Indah’s father

Originally uploaded by miketransreal

Some of the very first tapirs I encountered on the internet were via the now-defunct Dortmund Zoo Tapir Cam. You didn’t always see a tapir, but you might! Or maybe a keeper!
Some time later when Edinburgh Zoo decided to keep Malayan Tapirs instead of Brazilian ones, and they acquired an adult male tapir eight years ago, it was one of the Dortmund ones, called Ka.

The new tapirs settled in quickly and over the years Vasan, Kamal, Indah and Nadira (now 5 months old or so) were born.

We visit the zoo several times a year and always make a point of visiting the tapirs, despite knowing that they’re quite likely to be dozing! And, as you may know, I started sponsoring the tapirs at the zoo a few years ago.

Sadly, the zoo have just sent me a letter saying that Ka, who we hadn’t seen out and about for some time, had taken ill and died. No details of what from though. But whatever the cause,  it’s a great shame.

Hopefully, the zoo will soon acquire another male to keep Sayang company, and maybe there will be more little tapirs in due course!

Hungry Plesiosaur!

Originally uploaded by miketransreal

Yes, it’s Friday the 13th again, so it’s time for a treat!
We invited Dino the glyptodon and Plessy the plesiosaur to join us for breakfast at Peter’s Yard this morning. After a rather chilly walk through the Meadows we got a table towards the back and ordered their breakfast basket, a couple of cardamomn buns and coffees.
All very nice, and they enjoyed their day out.
The glyptodon is actually a toy from a Lucky Bag (if you remember them) which I bought for myself many years ago at Nicholson’s, the local newsagent – maybe 1963 or 4, before I had ever heard of glyptodons and assumed it must be a dinosaur! So I guess it cost me all of 3d, and I got some sweeties for that as well! Plessy joined us much more recently from Deep Sea World at North Queensferry…

And the next Prehistoric Creatures Day is in April… take your prehistoric friends out for a treat!

The original explanation!
And, as ever, there are more photos, of today and previous PCDs,  in my Flickr Stream (link on the right)

But there’s not been very much happening since the previous entry.
As you might expect, we went to see the newly installed pandas at Edinburgh Zoo last weekend and there are a couple of not very good photos in my Flickr stream, together with a few pictures of some of our other favourites… Hopefully we’ll get there again soon and I’ll take better pictures of the new arrivals.

There haven’t been many films, etc. we fancied seeing recently but we will be off to the Traverse Theatre tomorrow to see their Christmas show, The Tree of Knowledge, which is a comedy featuring David Hume and Adam Smith in the 21st century! We’d have gone sooner but it’s been selling out,  so we’re lucky to sneak in on it’s last performance!

And coming soon: a quiet Christmas and a welcome couple of days off.
And the same at New Year!

Book of the year? Difficult to say; the Neal Stephenson was a giant page turner, and several others were very enjoyable, but the winner (subject to me changing my mind) is Kings of Eternity by Eric Brown. I think. It seems to be the only one I said was ‘excellent’ on my Flickr book  commentary set for this year.

Emptying the Stage

Originally uploaded by miketransreal

Oh, well, times passes and life goes on.
I may well write something about my sister here, but not yet. Still a lot to do as regards her estate, and so on.

Having seen them play a proper big concert hall a couple of years ago across in Glasgow on their Odessey and Oracle tour, I was fairly keen to see the Zombies play the Caves venue in Edinburgh as a complete contrast! They formed in 1961 so this tour was billed as their 50th Anniversary Tour. And yes, this is the same venue we saw Michelle Shocked at last month…

