Issue 33

As the frantic fortnight of the annual McLellan Festival starts to fade, a state of wonder remains that a small island can put on such a packed, high-quality fandango of talent.

On the Friday night, Peter and Ann Sansom, both of whom are extensively published poets, awarded the prizes for the poetry competition. Almost all the winners were present and turned out to be delightful people, and one couple were so smitten with Arran that they decided to come and live here! Peter and Ann ran highly stimulating poetry workshop the next day that proved them to be wonderfully able tutors. They offered a constant succession of intriguing start-points and their shrewd editorial skills showed exactly why their magazine, The North, has run so long and so successfully. Anyone doing a kick-self for missing the workshop can access a mass of practical advice (and a lot of very good poems) in Peter’s cheerful, practical handbook simply called Writing Poems. Bloodaxe Books, ISBN 978-1-85224-204-6, £9.95. Rattling good value.

That same evening saw one of Corrie Hall’s legendary ceilidhs in full swing, with an abundance of food, music and dancing (some of which was notably individual.) A piper played for the Dashing White Sergeant and other old favourites, and Tim Pomeroy gave moving performances of songs to his own guitar accompaniment, producing an attentive hush – soon dispelled by the Jazz Café Band. A very good time was had by all.

The graduate students from the Royal Northern College of Music have become a traditional highlight of the Festival, and a packed audience at the Opera Gala night was once again thrilled to hear the soaring voices of these budding opera stars. Although young, each one presented a highly professional performance, lovely to look at, smoothly rehearsed and utterly confident. An additional benefit, very exciting for local singers, was the chance to work with the students and their inspirational conductor, Alec Crowe, in rehearsals and performance of Mendelssohn’s Elijah. It’s an electrifying piece, written with the full passion of a young composer, but it is complex. Alec, whose enchanting smile is coupled with a professional edge of menace, conveyed the demands of the music with absolute clarity, and the result was startling. John Bruce sends the stimulating and highly original review that follows.

ELIJAH – PROPHET OF FIRE

This was no ‘relaxing’ evening for Sunday night music lovers who ventured out to the AHS theatre to see and hear Mendelssohn’s oratorio Elijah. What we witnessed and heard that evening was vocalised drama on the grand scale: yay, of biblical proportions, ha!

Felix Mendelssohn’s oratorio in 2 parts dates from 1846 but has a back script worthy of a Cecil B. De Mille epic. Steeped in the early Bible narrative, we experienced the clash of cultures, ideas and beliefs, where ‘primeval’ forces are called upon to shape the destiny of peoples forging a nation. Suffering and challenge, drought and famine, lightning bolts and thunderstorms, slaughter and carnage, raising the dead, dismay and despair, and a final apotheosis by whirlwind (sometimes a chariot of fire). No, definitely not ‘relaxing’.

Maestro Alex Crowe marshalled his forces wisely and well, as he always does. Again this year, he had the marvellously talented music students from The Royal Northern College, Manchester blending with the combined might of the McLellan Festival Chorus. His superb pianists were Dan Browell and Ewan Gifford.

The acclaimed Irish baritone Gavan Ring, who possesses a singing voice akin to rich dark mahogany, took on the being of a powerful Elijah, the stern Old Testament prophet of the Hebrew god Jehovah. His role and power are declared in a first majestic curse on the entire nation: “As God the Lord of Israel liveth, before whom I stand: there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” Strong stuff. From then on, the plot follows the standard Biblical tale. Prophets always challenge kings who are seduced by pleasure, power and greed, so King Ahab is easily manipulated by scheming, beautiful Jezebel to allow the worship of the foreign god Baal. Prophets test their kings after a disheartened period of wandering in the wilderness, conversing with their God, and Elijah, too, does this.

The plot may be far from unique but Mendelssohn’s music is of a different stature. This is music of sustained power and virtuosity - a wonderful meld of solo voice and chorus. I have my own favourites. From part one, “If with all your hearts ye truly seek Me,” is a fine tenor aria sung by a soaring young voice, and the powerful and repetitive “Call him louder…” surely has echoes of Beethoven’s Choral Symphony? This is followed by Elijah’s wonderful strong and stirring aria, “Lord God of Abraham” and the command to slay the false prophets. The message is clear. This is an angry God whose word is “like a hammer that breaketh the rock,” and the alto aria that follows, “Woe unto them who forsake Him” hammers the message home.

