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UNISON Mela sponsorship celebrates
diversity and all that's best in Scotland
The Mela's "The Roses Turn to Bloom"
concert was sponsored by UNISON's General Political
Fund, with support from UNISON City of Edinburgh
Branch and UNISON Scotland The late Hamish Henderson's celebrated
anthem to freedom, peace and friendship - 'Freedom
Cam A' Ye' - brought the house down at the UNISON
sponsored 'The Roses Turn to Bloom" concert
at the Edinburgh Mela on 31 August 2002.
A new arrangement by Colin Blakey
tugged at the heart strings as verses were sung
by Sheena Wellington and Bani Battacharya individually
and as a duet, and by the full choir (Sangeet
Mala).
The orchestra of pipes, horn section,
guitar, keyboard, percussion, dhol, repenique,
surdu, tambourim, timba and much more produced
a stirring blend of Asian, Scottish and Caribbean
flavours, building to a crescendo of sound and
rhythm before finishing movingly with the voices
of Sheena and Bani Battacharya.
The audience wouldn't let them
away with one rendition and let their hair down
dancing and clapping through the encore of what
many feel should be Scotland's anthem.
"The aim is to articulate
in both musical and visual terms that this is
truly an international anthem of Scotland, relevant
to all the cultures that make up our increasingly
wonderful diversity. It is celebration of Mela",
said the programme notes - and they were right.
John Stevenson, Branch Secretary
and Chair of UNISON's Scottish Communication
and Campaigns Committee said: "This was
an ideal opportunity to celebrate all that's
best in Scotland - its commitment to equality,
its diversity and the host of cultures that
enrich it. There is no better way to challenge
the narrow racism that poisons those ideals."
The Edinburgh branch has always
supported the Mela through advertising but this
year the General Political Fund put in the lion's
share of funding, with contributions from UNISON
Scotland and the Edinburgh City Branch as part
of the 'Positively Public' campaign.
"Public services are about
people. They should be responsive to people's
needs, offer complete equality of access and
recognise the rich diversity in the communities
they serve.
"This can only be done by
public investment in quality services delivered
by a properly trained and properly rewarded
public service team", added John.
It is hoped that a DVD of the
concert will be ready in time to go on show
at UNISON's National Black Members Conference
in Glasgow this November.
UNISON
News September 2002 | Top
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