles on the other side of Portree if you come from the direction I did. The run to Skye from Fort William was as beautiful as my drive to Caithness and reminded me again that there is […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Second Making Progress makers’ films visit: Nick Ross in Aberdeen, on the site Northings

Sun, 03 Apr 2011 21:54:20 +0000

Last Friday I made my way to Aberdeen to meet with Nick Ross and chat about his maker’s video. He’s currently the artist in residence and a tutor in Gray’s School of Art and, having only graduated in 2008, I was impressed before I had even arrived at how he had become so established in such […]

Northings User wrote a new post, First Making Progress makers' films visit: Patricia Niemann in Caithness, on the site Northings

Sun, 20 Mar 2011 15:49:57 +0000

This month, having recently been taken on board by Screen HI to make films about the artists showcased in the HI-Arts Making Progress mentoring scheme, I’ve been really keen to get stuck into the project and am very enthusiastic about learning all about the process involved (and, of course, meeting lots of new people along the […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Nigel Mullan Essay: What Remains, on the site Northings

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 20:49:28 +0000

NIGEL MULLAN works as a visual artist. Between 1997 and 2007 he helped to set up and run Another Space as well as developing his own practice. ANOTHER SPACE received funding to show new work in various venues and spaces in the Highlands. Historical and cultural materials were used to mediate artworks for audiences, providing contexts that […]

Northings User and are now friends

Thu, 21 Oct 2010 10:02:21 +0000

Northings User wrote a new post, OUT OF PLACE: WORKS FROM THE PIER ARTS CENTRE COLLECTION (Dean Gallery, Edinburgh until 26 June 2005), on the site Northings

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:01:01 +0000

KENNY MATHIESON sees some familiar paintings in an unaccustomed setting in Edinburgh. ANYONE WHO KNOWS the Pier Arts Centre in Stromness will be familiar with their collection of British – in fact largely English and largely linked to the group of artists associated with Cornwall – abstract art bequeathed to the gallery by the late Margaret…[Read more]

Northings User and are now friends

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:41:05 +0000

Northings User wrote a new post, Latitude - New work by Steven MacIver, on the site Northings

Sat, 01 May 2010 14:00:18 +0000

MORAG MACINNES overcames her maths block to enter the imaginative world of Steven MacIver. PAY ATTENTION at the back there! My abiding memory of the maths class is of the teacher – a clever, good, nice teacher – running his hands through his hair in despair and saying ‘for goodness’ sakes girl, it’s obvious!!! ’ Not to […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Stromness Maritime Merchants – Trades and Industries that Forged the Town, on the site Northings

Sat, 01 May 2010 13:45:05 +0000

MORAG MACINNES enjoys a trip down memory lane WELL, THIS is a nostalgia trip for me. I was that fifties bairn with me socks and sandals, me navy blue knickers and me Saturday sixpence, off down the street to enhance the coffers of the local entrepreneurs. The Stromness Museum is a jewel for lots of reasons – […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Woodenbox with a Fistful of Fivers, on the site Northings

Mon, 26 Apr 2010 10:45:09 +0000

ALEXANDER SMITH checks out a band on a rising curve. HOOTANANNY’S hosted one of April’s most eagerly anticipated gigs with the visit of much-hyped Glasgow band Woodenbox With a Fistful of Fivers. Support came from Inverness’s own James Mackenzie and the Aquascene. The local act delivered a fine set of languid, string laden folk-rock, which at […]

Northings User wrote a new post, George Mackay Brown Memorial Lecture 2010, on the site Northings

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:15:46 +0000

MORAG MACINNES heard Dr Donna Heddle trace connections with the Sagas in the poet’s work THE GEORGE Mackay Brown Fellowship instituted a Memorial Lecture on the poet in 2007, to be held on or as near St Magnus Day (16 April), as possible. Aficionados will know how important to the author the saint was – the […]

Northings User wrote a new post, George Mackay Brown Festival, on the site Northings

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:31:14 +0000

MANDY HAGGITH beat the volcanic plume to get to the inaugural George Mackay Brown Festival EVERY festival organiser must hope the event will go off with a bang, but when the proceedings begin with a volcanic explosion, the results are bound to be somewhat unpredictable. When Eyjafjallajoekull erupted the day before the first George Mackay Brown […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Bronto Skylift / HAIL Download Card Launch, on the site Northings