From part 2, the plaintive and singularly beautiful aria, “Hear ye, Israel” for soprano voice would thaw the coldest heart. Brava! The rousing chorus of “Woe to him” again, for me, hints at Beethoven, then comes the despairing Elijah’s “It is enough,” a heart-wrenching plea to have done with it all. In sharp contrast, “Lift thine eyes” and “O rest in the Lord” are equally, and assuredly, angelic!

There is a penultimate little gem for a quartet of voices, “O come everyone that thirsteth” which is a virtual paean to peace, then the rousing chorus finale suggests that the Hebrew Jehovah is transformed from an angry and jealous god and can demonstrate a softer and forgiving nature, having succeeded in securing an absolute supremacy in the eyes of his people. Amen.

For me this was an extraordinary and memorable performance of focused power, controlled passion and intelligence by a very talented group of young singers and musicians, ably supported by our own considerable island chorus. Special praise to wee Ossian Gold who never ceases to amaze on the big stage.

Bravissimo.

An interested audience gathered on Saturday September 21st to hear the Rachel Hair Trio, an unusual grouping of Scottish clarsach, guitar and double bass – and they were not disappointed. From first kick-off, the trio delivered lively, rhythmic music that married the worlds of folk and jazz, making something peculiarly their own.

Rachel Hair is an internationally renowned exponent of the traditional Scottish harp, and she used it as the soprano line in this grouping, with its fast, clear notes playing brilliantly against the harmonic structure supplied by guitar and bass. Jenn Butterworth added a dimension of her own, not only through her skilled and confident playing but through the addition of a wordless vocal line in some numbers that was strangely evocative. Gaelic music has always used the human voice instrumentally – one has only to think of the fast-moving ‘mouth music’ to feel the feet tapping – yet it also has the tradition of ‘keening’ in sadness for a loss or a death. Besides this though, Jenn sang a solo of her own composition that puts her firmly in the modern creative camp. Brodie Jarvie, though in most numbers providing the essential basis of the music, had moments of brilliance when his true ability as a talented bassist broke through and shone. It was a magical evening – and Arran’s own clarsach players went reeling (if that is the word) home in a state of complete thrill after hearing such professionalism.

In complete contrast to the ‘folky’ quality of the Rachel Hair Trio, the next Arran Music Society concert, on Saturday October 19th, will feature the Maxwell String Quartet, who are now the most sought-after and widely performing chamber ensemble in Scotland. Classical Music Magazine recently called them “one of the front-runners in young chamber music groups in the UK.” Its members met while studying at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where in 2011 they were named the first Young Artists in Residence there. In March this year Michael Tumelty of the Herald described one of their performances as "brilliantly fresh, unexpected and exhilarating … an enlightening and enthralling musical experience.” And he is not an easy critic to please.

Liam Lynch and George Smith, first and second violin Asher Zaccardelli, viola and Duncan Strachan, cello, have sent details of the brilliantly varied programme planned for Arran, as follows:

• Beethoven, String Quartet in B Flat, Op. 18 no. 6
• Anna Meredith, Songs for the M8 and New Work (An Enterprise Music Scotland Commission)
• (Interval
• James MacMillan, Memento
• Shostakovich, 2 Pieces for String Quartet (Elegy and Polka)
• Ravel, String Quartet in F

It’s a fabulous mixture of fresh work with the traditional, with something for every taste, and such a widely praised, impressive group is much to be looked forward to. The concert starts in Brodick Hall at 7.30 pm, and tickets at £10 can be bought at the door or in advance from Inspirations of Arran.

On Sunday October 13th, the new season of films begins with Michael Haneke's 2009 black-and-white film called The White Ribbon (Das weisse Band). Set in the Germany of 1913, it is both beautiful and disturbing, offering a picture of a village in northern Germany that is repressively controlled by the Baron, the pastor and the local doctor. The resulting undercurrent of resentment finds expression through malicious crimes that sometimes have an obvious aim but can also leave innocent victims hurt and bewildered.

