Tall Ships Redux

This week the tall ships came back to Greenock for the third time. As before the ships managed to change a wild, wet and windy west coast town into a sunny, bright and cheerful river port. It was out with the grimy and grim post-industrial feel and in with the cheerful, multicultural bonhomie.

There were ships in all shapes and sizes, from the 95 meter long Dar Mlodziezy from Poland, or Mir from Russia, to the 12 meter St Barbara V from the UK with most combinations of size and sails in between.

The most popular ship was generally agreed to be the Columbian Gloria. The Colombians were well received in their smart uniforms and their genuinely cheerful and helpful disposition. Their status was finalized when they left with the staff aligned along the rigging and the loudspeakers booming our Lulu's "Shout" to the watching crowd.

The riverside area temporarily stopped looking like a wasteland. Though still an obstacle course in many areas, especially if you were pushing a wheelchair or buggy,  the whole are had the air of the funfair. But folk were offering assistance. If you had money which was weighing down your pockets and threatening to split your seams there were people here ready to help you out. If your BMI had fallen dangerously low or you had missed out on your essential fats and carbohydrates there were people here ready to help you out. The stand on healthy eating seemed rather futile between the bars and burger stalls.

There was also entertainment;  Lulu, Deacon Blue and The Magic Numbers were all acts I avoided seeing.There was the obligatory dog show but this one comprised only some Labradors and some Spaniels who had mastered sit, stay and fetch. Although there an exciting "jump over a fence" act. Many actors mingled with the crowds and managed to randomly irritate passers-by.

In a completely biased way I was also pleased to have seen Dave Hughes and the Renegade Folk Punk Band. Familial bias aside they played a tight set that seemed to be, if anything,  slightly better in their slimmed down three man form. The dancing, singing and clapping of others in the Sugar Sheds suggested I was not alone in my opinion. The public found this a good venue and there is now a campaign to reclaim the sugarsheds as a community music venue.

The ships have now left, most of the litter has been swept up and the crowds have dispersed. However, the sun still shines, the river still flows and the capabilities remain.



Devil's Advocate by John Humphrys

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is an enjoyable book which is written with a deft but light touch. In it Mr Humphries looks sadly at the changes in British culture and society which he feels has become brash, sentimental and commercialized. He blames comsumer populism and materialism for the change and implicates the media as a major driving force in this. It is similar to the writings of Theodore Dalrymple but without the venom and without some of the wit.



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The Roots of Consciousness: The Classic Encyclopedia of Consciousness Studies Revised and Expanded by Jeffrey Mishlove

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


This is a very unusual book. It looks at first like a serious study on aspects of consciousness. However, on further exploration it is a garbage can filled to the brim with every new-age, alternative, cultish, psychic, telekinetic and mysterious piece of crap. It is harder to imagine a book containing more misinformation or one less well edited. As an anthology of weirdness it may be useful. Some chapters are so badly written that, at least, their incomprehensibility does spare the reader's incredulity being further stretched.