Scad the Beggars

A warm welcome from Scad the Beggars

2009-07-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

****************************

Scad the Beggars

****************************

We have actually been on the go, in various guises, since 2002.

This was when we first got together to promote the

Traditional Music and Song of North Antrim

Here's a photo of the original line up.

This Blog then, is a little potted history of our musical journey, so far, we hope you find it interesting.

Before I start though, perhaps I should just explain that the expression 'Scad the Beggar', which we adapted for our name, is a local term for Mealie-Crushie, which is oatmeal fried in bacon fat, known in some parts of Scotland as Creesh-Mealie - so now you know!

For those not familiar with the music & song of this area, let me explain that, due to the close proximity of Scotland, the music and song popular in North Antrim has always been heavily influenced by Scottish material, so during any typical musical soirée in North Antrim, you would always expect to hear a healthy mixture of both Irish and Scottish material.

If you live in North Antrim, we sincerely hope that you will manage to come along a enjoy our weekly informal Sessions in the Bushmills Inn. If you are yourself a musician and or singer we would especially encourage you to come along and join us, to share your musical talent.

On the other hand, if you are planning to visit this area and would like to come along to one of our Sessions, whether to join in yourself or just to listen, then please do get in touch, either through this Blog or by sending me an E-mail we look forward to meeting you.

****************************

Scad the Beggars ..... NEWS!

****************************

1. 'Scad the Beggars' on TV

Watch out for us on your TV, cause we actually feature in a new TV Advert for Northern Ireland, which is doing the rounds just now, in early 2010, & is being seen throughout Scotland, England & Wales.

****************************

2. Dick Glasgow on BBC 1's 'Country Tracks'

Dick Glasgow was featured in a recent edition of BBC 1's 'Country Tracks'.

The show ended up at Dick's other regular weekly session in the Springhill Bar, Portrush, where, as well as featuring clips of the musicians & their music, Dick was interviewed at length by the lovely Ellie Harrison and even gave her a brief lesson in the art of playing the Bodhran.

BBC 1's 'Country Tracks'

****************************

On the new BBC Ulster Scots website there's a recording of an interview,

dating from 2004, which I gave, where I express a few thoughts

on Ulster Scots Music.

Interview: Part 1

Interview: Part 2

****************************

Now, let me introduce you to the members of Scad the Beggars .........

****************************

Dick Glasgow ~ Fiddle, Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin & Concertinas.

2009-07-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Dick Glasgow, a Scotsman, born in Edinburgh by the way, just to confuse everyone, has played the Traditional Music of Scotland and Ireland for nearly forty years.

Dick, who is the founding member of Scad the Beggars, is a full time musician who spends his days tutoring children in local Primary Schools, encouraging them to learn to play music and is keen to promote Traditional Music in North Antrim.

Dick giving a school presentation

His Grandfather was a Highland Piper and his Great Grandfather was a Fiddler so I guess you could say music is in his blood. Naturally enough he plays the Fiddle, but he also plays the Hammered Dulcimer, an instrument which has a long history in Co. Antrim, but nowhere else in Ireland. So Dick is keen to play his Dulcimer at every opportunity, to help keep alive this dying Antrim tradition.

Another of his musical passions is the Concertina and unusually, Dick not only plays the Anglo Concertina but also the English Concertina. The former is the Concertina of choice for Traditional Irish musicians while the English Concertina is the instrument favoured by Concertina enthusiasts in Scotland.

Anyway, here is Dick playing a selection of Traditional Scottish Tunes on his Hammered Dulcimer.

************************

The Boys and Girl from County Clare ~ The Movie

Dick coached one of the actors for the movie,

to have him look like he really was playing the Fiddle.

Dick also had the honour of choosing the tune,

'The Rolling Waves', for the movie.

He also had a cameo role at the start of the movie.

You can see him here in this clip, as the brother's Fiddling Dad.

************************

Dick has also produced two tapes and one CD.

Tape one: 'Rathlin Sound'

Tape Two: 'To the Bridge'

For the tapes Dick chose numerous local musicians

to play the variety of North Antrim tunes he selected for this project.

