Category Archives: Blog

POTB Blog

x

More Words Up on shmu FM

The arts programme Words Up on shmu FM ran a series of monthly broadcasts featuring Pushing Out the Boat in August 2022 – March 2023. The producers have kindly given us permission to publish copies of the broadcasts here for the benefit of those who were unable to listen live.

The first three progammes were published earlier on the blog. Here are the next four programmes.  The final programme will follow shortly.

We’ve split the programmes up into short sections, with a brief description of each, and (for copyright reasons) we’ve excluded the music played in these broadcasts.The presenter and interviewer for all the programmes is Loraine Mudie.

4. An interview with Douglas Bruton (broadcast 17 November 2022)

5. An interview with Heather Reid (broadcast 15 December 2022)

6. An interview with Vivien Jones (broadcast 19 January 2023)

7. An interview with Martin Walsh (broadcast 2 February 2023)

8. An interview with Alison Green (broadcast 23 March 2023)

Programme 7: An interview with Martin Walsh

Broadcast 2 February 2023

Part 1 (6 mins): Introduction and welcome by Loraine / Martin tells us about himself and how he became involved with Pushing Out the Boat / Martin paints the colourful background to the poem he’s about to read – New York Dialogue [Issue 14, p28]

[Musical interlude: New York, New York from On the Town]
 

Part 2: (10.5 mins): Martin talks about his time in Sierra Leone, working for VSO  then gives an introduction to the next story / Martin reads the first part of Momadu and the Sardine Fishers  [Issue 9, p74]

 

Part 3: (12.5 mins): The story pauses / Prompted by Lorraine, Martin speaks about meeting the Fante people featured in the story and his experiences going fishing with them / Martin reads the second part of Momadu and the Sardine Fishers  [Issue 9, p74]

Part 4: (2.5 mins): Lorraine and Martin chat about the story Martin has just read /Martin talks a bit more about the people of Sierra Leone and the legacy of the slave trade / Lorraine then reads Martin’s poem OoT a Bot’le [Issue 9, p25]

[Musical interlude: Good Morning Starshine from the musical Hair]

Part 5: (10 mins): Martin reads his story set in South America, Malupa and the Flying Bananas [Issue 11, p51]

[Musical interlude: Everybody Salsa by Modern Romance]

Part 6: (3.5mins): Martin talks to Lorraine about what he likes to read / Lorraine wraps up the interview, thanking Martin and giving details of how to contact her at shmu

[Programme ends with The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams]
 
Recordings of the final programme coming shortly – see Words Up Schedule for dates and details.

Programme 6: An interview with Vivien Jones

Broadcast 19 January 2023

Part 1 (15 mins): Introduction and welcome by Loraine / Vivien talks about her writing career then reads her story Daniel Does Lunch [Issue 11, p7]

[Musical interlude: Food Glorious Food from the Oliver the musical]
 

Part 2: (23 mins): Vivien chats with Loraine about Pushing Out the Boat / Vivien speaks about her interest in Renaissance music and the background to the story she is about to read /To set the scene for the story, David Hatcher plays Recercada Segunda by Diego Ortez, on the viol, a piece recorded specially for this broadcast /  Vivien reads her story Muse and Rapture  [Issue 14, p77]

[Musical interlude: Twelve Bar Blues performed by Eric Clapton]
 

Part 3: (6 mins): Vivien talks about the connection between Eric Clapton and Renaissance music / Lorraine chats with Vivien about what she likes to read / Vivien explains the background to her next poem Last Night Supper Mevaggisey [Issue 12, p77]

[Musical interlude: Cornwall My Home by Fishermens Friends]

Part 4: (5 mins): Vivien talks about her latest writing project based on artifacts from the Devil’s Porridge Museum / Loraine wraps up the interview with details of how to find out more about Pushing Out the Boat

[Programme ends with The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams]
 
Recordings of next programmes coming shortly – see Words Up Schedule for dates and details.

