Kes
In 1969, Ken Loach cast fourteen-year-old first-time actor David Bradley for his adaptation of the Barry Hines novel A Kestrel ForA Knave. At its end, the future is left bleaker than midwinter for poor Billy Caspar and his pet bird, but the same hasn't been true of Bradley. 'There's no doubt that the film changed .my life,‘ he insists. 'I know for a fact that had I stayed in Barnsley I would not be into jazz and Buddhism and Taoism.’ Kes opens at Edinburgh Filmhouse on Fri 1 Oct.
Office London
New shop on the block ls the ultrapopular Offlce London, maklng Its most northerly appearance to date. Renowned for supplylng fashlonable footwear at ngh Street prlces for the younger, more fashlon-consclous shopper, they stock everythlng from the most functlonal tralners to the flashlest stllettos. Wlth the chance to shoehorn yourself Into a wrde range of essentlal labels everythlng from Adldas to Merrell ~ you can't help but step out In Style.
Office London opens at 54-56 Buchanan Street, Glasgow on Thu 7 Oct.
Millennium Hogmanay
The countdown has well and truly begun and Y2K IS Just around the corner. If you are almlng to be out and about In Edlnburgh or Glasgow come 31 December, then you can now start plannlng your festlvrtles ln earnest. Glasgow’s celebratlons Include a Radlo 1 Dance Party, the George Square Family Arena and Merchant Clty Street Party while the centreplece of the seven-day Edinburgh bash IS the Vlrgln and lvlcEwan’s Street Party.
For details of Glasgow’s Hogmanay, call 0747 553 7937 from the beginning of Oct. To apply for two passes to the capital’s celebrations, send an A4 stamped SAE to Edinburgh ’5 Hogmanay, PO Box 7- 2000, Edinburgh, EH7 7X8. Further details on 09069 750750.
Frontlines
Well, that was summer then As usual lt conslsted of a balmy two weeks In May wrth a brlef resplte In July and an lndlan weekend In September Apart from the unlform steel grey of the sky lowerlng a couple of shades, how can I tell It's all over bar the spllttlng of the tlp7 No sooner has the last dlsposable barbecue blown lnto the Clyde and everyone's reallsed they don't actually llke frult pulp alcopops than cheeky llttle Chrlstmas club ads start creeplng lnto the daytlme schedules. The content of the human trafflc alters sllghtiy as confused Yanks roamlng up and down Byres Road and
ushers in autumn
ILLS
As a result of thls, l have developed a mllltary approach to the messy buslness of flat huntlng I allow myself one day to fund a hat-laylng pad, one day to pack and one day to move Over the years I have observed a certaln movmg etlguette evolvrng The flrst unwrltten rulers, after more than four moves your frlends are no longer under any obllgatlon to help you Unwrltten rule number two states that you must only take four boxes from each off- llcence, for verlly sturdy packaglng becomes hard currency akln to lngots Parcel tape ls at a pr‘emlum akln to breathlng dodos The man wlth the van upgrades to a stretch translt ln tasteful khakl and no longer takes your calls
After developlng a mid cleanlng fluld ci(l(li(ll()l‘. and close relatlonshlp wrth BT
One-year leases were dreamt up by God as a means of exacting revenge on people who attempt to master the randomness of nature.
asklng for dlrectlons to the Hunterlan are replaced by confused fledgllng students asklng for dlrectlons to the accommodatlon offlce A mysterlous place that only knlghts of the templar, Japanese savants and
partlc ularly clued up dossers have any Idea of what It ls and the purpose It serves
As the last spec‘lal traln pulls out of Waverley statlon, Glasgow wrll reclalm lts ldentlty by unvelllng the latest roster of mlnl festlvals. These \Vlll undoubtedly Involve men ln Oxfam sorts and 'comedy' wlgs scarlng Innocent passers-by wrth thelr sub-standard clownlngs, cllmblng to the neciropolls In the dead of nlght wrth only a deranged post-grad and a couple of sea flares for company or erectan a stage on top of The nghthouse and blastlng medlocre mu/ak at perturbed shoppers.
On a more personal note, mld-September means nothlng but drstress and upheaval on a par wrth that experlenced by Portlllo's ex-Iovers. Dlsplaylng unfortunate tlmlng usually reserved solely for Prlnce Phlllp, my lease explry falls at exactly the same tlme the number of Ilttle whlte cards In newsagents wrndows reduce ln Inverse proportlon to the number of students floodlng Into the Clty.
customer sales the deposlt stlll dlsappears llke socks In the wash due to a small staln on the kltchen wall that naturally regulres a complete reflt In order to return the hovel to the palatlal splendour of twelve months prewous
DeSplte all of thls, the unwrltten rule that affects me the most ls the reallsatlon that no matter how well you’ve labelled yOur blnbags, socks wlll separate and form partlsan groups T-shlrts wlll mlgrate to your washbag and books lll(-‘Xl)ll(.(ib|y turn up In your wok Movlng could be deflned as the rltual lnverslon of the natural order of thlngs
One-year leases were dreamt up by God as a means of exactlng revenge on people who attempt to master the randomness of nature. In order to av0ld belng seconded, recognlse the slgns now and beat a hasty one lf yOu see me In a crowd I’ll be the one Wlth mlsmatched shoes, a wrld look In my eye and a hankerlng for October and relatlve normallty m the clty Gill Mills co-presents Radio 1’s Evening Session opt-out, Session In Scotland, every Thu, 8-10pm; co-hosts The Loafers on BBC Choice, Tue-Fri, 10pm; and presents Hot Pursuits on BBC Knowledge, Radio Scotland.