For the CD, 'From a Northern Shore',

Dick wrote a number of tunes especially for this project.

************************

I was lucky enough to be asked to play on a Northern Irish TV show this week.

It promotes live music here & you can still catch it on the:

Blas Ceoil BBC2 iPlayer

To learn more about my world of Traditional Music, visit my Blog:

Dick Glasgow

********************

Sabine Glasgow ~ Harp, Vocals & Fifes

2009-07-24T11:38:00.000-07:00

***********************************

Another founding member of Scad the Beggars is Sabine Glasgow.

Although a native of Germany, she has lived for almost 30 years now in first Scotland and then Northern Ireland.

***********************************

Sabine has a lifelong interest in the Traditional Music and Song of not only Scotland and Ireland but also Wales.

Wearing a number of different musical hats she is equally at home playing her Clarsach for Church Weddings, her Gothic Harp for Medieval Fayres and Jousts, in full Medieval Costume of course, or her Knee or Lap Harp for Pub Sessions with Scad the Beggars.

Sabine is also very fond of playing wind instruments too, so during any performance by Scad the Beggars, you are likely to hear her play Fife and Flute, Shawm and Crumhorn

Here is Sabine on her Harp, accompanying her husband Dick, who is playing a Scottish tune, The Vital Spark, on the English Concertina.

***********************

Dick & Sabine also enjoy playing the Ancient Music of Ireland.

They usually play this music in costume at period events each year.

Here they are playing in their tent at an event with friends:

'Nuada'

Ferris is playing the English Great Pipe & Sam Symphonia,

Sabine is on Harp & Dick on Hammered Dulcimer.

**********************************

During this past Summer, '09, Sabine, Dick & their friends Ferris & Sam recorded four tracks

of Medieval Music with percussionists Wilson & Thomas for a new movie 'Your Highness'

This Medieval fantasy is actually being filmed in Northern Ireland & we spent three very

exciting days in costume being filmed as the Medieval Band, for the movie.

Here we are in costume.

Sabine with a very exotic wig.

**********************************

Alan Wade ~ Scottish Smallpipes

2009-07-24T11:36:00.000-07:00

***********************

Local man Alan Wade played in Pipe Bands for years and indeed comes from a very musical North Antrim family, for his father played not only Highland Pipes but also Uilleann Pipes.

***********************

Fortunately, Alan followed in his father's footsteps and although he still plays the Highland Pipes, he is keen to promote his chosen instrument the Scottish Smallpipes when he plays with the Beggars in Session and Concert.

Alan is one of the founding members of Scad the Beggars and here he is, playing a selection of Scottish tunes on his Scottish Smallpipes.

***********************

Riley Piddington ~ Lead Vocals & Guitar

2009-07-24T11:33:00.000-07:00

**********************

Riley Piddington is a local man who supported the Black Nun Folk Club for many years, regularly performing floor spots on Guitar with his 'partner in crime' Desie Hasson.

Riley has been fond of singing Irish and Scottish Ballads for many years now, with his love of this musical form going back to the days of the Folk Revival.

Here is an example of Riley at work with the Beggars, at one of our weekly Sessions.

**********************

Desie Hasson ~ Percussion & Vocals

2009-07-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

Local man Desi Hasson, a recently retired School Principal, also supported the Black Nun Folk Club regularly for many years and performed floor spots with Riley Piddington on many occasions.

Desie wears a number of musical hats, so as well as playing Folk and Traditional material regularly with Scad the Beggars, he also hosts monthly Garage Sessions at his home, at which he plays a full drum kit and slightly heavier musical forms shall we say are practiced, where the sound of electric instruments would be more the norm.

However, with the Beggars, he's equally at home when, either rattling the Bodhran along with a bunch of Reels ....

... or, laying down a funky Conga groove behind a singer.