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 11:25:15 +0000

ALEXANDER SMITH caught up with some rising local talent WITH THEIR debut album scheduled for release in a couple of weeks, much-hyped local act Bronto Skylift brought their two man sonic assault to Hootananny for a mid-week outing, supported by super-cool French rockers Mr Protector. The French band quickly disarmed the initially apathetic crowd…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, The Art of Progress, on the site Northings

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:17:06 +0000

GILES SUTHERLAND admires a fine Turner at the heart of this exhibiiton. IT WOULD be easy to miss this quiet, apparently modest and small exhibition but for one thing – it includes a magnificent, accomplished watercolour by John Mallord William Turner, painted in 1833 when the fifty-eight-year-old artist was at the height of his powers. Although […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Inverness Choral Society - St. John Passion, on the site Northings

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 14:12:34 +0000

JAMES MUNRO finds a mixed bag in the Choral’s latest ambitious outing. MORE YEARS ago than I care to admit, when I started writing about these musical events, my then mentor, sadly no longer with us, emphasised that I was a reviewer, not a critic, and that when reporting on local performances, err on the side […]

Northings User wrote a new post, 29th Edinburgh International Harp Festival, on the site Northings

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:18:54 +0000

JENNIE MACFIE ponders the many facets of the harp in Celtic tradition. CELTIC CULTURE has always been particularly fond of harps; the harp is the national instrument of Ireland, in whose tradition Turlough O’Carolan holds a place comparable to that of the legendary MacCrimmon family of Skye in ours. The bass sound from a full-sized harp […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, on the site Northings

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 11:34:16 +0000

JAMES MUNRO judges the SCO to have lifted the standard of a disappointing orchestral mini-season OTHER THAN the period when Eden Court was dark for its rebuild, this has been the thinnest season of orchestral concerts that anyone can remember. And after a couple of lacklustre and forgettable concerts by the two larger Scottish orchestras, it […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Les Amoureux, on the site Northings

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 14:07:25 +0000

IAN STEPHEN sees Company Chordelia play the Gothic card. STORIES have never gone out of fashion. Amongst the gameboys and the joysticks, narratives still thrive. Some are timeless and some are re-invented, like Angela Carter’s dreamworld retellings of fairy tales and fantasies. Kally Lloyd-Jones made her debut in directing opera last year when…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Treacherous Orchestra, on the site Northings

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:49:04 +0000

JENNIE MACFIE hears the Treacherous Orchestra raise the bar yet again. DARKNESS fills the Ironworks. A ‘Space Invaders’ rumble begins to build, so deep it’s felt rather than heard. The crowd cheers, lights strobe, pipes wail out the opening notes of Kevin O’Neill’s triumphant ‘Superfly’ – we have liftoff! Wearing mask and makeup which in a […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Scottish Dance Theatre, on the site Northings

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:27:47 +0000

JENNIE MACFIE grabbed the chance to see SDT’s new programme ahead of performances in Inverness and Skye. FRESH FROM London, Janet Smith’s company chose the intimacy of the Traverse for a three-night run rather than their usual single night at the much larger Festival Theatre. The vertiginous rake of the Traverse’s seating highlights a…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Bellevue Rendezvous, on the site Northings

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 14:18:46 +0000

JENNY MCBAIN enjoys a diverse musical journey with the Edinburgh-based trio. THE MUSICAL trio Bellevue Rendezvous started out as a jamming session in a kitchen in Edinburgh’s Morningside. And the acoustic ensemble has managed to hold onto a spirit of spontaneity and sheer joy in the music – even when faced with a slightly wooden Highland […]

Northings User wrote a new post, An Tobar Commissions: Sibelius Ping Pong Hits the Road, on the site Northings

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:26:42 +0000

Sibelius Ping Pong Hits the Road ROB ADAMS tracked down the two band-leaders presenting projects in this months An Tobar Commissions tour. FIDDLER Aidan O’Rourke and pianist Dave Milligan have crossed paths many times before, not least in the folk big band the Unusual Suspects, and in the summer of 2008, although not working simultaneously, they…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Nicola Benedetti and Friends, on the site Northings

