Thanks to all who helped with this FAQ, it was far from being a solo effort. Alba - Scotland --------------- Contents [1] Scotland's name [2] Celtic background [3] Where can I get Gaelic books? [4] How can I learn Gaelic? [5] Where can I get Gaelic music and words to Gaelic tunes, info on Gaelic [6] Are there any files I can access for more information on Gaelic [7] Scottish music radio programmes [8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes [9] Info on Robert Burns [10] Info on cooking and haggis [11] Where can I get haggis? [12] What is the Scots language. Who do I contact for more info? [13] On-line Scots language info [14] What Scottish Record labels are there [15] How do I find out about Folk events in Scotland which might be on? [16] When are the major Scottish folk festivals [17] Where's a good place to buy folk records? [18] How do I trace my Scottish ancestry? [19] Any Scottish songs on-line? [20] What's the number of the Scottish Tourist Board ? [21] Politics: Scotland and the UK/devolution/independence [22] When are Burns night and St Andrews Day. [23] How do I find out about Highland Games or Mods in my area. What is a Mod? [24] Information on Runrig [25] Information on Capercaillie [26] Scottish Cultural classes (music, singing, language, history etc) [27] Gaelic wedding blessing [28] Dalriada Celtic society BBS [29] The Gaelic for "Frequently Asked Questions" [30] Edinburgh Festival Fringe [31] Living Tradition. [32] Seeing Underground Edinburgh [33] Primary Literary figures [34] Scottish Guide books. [35] Primary folk music pubs [36] What is a Ceilidh [37] Best Scottish pubs [38] Scottish Kings [39] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland [40] What does Craig's signature mean? [41] Where can I buy a kilt/Highland accessories [42] Scottish song books [43] Books for learning the fiddle [44] Whisky (whiskey) [45] The Scottish Youth Hostels Association [46] The Ramblers Association [47] Books for hillwalkers [48] What is a Munro/Corbett? [49] Legal questions [50] Gaelic festivals [51] Gaelic playgroups [52] Scotch [53] Plaid [54] Scottish URLs [55] alt.scottish.clans [56] Edinburgh Folk Festival [57] Postgraduate courses in Celtic Studies [58] What is Scottish Country Dancing? [59] Scottish Wedding vows in Gaelic and English [60] Scottish Wedding Information [61] Declaration of Arbroath [62] Gaelic newspapers [63] Traditional Bread recipie (Gaelic and English) [64] European Community Folk Culture [65] Scots Gaelic products and catalog [66] Dog commands in Gaelic [67] Guide to Gaelic Scotland [68] Kirking of the tartans [69] Cape Breton music mailing list [70] Learning Scots [71] What's on [72] Robert Burns links [73] Scottish music information [74] The Celtic Cross [75] Quangos [76] OBEs, honorific titles, etc [77] Waulking songs [78] Puirt a beul [79] Gaelic psalm singing [80] Piobaireachd / Pibroch [81] On-line Gaelic lessons [82] Encyclopedia of the Celts [83] New Scottish Local Authorities [84] Oldest Datable Gaelic Song [85] What is "Crest of the Clan Chief" in Gaelic [86] How mutually intelligible are Scots and Irish Gaelic [87] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service [88] Getting a job in Scotland [89] Scottish newspapers on-line [90] Intro to Scottish Music [91] Scottish Independence information [92] Scottish Yellow Pages [93] Understanding Scottish Dance music [94] Article on History of Language in Scotland [95] Article on Scottish Step Dancing [96] Address to a Haggis - Robert Burns [97] Scottish Text Archive [98] How to get scot.* hierarchy groups [99] Fiddle styles [100] Frequently requested songs [101] Shetland and Orkney info [102] Braveheart information [103] Celtic knotwork and art [104] Mayfest [105] Weather info ---===<<< The FAQ >>>===--- [1] Scotland's name Scotland gets its name from the Scots, or Scotti who first arrived in Argyll in the late 3rd to mid 4th centuries AD. It was not until about 500AD that they built up a sizeable colony though. The Scots spoke Irish, not Scots. Scots is a Germanic language like English, described later. "Scotti" is what the Romans called them. We don't know what they called themselves! [2] Celtic background It is incorrect to think of Scotland as a wholly Celtic country. Since the first millenium BC, Scotland has been a place of multiple languages and this tradition continues today. First of all it was Pictish and British; then Gaelic, Norse and Scots came and today it's English, Scots and Gaelic. Nearly all of Scotland was once Gaelic speaking except Orkney, Shetland and Caithness which had a variety of Norse until recent times and East Lothian which was settled by the Angles. Galloway had a Gaelic community which became separated from the Gaelic speaking Highlands and Gaelic was still in use until about the 17th century in Galloway. "Poets, scholars and writers in Lowland Scotland up until the 16th century readily acknowledged Gaelic to be the true and original Scottish language. As we know, though, it was an incomer just as much as Anglo-Saxon! For Walter Kennedy 'it suld be al trew Scottis mennis lede': ('Flyting with Dunbar' c.1500)" : section quoted from "Gaelic: a past and future prospect", Kenneth Mackinnon. Gaelic is a Celtic language, like Irish. Other notable reads include anything by the late Prof Kenneth Jackson, particularly "A Celtic Miscellany", any of John Prebble's books (ie "1000 years of Scottish History") or Nigel Tranter ("The Story of Scotland") [3] Where can I get Gaelic books? The Gaelic Books Council stocks every Gaelic book in print including prose, peotry, songs, music, children's material etc. They have a catalogue. Comhairle nan Leabhraichean 22 Sra\id Achadh a'Mhansa Glaschu Alba G11 5QP. Fon:0141 337 6211 The Gaelic Books Council 22 Mansfield Street Glasgow Scotland G11 5QP Tel: 0141 337 6211 Note: All Gaelic addresses can be used fine provided the postcode is written. [4] How can I learn Gaelic? Join the Gaelic learners association. They can advise about books, learners near you, classes, correspondence courses etc. They are called Comann an Luchd-Ionnsachaidh. This is abbreviated to CLI and prounounced CLEE. Motto: "The voice of Gaelic Learners". CLI has members around the world. Address: 3 High Street, Dingwall, Ross-shire IV15 9HL Tel/Fax : 01349 862820 (+[44] 1349 862820) WWW: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/cli/ Also join GAELIC-L, an e-mail list for all 3 Gaelics. Details elsewhere in this FAQ Send a mail to listserv@irlearn.ucd.ie containing the line sub Gaelic-L yourgivenname yoursurname to join Suggestions for learners: Teach Yourself Gaelic (book,tape) author: Boyd Robertson. 16.99 pounds for both. ISBN 0-340-55925-X. Book alone is 7.99 (ISBN 0-340-55923-3) Speaking Our Language (workbooks, tapes, videos), published by Canan (email: canan@smo.uhi.ac.uk). Highly recommended for complete beginners through to upper intermediate levels. The entire course covers 4 series, each containing 18 programmes with each programme approx 25 mins. Everyday Gaelic (book) author: Morag MacNeill (intermediate level) Gaidhlig Bheo: Correspondence course, run by The National Extension College, 18 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge Tel: (01223) 316644 Fax: (01223) 313586 Gaelic/Highland/Music/Singing courses (1-2 weeks long) Sabhal Mor Ostaig, An Teanga, Sleite, Isle of Skye IV44 8RQ, Scotland tel: 01471 844 373 Email: gavin@smo.uhi.ac.uk (Sleite is pronounced "Slate") On-line Gaelic lessons http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bac/ Basic Gaelic for parents, with sound samples http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bgfp/ [5] Where can I get Gaelic music and words to Gaelic tunes, info on Gaelic Contact An Comunn Gaidhealach, 109 Sraid na h-Eaglais, Inbhir Nis, IV1 1EY. They have a lot of Gaelic music and maintain a list of every Gaelic choir in Scotland. Currently the only Gaelic choirs outside Scotland are in London, Sydney and Vancouver. An Comunn also has an American branch (see international section of this FAQ at the end) [6] Are there any files I can access for more information on Gaelic? See http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/ See the Gaelic-L archives http://yeats.ucs.csufresno.edu Or go back to the Gaelic Homepage http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html [7] Scottish music radio programmes In Scotland: Radio Scotland (MW= Medium Wave 810, FM = 92.4 to 94.7) Sat: 7-8pm Take the floor (FM,MW): 8-10pm "Travelling Folk" (FM,MW) 10-midnight: "Celtic Horizons" (FM,MW) (Fiona Ritchie) In the US: The Thistle and Shamrock. This is hosted by Fiona Ritchie. There is an on-line list of stations carrying this programme - ftp://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/thistle.list. The list is maintained by Pat Murphy (pmurphy@nrao.edu) and posted regularly to the rec.music.celtic group The T&S has a brochure that gives some background on Fiona Ritchie and the show, and includes information about their Newsletter, Playlists, and Souvenirs -- T-shirts, a pin, tankard and coasters. If you want this brochure, send a SASE to "The Thistle and Shamrock, P.O. Box 560646, Charlotte, NC 28256 (USA). [8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes Gaelic Radio is on Radio Scotland VHF - this is 104.3 in the Edinburgh area. It's on in the mornings and early evening. Gaelic is no longer broadcast on Radio Scotland 810MW, a great disappointment as it used to be available in most of England and now the so-called "National" service only has patchy coverage in Scotland! Gaelic TV is on BBC Scotland. Scottish Television and Grampian Television. For details of times and programmes, see the Gaelic TV times "Suas!", publisher: The Gaelic Television Committee. contact: Suas!, 4 Acarsaid, Cidhe Sraid Chrombail, Steornabhagh, Eilean Leodhais PA87 2DF, Scotland. Tel: 01851 705550 Fax: 01851 706432 Times of Gaelic Radio and TV are also published each Friday in the West Highland Free Press, Broadford, Skye, IV49 9AP Tel: 01471 822464 Fax: 01471 822694 [9] Info on Robert Burns See also Answer 96 Robert Burns, the National Bard of Scotland, was born in 1759, the son of an Ayrshire cottar. A cottar is a Scots word for a tenant occupying a cottage with or (from the late 18th century) without land attached to it or a married farmworker who has a cottage as part of his contract. The word dates from the 15th century. Anyway, back to Burns. He apparantly developed an early interest in literature. Between 1784 and 1788, whilst farm-labouring, he wrote much of his best poetry, including "Halloween", "The Cotter's Saturday Night" and the skilful satires "Death and Dr Hornbrook" and "Holy Willie's Prayer". In 1786 the "Kilmarnock" edition of Robert Burns' early poems was published, bringing with it fame and fortune, and the second edition, published by William Creech, brought him enough financial security to marry his mistress Jean Armour. The couple settled to a hard life in Ellisland with their four children, and to supplement their meagre income, Burns took a job as an excise man. From 1787, Burns concentrated on songwriting, making substantial contributions to James Johnson's "The Scots Musical Museum", including "Auld Lang Syne" and "A Red, Red Rose". On 21st July 1796, at the age of 37, he died, his health undermined by rheumatic fever. Most of the above was taken from a recommended book "The complete illustrated poems, songs and ballads of Robert Burns" 12pounds 95p. Published by Lomond Books, ISBN 1 85152 018 X. This is a reprint of a 1905 publication so the print is a bit strange and unfortunately there is no index and the contents aren't in alphabetical order. However, it is 650 A5 size pages (hardback) and was recently seen in bargain books for a mere 5 pounds! The picture most usually seen of Burns (but not the one on the Bank of Scotland five pound note) is from an engraving after a portrait by Alexander Nasmyth, 1787. Today, many thousands of Scots around the world celebrate Burns night on his birthday, 25th January. Burns night has even been commemorated in the Kremlin. Burns suppers consist of having a meal of tatties (mashed potatoes), neeps (turnips - not swede!) and haggis. Details of how to buy haggis are elsewhere in this FAQ. There is usually quite a bit of whisky drunk at these occasions too, particularly as Burns was a well known drinker (and womaniser). Usually a bloke makes a speech remembering Burns and how his thoughts and poems are timeless and as relevent today as they were when they were written. Then there's a "reply from the lassies" where it's usual to point out the other side of Burns and how he left many women broken hearted. Well, that's the general idea anyway, there's lots of variations. Some of the features of Burns Suppers are rather inauthentic: the kilts/tartans worn are really the garb of the Gael, and the Great Pipe is the Gael's instrument. Burns himself wasn't a Gael, and would have been more acquainted with breiks and the fiddle. Probably Burns' most famous composition is Auld Lang Syne, however most people do not sing either the right words or the original tune. A lot of people erroneously insert the words "the sake of" in the chorus - this was not written by Burns. The tune is a bit confused too. Burns originally wrote the words to a tune which his publisher didn't like, so he then put the words to the tune which most people know. However, the second tune is also claimed by the Japanese!. The original tune is available on some recordings, including "The Winnowing" by The Cast and "File under Christmas" by Scotland's leading Clarsach (Harp) duo, Sileas (pronounced Shee-lis"). The old tune is rapidly gaining momentum however, and I have heard hundreds of people sing it in Edinburgh without difficulty. The old version of the tune is also in The Digital Tradition (see elsewhere for details) and off http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/songs.html It is someting of a comment on the English-biased nature of Scottish education that Scotland has produced one of the world's greatest and best loved poets and yet he is hardly studied in his own country, most people studying Shakespeare at school. Shakespeare was obviously a world class bard as well, but isn't there room for Burns too? To hear some of Rabbie Burns' poetry read by a native of Prestwick, go to the Gaelic Homepage and look in the Scots section. [10] Info on cooking and haggis 2 recommended books: F. Marian McNeill - The Scots Kitchen, it's lore and recipies. A classic and as much a source of folklore and history as a culinary reference. First published in 1929. 300+ pages. Published by Grafton Books, 8 Grafton St, London, W1X 3LA. ISBN 0-586-20784-8. Grafton books is a division of Collins, Glasgow. Just about every recipie has a tale, saying, poem, song or bit of history printed with it (the occasional one in Gaelic; with translation). F. Marian MacNeill was a historian by profession. Another book, rather more contemporary (no stories etc but probably biased towards modern eating trends and it also has US-UK conversions). Scottish Cookery: Catherine Brown. ISBN 0-86267-248-1. Published by Richard Drew publishing, 6 Clairmont Gardens, Glasgow G3 7LW. Really good traditional stuff and well laid out. McNeill's book gives several recipies for haggis. The Traditional Cottage Recipe includes : "The large stomach bag of a sheep, the pluck (including heart, lights and liver), beef-suet, pin-head (coarse) oatmeal, onions, black pepper, salt, stock or gravy. Meg Dod's recipie includes "Sheep's pluck and paunch, beef-suet, onions, oatmeal, pepper, salt, cayenne, lemon or vinegar.". Haggis Royal includes "Mutton, suet, beef-marrow, bread-crumbs or oatmeal, anchovies, parsley, lemon, pepper, cayenne, eggs, red wine.". Deer Haggis includes "Deer's heart, liver and suet, coarse oatmeal, onions, black pepper, salt, paste." It takes about a day to make a haggis from scratch, but very very few people do this as it is particulaly gruesome. Most people buy their haggis from the butcher's. See next section for details of how to get some. [11] Where can I get haggis? The best haggis in the world (in my opinion, and several other people's too) is made by Charles MacSween of Edinburgh. He makes about 1 ton a day and ships it all over the UK and overseas too (it keeps remarkably well in the post). Many shops in the UK (including supermarkets) sell MacSween's haggis. There is also a vegetarian version which is quite tasty. contact: McSweens Haggis, 130 Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh, EH10 4ES Tel: 0131 229 1216. McSween's will be moving soon as they've outgrown the Bruntsfield shop. as an alternative, You should try the haggis at Sandy Crombie's on Broughton Street. There is a guidebook to the best food shops in the UK (I can't remember the title, but I can find it if you want), and you'll find Sandy's shop in there. It is a truly excellent butchers. [12] What is the Scots language. Who do I contact for more info? See also answer 70 The Scots language is a Germanic language related to English. It is not Celtic, but has been influenced by Gaelic, as Scottish Gaelic has been influenced by Scots. "Briogais", "gaileis", "baillidh", "snaoisean", "burach", "sneag", etc etc. For more info, write to: The Membership Secretary, the Scots Language Society, A. K. Bell Library, 2 - 8 York Place, Perth PH2 8EP. Membership is 7 pounds a year There is also some info in the following section: "The Pocket Guide to Scottish Words: Scots, Gaelic" by Iseabail Macleod. Published by W&R Chambers, Ltd. 43-45 Annandale Street, Edinburgh EH7 4AZ (ISBN 0-550-11834-9). Widely available at bookshops and airports US distributors Unicorn Limited, Inc. P.O. Box 397 Bruceton Mills, WV 26525 (304) 379-8803 It has "Place names, personal names, food and drink. Scots and Gaelic words explained in handy reference form." There are 30 pages of Scots words explained. No grammar. It does list a number of interesting sounding books: SCOTS LANGUAGE DICTIONARIES: ---------------------------- Mairi Robinson, editor-in-chief "The Concise Scots Dictionary" 1985, (Aberdeen University Press) 862pp, a comprehensive one-volume dictionary covering the Scots language from the earliest records to the present day; based largely on: William Grant, David Murison, editors "The Scottish National Dictionary" 10 vols., 1931-76, the Scots language from 1700 to the present day, and: Sir William Craigie, A J Aitken et al "A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue" published up to Pr- in 5 vols., 1931-, the Scots language up to 1700. Alexander Warrack, "Chambers Scots Dictionary" 1911, 717pp. "The Scots School Dictionary", ed. Iseabail Macleod and Pauline Cairns, Chambers 1996, 370pp. The best two-way dictionary currently available. GENERAL SCOTS BOOKS: -------------------- A J Aitken, Tom McArthur, eds "Languages of Scotland" 1979, 160pp., a collection of essays on Scots and Gaelic. David Murison "The Guid Scots Tongue" 1977, 63pp "The New Testament in Scots" 1983, by W L Lorimer Just to add to the list of books of/about Scots, one should mention the reprint of P Hately Waddell's _The_Psalms:_Frae_Hebrew_Intil_Scots_ (orig 1871, reprinted with modern introduction 1987 by Aberdeen Univ Press). I would love to see some instructive writing about the Scots tongue, more than just word-lists. Especially pronunciation, intonation, cadence, etc. as well as grammar. There are two books that are essential reading on the subject of Scots. The first is "Scots: the Mither Tongue" by Billy Kay. This is available both in hardback and paperback. The second is "Why Scots Matters" by J. Derrick McClure. This is more of a booklet than a book, and is an inexpensive paperback. Colin Wilson is working on a "Teach yourself Scots" book. [13] On-line Scots language info ftp://jpd.ch.man.ac.uk/pub/Scots/ScotFAQ.txt Newsgroup: scot.scots http://www.umist.ac.uk/UMIST_CAL/hame.htm is the URL of Clive Young's "Scots on the Wab", the best "wab steid" about Scots. http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~src045 is the web site of the Univairsitie o Aiberdeen Scots Leid Quorum. http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/guides/scots.html has links to various resources concerning Scots. [14] What Scottish Record labels are there Main labels are Temple http://www.rootsworld.com/temple/index.html Lismore Greentrax http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm Culburnie http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/culburn.htm Also, see the Gaelic homepage at sunsite.unc.edu for an extensive list of many celtic labels. Further info also at http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/Internet_Sources.html [15] How do I find out about Folk events in Scotland which might be on? The Scottish Folk Arts Directory. This is a book detailing virtually everything to do with the Scottish folk music scene. contact: