Wednesday, 31 May 2023

Edinburgh festival returns for 2023!

To offer new horizons

 

Edinburgh International festival 2023 now with new director Nicola Benedetti – firsts women and first Scot – this August with 2,000 artists, from 48 countries. 

of theatre, music, dance and drama. How can our institutions embolden and make people’s lives better.’

 

This years theme of ‘IDENITITY, COMMUNITY AND RESILIENCE.”

 

Nicola wants the festival to offer something mystical, magical, community and resilience. 

 




This year the festival will host the BUDAPEST FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA – their motto  is “
To serve the people”

Nicola discussed concerns over recent cuts to the Arts. “We must work together to put arts as a must. We must go out to the community. Once you’ve felt it, you want to feel it again. How can we make progress in a different way? It’s a complete picture. The Arts are not an added extra. “





Nicola spoke of positive ways we can make the arts matter.

Where do We Go From Here?

Aly Bain’s soaring Shetland fiddle


I’ve been taking photos at Celtic Connections Transatlantic Sessions since 2008, and one of the highlights is the soaring fiddle of Aly Bian. He plays with an ease and grace that makes it all look effortless -  which is genius in itself.




As a child Aly liked the shape of the violin and started lessons at age eleven when he sat on the knee of his teacher. He was a protégé of Tom Anderson and of the passing on the heritage of Shetlands.

 

Eventually he left for Glasgow and where he played radio Glasgow and played little clubs

He uses a driven bow. Aly play a Scandinavian fiddle made by Adolf springer – which is “sweet and more like a voice”.

 


Aly has recorded 11 albums with Phil Cunningham, with whom he continues to tour extensively. In 2023, he has been recording with Eric Clapton at Abbey Road - 




The Transatlantic Sessions – Since 2008, Aly, along with Dubro master Jerry Douglas, has led the ever more popular Transatlantic sessions as the finale of the major winter festival, Glasgow’s Celtic connections. Hosting many iconic musicians as well as popular Scots Gaelic singers, and American country singers.

 

1960s Aly played with several bands and was in great demand – The HUMBELBUMS, MIKE WHELLANS, BOYS of THE LOUGH. 


Sebastian Faulkes worries for the future

 


He is what he is, and we are who we are, because of, among other things, great books.

Faulkes is worried about his future. He worries books, literary books in the tradition of the great writers of the past. But nobody seems to bother to read anymore. 

 

“I know recent graduates in English who’ve read one or two books. And wonder what they did for their three years.” 

 

As a student at Cambridge he read everything. “I thought I needed to read representative samples of George Eliot, Thackeray, Dickens, Conrad, Henry James, you know….

At least three or four books by every single one of them. You just did, otherwise I’d have felt completely fraudulent.” 

 



 He accepts that, thanks to the internet, these bookless kids do know a lot of stuff. 

“Films, TV, countries, flags, currencies, but it isn’t the same as you get from reading books. I think their lives are really impoverished by not having read books.”

 

 

The Rise of Ireland - small is Beautiful

Ireland’s population will reach 5.1 million, the highest it has been since the great famine of 1848 – when the British administration allowed food to be exported, when thousands in Ireland were starving. Many emigrated to America then, resulting in the influential American-Irish contingent today, including President Biden. Many also emigrated from the north over to Scotland, in search of a better life in the UK – more stability and better living standards. Twenty years ago Ireland decided for its future to invest in education. 

 

Joining the EU has been transformational for all of Ireland – both north and south. Only 8% of Ireland’s trade is now with the UK, most of its trade is with the EU and the US. Today major global businesses have set up their European headquarters in Dublin - Google, Facebook, IBM, Apple, Pfizer. Dublin is also a main transfer airport. Ireland’s GDP is now at 5%.  Ireland is now setting up a Wealth fund, similar to Norway, of 65 Billion, to protect for the future. 

 

Our own personal experience defines us and shapes our attitudes to the policies and politics of today. its with a sense of dismay I read of Ireland’s success, while happy for the Republic of Ireland and our relatives still living over there, I feel sad and regretful for Scotland. I loved our visit to Dublin a few years back – our singing tour guide, the impressive writers museum, the historic Trinity university and book of Kells. Sadly my last memory of Belfast and County Down, is one of military checkpoints, hovering helicopters and heavy overcast clouds. I hope to travel over soon enough and find a more prosperous and settled north. I read that one of the main reasons for sectarian problems there is poverty. 

 

Ireland was partitioned in 1921, to allow for the setting up of the independent Irish Republic. I have an old black and white photo of my grandfather who was captain of the Ards football team and won a few caps for the Irish football team, before partition (dated 1909 I believe) So its within living memory not so long ago. My parents left the north to settle in Edinburgh and my husband’s father also left the south too for Scotland. 

 

We moved to America for a decade after the depressing debacle of the 1979 referendum for a Scottish parliament. Britain’s joining the EU brought much needed economic stability and prosperity, and we returned to Scotland. However the British establishment/ state felt threatened by new EU laws over transparency over tax havens. Nigel Farage was put on the BBC Question Time week after week to persuade the undecided on the merits of leaving the EU – take back control meant us all being richer, our NHS being well funded – instead we get reduced trade and less funding. 

 

This year we had King Charles coronation and a concert celebrating the work of those “who serve” – the carers, the teachers, the nurses, and doctors, social workers etc. During the pandemic we all clapped for them but Britain cannot go on offering those who serve mere crumbs, when what these dedicated workers need is decent pay for their hours of hard work. Most voters want investment in our services (health, education, energy) and not in weapons of mass destruction. 

 

Most of us have now travelled far more than our parents generation, and can see clearly there are other options available to us, than a failed British model. Many of us have known for decades that things are wrong in the UK – with declining living standards, the young unable to buy their own homes. While many ignore these serious problems, they should and could be fixed. As a teenager I spent two weeks in Imatra Finland, even then I wondered where the slums were – everything was very clean and the air fresh with the smell of those very tall pine trees. Most families enjoyed their weekend retreats. And in my time living in America I saw that each state had totally different identity, institutions, laws, trade, regulations, and most decisions are made at local level (such as taxes for schools). That’s not to say there are many problems in America – one being lax laws on pollution, another the way healthcare is delivered. 

 

I was devastated with Brexit and Scotland’s enforced exit from Europe, when the majority of Scots support being inside the EU. Sadly the realities for Scotland are that we have a Scottish Parliament which is essentially the construct of Westminster and controlled and constrained by Westminster policies. QC Joanna cherry tells us Scotland does have the right of self determination under the UN charter. In Scotland historically the people sovereignty outweighs the sovereignty of Westminster – is this true?.

 

The UK government controls our economy and imposes its will, austerity policies and Brexit on Scotland.  During the Brexit debates the profound issues of our island nations were not even considered by the English/ British people. I don’t know I understand why Scotland doesn’t have the right to self determination. But I know independence needs to be ‘taken’ with both arms out stretched – we can’t simply ask or request to be free!

 

Now the Tories are attempting to constraint devolution further, rather than allow Scotsself-determination.