Saturday 30 June 2018

Can We Save our Wildlife?

bonny banks of Loch Lomond

 “Saltmarsh in winter grey, falls softly upon the human eye.”
In his book, “Can we Save Britain’s Wildlife’ Mark Cocker argues, “its urgent we protect our natural environment. .”The big corporate landowners have been a disaster. The National Trust too often seems less interested in biodiversity than that it has destroyed swaths of wild upland in Scotland. – Flow country with a loathsomeness of conifers, which have also helped the super-rich avoid paying tax.”
Nature reserve north Uist

On North Uist there is a beautiful nature reserve  to protect endangered birds such as corncrakes. This is part of an important European Conservation Machair project and I wondered, will the UK fund and set up a UK Conservation Machair project, after Brexit? I doubt it! 
In Finland they have school projects to get young people into the natural environment and fresh air. In the 30s when people were given a weeks holiday they worried they might drink, so instead they offered wooden weekend retreats beside their beautiful lakes. Also a project to help children with depression is to get them into the countryside. 

Campsie hills

We all benefit from being in nature. I will always remember a drive in the natural forests of Fall in Massachusetts when I was blown away by the beauty and range of colours. Sadly the contrast in Scotland couldn’t be more stark, after depleting our land of natural forrests to build ships to fight the French or Spanish (in the 18thcentury). The UK Forestry Commission has built these abhorrent squares of dark green conifers where no undergrowth and biodiversity can survive underneath. Some have burnt and nothing survives here.

fall colours in America

Our countryside is also stuffed with aggressive Rhododendrons which Queen Victoria brought over. Around a tenth of our countryside is effected with this blight and the whole of our landscape will eventually be covered with this plant if nothing is done: no wild life can survive here and it is costing millions to eradicate. 

harvest fields near Stonehaven
II 
I was shocked recently to realise that birthday cake travels from London or Manchester – which made me wonder, why can’t cakes be made here in Glasgow and how much of our super market food is locally sourced? This is not at all green – for our global warming and carbon foot print. Do we really need Alaskan salmon here, when Scottish salmon is better?
Cocker claims, ‘it’s a scientific necessity to revolutionise our approach to food and energy.’

So can we buy Local? On the radio a women spoke of living on local produce. She spoke of farmers markets and how Scottish tomatoes taste excellent, and of how difficult it was to buy local produce. 
Some predict Brexit chaos at Dover, and that within two days there would be no food in Cornwall or Scotland! I thought what is going on, has the UK gone crazy and why is all our food traveling through Dover? Why can’t food come over from Ireland or America or Holland? I thought of all the trucks jammed up in Kent. It’s an unsustainable and ludicrous situation, that we must escape from and how can Scotland be self sustaining otherwise? Both Irvine and Glasgow were once great trading ports, pre union or rather pre occupation. 

evening light south Uist

We need to BE more indy – and consider how can we supply our energy (renewables – we have loads of wind, rain and tides). 
As a result of pesticide use and global warming Britain's butterflies are under serious threat. Recently I was walking in marshland at Mugdock country park where we might expect to see butterflies fluttering and sadly there were none.... The baby boomers have been a generation that has abused our planet - with plastic, air travel and more. We must now ask- what are we leaving the next generation? 

If our natural habitat is lost it will never be regained and we will end with“birdless skies, insect less vegetation, make a soundscape of men-made engines.” 
We will have a world (already happening) bare of flowers, animals, birdsong and butterflies. We can’t flush plastics, chemicals, fertilizers or CO2 down a rubbish flue, it all remains.  . 
Nature is our life support system. 


rocky shores on Harris

And PS On a personal note - we never use week killer on our grass, allow sections of wild flowers, have a bird feeder on a small tree and have several mature trees. I notice some concrete over their gardens or put down stones.

