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Irish Post
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Post
Songs of home and leaving — from Christine Tobin
Three powerful performances explore Irish emigration, homecoming and the poetry of W.B. Yeats at London's Irish Cultural Centre, July 19-20 ACCLAIMED Irish vocalist and composer Christine Tobin returns to the Irish Cultural Centre in Hammersmith for a two-day, three-concert residency titled Letters Home , running 19–20 July 2025. Blending music, memory and multimedia, the project explores themes of emigration, belonging and the emotional geography of the Irish experience. Each of the three performances offers a distinct perspective on the search for home, cultural identity and the passage of time. Returning Weather Saturday 19 July, 7.30pm The residency opens with Returning Weather , a song cycle described by Tobin as 'part homecoming, part memoir.' Inspired by her return to Ireland after years abroad, the performance weaves together original compositions, spoken word and stunning imagery of the landscape around Frenchpark, Boyle and Ballaghaderreen in County Roscommon. Musically, the piece draws on Irish traditional music, 20th-century art song and jazz. Tobin is joined by Aoife Ní Bhriain (violin), David Power (uilleann pipes & whistles), Phil Robson (guitars, electronics), and Steve Hamilton (piano). The work explores what it means to belong—to land, to memory, to community—and how those ideas evolve over a lifetime. Letters Home Sunday 20 July, 2.30pm The second concert blends live performance with documentary film. Also titled Letters Home , it focuses on the lives of Irish emigrants who left Roscommon for Britain during the 1960s to 1990s. The film, made by Tobin and Robson, is based on interviews with six elders who emigrated in search of work and later returned to Ireland. Their voices form the narrative spine of the documentary, which is interspersed with archive images, photos and live songs performed on stage. Tobin sings traditional and popular Irish songs of farewell and longing—such as Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore , Mountains of Mourne and Come Back Paddy Reilly —evoking the pain and pride of a generation that helped build modern Britain while supporting families at home through remittances. The hour-long show gives voice to everyday resilience and the quiet heroism of the Irish in Britain. Among the featured interviewees is Annie, who left rural Ireland in her teens and took an unusual path for a woman at the time—working for the New York Telephone Company rather than entering domestic service. Another participant, Michael, now in his eighties, left for England in the early '60s and built a successful construction business after stints with Wimpey and McAlpine. At just 20 years old, he was sending home £100 a month to support his mother. Sailing to Byzantium Sunday 20 July, 7.30pm The final concert in the trilogy is Sailing to Byzantium , featuring Tobin's musical settings of 12 poems by W.B. Yeats. Named after the poet's 1927 meditation on ageing and the eternal role of art, this performance reflects on what lies beyond the physical journey—searching instead for artistic and spiritual meaning. The poems, ranging from When You Are Old and The Wild Swans at Coole to The Second Coming , are reimagined through Tobin's musical lens. She is joined by Gareth Lockrane (flutes), Kate Shortt (cello), Phil Robson (guitars), Dave Whitford (double bass) and Steve Hamilton (piano). 'I like finishing with Yeats,' Tobin says. 'After exploring the early and middle years through the themes of emigration and return, Yeats helps us look ahead—to the search for wisdom, purpose and creative fulfilment.' An Expanding Body of Work Letters Home follows the success of Tobin's recent composition Pseudologia Fantastica , commissioned by Improvised Music Company's BAN BAM programme and premiered in Dublin in April. That work, exploring misinformation and far-right ideologies through multimedia, marked a new political direction in her output. Still, Returning Weather and Letters Home remain deeply rooted in her personal history and the shared legacy of the Irish diaspora. 'There are many songs of leaving,' Tobin notes. 'This is the music of return.' Irish Cultural Centre, 5 Black's Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9DT Tickets available for each concert separately: Returning Weather (Saturday evening) (Saturday evening) Letters Home (Sunday afternoon) (Sunday afternoon) Sailing to Byzantium (Sunday evening) Running times: approx. 1 hour each (some include film interludes). See More: Irish Cultural Centre Hammersmith, Music, Poetry, WB Yeats
Sydney Morning Herald
