Scottish – Page 2 – THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Heather Heywood sings “Lord Lovat”

September 20, 2024 by THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Cool Scots: Ancell Stronach

July 4, 2024 by THE HOBBLEDEHOY

By Greg Moodie

IT’S hardly news that artists are prone to eccentricity, and indeed, I myself am no stranger to peculiar behaviour.. I once started drawing a line in Edinburgh and ended up in Blackpool, confused and agreeing to host a mixed doubles tango marathon. These things happen.

Many’s the time I considered throwing in the art towel and running off to join the circus.

I even got as far as filing an initial application, but was ultimately turned down for being too freaky. I think with the circus it’s who you know.

Coming from Dundee didn’t help; Jute town’s bronze-cast heroes are figments of some batty cartoonist’s febrile imagination, not exactly encouragement to settle into straight life.

My fellow Dundonian Ancell Stronach, who preceded Desperate Dan by 30-odd years, had no intention of allowing his magnificent eccentricity to be dulled by any drone conventions. He was an artist… and circus performer.

Even as a young man, Stronach was an oddball of distinction. He trained at Glasgow School of Art (GSA) and could be seen gadding about town in high-winged collars, tight-cut jackets, black-and-white checked trousers and white spats, which in 1920s Sauchiehall Street must have taken some conviction.

His artwork drew heavily on early Renaissance fresco painting, though I imagine he preferred living in the more practical age of oil, as mixing pigment directly with plaster and having approximately 10 seconds to apply before it hardens into solid wall was never anyone’s idea of fun.

Michelangelo said ceiling work especially was a right faff.

Stronach won awards for his paintings, was elected to the Royal Scottish Academy and became Professor of Mural Painting at GSA. But all the while, he harboured a keen interest in animals and was known to keep a large menagerie.

My fellow Dundonian Ancell Stronach, who preceded Desperate Dan by 30-odd years, had no intention of allowing his magnificent eccentricity to be dulled by any drone conventions. He was an artist… and circus performer.

Michelangelo said ceiling work especially was a right faff.

In 1939, he took the most unusual step of resigning his professorship and setting up a circus act, Ancell And His Painted Pigeons.

“Art isn’t too good at the moment,” he said, “so I’m going on the halls with my pigeons.” Well, they didn’t call it “Variety” for nothing.

There were 30 to 40 pigeons in all, along with doves, ducks and hens, and the show promised “waltzing, tightrope walking, comedy goose, drunk pigeon etc”.

The reality of this arrangement doesn’t bear thinking about, and I’m pretty sure stage managers must have loathed him with a passion previously reserved for Le Pétomane.

One playbill describes the act as “AN IDEA THAT HAS NOT OCCURRED TO ANYONE ELSE”.

Right now, I’m sure you’re scratching your chin and wondering why you too didn’t think of quitting your job and going on tour with awinged menagerie.

Beyond performing up and down Britain with his acrobat wife Joan, little else is known about Stronach. I looked on YouTube, but for whatever reason, drunk multicoloured pigeons never seemed to make it to the 21st century.

He returned to painting and died in relative obscurity at the age of 80, without ever replicating his previous success.

But many of those early paintings still hang in prestigious places.

I was fortunate enough to stumble across The Annunciation in Edinburgh’s City Art Centre a few years ago, and not only appreciated his skill as a draftsman, but found the accompanying tale of a Dundee artist who gave up painting to join the circus just too wonderful for words.

Source: Greg Moodie’s Cool Scots: Ancell Stronach | The National

Listen: Pippa Blundell “Sisters”

October 13, 2023 by THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Pippa Blundell

Who or what inspires your music making?
I’m hugely inspired by my friends and the creative community I’m surrounded by here in Glasgow. I’m constantly consuming live music and art, from intimate flat gigs to sweaty raves. It’s a huge part of this city’s culture, and it’s almost impossible to avoid! There are so many nights run by local organisations doing cool things such as Flos Collective, Anam Collective, LayLow and Glitch 41 to name a few. Watching people express themselves through music will always be a huge source of inspiration for me.

Tell us a bit about what your currently working on?
I’ve been a soloist so far in my musical career, but I’ve recently started collaborating with a group of incredible musicians as a band. They are all friends I’ve met through jams and gigs and they each have a very distinctive style and way of playing that I really admire. When we all gather the sound is a melting pot of pure magic, it’s really exciting! We’re preparing for our first gig together at The Rum Shack on 2 November, where I’ll be sharing my recently released [Sisters] EP and loads of new tunes with the band. I’m buzzing!

What does 2024 look like for you, and what will you do if you win the award?
In 2024 I want to keep growing and developing my sound, dive deeper into the experience with my band… and hopefully record an album! It’s getting more and more difficult to keep creating and making art with the cost of living being so high and cuts constantly being made to funding bodies that so many artists depend upon for their careers. Winning this award would make all these difficulties feel a bit less difficult! However, I am so grateful for even just this recognition. It’s a huge confidence boost to keep going even when it feels like it’s too tough. I’m wishing all the finalists good luck; I know whoever wins the award will make some truly beautiful art.

Source: The Skinny

Here are 22 words and phrases you’ll only know if you’re from Edinburgh

February 15, 2023 by THE HOBBLEDEHOY

Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting was almost entirely written in Edinburgh (or more accurately Leith) slang

Like all big cities, Edinburgh has a language of all its own. Or at least that’s how it must seem to outsiders.

Bog – toilet

Bunker – worktop, kitchen counter

Cheesin: happy

Chore: To steal something

Chum – join on a journey (Chumming a friend doon the road)

Deek – look at

Dinnae – don’t

Embra – Edinburgh

Hud-oan – wait, as in wait for me

Haud yer weesht – be quiet

Ken – Know. (‘I ken what you mean’)

Feart – afraid of

Foostie – stale

Gadgie: usually used to describe a man or boy who engages in loutish behaviour.

Nash: Hurry up

Radge – crazy or uncontrollable (A person can either be a radge, ‘go radge’, or do something radge)

Reekin’ – drunk

Steamin’ – see above

Scoobied – clueless (Scooby Doo is rhyming slang for clue)

Shan – a shame, or disappointing (A bad day at work could be ‘well shan’). Can also mean unkind (‘that was shan saying that to him’)

Source: Here are 22 words and phrases you’ll only know if you’re from Edinburgh

	Chris Crilly on On the death of Dolly Parton
	Bob S. on Billy Liar’s New 4K Rest…
	Jeremy on On the death of Dolly Parton
	Ronnie on Hollace & Margo “Jus…
	Jim Brittain on Ken Burns missed these greats…
	T Rigney on Letters to The Hobbledehoy, Oc…
	Beach Tredennick on Trump and American Enshittific…
	CharlieK on British Writer Pens The Best D…