Pat’s Home Page Blog.

The Fiddler on the Roof, The Kings Theatre, 1 – 5 November, 2016.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make me a match, Find me a find, catch me a catch! The Glasgow Light Opera Club (GLOC) present the much loved ‘Fiddler on the Roof‘ at The King’s Theatre, Glasgow!  We are delighted that GLOC have chosen to support Project Ability for the duration of this production, and will be fundraising at each […]

Read the full article: The Fiddler on the Roof, The Kings Theatre, 1 – 5 November, 2016.

Celtic Connections 2017 – Tickets now on Sale (27 October, 2016)

  The programme for Celtic Connections 2017 has now been revealed! View the line-up & buy tickets at: www.celticconnections.com Eighteen days of concerts, ceilidhs, talks, art exhibitions, workshops, free events, late night sessions and a host of special one-off musical collaborations will once again light up the Scottish winter when Celtic Connections returns on 19 […]

Read the full article: Celtic Connections 2017 – Tickets now on Sale (27 October, 2016)

Fiona Alderman Blogging from Rural France: The Colours of the Dordogne

We live in the Department of The Dordogne (24) in the Aquitaine Region of SW France and in the Perigord Noir!  Still following? It is a lot to take in I know. The word Dordogne means a long river which is a tributary of La Gironde and is made up of a hilly area,with medieval […]

Read the full article: Fiona Alderman Blogging from Rural France: The Colours of the Dordogne

Glasgow’s Radical Independent Bookfair Project not by the book CCA Fri 7 October – Sun 23 October 2016

Fri 7 October – Sun 23 October 2016 Tue-Sat: 11am-6pm, Sun: 12noon-6pm (Closed Mondays) Free Related CCA Events James Kelman Dirt Road Thu 6 October 2016 Open Jar Collective Soil City Fri 7 October 2016 Variant Editorial Group Divergence and antagonism: cultural communication and democracy in Scotland Sat 8 October 2016 Leigh French & Neil […]

Read the full article: Glasgow’s Radical Independent Bookfair Project not by the book CCA Fri 7 October – Sun 23 October 2016

American Honey, GFT 14 – 27 October, 2016

GFT 14 – 27 October, 2016 Acclaimed visionary filmmaker Andrea Arnold (Fish Tank, Red Road) returns to the big screen with her first film set in America. Star, a teenage girl from a troubled home, runs away with a traveling magazine sales crew. Finding her feet in this gang of teenagers driving through the American […]

Read the full article: American Honey, GFT 14 – 27 October, 2016

Scotland After Brexit – Lessons From The Nordics, University of Edinburgh 29 October, 2016

Chaired by Lesley Riddoch Website Scotland after Brexit — lessons from the Nordics George Square Theatre, University of Edinburgh, EH8 9LH Saturday October, 29th, 2016 12-5.30 p.m. Are you interested or indeed very worried about life after Brexit? If you are, the next Nordic Horizons event is for you. The Nordic nations manage to co-exist quite happily […]

Read the full article: Scotland After Brexit – Lessons From The Nordics, University of Edinburgh 29 October, 2016

Starchild. Preview Art for Auction, OanMor, Sunday 23 October, 2016

  Some of the fabulous art to view at preview reception for Art for Africa at Oran Mor Sunday 23rd Oct 2pm – 6pm. ‘Thanks to ALL the artists who support us, and you who buy these wonderful works!’ OranMor, Top of Byres Road, Glasgow G12 www.starchildcharity.com

Read the full article: Starchild. Preview Art for Auction, OanMor, Sunday 23 October, 2016

The Fog of Srebrenica review by Calum Maclean

The Fog of Srebrenica Filmed, Directed and Produced by Samir Mehanović Edited by Laura Carreira Music Composed by Nigel Osborne The Fog of Srebrenica is a powerful new documentary from acclaimed filmmaker Samir Mehanović, telling the story of one of the most horrific acts of genocide in the later twentieth century. Using testimony from witnesses […]

Read the full article: The Fog of Srebrenica review by Calum Maclean

Black History Month Glasgow 2016

  1 – 31 October, 2016 CRER offers a full programme of events at various venues throughout the city. ‘CRER hopes you enjoy this year’s programme of events and that you will be encouraged to play your part in challenging racism in Scotland.’ www.crer.org.uk Some Highlights from the Glasgow Programme Coalition for Racial Equality and […]

