Saturday 6 December 2008

the café at Sandyflat
I've just managed to tear myself away from the newly-arrived Acme Novelty Library 19 for long enough to write this. For the last week or so I've been reading Mark Newgarden, which is a bit dark even for me, although Meet the Cast and The Little Nun make me laugh out loud: disposable gags with a questionable aftertaste.

Anyway, the British transport system still has trouble with the British climate. I was looking forward very much to getting on a train in Glasgow on Thursday, and getting off at the other end with a five-minute walk to the British Library. I got to Central Station, looked up at the board, and read '1249 London Euston - cancelled'. But some good advice and a bit of persistence got me to Edinburgh and a train down the East Coast Line instead, which gave me wintry views as the sun went down, and free wifi at my comfy seat. 

snowy fields from the train in North East England

I lost an hour of valuable library time, but was cheered by the biggest dosas I've ever seen at Ragam with Maeve: thanks to Keith and Sushil for the tip.

Speaking of Sushil, Alison and I will be the Concerto Caledonia contingent in his Orange Juice Dub Arkestra at Celtic Connections on Burns Night in January. Among the treats awaiting me at the BL were a couple of 18th century fiddle tunes dedicated to Scots in Jamaica, so now I need to work out how to play them as part of reggae versions of Orange Juice songs. Hmm.

Also in the BL was Pietro Urbani's 'Ever Memorable Battle of Bannockburn', a bizarre cantata in which Burns's 'Scots Wha Hae' gets massacred along with the English. The postman just brought a large envelope of photocopies to the door: I think it's in there ...