holy fuck at oran mor

holy fuck
holy fuck

In a gigtastic week way back in may we sidled down the road to the basement of Oran Mor to sample the amazing indie electro noise of Canadians Holy Fuck.

After the support act It Hugs Back – presented their throwback to nineties grunge complete with checked shirts and long hair Holy Fuckenergied the crowd and got the whole room pumping.

With theur Presetsesque dancing along, effortless switching of obscure vintage elctro gear with each track and brilliant back lighting it was a great gig all round – even if we were only drinking orange juice and were home by 11 pm (being a monday night and all).

les ballets c de la b at the tramway

We caught ‘Ashes’ the final installment of a trio of dance pieces by Belgian company Les Ballets C de la B at the Tramway. It was a rhythmic, mesmerising piece with a very architectural set. The piece made significant use of the acoustics of the set with a live quartet that moved strategically around the stage – while the dancers slammed into walls, slapped each other and pounded the floor.

stirling, dunblane & the campsies

oswald near the campsiesOur first test of Oswald’s capabilities – although we didn’t camp in him. A quick run over to Stirling to pick up a kilt with Claire and then a leisurely scenic route back via Dunblane for one of Scotland’s best bacon rolls and a quick stop for a cup of tea (below)

Chhay & Claire at foursies

our new arrival!

tim & oswald

We have made the somewhat suspect step of purchasing a 1980 vw campervan (via ebay of all places!)
It struggles to get above 50 mph – but is as close as a house as we have yet got with a cooker fridge and sink and space to sleep 4! Athough he is a bit rusty, and has many and varies squeaks and rattles he seems to run smoothly enough.
This should be the start of many exploratory journeys across Scotland and Europe to come (not to mention heartache and a steep mechanical learning curve), so should you be in the area sign up for a trip!

chhay and os

new lanark

The Clyde at New Lanark

We finally made  a quick day trip to the world heritage site New Lanark last month. Nestled on a bend of the River Clyde it is an impressive former mill complex that was socially progressive for its time, including child care and adult education classes. It now represents an interesting case study for urban development in a natural setting.

We avoided the interpretive elements that fill some of the existing buildings (what is the internet for after all) to instead focus on the beautiful walk to the Falls of Clyde (above), via nesting peregrines.

new lanark

blk jks

blk jks

On the recommendation of one of our GFC relocated London based friends we caught the south african indie noise dub quartet blk jks at the Captain’s Rest

Personally I found their music less eclectic and diverse than I was anticipating – the gig seemed comprised of a series of  discrete elements, with less connection between the dub and noise elements even within the one track.

That being said their stage presence and effortless cool made for a great atmosphere and a couple of the tracks were praticularly evocative and impressive – even if I’m not so sure that producing middle class indie rock artists is the finest accomplishment of South Africa’s rejuvenation.

typewritten

typewritten - 01

We had a lovely day last month at Troon – the delightful haunt of the Glasgow well to do and all things golf on the Ayrshire coast. Chhay had recovered from her recent skin irritation, the sun was out and we had a cheeky mid week day off. Our focus was lunch at the pointy end of our favourite fishmonger – MacCallums of Troon.

Their Oyster Bar and Wee Hurrie are located right out at the end of the still busy working harbour and marina so we had worked up an appetite by the time we arrived. Sttled into the slightly posher oyster bar resplendent with America’s Cup memorabilia we were served fantastic oysters, fresh fish and a slightly overcooked lobster in a very convival atmosphere.

Once sated we wandered back along the foreshore, before popping into the well stocked charity shops that populate the main street where I picked up the design classic Olivetti Lettera 22 portable typewriter (see above) for the princely sum of £4.50. Look out for more old skool posts from me now!

john lautner

lautner

The latest exhibition at the Lighthouse is a fantastic extensive look at the cinematic LA modernist John Lautner. An extensive exhibition over two levels it consists of utalitarian working drawings roughly taped (and protected under perspex) a series of large scale models and slow motion archi-porn by Scotland’s own Murray Grigor.

This is very much an exhibition for architects, rather the general public, and while that may run contra to the aim of the Lighthouse it results in a much stronger outcome. The drawings were the highlight for me – their rough directness, simplicity and total lack of finess telling the story of the houses far better than the scrubbed and polished versions that are usually published in exhibition settings.

The models were far clumsier overscaled and under detailed they lacked the richness of the drawings and the slow video panning around each dwelling that was projected onto the walls.
The plasticity, connection to landscape demonstrated by the architecture on display is totally alien to the Scottish condition, it provided a refreshing change from the prevalent theme of drawing parallels that many exhibitions use as a thematic starting point.

a solution to the housing crisis?

LEGO villa - cellular screenChhay and Claire helped me put the finishing touches on GHA’s entrant into the Scottish Design Award’s uber high profile lego competition. Raising money for the National Autism Society our entry had the distinction of being the only one to (intactly) follw the brief and apparently we scooped the most votes on the nominations night.

Voting is continuing right up unitl the awards presentation however – so cast your votes here!

As far as real entries went GHA made it onto the shortlist for the two categories we entred – small projects for Venice and Practice of the Year.
LEGO villa - view from ocean