soc.culture.scottish FAQ

[Craig Cockburn]

Version 3.0
URL: http://www.scot.demon.co.uk/scotfaq.html
Archive-name: scottish-faq
Soc-culture-scottish-archive-name: scottish-faq
Posting-Frequency: 3 months
Last-modified: 1996/11/30

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the soc.culture.scottish usenet newsgroup
The group was created on 25th May 1995

Foreword
--------
The latest version of this FAQ is at
http://www.scot.demon.co.uk/scotfaq.html
together with FTP sites for the FAQ and details of how to get it by mail.

This FAQ is a living document, if there's any corrections, additions or
comments you'd like to make, please send them to me for the next edition.
I'll try and put out another major release on 25-Jan, Burns night. An HTML
version is coming.

Thanks to all those who have contributed articles, comments and corrections
to this FAQ.

Craig Cockburn , Editor and main author.
E-mail: cr...@scot.demon.co.uk
WWW: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
Edinburgh, Scotland.

This version: 30th November 96
The day the Stone of Scone officially returns to Scotland, 700 years after
it was stolen (the unofficial trip home in the 1950's not withstanding!)

In memory of Sorley MacLean, who died on 24th November 96, his obituaries
from The Scotsman in Gaelic and English are appended to the end of this FAQ

"Time, the deer, is in the wood of Hallaig."

Alba - Scotland
---------------
(for other Celtic countries - see
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/sccfaq.html )

FAQ Contents

*1* General
[1.1] Scotland's name
[1.2] Scottish Saints and Towns

*2* Celtic & general language information
[2.1] Celtic background
[2.2] Celtic knotwork and art links
[2.3] The Celtic Cross
[2.4] Postgraduate courses in Celtic Studies
[2.5] Article on History of Language in Scotland
[2.6] Article on Celtic knotwork

*3* Scots language information
[3.1] What is the Scots language. Who do I contact for more info?
[3.2] On-line Scots language info
[3.3] Learning Scots

*4* Scottish music, poetry and literature
[4.1] Intro to Scottish Music
[4.2] Scottish music radio programmes
[4.3] What Scottish Record labels are there
[4.4] How do I find out about Folk events in Scotland which might be on?
[4.5] Where's a good place to buy folk records?
[4.6] Primary folk music pubs and sessions
[4.7] Books for learning the fiddle
[4.8] Scottish music information
[4.9] Primary Literary figures
[4.10] Info on Robert Burns
[4.11] Address to a Haggis - Robert Burns
[4.12] Robert Burns links
[4.13] Living Tradition.
[4.14] Fiddle styles
[4.15] The Piano film music
[4.16] Where can I get a piper?
[4.17] Early Bagpipe references
[4.18] The Celtic muse in Scott's "Waverley"
[4.19] Where can I get bagpipes?
[4.20] Learning to play the harp

*5* Song lyrics
[5.1] Any Scottish songs on-line?
[5.2] Scottish song books
[5.3] Frequently requested songs

*6* Festivals
[6.1] When are the major Scottish folk festivals
[6.2] Edinburgh Festival Fringe
[6.3] Edinburgh Folk Festival
[6.4] Gaelic festivals
[6.5] Mayfest
[6.6] Scottish/Celtic festivals worldwide

*7* Gaelic information
[7.1] How can I learn Gaelic?
[7.2] Gaelic links
[7.3] Where can I get Gaelic books?
[7.4] Scots Gaelic products and catalog
[7.5] Where can I get Gaelic music and words, info on Gaelic songs
[7.6] How do I find out about Mods in my area. What is a Mod?
[7.7] How mutually intelligible are Scots and Irish Gaelic
[7.8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes
[7.9] Gaelic newspapers
[7.10] Gaelic playgroups
[7.11] Attitudes towards Gaelic TV in Scotland
[7.12] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service
[7.13] Dog commands in Gaelic
[7.14] Info on Scots Gaelic accents
[7.15] Gaelic Arts

*8* Gaelic song and music
[8.1] Waulking songs
[8.2] Puirt a beul
[8.3] Gaelic psalm singing
[8.4] Piobaireachd / Pibroch
[8.5] Oldest Datable Gaelic Song
[8.6] Cape Breton music mailing list
[8.7] Information on Runrig
[8.8] Information on Capercaillie

*9* Scottish dance
[9.1] Understanding Scottish Dance music
[9.2] What is a Ceilidh
[9.3] Article on Scottish Step Dancing
[9.4] What is Scottish Country Dancing?
[9.5] Scottish Highland Dancing
[9.6] Books on Scottish dancing

*10* Scottish food and drink and pubs
[10.1] Where can I get haggis?
[10.2] Info on cooking and haggis
[10.3] Best Scottish pubs
[10.4] Whisky (whiskey)
[10.5] Traditional Bread recipie (Gaelic and English)
[10.6] Irn-bru

*11* Political information
[11.1] Politics: Scotland and the UK/devolution/independence
[11.2] Scottish Independence information
[11.3] Article on Indepedence
[11.4] Political Quotations
(articles on Devolution and Status Quo appreciated!)

*12* Historical information
[12.1] How do I trace my Scottish ancestry?
[12.2] Scottish Monarchs
[12.3] Declaration of Arbroath
[12.4] History and Archaeology information
[12.5] The Picts
[12.6] Antiquarian books
[12.7] Historical re-enactments

*13* Traditions and Culture
[13.1] Kirking of the tartans
[13.2] When are Burns night and St Andrews Day.
[13.3] Scottish Cultural classes (music, singing, language, history etc)
[13.4] Where can I buy a kilt/Highland accessories
[13.5] Scotch
[13.6] Plaid
[13.7] Scottish Wedding vows in Gaelic and English
[13.8] Scottish Wedding Information
[13.9] Gaelic wedding blessing
[13.10] Braveheart information
[13.11] Tartan
[13.12] The Bruce film
[13.13] Choosing a Scottish name for your child
[13.14] Cultural Newletters
[13.15] Literature Magazines and newsletters
[13.16] Highland Games

*14* Hillwalking
[14.1] The Ramblers Association
[14.2] Books for hillwalkers
[14.3] What is a Munro/Corbett?

*15* Travel and What's on
[15.1] What's on
[15.2] Scottish Guide books
[15.3] What's the number of the Scottish Tourist Board ?
[15.4] Weather info
[15.5] The Scottish Youth Hostels Association
[15.6] Seeing Underground Edinburgh

*16* Areas of Scotland
[16.1] Shetland and Orkney info
-- More info here welcomed!

*17* Education
[17.1] Intro to Scottish Education
[17.2] Scottish Vocational Education Council
[17.3] Books on Studying Scottish Culture

*18* Current Affairs / Modern Life / Sport
[18.1] Scottish newspapers on-line
[18.2] Radio and TV
[18.3] New Scottish Local Authorities
[18.4] Quangos
[18.5] OBEs, honorific titles, etc
[18.6] Getting a job in Scotland
[18.7] Legal questions
[18.8] Scottish Yellow Pages
[18.9] Scottish White Pages
[18.10] The Scottish Office
[18.11] Rugby
[18.12] Dunblane/Cullen Report
[18.13] Buying a house
[18.14] Camanachd (shinty)

*19* Internet information
[19.1] How to get scot.* hierarchy groups
[19.2] Getting hooked up to the internet
[19.3] Internet Cafes
[19.4] How can I find someone who lives in Scotland and may be on the net?

*20* Sources of Further information
[20.1] Scottish URLs
[20.2] Scottish Text Archive
[20.3] Other related newsgroups
[20.4] Encyclopedia of the Celts
[20.5] European Community Folk Culture
[20.6] Mailing lists
[20.7] International organisations
[20.8] Alphabetic list of URLs in this FAQ

*21* Obituary of Sorley MacLean

--==<< Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) / Ceistean Minig a Thig >>==--
There is a saying :
"Is truagh nach ta\inig Minig Nach Tig
Leath cho minig 's a tha\inig Minig a Thig"
<It's a pity that the things which don't come often
don't come half as frequently as the things which do">
(adapted from an Irish story)

*1* General

[1.1] 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!

Some info on the Romans is available at
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/history/genhist/

[1.2] Scottish Saints and Towns
St Andrew: Scotland and St Andrews
St Nicholas: Aberdeen
St Mungo/Kentigern: Glasgow
St Columba: Iona
St John: Perth
St Blane: Dunblane
St Margaret: Dunfermline
St Magnus: Kirkwall
St Giles: Edinburgh
St Mary: Dundee

Sources: Scottish Traditions & Festivals, Raymond Lamont-Brown, W & R Chambers,
Edinburgh, 1991

*2* Celtic & general language information

[2.1] 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 (eg "1000
years of Scottish History") or Nigel Tranter ("The Story of Scotland")

[2.2] Celtic knotwork and art links
Clip art etc
http://www.ctnet.com/drew/celthome.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/joscelin.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/gaidhlig.html
http://www.ctnet.com/drew/knotwork.html
http://www.dickalba.demon.co.uk/
http://www.iserv.net/~scottish/
http://celtic.stanford.edu/clipart.html
http://www.west.net/~celtlady/
http://www.planet.net/celtart
http://www.underbridge.com/market/walker
http://members.aol.com/celtic01/celtic01.htm
http://home.pi.net/~siteklj/cornwall.htm

Fonts
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~smacsuib/fonts
http://yeats.ucs.csufresno.edu/GAELIC-L.HTML
ftp://ftp.winsite.com/pub/pc/win3/fonts/
http://www.net-link.net/~bvgraph1/fonts.html
http://www.indigo.ie/egt/

[2.3] 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.

[2.4] 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
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?35

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
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~lng014/celtic_dept/index.html

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 Scottish ethnology, folklore, traditions, customs
etc (covers the whole of Scotland, not just the Highlands)

There may eventually also be courses on offer at the
University of the Highlands and Islands
http://www.uhi.ac.uk/

See also
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Social_Science/Celtic_Studies

[2.5] 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

[2.6] Article on Celtic knotwork
Article by swalk...@aol.com (SWalker706)

Celtic knots or Celtic interlace are ornamental patterns that first became
associated with Celtic people in the early Celtic Church where they were
used to decorate Bible manuscripts, monuments (notably Celtic crosses and
cross slabs) and jewellery. They probably were used in other media such as
wood carving and textiles but these have not survived.

Knotwork tradition in manuscript painting probably came to Ireland with
displaced Coptic monks from Egypt by way of St. Martins monastery at
Tours,(in what is now France) in the 4th or 5th century. This is not a
settled issue as far as the art historians are concerned but the best
evidence I have seen points to Coptic prototypes. From Ireland the style
spread to Scotland (then Pictland and Dalriada), Wales and Northumbria and
with missionaries of the Celtic Church to Europe. Viking raiders later
appropriated some of the design concepts into a more chaotic style of
animal interlace.

Celtic knots are complete loops with no end or beginning. Celtic animal
interlace is similar in construction but the cords terminate in feet,
heads, tails ect. The animal designs are very much influenced by an older
Saxon tradition of abstract beast forms that when combined with the new
more sophisticated knotwork of the Celtic designers became known as
Hiberno-Saxon. A good Celtic artist will never end a strand that is not
stylized into a zoomorphic element or spiral. Rather pure knots should
always be unending. On this point of ornamental grammar you can
distinguish much that is made to look like Celtic design by designers who
do not really know the tradition. The Coptic examples of knotwork that
pre-date the early Irish work are consistent this way while the Roman and
Germanic examples of knotwork that sometimes are cited as possible sources
often have loose ends. The way that ribbons are coloured in some of the
early Irish work, particularly the BOOK OF DURROW is the same as the
Coptic preference and there is a parallel evolution in Moorish design.

Do not get the idea that all Celtic art is borrowed and souped up from
other cultures. Celtic spiral designs are an older design form and have
been practiced by the Celts since the dawn of their existence. Very
difficult and sophisticated spirals exist in the same early works where
the knotwork and animal designs are relativly crude.

The Book of Kells is the best known source of Celtic knots as well as
other types of Celtic ornament. The Book of Kells is a fantastic
collection of paintings that illuminate the four Gospels in Latin, penned
circa 800 AD The incredible degree of ornament and detail caused Giraldus
Cambrensis in the 13th century to call it: "the work not of men, but of
angels" or as Umberto Eco wrote in 1990: "the product of a cold-blooded
hallucination"

In recent years Celtic Knots have enjoyed a revival however way too much
of this has amounted to copies of historical knots used in tourist type
craft goods. Fortunately there are a few artists who take the subject more
seriously and are creating new and exciting knots. Check out Patrick
Gallagher at http://www.planet.net/celtart
or Walker Metalsmiths at
http://www.underbridge.com/market/walker

Alexander Ritchie made quite a lot of pretty good silver jewelry
incorporating knotwork on the Isle of Iona from 1900 to his death in 1941.
George Bain wrote an excellent book titled CELTIC ART THE METHODS OF
CONSTRUCTION that is great if anyone is serious about learning how to
create new knots in the Celtic tradition. Bain's book was first published
in 1951 but appeared as a series of booklets before that. Aidan Meehan has
a series on Celtic design with an entire volume titled KNOTWORK.

As for symbolism: knotwork designs are emblematic in modern times of the
Celtic nationalities. The symbolism that has come down through the ages is
as obscure and indirect as much of the speech and literature of the Celtic
people. How then can we understand it?

If that which is not prose must be poetry, knotwork's meaning defies
literal translation and should be sought at a deeper level. the repeated
crossings of the physical and the spiritual are expressed in the interlace
of the knots. The never ending path of the strand represents the
permanence and the continuum of life, love and faith.

*3* Scots language information

[3.1] What is the Scots language. Who do I contact for more info?
See also answer [3.3]

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.

There's also
George Kynoch, _Teach Yourself Doric_, Scottish Cultural Press;
published in 1995, I think.

[3.2] On-line Scots language info
ftp://jpd.ch.man.ac.uk/pub/Scots/ScotsFAQ.txt
Newsgroup: scot.scots

http://info.mcc.ac.uk/UMIST_CAL/Scots/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.

[3.3] 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/
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*4* Scottish music, poetry and literature

[4.1] 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.

For more info, see
http://celtic.stanford.edu/ceolas.html
Some review of musicians are at
http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/u/uh22501/html/music.html

For more information, see the following:
(contributed by Craig Cockburn)

Scotland's Music
A History of the Traditional and Classical Music of Scotland
from Early Times to the Present Day
by John Purser
Published by Mainstream, 1992.
(7 Albany Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3UG)
ISBN 1-85158-426-9
311 pages; 225mm x 285 mm, hardback, 25 pounds (and worth every penny)

I got this book recently after seeing a lecture given by the author, now
Dr. John Purser. This groundbreaking award winning book evolved from
John's BBC radio series (covering 45 hours). The book covers the whole
of Scotland's music - from 8th Century BC to the present day. The book
covers both classical and traditional music individually and the links
between them. Includes early Celtic plainchant; ballads in Scots and
Gaelic; Renaissance music; music for lutes and virginals; music today:
operatic; symphonic; Gaelic; folk revival and pop.

Chapters include
The Scottish Idiom
Bulls, Birds and Boars (800BC - AD400)
Briton, Pict and Scot (600-800)
The Bell and the Chant (500-1100)
Cathedral Voices (800-1300)
Ballads, Bards and Makars (1100-1500)
Gaelic bards, bagpipes and harps (1100-1600)
The Golden Age (1490-1550)
Reform (1513-1580)
The two Maries (1540-1590)
At the courts of the last King (1570-1630)
Music of the West (1530-1760)
From Covenanters to Culloden (1630-1750)
From Rome to Home (1660-1720)
The Temple of Apollo (1740-1770)
The Scots Musical Museum (1760-1850)
The Withdrawing room and the concert hall (1820-1920)
Sea, field and music hall (1820-1910)
The classical takes root (1910-1970)
A new accommodation (1950-)
also includes
select xgraphy; select discography; libraries and archives;
glossary of Scottish musical terms; plates in colour and black
and white; over 200 musical examples; full index.

an absolutely brilliant work, meticulously researched, magnificient in
scope and beautifully presented. A must for anyone interested in
learning in depth about one of Europe's most musical cultures.

a double CD set was also issued, (1) including one track of particular
interest to soc.culture.scottish:
"Calgacus", by Edward McGuire (for orchestra + pipes), performed by an
unnamed piper and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Can anyone name the
piper? George McIlwham, perhaps?
(1) "Scotland's Music" (Linn Records 1992, LINN CKD 008; Linn Products
Ltd, Floors Road, Eaglesham, Glasgow G76 0EP).

[4.2] Scottish music radio programmes

In Scotland:

Radio Scotland (MW= Medium Wave 810, FM = 92.4 to 94.7)
All the programmes below are FM and MW unless otherwise stated
Radio Scotland MW can be picked up as far south as London when
conditions are favourable.
E-mail: radios...@scot.bbc.co.uk

Mon
Mr Anderson's fine tunes: 2:30-4:30

Tue
Mr Anderson's fine tunes: 2:30-4:30
Celtic Connections 7-9pm

Wed
Mr Anderson's fine tunes: 2:30-4:30

Thu
Mr Anderson's fine tunes: 2:30-4:30
Travelling Folk 7-9pm

Fri
Live at the Lemon Tree: 2-3pm
Mr Anderson's fine tunes: 3-4:30

Sat
Take the floor 6:30-8pm
Travelling Folk 8-10pm
Celtic Horizons 10-12midnight

Sun
The Reel Blend: 10-11am MW only
Pipeline: 9:00-9:45pm

Other
Radio nan Gaidheal also has a lot of music. Unsure of exact
times of music programmes though. (On 103.5 - 105 & 97.9 FM)
Na durachdan (6:05-7:30 on Fridays) plays popular request music

Moray Firth Radio have a folk show on Thursday evenings 7:30 to 9:00.
They can be e-mailed at moray_fi...@cali.co.uk

Folk on 2, BBC Radio 2. Wednesdays 7-8pm.
Covers British Folk. Presented by Jim Lloyd
there is also frequent series of folk & features on Wednesdays
between 8pm and 9:30pm on Radio 2 (three half hour programmes)

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 (old information)
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pmurphy/thistle.html (much more current)
or http://www.cstone.net/~pmurphy/thistle.html
The list is maintained by Pat Murphy (pmu...@nrao.edu) and posted
regularly to the rec.music.celtic group

Ceolas carries another list, of over one hundred American
celtic music radio programs, and several in other parts of
the world:
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/radio.list

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).

also at Ceolas http://celtic.stanford.edu/ceolas.html ,
there is a list "Ceolas Worldwide Celtic Music Radio Listing"

[4.3] What Scottish Record labels are there

Main labels are
Culburnie http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/culburn.htm
Greentrax http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm
Lismore http://www.lismor.co.uk/
Macmeanmna http://www.captions.co.uk/macmeanm/
Temple http://www.rootsworld.com/temple/index.html

Also Highlander Music:
E-mail: highland...@zetnet.co.uk
Unit 7D, Muir of Ord Ind. Est., Ross-shire, Scotland. IV6 7UA
Tel: 01463 871422 Fax: 01463 871433

Ceardach Music, The Smiddy, Palace Road, Essendy, Blairgowrie,
Perthshire, PH10 6SB. E-mail: bir...@globalnet.co.uk

Veesik Records, Brae, Shetland
veesik....@zetnet.co.uk

Also, see http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html for an extensive list
of many celtic labels. Further info also at
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/Internet_Sources.html

[4.4] 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.

