PAKISTAN V INDIA CHARITY CRICKET MATCH at CLYDESDALE GLASGOW

This was a charity match organised by the UCare Foundation between Scottish Pakistanis and Scottish Indians , the Pakistani team contained the brilliantly named Yasir Arafat , a talented professional who has recently played in a whitewash for the Senior Pakistan side in a whitewash of England.
The foodstalls were a big attraction for the large crowd who will soon be fasting during Ramadan in about a weeks time.The kids were fascinated by the large bouncy slides , a petting section containing owls and birds of prey and pony rides.
The stall dishing out free sliced mangoes was very popular for attenders of all ages.
The cricket was entertaining too , Pakistan made 152-7 after their 20 allotted overs.The Indian bowling and fielding performance was impressive , stopping many runs in the outfield and making catches near the boundary look very simple.
There was also a running commentary from an installed PA system that used the actual runs scored and overs bowled as a general guesstimate rather than a precise figure , at one stage the scoring went backwards so the century mark came , and went , and came back again over a period of two overs , going from 107 to 93 to 109.
Being a sub-contintental organised event there were many speeches and encomiums of self-important dignitaries who reminded the crowd many times over just how important they are just in case anyone failed to realise just how important these people are to them.
Alas the kids got a bit bored of all the activities and we had to leave before the Indian innings began.

Talking about important , this article sums up how important this highly enjoyable charity family gala event was for the organisers and the community.

Sai Majeed, Chairman of the Western District Cricket Union and captain of the Scottish Pakistani team, added:
"We are thrilled to be involved in this charity sports day, with such an exciting cricket match as its showpiece.
"In this year of the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow, the event aims to show the whole country how communities can come together in sport while raising money for charitable causes.
- See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

As part of the Scottish Asian Sports Gala T20 Commonwealth 2014 event, the match is a fund-raiser for the Ucare Foundation, which has along with the Pakitan Consulate and the Western District Cricket Union, organised the match. - See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

As part of the Scottish Asian Sports Gala T20 Commonwealth 2014 event, the match is a fund-raiser for the Ucare Foundation, which has along with the Pakitan Consulate and the Western District Cricket Union, organised the match. - See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

As part of the Scottish Asian Sports Gala T20 Commonwealth 2014 event, the match is a fund-raiser for the Ucare Foundation, which has along with the Pakitan Consulate and the Western District Cricket Union, organised the match. - See more at: http://www.cricketworld.com/glasgow-to-host-charity-t20-match/38004.htm#sthash.7yX8IRfO.dpuf

MODERN TIMES with LIVE BBC SCOTTISH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA at the CITY HALLS GLASGOW

For the very first time in Scotland the classic Charlie Chaplin film was shown with a full live orchestra playing the score written by Chaplin himself, restored and conducted by Timothy Brock.
This was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first screen appearance of the famous tramp character in film.
The film was one of the last great silent films made in an era when sound was taking over.Originally planned as an audio film Chaplin realised that the silent approach would create a better impact for his theme of the ordinary little man taking on the system of elites , who are the only ones granted the privilege of sound in the film critique of industrialised complex versus the citizen.

The musical score itself took over six months to complete , when ten days is the norm even today.Chaplin would play chords on his violin , tap out the notes on piano whilst his musical assistant arranger would convert the score into readable music for a large orchestra of over sixty four players.Though convoluted and requiring expertise help , it is very fair to say the score is Chaplins own work.

This review from The Scotsman sums up the historical evening.

"Such was the authentically Hollywood-style sweep and the velvety sonic sheen to the orchestra’s playing, not to mention Brock’s effortlessly impeccable synchronisation with the images (he clearly knew both the movie and the music inside out), that the score seemed to flow directly from the screen. It was only the bright immediacy of the sound and the vivid colours that Brock drew from the BBC SSO players – who were on top form, and seemed to relish the score’s lush melodies and sometimes frenetic rhythms – that reminded you there was a live band playing at all."

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO at the WEBSTERS THEATRE

Glasgows newest theatre welcomed a musical adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas tale of Betrayal , Honour and Revenge set to a heavy rock soundtrack.
Ive only been to one musical since i went to four Broadway ones , especially Jekyll and Hyde which skipped the dialogue to go straight into songs ,  and a light Opera in a three day spell ,ultimately suffering a severe bout of Too-Many-Musicals-Fatigue-Syndrome from which i still suffer an aversion to this day.
It has been so long i had forgotten the etiquette of applauding after each song , a somewhat disjointed and incongruous practice as if we should clap Hamlet whenever he successfully delivers a soliloquy without mishaps.
The good thing about this was the quality of dialogue between songs.A very impressive performance for only ten days rehearsal time.
The lead actor tells the background of the play in this Evening Times article.

"Alex and Webster's Theatre boss Pete Sneddon initially developed The Count as a period piece.
"But after seeing Macbeth, I realised this re-setting into a dirty, grungy, gritty world really worked. It brought people down to the basics of humanity.
"And it gave me the idea; why not set the Count in this post apocalyptic world?"
Alex, 27, explains: "We've taken the story and the characters out of the world of the book. This new world is set after a major war and there are only little pockets of survivors.
"These characters, in that context, are all very selfish. Even though there has been a great catastrophe, they are still holding onto their own past."

MY NAME IS.... at the TRON GLASAGOW

I remember the time when this story broke out in the press as this blurb explains "A captivating new play about love, family and shifting identities.
My Name is… tells the story behind a story that fleetingly hit headlines in 2006 and continues to resonate throughout the UK and beyond.
When 12-year old Gaby disappeared from her home in Scotland, the media announced that her Pakistani father, Farhan, had kidnapped her. The spiraling headlines were only momentarily silenced when it emerged that Gaby may have fled of her own accord, choosing to spend her life in Pakistan. To her Scottish mother Suzy's great distress, Gaby declared, 'my name is Ghazala' and turned her back on 'Gaby' and seemingly the West...
This moving verbatim play reveals a unique Scottish love story that began in early 80s Glasgow, a world away from the frantic ‘tug of love’ well documented in the world's press.
Tamasha is an award-winning theatre company. Successes like East is East, The Trouble with Asian Men and Snookered have won acclaim from audiences and critics alike."

The play was an intense experience in which sympathy and empathy and a compassion for the human side of all the characters comes out , this website of the play production company also contains an introductory video of the play.

In this video in which the cast members discuss the play we come ( especially at the 2mins-14 sec mark) to the original story and the guilt they feel over the casual assumptions that were automatically engendered which assumed the only reason someone could have of leaving the West for the East would be abduction or kidnap.
 

This review captures the dramatic emotional experiences that are felt by the audience throughout this genuine tragedy. 

 "Told in present day and flashback,it is Farhan and Suzy’s relationship which is the central core of the play. The first tentative courtship of a gauche ‘Gori’ teenager and her early twenties Asian boyfriend is charming, and cringingly recognisable­ sweet-­talking, bad dancing to the Bee Gees at a local Pollokshields disco and endless promises of domestic idyll, until the chasms between the cultures, often facilitated by Farhan’s conservative in­-laws, deepen. Suzy refuses to wear the veil upon her conversion, and Farhan divorces her on the grounds of apostasy, accusing her of being an unfit mother."

It has to be said if any blame is to be attached to any of the characters then it is to the Father who was the only adult in this drama and who opportunistically took advantage of the situation of taking liberties when it suited his desires and then turning dogmatically conservative when that side suited his needs.

The video below contains an in-depth interview with Arun Ghosh music and sound production