drift four: murderrr

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  • Ed - 28 November 2010 -

    A challengingly articulate and passionate analysis of Glasgow’s ghosts / tropes, in view especially of the visitors who will soon be heading here for the commonwealth games – yes Mockintosh and Queen Maryism will drip down the halls/walls of Ministry of TouristBestFace. But having experienced manchester and liverpool at close quarters recently (and then reading the road to wigan pier), and then coming back to Glasgow, the reality of dystopia you hurt for in our well-pigeonholed “dear green place” all seemed relative, surprisingly, to how embedded the chip is – i.e., how painful the knowledge of a place we call home can become when the local everyday, local paper, underside breaks our hearts. In other words I found Liverpool delightful. Sometimes too little information can shield us and yes make us naive. But then we are all tourists in this world for our season. Maybe being a fecking tourist ain’t such a bad thing after all… our wounds are not theirs, thankfully. Only blithe ignorance of the past can make a better future? By the way your accent is totally exotic and alluring to those not of our compartmentalised ConDem-ned isle…

    The “problem” (there’s a Robinsonism!) of Glasgow will only be upended by creativity in music or possibly arts. That’s how Manchester + Liverpool did it… I think ConDem time is gonna be fertile…

  • Donna Coomer - 28 November 2010 -

    May…Total brilliance despite the darkness of your subject! Donna

  • May Miles Thomas - 2 December 2010 -

    Thanks Donna – glad you’re still reading me. The subject may be dark but only by writing about it will the light prevail.

    And thanks, Ed, as always for your comments. The chip is well and truly embedded in my shoulder when it comes to the ‘problem’ of Glasgow. Don’t know if you saw the piece in Spectrum in SoS on Sunday – I don’t think it was available online, but as someone unused to publicity, I admit I balked at being quite so welded to the locale.

    Still, to attract attention to the site a year after it launched was timely, since I just received the invoice for another years’ hosting and the ongoing RCD – where I personally pay for each ‘watch’ of the films by others, I debated with myself whether it was worth the upkeep and if, by this point, I have anything more worth saying on the subject of Glasgow.

    I’ve yet to decide, but in the meantime, I ponied up – anyone from Creative Scotland reading this take note – because I’m subsidising Scottish Art right now when I ought to be stacking shelves at ASDA for want of an income.

    Happy Days,
    May

  • Ed - 4 December 2010 -

    May, I’ve stopped reading newspapers – although I did spot Irvine Welsh complaining that creativescotland had (like Madame Leger condesendingly said to Francoise Gilot, “Malevich, you prob don’t know him, I’ve taken an Arts n’ Humanity degree don’t cha’ know – yeah, like little black square and little black circle” – I’m paraphrasing, but its like hey Irvine, Supa-Dawg, we’re hip with the new logo n’ all, yet have utterly no practical creative experience and WE’LL tell you how to make films, OK?) assured him he wasn’t “schottishhh” enough for funding approval – not that they’ve got the cash for even funding a couple of seconds of a general release theatre trailer…

    Kafkaesque is too good a cliche to waste on it… er, I’m surmising… possibly… fine people individually, I’m absolutely sure of that…

    Being an outsider with a strong reputation will sustain you yet, I believe, May. Just not in Scotland. The name has changed but the dull uncreative ghosts of strathclyde regional council and the scottish arts council remain intact, from all accounts.

    And that I think is the completely natural order of things. If it was easy there would be no new ground taken. Consider yourself a groundbreaker. You don’t owe this mediocre administration nor its city fathers anything! Let 2011 be the year you blossom in pocket, heart and mind – you deserve it girl. I’m praying decent movie/script people with financial options at their fingertips see your worth right soon.
    Ed

  • May Miles Thomas - 9 December 2010 -

    Ed, as always you nail the Zeitgeist.

    As cultural ‘enablers’ go, Creative Scotland – from their Leith Agency logo – (and I have no problem with Malevich – see below) to their complacency – still hanging onto both Manor Place (SAC) and West George Street (Scottish Screen) in times of austerity and at the expense of legitimate creative endeavour – has abandoned film as an expression of national identity, arguably a form more potent and popular than opera, ballet and the NTS combined.

    What’s most offensive in this scenario is that practitioners here are left balancing on that mythic Glesga blade when it comes to media attention. Off the back of my SoS I/V – I put a link up on the main blog – only today I ventured to BBC Scotland’s HQ, an invite from Della Matheson, producer of Radio Scotland’s Sunday morning ‘Shereen Nanjiani’s’ show. To their credit, I was treated with great courtesy, even if I sensed the taxi driver who picked me up – late – was a chancer – 10 quid to carry me 2 miles I would have preferred to walk, even in sub-zero weather. We pay for this scam and – obviously – the driver didn’t thank me for calling it.

    While I’m always willing to participate, with no PR machine behind me, but always aware of the necessity of ‘profile’, it’s a nervous process being interviewed. I do it very rarely. When the question came up – what am I doing in the future? – I told Shereen I was turning to crime, the best line I could muster after 30 minutes of middlebrow questioning.

    As for Malevich, at a time when I could least afford it, I bought two prints – a black cross and a black circle. Malevich was on my radar at art school. And ever since I had to forge his black square as a piece of decor during my stint as lead designer on ‘The Late Show’, some weird compact was sealed. In the event, my prized Malevichs went unnoticed by the SoS journalist, Peter Ross, who instead grabbed onto my more seductive and vintage movie posters for ‘This Gun for Hire’ and ‘Sullivan’s Travels’, both starring Veronica Lake.

    Each to his/her own
    happy days
    May

  • May Miles Thomas - 12 December 2010 -

    Earlier today my interview on BBC Radio Scotland’s ‘Shereen’ programme went out and as a result the traffic to this site has shot up. I’d just like to thank you for dropping by – and hope you manage to find your way around.

    Any questions or comments are welcome. Just drop me a line.

    Best wishes,
    May

  • lesley Gardner - 13 December 2010 -

    Hi May,

    What a pleasant surprise to catch up with you after all these years. Willie was listening to your program on radio yesterday morning and was trying to piece together from what he had heard on the program if it was the same person…Willie being. Willie Gardner (Endgames)

    So happy you’ve had well earned acknowledgement to you work and your achievements. I’ll be dropping by often to catch up with your latest.

    love
    Lesley
    xx

  • May Miles Thomas - 14 December 2010 -

    Hi Lesley

    What a nice surprise. I rarely talk about my work in public – or rather, I rarely get the chance, so when Shereen’s producer got in touch I didn’t want to pass on the offer. I’m so pleased that Willie caught the show. Tell him I was asking for him – I’ll mention to Malcolm that you were in touch.

    Hope you’re both keeping well. Keep in touch,
    all the best,
    May

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