SNACK Issue 13 - January 2020

GLASGOW | PAISLEY | DUNDEE | EDINBURGH

JANUARY 2020

CORNERSHOP | THE BOY WITH THE LION HEAD DAVID KEENAN | THE BOULET BROTHERS MUSIC | FILM | FOOD AND DRINK | TRAVEL | LGBT+ BOOKS | COMEDY | THEATRE | VISUAL ARTS | WORDS

EDINBURGH’S VERY FIRST

PIZz ER i A

THE AWARD-WINNING LA FAVORITA IS EDINBURGH’S VERY FIRST PIZZERIA SERVING UP AUTHENTIC ITALIAN DISHES & PIZZAS THAT ARE LOG-FIRED TO PERFECTION

To book go to: vittoriagroup.co.uk/lafavorita/ or call: 0131 554 2430 325-331 LEITH WALK, EDINBURGH, EH6 8SA

CONTENTS WHAT’S ON MUSIC BOOKS TRAVEL EVENTS | PAGE 08

CORNERSHOP, THE BOY WITH THE LION HEAD | PAGE 14

DAVID KEENAN | PAGE 20

BRATISLAVA | PAGE 32

Disclaimer: Snack Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reproduction of this magazine in part or in whole is forbidden without the explicit written consent of the publishers. Every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the content of this magazine but we cannot guarantee it is complete and up to date. Snack Publishing Ltd. is not responsible for your use of the information contained herein.

E: hello@snackpublising.com Editor/Sales: Kenny Lavelle Sales: Ross Lamont Food and Travel Editors: Emma Mykytyn and Mark Murphy LGBT+ Editor: Jonny Stone Designer/Illustrator: Fionnlagh Ballantine Spine quote: Alasdair Gray, Poor Things Cover photo: Courtesy of Cornershop

FOOD & DRINK LGBT+ VISUAL ARTS WORDS SWADISH, HARMONIUM | PAGE 36

LGBT+ HISTORY MONTH, NEWS, BREXIT | PAGE 46

DAUGHTER OF TITAN | PAGE 52

POEM | PAGE 54

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR Hello. Welcome to Issue 13 of SNACK. Happy New Year! You’ll have likely noticed that our front cover has had a wee makeover.

New decade, new us etc. It’s not that we didn’t like the old style; it’s just that we couldn’t easily fit long band names or group photos on it. Anyway, we reckon it looks ace.

In this month’s issue you’ll find our interview with 90s indie legends Cornershop. Is it the first

published interview with the band discussing their upcoming album? It might well be. Elsewhere, we talk to David Keenan about his Gordon Burn Prize winning novel For The Good Times, we have a dig into what’s going on around the country for Independent Venue Week and give you our top picks of where to eat out if you’re giving vegan January a go.

As for the rest? I’m sure you’ll find your way around.

Kenny Lavelle

WHAT’S ON GUIDE HARDEEP PANDHAL CONFESSIONS OF A THUG: PAKIVELI

Tramway, Glasgow — 25th January till 22nd March This multimedia exhibition takes its name from the pulp fiction of 1839’s ‘Confessions of a Thug’ by the Orientalist writer Phillip Meadows Taylor.

The subtitle ‘Pakiveli’ refers to one of the artist’s rap monikers, adapted from an alias of Tupac Shakur, ‘Makiveli’. Taking the idea that heritage is created through performance and discussion, this exhibition reflects Pandhal’s ongoing exploration into the ways in which identity is shaped by conflicting realities that shift over time and place.

Sounds ace and will cost you exactly zero pennies: perfect for a skint January afternoon.

BENEFIT IN AID OF BONE CANCER RESEARCH TRUST The Stand, Edinburgh — 14th January Fancy a laugh and helping out a good cause at the same time? The Stand are putting on a night of top notch comedy from Fred MacAulay, Susan Morrison, Wayne Mazadza, Gareth Mutch and hosted by Megan Shandley to support the charity’s Chris Fairley Fund. This fund raises vital money for life-saving research into Ewing Sarcoma, a type of primary bone cancer. As this is a benefit gig, The Stand won’t be taking any card payments in advance, thus ensuring all the money goes straight to the charity. Call 0131 558 7272 if you’d like to reserve a ticket to be paid for on the night.

What’s on Page 9

THE BELLRAYS Voodoo Rooms, Edinburgh — 21st January Want to feel good? Who doesn’t want to feel good? Fronted by the fierce vocals and presence of Lisa Kekaula (you’ll know her from Basement Jaxx’s classic ‘Good Luck’) along with Robert Vennum’s gut-punchingly-raucous guitar playing; the band have been doing their own thing for over 30 years. Simple songwriting and a love of punk, funk, rock and soul. Sounds like that’s a Tuesday night sorted.

COLONEL MUSTARD & THE DIJON 5 Old Fruitmarket, Glasgow — 17th January A mainstay of the Scottish summer festival season, Colonel Mustard are back to warm up your January with this party to kick off this year’s Celtic Connections. Mayhem and crowd interaction are guaranteed as is a melting pot of what seems like every style of music under the sun.

You Break It. We Fix It. Glasgow’s Favourite Since 1998

NEW LOCATION ALERT Scotland’s longest running mobile and computer repair specialists

Using only the best quality parts hand picked by our staff

We fixed over 35,000 devices in 2018

We offer repairs on a wide variety of brand name mobile and computer electronics, such as ...

Apple’s iPhone and MacBook range, Sony, Samsung, Huawei, Honor, Nokia, Alcatel, Lenovo, OnePlus, Motorola, and more!

Visit www.irepairscotland.com for more details on our offerings

Come and see us at one of our stores in Motherwell, Glasgow’s West End, Glasgow’s South Side, Paisley and Ayr, or at our brand new location in Glagow’s East End

Garfield St

Bellfield St

ank S

Annb

T&C’s Apply

S wo rd St

Duke St

Thomson St

Annfield Pl

t

15% Off All Repairs For A Holder Of January’s SNACK Magazine At iRepair Glasgow, East End Only

Whitehill St

Craigpark

441 Duke Street

SHHE Summerhall, Edinburgh — 23rd January & Chaplaincy Centre, Dundee — 24th January & The Hug & Pint, Glasgow — 25th January Scottish-Portuguese artist and producer SHHE’s (Su Shaw) bold self-titled debut album is easy to lose yourself within. It’s a haunting and atmospheric journey of introspection and exploration of identity: lush and sparse and heartfelt in all the best ways. There’s nothing extraneous, every taut moment leads the way to another, all set within a lightly shrouded space.

If you like dreamy and inventive vocal-led electronica then you should probably get along to the gig nearest you.

SCOTTISH BALLET: THE SNOW QUEEN Theatre Royal, Glasgow — till 18th January & His Majesty’s Theatre, Aberdeen — 22nd till 25th January Scottish Ballet’s 50th year will come to a spectacular close with the world premiere of The Snow Queen.

Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s much-loved tale, this glittering new production will be set to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, performed live by the Scottish Ballet Orchestra.

From the bustle of a winter’s market to the shivers of a fairytale forest, take a journey to the Snow Queen’s palace, where you’ll find her surrounded by the icy fragments of an enchanted mirror. Along the way you’ll meet a colourful cast of characters, from young lovers parted by a spell to a circus ringmaster with a few tricks up his sleeve.

DOME NIGHTS Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh — 11th, 17th and 18th January Two films in Edinburgh’s only 360 degree cinema!

First up is The Dark Side of The Moon.

Inspired by the music of Pink Floyd and featuring the band’s 1973 album in surround sound, complete with abstract projections on the dome.

Following this will be Planets 360. This version of the show is driven by a 132 piece orchestral recording of the original seven-movement orchestral suite by the English composer Gustav Holst. Each movement is named after a planet of the solar system and its corresponding character as defined by Holst. This updated version features the latest images that have been captured by our robotic space explorers.

thejazzbar

edinburgh

1a Chambers Street eh1 1hr

LIVE MUSIC UNTIL 3AM EVERY NIGHT!

JAZZ//FUNK//SOUL//BLUES//ACOUSTIC @thejazzbar www.thejazzbar.co.uk What’s on Page 13

CORNER

SHOP

When it’s dark, you search for light, and news of Cornershop’s return brought much need optimism during gloomy times. If you thought this group only had Brimful of Asha in their locker, prepare to be astounded, amazed and annoyed with yourself for missing so much.

We caught up with Tjinder Singh on the morning after the General Election to talk music, politics and the legacy of a group like no other.

In possibly the worst opening question of any interview – How are you feeling snackmag.co.uk

today?

I think what I thought was going to happen has caught up with us. We’re here and Britain deserves it now. Before we could have said they don’t know what they’re doing and they haven’t seen the reality of what is happening. But now, we’ve had more than enough time to look at it and people obviously want the punishment.

I think we have lost a lot of great work, since Powellism quite frankly, and today was a day where Powell came back.

There is one phrase my dad has said; “there

will come a day when they want to chuck you out”. I’ve always lived with that in my background. This has made the group political.

We were singing about “Enoch’s Eyes” on our first album. It has always been there.

As a songwriter, it is nice to have something other than love to write about! You can get bored with that, even if I don’t write too much about that. It is unfortunate we are back to square one and we’ll lose all the equal opportunities and great advancements in the NHS. We’ll have worse welfare, we’ll have more people on the streets, and if that is what people want more of, then great! I’m obviously looking in the wrong places.

Lead song ‘No Rock: Save In Roll’ – was it important to come back with a song that grabbed attention?

We saw it as a song that was a little older heavy rock, in a way, it’s about the origins of rock coming from the Black Country. It also talks about California rock music, and a lot of that stuff isn’t rock to us. It is rock, but it’s not for us.

We did it because we liked the song, and in a way that we like our rock. What has come out so far for the radio is a bit shorter than the album version. It sounds quite immediate, while on the album it is longer. We didn’t necessarily think it was that immediate, but we liked it.

The title track – England Is A Garden – is an instrumental with an evocative title. How many times do you think you’ll be asked if England is still a garden by the time the album comes out?

In a way, we thought this was the garden we were leading up to, a garden of weeds and barbed wire, but listening to the song, that isn’t the case. Politically, it would be an untidy garden but musically, it’s more upbeat.

