Happy New Year!

Hi all,

Hope you are all well. Where does time go??

I've had a busy year - a bit of a rollercoaster with ups and down too - with kids passing final consultant exams which is good, and with loosing people which is not so good.  Plans for next year look good with my older son planning to move back to Edinburgh and my sister there now too. . A  year too of engagements and then weddings to look forward to in 2016.  

The Scottish referendum has meant a reawakening of political engagement here - with the disenfranchised, sometimes for the first time, feeling that their voices can make a difference.

I continue to enjoy my photography while devoting more of my time to writing. Writing however takes a great deal of time to get right.

I have a large archive of Photos on my site which are available to license and buy -   http://pkimage.co.uk/

My Scottish Arts & Music Blog - PKImage musicfootnotes  continues to have good interest.  I expanded from doing mainly music into covering different aspects of Scottish arts, history and stories -  http://www.musicfootnotes.com/ 

I am looking forward now to Celtic Connections 2016 which brightens up the cold January nights. It gets better every year with many artists coming from across the world and highly unique collaborations.   

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! to all those who come over and read my blog and post on the Scottish Arts and Music Facebook page. Scotland has seen yet another year of a vibrant cultural scene. In fact Scottish culture has been having a revival alongside our stronger Scottish voices... Music and art continue to inspire me....Hoping 2016 brings some peace and sanity to all those who feel disenfranchised  : ))

PHOTOS April 2012

So far 2012 has been a hectic year. Celtic in January was as much fun as ever. The highlight was the Gerry Rafferty concert which had sold out two nights at the concert hall – an audience full of Rafferty fans! The concert was led by fellow Humblebums band member Rab Noakes and his daughter Martha Rafferty. The concert was shown on BBC tv – you can even see me taking photos at the start of the Proclaimers set, fame at last!

I also took photos of several younger folk artists – Kris Drever, Manran, Fred Morrison. Thea Gilmore, Canadians Madison Violet.                                                                                                                                              

Emeli Sande, who I’ve followed since 2007, released her debut album Our Version Of Events to good reviews and was also no I in the UK album charts. Emeli plays her Glasgow gig April 10^th at the Old Fruitmarket which I expect will be a very fun event for her. I spoke with Emeli at her King Tuts gig 2011.

Viking Galaxy are still busy in the studio rehearsing. They played a gig at 13^th Note Glasgow in March.

My Musicfootnotes BLOG has started to receive a good deal of interest with all the recent news with the number of hits increasing dramatically – mostly from America. (Emeli, David, Lana, Rafferty concert)

My Musicnotes PHOTO blog also gets interest. I need to send out prints.

My writing continues to go well and I am still inspired. I am taking a lot less images this year and therefore stepping back to ponder angles and reflections. I know that my writing and my photography keep improving so that’s the important thing.

And PS

Paying for Music! In my view its a moral issue here to pay for music, and people in general, especially those who can afford to should support the Arts. The exception is when a musician puts out some music to promote themselves.  We don’t expect gigs to be free after all.