KEEPING alive the spirit of adventure in live entertainment is Calum
Kennedy. A veteran of many a tour of the Highlands and Islands. So
precarious were the physical rigours of the road, his troupes became
known as Calum's Commandos. Frequently a case of all hands to the pumps,
shoulders to the wagons, as these intrepid players got through. Then it
was on with the show.
''We have had so many good laughs, it has been worth putting up with
the hardships just for these,'' he says.
This former Mod gold medallist from Stornoway on the Island of Lewis
can charm the birds off the trees -- which is why he has never needed a
press gang to enlist new recruits for difficult journeys. Or should that
be campaigns? Some of the adventures have been quite life-threatening,
and the funny side of them been retrospective. Like the time in Glencoe
when Calum and a Pakistani magician called Ben Ali were trapped in huge
snow drifts.
Jimmy Logan had been trying to contact him to appear in a BBC New Year
television show. But no one could find him. Then came one of those
miracles that can only happen with Calum.
There was an AA box in Glencoe, barely visible in the blizzard. Stuck
up to the axles, Calum had been wondering what to do and saying to Ben
Ali: ''You're the bloody magician -- get us out of here!'' When through
the muffling white drifts he heard the phone ring in the AA box. He had
a key to the box, and, with a lot of effort, got it open and picked up
the persistent phone. ''I'm looking for a fellow called Calum Kennedy,''
said the voice of a newspaper reporter in Glasgow. ''Have you seen
him?'' ''No, I haven't. I'm him,'' said Calum. ''You don't understand,
I'm looking for Calum Kennedy.'' ''Speaking,'' said Calum with due
patience.
''He sounded as though he was nearly falling off his chair in
Glasgow,'' says Calum. ''Just couldn't believe it. He was still talking
about it years later.'' All Calum had in the way of sustenance for that
journey were two sandwiches and a bottle of Drambuie. ''It so happened
that they were bacon sandwiches and because of his religion, Ben Ali,
who is no longer with us, was forbidden to eat them. But eventually he
cracked. And he drank most of the Drambuie.''
Now Calum is back in business, staging a show at the Glasgow Royal
Concert Hall in aid of several charities, including the Stars
Organisation for Spastics, tonight. And topping the bill will be three
great troupers who have all undergone triple heart by-pass surgery --
himself, Jimmy Logan and Jack Milroy. Also on the bill, ''Auntie'' Mary
Lee, the Glasgow Gaelic Choir, 18 world champion Irish dancers, and the
Skye Pipe Band.
And at the Ayr Gaiety Theatre on May 12, 13 and 14 he will be staging
a good old-fashioned variety show. Jimmy Logan will again be a co-star.
On the bill will be the Jimmy Cosker Band, comedian Ben Gunn, singer
Stewart Macrae, plus Calum's wife Christine, a gold medal winner at the
English-language equivalent of the Mods.
In the business Calum has always managed to overcome the difficulties.
A bonnie fichter indeed.
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