We did think of the irony of what England will be when it comes to this point. We didn’t know it would get this far, so in a way, it’s rather apt, but also a bit sad.

We wanted to come back with an album that

MUSIC was quite strong, and which would lead people into other albums we have done. We didn’t want to dilute what we do, so we’ve kept the guitar and layers, trying to keep a link to what to what we have done in the past. Other than that, you can’t predict the future.

Musically, the new album is upbeat and uplifting – were you keen to create something positive?

I don’t think we mean to do it. I think it’s because we don’t use minor notes that much. Throughout our songs, there’s maybe one and a half minor notes, which helps to keep it sounding more upbeat. I think that’s more musical restrictions than deliberate. In saying that, even the songs we discarded were upbeat. We didn’t mean to; it just came out that way.

I appreciate you may not be able to say anything specific right now, and you’ve avoided live shows for some time, but do you expect to tour the new album?

I don’t think we will. We haven’t toured for quite a while now; we feel better in the studio.

We have families, and it’s not as easy as it was to get together. People have moved away from London, and it’s a little more difficult to do things.

We’ve got no plans. We are asked, but we haven’t done it for so long. If we did, we wouldn’t do it like we did it in the past. We wouldn’t do it as a rock band.

As a band who has always had a political edge, do you feel there are enough bands talking about the state we are in these days?

No. I think that’s one of the sad things of the past decade. The 90s was quite critical, not just in the lyrics, but it was political to put certain types of music alongside each other. At the start of this century, it went back to four chaps with guitars. Nowadays, it is one chap or lady, Music by Andy Reilly Page 15

because of the economics of the situation.

Politically, there is nothing there. Politics is a gamble, if you put yourself forward, you gamble on what people will think and I wish people would do more of that. We need to push things.

That’s another element of Brexit, there’s no real force of groups to say what is bad about what is going on politically. There are no groups saying if Brexit goes ahead, we won’t have the ability to visit Europe without a lot more administration.

It’ll affect American bands coming to Britain then Europe, and we won’t get all the European musicians and orchestras over here.

That is the job of the artist, to make people think.

But Rodger Daltrey says it will be ok.

That’s true, and The Who have a new album out. In a way, Rodger Daltrey is the sort of cunt you are happy is still here, because these idiots

need to be told exactly what they are. He’s always been a tosser hasn’t he?

It would be nice to think about what John Lennon would have to say about it, he wouldn’t have been sitting down over this like the rest of the tossers.

If you don’t mind me moving on to someone else who is a bit of a prick, Morrissey. Are you content that you called him out so long ago, or are you annoyed it took other people so long?

We called him out on a lot of different specific things, his lyrics, his Richard Allen skinhead imagery, his use of the Union flag. You have to

put those things together, and a lot of people didn’t want or refused to do that. We came out and made it a lot more blatant. It’s easy to call him out now when he is talking about Farage or Robinson.

I don’t think we’re annoyed; I think we’re quite proud. The big thing that has changed is there is white privilege. If there is an incident, the white person can usually go away and not think about it while the black person has to analyse it.

When you started out, did you ever contemplate lasting more than 25 years?

No. I remember us laughing at Status Quo when they announced 25 years in the business.

Nowadays, we are glad to be around to continue doing what we do. It’s good that people are still into it.

What do you think your legacy is?

It started off very strange and different to how other groups started. If we ever get a proper book out, it would make a great story, as there is a lot to it, but there’s no plans.

We’ve done things differently, and there are things in our music which other people have subsequently done, and we’re happy with that.

I’d hope it was an upbeat legacy of a group who started at square one with every release. It wasn’t easy, but it has been interesting.

England Is A Garden by Cornershop is released on 8th of March by Ample Play Records.

Music by Andy Reilly Page 17

The Boy With The Lion Head are back with their superb new album A Half Remembered Dream. They’re not dropping names or anything, but we’re told that Alan Sparhawk of Low is a fan of the album, that he’s excited that more people will have the chance to hear the band’s music. We’re definitely with him on that. We caught up with Rob Wood (keys) to chat about the making of the album and life as a band outside the central belt bubble.

To me, A Half Remembered Dream is sonically more restrained than much of your previous work.

It’s more focused, it’s maybe less expansive than the previous albums.

Was that something that you’d had in mind from the start?

With it being called A Half Remembered Dream, we wanted it to feel like every song was actually part of a dream. I think it’s quite a dark album really, there are a few happy songs in it but on the whole it’s dark and dreamy. The first one was more stripped back. And then we did the EP where we wanted to smash up everything, make everything rocking. We kinda thought we’d lost our way a bit. So when we did this album, we tried to create something more atmospheric, more like us. To me it’s better than the previous ones. Like you said, it is more stripped back, but I think we just wanted to have a more chilled out vibe about it.

In terms of the singles, ‘Blind’ has kicked ass.

When we first recorded ‘Blind’, there was nothing to it. John Findlay (guitar) and me sat in the studio and mucked about with it for ages, till one night it

happened and we said: ‘That’s it! That’s it! We don’t record this anymore, we put this down now.’

It just sounds class. It’s really dreamy and I love it at the end when it all kicks in… especially when we play it live. It’s kind of got this cool… you feel like you’re in this atmosphere… it has weird feelings attached to it.

Being based in the Borders and essentially outside of the central belt bubble, how do you find this impacts the band?

I think it makes things harder. In the Borders there’s nothing much here apart from MacArts, which is a brilliant venue. Chris Wemyss who runs it is doing so much for bands round here, he’s really helping. He’s really trying to get touring bands to stop in on their way by. They’ve Honeyblood in playing for Independent Venue Week, so he’s really chuffed about that. But in terms of us, if we don’t play MacArts, there’s nowhere to play. Realistically, you want to be going to see other bands and you create a circle.

But you can’t do that, cause you can’t physically do it from here.

I guess that makes the band outsiders in some way, which is quite cool, and that comes with its own opportunities?

Some of the gigs that we get offered, I think ‘Fucking hell, how did we get offered that?’. I think the music has really carried us. It has a Glasgowy type of vibe about it and I find that a lot of people there are open to the moody stuff that we do.

It has been two years since the last album.

That must be nice, to have had the space to find your way into it?

Yeah, we’d played loads of shows and we

got to the point where we were scunnered a bit.

And with jobs and people having kids, some band members left and some new ones came in.

Dave Reid (vocals and guitar) and some of the other guys wanted to write other songs, we felt that we didn’t have enough. Dave records little 4 track demos and brings them along, he came in one day and said ‘I don’t want to play this stuff anymore, I want to play something else.’

John decided he would turn one of his rooms into a studio. He spent a tonne of money on recording equipment and we started tracking.

We recorded a bunch, had a break again and wrote some more. We wanted to have at least twelve songs to choose from. There were a few that didn’t make the cut, they just didn’t sound right for this album. They might be released in the future for something else.

When the album came back, there was a relief.

Even though we enjoyed doing it, we felt like we’d never stopped. When we all listened back to it together, we were like ‘Wow, we actually made this’. We got a lot of radio play with the singles, and that was great. When we put the songs out, we didn’t know what to expect. We’d changed a bit and we weren’t sure if people would be accepting of that, but they have been and it’s been worth the two years.

The album was all self recorded then?

Yup, it was all self recorded and self produced.

We had our friend Steve Murray mix and master it. He properly captured our sound and mixed it the way we wanted. The first album, we did that entirely ourselves, but with the second one we got someone else in. Although [on the second album] he did a good job on it, he had added his own style. We’ve learned from that. With this release we made sure that everyone had their input before it was sent away.

A Half Remembered Dream will be released on 12th January with the band playing Broadcast, Glasgow that same evening. theboywiththelionhead.bandcamp.com Music by Kenny Lavelle Page 19

2019 was quite a year for writer David Keenan who followed up 2017’s cult classic This Is Memorial Device, his fictional account of growing up in post-punk Airdrie, with For The Good Times, a novel set in 1970s Northern Ireland in the middle of ‘The Troubles’, and the success of which took the author around the world, culminating in his winning the prestigious Gordon Burn Prize. We caught up with Keenan to reflect on For The Good Times and talk about the journey from publication to prize.

How did the year start for you with For The Good Times?

I think I went into it quite naively. I was really happy with the book, it was one I had always wanted to write, but at the start of the year I did kind of shit myself as I realised I had written a book about sectarian violence, the IRA, about Belfast, and how potentially touchy and raw that still is.

How did you approach writing about such a sensitive subject?

In a sense ‘The Troubles’ were like an intense bacchanal. I began to realise that what happened in Belfast during those times was that the whole society descended into the realm of the sacred snackmag.co.uk

and that’s what I wanted to reflect. I think there is a Christian idea that the sacred is very calm and good, but, as I’ve come to understand it, the realm of the sacred is a place where everyday reality is interrupted by the destruction of taboos on a daily basis.

There was a regression to primeval reality, somehow, but it was unfolding in the background of modern streets, on our televisions, as part of our youth. What’s interesting is that as I re-read the book throughout the year I began to reassess my own motivations for writing it. But I was worried about the reception in Ireland in particular so was relieved when someone of the calibre of Eoin McNamee wrote about the book in The Irish Times so glowingly.

I think there is a sense of Ireland now waking up and saying, “What happened? How did we get caught up in that? We’re just normal, decent, human beings.” and I think when people wake from such a nightmare that fiction can help them make sense of what happened and why. So I was delighted by the positive response from both sides. I’ve had ex-Loyalist prisoners be really complimentary about For The Good Times, which is amazing to me.

But it had considerable success outside of

the UK and Ireland as well.

Off the back of it I travelled the world, spending the summer in Central and South America which felt like a spiritual home to me. I met so many cool people in places like Colombia and Mexico who own record labels, who publish, or run DIY art scenes, or small bookshops, in the face of odds that we could never imagine coming from the UK. Something I’ve found while travelling is that there are other cultures who seem to prize literature more than we do. And it seems to be in cultures where the access to writing and writers is hard won.

For instance, I was in residence at Yasnaya Polyana, Tolstoy’s estate in Russia, with over 150 other writers or people involved in the literary world. I was aware of just how excited those attending were to be spending time with published writers. We did talks and workshops and it was like a scrum when people were asked to sign up. They were fanatical about literature, they take it so seriously, and there is something incredibly moving about that. There’s a belief that

BOOKS literature can transform lives, and it has definitively transformed my life.

