BLOGGERAMAMANIA: May 2014

24 May 2014

PRINCE and THE GLASGOW POPULATION

MAY 22nd 2014 - A LITTLE BIT OF PURPLE MAGIC COMES TO GLASGOW

PRINCE

PRE-PRINCE - A CURRY AND A LONG WALK

With great anticipation, Zoe and myself geared ourselves up to a purple frenzy (quite literally as we were asked to wear something Purple) as the real PRINCE of rock was coming to town.

Meeting Zoe in Glasgow at my office, we headed down to the Bombay Blues Indian restaurant on Hope Street, Glasgow for a slap up, pre-concert dinner. I'm not advertising the Bombay Blues, but mmmmm tr'es superb.

Bombay Blues

There, the waiter noticed Zoe in purple and asked if we were going to see Prince. Funnily, we thought, he didn't know who Prince was (where have you been?) but he had heard of him that day.

Anyway, Zoe and myself practically rolled out of the door, fed and watered and decided to walk to the Hydro. We headed along Argyle Street, Past Anderson Train Station, Under the Kingston Bridge and along the footpath adjacent the Clyde expressway. Its only a 15-20 minute walk and boy did we need to walk off that meal.

I hadn't been to the New Hydro before but it soon came into view.

The Hydro

I'm not sure whether to describe it as a fine building or not, however it was like a colourful bubble and contrasted nicely with the adjacent Concert Hall and Armadillo.

Once inside, we found our way up three flights of escalators to our seats. They were far out...not in a hippie trippy rock n roll way but physically far out i.e. in the rafters and at the back...oh well.

PRINCE ON STAGE

The Hydro Filling Up

On stage below, we could see a purple curtain with an image of...Er..."Purple Rain" which would eventually reveal Prince himself.

Soon the moment arrived and Prince burst onto stage singing "Lets Go Crazy". All around I could see adoring fans stunned. I even seen one middle aged women crying (well many actually). Onstage, lights were bursting into colour as puffs of smoke increased the frenzy to fever pitch. The crown Prince himself was wearing a silver, white get-up.

Lets Go "Glasgow" Crazy

Lets Party Glasgow, Lets Go Crazy Prince shouted as he began to belt out one song after another. Classic hits like 1999, Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette.

Now I have to point out that Prince performed between 8:10pm and approximately 10:35pm without a single break. The stamina of this 55 year old would put a 20 year old to shame.

He would play guitar, perform his wide range of vocals, play piano and he was even spinning records near the end of the show and all this while dancing around.

One thing I recall from the show was the prowess and power of Prince's guitar playing. Coupled with the fact that there was more than a passing resemblance to Jimmy Hendrix, with the Afro Hairstyle, the Hippie Clothing and the Guitars, it was a pleasing sights and and excellent sound.

COME BACK SOON PRINCE

Prince is a music icon. To witness him play in Glasgow is a privilege. It was good to see members of the audience invited by Prince on stage. I bet they all have a story to tell.

All too soon it was over. Prince performed an admirable encore.

SOME PICTURES:

Videos will soon be available on Youtube.

15 May 2014

Doctor Who - Terrance Dicks visits Airdrie

TERRANCE DICKS IN AIRDRIE LIBRARY

Geek Love at Airdrie Library - 14 May 2014

For any fan of the BBC television series, Doctor Who, The name Terrence Dicks will automatically conjure a memory from a much different era in the production of this long running Sci-fi Television series.

For the past few weeks, the folk at Airdrie Library had been advertising a sort of mini Geek fest. Intrigued, I called them and booked two spots. One was for myself and the other for my daughter Lucie.

I should note that while I consider myself a member of the honorary guild of geek, My daughter Lucie is a humongous Doctor Who fan...or Whovie...and would almost certainly be knighted for her contribution to Whovie geekdom should such an honour exist.

Anyway, back to the good folk at Airdrie Library. Excited, Lucie and myself arrived at the Library just before 7pm. People were already taking their seats and I could see it was a full house. All around us, Doctor Who books were arranged - like a placement advert - but I was comfortable with that.

At the front, was a TARDIS, which Librarian Fiona MacDonald told me later on, was made by some students in Motherwell. ..and a great job they'd made too. It was even complete with flashing lights on top.

Adjacent the TARDIS was Terrance Dicks Himself. If you want to know more about him, click here. OK its Wikiepedia, so I take no responsibility for its accuracy, but nevertheless it gives you an idea.

Paul & Lucie Chatting with Terrance

THE INTERVIEW

Terrance had a sort of "Compare" with him in which and interview was carried out and Terrance would recite his time at the BBC to the audience. He spoke initially of his accidental arrival at the BBC on the set of Doctor Who in 1968, being offered a three month contract as a script editor, only to be there right through until the end of 1974.

Terrance recited his time on the War Games with Patrick Troughton still at the helm as the Doctor. With Troughton announcing his retiral from the series, and faced with Budget cuts at the Beeb, Terrance was faced with the task of exiling the doctor on Earth resulting in the Jon Pertwee years and his creation UNIT.

The floor was then opened to the audience, where I managed to ask him a question - "Who was your Quintessential Doctor?". A rather smart answer was offered, I felt. All the actors are great, said Terrance, you have to remember, they are all playing the same part, the same character, the same benevolent man. However, all that said, he did say he had a liking for David Tenants doctor.

Greg Beekman with Terrance

AUTOGRAPH SIGNING

After several questions, a break was announced whereby the audience were able to explore the several areas assembled within the Library which included a games area, a chillout room, The opportunity to visit the Observatory and a visit upstairs to have a chat and an autograph signing with Terrance himself.

After opting for the very generous hospitality and refreshments laid on for the guests (beer wine, crisps, sweets, etc) Lucie, myself and it seems most of the audience went upstairs to meet Terrance. Standing in the queue for 15 minutes, we eventually were in front of Terrance. Lucie managed to get him to sign her book - The Day of the Daleks and a DVD Cover (I forget which one). We both had a wee chat and thanked him, took a few photos and headed off, happy as can be back downstairs.

Jack meets Terrance

QUIZ

When the audience re-assembled, there was a quiz and we came fourth.

William Lawrie receives Autograph

FINALLY

At the end, our small group, consisting of William Lawrie, Lucie Clark, Jack Frederick, Gregory Beekman, Iain Girvan and myself had another chance to chat and have our photo's taken in front of the TARDIS.

Lucies Book and DVD being signed

THANKS

A special thanks to the staff of Airdrie Library and their guests and assistants who worked hard on this to make it a memorable event. Their hospitality was excellent as usual.