Two different things

I interrupt an evening of tidying the flat to bring you two pieces of observation.

Firstly, I am currently listening to The Side’s new album, Nowhere Left To Run, which I downloaded from iTunes earlier.  Having got over the deep trauma of the scandal that was The-Side-not-turning-up-at-the-Ironworks-gate and invested in their new release, I am happy to report that this offering from the local (ish – Alness) outfit is excellent.

After a few days of downbeat sounds emanating from my computer, it’s been quite a refreshing change to have some chirpy, funky, energetic pop rock to listen to.  The Side, who I have seen once or twice before in town, have a catchy sound, with a clever blend of guitars, piano and drums, and voice/lyrics that (unlike so much of the genre) manage to enhance, rather than detract from, the music.

There’s a reassuring old-school feel about the riffs, instrumental solos and beats, evoking classic rock and roll, funk, and even a wee splash of reggae and space rock now and then.  To round it off, the music has a whole sound that you can only really summarise as “fun” – you get the impression the band are having fun playing, and in the live sets I’ve seen they certainly have an infectious energy and cheerfulness.

I’d highly recommend taking a listen.

Secondly, the spirit of Chris Morris lives on again with this article.  Atheist summer camps!?  Hang on, I thought the whole idea of atheism was that you, with as much certainty as you could muster, did not believe there was a God; not that you pedalled a whole new belief system in opposition.  The article quotes the camp as being described thus:

It is “dedicated to improving the human condition through rational inquiry, critical and creative thinking, scientific method… and the separation of religion and government”.

Right, so basically it’s a science camp, with a mix of political indoctrination.  Are disestablishmentarianism and the history of secular models of governance really something children can be expected to get their heads around when they just want to be on holiday and have a good time?

There’s nothing wrong with getting our children to think about burden of proof and reasonable scientific analysis.  Indeed, it’s vital.  But to basically say to camp attendees that for them to act in faith or experience a spiritual phenomenon they cannot fully understand or explain is wrong, is wrong.  If you get my meaning.

We’re spiritual, emotional and thoughtful creatures by nature and we only partly understand the world in which we live.  To expect our children to have to rule out the existence of God (who, by definition, is beyond human comprehension)  is to make them misunderstand what rationalism and science is about.

Atheists are – often – quite right in their criticism of some Christian practices, for instance when they point out that indoctrination of children is wrong, and that forcing them to believe what their parents believe is potentially damaging.  And there are, I am sure, intellectually sustainable arguments against Christian equivalents of the camps described in the article.  But by providing atheist antidotes of the practices and culture of the church community, atheists are undermining some of the useful checks and balances that they can provide Christianity.

The more atheism starts looking like an alternative religion, the more muddy the debate about God becomes.  And it’s muddy enough as it is.

Right, back to the tidying.

Challenging photos

I got a message from Scottish football fanzine Scotzine the other day, asking for my permission to use a couple of photos – this one and the one on the left.

They were taken at the final of the Challenge Cup Final in Perth in November, and have been used in an article reviewing last season’s competition.

The fanzine is a good read, and a very thorough look at football in Scotland, from the SPL to the Highland League and even women’s football.  I’m not the most avid football fan in the country, but this is certainly a great way of following what’s happening and I’ll certainly keep up with the Scotzine website now and then.

Having just downloaded the issue (the last to appear for free, so go read!), it’s been nice to see my photos in print.  It’s also a little surreal to have my name just before that of Christopher Brookmyre in the list of contributors.

A couple of album reviews

I’ve been listening quite a bit to Malcolm Middleton’s Waxing Gibbous and Mogwai’s The Hawk is Howling since buying them two or three weeks ago.  Admittedly, both albums have been out for some time (particularly the latter), but I’ve never exactly had my finger on the musical pulse, even with artists I am a big fan of.

The two albums have complemeted each other well, coming from Scottish artists that exude similar moods and tones.

Waxing Gibbous, by former Arab Strap member Malcom Middleton, is very good, and is the usual blend of acerbic, downbeat wit and cunning observation about life, love and identity.  I maintain what I think I’ve said before, that Middleton is something of a modern-day Bob Dylan.  The first couple of tracks are uncharacteristically chirpy and energetic, but the rest of the album reverts to type a little too unimaginatively, and while it’s a sound album it’s nowhere near the lyrical and musical genius of Sleight of Heart and Into The Woods.

