Chinese Burns Supper to entertain all nations

Wellington Church INTERNATIONAL WELCOME CLUB and CONGREGATION CHINESE BURNS NIGHT FRIDAY 27 JANUARY 2012 7pm for 7.30pm Enjoy a unique evening of Burns poetry and song with Chinese counterparts in this Year of the Dragon. Meal includes haggis-filled Chinese dumplings! And vegetarian options, of course WELLINGTON CHURCH HALLS 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LE £3 ticket at the door: £6 family ticket  (only a few left so be on time at 7pm!)

Club enjoys Burns’ lunch

The House for an Art Lover’s music room was full when Glasgow South Business Club President, Remo Pisaneschi welcomed members and guests to their annual Burns lunch on Tuesday 24 January.

Govan High School music students entertained the crowd as people assembled and their Heidie, Iain White, piped in the haggis. Club member, journalist Grace Franklin, gave her usual flamboyant performance of Burns’ Address to the Haggis. The toast to the Immortal Memory of the Bard was given in humorous fashion by Alan Murray who is modest about his knowledge of the poet. In the course of his illuminating and witty speech, he sang one of Burns’ songs and recited verses from several poems. An effective tour de force that was as entertaining as it was enlightening. Alan is a Govanite by birth and early education. He currently runs a new styled, multi uses, community centre in Maybole, Ayrshire.

Honorary Life Member, Frank Bendoris, thanked all the contributors. The Club, which meets monthly, has important guests signed up for future meetings, including Brian Souter and First Minister Alex Salmond. Full information from the Club’s website: www.glasgowsouthbusiness club.co.uk

Debate with a live theologian!

Ian Fraser who is reputed to be Scotland’s greatest living theologian, will be one of the key contributors to a conference in Stirling on Saturday 24 March. Others inputting to ‘Work* Prayer* Thought’ will be Kathy Galloway, Elizabeth Templeton, Tim Duffy, Douglas Galbraith, Alison Jack and Elspeth King.

The all-day event is being organised by Stirling’s Drummond Trust, in association with the Scottish Storytelling Centre and the Smith Art Gallery and Museum. The main venue will be Allan Park South Church, Dumbarton Road, Stirling with events in Holy Trinity Church and The Smith Institute.

For more information email: reception@scottishstorytellingcentre.com or telephone: 0131 556 9579 or write to Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1SR

Conference co-ordinator is Donald Smith whose email is: donald@scottishstorytellingcentre.com

Sessions include: “I was There; Where was God? Crisis and Liberation in a Life Journey- Interview and Open Discussion with Ian Fraser, Ian Cranston and Donald Smith.

Other sessions cover: One Christ; One Church – Ecumenism and Theology in the Life and Thought of Ian Fraser – Presentations followed by Group Discussion led by Elizabeth Templeton and Tim Duffy: and – Naming the Powers – Political Witness in the Life and Thought of Ian Fraser

Presentations followed by general discussion and debate led by Ian Fraser and Kathy Galloway.

Afternoon events will include:Words are Worlds – Creativity and Language in the Life and Thought of Ian Fraser with Douglas Galbraith, Alison Jack and the Gargunnock Songsters: and Hanselling the Buiks – Launching writings new and renewed with Elspeth King, Andy Campbell and Ian Fraser. A buffet lunch is included in the conference cost of £10 (£8 concession) and donations are invited for the Smith Restoration Fund.

Repairs under way after the storm

Glasgow is picking up the pieces after the storm. Teams of workers have been called back from holiday to deal with the hundreds of damaged buildings.

Winds of more than 90mph swept across the city in the first few days of 2012. Rail services were suspended and people advised not to travel. Two high sided vehicles were blown over on the Kingston Bridge causing it to be closed for the first time in most people’s memories. More than 180 trees were damaged as winds up to 95mph hit. The city’s Christmas Tree in George Square was blown over causing the square to be closed to the public for safety’s sake. The River Clyde broke its banks around the George V Bridge.

Many residents in the West End, in particular, woke to find their chimney stack blown off. In most instances debris fell to the ground and damaged cars below. In many cases, huge holes were left in the roof.

Workers were called back from holidays by David Hunter which is part of the long established Glasgow company Hugh Scott Builders and Slaters. Said Callum Hunter: ‘We have had between 500 and 600 calls to repair the damage done by the storm. We will get around to everyone but we have to prioritise and first make each place safe and make a temporary repair. Then we will have to come back.’

He said the properties most affected by the storm were traditional West End flats where the chimney heads had collapsed and flat roofed buildings from the 1970s and 1980s. ‘Often they were shoddily built and of poor design,’ he said. ‘As for the tenements; one top flat in the West End has a four metre square hole in the roof where the chimney head has been blown in. It will be at least three months before the owner can return home and he’s not alone in that situation.’

American student, Bill Baehr from St Louis, Missouri stopped to ponder one of the fallen trees in Kelvin Way as he walked to Glasgow University. He said: ‘I come from Missouri and we have tornadoes. We don’t associate Scotland with storms like this!’ But he added that it hasn’t put him off the city.

