Gaia Magazine Issue 2, June 2015

a i ga every woman

Mary Gauthier ‘drink will leave you thirsty - fire will leave you cold’

Pot Still

Whisky girls

Slice of life

Female circumcision

FOUL Play

Sexism in sport

Issue 2 June 2015

Artisan

‘Saddler’

ginny pestell

Nora Ephron “Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim”

This issue POt still whisky Girls

Glasgow’s first whisky club for women thoughts from abroad

This month - Rachel Black, Australia on the cover

An exclusive interview with Americana troubadour Mary Gauthier Feature

A Slice of Life - the unspeakable practice of female circumcision that’s destroying young women’s lives Short story

by Lynn Ferguson, The Scottish writer, actress and presenter Artisan

Ginny Pestell - Saddler Recognising women with exceptional skills in many art forms

Regulars The Arts

Agenda

Events calendar The last word

...Horse Whispers

Issue 2 June 2015

Books . Music . Theatre.

Food & Drink Travel Sport

Welcome to our June issue.

Often when I’m asked to explain why I feel so passionately about women’s issues, I say it’s because history simply excludes women and I want to redress that balance. But that isn’t where I should start the story of this magazine for every woman. Instead, I’m going to begin by explaining I’m also the mother of two sons. They are where I’m going to start today, because true equality can only be achieved if they demand it too.

But why should we care? And what needs to change? I believe we are at a turning point in women’s rights and – as this is a magazine for and about women – your voice and the voice of those who inspire you should be heard.

We’ve met some extraordinary women whilst making this issue and discovered some uncomfortable truths. The causes of female genital mutilation include a mix of cultural, religious and social factors within families and communities. More than 125 million girls and women alive today have been cut in the 29 countries in Africa and Middle East where FGM is concentrated. Procedures are mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15, and occasionally on adult women.

In contrast, one of the great joys of editing a magazine like Gaia is having the ability to help promote the people you believe in.

A case in point is our cover star, Mary Gauthier. An unhappy childhood became a difficult adolescence as Gauthier turned to drink and drugs. Her most powerful attachment nowadays is to songwriting. “This is my longest relationship,” she says. She has led a life that she can draw on for her songs and encourage many others.

I love the fact that men also take the time to read and comment on the articles we feature too.

There’s nothing more motivating or uplifting than other women - don't you think?

Equality is not a women’s issue, it is a human issue.

Enjoy….

AJ Alanna Jane Follow me on twitter at @AlannaJane1 instagram GaiaWomen …….Tweet us at @GaiaMagEditor Editor:Alanna Jane Features Writer:Steph Mann Contributors: Lynn Ferguson, Rachel Black, Mac, Horse McDonald Design: idesign Publishers: Randan Publishing Ltd Company Number SC201978

gaia

Whilst every care has been taken to ensure that the data in this publication is accurate, neither the publisher nor its editorial contributors can accept, and hereby disclaim, any liability to any party to loss or damage caused by errors or omissions resulting from negligence, accidents or any other cause. Gaia Magazine does not officially endorse any advertising material included within this publication. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form - electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise - without prior permission of the publisher.

© 2015

FEATURE the Pot Still Whisky Girls Pot Still Bar: A chat with Geraldine Murphy on life and whisky.

If you think whisky is only for men, you're in for a dose of reality. More women find they want a taste of the action, and they're not just drinking it.

Few things are as synonymous with Scottish masculinity as whisky – but one woman in Glasgow is hoping to attract more female consumers to Scotland's national drink.

Many in the drinks industry are equally keen to change this stuffy, macho image – not least because women present distillers with a substantial untapped market, in the UK and worldwide.

Meet Geraldine Murphy, a knowledgable young woman with great ideas about women and whisky. She began working at the Pot Still in 2003 and has worked there on and off ever since.

When the opportunity to buy the pub arose, the Murphy family thought owning a part of Glasgow’s whisky heritage was too good an opportunity to miss. It has now been in their safe and experienced hands for six years.

“As a family it also means that everyone working here genuinely cares about the business and shares the same passion that many of our customers do.”

So how did she learn the trade?

“Just by being in the bar to be completely honest. Before starting in here I wouldn’t have drank whisky if you had paid me but being around it you have to know a little bit. I listened to other staff members and brand reps, by picking up bottles and looking at labels. I also went to Auchentoshan Distillery and learnt a lot there and I completed John Lamond’s whisky course.”

Geraldine wanted to encourage whisky loving women to make the pub a place where they could feel at home and enjoy their favourite drink. In August 2012 she started the Pot Still’s Whisky Girls, believed to be the first whisky club for women in the UK. Monthly meetings are held in the pub and attract a varied age group. “ As soon as the family took over the Pot Still, I knew I wanted to do something that would involve women and whisky, making it more accessible and introduce it to women that may not come to a mixed tasting.”

The club’s inaugural meeting was an Auchentoshan tasting led by their master blender Rachel Barrie.

“I was delighted with how the evening went and 27 people turned up.

The club is, mostly, about helping women learn more about what they’re drinking or what they’ve never tried before.

So why whisky and why now?

“I think just the different tastes of whisky.

Again, I find people come in here and say I don't drink whisky, I had a half bottle of X when I was 14 and I was sick for a week and you think no wonder. People are put off by that early memory of it.

You should just give it a go. The different styles of whisky that you can try I find really interesting, the fact that it’s all made the same way and yet they can taste so different.

People should give it a try, why not? Consumers come in here and they're not really sure where to start so I think it’s just getting a little bit of knowledge and asking the bar staff and they'll be able to point you in the right direction.”

The idea of whisky being a man’s drink has been completely altered over the past decade – it’s now estimated that nearly one-third of whisky drinkers in the UK alone are female.

Geraldine is also delighted by the increasing number of women involved in the whisky industry who are following their passion. On International Women’s Day she organised an ‘International Women in Whisky Day’ at The Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. “ It’s important to me that I can be part of giving something back, and all proceeds raised went to Women’s Aid. We invited people from all over the world and different parts of the industry, had a nice lunch, guest speakers and the Provost of Glasgow came and she spoke too. Doing something on that scale was quite challenging and very different for me.”

And your personal favourite whisky?

“That’s a tough one, I love anything from GlenDronach or Glenfarclas, but there are too many to choose from.”

The club's success suggests that a part Scotland's culture may still have the capacity to expand in its home market and further afield, changing perceptions and palates.

I think we can all drink to that.

Follow the Pot Still on twitter @potstillglasgow or connect via Facebook www.facebook.com/ThePotStillsWhiskyGirls

Wellbeing

Cervical cancer what every woman should know

Robert Music, Chief Executive of Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust, “The NHS Cervical Screening Programme saves around 5,000 lives each year, yet across the UK 1 in 5 women is not taking up their screening invitation. Cervical screening is one of the most effective ways of preventing cervical cancer so it’s vital that we see a shift in awareness of this life saving test.

“To reduce incidence of the disease the charity runs awareness campaigns such as the upcoming Cervical Screening Awareness Week in June (CSAW, 15-21 June). We produce and distribute information about cervical cancer and prevention programmes, as well as targeted information for specific groups, such as a video about screening for women with learning disabilities. ”For those affected by cervical cancer or cervical abnormalities and their loved ones Jo’s offers several support services; a national helpline, local support groups across the UK, Ask the Expert and an online forum.”

Put it on your list.

cancer.

Take the cervical screening test and reduce your risk of cervical

It is a test that involves checking the cells from your cervix (the neck of the womb) and a human papilloma virus (HPV) test, where appropriate. The test (also known as the ‘smear test’) is designed to pick up any changes so that they can be easily monitored or treated.

Why am I being offered a cervical screening test? In Scotland, all women between the ages of 20 and 60 are offered a test every three years. Some, but not all, changes found by cervical screening tests may give an early warning sign of the possibility of developing cervical cancer. By dealing with this at an early stage, many cervical cancers can be stopped before they even start.

What is a cervical screening test?

5 MINUTES - Your cervical screening test will last five minutes.

Five minutes that can save your life

If it is more than three years since you had a test you should contact your GP to make an appointment.

I’m not sure if I need a test.

I’m lesbian/bisexual - do I need to have a cervical screening test?

Most changes to the cervix are caused by HPV, which can damage cells in the cervix. These changes can lead to cervical cancer. Every woman is invited for a test because it is easily spread through intimate contact by women or men.

Professor Julietta Patnick CBE, Director of the NHS Cancer Screening Programmes said: “Most research including that carried out by Dr Julie Fish of De Montfort University found that there is a low level of awareness of the cervical cancer risks for lesbians, among both healthcare staff and lesbians themselves.

“Many incorrectly believe that lesbians are not at risk at all.

“A clearer understanding of the transmission routes of HPV is crucial in helping to encourage all eligible women to accept screening invitations.”

I’ve been through the menopause - do I still need a test?

Yes. The risk of getting cervical cancer increases with age.

8 out of 10 - Cervical screening prevents 8 out of 10 cancers from developing

It is best to make an appointment for a day when you will not have your period. During this time it is difficult for your GP or nurse to get a clear view of your cervix.

Your will be asked to undress from the waist down, lie in your back on an examining couch,and bend your knees. Your GP or nurse will gently insert a tube called a speculum into your vagina to hold it open, then brush cells from the cervix using a soft brush. The cells will be sent to a laboratory, where they will be examined under a microscope.

What will happen?

How will I get my results? You will usually get your results in the post within four weeks sent directly to your home address. The result will also be sent to whoever took the test, and your own GP will get a copy.

Changes are detected in around 1 in every 10 women who have a test. It is important to follow up changes and treat them if necessary. Sometimes minor changes can clear up on their own but these changes will need to be monitored to check that they have cleared up. If changes are detected that require further investigation you will be referred for examination to check whether the changes need to be monitored or treated.

What will happen if changes are detected?

Key points to remember Cervical screening reduces the risk of developing cervical cancer and saves around 5,000 lives every year in the UK. Most cervical cancer is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), a virus that is very common and easily spread by sexual activity.

