Box and Fiddle
Year 36 No 04
December 2012
Price £2.70
44 Page Magazine
12 month subscription £29.70 + p&p £13.20 (UK)
Editor – Karin Ingram, Hawick
B&F Treasurer – Charlie Todd, Thankerton
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time-consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Glendale and Newtongrange Clubs have both suffered sad losses recently, with the deaths of George Smith of Newtongrange and Ron and Sheila Smailes of Glendale. Our sympathies go to all family and friends and we hope to carry obituaries next month.
Last month we featured Campsie Club and, as discussed at the last AGM, they sold advertising for a full page. This has proved to be very successful. Which Club will be next to take up the challenge?
Karin Ingram
25th Shetland Festival
by Una Simpson
The Shetland A&F Festival runs on a tried and tested format…………
Accordion Museum
by Caroline Hunt
Since 2008, Bruce MacGregor has kindly housed…………..
Ian Hardie (1952 – 2012) - Obituary
by Freeland Barbour (Edinburgh November 2012)
Just before he died, Ian Hardie asked me to deliver the ‘spiel’ at his funeral. Being the modest man that he was he didn’t call it a eulogy, but a eulogy it most certainly was as we remembered the rich and varied life of someone I regard as one of Scotland’s leading traditional musicians. Ian was an Edinburgh lad, though with strong Border connections, and indeed it was to Kirk Yetholm and Kelso that he and his wife Viv moved after the completion of legal training for both of them in Edinburgh. During his upbringing in those Edinburgh years Ian was developing into the complete musician. He was classically trained and fluent, as at home playing the violin or double bass in an orchestra as playing the fiddle, viola and latterly small-pipes in a traditional music setting. His first band, who played covers around the Edinburgh pubs, gloried in the name of ‘Fred McLudgie’s Big Idea’. Whatever the idea was, it didn’t last but Ian had by this time discovered the traditional music world of Sandy Bell’s and there he met many future friends and musical colleagues. He played in the bands Wee Willum and Chorda, and then came the highly influential Jock Tamson’s Bairns. At a time when the Scottish folk scene was singing Scottish songs but taking it’s instrumental inspiration from Ireland, Jock Tamson’s Bairns and Ian in particular remained firmly Scots in all their repertoire, and the creative approach to older Scots melody and style that they showed has had a strong influence since then. Ian also had a great love of Scottish dance music, with the names of Shand, Ellis and even The Wallochmor (!) cropping up from time to time.
During his Kelso years, Ian not only was a partner in a leading legal practice, but there was a family to be with, and sports to play. He was a great sportsman, a golfer, curler, skier, runner, cross-country cyclist, squash and tennis player, hill walker, and latterly a fisherman as well. He was also a top-level rugby player, turning out for Edinburgh University, Scottish Universities, Watsonians and Kelso. He was a keen gardener too and how he found time for music too I do not know, but he did, learning the pipes with The Rev. Joe Brown at Yetholm, and honing his compositional techniques that were evident in his first solo recording, ‘A Breath of Fresh Airs,’ which was also the debut release of the Greentrax label. Three more solo releases followed over the years, all showcasing his compositions, and many of these have been taken up, performed and recorded by a huge cast of other well-known musicians, with Willie Hunter’s version of ‘Esther Stephenson of Embleton’ springing immediately to mind. Ian’s own fiddle style possessed great attack and steadiness of rhythm and was at one and the same time Scottish and individual. And his compositions mirrored this, were melodically developed, and in his slow airs in particular extremely moving. The congregation who stood in the church in Nairn as he left us, and listened to his own recording of his air ‘The Last Farewell’, are not likely to forget it.
In 1989 the Hardie family moved up to Nairn and Ian took on new legal duties there, and the music continued with Highland Connection, The Ghillies and The Occasionals. The list of subsequent recordings and highlights is long, and Ian also found time to act as Editor of the foremost contemporary traditional music book to be produced in recent years, ‘The Nineties Collection’. This was sponsored by United Distillers and led The Ghillies to an epic series on concert / dances in distilleries up and down the land. In 2001 Ian decided to leave the law and concentrate on his music, and this allowed him to take up teaching roles with Feis Rois and others, and to act as External Examiner / Adjudicator with The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and in Shetland, amongst others. In 2003 Ian (with The Occasionals) took part in The Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C., and he became very interested in the link between the fiddle music of Scotland and that of Appalachia. A number of trips to The States followed and the results can be heard in his last recording, ‘Westringing’.