In what way?

2019 was a year I felt valued as a writer, which is really important. The Gordon Burn Prize happening was unexpected. I mean, Bernardine Evaristo, Max Porter, Pat Barker – I was definitely the outsider for that, but it was so good to win.

I love Gordon Burn and I feel I have a lot in common with him. I have to have a career which is sustainable, there are books which need to get written. I want to make sure there is an audience and a platform for them and winning the prize is going to help a lot in making sure that happens.

David Keenan’s For The Good Times is published by Faber.

Books by Alistair Braidwood Page 21

DRAGULA Drag, Filth, Horror, Glamour: The Boulet Brothers bring Dragula to Scotland.

Dragula celebrates the darker side of drag, balancing horror, punk, the obscene and glamour in equal measure. Now available on Netflix, the show takes a group of wild, Avant Garde and filthy drag performers and puts them through gruelling challenges to find the World’s Next Drag Supermonster. Dragula pushes boundaries at every turn and has been lauded for its inclusive casting and its third season proved to be the most thrilling yet (our reigning champion Landon Cider is the show’s first drag king competitor).

The masterminds behind the show Dracmorda and Swanthula have, themselves, become cult icons, hosting outrageous, lauded club nights and becoming the demented darlings of LA’s nightlife.

The duo takes their show, as well as Landon Cider and his fellow Dragula alumni, to Glasgow on 21st January 2020 and are not to be missed.

The stellar line up also includes Evah Destruction, Louisianna Purchase, Priscilla Chambers, Saint Lucia, Maddelynn Hatter and Victoria Elizabeth Black. SNACK sat down with the Dracmorda to discuss the new tour, the future of Dragula, horror staples and some of the show’s more unhinged snackmag.co.uk

contestants…

What drew you both to the macabre, and how did you two meet and begin to collaborate?

A mutual friend introduced us years ago in New York City. We quickly accepted that destiny had played her hand and brought us together.

We recognized ourselves in each other. We were both outcasts and artists. We shared a love for all things dark, wild, punk and subversive. It was the beginning of everything.

What are your favourite horror films? Do you prefer camp, gore or thrills?

Swan loves her camp from time to time, but as a rule, the Boulets prefer style and terror over gore or anything else. Currents favourite horror films include Halloween, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Daughters of Darkness and Hereditary.

How did your reign as two of nightlife’s key players begin? What are some of the most scandalous things you’ve seen?

We moved to Los Angeles and found its nightlife lacking. We aren’t the types to accept things we do not like, so we decided to change the scene by digging in and creating our own events. Basically, don’t bitch about it, be about it. Fast forward and

now we throw some of the city’s biggest and best queer events including the Boulet Brothers Annual Los Angeles Halloween Ball and our spectacular New Queers Eve Ball. As far as scandal, we don’t really use the word. In fact, we pride ourselves on encouraging everyone at our parties to behave like the savage sexy stars they are and throw their inhibitions in the trash where they belong.

I think this season of Dragula was the best so far. What were some of your favourite or most shocking moments?

Thank you darling, you have wonderful taste. So much of the show is a direct extension of ourselves so it’s difficult to pick out favourite moments.

Bludgeoning Violencia with that hammer was quite fun. She deserved it of course. It was in that moment that I think audiences understood that we had removed the kitten gloves for Season 3 and that thought makes us both smile.

I think this season is special in part because of your active inclusion and diversity. What about the show makes you the proudest?

Thank you. Diverse representation is something we feel is both very important and truly reflective of the queer community. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, from the contestants, to the crew, PA’s, writers, everyone was committed to excellence. We feel most proud that our vision of this show was supported by our team and we believe it shows in the final product.

What do you think Landon Cider’s legacy as a winner will be?

It’s obvious: that Kings can rule just as fiercely as Queens!

This season felt even more intense and demanding on the contestants, and they really brought their A game. Is there anything that’s off-limits or too far, even on Dragula?

We are just getting started and I can promise you, we are going to push as far as we can, so I guess we will all find out.

What do you believe makes the perfect Dragula contestant?

LGBT+ There are so many ways a drag monster can be a great Dragula contestant but the one characteristic that is a must is fearlessness.

Is Disasterina like that all the time?

Yes, she is.

What would an All Stars version of Dragula look like? Is that something you two would consider given the show’s huge success?

For starters, it would not be called All Stars because they are all losers of their season. On the other hand, we do believe that many of our monsters would love the chance to fight again and the ensuing epic battle would be a grand display of true drag drama, and devastation. So of course, we’d love to make it happen.

What do you enjoy most about bringing Dragula on the road, and have you seen any notable monsters in Glasgow and Edinburgh’s drag scene?

Dragula fans belong to our cult of outcasts and misfits. It’s always such a pleasure to meet the people who love the show, hear their stories and create memories. It also allows us to personally experience the looks and different drag communities in Glasgow, Edinburgh and everywhere. We are always watching.

For the unfamiliar, what can audiences expect at a Dragula show?

Carnage, community, conjuring and a little chaos.

The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula on 21st January at Slay, Glasgow musicglue.com/slay

“DON’T BITCH ABOUT IT, BE ABOUT IT” LGBT+ by Jonny Stone Page 23

NIXON IN CHINA There is an old adage that there are two sides to every story, and then there’s the truth. From Richard “I’m not a crook” Nixon to Donald “no collusion” Trump, the eye of the media, and therefore the world, has affected political diplomacy in the modern media era of easy access.

Combining political caricature with humanity, Nixon in China explores the historical, ideological and psychological, whilst John Adams’ score fuses electronic pre-recordings, jazz notes and 1930s big band swing with classical opera elements, which results in an entertaining and enticing exploration of the men, their wives and how memory and ego can contrast fact.

Featuring fascinating archive footage from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum and The Richard Nixon Foundation, the opera is as much about the private moments as the public photo opportunities during the historically significant first visit by a President of the USA to communist China in 1972.

The premiere in 1987 was a turning point in contemporary opera, in a collaboration initiated by director Peter Sellars which brought together the expressive, genre-crossing rhythms of Adam’s compositions and Alice Goodman’s enigmatic libretto.

While the events illustrated took place almost 50 years ago, the relevance for contemporary

Page 24 Opera by Lindsay Corr

audiences on both a political and cultural level is still significant, as crass calculations of international politics and the hunger of hugely misguided leaders seeking justification is still prevalent, given the visibility of current relations between China and the USA paired with an even more cynical public.

The meeting of Mao and Nixon was diplomatic theatre, and arguably no art form is better suited to momentous spectacle than opera, allowing an opportunity to showcase historic players in a drama that can be treated seriously yet still allow for plenty of absurd humour.

Director John Fulljames explains; ‘Nixon is a hero of Verdian complexity. Although the events of the President’s 1972 visit to China have passed into history, this tale of the staging of global politics at the birth of the live media age feels more potent than ever, with a great team to stage this myth about the ultimate powerlessness of the most powerful people in the world.’

Scottish Opera’s premiere staging is a major new co-production with The Royal Danish Theatre and Teatro Real Madrid, starring Eric Greene as Richard Nixon and Mark Le Brocq as Mao Tse-tung.

It premieres at Theatre Royal Glasgow on Tuesday 18th, Thursday 20th and Saturday 22nd February, then transfers to Festival Theatre Edinburgh on Thursday 27th and Saturday 29th February. There are also great opportunities to discover more about how the production was created at Nixon in China Unwrapped one-hour tasters, and Pre-show talks. scottishopera.org.uk

YOU CAN

FOLLOW

US @snackmag

snackmag.co.uk hello@snackpublishing.com 0141 632 4641

snackmag.co.uk

One of the most frequently overlooked periods in Scottish history is the 1820 Radical War. It was an uprising that started among workers across the west of Scotland, but much of its most notable spark was in Paisley. In September 1819, a march in solidarity with victims of the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester led to a week of riots and cavalry charges up Paisley’s High St. This prompted Prime Minister Disraeli to say “Keep your eye on Paisley” for fear of a French style revolution. The government deployed troops across trouble spots and even built a permanent barracks in Paisley, completing these in 1822.

This period and the subsequent Sma’ Shot dispute are particularly prominent in the local consciousness of Paisley and its surrounding areas. The inaugural Paisley Book Festival aims to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the radicals by binding local history to contemporary literature and culture with 10 days of events embracing the theme of Radical Voices and Rebel Stories.

The Janet Coats Memorial Prize is up for grabs, for old and young writers alike whose poetry addresses the current climate crisis.

There’s a prize for adults and, separately, for under 18s.

Taking place across many venues and cafes across the town, a mixture of free and ticketed events will cater for every age group. Pop up poetry shops will be hosted in Bianco Y Nero and Fairfull cafes to encourage creative writing in those who perhaps have always wanted to flex their verse but have never had the confidence or the platform to do so.

Highlights include an exclusive reading from Maggie Craig on the opening night in Paisley Arts Centre, a Poets in the Library event showcasing Scotland’s foremost radical writers, the Kenyan/Scottish award winning storyteller Mara Menzies telling tales of those who’ve stood their ground in the face of adversity, Kirsty

Wark lecturing on Inspiring Women at UWS, sound installations and a big birthday bash for local playwright/artist John Byrne.

At a pop-up space in the Piazza, Luke Winter will be writing custom stories while you wait, for anyone willing to give him a subject matter or title. Nikesh Shukla will be hosting a BAME Writing Masterclass as well as other speaking events. Dean Etta and Eris Young will be discussing their work and writing about queer identities at the Arts Centre on Wednesday 26th in one of the most highly anticipated events of the festival.

Glasgow Women’s Library and ROAR will be presenting a drop in story café focusing on Radical Women – from Jane Arthur and the thread mill workers to the ongoing campaign for equality in publishing. Other notable names appearing include Kirstin Innes, Sheila Templeton, Ever Dundas, Janice Galloway, Jenny Lindsay, Chitra Ramaswamy, Jenni Fagan, Emma Jane Unsworth and Alex Gray.

Also appearing will be Jackie Kay (the current Scots Makar) and Tannahill Makar Brian Whittingham.