04-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
The only resort located on one of Australia's most famous beaches
The hotel Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa, Broome, Western Australia. Check-in The most well-known resort in Broome and the only one that overlooks Cable Beach, the property's grounds and reception area are impressive, even in the dark. Terracotta warriors stand guard near the entrance, and stone horses in the gardens are pointed towards reception to guide lost guests. I smell the frangipani trees before I see them. I enjoy a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. After checking in, I walk to my room. It's a tad confusing to navigate the gardens in the dark. The look A tropical ambience (palm fronds, wooden ceiling fans) is complemented by an East-West design. Most of the wooden structures are bright green or red, a remnant of the pearling industry. Green was a timber preservative paint used on the luggers, while red was an anti-fouling paint used in pearling work areas. Cable Beach Club was the dream of English politician and construction magnate Lord Alistair McAlpine. The resort opened in 1988 after McAlpine developed the land he had bought with a contract signed on the back of a beer coaster. The DNA of the early Broome-style bungalows remains in details such as jarrah floors and wide verandahs. In 1999, the Wen family, the WA-based owners of property company Hawaiian, bought the resort, extensively refurbishing and expanding it to become the Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa. There are two magnificent pools: the adults-only ocean pool and the all-ages Kimberley pool. Tennis courts, mini-golf, a gym, kids' playground and day spa offer more activities. The room
The Age
04-07-2025
- The Age
The only resort located on one of Australia's most famous beaches
The hotel Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa, Broome, Western Australia. Check-in The most well-known resort in Broome and the only one that overlooks Cable Beach, the property's grounds and reception area are impressive, even in the dark. Terracotta warriors stand guard near the entrance, and stone horses in the gardens are pointed towards reception to guide lost guests. I smell the frangipani trees before I see them. I enjoy a complimentary glass of sparkling wine. After checking in, I walk to my room. It's a tad confusing to navigate the gardens in the dark. The look A tropical ambience (palm fronds, wooden ceiling fans) is complemented by an East-West design. Most of the wooden structures are bright green or red, a remnant of the pearling industry. Green was a timber preservative paint used on the luggers, while red was an anti-fouling paint used in pearling work areas. Cable Beach Club was the dream of English politician and construction magnate Lord Alistair McAlpine. The resort opened in 1988 after McAlpine developed the land he had bought with a contract signed on the back of a beer coaster. The DNA of the early Broome-style bungalows remains in details such as jarrah floors and wide verandahs. In 1999, the Wen family, the WA-based owners of property company Hawaiian, bought the resort, extensively refurbishing and expanding it to become the Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa. There are two magnificent pools: the adults-only ocean pool and the all-ages Kimberley pool. Tennis courts, mini-golf, a gym, kids' playground and day spa offer more activities. The room
The National
16-06-2025
- The National
Glasgow man accused of stalking BBC Scotland presenter for years
Green faces a charge of engaging in conduct which caused the 39-year-old journalist fear and alarm. It is claimed that he repeatedly sent letters, poems, cards, and gifts for McAlpine to the BBC Scotland headquarters in Glasgow's Pacific Quay as well as to her home. Green is also said to have turned up at her property uninvited, loitered outside, and asked to come in. Green had been ordered not to approach, communicate or contact McAlpine. But, it is claimed that on November 14, 2024, he went near where she lived and again tried to get in touch with her. On a further charge sheet, Green is also said to have not shown at a court date in January this year. The case called this week for a summary hearing – a case with no jury – at Glasgow Sheriff Court. Green, of the city's Hillhead, was not present. His lawyer, Ron Mackenna, said he had reported having "serious surgery" a few days earlier and was unable to leave home. A sheriff told the solicitor that Green must provide proof of that by this week or a warrant will be issued for his arrest. The case will be called again at a later date. McAlpine is best known for presenting Reporting Scotland and Landward.