The story is narrated by the now elderly local teacher who is raking through his memories in a need to find reasons for what happened next in Germany. Are his memories correct? We don’t know. But some things have a ring of absolute probability. The pastor, brought to convincing and dreadful reality through an outstanding performance from Burghart Klaussner, is a severe disciplinarian, obsessed with ‘purity’. His own children are made to wear a white ribbon round their arm as a penance for any wrong-doing, and this humiliating badge of guilt remains in place until their father considers them sufficiently ‘cleansed.’ Such opprobrious marking could have foreshadowed the yellow star later forced on Jews or the approved Nazi armband – but the connection is never explicitly stated, just left to grow in the viewer’s mind.

Repression breeds people who want to oppress. The White Ribbon explores a network of resentment that turns the village into a furtive spider’s web of festering tit-for-tat cruelties. When war comes in 1914, it is comes as a breath of relatively clean air, sweeping away these cancerous local resentments with the blast of a larger concern – and yet, the narrator sees the events of the two wars as a continuation of parochial sickness on a bigger scale. However, the film is far more than a study of German angst over the causes of the wars. Some of Haneke’s scenes and sequences have a classic quality that remains long in the mind. The schoolmaster’s tentative courtship of a local young woman is deeply touching, and the children are seen with a sympathetic eye as they try to come to terms with big questions.

Critics have called The White Ribbon ‘profoundly disquieting’, but its superb acting and direction pose questions that are still emotionally powerful, leaving a sense that at any moment, they may have to be considered again.

Corrie Film Club’s programme of the year’s films, shown on the second Sunday of every month, will be available at the showing of The White Ribbon. There is no entry charge for any film, and everyone is welcome, whether a member or not. Membership of the Film Society costs £15 for the year. This funds the purchase of DVDs to be shown and covers the costs of hall hire etc, so new members are always very welcome – but membership is not a requirement. The Corrie film shows are for everyone. They start at 8.00pm in Corrie and Sannox Hall.

Following last year’s very successful event to mark National Poetry Day, organisers are planning a repeat performance at the Brodick Bar on Thursday 3rd October. It promises to be another bumper night of verse and song and members of the public are invited, nay encouraged, to bring along something to read at the open-mic part of the evening. Tim Pomeroy, David Underdown and Cicely Gill, all practising poets, have organised a programme of seven principal and seven invited readers. The evening’s dimensions are broadened by the inclusion of local singing ensemble, Vivace and possibly baritone John Cruikshank of the other Arran singing ensemble, Ain’t Misbehavin’.

It is hoped that two days prior to the event, to raise public awareness of poetry, there will be an outburst of ‘Poetry on Lamp-Posts’. The organisers plan to populate lamp-posts, bus-stops and any other likely stanchion in Brodick, Lamlash and Whiting Bay with a short poem that can be read ‘on the hoof.’ Some poems might also be put up in the High School.

Although this is the flagship day for poetry around the country, the Arran poets are trying to organise other events throughout the year. A new website has been started, www.arranpoetry.co.uk, a forum for local poets to publish their work online and where Arran poets can form links with other poets and poetry groups around the country. It can also be used notify all poets, both on and off island, of events the local poets might be organising. Meanwhile – National Poetry Day is nearly upon us. Spread the word! And please come to the Brodick Bar on Thursday 3rd October. It will be a lot of fun.

The obstinately robust Green Party keeps banging away at what it sees as important. Caroline Lucas went to the International Arms Fair – a sales pitch by Defence & Security Equipment International – to see what they were peddling, and spotted that some of the items were in fact illegal. They included handheld projectile electric shock weapons, weighted leg cuffs, and stun batons, all of which are obviously designed for use against civilians who have got a bit uppity. As a result of Caroline’s parliamentary question and a subsequent point of order, Tianjin Myway International Trading Co. and Magforce International were ejected from the Fair. But who permitted them in the first place, and why did no other MP object?

More generally, there’s a lot of fun in being a Green. When the Labour Party decided to hold their conference in Brighton, it ignored the fact that Caroline Lucas is Brighton’s MP, and delegates were startled by a large digital advert right outside the railway station.

‘Welcome to Brighton,’ it said. ‘Home of the True Opposition in Parliament. PS – Labour is down the hill on the right.’