Alan Bisset is presenting a couple of events including an evening in Callum’s Cavern with the surreally hilarious and insightful Chris McQueer. Renfrewshire’s only independent publishers, Jenny’s Well Press will be presenting various Scottish writers tying back to the theme of rebellion and the curtain will be drawn on the entire event by the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers (Val McDermid, Christopher Brookmyre et al) with both spoken word and musical performances.

The slogan of the radicals two centuries ago was “Scotland Free or a Desert”. The inaugural Paisley Bookfest hopes to bring back the sense of freedom, rebellion and radicalism to one of the country’s most culturally overlooked conurbations.

From 20th till 29th February. paisleybookfest.com Books Stephen McColgan Page 27

INDEPENDENT VENUE WEEK snackmag.co.uk

By the end of January, most people require a good night out. The first month of the year is often a gloomy time. Whether you have turned over a new leaf regarding your health and fitness, or the excesses of the festive season has pushed your finances under more considerable strain, it is perfectly acceptable to spend most of the month indoors, leading the lifestyle of a grumpy hermit.

However, once you have received your January paycheque and February is on the horizon, it’s time to shake yourself out of your stupor, and head outside. Okay, it’s still dark, cold, wet and miserable, so you should only head outside to enter another building, but this is why Independent Venue Week is such a welcoming attraction.

The 2020 event runs from Monday 27th January to Sunday 2nd February, and as you’d expect, there is a lot to take your fancy across central Scotland and beyond. Allow us to point out some highlights and recommendations to help you get the year on track.

MAN OF MOON If you keep up to date with Man of Moon on social media, you’ll know their Glasgow IVW gig sold out before Christmas. The band is on the road for the whole week with a total of six shows, stretching down to London, so they’re keeping themselves busy.

If you’ve got a ticket for the SWG3 show on Tuesday 28th, you’re in for a great time. If you missed out, and you have yet to see the boys, stick it on your resolutions list for 2020. We’re firm favourites of Man of Moon at SNACK, and we look forward to what they offer in the year ahead.

HONEYBLOOD They aren’t playing in the central belt, but if you fancy a trip to Galashiels, former SNACK cover stars Honeyblood head to the MacArts for 1st February. 2019 was a fresh start for Stina, with a new album broadening and evolving her sound, and an expanded live band offering up a fresh Honeyblood experience for fans.

The three-piece line-up will be on display during IVW, and with a promise of new songs, there is plenty of incentive for devotees to venture further afield. The MacArts venue has a growing reputation, and this looks set to be another show that emphasises its importance in the local community and gig-going culture.

were heading back to the UK in 2020 was very welcome. Then again, it’s likely your next thought was how long it’s been since their debut album, which was released in 2006! Reminders like that take the wind out of your sails, causing you to dwell on the passing of time and how little you’ve achieved in the intervening years.

Mind you, there’s only been one other Giant Drag record in this time-frame, so you’re not alone if your productivity hasn’t been the highest Which is all the more reason to get excited by the tour, with the Hug & Pint gig on Tuesday 28th falling under the IVW banner. Hearts and Unicorns remains a beautifully bliss collection of hazy and lazy tracks. The combination of scuzzy guitars and Annie Hardy’s nonchalant vocals leave you unsure if they’re confident or fragile, but hey, can’t they be both?

Hardy has had solo releases in between and has come through a lot, but with the tour supporting a vinyl release of Hearts and Unicorns, there will hopefully be a mix of old and new. We’re very much looking forward to this gig, and don’t we all need something to look forward to in January?

DUNDEE

GIANT DRAG Although it was far from the biggest reunion announcement, the news that Giant Drag

Beat Generator Live! is a venue with a strong reputation, and even more impressive line-ups, drawing acts and crowds to Dundee; reinforcing the vibrant nature of the city. The venue has an IVW gig on Friday 31st January, with Strange Bones from Blackpool delivering the only Scottish gig of their tour.

With a punkish live show honed on tours with acts like Cabbage and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, this is set to be a show that will blow any lingering cobwebs away. There are not enough bands with a political outlook these days, but you can rely on Strange Bones to merge social commentary with enough fuzzy guitars to allow you to pogo the night away.

Independent Venue Week by Andy Reilly Page 29

SNEAKY PETE’S If you like live music in Edinburgh, you know and love Sneaky Pete’s. As you’d expect, the venue has a full calendar of IVW gigs, so you should find something of note. Are we particularly drawn to the Carla J Easton and Broken Chanter concert on Friday 31st January? Of course, we are, we’ve interviewed and championed both, and you’re guaranteed to enjoy a night of cheery pop and endearing folk with this show.

Other highlights include the highly regarded Cloth, a band who you’ll read and hear much more about in 2020, playing with Annie Booth on Wednesday 29th. Georgie plays on the 28th, serving up a set of confident and striding soul, ideal for those who thought Duffy should have better known than Adele. A band called Roam round out the festivities at Sneaky Pete's. If you're in the mood for melodic guitar pop and sneering vocals, you've everything you need to leave the house for the evening.

Also, if your calendar means you’d prefer to have something in your diary before IVW, the venue hosts Rev Magnetic and Giant Drag in the days leading up to the official week, allowing you to get a jumpstart on your west coast counterparts.

HUG & PINT It will be no surprise that one of the best small (not that size matters) gig venues in Glasgow is lining up a tasty few treats for IVW. We’ve spoken indepth about the Giant Drag show, but you won’t struggle for unknown treasures and pleasures here.

The members of Rev Magnetic have a history which demands respect, but their current sound warrants your attention. The live show offers a beguiling mix of dream-like pop with enough moments that lurch and crunch into life, keeping you on your toes. You may have seen the act in

a supporting role, where they’ve always been entertaining and enigmatic; hopefully, their shows expand on this.

Another band who have bolstered their reputation with a support slot recently are Gallus, who were rapturously received supporting The Dunts at the Garage. The band’s show at The Hug & Pint has already sold out, so if you have missed out on tickets, expect to see your social media timeline bombarded with frenetic images and raucous video clips. Gallus looks to be a band riding high on a mighty wave, so keep them in mind for the rest of the year.

Amongst the rest of the acts worth looking at in the Hug & Pint IVW roster are Kiwi Jnr, Last Chance Series and the imaginatively titled The Goat Roper Rodeo Band. A few great nights are coming your way on Great Western Road with IVW.

The Flying Duck

THE FLYING DUCK This hidden gem on Renfield Street is precisely the sort of venue that deserves a push during IVW, and if you haven’t checked it out, stick it on your thingsto-do list for the year. There is a handful of gigs at The Flying Duck for IVW. Anyone looking for a fun night out in February will not be disappointed.

Across the rest of the week, there is a substantial collection of hotly tipped bands for the year. If you want to be in the know, or be that person that gets to tell your friends you saw that act they love long before them, investing in a few tickets now pays off in the short and long-term. Hung Parliament, Hound, Gravelle, Natalie Pryce, Pocket Knife and Black Cat Revue are just some of the acts worth some of your time, and maybe even your money.

If you need something to jumpstart your heart, the swirling psychedelic stomp of Black Cat Revue

will be so far up your street, it is hiding out in your garage, and you should be charging it rent.

Some of the venues are going all out with the event; some appear to be doing next to nothing or even nothing at all. One of the scourges of life as a music fan is out-of-date or misinformed websites who fail to provide you with an accurate assessment of what is going on. Therefore, venues like the Cathouse and Mono are listed on the IVW site but at the time of checking, have nothing listed for the week. Don’t forget that Celtic Connections is also running to 2nd February, so even if some of your favourite Glasgow indie venues don’t have IVW gigs listed, they may still have shows of note on.

However, that would be for a different article.

Whether you buy into the ethos of Independent Venue Week, or you just want to see a good band or two (or just get out of the house), there’s no excuse for succumbing to the January Blues in 2020.

Independent Venue Week by Andy Reilly Page 31

BRATISLAVA Bratislava, famous as the setting for the B-movie slasher flick Hostel. So often, when we try to recommend it as a holiday destination Hostel is brought up. It wasn’t even filmed in Bratislava: it was filmed in Prague (see the December issue of SNACK for our Prague guide) and Český Krumlov in neighbouring Czech Republic. Admittedly, on both of our trips to Bratislava, we have slept in hotels rather than hostels but we’re sure the hostels are fine...

HISTORY The city for years was known as Pressburg and had a mostly German population, but it was also Pozsony, the capital city of Hungary when the Ottoman Empire controlled most of Hungary from 1536 to 1784. Then the seat of power moved to Buda, which then joined with Pest in 1873 (see SNACK Issue 3 for our Budapest Guide).

TRAVEL Before World War I the population was mostly German and Hungarian, and as a result of Nazi annexation, the city was bombed by the Allies during World War II. Approximately 15,000 Jews were deported from the city to concentration camps and after the war ethnic Germans themselves were expelled to Germany.

From 1948-1988, the city endured the hardships of communism, despite the western state of Austria being visible from various points within the city. Many people, successfully and unsuccessfully, attempted to cross the border into the west. Czechoslovakia split, and in 1993 Bratislava became the capital city of newly independent Slovakia. In 2012, a new bridge for pedestrians and cyclists crossing from just outside Bratislava into Austria was built, and in true ‘Boaty McBoatface’ style, an online poll to name the bridge resulted in ‘Chuck Norris Bridge’ coming top. Officially, it is the Freedom Cycling Bridge.

SHOP

including English language books and they have a cafe too. etc. (1 Námestie Eugena Suchoňa) is a vinyl and book store owned by a former radio music director housed in a stunning 1919 building which is also the home of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra.

DRINK One thing Bratislava is not short of is microbreweries so if you love beer then this city is a must. There is also a Scottish pub, the Lochness, but there are better places to visit. For brewpubs, you can take your pick from: Beer Palace, Mestiansky, Starosloviensky, Vycap u Ernoho, Hostinec Richtár Jakub, Ružinov, Patronsky or Pivaren Stupavar.

