I’ll be reading at the Last Monday at the Rio Cafe, 8pm, 27 Hyndland Street, Monday 27th Feb! Headline poets are Jon Sands and Ken Arkind. Then hoping for a slot at the Ayewrite Poetry corner – St Mungo’s Mirrorball open mike at the Mitchell Library, Tuesday 13th March. Finally, I’ll be one of the Clydebuilt 5 poets reading at the Mirrorball Poetry Club at the Art Club, 185 Bath Street, on Thursday 3rd May.
Ken Arkind performing “Maggie”.
Had a wonderful time at Jim‘s new open mike at McChuill‘s pub in Glasgow – the classic mod venue was very welcoming of the hippy-rocker invasion, and the tolerance extended from the musos to spoken word. Emboldened by some stunning hip-hop from Justin-Philmore Brown, I decided to take my poetry to the mike, and was rewarded with a lovely appreciative crowd, many of whom came up afterwards to say nice things! After a quiet start, this second of the monthly nights was hoaching with people, and there was a real beat feel to the evening, with the venue’s low brick arches, the beautiful people, and the mix of music, spoken word and pool balls clicking. Stand-out performances included Lavinia Blackwell from Trembling Bells in a heart-stopping a cappella number, and some gorgeous fingerpicking and soulful song from the 78‘s Mike Hastings. Minds were indeed opened, and I recommend wordsmiths and songwriters alike get down there and read, perform or play on this exciting new night.
My brother Jim’s new band is headlining at the 13th Note, Sunday 18th March. Go Tigers!
Enjoyed listening to brother Jim on the airwaves with Ceylan Hay (www.ka-radio.co.uk), and surprised to hear meself as well! How did she do that?
2011 – Year of Protest! Keep it up in 2012.
http://33revolutionsperminute.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/11-protest-songs-for-2011/ says it all really
The kids are asking the usual scientific questions regarding Father Christmas. I was never comfortable with telling them that story. I remember finding out the truth myself, aged about 7. My immediate reaction was to make up my own Christmas myth involving sort of goddess figure based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, only she was nice and left chocolates. I had my brother believing in her for about two weeks. At the same time, their first year at a so-called “non-denominational” school in Glasgow has introduced my children to the christian god and the baby jesus, certainly not characters in any tale I’ve told them. I felt bad enough about telling them the christmas lies. It is wonderful that children believe in magic, and I am happy for them to believe in fairies, witches, flying carpets, superpowers, even heaven, but I do not like the way it is exploited by churches and other advertisers and salespeople. Interestingly, the line that ends “The Snow Queen” is a very telling piece of marketing: ”Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” In other words, you need to believe everything we say. Religion and the dreams peddled by advertisers are all based around comforting and infantalising adults so that their wants and needs can be controlled and manipulated. We all want to believe in magic that can rescue us. The trick is to find that magic in yourself – not a partner, god, or product, or a big red-coated present-delivering magician.
Still, I celebrate christmas with my children, and it’s wonderful fun. I don’t mind the harvest festival either, expect for the required singing in church again. The more soft pagan elements to these rituals, and their focus on family and sharing, make them easier to celebrate in good conscience. I know it’s the human way to tell stories to make sense of life, and as a writer I have no problem with that. But I do like to have some control over the stories told to my children. I should have more faith – in them I mean. I learned to discriminate, and I’m sure they will too. And it is, after all, up to them what they believe.
Actor David Warren, who has been playing Santa for the past ten years, holds seven-month-old Olivia Ruch at Santa’s Grotto in Selfridges department store in London. Image (c) Suzanne Plunkett/REUTERS.
