‘The bird, the tree, the bell and the fish of Glasgow’

Please click here to view this documentary from the homepage of Moving Image Archive, National Libarry of Scotland.

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Glasgow’s coat of arms is associated with an enigmatic rhyme:

Here’s the bird that never flew.
Here’s the tree that never grew.
Here’s the bell that never rang.
Here’s the fish that never swam.

Behind the rhyme there are original Christian messages, but, as these messages are not explicit, leaving a gap between the messages and the rhyme. This allows a variety of interpretations and visual images of the rhyme, as explored in this documentary by an Indian resident, a Taichi teacher, botanists, an artist, and bell ringers.  The rhyme may be seen as the symbol of inclusive and diverse Glasgow.

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Camera: Fumi Nakabachi
Editing adviser: Hajime Kobayashi (Colin Brierley)
Written, Directed and Edited by: Yushin Toda
33 minutes
In English with English subtiles
Produced by Fumi Nakabachi and Yushin Toda, Japan Desk Scotland
©2014 Japan Desk Scotland

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This is part of Japan Desk Scotland’s ‘Documentary film production‘.

The documentary has been screened:

(1) on Saturday 21 June 2014 at GZO Peace Institute, Ateneo de Manila University, Manila, The Philippines;

(2) on Thursday 10 July 2014 at Faculty of Administration and Social Sciences, Fukushima University, Fukushima, Japan, as part of Comparative Culture Lecture Series;

(3) on Thursday 25 September 2014 at University of Strathclyde Chaplaincy Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of Japan@Strathclyde 2014/15;

(4) on Friday 23 January 2015 at University of Strathclyde Chaplaincy Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of Japan@Strathclyde 2014/15;

(5) on Wednesday 10 June 2015 at the Interfaith Room, University of Glasgow Chaplaincy, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Here and there (seven documentaries);

(6) on Wednesday 2 September 2015 at Department of Japanese Language and Literature, University of Bucharest, Romania, as part of ‘Washi (Japanese paper)’ workshop;

(7) on Tuesday 14 June 2016 at the Interfaith Room, University of Glasgow Chaplaincy, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Intangible legacies‘;

(8) on Thursday 14 July 2016 at Oshima National College of Maritime Technology, Yamaguchi, Japan;

(9) on Wednesday 12 October 2016 at University of Strathclyde Chaplaincy Centre, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of Japan@Strathclyde 2016/2017;

(10) on Tuesday 8 November 2016 at University of Glasgow Chapel, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘say hello to Inclusive Glasgow, Inclusive Scotland’ event;

(11) on Wednesday 21 June 2017 at the Interfaith Room, University of Glasgow Chaplaincy, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Inclusive Glasgow – Documentaries’;

(12) on Wednesday 20 December 2017 at Moving Image Archive, National Library of Scotland, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of Japanese Journeys co-organised by Kelvin Hall and Japan Desk Scotland;

(13) on Tuesday 12 June 2018 at University of Glasgow Chapel, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Hope – Documentaries’ co-organised by JDS and University of Glasgow Chaplaincy. The event was  part of the West End Festival;

(14) on Tuesday 23 October 2018 at University of Glasgow Chapel, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Hope – six documentaries’;

(15) on Wednesday 14 November 2018 at Moving Image Archive, National Library of Scotland, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of  ‘Japanese Draft Documentaries’ co-organised by Kelvin Hall and Japan Desk Scotland;

(16) on Tuesday 4 June 2019 at University of Glasgow Chapel, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of Japanese Craft Documentaries co-organised by University of Glasgow Chaplaincy and Japan Desk Scotland as a part of the West End Festival;

(17) on Friday 11 October 2019 at University of Glasgow Chapel, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘Japanese Craft Documentaries’;

(18) on Tuesday 29 October 2019 at the International Study Group held in the Interfaith Room, University of Glasgow Chaplaincy, Glasgow, Scotland; and

(19) on Wednesday 27 March 2024 at National Library of Scotland at Kelvin Hall, Glasgow, Scotland, as part of ‘The Lotus Club: Japanese Documentaries Series’.