Braehead Clan

A few weeks ago we were invited to go along to the Braehead Arena to watch the Braehead Clan ice-hockey team take on the mighty Dundee Stars.

None of us had been to a hockey match before and so were not sure what to expect but I've got to say we throughly enjoyed all of it.

I think what first struck us first was just how professional the whole set up is. For some reason I'd imagined a really basic ammature side watch by a hundred people, but the whole event was really slickly put together. As we stepped out the car park lift we were greeted by hundreds of people milling around, purchasing beer (you can drink at ice hockey matches), bags of sweets and hotdogs or buying offical glossy programmes or other "Clan" related merchandise. In fact it was pretty impressive how many people were wearing the team colours, sweatshirts and hockey shirts. Given that this is a realatively new team they seen to have quite quickly gather a loyal following.

We collected out tickets, purchased a few bags of tangy haribo and took our seats looking through the thickglass which surrounds the rink and trying to work out what all the markings on the ice mean and why the goals were so small.

I'm a football fan and I think I was being a bit snobish at the start about this "North American" sport. When the funny music started up at the beginning and the four small cheerleaders started doing their moves high at the back of one of the stands I thought oh boy here we go. I've always imagined american sports basketball, baseball, american football - more about the things going on around the game rather than about the game itself but then the teams were on the pitch and the action started and I quickly forgot everything I'd just said.

American Sports seem to fall into two catergories - "the slow" (with repeated stoppages) ie baseball and american football, which seem to last several weeks and "the crazy fast" (with repeated stoppages) ie basketball. Icehockey falls firmly into this second categoery and within seconds of the start we'd been to both ends of the rink, there'd been a shot on goal and a guy had been tripped, with the puck moving so fast you could easily loose track if you blinked for too long.

The Dundee Stars quickly put the local lads underpressure and from the chants around about us I realised that the small group of people on the other side of the aisle from us were the Dundee fans. It really is a family atmosphere, there were hundreds of children chanting and dancing at their seats and no real annomosity between the two different groups of fans even after the Dundee Stars took an early lead and their fans started banging a big drum.

We will have to read up on our rules before next time as it took us a while to work out what was going on but with some pretty impressive skating and some even more impressive shooting Braehead started their comeback. The first period ended 1 all and we went out to buy some more sweets and discovered lots of staff wandering around with giant beer and cider dispensing machines on their backs like alcoholic Ghostbusters. was quite impressive and made me wander what other events could benefit from their attendance.

In the second period the "Clan" took the lead and in the third they gave the Dundee Stars a going over with the score ending an impressive 6 - 1 to the home side. Second in excitement to the attempts on the goals were the attempts by the players on their opponents lives with cheeky little trips, blatent whacks and the occaisonal punchup breaking up the play and seeing the culprits stuck in the sin bin for two minutes. These repeated breaks mean that the game is actually on for a lot longer than the adveertised lengther of the three periods combined but they add a strange cathartic fun to the proceedings and possibly are the reason the fans all get on so well.

All in all I'd say we had a really good night out, the game was fast, infectious and fun. The event itself was slickly professional with lots of Scottish tweaks on American traditions. The fans were all in good spirit, singing and bouncing around, all dressed up in the team colours. It was all a lot of fun and I'd highly reccomend to give it a try especially those with kids who will probably really enjoy the fast paced action.

"Come on the Clan."

Visit here for more info on the team and their upcoming games. http://www.braeheadclan.com/.

Should I really be excited about the circus?

When I was a wee boy, we lived across from the field where every year the Circus would come to perform. Every summer I would get very excited about the idea of seeing lots of amazing stunts and incredible animals and every summer I would take my seat and end up being slightly disappointed. Everything would smell of damp and muddy hay, the burgers were rubbery, there would be no animals, the clown wasn't funny and I'd just be terrified that something would go wrong. Not really out of fear that something terrible would actually happen but just out of an empathetic embarrassment for the poor performer, who screwed up, in front of all those watchful eyes.

Why then, when I walk around the Southside and see the entire city fly-posted into oblivion with their posters do I still get the same childish excitement that the Circus is coming to town?

I haven't been to the circus for years, the last time we went was for the Chinese State Circus about four years ago. We opted for the really cheap seats which were a big mistake. We ended up practically behind the stage and could only see half the main circle, though interestingly we could also partly see backstage where there seemed to be twice as much activity. Our foolish choice of seating did not really lend itself to a great night and so its hard to give a fair appraisal of the show. I remember however being very impressed by a troop of small guys jumping through hoops and by a woman who could change the colour of masks on her face with a wave of her magic cape.

