Box & Fiddle - January 2019

Fiddle

42nd Year No. 05 Jan 2019

£3.00

BOX& The magazine for Scottish music enthusiasts

KIRRIEMUIR FESTIVAL MUSICAL MEMORIES ROBIN WAITT IS CENTRE STAGE

c i s u M d a r T s t o Sc 8 1 0 2 s Award MG ALBA

PLUS

NEWS, CLUB & DANCE DIARIES AND MUCH MORE...

Welcome

B&F • EDITORIAL

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...to the January issue of Box & Fiddle The magazine for Scottish music enthusiasts

Editor • Pia Walker 7 Tarvit Gardens Cupar, Fife, KY15 5BT Tel: 01334 657 850 Mob: 07715 115 489 editor@boxandfiddle.com Designer • Marie Martin mamidesigns@hotmail.com Front cover The Scots Trad Music Awards © Louis Decarlo Section icons by: FlatIcon

Printer • Ivanhoe Caledonian Printing Company Ltd Eskmills, Musselburgh, EH21 7PE

NAAFC Chairman Nicol McLaren The Shian, Woodlands Road Blairgowrie, PH10 6LD Tel: 01250 874 526 nicol@boxandfiddle.com Vice Chairman Iain Cathcart Tel: 01555 661 017 iain@boxandfiddle.com Secretary Shona MacFadyen secretary@boxandfiddle.com Executive Committee: Scott Band Charlie Kirkpatrick Susan MacFadyen Tom Orr Richard Ross Liam Stewart

Let me start by wishing you all a Happy New Year. I hope that the holidays were good to you, whichever way you celebrated.

Thank you for all the kind messages I, on behalf of the team, have received during the season and beyond. It is heart warming and every single one, be it a Pia Walker, Editor phone message and kind word or a letter, is much appreciated by us all. We can sometimes be under pressure (for sometimes read most of the time) and we do make mistakes so we are grateful that you take them in good humour most of the time. They are entirely unintentional we can assure you.

This time of year is usually a time for reflection, but also a time for looking forward. Did you or will you visit more clubs, play more tunes, go to more dances and festivals? I hope you will, just as I hope to.

Looking forward, we are now gearing up for the March festival, so you should too – the festival is your festival, so join in, come visit, and listen to the many people who stand up and play. The latest competition is just for you – THE CLUB BAND COMPETITION. Get some of your players together and come down for a bit fun: I know from your news that you do have people playing together regularly. Go for it! Just think, it could be your club that wins the brand new trophy!

The venue is different this year, and within easier reach of hotels and hostelleries with in-house catering from club land.

It is all so very exciting, so make an effort to come to the festival and show your support.

So what are my New Year resolutions? Well, to visit more clubs, to improve the magazine (with your help!), to increase sales (with your help!) and to spread the word that club land is the place to be.

Wishing you all the best for 2019.

Keep up with the latest news at

www.boxandfiddle.com Box & Fiddle (NAAFC)

Pia

The editorial team reserves the right to refuse or edit all copy. The views expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Use of material and advertising from this publication is strictly prohibited without permission in writing from the editor.

While every care has been taken in compiling Box & Fiddle to ensure that it is correct at the time of going to press, Box & Fiddle assume no responsibility for any effects from errors or omissions.

Contents

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B&F • CONTENTS

16 News & Letters Scots Trad Music Awards 2018 Festivals The Kirrie Festival

Musical Memories Part Four

Jim & Catherine Mackay Accordion Technique Course Take the Floor BBC Radio Scotland at 40

Club News The latest news from our clubs

Deadlines:

41

Club Diary

38

Centre Stage

47

In Memory

48

Dance Diary

52

Reviews

54

Centre Stage

56

Sheet Music

5

18

You are never too old to go clubbing!

Dougie Watson

Hebbie Gray

Find the nearest dances and ceilidhs

From Scots Borderer to Ulster Scot

Robin Waitt

John M Caskie M.B.E.

All articles, adverts, club reports and text for the magazine must be e-mailed to the editor by the 5th of every month at the latest. Copy received after this date cannot be guaranteed to feature in the next issue.

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NEWS

News

Send in your story. If you have a photo that tells a story, send it in with an explanation.

A Tribute to the Poppy Quines Turriff compere Jean Milne’s poem as mentioned in their report. (see page XX) Poppies tumbling, tumbling down the wall, Each one with a name for the families to recall, Blood red poppies pouring down to the ground, Where many in France lie still ... never found.

