Happy Birthday Sutherland
by Liz Quinn
B&F December 2007
Sutherland A&F Club held a grand celebration in Rogart Hall on the 10th of November to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Club, which began in November 1982. The gathering was also attended by a number of past players with the club, stalwart supporters, relations and partners and took the form of a ceilidh dance, along with speeches, a display of photographs, an excellent buffet and special anniversary cake.
The event was opened by the present Chairman, Heather Macrae from Portmahomack, who has been a member of the Club for the past five or six years. She said, “I wish I’d come along years ago. This Club is such a lot of fun. Everyone is so friendly and I’ve been made so welcome. When a Club was first suggested in 1982 32 people came along to a meeting to discuss it and by 2nd December they had a Constitution drawn up and 24 playing members. The aim was to encourage and promote traditional Scottish music, to improve technique and conduct musical evenings. Subscriptions were set at £1 per annum and it’s still the same today!”
Heather then introduced button-box player John Macdonald from Rogart, current and founder member, to give a detailed history of the first 25 years of the Club. He began, “25 years ago fiddle and accordion clubs were starting up all over the country. They were events waiting to happen.
Before we had a Club some of us used to make an annual pilgrimage to the Perth Festival, then an idea came into my mind that we should start our own Club in Sutherland. This was triggered off in October 1982 when I was at a cattle sale in Rogart. I was standing at a sale pen in front of The Rogart Hotel, waiting my turn to go into the ring and opposite me was Jock Sorley, another box player enthusiast from Knockglass Farm in Dornoch. I mentioned my idea to him and he said, ‘Man – I was thinking of that myself. You book the hall for a meeting and I’ll put the word round’, and that was exactly what happened.
A small advert was placed in the Northern Times and the meeting took place on the 19th of November with 32 people attending it. At a further meeting a Constitution was drawn up and office bearers were elected, these being; Chairman Jock Sorley, Vice Chair myself, Secretary Violet Colquhoun (nee Sutherland) and Treasurer Sheila Stewart (nee Ross). Committee members were Alistair Macrae from Rosehall, George Mackay from Lairg and Donald Beaton from Brora. It was suggested that Donald Goskirk be asked if he would be musical mentor and guide and we decided that our first public performance would be in Embo.
On the format of the Club we initially held practices once a fortnight, but this soon became weekly. With members coming from quite a wide area we started off trying to please everybody by having practices in different places. One week it was Lairg, another Rogart or Rosehall and sometimes in Dornoch or Embo. But all that shifting about didn’t work as people would attend on one place and not the other, depending on where they stayed, or they lost track of where it was, so after a while the central venue of Rogart was picked and it has remained here ever since. Our format for concert nights was different from other Clubs. Most of the Clubs we had been to followed a programme where individuals or groups performed, with perhaps a stramash at the end with everyone joining in before the guest band took the stage, and there was no dance. As our members didn’t really want to play on their own or in small numbers at that time, we decided to play as a group involving everybody for the first part of the evening, then the guest band would take the stage and after that tea would be served followed by a dance to the guest band, and this still holds good today.
For our section of the programmes we made up sets of music and picked out so many for each performance, which we practiced all together in the weeks leading up to each concert, these generally being held monthly during the winter season. The sets are constantly being added to. To begin with Jock Sorley saw himself as a conductor, but this became too much like practising for the Gaelic Mod, so that idea faded out. We were in the early days rather removed from a disciplined musical ensemble and even Donald Goskirk found us difficult to handle and eventually left us to get on with it ourselves! Some of us were ear players, others read a bit of music and some did their own thing, but everyone enjoyed themselves, especially the fun of meeting and playing together”.
John continued, saying “I was asked to tell some anecdotes of our earliest experiences. One lady told me that her memory of a concert we held in Lairg not long after we started was of all the feet thumping on the floor as the players energetically and enthusiastically beat time to the music. Then we had a laugh in Kinlochbervie at our first annual summer outing when we had offered to play for a dance. When we arrived there we expected some sort of reception and hopefully a cup of tea, but the place was deserted. I set off to look for a shop that was still open and found a mobile grocery van where I got some supplies. We went back to the hall armed with bread, butter, tea, milk and a few tins of spam and the ladies got busy preparing us a grand tea. By that time a few people started arriving, bringing their youngsters with them. We thought that would be a fine mixed audience, but most of the adults disappeared, leaving the kids with us. I wondered if this was because fishing boats were landing at the harbour or were they at the peats? Anyway we gave our concert to a rather sparse, youthful audience and at 11 o’clock we were packing up to go home when suddenly a large crowd arrived from the local hostelry, all steamed up for a good going dance! The night for them was just starting, while for us it was finishing! We were none too popular on that occasion!”