*********************

Sam Fleming ~ Northumbrian Pipes, Harmonica & Whistles

2009-07-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

************************

Although a native Ulsterman, Sam spent a lot of years living in England, where he developed a passion for the Small Pipes of the North of England, called Northumbrian Smallpipes.

************************

However, Sam has actually been a Piper for many, many years now.

Here he is, as a member of the James Seaton Pipe Band, way back in 1957.

So what were you doing in 1957?

As well as being a piper by nature, yes he used to play the big Highland Pipes, he is also a dab hand at the Diatonic Harmonica the Tin Whistle & Low Whistle too.

************************

Brian Shaw ~ Lead Vocals & Percussion

2009-07-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

************************

The most recent member of the Scad the Beggars ensemble is Englishman Brian Shaw.

For the past twenty five years he lived on the Isle of Skye, but recently moved to the Causeway Coast and has been singing with us, ever since.

************************

Brian sings and since joining us, has learned to master the Bodhran, Spoons & Kazoo, the last mentioned especially suiting his favourite brand of music ... the Blues.

When Brians around you need not be surprised to hear a Gershwin or Cole Porter number in the mix.

Well, you know what they say, variety is the spice of life!

Anyway, here's Brian singing 'Careless Love'.

************************

Scad the Beggars ~ Friends

2009-07-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

**************************

As we play regularly in local Pub Sessions, we often come in contact with Musicians and Singers who are just passing through or are actually on holiday in the area. We always encourage such musicians to join us, so that we might share each other's music and song. This open policy to our sessions has led to many wonderful musical evenings and new friendships being formed with musicians from all over the place.

**************************

Saturday 3rd October

**************************

Clive, who is a Portstewart man born & bred, is now living in England, but on this recent trip back home, he called in to see us & to share some of his music with us & we all had a great night.

I must just say, these Salterelle Piano Accordions are the Bees Knees of PAs as far as I'm concerned.

For my money, when it comes to PAs, that lovely dry sound is hard to beat.

**************************

Saturday 26th September

Last Thursday night we had Uilleann, Border & Scottish Smallpipes at our session in Portrush, then last night in Bushmills, we had a different Uilleann Piper {Trevor Stewart}, plus the Scottish Smallpiper {Alan Wade} & a Northumbrian Piper {Sam Fleming}.

As a Fiddler, I just love playing along with Pipes and it was brilliant having those three very different pipes & their own music, all at the same session.

However, I must confess, I was constantly tuning the Fiddle up & down, for nearly four hours, between the Uilleann & the Scottish Smallpipes, as they were never exactly in with each other, but it was worth every minute of it.

Luckily I had my spare Fiddle with me too, so I was able to tune that to F for the Northumbrian Pipes.

****************************

Saturday 22nd August

We had a great night, with old friends & new joining us, including:

Emmett & Emmett junior, over on holiday from Nottingham.

Excellent musicians and Emmett senior is a member of the group Acushla

**************************

Saturday 15th August

We had a great night, with a few musician friends joining us and a number of singers too.

The night included one song in Irish and another in Welsh.

......... oh yes and a Willie Nelson song too!

Well, you can't beat variety!

*************************

1st August 2009

Last Saturday, we were joined by Co Antrim Fiddler Kathleen Smyth (see below) and also by Stiofán ó hEochaidh and his wife.

Stiofán, who is a regular musician at the sessions in the Springhill Bar, Portrush, not only plays Flute, Whistle & Bodhran but he also sings and here he is, last Saturday night, singing an unaccompanied song with us, in Irish.

**************************

25th July 2009

We had a great night recently, when well known Co Antrim Fiddler Alec Kerr of the 'Antrim and Derry Country Fiddlers Association' joined us.

As luck would have it he arrived in on a night when four Scottish musicians also called in to join us for a few tunes.

Here's a shot of Alec playing a couple of tunes with Norman Mackay

Here are three members of the Argyll group 'Canterach' galloping along through a set of Reels, with Rebecca Brown on Fiddle, Norman Mackay on Accordion & Angus McLaughlin on Low Whistle.

**************************

These four excellent Singers from Scotland joined our Session one evening and treated us to some delightful Scottish Songs.

