Have I Told You Lately why birthday boy Van’s the Man?
LEST we forget, Van Morrison, in my opinion, is the greatest artist of any kind ever to come from this island.
So when I hear about the ‘Rave On, Van Morrison’ project — whereby his forthcoming 75th birthday is marked by a performance of one of his songs at 7pm every evening on the Hot Press YouTube channel — I think it’s the least we can do.
Something like this was done recently for Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday.
And then I think of the bravery of it, the raw courage that is required from artists such as Tim Wheeler (Jackie Wilson Said), and Wallis Bird
(Listen To The Lion), and David Keenan
(Slim Slow Slider), and Andrea Corr
(Moondance),
and Imelda May
(Wild Night).
Attempting your own take of a Van( right)
song is a big ask in itself, but to try it in a setting in which the Man himself may well be a part of the audience? That takes bottle, baby!
In this situation there is a part of all of us that becomes one of those very old people you used to see muttering furiously to themselves in prayer. So I was looking at Hudson Taylor, the duo which had chosen to perform Cyprus
Avenue (yes, that’s Cyprus
Avenue) and for all their talents, as the lads explained what the song meant to them, I could sense these feverish supplications starting within me: ‘Oh sweet Jesus in thy mercy keep them safe from harm...’
For a full six minutes of Cyprus Avenue I willed them to succeed — as I will for all of them who’ll be doing this for the next few weeks. I praise them, and no, I’m not available for my makeover of Madame George.
*******
I’m hearing of some interesting and disturbing developments in the online gambling pandemic — not that there are any other kind of developments in that domain, but this is one that we’ve been anticipating for some time.
My friends in Problem Gambling Ireland are telling me that they’ve had a surge in helpline calls over the last few weeks, and that there’s been a significant increase in the number of women looking for help and support.
These calls would not generally be about sports betting, because there were hardly any sports to bet on during lockdown.
It is mainly about casino games and suchlike, which became the main attraction in the absence of the usual gambling markets, and tend to be favoured by women.
Whatever control some women may have had on their gambling in the real world was lost with the disappearance of that world.
That they are seeking help is good. It’s just that there is nowhere near enough of it. And for some, it is getting late.