[4.5] Where's a good place to buy folk records?

Edinburgh

A good shop which specialises exclusively in folk is Blackfriars Music
Blackfriars Music, 49 Blackfriars St, Edinburgh EH1 1NB
Tel: 0131 557 3090.

However, the large general music shops often have folk sections which
are far larger than Blackfriars.
Good places to try in Edinburgh are the Virgin on Princes St and
The HMV on Princes St and also in the St James Centre. Sometimes the
folk and Scottish sections are in different areas.
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.

Glasgow

Tower records has a very good range.

sg...@cix.compulink.co.uk said:

The best folk record shop in Scotland at present is
Real Music, 23 Parnie Street, Glasgow G1,
phone 0141 553 1195
next to Adam McNaughton's book shop (also worth a visit!)

Jack Campin added:
It is VERY much better than Blackfriars Music. Another one in Glasgow
(also better than Blackfriars, which doesn't take much doing) is the
shop on the corner of Havelock Street and Byres Road; like Blackfriars,
this also sells sheet music and instruments.

Sheet music:
James Thin's is also worth trying for folk music - I haven't used their
record department much, but their sheet music selection is reasonable.
(The best place in town - and probably in Scotland - for folk music on
paper is Rae Macintosh Music, 6 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh EH2 4PA,
phone 0131 225 1171, fax 0131 225 9447; but they are very disorganised
and you'll have to rummage for yourself).

For bagpipe music, you probably want to use
The Piping Centre, 30-34 McPhater Street, Cowcaddens, Glasgow G4 0HW
phone/fax 0141 353 0220.

College of Piping (publishes 'The Piping Times')
20 Otago Street, Glasgow
0141 334 3587

[4.6] Primary folk music pubs and sessions

Sessions:
Most of these start around 9
ALP/SMOG = Denotes Adult Learning Project Scots music group session -
If you go to ALP you'll probably know some of the tunes
A = Denotes afternoon session

Mon
West End Hotel ALP/SMOG session
Oxford Bar ALP/SMOG singing session
Fiddler's Arms Anne Hughes led session
Sandy Bells Jenny and Hazel Wrigley

Tue
Green Tree Mainly Irish session
Tron Ceilidh House Eilidh Shaw and Kathryn Nicol

Wed
The Diggers ALP/SMOG session
Sandy Bells mixed session
Tron Ceilidh House mixed session
West End Hotel Bill Purves, mainly singing
Shore Bar Angus R. Grant and friends

Thu
West End Hotel ALP/SMOG session
Tron Ceilidh House Jenny and Hazel Wrigley
Sandy Bells Alan Johnstone and John Martin

Fri
Tron Ceilidh House Mixed Session (A)
Sandy Bells mainly Irish

Sat
Tron Ceilidh House Mixed Session (A)
Sandy Bells mainly Irish

Sun
West End Hotel ALP/SMOG tutored youth session (1-2:30) (A)
Upstairs Family session for everyone from 2:30 (A)
Tron Ceilidh House Mixed Session
Sandy Bells Mixed session
Drouthy Neebours singing session with guest
Ensign Ewart Sandy Brechin and friends

All nights
The Royal Oak (best pub for sing arounds)

Folk music - general
The Pleasance (Edinburgh Folk CLub --Wednesdays
entrance fee but high profile acts)
Scruffy Murphy's

Check out the Gig Guide for what's happening in the pub folk scene
in Edinburgh. For Edin/Glasgow info look in the folk section of
The List http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/
(E-mail: The...@cityscape.co.uk)
(register via the ../TO/ page)

Glasgow:
The Scotia Bar and Clutha Vaults (Stockwell Street),
Victoria Bar (Bridgegate)
Hielan Jessie's (Gallowgate

Folk Clubs:
Dunfermline FC meets in
The Roadhouse, Pilmuir Street every Wednesday.
Contact Gifford Lind 01383- 729673.

Just up the road is Glenfarg FC (Mon)
contact Jim McIver on 01738- 623274.

Stirling FC meets every Monday in The Terraces Hotel.
Contact Isobel Methven on 01259- 218521

Kirkcaldy FC meets every Saturday.
Contact Crawford Mackie 01592-26 36 87
or via ja...@puddock.demon.co.uk

For more information, see
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/session-list.html

[4.7] 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.

[4.8] 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.

[4.9] 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 - see [4.18])
Robert Louis Stevenson (Kidnapped, Weir of Hermiston)
Norman MacCaig (Collected poems)
Sorley Maclean (From Wood to Ridge)
One of the greatest Gaelic poets of all time.
Book is bilingual; author's own translations.
Astoundingly powerful stuff.
ISBN 0 09 988720 7 (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
Iain Crighton Smith (in Gaelic: Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn)
George Campbell Hay
Hugh MacDiarmid (especially "A drunk man looks at the thistle")
Hamish Henderson (Alias MacAlias - his autobiography and
"The Armstrong nose" - Hamish's collected letters)

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.

[4.10] Info on Robert Burns

See also Answer [4.11]

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 in [10.1] 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 [5.1] 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?
It is also something of a comment on the English education system in
England. Burns and Scott tend scarcely to get a look-in on Eng. Lit.
courses at univ. - certainly very rarely at Cambridge. This is a comment
from an English graduate of Cambridge who says the only Scottish author
they recall being vaguely mentioned was Henryson.

To hear some of Rabbie Burns' poetry read by a native of Prestwick,
go to http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html and look in the
Scots section.

To balance this "traditional" information on Burns it should be
pointed out that, as well as being quite the poet, Burns was
also a sexist, philandering and womaniser. His sentiment of "A man's a
man for a' that" doesn't carry over very well into his treatment of
women.

[4.11] 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!

[4.12] Robert Burns links
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/Scots/burns.html
http://www.cyberiacafe.net/burns/
http://www.open.gov.uk/nithsdal/burnsidx.htm
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/burns/index.html
http://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~darsie/burns.html
http://www.discribe.ca/world/scotland/culture.html
http://www.cc.gatec.edu/grads/b/Gary.N.Boone/love_in_letters.html
http://www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/315.html
http://www.lexmark.com/data/poem/poem.html
http://www.scotborders.co.uk/burns/
http://www.innotts.co.uk/~asperges/burns.html

[4.13] 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.t...@almac.co.uk (E-mail)
or
The Living Tradition, PO Box 1026, Kilmarnock, Ayrshire KA2 0LG
published every two months

[4.14] 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

[4.15] The Piano film music
The music for this film is similar to "Gloomy Winter" by Robert Tannahill
(Sung often and well by Dougie MacLean).

[4.16] Where can I get a piper?
I just scanned the FAQ and there's one topic I would like
to add. Every week or so I see (and answer) a "How do I find
a piper" post on the soc.culture.scottish/celtic newsgroups
or on the various wedding newsgroups.

Could you add a something that recommends that they post the
the inquiries to the rec.music.makers.bagpipes newsgroup or
send email to bag...@cs.dartmouth.edu. Their inquiry needs
to include both the location and the date of the event. They
should also note what kind of pipes they want.

[4.17] Early Bagpipe references
Purser's book (mentioned in [4.1]) says (P75-76)

The earliest reference to bagpipes in English is in Chaucer's Prologue
(1386). In Scots it is Dunbar's Testament of Mr Andrew Kenney (1508).
In Gaelic, it is the Irish manuscript of the second battle of Moytura
(15th C). There are non-literary references earlier from accounts and
from carvings (c. 15th cen) in Roslyn chapel.

[4.18] The Celtic muse in Scott's "Waverley"

Article by CHRISTOPHER ROLLASON <roll...@dialup.francenet.fr> 03/11/96

The Celtic Muse in Walter Scott's 'Waverley'

*This article is mainly concerned with the role of Celtic music and
song in this novel. However, I have thought it useful to begin with a
brief general introduction to the book.*

Sir Walter Scott's first published novel, 'Waverley' (1814; references
to the Penguin Classics edition, ed. Andrew Hook, Harmondsworth:
Penguin, 1972) is best known for bestowing its name on Edinburgh's
main railway station, and to the whole series of Scott's historical
works of fiction, collectively known as the 'Waverley novels'. It
narrates the story of Edward Waverley, a young English aristocrat
posted to Scotland as an army officer, who becomes caught up in the
Jacobite rebellion of 1745, in which he sides with the Scottish troops
of Prince Charles Stuart, pretender to the British throne, against the
ruling house of Hanover.

In other words, the novel is about a civil war in Britain, essentially
between the Scots and the English, in which the main character fights
on the 'wrong' side: Waverley, despite being a ruling-class
Englishman, finds himself, in the remote fastnesses of Scotland,
wearing the tartan, listening to Gaelic, and fighting alongside the
feudal, archaic Highlanders - 'grim, uncombed and wild' (ch. 44, p.
324) - in a world where the chieftains hold 'patriarchal authority'
(ch. 58, p. 399) and the clansmen are bound by 'feudal duty' (ch. 24,
p. 188). The novel is written in the third person, but the protagonist
may be considered a stand-in for the English or, indeed, non-Scottish
reader, gradually inducted by the narrative into a society alien to
his or her own time and place. The reader is made aware throughout of
the divisions existing in the so-called 'United Kingdom', between
Whigs and Tories, Hanoverians and Jacobites, English and Scots; the
ancient kingdom of Scotland had been united with England only since
1707 (38 years before the events described, and 107 years before the
date of publication), and Scotland was itself geographically,
culturally and linguistically divided between the semi-Anglicised
Lowlands, whose inhabitants spoke either standard English or the
'Scotch' dialect of English, and the 'backward', Gaelic-speaking
Highlands where feudal and clan loyalties still ruled.

'Waverley' thus describes a society likely to appear strange and
outlandish to most readers outside Scotland, and, indeed, to Lowland
Scots not acquainted with the Highlands. Despite, or because of, this
visible strangeness of its subject-matter, the novel proved
phenomenally popular on first appearance. It is still of major
importance in literary history, for it introduces and classically
exemplifies the historical novel in its typical modern form: an
imaginary narrative based on actual events, whose characters embrace
all ranks of society and include both real historical figures (Charles
Stuart) and invented individuals who are nonetheless offered as
'typical' or 'representative' of the period.

One aspect of this novel which may not have received its due attention
is Scott's remarkable emphasis, at least in the middle section of the
book, on the strength and vitality of traditional Scottish culture,
especially folk poetry and music. The presence of such an element is
hardly surprising, as Scott's first important literary work was an
edition of Scottish folk ballads ('Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border',
1803), which is still regarded as a landmark in the field. The old
traditional culture was, in the early nineteenth century, still alive
in more than one region of Scotland: Scott himself collected his
ballad material from the lands on the English border, and in Ayrshire,
also in the Lowlands, Robert Burns (whom Scott quotes in 'Waverley' -
ch. 56, p. 388; editor's note, p. 594) helped keep the tradition
alive by composing his own songs in the ballad mode. The
Gaelic-speaking Highlands were, however, inevitably seen as the
ultimate repository and redoubt of Celtic culture.

Curiously, the folk-culture aspect of 'Waverley' is scarcely mentioned
by the author in his own prefaces and appendices to the novel, and it
may not appear the most obvious facet of a book mostly concerned with
warfare and battles. Nonetheless, there is evidence to suggest that
exposure to the old Celtic ways plays an important role in Edward
Waverley's learning process across the novel.

The narrative may be divided into three sections. Chapters 1 to 7
introduce Edward Waverley, his family background (he is of pure
English stock, but an uncle has pro-Stuart sympathies) and early
years, and show him embarking on a military career and arriving in
Scotland, where he is posted to Dundee; chapters 8 to 39 plunge the
young English officer, through a chain of chance circumstances, ever
more deeply into Scottish society and the world of Jacobite intrigue;
and from chapter 40 on, he has formally committed himself to the
service of Prince Charles Stuart, and his individual destiny is
subsumed into the larger history of the rebellion of 1745 (the
government cause finally prevails at the battle of Culloden; the
Prince flees into exile; many of his supporters are hanged, though
some, including Waverley, are pardoned). Scott's descriptions of the
Celtic popular tradition occur mostly in the middle section, before
the outbreak of the rebellion proper, and may be seen as forming part
of Waverley's gradual education in things Scottish.

At the beginning of chapter 8, Waverley, who has obtained leave of
absence from his regiment, is on his way to visit the Baron of
Bradwardine, an old friend of his uncle's whose mansion is just
outside Tully-Veolan, a village in the county of Perthshire - in other
words, right on the border between the 'civilized' Lowlands and the
'barbaric' Highlands: 'Edward gradually approached the Highlands of
Perthshire, which at first had appeared a blue outline in the horizon,
but now swelled into high gigantic masses, which frowned defiance over
the more level country that lay beneath them. Near the bottom of this
stupendous barrier, but still in the Lowland country, dwelt Cosmo
Comyne Bradwardine of Bradwardine' (ch. 8, p. 73). The 'stupendous
barrier' is not merely physical; it also symbolizes the cultural
barriers between the Anglicized Lowlands and the Gaelic-speaking
Highlands, and the 'frown(ing) defiance' of the hills anticipates the
revolt with which their inhabitants will defy the English crown.
Waverley's experiences in the middle section of the book are,
technically, part in the Highlands, part in the Lowlands; but the
situation of Tully-Veolan on 'this Hieland border' (ch. 66, p. 454)
suggests that the visitor is, in fact, already coming into the purview
of the old Celtic ways.

When Edward enters the grounds of the manor-house at Tully-Veolan, the
first human voice he hears is that of a strange individual dressed in
motley, singing an 'old Scottish ditty' (ch. 9, p. 82): 'False love,
and hast thou played me thus/In summer among the flowers?'. It turns
out to be Davie Gellatley, the Baron's fool, jester, or, to use the
local term, 'innocent': a villager not completely in his right mind,
whom Bradwardine has nonetheless adopted as his personal servant, and
who compensates for his defects with 'a prodigious memory, and an ear
for music' (ch. 12, p. 105), and an immense repertory of traditional
songs, which he sings incessantly. Scott refers in his notes to the
survival in Scotland of 'the ancient and established custom of keeping
fools' (ch. 9, p. 85n), and identifies 'False love' as 'a genuine
ancient fragment' (p. 82n). Davie, 'half-crazed simpleton' (ch. 12, p.
105) though he may be, is also a custodian of the collective memory,
and what Waverley calls his 'scraps of minstrelsy' (ch. 63, p. 435)
are not such scraps after all (several examples are carefully and
copiously quoted). Indeed, the fool's 'minstrelsy' in a sense
parallels, in a spontaneous and unintellectual form, Scott's own more
conscious activity of collecting and preserving the 'minstrelsy of the
Scottish border'. The Baron's 'innocent' has a Shakespearean dignity,
his ditties at times recalling the Fool in 'King Lear' or the
'melodious lay' of the crazed Ophelia. His old mother (herself
suspecrequently Asked Questions (FAQ) for the soc.culture.scottish
other folk, puir fallow; but he's no sae silly as folk tak him for'
(ch. 64, p. 440); and near the end, when the manor-house has been
plundered and pillaged by the English troops and reduced to an
apparently irrecuperable ruin, Edward identifies Davie's tones among
the wreckage: 'Amid these general marks of ravage ... he heard a voice
from the interior of the building singing, in well-remembered accents,
an old Scottish song:
" They came upon us in the night/And brake my bower, and slew my
knight ... " ' (ch. 63, p. 435). As it turns out, the fool and his
mother are instrumental in saving their master's life, keeping him in
concealment till a pardon reaches him. The figure of Davie singing
amid the ruins bears witness to the strength and tenacity of the
popular tradition which he and his songs embody.

Waverley's residence at the Baron's gradually leads him to discover
the Highlands proper. One and another circumstance brings him, first
to visit the cave of Donald Bean Lean, a freebooting robber, and then
to accept the hospitality of the Jacobite chieftain Fergus, head of
the MacIvor clan. These adventures are accompanied by music and song.
In the robber's lair, the young Englishman is served breakfast by his
host's daughter Alice, 'the damsel of the cavern', who wakes him with
'a lively Gaelic song' which she sings as she prepares 'milk, eggs,
barley-bread, fresh butter and honey-comb' for the guest (ch. 18, p.
145). This suggests she is singing a work-song, and that music is, as
is the case in traditional communities, an integral part of the pulse
and rhythms of daily life. At Fergus MacIvor's castle, the military
exercises of the clansmen are conducted 'to the sounds of the great
war-bagpipe' (ch. 19, p. 161), while the ceremonial dinner that
follows, in the great hall, is also enlivened by three bagpipers (ch.
20, p. 164). The Highland feast terminates with a formal address from
Fergus' resident 'bhairdh' or bard, one MacMurrough, who 'began to
chant, with low and rapid utterance, a profusion of Celtic verses',
later rising into 'wild and impassioned notes, accompanied with
appropriate gestures' (p. 165). His Gaelic chant acts as an expression
of group solidarity, and communicates itself as such to his audience:
'Their wind and sun-burnt countenances assumed a fiercer and more
animated expression; all bent forward towards the reciter, many sprung
up and waved their arms in ecstasy, and some laid their hands on their
swords' (p. 166). The bard is, like the fool, a still-alive archaic
figure; both, in their different ways, express through song the
collective consciousness of their ancient societies.

The musical high-point of the novel occurs in chapters 21 and 22,
which introduce the chieftain's sister, Flora MacIvor, as the Celtic
musician par excellence. Flora, though a Highlander, has been educated
in Paris, and blends native awareness of the tradition with a more
intellectual and sophisticated attitude to it: the reader is told that
she had studied 'the music and poetical traditions of the
Highlanders', carrying out 'researches' and 'inquiries' in a
conscious, organized fashion which seems to parallel Scott's own study
of the Border ballads (ch. 21, p. 169). It is, accordingly, under the
sign of music that her brother Fergus introduces her to Edward:
'Captain Waverley is a worshipper of the Celtic muse; ... I have told
him you are eminent as a translator of Highland poetry' (ch. 22, pp.
171-172). Flora informs the guest that 'the recitation of poems ...
forms the chief amusement of a winter fireside in the Highlands', and
that bards such as MacMurrough are 'the poets and historians of their
tribes'. She also pays tribute to the musicality of Gaelic: 'The
Gaelic language, being uncommonly vocalic, is well adapted for sudden
and extemporaneous poetry' (p. 173). That evening after dinner, she
invites the English visitor, in the company of her attendant Cathleen,
to a secluded glen in the castle grounds, where, by the side of a
waterfall, she sings a 'lofty ... Highland air' to him, in English
translation, accompanying herself on the harp and allowing her song to
blend with the sounds of the cascade. Flora declares: 'To speak in the
poetical language of my country, the seat of the Celtic muse is in the
mist of the secret and solitary hill, and her voice is in the murmur
of the mountain stream' (p. 177). Waverley is overcome by 'a wild
feeling of romantic delight', at her strains 'which harmonized well
with the distant waterfall, and the soft sigh of the evening breeze in
the rustling leaves of an aspen' (pp. 177-178). Flora's woodland
performance images an archaic world where music and song are
integrated into nature.

