The latest podcast is all about the forthcoming Empire Cafe, which is on at The Briggait from 24th July -1st August. Ali and Ian head down to the famous Glasgow landmark to talk to one of the driving forces behind the Cafe, Louise Welsh, who explains the vision behind the series of events which will be on during their residency, and sets out everything else which will be on offer. It’s a packed programme which promises rigorous discussion, thought-provoking theatre, inspiring poetry, damn fine coffee, and lots of other treats.
After giving us the guided tour, Louise explained the reasons behind her involvement in this project, how it links to all things Commonwealth, and just why it is important that Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, examines and debates its role in Empire building and the creation of the Commonwealth. She also lets us see the first copy, hot off the presses, of Yonder Awa, the beautiful collection of poetry and essays which will be given to all who attend the Cafe (as modelled above: clothes model’s own). I could tell you more about it here, but you’d be much better served by listening to Louise.
Then it was a short trek back to Scots Whay Hae! Towers to talk to Louise’s partner in all things Empire Cafe, Jude Barber, architect/director of Collective Architecture. Jude spoke about her involvement in the project and how it has grown in scope and size. She discusses the collaborative process, and how a simple idea, inspired in part by the architecture of the city, grew into a week of events with great poets, novelists, historians, filmmakers, visual artists and many others.
The Empire Café means to explore Scotland’s relationship with the North Atlantic Slave Trade, attempting to disseminate the reality of the country’s involvement in what is arguably one of the greatest scars in the world’s history. During the Commonwealth Games, The Empire Café will be based in Merchant City for a week, focusing on Scotland’s relationship with slavery – See more at: http://nationalcollective.com/2014/03/03/the-empire-cafe/#sthash.V9EsvQ8Z.dpuf
The Empire Café means to explore Scotland’s relationship with the North Atlantic Slave Trade, attempting to disseminate the reality of the country’s involvement in what is arguably one of the greatest scars in the world’s history. During the Commonwealth Games, The Empire Café will be based in Merchant City for a week, focusing on Scotland’s relationship with slavery – See more at: http://nationalcollective.com/2014/03/03/the-empire-cafe/#sthash.V9EsvQ8Z.dpuf
We round things off in suitable manner with a reading of one of the poems featured in Yonder Awa. We are hugely excited that Glasgow’s new Poet Laureate, Jim Carruth, took time to talk about the inspiration behind his poem ‘A Portrait of John Glassford and his Family by Archibald McLauchlan, c1767’, before treating us to a moving rendition.
You can listen to the Scots Whay Hae! podcast at iTunesor by RSS. Subscribe and you’ll never miss it. You can download it by clicking on Scot Whay Hae! Podcast: The Empire Cafe and it should pop up somewhere on screen*. Or, if you want it right here, right now, you can listen to it, accompanied by a few visuals, right here:
You can find out what is on at The Empire Cafe, and when, by going to www.empire-cafe.org.
(*We are in the middle of upgrading certain aspects of Scots Whay Hae! including how we deliver the podcasts, and we are encountering some teething problems, particularly with regard to Firefox. If you have a problem downloading the RSS feed, then try right clicking it and Save Link As… . If you already subscribe to it on iTunes this one should already be with you. If you subscribe for the first time, you’ll get this podcast first (even if you can’t see it on the page), and will find lots of others to explore. If you can’t play this podcast at all, please let us know and we will email you a link that works. Apologies for any inconvenience, and this rather long-winded explanation.)
We will be back very soon for a musical chat with two of Scotland’s best and most interesting musicians, who are currently working together on a very special project. Who can they be? Tune in to find out, but in the meantime get yourself down to The Empire Cafe if you can; I guarantee you won’t regret it.