Piping Live! 2013

Finlay MacDonald and Chris Stout

At Celtic Connections 2013 I took photos at the 20th Celtic Connections celebration concert with Finlay MacDonald and Chris Stout. Also photos of piper Fred Morrison who was great fun and my images are used in Fred's new music book Outlands. 

Fred Morrison

The festival was started by a young Finlay when it was hard to imagine the festival becoming the biggest worldwide piping festival.

I'm a big music fan but I don't know so much about the piping world.  I'd no idea the Piping Live was such a big world wide event. I love the pipes at the end of songs such as this one be Karen Matheson -  (lovely voice)  - 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGKAft_LzdU

Also, I lived in the US for ten years and it was the pipes that really used to make me feel homesick!   The pipes made me think of the highlands and glens -  getting sentimental now - I even missed the wet streets!

Finlay MacDonald and Chris Stout

The Piping Live festival is now in its tenth year.

A few highlights

11th August Piping Live Birthday bash - 1pm

11th August Finlay MacDonald & Chris Stout 4pm  -  Finlay MacDonald (head of piping studies at Glasgow's piping centre) and Shetland fiddler Chris Stout launch an album titled The Cauld Wind on 11th August - 5pm  Their sound combines a Shetland style with the Scottish pipes.

15th August - Fred Morrison launches his new Music book Outlands. 

16th August - Friday Night Folk event Oran Mor which includes Scots, Irish and Breton players.

Plus the World Pipe Band championships.   

Finlay MacDonald

Chris Stout

Edinburgh Book Festival 2013

Alexander McCall Smith

In August I attend EIBF (Edinburgh International Book Festival) in Charlotte Sq.

The Square is quite the right setting, surrounded by the Georgian new town at the end of George Street, and on one of Edinburgh’s higher grounds. Edinburgh is a city of many vantage points with wide-ranging views and this square is one of them. Here the light is often clear with just the right amount of ambience.  

After a walk on the bustling colour of the high street, I can escape here to the tranquillity, peace and wisdoms of the written (and sometimes spoken) word. I enjoy too the international aspect of the festival with writers from around the world. 

Neil Gaiman

The book festival offers many contrasting events – talks, debates, conversations between novelists, poets, scientists, politicians, journalists, world writers conference, reviewers, broadcasters, economists, reports, storytellers, university lecturers, crime writers, children’s writers, educators, comedians, musicians, artists, authors, and even more…Some authors are writers, poets, artists and musicians. 

2013 will mark the 30^th year of EIBF. To celebrate the festivals wishes to look back and to the future with several festival threads. In 1983 the EIBF was run by director Jenny Brown and now the festival is run by Nick Barley. 

John Byrne

Bidisha

Some writers are wonderful to photograph with so many wonderful characters. 
I’ve also attended some outstanding talks at EIBF – Melvyn Bragg, Nile Rodgers, Gao Xingjian, Debates, the Unbound.

I include here some of my favourite images from the past few years - it has been hard to choose!  

Paolo Giordano

Steve Benbow

Elaine Proctor

Patrick Ness

This Year 2013 is celebrating 30 years with over 17 days with 800 authors. Authors this year included – Salmon Rushdie, Joe Sacco, Margaret Atwood, Cerys Mathews, Peter Hook, Tracey Thorn, Edna O’Brien, Arne Dahl, Chris Ware, Tim Burgess, Caitlin Moran, Alfred Brendel, Neil Gaiman and many more…

Edinburgh International Book Festival PHOTOS -  http://pkimage.co.uk/authors

http://pkimage.co.uk/edinburghbook2012 

Edinburgh Festival PHOTOS -  http://pkimage.co.uk/edinburghfestival

Lazlo Krasznahorkai

Mark Beaumont

Seamus Heaney

Rome Rapheal Paintings

 

The paintings in the Vatican by Raphael and Michelangelo are inspirational and the love and work that went into these works of art.   

Plus a few images of the light in Rome. 

Music Notes July

I noticed that guitarist and songwriter extraordinaire Nile Rodgers played a fun set at Glastonbury 2013.  I caught him sing and speak a very entertaining set at EIBF (Edinburgh International Book festival) last year for a late evening slot at the Unbound session in the Speigel tent. Those funky Le Chic bass lines got everyone in the groove that night and his stories too.

In other news Thom Yorke and Atoms for Peace, played a killer set with Flea (of Red Hot Chillis fame) firing up his bass and there is a great review in the Times - I can just feel the sparks fly! I first heard Radiohead live in Edinburgh, where I was totally caught up in their energy and feel of their immersive ever-evolving soundscapes. 

Also the headliners at some of the major summer UK festivals have been less of a draw in my view. 

PS I love Fleetwood Mac, but their sound is a bit dated now!