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 13:45:33 +0000

JAMES MUNRO finally enjoys a long evening of pot-boilers, but wonders where it will all lead. AT THE outset, let me admit that I was not in the best frame of mind to enjoy this performance by Nicola Benedetti and a couple of her friends. I had heard on the grapevine that she was giving a […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Amy Macdonald, on the site Northings

Wed, 31 Mar 2010 13:25:57 +0000

ELIZABETH SINCLAIR checks out Amy Macdonald’s new material. INVERNESS must have been eagerly awaiting the return on Amy Macdonald, as the opening night of her tour at the Ironworks has been sold out for months. Having been a fan of Amy Macdonald since her Belladrum appearance in 2006, this would be the 3rd time I’d seen […]

Northings User wrote a new post, The Golden Hour, on the site Northings

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 14:27:00 +0000

JENNY MCBAIN likes this alternative model of social and artistic enterprise. IN THE month when poet Ted Hughes was immortalised on the walls of Westminster Abbey, you could be forgiven for thinking that great writing is the preserve of an elite literati, many of whom are dead. The Golden Hour is an antidote to all that. If […]

Northings User wrote a new post, MsFits Theatre Company - Women Behaving Madly, on the site Northings

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 13:45:31 +0000

JENNIE MACFIE enjoys the latest – and darkest – offering from Rona Munro and Fiona Knowles FIONA KNOWLES has been touring one-woman plays written by MsFits Theatre Company co-founder (and award-winning playwright) Rona Munro for over a decade. Each features three women whose lives suddenly come into contact with each other, with results ranging…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Ian Westacott - Trees on the Edge, on the site Northings

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:09:18 +0000

GILES SUTHERLAND admires a sensitive celebration of the tree in Ian Westacott’s work. THE DEPICTION of trees in the history of art has a long tradition, but careful studies of individual trees are much rarer. Dürer, Rembrandt and Van Gogh were sufficiently skilled and interested to focus on trees as subject matter – but rarely exclusively […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Ivan Drever Band, on the site Northings

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:04:34 +0000

JENNY MCBAIN finds rock maturing gracefully in the music of the Ivan Drever Band. THE Ivan Drever Band’s rollicking blend of Rock and Roll and Celtic ballad has impact enough to fill a football stadium. And these accomplished musicians have had their moments on the world stage (both Drever and guitarist Andy Murray are former members […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Titanic - The Musical, on the site Northings

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:58:33 +0000

JAMES MUNRO has his doubts erased by a Titanic that doesn’t sink. INVERNESS Opera has a problem. They have chosen to put on a little known show based on a story that everybody knows. Everyone knows that the Titanic strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks with huge loss of life. The problem is […]

Northings User wrote a new post, RSAMD - Hamlet, on the site Northings

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 14:41:28 +0000

JENNY MCBAIN enjoys this student Hamlet, but diction and timing needed work. THAT STUDENTS made the journey from the RSAMD in Glasgow to Ullapool in order to perform the Bard’s work is to be applauded. The endeavour has the makings of a true cultural exchange – one which enhances understanding between north and south or rural […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Angus Peter Campbell, on the site Northings

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 15:21:44 +0000

JENNY MCBAIN hears poet Angus Peter Campbell’s thoughts on the art form at the launch of the Ullapool Book Festival. THIS EVENT served to launch the upcoming Ullapool Book Festival, but there was purpose beyond unveiling the programme for the event in May, or offering tickets and refreshments. Bi-lingual writer, journalist, broadcaster and poet…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Gilmore Productions - One Up One Down, on the site Northings

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:32:26 +0000

JENNY MCBAIN sees as yet unrealised potential in Gilmore Productions new show. GILMORE Productions have the makings of an interesting show in One Up One Down , but it is hard to escape from the feeling that what they are currently presenting to audiences is a work in progress. A brain-storming of ideas has evolved into an […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Ràithean is Fuinn / Seasons and Moods, on the site Northings

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:43:18 +0000

JENNIE MACFIE is beguiled by the singing of Kathleen MacInnes in this year’s GSI extravaganza FOUNDED in 1871, the Gaelic Society of Inverness (Comunn Gàidhlig Inbhir Nis) has survived some difficult periods, but with over 500 members today, it’s in good shape. Its annual evening of Gaelic entertainment is always well attended, and that’s not…[Read more]