**************************

Another very special night was when the last two resident Co. Antrim Hammered Dulcimer players, the late Nat Magee and William Rea, joined our session for a few tunes.

**************************

Renowned Co Antrim Uilleann Piper and Flute Player John Hughes, joined us one night, along with our friend Kathleen Smyth on Fiddle, for a few tunes.

**************************

This lovely local singer has joined us on many occasions and is always only too pleased to give us a song or two.

**************************

Rick Davis from Chattanooga comes over every year to study the history of the Hammered Dulcimer in Co. Antrim. He always makes a point of joining us at our Sessions to share his latest tunes with us & borrow some of ours. Here he is galloping through a few fast ones, with our Desie in hot pursuit!

**************************

This charming and very musical English couple, have joined us on a number of occasions and we always enjoy their visits.

**************************

Co. Antrim Fiddler Kathleen Smyth is a very good friend of the Beggars and always joins us when she is in the neighbourhood. She is known and loved the length and breadth of Ireland for her excellent musicianship and warm friendly personality.

We always look forward to her visits.

**************************

Two more regular visitors are this couple of fine English musicians. They have a holiday home nearby which is very fortunate for us, for it means we get to share some music with them each year. They both play F & D sets of Northumbrian Pipes and when they are around, you can also expect to hear some dazzling finger work on Accordion and see some very fancy footwork on English Step Dances.

**************************

We were in for a special treat when this lovely lady borrowed Riley's Guitar.

Mr & Mrs T'J' Hull, all the way from Milwaukee, joined us on their Honeymoon and we enjoyed a memorable night with them, as T.J. in particular, produced some amazing Fiddle playing on the night.

**************************

We have, of course, enjoyed many more nights than I've listed here, when visiting musicians joined us for a nights crack, too numerous in fact to mention. However, the finest night in the history of our sessions so far, without a doubt, was the night previous guests of the Black Nun Fest, Malinky, joined us for a session.

These guys are without doubt, some of the very finest musicians and singers in Scotland today and it was a real honour and privilege for us, when they joined our wee session for a night.

We heard in one night alone, the most delicate, controlled and unpretentious singing our session has ever experienced, coupled with some amazing musicianship including award winning Fiddle playing.

I've never seen our audience so affected by the music and song, the whole night was a pure delight.

Unfortunately, it was one of those nights when I didn't bring my camera, still, here's a photo of Malinky off on tour, somewhere in the World.

Judging by those sunglasses, I think it's safe to say they weren't in Scotland or Ireland, when this photograph was taken!

Malinky

****************************************

Scad the Beggars at Festivals

2009-07-24T11:21:00.000-07:00

*********************************

As well as all the Folk Club spots and in-house festival appearances Scad the Beggars have performed at over the years, we have also played in numerous Village Hall & Town Hall concerts, plus country fairs.

One such local performance was when we played in Ballymoney for the BBC Radio show 'A Kist o' Words'. The line up by this stage included Sabine Glasgow (Harp & Fifes), Alan Wade (Scottish Smallpipes), Dick Glasgow (Fiddle, Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin & Concertina), Sam Fleming (Northumbrian Pipes, Harmonica & Whistles), Riley Piddington (Vocals & Guitar) & Desie Hasson (Percussion & Vocals).

In Ballymoney for BBC's 'A Kist O' Words'

Every now and then, we are asked to play at something a little bit special. So back in 2006, Scad the Beggars were delighted to be asked to play at an open air concert, to celebrate the Maritime Festival in Belfast.

Maritime Festival Belfast 2006

By 2006, our regular line up included Desie Hasson ( Percussion & Vocals), Sabine Glasgow (Harp, Fifes & Vocals), Dick Glasgow (Fiddle, Hammered Dulcimer, Concertina & Mandolin), Riley Piddington (Vocals & Guitar) and Sam Fleming (Northumbrian Pipes, Harmonica & Whistles).

For this particular event we were joined by local singer John Moulden (Vocals, Bodhran & Spoons).