Stará tržnica (Old Market, at Námestie SNP), was an unused building for a long time but now hosts a farmers’ market every Saturday and occasionally music events and exhibitions. Kompot (19 Laurinská) specialises in original Slovak design pieces such as bags, T-shirts and home accessories. Slávica (also at 19 Laurinská) has jewellery and ceramics from independent designers. Artforum (20 Kozia) is a bookshop that only stocks titles picked by the staff, Travel by Mark & Emma, Foodie Explorers Page 33

Čierny Pes (Black Dog, 2 Na vŕšku) is down a quiet cobbled street near the medieval city walls.

Although the door is at ground level, this is a basement bar in vaulted rooms, which adds to the medieval feel. It’s cosy with cheap Slovakian beer, including gluten-free options. Just across the road and down a bit is Uisce Beatha (1 Na vŕšku). If you have a craving for Irish whiskey or Guinness then you should head here rather than the kitschy Irish bars on the main streets. Stag parties not welcome. They show live sports and have board games too. U Čerta (At The Devil’s, 2 Beblaveho) is a very quirky, atmospheric bar located just across from the city wall. Pay attention to the walls and ceiling and you may even see the devil (or at least a part of him).

If wine is more your thing, the local wine is plentiful and you probably won’t find any of it in the UK. Look for Ríbezlák, which is made from red and black currants and is produced just outside the city. Vcelovina is a type of mead (honey) wine. For grape wine the main red to look for is Frankovka Modra and for whites/dessert wines look for Tokaj from the corner of Slovakia bordering Hungary. From our experience, the Slovakian Tokaj is not as sweet as Hungarian Tokaji. Pinot u Bruna (55 Rudnayovo námestie) is hidden away from tourists on the square at St Martin’s Church.

Cosy and romantic, it has the added bonus of music played from vinyl and very few tourists.

But, if you really want to do Bratislava on a budget, head to the indoor Tržnica (Market, 112 Šancová). We had cups of wine, served in plastic cups for 40 cents, and there’s a choice of semipermanent bars, should you want to do a small but cheap pub crawl. For coffee, we enjoyed the simplicity of Kava.Bar (1 Skalná) where you can have yogurt or toast with your cup of ‘pick-meup’ and watch the trams pass by. Last but not least is Čajovna v Podzemí (Underground Tea Room, 9 Ventúrska), a tea room housed inside a bomb shelter, which proudly boasts that it’s the “only 1 in Bratislava” as if every city has one! The only other one we’re aware of is in High Wycombe.

EAT Budget: Palacinka Lacinka (18 Šancová) is a timewarp of a place. You can’t really see inside, so take the plunge and open the door to a tiny room furnished sparingly with just a few tables, chairs and a small counter. And, no English menus...well, at least until you ask! Just under 50 sweet and savoury toppings are available, including at least two for diabetics. Prices start at a mere 17 cents for a pancake.

Mid-price: Altitude. Located just outside the city at the Kamzik TV tower, 439 meters above sea level, is this revolving restaurant — a first for us. We were told that you can see the Alps on clear days, but it rained and was overcast when we visited. We booked an Uber to the tower from our hotel (about £5 each way) as it‘s a bit of a hike from the nearest bus stop.

Splurge: Above the Most SNP (Slovak National Uprising Bridge) you’ll notice a curious feature, what looks like a UFO perched on the southern tower and here you’ll find UFO. watch. taste. groove. The views are the best of any restaurant in the city; while the food is excellent but very expensive. A 3-course lunch for two is €100+.

CULTURE Bratislava Castle sits prominently on a hill overlooking the old town and the Danube. You can pay to view the exhibitions and Museum of History or simply walk up for a free view over the city. For an even better view, head to the other side of the river to the aforementioned UFO. If you don’t want to pay for the overpriced food you can just pay to ride the elevator to the

visited Petržalka, the largest and most densely populated housing estate or ‘scheme’ in Central Europe. This covers 2,000+ hectares and houses over 100,000 people. The tour finishes with a beer in a working man’s pub which probably hasn’t changed since it opened in the 60s. Find out more at authenticslovakia.com

observation deck for a 360-degree view. You’ll likely get great photographs of the castle from here. High above Bratislava is Slavín (Pažického), a memorial monument and military cemetery. It is the burial ground for the fallen Soviet Army of World War II. Slavin has great views over the east of the city and Slovakia. Bratislava is also known for its amusing statues which you’ll find dotted around the old town. Look out for Man at work - Čumil, Schöne Náci and Napoleon’s Army Soldier which are all on the same stretch of road. The Blue Church (Bezručova), officially known as Church of St. Elizabeth is a stunning Art Nouveau catholic church. If the doors are open, be sure to have a look inside. On the day we visited only the outer door was open which at least allowed us to view the church through an internal door window. St Michael’s Gate (Michalská Utica) was once part of the medieval fortifications and is the only city gate that still exists. Originally built around 1300, the baroque style gate was reconstructed in 1758.

TOURS Authentic Slovakia run a number of tours in the city and we took part in two. The village pub crawl to four backwater pubs outside the city is great if you like to use Untappd to surprise your friends by checking in beers from random remote pubs (all drinks and transport are included in the price). For our second tour, we travelled around in an old battered Skoda amongst communist buildings and landmarks, taking in the city’s history from before the iron curtain fell. We

SLEEP Hotel Galeria Tachyon is the most eyecatching place to stay. Inside, the reception and rooms are all colourful...as if painted by children on drugs. It’s just behind Hlavná Stanica, the main train (and bus) station. We’ve mentioned some microbreweries already, but how about a brewery you can stay in? Dunajský Pivovar is unique in that it’s not just a brewery, hotel and restaurant but also a boat moored on the river Danube. It’s situated just across the water from the old town, a 20 min walk away. The food is a mix of traditional and western cuisine and they have three or four beers on a time. Loft Hotel is home to Fabric brewery and restaurant. Their menu is more a pub-grub type affair; focused on burgers, fish & chips and ramen (strangely). In addition to their own beers, they also have over two-hundred wines. Although it’s also outside the old town, it’s only a 10-min walk to Hlavná Stanica.

GET THERE Fly to Bratislava airport from Edinburgh with Ryanair. The 61 bus from the airport runs every 20 mins and takes around 23 minutes to get to Hlavná Stanica, which is situated a little outside the old town. From here you can take tram 1, bus 93 (single ticket is around €1) or walk 15–25 mins into the old town.

TOURIST INFORMATION visitbratislava.com Travel by Mark & Emma, Foodie Explorers Page 35

SWADISH It’s often said that India is a nation of vegetarians, and so Indian restaurants have always offered good options for vegetarian diets but Swadish goes one step further with a full vegan menu, should you be avoiding meat and animal products this January.

Opening in May last year at 33 Ingram Street, AdLib’s Merchant City home for many years, this new ‘modern Indian cuisine’ restaurant has already received a slew of positive reviews and was almost at capacity when we visited on a cold early December Tuesday night. We expect the popularity to continue right into the oft-quiet month of January and beyond, thanks to a number of things like their vegan menu, which may sway even the most avid meat eater. If you absolutely can’t go without, there are plenty of meat and fish dishes available. We’ve been a couple of times now and tried dishes from both menus; the main menu is fairly unusual with items such as soft shell crab, duck and (on our list for next time) tandoori sea bass with ginger, coriander butter with garlic infused curried potatoes.

So enough about future visits, what about this one? To begin, we had an unusual assortment of poppadoms made with lentils, millet and

snackmag.co.uk

sago arriving alongside tomato, carrot and mango chutneys. Something a bit different to the usual spiced onions and a choice of thicker and more textured poppadoms.

Fed up with boring Indian lagers? Then the drinks may also surprise as there are Indian ciders, an IPA and a cocktail list which, we can attest, is worth working through.

On to the starters from the vegan menu: Kurkuri Aloo TIkki, which are crispy potato cakes on top of a quinoa salad with green chutney and beetroot gel. Crisp outside and fluffy inside, perfectly made to soak up the sauces.

Our other starter of Stuffed Shishito Peppers were stuffed with crispy masala potatoes and a smoked vegan paprika yoghurt which tasted indistinguishable from low-fat yoghurt made from cow milk. We’re always fans of battered pakora-style starters; this was an appetising start to the meal without being too spicy.

Fearing the winter flu, for our first main we picked the Garlic Chilli No Chicken: made using homemade seitan with garlic, tomatoes, ginger, coriander, chilli and masala. Full of

flavour, it was spicy and delicious – but we still ended up with the lurgy!

Our other main was their Smoked Aubergine and Pistachio. There are a plethora of Indian aubergine recipes out there but when was the last time you ate an aubergine curry in an Indian restaurant? Exactly. Baby aubergines, mixed in with an onion and tomato sauce with crushed pistachios, stem and all. Again, with a kick but not too spicy. Topping off the dish were Jerusalem artichoke crisps – a tasty tuber that is more often found in fine dining restaurants, and that should give you an idea of the food you’ll find here. It’s not a traditional ‘curry house’.

After looking over the dessert menu we ventured on with the Vegan Chocolate Cake, which tasted just like a regular well-made steamed chocolate pudding, exceedingly moist and chocolatey. Our other dessert, the Strawberry Bhapa Doi was steamed and flavoured with vanilla, but wasn’t vegan as it had strawberry jelly (gelatine) and real yoghurt, but they do have another vegan

“THE SWADISH VEGAN MENU SWAYED EVEN THE MOST AVID MEAT EATER TO PICK FROM IT.”

FOOD AND DRINK option – a raw cheesecake made with cashew nuts and vegan cream.

Swadish was well worthy of a return visit from ourselves, and we’ve another visit already planned. It’s not only us who rate it so highly; Ajay Kumar, owner and executive chef of Swadish, was recently crowned the Scottish Curry Champion at the SPICE Awards.

Swadish, 33 Ingram St, Glasgow, G3 1HA

IN BRIEF Dedicated Vegan menu which isn’t an afterthought An Indian restaurant with proper cocktails Impressively tasty food

Radical Voices & Rebel Stories 20 to 29 February 2020 www.paisleybookfest.com @bookpaisley

Food and Drink by Mark & Emma, Foodie Explorers Page 37

I have strange memories with this building.

The last time I was here, it was called VDeep and I was dressed as Cupid: complete with wig, wings, a toy arrow and make-up for a photoshoot to promote a Valentine’s Day menu. Yup, that actually happened. And before that, I found myself in the same place coming second in a hot chilli wing eating contest, losing to someone called Ally…Ally Burns. You bet it did, and it was worse the following morning.

