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Napoleon Cat from my series Vintage Hats for Cats

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The Messenger of Tethra, John Duncan

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Glasgow Lullaby

One misty morning on the Squinty Bridge I strolled A rover was singing “I belong to Glasgow” And even if on shores far away I grew old That is something written in my blood and marrow. The gospel of bagpipes, languid song, makes me bold I wander through sullen streets, the urban meadow Celtic lullabies crowned me Scottish heart of gold And streams of whisky - romance to my ears they sough.  The hour of deoch an doris be damned and doomed For an eternal fire inside me has bloomed;  As long as I’m here, I won’t know melancholy.  My path is cobbled with embroidered tartan dreams I’ll never have enough of such beauty it seems,  My gleaming eyes caress the proud, lively city.  -G.L.G Sonnet about Glasgow that I wrote for a seminar exercise in English literature. October 2015. 

#glasgow #sonnet #poem #poets on tumblr #poetry #scotland #internationalstudent #englishliterature #glasgowlullaby

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psyche 🎱🔮

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Hylas and the Nymphs - J. W. Waterehouse

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Miranda (The Tempest),  John William Waterhouse, 1916

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Hector is a most promising first feature film by director Jake Gavin. Hector McAdam, portrayed by Peter Mullan, is homeless. He relentlessly wanders from one motorway service station to the next. Fifteen years ago, an ordeal that he cannot move past alienated him from his everyday life and made him abandon everything he ever cared about, including his family and friends. He has made an ally out of the streets, a safe haven, far from his tragic past. However, as he is about to start his annual pilgrimage from Glasgow to London where he is used to spending Christmas time in a shelter, all of a sudden, this past resurges.

More than a simple expedition to London, the trip is a journey to finally be at peace with the people he has left behind, and with himself. Hector is a bittersweet tale of late coming of age, of loss and mourning, but also one of love and forgiveness. A story about a man’s revival and his long process of healing to find a taste for life again.

The film is shot with a simplicity which obstructs any hint of superficiality: long shots showing the gorgeous rawness of Scottish landscapes, close-ups on Hector’s exhausted and wrinkled face. The image focuses on the raw, the core of the everyday life of a homeless. Add a bit of humour and a bunch of natural, moving actors, and Hector may remind some of Ken Loach’s social realist films. Mullan especially, once again, proves to be an actor of talent able to adapt to the roles he plays with a powerful sincerity. Hector is of these heart-wrenching, eye-opening films that convey a strong message. The film, through the character of Hector, gives a voice to all those homeless people too often ignored. It is an invitation for us to show more compassion towards them.

Gavin delivers to the audience a unique and fictive slice of life, although it could be anyone’s. The film succeeds in painting a story that feels genuine: it is neither pessimistic nor shallow but profoundly hopeful and human, and that is where it draws its strength from.   -G.L.G. My review for [qmunicate] magazine, November 2015

#jakegavin #hector #hectorfilm #glasgow #london #creativescotland #petermullan #filmreview

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Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988 dir. Terence Davies)

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Hawaiian Shirts are by far the best part of Romeo+Juliet

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Little & Fierce by Cat Coquillette

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A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - James Joyce (1916)

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Google celebrating the Loch Ness Monster (April 21, 2015)

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An epic sonnet about Scottish independence

For ages have fought kilted men With bravery, down in the glen The song of bagpipes was filling the air, Floating right to the enemy's lair

Led by a hero named William Wallace, Wah hae ! They kicked the English arse ! They're said to go underwear-free, How frightening for the bonnie lassie !

Later, their pride, deep as the Loch Ness, Because of the English vanished with epicness And on the very day of the referendum, Finally they've asked for their freedom But now God's tears fall with abundance, Announcing as over the Scots' battle for independence. -G.L.G

[19.09.2014] Note: this poem was written during a boring philosophy class on the 19th of September 2014, following the results of the referendum for the Scottish Independence Referendum. Although I was deeply saddened and disappointed by the results, as I was really hoping that the YES would win, I decided to write this humorous poem instead of moaning. The YES campaign was a brilliant effort, but both ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ voters chose what they thought was best for their country and I believe that they were equally proud of being Scottish, which is a beautiful thing. Scotland is an old, respectable and proud nation, whether independent or part of the UK. 

#scotland #scottish #scottishreferendum #alexsalmond #nicolasturgeon #glasgow #indyref #2014 #sonnet #poetry #poetsofinstagram

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Tim Walker.