What an inspiration the Tower of London display was, And selling the thousands of poppies for such a great cause, Who would have thought now ladies everywhere are making?

Poppies, poppies, poppies, all there, for the taking.

To display, after display, all over this country of ours, Poppies, the poppies, a witness of hours and hours, Of dedicated work, with just one thing on their mind, To acknowledge the thousands lost in that war – Ladies all so kind.

My daughters are to parade to the Cenotaph this year, In memory of Sgt. Alexander Edwards V.C. of Lossie, a great uncle so dear, They will lay a poppy wreath at a dedicated spot, Where they will say … you will never be forgot.

Poppies on football tops caused a great STIR -- remember, But now, with pride the players will have poppies this November, Having visited the battlefields and cemeteries too, Ladies I want to say a huge Thank You. For every poppy your hands have made, And for every wreath and display which will be laid, We will all stand silent, to witness and remember, The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, NOVEMBER. This year it falls on the Sunday - PERFECTION, A most moving ceremony of gratitude and reflection, So here in TURRA, as elsewhere worldwide, The poppy blood red, a symbol of war and peace, now laid side by side.

100 years, a different world way back then, History, WAR HORSE, letters home from thousands of men, Each poppy hand made by ladies everywhere, I say THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for showing you care. l

B&F • JANUARY 2019

c i s u M d a Scots Tr 2018 Awards

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MG ALBA

David Kennedy Dance Band

D

ecember 1st saw yet another invasion of The Fair City of Perth by musicians and people interested in various forms of traditional music for the televised Trad Awards. This was the third in little over a month, with first the Perth A&F Festival, then the RSCDS AGM, and yet again it was difficult to find a room in any city Centre hotel. Luckily there are plenty B&Bs as well.

Whether you are a fan of contemporary folk or not it is difficult not to be impressed by the presentation of this show. Gone is the session-style, back-room-ofpubs corduroy presentation of all things traditional.

Instead there are big-stage set-ups, strobe lights, colours, glamour, sequins and a wealth of musical talents from a range of different interpretations of traditional music. To get the full feel of what is happening, you really need to be there, as the sound, the lights and the people all contribute to the dynamics of the night, and TV just can’t give you the buzz that all of this creates.

The Trad Music Awards saw first light in 2003 in Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh and have since travelled round Scotland, growing larger and more colourful as the years have passed. 20 awards are now celebrated on the night, as well as recognition of inductees to the Music Hall of Fame and people who are no longer are with us. The event was broadcast live by BBC ALBA and BBC Radio Scotland, with the first language of presentation therefore being

Photos by Louis Decarlo

Gaelic. The ceremony was hosted by Gaelic singer Mary Ann Kennedy and award-winning musician Kim Carnie.

Performances from various bands and singers are interspersed with the presentations of awards.

This year Mànran opened the show, and we had speeches from The Lord Provost of Perth, Dennis Melloy, and Fiona Hyslop MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs, as well as from a representative of MG Alba, the main sponsors, and of course the man himself, Creative Director Simon Thoumire.

We all have different tastes, but this year I was quite glad to note that we had people from clubland nominated in quite a few categories, and indeed one nominee, the David Kennedy SDB, also performed during the event. It was amazing to feel how the whole place suddenly sat up and took notice. However much you try to experiment with or aim for new frontiers in music, it is obvious that it is the music you can dance to that still holds a special place in people’s hearts.

After the event, we all assembled in the Perth Concert Hall’s foyer to ceilidh the night away to The House of Song led by Doris Rougvie and the Bob Turner Ceilidh Band. Looking at the number of happy people dancing, one could see it was clear that this was just the right way of finishing a great event. l

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Festivals

The Kirrie Festival

ANGUS STRATHSPEY & REEL SOCIETY ANNUAL FIDDLE FESTIVAL

By Joan Grant

T

here are confusingly two Kirrie Festivals, but this is all about the older of the two – the Angus Strathspey & Reel Society’s 51st Traditional Fiddle Festival, which was held on Saturday 10th November - simply glory in just fiddles! The other, also long-standing, is the TMSA Festival held in September. The AS&RS festival was created

by Angus Cameron away back in 1967 to foster and develop the quality of playing and preserve the distinction between the styles of the different Scottish traditional tunes. In its heyday, fiddlers would descend on Kirriemuir from all corners of Scotland and we could expect up to 8 or 9 orchestras to fight it out for the trophy. The list of champions down the years is impressive: Yla Steven, Dougie Lawrence, Frank Robb, Charlie

McKerran, Gregor Borland, Kathryn Nicoll, Paul Anderson, George Smith, Kathryn Matthews, Maggie Adamson, George Davidson and many others.