Ian’s music is a lasting legacy, I have absolutely no doubt that in many generations to come his name will still be spoken of with admiration and his music will still be played. And that is not just my view, for at this year’s annual Scottish Traditional Music Awards Ian will be inducted into The Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and it will be richly deserved.
Ian was a proper ‘bonny lad’ or ‘lad o’ pairts’. He had great wit and humour, a deep love for his family, and a care for all his fellow mortals, and the courageous and dignified way in which he bore his illness was truly admirable. I finished the ‘spiel’ that he had asked me for as follows – “All of us gathered here today, and many, many hundreds more throughout Scotland and far, far beyond will give thanks that our lives coincided with his and that we knew him, in whatever way that may have been.” His zest for life and sense of humour never left him right up to the end, and we shall leave the last word to him. At the end of the ‘Take the Floor’ feature that The Occasionals recorded three weeks before he died, he remarked in characteristic fashion, “Actually, despite the fact that we’ve all been professional musicians for so long, it’s just a bit of fun.”
Jim McMahon (1942-2012) - Obituary
by Karin Ingram
For many years Jimmy McMahon………..
Highland Showtime
by Bob Wares
The Highland A&F Club held its annual……..
Merlin Music Academy
Black Diamond Accordions have teamed up with……..
Webwatch
by Bill Young
www.
See Hear! with Bill Brown
CD Reviews
The Heart of Sutherland & A Ceilidh Night in Rogart – 2 CDs by Sutherland A&F Club
Gigs – From Home to the Halcrow Stadium – Gordon Brown SDB – SPOG001
The Orange Blossom Special – Leonard Brown and Friends – LBCD004
Take the Floor – Saturday Evenings 19.05 – 21.00 with Robbie Shepherd (repeated on Sunday’s 13.05 – 15.00)
1st Dec 12 – OB from Pitlochry with Iain MacPhail SDB + Jim Malcolm & Vale of Atholl Pipe Band
8th Dec 12 – Michael Garvin SDB
15th Dec 12 – Alasdair MacLeod SDB
22nd Dec 12 – James Coutts SDB
29th Dec 12 – OB from Stirling with The Burns Brothers Ceilidh Band & Guests
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Old Machar RBL) – 11th Dec 12 – James Coutts Trio (Christmas Social Buffet Dance)
Alnwick (The Farrier’s Arms – Shilbottle)
Annan (St Andrew’s Social Club) - 16th Dec 12 – Dinner Dance with Brian Griffin
Arbroath (Viewfield Hotel) - 2nd Dec 12 – Windygates Button & Bows
Balloch (St. Kessog’s Church Hall) – 16th Dec 12 – David Oswald SDB
Banchory (Burnett Arms Hotel) – 26th Dec 12 – Boxing Night Special with Graeme Mitchell SDB 29th Dec 12 – Christmas Dance to Graeme Mitchell SDB
Banff & District (Banff Springs Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Johnny Duncan (Christmas Ceilidh)
Beith & District (Anderson Hotel) – 17th Dec 12 – Club Night
Biggar (Municipal Hall) – 9th Dec 12 – Gordon Pattullo & Gemma Donald
Blairgowrie (Moorfield Hotel) - 11th Dec 12 – Nicol McLaren SDB
Britannia (Arden House Hotel) -
Bromley (Trinity United Reform Church) -