John then went on to discuss the Club membership and some individuals who had made valuable contributions. He said, “The input of new members along with the old guard is what keeps the Club rolling. We had a great boost to our membership with the opening of the Dornoch Bridge across the Firth in 1991. Easter Ross was now within range and we quickly got a strong following of new supporters and an influx of new talent. Of course some of the old stalwarts of the Club from the very beginning, about eight in all, are still with us today as playing members, including Monica MacLean, Rae Davie, Hugh Mackay, Hugh Murray, myself and the boys from Lairg, George Mackay, John Mackenzie and Ian Fraser. There are many other long standing members, all bringing their own contributions to the scene. Sadly some of the older members are now deceased and these include some lead players, strong fiddlers, Celia Duncan and George Fraser, excellent box players Dan Macpherson and Angus Sutherland and more recently fiddle player John Dargie. We have had many good leaders and amongst these are Terry Keatinge who is the present lead fiddler, George Mackay on the accordion, Sheila Stewart who suggested the Club had a smart uniform for concerts. Ken Black who helped to polish up some music interpretation and Heather Macrae the present Lady Chairman who is doing a great job.
Over the years many people have put forward sets of music for the Club, some of the main contributors being Bertie Sutherland, George Mackay, Terry Keatinge and Pipe Major Sandy forbes. Many years ago I suggested we have a competition for a theme tune which was great fun and our youngster at the time, James Corbett from Shinness, was a worthy winner. We still play his tune at the beginning of every concert. The Club is also very appreciative of all its helpers and supporters at concerts, one of our oldest fans being octogenarian Neil Mackay from Brora, a former box player who still attends most practice nights to listen to the music he loves – and we mustn’t forget our keyboard accompanists, drummers and those who have given tuition. Over the duration of the Club, two CDs have been made and finally I would like to say – here’s to the next 25 years and hopefully many of you will still be around”.
The musical programme then opened with the Club doing eleven sets of reels, jigs, marches, some waltz tunes and airs, many of which were in the original programmes 25 years ago. This was followed by the cutting of the magnificent anniversary cake with a photograph of the original Club in 1982 superimposed on top of it. Doing the honours were founder members John Macdonald and Violet Colquhoun. Following this there was an interval for a splendid savory finger buffet prepared by some members of the Committee.
The evening then continued with some individuals and groups performing, interspersed with dancing and party games, the most hilarious being the ‘balloon between the knees’ competition. A number of former members who attended did a solo music turn and these included James Corbett from Aberdeen and Sandy Forbes from Alness. Multi-talented musician Sandy Forbes, now in his eighties, is still able and willing to play a tune and, despite having sold his accordion, he borrowed one from Heather and delighted the audience with some great tunes, accompanied by club drummer John Grant. The evening drew to a close with a small group of present Club members playing for dancing, and finally Auld Lang Syne.
The event was opened by the present Chairman, Heather Macrae from Portmahomack, who has been a member of the Club for the past five or six years. She said, “I wish I’d come along years ago. This Club is such a lot of fun. Everyone is so friendly and I’ve been made so welcome. When a Club was first suggested in 1982 32 people came along to a meeting to discuss it and by 2nd December they had a Constitution drawn up and 24 playing members. The aim was to encourage and promote traditional Scottish music, to improve technique and conduct musical evenings. Subscriptions were set at £1 per annum and it’s still the same today!”
Heather then introduced button-box player John Macdonald from Rogart, current and founder member, to give a detailed history of the first 25 years of the Club. He began, “25 years ago fiddle and accordion clubs were starting up all over the country. They were events waiting to happen.
Before we had a Club some of us used to make an annual pilgrimage to the Perth Festival, then an idea came into my mind that we should start our own Club in Sutherland. This was triggered off in October 1982 when I was at a cattle sale in Rogart. I was standing at a sale pen in front of The Rogart Hotel, waiting my turn to go into the ring and opposite me was Jock Sorley, another box player enthusiast from Knockglass Farm in Dornoch. I mentioned my idea to him and he said, ‘Man – I was thinking of that myself. You book the hall for a meeting and I’ll put the word round’, and that was exactly what happened.
A small advert was placed in the Northern Times and the meeting took place on the 19th of November with 32 people attending it. At a further meeting a Constitution was drawn up and office bearers were elected, these being; Chairman Jock Sorley, Vice Chair myself, Secretary Violet Colquhoun (nee Sutherland) and Treasurer Sheila Stewart (nee Ross). Committee members were Alistair Macrae from Rosehall, George Mackay from Lairg and Donald Beaton from Brora. It was suggested that Donald Goskirk be asked if he would be musical mentor and guide and we decided that our first public performance would be in Embo.
