Box & Fiddle October 2014

Fiddle

The magazine for Scottish music enthusiasts

Festival fun

The 65th Perth All-Scotland Accordion and Fiddle Festival; Skye Accordion & Fiddle Festival 2014

CLUB DIARY WHAT’S HAPPENING IN YOUR AREA

Profile:

The George Darling story continues DANCE DIARY

PLUS much more...

N EW

FEATURE see page 11

38th Year No. 02 Oct 2014

£2.70

BOX&

Welcome

B&F • editorial

3

...to the October 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 Irvine mamidesigns@hotmail.com Cover image • Paylessimages Printer • Meigle Colour Printers www.meigleprint.co.uk NAAFC Chairman • Nicol McLaren 9 Sheila Road, Blairgowrie Perthshire, PH10 6RP Tel: 01250 874 526 nicol@boxandfiddle.com Vice Chairman • Iain Cathcart 3 Bellefield Crescent Lanark, ML11 7QY Tel: 01555 661 017 iain@boxandfiddle.com Secretary • Susan MacFadyen Carlung Farm, West Kilbride Ayrshire, KA23 9PU Tel: 01294 823 865 susan@boxandfiddle.com Treasurer • Charlie Todd 63 Station Road, Thankerton Biggar, ML12 6NZ Tel: 01899 308 327 charlie@boxandfiddle.com Executive Committee: Charlie Kirkpatrick David Cunningham Jacqueline MacDonald Margo Maclennan Richard Ross Tom Orr Willie Johnstone

Well christening by fire! First of all thank you for all your comments, they are a great help to make the magazine even better. It is team work from all of us and not just Marie and I that will make a greater magazine. Most of the comments have been very positive, and a few not so positive.

YES! The magazine is smaller in size, Pia Walker, Editor NO! the font size is the same. YES! I had to drastically cut the reports. NO! I hope it won’t happen again. YES! The photos were small. NO! We don’t intend to do that constantly.

Five months worth of reports from various clubs meant I had to edit and cut drastically and if we had kept photos larger, more text would have had to go. So don’t go to Specsavers just yet!

The magazine was late! (Again! I hear some of you mutter darkly). The courier did not lift the magazines in time, so Royal Mail did not send them out until after the weekend. We (Marie, the printer and I) will keep a close eye, so we can avoid this again.

We are still tweaking the magazine, and this month you will see a new feature written by B&F’s answer to ‘The Stig’. Hopefully it will be a popular read.

A few people have told me that they want to write something for the magazine. Please don’t forget to send it in then. I would love to get to a stage where I can plan ahead for articles and content.

For the September issue, I received and replied to 540+ e-mails.

Please when writing to me, can you add the club name if you are a club committee member, so I can clearly see what club you are writing about.

Please keep promoting and selling the magazine. Somebody told me that they were going to get a subscription as a Christmaspresent. I’m sure you have a friend who deserves such a wonderful present too.

Finally welcome to all new subscribers, especially the gentleman from Shropshire, who has been a button-box player since his mum bought him his first melodeon when he was a nipper, and he is a piper too. Not bad when you are in your nineties. I hope you all get great pleasure reading the magazine.

Keep in touch and enjoy the music. I do

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.

B&F • NEWS

NEWS

News

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Send in your story, it will be of interest to others. If you have a photo that tells a story, send it in with an explanation.

Subscriptions

Derek Hamilton, Avril Abbot, John White and Eric Davidson.

Arbroath Accordion & Fiddle Club Open Day Our first ever Charitable Open Day was held at the Meadowbank Inn, Arbroath on Saturday 23rd August.

Tony Simpson, Chairman, welcomed a good crowd and in particular the Bon Accords, Robin and Deryn Waitt from Langholm, the very versatile Derek Hamilton from Galston and Ronnie Easton accordionist, a regular on Take the Floor. The afternoon session commenced with the Bon Accords and Robin then compered for the rest of the afternoon. Regular musicians were, on accordions respectively, Tony Simpson, John White, David Stokes, John Hart and Eric Davidson. Avril Abbott was on drums and fiddler Liz Arthur completed the local line-up.

Several groups were assembled and a superb afternoon of music was enjoyed by all, ending with a stramash.

The evening dance music was provided mainly by the Bon Accords and what a refreshing

Club Secretary Babs Thomson joins the dancers

sound.

The dancers did not waste any time at all getting to the floor. Throughout the evening the stage was given up alternatively to the Ronnie Easton Band with Derek on keyboard, Avril on drums and John White on second box. We were introduced to Shetland fiddler Gemma Donald and accordionist Alan Small. Gemma is a Glenfiddich Champion and has a very versatile, energetic style. Alan, from Auchtermuchty, a Scottish Accordion Champion, made up the duo which was totally outstanding and had everyone captivated. What a great day altogether.