Button Key (Windygates Institute) – 13th Dec 12 – Club Night (Christmas Party)
Campsie (Glazert Country House Hotel) - 4th Dec 12 – James Coutts SDB
Carlisle (St Margaret Mary Social Club) -
Castle Douglas (Urr Valley Country House Hotel) – 18th Dec 12 – Bobby Dorrance Trio
Coalburn (Miners’ Welfare) - 20th Dec 12 – Clappy Doo Trio
Coldingham (Crosslaw Caravan Park) -
Crieff & District (Crieff Hotel) 6th Dec 12 – Dick Black Band
Cults (Culter Sports & Social Club)
Dalriada (Argyll Inn, Lochgilphead) - 11th Dec 12 – Local Artistes
Dingwall (National Hotel) – 5th Dec 12 – Wayne Robertson Duo
Dunblane (Victoria Hall) –
Dunfermline (Headwell Bowling Club) – 11th Dec 12 – Adin Graham SDB
Dunoon & Cowal (McColl’s Hotel)
Duns (Royal British Legion Club, Langtongate) 10th Dec 12 – Charlie McIntee & Friends
Ellon (Station Hotel) –
Fintry (Fintry Sports Centre) –
Forfar (Plough Inn) - 16th Dec 12 – Scott Band SDB
Forres (Victoria Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Archie MacPhee & the Bogroy SDB
Fort William (Railway Club, Inverlochy) -
Galashiels (Abbotsford Arms Hotel) – 6th Dec 12 – Tommy Newcomen
Glendale (The Glendale Hall) - 20th Dec 12 – Ewan Galloway Trio
Glenfarg (Lomond Hotel) - 5th Dec 12 – Gordon Shand SDB
Glenrothes (Victoria Hall, Coaltown of Balgownie) -
Gretna (Athlitic & Social Club) - 16th Dec 12 – Brandon McPhee Trio
Haddington (Railway Inn) -
Highland (Waterside Hotel) – 17th Dec 12 – Gillian Stevenson
Inveraray (Argyll Hotel) - 12th Dec 12 – Charlie Kirkpatrick Trio
Isle of Skye – (The Royal Hotel, Portree) - 6th Dec 12 – Brandon McPhee Trio
Islesteps (The Embassy Hotel) – 4th Dec 12 – Maggie Adamson Duo
Kelso (Cross Keys Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Gemma Donald & Gordon Pattullo
Kintore (Torryburn Arms Hotel) –
Ladybank (Ladybank Tavern) -
Lanark (Ravenstruther Hall) - 15th Dec 12 – Dance to Keith Robertson Duo
Langholm (Eskdale Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Roddy Matthews & Gary Forrest
Lauder (Black Bull Hotel) -
Lewis & Harris (Stornoway Legion) - 6th Dec 12 – Local Players Night
Livingston (Hilcroft Hotel, Whitburn)
Lockerbie (Queen’s Hotel) -
Maine Valley (Ballymena) -
Mauchline (Harry Lyle Suite) - 18th Dec 12 – Jim Gold Trio
Montrose (Park Hotel) – 9th Dec 12 – Jim Lindsay Trio
Newburgh (Adbie Hall) -
Newmill-on-Teviot / Teviotdale (Buccleugh Bowling Club) 19th Dec 12 – Club Night
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) –
North East (Royal British Legion, Keith) – 4th Dec 12 – Graeme Mitchell SDB
Northern (Lylehill Suite, Templepatrick, N.I.) - 5th Dec 12 – Robert Whitehead
Oban (The Argyllshire Gathering) – 6th Dec 12 – Craig McFadyen Trio
Orkney (Ayre Hotel, Kirkwall) –
Peebles (Rugby Social Club) –
Perth (Salutation Hotel) –
Premier NI (Chimney Corner Hotel) -
Reading Scottish Fiddlers (Willowbank Infant School, Woodley) -
Renfrew (Masonic Hall, Broadloan) – 11th Dec 12 – Maggie Adamson & Brian Nicholson
Rothbury (Queen’s Head Hotel) - 6th Dec 12 – John Morgan
Scottish Accordion Music (Banchory) -
Seghill (Old Comrades Club) -
Selkirk (Angus O’Malley’s) -