After this episode, Waverley, not unsurprisingly, falls in love with
the fair Celtic harpist. However, she rejects his suit, and he is soon
caught up in the chain of occurrences which will push him away from
this romantic Highland refuge into the thick of rebellion and war. The
musical references of the novel's third section, which narrates these
rougher and harsher events, are noticeably much fewer. They are also
more superficial, relating as they do, significantly, mainly to the
Lowlands or to the British. Thus, on the road to Falkirk a Lowland
lieutenant 'whistled the Bob of Dumblain' - a tune which the narrator
neither describes nor quotes (ch. 39, p. 287); a party of Lowlanders
is heralded by 'a kind of rub-a-dub-dub' or 'inoffensive row-de-dow'
on the drums (ch. 34, p. 264); an English soldier whistles 'the tune
of Nancy Dawson' (ch. 38, p. 282); the English cavalry are announced
by 'the unwelcome noise of kettle-drums and trumpets' (ch. 60, p.
410). The earlier poetry and depth of musical allusion has
disappeared, and does not return till Davie Gellatley the fool comes
back into the novel near the end.

The Jacobite rebellion is, of course, finally defeated by the English.
Fergus MacIvor is hanged, and Flora leaves Britain forever for a
French convent; the lives of Waverley and the Baron of Bradwardine
hang in the balance until both are in the end pardoned and young
Edward marries the Baron's daughter Rose. There is no evidence, either
internal or external, to suggest that Scott actually favoured the
Jacobite cause or the '45 rebellion. The 'unfortunate civil war' (ch.
71, p. 489) is seen as a forlorn attempt in a lost cause; at the same
time, however, Scott gives full credit and due to the courage and
devotion of the Jacobite leaders and their troops to a belief-system
with which he obviously does not agree himself. His protagonist, near
the end, reaches the conclusion that the only rational hope for the
future is that 'it might never again be his lot to draw his sword in
civil conflict' (ch. 60, p. 415).

It is, nonetheless, amply clear from the novel as a whole that Scott
wished his English readers to take Scottish culture seriously, and to
value and respect the passionate, heroic qualities of the Celtic
nation. At a number of points in the narrative, English prejudices
against things Scottish are exposed as being empty and stereotyped.
Colonel Talbot, an English officer whose life Waverley saves, speaks
contemptuously of 'this miserable country', and is described by the
narrator as being 'tinged ... with those prejudices which are
peculiarly English' (ch. 52, p. 366); he calls the Gaelic language
'gibberish', adding for good measure that 'even the Lowlanders talk a
kind of English little better than the negroes in Jamaica' (ch. 56, p.
387). Scott's own sympathies are clearly, by contrast, with the
Highland ladies and friends of Flora's who declare Gaelic to be more
'liquid' and better 'adapted for poetry' than Italian (ch. 54, p.
377). As an alternative to national antagonisms, Waverley's marriage
to Rose Bradwardine may be seen as symbolizing a certain
Anglo-Scottish convergence, a mutual recognition of cultural value on
both sides of the divide.

Music and poetry emerge from 'Waverley' as essential elements of that
traditional Celtic society whose dignity and originality Scott's novel
clearly defends, at least in cultural terms. Scott was, of course,
more than familiar with the specific musical and poetic traditions of
the Lowlands, as is clear from his ballad studies or from a later
novel like 'The Bride of Lammermoor'. However, he chose in 'Waverley'
to associate the Celtic muse with the Highlands and their hinterland,
as symbolizing all that was most classically and irremediably
Scottish. In this traditional society, music and poetry are integrated
with daily life and work, and make up a tissue of folk history; and
Scott's first novel offers the reader memorable images of this archaic
but holistic view of the world, through the ancient, archetypal
figures of Fool, Bard and Harpist.

Christopher Rollason

[4.19] Where can I get bagpipes?
It's many a long year since I "squeezed the bag and tuned the drones",
but I think that you would be safe to give Kilberry Bagpipes of
Edinburgh a toot!!

The Scots Magazine ran an article on them in it's October '96 issue.
They are on http://www.scotweb.co.uk/Highland/Kilberry/
and for e-mail try them at 10147...@compuserve.com

Highland Pipes:
Henry Murdo (Dun Fion Bagpipes)
Corriegills, Isle of Arran
Tel 01770 302393
Henry is regarded as one of the top pipemakers in the world.

Bagpipes of Caledonia
Lorn House
Links Garden Lane
Leith, Edinburgh EH6 7JQ

Bagpipes and associated products, tuition packs, chanter kits.

[4.20] Learning to play the harp
John Yule,
Carnethy Cottage,
Silverburn, Penicuik,
Midlothian EH26 9LQ
(has got to be one of the best in Scotland!)

Starfish Designs
Unit 4, Old Ferry Road,
North Ballachulish
by Fort William PH33 6SA
Tel: 01855 821429 (fax: 01855 821577)
email: mande...@cix.compulink.co.uk

Ardival Harps (Bill Taylor)
Orchard House, Castle Leod
Strathpeffer, Ross-shire IV14 9AA
(also offers harp tuition, all levels)

Learning to Play the Clarsach:
If you are interested in learning to play the clarsach, but would like
to 'have a go' before you part with alot of money, there are at least
two options. The first is to go along to Balnain House in Inverness,
where you can try out traditional instruments. They also have an
exhibition of early musical instruments from the Highlands, and hold
workshops, live music ceilidhs etc. most evenings throughout the
summer, and a couple of evenings a week in winter too. There is a
harp festival held here each year at the end of May.

The second option is to hire a harp from Fountain Harps. They also
have learner books and tapes. Based in the Scottish borders, they can
arrange the hire to many places throughout Scotland and also England.
Fountain Harps
Whitchester, Hawick,
Scottish Borders TD9 7LN

There is a harp mailing list
Subscription address: harp-r...@mit.edu
List address: ha...@mit.edu
WWW info
http://www.tns.lcs.mit.edu/harp/

*5* Song lyrics

[5.1] 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 digi...@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://www.deltablues.com/dbsearch.html

Also, check out the Ceo\l section of
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html

also try
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1690/lyrics.html

[5.2] 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 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 in 1994. 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.

Blackfriars Music can be reached at:

Blackfriars Music
49 Blackfriars St
Edinburgh
EH1 1NB
Scotland
Tel: 0131 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: 0131 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 democratic muse" is definitely also worth a read. This covers the
Scottish folk movement revival since the 50s and covers the major singers
who have influenced the revival, their songs and some history about the
folk song revival and the context of the songs. ISBN 1 898218 10 2

The Feis movement (Feisean nan Gaidheal) has a songbook out and it is
excellent for anyone interested in Gaelic song or musicians interested in
Gaelic tunes. 28 songs; 36 further tunes.
Music (staff format) and translations available for all the songs which
range from the traditional to the new. The address is in answer [6.4].
ISBN 0 9528687 0 9, price approx 10 pounds.

The Corries Songbook (and their CDs) can be ordered on the web from
Gavin Browne's home page at
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Gavin_Browne/
He seems to be extremely efficient.
My book was mailed the same day I ordered it.
This book has full lyrics and staff music and guitar chords for 62 of the
Corries' favourite songs

For Gaelic songs, I'd recommend Bruce Campbell's Orain nan Gaidheal,
in 3 three volumes each about 5 pounds. Published by Gairm, Glasgow
and available from the Gaelic Books Council (address in [7.3])
Each contains about 37 well known songs, lyrics in Gaelic and
English and music in sol-fa. No music in staff format.

[5.3] Frequently Requested Songs
Index:
[Song 1] My Bonnie Moorhen
[Song 2] Theid mi Dhachaidh - from Rob Roy
[Song 3] Sileas puirt a beul
[Song 4] Amazing Grace
[Song 5] Eilean nam Bothan
[Song 6] Runrig - Skye
[Song 7] Oh wee white rose of Scotland
[Song 8] Loch Lomond
[Song 9] William McBride
[Song 10] Fields of Athenry
[Song 11] Doon in the Wee Room
[Song 12] An teid thu leam a Mhairi
[Song 13] Ailein duinn - from Rob Roy
[Song 14] Ca the yowes
[Song 15] Alasdair Mhic Cholla Ghasda
[Song 16] Nighean nan geug
[Song 17] Boneparte
[Song 18] Sguaban Arbhair
[Song 19] The Flower of Scotland

Frequently Requested Songs - Contents
[Song 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

[Song 2] Theid mi Dhachaidh - from Rob Roy
Date: Thu, 07 Sep 1995 20:44:19 -0400 (EDT)
From: KK...@delphi.com
Subject: Theid Mi Dhachaidh, can you forward?
To: cr...@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

[Song 3] Sileas puirt a beul
Sung version at http://www.scotnet.co.uk/jon/index.html

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

[Song 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.

[Song 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

[Song 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

[Song 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

[Song 8] Loch Lomond
Rudy Ramsey <rams...@abwam.com>

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.

This is not the version most people sing, it starts off
"By Yon Bonnie Banks and By Yon Bonnie Braes".....

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.

The popular Loch Lomond tune is also shared by the Irish song
"Yellow is the rose"

[Song 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 <10063...@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 "No Mans' Land" on his "Plain and Simple"
record with John Munro

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.

[Song 10] Fields of Athenry
A song of Ireland, but popular in the Royal Oak, Edinburgh!
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____

[Song 11] Doon in the Wee Room
From: t0...@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

[Song 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)

[Song 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 captain 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. Also in Su\il ri cladach, published by Acair. Also in
Tocher 41, published by the School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh
University EH8 9LD. A song with the same name but different
tune and words (ie a different song entirely but based on the same
story) has been recorded by Mac-talla.

[Song 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

[Song 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

[Song 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 <vocables> bean eile nan ceann <vocables>
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)

[Song 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

[Song 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.

[Song 19] The Flower of Scotland
(The Flower of Scotland is the title given in the Corries songbook,
not "Flower of Scotland")

1.
O flower of Scotland
When will we see
Your like again
That fought and died for
Your wee bit hill and glen
And stood against him
Proud Edward's army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again

2.
The hills are bare now
And autumn leaves lie thick and still
O'er land that is lost now
Which those so dearly held
And stood against him
Proud Edward's army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again

3.
Those days are passed now
And in the past they must remain
But we can still rise now
And be the nation again
And stood against him
Proud Edward's army
And sent him homeward
Tae think again
Words and music: Roy Williamson. (c) The Corries (Music) Ltd.
Website: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Gavin_Browne/

*6* Festivals

[6.1] When are the major Scottish folk festivals

Edinburgh festival/fringe etc usually starts the second Sunday in
August and runs for 3 weeks.
http://www.presence.co.uk/fringe
at about the same time is the Edinburgh Tattoo
http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/index.htm

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

Celtic Connections runs for three weeks in January, starting on the first
Saturday after New Year generally. More info from the Royal Concert Hall,
Glasgow. The 97 Celtic connections is a bit later than usual running from
15th Jan to 2nd Feb. This gives the festival the opportunity to cover
Burns night for the first time.

BOX OFFICE:-
The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall,
2 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow G2 3NY, Scotland.
International Tel:- +44 141 287 5511
International Fax:- +44 141 353 4134
Pay by Access/Visa/MasterCard. Cheques payable to 'The Glasgow Royal
Concert Hall'

Press & Media Enquiries:-
Tracey Kelly Tel:- 0141 332 6633 Fax:- 0141 333 0123

Info on the 97 programme is available at
http://www.lismor.co.uk/

The British Council has a searchable database of some major
festivals in Britain, see
http://www.britcoun.org/calendar/

[6.2] Edinburgh Festival Fringe

postal: 180 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1QS
tel: 0131 226 5257 / 5259
fax: 0131 220 4205
email: ad...@edfringe.org.uk
web: http://www.presence.co.uk/fringe

You can view the whole Fringe programme, see and make on-line reviews
and buy tickets through the web site

join the edinburgh festival fringe emailing discussion group:
send the message: subscribe edfringe-list
to majo...@presence.co.uk

[6.3] 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
dfra...@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

[6.4] Gaelic festivals

Contact:

Arthur Cormack
Feisean nan Gaidheal
5 Caolshra\id Mhicheil
Inbhir Nis (Inverness)
Scotland, IV2 3HQ
Tel: 01463 226472 Fax: 01463 237470

[6.5] Mayfest
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/mayfest
(URL is seasonal)

[6.6] Scottish/Celtic festivals worldwide

Updated listings detailing over 350 Scottish and Celtic
festivals from around the world have been posted at:

http://www.shirenet.com/MacLachlan/games.html

The new listings include over 80 events in Scotland plus several
new events in North America. There is even a Celtic Festival in
Japan listed.

If you are aware of any events not in the listings, or have any
corrections you wish to share, please let us know. We have an
on-line form to make submitting the information we need simple:

http://www.shirenet.com/MacLachlan/sendinfo.html

Enjoy!

Jim Finegan
Clan MacLachlan

*7* Gaelic information

[7.1] How can I learn Gaelic?
The Gaelic learners' association Comann an Luchd-Ionnsachaidh can advise
about books, learners near you, classes, correspondence courses etc. The
name is abbreviated to CLI and prounounced CLEE. CLI has members around
the world. Motto: "For Gaelic learners and supporters". CLI publishes an
excellent magazine quarterly called 'Cothrom' which is bilingual and
packed full of interesting articles and useful information. There is
also a tape of the Gaelic in the magazine. The printed version of the
magazine is distributed free to members. Please mention the internet if
you found out about CLI through this medium. Gaelic is pronounced "Gaalic"
in Scotland and "Gaylig" in Ireland. In Canada, mostly the "Gaylig"
pronounciation is used, but to mean Scots Gaelic.

Address:
Comann an Luchd-Ionnsachaidh
62 Pri\omhshra\id
Inbhir Gho\rdain
Siorrachd Rois
IV18 0DH
Alba
UK

Phone and Fax: +44-1349-854848 (01349-854848)

Comann an Luchd-Ionnsachaidh
62 High Street
Invergordon
Ross-shire
IV18 0DH
Scotland

tel + fax: +44-1349-854848
WWW: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/cli/
CLI also has a page at
http://www.netmedia.co.uk/gaelic/clubs/g_cli.html

Also there's GAELIC-L, a Gaelic medium e-mail list for all 3 Gaelics.
Short English only messages from learners are OK
Send a mail to list...@listserv.hea.ie containing the line
sub Gaelic-L yourgivenname yoursurname
to join

There is also scots-gai...@eskimo.com - send a mail
to this address with "subscribe" as the subject to join, however
this list is Gaidhlig only and seems not to be aimed at beginners.

For beginners of Scots Gaelic there is a list for Gaelic and English,
although English should only be used where you are unable to phrase
your message in Gaelic. It is Gaidhlig-B and to join, send a mail to
list...@listserv.hea.ie containing the line
sub gaidhlig-b yourgivenname yoursurname
There will soon be a related list Gaidhlig-A which will be for
fluent speakers and learners and will be Gaelic only (no English).
There will also be similar -A and -B lists for Irish and Manx.

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). Includes useful small dictionary at
the back

Hugo's "Scottish Gaelic in 3 months". ISBN 0 85285 234 7
Author: Roibeart O/ Maolalaigh, lecturer in the Dept of Celtic
at the University of Edinburgh
4.95 (Pounds) $7.95 (US Dollars)
Includes useful index at the back
There is also a tape available to accompany the book
Distributed in the USA by
Hunter Publishing Inc
300 Raritan Center Parkway
CN94, Edison, New Jersey, 08818

Both of the above are recommended and suitable for complete
beginners and progress to upper intermediate conversational
level. Both books really need the learner to be exposed to
additional audio materials and/or conversation as the amount
of spoken materials on the tape is a bit limiting.

Speaking Our Language (workbooks, tapes, videos), published by Canan
(email: ca...@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.
Tel: +44-1471-844345 Fax: +44-1471-844322
Canan PO Box 345, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach, IV44 8XA, Scotland

Everyday Gaelic (book) author: Morag MacNeill (intermediate level)

Telford College run Gaelic classes at various levels including
Scotvec 1,2 and 3 and Gaelic Higher. Both evening classes and distance
learning.
Contact: Telford College, Crewe Toll, Edinburgh EH4 2NZ
E-mail: e...@etel.exnet.com Fax: 0131 343 1218
Tel: 0131 332 2491 extn 2233 (Communication and Languages Dept)
http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~ecs/telford/telford.html
This is the only centre in the world offering a Gaelic Higher course
by correspondence. Students keep in touch with tutors by mail,
E-mail or phone. Learning packs are also sent out and work is
returned with comments. Listening tapes and speaking practice are
also part of the course. Course fees (1996-97) are 42 pounds for
the Scotvec modules and 49 for the Higher. There is a separate fee
(about 20 pounds) for actually sitting the exam.
http://www.ed-coll.ac.uk/etcwebsite/comm&lang_other_courses.htm

Gaidhlig Bheo: Correspondence course, run by The National Extension
College, 18 Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge
Tel: (01223) 316644 Fax: (01223) 313586
http://www.youthnet.org.uk/natorgs/n/natextc.html

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: ga...@smo.uhi.ac.uk
(Sleite is pronounced "Slate")
There is a course "Conaltradh ann an Gaidhlig" which seems to be a
little above Higher level and is a distance learning course.

Gaelic courses from beginners to advanced available in Sutherland info at:
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~maclean/AnCeathramh.html
Tel: 01408- 641 474 e-mail: ancea...@mail.enterprise.net

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/

Information particular to the United States
An Comunn Gaidhealach America
http://www.clark.net/pub/acga/

Information on The Gaelic College of Celtic Arts and Crafts in
Cape Breton, Nova Scotia - Gaelic and other Scottish classes are
offered here
http://www.taisbean.com/gaeliccollege
E-mail: gael...@atcon.com

Am Braighe, a Newspaper in English and Gaelic from Cape Breton, Nova
Scotia carries a wide range of Gaelic merchandise
http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/
E-mail ambr...@fox.nstn.ca

For Gaelic products from Scotland, contact
Am Muileann Dubh
A' Chatalog Ghaidhlig
Sraid a' Mhargaid
Baile Dhubhthaich (Tain)
Siorrachd Rois (Ross-shire)
Scotland
IV19 1AR

http://www.catalyst-highlands.co.uk/muileann/dubh/

[7.2] Gaelic links
World centre for Gaelic links, Sabhal Mor Ostaig, Skye
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/
and http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/gaidhlig.html

Guide to Gaelic Scotland
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/cnag/failte/

The Gaelic Homepage
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html

The Gaelic-L archives
http://yeats.ucs.csufresno.edu/GAELIC-L.HTML

Dalriada Celtic Heritage Trust
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/dalriada/

Gaelic organisations
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/

Celtic Congress
http://www.indigo.ie/egt/celtcong/cc-home-en.html
Contact: M. MacIver, 7 Teal Avenue, Inverness IV2 3TB

Links to Dictionaries
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/gaelic.html

Gaelic organisations on-line
http://www.netmedia.co.uk/gaelic/

Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Society_and_Culture/Cultures/Celtic

[7.3] Where can I get Gaelic books?