The group was broadly the same as in Glasgow (without the brass section, etc) but the set was a bit different, without the need to play all the O&O songs in order, although they did have a 20 minute mini-set of some of it. Some almost 70s sounding guitar solos from Tom Toomey, the relatively new guitarist, some keyboard histrionics from Rod Argent, solid bass and drums from Jim Rodford and his son, Steve, and the voice of Colin Blunstone! Slightly worn at the edges these days, but he could still hit those notes when he wanted to!
The venue was packed, and the sound was pretty good, although a little muddy towards the back beyond the low arched roof section. But when they played a couple of (the group) Argent’s hits it stepped up a level: 70s rock instead of 60s pop whimsy!
I bumped into Jim, the bassist, afterwards and he said he still loves it (although it has to be a big change from the giant venues he must have played in the US with the Kinks, etc.!) He also said that the Caves was a great little venue and had much better sound than the Cavern ever had! I checked later, and he’s 70 this year! (The other two ‘oldies’ are a mere 66 or so!)

Not much lined up in the near future; possibly a screening of the classic Sunrise with a live soundtrack… I saw it once before with Lambchop providing the music, and it was great! I don’t expect this to be quite as good, but I think Madeleine will like seeing the film on a big screen. (Or at least a biggish screen, the film quality doesn’t allow showing it at a normal screen size)

Flowers for Elizabeth 2

Originally uploaded by miketransreal

Flowers for my sister, Elizabeth; 1950 – 2011

Flowers from friends and family laid out at Mortonhall Crematorium after the service.

Emptying Stage

Originally uploaded by miketransreal

Two completely different events!
On Thursday Madeleine and I went through to the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow to attend the Scottish Independent Retail Awards 2011, a category of which Transreal Fiction was a nomineee in! (Best Bookshop/Stationer).
We got there in time to mingle a bit with all the other nominees and guests and have some pink champagne, and then it was time for the Event..
It was compered by Alison Walker, a local tv/sports presenter, who introduced the ‘eclectic’ (their term) entertainment, which turned out to be a team of cheerleaders!
Then the first awards, as we all sat at our tables and clapped politely as nominees and winners were announced.
Then we got fed! Quite a nice meal but I was getting a bit nervous as my category approached!
However, I needn’t have worried as a bookshop from Biggar won the category. After that it was a matter of waiting until the end, although the cheerleaders came on again at some point and performed a twilight-ish vampire routine. There were about 300 guests there for 13 awards so most of the 30 tables didn’t have anything to celebrate especially as the table next to ours managed to snag four of the awards! Chance, I know, but it seemed a bit unlikely…

And the following evening, as a complete change, we went to see Michelle Shocked at a small local venue caled The Caves.
The support were a duo called The Sweater Set and they were good fun! Two girls singing and playing, variously, a mandolin, an accordian, a guitar, tamborine, little finger cymbals and kazoos! They also came on a couple of times (totalling maybe half the set) during Michelle’s performance to add backing vocals and more instruments to the mix.
Michelle herself was in great form! I’ve seen her more times than I can remember – 8? 9? – but this was one of her best performances, imo. I preferred it by far to her Queen’s Hall show we saw last year… She played guitar and sang and told stories, with accompaniment from Peter O’Toole of the Hothouse Flowers (who I’ve seen play with her before, and another pianist/guitarist called Lach (thanks to Carlton’s comment for his correct name). Between the five of them they put on a great show, improvised a lot and generally had a good time!
One section was entirely new material, based around the five large paintings at the rear of the stage of inspirational women, ranging from Ann Frank to Ella Fitzgerald.
Lots of banter, call and response, general fun, mixed in with some more serious comments and anecdotes.
Quite different from the suits and frocks of the previous night!

____

Previous Michelle Shocked entries.

Ages since the last entry here, so this is a quick note to say that the new Peter Hammill cd is a live double, based on recordings of the mini-tour we saw him on last year, as described here.
The first cd is subtitled ‘What if I forgot my guitar’ and is entirely piano-based songs, and the other is subtitled ‘What if I there were no piano’ and is entirely guitar based. Which more or less explains the title Pno Gtr Vox, I suppose!

And by the way, Re-awakening isn’t one of the 27 songs he chose for the cd, but seemed apt as a post title! So here’s the original from Fool’s Mate.
Wonderful song.