**********************************************

The Dalriada Connection

Ever keen to strengthen the musical links that have existed between North Antrim and Argyll for hundreds of years, from the time of the Kingdom of Dalriada, I have, over the years, been in constant touch with a number of very fine musicians and singers in Campbeltown, Argyll.

This has resulted in me being invited to bring over a number of musicians to perform at various Mull of Kintyre Music Festivals over the years, including my students.

The success of these trips led on to being asked to bring over an adult group to perform at the festival. So for three years I took over a group of musicians under the title Scad the Beggars, although not all the actual group members were available for these trips.

For two years in a row we were even invited to perform at their prestigious 'Dalriada Connections Concert'.

Scad the Beggars & friends at 'Dalriada Connections Concert' 2005

Here we are as a concert finale, playing with excellent local musicians, including Ross Kennedy of Canterach plus Les Oman and Anne Leith of The Wild Sarachs

*****************

For the following year's festival, our line up had changed a little, but we still had a fabulous time at this event.

Scad the Beggars at 'Dalriada Connections Concert' 2006

As well as playing in concert and in sessions all weekend, we're always keen to make an impression and let as many people as possible hear our music, so we're not shy when it comes to any form of public performance, including a bit of busking on the main street of Campbeltown.

This is a wonderful way to get the music out to lots of folk, especially young children, who might not be able to attend pub sessions or concerts.

Scad the Beggars playing on the Main Street of Campbeltown

*********************************

Scad the Beggars at the 'Black Nun Folk Club'

2009-07-24T11:19:00.000-07:00

As well as playing at literally hundreds of informal Sessions over the years, Scad the Beggars have also played at a variety of clubs and festivals.

For eight years I ran the Black Nun Folk Club in North Antrim, to not only help promote local musicians and singers but also to inspire by bringing talented musicians and singers to the area, who might otherwise never be seen here.

Looking down through the list of previous guests you will see that instead of the more traditional folk club approach, I opted for a far more eclectic variety of guest artist, so as well as Traditional Irish and Scottish Singers and Musicians, I invited many Singer Songwriters, Bluegrass and Old Time Musicians plus a number of Rock and Country groups too, so folks knew that the only thing they should expect, on a Black Nun night, was the unexpected!

Scad the Beggars would usually start the Black Nun nights off, so over the years you could say we have supported a huge variety of musicians, which was a great way for us to give our material exposure.

However, one of the main functions of Black Nun was to encourage local musicians and singers, so although Scad the Beggars would usually get the night started, I always encouraged other local musicians and singers to get up and perform a couple of numbers too.

Two such regular attenders and performers were Riley Piddington and Desie Hasson who are now actually members of the regular Scad the Beggars line up.

Riley Piddington and Desie Hasson

*****************************

Headliners: Scottish group 'MALINKY'

The Black Nun Fest

One of the highlights of the Black Nun years was the Black Nun Fest in 2003.

As you will see from the festival programme, there was a great line up and members of Scad the Beggars were always on hand to play.

**************************

John Rea of Glenarm

Glenarm Castle Kitchen Concert

Another wonderful Black Nun event was the Castle Kitchen Concert which I organised in Glenarm Castle, which once again, saw Scad the Beggars helping to kick start the night.

*************************

The Festival Launch at Glenarm Castle

Causeway Dulcimer Festival

Probably the most ambitious Black Nun event took place in Bushmills in 2005, with the Causeway Dulcimer Festival which, like the Black Nun Fest before it, had a truly international line up.

I organised this event in memory of the late, great John Rea of Glenarm, and also to highlight the vanishing Hammered Dulcimer of Co Antrim.

Once again, members of Scad the Beggars stepped up to perform at a variety of formal and informal events throughout the festival weekend.

******************************************

Scad the Beggars - 2002

2009-07-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Scad the Beggars

After the success of Ptarmigan, I decided to keep the momentum going by forming a group to continue to promote the Traditional Tunes, the Songs and the Rhymes that are popular throughout North Antrim, so I gathered up a few like minded souls and formed this new group.