Northings User and are now friends

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:07:19 +0000

Northings User and are now friends

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:04:10 +0000

Northings User wrote a new post, Space for Colour, on the site Northings

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:05:43 +0000

MORAG MACINNES explores the highs and lows of colour and shape at the Pier THE CONTEMPORARY Art Society celebrates its centenary this year. Over the years it has gifted over 8000 works to British collections. The Pier has not only received four works, but also benefited from the CAS’s partnership with the Scottish Arts Council, which […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Dara O'Briain / Terry Alderton, on the site Northings

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 09:56:56 +0000

JOHN BURNS would be in line for second helpings of two contrasting comedians DARA O’BRIAIN makes a big impression as he walks on stage, if only because he is a big comedian in every sense of the word. At six foot four he is probably the biggest comedian in the UK right now amongst the […]

Northings User wrote a new post, The Vatersay Boys, on the site Northings

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:09:52 +0000

ELIZABETH SINCLAIR catches up with a favourite band in a favourite place HAVING been going to Ullapool on camping holidays since the young age of 18 months, it’s one of my favourite places in Scotland. Always keen for a reason to return, the chance of seeing one of my favourite festival bands, The Vatersay Boys, in […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Nik Kershaw, on the site Northings

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:21:07 +0000

JENNIE MACFIE reckons this 80s stars can still deliver STRIPPED down to solo acoustic guitar, stomp pedal and voice, Nik Kershaw’s songs stand the test of time far better than one might have expected of someone who was Big in the 80s. Excavated from the dense carapace of synthesisers and drum machines that was the sine […]

Northings User wrote a new post, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, on the site Northings

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 10:15:26 +0000

JAMES MUNRO has some reservations over the SSO’s latest Inverness visit LAST FRIDAY saw the only visit to Inverness during the current season of orchestral concerts by the acclaimed BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. This highly versatile Glasgow-based band has given the Highland audience some excellent performances in the past, so a popular…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Graeme Stephen Septet, on the site Northings

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:24:37 +0000

JENNIE MACFIE hails outstanding musical excellence and an open-minded attitude to genre WE ARE very fortunate in Scotland to have musicians who move freely between the worlds of traditional, classical, jazz and world music, enriching and developing their music and their playing. Take, for example, classically trained Shetland fiddler Chris…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Darren Manson: Cinema in Thurso, on the site Northings

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:30:38 +0000

Cinema in Thurso BARRY GORDON catches up with Darren Manson to look at the chequered history and present prospects for cinema in Thurso. A RICH, elegant art-deco building that takes pride of place in Thurso’s town centre, Thurso Picture House was an integral part of local entertainment from the time it was built in 1922 until Saturday […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Alastair Cook - Sutherland / Caithness, on the site Northings

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:42:40 +0000

GILES SUTHERLAND evaluates artist and photographer Alastair Cook’s vision ALASTAIR Cook’s black and white photographic images of Caithness and Sutherland – shot on 35mm film and hand-printed – repay close attention. What at first sight may appear as rather stark, unpeopled studies of landscape, geology and abandoned architecture slowly reveal…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, North Sea Gas, on the site Northings

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 15:27:57 +0000

SUSAN SZYMBORSKI is thoroughly entertained by these Edinburgh-based folk veterans IT WAS a chilly Valentine’s weekend that Edinburgh based band, North Sea Gas, graced the stage of Hootenanny. As ever, the cavernous venue drew a mixed crowd. After-work revellers, Valentine’s couples and dedicated fans crammed in to enjoy the winning combination of…[Read more]

Northings User wrote a new post, Opera Highlights, on the site Northings

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 14:31:00 +0000

JAMES MUNRO is tempted to take to the road for another helping of Scottish Opera’s scaled-down highlights package LOGIC SUGGESTS that after sixteen years the concept of Opera Highlights, or Essential Scottish Opera as we used to know it, would have become jaded. But not a bit of it. This year’s tour is as fresh as […]

Northings User wrote a new post, Colin Johnstone – The Language of Saints, on the site Northings

Wed, 10 Feb 2010 10:27:55 +0000

MORAG MACINNES enjoys an imaginative reinvention of iconography from Orkney artist Colin Johnstone I LIKE literate art; works that inhabit lots of references comfortably, competently, and in an understated, not a show-offy kind of way. The school of ‘see me, see what I can do with ironic postmodern references to baffle you poor viewers plus a […]