We hadn’t done any Official Festival stuff, so last week, after the end of the Fringe, on Thursday we took in a 22.30 performance from the Bamburg (Chamber) Orchestra of Mahler’s 4th,  on Friday we saw their full orchestra of around 100 ( +110 strong choir) perform pieces by Messiaen and Bartok…
Saturday was an excellent modern dance performance at the Playhouse – Re-Triptych – in 3 sections; a Tibetan-themed one, a Cambodian one, and a modern Chinese section.
Our only disappointment at all three events was the apparently poor attendance. Whole rows or sections of seating were empty. Understandable at 22.30 at night perhaps, but the others were early evening performances…

(more text when you click the pictures, btw!)

Anyway, Sunday was exhibitions day and we started with breakfast down at the galleries at Belford and the Hiroshi Sugimoto photographic exhibition. Great big pictures of electrical discharges from a Van der Graaf generator direct onto large sheets of photographic paper! Great b&w images. And also some 19th C photographic plates by Fox Talbot he had developed and enhanced.
Outside there were big sculptures by Tony Cragg, although we didn’t visit his exhibition indoors. Some of them were great! Especially the big white wavy one!

Then a stroll down the Water of Leith – and the bizarre views of it undergoing flood defense work! But that led to the Botanic Gradens and the frustrayting experience of trying eat at the John Hope Gateway restaurant. They had a private booking later so apparently last orders would be at 15.45. OK, thanks for telling us, but that’s still 30 minutes away. Plenty time. Except, despite being half-empty, they claimed all the tables were booked (including on the verandah) and they couldn’t sit anybody else and to bugger off to the cafe up the hill. Which we did, and endured their hopelessly inefficient queueing system… Afterwards, it was patently obviouis that the JHG restaurant really just hadn’t wanted to bother with more customers. A couple more tables were  occupied, but there were still dozens of covers empty. grr.
After that it was on to the art!

Not a Cow parade, bu similar!
Dozens of decorated jungle animals arrayed along some of the paths, leter to be positioned around town (there’s a crocodile  titled Croc of Gold about 20 yards from the door of the shop! It arrived this morning!)
There were 5 species; elephant, tiger, oran utang, crocodile and hornbill, and we saw a couple of dozen of each! And a few on the way home at Bristo Square, too! Just beyond Bristo Square we dropped in to InSpace and saw the steampunkish Cyberthon and several other electronic weirdnesses (prophecying Ewoks, anyone!)

One Seventh of the Audience

Originally uploaded by miketransreal

This is a shot of the Ethometric Museum we went to, which I mentioned in the previous post. Wierd electronic soundscapes in the gloom of the Hill Street venue vaults!

One event I neglected to mention in my previous entry was that we attended a showing of new art by Robert Powell, the artist whom I gave a window up to for the Grassmarket Art Walk in September 2009, which was apparently his first non-Art College show (if it can be called that).
Anyway, he’s now moved on and doing bigger pieces and getting more attention for his work. The exhibition was in a room at the old Dick Vet veterinary school buildings at Summerhall, which were a new Fringe venue this year. Interesting stuff and the prices he’s able to charge have already put him out of my league!
The exhibition room chosen was deliberately small, with some pieces in drawers or otherwise awkward to see – they issued torches so we could see the detail better!
And last night was the last night of the Fringe so we went to a Squirrel Party at C venue! A neat little show about a failing 1980s kids educational tv show featuring 2 cute squirrel puppets along side the human presenters… Great fun, as it all fell apart with various disasters and inappropriate guests, but their much-repeated ethos was let’s have a Squirrel Party and let’s go NUTS! Cue manic dancing and strobe lighting for 10 seconds!
After that a final visit to the Pleasance and our last Fringe food – some rather tasty chicken burgers!
But the Official Festival is still on for a few days yet, so who knows what else we might see!