The worst moment of the night however was a routine involving a stocky man trying to climb a free standing ladder. He failed over and over again. Initially we thought it a bit of a drawn out drama in the act, but after a good five or six minutes of failure and an extremely frustrated and embarrassed look on the performers face, it became clear it was just a painfully unpleasant moment for both him and the audience. Eventually the ringmaster came out to drag him off but he refused to go, demanding that he complete the trick. The drums which had slowly started to peeter out started up again, the audience all started to bang their feet and clap their hands and our, by now, tragic hero psyched himself up for once last try. . . He almost made that time too, he got a hand on the second from top rung before him and his ladder fell to earth and both were ushered off stage, even the ladder looked rather sheepish. 

And yet, despite my fear for performer's embarassment coming true, I spot the big top in the distance and I still think, "Hey that looks good.".

Taking a look at some of the photos posted here and others on Zippos website, complete with cast photos, documentary videos and interestingly a "jobs page" (sadly no current vacancies) you start to see why.

The Circus' continued success is in part due to the ways they've changed, modified their performances and introduced new acts, but it's mainly down to that hugely nostalgic and comforting feeling they embody. No matter how many times we all go, there is something built into our social consciousness that crackles to life when the big top starts to go up. There is a romance to the life and the characters which we buy into, which probably no longer, or indeed never existed. The ringmaster, the strongman, the trapeze and the contortionist are all characters that as children we are brought up to recognise and around whom stories and ideas are formed from an early age. They are as inbuilt into our upbringing as the classic shapes and sounds of a farm or the ability to identify the animals in the zoo (another event whose experience never quite equals its imagined promise).

I've begun to realise however that actually, the muddy hay smell, the poor slapstick comedy and the nasty tension when something went wrong were actually as big a part of the fun of the experience as the amazing stunts or the clever tricks. In short the very things I thought were rubbish as a child are the things I'm looking forward to now and I think its maybe about time I gave the circus another chance.

Now, I've obviously not yet been to this particular Circus at the Queen's Park Recreation grounds so have no idea what it will actually entail or if it will be good but any show that features an old man in a top hat getting budgies to perform feats of daring on tiny bicycles as pictured below gets my vote and I look forward to seeing Norman Barrett MBE "The worlds best ringmaster" putting the rest of the troops through their paces.

Zippos Circus runs from Friday 11 June until Wednesday 23 June with shows at 3pm and 7pm at weekends and 5pm and 7:30pm during the week.

Prices vary but most shops round the park have piles of discount vouchers which you should pick up before going to save up to £4 off each ticket. You can also buy them online at the cheaper prices.

Queen's Park Recreation Ground

Pollokshaw's Road

Glasgow G42 8DA

 

PS - check out the page where Zippos will hire you out circus equipment. I like the idea of hiring a small clown car or a knife throwing table. Wonder if Ann will let me get one?

Tramway Family Day - 27th February 2010

The Tramway are hosting a full day [10am - 6pm]of free activities and events especially for families and young people created to explore documentary film, and how we create stories using still and moving images.

They will think about how we take photographs to document our lives, to capture important events and places so we can look back and remember them and preserve them. Our own photographs help us remember our past. Memories can change over time and sometimes two different people might remember the same incident in two different ways. How do we know which one is the right one?
The participants will explore their own imaginations and create stories inspired by old slides, photographs and found objects.

Workshop 1: 12noon - 1.30pm, ages 6-9 years

Workshop 2: 2pm - 3.30pm, ages 6-9 years

Workshop 3: 4pm - 5.30pm, ages 10-13 years

The workshops are free but you will have to book them in advance

From 10.30 - 11.30, Star Catchers will be using projections of light to transform T4, our Starcatchers artist in residence Katy Wilson, in collaboration with visual artist Euan Sinclair, will create a sensory treat suitable for young children. Drop-in to the space for the full hour or just five minutes: with no need to book.

Throughout the day the Hidden Gardens will be inviting families to spot the first signs of spring Explore the hidden corners of the Gardens with a Spring Nature Trail (activity sheets will be available for families 11am-3pm). The Environmental Artist in Residence will be leading creative family workshops (more details and booking info available on the day) and then at the end of the day take home a bunch of freshly cut Spring daffodils for a small donation.

On top of all this there will also be a quiz running throughout the day and Tramway will be providing special lunch deal for participants.

To book a workshop space, find out more about the activities happening during the day, or what else is happening at Tramway call our Box Office: 0845 330 3501. For more info visit: www.tramway.org