Glasgow's May Picnic On The Green, 2019.

 

        Glasgow, Sunday May 5th. saw our annual May Picnic on The Green. This is the 4th. year that the Glasgow May Day Organising Group have held these picnics plus a host of other events round May Day. Each year the events grow and the picnic is no exception. This year despite the cold wind it was as usual well attended and had a stalls, variety of performers, poets, a piper, singers, individual and  groups, plus a young dance group. Something we try to encourage is to bring food to share, this year there was an abundance of food, fresh fruit, vegan food and a mix of other delicacies. A big thank you to all those who contributed, no matter in which fashion it was done. A special thanks to the performers, without who it would not happen, but let's not forget all those who turned up and sat through the cold and enjoyed the event. We hope you will return next year with more friends and family, no matter how well we felt we all done, with your help we can do much better, and turn this into a "must go" Glasgow May event for as wide a public as possible. 

     The Green belongs to us, May Day belongs to us, let's continue to bring the two together in a family fun celebration of solidarity between the ordinary people of our city. 

      A few photos and some videos of the event, enjoy, and regret if you weren't there.

The Eyes, And Voice of Jusrtice.

           I have always believed that those who have any talent such as a poet, musician, artist, actor, writer, have a duty to use that talent to record, display and highlight the truth, to inform and take sides on the side of justice and freedom. To do other, seems to me to be a waste of that talent, a dereliction of our responsibility to others.

We The Poets.

We the poets

must rise to hold the mirror,

not at romantic moon

dressing trees in silver web

but, at sadness in a child's eyes

helpless face festooned with flies,

the listless look of hunger.

We the writers

must rise to hold the mirror,

not at hopes of super stars

pandering to an ego of selfish greed

but, at misery of the world's maimed

duty done by smart bombs, computer aimed;

peoples crushed by pitiless power.

We the artists

must rise to hold the mirror

not at views from penthouse windows

of meadows green and lush

but, at peoples broken by starvation,

at war, its brother deprivation,

capitalism's bastard twins.

If across the planet as a whole

we don't stand up and play our role,

poet; heart of compassion,

writer; voice of conscience,

artist; eyes of justice,

we've cheated tomorrow's generation,

hurried the planet to extinction. 

 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

 

A Call From The Scotia Bar Glasgow.

An appeal to all those thousands of 

Friends of The Scotia Bar. 

A meeting in the Scotia Bar 

October 9th. 7:30. 

 

       I have been a regular visitor to the Scotia Bar, over more years than I would ever admit, and I have always been amazed at the shear variety, breadth and depth of the people you meet there. All the world is there, you are as likely to meet a physicist as a writer or a singer, and actor or a plumber, a busker. The person standing beside you is just as likely to be a bus driver, an actor or a doctor of literature. Apart from the magic nights of music, poetry, banter, warm company and laughter, it was a place to go that you knew you would be welcome and receive friendly service, and if you wanted to sit and have a long look into your glass, so be it, you would get the peace to do so. It is an institution, a beacon in the city, a true open Glasgow Club.

 

     However it seems that Greene King who run the pub haven't grasped the fact that the Scotia is not just a building where you buy booze, it is an archive of history, it is a hub, it is a cultural broth-pot, it is everything Glasgow can be proud of, but as such it needs to be supported financially to maintain its rich character and realise its full potential to the company.

Friends of the Scotia 

 

     ''Cosiest pub in Glasgow. Cheekiest face in Scotland. Biggest welcome in the world. Glasgowfolk club and writers' retreat. Real ales and Real people served... Gluttons and garglers' especially welcome.''

Mission Statement: 

      To uphold and enhance the aims and traditions of The Scotia. Arguably the most famous pub in Glasgow, The Scotia Bar has a long and illustrious history of

music, writing and political discussion. Known more commonly among musicians as an old favourite haunt for Billy Connolly, Gerry Rafferty and Hamish Imlach, it is a place where aspiring musicians hope to attain a much sought after music sIot. And if they don't, then they come along anyway and strike up a grand session with a mouth organ and the pub guitar.

     The writers club meets once a month, a poet laureate and a short story competition is held once a year, perhaps to unearth the next James Kelman, William Mcllvanney or Liz Lochead, who are all Scotia people.

    Home also to the historians, the anarchists and the ghost hunters, who maintain that not all the spirits are on the gantry, The Scotia is the pub where your dad had his first beer; where you relax with a cold pint of the latest ale on your way home from work; where you know you'll meet an old friend or an amicable stranger to share a malt o' the month with. 

 

    A few weeks ago, Greene King, the company who run The Scotia, cut the entertainment budget. We want to convince them to increase it and invest in the pub that has stood the test of time and has as many stories to it as layers of varnish. 

     Anyone with an interest in preserving and upholding this famous pub is invited to a meeting in the Scotia Bar on October 9th. @7:30 to discuss this. 

 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk