Save our Scottish Venues

 **An online music festival featuring some of the biggest names in Scottish music has been organised to help save struggling venues amid the coronavirus crisis. **

“Save Our Scottish Venues festival”, organised by the Music Venues Trust (MVT) has pulled together performances from

 KT Tunstall, Wet Wet Wet, Fatherson, Honeyblood and Be Charlotte. 

The event is taking place this Friday 19^th June across three 'stages' and will be streamed live. 

Money raised through ticket sales will go towards helping venues including the Glad Cafe, Audio, Slay and Ivory Blacks in Glasgow. Curated by Music Venue Trust through the #SaveOurVenues campaign.

Ticket buyers will be directed to a streaming link to watch the performance.  DONATE: 100% of the donations will be divided equally amongst Scottish Venues!! You can donate here >>
www.crowdfunder.co.uk/saveourvenuesscotland

£5 for access to the live event, including hopping between stages. It is £8 for access to all of the sets for an extra 48 hours after the festival ends:  - www.universe.com/events/save-our-scottish-venues-tickets-edinburgh-307Q9X

You can also purchase tickets through crowdfunder which will mean that we do not have to pay an admin fee: -  www.crowdfunder.co.uk/saveourvenuesscotland

SWG3 to transform Galvanizers Yard into huge outdoor food and drink venue

https://www.ents24.com/online-events/online-streaming-events/save-our-scottish-venues/

Joe Smillie, creative director of The Glad Cafe, says he has ‘no idea’ where the venue would be without help from MVT.

Speaking to Glasgow Live , he said: “It’s hard to think about the future right now while things are uncertain. “How are we supposed to open safely without extra support from the government? If we are to maintain social distancing, this obviously reduces our capacity thus massively affecting our bottom line which was already on a tightrope. How do we balance our incomings and outgoings with significantly reduced capacity?

“If we are asked to implement one way or traffic light systems, screens, soap stations, etc. how can we, as a cash-poor business, be expected to fork out for this in time for reopening and when we are supposed to start paying our staff’s wages again? “I feel that for such a financially wealthy country, the UK has really made a lot of money from the arts while neglecting its artists and venues and it is about time they did something to help them.”

For now, the venue is considering taking its events program online and reopening the café and restaurant while the rest is figured out.

“We’ve been applying to every grant that is supposedly on offer so we can reopen safely. We’ve also tried to stay engaged with our customers. We’ve held a six-week online course in Ableton Live - a music-making computer programme - with a grant we received from Creative Scotland.

“Our very popular open mic night that runs once a month has gone online too and they’ve run three very successful virtual events that have been live-streamed. These are all on our YouTube page.

"All the while we’ve been running Crowdfunder pages, meeting regularly with our board of directors and staff and attending webinars run by Creative Scotland, Music Venues Trust and the government. Zoom fatigue is real.

Where am I now?

Blazin fiddles at Celtic Connections

Blue Rose Code at his 2 sold out evenings Milngavie folk club 2018

I continue to explore the poets Bob Dylan and Robert Burns (the latter inspired the former) – Dylan named Burn’s love poem ‘Red Red Rose’ as his major influence.

I’ve been reading MoJo: The Collectors Series: Bob Dylan, which includes some of their best article and images.

I so enjoy the live performances by Dylan on YouTube. Both poets collected and explored other writers and artists. In fact its not widely recognised, but Burns was greatly inspired by English poets – such as Alexander Pope. 

Haimt

Mogwai

I have met so many famous people at Edinburgh book festival and at Celtic Connections. Its a very strange experience to meet a well kent face. 

Ian Bell

Seamus Heaney

Edna O'Brien

Liz Lochhead

The Edinburgh Book festival hosts a wide range of writers, artists and scientists, politicians, musicians, athletes, novelists, poets, explorers, broadcasters, journalists, children’s authors, illustrators, historians. I’ve met – Nile Rogers, Alex Salmond, Seamus Heaney, Tom Devine, Fintan O’Toole, Dougie MacLean, Dick Gaughan, Karen Matheson, Donald Shaw, Rab Noakes, George RR Martin, Joyce Carole Oates, Edna O’Brien, ... many more! 

I need to find time for my other projects. The journey of being an artist or writer is on going, there is always so much to discover and challenge. 

Its inspirational also to meet famous people we admire.

We must have REAL Scots history our Historic sites

**Can the Scottish Government do more to protect the "REAL Scots history" at our many historic sites?

I read with interest the letter from Rory Bulloch, National 14^th May, on how badly Scots history is told at our historic sites.