You should have regular screening even if you have been immunised against HPV. Cervical screening cannot pick up all changes to your cervix or prevent every case of cervical cancer.

micrograph of pap smear

Thoughts from abroad Australia

by Rachel Black

Mel Greig – A story of More than SOME

I saw an advertisement for ‘Celebrities in Schools’ and read the word, ‘bullying,’ embedded within it. It struck me as an innovative way to inform and provide insight into the impact of bullying for Australian school children.

After all most celebrities have suffered SOME harassment, SOME negative fan mail, SOME type of attempted bring-down, right? So they should have SOME insight. They should be of SOME help. SOME. SOME and bullying don’t trip off the tongue like tea and biscuits, scones and jam, sun and surf. SOME doesn’t impact on change.

So which celebrities are the cut above this SOME? Which celebrities would stand a chance of making an impact? Who are they thinking of putting out there?

I was interested.

The advertisement had a link which took me to a TV segment that was screened as part of a launch for this new initiative organised by Talk the Talk Australia.

I watched the footage.

I saw a boy band I had never heard of, an ex-radio announcer whose name rang a bell and school children who were excited beyond belief. It was the excitement and responses of the children that kept me watching and encouraged me to complete the ‘form below for more information.’

Why? Because as deputy principal in a large and complex primary school in South Australia where we know students suffer at the hands of bullies, I have a duty to remain committed to addressing the issue to ensure our school is a safe place of education. I also have a social conscience that tells me that kids today need to be more armed and more prepared than ever. Bullying has reached new and insidious heights with internet access being so readily available.

Within minutes I had a reply email.

‘Automated reply,’ my brain thought. But as I am curious, I checked.

It wasn’t automated. It was from Mel Greig.

Mel is THE celebrity who knows more than SOME. Her story has been plastered on televisions and newspapers worldwide. Her story has been spoken on radios, whispered in corridors, posted on Facebook and tweeted on Twitter.

On 6 December 2012, Mel Greig and Michael Christian (Australian radio hosts) rang the London hospital where Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge had been admitted suffering serious morning sickness. They pretended to be the Queen and Prince Charles. A nurse forwarded the call on to Catherine’s private nurse, and Greig and Christian were able to obtain Catherine’s medical details. Following the incident the nurse who put the prank call through to Catherine’s private nurse was found dead in a suspected suicide. The prank was condemned by journalists around the world and Mel, her family and friends became the target of unforgiving bullies.

Now I was talking with Mel and asking for help through Celebrities in Schools and she was more than keen.

In less than 24 hours, I had booked Mel, a radio DJ guy called Andrew Hayes (Haysey) and a band called ***At Sunset to visit the following week Our students were informed and an air of excitement began to grow. When the day arrived, excitement had changed to frenzy. Screaming, crying girls were pinned to windows, clutching iPads and bits of paper with their newly established Twitter account details scribbled down in the hope they would get to thrust them at a boy from the band and get a ‘follow.’

Was this going to work as a serious bully awareness exercise or were hormones going to beat common sense? Sound checks occurred, big lunch play time arrived, and 500 students made their way to the gym. The doors began to shake.

The concert was fabulous and the mood was upbeat BUT were the kids going to settle for the really hard and serious time ahead? At least we had their attention. For that I was grateful!

The workshop began.

The students were given a name from a hat and were required to find out as much as possible about the person with that name. Then report back.

Why? They needed to know that everyone has a story. Everyone has a family. Everyone has likes and dislikes. Everyone has emotions and everyone is REAL. Everyone hurts, everyone laughs.

Everyone is just like them. They needed to recognise that it can seem less hateful to hurt those we don’t really know because when we don’t really know someone we aren’t really connected to them, right?

WRONG. When we hurt someone we establish a connection.

The students talked and listened and learnt about others.

Then they took a break.

Mel didn’t.

Mel spent her time talking to a student I had identified as needing support. She missed lunch, only managing a few bites of a roll and a mouthful of drink.

Following the break, they gathered for the stories from the celebrities.

Mel went first. She was brutally honest.

She spoke of the prank and the disastrous ending.

The ending that was never ever meant to occur.

Death. The suicidal death of a nurse. The silence from over 100 students was more than SOME. She spoke of her reaction. Her guilt. Her sadness. Her depression. Her regret. Her deep emotional wound. Her ongoing heartache. She spoke of relentless bullying that was aimed at her, her friends and her family.

Her story was powerful.

SOME didn’t resonate in any of words she spoke. SOME and bullying don’t trip off the tongue like vegemite and toast, love and laughter.

The children remained silent.

One of the band members spoke of being a bystander and watching bullies. He spoke of his guilt and his regret. His cowardice, his desire to have the chance to do things differently, make stronger decisions. Stand up.

DJ Haysey spoke of allowing his best friend to bully a boy soprano singer at school without intervening. The soprano student also took his own life.

Within a short space of time the children had heard of two deaths (and countless acts of intentional hurt) from the adults who stood in front of them. The adults they admired.

It was this admiration, the fan link, the awe and plain presence of these people that was making the difference.

This time it wasn’t their teachers, it wasn’t school leadership, it wasn’t the police or their parents talking to them. We have all become white noise now.

The kids needed more. Not SOME more.

At the end of the day they had learned that people who try to hurt you through bullying are not your friends. If it is cyber, they must block and delete. Don’t read. If you don’t read the words then they can’t hurt you.

They learned that when suicide does occur, it doesn’t always mean the person wanted to die. The person may have only wanted the hurt to go away and in the process of making the hurt stop, their death occurred.

They learned the impact of the death of a victim on those who love them.

They learned to never, ever get to that point where the hurt is too big. They know they MUST talk to a trusted friend, your family or a teacher when the hurt begins.

They know to never stand by and that everyone has different abilities to cope with the hurt words can cause. They must take action and call a stop to any bullying they witness. They must get help if they are fearful to take action alone. That way they will never have to live with the regret that they did nothing.

Most of all they really know that bullying has no place in their lives.

Bullying has no place in our school.

Bullying has no place.

Mel Greig has chosen to use the very experience that brought her to her knees, as a lever to prevent others suffering or causing suffering. She has chosen to do this in a public forum.

This is both brave and admirable.

I wish Celebrities in Schools all luck as they venture forth.

I truly believe they will save lives.

***I had never heard of the band but I did a quick Google and discovered I had just organised for something similar to One Direction to visit. ***

Mary Gauthier photo Dennis Jones

on the cover

by Alanna Jane

“I was adopted when I was about a year old. My adopted parents tried, but their marriage was doomed. Music saved my life. I couldn't relate to things in Baton Rouge, but I found songs that spoke to me.”

Mary Gauthier was born in 1962 to a mother she never knew and left in St Vincent's Women and Infants Asylum, New Orleans. She was later adopted when she was a year old by an Italian Catholic couple from Thibodaux, Louisiana. The intervening years saw her struggle to cope. A runaway at the age of 15, Mary stole her adoptive parents' car to escape Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and found her first shelter among addicts and drag queens.

She spent several years in drug rehabilitation, halfway houses, and living with friends. She spent her 18th birthday in jail, and what followed were years of drug and alcohol abuse. But somehow during this time she managed to hold down jobs and had the determination to attend the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Massachusetts. She opened her own Cajun restaurant, Dixie Kitchen (which inspired her debut album’s title), in Boston. Mary ran the restaurant for eleven years. On opening night, July 12, 1990, she was arrested for drunk driving. She has been sober ever since.

The one advantage of coming to music at a comparatively late age is that the songwriter will have led a life that she can draw on for her songs. Mary Gauthier has certainly led a varied life, and it shows in the depth of her writing.

I recently caught up with Mary at her home in Nashville…

Having been abandoned as a baby, have you ever thought about having children?

“Never, not even once. I’m a workaholic, I get pleasure and joy from my work. I don't even have a plant in my house. I’m dedicated to my time consuming job, the poor little kid would be an abandoned baby like me.”

Your 2010 album The Foundling, tells the story - sometimes in stark honesty - of the search for your birth mother. She didn’t want to meet with you. Were you able to find some kind of emotional closure through writing the album?

“It was hard. Really hard. Honestly? I’m still trying to figure out how to deal with it. I cope with most of my pain by writing about it and getting clarity through songwriting. I write down my emotions and I sing them and it helps me to understand and cope. I bring the songs in to the world and other people say ‘oh my god that happened to me’ . That helps me a lot to know that I’m not alone with what’s gone on.

“But closure, no, I can’t have closure with her walking around, and me walking around, and us not being able to meet each other. The most I can have is compassion and I can try to find a way to let it be what it is. But closure is not possible… because it’s still open.”

You wrote your first song when you were 35 - what was that song?

“I don’t remember. I had got myself into serious things that were just terrible. And so I got sober at 27 after I got arrested for a drunk driving incident. After a couple of years words started coming and I think I may have been a little younger than 35, but not a lot younger, when I started writing songs. But the first ones, I don't really remember what they were. The process, I had to learn how to do it and it culminated in a first little record called Dixie Kitchen, that’s the first batch of songs that I kept. But there’s only one song on that record that I still play and that’s called Goddamn HIV, I think that’s the one song off that record that points me in the direction of where I want to go as a writer, it has my voice in there . Only I could have written that song.”

Do you find it a cathartic process, the songwriting?

“Well cathartic is not the word, just getting the emotions out, a release that doesn't do anything other than release. What I’m hoping for is to go to the next stage which is to connect. I want the stories to connect and my job as a writer is to go beyond catharsis into a magical place that connects us through a human experience.”

What comes to you first, is it the words or is it the music?

“It’s both, they come together. Once I get an idea I start trying to find music that sounds like what I feel and so I strum it out and talk it out and hum it and never write words to songs without my guitar in my hand. I don't write music and try and come back and put words in it. I can’t write that way, I’m not that good. I have to do it together, I don't know how to impose one on top of the other. They come together.”

