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lload protest party plan could lead to confrontation
ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners are planning to bring an area of central Edinburgh to a standstill as part of an international month of street parties.
Reclaim The Streets (RTS) is an international movement dedicated to 'taking back control’ of our lives and cities. It has declared May a street party month.
Scottish members are among those behind the Edinburgh event which is set to take place on 1 May, coinciding with the regular May Day and Beltane celebrations.
RTS was also responsible for a demonstration in Edinburgh last
summer which resulted in several protestors being taken to court. That was blown out of all proportion, according to RTS spokesman Will Saunders.
’People got arrested, but most were simply admonished by the court,’ Saunders claimed ’We just got mugged by the local press. Their coverage bore no relationship to what happened whatsoever.’
Following the action, RTS was forced to distribute Videos it had made on the day, in a bid to prove the action had been peaceful and non-violent. However Saunders was keen to stress
that this would be a different type of event
’Cities are now sterile, brutalised areas given over to motorists. The idea is to reclaim some public space for the day to show how wonderful that could be,’ he explained.
After a rendezvous on Calton Hill, partygoers Will move to an unspeofied location where there Will be music, food, stalls and information about the threat posed by increased traffic and economic globalisation.
While roads will be blocked so that the event can go ahead, Saunders hopes the authorities Will take a lenient
line.
’In other cosmopolitan Cities there is a certain tolerance of democratic protest. We would dearly like to establish that give and take with police in Scotland,’ he said. 'We will make sure that it ends at a set time and everything is cleaned up.’
However a spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police warned: ’We are aware of the planned demonstration. We would hope the peOple involved do not intend to break the law.
'We will have officers on duty to deal with any situation that may arise,’ he added. (Stephen Naysmith)
The List helps MTV display Scots talent
THE LIST is teaming up with MTV to provide the music channel with news of grassroots activity on the Scottish music scene.
Along with Galaxy FM, the Irish national broadcasting service RTE, Touch magazine and the Student Radio Network, The List will be contributing to MTV's regional newsweb with film reports and news stories for MTV's daily news bulletins.
MTV became a fully UK and lrish specific service in July 97 and has developed this partnership to help accurately represent the musical life of all regions of the UK and Ireland.
'lt's my mission to weave MTV into the fabric of society throughout the UK and lreland,’ ‘commented Michiel Bakker, Managing Director of MTV and VH1.
'We will have immediate access to all areas of musical life from people on the ground. Through this exchange of news we want to show that we are not just concentrating on what's happening in London. Every region contributes to our cultural life in its own distinct way.’
Wlth artists of the calibre of Finley Quaye, Arab Strap and Texas coming out of Scotland, MTV will help raise the profile of the country's music scene according to Robin Hodge, publisher of The List. He said: 'There are some great new bands coming out of Scotland and we're delighted MTV are keen to highlight the talent that is here.
'The List looks forward to working with MTV to help Scotland's new bands and music reach out to a wider audience.’ (Jonathan Trew)
18 TIIEIJST 30 Apr-l4 May I998
‘lnfeetious’ Book Festival p
EARLY DETAILS of the 1998 Edinburgh Book Festival programme reveal a ’seductive’ blend of attractions according to new director Faith Liddell
Liddell said the idea was that the Festival, in its first year as an annual event, would be 'infectious’, luring people in With one event or speaker and then hooking them with other attractions.
'The idea is that one event Will kick into another, and encourage people to be adventurous,’ she explained.
Highlights of the preview programme just released include the return of novelist Louis de Bernieres, who appeared last year, hugely popular Scot Iain Banks, American crime writer James Ellroy and Thomas Keneally, author of Schindler’s Ark, which was filmed as Schindler’s List.
Personal appearances Will also be made by Melvyn Bragg, Jeanette Winterson, Rosamund Pilcher and PD. James.
The Children's Book Festival is one of the largest in the world and this year includes 150 events, including
contributions from authors Lynne Reid Banks, Russell Stannard and Joan Lingard.
'The Edinburgh Book Festival is the single biggest celebration of reading in this country and perhaps in Europe as well,’ Liddell claimed. ’It has been a balance between interpreting other people's desires and indulging myself.’
Liddell took over as director followmg last year's festival, which left precious
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lans revealed
little time to prepare for the switch to an annual event. She admitted it has been intense, but added: 'l’m still here and I‘m still sane. I'm looking forward to seeing people coming here and moving in. I want peOple to inhabit the site.’ (Stephen Naysmith)
I The full Edinburgh Book Festival Programme is published in June. To order a copy, tel: 0897 500070. Calls cost f l per minute.
Football on stage is a whole new ballet game
Brown: reckons idea is a winner
FOOTBALL AND DANCE are the unlikely ingredients of a production due to kick off at the SECC 'Armadillo' building in Glasgow in time for the World Cup.
Celebrating soccer could be the only way arts organisations can get a look-in this summer, and GOAL is doing just that, promising a ’dynamic fusion of music, dance and powerful athleticism’.
Produced by former Scottish Ballet soloist Susan Crowther and directed by award-winning choreographer Kerri Jeffrey, the show has received backing from Craig Brown. The Scotland boss greeted GOAL as ’a fresh and innovative approach to promoting the game’.
The team of eleven professional dancers includes one woman and ten men including Donny McNamara, son of Hibs legend Jackie McNamara and brother of Scotland and Celtic star Jackie (junior).
Following the Glasgow opening night on Tuesday 2 June, the show will move to Edinburgh for the 1998 Festival Fringe. In the meantime, a sneak preview can be had at a GOAL fun day in Glasgow's Kelvin Hall on Sunday 3 May. Aimed at all ages and abilities, the day features guest appearances from footballers as well as a keepy- uppy contest for under-165. The winner gets to appear on stage in June. (Stephen Naysmith)