The Hawk is Howling, from veteran Scottish post-rockers Mogwai, is excellent.  As you’d imagine from a band that’s been on the go since the mid-90s, their music has been a mix of some epic crackers and not a little inaccessible or missable mediocrity, but so many of their albums – like those of a lot of great bands – are worth buying simply for the one or two gems contained within which more than carry the rest of the tracks.  The Hawk is Howling, however, is (in my mind) their most consistent album to date.  Each song is very likeable, and the mix of pulsating drumming and catchy guitar riffs can be felt acutely throughout.  It’s a very, very addictive listen.  It also boasts some darkly humourous song titles, such as “I’m Jim Morrison, I’m Dead” and “I Love You, I’m Going to Blow up Your School” which never fail to raise a chuckle.

Neither album is typical summer music, admittedly, although the weather of late suggests it’s not really a typical summer.  This evening, though, is beautifully warm and sunny, which is good as I am just about to head off to church.

Now, which album to listen to as I walk…?

Shots of Edinburgh

Here are a few shots – 1|2|3 – taken in Edinburgh this week on my proper camera – the level of detail, the ability to change settings, and the zoom function, all show up my iPhone’s camera as good but not excellent.

I was staying in a B&B at the top floor of a New Town tenement, which rendered beautiful views across the north of Edinburgh.  The weather was, as usual for this summer, changeable – bright sunshine, angry thunderstorms and, in the shot above, dramatic sunsets.

I was glad to have my proper camera with me, which has probably been getting jealous of the iPhone…

Hello from the pub

I am sitting in the Barony, a wonderful pub on Broughton Street, Edinburgh. I’m not long out of work and am waiting to meet a friend for a pint and a bite to eat.

Only I’m not having a pint – I’m approaching the end of a month off alcohol, a pre-wedding attempt to lose a bit of weight. And it’s working – one person who’s not seen me for a while said that I had done.

So I’m sitting in a pub renowned for its real ales, nursing a pint of fresh orange and lemonade instead.

I am also marvelling at the fact that in the space of a few minutes I can take a surreptitious photo, write a blog, and upload it for your delectation, all thanks to the iPhone.

That Mitchell and Webb post

I watched the final episode of That Mitchell and Webb Look (series 3) on the iPlayer over the weekend.

I’m a bit of a latecomer to TMAWL – it started out in that period after I gave up having a TV but before the rise of the BBC iPlayer – a time when my grip on popular culture was consequently at something of a nadir.

Essentially an off-beat sketch show, it takes a wonderful sideways look at a number of situations; for instance through a magnificent sketch where a scene from an espionage thriller is set in a casino, but rather than regular casino games the protagonists play fairground games like guess the weight of the cake.  Another recurring sketch from the latest series I’ve particularly liked has been a post-apocalyptic TV quiz, blending the macabre portrayal of an armageddon with the tackiness of a television quiz show (“hello, good evening, and remain indoors!“).

Perhaps my favourite has to be this wonderful sketch that to me is reminiscent of the writing style of teams like the Two Ronnies.  Have a watch and see how long it takes before you guess the punchline, which is no less funny for the fact you know what’s coming.

It’s encouraged me to dig up something of the past two series, one highlight of which has to be Numberwang, a brilliant pastiche of bafflingly pointless, skill-less, intellect-free gameshows.

Many of those links are, of course, on YouTube; while I watched series 3 itself on iPlayer.  Given that I don’t own a TV and therefore don’t pay a licence, coupled with my huge reliance on Radio Five Live and the BBC News site,  I must admit I am a collosal freeloader, riding on the coat tails of hardworking licence payers across the country.  Not that I feel guilty, of course.

Anyway, enough media-based ramblings.  I ought to go to bed, as I have a busy week ahead – I am off to Edinburgh at the crack of dawn tomorrow.  I have three days in Auld Reekie, a quick day in Glasgow and then get home again on Friday night.

Oh, and at Aberdeen station this morning on my way back from Nicole’s, I saw Labour MSP and former student activist Richard Baker.

In a remarkable break from tradition, he recognised me.

Strange goings-on

I’m sitting on my train at Inverness station, just about to leave for Aberdeen, and it all feels a bit strange.

Firstly, when I arrived at the station it seemed busier than it nomally is at this time of day. Platform 1, the big long one where London trains depart, had a train sitting on it – too late to be the 0755 and too early to be the sleeper (and the wrong colour or design to be either).

Then when I looked at the departure board to check for my platform, there was a departure for Crewe on the board within the next few minutes, stopping at Aviemore, Pitlochry and then nothing until various stations in the northwest of England.