Many of you have phoned to ask what was happening to the 3 summer months of your subscription that you didn’t receive.

You will still get your 12 issues, and will be sent the September, October and November issues as part of that subscription. Your next subscription starts in December. I will send you a reminder in the November issue.

Some of you have already sent in your new subscription fee, and I have noted that you are paid up until May 2015 (6 issues) and Nov 2015 (12 issues).

I will send out a reminder when you are due. - Pia

The raffle prizes for the 2 raffles came mostly from various businesses in Arbroath for which we were very grateful.

Proceeds are to be donated to Arbroath Town Mission and a representative gave us an insight into their work.

Sadly the event came to a close with Avril giving the vote of thanks to all musicians who gave up their day to entertain us.

Thanks were also given to all who made the day possible and an extremely happy audience and dancers then reluctantly went home. l

9

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B&F • www.boxandfiddle.coM

P R O F IL E

George Darling In the September issue of the B&F we published the beginning of Charlie Todd’s article on George Darling as told by George himself.

We hope you enjoy reading the remainder of his story.

I

was with this band for roughly twelve years, before I decided to try something different, and I did the Working Men’s Club scene for a few years. Then a friend came to see me one day and said a Scottish Band was playing locally on the Friday evening and they were looking for a drummer – would I be interested? I said yes and he told me that the band was Andrew Rankine’s. At the end of the evening Andrew told me he was moving to Whitley Bay, and could he contact me? That was 1964 and so began ten years playing with Andrew’s band. We did a tour of the South of England with Alasdair Gillies for which the band was augmented

by Jim Johnstone, Charlie Cowie and pianist Bobby Brown. The highlight of that tour was performing in the Albert Hall.

I did the final weeks of a White Heather Club tour with Andrew and Bobby Brown on the piano. Joe Gordon and Sally Logan, Billy Crocket, singer Colin Stuart and dancers Isobel James and Sandra Adams were also in that group. It was a circuit of one-nightstands around towns and villages travelling in Andrew’s Volvo and staying in boarding houses. It was hard work.

I moved to Whitley Bay and we were joined by an excellent guitarist/vocalist Chris Taylor and worked as a trio on Cordovox, guitar and drum

kit. Chris kept right up to date with new songs as they hit the charts. Andrew had all the big hotels in Newcastle tied up, but by the mid ‘70’s he decided to go solo with the Cordovox on the ‘Bier Keller’ circuit and moved to Leicester. Newcastle, Leicester and Southport were the main venues, but in Blackpool I played in one for a season. An authentic German accordionist/singer had originally been brought over and was a hard act to follow. He could play and sing for hours without a break. Accordionist Andrew Stoddart from Penicuik and guitarist/vocalist Chris Taylor who used lots of electronics were also on the circuit playing a venue for a month then moving on. Incidentally it was listening to Chris that got me started singing.

Andrew and my self did a summer season based in Inverness. The venues were the Cummins Hotel in Inverness, Ullapool, Kingussie, and Fort William. The group consisted of vocalist Grant Fraser, comedian Johnny Bogan and the Maggie Firth dancers. We did six nights a week, then Andrew and I would play in the Nairn Social Club on Sunday evening.

The following summer I did the same tour with Bert Shorthouse and Rab Carruthers. After that I went back to Whitley Bay to play with a modern, very good accordionist called Peter Scatterly. Peter and I recorded an LP of ballroom dance music, which was

16

B&F • www.boxandfiddle.coM

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? If you don’t have a report to write, then mention someone from your club or a special event and send in a relevant photo. Information in Club News helps attract visitors to your club, so make sure your club sounds like the place we want to go to.

The John Douglas SDB

The new committee at North East

Fintry players

After a packed September issue we wanted to share with you some of the photos we couldn’t fit in - enjoy.

The Jim Lindsay Trio

Mark Bryson, Coalburn

James Coutts Trio

Carnoustie Traditionals

Livingston

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B&BF&F• www.boxandfiddle.coM • www.boxandfiddle.coM

Club Diary

Please contact editor@boxandfiddle.com for any corrections to the diary.