On the format of the Club we initially held practices once a fortnight, but this soon became weekly. With members coming from quite a wide area we started off trying to please everybody by having practices in different places. One week it was Lairg, another Rogart or Rosehall and sometimes in Dornoch or Embo. But all that shifting about didn’t work as people would attend on one place and not the other, depending on where they stayed, or they lost track of where it was, so after a while the central venue of Rogart was picked and it has remained here ever since. Our format for concert nights was different from other Clubs. Most of the Clubs we had been to followed a programme where individuals or groups performed, with perhaps a stramash at the end with everyone joining in before the guest band took the stage, and there was no dance. As our members didn’t really want to play on their own or in small numbers at that time, we decided to play as a group involving everybody for the first part of the evening, then the guest band would take the stage and after that tea would be served followed by a dance to the guest band, and this still holds good today.
For our section of the programmes we made up sets of music and picked out so many for each performance, which we practiced all together in the weeks leading up to each concert, these generally being held monthly during the winter season. The sets are constantly being added to. To begin with Jock Sorley saw himself as a conductor, but this became too much like practising for the Gaelic Mod, so that idea faded out. We were in the early days rather removed from a disciplined musical ensemble and even Donald Goskirk found us difficult to handle and eventually left us to get on with it ourselves! Some of us were ear players, others read a bit of music and some did their own thing, but everyone enjoyed themselves, especially the fun of meeting and playing together”.
John continued, saying “I was asked to tell some anecdotes of our earliest experiences. One lady told me that her memory of a concert we held in Lairg not long after we started was of all the feet thumping on the floor as the players energetically and enthusiastically beat time to the music. Then we had a laugh in Kinlochbervie at our first annual summer outing when we had offered to play for a dance. When we arrived there we expected some sort of reception and hopefully a cup of tea, but the place was deserted. I set off to look for a shop that was still open and found a mobile grocery van where I got some supplies. We went back to the hall armed with bread, butter, tea, milk and a few tins of spam and the ladies got busy preparing us a grand tea. By that time a few people started arriving, bringing their youngsters with them. We thought that would be a fine mixed audience, but most of the adults disappeared, leaving the kids with us. I wondered if this was because fishing boats were landing at the harbour or were they at the peats? Anyway we gave our concert to a rather sparse, youthful audience and at 11 o’clock we were packing up to go home when suddenly a large crowd arrived from the local hostelry, all steamed up for a good going dance! The night for them was just starting, while for us it was finishing! We were none too popular on that occasion!”
John then went on to discuss the Club membership and some individuals who had made valuable contributions. He said, “The input of new members along with the old guard is what keeps the Club rolling. We had a great boost to our membership with the opening of the Dornoch Bridge across the Firth in 1991. Easter Ross was now within range and we quickly got a strong following of new supporters and an influx of new talent. Of course some of the old stalwarts of the Club from the very beginning, about eight in all, are still with us today as playing members, including Monica MacLean, Rae Davie, Hugh Mackay, Hugh Murray, myself and the boys from Lairg, George Mackay, John Mackenzie and Ian Fraser. There are many other long standing members, all bringing their own contributions to the scene. Sadly some of the older members are now deceased and these include some lead players, strong fiddlers, Celia Duncan and George Fraser, excellent box players Dan Macpherson and Angus Sutherland and more recently fiddle player John Dargie. We have had many good leaders and amongst these are Terry Keatinge who is the present lead fiddler, George Mackay on the accordion, Sheila Stewart who suggested the Club had a smart uniform for concerts. Ken Black who helped to polish up some music interpretation and Heather Macrae the present Lady Chairman who is doing a great job.
Over the years many people have put forward sets of music for the Club, some of the main contributors being Bertie Sutherland, George Mackay, Terry Keatinge and Pipe Major Sandy forbes. Many years ago I suggested we have a competition for a theme tune which was great fun and our youngster at the time, James Corbett from Shinness, was a worthy winner. We still play his tune at the beginning of every concert. The Club is also very appreciative of all its helpers and supporters at concerts, one of our oldest fans being octogenarian Neil Mackay from Brora, a former box player who still attends most practice nights to listen to the music he loves – and we mustn’t forget our keyboard accompanists, drummers and those who have given tuition. Over the duration of the Club, two CDs have been made and finally I would like to say – here’s to the next 25 years and hopefully many of you will still be around”.
The musical programme then opened with the Club doing eleven sets of reels, jigs, marches, some waltz tunes and airs, many of which were in the original programmes 25 years ago. This was followed by the cutting of the magnificent anniversary cake with a photograph of the original Club in 1982 superimposed on top of it. Doing the honours were founder members John Macdonald and Violet Colquhoun. Following this there was an interval for a splendid savory finger buffet prepared by some members of the Committee.
The evening then continued with some individuals and groups performing, interspersed with dancing and party games, the most hilarious being the ‘balloon between the knees’ competition. A number of former members who attended did a solo music turn and these included James Corbett from Aberdeen and Sandy Forbes from Alness. Multi-talented musician Sandy Forbes, now in his eighties, is still able and willing to play a tune and, despite having sold his accordion, he borrowed one from Heather and delighted the audience with some great tunes, accompanied by club drummer John Grant. The evening drew to a close with a small group of present Club members playing for dancing, and finally Auld Lang Syne.