How you doing?

Doug here with the second of our monthly newsletters keeping you up to date with the latest developments, not just of The Plastic Podcasts, but also of its contributors and friends. You’ll note it’s “digest” rather than “digested” this month – what it’s called in five weeks’ time, who knows? It’s a journey, mes amis. A journey.

Not much news this month – what with summer finally making a reluctant appearance.

But as the season has arrived, the brilliant Cherry Smyth and Craig Jordan-Baker are heading off along the River Bann for a walk with a difference. Indeed, it’s not so much a walk as a pilgrimage. In a project entitled “From Source To Mouth”, the pair will start at Deer’s Meadow on Slieve Muck, to walk and write the length of the Bann, Northern Ireland’s longest river, making their way over eight days to its Atlantic mouth near the Valley of the Stones.

Joined along the way by an archaeologist, an eel fisherman and an ecologist, Cherry and Craig’s journey will culminate in not only a short residency at the River Mill Retreat but also a series of performances and a publication. 

You’ll be able to follow the pair – each from  either side of “the Bann divide” – on their Blog and Twitter accounts, and we’ll be keeping up with them along the way (and praying neither  falls in – Cherry’s a fine swimmer but I have no idea about Craig!)

Hopefully they’ll be dry enough for an interview on their return.

Speaking of which, The Plastic Podcasts themselves are being readied for series five – can you believe it? – with some truly magnificent interviewees in the pipeline (a curious phrase if ever there was one). More details next time round.

Time for reflected glory, though, and we’re beyond delighted to have seen that Dame Elizabeth Anionwu received a secondary Brit Award, as a result of being cited by Best Female Solo Artist Dua Lipa as her woman of the year. It wasn’t just a shout out. More recently, Dame Elizabeth posted on a photo on Twitter of her actually receiving an award. Whether this means she’ll finally get around to that tribute album of John McCormack songs remains to be seen…

As ever, Liverpool Irish Centre aren’t backwards in coming forwards with a range of events over the next month including The Great American Independence Bash on Saturday 3^rd July, the first Comhaltas session in The Garden for ages eight days later on Sunday 11^th, and way off on the 31^st August, they’ve got “the heir to Bob Dylan”, Joshua Okeefe . As ever, all of this and more at: https://www.liverpoolirishcentre.org/what-s-on

And that’s it for now. The next Diaspora Digest will be out Thursday 29^th July

Drop us a line at theplasticpodcasts@gmail.com if you want your own event included or there’s something you can’t wait to share with a bunch of strangers. Deadline Monday 26^th July.

Catch you then!

Doug