The Gaelic Books Council stocks every Gaelic book in print
including prose, poetry, songs, music, children's material etc.
They have a catalogue. The Gaelic books council ships worldwide
but doesn't take credit cards.

Comhairle nan Leabhraichean
22 Sra\id Achadh a'Mhansa
Glaschu
Alba
G11 5QP.

Tel: 0141 337 6211

The Gaelic Books Council
22 Mansfield Street
Glasgow
Scotland
G11 5QP

Tel: 0141 337 6211

For places which do take credit cards, try:

http://www.catalyst-highlands.co.uk/muileann/dubh/ (Scotland)
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/canan/ (Scotland)
http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/ (Canada)
http://www.angelfire.com/pg0/thistle/index.html (USA)

http://www.bookpages.co.uk/ (All UK Books in print)

Note: All Gaelic addresses can be used fine provided the postcode is written.
If you are looking for a Gaelic name for your child, the book to get is
Ainmean Chloinne, Scottish Gaelic names for Children. Author Peadar Morgan.
Published by Taigh na Teud, Breacais Ard, Skye. ISBN 1871931401

[7.4] Scots Gaelic products and catalog

Am Muileann Dubh
A' Chatalog Ghaidhlig
Sraid a' Mhargaid
Baile Dhubhthaich (Tain)
Siorrachd Rois (Ross-shire)
Scotland
IV19 1AR

WWW pages at http://www.catalyst-highlands.co.uk/muileann/dubh/
E-mail: md...@cali.co.uk

[7.5] Where can I get Gaelic music and words, info on Gaelic songs

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. Their web address is
http://www.clark.net/pub/acga/

If that fails, try
The School of Scottish Studies, 27 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LD
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?173

[7.6] How do I find out about 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:
97 (Inverness), 98 (Skye), 99 (Lochaber)
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. The new membership
secretary is Coinneach MacLeo\id

[7.7] 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.

[7.8] How can I get Gaelic TV/radio programmes

Gaelic Radio is on (103.5 - 105 & 97.9 FM) the same frequency as 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!

Contact:
Radio nan Gaidheal, 7 Culduthel Road, Inverness, IV2 4AD
Tel: 01463 720720

Gaelic TV is on BBC Scotland. Scottish Television and Grampian
Television.

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
E-mail: 10067...@compuserve.com

For details of Gaelic TV in general, contact:
The Gaelic Television Committee.
4 Acarsaid, Cidhe Sraid Chrombail, Steornabhagh,
Eilean Leodhais PA87 2DF, Scotland.
Tel: 01851 705550
Fax: 01851 706432

[7.9] Gaelic newspapers

Scotland:
Guth na Ga\idhlig
The subscription desk
Highland News Group
Henderson Road
Inverness
IV1 1SP
Tel: 01463 713700

Nova Scotia and Scotland
Am Braighe
http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/
E-mail ambr...@fox.nstn.ca

[7.10] Gaelic playgroups

Comhairle nan Sgoiltean Araich (CNSA)
53 Sra\id na h-Eaglais (53 Church Street)
Inbhir Nis (Inverness)
IV1 1DR
Tel: 01463 225469
www.scotnet.co.uk/cnsa/index.html

There are about 100 pre-school playgroups
throughout Scotland through the medium
of Gaelic

the organisation for parents who have children being educated through
the medium of Gaelic is "Comann nam Parant", their newsletter can be
obtained at
SANAS - (Gaelic parents' newsletter)
Contact: Aonghas MacNeacaill
The Rock
Carlops
Peebleshire

[7.11] 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 94 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

[7.12] Commercial Scots Gaelic translation service
http://www.lews.uhi.ac.uk/fosglan/fosglan2.htm

[7.13] 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 Beurlcted

[7.14] Info on Scots Gaelic accents

Broadly speaking there are three major Gaelic dialects. One includes the
Western Isles (except Lewis), Skye, Glenelg, Moidart and Western
Lochaber "The Central Western Area". The next area lies around this area
and includes Rossshire, Inverness, Badenoch, Fort Augustus, Laggan,
North Argyll and Mull. The third area includes Lewis, Sutherland,
Deeside, Perthshire, Mid-Argyll, Jura, Mull, Islay and Kintyre. There
are of course variations within this, such as Islay's "go robh math
agad", peculiar to there.

In Uist and Barra, deanamh and words ending in mh are pronounced with a
"oo" sound at the end, whereas in many other places it's a "v". Lewis
Gaelic is so completely out on it's own pronounciation wise I know native
Argyll and know of Sutherland Gaelic speakers who have trouble understanding
Lewis Gaelic. In Lewis they have their own words, such as "bu\rn" for
drinking water. Elsewhere it is uisge. The variation between Lewis and
Harris Gaelic is very noticable. As has been pointed out, the
Scandanavian influence is very strong and it seems to me as if Lewis
Gaelic speakers speak it with a Scandanavian accent - completely
different to the rest of Scotland.

However, there are similarities between Lewis and Sutherland Gaelic (but
both different to Harris and the rest of the Outer Isles). For instance,
the both pronounce "adhart" as "ugurst" whereas the dh almost drops out
in most other areas.

For more information on this, see Anthony Dilworth's essay "Central
Western and Peripheral Gaelic". Tony Dilworth was a linguistic
researcher (now retired) with the School of Scottish Studies. He's
currently vice-convenor of the Gaelic Learners' Association. For
thorough research on Gaelic and Scots dialects contact the school.
Their URL is
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?173

Arran Gaelic:
http://homepages.enterprise.net/hibou/arran.html

Perthshire Gaelic:
See Cothrom 6, published by the Gaelic Learners Association
P29-33

Sutherland Gaelic
ancea...@mail.enterprise.net
(An Ceathramh Gaelic centre in Sutherland)

Wester Ross:
Contact:
Roy Wentworth, 25 Ea\rradal a Deas, Gairloch, Ross-shire IV21 2AU

More info in
Companion to Gaelic Scotland, edited by Derick S. Thomson

[7.15] Gaelic Arts
Proiseact nan Ealan / National Gaelic Arts Project
An arts development agency promoting Gaelic music, theatre and
visual arts through initiatives such as exhibitions, publications,
festivals, television programmes, CDs and training courses.

Contact: Malcolm MacLean
10 Shell Street, Stornoway
Isle of Lewis HS1 2DG

Proiseact nan Ealan is the organisation to contact about the
excellent "Ceolas" event.

*8* Gaelic song and music

[8.1] Waulking songs

Article by Craig Cockburn

Waulking is a process for fulling Harris tweed (making it
more airtight). The word 'waulking' is a Scots word from the 14th
century meaning the same as "full" in English. The waulking process
not only fulls the tweed but also shrinks it slightly.

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, Aberdeen University Press ISBN 0 08 032471 1).

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.
One of the oldest Gaelic songs 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 became the first ever Scots Gaelic
tune to enter the UK top 40 (in 1991?). It is about 400 years
old I think. There are three variations of this song that I know of.

During waulking, the cloth is pulled, passed through the hands to the
left and then returned to the table. By this method, the cloth spins
clockwise a few inches with each beat.

See also Tocher 50. Published by
The School of Scottish Studies, 27 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LD
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?173

[8.2] Puirt a beul

See the following for an introduction:
http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~lingnau/puirt.html
for more information on traditional Gaelic singing in general,
see:
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/gaelsong.html

[8.3] 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

[8.4] 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

Roderick Cannon, the Highland Bagpipe and its Music is a good
source for the facts of bagpipe history. Also, Seumas MacNeill and
Frank Richardson Piobaireachd and its Interpretation for Ceol Mor

[8.5] Oldest Datable Gaelic Song
Piobaireachd Dhomhnuill Dhuibh
Source: John MacInnes, School of Scottish Studies, Edinburgh University
On the Clan Alba Album. The music to this is in the Purser book mentioned
in [4.1]. This tune is thought to be named for Donald Dubh, 11th chief of
the Clan Cameron, who led the clan from 1400 to 1460. There is some evidence
that the tune evolved from Ceol Mor: a fiddle version was published by James
Oswald in 1760. Sir Walter Scott also put words to it in 1816. The Queen's
Own Highlanders often use it as a March Past.

I'm not sure what "datable" means here. Francis Collison in the
"Traditional and National music of Scotland", mentions 'Ceann na
Drochaid Mhoridh' (The end of the great bridge) as being
traditionally held as being composed at the battle of Inverlochy
in 1427. of the claim of Donald Dubh to be contemporary with it, he
calls "impossible to say".

[8.6] Cape Breton music mailing list
send a mail to: cb-m...@chatsubo.com
subject: subscribe

[8.7] Information on Runrig

See: http://dux.dundee.ac.uk/~azmilne/runrig/
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/scotz/runrig.htm

Contact the fan club at:

Runrig Fan Club, 1 York St, Aberdeen AB11 5DL Scotland
Tel: 01224 573100 Fax 01224 572598

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 ca...@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)

[8.8] 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 [7.3]. 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

*9* Scottish dance

[9.1] 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 <or>
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 <or>
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
favourite 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.

For more information on Scottish Dance, contact the only organisation
devoted to the Traditions of Scottish Dance and Dance music

Scottish Traditions of Dance Trust
St Mary's Road
Birnam
Dunkeld
Perthshire
Scotland
PH8 0BJ

[9.2] 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 [9.4]) 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,
St Oswald's Hall, Methodist Halls.

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 (register via the
.../TO/ page)

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.

[9.3] 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.

There is another article on step dancing at
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/john/subversion/scottishstepdancing.html
this is by Maggie Moore

[9.4] 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 `strathspe...@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!)

The books I would recommend on the topic are _Traditional Dancing in
Scotland_ by Joan and Thomas M. Flett (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul,
1985) -- this is a seminal work detailing much of the recent (pre-RSCDS)
history of Scottish dancing according to living memory, and it forms the
research basis of a lot of what is said by Emmerson -- and _Scotland's
Dances_ by Hugh Thurston (reprint edition; Kitchener, Ontario: Teacher's
Association (Canada), 1984), which is a small and easy-to-read book
giving an introduction to the various genres of Scottish dancing,
including Highland dances, solo dances, Reels and country dances. This
book was originally published some time ago and so reflects the research
done until, I think, the late 50s, but it has a lot to say about things
like recreating dances from ancient manuscripts which aren't in any
other book.

The Collins Pocket Reference *Scottish Country Dancing, Compiled in
association with The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society,*
edited by Peter Knight, published by HarperCollins.
The ISBN is 0 00 470987 X. I picked up my copy in Scotland this
summer for 5.99.

This little book has been compiled in association with the RSCDS.
It gives a brief history of dancing and some instructions on the
steps and various formations. The bulk of the book, however, is
given over to descriptions of various popular dances, both RSCDS
and others. It is perhaps unfortunate that the publishers have
picked up the illustrations used for the Miscellanies showing the
ladies in long white dresses and sashes - not exactly typical of
SCD in the 1990s.

The dance instructions include about 50 popular RSCDS dances; 30
others such as The Bees and Mairis Wedding and some fun ballroom
type dances like The Palais Glide, not normally on an SCD
programme and some of which I havent seen done for many a year -
but none the worse for that. I was very interested to see both the
RSCDS and the "County" versions of the Foursome Reel are given in
some considerable detail: time for a revival? Less fortunate in my
view is that the only Strip the Willow is the 40 bar Society
version which is not the one actually danced. Any criticisms are
minor though: overall this is a very useful book and an excellent
buy for any inexperienced dancer.

It has just been announced that the book is one of those chosen for
the Scottish Book Fortnight and various promotional activities for
the book (and by association for SCD) will be taking place around
the country at the end of October. Keep an eye on the local press
for details.

The book is available in book stores for GBP 5.99. RSCDS members
can get a reduction to L5.09 through HQ.<<

[9.5] Scottish Highland Dancing
contributed by Nancy Burge nancy...@pobox.com

Highland Dancing
Introduction

Scottish Highland dancing is one of the oldest forms of folk dance,
and both modern ballet and square dancing can trace their roots back to
the Highlands. Dating back to the 11th or 12th century, the Highland Dances
of Scotland tended to be highly athletic male celebratory dances of triumph
or joy, or warrior dances performed over swords and spiked shield.
According to tradition, the old kings and chiefs of Scotland used the
Highland Games as a way of choosing the best men for their retinue and
men at arms. Highland dancing was one of the various ways men were tested
for strength, stamina, accuracy, and agility. The Scottish military
regiments used to use Highland dancing as a form of training to develop
stamina and agility, but this has become less common these days.
Competitive Highland dancing started during the Highland revival of
Victorian Britain, and was for men only. Ladies began competing
only at the turn of the century. Over the centuries the dancing
style has become more refined and now shares many elements from
classical ballet. Although historically Highland dancing was restricted
to men, today it is mostly performed by females. No matter who dances
them, Highland dances require both athletic and artistic skill.

The Highland dances

The Highland Fling
This is the oldest of the traditional dances of Scotland and is a dance
of joy performed at the end of a victorious battle. It was danced by
male warriors over a small round shield, called a Targe, that the
warriors carried into battle. Most Targes had a sharp spike of steel
projecting from the centre, so dancers learned early to move with
great skill and dexterity. The Highland Fling is danced on the spot,
and is said to be based on the antics of a stag on a hillside; the
grouped fingers and upheld arms representing the antlers.

The Sword Dance (Gillie Chalium )
The Sword Dance dates back to the 13th century and the days of
King Malcolm Canmore (Shakespeare's MacBeth). One story is that this
was a dance of victory, as the King danced over his bloody claymore
(the two-handed broadsword of Scotland ) and the even bloodier head
of his enemy. Some say that no severed head was used and that the King
danced over his own sword crossed over the sword of his enemy.
Another story is that the Sword Dance was danced prior to a battle.
To kick the swords was considered a bad omen for the impending battle,
and the soldier would expect to be wounded. If many of the soldiers
kicked their swords the chieftain of the clan would expect to lose
the battle.

The Seann Triubhas
Pronounced "shawn trews", this Gaelic phrase means "old trousers".
This dance is reputed to date from the rebellion of 1745 when Bonnie
Prince Charlie challenged the might of England at Culloden, and lost.
As a penalty, Highlanders were forbidden to wear the kilt. Seann
Triubhas is a dance of celebration developed in response to the
Proscription Repeal which restored to the Scots the right to wear their
kilts and play the bagpipes once more. The movements of this dance
clearly depict the legs defiantly shaking and shedding the hated
trousers and returning to the freedom of the kilt. Some of the steps
originate from hard shoe dancing.

Strathspey and Highland Reel and Strathspey and Half Tulloch
The Strathspey and Reel and the Strathspey and Half Tulloch are
performed by four dancers. The Strathspey is never danced on its own
in competition but must be followed by the Reel. These dances
illustrate the "set" and "travel" steps which are common in Scottish
social dancing.

Dress
In Highland dancing competitions, female dancers wear a velvet jacket
with gold or silver braid edging and gold or silver buttons, over a
white shirt with lace ruffles at the neck. They wear a kilt and tartan
hose, and black laced gillies, or dancing shoes. Men wear the kilt
and sporran, with a jacket and bonnet, with tartan hose with a
sgian dhubh. For the National dances either a national costume is
worn, or the costume appropriate to the dance such as the hornpipe
costume, or the Irish Jig costume, which is worn with jig shoes.
The national costume consists of a tartan style gathered skirt, a
velvet jacket of a different style, laced up the front with silver
laces and decorated with silver buttons. There is a plaid which is
attached at the waistband at the back, and then comes up and over the
right shoulder and is fastened with a brooch onto the shoulder of
the jacket. Men wear the kilt and sporran, with a jacket and bonnet,
with tartan hose with a sgian dhubh. They can wear tartan trews or
Highland dress for national dances, and the hornpipe outfit, and a
male version of the Irish Jig costume.

The National Dances

The Flora McDonald's Fancy
This is said to be the last dance Flora McDonald danced for Bonnie
Prince Charlie before he fled overseas, but is more likely to be a
dance named in her honour. Flora McDonald helped the prince escape
from North Uist to Skye disguised as her maid. She emigrated to
America but returned home to Skye later in life.

The Sailor's Hornpipe
The Sailor's Hornpipe is a caricature dance developed from the
traditional English version. It has become more popular in Scotland
than in England and is regularly featured in Highland Games. The
movements in this dance portray actions used in the daily work
routines of a sailor's life, such as pulling ropes, climbing the
rigging, and looking out to sea. A costume like a sailors uniform is
worn by both male and female dancers.

The Irish Jig
The Scottish Version of the Irish Jig is another caricature dance
depicting an Irish washerwoman who is angry with her erring husband.
The costume worn for this dance is either a red or emerald green skirt
and bodice and a full white petticoat, with a white blouse, with a
white apron. Red or green jig shoes are worn and there is much
stamping and facial grimacing in this dance. In the male version,
the dancer wears a red or green tailcoat with a waistcoat of the
opposite colour, brown knee britches of corduroy, with a paddy hat
and he carries a shillelagh, which is a club made from the forked
branch of a tree.

There are a number of other National dances, which include
"The Earl of Errol", "Hielan' Laddie", the "Scottish Lilt", and
"Wilt thou go to the Barracks, Johnny?" They reflect the difficulty
of trying to elucidate the history of the dances. The Earl of Errol
was originala.

[7.14] Info on Scots Gaelic accents

Broad
was collected by Isobel Cramb, recorded on the Hill manuscript yet
there are two different versions. The Scottish Lilt is claimed by
both the Hebrides and Perthshire. It was probably very different
when danced to its original 9/8 jig tune but nowadays it is danced
to a tune called "The Battle of the Somme" which dates from the
First World War. The tune is a retreat and has a completely different
speed and rhythm. There are several different tunes called
"Hielan' Laddie", and different dances to each tune so who knows
which is the original? "Wilt thou go to the barracks, Johnny?" is
a recruiting song and "the barracks" is probably a corruption of
"Berwick", although there was a barracks there.

Competition Dancing
Many Highland Games and Highland Dance Competitions are now run
according to the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD)
style of dance. The SOBHD was set up in 1950 and its aims were to
stabilise the technique of Highland Dancing (which also includes
the National dances of Scotland), to formulate laws and regulations
covering every aspect of the art and to further the interests of
Highland dancing. Prior to the advent of the SOBHD, dancers
competing at the various games throughout Scotland had to vary
their style and alter their steps according to the district they
were competing in, or to suit the known stylistic preferences
of the judges.

