A l enda

NEWSextra

I The summer festivals season has ended in style with the 2006 UK Festival Awards honouring two of Scotland’s best-loved celebrations. T in the Park, which hosted The Who (pictured) and Red Hot Chilli Peppers, collected the award for Best Major Festival, while the prize for most Fan-Friendly Festival was presented to organisers of the Isle of Skye Festival. Organised by virtualfestivals.org, the UK Festival Awards are the only such accolades entirely decided by the public, this year collecting over 1,000,000 votes.

I Staying with festivals. DF Concerts. the promoters behind T in the Park, are preparing to launch a new Scottish beano. Connect will be aimed at older fans and hopes to attract 15,000- 20.000 fans drawn from an older age demographic with bands such as Kraftwerk and Sonic Youth to an. as yet unspecified. rural location north of Glasgow.

HofftheRecord

I The Scottish branch of

international writers’ association,

v PEN, is looking to work with exiled writers on a new cross-disciplinary

project, Writings on the Wall. It is hoped that each collaboration will result in a piece of public art, to be

3 exhibited in public places across ' Scotland. If you are a writer in

exile or living in exile and keen to express your experience, please respond with a note of interest to

acclarke6@btopenworld.com.

If you’re an obsessive aficionado of Baywatch

and Knight Rider star David Hasselhoff, or if you have a bit of a penchant for Channel 4’s castaway epic Lost, then BBC Radio Scotland needs you. Soundbiters, the Beeb’s end of year quiz programme hosted by Reporting Scotland’s very own heart throb David Robertson, is currently searching for contestants to answer questions on the above specialist subjects, along with rounds on 2006 in general. Interested parties should contact Karen Falconer on 0141 338 2482 or

karen.falconer@bbc.co.uk.

8 THE LIST 13—27 Apr 2006

I One of the Edinburgh Fringe's more unconventional venues is up for sale. The Comedy Bus. which has parked On the Grassmarket for the past three festivals. is expected to fetch around $5000. Interested parties should contact owner Alex van Klaveren on avanklaverer1(a>gmai|.com.

I Jonathan Mills (top), director of the Edinburgh International Festival has revealed that he is to bring the 2007 Festival’s opening date forward to 10 August in order to capture an extra weekend’s ticket sales. Mills has also been told by Edinburgh City Council that there will be no additional ‘bailout’ funding for 2007.

I Calling all music lovers who fancy a trip over the border this Autumn. The Boss Sounds Reggae Festival takes place in NewcastleGateshrxid at the University of Northumbria. Sat 18—Sun 19 November. The festival includes such mighty names as Jimmy Cliff. Lee ‘Scratch' Perry (pictured) and Prince Buster.

I Edinburgh’s Grassmarket is to undergo a $27.5 million transformation in the New Year. The year long transformation will include the removal of car parking spaces to create a pedestrianised area and make room for outdoor eating and drinking areas.

I The Filmhouse is to screen the documentary Cool and Crazy in tribute to its administrator Shirley Gilmour who died of cancer in the summer. Shirley was a much-loved member of the film community. having worked for the Filmhouse for 12 years before taking up a freelance role. Proceeds from the screening will go to the Homeless World Cup and to St Columba's Hospice. where Shirley was cared for in the final days of her life.

‘Haul flights just feel wrong. I’m trying to figure out a way of getting to Japan by train. I quite fancy that Trans-Siberian whatsitsname but apparently it’s a bit scary.’ Thom Yorke tries to find a way round the erivirorinrental/y-unfriend/y act of doing a world tour.

‘He’s exaggerating the effects of this disease; he’s moving around and shaking and it’s purely an act.’

Radio shock lock Rush Limbaugh (Republican) seems less than convinced by the ad Michael J Fox (Democrat) has made for the stem cell research which may help his Park/i lSO/l

‘We’re rehearsing in January, if we can persuade her to come out of the house!

Frank Black insists that a new Pixies album will be created next year. dependent on Kim Deal mood.

‘Good evening gentlemen and prostitutes.’

Borat addresses the crowds at the London premiere of his new movie.

‘Being asked to leave the building when he’s crossing the corridor or being told not to look directly at him made me sick. Sometimes it’s better not to meet people you admire.’

f he Dears' Patrick Kiel was clearly not too chuffed at Morrissey's behawour when his band supported him recent/y.

‘He’s a combination of Gordon Brown and Blackadder.’

Keith Allen on the twrn influences behind his Sheriff of Nottingham.