If you have experiences of the storm you’d like to retell on this website or if you have  good pictures of the storm damage you’d like to show, please email this website : franklinfeatures@gmail.com  The website is:www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk

Yet another Christmas

Russian Orthodox church styled singers – Russkaya Cappella – will have a concert in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery on Sunday 18 March next year. Before then, they will perform in Edinburgh on Thursday 23 February under the auspices of the Princess Dashkova Centre.

But their first concert of 2012 will be on Saturday 7 January at 10.25am in the Chapel of St Andrew in Meadow Lane, Edinburgh EH8 9 NR to celebrate the Orthodox Christmas. The following day – Sunday 8 January – they will sing in Glasgow Cathedral at Castle Street. G4 as part of the St Mungo Celebrations. The events around that time will mark the 1400th anniversary of the founding of Glasgow by its patron saint who is also known as St Kentigern.

For more information see Russkaya Cappella’s website: http://russkayacappella.yolasite.com/news-and-concerts.php

watchnight worship

The Christmas eve watchnight service at Glasgow Cathedral starts at 11.15pm on Saturday 24 December and should finish around 12.15am.

The Christmas Morning Service will start at 11am and includes Communion. The watchnight service on Hogmanay – Saturday 31 December – starts at 11pm.

 

Chaplaincy to host major art fest

The  chaplaincy of Glasgow University  is working with the Archdiocese to promote Lentfest – an arts festival held during the preparation time before Easter.

Twenty-nine artists from across the UK will take part in a major exhibition of Stations of the Cross and Resurrection at the University.

The strong line-up includes Peter Howson, Jolomo (John Lowrie Morrison), Anne Devine, Sandy Moffat and Richard Demarco alongside regular participants such as Sarah T. Bookless, Brendan Berry and David T. Collins.

Lentfest Director, Stephen Callaghan explains: ‘The popularity of the exhibition topic illustrates the timelessness of Biblical subject matter and the diversity of the artists will no doubt ensure a wide range of interpretations. We’ve never had so many artists take part and not all of them are Christian so it will be interesting to see what they come up with.’

Archbishop Mario Conti, Lentfest’s patron, added: ‘I am delighted that we have the support of the University of Glasgow Chaplaincy for this exhibition and I hope that many people will visit it during Lent and use it as a means of reflection and prayer.’

Among the highlights of Lentfest will be a new play about the martyrdom of Saint John Ogilvie who died at Glasgow Cross in 1615. A weekend of music workshops will be led by James MacMillan and Father Guy Nichols from the John Henry Newman Institute for Liturgical Music in Birmingham. The first performance of Graham Hair’s new version of  ’The Seven Last Words’ with liturgical dance is also scheduled.

Glasgow University’s multifaith centre is expecting VIP visitors next year. The Rev. Stuart MacQuarrie, senior cleric at the church in the Square said: ‘We expect the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Right Rev. David Arnott and Glasgow’s Archbishop Mario Conti. We also plan a service for couples being married.’

Apart from the Lentfest exhibition, Glasgow University’s multifaith centre (the chaplaincy) is expecting VIP visitors. Said Rev. Stuart MacQuarrie, senior cleric at the church in University Square: ‘We expect a visit from the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Right Rev. David Arnott and Glasgow’s Archbishop Mario Conti. We also plan a service for couples being married.’

Carols go ecumenical

The University of Glasgow held its traditional Nine Lessons and Carols at a Christmas ecumenical service last Sunday – 11 December. It was attended by around 350 people including Cabinet Secretary Mike Russell, who read a lesson. The service raised £400 for the Small Animal Hospital.

Russian choir honours Arctic convoys

The Glasgow based choir that sings in Russian style – Russkaya Cappella – enjoyed a recent trip to Russia. The benefit of that visit will be heard at their St Andrew’s Day concert on Wednesday 30 November in St Aloysius Church, Rose Street in Garnethill G3 6RE.

Said Svetlana Zvereva who with Stuart Campbell, runs the choir: ‘St Andrew is honoured by all the Christian churches and is patron saint of Scotland and Russia. There he is the protector, in particular, of the Russian navy. The concert programme will provide sacred music as well as some of Russia’s classic composers – Tchaikovsky and Taneyev – and Russian folk songs.’
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the start of the Arctic convoys which delivered vital supplies to the USSR and allied countries during the Second World War. Between 1941 and 1945 sailors of the British, Canadian, Soviet and United States navies ran the gauntlet of extreme weather, dangerous seas and enemy action on journeys between Iceland, Scotland and Murmansk and Archangel. Thousands of sailors perished on these most dangerous voyages. British veterans wear a white beret and tell tales of cups of cocoa freezing as they walk across the deck.
In tribute to them, the choir will sing ‘Eternal Memory’ during the concert.
Tickets are £5 at the door. Further information from the website: www.russkayacappella.yolasite.com

CEILIDH to welcome newcomers

A ceilidh to welcome new comers to Glasgow will be held by Wellington Church congregation and their INTERNATIONAL WELCOME CLUB on Friday 25 November at 7.30pm.  A family affair, anyone who wants to have a bit of a dance, see others entertain and enjoy a modest supper without alcohol, for a modest donation of £3 per adult or £5 per family, is invited.

Just turn up for 7.30pm at the church halls at 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LE .  Since this is near St Andrew’s Day (30 November) the event will have a St Andrew’s theme and a lot of fun.

 

Next Page »