Links

The things I have written over the past few days:

March edition of Oot for The Broughton Spurtle

I co-wrote Ten Things to do in Edinburgh in March on The Edinburgh Reporter

I have also added a couple of sets to Flickr.  People and Reflections.  They include the picture below.

Phenomenal.

 

Links

It seems I have abandoned this blog pretty cruelly – no posts since October, terrible behaviour.  I have been updating 12 Books in 12 Months pretty often though, and sporadically posting on my personal page, A Daddy Long Legs is Not A Father.  Here are links to some of the writing I have done over the past few months.

November Oot for The Broughton Spurtle

Interview with The Night Light for 12 Books in 12 Months

Blues Weekend on Ten Tracks

Interview with Weaponizer for 12 Books in 12 Months

Interview with Angry Robot Books for 12 Books in 12 Months

December Oot for The Broughton Spurtle

Interview with cartoonist Alexander Matthews for 12 Books in 12 Months

Interview with Kohl Publishing for 12 Books in 12 Months

Edinburgh’s Unsung Heroes for Ten Tracks

Interview with illustrator Gemma Correll for 12 Books in 12 Months

Interview with Scary Go Round and Bad Machinery artist John Allison for 12 Books in 12 Months

Top Christmas Songs for Ten Tracks

January Oot for The Broughton Spurtle

Interview with illustrator Aurora Cacciapuoti for 12 Books in 12 Months

January Roundup for Ten Tracks

Interview with artist Victoria Evans, founder of the 28 Drawings Later Challenge for 12 Books in 12 Months

12 Books in 12 Months – A Review

February Oot for The Broughton Spurtle

Idiot’s Guide to Dub for Ten Tracks

February Roundup for Ten Tracks

Scottish Children’s Book Awards Results for The Edinburgh Reporter

Links

My last 12 books in 12 months guest post for Mslexia Magazine

July Oot for The Broughton Spurtle

Festival Roundup for Ten Tracks

Oot

June Oot for The Broughton Spurtle

Links

Oot – The May edition of my What’s On column in the Broughton Spurtle

Interview with Friends are Friends (formerly Epic 26) – The penultimate article for STV Local in the series about the bands involved in the Sick Kids Charity CD, No Colour Too Strong to Paint, which will be launched this Saturday (May 7) at Maggie’s Chamber in the Cowgate.  Unfortunately I can’t go, but I’m sure it’ll be a good night.

Links

Some articles I have written lately.

Set of three for IdeasTap:

Confessions of a penniless graduate – The inspiring tale of my attempts to be a journo

Confessions of a penniless director – Interview with Hannah Drake, a theatre director who is just starting out in Southwest England

Confessions of a penniless artist – Interview with Nicolas William Hughes, a contemporary artist from the Gower in South Wales

One for Guardian Edinburgh:

Why Edinburgh libraries are not facing the same cuts as those down south

One for Mslexia Magazine‘s blog:

12 Books in 12 Months – guest post #1

One for The Broughton Spurtle:

Oot! – what’s happening in Broughton in March

Links

Prospective employers!  Here are links to some things I’ve been writing in between witless song lyric dissections:

Oot! – Guide to what’s on in the local area in February for The Broughton Spurtle

An interview with Sardinian illustrator Aurora Cacciapuoti for The Edinburgh Reporter

A dubious attempt at satire on Michael McIntyre inadvertently making a child cry

Protest Power

Student protests against the education cuts are right up there with the snow in the news this week, although the former is decidedly more interesting to me as a jobless graduate.  Unfortunately I wasn’t able to make the Edinburgh protest today because I had a couple of deadlines (one successfully met, the other less so) but I was able to follow the action in real time on Twitter.  Here’s how it went down…

Around noon:

@tomallan : Not many protesters here at Bristo Square…plenty of police – http://moby.to/6kjufp

@EdJournal : Protestors starting to gather in Bristo Square @UniofEdinburgh #Edinburgh #dayx2 #demo2010 http://plixi.com/p/60092684 (via @thistlejohn)

Nobody tweets about leaving Bristo Square, but they presumably did as:

@GdnEdinburgh : Student rally against education cuts has stopped outside Edinburgh council chambers. #demo2010

Then:

@tomallan : Student protest heads to Scottish Parliament. – http://moby.to/amr9xd

@GdnEdinburgh : Students carrying a DIY coffin down the Royal Mile with “RIP education” on the sides. #demo2010

@GdnEdinburgh : As the rally goes down the Royal Mile, the chanting is very much aimed at the Lib Dems today. #demo2010

@tomallan : #demo2010 Protesters on Edinburgh’s Royal Mile – http://moby.to/melbzu

@viceuk : What’s everyone having for lunch?

@tomallan : #demo2010 #edinburgh Protesters arrive at an ice bound Scottish Parliament

@GdnEdinburgh : Student protesters are singing the Darth Vader tune as police move in to guard the door at the Scottish Parliament. #demo2010

@GdnEdinburgh : Protesters using the megaphone to read out Lib Dem phone nos outside the Scottish Parliament #demo2010

@DeadlineClare : Edinburgh Protesters now shouting “come outside” at doors of Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.

@GdnEdinburgh : #demo2010 police guard the doors of the Scottish Parliament during student cuts demo. http://twitpic.com/3bllrm

@thistlejohn : Protestors have effectively blocked the public entrance to Scottish Parliament #demo2010 #dayx2 #Edinburgh

@GdnEdinburgh : Students chanting outside Scottish parliament “Let us lobby let us in” #demo2010

@Subchimp : Student #protest at Scottish parliament. St Andrew’s Day is a holiday. So they’re chanting “come outside” to an empty building. Fuckwits

2pm

@GdnEdinburgh : Snowballs hitting the Scottish parliament #demo2010 http://twitpic.com/3blv5o

@ClareCarswell : #edinburgh anti-education cuts protest poster http://twitpic.com/3blds4

@impworks : Hark I hear the dulcet tones of a Student protest…

@GdnEdinburgh : #demo2010 student protest now moving to Dynamic Earth, where they seem to think Nick Clegg is “hiding”…

…. 20 minutes later….

@GdnEdinburgh : #demo2010 protesters in Edinburgh heading back to Appleton Tower after seeing Nick Clegg on tv in Westminster.

@thesimonevans : Students are a bit like yamaha electronic keyboards. At their most impressive when in Demo mode.

Twitter then panicked and went over capacity, which was conducive to my finishing a What’s On column for The Broughton Spurtle, but sort of disappointing.

However, you can now see a slideshow of photos over at Deadline News, or read articles about it on STV (worth a look at the picture they use) or Guardian Edinburgh.  The Guardian’s video features an interview with Patrick Harvie MSP and footage of student chants, some of which were more realistic than others… worth a look.

I found it interesting to note that none of the Edinburgh protests have descended into kettling yet, especially after watching Coppers last night.  Even though students were chucking snowballs at them, they seemed to remain quite calm.  Are our police more tolerant than those in London, Manchester and other larger UK cities?  Or are our protesters better behaved than those down south?!  And does a genuinely peaceful peaceful protest publicise the cause as effectively?