We needed a name and we left it to Charlie to come up with some suitable couthy local words or expressions which might work as a handle for this new ensemble. From all his suggestions we settled on Scad the Beggars.

For those who don't already know, Scad the Beggar, is actually a local term for mealie-crushie, which is oatmeal fried in bacon fat, known in Scotland as creesh-mealie - so now you know!

So the initial line up was in fact:

Dick Glasgow: Fiddle, Hammered Dulcimer, Mandolin and Concertina.

Sabine Glasgow: Harp and Fifes.

Charlie Gillen: Rhymes and Banter.

Alan Wade: Scottish Smallpipes.

Colin Urwin: Vocals and Guitar.

Greg Gault: Guitar.

This line up lasted for a couple of years, but just as we were about to leave to perform as guest artists at the 'Music on the Move' festival, in the Ulster American Folk Park, in May of 2004, Colin suddenly decided to leave the group.

We managed to carry out our festival commitments that weekend, without a singer, but that was a major setback and shortly afterwards, Charlie also decided to call it a day, to spend more time at his writing and that was effectively, the end of the first chapter.

However, the remaining four members soldiered on, keeping the group's name alive, in order to continue to promote the traditional music of the area.

Since 2004, the line up has varied a little as we have become involved with other musicians and singers in the area and encouraged them to join us. So we meet up as often as possible and play informally in one local hostelry or another, to help keep the music and song alive in the area.

We also perform at local and not so local events when asked, so we've taken our music and song to stages in local village halls and town halls and to festival stages in Belfast and even Campbeltown in Scotland.

The important thing for us is to keep playing and singing, to help keep the old tunes and songs alive for the next generation.

While Charlie was a member of the group, he penned this little ditty.

Scad the Beggars

WE’LL TAK YE BACK TAE GRANNY,
WAE HER SKILLET ON THE CROOK,
THE RECIPES O’ YISTERYEAR,
THEY NIVIR LEEV’T WITHIN A BOOK.

CHORUS

SCAD THE BEGGARS, MEALIE CRUSHIE,
YE CAN CA’ IT WHAT YE CAN,
OATEN MALE AN BACON CREESH,
TASTY FRYIN IN THE PAN

WE HANNAE GOT THE OAT MEAL,

NOR HAE WE A FRYIN PAN,

BUT WERE HERE TAE ENTERTAIN YE

WI THE SCAD THE BEGGARS BAND.

COME BACK IN TIME A DANNER ,
JOOST COME WAE US FOR A WHILE,
TAE HEAR THE TUNES AN SANGS AN STORIES ,
THAT ARE SURE TAE YE BEGUILE.

HOOCH, CLAP AN JOIN THE FUN ,
AN WATCH YER CARES A' FLEE AWA’,
AN GIN YE AW WID KEN THE CHORUS ,
THEN YE AW CAN SING AWA’ .

SHUT YER EEN AN DRIFT AWA ,
FOR MEMORIES O’ TIMES LANG GAN ,
ON THE SHIP O' DREAMS COME SAILIN ,
WAE THE SCAD THE BEGGARS BAND.

by Charlie Gillen

*********************************

Ptarmigan - 2001

2009-07-24T11:13:00.000-07:00

This is Charlie Gillen with 'Ptarmigan'

Way back around 2000, Charlie Gillen approached me to come up with some suitable music for a Tape of North Antrim Rhymes he was working on.

However, rather than just play myself, I decided to ask a few musicians if they might like to get involved in the project and fortunately they all agreed, so a new group 'Ptarmigan' was formed.

I hunted around for suitable tunes that would reflect the variety of traditional music which was favoured throughout the North Antrim area and I then proceeded to arrange the music to suit Charlie's Rhymes and the varied instruments of the musicians involved.

The musicians I chose for this project were:

Dick Glasgow: Fiddle, Banjo, Concertina & Mandola.

