Arts diary: Why I'm more of a Sindy girl but will still be looking forward to the Barbie exhibition in Glasgow

An exhibition featuring 150 individual dolls, costumes from the 2023 hit Barbie The Movie and an original 1962 Dream House, made of cardboard is coming to Glasgow next year.

An original 1959 Barbie, hand painted and in a black and white bathing suit, will also be on show. Fresh from a successful launch at London's Design Museum, the exhibition promises to be a hit.

I have to admit, I was more of a Sindy girl myself. Back in the 1980s, there were few, if any, dark haired Barbies, while Sindy was marginally more diverse. She was also not quite as improbably skinny and looked less like she would bully you at school.

Yet despite that and never having actually owned a Barbie of my own, I'm still intrigued and will be undoubtedly one of the first heading to Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum when the show opens in June.

Read more about it here.

Minimal storm damage for Wigtown

If you were reading my festivals diary on tour, you'll know I'm currently recovering after a fun-packed weekend at Wigtown Book Festival.

This year's edition was not without its challenges, with Storm Amy forcing the closure of the main marquee venue. Eight events, including the annual Saturday night Ceilidh,were cancelled due to the weather, resulting in a loss of 400 tickets. Despite that, the event was seven per cent up on last year in terms of ticket sales, although still hovering below pre-pandemic levels.

The festival is going through a time of flux. Artistic director Adrian Turpin is stepping down after 20 years of being involved in the event, initially as a volunteer.

While his role is not being directly replaced, previous operations director Anne Barclay is moving into an expanded communities role, while Isla Rosser-Owen is returning to take on the post of chief executive.

Chat in the writers’ retreat was full of praise for the friendly atmosphere compared to the bigger festivals, played out by the Blitz spirit when the storm cancelled trains and blocked roads, requiring people to muck in and share lifts and accommodation in a bid to get home - or wait until they could.

Never change, Wigtown.

Top fun at Top Hat

Adding to the fun I've had in the past seven days, last week, I got to learn to tap dance with the star of Top Hat, which ended its Edinburgh Playhouse run on Saturday.

Actor and dancer Phillip Attmore was very patient with my inability to recall dance steps - having not tapped since the age of three - and we had a pretty good go at a timestep, which you can watch here.