Have you reached a place where you can live with your demons?

“Yes, I think so, I’ve learnt a lot about how to do that, music is helpful, meditation is helpful, compassion. I’ve found my way with compassion from my mothers but letting go of the anger, part of that is just getting older. Recovery makes life and love possible.”

Do you fear being taken back to unhappy places whilst singing or performing or is that a major part of your performance?

“The songs bring me on a journey, just like they bring the audience on a journey. I now can tell the story from the point of view of the person I used to be and not have to become that person again. It’s almost like looking back on someone else at a certain point. If you think of yourself ten years ago you're not that woman any more and so you understand that woman’s story intimately but you can’t, even if you wanted to, be that person you were ten years ago . So that’s kind of how it works. There’s a myth that Hank Williams died so young because of the songs he had to sing night after night. I don't think so. I think he died so young because he was an alcoholic and an addict. I don't think you relive this stuff, I think that you can experience the connection with the person that you were but you don't become the person that you were by singing these songs. You can't . It’s not possible.”

I read an article where you speak about the Catholic church. Do you have a strong faith?

“I do, I have, well, I have to work on it every day. I don't know if it’s religion at all. But I have to find a way every day to connect to something bigger than me because if I don't I’m going to turn myself into God or I’m going to turn some other person into God and that’s no good. I don't know if I even like the word God, I kind of like the word spirit or love or something benevolent that has us in it’s care and that includes me. But I don't wake up feeling that way, I have to work at it. It’s not simple and it’s not easy, it’s like any other relationship I think, I have to invest myself in it and really work at it.”

Does that ever fly in the face of your sexuality or cause friction in any part of your life having that faith?

“No, no at all. My God made me this way and made all people the way they are. Not at all, I actually see myself as completely whole in that area. My sexuality, being a lesbian, is utterably a part of me. And my spirituality. My sexuality and my spirituality are intertwined. It’s a sacred part of me. I would never love a God that didn't create or support that and bless that in it’s creation.”

It seems logical to say that your life has shaped your music but is that true - are there other influences that you recognise?

“My life has shaped my music but my joy, the passions, my struggles and my experiences were all part of it. I’m currently writing songs with veterans, soldiers, and I’m really enjoying that process but those aren’t my stories, it’s their stories, I’m unequipped to tell them. It’s intense, I can tell you that, them telling you what transpired over there in the Middle East and they feel abandoned . They come home and there’s nobody to talk to. It’s really hard and I think my life experiences have given me the capacity to sit with someone else who is in pain and not be afraid of their pain.”

Do you identify with them at all?

“Yes, I cant believe how much I love them. I love them so much. I just see incredible character, courage and strength of their beliefs. A lot of these people live by the service, by sacrifice, by spiritual principles and I really admire that.

“There is something incredible that happens when you pair soldiers and songwriters. The stories are the things that connect us. Their stories are unbelievably powerful. They taught me something, that songs can heal, they are powerful medicine. Songs have saved my life. I have literally pulled myself out of hell by writing songs.”

Who had an influence on you musically?

“The writers/songwriters/storytellers Flannery O’ Connor, Leonard Cohen,Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Joni Mitchell and not forgetting Lucinda Williams, Willy Guthrie, Hank Williams, Willie Nelson and the Outlaws . I like people who say something in their songs. Tom Waits, I’m a huge fan of Tom.” Who had an influence on you personally?

“John Prine. I’ve had the opportunity to tour with him on several occasions. He is a hero of mine. We both live in Nashville and I get to hang around with him sometimes. I admire him deeply and his songs speak to so many people.To have a personal relationship with him is incredible.”

Who do you think or know you have influenced ? Bob Dylan speaks highly of you.!

“That’s a tough one, I’m not sure. Every now and then someone comes along and says nice things about me and that’s just amazing.”

Is peer respect important?

“It means the world. I have been on stage with my friends who happen to be great artists. A standing ovation at the Grand Ole Opry. I’ll take that with me forever.”

You tell stories with your words, almost painting pictures, but your lyrics can flip the meaning at the start of a sentence to the antithesis of it. The one that sticks in mind for me is ‘drink will leave you thirsty, fire will leave you cold’ . Do you think that mirrors your life in some way?

“Yes, it does. It’s been my experience anyway, the more I drink the more I want to drink. It made me thirsty and moving towards the fire that was just a metaphor for passion and lust.The closer I got to that the colder it felt. So maybe it’s a declaration that making lovely things a priority becomes an addiction and if I don't find something other than that I’m doomed. It’s a big song for me, there’s a lot in there. It’s been a real challenge. It’s an adult song. It’s not a kids song.”

Some people would say you have been exceptionally strong through a lot of your life and experiences would you describe yourself as strong?

“No. I’m resilient. But I’m incredibly weak actually. I’ve gotten my strength through surrendering and not through any big victories. I have found my strength on my knees, I haven't stuck a flag on the moon or anything by any means. I’m not that kind of strong.”

You must be asked so many times to give advice to up and coming musicians but what would you tell your younger self now, would you do anything differently?

“No, I wouldn't do anything differently. I needed to do everything I did to become who I am today. I’m pretty at peace today with who I am. What I would say is to stay true to yourself. Be brave, because these songs are going to ask you to say things that are frightening to say and can make you vulnerable.

And if you sing you have to be more vulnerable, not less vulnerable.The amount of vulnerability required is profound and it can’t be done without courage. And so I tell people you have to be brave, you have to expect to be terrified and when you’re terrified you have to do it anyway and then courage is a matter of proceeding in spite of your fear.”

You say that you have found songs that spoke to you, when talking about music, would you share any of those songs or is that something that you don't really want to discuss?

“Interestingly I’m glad you asked that question. I’m in the process of writing a book and it’s going to be called ‘Why Songs Matter’. I’m going to pick ten songs that matter deeply to me, and I’m going to write about those songs in relation to my own life and what they mean to me. I’m really going to town with that very question turning it in to a book. There’s several songs that carry like a family heirloom, they are so precious to us that we can't imagine a life without them - if you're a fan of song, you know.

And most people are. Music is everywhere. People like music for big reasons, not just entertainment.”

What is your opinion of the music industry today?

“Even though I’m in Nashville I don't spend much time in the music industry. I think that essentially what I do is a small business that I own and I run and I have an international career. I play all over the world but it’s a small business it’s not plugged in to the industry at all any more. It looks pretty broken from where I sit but I don't have the authority to say because I’m not in it anymore.”

You have your own record label. Do you feel you have compete autonomy with your work within that label.

“Oh yes.”

So there are advantages and disadvantages of having a record deal?

“The advantages are you have an entire team of people to help sell your record. That is really important to have that team in place because it is very hard to sell a record. So when you get people who are experienced selling records, it’s very helpful to have them. But the disadvantage is that you have to sign away a lot of the things that are important, like artistic freedom, and you give them all the money to move your career ahead . So it’s a deal in some ways with the devil. You make a deal with the devil and in the end most of us find that the price that we pay is pretty high.”

I have never said or done anything that I didn't believe in and I’ve worked with people who have allowed me to be me. I think I’ve been lucky in that sense but I know that what I have to offer is quite simple . There’s no way to really cash in on me, I’m not being asked to sell out, there is nothing to sell out. All I've ever had is this blessing to be able to put words together in an honest way that resonates with people.”

You are your own unique brand and you've certainly carved your own niche especially with your pretty raw vocals, self analysis, which tends to baulk most of the trends and the only comparisons I can really think of seem to be male counterparts, as in Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen.. How do you feel being one of the only women who actually achieves that?

“I don’t think about it. What I think about is what I’m working on now . I don't look back very much, I don't take stock very much.. I’m writing a book, I’m working with soldiers, moving in the direction of what I'm in. I mean, one day I may sit and look back and see what happened but I’m not even very in touch with what happened. I’m so busy in my work and focused in my work, that keeps me sane, and I try and stay in the present and maybe look forward but not too forward and I don't spend much time at all looking back . When I do I find that it slows me down and as a human I have to accept what I’ve done and how my behaviours have affected other people and I have to take responsibility if I’ve hurt someone and reflect on what it is that I need to change , it’s part of why I don't look back.”

You've achieved so many things, awards and honours, what has been the most satisfying for you personally or professionally?

“I don't know.Tonight I’m playing at the Grand Ole Opry, and I’ve played the Opry I think six times now and it started with this record Trouble and Love. Marty Stuart started me there and took me to play with him in 2005 and that was cool. This is the sixth time and I don't walk on stage with the rainbow flag but I’m gay and I look gay and I don't look like the other women there, and I don't sing like the other women there . I’m not different in a way that’s bad and it’s not good it’s just that I am different and they've embraced me. I’m proud because now other people can come behind me and the door is open . It’s not just for me . For me it’s cool but that’s not enough, also there may be a couple of young gay kids that think ‘Oh I like country songs but I can’t because I’m gay.’ Well Mary Gauthier has played the Opry six times, they keep having her back and look at her, she’s one of us and maybe I can do it. So maybe it gives hope.”

You seem to enjoy talking to your audience so much and have a great rapport with them do you love live performances?

“I love live performances . I went to the National Film Festival yesterday and I saw a documentary on Hal Holbrook who performed as Mark Twain and has for sixty years and Hal was abandoned as a kid . His parents just left him and my God I connected with him. And what he’s doing on stage is connecting intimately with the audience. I think there’s something in this orphan-ness that drives us to do that. To go on stage night after night and at whatever place that will have us and connect. I think that if you look at the bios of people that do this, the one man one woman show, so many of us were orphaned.

Turn the curse into a blessing and the blessing’s already there and you discover it. And the need to connect will drive the work and the work is the important way of being in the world, it affects people profoundly and in some ways you’re doing work that’s beyond your abilities . There’s a spirit that’s living through it that’s not from you.”

How do you relax?

