Lakes 2025

In Bowness - on - Windermere 21st to 28th November. A bit more rain than usual but a sunny Tuesday trip to Sizergh Barn and Beetham. 

Saw "The Choral" at Fellinis, very enjoyable. One cliché after another but none the worse for that.

La Boheme

Festival Theatre, 18th November 2025

Scottish Opera

Unusual impulse led to me going to this, a rare occurrence. Thoroughly enjoyed it and had a sore throat at Mimi's demise. Clever disappearing corpse trick.

Didn't get a programme so can't name the cast. Singing and playing all fine good quality stuff.

Foul, cold November night, went with CB. Taxi up, bus 31 and tram home.

Rick Wakeman Royal Concert Hall Glasgow

Thursday 16th October 2025

Thanks to Callum Mills, Fraser couldn't make it down to go to Glasgow together to see Rick Wakeman, despite getting us the tickets. Which is a shame because he was great, whether you like him or not the guy can play, and his band was hot. 

He performed the two first albums in their entirety,  barely getting a note wrong and adding extra frills and thrills. King Arthur seemed to have something missing? Indeed, they missed out Merlin, and did  that as a spectacular encore, featuring his son Alan. They had the keyboard-round-the-neck things and did dualling synths, with the lead guitarist too. 

Wakeman is no stranger to fun and bad taste, the foxy girl trio singers crouched down and let him use them as a keyboard stand. 

Went with Dale instead, train extremely convenient and £11 return with a Senior Railcard. 

Peter Hammill Queen's Hall

First gig for PH for a while, 76 years old and still trouping away. An original talent, a bit hit and miss but the good ones genuinely moving art. Live, the piano songs work better, the guitar songs show the shortcomings. Still, good gig, hopefully not the last time but who knows.

With IJD, GG, FM, BW.

My Room, Just Good Friends, Easy to Slip Away

Too Many of my Yesterdays, The Descent,

The Comet, the Course, the Tail, Shingle Song

If I Could, Driven, Last Frame, Patient, A Better Time, The Mercy,

Stranger Still, Four Pails, Traintime.

Vision

Rosslynlee Revisited

 Very interesting morning courtesy of Dale Garbutt. We went back to visit the remains of Rosslynlee, shut in 2010, burnt down 15th July this year.

New modern houses built in the fields behind Avenue House (itself gone) and Firth Road and the old staff houses. Typical modern insulted affairs.

Man in charge very interested to see us, the actual hospital buildings still to be used as shells where possible. Old ward 10 reroofed and smart, giving an idea of the finished product. A major headache was the amount of asbestos, the most poisonous sort, in the boiler house, the pipes and the old basement archives.

The place looked like it had been bombed.

Took our names for further contact. 

Galashiels

Fun trip with WCW to the Scottish Tapestry Museum in Galashiels yesterday. It's great. 

The 39 Steps

 

Fringe tonight at the Royal Scots Club. Gilly got the tickets, Hazel on costume.
Slick, witty and well done, worth seeing. 

Gig 60

 Leith Depot, Sunday 10th 2025

Super gig tonight, relaxed and tight at the same time. Matthew Deary provided confident entertaining support and was applauded accordingly.

Set list: Pictures Of Biggles, I Need To Clean The Floor, Polish Seamstress, Crusader Castles, Take The Picture, Valentine, Sixteen Steptoe, Room To Rent, Freiburg CH'98, Watching Waters Rise, The g Factor, Cool, It's Abnormal.

Sound by Leonora, very good with newfangled tablet virtual mixer.

Reception: Warm, told we were "on fire". Freiburg notably praised for it's simplicity. We actually got into a groove and overran the film by a few minutes. 

Sparks at the Playhouse 18th July 2025

 Remarkable and marvellous gig tonight, touring their 28th album Mad! which is very good. 5 new songs whose names I'll have to look up and a plethora of great oldies, unexpectedly Academy Award Performance, Goofing Off, All You Ever Think About Is Sex. Really caught fire with Beat The Clock. Russel fit as a flea and in great voice. Ron sang Suburban Homeboy. Great reception, lingered on stage at the end but who could blame them.

Pink Floyd Live at the Cameo

Live at Pompeii film shown at the Cameo, Dale a member so got the tickets. Really enjoyed it, from beginning to end. Gilmour Waters and Mason come across as a bit horrid really.

The Great Alison Moyet

Usher Hall 20th March 2025 with BW and FM

Super show, by a major talent showcasing a varied and creative career, and she still has her voice. Co-star was the backing computer synched to the lights, best I've seen. Most fun was the Yazoo songs, not to detract from her more recent stuff. 

"Gimme a D!"...

 ..."Gimme an Arkness!" Thus was the tone set for tonight's gig at the Usher Hall. Free, courtesy of Fraser's sister-in-law. Slick and fun, especially if you were a fan. Best bit a minute of The Immigrant Song; the band can rock and the guy can sing. The logo is exactly what you would copy on to your Adidas holdall at school in the '70s

Gig 59

Launch gig for Artifice at Leith Depot 15th March 2025. 

Went very well, PAL did sterling job as support, Daniel pleasant competent soundman. Perfect onstage at soundcheck, a bit rough and ready during the gig but it suited the room and the occasion.

Seven of the new songs, and some warhorses. The crowd were genuinely captivated and very loudly appreciative, with comments like "You guys are just fucking brilliant."

Setlist: I Need To Clean The Floor, Polish Seamstress, The Hand, Hardly Rebel, Take The Picture, Valentine, Sixteen Steptoe, Room To Rent, Standing In For Love, Death Makes You Feel Like A Man, It's Abnormal.

Artifice

Got the new album back from the makers' today via FedEx. Looks and sounds great, even though I have been pouring over Photoshop and Audacity for ages. BandCD were very helpful, letting me suggest changes up to the last minute, notably a rogue embossed green X that mysteriously appeared on the back cover.

Launch gig 15th March at Leith Depot.

Calton Hill

..for the first time. With KF on the way to the train, via a scone at John Lewis's.

Kate Revisits

 Very good to have Kate visiting again en route to Lucker.

Vaughan Irish Bequest

 

Swapped Dublin collection for the Edinburgh ones for 250th Birthday. Really worth seeing, refreshing.