Leith School of Art Turns up Trumps

Image: FindHow.com

Scottish Election Day
I voted. I walked through the pissing rain and cast my vote, making sure to use my right to take part in our democratic process. It wasn’t as exhilarating as it sounds. Normally the party helpers don’t approach me when they seem me coming (although the BNP bloke that once mistook my skinhead for one of his racist chums did—but after a subtle “fuck off”, he soon left me alone).

Our new Polling Station is Hermitage Primary School, which I assume is an amalgamation of several stations because despite the weather, it was very busy inside. I’m more used to one Labour candidate standing outside and a couple of bored looking attendants inside.

In the end, the process left me feeling very unsatisfied. The Constituency selection (Edinburgh North & Leith) only had the four main parties running, none of which I wanted to vote for. I had to pick one, so I picked the least offensive to me. I see this morning that Labour held onto the seat.

The Regional choice (Lothian) was much more complicated with a ballot paper as long as my arm. It included all the main parties, several Independents and a variety of smaller parties, like the cheery OAP Party. Good on them. I went Independent and voted for Margo MacDonald. Good luck to her, but on waking up this morning to see that an SNP landslide is on the cards, she’s probably lost out.

An Illustrator for Silly Poems
Before I went to vote, I met up with the artist who I was hoping would be the illustrator on the new edition of SILLY POEMS. She came recommended by a local artist I know, so we agreed to meet up in Costa on Hanover Street.

Her name is Kamila Ratajczak and she’s a student at the Leith School of Art. Her portfolio is very impressive, able to work with a wide range of artistic styles and materials, but what really sealed the deal for me, was her enthusiasm for the project, her professionalism, and the fact that she just “got it”.

I hadn’t realised it at first, but when we began talking about the project, what seemed at first to me to be potential confusion over what I was looking for, was actually her identifying that I didn’t actually know, and that she was guiding me through all the options open to me, slowly narrowing them down and breaking things up until we finally arrived at the answer. And it was the right answer—I could feel it in my gut. It was a very clever and creative way to do it and it left me instantly feeling safe and secure with the idea of Kamila being the artist to work on this.

On a broader note, if this is the quality of student being shaped and educated at the Leith School of Art, then it really is a diamond for the are to boast about more often. I never even knew Leith had an art school until Kamila was recommended to me, which is something that should really change.

Notebook
My notebook turned up! I was over the moon when my wife rang me at the day job yesterday lunchtime to say she’d found it and that I could stop worrying. Where was it, you’ll be asking? Under a pile of my wife’s “stuff”. I’d put it down in the living room when I got home on Saturday to help her out with her wedding fair preparations, and she had come along after and placed a box of photographic gear on top of it.

I so happy to get it back, there was no anger or grumpiness, just pure joy and relief that it was back in my possession and I had lost nothing it contained.

Friday Vid
This week, my Friday Vid couldn’t be anything else other than the announcement video released by Shed Seven, that they are to tour this December in celebration of 15 years since their smash hit album, A Maximum High. Tickets went on sale this morning at 9am and were sold out by 9:23am. I got mine Wednesday for the opening night at Glasgow Barrowland. Why? Because I’m cool and I like to sing to all their songs, go mental in their mosh-pit, and throw beer around until I’m sweating profusely.

Shed Seven are quite simply one of the best bands to see in a live performance. They rock, they roll, and they are one hell of a bunch of cool buggers – the coolest of which, of course, is Mr Rick Witter. Here he is to explain:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYThNsDA1vs