Shetland (Shetland Hotel, Lerwick) - 13th Dec 12 – Local Night
Stonehouse (Stonehouse Violet Football Social Club) - 5th Dec 12 – Michael Philip SDB
Sutherland (Rogart Hall) - 1st Dec 12 – Strathfleet Button & Bows 15th Dec 12 – Gordon Gunn & Addie Harper
Thornhill (Bowling Club Hall) - 11th Dec 12 – Burns Brothers
Thurso (Pentland Hotel) – 4th Dec 12 – Addie Harper
Turriff (Commercial Hotel, Cuminestown) – 6th Dec 12 – Graeme Nitchell SDB
Tynedale (Hexham Ex Service Club) –
Uist & Benbecula (C of S Hall, Griminish) - 1st & 15th Dec 12 – Saturday Ceilidh Night
West Barnes (West Barnes Inn)
Wick (MacKay’s Hotel) – 11th Dec 12 – Thurso & Dounray S&R Society
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Aberdeen
2. Arbroath
3. Balloch
4. Blairgowrie
5. Campsie
6. Castle Douglas
7. Coalburn
8. Crieff
9. Dingwall
10. Dunfermline
11. Duns
12. Fintry
13. Forfar
14. Forres
15. Gretna
16. Haddington
17. Highland
18. Inveraray
19. Isle of Skye
20. Islesteps
21. Kelso
22. Ladybank
23. Lanark
24. Lewis & Harris
25. Livingston
26. Lockerbie
27. Mauchline
28. Montrose
29. Newburgh
30. Newtongrange
31. Northern
32. Oban
33. Orkney
34. Peebles
35. Perth
36. Renfrew
37. Rothbury
38. Seghill
39. Shetland
40. Stonehouse
41. Sutherland
42. Thornhill
43. Thurso
44. Turriff
45. Tynedale
46. West Barnes
47. Wick
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT OCT 2012
(Clubs didn’t necessarily notify the Assoc when they closed so the following may not be entirely correct. Only the clubs submitting the reports or in the Club Diary above were definitely open.)
1. Aberdeen A&F Club (1975 – present)
2. Alnwick A&F Club (Aug 1975 – present)
3. Annan A&F Club (joined Assoc in 1996 but started 1985 – present)
4. Arbroath A&F Club (1991? – present)
5. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue – present)
6. Banchory A&F Club (1978 – present)
7. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973 – present)
8. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition – present)
9. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
10. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974 – present)
11. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
12. Britannia B&F Club ( joined 07-08 but much older
13. Bromley A&F Club (joined 95-96 – closed early 08-09)
14. Button Key A&F Club (
15. Campsie A&F Club (Nov 95 – present)
16. Carlisle A&F Club (joined Sept 1993 -
17. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980 – present)
18. Coalburn A&F Club (
19. Coldingham A&F Club (Nov 2008 -
20. Crathes (aka Scottish Accordion Music – Crathes) (Nov 1997 -
21. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
22. Cults A & F Club (
23. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981)
24. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
25. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971 – present)
26. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
27. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
28. Duns A&F Club (formed 20th Sept 04 – present)
29. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980 – Closed 04/05)
