An evening of words and music from Shetland
Monday 12 May 2008
Aberdeen Arts Centre [Venue 5]
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L to R: Doug Forrest, Rachel Eunson, Jordan Ogg, Helen Elizabeth Ramsey, Chris Andrews,
Vaila Boston, Matthew Wright
Photo by Roger Barnett
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Once more our Shetland guests demonstrated the diversity of talent emanating from
these islands. The group was introduced by Wordfringe veteran, Matthew Wright, who
can always be relied upon to amuse and entertain — and indeed this night was
no exception, when he regaled us with an amusing story, as narrated by an Orcadian
barman.
The three other readers from Shetland — all new to Wordfringe — were:
Vaila Boston, who read some poems, and a captivating account of a grandmother's
struggle — with her heroin-addicted daughter — for custody of her grandchild;
Doug Forrest, who performed some moving poems, including a homage to his grandmother
— a Holocaust victim; and Rachel Eunson, who, through poetry and prose, gave
us a glimpse of life at sea from the refreshing point of view of a female engineer.
Support was provided by two Aberdeen-based writers; Helen Elizabeth Ramsey, who
treated us to some humorous and true-to-life, observational prose; and lateral-thinker,
Chris Andrews, who took the audience by surprise with his off-the-wall approach
to poetry.
The success of this event was enhanced by the performance of Shetlander Jordan Ogg.
This young singer/songwriter played two sets, confidently and competently, with
acoustic guitar and harmonica. His unique style came across well, despite the background
noise and lack of amplification.
Cal Wallace
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