The Courier
21-05-2025
- The Courier
Wednesday court round-up — Stole single trainer and drug-drive crash
A thief who struck a man in the head with a bottle of vodka took only one of his victim's trainers and left behind his mobile phone. , 28, left his victim with cut eyebrow and eyelid in Caithness Place on August 18 last year and appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court by video link to prison to plead guilty to assault and robbery. Sheriff Steven Borthwick noted McAlpine is currently serving a 40-month sentence for wilful fire-raising following conviction in October last year and has previous for a life-endangering assault, for which he was given four years in detention. The sheriff jailed McAlpine for 23 months, to run consecutively to his existing term. Prosecutor Sarah Smith told the court witnesses saw McAlpine strike his victim's head with the vodka bottle while he was on the ground, then rummaged through his pockets. He kicked him again before walking away with one trainer, leaving a mobile phone and the other shoe. McAlpine was said to be 'intoxicated and aggressive' and witnesses told him to leave the area, which he did, before going to his victim's aid. Defence lawyer Paul Cook said McAlpine has an 'extremely limited' recollection of events and was 'suffering immensely' with drug and alcohol addiction. A Kirkcaldy DJ has been jailed for a decade for the repeated rape a young girl. , 33, will also be supervised for three years after his release. A Perth man caught with more than £2,500 worth of cannabis will be sentenced in October. Former groundworker previously admitted being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug at his Goodlyburn Terrace home on September 1 last year. The 36-year-old's home was raided by police and fiscal depute Andrew Harding explained to Perth Sheriff Court officers seized 266.88g of green herbal matter from bedrooms. Also seized were scales, bags, a tick list and a bong. The haul would be worth between £1,745 and £2,640 depending on the size of deals. Owen's solicitor Jim Caird said: 'He's on a community payback order at present and he is very much benefiting from that. 'His mental health certainly was not good at the time. He had been smoking cannabis heavily. 'He's come to realise that that was having a considerable effect on his mental health as well. 'He had a habit and was selling some to finance his own habit. 'It was quite a small margin he was making. He was selling it to friends, essentially.' Sheriff Clair McLachlan deferred sentencing until October for Owen to be of good behaviour and to check on the progress of his ongoing community payback order. A 20-year-old who pedalled drugs on Instagram and sold to schoolchildren behind a Fife doctor surgery has been given unpaid work as punishment. During one of 's deals in Dunfermline, a girl started vomiting and 'felt as though she could not move' after taking a pill. A 53-year-old woman crashed her car when she was on drugs. , of Sir James Black Road, Cowdenbeath, appeared for sentencing at Dunfermline Sheriff Court. The mum-of-six admitted that on November 1 2023 at Cardenden Road, Cardenden, she drove a car with excess amphetamine (329mics/ 250). Depute fiscal Catherine Stevenson said at 5.30am a local resident was woken by a loud bang and when he looked out of his window he saw his car had been moved. It had been struck by another car and shunted up the street by the impact. Campbell was in the driver's seat of her Nissan car 'in a daze with her head down,' added the depute. The emergency services were called and Campbell was initially taken to the Victoria Hospital. Defence solicitor Stephen Morrison: 'At that time, she was having significant difficulties and things had spiralled out of control. 'She no longer drives. Her eyesight has deteriorated and she no longer wishes to drive.' Sheriff Susan Duff banned Campbell from driving for three years and fined her £210. , 31, appeared from custody accused of striking Aberdeen footballer Jack MacKenzie with a seat after a match with Dundee United at the weekend. The player was allegedly left severely injured and permanently disfigured after a piece of a plastic seat was thrown from the away section at Tannadice Park. Gowans made no plea. A Perthshire domestic offender has received two years supervision after furiously breaking a mirror in his partner's home. , 38, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court to be sentenced having admitted acting in a threatening or abusive manner on May 26 last year. McPhee, of Clayton Road in Bridge of Earn, repeatedly shouted, swore, acted aggressively, made abusive remarks and violent threats at his partner's Kinross home and kicked a mirror, breaking it. Prosecutor Andrew Harding said McPhee woke up still drunk from the night before and accused the woman of using his money. He kicked the mirror and told her: 'You're lucky I'm not putting it over your f***ing head.' When police arrived, they found McPhee 'irate and agitated.' Sheriff Clair McLachlan placed McPhee under supervision and ordered him to complete the Caledonian Men's Programme aimed at rehabilitating domestic offenders. She said: 'Community payback orders don't seem to have worked in the past. He seems to have breached the last three orders he was on. 'We've been down this road before and it hasn't worked. This is very much an alternative to a custodial sentence. 'If you don't comply, that's really what we're looking at.'