Read the full article: Black History Month Glasgow 2016

Luminate Scotland’s Festival of Ageing – Autumn Voices 12 – 15 October, 2016

www.luminatescotland.org/  See the full programme at Luminate

Read the full article: Luminate Scotland’s Festival of Ageing – Autumn Voices 12 – 15 October, 2016

Jimmy Byrne, R.I.P. 18 August, 1937 – 21 August, 2016

Jimmy (James Byrne), known to many in Clydebank as ‘Jimmy Byrne the Plumber’, was my father-in-law, although, as he was only nine years older than me, I never really thought of him like that. He was Jim’s dad and my friend.  When people die you want to say good things about them – in Jimmy’s […]

Read the full article: Jimmy Byrne, R.I.P. 18 August, 1937 – 21 August, 2016

Glasgow School of Art, The Graduate Degree Show September 2016 review by Pat Byrne

3 – 8 September, 2016 Jim and I try to get along to the Graduate Degree Show at the Art School every year.  This year I had a special treat as my nephew, Sean, who is going into his third year at GSA invited me along to the preview at the Tontine Building.  It’s the […]

Read the full article: Glasgow School of Art, The Graduate Degree Show September 2016 review by Pat Byrne

Three Bedroom Upper Conversion Flat For Sale, Glasgow West End

996 Great Western Road, Kelvinside, Glasgow, G12 0NS Offers Over £255,000 Spacious 3-bedroom upper conversion flat within a substantial Detached Blonde Sandstone Villa. Located in a tree lined street just off Great Western Road, the building was designed by John Honeyman circa 1875 and further improved by William Leiper circa 1907.  The flat boasts flexible […]

Read the full article: Three Bedroom Upper Conversion Flat For Sale, Glasgow West End

Glasgow West End: West End Festival, The Mela, Ten Writers Telling Lies, Galleries and Gardens

   We’ve not had the best summer weather but we’ve made the most of those good days. The West End Festival The West End Festival was fabulous even though we had no parade this year.  It got off to a flying start with a fantastic programme of events  – see the first and second week  […]

Read the full article: Glasgow West End: West End Festival, The Mela, Ten Writers Telling Lies, Galleries and Gardens

Jim’s Photo Diary March 2016: Kibble Palace, Jim Byrne, Pavement Art, Photography books

Read the full article: Jim’s Photo Diary March 2016: Kibble Palace, Jim Byrne, Pavement Art, Photography books

University of Glasgow: Centre for Open Studies: Ten Writers Telling Lies West End Festival 2016

Ten Writers are participating in a project with the musician Jim Byrne to produce a book and complementary cd, which will be produced early 2017.  In the meantime you can catch them perform their work at Three Events at the West End Festival 2016 Of the ten writers, six are students from the Centre for […]

Read the full article: University of Glasgow: Centre for Open Studies: Ten Writers Telling Lies West End Festival 2016

West End Festival 2016: The first week was fabulous

West End Festival 2016 has a fantastic programme of events and it’s been a great first week.  I’ve been out and about at a range of events and taking part in our own contribution:  Ten Writers Telling Lies. We had a super first night of prose, poetry and music at Waterstones Bookshop on Byres Road. […]

Read the full article: West End Festival 2016: The first week was fabulous

Blueprint: Scottish Independent Shorts, GFT, Thursday 16 June, 2016

  Blueprint: Scottish Independent Shorts After success at GSFF16, Blueprint returns home to GFT. Thursday, 16 June 20.10 Running time: 1h30m After success at GSFF16 Blueprint returns home to GFT, promising an eclectic programme of intriguing, inspired non-institutional filmmaking. Highlights include a first time filmmaker who picked up a mobile phone to tackle mental health […]

Read the full article: Blueprint: Scottish Independent Shorts, GFT, Thursday 16 June, 2016

West End Festival, New Shops, Literary Events, Friends and Family Outings

The sun is out and what a fantastic weekend to kick off the West End Festival. Hope this lovely weather holds as despite the fact there’s no parade this year, the programme includes many outdoor events such as: The Ideal Hut Show in the Botanics, Gibson Street Gala, on 19 June, Wilton Street Garden Fete, […]

Read the full article: West End Festival, New Shops, Literary Events, Friends and Family Outings

West End Festival Kicks Off Today – Friday 3 June, 2016

West End Festival kicks off today on 21st anniversary  Scotland’s largest community festival, the West End Festival (WEF), kicks off today (Friday, 3 June).Artist and hut designer, *Adrian Wiszniewski was on hand at the launch of the Ideal Hut Show in the Botanic Gardens, part of the Festival of Architecture 2016. The Ideal Hut Show […]