While there are not so many competing musicians these days, we still had a day of glorious fiddling in the wonderful acoustics of St Andrews Parish Church, Kirriemuir. The Edinburgh Reel & Strathspey Society joined us to compete again as did the Shetland Fiddlers. The competitions started late as the Shetland Ferry was late owing to the weather. Thank you to all the other competitors and audience for their patience! It turned out that the wild ferry trip from Shetland was worth it as their players won 5 trophies We were very pleased to have Douglas

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l a c i s u M emories M

PART FOUR

By Denis Shepherd

I

previously told you how I teamed up with former jazz musician Sandy Rennie to form Denis and the Menace - a name thought up by Sandy’s wife Mary - with our first booking being at the Cliff House nursing home near Cults. The Cliff House residents entertained us as much as we entertained them.

One interruption was by the slightly deaf man who kept asking his neighbour to take the paper off his sweetie. He could not hear the other chap, ever more loudly, telling him it had had no paper on it.

Another was by the lady who stood up (in the middle of a recitation) and loudly broke wind in front of us.

Sometimes Sandy would sing Three Craws while I carried out all the actions, dressed as a crow. No one ever knew what to expect – sometimes even we did not know! At an event in Aberdeen’s Cowdray Hall, which we did with three other musicians, the chairman of the organisation, in giving his thank-you speech, made the remark: “I don’t know which one is The Menace - they all seem like menaces to me!”

And at yet another, Mackie Burns, the late great Shetland fiddler/guitarist, introduced himself to us and described Sandy’s chords as “very unusual but very exciting.” We are still not sure exactly what he meant - but I can guess!

Keen to be on TV, we volunteered to do a song

th Robbie Shepherd

Denis & Menace wi

for Aberdeen Cable Television, with technical and backing support in abundance including Calum Kennedy’s former pianist, Ian Milne. Unfortunately Ian didn’t understand the rhythm and pausing we used for comedy effect and his accompaniment on Sandy’s song, Square Bashin,’ was finished before we had got through the first verse!

On one occasion, our clowning almost got

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Take The Floor BBC RADIO SCOTLAND AT 40

By Tom Orr

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n November 2018, BBC Radio Scotland celebrated its 40th anniversary as a full time radio network. There is no party like a ceilidh, which was why Take the Floor was asked to host a big birthday bash. I was honoured to be approached to pull together a special line-up fit to fill the iconic Barrowland venue where over 5000 applied for tickets before they had to close the lines early and ballot the 1500 capacity tickets.

Playing with a 6-piece line-up is a treat; therefore expanding to a 9-piece was an absolute luxury. 3 accordions, 3 fiddles with piano, bass and drums assembled to rock the joint with 2/4s, 6/8s, reels, jigs and the like!

I created new music especially for the event trying to maximise the use of the expanded line-up and I really must thank all of my talented band for their hard work and commitment. The show was recorded live for a flagship radio

programme, but also videoed for a feature on BBC 2, so there were no retakes - and not to mention the large live audience. This was potentially a very daunting task, but I had full trust in my line-up, who are all also good friends, and it was a pleasure to share the experience with them.

This was a big deal for Take the Floor and a massive honour for me and I was delighted to give it the time and effort which it deserved. These opportunities are indeed a privilege but I would like to think that it is recognition of my band and our dedication to continuing to develop both ourselves and the style of music we play. There are months of hard work and enjoyment that go into every programme we do and we are extremely grateful to be trusted to do flag ship shows such as the Radio Scotland’s 40th Anniversary Big Barrowland Ceilidh. l

6th Jan – TTF visit to Tartan Day in New York 12th Jan – An Archive session 19th Jan – Wayne Robertson and His Scottish Dance Band 26th Jan – Stuart Cameron Scottish Dance Band 2nd Feb – Celtic Connections

B&F • CLUB NEWS

Club News Just remember to seek permission to publish the photos and tell us the name of the photographers.

To ensure a more readable section, please only send in max 250-300 words. A photo tells a better story, so add one or two of those too. Why not of your audience? Information in Club News helps attract visitors to your club, so make sure your club sounds like the place we want to go to.

ABERDEEN Scott Gordon introduced local artists Frank Burnett on accordion and Sandy McAllan on a 3-row button-box. Stanley Flett played piano, Dennis Constable drums and Calum Johnstone fiddle. We had a great selection of tunes from all these artists.