So now I have returned, years later, my wounds healed with no spicy chicken wings in sight as Harmonium is 100% vegan. It’s run by the same people responsible for Stereo, Mono and The 78 in Glasgow hence the lack of meat and the musicthemed name. If you don’t know, a harmonium is a type of pump organ, which sounds...rude. Rather, it’s a free-reed organ, a musical instrument with piano keys and two pedals. Popular in Indian music; The Beatles and Pink Floyd have used them, but if you’re not sure what one sounds like and want to hear, then look up ‘Music For a Found Harmonium’ by Penguin Café Orchestra and then say to yourself ‘ah, that’s what that is’. It’s been used on all sorts of movies (Napoleon Dynamite and It’s All Gone Pete Tong), TV shows and commercials, and has been covered numerous times. There’s a nice wee story behind the song and the instrument – the harmonium had been found dumped on a street in Kyoto. While nothing featuring a harmonium played in the background

while we were there (to the best of our hearing), we did pick out The Comet is Coming; so they get kudos for that.

Plus points for the drinks too, as they are all free from animal products. The cocktail list covers classics like Bloody Marys, Negronis and White Russians (made with oat milk). They also serve slightly quirky things like their version of a ‘half n half’. In this case, lager and a shot of Wild Turkey. Local producers feature prominently - tea is provided by Eteaket in central Edinburgh and coffee is courtesy of Leith’s Williams & Johnson. There are two permanent cask ales, both Edinburgh-ish based: Top Out Pale Ale and Campervan’s Leith Juice, then there’s eight regular draught taps and a varied selection of craft beer in cans and bottles. We settled for a Lime & Pepper Gose from Pilot, another local brewery, and an Erdinger alcohol-free beer - one of us was driving and if you’re gonna go sans alcohol, you may as well have something good.

On to the food, the menu is mixed but has a focus toward pizzas and a customisable quarter pounder burger. At lunchtime, they have a £5 sub of the day offer. We visited in the evening, it was cold and we needed comfort food so opted for the burger.

Presented in a soft bun with onion, beef tomato, lettuce and burger sauce with a leafy salad and chips on the plate. Optional extras Include cheese, jalapeños, olives, rocket, sausage, bacon, haggis, pesto or caramelised red onion. It’s a substantial and dirty burger; pleasantly ‘real’ tasting but

without the bad karma.

For our other main we ordered the Broccoli, Red Cabbage & Basil Miso Pho pronounced ‘fu’ as in... fungi. You can add plant based beef or tofu but it didn’t really need it; it’s a hefty broth of noodles, edamame, toasted sesame seeds, fresh basil and coriander.

We also had a side of Vietnamese Loaded Fries – chips topped with Sriracha mayo, hoisin sauce, crushed peanuts, five-spice and coriander.

Considering the toppings it wasn’t really spicy, the main flavour was actually the sweetness of the hoisin sauce - but was it a bit too sweet?

Being a mac & cheese aficionado, a side of this was also ordered. It was surprisingly good. Not really cheesy (obviously) but still comforting and filling (generally the main reason for ordering such a dish, surely?). It‘s a valiant attempt at the dish without the ‘real’ cheese. I’ve tasted a lot worse made with animal derived cheese elsewhere. It’s also available as a main rather than a side.

By the time we’d finished the savoury courses we

were kind of defeated for dessert; the portions are pretty hefty. They have three options: a raspberry sorbet, hot apple and cinnamon rolls and a sundae with banana, mixed chopped nuts, chocolate sauce and cherry. On another day, with more room in my stomach, I’d have tackled the sundae.

While there have been various bar/restaurants on this spot over the years, Harmonium seems to be the one with lasting appeal. Staff were friendly and our food and drinks arrived promptly. It was happily cosy on what was a particularly nippy Leith evening. It’s easy to get to, with a bus stop right outside, so if you’re looking for filling and good honest vegan food, there’s nothing to stop you from finding this particular Harmonium.

60 Henderson Street, Leith, EH6 6DE

IN BRIEF All food and drinks are vegan Using lots of local suppliers Good background music

e, m o es chen l o wh y kit s r u yo ealth taple £39 l l a For rty & hoard sorders over hea cupbelivery for d UK Free

37 Broughton Street, Edinburgh EH1 3JU | 8 Brougham Street, Edinburgh EH3 9JH Food and Drink by Mark & Emma, Foodie Explorers Page 39

VEGANUARY Find inspiration to be vegan this January, and possibly for the rest of the year. Here are some suggestions for dipping your toe into the world of plant-based food.

REPUBLIC BIER HALLE 9 Gordon St, Glasgow, G1 3PL Celebrating its twentieth birthday and showing no signs of slowing down. Well known for its beer selection and 2-4-1 pizza deal, but did you know they have vegan cheese and gluten-free bases available for their pizzas? When we were there recently, some omnis didn’t even notice the difference when they tried the vegan pizza.

Hurrah! republicbierhalle.com

THE FLYING DUCK 142 Renfield St, Glasgow, G2 3AU This subterranean dive bar is ideal for not only a pint and a gig but their food menu is 100% worth seeking out too. Try the donner kebab or any one of their burgers, you won’t be disappointed. Their chips are top notch too (if you like them skinny and salty). theflyingduck.org

SEEDS FOR THE SOUL 167 Bruntsfield Pl, Edinburgh, EH10 4DG A cosy place for a bite to eat or drink with delicious looking cake. Somewhere for all times of the day with breakfast, small plates and burgers on offer, which are gathering a fair following even with non-vegans. The vegan poutine is on our to-try list next visit. seedsforthesoul.co.uk

KIMCHI CULT! 14 Chancellor St, Glasgow, G11 5RQ Known more for their crispy moreish Korean Fried Chicken, Kimchi Cult! have a couple of vegan options on the menu such as tofu bao and the Veganbap, which is bibimbap, a hearty bowl of rice and ingredients such as seaweed, carrots, cucumber, chilli sauce, vegan kimchi, fried tofu and pickled shiitake mushrooms. kimchicult.com

snackmag.co.uk

PUMPKIN BROWN 16 Grassmarket, Edinburgh, EH1 2JU Everything is gluten-free and vegan at Pumpkin Brown. Hangout here for breakfast and lunch with acai smoothie bowls and soup/quiche of the day on offer. Or maybe settle down with a raspberry and rose latte with one of their raw cakes. www.pumpkinbrown.com

THE AULD HOOSE 23-25 St. Leonard’s St, Edinburgh, EH8 9QN Yeah, we’re gonna go on about them nachos again as they really can’t be ignored. Not only are they the biggest nachos we have ever come across but you can have them vegan-friendly as well. Also on the menu are vegan hot dogs, chilli and onions plus a full vegan breakfast for those days when a fry up is needed. theauldhoose.co.uk

want. A simple menu of Punjabi family style food prepared by Ranjit herself. The vegan options are not always labelled, so please ask. Daal (lentil based curry) of the day and Sabji (vegetable dish) of the day are usually vegan. Of course they also have pakora, samosas and vegetable rolls.

Definitely the best vegan curry in the southside.

BRASSERIE ECOSSE 4-5 Shore Terrace, Dundee, DD1 3AH There’s a definite shortage of venues at the higher end of the side of dining that are vegan friendly. Brasserie Ecosse are one of the few that we’ve found do it well. The vegan choices on their dessert menu are worth the visit alone - their chocolate tofu ganache, coconut purée, praline, lemon sorbet was described by the manager, as the best vegan dessert you’ve ever tasted. High promises and we we’re not disappointed. It was damn good, a thick, rich chocolate ganache in a crisp chocolate shell with the zing of lemon. brasserieecosse.co.uk

FALAFEL TO GO Hope Street, Glasgow (Near the bus stop at top of Hope Street) Looks can be deceiving, this blink-and-you’llmiss-it windowed kiosk serves some mightly falafel, the queues will certify that, but it’s quick and won’t do damage to your wallet.

BONSAI BISTRO RANJIT’S KITCHEN 670 Pollokshaws Road, Glasgow, G41 2QG Ranjit’s Kitchen is a family-run vegetarian restaurant which will always have at least one vegan main and will go out of their way to make sure you get the (always ace) vegan flatbread you

46 Richmond Street, EH8 9DZ Bonsai Bistro has been in Edinburgh for twenty years and is still developing its menu. Here you can get a vegan fish sushi set, yup vegan fish sushi; apparently it’s made with tapioca flour.

Apparently it’s made with tapioca flour. Vegan items are clearly labelled such as aubergine katsu and shiitake hand rolls. bonsaibarbistro.co.uk Vegan by Mark & Emma, Foodie Explorers Page 41

HEAVY RAIN LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY TRACK BY TRACK Some artists can measure their career by the influence they’ve had or the awards they’ve won. There seems little point in trying to compare anyone to Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Yeah, he has a grammy, he’s had a solo art exhibition and influenced and worked with countless notable artists, but he also boasts a Jamaican Order of Distinction (Commander Class) and anyone with the slightest interest in music can readily tell you all about the Black Ark studio and its legendary ceremonial burning.

Following on from the summer release of Rainford, an album greeted as something of a return to form for the 83-year-old Godfather of Dub, Heavy Rain revisits those sessions and gives them a heavy dub slant as well as including a couple of brand-new tracks and a production triumvirate that’s enough to bring on an excitable

snackmag.co.uk

skin condition in any vinyl head.

Long-term collaborator and UK dub heavyweight Adrian Sherwood was at the desk for both long players, but Heavy Rain also boasts the presence of Brian Eno as well as legendary trombonist Vin Gordon and Gaudi providing keyboards and theremin. Sherwood once compared Perry to Salvador Dali and that old quote reverberates with the Christ-like image of Perry on the cover by visual artist Peter Harris.

The album kicks off with ‘Intro – Music Shall Echo’ which is a fairly standard musically abstract intro track acting as a call to dub arms before everything really kicks off with the Eno re-work of Rainford’s ‘Makumba Rock’, the pleasinglytitled ‘Here Come the Warm Dreads’. Where the off-beat, upstroke guitar chops normally sit in a reggae song, Eno and Sherwood have squeezed in compressed, squashed guitar samples and synthesisers that seemingly breathe as the track unfolds. Given Perry’s history of studio-based innovation, the filters, reverb and stereo swoops applied here could either be interpreted as homage or as a sort of audio photobombing – tapebombing, if you will. Either way, the result is

a fat slice of chanking good stuff that will set your walking posture back by approximately 12 degrees.