30. Ellon A&F Club (
31. Fintry A&F Club (Dec 1972 – reformed Jan 1980 – present)
32. Forfar A&F Club (
33. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
34. Fort William A&F Club (2009 -
35. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
36. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
37. Glendale Accordion Club (Jan 1973)
38. Glenfarg A&F Club (formed 1988 joined Assoc Mar 95 -
39. Glenrothes A&F Club (Mar 93?
40. Gretna A&F Club (1991) Known as North Cumbria A&F Club previously (originally called Gretna when started in June 1966 but later had to move to venues in the North of England and changed name. No breaks in the continuity of the Club)
41. Haddington A&F Club (formed Feb 2005 - )
42. Highland A&F Club (Inverness) (Nov 1973 – present)
43. Inveraray A&F Club (Feb 1991 - present)
44. Islesteps A&F Club (Jan 1981 – present – n.b. evolved from the original Dumfries Club)
45. Isle of Skye A&F Club (June 1983 – present)
46. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976 – present)
47. Ladybank A&F Club (joined Apr 98 but formed earlier
48. Lanark A&F Club (joined Sept 96 – closed March 2015)
49. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967 - present)
50. Lauder A&F Club (May 2010 -
51. Lewis & Harris A&F Club (Aug 1994 -
52. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – present)
53 Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973 - present)
54 Maine Valley A&F Club (
55 Mauchline A&F Club (Sept 1983 - present)
56 Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
57 Newmill-on-Teviot (Hawick) (Formed late 1988 joined Assoc 1999 - closed March 2016)
58 Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1977 - present)
59. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971 - present)
60. Northern A&F Club (Sept 2011 -
61. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975 - present)
62. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978 - present)
63. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981 - present)
64. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970 - present)
65. Premier A&F Club NI (April 1980)
66. Phoenix A&F Club, Ardrishaig (Dec 2004 -
67. Renfrew A&F Club (1984 -
68. Rothbury Accordion Club (7th Feb 1974) orig called Coquetdale
69. Selkirk A&F Club (
70. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978 - present)
71 Stonehouse A&F Club (first report June 05 -
72 Sutherland A&F Club (Nov 1982 -
73 Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition – closed April 2014)
74 Thurso A&F Club (Oct 1981 - present)
75 Turriff A&F Club (1st April 1982 - present)
76 Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980 - present)
77 Uist & Benbecula A&F Club (Dec 2007 but formed 1994 -
78 West Barnes ( - present)
79 Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975 - present)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership or omitted in error?)
80. Araharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
81. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months) Last meeting May 2010
82. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition) Closed
83. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
84. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
85. Brigmill A&F Club (Oct 1990) Closed
86. Buchan A&F Club
87 Callander A&F Club (
88 Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980)
89 Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
90 Club Accord
91 Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2? – became Rothbury?)
92. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
93. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
94. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
95. Derwentside A&F Club
96. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
97. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughtons) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
98. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
99. Dundee & District A&F Club (January 1971 – 1995?)
100. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
101. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
102. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F)
103. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
104. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
105. Islay A&F Club (23 Apr 93 -
106. Kintore A&F Club (
107. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
108. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
109. M.A.F.I.A. (1966 – 1993?)
110. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
111. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
112. Muirhead A&F Club (Dec 1994 -
113. Mull A&F Club
114. Newcastleton Accordion Club
115. Newburgh A&F Club (joined 2002 but founded much earlier – closed April 2011 when venue closed)
116. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
117. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
118. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club (closed April 1992 – per Sept Editorial)
119. Reading Scottish Fiddlers (cMarch 1997
120. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984)
121. Stirling A&F Club (Oct 1991 – closed 20000/01?)
122. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
123. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
124. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
125. Tranent A&F Club
126. Vancouver
127. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
128. Wellbank A&F Club
129. Yarrow (prev known as Etterick & Yarrow) (Jan 1989 – closed 2001/02)
Advertising rates
Back Page (colour) - £300
Full Page (colour) - £220
Full Page (b&w) - £140
Half Page (colour) - £110
Half Page (b&w) - £70
Quarter Page (colour) - £55
Quarter Page (b&w) - £35
Eighth Page - £18
Small Boxed £12
B&F Treasurer – Charlie Todd, Thankerton
The main features in the above issue were as follows (this is not a comprehensive detail of all it contained. The Club reports, in particular, are too time-consuming at this stage to retype).
Editorial
Glendale and Newtongrange Clubs have both suffered sad losses recently, with the deaths of George Smith of Newtongrange and Ron and Sheila Smailes of Glendale. Our sympathies go to all family and friends and we hope to carry obituaries next month.
Last month we featured Campsie Club and, as discussed at the last AGM, they sold advertising for a full page. This has proved to be very successful. Which Club will be next to take up the challenge?
Karin Ingram
25th Shetland Festival
by Una Simpson
The Shetland A&F Festival runs on a tried and tested format…………
Accordion Museum
by Caroline Hunt
Since 2008, Bruce MacGregor has kindly housed…………..
