Lifted Up at Edinburgh festivals 2024!

 

high street performers

Weather warm and muggy this year over for the Edinburgh festivals. Who says Scotland is always cold? asks a young American girl. But the next day the humidity lifts and its clear, windy and sunny. In Scotland, often has the three seasons in one day. We meet old friends and later make our way up the very busy high street – past the excited performers, the tourists young and old, as Edinburgh comes to life again for its annual celebration of the arts, culture, drama and music, from the sublime to the idiotic. Entrancing audiences both young and old, and from near and far.

 

One of the world’s oldest and biggest Arts festivals, begun in 1947 after the war. (which might have ended all wars but didn’t)

Sunday – Bach’s St Matthews Passion. Such a wall of sound: spine-tingling and goose bumps. 

With the Festival chorus, BBC symphony orchestra and a top line up of soloists. What joyous, soul enriching and uplifting music by the genius of Bach. – and interpreted by Mendelsohn. 

 

Festival chorus & Symphony orchestra

Carmen Festival Theatre

Monday – Scottish National art gallery to see the exhibition of John Laverty. Persuasive impressions.

A major exhibition of Irish and Scots impressionist painter John Lavery July to October, 2024. He was a great journeyman, who painted extraordinary images of ordinary life in Glasgow, Spain and Morocco. His portraits have a surreal quality: both commanding and expressive. 

 

Tuesday – Carmen Opera with incredible singing and performances and unforgettable music by Bisset. What a treat! 

Paintings by Sir John Lavery July to October 2024.  ‘An Irish Impressionist: Lavery on Location’, a collaboration between the National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, National Museums NI, and the National Galleries of Scotland. That capture Lavery's impressions of people and places, from his travels - Scotland, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Palm Springs, Glasgow, London, and Venice. Portraits, genre scenes, landscapes, and cityscapes. 

The Arts are under pressure like never before. Recent funding has been cut.  But art is not an extra in life or for our heritage and stories. Its central.

 

This year’s festival theme was ‘The Rituals that Unite Us’. 

 

We must hold on – to the past and to future innovations.

 

Stevie Nicks captivated a packed Glasgow OVO Hydro

Held us spellbound and captivated. 

Nicks took us through her musical journeys, taking flight through her story-telling, her husky, forthright, mesmerising voice. With her haunting energy and the charm of her vast back catalogue of songs. So many classics and nostalgia.

Many audience members were dressed in hipster skirts and hats – and were all ages. She sang her own hits, some Fleetwood Mac songs, as well as Tom Petty songs. 

In between songs she regaled us with the stories of how Fleetwood Mac came into being , which brought a human touch and brought her musical journey to life. 

She finished with her encore of Rhiannon, Landslide and with Got a hold on Me , herribute to her band mate Christine McVie, who died in 2022, along with powerful black and white images of their lasting friendship. Fleetwood Mac were musically led by their two songbirds. 

Nicks and her band have been doing her European tour for over two years and uniquely this Glasgow concert was the last night. 

She wore her heart on her dancing sleeves. Nicks apologized for having to cancel her previous Glasgow concert and explained she had suddenly come down with an illness. She is a melodic bird in flights of fantasy and song.

**SONGS

Running down a Dream, Outside the Rain, Dreams, 

If anyone falls, Stop dragging my heart around, 

For what its Worth, Gypsy, Wild Heart, Bella Donna, Stand Back, 

Free Falling, gold Dust Woman, Leather and Lace, 

ENCORE: Rhiannon, Landslide, Got a hold on Me. 

 

Glasgows Turing Institute on AI 1982 to 1994

 

Very interesting article on AI use in the NHS radiotherapy

Glasgow's "Turing Institute" which was closed down due to lack of backing by the UK government 1994 - as there was apparently no future for computers??! Even as The Turing Institute wrote the code for the Space shuttle landings and came up with the idea for a WORLD WIDE WEB. The Turing Institute has now been replaced by an "Alan Turing Institute" opened in London in 2015!

 

In 1965 a Research Group was set up in Edinburgh university, under Donald Michie, who had been part of the code breakers at Bletchley park , alongside Alan Turing. 