October 2014 DATE

Club

Venue

Time

Contact

Guest Artiste

1st

Dingwall

National Hotel, Dingwall IV15 9HA

7.30pm

Elspeth Weir 01349 877 675

Ian Cathcart Trio

1st

Glenfarg

Glenfarg Village Hall, Glenfarg PH2 9NZ

8.00pm

Russell Robertson 01577 830 642

Kyle Innes

1st

Montrose

Park Hotel, Montrose DD10 8RJ

7.30pm

Ron Ramsay 01241 879 487

Barrack Bros Ceilidh Band

1st

Northern

Hilton Hotel & Country Club, Templepatrick BT39 0DD

8.00pm

Amanda Robinson 07986 681 611

Sean Quinn

1st

Stonehouse

Violet Social Club, Stonehouse ML9 3HH

7.15pm

Margaret Hannay 01698 791 163

Leonard Brown S.D.B

2nd

Carlisle

St Margaret Mary’s Social Club, Carlisle CA2 4JX

7.30pm

Alison Davies 01228 675 505

Morag Robertson Trio

2nd

Galashiels

Clovenfords Hotel, Galashiels TD1 3LU

7.30pm

Robert Cleland 01896 754 463

Raymond Chuchuk Band

2nd

Lewis and Harris

Sea Angling Club, Stornoway HS1 2BT

8.00pm

Janette MacIver 01851 704 870

Club Night

2nd

Oban

Arygyllshire Gathering Hall, Oban PA34 5NZ

7.30pm

Anne McFadyen 01631 562 077

McAllister Brothers

2nd

Rothbury

Queens Head Hotel, Rothbury NE65 7SR

7.30pm

M. Davidson 01668 281 307

Wullie Scott

2nd

Turriff

Commercial Hotel, Cuminestown AB53 5WJ

7.30pm

Pat Steele 01888 562 486

Wayne Robertson & Claire Telford

2nd

Isle of Skye

The Royal Hotel, Portree IV51 9BU

7.30pm

info@skyemusic. co.uk

Lindsay Weir Trio

4th

Uist and Benbecula

Church of Scotland Hall, Isle of Benbecula HS7 5QA

8.00pm

Christine Mitchell 01870 602 682

Ceilidh Night

5th

Arbroath

Arbroath Artisan Golf Club, Elliot, By Arbroath DD11 2PE

8.00pm

Tony Simpson 01241 875 326

Alec Ross Ceilidh Band

5th

Gretna

The Gables Hotel Gretna, Gretna Green DG16 5DQ

7.15pm

David Bell 01228 523 957

Alex McIntyre

6th

Thurso

Pentland Hotel, Thurso KW14 7AA

7.30pm

Ian Wright 01847 892 050

Ronald Anderson SDB

7th

Campsie

Glazert Country House Hotel Lennoxtown G66 7DJ

7.30pm

Billy Hutton 0141 776 2344

The Martainn Skene Trio

7th

Islesteps

Locharbriggs Social Club Locharbriggs, Dumfries DG1 1XS

7.30pm

Ian Gray 01387 760 276

Scott Band Quartet

7th

North East

Royal British Legion, Keith AB55 5EN

7.30pm

Mrs Petrie 01542 860 246

Gary Sutherland

7th

Seghill

Seghill Comrades Club, Cramlington, NE23 7TQ

7.30pm

James Youngson 01670 356 410

Club Night

8th

Alnwick

The Farriers Arms, Shilbottle, Alnwick NE66 2XX

7.30pm

Leonard Brown 0191 4219 804

Wayne Robertson and Davie Stewart

8th

Forres

Victoria Hotel, Forres IV36 1EL

7.30pm

Mrs Ann Sharp 01309 672 672

Leonard Brown & Malcolm Ross

8th

Langholm

British Legion, Langholm, DG13 0DN

8.00pm

Adam Grant 01387 381 305

Willie MacFarlane Band

9th

Button-Key (Windygates)

The Greig Institute, Windygates KY8 5DG

7.00pm

Mary Cook 01592 713 687

Stuart & Rebeka Venters

(7.30pm)

F • OCTOBER B&F B• &DANCE DIARY 2014

33

Dance Diary

View the Dance Diary online at www.dancediary.info/index.html Contact: ceilidh@dancediary.info Tel: 01389 767718 or send your entry to: Alasdair Graham, 1 First Avenue, Dumbarton G82 2PU

Ceilidh & Old Time Dances

Regular Weekly Events

Date

Town

Hall

Band

Time

Cost

Contact

Comments

Every Monday

Dundee

Craigiebarns Primary

-

7.30pm 9.30pm

£4/£5

Door - Pia Walker 01382 523 943

Class run by RSCDS Dundee

Kirkwall

St Magnus Centre

Live Music

7.30pm 10pm

£3/£1

Door - all welcome

Orkney Dance Assoc.