Blackfriars Music, 49 Blackfriars St, Edinburgh EH1 1NB Tel: 0131 557 3090. [16] When are the major Scottish folk festivals ------------------------------------------------- Edinburgh festival/fringe etc is the last 3 weeks in August usually Edinburgh folk festival is on for 10 days during the Easter break, ending on Easter Sunday. info at http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/edinfolk.htm [17] Where's a good place to buy folk records? The best shop which specialises in folk is Blackfriars Music -- address is in the answer to 14. The other good places in Edinburgh are the folk/Scottish sections of Virgin Records and HMV (on Princes St). Folk is often subdivided in these shops into subcategories (i.e. Scottish, Irish, pipe bands, folk etc). John Menzies (sometimes pronounced "Mingis") and also on Princes St, is usually the cheapest place to get CDs but the folk section is small and poorly organised. Tower records is probably the best place to start looking in Glasgow. or as sgibb@cix.compulink.co.uk said: The best folk record shop in Scotland at present is in Parnie Street, Glasgow, next to Adam McNaughton's book shop. [18] How do I trace my Scottish ancestry? There is a book published by HMSO (Her Majesties Stationary Office) called "Tracing your Scottish Ancestry". All the records for births, marriages and deaths in Scotland are held at: New Register House, West Register St, Edinburgh, EH1 Tel: 0131 334 0380 Fax: 0131 314 4400 [19] Any Scottish songs on-line? There are quite a few in The Digital Tradition, a free 4000+ strong database (many with tunes to play on your computer's speaker). It is available to FTP from ftp.uwp.edu, or mail digitrad@world.std.com for more information. There is also a lot of other musical info and folk info on that ftp site. Particularly watch out for the October 94 edition which should have a lot more Scottish material http://pubweb.parc.xerox.com/digitrad Also, check out the Ceo\l section of the Gaelic Homepage. [20] What's the number of the Scottish Tourist Board? Tel: 0131 332 2433 (+[44] 131 332 2433) http://www.scotourist.org.uk/stb [21] Politics: Scotland and the UK/devolution/independence Addresses of relevant organisations: Scottish Politics home page: http://www.wp.com/Alba/ Political Parties: Labour Party 1 Lynedoch Place, Glasgow G3 6AB. 0141 332 8946 FAX 331 2566 Scottish National Party (SNP), 6 North Charlotte St Edinburgh. EH2 0131 226 3661 (also known as Partaidh Naiseanta na h-Alba - PNA) http://www.snp.org.uk/ Conservative and Unionist Party Liberal Democrats, 4 Clifton Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 0131 337 2314 Green Party Politically Oriented organisations: Common Cause, PO Box 822, Glasgow, G14 9JA 0141 631 2420 Democracy for Scotland, 5 Regent Rd, Edinburgh EH7 0131 558 3088 Scottish Patriots, 76 Constitution St, Leith, EH6 0131 554 7951 [22] When are Burns night and St Andrews Day. 25-Jan, 30-Nov. Neither is a holiday in Scotland. [23] How do I find out about Highland Games or Mods in my area. What is a Mod? An Comunn Gaidhealach runs the Mods. An Comunn is based at 109 Church St, Inverness, IV1 1EY The Mods are a series of Gaelic competitions involving singing, poetry, drama, music etc. The Royal National Mod is held in Mid-October each year. Forthcoming venues for it are: 96 (Blairgowrie), 97 (Inverness), 98 (Skye) The National Mod runs from a Friday to the Saturday morning of the following week (the competitions end on the final Friday) There are also local Mods. Here's a list of them: Caithness/Sutherland; Dalriada (Lochgilphead area); Easter Ross; East Kilbride; Edinburgh; Glasgow; Harris; Inverness; Islay; Kyle; Lewis; Lochaber; Oban; Mull; Perthshire/Angus; Skye; Stirling; Uist; Wester Ross. Local Mods generally run over a weekend. Contact An Comunn Gaidhealach in Inverness for contact details Edinburgh Mod will be restarted in 1997 Calum MacDonald (no connection with the person in Runrig) is the new Mod officer with An Comunn Gaidhealach. [24] Information on Runrig See: http://dux.dundee.ac.uk/~azmilne/runrig/ Contact the fan club at: Runrig Fan Club, 55 Wellington St, Aberdeen AB2 1BX. Tel: 01224 573100 Runrig as a name for the band is a term Blair Douglas thought up when he was studying in Glasgow. A rig is a strip of farmland and a run is a series of those strips. The run-rig system of farming is no longer used, but the marks of it can still be seen particularly on Skye where the core of the band is from. The term run-rig is a Scots word. The Gaelic is "raon ruith" Discography: ------------ Play Gaelic (good, very folky, last 2 tracks are very good, limited lyrics in Gaelic available from fan club) Highland Connection (v good, my favourite, mix of ballads and heavy rock, lyrics supplied, but no translations. I have translations of Cearcall a' chuain - one of my all time favourite tracks and an easy one to sing along to and learn). Recovery (v. good, close second, similar to Highland Connection. Translations for Gaelic available from this point on). The last one with Malcolm Jones playing the pipes. Heartland (v. good, slightly more commercial than previous two, less Gaelic) Cutter and the Clan (OK. considerably more commercial than Heartland. 2 Gaelic tracks. An uabhal as airde is a very good song from this album) Once in a lifetime (live album featuring material from previous 4, but only 1 track from Play Gaelic- Chi mi'n Geamhradh) Searchlight (OK. More commercial than "Cutter", 2 Gaelic tracks) Big Wheel (improvement on Searchlight. Commercial, but some good tracks, 2 Gaelic tracks) Amazing things (rather bland and middle of the road. Some good tracks, but many forgettable) Mara (a theme album; excellent production masks some rather middle of the road tunes) The band seem to be struggling to make their albums more and more commercial in sound and the Gaelic content of each is nearly always lower or the same as the last. However, they don't seem to be having much sucess outside Scotland. They are the biggest selling band in Scotland, and I think Donnie Munro is a very good singer. It's ironic that Capercaillie have managed about the same sucess with singles as Runrig yet Capercaillie's single was in Gaelic and a lot more traditional. Runrig are perceived as too Scottish by many non-Scottish audiences and their following is very heavily biased towards people from Scotland or with Scottish connections. You might wonder why this should be so. You would never hear it offered as a criticism of Bob Marley that he was "too Jamaican", of Bruce Springsteen that he is "too American", or of Madness that they were "too English". With regard to Gaelic, it is a problem peculiar to English speakers that they are often reluctant to appreciate music in languages other than their own. Runrig have played a major part in bringing Scottish music up to date and reviving the Scottish folk scene, and interest in the Gaelic language. However, I wish they'd accept that they're not going to have a major breakthrough in popularity overseas and go back to the feel of their earlier material. This early material, particularly pre-"Cutter" gets a better response at concerts in Scotland. The fan club has all the albums and can be reached at the address above. Most of the band currently live in the Edinburgh area though Calum and Donnie both have homes in the Highlands. There is also an excllent instrumental album called "An ubhal as airde" played on whistles and synthesisers - this album contains material which Runrig have either written or recorded. More info on this follows: The Highest Apple An ubhal as airde An intrumental album played by Steve Gwyn Davies (recorders and whistle) with Sabine Barnes-Rauch (orchestral synthesiser). All songs on this album have previously been written by or recorded by Runrig. on Vital Records, 1 Waterloo, Breakish, Isle of Skye, IV42 8QE Scotland released 1994, available on CD - VITAL CD02 (interesting to find out what else is in their catalogue!) it's about 40 mins long and contains 17 tracks (between 35 seconds and 4 mins). also available from Canan at canan@smo.uhi.ac.uk 7.99 pounds for cassette (code CSAUAA) or 11.99 for CD (code CDAUAA). Some bilingual lyrics included. May also appeal to fans of Enya. This album contains "Clachan Uaine" which is the only song I know of that Runrig have written but not recorded themselves (Mairi MacInnes recorded it on Causeway; she also sings on Heartland) [25] Information on Capercaillie http://www.colloquium.co.uk/capercaillie/ Fan club: Capercaillie Fan Club Chapmanagement PO Box 1155 Glasgow G3 7TW There is also a fanzine called Sidetaulk. Call Mandy Shanks on Hopeman 01343- 835194 for more info, or write to her at: 21 Thom St, Hopeman, Elgin, Moray, Scotland IV30 2SS Capercaillie is pronounced "Cap-ir-cay-lee", not "Cape-r-cay-lee" A Capercaillie is the largest member of the Grouse family (from the Gaelic words for Wood Grouse) and is an endangered species. Capercaillie albums ------------------- Album #1:Cascade (recorded 1984) Lineup: Karen Matheson (lead vocal) Joan MacLachlan (fiddle, vocal) Marc Duff (Recorder, Whistles, Rauschpfeife) Shaun Craig (Guitar, Bouzouki) Martin Macleod (Basses, Fiddle) Donald Shaw (Accordion, Keyboards, Fiddle) Published by Taynuilt Records, Highfield, Taynuilt, Argyll, PA35 1JQ This is the village which the band hail from and it's possible the record company has some of Karen's earlier recordings when she was with The Etives. The band met at Oban High School. This is a really good album, but has no words with it and is only on cassette. Greentrax do NOT stock it (they used to but no longer) Album #2: Crosswinds (1987): No words with this, many copies of the words are available in books though. Excellent album. Available on Green Linnet Album #3: The Blood is strong (1988) Soundtrack for TV series. Very good tunes (most are quite short though, as is the album). Lyrics and translations Album #4: Sidewaulk (1989) Similar in sound to Crosswinds. The first album with any English on it. Full Gaelic and English lyrics supplied On Green Linnet At this point the band leave the Green Linnet label and join Survival records. The fan club starts in a London suburb (graciously promoting a ceilidh I was singing at in London!) and later moves to the studio in Glasgow where the band do much of their recording. The sound becomes a bit more contemporary, the Gaelic content goes down slightly but the sound remains much more traditional than Runrig Album #5: Delirium (published 1991) Coisich a' ru\in (a 400 year old waulking song) from this album becomes the first ever Scots Gaelic tune to enter the UK top 40 after it becomes the theme tune for a UK wide TV programme featuring Prince Charles entitled "A Prince among islands". Charles appeared on this programme supporting Gaelic and has since appeared on TV talking in Gaelic. Album #6: Get Out - remixes and some new material. Worth getting for the Poll Tax song! Album #7: Secret People Lyrics: The following pointers to sources may be of interest to those seeking music and/or lyrics to the Gaelic material on Secret People An Eala Bhan - Gaelic and English words with sol-fa music available in "Orain nan Gaidheal", Vol 3, Bruce Campbell. Published by Gairm, 29 Waterloo St, Glasgow G2 6BZ ISBN 1 871901 27 8 (Ailean Duinn with words, translation and sol-fa music is in Vol 1, Maighdeanan na h-airidh is in Vol 2). Hi ri'm bo - 4 part music and Gaelic lyrics only available in "Coisir a' Mhoid" Vol 2. Available from the Gaelic Books Council, Address in answer [3]. These are different verses to the ones Capercaillie do, however. Tobar Mhoire - Lyrics in Gaelic and English available from Temple records to accompany Flora MacNeill's album "Craobh nan Ubhal" Seice Ruraidh, part 1 - no source for this yet Part 2 - Recorded by na h-oganaich - does anyone know which album and does it have the words? Lyrics for "Boneparte" are in the Frequently Asked Songs section of this FAQ Album #8: Capercaillie - the "Disco" album Album #9: To the moon More info on the Capercaillie website Some Capercaillie lyrics are in the Frequently Asked Songs section of this FAQ [26] Scottish Cultural classes (music, singing, language, history etc) For the Edinburgh area, contact either The School of Scottish Studies (Sgoil Eolais na h-Alba), University of Edinburgh, 27 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LD (they run a number of summer schools) Tel: 0131 650 1000 The main work of the dept is with teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Scottish ethnology (there is a separate dept of Celtic). They also run summer classes though or The Adult Learning Project (ALP), 184 Dalry Rd, Edinburgh, EH11 2EP Tel: 0131-337 5442 (has about 20 classes and about 300 students in culturally related evening and day classes) for Skye, try Sabhal Mor Ostaig (address elsewhere) http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk [27] Gaelic wedding blessing -- Supplied by Christopher Lau, University of Calgary Mi\le fa\ilte dhuit le d'bhre/id, Fad do re/ gun robh thu sla\n. Mo/ran la\ithean dhuit is si\th, Le d'mhaitheas is le d'ni\ bhi fa\s. Translated as: "A thousand welcomes to you with your marriage kerchief, may you be healthy all your days. May you be blessed with long life and peace, may you grow old with goodness, and with riches." This is attributed to the Rev. Donald MacLeod, minister of Duirinish, Skye, Scotland c. 1760. The bit about the marriage kerchief probably isn't applicable these days, so you could just ignore it. (any Bards fancy thinking up a suitable replacement?) There are Scottish wedding vows with translation elsewhere in this FAQ [28] Dalriada Celtic society BBS Information on Arran's only BBS. Here's the details: Dalriada BBS: (line 1) up to V.42 bis. +44 (0)1770 302049 24 hours Fidonet number 2:259/6 (line 1 only) (line 2) up to V.42 bis. +44 (0)1770 302532 Celtic file areas - culture, crafts, folklore, myths & tales, etc. CELTNET Celtic conference network, "What's On" guide etc. Sysops - Sammy McSkimming, Helen McSkimming, Lorraine MacDonald Date: Wed, 6 Jul 94 11:05:00 +0000 Organization: ALMAC: Scotland : +44 (0)1324 665371 ALMAC are pleased to announce the availability of information from the Dalriada Celtic History Society. It is available (along with a host of other Scottish/Celtic material) on gopher://almac.co.uk:70/11/ With thanks to Lorraine MacDonald of Dalriada for some excellent work. Forrest Duncan forrest.duncan@almac.co.uk ALMAC tel: +44 (0) 1324-666336 141 Bo'ness Rd fax: +44 (0) 1324-665155 Grangemouth FK3 9BS BBS: +44 (0) 1324-665371 [29] The Gaelic for "Frequently Asked Questions" "Ceistean Minig a Thig" (Scots Gaelic) "Ceisteanna Minic a Thig" (Irish Gaelic) There is a saying : "Is truagh nach ta\inig Minig Nach Tig. Leath cho minig 's a tha\inig Minig a Thig" [30] Edinburgh Festival Fringe http://www.presence.co.uk/fringe/ The complete programme for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is now available by gopher from almac.co.uk. (Forrest Duncan, forrest.duncan@almac.co.uk first described this on a UK newsgroup - thanks). There is also some generic information about how the Fringe works. This is HUGE, over 10000 lines of information, and I don't think Almac has a very powerful server. Don't overwhelm them, save the address and call sometime over the next few days. It might be an idea for somebody in the US to make a copy available over there (subject to the Fringe agreeing - the programme is copyrighted). >From a quick look it doesn't seem to me to be *quite* complete - no details about exhibitions yet. But hey, getting 95% of the schedule for the biggest arts festival in history available this way is a darn good start. Forrest says the Fringe can be contacted at festival.fringe@almac.co.uk; I haven't got this to work yet and they are unlikely to be offering an email booking service. No word yet on when or whether the International Festival, Jazz Festival and Film Festival will go electronic. Accommodation is not handled by the festival organizers but by the Tourist Information Office. [31] Living Tradition. This is the main magazine for Scottish folk music info, although it covers other forms of traditional music too. The magazine can be reached at: living.tradition@almac.co.uk (E-mail) [32] Seeing Underground Edinburgh The bit that the tourists (and few locals) have ever seen. Mary King's close, a medieval street under the Royal Mile. Sealed off in 1670. Not generally open to the public, but groups can book access by arrangement by calling John Wilson on 0131- 662 0039 (early evenings). Access is through the City Chambers. The section is 60 metres long, steep, slippery and full of ghosts (!). John's tour's get booked up several weeks in advance. They last about three hours and are generally midweek starting about 7pm. The tour covers both the Close and the City Chambers. A donation of 3 pounds is requested for the tour. John is a councillor with an interest in local history. Bob Morton also does tours, but these just cover the Close. Sometimes it is possible to find a spare slot or two on an existing tour. About 30 people are catered for at a time. [33] Primary Literary figures Robert Burns (details elsewhere Lewis Grassic Gibbon (author of Sunset Song - my favourite book) Neil Gunn (particularly recommended is Highland River/The Silver Darlings) James Hogg (Confessions of a Justified Sinner) Sir Walter Scott (The Heart of Midlothian, Waverley) Robert Louis Stevenson (Kidnapped, Weir of Hermiston) Norman MacCaig (Collected poems) Sorley Maclean (From Wood to Ridge) The greatest Gaelic poet alive today and one of the greatest ever. Book is bilingual; author's own translations. Astoundingly powerful stuff. ISBN 0 09 9887207 (published by Vintage, London) Boswell and Johnson's tour to the Western Isles? also writings by David Hume and Adam Smith from the age of the Scottish Enlightenment There's a very strong argument which says the best writing in English right now is from Scotland. 'Trainspotting' is about Edinburgh, just as much as 'Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner'. But there's a heap of authors to recommend: Jeff Torrington, James Kelman, Robin Jenkins, Alistair Gray, William McIlvanney - these are some I like and frankly, I can't think of any current author whom I would rather read. [34] Scottish Guide books. The definitive guide to eating good traditional Scottish food is "The Taste of Scotland" published by Taste of Scotland, 33 Melville St, Edinburgh, EH3 7JF The primary guide to finding out the best things to do, go, eat, see etc in Scotland is "Scotland the Best". This is an alternative guide to Scottish culture for both locals and tourists alike. I liked it so much I bought the book. However, there were a few things I wanted adding so I sent in some comments for the 94 edition (ISBN 1 85158 622 9) (possibly ..662 9) and for my efforts got a free bottle of single malt, free Capercaillie tickets and my name in the next edition. http://www.expressmedia.co.uk/main01.htm For a tourist who might be interested in the history of Scotland, the Blue Guide to Scotland is indispensible. I have used this book a great deal, particularly when travelling in the highlands and the west: it is excellent. It has none of the trendy stuff about where's cool to drink or eat (like the Rough Guide) but it has a fantastic ammount of historical detail which brings places and the landscape alive. On Scotland, The Lonely Planet Guide to Britain is superior to the Rough Guide to Scotland. And the STB have just re-issued 'Scotland: A Touring Guide', which lists all the 'heritage attractions' in Scotland. 