Sunday 17 June 2018

The 'Mack' and Mackintosh 150 years, Glasgow's most famous landmark

The "Mack" Glasgow's much loved Art School
This year Glasgow celebrates 150 years since the birth of its most famous artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh. 
150 years major Exhibition Charles Rennie Mackintosh, ‘Making th Glasgow Style’ (1890 – 1920)
at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and museum – until 14 August. 2018 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of celebrated Glasgow architect, designer and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868–1928). 

At the core of this style is the work of The Four: Charles Rennie Mackintosh, his future wife Margaret Macdonald, her younger sister Frances Macdonald and Frances’s future husband, James Herbert McNair. Glasgow was the birthplace of the only Art Nouveau ‘movement’ in the UK and its style had an impact internationally – with Mackintosh and Macdonald exhibiting to great acclaim in Vienna. Around 250 objects are on display across the full spectrum of media, including stained glass, ceramics, mosaic, metalwork, furniture, stencilling, embroidery, graphics, books, interiors and architecture. 

Willow tea rooms

It is wonderful to hear that the Willow Tearoomshave been refurbished and restored. On 7 June, art enthusiasts gathered to celebrate the launch of Mackintosh at the Willow, a £10m restoration of his iconic tearooms. Only a block away from the Mack, there was lots of excitement about the establishment of a Mackintosh quarter and the impact it could have. Heartbreaking that it could happened in the final stages of restoration.

Beautiful Glasgow art school library
The high street needs more unique experiences today. 
Glasgow boasts many unique art treasures; not least the impressive Kelvingrove museums, its university cloisters, the marbled stair cased town hall,  the Merchant City streets and the fine, delicate style of Mackintosh and Margaret Macdonald’s art nouveau buildings which were heavily influenced by the clean lines of Japanese buildings.
At any one time there are exhibitions of Mackintosh’s work on in Glasgow, from walking tours to  visiting his well loved buildings – School for an Art lover, Scotland street school, Willow tea rooms, The Lighthouse, 
LAUCHLAN GOUDIE – Mackintosh: Glasgow’s Neglected Genius

Margaret MacDonald


Sadly though not his renowned art school…
Saturday 16thJune
Devastated of the news of the fire in Mackintosh’s Art school – unbelievable. Channel Four reports that a passing policeman raised the alarm. Was no one on site for fire protection – that is someone there guarding the site day and night to deal with this kind of event, which is predictable on an insecure building site. What were they thinking and who was the site manager?  
Another report the fire was sudden and spread through flammable materials - all seems very very strange - on the day the students were graduating and almost exactly four years since the original fire.
Thinking today of all the artists who studied there and how badly they must be feeling today. My thought was four years ago – this historic building was never made to house these ridiculous structures art students make today - AND THEY MUST BE MADE SOMEWHERE ELSE. Mackintosh’s art school should be only for an art museum and library – and not put at such risk ever again. 
Firefighters battle the horrendous blaze Friday night
"The rooms may smell of smoke, the hallways piled high with debris, but it's heartening to see how much of the Mackintosh and its contents survived."
"Whole rooms and their contents are left intact. The Mackintosh Room - used for board meetings - looks as if its occupants have just stepped out for a breath of air. The fireplace, light fittings, panelled bureau and distinctive windows show no trace of the devastating fire which swept through the building last Friday

“The Art School is, at the end of the day, one of the very best buildings of the early 20th century anywhere in the world.’ Appollo magazine

Edinburgh International Book festival 2018!



Freedom & Equality
This year the Edinburgh International book festival 2018 will explore our freedoms.  
EIBF provides open minded and challenging platforms to explore new ideas. Each year I attend the Edinburgh festival in the perfect setting of Charlottes Square August for photos and to enjoy some talks and to be inspired.  

Themes will include: - Freedom and Equality, Politics of Change, Sport and Society, Our Planet, Scottish Ideas, Music Makers, Mind and Body, Muriel Spark, Spoken Word. 

The year EIBF will host many writers who challenge the norms and encourage informed debate. *Famous names who will give talks this year – Clinton, Corbyn, Gina Miller, Yanis Veronfakes, Karl Ove Khausgaad, Ali Smith, Ian Rankind. Musicians, scientism, artists, historian and more are represented. Edinburgh was made the first Unesco City of Literature. 

