We’d a great open mike session last night at the Glen Mhor’s Waterside Building – the door open on to the terrace, the sun beating down outside, the river placidly flowing down to the firth.
We met a number of new friends, some of whom stayed on afterwards for al fresco drinks at the Glen Mhor. There’s already been positive feedback: ‘a lovely old time last evening’ writes Drew. ‘Everyone had such fun.’ ‘A real positive buzz.’ ‘It was one of the most enjoyable HighlandLITs thus far.’
And Mo MacQuarrie writes;
‘Thank you for a great open mic night last evening! It was great to see so many people there and even better hearing so much fantastic work. It was wonderful to hear all the appreciative comments re my own wee story in which humour was brought to murder!’
Others spoke about how much they appreciated the opportunity of reading their work to a friendly audience, and about how over the months reading at HighlandLIT and other similar fora in town their confidence has grown.
We heard poems, short stories (the humorous, the dark, the disturbing), a section from a published novel, a description of travel in New Zealand, a piece about the Duke of Sutherland’s private station at Dunrobin Castle. Some people read pieces they had written while at the wonderful HighlandLIT Writing Holiday at Cromarty earlier in the month which was led by Helen Moore.
One theme running through the evening was the environment, climate change, and earth’s rebellion against humanity. We will always remember Timski’s impassioned protest against ecocide – or ‘countrycide,’ the word he coined – declaimed entirely from memory.
A memorable evening, then. Our thanks to everyone who came along, and to those who shared their work so freely with us.
(The photos show Jayne Austen, Graham Bullen and Paul Shanks in action last night.)