“Hot yoga for 90 minutes. I challenge myself with that and I love the way it’s transforming my mind and my body. I hike, we have beautiful trails outside of Nashville and they're pretty rigorous steep climbs, five mile trails, and I read constantly. My house, everywhere you go you are tripping over books. I’m an avid reader. And I continue to love food so I have dinner parties, I dine with friends . Nashville is a boom town right now, there are so many great new restaurants to explore.

I love food on the road. Those are my big passions right there.”

You have been called a troubadour - the original troubadours between the 11th and 13th centuries in France - were ‘love em and leave em’ types .... would this ever have been something that has ever been addressed to you? (laughs) “Yes, when I was young that’s how I was, but I’m not young anymore. Im 53 and I’ve been single now for a little over three years and I’m not romantically involved with anyone. I’ve put that whole thing on hold and have put all of that energy into my own spirituality and I have found it has been a very important part of my spiritual growth is to slow down that part of myself because it never really served me . There was a lot of fun in there and a lot of hurt in there, as you can tell from listening to the songs . So that’s something in your 20’s and 30’s but it’s starting to look bad in your 40’s and in your 50’s. I think it’s pitiful. (laughing) I don't want to look pitiful!”

And finally what is next for you?

“The soldier songs I’m really in love with. The book is hard, it has taken me a year to write a single chapter. Book writing for me is hard because I’m used to short form, making it long is challenging and I want to give this book everything I’ve got. I’m touring Canada, Northern Ireland, I’m teaching a workshop in Italy and Nashville and playing a bunch of folk festivals this summer from Canada to Colorado to California. I’m booked to December and I’m very happy about that. If I don't slow down I’ll never write the damned book so I’ve got to slow down at some point but I still feel like it’s the gift that keeps coming, I’ve got to take the opportunity to perform everywhere . I’m at my prime, I don't want to slow down. I’m going to do it, I’ve got to find a way to keep going.”

www.marygauthier.com

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Curling on Lake of Mentieth

Food and Drink

Waterfront Restaurant

The Lake of Menteith Hotel Port of Menteith, Stirling, FK83 RA

On the edge of Scotland’s only lake (or rather, the only such natural body of water not known as a loch),The Lake of Menteith and Waterfront Restaurant is a perfect compliment to the special shoreside setting.

The 50-seat restaurant has been pared down to stylish simplicity: the full-length windows flood the dining room with natural light that make a living landscape picture out of the lake, with a myriad of water birds delighting the diners.

It is relaxed and cosy, a warm and welcoming style of classic New England architecture.

Head Chef Daniel Bryant describes the menu as ‘Modern British so it’s influenced by flavours from all over the world.’

His signature main course of Crispy Ayrshire Pork Belly with a Sweet Potato, Butter Bean and Cavolo Nero Stew is, simply, a joy.

Popular dishes include Moroccan-spiced Rump of Perthshire Lamb with Baba Ghanoush and Harrisa Couscous and Pan-seared Breast of Barbary Duck with Potato Rosti, Wild Mushrooms and Bramble Jus. The short selection of puddings includes lemon tart with raspberry coulis and sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce, dishes which perfectly reflects the brand of traditional comfort with a twist.

What’s particularly refreshing about the Waterfront is the fresh local Scottish produce used, from the trout straight from the lake to using Scotland’s natural larder.

Yes, the menu might not be large, but it’s all done with an eye on the things that matter: good produce, cooked to a high standard, and a sense that the hosts are genuinely pleased to see you. www.lake-hotel.com

The Taverners High Street, Godshill, Isle of Wight PO38 3HZ The Taverners is a real country pub that is popular with locals and tourists alike.All of their meats come from Island farmers and the fish comes from local waters.

Both beer and Ploughman’s are on offer, but they're a sideshow to an altogether more sophisticated offering.

This is wise: not only does the island pub have a thoughtful, promising menu, but a serious and substantial wine list. There’s plenty here at high prices – but can our waiter recommend a light bodied white to go with our eclectic choices for around £40? She does better: we have a 2012 Domaine du Nozay Sancerre that comes in under budget and well above expectation.

I love the look of the Bembridge crab & saffron potato blinis with Island smoked salmon and sour cream, and the taste is just as lovely.

My main is Organic I.O.W venison haunch with pickled quince, the perfect balance to the rich meat, gratin potato & sprout tops. Can I really eat anymore?

Finishing things off, the desserts are superb. My Nan’s lemon meringue. An indulgent dish, leaving a moreish aftertaste and happy memories. It's the little things that reassure.

Perhaps the best thing about The Taverners is the lack of fuss. You get three courses for the terrific value of £25.

We may have lingered longer than we'd planned, but then we'd come for a pub lunch, and experienced a feast. www.thetavernersgodshill.co.uk

RECIPES

and for those who like dining in…

Jamaican seafood curry A mellow Caribbean-style curry of prawns, swordfish, yellow peppers and spring onions in a sweet tomato coconut sauce.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

2 teaspoons of olive oil 6 spring onions, finely chopped 1 yellow pepper, sliced 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1/2 teaspoon of chilli powder or dried chilli pepper flakes 1/2 teaspoon allspice powder 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar Pinch of salt 1 (400ml) tin coconut milk 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped 300g swordfish or cod fillets, sliced into chunks 250g peeled prawns 2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice Method

Prep:30 min Cook:30min Ready in: 1hr 1 Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add spring onions, yellow pepper and chopped ginger; stir until soft, about 5 minutes.

2 Stir in curry powder, chilli powder or dried chilli pepper flakes and allspice.

Add soy sauce, brown sugar, salt, coconut milk and fresh tomatoes. Stir and simmer over low heat, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.

3 Add fish fillets and prawns; continue to simmer until fish has cooked, about 5 to 8 minutes. Stir in lime juice and sprinkle with freshly chopped coriander.

recipes Raspberry woo woo Stock for the Woo Woo – Vodka, Peach schnapps, fresh raspberries and cranberry juice. Shaker, muddler, tall glass and ice.

Method – muddle (crush) 6-8 fresh raspberries into bottom of shaker. Add in 25ml Vodka and 25ml Schnapps. Top with 150ml cranberry juice. Fill with ice and shake until cold. Fill tall glass with ice and strain over. Garnish with fresh raspberries.

Cocktails mixologist -

Alex Allen

Based in busy and friendly Yates - High Street, Newport, Isle of Wight. Yates offers a vibrant lunchtime atmosphere – the perfect place for coffee, lunch or to meet up with friends. By night, Yates's becomes one of the hottest late night venues on the Island!

Something to appeal to everyone all week.

Berry Slim Jim Stock for the Slim Gin – Gin, Chambord (Dark berry liquor), fresh raspberries and orange juice. Shaker, muddler, tall glass and ice.

Method – muddle (crush) 6-8 fresh raspberries into bottom of shaker. Add in 25ml Gin and 25ml Chambord. Top with 150ml Orange juice. Fill with ice and shake until cold. Fill tall glass with ice and strain over. Garnish with fresh orange. * For best taste, I recommend Smirnoff and Gordons.

SLICE OF LIFE

by Alanna Jane I met Mandisa in a quiet cafĂŠ in Glasgow. She is a shy, unassuming Kenyan. Ill at ease in company. A mutual friend had introduced us and after weeks of persuasion she agreed to talk to me. Eventually she began to tell me her story. As a mother, what she revealed shocked me to the core, especially the betrayal by her own mother.

Now 30, Mandisa came to Britain when she was six. The family settled in London. When she was eight, her mother said they would be returning to Kenya to see her grandmother and aunts. On the flight ‘home’, Mandisa was told she was going to become a woman. What she didn't know was the horror that awaited her. This involved female genital mutilation (FGM), the practice of removing the clitoris and many of the outer parts of the vagina.

Young girls in the UK are sometimes taken to their ancestral homeland so that FGM can be carried out during their summer holidays, allowing them time to heal before they return to school. Apparently this is, rather gruesomely, called the 'cutting season'.

"I was so excited," she told me. "I was going for the whole summer holidays. My mum bought me new clothes to wear. I would be seeing my granny, aunts and cousins.

"Almost immediately, my aunts arrived at the door but didn't speak to me.I stood behind my mother but she let go of my hand and walked out of the door.

"They laid me on a table, spread my legs, put a rag in my mouth and held me down. I was terrified."

What Mandisa endured was type II genital mutilation, where the clitoris is removed and also includes the labia majora and/or minora.

A piece of glass or a razor is used to slash off the clitoris and the inner and outer labia. It is often done by an older woman or, in Mandisa's case a family member, without anaesthetic on a fully conscious, usually screaming girl who is being held down by three or four women. After the cutting, thorns and silk are used to stitch the two parts of the vulva together. The girl's legs are then tied together and they are left like that for two to four weeks.

Mandisa remembers the agony and hearing her own screams.

"I must have passed out but I remember waking up that night thinking I had broken glass inside me. My legs had been bound together from my ankles to my thighs. They had used disinfectant to wash me - I can't stand that smell even now.

"I needed to pee but it burned,' she continued. 'It was agonising, as if there were a naked flame on my privates. For the next few days, I refused to go to the toilet."

Mandisa believes this is what led to years of urinary tract infections and menstrual problems.

As sickening as Mandisa's history is, she is hardly unique.This is not simply an abhorrent 'foreign' custom, beyond the understanding of 'Western' values, there are some 66,000 women living with the consequences of FGM in the UK, but another 22,000 girls under the age of 15 are at risk of it here each year, with that number increasing. And it doesn't end there. Women are actually being sent to the UK to be mutilated, from countries such as France. Since it has been banned there parents and practitioners of FGM are being convicted of the crime.

Key facts: Female genital mutilation (FGM) includes procedures that intentionally alter or cause injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons.

The procedure has no health benefits for girls and women.

Procedures can cause severe bleeding and problems urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth and an increased risk of newborn deaths.

About 140million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM. FGM is mostly carried out on young girls sometime between infancy and age 15.

In Africa an estimated 101million girls 10 years old and above have undergone FGM. FGM is a violation of the human rights of girls and women.