Ian Hardie (1952 – 2012) - Obituary
by Freeland Barbour (Edinburgh November 2012)
Just before he died, Ian Hardie asked me to deliver the ‘spiel’ at his funeral. Being the modest man that he was he didn’t call it a eulogy, but a eulogy it most certainly was as we remembered the rich and varied life of someone I regard as one of Scotland’s leading traditional musicians. Ian was an Edinburgh lad, though with strong Border connections, and indeed it was to Kirk Yetholm and Kelso that he and his wife Viv moved after the completion of legal training for both of them in Edinburgh. During his upbringing in those Edinburgh years Ian was developing into the complete musician. He was classically trained and fluent, as at home playing the violin or double bass in an orchestra as playing the fiddle, viola and latterly small-pipes in a traditional music setting. His first band, who played covers around the Edinburgh pubs, gloried in the name of ‘Fred McLudgie’s Big Idea’. Whatever the idea was, it didn’t last but Ian had by this time discovered the traditional music world of Sandy Bell’s and there he met many future friends and musical colleagues. He played in the bands Wee Willum and Chorda, and then came the highly influential Jock Tamson’s Bairns. At a time when the Scottish folk scene was singing Scottish songs but taking it’s instrumental inspiration from Ireland, Jock Tamson’s Bairns and Ian in particular remained firmly Scots in all their repertoire, and the creative approach to older Scots melody and style that they showed has had a strong influence since then. Ian also had a great love of Scottish dance music, with the names of Shand, Ellis and even The Wallochmor (!) cropping up from time to time.
During his Kelso years, Ian not only was a partner in a leading legal practice, but there was a family to be with, and sports to play. He was a great sportsman, a golfer, curler, skier, runner, cross-country cyclist, squash and tennis player, hill walker, and latterly a fisherman as well. He was also a top-level rugby player, turning out for Edinburgh University, Scottish Universities, Watsonians and Kelso. He was a keen gardener too and how he found time for music too I do not know, but he did, learning the pipes with The Rev. Joe Brown at Yetholm, and honing his compositional techniques that were evident in his first solo recording, ‘A Breath of Fresh Airs,’ which was also the debut release of the Greentrax label. Three more solo releases followed over the years, all showcasing his compositions, and many of these have been taken up, performed and recorded by a huge cast of other well-known musicians, with Willie Hunter’s version of ‘Esther Stephenson of Embleton’ springing immediately to mind. Ian’s own fiddle style possessed great attack and steadiness of rhythm and was at one and the same time Scottish and individual. And his compositions mirrored this, were melodically developed, and in his slow airs in particular extremely moving. The congregation who stood in the church in Nairn as he left us, and listened to his own recording of his air ‘The Last Farewell’, are not likely to forget it.
In 1989 the Hardie family moved up to Nairn and Ian took on new legal duties there, and the music continued with Highland Connection, The Ghillies and The Occasionals. The list of subsequent recordings and highlights is long, and Ian also found time to act as Editor of the foremost contemporary traditional music book to be produced in recent years, ‘The Nineties Collection’. This was sponsored by United Distillers and led The Ghillies to an epic series on concert / dances in distilleries up and down the land. In 2001 Ian decided to leave the law and concentrate on his music, and this allowed him to take up teaching roles with Feis Rois and others, and to act as External Examiner / Adjudicator with The Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and in Shetland, amongst others. In 2003 Ian (with The Occasionals) took part in The Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington D.C., and he became very interested in the link between the fiddle music of Scotland and that of Appalachia. A number of trips to The States followed and the results can be heard in his last recording, ‘Westringing’.
Ian’s music is a lasting legacy, I have absolutely no doubt that in many generations to come his name will still be spoken of with admiration and his music will still be played. And that is not just my view, for at this year’s annual Scottish Traditional Music Awards Ian will be inducted into The Scottish Traditional Music Hall of Fame, and it will be richly deserved.
Ian was a proper ‘bonny lad’ or ‘lad o’ pairts’. He had great wit and humour, a deep love for his family, and a care for all his fellow mortals, and the courageous and dignified way in which he bore his illness was truly admirable. I finished the ‘spiel’ that he had asked me for as follows – “All of us gathered here today, and many, many hundreds more throughout Scotland and far, far beyond will give thanks that our lives coincided with his and that we knew him, in whatever way that may have been.” His zest for life and sense of humour never left him right up to the end, and we shall leave the last word to him. At the end of the ‘Take the Floor’ feature that The Occasionals recorded three weeks before he died, he remarked in characteristic fashion, “Actually, despite the fact that we’ve all been professional musicians for so long, it’s just a bit of fun.”