Read the full article: West End Festival Kicks Off Today – Friday 3 June, 2016

The Jungle Book – review by Calum Maclean

The Jungle BookDirected by Jon FavreauScreenplay by Justin MarksCast – Neel Sethi, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Christopher Walken, Giancarlo EspositoRunning Time – 105 minutes I went into this one with a bit of scepticism.  The 1967 Disney animation has always been one of my favourite musicals, with its iconic […]

Read the full article: The Jungle Book – review by Calum Maclean

Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ranked sixth best in the world

The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (RCS) has been ranked sixth in the world of performing arts education in a new global review by  Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). Scotland’s national conservatoire joined some of the world’s most renowned  performing arts institutions including Juilliard in New York, Vienna’s prestigious University of Music and the Performing Arts and the […]

Read the full article: Royal Conservatoire of Scotland ranked sixth best in the world

Glasgow: here comes Spring!

It’s a damp dreich day outside but it’s still a very good day to be in Glasgow. Glasgow Film Festival We’ve got the Glasgow Film Festival going on.  Yesterday I went along to the  CCA to see Weepah Way For Now then I met my son John for a coffee. He scooted off to see […]

Read the full article: Glasgow: here comes Spring!

The Hunterian at the Kelvin Hall, New Museum District for Glasgow

The Hunterian at Kelvin Hall New Museum District For Glasgow The multi-million pound revamp of the iconic Kelvin Hall in the city’s west end, will be completed in summer 2016 and opened to the public in September. The Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow, with over 1.3 million objects in its collections will benefit […]

Read the full article: The Hunterian at the Kelvin Hall, New Museum District for Glasgow

The Scottish Wedding Show 20 – 21 February, 2016. SECC

The Scottish Wedding Show ‘leaps’ back into Glasgow Picture Nick Ponty 16/2/16 20 – 21 February, 2016 Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, Exhibition Way, Glasgow G3 8YW Marking the return of The Scottish Wedding Show (20-21 February), ballet dancers took to the banks of the River Clyde last night (16 February) as they helped the show […]

Read the full article: The Scottish Wedding Show 20 – 21 February, 2016. SECC

Glasgow Film Festival 2016 – festival choices. What a difficult task.

17 – 28 February, 2016 After hours spent perusing the brochure, selecting in excess of forty possibilities, reading the reviews and checking my diary, I’ve got the list down to around twenty films.  At least ten are ‘must sees’.  We’ve all got our own criteria – I tend to go for uplifting, heartwarming family/relationship type […]

Read the full article: Glasgow Film Festival 2016 – festival choices. What a difficult task.

Aye Write Programme 2016 – 10 March – 20 March.

Aye Write Introduces New Strands Bringing Global Literary Talent To Glasgow Throughout 2016 Aye Write! Glasgow’s Book Festival returns to the Mitchell Library on March 10 and runs until March 20, 2016, while Wee Write!, Glasgow’s Book Festival for Children and Young People, runs from February 29 to March 5, 2016.  The festival is more […]

Read the full article: Aye Write Programme 2016 – 10 March – 20 March.

The Devil Inside, Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales – review by Pat Byrne

Jim and I had our first night at the opera last night (26 January, 2016), when we went along to the Theatre Royal, Glasgow to the world premiere of ‘The Devil Inside’.  The opera, created by Louise Welsh, librettist, and Stuart MacRae, composer, is based on Robert Louis Stevenson’s short story ‘The Bottle Imp’. It […]

Read the full article: The Devil Inside, Scottish Opera and Music Theatre Wales – review by Pat Byrne

Beating the chill in Glasgow West End: First blog of 2016

I’ve been trying to grab some time to update my blog – so much has been happening I can hardly believe that’s us into a new year. Some Highlights of 2015 Twenty fifteen held quite a few highlights – worthy of note was Professor Louise Welsh’s inaugural lecture  as new Head of Creative Writing at […]

Read the full article: Beating the chill in Glasgow West End: First blog of 2016

Frances and Ethel – A Play, A Pie and A Pint, OranMor 1 February – 6 February, 2016

  OranMor, Top of Byres Road, Glasgow G12 8QX FRANCES & ETHEL Mon, 01 February, 2016 — Sat, 06 February, 2016 By David Cosgrove | Directed By Mary McCluskey Featuring John Kielty, Alison Peebles and Frances Thorburn “Ethel was no good for anything except to create chaos and fear.”  – Judy Garland about her mother. […]

Read the full article: Frances and Ethel – A Play, A Pie and A Pint, OranMor 1 February – 6 February, 2016