What The Team Have Been Up to
Craig
The Dubhlachd is lifting and spring feels like it's just around the corner (though I'm reminded of the old Scottish proverb: "If March arrives like an adder, it'll leave like a peacock". I hope the opposite is not true). It feels great to see some glimmers of sun again.
I've been continuing my reading. I'm just getting to the end of Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, about a comet hitting Earth and causing the end of civilisation. Written in the 70s (and it shows) it's interesting to see the futurists within the book express the feeling that had the disaster happened just a few decades later, they might have had the tech to prevent it (the book was adapted into the 90s disaster movie Deep Impact, though only the barest traces of the premise remain - the film has a rather more optimistic ending).
It's also interesting to see even in the 70s, the growing alarm of the environmentalist movement at what were increasingly apparent signs of climate change. That's probably the true warning of the book. Perhaps we shouldn't have spent 50 years ignoring it.
Beyond that, I've been getting back into my swimming. I'm not promising anything spectacular there beyond trying to no longer live up to the physicist's ideal (a frictionless, spherical body). That said, with the local council cuts coming, I may no longer have a pool to swim in so I'd better use it before I lose it.
Robin
At the start of the year I often try to catch up on things from the previous year which everyone said were great but which somehow I missed. In music that meant a load of highly rated albums I didn’t get round to of which I highly recommend Wednesday, Armand Hammer and Corrine Bailey-Rae. Wednesday’s Rat Saw God is a post-punk joy with slightly atonal vocals that at times recall Sonic Youth. Armand Hammer is a sharply political rap group whose angry, clever We Buy Diabetic Test Strips (they don’t muck about in portraying the desperation of black life in the US) is bracing and continually engaging (“That which does not kill you makes you blacker”…). And a particular shout-out to Bailey-Rae, an artist that passed me by in a ‘radio-friendly soft soul’ kind of way but whose wonderful, scattergun Black Rainbows stretches from soft, jazzy piano ballads to angry noise-rock while managing throughout to somehow feel cohesive. I was impressed. But the year has started heavy for new music with the brilliant Idles (Tankg) and a debut from Dublin post-punks Sprints (Letter to Self) both kicking me out of my January slumber.
Continuing the music theme, I caught up with the BBC’s three-part documentary on Disco. Not exactly my musical genre but as with Apple TV’s musical history of the year 1971 and the BBC’s history of early political rap Fight the Power, this is as much about politics and the emergence of a distinctive gay and queer subculture as it is about mega-selling BeeGees hits.
Nicola
Earlier this month I took a trip down to Alnwick for the weekend. It is a truly beautiful market town with many historic preservations that give it such character. While the castle was closed to visitors for the off-season, it still provided a lovely backdrop for our visit. The drive there was equally stunning, through Dunbar and down the east coast with views of the North Sea for miles. As a loyal west-coaster, it’s not a side of the country I get to see very often, and I was once again pleasantly surprised by just how beautiful this country can be at times.
I also went to see the most recent adaption of The Color Purple in the cinema this month. Featuring an all-star cast of WOC, the musical depicts the life of women and black community in the early twentieth century American South. The legacy of the franchise means that black and underprivileged voices are continuing to be heard, in a culture which otherwise sought to suppress them.
Kaitlin
Rather a strange submission this month as I took part in a murder mystery birthday party at the start of the month. This was a lot of fun and cannot recommend enough. This particular one was 60's themed and everyone made a real effort to dress-up in character. With everyone reading from a script there was some wacky accents that strangely enough got wackier as the drinks started to flow. If you're thinking of hosting a party I would suggest having a look online where you can buy kits, or perhaps make up your own if you're creative enough. The question is can you find the murderer?
I too have a movie recommendation. Perhaps not receiving a lot of attention, American Fiction, was a cracking satire movie with a brilliant plot. The movie follows a failing black writer who has to pander to white audience appetite to sell his work, but his lies soon begin to grow legs too big for him to control. Although that might seem a little heavy, and it does without a doubt raise concern to a real issue, it's done in such a funny manner that it doesn't take itself too seriously. You can still catch it in cinemas but if you miss it keep an eye out on various streaming services.