So what is the UK government doing about it?

Female genital mutilation (FGM) is illegal in the UK - it's also illegal to take a British national or permanent resident abroad for FGM or to help someone trying to do this.

The maximum sentence for carrying out FGM or helping it to take place is 14 years in prison, but as yet, no one has been convicted of performing this in the UK. I spoke to a midwife from the Royal Berkshire Hospital who confirms that health complications are frequent. Many women do not know what has happened to them until they are examined by medical staff.

"Often the women are entirely ignorant about their own anatomy."

Sex and childbirth, understandably, can be both physically and psychologically excruciating.

The midwife added, "We used to pray that these women would have a boy so that he wouldn't have to endure what his mother had gone through."

What justifications can there be for such a practice?

I asked Mandisa to explain what possible 'traditional' arguments are in favour of FGM. "The vagina is not to provide sexual pleasure for yourself but for your husband. In our culture it is essential for a bride to be a virgin (it does not matter how many women the groom has slept with) and FGM acts like a chastity belt.

"The honour of your family and community is at stake."

Such beliefs are deeply embedded in many countries worldwide.

Naturally, discussions like these are disputed daily, by victims of this primitive procedure and their supporters, but you have to be very brave to speak out against FGM in your own community. Mandisa has had death threats - she now has to carry a personal alarm and has a panic button at home.

"I moved to Glasgow as I was ostracised by my family and some of the African community in London for speaking out."

This fear of a social backlash helps to reinforce the way in which the procedure itself silences women. Mandisa may well have become a woman in Kenya but here in the UK she lives in the shadows in fear and in pain.

Since discovering that more than 70 women and girls as young as seven seek treatment every month, the NSPCC have launched a helpline to protect UK children from female genital mutilation (FGM).

But is this enough?

The helpline will give advice, information and support for anyone concerned that a child's welfare is at risk because of female genital mutilation.

Though callers' details can remain anonymous, any information that could protect a child from abuse will be passed to the police or social services. The Metropolitan Police force is also supporting the FGM helpline as part of its crime prevention work and has provided training to the NSPCC. "It's easy to believe that this sort of thing only happens in other countries and cultures, but the reality is it's happening here in Britain," Mandisa explains.

"I no longer suffer the pain of sex with my husband. That pain was worse than childbirth.

"But every day I am looking over my shoulder, I am scared that my family will find my daughter.

I have to live with what happened and may happen for the rest of my life.

"I cannot forgive my mother for letting this happen to me."

Mandisa's life is a snapshot of bitter reality.

By speaking out, raising awareness and making your voice heard we can help put a stop to this barbaric torture of young girls.

As you read this article, there will be a girl as young as six, laid on a table being hacked open and carved in the name of an ancient rite of passage. It has no place in our modern society regardless of race, religion or culture.

For further information: Daughters Of Eve www.dofeve.org NSPCC 24 Hour FGM Helpline: 0800 028 3550 *Mandisa's name has been changed to protect her identity

Nadine Shah

by Mac

MUSIC Fast Food

Apollo Records 2015 I was introduced to Nadine Shah by a friend who was completely smitten by her. She sent me a track to listen to - ‘Ville Morose’. It’s remarkably easy to fall for her. This specific track is a la ‘chanson’ but with a cool, darkness at the core - her voice tremulous and mysterious.

In todays ‘non’ music industry, it is hard for any artist to reach a greater audience without a bombardment of exposure on various media types. With Nadine Shah there has been no such marketing . Her music speaks for itself. There is a no truer taste of what people want to listen to than by word of mouth and her following is solid and growing.

The music is the result of several years of personal musical discovery and exploration. With the genetic mix of a Norwegian Mother and a Pakistani father and growing up in the Tyneside area of the North East of England, her music was always going to be infused with gritty, rhythmic and hypnotic flavours. She’s fiercely proud of her heritage. To make this kind of music it has to come from somewhere within, several continents and cultures, a combination of all of these things.

The traditional *’Sufi’ songs and music from Pakistan have certainly been a part of that mix.

However she also talks of Scott Walker and Diamonda Galas as influences and mentors - the fusion continues.

The drive and force spearheading Shah’s music is her dark and damning lyrics, so much so, they are almost interwoven into the body of the music. ‘Fool’, from current album, Fast Food, has an acerbic message and is done with such deft wordsmithery, that it makes you laugh out loud because the subject has been so completely exposed, made to look pathetic ... the ultimate put down song. Her lyrical prowess and sharp wit is reminiscent of the late great Kirsty McColl.

She says the songs are mostly not from her own experience. ‘tattooed pretence upon your skin so everyone will know it ...’ ‘let all the other girls indulge the crap that you excrete ...’ Fool from Fast Food 2015 This Ben Hillier ( Depeche Mode, Elbow, Doves, Blur) produced album, has a real 70’s/80’s bass riffs sound/feel with simple tribal drum patterns with delicate lifts from minor to major, the shift almost subliminal. It has lots of space and is sparse and uncomplicated. She herself, plays a Fender Tele, playing repetitive strums and chords. Her first instrument is piano so stepping out from behind there has changed the dimension not only for her writing but in her performance.

It’s reminiscent of music by the best original goths - a real bow in Siousie Sioux ’s direction... but so much more. Her voice is capable of grand notes, an alto with a warm timbre and capable of everything from a heady height to a low snarl.

Type to enter text

The album has a clanging, discordant or industrial sound with musical shimmers from an occasional surprise keyboard part or sound, or a chorus which happens unexpectedly. Through the Ben also produced her 2013 album, ‘Love your dum and mad.’ They made this album, ‘Fast Food’ much more quickly than that album. She says that meant this album was a better representation of where she is now. ‘Love your dum and mad’ was worked over a much longer period of time and when it was finally released she felt she was in a different place to the album.

The biggest difference between the two albums is essentially that ‘Fast Food’ is sonically more guitar driven the other which was written on and based around piano.

This is her third album.She will be making music for some time to come. She says she is excited about making music and has a lot of exploring she wants to do and that makes me excited too!

Listen to this Fast Food Runaway Fool Album Fast Food 2015 Apollo Records 2015 Dreary town - Ville Morose (French version) ep 2012 Album Love your dum and mad Apollo Records 2013

*source wiki Sufi music or (ghazals) is the devotional music of the Sufis, inspired by the works of Sufi poets, like Rumi, Hafiz, Bulleh Shah, Amir Khusrow and Khwaja Ghulam Farid. Qawwali is the most well known form of Sufi music, and is most commonly found in the Sufi culture of the Indian Subcontinent.

BOOKS Out Late With Friends And Regrets Suzanne Egerton’s funny, poignant, gut-wrenching and yes, romantic debut novel is a great read.

We have a wonderfully observed character in Fiona Hay; one with wit and wonder but more importantly, one with whom it’s easy to identify. We’ve all been out on the fringes at one time or another, living lives our families and friends couldn’t understand.

A book about friends, family and finding yourself. As adults it’s difficult to change the direction of our lives, careers and loves. To rebuild a life and travel down a different road after the one you thought you would travel forever comes to an abrupt end. An old friend resurfaces, and helps Fiona find ways to pull the pieces of her former life together. Then she meets Ellie, who encourages her to reinvent herself and embrace the chance to reclaim her independence.

Everyone will find something in common with the newly named ‘Fin’, whether it’s unrequited love, mid-life uncertainty, or just plain loneliness. I enjoyed accompanying Fin through her development, sharing her traumas and embarrassments, her triumphs and fears.

All the characters have depth and integrity. The relationships are realistic and recognisable.

These are women we would like to know.

Some authors have a gift of writing strong, powerful and stunning characters that stay with us long after the final page is read, Suzanne Egerton is one of those authors.

Out Late With Friends and Regrets is published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing.

Price £10.99 ISBN 978-1512284409 Available from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Late-Friends-Regrets-Suzanne-Egerton Twitter: @szegerton

Theatre

Nirbhaya Lynn Redgrave Theatre, 45 Bleecker Street (at Lafayette), New York On the evening of December 16th 2012, Jyoti Singh Pandey, a 23-year-old medical student, was gang-raped and brutally assaulted aboard a bus in New Delhi. Days later, she died from her horrific injuries. Jyoti became known as Nirbhaya, meaning “fearless” in Hindi. Outrage and public protest over the attack inflamed a long-smoldering national conversation regarding women’s rights and gender justice in India and beyond. The shock from her death began to slowly lift the cloak of secrecy and shame that masks and perpetuates sexual-based violence.

Throughout this spine tingling production, cast members Priyanka Bose, Rukhsar Kabir, Sneha Jawale, Pamela Sinha, and Poorna Jagannathan relive their painful pasts, which include sexual abuse, marital abuse, a dowry bride burning, and violent rapes.

After years of suppressing their own traumas they channel fearlessness to break the silence and ensure Nirbhaya’s death was not in vain.

Dressed in black the women make their way from out of the audience to a barely lit stage, one arm raised, to each tell their stories. Shrouded in white, Singh hands each of the women a prop with which to tell their story – her brutal experience and its coverage around the world has helped other women to come forward.

Nirbhaya forces us to remember that our humanity can be stripped from us at any moment.

Since premiering the play in Edinburgh in 2013, the cast has grown more aware of how

Since premiering the play in Edinburgh in 2013, the cast has grown more aware of how normalised sexual violence has become worldwide “I didn’t realise that my story had an impact beyond me. I didn’t know my silence had anything to do with what was going on in the rest of the world,” says Jagannathan.

The unparalleled storyline of Nirbhaya is accompanied by sparse dialogue with the intention of shifting the stigma that surrounds sexual violence. The rest, conveyed by emotion, lighting, and staging, raises the bar for human-rights theatre One of the actresses, Sneha Jawale, had never set foot on a stage before being cast in "Nirbhaya." Covered in scars after being doused with kerosene and burned by her husband, she serves as a stark visual reminder of the cost of sexual violence.

