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I'm an author and freelance journalist, venturing into the world of 'blogs' for the first time. Although I usually write from dreams, these are purely formed from my own opinions, observations and general silliness. If you're feeling brave, why not read a couple? Or if you want to go back to the safety of nice, familiar books, venture back to the main site.


Discombobulate - Posted on 6/4/2009


On Tuesday night I took myself down to the The Arches for ‘Discombobulate', a monthly event where literature and comedy collide. It was my first time, so I wasn't really sure what to expect, but after meeting Alan Bissett at Weegie Wednesday I'd promised to go along, as it sounded most interesting.

We start off at the bar, and as people slowly but surely filter in, I have a chat with a friend. A couple of minutes in, I begin to understand what people mean when they talk about the train noise; The Arches is directly underneath Central Bridge, and the trains can be rather loud. It certainly gives the place an added atmosphere, anyway!

At 8pm we're directed into the ‘Playroom' where we find what looks like a big old railway tunnel (nice) and some theatre-like seats, facing a microphone, a table and a stool. Getting quite excited now.

Host Ian McPherson starts off the night by reading his own work; ‘Death of a Ladles' Man' – which is a take on Alan Bissett's new book title, ‘Death of a Ladies' Man'. I begin to see why this place has such an appeal. It's quite a small, intimate venue, and you never know what is going to be next! Some of the acts were extremely funny, and others were well... interesting, and most of them were interrupted by the sound of overhead trains – love it. Most of the pieces were very cleverly written and it was most definitely a break from the norm for me. There's breaks for drinks, and although the air conditioning is on and it's really rather cold (a stark contrast to the weather outside) I find it doesn't really bother me that much.

There's a musical performance from Iain Heggie and Billy Letford, where Iain ‘purposefully' screws up his lines. Still, the songs were quite funny.

The final part of the night starts when Alan Bissett reads from ‘Death of a Ladies' Man' – I think it was an excerpt from somewhere in the middle of the book. I was very impressed with the way Alan read, he is obviously a very confident and accomplished performer as well as a highly acclaimed writer. Falkirk certainly knew what they were talking about when they picked him as ‘Personality of the Year 2008'.

The night finishes with some curious poems from Skye Loneragan, who begins her performance by behind the curtain, announcing ‘you'll know I'm done when I punch the curtain'. I can only describe her as very lively, with her own attention-grabbing style of recitation. I've never seen anything quite like it.

I think I may at some point like to read something of my own there, but as yet (apart from Grassmarket Blood) none of my work is particularly funny, and I think that would help. So until I'm sure of exactly what I have to offer, I'll remain a spectator – but it does seem a fantastic thing to be a part of.

I'll probably go again.

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Add a comment

Comment from Tim
Bloody amazing, rock on!!
Posted 6/4/2009



Comment from B.
Ermmm... thanks, Tim.
Posted 6/4/2009



Comment from Kate
Sounds like a great night!
Posted 6/10/2009



Comment from juicy_lucy
Wish they did something like this near me. lucy.
Posted 6/14/2009