Jim McMahon (1942-2012) - Obituary
by Karin Ingram
For many years Jimmy McMahon………..
Highland Showtime
by Bob Wares
The Highland A&F Club held its annual……..
Merlin Music Academy
Black Diamond Accordions have teamed up with……..
Webwatch
by Bill Young
www.
See Hear! with Bill Brown
CD Reviews
The Heart of Sutherland & A Ceilidh Night in Rogart – 2 CDs by Sutherland A&F Club
Gigs – From Home to the Halcrow Stadium – Gordon Brown SDB – SPOG001
The Orange Blossom Special – Leonard Brown and Friends – LBCD004
Take the Floor – Saturday Evenings 19.05 – 21.00 with Robbie Shepherd (repeated on Sunday’s 13.05 – 15.00)
1st Dec 12 – OB from Pitlochry with Iain MacPhail SDB + Jim Malcolm & Vale of Atholl Pipe Band
8th Dec 12 – Michael Garvin SDB
15th Dec 12 – Alasdair MacLeod SDB
22nd Dec 12 – James Coutts SDB
29th Dec 12 – OB from Stirling with The Burns Brothers Ceilidh Band & Guests
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Old Machar RBL) – 11th Dec 12 – James Coutts Trio (Christmas Social Buffet Dance)
Alnwick (The Farrier’s Arms – Shilbottle)
Annan (St Andrew’s Social Club) - 16th Dec 12 – Dinner Dance with Brian Griffin
Arbroath (Viewfield Hotel) - 2nd Dec 12 – Windygates Button & Bows
Balloch (St. Kessog’s Church Hall) – 16th Dec 12 – David Oswald SDB
Banchory (Burnett Arms Hotel) – 26th Dec 12 – Boxing Night Special with Graeme Mitchell SDB 29th Dec 12 – Christmas Dance to Graeme Mitchell SDB
Banff & District (Banff Springs Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Johnny Duncan (Christmas Ceilidh)
Beith & District (Anderson Hotel) – 17th Dec 12 – Club Night
Biggar (Municipal Hall) – 9th Dec 12 – Gordon Pattullo & Gemma Donald
Blairgowrie (Moorfield Hotel) - 11th Dec 12 – Nicol McLaren SDB
Britannia (Arden House Hotel) -
Bromley (Trinity United Reform Church) -
Button Key (Windygates Institute) – 13th Dec 12 – Club Night (Christmas Party)
Campsie (Glazert Country House Hotel) - 4th Dec 12 – James Coutts SDB
Carlisle (St Margaret Mary Social Club) -
Castle Douglas (Urr Valley Country House Hotel) – 18th Dec 12 – Bobby Dorrance Trio
Coalburn (Miners’ Welfare) - 20th Dec 12 – Clappy Doo Trio
Coldingham (Crosslaw Caravan Park) -
Crieff & District (Crieff Hotel) 6th Dec 12 – Dick Black Band
Cults (Culter Sports & Social Club)
Dalriada (Argyll Inn, Lochgilphead) - 11th Dec 12 – Local Artistes
Dingwall (National Hotel) – 5th Dec 12 – Wayne Robertson Duo
Dunblane (Victoria Hall) –
Dunfermline (Headwell Bowling Club) – 11th Dec 12 – Adin Graham SDB
Dunoon & Cowal (McColl’s Hotel)
Duns (Royal British Legion Club, Langtongate) 10th Dec 12 – Charlie McIntee & Friends
Ellon (Station Hotel) –
Fintry (Fintry Sports Centre) –
Forfar (Plough Inn) - 16th Dec 12 – Scott Band SDB
Forres (Victoria Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Archie MacPhee & the Bogroy SDB
Fort William (Railway Club, Inverlochy) -
Galashiels (Abbotsford Arms Hotel) – 6th Dec 12 – Tommy Newcomen