'A Taste of A Scotland' is a poor book in my view. Restaurants appear to be included in the book only if they buy advertising space. The information about qualitiy is not independent and is not a good guide. Ditto 'Scotland the Best'. The Good Food Guide to Britain' is a much better restaurant guide. The List also publishes very fair guides from time-to-time. Edinburgh Guides. Charles McKean's architectural guide to Edinburgh is first class and Andrew Lownie's Edinburgh: A Literary Guide throws an interesting slant on the city for anyone interested in these matters. A personal favorite of mine is Edinburgh: The Graveyeard Guide. Many of the graveyards offer quite beautiful and unexpected views of the city, and generally they are excellent places to take drugs and while away the day. [35] Primary folk music pubs Edinburgh: The Ceilidh House Sandy Bell's West End Hotel The Royal Oak (best pub for sing arounds) Digger's (Wednesdays) Cafe Royal (Wednesdays, entrance fee but high profile acts) Scruffy Murphy's Old Coach Inn (Caledonian beer; Folk Thu's) Fiddlers Arms Oxford Bar (Mondays) Check out the List for what's happening. http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/ (E-mail: TheList@cityscape.co.uk) [36] What is a Ceilidh A Ceilidh (pronounced "Kay-lay", emphasis on 1st syllable) is many things. It derives from the Gaelic word meaning a visit and originally meant just that (and still does in Gaelic). It can also mean a house party, a concert or more usually an evening of informal Scottish traditional dancing to informal music. Ceilidhs in the lowlands tend to be dances, in the highlands they tend to be concerts. Dances in the highlands and traditional ceilidhs in the Lowlands are often called "ceilidh dances". Ceilidh dancing is fundamentally different from Scottish Country Dancing [See answer 58] in that it is much less formal and the primary purpose is the enjoyment of doing the dance. Scottish Country Dancing is much more oriented towards being a demonstration or exhibition. Ceilidhs are extremely popular indeed with young people and often attract from a few dozen people to several hundred. There are world championships for ceilidh bands now (the first winners were Fire in the Glen, now called Tannas). There are also workshops for ceilidh bands at The Adult Learning Project, Dalry Road, Edinburgh. Best places for Ceilidhs are: Edinburgh: Walpole Hall, Assembly Rooms, Marco's leisure centre, Cafe Royal, Southside Community Centre, St Bride's centre. The West End Hotel has leaflets on the noticeboard showing when ceilidhs are on, or look in the Folk music section of The List (the Glasgow and Edinburgh what's on guide; out fortnightly available at most newsagents). http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/ info on Ceilidhs in the folk music section Glasgow: The Riverside Club. OK place for a ceilidh but prone to being busy and too much like a nightclub. There are even bouncers (unheard of at all the good ceilidhs) A good book for anyone wanting to learn how to do ceilidh dances and play ceilidh tunes is Let's have a ceilidh by Robbie Shepherd (well known Radio Scotland presenter of Take the Floor) Price 4.95, 100 pages. Published by Canongate Press, 14 Frederick St, Edinburgh, EH2 2HB ISBN 0 86241 412 1 Includes 20 of the most popular dances, plus a selection of music to go with the dances. There are explanations for the various steps with diagrams, as well as some notes on the history of dancing. [37] Best Scottish pubs To find out where to get the best beer (Real Ale), look in The Good Beer Guide, available from all major bookshops. Published by CAMRA. ISBN 1 85249 006 3. Published in October each year. Edinburgh: Bannerman's; Bert's bar; Bow bar; Canny Man's; Cumberland Bar; Clark's Bar; Drew Nicol's; Golden Rule; Greenmantle; Guildford Arms; Halfway House; Hampton Hotel; Holyrood Tavern; Kay's Bar; K. Jackson's Bar; Leslie's Bar; Malt and Hops; Oxford Bar; Robbie's Bar; Royal Ettrick Hotel; Smithie's Ale House; Southsider; Stable Bar; Starbank Inn (smoke free area); Merman, Caledonian Sample Rooms, Homes Bar; The Cask and Barrel; Mather's; The Cafe Royal, Bennet's. The Caledonian Brewery (Slateford Road) has a big beer festival in early June; The biggest beer festival in Scotland is held at Meadowbank Stadium in early October. You should note that many recent Sundy paper reviews make the Basement the 'trendiest pub in Edinburgh'. It also does excellent Mexican food early evenings. Glasgow: Athena Taverna; Babbity Bowser; Bon Accord; Boswell Hotel; Brewery Tap; The Horse shoe; Mitre; Cask & Still; Sloane's; Station Bar; Tennents; Three Judges; Ubiquitous Chip; Victoria Bar For information on pubs with no-smoking areas, see Craig's list at: ftp://ftp.demon.co.uk/pub/doc/liberty/general/scot-nonsmoking-pubs.txt [38] Scottish Kings Kenneth I MacAlpin 843 - 858 Donald I 858 - 862 Constantine I 862 - 877 Aed 877 - 878 Eochaid 878 - 889 Donald II 889 - 900 Constantine II 900 - 943 Malcolm I 943 - 954 Indulf 954 - 962 Dubh 962 - 966 Culen 966 - 971 Kenneth II 971 - 995 Constantine III 995 - 997 Kenneth III 997 - 1005 Malcolm II 1005 - 1034 Duncan I 1034 - 1040 Macbeth 1040 - 1057 Lulach 1057 - 1058 Malcolm III Canmore 1058 - 1093 Donald Ban 1093 - 1094 Duncan II 1094 - 1094 Donald Ban (again) 1094 - 1097 Edgar 1097 - 1107 Alexander I 1107 - 1124 David I 1124 - 1153 Malcolm IV 1153 - 1165 William I 'The Lion' 1165 - 1214 Alexander II 1214 - 1249 Alexander III 1249 - 1286 John Balliol 1292 - 1296 Robert Bruce (Robert I) 1306 - 1329 David II 1329 - 1371 Robert II (the Stewart) 1371 - 1390 Robert III 1390 - 1406 James I 1406 - 1437 James II 1437 - 1460 James III 1460 - 1488 James IV 1488 - 1513 James V 1513 - 1542 Mary (I) 1542 - 1567 James VI 1567 - 1625 Charles I 1625 - 1649 Charles II 1649 - 1685 James VII (II of England) 1685 - 1688 William 'III' & Mary II 1689 - 1694 William 'III' 1694 - 1702 Anne 1702 - 1714 George I 1714 - 1727 George II 1727 - 1760 George III 1760 - 1820 George IV 1820 - 1829 William 'IV' 1829 - 1837 Victoria 1837 - 1901 Edward 'VII' 1901 - 1910 George V 1910 - 1936 Edward 'VIII' 1936 George VI 1936 - 1952 Elizabeth 'II' 1952 - The Scottish Monarchy merged with the English Monarchy in 1603 when James VI of Scotland became James I of England and VI of Scotland. After James VII and II the Scottish numbering system was ignored in favour of the English one (William III and not William III & II) [39] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland (a frequent source of argument on the scot.* and ed.* hierarchy). This survey was conducted by System Three for the Gaelic Television Committee and published in July in their 93/94 annual report. The Gaelic TV programmes are not funded by TV licence money, they are funded directly from the Government by Act of Parliament. Unweighted base: 1052. Figures are percentages The columns are 1) Agree strongly 2) Agree slightly 3) Neither agree nor disagree 4) Disagree slightly 5) Disagree strongly 6) Don't know 7) Mean score Questions: a) There are too many Gaelic programmes on television nowadays Answers: 11 15 13 36 20 4 -0.40 b) I enjoy watching Gaelic TV programmes, even though I may not speak Gaelic myself. Answers: 12 30 12 20 23 4 -0.14 c) Too many Gaelic TV programmes are shown at peak times Answers: 14 14 13 36 17 6 -0.29 d) It is important that the Gaelic language in Scotland is kept alive through Gaelic programmes on TV Answers: 40 35 9 8 5 3 1.00 [40] What does Craig's signature mean? It is "Sgri\obh thugam 'sa Gha\idhlig ma 'se do thoil e." and is Scots Gaelic for "Write to me in Gaelic please". [41] Where can I buy a kilt/Highland accessories One shop which seems to get recommended frequently is: Geoffrey (tailor) Highland Crafts Ltd 57-59 High Street (2 doors up from John Knox's house) Royal Mile Edinburgh EH1 1SR Tel: 0131 557 0256 or in the US Geoffrey Tailor Highland Crafts 17 Greenwood Dr. South San Francisco, CA 940080 Tele--1-800-253-7269 They are also always at the Texas Scottish Festival. Someone added: They have made one of my kilts and are quite good. Their Edinburgh shop is open 7 days and late on Thursday. Although it's on the Royal Mile, the prices should be reasonable. They hire outfits; sell outfits and also sell ex-hire outfits. Note that women in Scotland don't wear kilts, they wear kilted skirts. For info on doing the traditional plaid outfit like the costumes in Braveheart, see http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/john/greatkilt/greatkilt.html [42] Scottish song books I'm frequently browsing through bookshops to find good songbooks, but most of the time they're of the tourist top 40 genre with only the most popular tunes in. These are the sort of tunes you might hear played at the Edinburgh tattoo, and not the sort you'd here at a folk concert or down the pub. I was at Blackfriars Music yesterday (the "Headquarters" of Scottish Folk) and got a copy of an excellent book by them called "The Singing Tradition on Scotland: Book 1, The Birken Tree". This particularly caught my eye as The Birken Tree was a song which our singing group performed in a concert a few weeks ago. The book is 3 pounds 50p, has 56 songs and is 64 pages. All the songs are Scottish, have staff music supplied, as well as a glossary of Scots words, notes on the songs and notes for guitarists. There's the usual tourist songs such as The Lewis Bridal Song (Mairi's Wedding), Scotland the Brave and The Skye Boat Song, but the majority of songs are of the type that folk artists would record or which you would here down the pub. There's about 10 by Robert Burns. Unusually for book not written for the Gaelic market, there is a Gaelic song "Cumha Mhic Criomain" = MacCrimmon's Lament. Blackfriars Music specialise in folk music and bagpipe music and sell instruments, records and books. The also publish the "Scottish Folk Arts Directory", the "yellow pages" of the Scottish folk scene detailing festivals, artists, record labels, societies, radio programmes, folk pubs etc etc. The 1994/95 edition is published next week. The 93/94 edition was 70 pages. Blackfriars Music can be reached at: Blackfriars Music 49 Blackfriars St Edinburgh EH1 1NB Scotland Tel: 031 557 3090 (if you are visiting, the shop is open 7 days and is near The Scandic Crown hotel on the Royal Mile). Another good book is "The Trefoil Song Book". This is a Scottish version of Rise up Singing. It has Scottish songs as well as non-Scottish songs. The lyrics are supplied together with chord sequences and chord charts for guitar. The book has about 150 songs and is 63 A4 pages. To order one, contact The Trefoil Centre, Gogarbank, Edinburgh, EH12 9DA, Scotland Tel: 031 339 3148. The book is 2 pounds 50p plus postage. The Trefoil centre organises holidays for the handicapped, is a charity, and proceeds from the sales of the book go towards continuing the work of the centre. The Feis movement (Feisean nan Gaidheal) has a songbook due out soon which I've seen draught versions of and it looks excellent for anyone interested in Gaelic song. Music (staff format) and translations available for all the songs which range from the traditional to the new. See answer 50 for address. [43] Books for learning the fiddle Failte gu Fidheall - The Scottish Folk Fiddle tutor, Book 1. (This book is in English with a bilingual Gaelic-English introduction) A Comprehensive guide for beginners Compiled and arranged by Christine Martin and Anne Hughes Published by Taigh na Teud (Harpstring house) Address: 13 Breacais Ard, Isle of Skye, Scotland, IV42 8PY Published 1992, ISBN 1 871931 90 8 They also publish "Ceilidh collections", "Ceol na Fidhle" (=music of the fiddle) and "Session Tunes". The book is about 5 pounds and is 42 A4 pages There is also a demonstration tape to accompany the book, available from the publishers. This is a really good book with one of the best selections of tunes (Highland, Lowland and others) I've seen in any book. [44] Whisky (whiskey) Try the whisky www page at http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/staff/jhb/whisky/index.html Whisky is the spelling used in Scotland. Whiskey is the spelling used in Ireland, the US and some other countries. People very rarely call whisky "Scotch" in Scotland, they either ask for it by brand name or ask for any malt, or just ask for a whisky. The word "scotch" is used though (scotch is an appellation). A single malt scotch must fulfill three requirements: i) It must be the product of only one distillery ii) It must be made exclusively from barley malt iii) It must be made in Scotland. Highland malt whisky must be made in an area north west of a line which passes near Dunblane (my home town!). It includes both Deanston and Blackford, the adjacent towns to the west and north of Dunblane. The definitive book on Malt Whiskies is: Michael Jackson's Malt Whisky Companion A Connoisseur's Guide to the Malt Whiskies of Scotland Published by Dorling Kindersley Ltd, 9 Henrietta St, London, WC2E 8PS ISBN (1989 edition - probably superceded now) 0-86318-387-5. 9 pounds 95p. 240 pages, hardback Covers over 250 malts from over 120 distilleries with full tasting notes. Includes all well known brands plus rare and specialist bottlings Includes rating system for both the whisky and the distillery. Includes alphabetic index, and list of distilleries (with phone numbers) that offer tours. The brands that Jackson rates most highly are: Balvenie, Lagavulin, Glenlivet and Highland Park. The best selling single malt in Scotland is "Glenmorangie", pronounced to rhyme with "orangey" (stress on the 2nd syllable of Glen-mor-an-gie). This word comes from the Gaelic for "Glen of Great Tranquility". The best selling single malt scotch in the world is Glenfiddich (=Glen of the Deer). My personal favourites are Highland Park (12 years old, from Orkney). Jackson rates this as "The greatest all-rounder in the world of whisky". For special occasions, I'd recommend MacAllan 18 year old. Astounding stuff! [45] The Scottish Youth Hostels Association The best way to see Scotland if you've got a tight budget. Even if you can afford more luxurious accomodation (accomodation is always singular in Britain), Youth Hostels are definitely worth using. All ages use them and cost is typically 5-10 pounds a night. Most of them have lights out at 11pm, except those in large cities which are often open later. Contact for more info, to book accomodation etc The Scottish Youth Hostels Association (SHYA) 7 Glebe Crescent Stirling Scotland FK8 2JA Tel: 01786 451181 Joining the SHYA, (#2.50 ages 5-17, #6.00 ages 18+) entitles you to use Youth Hostels all over the world [46] The Ramblers Association A UK wide organisation. Produces a book "The Ramblers yearbook and accomodation guide" which is a good source of low cost accomodation (typically 10 - 20 pounds per person per night) ISBN 0-900613-75-0 Available from: The Ramblers' Association, 1/5 Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2XX Tel: 0171 582 6878 [47] Books for hillwalkers 2 that spring to mind are: Ralph Storer's "100 best routes on Scottish mountains", Warner books. A division of Little, Brown and Company (UK) Ltd, 165 Great Dover St, London, SE1 4YA ISBN 0 7515 0300 2 223 pages, includes a variety of mountains throughout Scotland. Mountains classified by grade; terrain; navigation difficulty and seriousness. Includes diagrams and Gaelic translations and phonetics Ordnance Survey: "Place names on maps of Scotland and Wales" ISBN 0-319-00223-3 24 pages of info on Gaelic, Norse and Welsh placenames, meanings, grammar, common Anglicisations. V useful for translating many place names in remote areas. [48] What is a Munro/Corbett? A Munro is a Scottish mountain over 3,000ft. There are 277. There must be a vertical drop of 500ft between two peaks for them to both qualify as Munros. A Top is a mountain over 3,000ft not separated by a vertical drop of 500ft from a Munro. The name Munro comes from Munros tables compiled by someone called Munro, but there have been some modifications since the table was first compiled. A Corbett is a separate mountain over 2,500ft. The Inacessible Pinnacle on Skye is the only Munro to require climbing equipment [49] Legal questions Scotland has its own legal system and its own laws. Answers to most common Scottish consumer questions can be found in: Your Rights and Responsibilities, A personal guide for Scottish Consumers. published by HMSO and the Scottish Consumer Council. ISBN 0 11 495205 1, 4 pounds 95p Telephone orders: 0171 873 9090 [50] Gaelic festivals Contact: Arthur Cormack Feisean nan Gaidheal 5 Caolshra\id Mhicheil Inbhir Nis (Inverness) Scotland, IV2 3HQ Tel: 01463 226472 Fax: 01463 237470 [51] Gaelic playgroups Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Araich (CNSA) 21A Castle Street Inverness IV2 3ER Tel: 01463 225469 www.scotnet.co.uk/cnsa/index.html There are about 100 pre-school playgroups throughout Scotland through the medium of Gaelic [52] Scotch This is a term used to mean various things, but is considered mildly offensive when referring to people - generally use "Scots" for people and "Scottish" for everything else. Whisky is usually not referred to as "Scotch" - see note on whisky. Historically, the word was widely used in Scotland as a adjective meaning the same as "scottish". In fact, it was not until ~1925 that the Scotch Education Department became the Scottish Education Department. [53] Plaid Plaid (pronounced "plad") is the name of the material which is used for making kilts. It isn't the name of the pattern on the material, this is called "tartan". In the US, plaid is sometimes pronounced "plaid" and usually refers to the material - plaid and tartan are interchangeable terms there, they aren't in Scotland. Also see: ftp://members.aol.com/sdullman/programs/tartan20.zip - displays about 60 tartans [54] Scottish URLs As good a place as any to start, try the Almac http site. Includes the Glasgow Herald's homepage. http://leapfrog.almac.co.uk University of Stirling's WWW Home Page in Gaelic http://www.stir.ac.uk/gaelic_index.html www-2nd-cs.dcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/~wdw/Afalonrhithwir.html John Andrea's WWW page of tartans http://www.stfx.ca/people/jandrea/projects/tartans.html The alternative Scottish FAQ from Scot.genreal ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/languages/gaelic/Scc/scot.general http://www.eolas.co.uk/gguide/eu/gb/scotland/gguide.htm http://www.scotland.org/ http://www.gla.ac.uk/World [Needs that capital 'W'] For info regarding Glasgow's environs including hotels, online papers, theatres, etc. Contains links to places wider afield in Scotland too. [55] alt.scottish.clans A group has been created called alt.scottish.clans. The purpose of this group is to discuss the folklore, traditions and history of the various Scottish clans. Current clan gatherings and announcements will also be found here. Anyone interested in this sort of thing is invited to join in the discussions. [56] Edinburgh Folk Festival Contact address: Edinburgh Folk Festival, PO BOX 528, Edinburgh, EH10 4DU Tel (+44) (0)131 556 3181, fax (+44) (0)131 556 4177. The programme is *FREE* Dave Francis is the organiser dfrancis@edinfolk.demon.co.uk Pre-festival box office: Queen's Hall, Clerk St, Edinburgh Tel: 0131 668 2019, Fax: 0131 667 7776 http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/edinfolk.htm [57] Postgraduate Courses in Celtic Studies Dept of Celtic, The University of Edinburgh, David Hume Tower, George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9JX Fax: 0131 650 6536 Tel: 0131 650 3622 contact: Professor William Gillies Degrees available: PhD (min 3 years); MLitt (min two years); MSc/Diploma (one year/nine months) Entrance qualifications for all three is a good Honours degree in Celtic studies or a related or relevant discipline, but I understand each case is considered on its individual merits. The MSc/Diploma is based around a series of prescribed specialisms including literary, linguistic and historical options of which candidates chose one. There isn't much specific info on the content of the other courses The Dept of Celtic was founded in 1882 and is the oldest in Scotland. Current members include Prof William Gillies (head of dept), Ronald Black and Robert Mullally. Thomas Clancy (British Academy Post-Doctoral fellow) and Allan MacDonald also take part in teaching. Nerys Ann Jones, Kenneth MacKinnon and Cathair O Dochartaigh are Honorary Fellows of the Faculty of Arts in the field of Celtic Studies. The other two Celtic Departments in Scotland are at Aberdeen University and Glasgow University. It is said that Aberdeen, then Edinburgh then Glasgow give their students the best opportunities to leave as fluent Gaelic speakers. Edinburgh also has the School of Scottish Studies which is the world centre for ethnology, folklore, traditions, customs etc (covers the whole of Scotland, not just the Highlands) [58] What is Scottish Country Dancing? Contributed by Anselm Lingnau Scottish Country Dancing is a modern form of the `country dancing' popular in England and Scotland in the 18th century. It involves groups of six to ten people (most of the time) of mixed sex (most of the time) -- a `set' -- dancing to the driving strains of reels, jigs and strathspeys played on the fiddle, accordion, flute, piano, drums, etc. (no bagpipes, mostly!). The dance often combines solo figures for the `first couple' in the set with movements for all the dancers, although there is considerable variation -- there are over 7000 different dances catalogued, of which maybe 1000 or so are of lasting and non-local importance. Many of these dances derive from traditional sources such as old manuscripts and printed dance collections, but a lot have been devised in the fairly recent past, say the last fifty years or so. This fusion of the traditional and the modern as well as its ongoing evolution are part of the attraction of Scottish Country Dancing. Think of SCD as a cross between square or contra dance (although there is no caller) and ballet; there are about a dozen basic figures which will get you through quite a number of dances, although many dances have their own quirks and specialities which make them unique and fun to