…Plus c’est la meme chose.
Now that I’m old enough I think I get what the French were saying. If you think the world’s getting worse then it might be worth realising that for millions of people it is actually getting better. If you start getting carried away with that idea then bear in mind that better has a long way to go before it becomes ‘just ok.’
I’m writing this on Wednesday evening hours after the world took another wild swing at itself and the certainties we assumed as the sun came up seem slightly worn out at night fall. Predictions are a dangerous business but it’s safe to say we feel like the world is becoming a more dangerous place. This Sunday morning it might be interesting to listen in to Karyn McLuskey who began to imagine that Glasgow’s dangerous image was beginning to mean that people in the city had given up being shocked.
She came back from London determined to change the city and since the formation of the Violence Reduction Unit she can lay claim to being part of that change. I’ll be talking to Karyn about what made her into the person she was and the work she continues to pioneer in Glasgow.
You might also be aware of this man:
Last summer, in the busiest year of his life, Gordon Aikman wrote a personal blog which started with these words: ‘I am dying.’ His condition is Motor Neuron Disease and there is no known cure. It spurred Gordon on to take on new challenges and only this week he has helped change Scottish Government health policy by persuading the First Minister to double the number of specialist nurses dealing with patients suffering from MND. I’ll be talking to Gordon in the second hour of Sunday Morning as well as talking to two of the people behind Pencourage. This is an anonymous social networking site where you talk about the real things, often very difficult things, going on in your life – it is the antithesis of facebook where many people just showcase a glorified and happy shiny slice of their life. We might all be ready for that by then. Join me if you can this Sunday Morning from seven.
Of course before all of that I’ll be back with Another Country on Friday evening. This week I will be playing you tracks from one of those albums which, if it’s not on my end of year favourite list, will mean we are in for another great year. Star of this week’s show is definitely T Bone Burnett who produces three of the new records we’re spinning. But we’ll also be thinking about this magical place:
The Ryman Auditorium is forever associated with The Grand Ole Opry. there’s a new Opry compilation out and the country community have been paying respects over the festive season to Little Jimmy Dickens who died aged 94 on the 2nd of this month.
We’ll spin some vinyl, play some Rusty and Doug, JD MCPherson and host of other upcoming Celtic Connections stars. All from five past eight this Friday evening.
Both shows can be found on BBC Radio Scotland.