"It's more than a play," said Jawale. "It's a message for society.”

This type of production works far beyond, and outside of, the normal constraints of theatre – asking us to question the role of the arts in spreading an important message and how various art forms can bring about change and give people, who have been previously suppressed, a voice.

This is brave. It’s real and is an essential and memorable piece of work, leaving us in shock and speechless.

Written and directed by Yael Farber Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

WITH: Priyanka Bose, Poorna Jagannathan, Sneha Jawale, Rukhsar Kabir, Japjit Kaur, Pamela Sinha and Ankur Vikal (Ensemble).

Arena Theatre OLDHAM, UK - June 1st & 2nd Oldham Coliseum DONCASTER, UK - June 4th - 6th www.nirbhayatheplay.com

The Uneven Playing Field

by Steph Mann

sport

Have you heard about how well women did in sporting events last year?

Probably not, because the truth is, women are not as valued in the sporting world as their male counterparts.

In 2014 Jenny Jones won Britain’s first ever medal for snowboarding. Lizzie Yarnold got a gold in the skeleton bob. Gymnast, Claudia Fragapane became the first Britain to win four gold medals in 84 years.

These are all newsworthy stories, yet many people will never have heard these names or know of these women’s amazing achievements.

Women in sport deal with sexism, pay inequality, lack of funding and discrimination every day. Why is there still such a huge gender gap in 2015?

The pay gap is one reason. Professional female footballers earn around £20,000 a year. It sounds a decent enough wage, until you compare it to the massive amounts male footballers earn. The English women’s rugby squad earn nothing. That’s no payment whatsoever, meaning they have to hold down full time jobs, as well as play in tournaments and have a family life.

The reason for the poor pay is simply down to lack of sponsorship and investment. Prize money is usually backed by a commercial investor who, of course, want a return on their money, meaning they want coverage in the media. They naturally back those athletes who can get them this visibility. The question is, how do we fix this and make women as appealing as men?

The answer is to raise women’s profile in sport. The media plays such a key role. With only 5-7% of coverage devoted to female sport, the media can help swing things around with a bit of effort. With more coverage, sponsorship would soon follow.

Cycling is a sport that has recently taken a turnaround in visibility and equality towards women, thanks to good media coverage. With the Women’s Tour, a one day Tour de France race and pay rising, cycling is at least trying to bridge the gap.

The Women’s Sport and Fitness Foundations say that television coverage has improved since the Olympics in London in 2012, yet there hasn't been a big change in print coverage of women’s sports.

They want to see more print media commit to covering women’s sport and social media needs to be utilised to promote it. Broadcast media needs to invest more into it to ensure a full calendar of women sporting events.

Things are slowly changing. With Sky Sports, BT Sport and the BBC beginning to invest heavily into coverage, our screens should soon be full of women’s sports. Christopher Scott from womeninsport.org says “The biggest argument against more, and more regular, women's sport coverage has been that audiences aren't interested in seeing it. It's clear that isn't the case, but the simplest thing that we can do to persuade the media to cover more women's sport is to demonstrate interest. Turn up to matches and competitions; tune in when they're on TV; get involved in discussions on social media - these are all simple actions that an make a serious difference”. Change can happen if we all help it along.

Sports with the highest disparity in prize money between men and women *

Sport

Men

Women

Football World Cup

£22,000,000

£630,000

Football Champs League

£8,300,000

£199,000

Cricket World Cup

£2,500,000

£47,000

Football FA Cup

£1,600,000

£5,000

Golf PGA

£1,100,000

£212,000

Golf US Open

£1,000,000

£452,000

Golf the Open

£975,000

£298,000

Cricket T20 World Cup

£690,000

£44,000

Snooker World Championship

£300,000

£1,500

Darts

100,000

£12,000

Surfing World Championship

£62,700

£37,600

Squash World Championship

£28,600

£12,300

Cliff Diving

£12,700

£3,100

Ski Jumping

£6,600

£2000

*Source BBC Sport 2014

Another reason for women being under-represented in sport is the lack of women on governing boards.

Christopher said “There are also too few women in senior and board level positions across the sport sector. Again, this is an issue that needs to be addressed.” With more women in top positions, women would be represented at a higher level. From here, women could lead and shape policies. With only one in five board positions belonging to women (in publicly funded sport), this too needs to change.

There are other issues with women’s sport, and lack of participation from women. There are only around 17% of coaches at elite level who are female. We need more women coaching both women and men.

The selection process is biased in many regards. Apprentice coaches are often nominated by a senior in the governing body, who are mostly men, and a large number of nominees are therefore men. Again, more women on the board could help to highlight this and promote the consideration of female candidates who are just as deserving.

With the growth of social media and the internet, we don’t solely have to rely on the bigger networks to promote women in sport. There are a lot of good people out there doing good things to help it along and setting the bar for equality.

Organisations such as WSNET.co.uk (The Women’s Sport Network) are really helping women in sport. They are a “not for profit community promoting issues/opportunities around WomenSport & SportsWomen” and an excellent resource for finding out about any women’s sports.

Focusing on support and lobbying, operating their own news channel and running campaigns to promote women in sport and encouraging women to engage in sport, WSNET is the face of change.

As long as women are under-represented, judged on their role in society, on how they look and what they do, things won’t change. The media needs to take responsibility for its role in this. They are harsh critics of women. However, with a little work, a shift, the media can turn this around. We can all do our bit, by supporting women in sport, showing interest, attending games, tweeting about it, and maybe...just maybe, we can head towards an even playing field.

Ginny Pestell Saddler

ARTISAN Recognising women with exceptional skills in many art forms

What is your background with horses?

“I have been around horses all my life. My grandfather used to sit me on the racehorses where he worked, I remember how warm and silky smooth they were and that lovely horsey smell. I started to learn to ride aged 5yrs. I was very lucky in that I grew up on a farm so keeping a pony wasn't a problem.

Pony Club, Gymkhanas and Hunting were a big part of my childhood.

I first worked in a racing yard. Going to the races with 'my' horses was very exciting especially when they won. At the age of 18 I went to Belgium to take sole charge of a private yard of showjumpers, oh the confidence of youth! I competed some of the yard owners horses and other peoples horses in Belgium, France, Germany and Holland. I was the ladies Belgian showjumping champion. When I left to come back to the UK, my boss gave me the horse, ‘Ovidius’, that I competed on mostly and whom I had a great affection for. I competed him here and he stayed with me until he died aged 24yrs.

I worked at a livery yard for a while before going to work at a Thoroughbred Racehorse Stud.

It was a joy working with the foals.”

How did you get started making saddles initially?

“Over the years I had an inevitable list of injuries, some worse than others, but after re injuring a previous badly injured knee, major surgery was required. I realised I needed to rein in such a hard physical life.

With financial backing from my partner I set off to Bury St Edmunds to train with Master Saddler Len Clifford. He was a perfectionist, as am I, so it made for a very good grounding in the art of leather and harness work.”

What did your training involve?

“As well as theory tests I had to make set pieces for my exams, the first was a belt, with thousands of tiny stitches, a hunter bridle, a lunge roller, martingale and reins. I also learnt the skill of saddle fitting. As with people, horses are all different shapes and sizes and not every saddle will fit every horse, or rider for that matter. My experience of a lifetime knowing horses and their musculoskeletal make up has helped enormously with this.”

Tell us about your typical day…

“There isn't really a 'typical day' which is one of the things I love about it. Some days I might be out on the road visiting yards adjusting saddles or fitting and selling saddles. Other days I might be in my workshop working on saddles, bespoke bridlework, repairs, bespoke dog collars, leads or heavy horse harness. I have even been known to repair the odd diving suit, hot air balloon straps, bags, leather car seats......the list is endless.”

Your main work is with leather, what do you love about it most?

“Leather is a lovely medium to work with, it is very tactile and workable and who doesn't like the smell of quality British bridle leather? Most of my leather is from the Aberdeen Angus breed of cattle which is best for quality and durability. I also use some Italian leathers, buffalo hide and even kangaroo leather which is soft, light but very strong.

There is great satisfaction in starting with a flat piece of hide and going through the stages to create something that looks good and has function which will last and be used for many years. All my work is hand crafted and hand stitched using traditional hand tools, no machines, some of my tools are very old, I have collected them over the years, and I like the feeling that those same tools were being used by Saddlers fifty or more years ago before me but are still being used in exactly the same way today”.

If someone wanted a career in making saddles and tack, what kind of training/advice would you recommend?

“I have been a saddler for over 20 years now and a lot more saddlery is now mass produced.

Traditional Saddlers are becoming more scarce but there is still a market for quality handcrafted goods from saddlery to luggage to shoes. These days apprenticeships are almost a thing of the past but there are still a range of independent courses where you can learn to be a saddler. There are many areas to specialise in and a search online will reveal various courses all over the country.

I think a good background in horsemanship and a thorough knowledge/understanding of horses has helped me to be a better saddler. Driving away from a saddle fitting knowing that I have made a horse more comfortable is hugely satisfying.”

What are you working on now?

“Recent projects have been to restore a set of working harness, unused for many years, back to a working condition. This time of year there is great demand for new saddles and adjustments to current saddles. Horses can change shape over the year depending on seasons and work load.”

Are you still a rider and a horse person today?

“I own one horse now, Talisman, who is 24 yrs young. I do Western Riding with him and after a recent knee replacement, I hope to be riding him again soon.

I watched him being born and he has been with me since. It is a very special and rare relationship to have had a horse from birth. Horses generally change hands many times. I feel a very deep and trusting bond with him. You had better ask him if the feeling is mutual! Ha, ha..” ginny_pestell@hotmail,com +44(0)7774253485

a i a g boutique pop-up women’s events

women’s weekender

VG Lee

‘Drumkilbo’ 23rd-26th Oct 15

Join us for one of our annual ‘weekenders’. Located in the beautiful Scottish countryside. includes Two very rare and exclusive performances by two highly unique women

Full details from

www.gaiawomen.com

europe on two wheels

by Steph Mann

travel Europe by Cycle

The big attraction to cycling holidays is pretty simple. Bikes are green, good for your health and a great way to appreciate new landscapes without speeding by in a car or train. You get the sense of adventure you had as a child and can, almost, go anywhere on one.