On a trip last autumn to the Scottish north coast, we stopped at the eerie sight of Culloden moors, which were covered in a layer of crisp snow. I thought of the battlefield sights we’ve lost – where is the real Bannockburn? And I hope there will not be houses built here when Scotland has plenty of land.

One of the guys in his red jacket and blue bonnet was explaining the battle to me, he said kilts we worn on both sides  - he didn't seem to be aware this important Culloden battle was a "religious battle". Or of the Thirty Years religious wars that were raging in Europe at the time etc. etc. There were German, French and Irish troops involved too in this battle. After this crucial battle, prisoners were violently murdered, and the Highland way of life and culture was completely crushed by English redcoats from their huge 18th century Fort George, which is still used as a fortress today, at the entrance to the Moray Firth north of Inverness. They learnt from this how to subjugate the natives for future imperial suppressions. 

To my surprise there were no Professor Tom Devine history books in their bookshop either – and clearly a sanitized version told here by The National Trust for Scotland. PLUS Historic Dunkeld is covered in plaques - we were told by a local that they were put there by one guy and that most of them are historically untrue! 

History is not simply about the past – it informs our present and future and crucially shapes who we are and how we see ourselves. Its important to realise the extent that the British nationalists seek to suppress Scots heritage, which began in earnest after the ’45 and after the union 1707. I strongly dislike calling this supposed partnership a union, because it came about under great duress, riots and blood. 

As professor Alan Raich writes, National May 16, in his article on the works of the poet James MacPherson, ‘Unlocking Ossian’. In 1760 MacPherson travelled north to recover the epic tales of the ancient Gaels where he met local tradition-bearers. He spoke Gaelic and was educated at Aberdeen university. His Ossian works are described as a fraud by British critics. “This itself has been a long-standing hoax of the British establishment, always opposed to the notion of an ancient Scottish Gaelic civilisation predating its own. As always priority is power.”…A reclamation of Gaelic cultural authority writing from antiquity was effectively a Scottish cultural counterpoint to the post Culloden military and social devastation.” 

As a highlander, MacPherson understood the Gaelic traditions and as university educated he aimed to appeal to Hanoverian Britain: and he needed to appeal to his wealthy patrons (as did Burns). He promoted the Gaelic world to international readers. He died 1795 on his estate in the highlands. I read a different story though, at the Uist museum, of their enforced emigration to Canada. 

As I was taught practically no Scots history at school Edinburgh, to my great regret, I am now teaching myself. I have attended three lectures by Professor Tom Devine on the Scottish Enlightenment, the Darien Project and the Lowland Clearances. I have read several of his books – the Scottish Nation: A Modern History, The lowland Clearances and Independence or Union. 

**Can the Scottish Government do more to protect the "REAL Scots history" at our many historic sites? And crucially stop this sanitized whitewash! But rather promote the true Scots history as told by real Scottish Historians such as Professor Tom Devine, linguist Stuart McHardy, lyricist Robert Burns, Professor Alan Raich, or poet Ian Crichton Smith. And not the falsehoods peddled by historical fiction writer John Prebble or archaeologist Neil Oliver. Its well past time all this changed.

 Ossian books – 

1. Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1760)

2.  Fingal, an Ancient Epic poem (1761)

3. Temora, an Ancient poem (1763) 

Plus Collected Edition, Works of Ossian, the son of Fingal (1765)

MUSIC in Pandemic times

Music in the UK is a 5 billion industry, with 1 billion in live music. Music supports 200K jobs – who will need longer term support.

For concerts to return – we must protect the workforce along with medical advice. There is a risk of loosing small venues. If we loose small venues, we will loose the talent pipelines. Glasgow boast world beating small venues, I hope they can survive – King Tuts, Barrowlands, Oran Mor, more.

Yet we are listening to more and more music.

Online concerts, sometimes from venues are happening.

Also drive in concerts!

Music Broth -  Is delivering musical instruments and repairing instruments: to give access to music for many who would no be able to afford to. Plus repairing second hand instruments. 

PLEASE SUPPORT - 

Music Broth is Scotland’s Musical Instrument and Equipment Library. Our mission is to make music more accessible to all. We do this through sharing our 1000+ item library of musical instruments and equipment accessible to anyone seeking support for your musical ventures and adventures! We support individuals, bands, families, and organisations. 

musicbroth.org

Music is an act of self-care. To keep in touch with creative abilities and skills. To express ourselves and communicate.

" People expressing themselves will be there long after the Covid crisis is over."