Burns Banner unveiled!

The weather smiled upon us today as we unveiled the Burns Banner on Market Street. You can read a more full account of proceedings over on the Burns Banner website, but favourite best bits were: Jan, who organised the first of the Burns Banner workshops on Mull, who came all the way and shared some delicious chocolate; Louise Dodds, who contributed from Dubai, wore tartan heels especially; when Sheena Wellington sang ‘A Man’s a Man For a’ That’, everyone joined in, and it felt a bit tingly like ‘Auld Lang Syne’ on Hogmanay; the sun was splitting the sky; the unveiling was as dramatic as we hoped; we thought for a brief moment that we might stop the traffic; loads of passers-by joined in; the Edinburgh Evening News ran a piece about it, and we were apprently on the BBC news at lunchtime. It was lovely.

There is a Burns Banner poster available for anyone who’d like one; they cost £2 each, or £1 if you contributed. If you’d like one, do be in touch and we will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements.

Honourable biscuits of Northern Ireland

Special mention to Peggy’s mother, who sent a parcel of biscuits for our afternoon tea all the way from Northern Ireland. Only a few didn’t survive the journey, and we’re tucking into the rest as we speak! Tasty oatcakes, how pleasing you are at 4.30pm on a muggy Tuesday afternoon. Hurrah for Marth!

Ivor Cutler

Our summer exhibition, A Stuggy Pren, is in place. Katrina Lithgow’s black and white portraits capture Ivor in many wonderfully eccentric guises, and are often accompanied by his own handwriting. Free, and all welcome to peruse.

National Lottery Awards…

We’d like to thank you all once again for voting for us last month in the National Lottery Awards for Best Arts Project category. We didn’t get through to the finals, but we’re thrilled and buoyed by the lovely show of support we received from many different people, here on the blog, over on Facebook and Twitter, and by email and folk coming into the library. We’d like to wish the shortlisted arts projects the very best in the final: they are Odyssey Theatre in Wales, Liverpool’s Sefton Performing Arts and Creative Education centre (SPACE) and YourLocalCinema.com. You can read more about them all at the NLA website. May the best, artiest project take the spoils!