Europe is a great place to see by cycle. There are so many places you can visit by bike, hotels that will cater to cyclists and companies who only specialise in this sort of holiday. No matter your fitness level there is truly something for everyone. From the flat Netherlands to the Pyrenees for the lycra-clad enthusiast.

Start at the beginning...

If you are new to cycling or a leisurely cyclist take a look at easier cycling holidays aimed at beginners. Lots of companies offer to cover everything for you, from bikes right down to helmets. You can book guided rides or solo trips if this isn’t for you.

U-Tracks(www.utracks.com) offer an introductory level holiday in Sweden: The Archipelago Cycle Adventure. Where you spend six days exploring beautiful countryside and beaches, all covering short cycling distances. The cost is £775 and this includes breakfasts, your hotels, a bike, helmet, panniers, internal transfers, luggage transfers and boats.

Going solo...

If you are keen to go it alone, or with a friend, you don’t need to stick to guided holidays. Take off and explore a route on your own.

Skedaddle (www.skedaddle.co.uk) offer all levels and all kinds of biking holidays from beginner to adventure, on and off road. The Tuscany Tourer is a moderate self guided holiday. It takes you through historic wine regions, along the hills of Montalcino and through some beautiful countryside. Costing £995 per person for eight days. You get luggage transfers, airport transfers, breakfast, all hotel stays and route information included.

For the hardcore...

Fancy something a little more challenging? For the most enthusiastic cyclists there is always an option.

(www.ledomestiquetours.co.uk) offer a King of the Mountains (or Queen!) Tour De France holiday. Over 7 days you will climb, climb and climb some more. It’s guaranteed to make your legs burn, as you climb the Pyrenees.

Included in the price are airport transfers, seven nights accommodation, six (three course) dinners and six breakfasts, fully guided support on your riding days and a digital photo album of your trip. Price is £1149pp.

Le Domestique Tours

DIY...

If you fancy making your own trip and not use an operator, then the key is in the planning.

Choose where you want to go and when. The seasons are changeable and can be hot or cold depending on where you go. Also when you travel it may be the height of the tourist season meaning popular areas will be very busy.

You can either take your own bike with you or look at hiring one for your trip. Both options come with a price (bike box, luggage costs, daily hiring price), it’s worth adding it up and seeing which suits your budget. Most trains in Europe let you travel with your bike for free and are very bike friendly.

Invest in a good map and guide book. You can buy these before you go, or once you are there.

Locals are also very helpful if you need route information, they have a knowledge that you can’t get from books.

Where you stay is up to you! From lovely quaint bed and breakfasts, to camping or luxurious hotels. Only you and your budget can dictate where you stay.

Bring a toolkit and a good knowledge of bike maintenance. Spare tubes, pump, chain-links, tyre boots, levers and all the rest will be needed.

Whichever kind of cycling adventure you undertake, you will not regret it.

"The bicycle is the most efficient machine ever created. Converting calories into gas, a bicycle gets the equivalent of three thousand miles per gallon."

Bill Strickland, The Quotable Cyclist

Aria

by Lynn Ferguson People with a love of music should never teach recorder.

A vertical flute with a whistle mouthpiece, the recorder was made popular during the 17th and 18th centuries for its sweet and gentle sound. Neither of which is heard when played by a class of 12 year olds.

“Gentle,” I said. “Don’t be so hard on your instrument.” A group of boys at the back snigger. Music: the organised movement of sounds through a continuum of time. I always wanted to be part of an orchestra. It started on a perfectly ordinary Monday morning. It was raining, as normal. The Fiat coughed at start up, as normal. The ring road alongside the Embank estate had road works, as normal. And I arrived at the school at seven minutes to nine. (Precisely eight minutes later than I planned to arrive, as normal.)

“Morning Elspeth,” said Betty Jackson from Physics. “Morning,” I said fishing in the trunk of the Fiat for some spare recorders I’d brought in, just in case. “I had a good mind not coming in today, after that fiasco on Friday, he called a friendly chat,” she said. Betty Jackson was a round woman with skinny ankles. She wore a red jacket and a tartan skirt and reminded me of the bagpipes. “School principle,” she said. “Principle idiot more like.”

She meant Mr. Swithins. Mr. Swithins wore casual suits in autumnal colours, drove a bottom of the range BMW and had skin that suggested that he was not long passed adolescence. His nostrils were full and round. Great large caverns that faced skywards and made many people think him arrogant.

I however, was convinced he should take up the nose flute.

“Arrogant oaf. What does he have to change everything for,” Betty puffed. Mr. Swithins’ BMW drove into the car park and the arrogant oaf himself got out. “Am I seeing you at eleven this morning Elspeth?”

“That’s right Mr. Swithins,” I said. “Good,” he said and trotted off to his office.

My first love was the piano. The sounds so clear. So ordered. The keys like a big white smile.

Then double bass, cello, harpsichord, zither… so many different incredible instruments, as my ears opened up to the world of sound. If you care to look -or rather listen- there’s music in everything: The horn of a car.

The buzz of a florescent light. In a shout. Or a cry. Or a thank you. Or a yes. Music in the road works on the fly over. I became a music teacher. It seemed to make sense.

First class on Monday is room 12C for recorder. Sixty minutes allows an interminably long rendition of Blue Moon. The bell for the interval rang in a flat G and 29 thirteen year olds scraped their chairs, packed their bags, and escaped to the playground to ingest some preservatives.

I headed off to the Principle’s office for my appointment with Mr. Swithins.

“Please sit down Elspeth,” he said. “I’ll come straight to the point if I may.” And I really was trying to listen, but the sun had come out and its rays were bouncing through the windows of his office.

And there was a bubble of water in the radiators. And a blue bottle buzzed behind me (key of F.) And Mr. Swithins’ secretary tap tap tapping on a computer keyboard, in the office next door.

And on the floor above someone was being reprimanded for running in the corridor. And a breeze blew through the trees outside Mr. Swithins window, shaking the leaves like a slow tambourine. And the music of the world was so clear. So loud. Mr. Swithins was still talking. I could see his lips moving and his nostrils were so round, and full and crying out.

“Mr. Swithins,” I said, “With your nostrils you absolutely have to take up the nose flute.”

And the music of the world stopped.

There was just me and Mr. Swithins in his office. And the lone tick tock of his battery wall clock. The bell for the end of the interval rang. Mr. Swithins said I probably had a class to go to and I said, yes, yes I did.

Tuesday started ordinarily enough. Betty was already in the car park with Rena Johnson from Home Craft. If Betty’s the bagpipes, Rena’s the piccolo. “His secretary told us,” Rena said “Play the nose flute, fantastic Elspeth.” “Arrogant oaf,” puffed Betty Jackson.

First class on Tuesday, I have 7E for Music Appreciation. It’s normally a very quiet class because on the west coast of Scotland, 15-year-old pupils required to take “music appreciation” generally prefer to participate in “loitering outside the local McDonalds for no particular reason” instead. That Tuesday morning the classroom was nearly full.

“Did you tell the Principle he was a pig?” said a pupil I hadn’t seen for a while. “Um, well ah…” I said trying to remember Audrey’s name. (It really had been a while.) “I heard it was a pig you called him. But Sandra here says you called him Hoover Head.” “Uhm, shall we get on with Music Appreciation?” “Yeah alright. But make it our kinda music for a change. ‘Cause it’s always your classical guff.” I conceded their point. “I’ve got a CD in my bag Miss. I could put it on.” A lot of heavy thumping, too much bass and some American gentleman discussing his homeys and hoes. (Apparently he has several.) “Very nice Audrey,” I said.

“Heard you gave Swithins an ear full,” said Tony Holloway the Assistant Principle in the Staff Room at lunchtime. “Oh you mean the nose flute?” I said. The Staff Room erupted into a roar of laughter.

“His secretary said he was floored,” chirped someone from the English Department.

“Arrogant oaf,” piped Betty Jackson.

It rained Wednesday morning. And the Fiat didn’t start straight away and-and there was still road works on the ring road by the Elmbank estate and I arrived at school much earlier than usual, because I hadn’t slept at all well the night before. I was glad the car park was deserted. I locked the Fiat and headed off to my classroom.

I hadn’t meant to give Mr. Swithins’ “what for” like they said in the staff room. I had been listening to music that’s all. I often listen to music. I’ve done it since I was a child. When Mum died I listened to music. When Dad used to shout I listened to music. When they said I didn’t have the dexterity to be a proper pianist, I listened to music. To the sounds inside my own body. And then the sounds in my bedroom. Then in the house. And the street and the sky above. And all the sounds of the world open up and I am part of music. Of the organised movement of sounds through a continuum of time. And I am not alone.

First class on a Wednesday I have ‘music history’ students. A tiny class, only three pupils but entirely wonderful. We discuss Beethoven or Handel or Bartok or Stravinsky. We play clarinet or piano or flute. And teaching is a joy and I am glad. Second class: more 13 year olds supposedly learning recorder. “Alright everybody, get your instruments out.” A group of boys at the back giggle.

Half way through the systematic slaughtering of a 17th century woodwind instrument, there’s a knock on the door. “Might I sit in?” “Certainly, Mr. Swithins,” I said. “The class are just about to treat me to another rendition of Blue Moon.”

“Elspeth,” he said. “I need to ask you a favour.”

I set off an hour earlier on Thursday and although the Fiat did cough a little at start up, and I was temporarily delayed by the road works on the ring road, I was bang on time for meeting Mr. Swithins.

First two classes of the day I was on automatic pilot. Then at break time I rushed off to Mr. Swithins’ office again.