Robert Watt: Scottish Small Pipes & Whistles

Valerie Quinn: Piano Accordion

Emma Culbert: Piano Accordion & Tin Whistle

Sabine Glasgow: Clarsach

Gregory Gault: Acoustic Guitar

Kevin Glasgow: Acoustic Bass

Paul McAuley: Bodhran

The resulting Tape and CD were called 'When a' the Kye Had Names'.

I even experimented by arranging three waltzes to be played in behind Charlie's Rhyme on one track, and many folk have said since, that this is actually their favourite track.

*****************************

Here's a review of ' Whun a' the Kye Had Names'

by Sean Laffey - Irish Music Magazine

November 2001

Charlie Gillen & Ptarmigan
'Whun a' the Kye Had Names'
Rhymes in the North Antrim Tongue and Scottish Traditional Music
Own Label, 11 Tracks.

"Charlie Gillen is a North Antrim Rhymer, a composer of poems in the North Antrim dialect, and an able reciter of the same. He is joined on this album by Dick Glasgow's band Ptarmigan, who provide musical interludes between the poems. Dick plays Fiddle, Banjo, Concertina and Mandola, he is joined on Scottish Small Pipes and Whistles by Robert Watt, Valerie Quinn and Emma Culbert(Piano Accordions), Sabine Glasgow (Clarsach), Gregory Gault (Guitar) and Kevin Glasgow(Acoustic Bass) and finally Paul McAuley on Bodhran.
The poems reflect their author's Ulster Protestant backgrounds, but apart from the name Wullie and the accasional reference to Pipe Bands (Ten Poun Passage), the themes will be familier to anyone who has lived anywhere in rural Ireland. Tales of lost youth, lost opportunity & lost love, the spectre of emigration, the loss of place, almost universal motifs of course, but here they are given a particular Irish context, & one we all understand. It is not all bible black doom. Take Liza Jane's Pig for instance, which is a story of an unusual country courtship.
Musically this album is a little treat, & don't be put off by the "Scottish Traditional Music" in the title, the tunes here have a definite Irish accent. The Kiwi & the Braes of Knocksaughey (both Strathspeys) are clearly Scots pieces (the twin Piano Accordions come in with the Scotch Snap as the second number kicks off). Nice Small Pipes playing on Over the Hills & Far away treated as a single reel. There are some unusual tunes too. My love She's gone away (a quadrille). Jenny Pawned her Bonnet (a fling) Dick Glasgow's The Hazel (a March), Cave Hill Side & Jenny Put the Kettle On (2/4 marches), each taken at a sensible dancing pace and all are worth learning. They also point to the wealth of the musical tradition we share across the two communities."

**************************************

Here's the CD's Track List

1. Whun a' the kye had names (written by Charlie Gillen)

2. The Fiddlin' Man (written by Charlie Gillen)

3. Bees among the Heather (Traditional Hornpipe)

4. Wullie at the Pictures (written by Alec McAllister)

5. My Love she's gone away (Traditional Quadrille)

6. Tam (written by Charlie Reynolds)

7. Farewell to Ballymoney / Long Cookstown (Traditional Air & 2/4 Marches)

8. Wullie's Motor Car (written by Alec McAllister)

9. Jenny pawned her bonnet (Traditional Fling & Reel)

10. Oot here mae lane (written by Charlie Gillen)

+ Rathlin Sound, Rathlin Ferry & Angela's Waltz (written by Dick Glasgow)

11. The Batchelor (written by Alec McAllister)

12. Cave Hill Side & Jenny put the kettle on (Traditional 2/4 Marches)

13. Ten Poun Passage (written by Frank McLernon)

14. The Hazel (6/8 March by Dick Glasgow)

15. Liza Jane's Pig (written by Alec McAllister)

16. The Kiwi / The Braes o' Knocksaughey (Strathspeys written by Dick Glasgow)

17. The Big Wumman (written by Alec McAllister)

18. Ower the hills an' far awa' / Goodnight an joy be wi' you a' / Come let us dance & sing

(Traditional Single Reels)

19. Niver loas heart (written by Charlie Gillen)

**************************************************************