The address is:-
Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing,
32 Grange Loan,
Edinburgh,
EH9 2NR.UK.
phone: 0131 668 3965.
fax; 0131 662 0404

Dancers compete in one of five groups: Primary (under 7 years old),
Beginners, Novice, Intermediate, and finally Premier. There are
age classifications in each group, so each dancer will be competing
not only in their age group but also against dancers of a similar standard.
Dancers are judged on three basic areas: timing, technique and
general deportment. Timing is the ability to follow the rhythm of the
music in the dance. Technique is primarily the footwork, and
co-ordination with head, arm and hand movements. The positioning of
the feet is of great importance as however graceful or agile the
dancer, it is the neatness and accuracy of the foot positions that
give the dances their essential character.

The interpretation and the ability to capture the spirit of the dance
are also important as are balance, general appearance and bearing,
as well as carriage of the head, arms, body and hands. Although the
dances are very strenuous, they must be danced gracefully with
apparent ease. Music at competitions is usually played by a piper but
may be played on the accordion.

There are many books, records, CDs and videos available, about
Highland dancing and one supplier is the Scottish National Dance Co,
whose address is
http://www.i-way.co.uk/~kelpi/
They have world wide contacts and if you want to find a teacher or
group to learn with, the Scottish National Dance Co would be a good
place to start.

[9.6] Books on Scottish dancing

The best book I've seen on Scottish dancing is _A Social History of
Scottish Dance_ (George S. Emmerson, 1972; published by McGill). It's
covers everything from the earliest times to the present. It is a superb
synthesis of the social history of Scotland with dance as its centre. The
chapters on the Scotch Reel, Jig, Hornpipe, and Folk Jigs are particularly
good.

*10* Scottish food and drink and pubs

[10.1] 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.

[10.2] Info on cooking and haggis
(Scottish recipie info at
http://www.webit.wintermute.co.uk/webit/recipes.htm )

2 recommended books:

F. Marian McNeill - The Scots Kitchen, its lore and recipes. 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 recipes 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 [10.1] for details of how to get
some.

How to cook haggis:
From interview with John MacSween of MacSween's the butchers.
"Wrap the haggis tightly in tin foil and place in a large saucepan of
cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 45 minutes per lb.
When ready to serve, remove from foil and drain off the excess water.
Split the skin with a sharp knife and spoon the contents onto a hot
(most important) plate with mashed turnip and mashed potato."

[10.3] 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, Milne'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 Sunday 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
See also http://www.strath.ac.uk/~aeu95249/index.htm

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

[10.4] Whisky (whiskey)
Try the whisky www page at
http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/staff/jhb/whisky/index.html
More whisky information is also available at
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/whisky/
and http://www.clan.com/whisky/ including a monthly free prize
draw for a bottle of whisky....

Whisky is the spelling used in Scotland and for Canadian Rye.
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.

and, in order to be sold under the description "Scotch Whisky",
it must by law be at least three years old.

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, towns a few miles to the west and north of Dunblane.

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!

Books:
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
The ISBN for the 1995 edition is 0 7513 0146 9 The price is now UKP12.99
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.

another book is "The Malt Whisky File" by John Lamond and Robin Tucek,
"has more tasting notes (over 400) than any comparable whisky guide" .
It was described by Esquire as "Unquestionably the best consumer guide
to Scotland's finest whiskies"
The full book is available online at
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/whisky/maltfile/
and mirrored at...
http://www.clan.com/whisky/maltfile/
It is published by
Canongate Books Ltd, 14 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1TE
The price for the 1995 edition is UKP9.99, and the ISBN is 086241 525X

It can be purchased direct from the publishers via secure
transactions available from the above web sites. Also from
http://www.waterstones.co.uk/

Useful addresses:
The Scotch Malt Whisky Society
87 Giles St, Leith, Edinburgh EH6. Tel: 0131 555 2929

The Scotch Whisky Association
20 Atholl Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 Tel: 0131 229 4383

Scotch Whisky Heritage Centre
354 Castlehill, Royal Mile, Edinburgh EH1 Tel: 0131 220 0441

[10.5] Traditional Bread recipie (Gaelic and English)

Seo agad doigh airson aran a cho\caireadh

<Here's a Gaelic recipie for bread - takes about 2-3 hours total. We
make this frequently, it's quite straightforward
English follows>

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.

<English>
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.

[10.6] Irn-bru
Scotland's "Other national drink"
http://www.irn-bru.co.uk

*11* Political information
Pro devolution and unionist articles would be very much appreciated to
balance this section! Craig

[11.1] Politics: Scotland and the UK/devolution/independence

Addresses of relevant organisations:
Scottish Politics home page: http://www.wp.com/Alba/

Political Parties in Scotland:

Labour Party, 1 Lynedoch Place, Glasgow G3 6AB.
Tel: 0141 332 8946 FAX 331 2566

Scottish National Party (SNP), 6 North Charlotte St, Edinburgh EH2 4JH
Tel: 0131 226 3661
(also known as Partaidh Naiseanta na h-Alba - PNA)
http://www.snp.org.uk/
e-mail: snp...@snp.org.uk

Also:
Scottish National Party, c/o 1036 Waverley Street
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 0P3
Tel: 1-800-665-7652 Fax: 204-453-6350
E-Mail: b...@magic.mb.ca

SNP Liaison Officer, 133 South West 2nd Av.
Suite 220C, Portland, OREGON 97204
Tel: 800-700-8176
E-Mail: PMM...@prodigy.com

Conservative and Unionist Party
(anyone have their Scottish address please)

Liberal Democrats,
4 Clifton Terrace,
Edinburgh EH12
0131 337 2314
http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/

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

Charter 88
http://gnew.gn.apc.org:80/charter88/enquiry/forms/fscot.html

Scottish Politics
http://www.wp.com/Alba/

[11.2] Scottish Independence information
http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/hamish/index.html

[11.3] Article on Indepedence
Article by DOBSCAN dob...@aol.com

I am forever reading comments about an independent Scotland. The reasons
often given are; a hatred for England, a wish for a return to Gaelic, and
other such emotional issues. Now while these and other emotional issues
may play a small part I doubt, due to the mass differences in opinion that
any of these will have any affect on the independence of Scotland.

I grew up in an extremely nationalist environment and the issues I heard
to support a seperate Scotland, and I believe they are the ones shared by
most Scots and in general most thinking people.

1: Economic self rule so as to decide where our tax pounds went. A very
simple idea and principal, that would allow the people to decide what was
important to them and how their money was spent and to insure that their
money was spent in Scotland to meet the needs of the Scottish people who
paid them. This was always the main issue.

2: Our own polititians who would be more concerned with the problems
affecting Scotland than those in London who are resposible for a larger
area and a higher population. Since the governing people are elected the
issues of the majority get a priority over the issues of a minority.
England has a greater population thus more votes, thus more pull with the
political parties. Again a simple reality.

I never heard vote for Scottish rule because we hate the English, or we
want our own Royal Family, or other issues. They may exist in some cases
but not in the main stream. In fact if one was to look at the issues of
Scottish rule one would see the plans already in place for a great deal of
cooperation with the countries around Scotland. The reason for an
independent Scotland is to improve the life of the Scots, not to harm the
lives of other nations. The issue is prosperity and responsability for
Scottish issues by the people of Scotland.

As an example of the emotions involved, one of my uncles, a very staunch
nationalist, and a, rightfully so, proud vetran of the Scots Guards used
to make us stand for God Save The Queen, while everyone else left the
pictures (movies) Because it was the right thing to do.

At 14 to 16 I would of been the ideal terrorist and would of welcomed the
chance of running into Westminister with a bomb on my back. I suggested it
a few times, and even the hardest core fringe seperatists/nationals were
aghast at my suggestion. "We don't do that" was the reply and the disgust
was very clear in the voices. As much as I thought of them as cowards in
my foolish youth I respect and admire their stance today in my mature
foolishness. Again the ecomonic and logic of seperation were explained to
me. When I would, as a child, express a horray for the IRA or such, I
would be chastised and told some poor soldiers mother, wife or child would
be missing them. Think of the poor bairns was always a prominent remark.
Steps were taken so that I would not hate the English people with the
constant emphasis being placed on economics and logic.

I hope this will clear up some of the issues about Scottish Nationalism.
Will help clear up some missconceptions about the movement. As you can see
by the sign off of Mr. Chick McGregor when he says " Don't vote Labour
because of your Parents. Vote SNP because of your children." You will note
that there is no other reason for an independent Scotland that to benefit
the people of Scotland. Scottish Nationalisn is not based on history it is
conceived on the hopes of the future.
Dave M.

[11.4] Political Quotations

"Independently of my enthusiasms as a Scotsman, I have rarely met with
anything in history which interests my feelings as a man equal with the
story of Bannockburn. On the one hand, a cruel but able usurper, leading
on the finest army in Europe, to extinguish the last spark of freedom
among a greatly-daring & greatly-injured people; on the other hand, the
desperate relics of a gallant nation, devoting themselves to rescue their
bleeding country or perish with her. Liberty! thou art a prize truly
and indeed invaluable, for never canst thou be too dearly bought."
Robert Burns

" I ken when we had King, and a chancellor, and a Parliment-- men
o'our ain, we could peeble them wi' stanes when they werena gude
bairnes. But naebody's nails can reach the length o'Lunnon."
Sir Walter Scott

"Freedom"
Mel Gibson, "Braveheart"

"Tartan Tax"
Michael Forsyth, Secretary of State for Scotland 1996.

"We declare the right of the people of Scotland to the ownership of Scotland,
and to the unfettered control of Scottish destinies, to be sovereign and
indefeasible. The long usurpation of that right by a foreign people and
government has not extinguished the right, nor can it ever be extinguished
except by the destruction of the Scots people. The Scots people have
asserted their right to national freedom and sovereignty by arms and by
the ballot box. Standing on that fundamental right and asserting it
in the face of the world, we hereby proclaim Scotland as a Sovereign
Independent State and we pledge our lives and the lives of our comrades
in arms to the cause of its freedom, of its welfare, and of its
exaltation among the nations."
THOMAS J. CLARKE and others
(text adapted and modified from the proclamation of the Irish republic)

"The Scottish Constitutional settlement should be entrenched by a
simple provision in the Scotland Act (the act establishing the
Scottish parliament). Proposed amendments should be approved by a
simple majority in the UK and Scottish parliaments and in a referendum.
The Convention should consider giving the electorate the right to
propose an amendment through a constitutional petition"
Paragraph 5, Page 47 of "Towards a Scottish Parliament".
Consultation document and report to the Scottish people by
The Constitutional Convention. October 1989.

"We, gathered as the Scottish Constitutional Convention, do hereby
acknowledge the sovereign right of the Scottish people to determine
the form of government best suited to their needs, and do hereby
declare and pledge that in all our actions and deliberations their
interests shall be paramount.

We further declare and pledge that our actions and deliberations
shall be directed to the following ends:
To agree a scheme for an Assembly or Parliament for Scotland;
To mobilise Scottish opinion and ensure the approval of the Scottish
people for that scheme;
and to assert the right of the Scottish people to secure the
implementation of that scheme."
The Claim of Right, agreed by the Scottish Constitutional Convention
March 1989.

*12* Historical information

[12.1] How do I trace my Scottish ancestry?

There is a book published by HMSO (Her Majesty's Stationery 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

If you use New Register House you have to know what you want because
it is a bit bureaucratic and you have to order each item individually
and one at a time. So it is tedious work. But naturally rewarding. The
censuses only started in the 1800s so it is very difficult to track back
earlier.

I wrote to New Register House six months ago for birth certificates.
They do a very efficient postal service. I think I paid 12 pounds
an item. They will send you the details.

If your ancestors are from the Western Isles, there is a service
there run by Bill Lawson in Harris called "Co leis thu" which may
turn up information not at New Register House.
http://www.hebrides.com/coleis/index.htm

There is a newsgroup soc.genealogy.uk+ireland which may also be of use.
If you don't find what you want there, also try soc.genealogy.misc

"Surnames of Scotland" by Black gives the general history of surnames,
together with spelling variations and the earliest occurrences in
written texts.

Another useful address or two:
Scottish Ancestry Research Society
296 Albany Street, Edinburgh
Tel 0131 556 4220

Scottish Genealogical Society
10 Victoria Terrace,
Edinburgh
Tel 0131 220 3677

The following URLs may also be useful
http://www.clan.com/ScotRoots/

the Scotland GenUKI pages at:
http://www-theory.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~mnd/genuki/

along with an introduction to Scottish Family History
http://www-theory.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~mnd/genuki/intro.html

This lists several other books and gives a description of using both
New Register House and the Scottish Record office.

Scottish Genealogy Consultants
http://www.scotweb.com/genes/genes.htm (Gordon Johnson)
and also Carole Wilson s...@cwsoft.demon.co.uk

[12.2] Scottish Monarchs

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)

[12.3] 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.

[12.4] History and Archaeology information

Scotland's Past is a new Website containing regularly updated pages
on history and archaeology as well as the Homepage of the Edinburgh
Archaeological Field Society. We undertake all kinds of historical
and archaeological research except genealogy and heraldry. Visit us
at http://www.nsl.co.uk/scotpast/index.htm
or email Fergie Meek dunn...@msn.com

[12.5] The Picts
Article by lorraine....@dalriada.co.uk (Lorraine Macdonald)

The Picts

Background - Early Scotland
The question of the Picts should be approached as an integral part
of the heritage of Scotland (and Celtic Britain and Europe as a
whole) rather than as some isolated oddity. Early Scotland was
populated by various individual tribes who were ruled by people
of Celtic origin. The oldest recorded language found in Scotland
is of Celtic root but what should be remembered is that there
are a number of different Celtic languages. (Watson: Celtic Place
Names of Scotland)

Also present at this time were the people whom the Romans called
the Hiberni. These Hiberni were the Irish of the time. In Southern
Scotland there were also the various tribes of the Britons. Both
the Hiberni and the Britons were of Celtic origin.

To the Romans, the tribes were recognised by the Latin equivalent
of their tribal names. However, it was only the tribes which came
into contact with the Romans, usually in the form of battles, that
were naturally considered by them to be the most powerful and
prominent. From this came the Roman habit of calling the land
after whoever they saw as being the most powerful tribe.

Origin Myth of the Picts
An early Irish origin myth gives 'Cruithne' as the eponymous
ancestor of the Picts. In this myth it is said that the seven sons of
Cruithne gave their names to the seven divisions of the Pictish
kingdom. The names of the seven sons were Fib, Fidach, Foltlaig,
Fortrenn, Caitt, Ce and Circinn. Fib is equated with Fife, the site
of Fidach is uncertain, the others being Athfotla, Fortriu, Caithness,
Aberdeenshire and Angus respectively. Regardless of the accuracy
of the myth, these seven divisions did exist historically within
Pictish territories.

It is interesting to note that Athfotla, ie Atholl, is equated with one
of the sons, Foltlaig. Athfotla means 'new Ireland' and an area
once identified as being occupied by the Picts, Argyll, is omitted
entirely from the divisions of the Pictish Kingdom. So it seems that
this creation myth came at a time when the Dalriada kingdom was
already in place in the Argyll area.

There is also a possibility that the Picts were of Gaulish descent. The
Pictones, sometimes given as Pectones, were a Gaulish tribe to be
found on the Bay of Biscay south of the Loire

Historical Records
The first ever written record of the people known as the Picts came
from Roman sources. In 297 C.E. the orator Eumenius referred to
the Britons as 'already being accustomed to the Picti and Hiberni as
enemies', implying that they had been making their presence felt for
some time.

The people we call the Picts never used such a term for themselves.
Scotland at that time was made up of tribal peoples who identified
themselves simply by the name of their tribe. The idea of kings
and kingdoms was only beginning to come into being.

Concerning the tribal identity of the peoples who came to be
called the Picts, one reference came from a Roman in 310 A.D.
who mentions "the Caledones and other Picts". There is some
controversy over this translation,others giving it as "the Caledones,
Picts and others". Depending on which translation you accept, this
could either imply that the Caledonians were Pictish, or that the
Caledones and Picts were only two of several tribes in the area.

Other tribal names of early Scotland, of Celtic root, include:
Caereni, (people of the sheep) Lugi, (of the raven) Smertae (the
'smeared ones') and Decantae (nobles). Besides the Caledonii (the
'hard ones'?) were the Vacomagi and Venicones. Other tribes
included the Epidii on the west coast and the Damnonii, Novantae
and Selgovae further south. In later times a number of these
tribes merged to form what became the 'Pictish kingdom'.

It was not long after this point that the influence of the Picts began
to be felt in the north of the country. It is also from this point that
confusion can set in . While the Caledonians were the power in
the north, the Romans called the country Caledonia. So when the
Picts came into power they likewise called the country Pictavia.
The people were also then called Picts. At the same time the Irish
were still calling them Cruithne. In Watson's own words: "it is
important to keep in view that while all Picts were Cruithne, all
Cruithne were not Picts".

The Picts were therefore one tribe amongst many others who
happened to gain control over a particular area. They did not
gain control over the areas in Ireland that the Irish Cruithne or
non-Gaelic tribes lived on. Therefore, the Irish Cruithne were not
Picts and should never be called such.

For further information and references, see the series of articles on
the Picts and Scotland's Early History published by Dalriada Celtic
Heritage Trust at:
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/dalriada/history/
or the book "In search of the Picts",
by Elizabeth Sutherland, Ed.Constable, London.

[12.6] Antiquarian books
Domhnall MacCormaig
Antiquarian Bookseller
Specialising in Scottish Gaelic books, Highlands and Islands topography,
Scottish history and Celtic studies

Visitors by appointment
19 Braid Crescent, Edinburgh, EH10 6AX
Tel: 0131 447 2889 Fax: 0131 447 9496
Member of the Scottish branch of the antiquarian bookseller's
association

[12.7] Historical re-enactments
Scottish Reproduction Weaponry:
Castle Keep
Unit 7B1, Portree Industrial Estate
Portree, Isle of Skye
Tel. 01478 612114

Rob makes hand forged swords, knives, dirks and sgian dubhs,
also wrought iron and leather goods, for historical re-enactments.

*13* Traditions and Culture

[13.1] Kirking of the tartans

From: T.M...@mailbox.uq.oz.au (Tom McRae)

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.m...@mailbox.uq.oz.au

[13.2] When are Burns night and St Andrews Day.

25-Jan, 30-Nov.
Neither is a holiday in Scotland.