‘Rattling Bones and Crowns’ lives up to its title with a bassline designed to shake spines but the real star here is Vin Gordon’s deceptively lively brass parts. Although not always at the front of the mix, the trombone still steals the show above the wash of wah guitar parts and delayed snare hits. Perry’s vocals in ‘Kill them dreams Money Worshippers’ sound even more at home here than on the original track.

‘Mindworker’ featuring a jazzy riff and toms filtered to the point of becoming watery blips, rumbles along at a relaxed bpm while Scratch proclaims himself a collector of souls and mover of brains. It’s probably the track that suits the album image best – reminding the listener of reggae’s spiritual roots.

Lead single, ‘Enlightened’ will probably be in the background of some undeserving cocktail bars come the summer but the very Wailerssounding backing vocals dancing in between effect-heavy harmonica lines could improve any social event regardless of the season. It

“THE FILTERS, REVERB AND STEREO SWOOPS APPLIED HERE COULD EITHER BE INTERPRETED AS HOMAGE OR AS A SORT OF AUDIO PHOTOBOMBING”

REVIEW gives way to ‘Hooligan Hank’ which manages to be disproportionately unsettling for its 60 second footprint.

‘Crickets in Moonlight’ is the album highlight, though. The original track ‘Cricket in the Moon’ was good enough but here it is shone through a sunny, hazy distortion. The brass manages to convey sadness and joy within the same phrases before the big hook will have the most prostrate listener on their feet. There doesn’t seem to be any sound in this mix which hasn’t got some filter with moving cut-offs. It’s like a dream between eras – an internal communication of rich musical histories.

‘Space Craft’ might be the trippiest thing I’ve heard in a while. Almost abstract LFOs shuffle back and forth in volume levels while Perry waxes about African Starships. This is followed by two brand new tracks, ‘Dreams Come True’ and ‘Above and Beyond’.

The former is a semi-conscious hot step through fuzzy, swelling synths with the outgoing refrain of a “Message to the righteous” ringing through the sticky groove. The latter starts off as the closest thing on the record to old school reggae rather than dub. However, by the end it has spread out into sprawling sonic layers which should sound as if they’re battling with each other but, instead, fold in on each other comfortably.

‘Heavy Rainford’, the closest thing to a title track, is a production geek’s wet dream. The introduction of the vocal hook from ‘I Am The Upsetter’ steals the show before the layered vocal harmonies in the last few seconds of the track smoothly fade out for Perry’s spoken word outro.

Is this Lee “Scratch” Perry’s finest album? Meh, probably not. Is he still influential to an almost mythic level? Yes. Is this 40 minutes of aural wonder, bombardment and smokey vibes worth your time? Several times over, yes.

Review by Stephen McColgan Page 43

PARAS ITE snackmag.co.uk

Sometimes a film comes along that captures something crucial and powerful, resonating with the times in which it was made. Movies such as Taxi Driver, Trainspotting and Pulp Fiction spring to mind. Now, we have Parasite.

Since winning the coveted Palme D’or earlier this year at Cannes film festival, over Quentin Tarantino’s superb Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the film has been on many people’s radar. The movie has grossed over $120 million worldwide, and over $20 million in the US alone, no small feat for a modestly budgeted Korean picture.

Recently it was also selected in the Foreign Language Film category for the Oscars. As a huge Korean cinema fan I have been waiting impatiently for this one, and let me tell you, it is one of the most gripping, mind-

expanding and wonderfully realised films made in the last decade.

Parasite concentrates on a poor, unemployed family, the Kims. Through nefarious, ingenious ways they infiltrate the household of upper class family, the Parks, looking to take over their wealth and status. Things are not all that they seem, however, and the cracks in both families moral character and fractured humanity begin to show, reflecting the growing insanity of modern society.

On the surface, the obvious class war between the families is the film’s heart, mirroring the growing disparity in wealth we are seeing all around us. What genius director Bong Joon-Ho manages to touch on is in fact so much more than this. The pervasiveness of technology over humanity is a huge theme. South Korea is one of the most technologically advanced nations on Earth, a place where they have walking lanes specifically for people who are on their phones.

A scene at the start of the film epitomises this, with the father of the Kim family (Song Kang-Ho) saying grace in respect of stealing a wi-fi signal from a neighbour. One of the most beautiful shots in the film comes when one family member films an incident she sees outside of their window, two of the family throwing water over a man who is urinating. Shown from her point-of-view, the phone camera she is using fades out of view and we are left with just the image in slow motion. A beautiful way to communicate dichotomy of the wonders and dangers of technology. Instead of being in situations, we are watching them through our phones, but through this we can capture so much more of the world. Bong uses technology as a plot device at numerous points in the movie, which saves the Kim family at tension-filled points in the narrative. The implication is clear: technology has made the world a much easier place to live in, but at the cost of real empathy and human connection. The intelligence at work here, and in so many other aspects of the film, beggars belief. The layers at work here are such

FILM that I’m sure there will be whole books written about them, in time.

Before watching the film, I read a lot about how it straddles, twists and transcends many different genres. Despite my love of hybrid genre films, like Scotland’s own horror/musical/comedy/ action offering Anna and the Apocalypse, Parasite is a different beast. The movement between drama, thriller, horror and comedy is so fluid and beautifully constructed that I was constantly enraptured. It’s the kind of picture that even while you just sit back and watch in awe, you will still be completely drawn in and care for the characters. And most importantly; really, really want to know what will happen at the end.

In the first half of the film I found both families a little lacking in character development; a completely deliberate device as the second half reveals so much about every single member of both. It also helps that each actor gives such a strong performance, especially Song Kang-Ho, one of the handful of actors who has appeared in numerous Korean classics such as Sympathy for Mr Vengeance and Bong’s The Host. Special mention goes to Park So-dam as the daughter of the Kim family, whose detached but comedic performance is masterful.

This is the kind of picture the end of the decade needs; one that is intelligent yet soulful, deep yet playful and humorous. Even with one scene near its end that stretches its credibility a little, Parasite deserves to be named as one of the best of the decade. It’s a film that should speak to every single one of us, acting as a warning that we must turn around our ego-led narcissistic ways or risk a growing insanity; or possibly, extinction.

Parasite is out on general cinema release from 7th February.

Film by Martin Sandison Page 45

forget that the last Friday of LGBT History Month is Purple Friday, so be sure wear purple to stand up against sexual and gender discrimination and support our community.

February means one thing: LGBT History Month, a festival of events dedicated to enabling the celebration of queer culture and it is never too early to get organised. LGBT History Month is the perfect opportunity for us to look back on what brought us here and this year’s theme is “What Have We Learned?”

This allows us to reflect on Section 28, the multi-generational impact of the legislation which silenced teachers, preventing them from talking about LGBT issues in schools, and left thousands of young people without the support they so badly needed. In the words of LGBT History Month Scotland, “it’s an opportunity to celebrate the steps we have taken to undo the legacy of Section 28 and make some bold commitments for the future.”

It is important to remember that you can organise your own events to celebrate LGBT History Month: from coffee mornings to poetry readings and performances, this is the best time to remain active in our community and encourage others to do the same. LGBT History Scotland can support your event using their website, sharing information on their social media channels and providing branding and downloadable resources. Take advantage of their platform and create a unique event to celebrate our progress!

The overall aim of LGBT History month is to promote equality and diversity while paying tribute to those who have paved the way for us.

The events below are far from exhaustive and experiences will pop up in a town or city near you, so be sure to stay updated and don’t miss out. For all information about the events and LGBT History Month, visit lgbthistory.org.uk. And don’t

SEE ME PROUD PRESENTS TIME TO TALK DAY: LET’S GET QUIZZICLE! Thursday 6th February at Project Cafe, Glasgow See Me is Scotland’s leading programme to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination, and they have made excellent progress in addressing the issue within the LGBT+ community. Such support is vital: The Mental Health Foundation states that members of the LGBT community are more likely to experience a range of mental health problems such as depression, suicidal thoughts, self-harm and alcohol and substance misuse. Join “See Me” for a fun, informal evening of having a quiz around LGBT history and mental health.

There will be ‘Rainbow Wall’ of thoughts for you to contribute. Their goal is to end stigma and discrimination around Mental Health. This is a safe and welcoming space for all who are part of the LGBTQIA community.

KELVINGROVE LGBT HISTORY TOUR Saturday 8th February at Kelvingrove Art Gallery, Glasgow So rarely does a major museum pay tribute to the efforts in equality society has made. That’s what makes the Kelvingrove LGBT History Tour such a wonderful opportunity to explore with Laura Bauld, the project curator, who will lead a tour of the Gallery highlighting the unique objects and art that reveal LGBT histories and lives. Plus, tea and coffee and cake provided afterwards in the museum café, and who can refuse that? The event is free, and tickets can be booked on the LGBT History Month website.

SHADOWS OF SECTION 28: WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED? Wednesday 19th February 19 (18:30 to 21:00) at Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh It’s been 20 years since the repeal of Section 28, a clause which stated that a local authority “shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship.” A generation of LGBT people, including myself, were directly affected by this law, but in the two decades since it was repealed, what have we learned? Come together to hear a range of community voices reflecting on life at school under Section 28, life beyond and the parallels we can draw in the present. Hear and share personal stories and join the discussion in a safe and inclusive setting.

LGBT+ ARE YOU PROUD? FILM SCREENING AND COMMUNITY DISCUSSION Friday 21st February (18.00-21.00) at Calton Heritage and Learning Centre 423 London Road, Glasgow LGBT Age and the Glasgow Community Programme are co-hosting this event, combining rare archive footage with interviews from leading campaigners, Are You Proud? charts the LGBTQ+ movements momentous journey charting the joys and divisions toward equality. The film calls attention to the fights both past and present while asking tough questions about the future. There will be a community discussion afterwards exploring the theme. Not to be missed!