The festival, in collaboration with the Scottish Government Expo fund, has commissioned essays - The Freedom Papers – which consider which freedoms we must protect and which ones give up for the good of society. 
The freedoms of the individual must not impede the necessary structures of a healthy society. A free democracy and free press. In an era of fake news and online click baits, we need professional gatekeepers and investigative journalism more than ever. With the break down of many religions  we need moral guidance. How do we than achieve a healthy balance, along with strong and stable family structures. Education and family are crucial for the core of an informed democracy,  
Alexander McCall Smith
Neil Gaiman
Hera Lindsay Bird
Jake Wallace Simmons 
Simon Callow
Lura Waddell
Paul Muldoon
More than ever we need ‘open spaces’ to discuss new worlds, adaptability, progress, to build bridges and for accountability. How do we encourage healthy, informed debates. 
To question the nature of our freedoms and the nature and health of our democracies.
Freedom can mean the right to vote, or the right of every nation for self determination. 

**The joy and love of books in central, and EIBF also has a large Childrens book festival. 

EIBF celebrate the written and spoken word in the perfect setting of Charlotte square Edinburgh. EIBF is a celebration of books, written words ideas, spaces to collaborate and exchange views, inspiring stories. retrieving and renewing. 

EDINBURGH INTERNAITONAL BOOK FESTIVAL - 11th to 27th August 2018
Statue of poet Robert Fergusson, muse of Robert Burns

Edina skyline from Calton hill


The Stones Murrayfield


The skies stayed clear for the Stones to rock Murryafield stadium – with Keith Richards recognisable riffs and the energy vibes of Jagger’s rhythmic dancing and melodic voice. A band clearly at home on stage!

There is something widely exhilarating to see live a band you have enjoyed and admired for many, many years! 
For the first part of their set they pleased their devoted fans with a well chosen hit selection - Start Me Up/ Lets Spend the Night Together/ Only Rock n Roll/ Talkin in Time/ Under my Thumb.


After which they revisited their R & B based roots with a blues song, when Mick mentioned the Glasgow Barrowlands and with black and white clips behind them. Some songs become stories in themselves and take the songs wide. Other songs have the simple and memorable riffs such as Under My Thumb.


Keith Richard plays acoustic guitar in the style of Robert Johnson, in the key of G and some of the best known riffs ever and we know the songs instantly. Jagger has a soft voice with great range, but not a rock voice. The Stones guitarists leave space for each other with a clarity of sound. When many bands fill up every available space with noise. 

As the evening light faded there was lots of ‘’oh oh oh’ singing as on I Miss You!  
Followed by She’s a Rainbow with Mick on guitar. They then took the tempo up again for their final hit selections - You Cant’ Always Get What you Want/ Paint it Black/ Honky Tonk Woman (when Mick introduced band) and a Keith Richard song followed by Please to Meet You/ I Miss You/ Brown Sugar/ Midnight Rambler/ Jumpin jack Flash. 
And for their encore they performed Gimme Shelter and Satisfaction!

My favourites tonight were Miss You, You Can't Always Get What You Want, Gimme Shelter and Jumpin Jack Flash. I wondered about their stamina at 75! And the energy required for drumming over a two hour set every night. They must have at least two road teams to set up for the next night of their tour. 

Hats off to the Stones for being one of the top and longest lasting rock bands in the world! Fans left happy to have heard their favourite hits. 

The Rolling Stones were started by Brian Jones, one of the Uks top blues guitarists in. He gave it their name and more than that their 'electric blues' sound. He realised that the niche market for R & B could be taken to a mainstream audience. The lost boy, never satisfied. Sadly he became the first of the '27 Club'. He was the UK's first slide guitarist and one of the best blues guitarists in London at that time. Before he left home, Jones said - 'I'm gonna move to London, start a band and I'm going to become rich and famous.'