 

“AI in Scotland can be traced to the top-secret home of World War code breakers. The history of Scottish AI stretches back over 60 years. 

 

He’d been a member of a code-breaking group at Bletchley Park, and had worked as a cryptographer alongside Alan Turing, the famous mathematician and computer scientist.

 

Described as the father of British research into AI, Michie devoted his life to the development of computers to perform complex, human-like tasks. By 1970, Edinburgh University was one of the few centres in the world working on AI and today – more than 60 years after Michie’s research began – the institution hosts dozens of scientists using the technology.

Edinburgh University is undertaking research into the use of AI in healthcare

“We’ve been very much focused on health, public disease and patient data for the last five years, and trying to learn new things about diseases and how they progress,” says Simpson.”

“We have 57 PhD students here doing research, and we’ll have another 60, so it’s pretty massive. In total, we’re looking at nearly £20m in investment. We collaborate inside Edinburgh and across Scotland. It’s not just scientists – we’ve got nurses and clinicians learning about AI here, which is quite unique.”  In some quarters, AI is viewed as a game-changer….

 

Edinburgh University certainly hopes to transform patient care, and – 60 years after codebreaker Michie’s work began – it remains in the vanguard. “It’s only in the last five to 10 years that the data you need has been available,” says Professor Simpson, who is “very excited” about the potential of digital twins and virtual organs. “It’s very early days for that – but it’s fantastic that it’s based here.”

 

 

**In 1982 Michie set up the Glasgow Turing Institute – worked on the code for all the space shuttle landings.

 

The institute was forced to close in 1994 due to lack of backing by the UK government.

 

 

The Turing Institute has now been replaced by an "Alan Turing Institute" opened in London in 2015! With 42m from chancellor George Osborne.

 

https://www.thenational.scot/news/24450290.cure-nhs-artificial-intelligence-healthcare-scotland/

Questions of Identity

 

Tory MP Tony Hayes claims that, Welsh and Scottish identities devalues British identity.

Scottish self-determination is about how we are governed – not from the centre but locally, by those who understand Scotland’s needs and concerns. Cleary though if England/ Britain regard Scotland as a colony – and not an ancient nation – they want Scottish identity supressed. Just as they did across the empire.

 

But also if we look across the world, we can see that identities can co-exist. In Scandinavia there is a strong identity as a Nordic states, but people also feel Norwegian, Swedish, Danish and Finnish. They learn many languages from a young age.

 

In America, people firstly feel New Yorkers, Texans, mid Westerners, Californians – while they also hold a firm allegiance to their country of American states – united in their belief in liberty for all and the pursuit of happiness, freedom and democratic principles.

 

So what of the British isles? We will always be connected by geography and family ties. A major factor is the narrative of the British empire over recent centuries – with the British monarchy still head of state today across the English speaking world. Britain imposed its culture on many far away lands and islands. Teaching Caribbean islands poems such as Wordsworth To a Daffodil, even though they’d never seen one! Teaching Irish children about English rivers and Scots about English kings. Britain became dependant on exploiting other nations. Instead of replying on its own resources.

 

There’s this narratives of empire here UK – from the Romans, Ottoman, Hapsburgs, from our historic past. Many of us now hope the EU is a new model – one in which each nation retains its sovereign laws and rights of self determination, while working together collaboratively for trade, defence and security. While there remains threats of out-dated dictatorships across the world, which threaten our democracies.

 

Scottish independence is in no shape or form about Scotland not wanting to be good neighbours and friends with England, Ireland and Wales. The present voting system in Britain is not a democracy. It’s a fake.

 

Some here in Britain continue to believe in ‘centralized’ governance, as being most efficient. Surely what’s required is environmental regulations and some joined up thinking, with laws, training and quality assessment (NHS say) and high standards in education. They believe in top-down control, rather than equal rights. We are all equal under the law – or should be. With the familiar cries of the “previous government has ruined the economy.”

 

But where is the money if Britain is a rich country?? Labour continue the austerity project and false claims of no money.