Jack Pakenham, Spin Doctor

It's the season for turning cartwheels. Marc Tierney was in a spin for Norwich City, celebrating their return to the Premier League. And famously, there was a verger at Westminster Abbey gleefully throwing himself onto his hands after the royal wedding.

It reminds me of a conversation I had with Eric Bell, who was remembering the early days on Thin Lizzy and their entrée into the posh scene and the big country estates. Eric was from the Woodstock Road in Belfast and he was merely letting off steam when he started spinning across a stately ballroom. After all, a recent hit by Procul Harum had reckoned that once you had skipped a light fandango, then the only option was to turn cartwheels across the floor. But apparently it wasn't the done thing in Wicklow, and so Eric was asked to leave.

The Belfast arts scene will also be reminded of the painter Jack Pakenham. His proper legacy is a series of paintings that depict the macabre work of terrorism in these parts. But his other gig is to dance with intent at local music events. It's a supreme act of approval, what the French might call jouissance. Given that the guy is in his early seventies, that's even more special to witness.

And so he now features in 'Goldstar', the new video for Cashier No 9. The band are on stage at the Ulster Hall, and in the foreground you see Jack, whirling and cartwheeling for the absolute love of it. It's a uniquely Belfast moment and I believe that film-makers Glen Leyburn and Lisa Barros D'Sa authored this.

This was revived during the Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival last Thursday, when Cashier No 9 headlined the marquee and Pakenham was in attendance. As hoped, he started dancing and soon after, he had achieved lift-off, a blur of white hair, flying limbs and undaunted pleasure. Result.