14/05/2026
Excited to share this gorgeous production with audiences at Macrobert Arts Centre this evening 💚
When I was teenager, I used to visit my granny in Bridge of Allan, often staying over with her on my own. Jenny Polwart was one of the kindest, and most curious, open and inquisitive people I've ever known.
She kept chocolates in a drawer in the kitchen, and we'd have one each - and only ever one - after we'd eaten our tea. She was a Corrie fan, which was radical because we weren't allowed STV in our house (the moral corruption of advertising!). But when it was done, she'd turn off the telly and ask: what will we talk about tonight?
And my goodness we'd talk. About how stars are made or radiowaves travel. About the impact of poverty on global migration (a subject decades ahead of its time) or the responsibilities of the State versus the individual. We'd wonder about the largest lakes, the fastest birds, the climactic conditions and crop staples of countries that neither of us would ever visit. Frequently she'd reach for the shelves in her living room with a "Let me just look that up". They were stacked with encyclopaedias and reference books. Birds. Trees. Flowers. Maps.
When I think of her, I think of her brow screwed up, thinking hard, her eyes twinkling with a "daft question" on her tongue, and her chuckling at the wonder and weirdness of things.
I loved hanging out with her. And I miss her.
Towards the end of high school, when I stayed over, I'd wander up to the campus of Stirling University, which sat on the edge of the village. It was and still is a gorgeous spot set amongst trees in the foothills of the Ochils. I'd take my books and pens and notepad to the library and pretend I was an actual student. It felt quite glamorous.
I'm performing on the campus of Stirling University tomorrow for the first time - at the Macrobert Arts Centre. It's my second last performance of Windblown (the last is Perth Concert Hall on Saturday). I'll be thinking of my Granny, not least because I seem to have managed to make a living out of wide-eyed wonder, asking daft questions, and poring over the digital equivalents of her living room bookshelves. I think that might be something I was just sort of gifted in my DNA. Anyway, I like to think she'd enjoy the show and have a LOT of follow through enquiries to look up!
Join me if you like. Only two more shows to go. And then a whole world of other wonders to explore ...
https://www.macrobertartscentre.org/shows/745627ALGQDRSQGBKTRSPCQQLDHTSDCVP
Raw Material Arts Dave Milligan Music Pippa Murphy Music
