Readings from new works by Alison Flett and Martin Walsh
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Tarts & Crafts, Balmedie [Venue 14]
‘Bye for now’, I called, as I left the house. ‘I'm off to New
York and a fictional island in the North Sea’. I headed south to Balmedie
and Tarts and Crafts; our vessel for the evening's journey.
Others had also been called and those assembled warmly welcomed our companions,
Alison Flett and Martin Walsh. Alison treated us to a rich and textured excursion
within her forthcoming novel, About an Island, involving amongst other things,
a dog named Clint Eastwood, a flying tent garage and some warm, tactile, human characters.
In Manhattan, Martin's expertly voiced, hilarious yet touching dialogues, involving
a colourful variety of fauna, had us wishing there was more. Like all enjoyable
journeys though, we returned home and unpacked our happy memories.
Bernard Briggs
|
L to R: Haworth Hodgkinson, Alison Flett, Martin Walsh
Photo by Roger Barnett
|
In the delightfully intimate and colourful setting of the Tarts and Crafts community
café in Balmedie, an appreciative audience was treated to a varied programme
of music by Haworth Hodgkinson and alternating readings by Martin Walsh and Alison
Flett. The event was generously funded by the Gordon Forum for the Arts.
Martin, from Aberdeen, kept us laughing by acting out dialogues between New York
pigeons, a squirrel and a visiting Mexican Hummingbird. His zany imagination was
obvious, as was his gift for mimicking accents. However his final contribution —
a monologue by a taxi driver, who was originally from the Dominican Republic —
succeeded in being serious as well as funny.
Alison, from Orkney, was a real star and kept us enthralled with readings from her
novel-in-progress, set in a fictional island in the North Sea. In a brilliantly
described setting, she explored the thoughts and feelings of several characters
at Hogmanay, and made clear their sadness, sensitivity, and resilient sense of humour.
We look forward to buying her novel!
Colin Youngson
|