After break Music Appreciation with class 7E. Audrey had turned up again. (Twice in one week!) She had brought another CD. Lunchtime I spent with Mr. Swithins and in the afternoon I had two hours with “music history”. We talked about Edgar Watson Howe who said “when people hear good music, it makes them homesick for something they never had and never will have.”

Last hour of the day, more 13 year olds with recorder. Blue Moon they played.

On Friday, my heart pounded as I got into the Fiat. As I passed the road works and even still when I arrived at the school at seven minutes to nine. “The man is mad,” piped Betty as I locked the Fiat. “A whole school assembly and him and his nasal cavities a laughing stock.” The assembly room was packed. Mr. Swithins sat on the stage at the top of the room alongside Tony Holloway the Assistant Principle. Pupils giggled and whispered. The occasional expletive broke out between two duelling 16 year olds. The sound of people gathered for an execution.

Mr. Swithins stood up. “Check that schnozz,” yelled a 15 year old to nobody in particular. People collapsed in laughter. Teachers professionally outraged looked for the culprit. Tony Holloway looked smug. But Mr. Swithins said nothing. Instead he fumbled in his jacket, pulled out a nose flute and began to play.

16-year-old boys cackled. 15-year-old girls tutted unimpressed. 14 year olds elbowed each other. 13 year olds giggled and hid their faces behind their bags. 12 year olds sat bewildered. But on Mr. Swithins played. “Blue Moon, you saw me standing alone.” Tony Holloway looked horrified. The English Department cleared their throats and looked down at their legs.

“What is he doing?” hissed Rena the piccolo. “Lost the plot,” puffed Betty the bagpipe. And still Mr. Swithins played. …Blue Moon, you knew just what I was there for. You saw me saying a prayer for…

Then some of the 13 year olds pulled out their recorders and joined in. Two rows back from them, the grade above began to stamp their feet. Then one by one, more recorders emerged from school bags.

The higher grades - taking this as a sign to make as much noise as possible -stomped and sang along.

Yet still Mr. Swithins played.

Some teachers laughed. Some clapped. Some feigned disinterest and looked at their watches. Tony Holloway gulped. And recorders were screeching and feet were stamping and hands were clapping and the whole assembly room was alive with banging and whistling and singing and clapping and Mr. Swithins’ nose flute. It was the worst version of Blue Moon I have ever heard, and the best at the same time. And I found myself laughing out loud.

Events When it came to an end the room fell silent. Mr. Swithins spoke. “This week I learned I should play the nose flute. I thought I’d give you my first tune.” There was a cheer. “Thank you. And I had no idea before this week, I had such useful nostrils.” “Ah yeah, you’re like Dumbo but with a trunk,” shouted a little 13 year old trying to be helpful.

The room erupted. A voice that seemed to come from me yelled “quiet.” And to my astonishment the room actually went… quiet. “Thank you Miss Harvey. My point is education is not always easy.

Sometimes we must discover things we do not at first appreciate. But all knowledge is useful. Not knowing is not weakness. Not-not knowing is weakness.”

Mary from the English Department clapped. As did several other teachers. I found that I did too. “Uh, what did he say?” said the girl sitting next to Audrey. “Dunno. That being crap at everything’s actually a talent…I think” said Audrey. “Oh?” said the girl and joined in the clapping. “Let’s make this school a place for us all to learn. No matter how difficult the lesson. All of us listening, talking, cooperating, myself included. No excuses, no can’t dos. Only can’t do yets.”

Then it happened. My stomach rumbled. And my watch was ticking steadily on my wrist. Above me a faulty bulb flickered and buzzed. And 400 people breathing. Outside, the traffic hummed on the ring road. Further off, a pneumatic drill. And somewhere high above, an airplane jetted off to distant climbs.

“Miss Harvey!”

“Mr. Swithins?”

“I wonder, is there anything else you would like to add?”

And 400 faces turn to look at me. 400 faces and I wasn’t even afraid.

“Yes, Mr. Swithins,” I smiled “I’ve always wanted to be part of an orchestra.”

Events

Torn

Tron Theatre, Glasgow 11 - 13 June A unique and sensual visual performance combining object theatre, kinetic art and an original live score.

Faux Theatre conjure an intimate wordless world, where the audience become voyeurs to one woman's journey to find and experience love, accompanying her through euphoric fantasy into the depths of despair.

A fresh, compelling visual-theatre work created by one of Scotland's most exciting new theatre companies www.tron.co.uk

Henley Women's Regatta

19 - 21 June The premier rowing regatta for Women in the UK. Over one thousand women aim to compete and win at the regatta annually. Crews travel from all around the world to race over the famous Henley Regatta course from as far afield as New Zealand and the United States and as nearby as Ireland, making Henley Women's Regatta an international event.

We welcome all spectators to come and experience a friendly riverside experience. www.hwr.org.uk

Joan Armatrading

Kelvingrove Bandstand, Glasgow 13 Aug Joan Armatrading stops by at the bandstand to perform her first ever full scale solo concert in her 42 year career, as part of her solo world tour.

The singer-songwriter and guitarist will perform a mix of magical old favourites like ‘Love and Affection', 'Willow', 'Drop The Pilot' and 'Me, Myself I' alongside more recent compositions. www.joanarmatrading.com

RICOH WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN

Trump Turnberry Resort, Scotland 30 Jul - 2 Aug The Ricoh Women's British Open is one of the golfing highlights of the sporting calendar. In its 40th year, this year's Championship makes its second appearance at the famous Trump Turnberry resort.

As one of only two Major Championships to be played outside the US, it is the most international with the 2014 field boasting players from 28 different nations, including the world's top 20. The field for 2015 will be equally as strong and will include the likes of reigning champion Mo Martin, past champions, Stacy Lewis, Jiyai Shin and Yani Tseng along with Americans Lexi Thompson, Paula Creamer and Jessica Korda, young talents Charley Hull and Lydia Ko and reigning US Open champion, Michelle Wie. www.ricohwomensbritishopen.com

Ella International Lesbian Festival

Palma De Mallorca, Spain 1 - 9 Sep

Welcome to the third year of the ELLA Festival, a culture, music, art and sports event thought for the modern LGBT woman on the gorgeous island of Mallorca, just a couple of flight hours away from the UK. Enjoy the sun, the crystalline sea, lay down on the beach, vibrate to the sound of the best international artists and shows, and meet women from all over the world! www.ellafestival.com

La La Land - shiny happy people - GLAAD

We’ve been in LA. It’s a big, big place and is everything you imagine and more, or less!

People from the US, out of context, can seem brash and loud. That is, if the context is somewhere like Europe. We don’t tend to ask for things here and would often rather sit silently than get what we want.

Our waiting staff can be downright sour when we arrive at a restaurant - here they always welcome you and are mostly attentive - I like it!

The Californian sunshine certainly does seem to grow things bigger.

The fruit and veg looks like it came straight off the beanstalk and the food portions served could be mistaken as for Desperate Dan. It would be easy to eat 4 or 5 times a day, if you let yourself. Equally, it is the SoCal exercise and healthy eating capital too. With every street having at least one or two fast walkers or runners pounding the pavement. There’s certainly a lot to be said for the high percentage of sunshine tho’ and I’m positively walking on it!

Driving is hair raising, to say the least. It takes me a good two or three days to settle into the LA ‘any lane will do’ method. Fortunately we have a GPS which has regularly steered us to where we were going and jumping from one freeway to another.

When we first arrived we were by the ocean at Venice Beach. This area is full of people from all walks of life but a large percentage of hippies and sidewalk showmen and panhandlers. There’s the famous muscle beach area where pumped up men and women strut their stuff in the open air of a very public gym area. Breakfast on the roof looking out to the ocean the best meal of each day.

We attend the GLAAD awards with our friends and find ourselves a nose away from Ellen and Portia, I resist the strong urge to go over to the table like 400 other people in the room do! I cant imagine for a minute what it must be like to have so much attention. Shannon Tatum is also at a table next to ours and I watch as the tick in his jaw gets more and more prominent and his patience is tested time and again with countless ‘selfie’ requests. He is the consummate gentleman and honours every request - I conclude that he is a saint!

We make trips to various friends all over LA and determine to be back over soon. I realise how invigorating it is to travel and renew relationships. One of my overriding memories however, was the amount of people sleeping on the streets, everywhere. I was so shocked. The circumstances they find themselves are desperate and that how, when you get so low, you may not be able to get back up again. This is precisely when we collectively should not look away. It is at this point I thank god I have my music.

After a month, we head east to NY but thats another story ...

Body’s in trouble

During an extended sojourn in the Kingdom ( Fife) one fine sunny morning I set off up the coastal path south.

On the return leg, heading downhill, I trip on a large stone. I find myself flying through the air and landing heavily firstly on both arms, then my body flat on the ground. I think to myself ‘my face is so close to the ground’ then there’s the pain and numbness and the ‘Oh no something’s really wrong ‘ Then the dogs licking my face. I cant get up. I’m winded. A passer by helps. Hospital.

Two days later I’m on a stage with a sling - two maybe three fractures. I realise at this point that I take my body for granted. Only when we are impaired or stopped from doing something that we take stock.

Germany

I like Germany a lot. I travelled there extensively when The Same Sky was released and we toured with Tina Turner. I am performing at various CSD/Prides so, happily I get to visit again. I am honoured to be part of the 100% Mensch project and single ’77 Reasons’ along with other supportive German Singers - about to be available on iTunes. The money raised will go to assist various projects for LGBT kids in Germany. www.

100mensch.de and the video is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=15&v=f5kSMDTm9-A *GLAAD rewrites the script for LGBT acceptance. As a dynamic media force, GLAAD tackles tough issues to shape the narrative and provoke dialogue that leads to cultural change. GLAAD protects all that has been accomplished and creates a world where everyone can live the life they love. www.glaad.org

sappho “Once again love drives me on, that loosener of limbs, bittersweet creature against which nothing can be done.”

gaia Official Media Partner

Saturday 20th June