Programme 5: An interview with Heather Reid

Broadcast 15 December 2022

Part 1 (4.5 mins): Introduction and welcome by Loraine / Heather talks about her writing then reads her poem Saxicola torquata [Issue 14, p61]

[Musical interlude: African Drum Music by Headspace]
 

Part 2: (14 mins): Heather chats with Loraine about Pushing Out the Boat, the submission process, attending the launches and meeting the team / Heather reads her story Saving Olive Ridley [Issue 15, p14]

[Musical interlude: Under the Sea from the Little Mermaid]
 

Part 3: (9 mins): Heather gives the background to the poem she is about to read/ Heather reads her poem The Butcher’s Wife [Issue 15, p73] /

[Musical interlude: What’s love got to do with it? by Howard Jones]

Heather chats about what she likes to read, her latest work and her plans for the future / Loraine promotes Pushing Out the Boat  then winds up the interview with details of how to contact her at shmu

 
[Programme ends with The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams]
 
Recordings of next programmes coming shortly – see Words Up Schedule for dates and details.

Programme 4: An interview with Douglas Bruton

Broadcast 17 November2022

Part 1 (18 mins): Loraine welcomes listeners and introduces Douglas Bruton /  Douglas speaks about his engagement with Pushing Out the Boat then gives the background to the story he is about to read / Douglas read his story When Coal was Lost [Issue 12, p72] / Loraine relates a memory inspired by Douglas’s story

[Musical interlude: Working Man by Rita McNeil]
 

Part 2: (18 mins): Inspired by the next story, Loraine relates a tale about William Penny, a distant relative then she reads Douglas’s story Waiting for William [Issue 11, p76]

[Musical interlude: Adagio for Strings Sea by Barber]
 

Part 3: (8 mins): Douglas speaks about his book Blue Postcards then reads an extract [available on Amazon] / Douglas chats about what he is reading at the moment and about his new book, being published in Feb 2023 / Loraine wraps up the interview

[Programme ends with The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams]
 
Recordings of next programmes coming shortly – see Words Up Schedule for dates and details.

Oils well that ends well

‘Oil’s Well That Ends Well’: Pushing Out the Boat collaborates with University of Aberdeen and NDC on creative writing workshop

Recently, Pushing Out the Boat was offered the exciting opportunity to collaborate with the University of Aberdeen and the North East’s National Decommissioning Centre in hosting a youth creative writing workshop. The workshop was titled ‘Oil’s Well That Ends Well: New Energy Stories for the North East’ and was held in November at the Decommissioning Centre in Ellon.

It was attended by pupils aged 12-14 from Ellon Academy and was led by Shane Strachan: a well-known North East writer, current Scots Scriever, and long-time friend of Pushing Out the Boat. It was also organized by University of Aberdeen Ph.D. student, Ines Kirschner, who is specializing in the environmental humanities. The workshop aimed to encourage young people to share their views about environmental issues and climate change and to explore these ideas in a piece of flash fiction. The pieces were then entered into a competition.

Pushing Out the Boat is lucky enough to publish the winning entry here. ‘Then vs Now – A Time Before’ is a lovely, thoughtful piece about the possibility of a more sustainable world and a brighter, greener future. The writer is Erin Moore, who is an S3 student at Ellon Academy. Congratulations, Erin!

Then vs Now: A Time Before

Then vs Now: A Time Before

The year is 2047, the Eco-Friendly Act has been active for just over 15 years now. I wonder sometimes if life would be better with all that new tech they banned, but then I look at my history books and realise that humanity would’ve died out if we had continued the way we were.

My name’s Emma. I’m writing this as an essay for my history project at school. I’m 15 years old. Before the Eco-Friendly Act in 2032, people were animals. They were horrible to each other. Girls calling other girls names because she couldn’t afford the newest designer clothes, boys fighting other boys because they want a girl to like them. It was hellish.

The worst part about it all was that they knew they were killing the planet, and they did nothing. Nothing at all. All advancements in new tech were harmful and toxic to the environment and even the people who tried to change things were quickly shot down by government officials because they couldn’t profit from it.

The Act was only put into place after the 2029 Great Pacific Garbage Patch grew so large that it started to affect major businesses, halving the income for those who denied there was a problem.

The Eco-Friendly Act meant that we could no longer participate in the usage of fossil fuels, we could no longer cut back the forests for use in industry. We were forced to co-exist with nature.

This brings us to where we are now. Skyscrapers are overgrown with flowers and vibrant plants, as all new buildings must incorporate vertical gardens to combat the toxic greenhouse gases that have been pumped into our atmosphere for generations. We now use a mixture of solar, wind and wave power to supply electricity worldwide via the new Nikola Tesla Wi-Fi grid to provide greener energy for next to nothing. Our restored symbiotic relationship with the planet is only just beginning. However, we now hope for a future together.