Our guests were The Duncan Black SDB. Duncan on accordion along with Marie Fielding on fiddle, Craig Paton on piano and Alan Sutherland on drums gave us some fantastic sets for waltzes, jigs and reels including tunes such as The Devil’s Delight, A Trip to Windsor and The Furrow’s End. After the raffle we were treated to a set from a firsttime club player, young Erin Ewing on fiddle, who is a member of the junior section of Aberdeen Strathspey & Reel Society – haste ye back, Erin.

We then had three members of the senior section, Sheila and Graham Reid playing fiddle and Christine Marshall accompanying on piano.

Brian Stanger followed them on accordion accompanied

by Stanley Flett and Dennis Constable. We also had Denis Shepherd on moothie. Lastly we had a great fiddler, Neil

Dawson, accompanied by Tom Orr and Scott Gordon.

It was then back to the guests for more wonderful music and The Centenary Jig. Marie gave us a lovely treat, a tune she had written for Duncan’s late dad called Bill Black’s Fiddle.

We certainly enjoyed the evening’s entertainment and, with the applause so loud after the last set, needed an encore.

Thanks go to the band for travelling up on a dull, dreich, windy Tuesday for our last club night of the year. Sheila Bain ALNWICK OCTOBER A most enjoyable night of music, good company and entertainment with some good audience involvement ensured everyone had a grand night.

The local players were Ian Riddell on drums and Elizabeth Younger, Sylvia Youngson, Ronnie Patterson, Robin Cowens and myself all playing accordion. As always a huge thank you goes to the players for their support.

Our guest artists were Leonard Brown on accordion and Malcolm Ross on drums.

As always they provided the audience with a fine performance with a world tour

of music, with good humour and audience interaction. Some of the tunes played were Tommy Darling, Billy Thom’s Reel, Zorba’s Dance, Still Going Strong and Jean’s Reel. It was a fine night indeed.

NOVEMBER We welcomed a fine crowd of folk who were provided with a great night’s entertainment in good company. The supporting local players on fiddle were Di Jevons and Ian Woods, and on accordion were Sylvia Youngson, Elizabeth Younger, Robin Cowens, Ronnie Patterson, Neil Riddell and myself. Jimmy Little played mouth organ and Ian Riddell drums. Huge thanks go to all these players.

Guest artists were the Ian Muir Trio with Ian on piano accordion, Marie Fielding on fiddle and Neil MacMillan on piano. Many thanks go to Neil for supporting some of the local players. They supplied a fine programme of music, well played and presented with a good mix of traditional, continental and easy listening material. First Century Reel, Dantesque, The Furrow’s End, Andrew’s March and many more tunes were played and enjoyed.

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• JANUARY B&FB& •F CLUB DIARY 2019

41

Club Diary January 2019 DATE

CLUB

GUEST ARTIST

VENUE

TIME

CONTACT

6

Arbroath

Gavin Piper

Arbroath Artisan Golf Club, Elliot,

By Arbroath DD11 2PE

7.30 pm

Tony Simpson 01241 875 326

6

Clydesdale

Wayne Robertson & Claire Telford

St Mary’s Club Rooms, Lanark ML11 7JS

2.00 pm

Shirley Cathcart 01555 661 017

6

Gretna

Richard Smith Trio

Richard Greenhow Centre, Gretna DG16 5AQ

7.00 pm

Robin Waitt 01387 371 423

8

Blairgowrie

Johnny Duncan Duo

Red House Hotel, Coupar Angus PH13 9AL

7.30 pm

Helen Aitchison 01821 670 302

8

Campsie

Alasdair Macleod SDB

Glazert Country House Hotel, Lennoxtown G66 7DJ

7.30 pm

Billy Hutton 07889 021 972

8

Dunfermline

Club night (Visitors welcome)

Masonic Hall, Rosyth KY11 2BW

7.30 pm

Mr Bob Adam 01383 306 142

8

Fort William

Ian Cruickshanks Trio

Railway Club, Inverlochy, Fort William PH33 6LY

7.30 pm

Alisdair MacDonald 01397 701 505

8

Islesteps

Alex Ross Trio

Locharbriggs Social Club, Locharbriggs DG1 1XS

7.30 pm

John Caskie MBE 01387 710 975 / 07711 573 071

8

Thurso

Addie Harper

Pentland Hotel, Thurso KW14 7AA

7.30 pm

Ian Wright 01847 892 050

9

Button-Key (Windygates)