dance. There is also more emphasis on `steps' than in, say, Ceilidh dancing, but the basic technique can be learned at a week-end workshop or through a couple of months' worth of practice evenings once a week. Even though there are so many dances, you don't have to learn any of them by heart if you don't want to -- the programmes for balls and social evenings are usually published well before the event, so everybody can check their crib sheets. Also, at the event itself dances are often recapitulated or even sometimes walked through slowly before the music starts (although local custom may vary). SCD is a very social form of dancing, not only because you get to dance with seven or so people at once instead of just with one partner (smiles and eye contact are almost mandatory, and if you want there is a lot of opportunity for relaxed `flirting') but also because there are workshops, balls and social dances being held in places all over the world. It is nice to be able to travel and join a SCD group for a night nearly everywhere you go. When country dancing came to Scotland in the 18th century, it was at first popular among the townspeople in places like Edinburgh, but spread throughout Scotland (at varying pace) and thrived there even when, during the 19th and early 20th century, more modern dances like the Waltz, One-step etc. became fashionable in other places. Country dancing in Scotland was also influenced by other Scottish dances such as Highland Reels and so acquired a particular `Scottish' flavour. In 1923, the Scottish Country Dance Society (SCDS, later `Royal' Scottish Country Dance Society or RSCDS) was founded in order to preserve traditional Scottish country dancing. Its patrons went out to watch people dance and collect the dances for publication. In the process, they also tried to reconstruct and publish dances from old manuscripts that were no longer actually danced, and standardized technical points like steps and footwork (which the common folk rarely bothered a lot about). It is debatable whether this standardization was actually a good thing as far as preserving the tradition of Scottish country dancing was concerned, but it has certainly done a lot for making SCD into something that can be enjoyed internationally. In fact, Scottish Country Dancing is probably more alive today than it ever was in the past, and this is to a large extent due to the efforts of the RSCDS. Today the RSCDS numbers about 25.000 members and has `branches' in various countries all over the world. Lots of SCD groups are affiliated with the RSCDS even though they aren't actually branches of the Society, and even more people enjoy SCD without being members of the RSCDS (or any group) at all. The RSCDS is at 12 Coates Crescent telephone: 0131-225 3854 Edinburgh EH3 7AF fax: 0131-225 7783 Scotland As far as we know they don't have e-mail. There is an Internet mailing list (not affiliated with or endorsed by the RSCDS) for discussing Scottish Country dancing and music, which goes by the name of `Strathspey'; send a message containing a `Subject: help' to `strathspey-request@tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de'. There is also a World-Wide Web server containing an archive of the mailing list as well as lots of other interesting items connected with SCD at http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/strathspey/ (Yes, that's in Germany. So much for the international character of SCD!) [59] Scottish Wedding vows in Gaelic and English http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/posadh.htm Source: Sabhal Mor Ostaig [60] Scottish Wedding Information http:/www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/ There is a link off the bottom of this page to the Weddings info on the mefaq.html page [61] Declaration of Arbroath Source: Charles Macgregor The Declaration of Arbroath (English Translation) Edinburgh Information http://www.efr.hw.ac.uk/EDC/Edinburgh.html The Declaration of Arbroath (English Translation) To the most Holy Father and Lord in Christ, the Lord John, by divine providence Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Roman and Universal Church, his humble and devout sons Duncan, Earl of Fife, Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, Lord of Man and of Annandale, Patrick Dunbar, Earl of March, Malise, Earl of Strathearn, Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, William, Earl of Ross, Magnus, Earl of Caithness and Orkney, and William, Earl of Sutherland; Walter, Steward of Scotland, William Soules, Butler of Scotland, James, Lord of Douglas, Roger Mowbray, David, Lord of Brechin, David Graham, Ingram Umfraville, John Menteith, guardian of the earldom of Menteith, Alexander Fraser, Gilbert Hay, Constable of Scotland, Robert Keith, Marischal of Scotland, Henry St Clair, John Graham, David Lindsay, William Oliphant, Patrick Graham, John Fenton, William Abernethy, David Wemyss, William Mushet, Fergus of Ardrossan, Eustace Maxwell, William Ramsay, William Mowat, Alan Murray, Donald Campbell, John Cameron, Reginald Cheyne, Alexander Seton, Andrew Leslie, and Alexander Straiton, and the other barons and freeholders and the whole community of the realm of Scotland send all manner of filial reverence, with devout kisses of his blessed feet. Most Holy Father and Lord, we know and from the chronicles and books of the ancients we find that among other famous nations our own, the Scots, has been graced with widespread renown. They journeyed from Greater Scythia by way of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Pillars of Hercules, and dwelt for a long course of time in Spain among the most savage tribes, but nowhere could they be subdued by any race, however barbarous. Thence they came, twelve hundred years after the people of Israel crossed the Red Sea, to their home in the west where they still live today. The Britons they first drove out, the Picts they utterly destroyed, and, even though very often assailed by the Norwegians, the Danes and the English, they took possession of that home with many victories and untold efforts; and, as the historians of old time bear witness, they have held it free of all bondage ever since. In their kingdom there have reigned one hundred and thirteen kings of their own royal stock, the line unbroken a single foreigner. The high qualities and deserts of these people, were they not otherwise manifest, gain glory enough from this: that the King of kings and Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, after His Passion and Resurrection, called them, even though settled in the uttermost parts of the earth, almost the first to His most holy faith. Nor would He have them confirmed in that faith by merely anyone but by the first of His Apostles -- by calling, though second or third in rank -- the most gentle Saint Andrew, the Blessed Peter's brother, and desired him to keep them under his protection as their patron forever. The Most Holy Fathers your predecessors gave careful heed to these things and bestowed many favours and numerous privileges on this same kingdom and people, as being the special charge of the Blessed Peter's brother. Thus our nation under their protection did indeed live in freedom and peace up to the time when that mighty prince the King of the English, Edward, the father of the one who reigns today, when our kingdom had no head and our people harboured no malice or treachery and were then unused to wars or invasions, came in the guise of a friend and ally to harass them as an enemy. The deeds of cruelty, massacre, violence, pillage, arson, imprisoning prelates, burning down monasteries, robbing and killing monks and nuns, and yet other outrages without number which he committed against our people, sparing neither age nor sex, religion nor rank, no one could describe nor fully imagine unless he had seen them with his own eyes. But from these countless evils we have been set free, by the help of Him Who though He afflicts yet heals and restores, by our most tireless Prince, King and Lord, the Lord Robert. He, that his people and his heritage might be delivered out of the hands of our enemies, met toil and fatigue, hunger and peril, like another Macabaeus or Joshua and bore them cheerfully. Him, too, divine providence, his right of succession according to or laws and customs which we shall maintain to the death, and the due consent and assent of us all have made our Prince and King. To him, as to the man by whom salvation has been wrought unto our people, we are bound both by law and by his merits that our freedom may be still maintained, and by him, come what may, we mean to stand. Yet if he should give up what he has begun, and agree to make us or our kingdom subject to the King of England or the English, we should exert ourselves at once to drive him out as our enemy and a subverter of his own rights and ours, and make some other man who was well able to defend us our King; for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom -- for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself. Therefore it is, Reverend Father and Lord, that we beseech your Holiness with our most earnest prayers and suppliant hearts, inasmuch as you will in your sincerity and goodness consider all this, that, since with Him Whose vice-gerent on earth you are there is neither weighing nor distinction of Jew and Greek, Scotsman or Englishman, you will look with the eyes of a father on the troubles and privation brought by the English upon us and upon the Church of God. May it please you to admonish and exhort the King of the English, who ought to be satisfied with what belongs to him since England used once to be enough for seven kings or more, to leave us Scots in peace, who live in this poor little Scotland, beyond which there is no dwelling-place at all, and covet nothing but our own. We are sincerely willing to do anything for him, having regard to our condition, that we can, to win peace for ourselves. This truly concerns you, Holy Father, since you see the savagery of the heathen raging against the Christians, as the sins of Christians have indeed deserved, and the frontiers of Christendom being pressed inward every day; and how much it will tarnish your Holiness's memory if (which God forbid) the Church suffers eclipse or scandal in any branch of it during your time, you must perceive. Then rouse the Christian princes who for false reasons pretend that they cannot go to help of the Holy Land because of wars they have on hand with their neighbours. The real reason that prevents them is that in making war on their smaller neighbours they find quicker profit and weaker resistance. But how cheerfully our Lord the King and we too would go there if the King of the English would leave us in peace, He from Whom nothing is hidden well knows; and we profess and declare it to you as the Vicar of Christ and to all Christendom. But if your Holiness puts too much faith in the tales the English tell and will not give sincere belief to all this, nor refrain from favouring them to our prejudice, then the slaughter of bodies, the perdition of souls, and all the other misfortunes that will follow, inflicted by them on us and by us on them, will, we believe, be surely laid by the Most High to your charge. To conclude, we are and shall ever be, as far as duty calls us, ready to do your will in all things, as obedient sons to you as His Vicar; and to Him as the Supreme King and Judge we commit the maintenance of our cause, casting our cares upon Him and firmly trusting that He will inspire us with courage and bring our enemies to nought. May the Most High preserve you to his Holy Church in holiness and health and grant you length of days. Given at the monastery of Arbroath in Scotland on the sixth day of the month of April in the year of grace thirteen hundred and twenty and the fifteenth year of the reign of our King aforesaid. Endorsed: Letter directed to our Lord the Supreme Pontiff by the community of Scotland. [62] Gaelic newspapers Scotland: Guth na Ga\idhlig The subscription desk Highland News Group Henderson Road Inverness IV1 1SP Nova Scotia and Scotland Am Braighe http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/ [63] Traditional Bread recipie (Gaelic and English) Seo agad doigh airson aran a cho\caireadh Aran Sgi\re Raoird Cungaidh: Aran: dusan unnsa flu\r-bracha donn coig unnsaichean flu\r geal la\idir spa\in-ti\ de shalann spa\in-ti\ de shiu\car spa\in-bhu\ird de cho\than ghearrte spa\in-bhu\ird de shi\l neo\inean-gre\ine seachd gramaichean de bheirm Comhdachadh: ugh leth spa\in-ti\ de shalann da\ unnsa-bhu\rn de bhainne si\l de cheann choilich dheirg no si\l sasamaidh Ceuman: Cuir an cungaidh gu le\ir le che\ile le tri\ ceud ml de bhu\rn bhla\th. Taoisnich fad deich mionaidean e agus de\an tri\ roinntean dheth. Fill na roinntean le che\ile mar fhigheachan. Measgaich an ugh, salann agus am bainne le che\ile agus comhdaich an taois leis. Cuir dhan an darna taobh fad leth-uair a thi\de gus e\irigh e. (Feumaidh e a bhith da\ uiread na mo\) Nuair a tha an taois air e\irigh, comhdaich e leis a' bhainne agus an ugh a-rithist. Faodar si\l de cheann choilich dheirg, no si\l-sasamaidh a chur air cuideachd. Cuir e dhan an a\mhainn, aig 230C. mar tha, fad deich mionaidean air fhichead. Nut bread 12 Oz Malted brown flour 5 Oz strong white flour 1 tsp salt, sugar 1 tbsp olive oil (or veg oil), chopped nuts, sunflower seeds 1 pkg yeast (7g) sesame or poppy seeds. Brush on: 1 egg, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 Oz milk Beat lightly and apply as directed below Mix all ingredients together with 300ml of warm water (approx 125ml boiling and 175ml cold). Kneed for at least 10 mins. Shape and cover with "brush on". Cover with cling film and allow to rise in a warm, draft free area to double original size. Prior to cooking re-apply "brush on" and sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds. Cook for 30 mins at 230C (450F) in a preheated oven. [64] European Community Folk Culture http://www.worldserver.pipex.com/nc/edinmedia [65] Scots Gaelic products and catalog Am Muileann Dubh A' Chatalog Ghaidhlig Sraid a' Mhargaid Baile Dhubhthaich (Tain) Siorrachd Rois (Ross-shire) Scotland IV19 1AR [66] Dog commands in Gaelic Heel - gu sail ( nas fhearr saoilidh mi na 'sail' fhein) Sit - suidh! Stay - fuirich! ( fan! mas e Gaidhlig Earraghaidheil a tha sibh ag iarraidh math dh'fhaoidte; Cha bhitheadh 'stad' freagarrach, agus cha bhitheadh 'feith' uamhasach nadarra - 'a' feitheamh' = 'waiting') Come (here) - trobhad!; tiugainn! (Chan urrainn dhuibh 'thig' a radh leis fhein - feumaidh tu facal eile comhla ris, mar eiseamplar 'thig an-seo'.) Fetch - faigh (sin/seo/e) (Get) down - sios! ( Chan e ordugh a tha san fhacal 'dol' - dh'fhaodadh sibh 'gabh sios' no 'sios leat' a radh.) (Be) quiet - bi samhach! Attack - gabh chuige!; gabh air/oirre etc.! (Chan e ordugh a tha san fhacal 'ionnsaigh'. Co-dhiu, tha mi 'n dochas nach bi sibh feumach air an ordugh seo!!) Stop that - sguir dheth! ('sgurr' = mountain peak) ?Off? - chan eil mi a' tuigsinn carson a chleachdadh duine seo an aite 'down', agus co-dhiu chan e an aon rud a tha ann an 'air falbh' - ach 'having gone', no 'somebody is away somewhere'. Mu dheireadh, seo facal eile a bhiodh feumail, 's docha - ma tha sibh a' bruidhinn ri cuilean, canaidh sibh "A Chuilidh" - car coltach ri 'doggy' ann am Beurla. [67] Guide to Gaelic Scotland http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/cnag/failte/ [68] Kirking of the tartans From: T.Mcrae@mailbox.uq.oz.au (Tom McRae) Subject: Re: SPREADING THE WORD To give you an idea of the pseudo Scottery we have to put up with here I'm appending something I put out over on H-ALBION British History Group. Not a single respondent cited an example of this silly bit o' Brigadoonery in Scotland. My name's mud with the local so-called Clans Congress, if they only knew I've hardly started yet. I'm currently doing a long series of articles on the early Scottish National Movement and am just recovering from the trauma of doing 3 articles covering the West Coast Insurrection of 1820 and its ghastly repercussions. I'm quite narked with the S.N.P. as I wrote to them in Edinburgh outlining my project and asking for information on its history for inclusion in later articles. Three months later I have still to receive the courtesy of a reply. Seems they've yet to get their act together. Slainthe Tom Mc Rae KIRKING OF THE TARTANS On a Sunday close to St Andrew's Day this ceremony is practised in at least Sydney and Brisbane. Organised by the local Clans Congress it involves clan leaders marching into some presbyterian or uniting church in strict order of precedence. (I neither know, nor care who follows who). They are led in by someone carrying a saltire flag alongside another with the Australian flag. Clan tartans are worn and so-called clan banners are carried in the procession. Highlight of the ceremony is when wee bits of tartan are brought out and prayed over or blessed. If people enjoy themselves marching up and down like this I've no objection. What concerns me is the mythos developed around the rite. It all started, so the story goes, when the tartan was banned after the fall of Bonnie Prince Charlie. To cherish its memory parishioners took wee bits of the stuff to kirk every sabbath to have it blessed, the ceremony has persisted up until today. Nice tale, but garbage! First off Charlie's army consisted largely of Roman Catholics and Scottish Episcopaleans. Had they won the Kirk would probably have been oppressed yet again. Presbyterians of the time had no truck with the Jacobites, they'd suffered too much already at the hands of Stewart kings. Second point. Blessing of bits of cloth, or anything else inanimate, was anathema to all good Calvinists. Any kirk goers practising such rites would have been severely dealt with. Thirdly. No native born Scot I've discussed the matter with recalls such a ceremony in Scotland. Any group stupid enough to act out such a pantomime would have been laughed out of the church. Fourth I've searched historical records but could find no mention of the ceremony. In desperation I consulted the encyclopaedic "Dictionary of the Scottish Language" There are dozens of entries on tartan and on kirk and kirking; not one makes mention of this rite. I then went to a dictionary of the older Scottish tongue, once again no records. Finally. If this is true where are all those wee bits of tartan? Surely they' have become cherished family heirlooms. After the banning the tartan sticks used to mark out traditional weaves were destroyed; we don't know what pre '45 tartans looked like, apart from a few paintings. Those we use today are post 1780. Relics of the early tartans would be invaluable to Scottish history so where have they all gone to? I wrote the whole thing up in the newsletter of our Scottish radio programme group here in Brisbane. In my article I promised that if anyone could give me proof of this ceremony's antiquity I would gladly recant. Six months later the sole response was a letter from the Secretary of our local Clans Congress complaining bitterly at my unfair attack. I answered his letter gently pointing out the questionable origins of the Kirking but never received reply. My main objection is the ridiculous light in which this sort of Brigadoonery puts real Scots culture. Best example of this was some years back in Sydney. After the Kirking ceremony all the clan leaders and their retinues marched from the kirk to New South Wales' Upper House of Parliament, In they marched, banners awave, up to the bar of the House. Members were discussing some legislation and totally ignored them, after standing like gallahs for 10 minutes or so all they could do was about turn and march out again. I seem to have traced the origins of the thing to New York State, U.S.A. where a presbyterian minister invented it as a war bond scheme. Any information from The States, Canada, etc would be appreciated. Best of all can any Scots tell me I'm wrong and that the ceremony is a genuine hand me down from the days of The '45? Regards Tom Mc Rae %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Tom Mc Rae Home (011617)3713966 Entomology Department Work (011617)3652196 University of Queensland Fax (011617)3651922 BRISBANE Qld 4072 AUSTRALIA Email t.mcrae@mailbox.uq.oz.au [69] Cape Breton music mailing list send a mail to: cb-music@chatsubo.com subject: subscribe [70] Learning Scots Whit's Scots? jouk, gulravae, stech, fushionless, ill-setten, nieve, orrals, pley, incomin, havers, clamihewit, murlin, upbring, hant, pleesure, bravity, fantoush, smeddum, scunner, gilliegaupus, thrawn, glaikit, airtit, bogshaivelt, flouers, eedjitm lintie, champit, pauchtie, dour, nainsel, pech, haun, .... It's our ain tung! The Scots Language Society exists to promote Scots in literature, drama, the media, education and every day usage. Since Scots was once the state language of Scotland, it is a valid part of our heritage and the Society recognises that it should be able to take its place as a language of Scotland, along with Gaelic and English. As well as promoting the language and lobbying education authorities and the media for greater use of Scots, the society publishes the twice-yearly "Lallans", the magazine for writing in Scots (free to society members) plus a newsletter in Scots. It holds an annual conference, which has been addressed by eminent writers, actors, journalists, musicians, television presenters, scholars and others, and runs competitions encouraging both adults and children to write in Scots. The society can provide advice on the language to theatre companies, schools, etc. The society is a registered charity. Did ye ken? > The Anglo-Saxons said "Hoose" for "House", "Sang" for "Song" and "Maist" for "Most" > In Scotland, even speakers of Standard English use Scots words, idioms and grammatical constructions without even realising it. Think about "Janitor" (care-taker) or "I've got a cold" (I've a cold) or "Outwith" (Outside) > Scots was once the state language of the kingdom of Scotland, used by all classes for all purposes > Many of Scotland's greatest writers have used the Scots language to express many of their most profound thoughts and ideas. eg. Robert Henryson (c 1430-1506), Robert Burns (1759-1796), Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894), Hugh MacDiarmid (1892-1978). > A great many common Scots words have cosmopolitan origins, such as 'Skank' (drain, grating) from French, 'Scone' from Dutch, 'Kirk' from Old Norse and 'Janitor' from Latin. > Today, Scots is a living language, in use outwith the Gaeltacht. It is recognised as a seperate language, even in the European Union where it is represented by the bureau for lesser used languages. Jyne us nou! The Scots Language Society The AK Bell Library York Place Perth PH1 5EP Telephone: 01738 440199 Fax: 01738 646505 Local branches of the society are to be found in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. (rates in pounds sterling) Membership Europe Furth o Europe Ordinar member 10 12 Jynt membership 15 15 (twa fowk at ae address) Student/Unwaged 3 3 Schuil/ College Sponsorship 15 15 Corporate 20 20 Name................ Address.............. ..................... ..................... ..................... To pay, either fill out the form and return it to us, enclosing a cheque or postal order payable to the Scots Language Society or fill out the first part of the form attached to pay by standing order. If you wish to pay your subscriptions as a deed of covenant, fill out both parts of the attached covenant form. Return all forms to the Perth address above. Banker's order To: Bank: Address: My A/C No: A/C: Name: Please make the payment detailed below and debit my account Payee: The Scots Language Society Bank: The Royal Bank of Scotland Glasgow Parkhead Branch 1304 Duke Street Glasgow G31 5PZ Sort Code: 83-21-27 A/C No: 00256821 Amount: (In words) : (in figures): Payment date: On receipt of this order and annually thereafter on the 1st of January until countermanded by me. Reference: Quote my name when making payment Signature: Deed of Covenant UK Residents only To: The Scots Language Society I promise to pay you for four year, or during my life-time, if shorter, such sum as after deduction of income tax at the basic rate amount to: (amount in figures) : each year from the date shown below. (write in the space above, in your own handwriting, the words "Adopted as holograph") Signed: Date: Full name: Address: [71] What's on The Lowlands (Glasgow/Edinburgh area) http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/ The Highlands http://www.scot-highlands.com [72] Robert Burns links www.cyberiacafe.net/burns/ www.open.gov.uk/nithsdal/burnsidx.htm www.almac.co.uk/es/burns/index.html www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~darsie/burns.html www.discribe.ca/world/scotland/culture.html www.cc.gatec.edu/grads/b/Gary.N.Boone/love_in_letters.html www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/315.html www.lexmark.com/data/poem/poem.html www.scotborders.co.uk/burns/ sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/Scots/burns.html [73] Scottish music information The Scottish music information centre has compiled a book with over 3,000 entries giving details of Scottish music performers (classical, early music, folk and traditional jazz), music education, sources of funding, suppliers and services, venues, clubs and promoters, festivals and competitions. The book also has sections on young peoples' music, music from other cultures and publicity and marketing. Data: ISBN 0 9525489 0 9 paperback 210mm x 148mm 320pp 12.99 pounds published 30-Nov-95 Available from: Scottish music information centre 1 Bowmont Gardens Glasgow G12 9LR Tel: 0141 334 6393 Fax: 0141 337 1161 postage and packing is an additional 1.38 pounds for the UK. Dunno about further afield. They don't appear to take credit cards. I've seen a copy of the book and it looks excellent for people wanting to book artists for gigs and artists looking for venues and promoters etc. [74] The Celtic Cross It isn't Christian nor Celtic - the Celtic cross predates Christ by at least 1,000 years and the arrival of Celts in Scotland by at least 1,500. The stones at Callanish are laid in the shape of a Celtic cross. It is possible the Christians took the cross symbol from the Celts or Megalithic peoples but certainly not that the Celts took the symbol from the Christians. [75] Quangos (Quasi-autonomous non governmental organisations - now called non-departmental public bodies apparantly) If you think that quangos are over dominated by politicians of a certain political persuation - here's your chance to go on one yourself: Write to the Scottish Office and ask for the list of Non-Departmental Public Bodies. The address is: Room 237, St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, Scotland EH1 3DG Tel: 0131 244 4999 Fax: 0131 244 2683. You will be asked about your political persuations when you join - this is not used for selection but is simply used for statistical analysis (do you believe that?) [76] OBEs, honorific titles, etc John Major is attempting to award knighthoods, OBEs, MBEs etc to more members of the general public. If you know of someone who is worthy of an award then just write to 10 Downing St, Whitehall and ask for details. You get back a 4 page form to fill in. [77] Waulking songs Article by Craig Cockburn Waulking (an English word coined by someone who saw a waulking done with the feet) is a process for fulling Harris tweed. This makes it more airtight. There are many individuals and groups who have recorded a waulking song or two on an album of Gaelic music, but there are three albums of exclusively waulking songs which may be of interest: 1) Orain Luaidh - Waulking songs Published 1986 by the Harris Tweed Association (sorry no address) This is an excellent tape and has a 29 page A5 book with it which has lyrics for every song, a translation and some notes. There is a 5 page introduction which gives more information and additional reference material. Most of the contributions are from the Western Isles although one is from Cape Breton 2) and 3) both published by Greentrax records Cockenzie Business Centre, Edinburgh Road, Cockenzie, East Lothian EH32 0HL Tel: 01875 814155 Fax 01875 813345 http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm 2) Waulking songs from Barra This is published in the excellent "Scottish tradition" series which is essential for anyone really interested in authentic Scottish traditional music, particularly from an academic standpoint. This series is produced with the School of Scottish Studies, part of Edinburgh University and the world's foremost authority on Scottish ethnology. All the recordings (which cover both Highland, Lowland and Shetland traditions) have extensive books and notes to accompany them. The cassettes are not general mass market music and the song ones are all unaccompanied. They are however outstanding and in particular William Matheson's Gaelic Bards and Minstrels is incredible. I don't have the waulking tape in this series but I do have 3 others and they are both excellent! 3) Bannal - Waulking songs. Bannal is a group comprising many well known singers, they are: Kenna Campbell, Catherine Fletcher, Christine Grant, Wilma Kennedy, Mairi MacArthur, Chrissie MacInnes, Maeve MacKinnon, Mary C MacLean and Chrissie Martin The tape comprises 18 distinct songs of between 1 and 3 mins each and is all unaccompanied with all the women except Chrissie MacInnes having a turn at solo. Most of the women are known soloists in their own right. The tape is excellent entertainment value for listening to in the car (as I did today) but is spoiled considerably by not having any notes on the individual songs and more importantly no lyrics whatsoever in either Gaelic or English with the album and no indication that lyrics are available. This isn't the first time Greentrax have let me down in this way - Canan nan Gaidheal has no Gaelic lyrics either. By contrast Temple records have an excellent reputation for printing lyrics and given the choice between both companies I would feel happier buying a Gaelic recording from Temple knowing I would be able to get lyrics. (more from another article) When tweed is made, it needs to be fulled to increase it's ability to keep out the wind. Waulking is a process of repeatedly beating the cloth to full it and prepare it for use. Waulking songs are a musical form unknown elsewhere in Western Europe and often sound African. They are very rhythmic and were composed to keep the beat when the cloth was being waulked. This task was only done by women in Scotland, however in Nova Scotia where it is known as milling then it is generally a male task. Often waulking songs were adapted from other songs. Frequently they tell of local gossip, the material is not usually "highbrow". The tweed was generally soaked in human urine (it was someone's job to collect the urine which had been saved in each house). The women were usually seated around a table and the tweed would be placed on the table, or perhaps a door which had been taken off its hinges. There might be one woman at each end and maybe about 4-5 down each side. One person would sing out the verse and then everyone would join in the chorus. The verses and choruses (sometimes there are up to 4 choruses) are very short, sometimes only a few syllables. The chorus is what is used to classify waulking songs I think - nearly always the chorus is meaningless vocables. I only know of one which has real words - Deannain sugradh ris a nighean dubh (on the Poozies first album). There are a few waulking songs in the book "Folksongs and folklore of South Uist" (Margaret Fay Shaw). During the waulking, the cloth would be pulled towards you, then passed slightly to your left before pushing it back. This way, the cloth turned round the table in a clockwise manner as it was being waulked. The Gaels are superstitious and believe anti-clockwise to be unlucky. It was important to turn the cloth to ensure the cloth was evenly processed. Waulking as a process is now no longer necessary, machines do it now. However, there are societies which preserve the waulking tradition for historical/tourist reasons. I think waulking died out in the 1950s. Probably the oldest Gaelic song in existence (perhaps 13th C?) is Seathan, this is a waulking song and appears in Carmina Gadelica (an amazing source of folklore!). Seathan (he was the son of the King of Ireland) is several pages long and would easily take over an hour to sing. The waulking process could last about 2-3 hours and there would likely be a ceilidh afterwards (I hoped they washed their hands first!), with the men being invited back in. I think it was usual to start with slower songs and then to speed up towards the end - the speed of waulking songs varies a lot. Seathan, Gur h-e mo ghille dubh donn are quite slow whereas He mo leannan is usually sung a bit faster and Tha Mulad, He Mandu etc are faster still. One of the fastest is "Beann a' Cheathaich" which has been recorded by Christine Primrose and recently The Poozies on "Danceoozies" (I prefer Christine's version). It was adapted by Margaret Kennedy Fraser and became "Kishmul's Galley" Today, many bands/singers eg Capercaillie, Sileas, Poozies, Mary Jane Lamont, Runrig, Christine Primrose, Cathy Anne MacPhee, Flora MacNeill, Eilidh MacKenzie, etc etc use waulking songs - they are proving very popular and the strong rhythms make them quite transportable to so-called mainstream culture (mainstream in whose definition?). It was a waulking song sung by Capercaillie "Coisich a ruin" (also sometimes known as "Fluich an oidhche") which a few years ago became the first ever Scots Gaelic tune to enter the UK top 40. It is about 400 years old I think. There are three variations of this song that I know of. [78] Puirt a beul See the following for an introduction: http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~lingnau/puirt.html [79] Gaelic psalm singing Greentrax sells tapes from the School of Scottish studies and one of these is Gaelic psalm singing from Lewis. Greentrax has www pages at http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm Album reference is CDTRAX/CTRAX 9006 [80] Piobaireachd / Pibroch Available from Greentrax in the Scottish Tradition series. Relevant album numbers are CTRAX 9010,9011, 9012 and 9015 http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm [81] On-line Gaelic lessons http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bac/ also see http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/cli/ and e-mail canan@smo.uhi.ac.uk [82] Encyclopedia of the Celts http://www.centrum.dk/users/kmariboe [83] New Scottish Local Authorities http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/data/councils/ncintro.html [84] Oldest Datable Gaelic Song Piobaireachd Dhomhnuill Dhuibh Source: John MacInnes, School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh University On the Clan Alba Album [85] What is "Crest of the Clan Chief" in Gaelic Suaicheantas a ceann cinnidh [86] How mutually intelligible are Scots and Irish Gaelic Irish Gaelic and Scots Gaelic are a bit like Italian and Spanish - fluency in one goes a long way to understanding the other. I am learning Scots Gaelic and can read some Irish with a bit of difficulty, but fluent speakers of Scots Gaelic can more or less understand most Irish - indeed Irish Gaelic is sometimes broadcast on Scots Gaelic radio. The people from Islay however have a Gaelic that is almost a cross so have less trouble than the rest of Scotland. The written form is easier to understand than the spoken form. [87] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service http://www.lews.uhi.ac.uk/fosglan/fosglan2.htm [88] Getting a job in Scotland The Scotsman and The Herald carry job adverts most days, although Friday is usually the best day for both. The Scotsman has an Edinburgh bias to the jobs in it, the Herald a Glasgow bias. However, sometimes jobs in Edinburgh are only advertised in the Herald. I've also seen Highland jobs only advertised in the Herald. Best to get both if you're not fussy about location All the on-line resources are currently biased towards computing jobs. There are two newsgroups scot.jobs - jobs specific to Scotland, although only limited distribution uk.jobs.offered - jobs in UK (covers Scotland but heavily dominated by jobs in England) Jobserve Jobserve allows to to filter jobs by location so you can receive a mail whenever a job in Scotland comes up which matches your criteria (e.g. technical skills) For more information about JobServe, please send a blank email message to help@jobserve.com or visit the web server at http://www.jobserve.com/ Jobsite Similar to Jobserve although some jobs may appear on one and not the other. E-mail jobsite@jobsite.co.uk or visit their website at http://www.jobsite.co.uk/ Tel: 01243 641141 [89] Scottish newspapers on-line http://www.presence.co.uk/SundayPost/ - The Sunday Post http://www.scotsman.com - The Scotsman http://www.record-mail.co.uk/rm/ - Daily Record and Sunday Mail http://web1.cims.co.uk/herald/ - The Herald http://web1.cims.co.uk/eveningtimes/ - The Evening Times (Glasgow) http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/ - The List (but you need to register through the http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/ page) E-mail: 100676.1772@compuserve.com - The West Highland Free Press [90] Intro to Scottish Music By Charles McGregor There are several kinds of 'Scottish Music'.. First of all the Alexander brothers, Kenneth McKellar, Moira Anderson, Bill McCue type thing is IMO largely an amalgum of Harry Lauder type Coonery and a catering to Tourist tastes (mostly English coach parties) in various 'Summer'shows. Most Scots do not like this kind of thing, it makes them cringe. The Scottish folk circuit is where most Scots would look for a real cultural night out. It is alive and vibrant, it is not just about traditional music. There are many contemporary song-writers as well as traditionalists. Scotland being small, there is not a great deal of money available so you find that often some of the folk circuit artists may leave the circuit and go into other more lucrative areas. e.g. Gerry Rafferty, Barbara Dickson, Billy Connelly, Eddie Reader. Many remain e.g. Dougie MacLean, Eric Bogle, Archie Fisher, Hamish Imlach, Battlefield Band, Dick Gaughan, Tannahill Weavers, Phil Cunningham, Aly Bain. Now at one time, the folk circuit consisted almost entirely of little folk clubs up and down the country, there was not a deal of concert hall performances except for the Corries, and this meant that they were regarded a little apart from the general folk circuit as a consequence of this. Nowadays, concert hall performances are common as the folk 'revival' continues.