Dumbarton

St Patrick’s Hall

Recorded

7.30pm

£4

Door - 01436 268 238

Restarts 6th October

Every Tuesday

Humbie, East Lothian

Village Hall

(Tuition Given)

7.30pm 10pm

£3 BYOB

Door (Owen & Catherine Harrison) 01383 415 142

Ceilidh, Old Time and Social Dance Club

Every Wednesday

Garelochhead

Parish Church

-

2pm 4pm

£2 Tea

01436 671 089

Social Dance Club

Bonnyrigg

Pitcairn Centre

Live Music

7.30pm 10pm

£4

Door (Jennifer Johnstone)

Ceilidh & Old Time

Glasgow

St Andrews in Square

Live Music

8pm 9.30pm

£5.50 Bar

Door (Tricia Matthews)

Ceilidh & Old Time Class

Coupar Angus

St Anne’s Ch. Hall

-

7pm 9pm

£2.50

Door 01828 628 747

Ceilidh Class – Tracy Thom

Every Saturday

Fife, Largo Ward

Largo Ward Village Hall

Live Music

8pm 11pm

£5 Tea No Bar

Door

Different bands each week. (See Diary)

Every Sunday

Fife, Cupar

Old Parish Church Hall, Kirk Wynd

-

2pm 5pm

£3 Tea

Door (Owen & Catherine Harrison) 01383 415 142

Ceilidh, Old Time & Social Dance Club

Most Sundays

East Kilbride

Girl Guide Hall, Dundas Place

-

7.30pm 10pm

£2 Tea

Door or tel: 01355 230 134 or 245 052

Ceilidh & Old Time Club

Ceilidh & Old Time Dances

October 2014

Date

Town

Hall

Band

Time

Cost

Contact

Comments

10th

Foulden

Village Hall

Gordon Clark

8pm 12mn

£6 No Bar

01289 386 400

Supper Dance

Montrose

Park Hotel

Johnny Duncan D.

Ticket

Stovie Night

01241 879 487

A & F Club Stovie Dance

Penicuik

St Mungo’s Hall

Wayne Robertson

7.30pm 11.30pm

£6 No Bar

0131 660 1276

Wednesday Dance Club

Glencarse

Village Hall

Johnny Duncan

7pm 11pm

£7 No Bar

01738 860 331

Hall Fundraising

Strathaven

Ballgreen Hall

Ian McCallum

7pm 11pm

£7 Lt Supper

01357 520 900

BYOB – Avondale Ceilidh Society

Inverness

Kirkhill C. Hall

Colin Donaldson

8pm 12mn

£5 BYOB

01463 870 508

Social Dancers

Largo Ward

Village Hall

Gavin Piper

8pm 11pm

£5 Tea

Door

Weekly Dance

Canonbie

Village Hall

James Coutts

7.30pm 11.30pm

£6 Tea

07704 727 463

Monthly Dance. No Bar.

11th

☛

38

B&F • www.boxandfiddle.coM

French Folk Tunes for Accordion Reviewed by: Paul Capaldi A.B.C.A. (T.D.) L.B.C.A. This latest edition from Schott World Music publications is an excellent collection of 45 traditional French folk tunes arranged by Murray Grainger.

The book is well laid out in large, easy to read print, and it is particularly pleasing to see the use of full chord notation in the Bass stave.

Chord symbols are also included above the melody so that the performer could choose to use a simple left hand vamp, rather than the mainly sustained or stabbed bass and chords.

The included CD will greatly help the performer to easily grasp the more interesting left hand

“

This book would make an excellent addition to any accordionist’s musical library

Take the Floor 4th October 2014

Archive Session + Kirsteen Menzies 11th October 2014

Robert Nairn Highland Band + Dougie Pincock 18th October 2014

60’s Bairns Rpt

25th October 2014

Colin Donaldson Scottish Dance Band

”

accompaniment, and there are several pages of instruction and explanation of the different types of tunes in the introduction.

Of the tunes themselves, the melodies are all straightforward and should be attainable by all players of Elementary (approximately Grade 3) standard and higher.

The pieces are divided into 8 sections of various styles including Polka, Bourree, Schottische and waltz with 5 or 6 examples in each chapter.

The last part of the book, containing the Mazurkas is probably my favourite pieces and an interesting “set” of tunes could easily be put together.

In summing up, this book would make an excellent addition to any accordionist’s musical library with its use of modern harmonisation being a rewarding pursuit.

5BLF IPNF UIF HJGU PG 4IFUMBOE NVTJD For Mail Order Tel/Fax: 01595 692618 - 64 Commercial Street, Lerwick, ZE1 0DL email: b121nicholson@btconnect.com : www.facebook/highlevelmusic

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The Susie Simpson Scottish Dance Band

Self Catering Cottage 4 Star • Isle of Mull

SHORT BREAKS

from ÂŁ280 Contact: 01899 220473 info@self-catering-mull.com www.self-catering-mull.com

Very well equipped, sleeps 8 comfortably. Secure garden with play area.

Plenty of wildlife on the doorstep as well as good views, walks, cycling and lovely places to eat.

www.steveclinkscalemusic.co.uk Wholesale & Retail supplies of

Susie Simpson Scottish Dance Band Email: susiesimpson11@yahoo.co.uk

Tel: 01463 716 493 or 07810 460 508

• Accordions • Melodeons • Concertinas Mobile: 07958-351712 Skype: 0131-618-9033 Email: info@steveclinkscalemusic.co.uk