Allan Ramsay festival

New Allan Ramsay festival Carlops 14 - 16 October 2016. 

Allan Ramsay Snr Born 1684 – 1758 Leadhills Lanarkshire, was a Scottish poet who strongly influenced Robert Burns. He was one of the founders of the Easy Club, a group of like-minded men who enjoyed literary discussions over a bottle of claret. It was known for Jacobite sympathies and Ramsay was determined the Scots language would not die out in the years after the Act Of Union (1707) when “North Britishness” was all the rage.

He started to earn money for his verse collections in Scots and then decided to turn his wigmaking shop in the Old Town into a booksellers. He also decided to  rent out books, and became known as the founder of Britain’s first library.

He also composed Scotland’s first opera The Gentle Shepherd, which is a ballad opera both comedy and a homage to the joy of pastoral life, which was his masterpiece. There is monument to Allan Ramsay Snr in Princes St Gardens.

Allan Ramsay Jnr was his eldest son. He studied art in London and Italy and then based himself in Edinburgh in 1738. He established himself as a portrait painter and later moved to London. Where he was appointed official portrait painter to King George III. Earlier this year, his long lost portrait of Charles Edward Stuart, painted at Hollywood in 1745, was bought for the nation at a cost of £1m and now hangs in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. 

Melvyn Bragg Edinburgh book festival 2016: Now is the Time

Melvyn Bragg gave a highly informed and entertaining talk at Edinburgh book festival 2016, when he occasionally digressed from his historical tale of intrigue, romance, betrayal, injustice and ignorance. Bragg has written a timely book and we might draw parallels to today.

He spoke of the background to the story and of how much control religion had in those days (I wondered is this the control that Murdoch’s media outlets and others have today) and that people were scared to disobey the church. Since 1066 French was spoken, but English came back and the Bible was translated into English – there were writers such as Chaucer and his Canterbury Tales written in Latin, French and English. God spoke Latin apparently and the Bible was not to be touched.

The Great Plague of London killed 47.3% in one year and they thought the plague was a punishment from God. The Black Death of the 1340s reduced numbers for labour – wages were fixed and there was feudalism.

Bragg told the story of the Peasants Revolt in England in 1348. This was not a ‘peasant’ rebellion at all  He said and it has been air brushed out and totally ignored mostly. This was the biggest mass rebellion ever in England and it is never talked about. There was a three to four months build up and the rebellion lasted over two weeks in London.

The Hundred Years war in France was not going well for the English and the taxes needed for the war were  far too high. The people could not afford to pay the high taxes and refused to pay. This spread to Essex and to Kent.

 **The Main Players in this story were –

The Preacher John Ball;

The Queen Joan, Princess of Wales, known as the Virgin of Kent was most beautiful. She had five children and became rich from the Crusades. Later she married the renowned warrior the Black Prince.

Wat Tyler - The people voted for him to lead the rebellion. He had fought in France and was a skilled artisan;

The Young King Richard; People believed the king was sacred and spoke with God.

The rebels took the enormous Rochester castle, Canterbury, Suffolk and then London. The young king met them at Greenwich and promised to give them freedom to fish and to reduce the taxes.

Born changed the game though - he said that the state must be changed and give away its wealth. The Queen sent a ring worn by the Black Prince to King Richard to spur him to take back control. Richard was no warrior and he liked music. (power does not like to give up power). Tyler trusted the King and rode to discuss with him – and they assassinated him.

He also said that Insurgence happens when it ready and that today technology has to catch up with our imaginations.

“Book festivals are anti-dumbing down”and where "audiences go to be informed and widen their knowledge.”

Stuart Cosgrove at Edinburgh book festival 2016: Young Soul Rebels

Gave an impassioned talk at EIBF of his fond reminiscences of Northern Soul of his youth. He spoke of those exuberant nights that reenergised the young people of northern England – and continue to do so today. He was asked about his favourite soul tracks.  He read passages from his new book, which tells of these experiences and spoke movingly about loosing his dad at a very young age. Cosgrove is from Perth Scotland.

Stuart Cosgrove is a Scottish journalist and broadcaster. He served on the NME and The Face1980s, before joining Channel 4 in 1994, serving as Controller of Arts and Entertainment and currently as Head of Programs (Nations and Regions). Cosgrove graduated in Drama and English from Hull and has studied at Harvard. He has a Ph.D. in Media (the thesis published as part of the book Theatres of the Left, 1880-1935) and a Doctorate in English and American Studies. He has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts by Dundee and honorary professorships by Stirling and Liverpool universities. In Scotland, Cosgrove is probably best known as the co-host of BBC Scotland’s radio program popular comedy football phone-in Off the Ball

Emeli Sande returns September 2016!

 Emeli returns with her second album Long Live the Angels.  Her 2012 album Our Version of Events brought her great success as the top selling UK artist 2012. She went on to perform at both the Opening and Closing ceremonies of the London Olympics. She won two Brit Awards 2013, British Female Artist and Album of the Year.

Emeli Sande Royal Albert hall

 In December 2007 I went to see Emeli Sande play her debut gig at the Oran Mor for the launch of her first ep. Back then she had big dark hair and was known as Adele. She had a top band backing her and we thought she had an impressive voice. Little did we know she would go on to have such huge success. I took photos at this gig and her manager was in touch a few months later to ask for the use of images for her promotions. I met Emeli at her King Tuts gig in 2010 and took photos back stage there. Emeli was friendly and chatted about her music and her time at university. She was studying medicine at Glasgow university and she was travelling to London on her weekends to work on songwriting.

Adele Emeli Oran Mor 20017

 In 2012 she did gigs at the Old Fruitmarket and also Oran Mor in Glasgow.

I am sure it must mean a great deal to her to be back at the Oran Mor this Sunday for the first gig to promote her second album Long Live the Angels. I am excited to hear her new songs. My biggest thrill in 2012 was to take photos at her Albert hall gig London! I can only imagine how excited she was to sing there. It was one of those sunny clear November days. I waited in the back stage room – I saw the photo of Frank Sinatra on the wall taken back stage, met Professor Green as he entered, and then we ascended the narrow stairs that took us straight to the front of the stage and the lights and sounds of the iconic venue were set behind us…..

My EMELI SANDE GALLERIES - http://pkimage.co.uk/EMELISANDE

 Adele Emily Sandé, better known as Emeli Sandé, is a British recording artist and songwriter. She first became known with the top 10 single the track Diamond Rings with the rapper Chipmunk (2009). In 2010, she featured on the top ten Never Be Your Woman by the rapper Wiley. Sande had two number-one singles UK with Read All about It with Professor Green and Beneath Your Beautiful, a collaboration with Labrinth. Her album Our Version of Events spent ten weeks at number one and became the best-selling album of 2012 in the UK, with over 1 million sales.