(It seems to have been 'reviving' or getting bigger all my life). Dougie MacLean, Dick Gaughan etc. regularly fill halls up and down the country. Another large part of the folk circuit that used to be almost non existant is the 'folk fesitival'. I don't know how many there are now, possibly hundreds. Used to be 1.. the Scottish folk festival for years in Blairgowrie then moved to Kinross. Folk programs or series make regular appearances on TV. Then there is the ceilidh music. This basically falls into two camps. First there is a fairly formal version where the musicians are basically following a traditional trade. They are largely used for formal or semi-formal 'occasions' like weddings or 'Dances' in hotels or village halls. Scottish country dancing like this is regarded as a little plastic, or perhaps formulaic is a more appropriate word. However, Scots do go to these and frequently enjoy them, despite some similarity to 'summer time specials' they are not an artifact of tourism, although a lot of tourists will go as well. The Jimmy Shand band might typify this class of music. The Second type is the rapidly growing 'new order' of ceilidh music. In this version, formality goes out the window. The main objective is enjoyment, getting the dance steps wrong is almost irrelevant the groups are expected to at least be attempting to push the envelopes of the genre. There is a positive feedback between the audience and group which leads to near frenzy all round. Wolfstone perhaps typify this class of music. Then there is Gaelic music, which again falls into two categories, the formal and the less so. The formal consists of gaelic choirs up and down the country with the mega event being the national Mod once a year. The less formal are essentially concert hall based and consist of groups like Runrig, Capercaillie, Clan na Gael. Now the above are guidlines there is considerable overlap from one genre to the other. The term Celtic music covers several of them and indeed in some branches exchange with Irish artistes is commonplace, indeed several groups are part Irish part Scots e.g., Capercaillie, Waterboys, Relativity. [91] Scottish Independence information http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/hamish/index.html [92] Scottish Yellow Pages http://www.scotland.org/ [93] Understanding Scottish Dance music I hope this is what you're looking for -- and as a caveat, this is only my understanding based on observation/listening, not on any authoritative source. Also, you must know that this is not the best way to learn this stuff! It would have helped to know which tunes you know; I've included some examples that I think are common, but they might not be in your experience. I hope you can find some kind person to show this to you interactively; reading text is a terrible medium for this kind of information. Nevertheless: What characterizes each kind of tune is the rhythm. You must be able to hear differences in rhythm in order to tell one from the other. First of all, listen for the "downbeats" or major rhythmic accents. These kinds of dance tunes are evenly divided into measures (also called bars) and the downbeat is the first beat in each measure. Counting the number of beats from one downbeat to the next is the first step in distinguishing one type of tune from the others. The examples that follow the explanations (the BUMP bahs, etc.) are best understood said aloud if possible, and/or tapped with the hands, fingers or feet, to get a physical sense of the rhythms. THINGS IN FOUR Reels and strathspeys, and most hornpipes are counted in four, that is, they have four beats to a measure. Jigs of all kinds are in three (have multiples of three beats to the measure). A pickier (or more knowledgeable) person might say that many reels, etc. are in fact counted in two rather than four, but for purposes of simplification, I'm calling it four. Likewise, jigs are counted in three or multiples thereof. reels and single/double jigs have two beats to the measure. Strathspeys have either 4 or 2 depending on the style (RSCDS tends to be in 2, while Cape Breton and Highland are in 4). To illustrate, if someone were playing a typical reel, Flowers of Edinburgh, for example, no one would clap 4 beats to the measure. Rather they would normally clap two beats to the measure. Likewise, the musicians will normally tap two beats with their feet, if they tap at all. The same is true of jigs. The difference is what happens in the beat. In reels there is a duple rhythm, which could be expressed as 4 notes to the beat, 8 notes to the measure, while in jigs there is a triple rhythm with three notes to the beat or six notes to the measure. I've seen some people give metronome markings of the beat =240, counting 4 beats to the measure, but that strikes me as ridiculous. It's almost impossible to count at mm=240, but not too hard at mm=120 and two beats to the measure. BTW, RSCDS seems to use about mm=112 for both reels and jigs. In a reel, the notes are for the most part evenly spaced -- that is, all the fast notes have the same time as each other, and the same with the slower ones. And reels are played quickly. Very quickly, usually. Hornpipes and strathspeys are usually slower, though of course this depends on the players. Some people play everything as fast as they can manage, to the detriment of the beauty of the music, IMHO. Though this is not always the case, I think of hornpipes as having what is called "dotted time" (because of the way it is written). The first note is held longer than the second, so a bar of this kind of rhythm might be illustrated: Bump bah bump bah where the "Bumps" have half again as much time as the "bahs" or even twice as long as the "bahs", giving the hornpipe a feeling of triple time within a 4 beat measure. But dotted time is usually only one component of the rhythm. Other rhythmic figures such as triplets and regular quarter notes are sprinkled in amongst the dotted. The triplets work out real well with the dotted rhythm. Another common feature of hormpipes is that the parts often end with three beats. For instance, perhaps the most well-known hornpipe, The Sailor's Hornpipe, ends this way, though, I'm sorry to say, it doesn't have dotted time. The Rights of Man hornpipe has both. Hornpipes can be played in several different styles. RSCDS tends to treat hornpipes as reels, which tends to force the notes into equal value, like a reel. On the other hand, they can be played slowly with the dotted rhythm. Sailor's Hornpipe certainly can be played that way, though most people don't. BTW, do you mean the Popeye tune for Sailor's. That tune is known in most Scottish collections I've seen as the College Hornpipe, with another tune being called the Sailor's hornpipe. Thought I would mention it since it does cause some confusion on this side of the pond from time to time. Strathspeys are even harder to explain, though if you got the bit about dotted time, you might understand this explanation too. As I understand it, strathspeys feature what we might call "reverse dotted time" where a measure might have Bah bump, bah bump or Bah bump, bump bah as a rhythmic feature in many of its measures. This is called the "Scottish snap" since strathspeys are a Scottish invention. They often have regular dotted time, quarter notes, and triplets as well. In general, then, hornpipes and strathspeys are both slower than reels and have more varied rhythmic figures. Marches are also slower than reels, but have that sense of even rhythm that is good for cadence. Strathspeys can be quite fast, if beat in 4. It's not uncommon to have a strathspey (in 4) going at mm=128 while a reel (in 2) is a mm=116. Marches can be played as quick two-steps, such as Duke of Fife's Welcome to Deeside, or as slower pipe marches and retreat marches. There should be a swing and lilt to a march, though, which often involves dotting the rhythm somewhat, not unlike a hornpipe or strathspey. Alasdair Fraser has written a march, the Aberdeen Alternative Festival March, which started out as a strathspey. He decided that the form of the tune called for it to be considered a march. Another interesting category in marches is the 6/3 marches, such as the Atholl Highlanders, and the retreat marches, which are in three beats to the measure, such as the Bloody Fields of Flanders, which is the tune for The Freedom Come-All-Ye. THINGS IN THREE Jigs are in three, usually counted as six, or nine, or twelve. To my ear, distinguishing between the 6 and 12 often seems somewhat subjective, but that's probably due to a limitation in my powers of discernment. Double jigs, single jigs, and slides all have a sense of two or four-ness about them -- the underlying beat is in twos. I'm not sure what the difference between double and single jigs is -- though I believe that double jigs are counted in six, and slides are in twelve. If you're counting a double jig in six, it'd be ONE two three Four five six ONE two three Two two three ^ | [Sorry to beat this over the head, but the "ONE" gets the major stress (^), and the "Four" or "Two" gets the secondary stress (|). You might try beating this out yourself with the right hand doing the beats with stresses and the left doing the others (or v.v. if you're left-handed)] Likewise for slides, it's ONE two three Four five six Seven eight nine Ten eleven twelve ONE two three Two two three Three two three Four two three ^ | | | Slip jigs, however, have the very different feel of three-ness: ONE two three Four five six Seven eight nine ONE two three Two two three Three two three ^ | | The Butterfly Jig is a good example of a slip jig. Waltzes are also in three (or six), but much slower. As I understand it, single jigs tend to have a predominant rhythm of long-short for each beat, such as The Stool of Repentance opening measure. Off She Goes might be a better example. Double jigs have the three notes to the beat rhythm. Most RSCDS jigs are single or double jigs. Some ceilidh dancing, such as Strip the Willow, can be done to slip jigs. Slip jigs are much less common in Scottish music that, I think, in Irish music. Waltzes are a completely different animal, and should not be confused with jigs in any way. BASIC TUNE STRUCTURE I have yet to discover the nuances of the way people write tunes out; for example, most reels can be written as a series of quarter and eighth notes, or as eighth and sixteenths. I'm sorry if this is getting too technical, but the point is that I don't think there are hard and fast rules governing how to write this stuff out. Depending on how you write them out then, tunes usually have four or eight bars in each part, then that part is repeated once immediately after playing it the first time. Most tunes have two parts; call the first part A, the second B, and so forth. So most tunes are sixteen or thirty-two bars. Taking the case of the thirty-two bar tune, it would be two A parts of eight bars each, then two B's of eight bars each. A (8 bars) A (8 bars) B (8 bars) B (8 bars) In RSCDS, most reels and jigs call for 32 bar tunes, so the tune is either played AABB or ABAB once through before going to the next tune. Strathspeys are usually 16 measures in length, so they are usually played twice, so that the same 32 bars are reached before going to the next tune in the set. Some dances call for 40 or 48 bar tunes, which causes odd repeat patterns. As a practicing musician, I don't particularly like 40 and 48 bar tunes because I'm used to playing 32 bar tunes and I actually have to try to remember the odd repeat pattern. Can cause screw-ups at dances, though I usually make it through. Also, MOST of the time, people play this whole shebang twice through before heading off to the next tune in a medley. Sometimes they play it more than twice, but rarely do they play it only once through. RSCDSs, because of the insistance on 32 bar tunes, tends to have but one playing of a reel or jig, most of which are 32 bar tunes if played AABB, before going to the next tune. However, I never let a tune go only one time in concert, unless it's a long, usually 4 part, pipe tune where the 3rd and 4th parts are strongly related to the 1st and 2nd parts. There are many exceptions to all of this, of course. One of my favorite tunes, The Galtee Hunt, has eight bars in the A part, and twelve in the B part. Let me know if this makes any sense to you, or if I'm talking way below or above your understanding. I've tried to explain this before on the net, but as I said, text is hardly the best way to get this across. But it's interesting to me to try to verbalize stuff that has become almost second nature to me. Though, I hasten to add, I frequently have to count to figure out what a tune is. One other caveat: Sometimes the title of the tune is the Such-and-such Reel or whatever, and it's not played in that rhythm at all. I don't know why this happens, and it's rare, but it does happen. Sometimes people just change the way it's played for fun. There's a hornpipe called The Banks Hornpipe that Michael Coleman plays as a hornpipe, but I've heard it played here in the States for contradances as a reel. Just human perversity, I guess! A strathspey is actually a type of reel which developed in the valley (strath) of the river Spey area in Northeast Scotland. There are several ways to play strathspeys. For the more formal Royal Scottish Country Dance Society dances, the strathspey is played essentially in two, but with a strong afterbeat on the second beat to lead into the next measure. Since the music is written in 4/4, the basic rhythm for RSCDS dancing would be ONE two THREE Four, with emphasis at least every other measure on the Four. For Highland dancing, the playing is done in a vigouorous four, and somewhat faster than the RSCDS tempo of approximately 60 for the half-note. Highland would be somewhat faster than 120 for the quarter-note. Cape Breton strathspeys are sometimes slower and sometimes faster, but are usually in four beats to the bar. A common pattern is to have a slow strathspey lead into a faster strathspey, which gets faster until the players and dancers break into reels, which are actually slower than the strathspey (in four) is at that point. Strathspeys can often be identified by the Scottish Snap rhythm, usually notated as a 16th - dotten 8th, but played more like a 32nd - double dotted 8th, which occurs at various times in the piece. While strathspeys are in 4/4, not 12/8, I understand that Scottish pipe band drummers often treat them as if they were in 12/8 because of the tendency to make dotted (dotten 8th - 16th) rhythms sound as if they were some form of triplets. However, they are notated either as regular dotted rhythms or as equal notes. Strathspeys often do have triplets notated in them, and they are notated as triplets. They also often have runs of 4 16th notes, and the two features are often found in the same strathspeys. The feel of a strathspey is quite different from that of a slide (an form of jig in 12/8) or of jigs, and the music should be thought of as 4/4 or 2/2 which may have triple or quadriple rhythms, not as a firm triplet rhythm as in a jig. [94] Article on History of Language in Scotland In Britain (including Scotland), brythonic Celtic predates Gaelic by almost 1000 years or so. Being spoken from Kent up to Glasgow and across to Wales. Some people even suggest that Brythonic was spoken in Ireland before Gaelic, but this notion begs the question... Where did Gaelic come from and When? But that's another story. Pictish (possibly Celtic) would probably predate even brythonic. As to Gaelic and English in Scotland, The Highlands of Scotland were occupied by Picts and the lowlands were occupied by Brythonic Celts. The Romans occupying the lowlands during this time and when the Romans left in 407, they left a weak kingdom, but still brythonic. The Scots (Gaelic speaking) extended their region of Dalriada into Argyllshire, between 500 and 550. The Angles extended the Kingdom of Northumbria into Lothian, Berwick, Selkirk, Peebles and Roxburgh. As far as I am aware these areas are in present day Scotland (except Berwick). The Angles spoke a dialect of what is know today as "Old English". The Angles moved into this area about 540 -600, these are rough dates. As time went on, Scotland was left with 4 distinct areas. Dalriada, Pictland, Strathclyde and Lothian (Northumbria). In 625 the Northumbrian Kingdom stretched from the Humber to the Forth and was ruled by Edwin. In 685 the Northumbrians decided to try and extend Northumbria into Pictland and hence invaded the Picts, but this was a big mistake. The Northumbrian army was defeated by the Picts and eventually Northumbria lost supremacy to the Southern Saxons. (Also why RP is based on Southern English and Not Northumbrian ???). The Picts became the supreme overlords of the Scots in Dalriada and the Brythonic Celts in Strathclyde. About 785, Pictland started to receive attacks from bands of Norse invaders and these lead to Pictish defeats and in the 830 (approx), the Norse invaders made permanent settlements. In 843 Dalriada threw off Pictish control, where upon the Scots King Kenneth MacAlpine laid claim to the Pictish throne through the Celtic law of Tanistry. Followed by the union of the Picts and the Scots. The now "United Kingdom" tried to oust the Northumbrians from Lothian but were unsuccessful. At this time the Norse people occupied the Western Isles, Northern Isles and Caithness. The Scots allied themselves to the English to get rid of the Norse Invaders and sometimes allied themselves with the Norse to get rid of the English. It was not until 1018 that the Scots Kingdom managed to remove Lothian from the hands of the Northumbrians and in 1034 the Scots, Angles, British and Picts were a United Kingdom of Scotland. As far as I am aware MacBeth was the last of the Gaelic Kings, and he himself was followed by Malcolm, whose wife (an English lass) moved the royal court to Edinburgh around about 1070. At this time many persecuted English people moved into Lothian from England due to Norman Conquest. The English who were persecuted in England flourished in Scotland. The real point of all the above is that English has been spoken since the 6th Century in Scotland. Not all of it but quite a large piece. Modern Scots dates back to the first Angle invasions at this time. Incidently Whilst parts of Scotland were English speaking, parts of England were still Celtic speaking eg West Yorkshire Kingdom of Elmet and part of Cumbria. To sum up English has been spoken for longer in Edinburgh than in Leeds. Nick Higham has written an excellent book on the history of Northumbria. Sorry don't have more details [95] Article on Scottish Step Dancing Article by Dr Margaret Bennett "Step-dancing: Why we must learn from past mistakes" MARGARET BENNETT of the School of Scottish Studies on the history - and possible future - of a unique form of dance. When I read your article "Step-dancing makes its return ..." earlier this year [in the West Highland Free Press (WHFP)] it was not my intention to "join in the dance" as I saw it as a useful piece of publicity for Harvey Beaton's step-dancing class that was to be held at Sabhal Mor Ostaig, [the Gaelic Adult Education and Community College on the Isle of Skye]. Publicity or not, it was a pity the article began with so many historical distortions - all that nonsense about Queen Victoria's "infatuation with the Highlands" which had a "lasting effect upon the style of music and dance". Perhaps it is an attempt at retroactive "Royal bashing" for it has no bearing whatsoever on reality. Based on my own research, I would say that Queen Victoria took a sincere and supportive interest in Scotland's culture and languages and would urge others to read her journals before making such sweeping statements. There are also accounts from oral tradition, such as one which was re-told to me by my colleague, Dr John MacInnes, of Queen Victoria advising the Duke of Atholl to employ a Gaelic-speaking nursemaid so that the language would not be lost. If only twentieth century mothers had applied her clear-thinking principle, Gaelic would be in a much healthier state. In view of the fact that by far the greatest influence on Scottish traditional dance did not appear until well after Queen Victoria's death, it might be as well to remind readers of the facts. Ironically, (though too often the case with people who "mean well") the woman who undoubtedly had the greatest influence on dance had every intention of *preserving* it. She was Miss Jean Milligan, lecturer in Physical Education at Jordanhill College of Education in Glasgow, and as such, was in the ideal position to train teachers in every aspect of the dances she clearly loved. She did not, however, love the wild, undisciplined ways of the "untrained" village hall or kitchen-floor dancers, who, at that time would dance in whatever footwear they happened to be wearing, or, as was often the case in summer, in bare feet. She was certainly willing to study dance, and if, for example, she watched several versions of a particular reel, she would decide on a standard *correct style*, then, with missionary zeal, set about "correcting" rural dances. Beginning with footwear (dance-pumps, please) she tackled "position", having decided it should be based on classical ballet. In 1923 she co-founded The Scottish Country Dance Society, and published books that set out the "proper" way to dance. From then on, there cannot be a teacher who trained at Jordanhill who does not remember the classes - in my own day, mid 60s, we had three years of them - you bought the books, turned up with the proper shoes, learnt the "positions" and dances, and how to teach them. Then, thoroughly trained, five hundred of us girls graduated each year convinced that we were on the right track. (I did, however, wonder at the instructions to the piano player which always began: "Thank you Miss Peterkin, (shouted) *and!