Some info on St Andrew's day is at
http://www.britcoun.org/calendar/nov30th.htm

[13.3] 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
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?173

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 Fax 0131 337 9316
(has about 20 classes and about 300 students in culturally related
evening and day classes)

for Skye, try
Sabhal Mor Ostaig, An Teanga, Sleite, Isle of Skye IV44 8RQ, Scotland
tel: 01471 844 373
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/

St Andrews University has a distance learning programme which
offers courses in fiddle, voice and traditional music. Tutors
include Adam McNaughton, Robbie Shepherd and Sheena Wellington.
Further details from The Secretary at:
University Music Centre, University of St Andrews, KY16 9AJ

[13.4] 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-- 800 566 1467

online at http://www.clan.com/Highland/Geoffrey_Tailor/
and http://www.scotweb.co.uk/Highland/Geoffrey_Tailor/

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 (Great Kilt,
feilidh-bhreacain)like the costumes in Braveheart, see
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/john/greatkilt/greatkilt.html

Some other places:

J. Higgins Ltd.
P.O. Box 14341
Lenexa, KS. 66215
1-800-426-7268

Highland Heritage Ltd.
1601 Concord Pike, Suite 69
Wilmington, De. 19803
(302) 656-4007

Scottish Products
(212) 687-2505 m,t,th,f 11:30-5:30

Tartan Imports of Florida
813 or 888-734-3606 margret 10-1 atlantic

The Village Weaver
14 Depot Street
Dillard, Ga. 30537
(706) 746-2287

Celtic Craft Centre
1323 Columbus Ave
Fisherman's Wharf
San Francisco, CA 94133
800-535-5458 or 415-567-6520
415-567-5918 fax 10-5:30 T-SA

Scottish Heritage Center
Queen Mary Seaport
1119 Queen's Highway
Long Beach, CA 90802
310-499-1760 10-6 365days/year

The Scottish Shopper Corp.
146 South West 152nd Street
Seattle, Washington 98166
Phone: (206)242-1768, (206)242-0291
Fax: (206)439-8066

Scottish Lion Import
N. Conway, NH
603-356-5517

Hugh MacPherson, Ltd.
http://sava.gulfnet.com/user_pages/kele/
George Murdock at Kilt...@AOL.com.

Texas Scottish Festival Association
817-654-2293

CANADA

MacNeils Scottish Imports
1825 Avenue Road
Toronto, Canada
416-782-5227

The Scottish Company
44687 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario M2N 5M3
(416) 223-1314

L & M Highland Outfitters Ltd.
180 Wright Avenue, Unit1
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3B 1R6
Tel (902) 468-5601
Fax (902) 468-5618
* Monday - Friday 8:30 am - 4:30 pm - Atlantic time.
* Saturday 10:00 am - 4:00 pm - Atlantic time.
Email: la...@fox.nstn.ca
Contacts: Peggie MacLean or Rona Macdonald

The Kiltmaker
Ottawa, Ontario
(613) 562-1604

SCOTLAND

Celtic Craft Centre
Paisley Close
101 High Street "The Royal Mile"
Edinburgh, Scotland

[13.5] 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.

[13.6] 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.

Ray Dunn adds:
"plaid" is also the specific name for the tartan "cape" worn over the
shoulder in full "highland dress", e.g. by pipers.
In my experience, from my long gone pipe band days, this was indeed
called a "plaid" and not a "plad".

Dwelly wrote in 1901 under the entry for "fe/ileadh-bhreacain"
The kilted plaid. This consisted of twelve yards or more of narrow
tartan, which was wrapped around the middle, and hung down to the knees.
It was more frequently fastened round the middle by a belt, and then it
was called "breacain-an-fhe/ilidh" or "fe/ilidh-bhreacain". The breacain,
or plaid part of this dress, was, according to occasion, wrapped round
the shoulders, or fastened on the left shoulder with a brooch (brai\sd)
of gold, silver or steel, according to the wealth of the wearer. By
this arrangment there was nothing to impede the free use of the
sword-arm

[13.7] Scottish Wedding vows in Gaelic and English

http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/posadh.htm
Source: Sabhal Mor Ostaig

[13.8] Scottish Wedding Information
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/weddings.html
Info on traditional wedding customs researched by the School of
Scottish Studies, Edinburgh University.

[13.9] 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 mentioned in [13.7]

[13.10] Braveheart information
http://www.foresight.co.uk/braveheart
If you want to read about the history rather than the Hollywood tale,
a scholarly work is `William Wallace' by Andrew Fisher from
John Donald Publishers Ltd., 138 Stephen Street, EDinburgh, Scotland
at 8.95 pounds plus postage.

[13.11] Tartan
John Andrea's WWW page of tartans
http://www.stfx.ca/people/jandrea/projects/tartans.html

Scottish Tartan Society
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/sts/index.html

Also see: ftp://members.aol.com/sdullman/programs/tartan20.zip
- displays about 60 tartans

Dwelly (Gaelic Dictionary - published 1901) writes (under breacan)
Parti-coloured cloth was used by the Celts from earliest times, but the
variety of colours in the breacan was greater or less according to the
rank of the wearer. That of the ancient kings had seven colours, that of
the druids six, and that of the nobles four. In the days of Martin the
tartans seemed to be used to distinguish the inhabitants of different
districts, and not the members of different families as at present. He
expressely says that the inhabitants of the various islands were not all
dressed alike, but that the setts and colours of the various tartans
varied from isle to isle. As he does not mention the use of a special
pattern by each family, it would appear that such a distinction is a
modern one, and taken from the ancient custom of a tartan for each
district, the family or clan originally most numerous in each part
eventually adopting as their distinctive clan tartan the tartan of
such district. Martin's information was not obtained on hearsay,
he was born in Skye and reared in the midst of Highland customs.

MacLennan (Gaelic dictionary - published 1925) writes (under brecan)
A parti-coloured dress, used by the Celts from the earliest times.
Breacan an fhe/ilidh, the belted plaid (consisting of twelve yards
of tartan, worn round the waist, obliquely across the breast and
over the left shoulder, and partly depending backwards). According
to Keating it was the custom in ancient time to have one colour in
the form of a slave, two in the dress of a peasant, three in the
dress of a soldier or young lord, four in the dress of a brughaidh
(land-holder), five in the dress of a district chief, six in the
dress of an ollamh, and in that of a King and Queen.

[13.12] The Bruce film
See here for more information
http://www.cromwell.co.uk/bruce.html
the film is now available on video
The Bruce was made in 1996 and mainly funded by private
investors buying debentures that gave them certain benefits, e.g.
place in the credits as Associate Producer and right to be in the
film as an extra. The company had previously made a film called
Chasing the Deer about the 45 uprising and also produced "MacBeth"
Macbeth (with Jason Connery and Helen Baxendale). Before that
they made factual videos of many wars/battles including a life
of William Wallace.

[13.13] Choosing a Scottish name for your child
Scottish Names:
Scottish Christian Names by Leslie Alan Dunkling
ISBN 0 7179 4249 4
Publishers Johnston & Bacon, PO Box 1, Stirling, Scotland

Scottish Gaelic names:
Ainmean Chloinne, Scottish Gaelic names for Children. By Peadar Morgan.
Available from
The Gaelic Books Council
22 Mansfield Street
Glasgow
Scotland
G11 5QP
Tel: 0141 337 6211

[13.14] Cultural Newletters

Tocher
Tales, Songs and Tradition. First published 1971
Selected from the archives of the School of Scottish Studies.
Two issues a year, annual subscription 6 pounds.
Each issue contains approx 65 A5 pages and includes material in Scots
and Gaelic (Gaelic with translation). Songs have tunes in staff format.
UK ISSN 0049-397X
Contact:
Mrs Frances Beckett
School of Scottish Studies
University of Edinburgh
27 George Square
Edinburgh
EH8 9LD
Tel: 0131 650 3060
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?173

Suil na h-Iolaire (The Eagle's Eye)
Cultural news from Argyll, the Highlands and Islands.
Posted every 2 months, at:
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/dalriada/society

Am Braighe
News and cultural articles from Nova Scotia and Scotland
http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/
E-mail: ambr...@fox.nstn.ca

Scottish Affairs
For comment and debate on Scottish politics, society and current affairs
Published in book form every quarter. Independent of political parties
and pressure groups
Annual subscription (4 issues), 25 pounds (40 for institutions)
Published by
Unit for the study of government in Scotland
Chisholm House
High School Yards
Edinburgh
EH1 1LZ
Tel: 0131 650 2456 Fax: 0131 650 6345

[13.15] Literature Magazines and newsletters

Chapman (Scotland's Quality Literary Magazine)
Contact:
Joy Hendry, 4 Broughton Place
Edinburgh
EH1 3RX
Tel: 0131 557 2207
Fax: 0131 556 9565

Cencrastus is edited by Raymond Ross at
Unit One, Abbeymount Techbase, 8 Easter Road, Edinburgh EH8 8EJ

Lines Review is edited by Tessa Ransford at
Edgefield Road, Loanhead, Midlothian EH20 9SY

West Coast Magazine is edited by Joe Murray at
Top Floor, 15 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 6AB

NorthWords, the magazine from the north for short fiction and poetry is
available from:
Northwords, 68 Strathkanaird, Ullapool, Ross-shire, IV26 2TN

For Scots Gaelic, the premier magazine is Gairm
Gairm, 29 Waterloo St, Glasgow G2 6BZ
Gairm is completely in Gaelic

[13.16] Highland Games
Scottish Athletics Federation (amateur games, including Highland)
Caledonia House, An Geal
Edinburgh
0131 317 7320

*14* Hillwalking

[14.1] 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

Hillwalking in Scotland Web Site
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/B_Mercer/

[14.2] 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.

[14.3] What is a Munro/Corbett?

A Munro is a Scottish mountain over 3,000ft. There are 277. There must
be a vertical drop of approx 300ft 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 about 300ft from a Munro. There are 517 tops.

The name Munro comes from Munros tables compiled by Sir Hugh Munro,
but there have been some modifications since the table was first
compiled. A Corbett is a separate mountain over 2,500ft.
Distinct Corbetts must have a 500ft drop between them.

The Inacessible Pinnacle on Skye is the only Munro to require climbing
equipment but in practice very few people do all the others without a
rope for some of the hard bits on the usual routes.
Don't go unprepared, It is rather easy to die on Scottish mountains if you
start with the attitude that they're all going to be an easy stroll you
could do in Levis and running shoes.

More info and full list of Munros in
http://www-theory.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~dominic/Munros/

*15* Travel and What's on

[15.1] What's on

The Lowlands (Glasgow/Edinburgh area)
http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/
(you need to register via the ../TO/ page)

The Highlands
http://www.scot-highlands.com

[15.2] 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 then helped working on 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.
The Good Food Guide to Britain' is a very good 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
favourite of mine is Edinburgh: The Graveyeard Guide. Many of the
graveyards offer quite beautiful and unexpected views of the city, and
generally they are apparantly excellent places to take drugs and
while away the day.

There is an on-line guide to some Edinburgh restaurants at
http://www.spidacom.co.uk/EDG/

Travel books, maps, travel guides etc can be found at:
http://www.thistlepress.co.uk/scotbooks/
E-mail: scot...@thistlepress.co.uk

[15.3] What's the number of the Scottish Tourist Board?

Tel: 0131 332 2433 (+[44] 131 332 2433)
http://www.scotland.net/stb/

[15.4] 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.

[15.5] 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

[15.6] 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 cly a h
for at a time.

Ray Dunn adds:
It would be useful to visitors to point out that the various touristy
tours advertised at the Tron Church and other places in the High Street
as including the "underground city" go nowhere near Mary King's close.
Don't be taken in. My son was sucked into one of these, and the spiel
was: "You may be wondering why we go *upstairs* to the underground
city, but..."

*16* Areas of Scotland

[16.1] Shetland and Orkney info

Shetland and Orkney are both old Norse holdovers. Orkney and Shetland
became Scottish as security for the dowry for the Danish Princess Anne
who married James III. When oil was discovered some wondered if the Danes
could get them back if they paid the dowry,but they became permanently
Scottish a century later.

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
entity. 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! :-)

*17* Education

[17.1] Intro to Scottish Education
See also http://www.scotland.org/Classified/Education/

In Scotland, the school (primary; secondary) system seems to have it's
cut off as 1st Jan each year (exceptions are made though). Thus, by 31
Dec each year usually all of the pupils in a particular year are the
same "age". In England the cut off generally seems to run with the academic
year meaning that all the pupils are the same "age" at the end of the
academic year. This means that Scottish children born between August and
December are usually one year ahead than their equivalent English counterparts
and can go to university younger.

In Scotland, primary school runs from age 4/5 for 7 years and High School
(both private schools and state schools) runs for up to 6 years.
After 4 years of High School children are usually 15 & 16 and sit
Standard Grade exams (usually 7). A few children leave school at this
point, there is no obligation to Graduate from High School as there is
in the US and pupils may leave at any time after the age of 16.
After 5 years of High School, pupils sit Highers. These can be used for
going to university in Scotland and pupils generally sit about 5.
Year 5 starts as soon as the Standard grade exams are over, i.e. the end
of May, and pupils who have to change schools to take Highers do so at
his point

About half the students intending to go to further education leave school
at this point, aged 16/17. The remainder stay on for 6th year, to do
Certificates of Sixth Year Studies (CSYS), additional Highers, resits or
other subjects. Sixth Year Studies exams are roughly similar in level to
A-levels and students usually do 3-4. CSYS are necessary for entrance
to English universities. A small number of Scottish schools may offer
A-levels.

A bizarre quirk of the educational system is that whereas A-levels and CSYS
are broadly the same level, English students who have done relevant A-levels
may get exemption from certain subjects in 1st year University (or even the
whole year), whereas the Scottish CSYS apparantly counts for nothing within
the Scottish further education system.

The Scottish summer holidays run from the end of June to the middle of
August, usually two weeks ahead of those in England although the dates
of holidays are left to individual LEAs.

The Scottish "Higher" system is generally regarded as superior to that
in England for a number of reasons:
1) It is possible to fail one or two Highers and still have enough
qaulifications to enter university. Less pressure is put on pupils
to pass everything at the first attempt.
2) It is possible to use 6th year to resit Highers and gain additional
qualifications. In England, there is no time to do this if you fail an
important exam, the resits are in December (There are Tertiary College
courses to cater for pupils whose grades were not up to standard.)
3) Pupils study a wider range of subjects, offering the opportunity for
a broader education and perhaps a vocational subject

There is education through the medium of English and at playgroup;
pre-school; primary school and college level there is also teaching
through the medium of Gaelic in Scotland. There are exams for both
Gaelic learners and native speakers.

Scots language literature seems to be optional and thw world's best
known poet, Robert Burns seems to occupy an incedental part of the
curriculum.

Pupils can now study GSVQ's, NC modules, standards grades, higher grades,
A levels and possibly even Higher National Certificate at school. The reform
has resulted in the amalgamation of the two awarding bodies the SEB (who
awarded highers and standard grades) and SCOTVEC.

With reference to the rest of the world, Scots education is thought of
highly and we have a long history of being a well educated country.
Scotland had three universities for a long time when England only had
two. From my own experience in both Scottish schools and on an
educational exchange to the US, it seems British schools are approximately
1-3 years ahead of their US counterparts in most subjects apart from US
History and American sport. This difference carries on right through
University and only equals out at the M.Sc. and Ph.D. level which are
about the same in Scotland and the US. Given that a M.Sc. usually only
takes 1 year full time in Scotland, and longer in the US it shows that
the American undergraduate degree does not reach as high a level. This
is borne out also in the way various professional bodies treat US
qualifications versus Scottish (British) ones.

It is mandatory to attend religous education in Scottish High Schools.
Why religion has such a high place in the curriculum and Scots literature
and language do not is anyone's guess. In my school in the 1970's and 1980's
Gaelic wasn't allowed despite us having a national Gaelic bard as a teacher
there. Russian and Latin were offered instead.

[17.2] Scottish Vocational Education Council
http://www.scotvec.org.uk/

[17.3] Books on Studying Scottish Culture
The Centre for Scottish Studies at the Open University in Scotland
has launched

"Studying Scottish History, Literature and Culture".

which is a rewrite of the former Scottish Studies pack and is
a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the whole range of
Scottish Studies.

What follows is copied from the printed flyer - the Web site isn't ready
(yet...)

196 pages, illustrated throughout.

* Historical topics covered include the Reformation, the Union, the
agricultural and industrial revolutions, government and politics, the
Highlands, towns and cities, developments since 1945

* Literature includes studies of early Scottish literature, major
authors such as Burns, Scott, Hogg and Galt, Stevenson, Grassic Gibbon,
Gaelic literature, the modern novel, poetry and drama.

* Cultural history before 1560, cultural effects of the reformation and
the Union, Enlightenment and Romanticism, questions of identity in the
modern age.

The writing team, Angus Calder, Ian Donnachie, William Donnelly, George
Hewitt, Shiela Lodge and Glenda Norquay are all experts in their
respective fields.

Available for #12 + #1.50 post and packing from

The Open University in Scotland,
10, Drumsheugh Gardens,
Edinburgh EH3 7QJ
Scotland.
http://www.open.ac.uk/

Sterling cheques only, no plastic. Or order it from your friendly local
bookshop - ISBN 0 7492 7349 6.

*18* Current Affairs / Modern Life / Sport

[18.1] Scottish newspapers on-line
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)
http://www.eolas.co.uk/gazette/default.htp - Stornoway Gazette
http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/ Northern Scot
http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/ (The Shetland News)
http://www.shetland-times.co.uk/st/ (The Shetland Times)
http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/hamish/si.html - Scots Independent
http://www.dcthomson.co.uk - D C Thomson (Sunday Post, Courier, Scots Mag etc)

Newspaper dedicated to the Edinburgh Festival:
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/threeweeks/ and
http://www.clan.com/threeweeks/ (email: Three...@scotweb.co.uk )

Yahoo index:
http://www.yahoo.com/Regional/Countries/United_Kingdom/Scotland/Media/Newspapers/

See also (UK newspapers on-line)
http://www.lifestyle.co.uk/fa.htm

E-mail:
10067...@compuserve.com - The West Highland Free Press

Scotland on Sunday
http://www.presence.co.uk/biz/sos/homepage.html
edi...@scotonsun.com - Editor of Scotland on Sunday

Courier and Advertiser, 80 Kingsway East, Dundee, DD1 9HU
http://www.dcthomson.co.uk/courier/
Tel: 01382 223131

Other Scottish Newspapers

Edinburgh Herald and Post, 20 North Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1YT
Tel: 0131 243 3659.

Evening News, 20 North Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1YT
Tel: 0131 225 2468

Oban Times, PO Box 1, Oban, PA34 5PY
Tel: 01631 563058, Fax: 01631 565470

Press and Journal, 84 Academy Street, Inverness, IV1 IJY
Tel: 01463 222801

Stirling Observer, 40 Upper Craigs, Stirling, FK8 2DW
Tel: 01786 451110

[18.2] Radio and TV

TV
Grampian TV:
Telebhisean Grampian, Crois na Banrigh, Obar Dheathain, AB9 2XJ,
(Grampian TV, Queen's Cross, Aberdeen)
Tel: 01224 846 846, Fax: 01224 846800
E-mail: g...@grampiantv.co.uk

BBC Scotland (TV)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/scotland.htm
Gaelic: http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/bbcalba/

Scottish Television have a web site at
http://www.scottish.tv.co.uk/ (although sometimes
the domain is not recognised...it's also available
through http://www.scotnet.co.uk/stv/ )
Their address is
Scottish Television PLC, Cowcaddens, Glasgow G2 3PR
Phone : +44 (0) 141 300 3000
Fax : +44 (0) 141 300 3030

Border Television are at http://www.border-tv.com/
address:
Border Television, Television Centre, Carlisle CA1 3NT
Phone: +44 (0) 1228 25101
Fax: +44 (0) 1228 41384

Radio
BBC Radio Scotland, Queen Margaret Drive, Glasgow, G12 8DG
http://www.bbcnc.org.uk/info/guide/scotland.html
Tel: 0141 339 8844

Radio nan Gaidheal, 7 Culduthel Road, Inverness, IV2 4AD
Tel: (Inverness) 01463 720720
Fax: (Stornoway) 01851 704633

Scot FM, Shed 1, Albert Quay, Leith, EH6
Tel: 0131 554 6677

[18.3] New Scottish Local Authorities
http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/data/councils/ncintro.html

[18.4] 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?)