Neatly put.

In the month of August, figures from the Debt Advisory Centre show that 125,000 Scots borrowed money to pay their rent or mortgage.

People aged between 25 and 44 were by far the most likely to have borrowed. 6% of them said they'd turned to credit in the last month in order to avoid eviction or repossession. Ian Williams of the Scottish Debt Advisory Centre said, ‘Nothing is more fundamental than keeping a roof over your family's heads - it's the first essential expense most people will think of when they're planning a budget.’

The cost of repaying unsecured debts adds a further element to a growing problem.

Earthquakes had never been recorded at Youngstown in Ohio before 2010. But at the end of that year, frackers started pumping waste from their drilling projects into an injection well near Youngstown – and within two weeks, the area had experienced its first quake. A study by Won-Young Kim, a researcher at Columbia University. published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, records what happened next.

From January 2011 to February 2012, there was an average of nearly twelve earthquakes every month. At first they were barely perceptible, but their magnitude rapidly increased, ending with a 3.9 quake on the last day of 2011, when another load of wastewater had been dumped in the well, bringing the total amount to 495,622 barrels. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources then ordered the well shut down, and after that was done, earthquakes quickly ceased to happen

Kim’s research showed that the frequency and intensity of earthquakes in the area was directly linked to the daily pressure levels in the well. It adds to a growing body of scientific evidence linking the use of fracking wastewater injection wells to earthquakes, some of which were extremely alarming. A string of quakes in central Oklahoma in late 2011 included the most powerful disturbance ever recorded in the state, a frightening magnitude 5.7.

John Upton, who reported Kim’s research on the American site, Daily Grist, blogs about ecology and says he welcomes reader questions, tips, and ‘incoherent rants’. You can contact him at johnupton@gmail.com.

Christian Allard, the French-born MSP for Scotland’s North East, took a French TV crew to Peterhead Fish Market last week. He said, ‘Although I have been many times in the past, this was my first visit to the Blue Toon's Fish Market as a Regional Member of the Scottish Parliament.’

Mr Allard, who worked in the fishing industry for many years, is keenly aware of its value to the Scottish economy, and recently asked the First Minister to consider a publicly accessible register for fishing quota allocations, holdings and transactions. He said, ‘This should be the first step to regaining control of Scotland's fishing rights from Westminster,’ and added, ‘The First Minister agreed that successive Westminster Governments have failed to protect the interests of Scotland's fishing industry in the North East.’

Stuffed Marrow

Ingredients

1 marrow
Lamb mince or pork Ssausagemeat
1 onion and a clove of garlic
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
Small spoonful of brown sugar
Cornflour or a stock cube
Herbs
A splash of wine

Method

Halve the marrow lengthways and take out the seeds.
Fry onion and garlic until softened
Add the meat and continue frying, turning frequently.
Add the tin of tomatoes, with brown sugar to counteract acidity.
Stir in a teaspoonful of cornflour or crumble in a stock cube
Add herbs and a dash of Red Wine if liked and available.
Spoon this mixture into the marrow and replace its upper half. Wrap in foil to keep it together.
Cook at Mark 6. /180 c. for 50 mins or so.

Vegetarian version

You can use a mixture of cooked and roughly diced vegetables, including potato. Mushrooms give good flavour and texture. Green peas, fresh or frozen, add sweetness and a lively colour.

Method is as above, but if a stock cube is wanted, use a vegetable one. And just before putting the mixture into the marrow, fold in 3 good tablespoons of yoghurt.

Cooking time is the same as for the meat recipe.
Nice served with fluffy rice to mop up the juice, or crusty bread.

We read with weary incredulity that the humpy hill road in Catacol is to be dug up and smoothed out so that long-bodied buses will be able to use it without ‘bottoming’ over the peaks of the switchback. Do we really accept the principle that Arran can be reshaped to accommodate the proposed bus, rather than suiting the vehicle to the terrain? Truly, this is a mammoth no-brainer.

A link to the revised and grossly inconvenient timetables follow.

322 (String Road) service     323 (South Island) service     324 (North Island) service

At the Voice, we feel that the referendum on Scottish independence is a vitally important issue. The issues involved will affect all of us, and the debate deserves more than an exchange of sound-bites and photos of drunks draped in saltires.