Odd, I thought. You can’t go to Crewe from Inverness, except on the sleeper, and even then it’s a London train.

I’d not heard any news about an afternoon service to Crewe being launched. If there was such a service, surely it would have been promoted? And why was it not stopping in Perth or Glasgow, or for that matter heading further south than Crewe? I’d have taken a picture if I’d thought to.

Time was pressing though. I went to the ticket machine to pick up my tickets, only to find it wasn’t working. Then as I turned to go to the ticket office, it wasn’t there – it had moved temporarily to where the tourist information office used to be.

Once I got my tickets I asked the guy behind the counter about the Crewe train.

“What, the sleeper for tonight?”

I explained what I’d seen on the board – was it a new service, or a charter, or a mistake?

The man said he had no idea and came outside the ticket office’s temporary home to look at the board. He still had no idea, and seemed more gently bemused than the bewilderment I’d have expected from a member of staff at a station that had just acquired a new service without him being told.

I rushed off to my train – two carriages rather than the usual three, and platform 4 rather than the usual 2 or 3 – and in the time it’s taken me to write all that, we’ve arrived in Nairn (my iPhone is great, but typing isn’t half a slow process).

What’s wrong with the world? If everyone had two heads or were wearing silver jump suits and carrying laser guns, it would be an alarming revolution. But the fact that things are just quietly, harmlessly, slightly out of kilter, makes it all so much more unsettling.

Should I, as the famous poster says, “keep calm and carry on” in the hope it’s all back to normal when I return home on Monday?

And here’s Forres already. That was quick.

Too quick in fact… I hope there’s not something slightly wrong with Time too…

Quiet but busy

It’s the last few minutes of Thursday, and tomorrow I head after work to visit Nicole for the weekend, and then spend pretty much the whole of the following working week in the deep south (Edinburgh and Glasgow).  After eleven consecutive nights at home – surely a record – another burst of travels begin.

I’ve enjoyed being at home.  With the light evenings I’ve been able to get out and about, go for walks and enjoy the sunshine.  Although more often than not I’ve just chilled out and relaxed.  Even though I’ve still been working, it’s felt a little like a holiday.

But at the same time, it’s been busy too.  The wedding looms on the horizon later this year – just over four months away – and there has been quite a flurry of activity of late on the planning front.

Spending so much time at home, whether being quiet or busy, has been nice.  With all the travel I do for work, simply staying in Inverness can be a very refreshing and invigorating change. 

Though I realised the other day that it’s my first year without an overseas trip for a long time.  Maybe there ought to be a big adventure in 2010… although by then, I’ll be a married man…

Meeting random people

I am the 776th person to be “Arthured”.  Let me explain.

I heard about the film-maker and performer Anna Black’s rather curious quest the other day – to travel the country getting photos of around two thousand people with a signed photo of Allo Allo star Arthur Bostrum.

It’s part of her campaign to raise awareness of M.E. – the link between M.E. and the photo of Mr Bostrum is something of a long and tenuous story, and interesting though it is, it’s Anna’s to tell so I’ll not attempt it.

A sucker for silly projects myself, I was intrigued to see that she and her partner in crime Maz were in the highlands, and so I offered to meet them.  I caught up with them just earlier this evening as they were passing through Inverness, and got my photo taken with the photo of Arthur Bostrum.  As you do.

They’ve notched up some weird and wonderful people on their travels, and it was fantastic to hear more about their stories, including how they managed to “Arthur” the likes of Danny Wallace and David Icke.

You can see Anna “signed photograph” page, and follow her blog, to keep up with the mission.

Chuggers

Inverness has a relatively small city centre, so it’s often quite hard to avoid invaders when they appear.

Mormons, for instance, used to be quite high profile around town, but I’ve not seen them – or had them on my doorstep – for some time now, which is good.

Chuggers are the latest invaders – accosting people in the street to ask them to sign up to various charitable causes.  I find their aggressive attempts to squeeze money out of people when they’re attempting to just go about their lives to be a poor reflection of the causes they work for, as well as exceptionally rude.

Today, while doing various bits and bobs in town with Nicole, who was through for the weekend, we were confronted on three occasions by chuggers, with a variety of cheeky and over-personal banter failing to stop us in our stride.  I am pleased to report I managed to be rude back to them in three different and original ways.

I think I might start taking my bible into town with me in the future, so if I get stopped by a chugger I can attempt to pray over them, offer them healing, or read scriptures to them until they run, screaming.