[18.5] 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, London and ask for
details. You get back a 4 page form to fill in.

[18.6] 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 he...@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 job...@jobsite.co.uk or visit their website at
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/ Tel: 01243 641141

The Appointments Section
http://taps.com/

Scottish recruitment
http://www.webadvert.co.uk/~webad/scotrec/

Some agencies in Scotland:

http://www.direct-resources.co.uk/ Direct Resources
http://www.elan.co.uk/ Elan
http://www.mcg.co.uk/ Melville Craig Group

If you are not a European Union citizen, then there are complex
laws around obtaining a work permit and residency or being a student.
You are strongly advised to consulate the British Embassy or
Consulate in your country for official advice.

[18.7] 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

Solicitors on-line:
http://www.carltons-dundee.co.uk/

Articles by Angus MacCulloch msr...@fs1.ec.man.ac.uk

Introduction to Scots Law
Scotland has a completely separate legal system from that of England
and Wales. Although it does share some institutions, the legislature
and the House of Lords (sitting as a Court). This stems from
Scotland's independence before 1707 and is enshrined in the Act
of Union.

Scots law stems from two main sources, enacted law and common law.
Enacted law has the authority of a body with legislative powers.
Enacted law can come from many sources, some include Royal
proclamation or order, Acts of Parliament (either the old Scots
Parliament or the UK Parliament), the European Community Treaty or
European legislation, or local authority bye-laws. Common law
derives it authority from the courts and is based on Scots legal
tradition.

Both forms of law have equal authority and often operate in the same
areas. Under the theory of the "supremacy of Parliament,"
as partially recognised in Scotland, enacted law will override
common law, but common law cannot override an enacted law.

Common law develops through the judgements of the courts. To predict
how it will deal with a given situation one must examine the decisions
of the courts in similar cases. Common law initially derived from
the Roman law, as codified under the Emperor Justinian, and
canon law, the law of the church. One of the other sources of law
was the writings of eminent legal scholars such as Lord Stair,
Erskine and Bell, Hume, and Alison.

The Scottish courts separate into two streams, those which deal with
criminal cases, and those that deal with civil cases. The criminal
law regulates the relationship between the individual and the state.
Civil law regulates relationships between individuals.

The criminal courts are, in ascending order of authority:

The District Court, the Sheriff Court, and the High Court of
Justiciary.

The civil courts are, in ascending order of authority:

The Sheriff Court, the Court of Session, and the House of Lords.

The doctrine of "precedent" means that the decision of a higher court
will be binding on a lower court. The High Court of Judiciary and
the House of Lords are not bound by their own decisions. The
decision of an English court is never binding upon a Scottish court.
The decisions of the House of Lords sitting as an English court will
be of a persuasive nature in a Scottish case.

There are also specialist courts which deal with particular areas,
such as industrial disputes, land matters, criminal charges against
children, and heraldry. The courts have a long history. The Sheriff
courts date back to the 12th century, the Court of Session was
established in 1532, and the High Court of Justiciary was established
in 1672.

Scottish judges will sit on both criminal and civil courts, although
some may be seen as specialising in particular areas. The judges are
appointed by the Crown from practicing lawyers, both solicitors and
advocates.

The Not Proven Verdict
Scots law is unusual in allowing three alternative verdicts in a
criminal trial. Although the "Not Proven" verdict is known, incorrectly,
as the third verdict, it has a 300 year history in Scotland. Even though
it has a long history it has been the subject of criticism since 1827
when Sir Walter Scott, novelist and Sheriff, described the not proven
verdict as "that bastard verdict, not proven."

The verdict of not proven is essentially one of acquittal. In all
respects the verdicts of not guilty and not proven have exactly the same
legal effects. In practice it is thought that a verdict of not proven
simply means that the judge or jury have reasonable doubt as to the
accused's guilt. It is interesting to note that the not proven verdict
is used in one third of acquittals by juries, and in one fifth of
acquittals in non-jury trials. Because of the higher number of non-jury
trials ninety per cent of all not proven verdicts are returned in such
cases. It is generally thought that the verdict gives juries, and judges,
an option between not guilty and guilty where they feel that the charges
have not been proved but they equally cannot say the accused is "not
guilty" because of its moral connotations.

Current challenge to the verdict stems from the dissatisfaction and
feelings of injustice suffered by the families of victims of crime.
Political influence has also been apparent, in 1993 George Robertson
tabled a Private Members Bill to abolish the verdict.

The legal profession has been divided over the issue most of this
century. A number of eminent judges have attacked the verdict.
One saying that it was theoretically and historically indefensible,
Lord Moncrieff in 1906. Others have supported it. In 1964 Lord Justice
General Clyde stated that "for upwards of 200 years a not proven verdict
has been available . . . and no convincing argument has been advanced to
justify its elimination from our law." One view from England helped to
explain the reason for the not proven verdict, Judge Gerald Sparrow
wrote, "I have often thought that the distinction typifies the
different spirit of Scottish and English law: the Scottish being the
more logical, the English more sporting." The original verdicts in
Scots law were "culpable" and "convict"; or "cleanse." Guilty and
not guilty were introduced by Cromwell during the Usurpation, when he
imposed English judges on Scotland. After the reformation the Scots
courts reverted to asking judges to find whether the facts in
the indictment were "proven" or "not proven." The "not guilty" verdict
was reintroduced in 1723 in the trial of Carnegie of Findhorn for the
murder of the Earl of Strathmore. In 1975 the Thomson Committee which
examined Scottish criminal procedure recommended that the three verdict
system be retained. In 1993 the Scottish Office said that "it was not
convinced that there was enough groundswell of dissatisfaction from
the public and, crucially, from the legal profession" to justify any
scrutiny of the not proven verdict. Most recently in 1994 the Government
in a White Paper, Firm but Fair, dealing, inter alia, with the verdict
made no proposals for any changes as in the absence of "a considerable
weight of informed opinion against the verdict" the three verdict
system should be retained.

It would appear that there is no immediate prospect that there will
be any change in the current three verdict system.

[18.8] Scottish Yellow Pages

The first Yellow Pages for Scotland:
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/tp/
and http://www.clan.com/tp/

Scotland.org - the first and only public-sector sanctioned yellow
pages of Scotland
http://www.scotland.org/
there is also a "white pages" service from this address

businesses can also be found in
http://www.yell.co.uk/

"Yellow Pages" is a registered trademark of BT in the United Kingdom

See also Scottish entries in
http://www.ukdirectory.com/

[18.9] Scottish White Pages

The original Scottish White Pages "Emailing Scotland" is
available at
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/ScotEmail/
http://www.clan.com/ScotEmail/

[18.10] The Scottish Office

Homepage of the Scottish office:
http://www.open.gov.uk/scotoff/scofhom.htm

British Government
http://www.open.gov.uk/index.htm

[18.11] Rugby

Scottish Rugby results available at
http://www.iepco.co.uk/scotrugby/

[18.12] Dunblane/Cullen Report

See http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/dunblane.html
for various links regarding the Dunblane tragedy and a link
to Lord Cullen's report on the incident.

[18.13] Buying a house
See here
http://www.propertyfinder.co.uk

[18.14] Camanachd (shinty)
Camanachd Association
Algarve, Balabrie, Banavie
Fort William
Tel. 01397 772 461

*19* Internet information

[19.1] 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

[19.2] Getting hooked up to the internet
Have a look in the UK Internet List, Britain's first guide to
Internet providers. Particularly suitable for home based dialup info
http://www.limitless.co.uk/inetuk/providers.html
Founded by Craig Cockburn, cr...@scot.demon.co.uk in June 1992.

[19.3] Internet Cafes
Aberdeen:
Netropolis. http://www.netropolis.co.uk
18 Bridge Street. (01224 595 223)

Edinburgh:
Connections, 5 Colinton Road, 0131- 446 9494 ad...@heimdall-scot.co.uk
EH10 5DP

Cyberia, 88 Hanover Street. (0131 220 4403) edin...@easynet.co.uk
http://www.cybersurf.co.uk/home/cafe/

electricFROG, 42-44 Cockburn Street. (0131 226 1505) ad...@electricfrog.co.uk
http://www.electricfrog.co.uk/

Entertainment World, 138 Lothian Road.(0131 229 5333) ewo...@btinternet.com

Hog's Head, 62 South Clerk Street. (0131 667 574) tv-...@easynet.co.uk

Web 13, 13 Bread Street. (0131 229 8883) que...@presence.co.uk
http://www.web13.co.uk/

Glasgow:
The Internet Cafe, 239 North Street. (0141 221 8447) t...@linkcafe.co.uk

Greenock:
Cafe Roslin, Dalrymple Street. (01475 730 576) ros...@easynet.co.uk

Stornoway (Western Isles):
Captions, 27 Church Street. (01851 702238) bay...@captions.co.uk
http://www.captions.co.uk/

-- Find Internet cafes by the engine at
http://www.netropolis.co.uk/ccn/cafe.html

[19.4] How can I find someone who lives in Scotland and may be on the net?

This is a usenet FAQ which can apply to finding people anywhere in the
world. See the FAQ for more information, the URL is:
http://www.qucis.queensu.ca/FAQs/email/finding.html

*20* Sources of Further information

[20.1] Scottish URLs

http://www.almac.co.uk/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/
http://www.clan.com/
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/scotland.html
http://www.scotland.org/
http://www.scotland.net/
http://www.eolas.co.uk/gguide/eu/gb/scotland/gguide.htm
http://www.rampant.com/
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/ - UK based but some relevant to Scotland
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Heritage/FSCNS/ScotsHome.html - Nova Scotia
http://alpha.wcoil.com/~highlndr/index.html - United States
http://www.lochness.co.uk/
http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~ecs/

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

The alternative Scottish FAQ from Scot.general
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/GonadoVision
ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/academic/languages/gaelic/Scc/scot.general

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.

[20.2] 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

[20.3] Other related newsgroups
(alphabetical order)

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. "Crest of the Clan Chief" in Gaelic
is "Suaicheantas a ceann cinnidh"

alt.tv.highlander - The Highlander TV show
rec.heraldry - heraldry
rec.music.celtic - Celtic music (Irish and Scottish bias)
rec.music.folk - Folk music in general (US/England bias)
rec.music.makers.bagpipe - Discussions about bagpipes, playing them etc.
rec.org.sca - Recreating history, re-enactments etc
sci.archaeology - Archeology. Scottish sites occasionally discussed.
scot.announce - Announcements of events in Scotland
scot.bairns - Discussions about Scottish children
scot.birds - Birdwatching in Scotland
scot.business.internet - Internet related discussion for Scottish business
scot.environment - Scottish environmental issues
scot.followup - followups to discussions in scot.announce
scot.general - General discussions about things in Scotland, events etc
scot.jobs - Jobs offered and wanted in Scotland. Job related talk
scot.politics - Scottish politics
scot.scots - Scots language (Lallans, Doric, etc)
soc.genealogy.uk+ireland - Genealogy in the UK and Ireland
soc.culture.british - British culture in general (strong England bias)
soc.culture.celtic - Celtic culture in general (Irish/Scottish bias)
uk.music.folk - Folk music in the UK (England bias)
There are a large number of other groups in the uk.*
hierarchy, some of which have Scottish relevance (eg uk.politics.misc)

[20.4] Encyclopedia of the Celts
http://www.centrum.dk/users/kmariboe

[20.5] European Community Folk Culture
http://www.worldserver.pipex.com/nc/edinmedia

[20.6] Mailing lists

IMBAS
The list focuses on Celtic Reconstructionism and wishes to support the
remaining Celtic languages and people as possible, and to better
understand the beliefs and customs of the Celts throughout history.
Address: im...@listserv.aol.com

Lists-of-lists

For information on public internet mailing lists, see:
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/mail/mailing-lists

For information on all listserv lists, send an e-mail to any listserv
(e.g. list...@listserv.hea.ie)
containing the line
list global
alteratively you can refine the search by adding a subject:
list global/poetry
or search via http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html

There is a HUGE file the "SRI list of lists" which describes every
public mailing list and has instructions on how to subscribe.
ftp://ftp.nisc.sri.com/netinfo/interest-groups
or mail mail-...@nisc.sri.com with a message containing the line
send /netinfo/interest-groups
(the message will come back in several parts which you will then have
to piece together)

[20.7] International organisations
St. Andrews Society - an International Scots network, with
information on all Scottish societies, pipe bands, Burns societies,
haggis eaters etc. worldwide
PO Box 84
Edinburgh
Contact: Michael Brander
email: n...@cqm.co.uk
http://www.nwp.co.uk/

[20.8] Alphabetic list of URLs in this FAQ

I've extracted all the WWW addresses from this soc.culture.scottish FAQ -
here they are. Thought this might be useful to maintainers of Scottish
WWW sites. Here they are sorted alphabetically

http://alpha.wcoil.com/~highlndr/index.html
http://babel.uoregon.edu/yamada/guides/scots.html
http://celtic.stanford.edu/ceolas.html
http://celtic.stanford.edu/clipart.html
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/Internet_Sources.html
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/radio.list
http://celtic.stanford.edu/pub/session-list.html
http://dialspace.dial.pipex.com/scotz/runrig.htm
http://dux.dundee.ac.uk/~azxe/runrig/
http://gnew.gn.apc.org:80/charter88/enquiry/forms/fscot.html
http://homepages.enterprise.net/hibou/arran.html
http://info.mcc.ac.uk/UMIST_CAL/Scots/hame.htm
http://mac1.chatsubo.com/ambraighe/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/B_Mercer/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Gavin_Browne/
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/GonadoVision
http://sava.gulfnet.com/user_pages/kele/
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/gaelic.html
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/john/greatkilt/greatkilt.html
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/john/subversion/scottishstepdancing.html
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/sccfaq.html
http://sunsite.unc.edu/gaelic/Scots/burns.html
http://web1.cims.co.uk/eveningtimes/
http://web1.cims.co.uk/herald/
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/culburn.htm
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/edinfolk.htm
http://webzone1.co.uk/www/scotsweb/greentrx.htm
http://www-theory.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~dominic/Munros/
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~lng014/celtic_dept/index.html
http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~src045
http://www.almac.co.uk/
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/burns/index.html
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/dalriada/
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/dalriada/history/
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/history/genhist/
http://www.almac.co.uk/es/sts/index.html
http://www.angelfire.com/pg0/thistle/index.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/info/scotland.htm
http://www.bbcnc.org.uk/info/guide/scotland.html
http://www.bookpages.co.uk/
http://www.border-tv.com/
http://www.britcoun.org/calendar/
http://www.captions.co.uk/
http://www.captions.co.uk/macmeanm/
http://www.carltons-dundee.co.uk/
http://www.catalyst-highlands.co.uk/muileann/dubh/
http://www.cc.columbia.edu/acis/bartleby/315.html
http://www.cc.gatec.edu/grads/b/Gary.N.Boone/love_in_letters.html
http://www.centrum.dk/users/kmariboe
http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Heritage/FSCNS/ScotsHome.html
http://www.clan.com/
http://www.clan.com/Highland/Geoffrey_Tailor/
http://www.clan.com/ScotEmail/
http://www.clan.com/ScotRoots/
http://www.clan.com/threeweeks/
http://www.clan.com/tp/
http://www.clan.com/whisky/
http://www.clan.com/whisky/maltfile/
http://www.clark.net/pub/acga/
http://www.colloquium.co.uk/capercaillie/
http://www.cromwell.co.uk/bruce.html
http://www.cs.toronto.edu/~maclean/AnCeathramh.html
http://www.cstone.net/~pmurphy/thistle.html
http://www.ctnet.com/drew/celthome.html
http://www.ctnet.com/drew/knotwork.html
http://www.cyberiacafe.net/burns/
http://www.cybersurf.co.uk/home/cafe/
http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/staff/jhb/whisky/index.html
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/mayfest
http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/other/avalanche
http://www.dcthomson.co.uk
http://www.deltablues.com/dbsearch.html
http://www.dickalba.demon.co.uk/
http://www.direct-resources.co.uk/
http://www.discribe.ca/world/scotland/culture.html
http://www.ece.ucdavis.edu/~darsie/burns.html
http://www.ed-coll.ac.uk/etcwebsite/comm&lang_other_courses.htm
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?173
http://www.ed.ac.uk/edinfo/cgi/deptinfo.cgi?35
http://www.edintattoo.co.uk/index.htm
http://www.efr.hw.ac.uk/EDC/Edinburgh.html
http://www.elan.co.uk
http://www.electricfrog.co.uk/
http://www.eolas.co.uk/gazette/default.htp
http://www.eolas.co.uk/gguide/eu/gb/scotland/gguide.htm
http://www.expressmedia.co.uk/main01.htm
http://www.foresight.co.uk/braveheart
http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/1690/lyrics.html
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/gaelic.html
http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/home/scotland/scotland.html
http://www.gla.ac.uk/World
http://www.hebrides.com/coleis/index.htm
http://www.i-way.co.uk/~kelpi/
http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~ecs/
http://www.ibmpcug.co.uk/~ecs/telford/telford.html
http://www.iepco.co.uk/scotrugby/
http://www.indigo.ie/egt/
http://www.indigo.ie/egt/celtcong/cc-home-en.html
http://www.iserv.net/~scottish/
http://www.jobserve.com/
http://www.jobsite.co.uk/
http://www.lews.uhi.ac.uk/fosglan/fosglan2.htm
http://www.lexmark.com/data/poem/poem.html
http://www.limitless.co.uk/inetuk/providers.html
http://www.lismor.co.uk/
http://www.lochness.co.uk/
http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/u/uh22501/html/music.html
http://www.mcg.co.uk/
http://www.net-link.net/~bvgraph1/fonts.html
http://www.netmedia.co.uk/gaelic/
http://www.netmedia.co.uk/gaelic/clubs/g_cli.html
http://www.netropolics.co.uk
http://www.netropolis.co.uk/ccn/cafe.html
http://www.northern-scot.co.uk/
http://www.nsl.co.uk/scotpast/index.htm
http://www.nwp.co.uk/
http://www.open.ac.uk/
http://www.open.gov.uk/nithsdal/burnsidx.htm
http://www.open.gov.uk/scotoff/scofhom.htm
http://www.planet.net/celtart
http://www.presence.co.uk/biz/sos/homepage.html
http://www.presence.co.uk/fringe
http://www.propertyfinder.co.uk
http://www.rampant.com/
http://www.record-mail.co.uk/rm/
http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/hamish/index.html
http://www.rmplc.co.uk/eduweb/sites/hamish/si.html
http://www.rootsworld.com/temple/index.html
http://www.scot-highlands.com
http://www.scot.demon.co.uk/scotfaq.html
http://www.scotborders.co.uk/burns/
http://www.scotland.net/
http://www.scotland.net/stb/
http://www.scotland.org/
http://www.scotland.org/Classified/Education/
http://www.scotlibdems.org.uk/
http://www.scotnet.co.uk/jon/index.html
http://www.scotsman.com/
http://www.scottish.tv.co.uk/
http://www.scotvec.org.uk/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/Highland/Geoffrey_Tailor/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/Highland/Kilberry/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/ScotEmail/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/threeweeks/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/tp/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/whisky/
http://www.scotweb.co.uk/whisky/maltfile/
http://www.scotweb.com/genes/genes.htm
http://www.shetland-news.co.uk/
http://www.shetland-times.co.uk/st/
http://www.shirenet.com/MacLachlan/games.html
http://www.shirenet.com/MacLachlan/sendinfo.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/bbcalba/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/canan/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/cnag/failte/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/buidhnean/cli/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/gaidhlig.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bac/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ionnsachadh/bgfp/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/posadh.htm
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/gaelsong.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/gaidhlig.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/joscelin.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/songs.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/weddings.html
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~smacsuib/fonts
http://www.snp.org.uk/
http://www.spidacom.co.uk/EDG/
http://www.stfx.ca/people/jandrea/projects/tartans.html
http://www.stir.ac.uk/gaelic_index.html
http://www.strath.ac.uk/~aeu95249/index.htm
http://www.taisbean.com/gaeliccollege
http://www.thistlepress.co.uk/scotbooks/
http://www.timeout.co.uk/TO/list/
http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/strathspey/
http://www.tm.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/~lingnau/puirt.html
http://www.tns.lcs.mit.edu/harp/
http://www.trp.dundee.ac.uk/data/councils/ncintro.html
http://www.uhi.ac.uk/
http://www.ukdirectory.com/
http://www.underbridge.com/market/walker
http://www.waterstones.co.uk/
http://www.web13.co.uk/
http://www.webadvert.co.uk/~webad/scotrec/
http://www.webit.wintermute.co.uk/webit/recipes.htm
http://www.west.net/~celtlady/
http://www.worldserver.pipex.com/nc/edinmedia
http://www.wp.com/Alba/
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Social_Science/Celtic_Studies
http://www.yahoo.co.uk/Society_and_Culture/Cultures/Celtic
http://www.yell.co.uk/
http://www.youthnet.org.uk/natorgs/n/natextc.html
http://yeats.ucs.csufresno.edu/GAELIC-L.HTML

