Events and speakers
Comic Books with Tim Quinn
Tim Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1953, the very same year Beryl the Peril first appeared in The Topper. Coincidence? We think not! Educated by Irish Christian Brothers whose prospectus boasted, 'We will instill a fear of God into your child', it was little wonder Tim chose a life in comedy.
Starting his career as a Ring boy (!) at Blackpool Tower Circus he then leapt back in time to work on BBC TV's Good Old Days music hall series where he started writing scripts for top comedians. It was a small jump into the world of comic books where he spent a happy thirty years as scriptwriter, illustrator and editor on such noted titles as The Beano, The Dandy, Sparky, The Topper, Buster, Whoopee!, Bunty, Jackie, Dr Who Magazine, and Whizzer & Chips before heading Stateside to work for the mighty Marvel Comics Group on the world famous Spider-Man, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk.
Tim has also worked as a writer for the Guardian newspaper, editor for America's oldest publication The Saturday Evening Post and producer for LWT's The South Bank Show (amongst others producing a show on the history of Marvel Comics!). Today he runs a management company for recording artists, and dreams of the day he will be bitten by a radioactive flea so that he can finally take over the universe.
His latest comic strip is titled, 'The Exploits of Gordon Brown'.
George Washington Wilson Lantern Slides with Mark Butterworth
Foreword to the book By John Randall, Chairman, The Islands Book Trust
The Book Trust is very pleased to publish this volume. It contains, for the first time, the original text of two lectures 'From Oban to Skye' and 'The Outer Hebrides', and the full set of accompanying hand-coloured lantern slides, produced by the George Washington Wilson Company of Aberdeen in the 1880s. The photographs were taken by George Washington Wilson and his colleague Norman Macleod when they travelled through the Hebrides to St Kilda in 1886.
As Mark Butterworth explains in his contributions, these lectures and slides took advantage of the latest technology of the time, and reflected a keen and growing demand in Victorian Britain for learning about different ways of life in various parts of the world, certainly not confined to Scotland. This interest was fuelled by rising incomes in the higher echelons of society and easier transport links and services, not least to the Hebrides.
As well as introducing some of the earliest photographs taken in the islands, which are of absorbing interest for their recording of contemporary life, the lecture notes are also of immense value because of the light they shed on how the Hebrides and their inhabitants were viewed amongst commentators from the outside world at this critical juncture in history.
Mac an t-Srònaich With Finlay Macleod
Well known local author, broadcaster and scholar Finlay Macleod will be exploring the enduring fascination that the isle of Lewis has with its very own 'bogey-man' and delving into the myths and facts that surround his fascinating story.
Sheòl mi an-uiridh, òrain mun t-seòladh with Mary Smith
Singer, teacher and scholar, Mary Smith is one of the Gaelic speaking world's great tradition bearers and her latest book brings together a unique collection of songs about sailing, the sailors that wrote them and the ships that they sailed on, in a way that gives a wonderful new meaning to the words and lives of the sailors themselves. She may even sing a couple for us as well!
'Blood in the Glens' with Jean MacLennan
Murders and unexplained deaths happen wherever there are people and, despite its sparse population, the Highlands have had more than their fair share. Jean McLennan, an honorary Sheriff from Wick, investigates some of the most chilling crimes committed in the north over the last 60 years.
'The Wizard from the Isles' with Iain Rae
The Wizard from the Isles is the story of a real wizard, steeped in the ancient mysteries of Gaelic lore. The story begins in the Isles where he was born, and relates a life that spanned over a century, in many parts of the world. The wizard opposed the Dark Powers who would overturn the laws of Nature. Yet his life's focus was the pursuit of knowledge and enlightenment, following the ancient principle of Truth without which any wielder of power is inevitably corrupted, and ultimately destroyed.
Ian Rae is an Australian writer of entirely Scottish ancestry. Before he became a full-time writer he was an academic in the field of history, and a qualified psychotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist. He is also a professional singer & musician, and a sculptor.
Ryan Van Winkle & The Golden Hour - Poets & Musicians' Club
Ryan Van Winkle is currently Reader in Residence at the Scottish Poetry Library and Edinburgh City Libraries. He runs a monthly "Literary Cabaret" called The Golden Hour and is an Editor at Forest Publications. His work has appeared in New Writing Scotland, The American Poetry Review, AGNI and Northwords Now. He lives in Edinburgh but is still an American. In 2010 he won Salt's Crashaw Prize and his first collection will be released by the end of the year.
'A Method Actor's Guide to Jekyll and Hyde' - with Kevin MacNeil
After a bike crash in a foggy Edinburgh, troubled young actor Robert Lewis wakes to find that life has changed for the darker. And the weirder. He's still a deceitful egoist but now life seems to be deceiving and manipulating him. Everything that can go wrong is going wrong. He's losing control of his love life, his starring role in a new adaptation of Jekyll and Hyde, and, quite possibly, his mind. A Method Actor's Guide to Jekyll and Hyde is a dark, maniacal thriller that explores many kinds of duality - individual, social and cultural, and is a heartfelt tale about the search for belonging and the nature of love and desire. It is also bloody funny.
Kevin MacNeil was born and raised on the Isle of Lewis. A poet, novelist, aphorist, lyricist, screenwriter and playwright, his books include Love and Zen in the Outer Hebrides (Canongate), Be Wise Be Otherwise (Canongate), The Callanish Stoned (Theatre Hebrides) and The Stornoway Way (Penguin). His first book won the Tivoli Europa Giovani International Poetry Prize for best poetry collection published in Europe by a writer under 35. The Stornoway Way was a bestseller and is currently being optioned for a film. At Faclan he will be reading from his new novel and performing a song or two from his upcoming album with Willie Campbell.
Mac an t-Srònaich & Bus tour of the ruined chapels on the West Side - with Finlay Macleod
On Friday 3rd of September well known local author, broadcaster and scholar Finlay Macleod will be giving an open and challenging lecture exploring the enduring fascination that the isle of Lewis has with its very own 'bogey-man' and delving into the myths and facts that surround this fascinating story.
On Saturday 4th he will lead a bus tour of the ruined medieval chapels on the west side of Lewis starting in Ness and finishing in Bragar, with a stop for lunch in between! A unique chance to explore these amazing buildings with someone who knows them well.