The Yes faction on Arran has been quick off the mark, with various vehicles emblazoned with the word, YES, in large capitals. Our editor spotted a single NO van in Lamlash car-park the other day, but in general, the Yes group has got off to a flying start. This may be because Arran contains an unusual number of free-thinking creative people – a factor noted with distaste by Kenneth Roy, editor of the online Scottish Review. He observed that writers and artists were prominent in the Yes campaign – ‘the people you would be least inclined to trust.’ Well, thank you, Kenneth.

John Inglis, who contributes the following statement in favour of the Yes campaign, is indeed an artist, but he also chairs the Arran Community Council and is active in almost every island concern.

We are anxious to offer an equal opportunity for supporters of the No campaign to publicise their views, and will welcome contributions. Simply e-mail us on infor@voiceforarran.com

Nobody knew quite what to expect when we assembled in Corrie Hall for an evening of ‘Seabirds, Stories and Songs’ presented by Tim Dalling and Malcolm Green. A screen had been lowered, so there were going to be pictures, and Tim, one of the presenters, was playing inconsequential music on a piano accordion that looked as if it had been around a bit, but the rest was unknown. Then the lights went down and a strange experience began – a story, but much more than that.

Not quite. But there is a connection. On Sunday, October 6th, there will be a G&T event at the Douglas Hotel in Brodick, to raise funds for the Valdete Trust. For anyone who doesn’t know, this was set up by Sue and Julian Davidson of Whiting Bay, who went on a retirement trip to Albania and ended up running a charitable agency that supplies wheel chairs, walking frames and care for disabled people who previously had no help at all. Sue and Julian are still out there, and the centre they have planned and worked for over several years is due to open soon.

South has to make four No-Trumps and West leads the Jack of Spades. How would you play it?

A crowd of around 1,000 people gathered on an Irvine slip on Friday 20th September to watch the world's oldest clipper ship leave Scotland for the last time.

The City of Adelaide, built in 1864, had a long and busy life, sailing to Australia and then used as a hospital ship and renamed HMS Carrick. but since 1992 her elegant hull – all that remained after she sank in the Clyde the previous year – has been mouldering in Irvine while international interests debated what to do with her. The winning bid came, suitably, from a consortium in Adelaide, the city of her name, and a pontoon barge was constructed to convey her to a big cargo ship waiting in the Thames estuary.

The trip had been planned to start a week earlier, but was delayed because of the bad weather on the west coast of Scotland. For those who turned up, it was worth waiting for. The watchers saw the old hull, still beautiful, carefully settled on the pontoon and towed out in to the Irish Sea. From there, it will travel round the tip of Cornwall and along England’s south coast to the River Thames, where the frail old hull will be loaded into the cargo ship for the voyage to Australia.

The City of Adelaide’s history will go with her. For decades, she carried emigrants to Australia, then in 1924 began a second career as a hospital ship. She was then converted into a training ship, but after a disastrous fire, she sank at Princess Dock in Glasgow and lay on the bottom of the River Clyde for a year before being raised and taken to Irvine. With repairs likely to cost more than £10m, there was a long stalemate about her future – but now she is at last on her way to the final stage of her long life. She will be restored and made available to a new generation of people to see her and walk over her, and admire the lovely design and fitness for purpose that made her useful for decades. Truly a happy ending.

John Kinsman’s picture shows The City of Adelaide on the pontoon, about to leave Irvine on the first stage of her long journey to Australia.

With just a year to go until the big vote on September 18th 2014, some 40 Arran ‘Yes’ supporters travelled by coach to Edinburgh on 21st September for the annual Independence March and Rally. They joined 20,000 people from all over Scotland, and of all ages and backgrounds, to walk from the High Street to Calton Hill. The huge crowd then stayed for an afternoon of varied music and speeches, compered by Elaine C Smith and Hardeep Singh Kohli. Among the numerous pro-independence speakers were representatives from the Green Party, Labour for Independence, the SNP, and Scottish Socialists. Also attending were delegations from other European countries with independence movementsincluding Flanders, the Basque Country, Catalunya, Corsica and Veneto. The occasion was colourful and good-humoured.