*21* Obituary of Sorley MacLean

This section is added to this edition as a tribute and mark of respect
for Sorley MacLean, one of the greatest Gaelic poets of all time and
who died this week.

This article appeared on 25th November, an appreciation by Ronnie
Black in Gaelic with English translation follows.

Obituary: Sorley MacLean

Born: 26 October, 1911, at Osgaig, Raasay Died: 24 November, 1996, at
Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, aged 85

by IAIN CRICHTON SMITH

The death of Sorley MacLean (Somhairle MacGill-Eain) will make a
colossal hole in the fabric of Scottish literature and not just in
Gaelic literature, though of course he was one of the very greatest of
Gaelic poets. Indeed, one might say that he was a poet who had attained
world-class stature. He read his work frequently in Scotland, England
and abroad and most especially in Ireland, where he was a cult figure.
Students would flock like pilgrims to his readings.

The Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney has described hearing MacLean read for
the first time as mesmeric. There was, he said, a "sense of bardic
dignity that was entirely without self-parade but was instead the effect
of a proud self-abnegation, as much a submission as a claim to
heritage".

And indeed he was a wonderful reader of his work, sonorous, rhythmical,
strong- voiced. It is hard to think that we won't hear him again - for
instance, reading Hallaig, that great poem of desolation and
resurrection.

Sorley MacLean was 85 when he died. He had been in hospital, but his
friends thought that he was suffering from a minor ailment only, and
consequently his death was a shock to them.

For most of his life he had been strong and sturdy and it seemed as if
would go on forever.

He was born in Raasay. He loved Skye and the Cuillins, about which he
wrote his great long but unfinished poem where the Cuillins became a
symbol for human endeavour. Above all, he loved his Gaelic culture and
was lucky that he came from a family which was steeped in song and
story.

At one time he wrote that he probably would rather have been a singer
than a poet and the great songs of the 16th and 17th century informed
his poetry with their magical music from anonymous bards. These were at
the heart of his poetry and gave them the tunefulness which is lacking
for the most part in modern poetry.

He began writing poetry as a student in Edinburgh University, where he
gained a first-class honours degree in English. His very first poems
were, I believe, in English, but he soon realised that true authenticity
lay in Gaelic. By the end of the Thirties he was already an established
figure on the Scottish scene.

In 1940 he published Seventeen Poems for Sixpence with Robert Garioch.

But it was Dain Do Eimhir, a sequence of love poems, published in 1943,
that made his name and is to my mind the central and most brilliant
section of his work. I remember getting this book as a prize in the
fifth year in the Nicolson Institute, Stornoway, and realising that here
was a new voice unlike any that I had heard before. The book was
illustrated with Picasso-like drawings and this gave them a modern look.
Since then I have never wavered in my belief that MacLean was one of the
great love poets of the world, like Catullus or Donne or Yeats or
Sappho. What attracts one in the poems is their music. But also much
more than that.

One of the things that made them seem modern to me were the references
to political figures such as Lenin, and to poets who had taken part in
the Spanish Civil War, including Auden and Spender. These and even Eliot
he dismissed as following "a small dry way".

The Spanish War was central to him then. In it he saw the fascism which
had been seen in the Clearances.

But at the same time as the war was taking place he was in love, and his
loved one and the Civil War became entwined in an embrace which tested
him to the limits.

To MacLean at this time the Spanish government, and also the British
Empire, were monstrosities. He had a hatred of despotism. We find this
also in his long unfinished poem, The Cuillins, where there are
references to many of the great rebels and radicals of the past in
different countries. He records that when he was young his great heroes
were Shelley and Blake, and that in those days he was more interested in
politics than in poetry. As far as Scotland was concerned, the great
radical figure he admired most was a man from his own clan, the
legendary John Maclean, of whom he wrote:

Not they who died
in the hauteur of Inverkeithing
in spite of valour and pride
the high head of our story;
but he who was in Glasgow
the battle post of the poor
great John MacLean
the top and hem of our story

Thus it is that MacLean was a great love poet (who had wished to go to
Spain but was unable to do so for family reasons), a great political
poet and also a great war poet. He served in the African Desert during
the Second World War and was wounded three times, the last time
severely. He saw fascism not only in Spain, not only in Nazism, but
probably also in the Highlands at the time of the Clearances. Possibly
his best- known and perhaps his greatest single poem is Hallaig, which
is about a cleared village and which has a strange, eerie picture of the
dead haunting a place and walking there. MacLean was also a scholar of
the Highlands and had a tremendous interest in Highland genealogy.

He was certainly a Marxist, though he was never, as he said himself, a
card-carrying communist, and this philosophy gave him a key to explain
what had happened to his beloved Highlands. (Indeed, as he well knew,
Marx had written about the Clearances).

By profession he was a teacher. He taught in Mull, where he felt an
atmosphere of intense gloom still somehow lingering in the wake of the
Clearances. He also taught in Edinburgh, at Boroughmuir High School, and
he ended his teaching career as a headmaster in Plockton.

He was a friend of all the leading Scottish poets, such as Hugh
MacDiarmid, Sydney Goodsir Smith, Norman MacCaig and others. He
sometimes used to complain wryly that teaching gave him no time for
writing, and this must certainly have been the case when he was a
headmaster. He was an admirer of all these poets, especially MacDiarmid.
He didn't think he himself had the kind of imaginative variety which
allowed MacDiarmid to finish A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle. And he
used to say of Goodsir Smith that he was the most variously funny man he
had ever known.

MacLean was a very human, down-to-earth person who had no airs or graces
or intellectual or other arrogance. He came from a democratic background
and though he won many honours they didn't change him in any way.

He was the recipient of many doctorates and awards, perhaps the most
important of which was the Queen's Medal for Poetry. It is extraordinary
that a poet who wrote in Gaelic should have received such an award, but
by that time he was well known in England as well as in Scotland.

It may be that latterly he didn't write much, but he was a poet of great
integrity who would rather not publish than publish inferior and
inauthentic work. I admired him greatly for this silence when there must
have been many temptations for him to break it.

His parents were steeped in Gaelic history and lore. His whole family,
his brothers and sister, were and are all successful and talented
people. His brother, John, was my own headmaster and he, too, was a
great Gaelic scholar and piper. Others have been doctors and teachers
and headmasters.

I think if one were to ask what quality above all one should isolate in
Sorley's poetry it would be the passion, and there are many people who
would say that poetry without passion is nothing. MacLean admired
passion above all in poetry and the greatest poetry to him was the
lyric.

In many ways, though he did partially complete a long poem, the long
poem was to him a contradiction in terms. How could one sustain passion
over a long stretch?

It is this passion which joins the young with the old in their
admiration. And what was wonderful about MacLean's poetry was that it
continually attracted the younger generations, to whom he was always
helpful. People have differing views of most poets, but everyone was
united in their admiration for MacLean.

His body of work is comparatively thin. Spring Tide and Neap Tide:
Selected Poems 1932-72 was published by Canongate in 1972 in a bi-
lingual edition. Poems 1932-82, a collection of English translations,
was published by the Iona Foundation in Philadelphia in 1987. The
collected poems, From Wood to Ridge, were published by Carcanet in 1989.
Ris a' Bhruthaich: The Criticism and Prose Writings of Sorley MacLean
was published in 1985.

I remember when I was much younger thinking it strange that a great poet
- a great love poet - should be a lover of shinty, but this only shows
my ignorance. Great poets have to live in the world like the rest of us
and perhaps if Catullus had lived in Skye he, too, would have been a
lover of shinty.

I remember once appearing at MacLean's house and finding that he was
refereeing a shinty match. This was when he was in Edinburgh many years
ago. But surely, I thought, they didn't play shinty in Greece or Rome.

He had a long and happy marriage to Renee (nee Cameron). Whenever I was
at a poetry reading, there they were together. She drove him everywhere:
for many years he would say wryly he hadn't been allowed to drive far
from home. Her easy temper and friendliness were of incalculable value
to him. I am sure that at times he was absent-minded and looked to her
for help. Our deepest sympathy goes out to her, to his two surviving
daughters and his brothers and sister.

But they will be proud to know that for many Sorley MacLean represented
the Highlands. His voice was the authentic voice of the Highlands, of
Gaeldom. He grieved because of what had happened to them historically,
and perhaps he grieved most of all for the adulteration and partial loss
of the language, for he himself proved., in spite of any detractors,
that Gaelic could be used as a language in which great poetry could be
written and in an idiom which could take account of modernity.

What MacDiarmid did for Scots, Sorley MacLean did for Gaelic, and it is
heartening to reflect that the two poetic geniuses of the 20th century
in Scotland wrote in Gaelic and one in Scots. It may be that Sorley's
like will not come again.

======
On 26th November, the following touching appreciation of Sorley by
Ronnie Black appeared in the Scotsman. The translation, for those of
you not privileged to have Sorley's native language, is my own. The
translations of the poetry are Sorley's.

Saoghal gun Somhairle.
[A world without Sorley; An appreciation by R. MacilleDhuibh]

Gun ach beagan sheachdainean air ais, siud Somhairle MacGill-Eain shuas
air ard-urlar an Taigh A\dhaimh an Du\n E/ideann ri linn na Fe/ise
comhla ri Seumas Mo/r MacEanraig agus Sea/n Mac Re/amoinn.

<Only a few weeks ago, there was Sorley MacLean up on the stage at Adam
House in Edinburgh during the festival with Hamish Henderson and
Sea/n Mac Ra/amoinn.>

Abair gun robh fonn math air. Dh'innis e sgeulachd mu rud a thachair an
Gleanna Comhann. Am b'ann mun da\ shealladh no mu thaibhs Mhic 'Ic Iain?
Neo mu ghrad-bhoillsgeadh bhiodagan 's eirmseachd cainnte air oidhche
a' mhuirt? Cha b'ann, ach mu dhra\ibhear Domhnallach, pasaidear
Caimbealach agus luchdachadh thurasaichean ann am bus a' cur aghaidh
ri rathad a' Ghlinne. Sgeulachd e/ibhinn a thug an taigh mu'r cluasan.
(Agus nach e an taigh a bha pacte.)

<He was in great form. He told a story about something that happened in
Glencoe. Was it about the second sight or the ghost of the Chief of
the Glencoe MacDonalds? Or even about the gleam of a dagger and expert
talk about the night of the massacre? Not at all, but a story about
Donald the driver and a Campbell who was a passenger and a load of
tourists in a bus heading for the road through the glen. A funny
story which brought the house down. (And how the house was full).>

_Bus_ ann am beul Shomhairle MhicGill-Eain? _Bus_ am beul an fhir a rinn
"Coisich mi cuide ri mo thuigse
a-muigh ri taobh a' chuain.
Bha sinn comhla ach bha ise
a' fuireach tiotan bhuam" ?
Ann am beul an fhir a rinn
"Am faca tu i
Iu\dhaich mho/ir
ris an abrar Aon Mhac Dhe/" ?
Ann am beul an fhir a rinn
"Bha mi 'n Leipzig le u\idh
nuair sheas Dimitrov air bialaibh cu\irt.." ?

<_Bus_ from the mouth of Sorley MacLean? _Bus_ from the man who composed
"I walked with my reason
out beside the sea.
We were together but it was
keeping a little distance from me." ? (From "The Choice")
From the mouth of the man who wrote
"Have you seen her,
mighty Jew,
who's called the Only Son of God" ? (From "A Highland Woman")
From the mouth of the man who composed
"I was in Leipzig, with eager hope
when Dimitrov stood before the court.." ?> (From "The Cuillin", Part VI)

Bha Somhairle, an duine ta\lantach, smuaineachail, ealanta seo a bha
'na dhrochaid thar linntean, bha Somhairle la\n annasan. Annas a bh'
ann gun deach a chuid bha\rdachd a dhe\anamh sa chiad dol a-mach.

<It was Sorley, this talented, thoughtful, artistic man who was the
bridge between ages, Sorley was full of surprises. It was a surprise
that the first piece of poetry which he did was this one.>

Cha robh du\il aig duine as de/idh a' Chogaidh Mho/ir ri dad u\r a
b'fhiach a thighinn a-mach a/ dualchas na Ga\idhlig. Ach tha\inig
na h-uiread comhla - cha b'e a-mha\in "an aigne, an iargain 's an
gaol", ach buaidh nan seann o\ran; e/ifeachd gach searmoin, gach
sailm 's gach laoidh a chuala e gun an earbsa bhith aige sa
chreideamh; cuimhne mhionaideach air gach eucoir a rinneadh air
na Ga\idhil, paisean nam poileataigs ri linn Hitler agus Stalin,
agus an Roinn Eo\rpa a' dol fodha ann am boglach na bu\irdeasachd.

<Noone expected after the end of the Great War that anything
worthwhile would emerge from Gaelic heritage. But so many things
came together, it wasn't just "the intellect, the pain and the love",
but the influence of old songs; the effect of each sermon, each
psalm and each hymn that he heard despite the lack of faith which he
had in religion; a detailed memory on every injustice which was done
to the Gaels, a passion for politics in the century of Hitler and
Stalin, while Europe sank in the morass of the bourgeois.>

Annas a bh'ann gun ta\inig Somhairle beo\ idir a/s an Darna Cogadh -
nach ann a spreadh me\inn-talmhainn fo chasan san Fha\sach an-Iar.
Annas nan annas a bha 'na leabhar "Da\in do Eimhir agus Dai\n eile",
gu i\re 's gu bheil oileanaich Gha\idhlig mo linn-sa a'
cuimhneachadh ca\ robh iad a' chiad uair a dh'fhosgail iad e.
An aon rud nach robh 'na annas as deaghaidh sin se gun do leanadh
Somhairle le tuill de sha\r bha\ird 's de sha\r bha\rdachd

<A wonder it was that Sorley came home at all from the Second World
War, in that war a land-mine blew up under his feet in the African
desert. A wonder that his book "Poems to Eimhir and other poems"
was of such an level that Gaelic students of my generation remember
where they were the first time they opened it.
The one thing that wasn't a surprise after that was that Sorley
would be followed by a flood of exceptional poets and exceptional
poetry.>

Cha d'ra\inig Somhairle deireadh an 20mh linn. De\anamaid cinnteach
ma-tha\ ann an saoghal na Ga\idhlig gu bheil cothrom na Fe/inne aig
ar cloinn an guth a thogail san 21mh linn mar a thog Somhairle. Tha
e a-nis anns an t-si\orraidheachd comhla ri a dha\intean deachdte 's
neo-dheachte:
"Thar na si\orraidheachd,
thar a sneachda,
chi\ mi mo dha\in neo-dheachdte...
an langan gallanach a' sianail
thar loman cruiaidhe nan a\m cianail,
an comhartaich bhiothbhuan 'na mo chluasan,
an deann-ruith ag gabhail mo bhuadhan:
re/is nam madadh 's nan con iargalt
luath air to\rachd na fiadhach,
troimh na coilltean gun fhiaradh,
thar mullaichean nam beann gun shiaradh;
coin chiu\inecuthaich mo bha\rdachd,
madaidheanair to\ir na h-a\illeachd."

bith coin Shomhairle a' ruith gu bra\th
R. MacilleDhuibh

<Sorley didn't reach the end of the 20th century. Let us make certain
then that in the world of Gaelic there is an equal opportunity for our
children to lift their voices in the 21st century as Sorley did. He is
now in the eternity with his written and unwritten poems.>

"Across eternity, across its snows
I see my unwritten poems....
their baying yell shrieking
across the hard bareness of the terrible times,
their everlasting barking in my ears,
their onrush seizing my mind:
career of wolves and eerie dogs
swift in pursuit of the quarry,
through the forests without veering,
over the mountain tops without sheering;
the mild mad dogs of poetry,
wolves in chase of beauty." (From "Dogs and Wolves")

The dogs of Sorley will run for ever.
Ronnie Black.

<<< END OF FAQ >>>

--
Craig Cockburn ("coburn"), Du\n E/ideann, Alba. (Edinburgh, Scotland)
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/~craig/
Sgri\obh thugam 'sa Gha\idhlig ma 'se do thoil e.