*" Just calculate the number of school-teachers, to say nothing of the privately trained village-hall teachers, who have influenced Scottish dance since 1923 - it was the ideal system for "correcting" an entire nation. I have no doubt that some readers will be irritated at what they might perceive as criticism of the RSCDS and its co-founder. That is not at all my intention. I believe that any form of dance is perfectly valid; what is *not* valid is to eliminate traditional forms along the way. There is much to be said in favour of the RSCDS, as the organisation has given pleasure to millions of dancers and spectators over the years, and, in its own way, acts as an ambassador for Scotland. I would, however, suggest that anyone serious enough to research aspects of Scottish dance should read Miss Milligan's own account of what her aims were and how she set about attaining them. The reader will, at the same time, gain an interesting insight into her (lack of) understanding of Scottish culture. To cite one example which will show how inaccurately she perceived dance in the broader scope of Scottish Customs: in 1912, before she cleverly discovered how to train school-teachers to promote her ideas, Miss Milligan founded the Beltane Society in Glasgow in order (she wrote) "to cultivate among the younger generation a knowledge of Scottish folk songs, ballads, dances and . . . to maintain all the national customs and quaint ceremonies ...". Our forebears celebrated Beltane, *Latha Bealltain*, for centuries, and, as many of your readers already know, it had nothing to do with Jean Milligan's revolutionary ideas. Fortunately, membership of her Beltane Society was voluntary (unlike the Jordanhill dance classes) and did not last, otherwise we might be faced with the task of re-educating our own people in yet another perfectly valid part of our past. *IT IS NOT* surprising, then, that the older dances which were so popular in the Scottish Highlands were preserved in the New World amongst emigrants who left Scotland before the massive re-education campaign started. There were solo dances and group dances, all of which involved a variety of steps and formations, and depending on where the dances were performed, there were (and are) countless variations. They were not, however, confined to Cape Breton, as they could be found wherever Highlanders settled: New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, Ontario, Quebec, and so on. While it is heartening to watch a revival in step-dancing and to see it taught once again in Scotland, when I hear of revivalists referring to this solo dancing as "Cape Breton step-dancing" and then dictating that all dancers *must* wear hard-soled shoes of a certain type, I wonder if they are not in danger of repeating some of the same mistakes that Miss Milligan is accused of making? In their zeal to "do it right" new enthusiasts may be creating a new set of rules that may be just as definitive as those set out by the RSCDS. As far as the terms of reference are concerned, if we adopt the same logic which is applied to the naming of step-dancing and then, for example, apply it to the Gaelic language, we would be able to state authoritatively that people in Skye, or any other Gaelic-speaking area, speak "Lewis Gaelic", for, after all, that is where Gaelic is spoken most widely. Imagine the outcry! In the space of a few short years, the term "Cape Breton step-dancing" has even taken hold in Canada, and can be heard in provinces where it was completely unknown twenty years ago. This summer I encountered it on the west coast of Newfoundland, where Scottish step-dancing has survived every bit as well as in Cape Breton, albeit with a much smaller area. I was told "well, I guess that's what they're calling it now - you see it on the television." Only two years ago I video-recorded the same step-dancer who never once used the term "Cape Breton step-dancing" although he has often danced in Cape Breton at the invitation of Cape Bretonners who liked his style. On the subject of hard-soled shoes, the same dancer commented that they are "pretty good at a ceilidh," especially on a wooden floor, above the sound of the fiddle, "but years ago, more often or not I'd be dancing bare-feet out in the field and singing for myself." In the past, there were no rules, and it was just as common for a woodsman in his steel-toed boots in the lumber camp bunkhouse as it was for the priest to dance in his black leather shoes at the church social. Another Newfoundland Gael, whose people emigrated from Canna and Moidart in the 1820s and 40s, described where they got their dances (transcribed from tape): "We had people here that taught step-dancing, the Scotch dancing ... there was one woman here, she was a MacDonald, she could dance sixty steps, different steps, and it was all the right dancing, you know, step-dancing. Oh I tell you they were pretty lively! They knew the tunes, a lot of them from Scotland ... they followed the tunes from Scotland right down." There is obviously a crying need for a dedicated individual to document carefully the range of material available. Since I am a folklorist (not a dance ethnographer) who happens to have made a number of video and audio tapes on the subject (and yes, they are at the School of Scottish Studies), I have no plans for writing a book about the history of dance. I have, however, made much of my own collection available to interested individuals. In my 11 years at the School of Scottish Studies I have only encountered three people whose interest was such that they were prepared to spend the time studying all the material available. One was a former Highland dance champion who was writing a post-graduate dissertation on Scottish dance, and during her studies she discovered that her own mother, brought up in the Stirling area, and by then in her seventies, had a repertoire of step-dances which she had never demonstrated until she saw a film of step-dancing in Canada. Till then, the older lady had thought her daughter who "had been trained to dance properly" might ridicule her. The second person was one of our own students who studied village hall dances; and the third person was James MacDonald-Reid, who quite correctly stated in his recent letter to the WHFP that step-dancing did not, in fact, die out in Scotland this century. Since he was courteous enough to ask me if he could refer to my tapes (and without hesitation I agreed) it is only fair that I should take some responsibility for his reference. As is our policy, he did not mention any names, for we had not asked the permission of informants. Apart from the tapes already mentioned, Mr Reid listened to a discussion by a step-dancer in the Spey Valley who can still dance step-dances that had been taught to her by her parents who were from Laggan and Barra respectively. Like the Stirling woman, she did not simply display a glimmer of recognition at the sight of "Cape Breton step-dancing", but she could (and can) get out on the floor and dance the steps. It is easy to understand why individuals such as these have kept silent about their ability, for ever since they went to school they have been shown how to dance "correctly". And, having mastered the RSCDS dances, both women channelled their childhood energy and love of dance into Highland Dance, which also has all the acceptability and status lacking in the steps they had learned at home. It is to this particular recording that James MacDonald-Reid referred, as he not only watched her dancing on video (in this case made professionally by the independent film company Caledonia, Sterne and Wylde) but also visited the dancer. Together they discussed aspects of dance, and though I was only able to observe one session of this discourse, anyone watching the two of them - one born and brought up in the Highlands, and the other brought up in Ontario in a Scottish family - would be in no doubt as to the continuity of tradition. Aside from those mentioned, there are reports of others, granted only few, who still dance the old steps, but to pronounce something dead while it yet breathes is inaccurate, to say the least. *CLEARLY* there is much to be done to promote step-dancing and revive it. If however, those who profess to have its best interest at heart ignore the facts, then we are in trouble. It saddens me to watch the very same bodies who declare a serious interest make so many of the same mistakes that we watched in the past. It is all very well to bring in an expert for a week or two a year, but what of the rest of the time? Those who decide on the appointment of dance teachers must consider carefully what the demands are, as they plan the promotion of traditional dance. The ideal person should possess a profound depth of knowledge, a natural ability to dance, and good, clear teaching techniques. Anyone who has seen Jamie MacDonald-Reid dance, heard him discuss the subject (and *not* when he is unfairly cornered by interviewers determined to set him on edge), or anyone who has seen him teach dance to a class of children or adults could not doubt his abilities, nor imagine that he is responsible for some of the damage that Mike Kennedy attributes to "professional dancers and dance teachers" (WHFP) Interestingly, though not surprisingly, Mr Reid is also the only person whom I have ever encountered who could, after watching the video of the Newfoundland step-dancing, perform the steps himself, as if they were second nature to him. (The usual reaction of new observers is to ask "how in the world does that step go," repeat, and try to figure it out.) I wonder when some organisation, perhaps a local authority, a feis or a festival, might risk asking James MacDonald-Reid to run a dance class? Those who have taken the time to watch him are already convinced. It would be a great pity if some of the so-called enthusiasts spent the rest of their lives "trying to figure it out" instead of enlisting the talent of someone who has taken the subject seriously all of his life. If there is anyone who is more passionately committed to traditional dance in Scotland then I would very much like to hear from him or her. Better still, I'd love to watch the dance. (c) from West Highland Free Press, 14/10/94 *emphasis* - the asterisks are to emphasise various words that might otherwise be in bold or italic fonts. [96] Address to a Haggis - Robert Burns To A Haggis Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, Great chieftain o' the Puddin-race! Aboon them a' ye tak your place, Painch, tripe, or thairm: Weel are ye wordy of a grace As lang's my arm. The groaning trencher there ye fill, Your hurdies like a distant hill, Your pin wad help to mend a mill In time o' need, While thro' your pores the dews distil Like amber bead. His knife see Rustic-labour dight, An' cut you up wi' ready slight, Trenching your gushing entrails bright Like onie ditch; And then, O what a glorious sight, Warm-reekin, rich! Then, horn for horn they stretch an' strive, Deil tak the hindmost, on they drive, Till a' their weel-swall'd kytes belyve Are bent like drums; Then auld Guidman, maist like to rive, _Bethankit_ hums. Is there that owre his French _ragout_ Or _olio_ that wad stow a sow, Or _fricasee_ was mak her spew Wi' perfect sconner Looks down wi' sneering, scornfu' view On sic a dinner? Poor devil! See him owre his trash, As feckless as a wither'd rash, His spindle shank a guid whip-lash, His nieve a nit; Thro' bluidy flood or field to dash, O how unfit! But mark the Rustic, haggis-fed, The trembling earth resounds his tread, Clap in his walie nieve a blade, He'll mak it whissle; An' legs, an' arms, an' heads will sned, Like taps o' thrissle. Ye Pow'rs wha mak mankind your care, And dish them out their bill o' fare, Auld Scotland wants nae skinking ware, That jaups in luggies; But, if ye wish her gratefu' prayer, Gie her a Haggis! [97] Scottish Text Archive gopher://bubl.bath.ac.uk:7070/11/BUBL_Main_Menu/S/SB/SBF contains works by Robert Burns, Scottish Poetry Collection Scottish Stories Collection Ochil Fairy Tales all are on-going projects [98] How to get scot.* hierarchy groups gopher://news.csie.nctu.edu.tw/11/news/usenet/scot or news-server news.demon.co.uk or pubnews.demon.co.uk [99] Fiddle Styles Cape Breton style is the old Scottish style of some 150-200 years ago. Its main influences are pipes and traditional singing. It's highly ornamented and mostly uses single bows. West Coast style is exemplified by the playing of Angus Grant. It's a style which doesn't relate much to the old fiddle style and seems to have come mostly from piping. There's a lot of ornamentation and very long bowstrokes are used to mimic the drone of the pipes. There's a traditional east coast style that is very seldom heard. Most of the east coast players of today are heavily influenced by classical violin style. There's one recording of the old style I know: "The Cameron Men". Shetland is a totally different tradition which relates strongly to Scandinavian fiddling. To compare various fiddle styles from around Scotland, the following tape/CD from Greentrax may be of use: The Fiddler and his art (reference: CDTRAX/CTRAX 9009) there is another one in this series focussing on Shetland music: CDTRAX/CTRAX "Shetland Fiddle Music" See http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm Alasdair Fraser has also recorded "Portrait of a Scottish Fiddler" - this is now available on CD For Cape Breton Fiddle styles, anything by Buddy MacMaster or Natalie MacMaster [100] Frequently Requested Songs Index: [100.1] My Bonnie Moorhen [100.2] Theid mi Dhachaidh - from Rob Roy [100.3] Sileas puirt a beul [100.4] Amazing Grace [100.5] Eilean nam Bothan [100.6] Runrig - Skye [100.7] Oh wee white rose of Scotland [100.8] Loch Lomond [100.9] William McBride [100.10] Fields of Athenry [100.11] Doon in the Wee Room [100.12] An teid thu leam a Mhairi [100.13] Ailein duinn - from Rob Roy [100.14] Ca the yowes [100.15] Alasdair Mhic Cholla Ghasda [100.16] Nighean nan geug [100.17] Boneparte [100.18] Sguaban Arbhair Frequently Requested Songs - Contents [100.1] My Bonnie Moorhen My bonnie moorhen, my bonnie moorhen, Up in the grey hills, and doon in the glen, It's when ye gang butt the hoose, when ye gang ben I'll drink a health tae my bonnie moorhen. My bonnie moorhen's gane o'er the faim, And it will be summer e'er she comes again, But when she comes back again some folk will ken, And drink a toast tae my bonnie moorhen. My bonnie moorhen has feathers anew, And she's a' fine colours, but nane o' them blue, She's red an' she's white, an' she's green an' she's grey My bonnie moorhen come hither away. Come up by Glen Duich, and doon by Glen Shee An' roun' by Kinclaven and hither tae me, For Ranald and Donald are oot on the fen, Tae brak the wing o' my bonnie moorhen. This is a song from the Jacobite period of Scottish history and is one of many of the period with double meanings and disguise. In the song, the fugitive is being hunted in the hills by government forces and Ranald and Donald are red coat soldiers. The colours referred to are those of the old Stuart tartan. The Prince is the moorhen [100.2] Theid mi Dhachaidh - from Rob Roy Date: Thu, 07 Sep 1995 20:44:19 -0400 (EDT) From: KKHJ@delphi.com Subject: Theid Mi Dhachaidh, can you forward? To: craig@scot.demon.co.uk Hello Craig, I think you are right that these words in Gaelic and English would be of interest to others at rec.music.celtic; but my software will not import this text into newsgroups. I am hoping that if I send it to you, you could forward it to that newsgroup? If not, let me know and I'll figure something out, but I don't think I could have keyboarded all this in on line! I am sending this to Digitrad. Thanks, Karen Gaelic words to "Theid Mi Dhachaidh", or "Cro Chinn T-Saile " (Courtesy of An Comunn Gaidhealach, many thanks to them for their kindness) Se/ist Theid mi dhachaidh ho ro dachaidh, Theid mi dhachaidh chro\ Chin t-Sa\ile, Theid mi dhachaidh ho ro dhachaidh, Theid mi dhachaidh chro\ Chinn t-Sa\ile. Rann 1 Theid mi fhi\n, leam fhi\n, leam fhi\n ann, Theid mi fhi\n, leam fhi\n a Gea\rrloch, Theid mi fhi\n, leam fhi\n, leam fhi\n ann 'S gabhaidh mi 'n rathad mo/r Chinn t-Sa\ile. Rann 2 Bi mi nochd am buaile Phearsain, Bi mi 'n a chuid mhart am ma\ireach. Bi mi nochd am buaile Phearsain, Bi mi 'n a chuid mhart am ma\ireach. English words, from Talitha MacKenzie's "So/las" CD I will go home I will go home to the cattlefold of Kintail. I will go home I will go home to the cattlefold of Kintail. I will go myself, by myself, there I will go myself, by myself to Gairloch. I will go myself, by myself, there I will take the high road to Kintail. Tonight I will be in the parson's cattlefold, Tomorrow I will be with the cattle headed for the slaughter Tonight I will be in the parson's cattlefold, Tomorrow I will be with the cattle headed for the slaughter. (She adds another verse:) I will go to Urray, to reap the sea-bent I will go to Urray with you, my love I will go to Urray, to reap the sea-bent I will go to Urray with you, my love. I am not good enough at Gaelic yet to figure out if the English exactly matches the Gaelic? Karen [100.3] Sileas puirt a beul 3 Traditional puirt a beul from the Si\leas album "Beating Harps" See also http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~lingnau/puirt.html for information on puirt (1) Tha bann' aig na caoraich uile (x3) All the sheep have milk 'S galan aig a' chaora chruim And the one with the crooked horn has a gallon Ubh oirr' cho mo/r ri gamhain She has an udder as big as a milk cow's 'S e cho sleamhain ris an i\m And it's as slippery as butter (2) Sheatadh cailleach The old woman would set ruilleadh cailleach The old woman would reel Sheatadh cailleach ris a' bhalg The old woman would set to the bag Sheatadh cailleach Uileam Bhuidhe Yellow haired William's old woman would set ris a bhuidheann a bh'air falbh to the company that had gone Ruilleadh cailleach nan cailleach The old woman of the old women would reel ri cailleach bhaile nan cailleach to the old woman of the town of old women 'S gu seatadh a chailleach Hearach and the old woman of Harris would set ris a chaillich a bh'air falbh to the old woman who had gone Ruilleadh cailleach Iain Bhuidhe Yellow haired John's old woman would reel Ris a chailleach a bh'aig Uileam to William's old woman 'S nuair a thug Anna dhith and when Anna took off her mutch an curachd B'fheadar a dh'Iain Curraidh falbh John Curry had to go away (3) Thoir a nall Ailean thugam, Bring Allan over to me, Ailean thugam, Ailean thugam to me, to me Thoir a nall Ailean thugam Bring Allan over to me, seatadh e'n t-urlar he would set the floor Cha teid Fionnlagh a dh'Eige Finlay won't go to Eigg Ged nach po\sda e feasda although he's not married yet Cha teid Fionnladh a dh'Eige Finlay won't go to Eigg Dh'Eige cha teid Fionnlagh To Eigg Finlay won't go Ceann ruadh air a nighean The girl has red hair Buidhe ruadh air a nighean The girl has yellow-red hair Ceann ruadh air a nighean The girl has red hair Mar a bh'air a ma\thair Just like her mother [100.4] Amazing Grace Miorbhail Gra\is -- Version sent to me by An Comunn Gaidhealach, translator unknown O Miorbhail gra\is! nach breagh' an ceo\l; 'S e lorg mi 's mi air chall, Air seachdran dorch', gun neart, gun treo\ir, 'S a dh'fhosgail su\ilean dall. 'S e gra\s thug eo\las dhomh air m'fheum; 'S e gra\s thug saors' is si\th; 'S cha cheannaicheadh o\r a' chruinne-che\ Chiad la\ bha fios nam chri\dh'. Tro iomadh cunnart 's trioblaid chruaidh Thug E gu sa\bhailt mi. An gra\s a shaor bhon bha\s le buaidh Chan fha\g 's cha tre\ig gu si\or. San dachaigh bhuan gun uair gun ti\m, 'S deich mi\le bliadhn' mar la\, Cha sguir an ceo\l 's chan fha\s iad sgi\th A' seinn a chaoidh mun ghra\s. [100.5] Eilean nam Bothan Eilean nam Bothan Variant 1 Ars an gobha fuiricheamaid Ars an gobha falbhamaid Ars an gobha ris an ogha Na sheasamh aig dorus an t-sabhal Gu rachadh e shuiridhe. Chorus ~~~~~~ 'Si eilean nam bothan nam bothan Eilean nam bothan nam bothan Eilean nam bothan nam bothan Bothan a bh'aig Fionnghal' (Repeat) Bheirinn fead air fulmaire Bheirinn fead air falmaire Liughannan beaga na mara Bheireamaid greis air an tarruing Na maireadh a na duirgh dhuinn. Cha d'fhuair sinn dad ann a seo Cha d'fhuair sinn dad ann a seo Cha d'fhuair sinn dad ann a seo Cail ach racadail na duirgh dhuinn O nach tigeadh Carbhanach O nach tigeadh Carabhanach Mursgainn is leabagan glas A bheireadh na dubhain 'on fheamainn Na maireadh na duirghe dhuinn. Island of Bothies ----------------- The blacksmith said let us wait The blacksmith said let us go The blacksmith said to his grandchild standing at the door of the barn that he was going to go courting. Island of bothies, of bothies Island of bothies, of bothies Island of bothies, of bothies Fingal's bothies. I'd knock spots off the birds I'd knock spots off the hakes [fish] little lythes [flat fish] of the sea. We would take a while hauling them in if our hand lines last. We got nothing here We got nothing here We got nothing here except noises of the hand lines. If only carp would come If only carp would come or razor fish or flounder that would take the hooks from the seaweed if our hand lines last. Variant 2 - Lyrics off "Music from the Western Isles", School of Scottish Studies/Greentrax Thuirt an gobha fuirighidh mi 'S thuirt an gobha falbhaidh mi 'S thuirt an gobha leis an othail A bh'air an dorus an t-sabhail Gu rachadh e a shuirge Chorus 'S a gheala ham botham nam botham Pe ho ro bha hin an doicheam 'S hala ham to han an doicheam Am bothan a bh'aig Fionnaghuala Bheirinn fead air fulmairean Bheirinn fead air falmairean Liuthannan beaga na mara Bheireamaid greis air an tarrainn Na maireadh na duirgh dhuinn [100.6] Runrig - Skye > Can someone please translate the Gaelic words in 'Skye' by Runrig. > > Chi mi an t-eilean uaine > Tir nam beanntan arda > Ceo a'tuiteam tron a ghleann > 'Na shineadh air do raointean > I see the green island land of the high mountains mist falling through the glen stretching out over your raointean* * this is the plural of raon which is the origin of the word "run" in Runrig (once Run-Rig and before that "The Run-Rig Dance band"). Run-Rig is a historical legal term which Blair Douglas gave the band when the band was founded in the early 70s and Blair was studying at Glasgow. A rig is a strip of land associated with a croft and Run-rigs are sequences of those strips of land, many of which are still visible on Skye [100.7] Oh wee white rose of Scotland Oh wee white rose of Scotland Susanne Ferguson - 1986 Oh wee white rose of Scotland tell tae me When wad ye rise and bloom wi fient a thorn When wad ye rise up haill and straucht and free Nae mair tae dwine forfochten and forlorn Oh wad ye rise and scent the air again Wi blossom