Year 1 No 3 - December 1977
It is hoped that this will be the first of many such dispatches from the newly-affiliated Cumnock Club, meeting on the second Tuesday of each month in the Royal Hotel, Cumnock. That this is the fourth such Club to be founded successfully in Ayrshire must say something for the depth of musical talent in the county and the amount of regular support available for such ventures.
The success of our Club is due in no small measure to our Secretary and MC, Kenny Thomson, and in very small measure to the members of the Committee, resident bassist Dave Watters and pianist Alan Adams. It was this last mentioned member who was ‘volunteered’ to pen these notes on the pretext that he was the only one in the Club who could write, a fact that is manifestly untrue as any visitor to the Gents at the Club can verify. It is all the more surprising when one considers that for the past seven years he lived in East Anglia, an area not noted for its Scots musical tradition and from which airt he returned to the land of the heather and the haggis some 12 months ago. In his writing he draws on a profound ignorance of the subject, an illustration of which is the fact that until recently he was under the impression that a three-row button box was a sophisticated storage system used by haberdashers.
However, enough of this introduction and on with the report of our meeting on 15th November. We were fortunate to have as our guest for the evening ‘Doonhamer’ Ian Holmes who delighted everyone with his effortless and stylish playing. It was a real pleasure to enjoy again Ian’s unique blend of musical expertise and he, in common with all great artistes in any field, made it look so easy.
The evening, of course, included our usual crop of Club players and visitors who, after all, are the mainstay of such an event. These included Romana and Jermana Baldassarra who will, with experience, mature into good Club players I am sure. Also amongst the youngsters, mention must be made of Colin Walker, who is aged only seven. Colin delighted the punters with his competent display, impressive for one of his tender years.
The Club was also pleased to welcome again Mr and Mrs Bill Cunningham on fiddle and box respectively who entertained us with a few selections. Also playing in the programme were Jim Fleming, Ronnie Copeland, Robert Young, Stuart Thomson and our other young lady of the evening Audrey Sturgeon; those two last mentioned played solo and together to good effect.
Because of the constraints of time, it was impossible to include everyone we would have liked on the programme – but we were able to hear Donald Smith, our local exponent of the West Coast pipe tunes, and that well-known combustious busker Jock Loch, along with Ronnie Easton, who played some excellent medleys with Kenny Thomson on second box.
The hardest worker of the night was drummer Jim Shankland who not only accompanied the Club turns, but also played along with our guest to great effect.
A very varied and interesting evening was enjoyed by all present and we look forward to welcoming friends, old and new, to the Club on 20th December when our guests will be the popular Currie Brothers. Do come – there are plenty of sausage rolls for all.
Alan Adams
It is hoped that this will be the first of many such dispatches from the newly-affiliated Cumnock Club, meeting on the second Tuesday of each month in the Royal Hotel, Cumnock. That this is the fourth such Club to be founded successfully in Ayrshire must say something for the depth of musical talent in the county and the amount of regular support available for such ventures.
The success of our Club is due in no small measure to our Secretary and MC, Kenny Thomson, and in very small measure to the members of the Committee, resident bassist Dave Watters and pianist Alan Adams. It was this last mentioned member who was ‘volunteered’ to pen these notes on the pretext that he was the only one in the Club who could write, a fact that is manifestly untrue as any visitor to the Gents at the Club can verify. It is all the more surprising when one considers that for the past seven years he lived in East Anglia, an area not noted for its Scots musical tradition and from which airt he returned to the land of the heather and the haggis some 12 months ago. In his writing he draws on a profound ignorance of the subject, an illustration of which is the fact that until recently he was under the impression that a three-row button box was a sophisticated storage system used by haberdashers.
However, enough of this introduction and on with the report of our meeting on 15th November. We were fortunate to have as our guest for the evening ‘Doonhamer’ Ian Holmes who delighted everyone with his effortless and stylish playing. It was a real pleasure to enjoy again Ian’s unique blend of musical expertise and he, in common with all great artistes in any field, made it look so easy.
The evening, of course, included our usual crop of Club players and visitors who, after all, are the mainstay of such an event. These included Romana and Jermana Baldassarra who will, with experience, mature into good Club players I am sure. Also amongst the youngsters, mention must be made of Colin Walker, who is aged only seven. Colin delighted the punters with his competent display, impressive for one of his tender years.
The Club was also pleased to welcome again Mr and Mrs Bill Cunningham on fiddle and box respectively who entertained us with a few selections. Also playing in the programme were Jim Fleming, Ronnie Copeland, Robert Young, Stuart Thomson and our other young lady of the evening Audrey Sturgeon; those two last mentioned played solo and together to good effect.
Because of the constraints of time, it was impossible to include everyone we would have liked on the programme – but we were able to hear Donald Smith, our local exponent of the West Coast pipe tunes, and that well-known combustious busker Jock Loch, along with Ronnie Easton, who played some excellent medleys with Kenny Thomson on second box.
The hardest worker of the night was drummer Jim Shankland who not only accompanied the Club turns, but also played along with our guest to great effect.
A very varied and interesting evening was enjoyed by all present and we look forward to welcoming friends, old and new, to the Club on 20th December when our guests will be the popular Currie Brothers. Do come – there are plenty of sausage rolls for all.
Alan Adams