GBT MEN’S FILM NIGHT: 50 YEARS LEGAL

“LGBT HISTORY MONTH SCOTLAND: AN OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE THE STEPS WE HAVE TAKEN TO UNDO THE LEGACY OF SECTION 28 AND MAKE SOME BOLD COMMITMENTS FOR THE FUTURE.”

Thursday 27th February (18:00 to 21:00) at LGBT Health and Wellbeing 9 Howe Street, Edinburgh 2019 saw the 50th anniversary of the momentous Stonewall Riots, which set into motion the gay rights movement and a half century of social progress. However, it has also been 50 years since male homosexuality became (partially) decriminalised in England and Wales, with Scotland following suit later. Join LGBT Health & Wellbeing for a viewing of the incredible 2017 documentary 50 Years Legal and celebrate the strides that have been made since then. Popcorn and snacks are included and there is no need to reserve a place - just head along. The film starts at 6pm so please arrive in time to get settled. A fun social gathering for gay, bi and trans men, inclusive of non-binary people.

LGBT+ by Jonny Stone Page 47

LGBT+ NEWS

MOVIE QUEERBAITING

Here at SNACK, we have discussed at length queer representation in big budget action movies, especially the Marvel films (who could forget the dazzling ‘grieving man’ introduced to the audience for 30 seconds at the counselling group speaking to Captain America in Endgame?).

In summary, it is time people stopped patting themselves on the back for including seriously minor LGBT+ moments, censored and tucked away nicely for international audiences. In Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, we saw the franchise’s first and much-hyped same-sex kiss, which was between two unnamed minor characters and so subtle that it was seamlessly cut from the international edit. This was disappointing, especially seeing as many thought we would finally see the suspected romance between Finn and Poe affirmed, but the move feels like another shameful example of queerbaiting. Director JJ

snackmag.co.uk

Abrams has defended the kiss, stating “It just felt like in this one scene of celebration, it felt like an opportunity to show [an LGBT kiss] without it being heavy-handed or making too loud of a deal. Part of the whole experience was to see a same-sex couple have a moment together that was explicitly saying in this galaxy, everyone is there and is welcome.” As much as I enjoy the “making too loud of a deal” statement, I feel JJ has somewhat overshot his self-congratulatory attempt at inclusion…

JK ROWLING Harry Potter fans received a dose in questioning the morals of their hero when author JK Rowling offered her support for Maya Forstater, who took her employer to court claiming that her anti-trans ‘gender-critical’ views were a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010. Rowling tweeted “Dress however you please. Call yourself whatever you like. Sleep with any consenting adult who’ll have you. Live your best life in peace and security. But force women out of their jobs for stating that sex is real? #IStandWithMaya #ThisIsNotADrill.” At best, one could describe her as a biological essentialist, but more honestly, her attitudes read as ill-informed and transphobic.

This fixed mindset mirrors the views of many Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists (TERF), a group that rejects the assertion that trans women are women, promote the exclusion of trans women from women’s spaces, and oppose trans rights legislation. It is unfortunate to see such an influential and powerful literary giant, who prides herself on creating stories full of nonconformists and allegorical symbols of classism and racism, reach such disappointing lows.

CLAUDIA LÓPEZ

HOPE IN UKRAINE Ukraine has an infamous reputation for its treatment of LGBT+ people: while same-sex relationships are technically legal, there is a societal disapproval of LGBT+ culture and its gay citizens do not have the political or legal protection offered to others in European countries (side note: contrary to this, even Ukraine permits gay and bisexual men giving blood. What the holdup is with the UK is beyond me). The city of Rivne has come under fire internationally following a unanimous vote from local councillors to ban LGBT+ activists from planning a New Year’s Day Pride march. The ban is in line with the far-right Svoboda party’s Family Code, which forbids any activity that opposes “the moral principles of society” by law. These efforts to ban the parade were in place to “prohibit the propaganda of various types of deviant sexual behaviour in the city of Rivne, including in the form of so-called ‘equality marches,’ ‘pride parades,’ ‘queer culture festivals,’ and so forth, held in places of mass leisure for families with children.” However, there is hope that the country has the potential to become more progressive. In 2019, thousands attended a Pride festival in Kiev that marked not only the biggest turnout for the capital’s Pride celebrations (with a dazzling 8,000 attendees) but also a largely peaceful event that wasn’t marred by bigotry and fear. Hopefully Ukraine continues on this slow path to equality.

Amongst some real doom and gloom, some heart-warming news from Colombia! Claudia López, the first woman to be elected as Major of Bogota, married her partner in a civil ceremony.

This is quite a landmark achievement, especially when one considers that equal marriage has only been legal since 2016: she may well be the most famous public figure in Colombia to do so. Her marriage to now-wife Angélica Lozano has been the subject of much discussion (mostly positive) in the media given Colombia’s history as a traditional conservative Catholic country. López will become the first openly lesbian mayor of a capital city in Latin America, a region steeped in cultural conservatism and inequality, but her appointment is one of many signals that LGBT+ rights and visibility are improving, slowly but surely.

LGBT+ by Jonny Stone Page 49

BREXIT BREAKDOWN Looking back, Boris Johnson does not have the most inspiring relationship with the LGBT+ community. It would be very easy to conjure up the woefully offensive statements he has made about gay people (fun fact: in 1998, he referred to gay men as “tank topped bum boys” and has refused to apologise publicly for doing so) or to revisit his questionable attitudes when it comes to LGBT equality.

While his actions on achieving equality improved as Mayor of London, his stint as Foreign Secretary left much to be desired, especially in overseeing barriers to marriage equality in Bermuda. As he has become our elected Prime Minister, it is vital that we assess how he, the Conservative Party and a separated-UK retain the legal protection LGBT+ people presently receive as EU citizens.

Perhaps we should reflect on the most recent

election, namely the way LGBT+ people and causes were presented (if at all). Historically, championing LGBT+ rights has proved a fruitful strategy in elections: look at Tony Blair’s landslide in 1997 – whose progressive stance on gay rights provided a stark contrast to the Tories’ action on HIV/AIDS and Section 28 – and even David Cameron in 2010, when being the convenient poster boy for marriage equality presented voters with a somewhat more liberal face of the Party. Theresa May did not adopt a specific enough strategy, and her woolly statements on promoting social equality with too few practical measures, such as introducing PrEP on the NHS or reforming the Gender Recognition Act, ultimately worked against her. She did promise an end to the “abhorrent practice” of gay and LGBT conversion therapy, though this did not make the final draft of the Party’s most recent manifesto. The

Conservative manifesto makes so little reference to LGBT+ rights (one to sexual orientation protection and no direct mention of gender identity and trans rights) that this should have been a red flag for voters. Perhaps Johnson’s avoidance of LGBT+ rhetoric was a deliberate ploy to attract votes from stauncher, socially conservative Brexit supporters.

Perhaps we should take this as a telling sign of the times that a Party for whom protecting the rights of such a vulnerable minority can be so successful in an election, how adopting such conservative attitudes towards LGBT+ people was somehow not a dealbreaker in 2019.

But as with most facets of both the election and the ever-baffling Brexit process, we cannot dwell on the past and must, instead, focus on how we will be impacted. For one, can we be guaranteed that LGBT+ rights become a main priority of the Conservative government? When our new PM has Brexit to deal with, as well as the potential privatisation of the NHS and independence of Scotland, it feels unlikely that initiatives that will protect and support our community will be high on his list.

Over the last two decades, the legal protection of UK LGBT+ citizens has improved dramatically, but such progress could not have been achieved without ground-breaking efforts in safeguarding LGBT+ people by implementing universal Acts and setting legal precedents. Take the 2010 Equality Act, which, protects people in the workplace from discrimination on the basis of their sexual or gender identity and implements four previous EU Equal Treatment Directives. Furthermore, the European Court of Justice contended that this protection extends to discrimination against trans people, applied in a pioneering case in which a trans woman was terminated from her job ahead of her transition. When so much safeguarding is at stake, it is crucial to consider the risk Brexit poses to LGBT+ people on a legal basis, as separation from the EU revokes protection we currently receive within the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

Historically, the Conservative Party has

been active in trying to repeal and replace the Human Rights Act, and in their election manifesto made vague promises to “update the Human Rights Act and administrative law to ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government.” According to the House of Commons Library, Theresa May’s Government contended that the absence of the Charter would not impact human rights protections in the UK as it did not create new rights, but rather it codified rights and principles that already existed in EU law that would continue to apply as ‘retained EU law’ in the UK. The HCL “If future security cooperation is to come anywhere near current levels of cooperation, it is likely that the UK will need to commit to ongoing adherence to these standards. The Political Declaration proposes a ‘broad, comprehensive and balanced security partnership’ underpinned by continued adherence to the ECHR.” But as previously contended, it may not be wise to trust a Party for whom LGBT+ equality does not appear to be a key priority to implement such crucial human rights protections.

The outlook is grim, but perhaps there is hope.

There are so many passionate and powerful organisations on our side: for example, Stonewall’s director for campaigns, policy and research Laura Russell assured PinkNews that “We will carry on working together with other human rights organisations to protect the fundamental rights and equalities the LGBT community have worked so hard for.” Consider the election as a call to arms to lobby our MPs and ensure we hold Westminster accountable for vague promises to be kept, for laws to be introduced, for minorities to be protected. We may not feel like a priority, but we deserve to be. Search up your MP and make sure they have your voice heard in Parliament. And take to social media: use whatever tools we must assure the people in power that we expect the same, even improved standard of legal protection out with the EU. Tank tops optional.

LGBT+ by Jonny Stone Page 51

DAUGHTER OF TITAN One year on from issue #2, the Daughter of Titan team are back with their Kickstarter for issue #3.

Their aim is to push against the sexist stereotypes on the pages of most comics and common practices in the industry.

Page 52 Visual Arts

Left: Excerpt from Daughter of Titan Issue #2 Right: Excerpt from Daughter of Titan Issue #3 Work In Progress.

Instagram: @daughter_of_titan_comic

POEM The edge caught me just beneath the hem line straight across the shin.

Scarlet on white words tumbled from me.

by Ruth Gilchrist

GIFT

VOUCHERS STUDENT & ART GROUP DISCOUNTS

www.EdinburghArtShop.co.uk