blithe on branches noo abrede Tae gar this land pit life in ye I'd spend My warldis gear tae bring ye some remeid Oh no this land's a kindly nurse tae me It is the sky wi mirk is sair owercast Thir days o dule they will only ended be When fae a new airt blaws a fresher blast When charity shall stand in Scotland's tongue For leal and soothfu band wi aa that lives When riches are nae mair the work o wrang But shall requite the ane that freest gives When Scotland's great are they wha kindest can Lift ithers' loads tae gie their spirits room Then wi a glad upspringin til the sun The winds o aa the world I shall perfume Glossary: hail = whole fient = hardly straucht = straight dwine = dwindle forfochten = worn out abrede = spread tae gar = to make warldis = all the world remeid = relief mirk = darkness thir = these dule = misery leal = loyal soothfu = truthful [100.8] Loch Lomond Rudy Ramsey I've been meaning to write the lyrics down, anyway. I couldn't find them anywhere here (though there is a similar version in the CD insert of the Corries' "Silver Collection", which I've misplaced). I know the song well, though, and believe these lyrics to be accurate. I can't remember where I originally got them, but I suspect it was Ewan MacColl. The Corries' version of this song is truly beautiful, by the way. There's a lovely story associated with the song, and I believe it to be the true origin of the "Loch Lomond" and "High Road" songs, of which there are several variants. I admit that I don't have detailed documentation for the story, however, and I'm writing it from memory, too. Caveat emptor, and all. :-) The Jacobite Rebellion came to an end with the Jacobites disastrous loss at the Battle of Culloden, April 16, 1746. After the battle, many of the captured Scottish soldiers were taken by the English to Carlisle, where they were imprisoned at Carlisle Castle. The English treated the Scotsmen rather capriciously, selecting some -- apparently at random -- to be hanged. Others, also seemingly chosen at random, were simply released, and told to walk home, over the roads, to Scotland. One of the captured Scottish soldiers was Donald MacDonald. He felt sure that he would be one of those hanged by the English, and he wrote this song. One can suppose it was meant as a memorial, a message of hope for his fellow Scotsmen, and a last love letter to his beloved Moira, who lived back in the Scottish highlands, near Loch Lomond. The song is written to be sung not by Donald, but by Moira. It tells of the journey of Donalds spirit after his death. He returns to Scotland not by the high road -- the ordinary road over which his countrymen are walking home -- but by the low road of death, a much faster and surer route. Donalds spirit visits Moira and makes love to her one last time. But she can tell that he is gone, and that she will not see him again, in this life. Loch Lomond O whither away my bonnie May Sae late and sae dark in the gloamin? The mist gathers gray oer moorland and brae. O whither sae far are ye roamin? O, yell tak the high road and Ill tak the low. Ill be in Scotland afore ye. For me and my true love will never meet again By the bonnie, bonnie banks o Loch Lomond. I trusted my ain love last night in the broom, My Donald wha loves me sae dearly. For the morrow he will march for Edinburgh toon, Tae fecht for his king and Prince Charlie. O, weel may I weep for yestreen in my sleep. We lay bride and bridegroom together. But his touch and his breath were cold as the death, And his hairtsblood ran red in the heather. (chorus) As dauntless in battle as tender in love, Hed yield neer a foot tae the foeman. But never again frae the fields o the slain Tae his Moira will he come by Loch Lomond. The thistle may bloom, the king hae his ain, And fond lovers will meet in the gloamin. And me and my true love will yet meet again Far above the bonnie banks o Loch Lomond. (chorus) I'm still interested in finding out more about this Donald MacDonald (that was the subject of my original posting in this thread). If anyone can point me to likely sources, I would appreciate it. [100.9] William McBride I'd just like to post these excellent lyrics here and thanks to Howard Evans for sending them to me! Howard Evans <100630.222@CompuServe.COM> --- Message from Howard --- These are the words (and original title) as sung by the author Eric Bogle at the Cottage Theatre Folk Club, Cumbernauld on 19th Feb, 1977. All other versions are corruptions :-) Iain Mackintosh (to my mind) does the *best*cover version. (But I would say that as he's a friend) Chords are what I play (to Eric's tune) Most "modern" (post 1980) versions are based on the Furey's version which as I told you before is very different. They also changed the title between "Willie McBride" and Green Fields of France" Bogle calls in William McBride. Enjoy it - but for god's sake, don't Wild Rover it (i.e. don't get them all swinging to the chorus) You should finish it with a lump in your throat. Slainte (my only word of Gaelic) Howard Evans. = = = = = = = = = William McBride (c)Well how do you (F) do Private (Dm) William McBride Do you (G7) mind if I sit here down(C) by your grave(G7)side And I'll (C) rest for a (F) while in the(Dm) warm summer sun I've been (G7) walking all day and(F) I'm nearly (C) done And I see by your gravestone you were(Dm) only 19 When you(G7) joined the glorious fallen back in (c)1916 (G7) Well I (C) hope you died quick and I (F) hope you died (Dm) clean Or (G7) Willie McBride was it (F) slow and obscene (C) Did they (G7) beat the drum slowly Did they (F) play the fyfe (C)lowly Did the (G7)rifles fire o'er you As they (F) lowered you (C) down Did the (F) bugles play the Last Post in (Dm) chorus Did the (C) pipes play the (F) Flooers o the (G7) Forrest (C) And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind In some faithful heart does your memory enshrine And though you died back in 1916 In some faithful heart are you forever 19 Or are you a stranger without even a name Enshrined forever behind the glass pane Of an old photograph, torn and tattered and stained And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame Ah the sun's shining now on these green fields of France The warm winds blow gently and the red poppies dance The trenches have vanished under the plough No gas and no barbed wire, no guns firing now But here in the graveyard it's still No-Man's Land The countless white crosses in mute witness stand To Man's blind indifference to his fellow-man To a whole generation who were butchered and damned And I can't help but wonder now William McBride Do all those who lie here know why they died Did you really believe them when they told you the cause Did you really believe that this war would end wars Well the suffering and the sorrow and the glory, the shame The killing the dying, the dying, it was all done in vain For Willie McBride, it all happened again And again, and again and again and again. [100.10] Fields of Athenry THE FIELDS OF ATHENRY Time: 4/4 Tenor: G Bass: D-E - Pete St. John, 19?? (modern) - Record: Paddy Reilly, Greatest Hits By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young girl call-ing Michael they are taking you a-way____ For you stole Trevelyn's corn, so the young might see the morn Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay____ CHORUS: Low lie the fields of Athen-ry Where once we watched the small free birds fly____ Our love was on the wing, we had dreams and songs to sing It's so lonely round the fields of Athen-ry____ By a lonely prison wall, I heard a young man call-ing Nothing matters, Mary, when you're free____ Against the Famine and the Crown, I re-belled, they ran me down Now you must raise our child with digni-ty____ By a lonely harbour wall, she watched the last star fall-ing As the prison ship sailed out against the sky____ Sure she'll wait and hope and pray, for her love in Botany Bay It's so lonely round the fields of Athen-ry____ [100.11] Doon in the Wee Room From: t079@lambton.on.ca (George Allan) Hello everybody. Here's a source for "Doon in the Wee Room", courtesy of another respondent: The Marlettes Songs of Scotland (Lyrics included) Tape # KITV 457 Produced by Bill Garden Recorded at Scotty's Sound Studio, Kilsyth Scotdisc, B.G.S. Productions Ltd., Newtown Street, Kilsyth, Glasgow G65 0JX The Lyrics: The Wee Room Underneath The Stair Now if yer tired and weary, feelin' sad and blue Don't let your cares upset ye 'al tell ye what tae do Just tak a cor tae Springburn go inta Quin's Pub there Go doon intae the wee room underneath the stair For it's doon in the wee room underneath the stair Everybody's happy everybody's there And they're all makin' merry each in his chair Doon in the wee room underneath the stair A king went a huntin' his fortunes for tae seek He lost his cor at Partick went missin' for a week Days and nights they hunted sorrow and despair They foun' him in the wee room underneath the stair Fur it's doon in the wee room underneath the stair Everybody's happy everybody's there And they're all makin' merry each in his chair Doon in the wee room underneath the stair Noo when am gettin' auld and ma bones begin tae set I'll never worry naw I'll never fret For I'm savin' up ma pennies tae buy a hurrly chair Tae tak me tae the wee room underneath the stair Fur it's doon in the wee room underneath the stair Everybody's happy everybody's there Adn they're all makin' merry each in his chair Doon in the wee room underneath the stair. Thanks again for your help and encouragement. See you at "The Royal Oak". George Allan [100.12] An teid thu leam a Mhairi Words from Christine Primrose Seist/Chorus: An teid thu leam a Mhairi Am falbh thu leam thar saile An teid thu leam a Mhairi dhonn Gu tir nam beanntan arda Rann1/Verse1 Tha crodh againn air airigh Is laoigh an cois am mathar Tha sin againn is caoraich mhaol' (=Cheviot sheep) Air aodann nam beann arda (seist) Rann2 Dh'aithnichinn fhin do bha\ta Si\os mu Rudh' na h-Airde Bre\idean geala anns an t-seol Is clann MhicLeoid 'gan ca\radh (seist) [100.13] Ailein duinn - from Rob Roy Due to the sucess of Rob Roy (and Capercaillie!) a lot of people have asked me about these lyrics - here they are and a story about them "Allan Morrison was a sea captian from the isle of Lewis. In the spring of 1788 he left Stornoway to go to Scalpay, Harris, where he was to marry Annie Campbell. Unfortunately they sailed into a storm and all the crew sank with the vessel. This is the lament she composed. The broken-hearted Annie wasted away through grief and died a few months afterward. Her body was washed ashore near where her fiance's was found. There are quite a few variants of this song." Gura mise tha fo e/islean, Moch `s a' mhadainn is mi `g e/irigh, O\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ ru bhi\, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ rionn o ho, Ailein duinn, o\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat. Ma `s e cluasag dhut a' ghainneamh, Ma `s e leabaidh dhut an fheamainn, O\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ ru bhi\, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ rionn o ho, Ailein duinn, o\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat. Ma `s e `n t-iasg do choinnlean geala, Ma `s e na ro\in do luchd-faire, O\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ ru bhi\, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ rionn o ho, Ailein duinn, o\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat. Dh'o\lainn deoch ge boil le ca\ch e, De dh'fhuil do choim `s tu `n de/idh do bhathadh, O\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ ru bhi\, Hi\ ri bho\ ho\ rionn o ho, Ailein duinn, o\ hi\ shiu\bhlainn leat. on the single, they sing: Gura mise tha fo eislean Moch sa mhaduinn is mi g'eirigh O hi shiubhlainn leat Hi ri bho, ho rinn o ho Ailein Duinn, o hi shiubhlainn leat Ma 's'en clusag dhuit a ghaineamh Ma 'se leabaidh dhut an gheamainn Ma 's en t-iasg do choinlean geala Ma 's na Righ do luchd-faire This song is also in Orain nan Gaidheal, Vol 1 by Bruce Campbell. ISBN 901771 85 6, published by Gairm, 29 Waterloo St, Glasgow G2 6BZ Song appears with 4 verses in Gaelic, English translation and music in sol-fa format [100.14] Ca the yowes Ca' the Ewes ------------------- Ca' the ewes to the knowes, Ca' them whare the heather grows, Ca' them whare the burnie rowes, My bonnie dearie! As I gaed down the water side, There I met my shepherd lad, He row'd me sweetly in his plaid And he ca'd me his dearie. Will ye gang down the water side, And see the waves sae sweetly glide, Beneath the hazels spreading wide? The moon it shines fu' clearly. I was bred up at nae sic school , My shepherd lad, to play the fool, And a' the day to sit in dool, And naebody to see me. Ye sall get gowns and ribbons meet, Cauf-leather shoon upon your feet, And in my arms ye'se lie and sleep, And ye shall be my dearie. If ye'll but stand to what ye've said, I'd gang wi' you my shepherd lad, And ye may rowe me in your plaid, And I shall be your dearie. While waters wimple to the sea, While day blinks in the lift sae hie, Till clay-cauld death sall blin' my e'e, Ye shall be my dearie. Recorded by Sileas and others [100.15] Alasdair Mhic Cholla Ghasda barrachd faclan aig an orain "Alasdair Mhic Cholla Ghasda" air an clar "Sidewaulk" aig Capercaillie. More words for the waulking song "Alasdair Mhich Cholla Ghasda" on Capercaillie's Sidewaulk album. With minor changes this could be sung in English! As do la\imh-sa (ho/ ho\) dh'earbainn tapachd (ho/ ho\) From your arms, I'd expect valour Mharbhadh Tighearn' (ho/ ho\) ach nam Breac leat (trom eile + seist) Achinbreck's laird was killed by you (2nd couplet) Mharbhadh Tighearn' (ho/ ho\) ach nam Breac leat (ho/ ho\) Achinbreck's laird was killed by you Thiolaigeadh e (ho/ ho\) an oir an lochain (trom eile + seist) And was buried at the lochside (vocables and repeats omitted in subsequent couplets purely to save space here) Thiolaigeadh e, etc Ged 's beag mi fhin chuir mi ploc air Though small I may be, I cast a sod on him 'S chuir siod gruaim air Niall a' Chaisteal Which made Neil of the castle gloomy 'S dh'fha\g e lionndubh air a mhac-sa and left his son melancholy 'S bha Ni Lachlainn fhe/in ga bhasadh Lachlann's daughter herself was lamenting 'S bha Nic Dho\mhnaill 'n de/idh a creachadh and Donald's daughter her hands was wringing Cha b'iaonadh sin, b'fhiach a mac e Tis no wonder, her son was worth it Dronncair, po\iteir seo\lt' air marcraichd Copious drinker, clever horseman Ceanndard an airm an tu\s a' bhatail Army leader foremost in battle Sheinneadh piob leat mho/r air chnocan You'd play the great pipes on a hillock Dh'o\ladh fion leat dearg am portaibh You would drink red wine in houses Chuala mi'n de/ sgeul nach b'ait liom I heard today a tale amazing Glaschu bheag bhith 'na lasair That little Glasgow is a-blazing 'S Obair-eadhain an de/idh a chreachadh and Aberdeen has been plundered [100.16] Nighean nan geug On the Cathy Anne MacPhee album "Canan nan Gaidheal", I don't think these words are in print elsewhere. Words from Morag MacLeod (School of Scottish Studies) via Cathy Anne (at Feis Rois Inbhich). This song is closely related to the song known in Cape Breton as "A chuachag nam beann" and on the excellent Mary Jane Lamond album "Bho thir nan craobh" where the song appears with lyrics in Gaelic, some of which match the words below. A nighean nan geug , o hao ri iu\ Tha muigh leis an spre/idh, o hao ri o han , o hao ri iu\ (Girl of the branches out with the cattle) Nach truagh leat mo chlann bean eile nan ceann Do you not pity my children another woman looking after them Dham bualadh gu teann dham biadhadh gu gann hitting them hard and often feeding them short 's an athair 's a ghleann a nighean nan geug and their father in the glen (+repeat of first line) [100.17] Boneparte Bonaparte from Capercaillie, Secret People O gu sunndach mi air m'astar I'm happy on my journey Falbh gu siubhlach le bheag airtneul travelling swiftly without flagging Dol a chomhrag ri Bonaparte, heading off to do battle with Bonaparte 'S e bha bagairt air Righ Deors'. He it was who threatened King George 'Illean chridheil, bitheamaid sunndach, Brave lads, let's be merry Seasaibh onoir ar duthcha, Stand for the honor of your country Fhad's a mhaireas luaidh is fudar, As long as lead and powder last De rud chuireadh curam oirnn? What could worry us? Chan eil faillinn ann ra chunntas There is no weakness to be described Anns na h-armainn nach diultadh, in the young heroes who never retreat Chan eil gealtachd nan gnuis-san, cowardice is not in their countenance Cha toir iad grunnd do luchd a'bhosd. they will never give ground to the boasters Luchd nan osan gearr 's nam feileadh, Men of the short hose and the kilts Cota sgarlaid orr' mar eideadh; with their uniforms of scarlet coats; Gum bu ghasd' iad an am eirigh - splendid they were in attack- 'S iad nach geilleadh an deidh an leon. they would never yield though wounded. Ann am Bruxelles a chaidh innse In Brussels it was told Gun robh Frangaich tigh'nn nam miltean: that the French were coming in their thousands 'S cha bhreug bhuam gur h-i an fhirinn, I tell no lie but the truth 'S iomadh fear bhois sint' gun deo. many a man will be stretched out without breath of life [100.18] Sguaban Arbhair From Play Gaelic - outstanding tune and lyrics. Na Sguaban Arbhair - The stacks of corn Rann/Verse 1 Bha mi raoir a' siubhal drathair Last night I opened a drawer 'S thainig dealbh do mo laimh and a picture came to hand Dealbh mo sheannmh'ar is mo shean'ar a picture of my grandmother and grandfather 'S balach og na shuidh' ri'n taobh and a young boy sitting by their side Rann 2 'S iad ag obair aig na sguaban arbhair They were working on the corn stacks Shuidh mi g'an coimhead fad' na h-oidhch' I sat and looked at them all night Thainig cianalas na m'chridhe A deep sorrow came to my heart 'S thainig cuideam na mo laimh and a great weight came to my hand Seist/Chorus Uair eile gu bhith dhachaidh (O for) Another chance to be home Uair eile gu bhith beo Another chance to be alive Ruith mu'n cuairt na sguaban arbhair Running around the stacks of corn Uair eile gu bhith og Oh to be young again Rann 3 Cha'n e aois a tha mi sabaid It isn't age I'm fighting against Cha'n e mo bheatha nach eil slan It isn't my life that's unwell 'S e bhith fuireach ann a' saoghal maide It's living in a false world Le chuid daoin' nach tuig mo chainnt With it's people who don't understand my language Rann 4 Dh'fhalbh mo sheannmh'air 's mo shean'air My grandmother and grandfather passed on Thuit na sguaban arbhair sios The stacks of corn fell down Dh'fhalbh mi gu saoghal eile I left to go to another world 'S dh'fhalbh a' Ghaidhlig bho mo bheul And Gaelic went from my mouth [Seist a-rithist/Chorus again] Written in 1975 on the M8 from Glasgow to Edinburgh. [101] Shetland and Orkney info Shetland and Orkney are both old norse holdovers. Shetland was a dowry to the king of scotland when he married the norwegian princess in 12?? or 13??...These islands were speaking forms of old norn up to the last century and the language used there is still filled with special loan words. The place names show heavy norse influence as do half the west coast names (and in many there is a direct combination of the gaelic and norse influences, indicating the level to which the norse came into the already present gaelic communities and assimilated successfully. Examples would include places like Inverness from Inbhir (Gaidhlig for an estuary, or river mouth) and Nese (Norse for nose or headland). Another example is Suilven from Sula (Norse for column) and Bheinn (Gaidhlig for mountain (Feumaidh sibh a bhith ceart-chainnteach, is Beinn am facal....)). On this point it is worth noting that there are written records indicating that the Norse Earls of Orkney had Gaidhlig, no doubt to foster trading relations with the Gaidhealtachd. Most islanders (natives, not incomers) in these places still consider the islands as their own communities and Scotland as a seperate entitiy. This is not to say they want to split off or achieve independence, just an indication of how different they see themselves. In Orkney, one goes to the mainland to go to Kirkwall or Stromness. If you want to go to Aberdeen or Scrabster, you are going to Scotland!-) [102] Braveheart information http://www.foresight.co.uk/braveheart [103] Celtic knotwork and art http://www.ctnet.com/drew/celthome.html http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/joscelin.html http://www.ctnet.com/drew/knotwork.html link off Dick Gaughan's home page [104] Mayfest http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/mayfest (URL is seasonal) [105] Weather info Scottish Avalanche Information Service - Daily forecasts of avalanche risks in the Scottish mountains. http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/other/avalanche Mainly for winter climbers and skiiers.