 By Erin Moore – S3 Pupil at Ellon Academy

Reflections from a prose panellist

Thank you!  Thank you to everyone who submitted.  As a member of the Prose Panel, it has been a real treat to savour a broad and diverse array of pieces.  As always, we can only choose a very small selection from those which intrigued us.  Considerations of length, subject matter or voice can give the edge to one from a group of otherwise equally worthy stories.  These are some reflections on what I read:

A complete story is always more satisfying to read.  An extended piece of prose, regardless of how beautiful the writing, is ultimately dissatisfying if it fizzles out in the last two paragraphs.

We can accept an extract from a novel but think carefully about selecting an extract, ensuring it can stand on its own.

Resist the temptation to reach for obvious phrases.  We all use them in conversation but writing is an opportunity to experiment.  A well-placed descriptive verb always brightens a paragraph.

Eyes are the windows of the soul – aargh.  That may be true but what about other facial features?  Can they betray something remarkable and hypnotising?  Perhaps a pattern of freckles or a little pool of sleep clinging to an eyelash?  Distorting an image helps the reader see it in a fresh way – they get to do some work too.

Be wary of snide narrators.  A writer I respect very much, and a good friend of the magazine, told me never to judge my characters.  So, whether it’s mothers-in-law, noisy neighbours or cats feeling superior to dogs, use a disparaging tone with a very light touch.  The same goes for smug.

Have a go at humour.  Why not?

Edit and polish.  Edit and polish.  If possible, ask someone you trust to read over your piece.  It is invaluable for picking up lost meanings or areas of confusion, as well as typos.  Never rely on someone else’s song lyrics to do your writing for you.  And, archaic phrasing and inversions in contemporary pieces will quickly turn your piece stale.

Finally, take your reader to the hidden room behind the false wall where there are secrets but also truths.  Open the door and tickle their imagination.

 

Words Up on shmu FM

The arts programme Words Up on shmu FM is running a series of monthly broadcasts featuring Pushing Out the Boat in August – December 2022. The producers have kindly given us permission to publish copies of the broadcasts here for the benefit of those who were unable to listen live. We’ve split them up into short sections, with a short description of each, and (for copyright reasons) we’ve excluded the music played in these broadcasts.The presenter and interviewer for all the programmes is Loraine Mudie.

1. An interview with Lily Greenall, POTB Editor (broadcast 18 August 2022)

2. An interview with John Boland (broadcast 15 September 2022)

3. An interview with Eleanor Fordyce (broadcast 20 October 2022)

4. An interview with Douglas Bruton (broadcast 17 November 2022)

5. An interview with Heather Reid (broadcast 15 December 2022)

6. An interview with Vivien Jones (broadcast 19 January 2023)

7. An interview with Martin Walsh (broadcast 2 February 2023)

8. An interview with Alison Green (broadcast 23 March 2023)

Programme 3: An interview with Eleanor Fordyce

Broadcast 20 October 2022

Part 1 (4 mins): Introduction by Loraine / Eleanor introduces herself then reads her poem Strata [Issue 16, p63]

[Musical interlude: Starry Starry Night  by Don Mclean]
 

Part 2: (8 mins): Loraine chats with Eleanor about being a Dons supporter which provides the background to the next story / Eleanor reads her story Sweet Sorrow [Issue 8, p48]

[Musical interlude: The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen sung by Iona Fyffe]
 

Part 3: (9 mins): Lorraine and Eleanor chat about the music that has just been played / then they chat about  holidays past, setting the scene for the next reading / Eleanor reads her story The Lost Shoe [Issue 13, p88]

[Musical interlude: Summer Holiday by Cliff Richard]

 
Part 4: 10.5 mins): Eleanor talks about  Pushing Out the Boat / Lorraine mentions where to get the magazine / Eleanor talks about being Scottish and relates a tale about her granny, the inspiration for her next poem / Eleanor reads her poem Bidin [Issue 7, p15/ Lorraine winds up the interview

[Programme ends with the music: Caledonia sung by Dougie McLean]
 
Recordings of next programmes coming shortly – see Words Up Schedule for dates and details.