Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

I've always liked Bruce Springsteen, but my appreciation of his music only really took off after I saw him play 'live' with the E Street Band. As always there are so many great albums and tracks to choose from, but 'Waiting' On A Sunny Day' from The Rising captures the energy of The Boss, and his incredible stage act, just perfectly.  

I listened to the Scottish Government's latest briefing on Coronavirus in which the first minister, Nicola Sturgeon again emphasised the importance of people wearing face masks to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. But as 'non essential' shops  opened in Glasgow yesterday there was precious little evidence of the general pubic following this advice - even though there is strong evidence that the virus is spread by people who are infected but show no symptoms. The same is true of supermarkets and other 'essential' shops yet politicians continues to drag their feet on making face masks compulsory in areas where social distancing is difficult or impossible.     Farcical Lack of Leadership Over Face Coverings I think it's fair to say that there has been a farcical lack of leadership from the Scottish and UK governments on the issue of wearing face masks to stop the spread of Covid-19.  The Scottish and UK gov...

I've been following the news coverage on Glasgow's  asylum seekers in the wake of last Friday's shocking incident at the Park Inn hotel. If you listen to some of the 'campaigners' who are inevitably drawn to these events, you would think that asylum seekers have been cruelly mistreated instead of being offered help and support while their applications are being considered. For example, complaints about asylum seekers having only tap water to drink seem rather ridiculous to me, as is the demand for cash to be provided when most shops in Glasgow now insist on 'contactless' payments to help stop the spread of Coronavirus.     But read the BBC report via the link below and decide for yourself.    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-53219494 Glasgow stabbings: Call for inquiry into asylum-seeker accommodation Media caption - Glasgow stabbings: Long hotel stays are "challenging'" for asylum seekers Campaigners are calling for ...

Here's an interesting extract from The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations which state that advertising boards: "May be displayed only on, or within the curtilage of, the property to which they relate. Boards displayed elsewhere (e.g. on the Highway or attached to street furniture) are unauthorised."   Yet these ghastly signs are everywhere, cluttering up our streets and public spaces, just so that estate agents can enjoy free advertising. I do wonder why Glasgow City Council is not much more proactive about tackling this street graffiti by insisting that local estate agents take them down.  Glasgow's Street Graffiti 1 (23/06/20) Here's a small selection of the 'street graffiti' I came across during a short walk the other day through just one small part of Glasgow city centre.  Estate agents put these signs up everywhere - on street lamps, public notices and the common parts of private buildin...

I enjoy writing my blog, but every so often it's extremely irritating because of the predictive text used by Blogger which anticipates and regularly changes the meaning of what you're trying to say. For example, just the other day a friend nominated me to take part in this 'Name Your 10 Favourite Albums' challenge. So I started drawing up a list and one of the first entries was 'After The Goldrush' by the Canadian songsmith Neil Young. Later that day I was reviewing the list when I noticed that Blogger had sabotaged my draft entry by changing 'After The Goldrush' to 'After The Goldfish' which would no doubt have confused people enormously. A special word of thanks to my cousin Paul D who spots and alerts me to these occasional  faux pas.    

Another Canadian makes it into my top 10 - this time Neil Young and his 'After the Goldrush' album. Back in the 1970s Neil Young was a very committed political figure, unafraid to speak his mind on controversial issues which I suppose is why I like this particular track so much - 'Southern Man'.      10 Album Challenge - Day 4  (28/06/20) I love to cook and listen to Van Morrison - it's one of my very favourite ways to relax before sharing the company of good friends and family. 'Hard Nose the Highway' is not as well known as some Van Morrison albums, but I love his rendition of the Irish/Scottish ballad 'Purple Heather'.   I'd really like to interview Van Morrison, even though he can be very grumpy, allegedly, b ecause I've previously interviewed two of his young school friends. Brian Keenan, who wrote a book ('An Evil Cradling') about being held hostage in Lebanon for several years and David Ervine,...