Derek Hamilton & Friends

The Greig Institute, Windygates KY8 5DG

7.00 pm

Mary Cook 01592 713 687

9

Forres

Allan Roy

Victoria Hotel, Forres IV36 1EL

7.30 pm

Mrs Ann Sharp 01309 672 672

9

Inveraray

Craig McFadyen Trio

Inveraray Inn, Inveraray PA32 8XB

8.00 pm

Margaret Mather 01499 302 458

9

Montrose

Tommy Newcomen

Park Hotel, Montrose DD10 8RJ

7.30 pm

Ron Ramsay 01241 879 487

9

Orkney

Club night (Visitors welcome)

The Reel, Kirkwall KW15 1KD

7.30 pm

Jim Marwick 01856 874 474

9

Renfrew

Laurie Accordion Orchestra

Moorpark Masonic Halls, Renfrew PA4 0SA

7.30 pm

Ian Murchison 0141 889 4711

10

Isle of Skye

Colin Donaldson Band

The Royal Hotel, Portree IV51 9BU

7.30 pm

Linda Shaw 01478 611 122

10

Shetland

Club night (Visitors welcome)

Shetland Hotel, Lerwick ZE1 0PW

7.30 pm

Peter Leask 01595 693 162

11

Oban

Charlie Kirkpatrick (Dance)

The Royal Hotel, Oban PA34 4BE

7.30 pm

Anne McFadyen 01631 562 077

13

Biggar

Iain Anderson SDB

Biggar Bowling Club, Biggar ML12 6AX

2.00 pm

Charlie Todd 01899 308 327

13

Langholm

Open Day (Visitors welcome)

Langholm Social Club, Langholm DG13 0DN

1.00 pm

Adam Grant 01387 371 423 / 01387 381 305

15

Castle Douglas

Bon Accords

Threave Rovers Football Club, Castle Douglas DG7 1DJ

7.30 pm

Ian Riddet 01387 255 919

15

Dalriada

Ross MacPherson

The Argyll Inn, Lochgilphead PA31 8JN

7.30 pm

Margaret Young 01546 602 915

15

Livingston

Richard Smith Trio

Hilcroft Hotel, Whitburn EH47 0JU

7.15 pm

Wendy Evans 0131 441 9116

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Reviews Those Who Roam Claire Hastings Luckenbooth Records LUCKEN002CD

Those Who Roam is the much anticipated second album from former BBC Young Traditional Musician of the Year, Claire Hastings. It is a blend of original and traditional songs under the theme of journeys and follows the success of Claire’s debut album ‘Between River and Railway’ released in 2016.

The album features accomplished musicians Jenn Butterworth (guitar), Laura Wilkie (fiddle), Thomas Gibbs (piano) and Andrew Waite (accordion). It was recorded, mixed and mastered at Castlesound Studios by engineer Stuart Hamilton alongside producer Inge Thomson. The opening track, The Lothian Hairst, is a contemporary take on a traditional Aberdeenshire ballad celebrating the scything squads of the early 1800’s who travelled to the Lothians to begin the harvest. Jack the Sailor is one of the livelier tracks with a catchy refrain and

If you wish your CDs, DVDs or books to be reviewed, please send them to: Bill Brown, 3 Galahad Close, Cippenham, Slough, SL1 9DT

intriguing story. Claire’s vocals are prominent in heart-breaking songs Jamie Raeburn and Sailin’s a Weary Life. Ten Thousand Miles is the only unaccompanied track featuring a three part harmony.

Claire’s song-writing ability is demonstrated in Noble Helen of Cluden, telling the story of the woman who walked from Dumfries to London to save her sister from the gallows and the song Fair Weather Beggar, a catchy number about an Edinburgh busker averse to the typical Scottish weather.

The album showcases the versatility of Clare’s style and repertoire with some interesting stories along the way. Based in Glasgow, Claire has toured throughout the UK, Europe and New Zealand as a solo artist and with the Claire Hastings Band and the Top Floor Taivers and has shared the stage with the like of Lulu, Jamie Cullum, Deacon Blue and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. Claire does more than simply sing a song: she takes you inside the story. A nice album from a singer who delivers her artistry with great timing, sensitivity and compassion.

Coast to Coast Roy Hendrie & Dave Morrice RHDM01

Roy Hendrie and Dave Morrice have been playing together as a duo since 2011 and at long last have decided to record their own album (not before time, lads!). The logistics involved in the boys getting together to make this record weren’t easy either given where they live. The geographical distance between the two entails a journey of four hours … one way! On a positive note this gave the boys the inspiration for the title of their debut album, Coast to Coast.

To quote Roy and Dave, “fiddle and accordion

Sheet Music John M. Caskie M.B.E.