Glendale (The Glendale Hall) - 20th Dec 12 – Ewan Galloway Trio
Glenfarg (Lomond Hotel) - 5th Dec 12 – Gordon Shand SDB
Glenrothes (Victoria Hall, Coaltown of Balgownie) -
Gretna (Athlitic & Social Club) - 16th Dec 12 – Brandon McPhee Trio
Haddington (Railway Inn) -
Highland (Waterside Hotel) – 17th Dec 12 – Gillian Stevenson
Inveraray (Argyll Hotel) - 12th Dec 12 – Charlie Kirkpatrick Trio
Isle of Skye – (The Royal Hotel, Portree) - 6th Dec 12 – Brandon McPhee Trio
Islesteps (The Embassy Hotel) – 4th Dec 12 – Maggie Adamson Duo
Kelso (Cross Keys Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Gemma Donald & Gordon Pattullo
Kintore (Torryburn Arms Hotel) –
Ladybank (Ladybank Tavern) -
Lanark (Ravenstruther Hall) - 15th Dec 12 – Dance to Keith Robertson Duo
Langholm (Eskdale Hotel) – 12th Dec 12 – Roddy Matthews & Gary Forrest
Lauder (Black Bull Hotel) -
Lewis & Harris (Stornoway Legion) - 6th Dec 12 – Local Players Night
Livingston (Hilcroft Hotel, Whitburn)
Lockerbie (Queen’s Hotel) -
Maine Valley (Ballymena) -
Mauchline (Harry Lyle Suite) - 18th Dec 12 – Jim Gold Trio
Montrose (Park Hotel) – 9th Dec 12 – Jim Lindsay Trio
Newburgh (Adbie Hall) -
Newmill-on-Teviot / Teviotdale (Buccleugh Bowling Club) 19th Dec 12 – Club Night
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) –
North East (Royal British Legion, Keith) – 4th Dec 12 – Graeme Mitchell SDB
Northern (Lylehill Suite, Templepatrick, N.I.) - 5th Dec 12 – Robert Whitehead
Oban (The Argyllshire Gathering) – 6th Dec 12 – Craig McFadyen Trio
Orkney (Ayre Hotel, Kirkwall) –
Peebles (Rugby Social Club) –
Perth (Salutation Hotel) –
Premier NI (Chimney Corner Hotel) -
Reading Scottish Fiddlers (Willowbank Infant School, Woodley) -
Renfrew (Masonic Hall, Broadloan) – 11th Dec 12 – Maggie Adamson & Brian Nicholson
Rothbury (Queen’s Head Hotel) - 6th Dec 12 – John Morgan
Scottish Accordion Music (Banchory) -
Seghill (Old Comrades Club) -
Selkirk (Angus O’Malley’s) -
Shetland (Shetland Hotel, Lerwick) - 13th Dec 12 – Local Night
Stonehouse (Stonehouse Violet Football Social Club) - 5th Dec 12 – Michael Philip SDB
Sutherland (Rogart Hall) - 1st Dec 12 – Strathfleet Button & Bows 15th Dec 12 – Gordon Gunn & Addie Harper
Thornhill (Bowling Club Hall) - 11th Dec 12 – Burns Brothers
Thurso (Pentland Hotel) – 4th Dec 12 – Addie Harper
Turriff (Commercial Hotel, Cuminestown) – 6th Dec 12 – Graeme Nitchell SDB
Tynedale (Hexham Ex Service Club) –
Uist & Benbecula (C of S Hall, Griminish) - 1st & 15th Dec 12 – Saturday Ceilidh Night
West Barnes (West Barnes Inn)
Wick (MacKay’s Hotel) – 11th Dec 12 – Thurso & Dounray S&R Society
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Aberdeen
2. Arbroath
3. Balloch
4. Blairgowrie
5. Campsie
6. Castle Douglas
7. Coalburn
8. Crieff
9. Dingwall
10. Dunfermline
11. Duns
12. Fintry
13. Forfar
14. Forres
15. Gretna
16. Haddington
17. Highland
18. Inveraray
19. Isle of Skye
20. Islesteps
21. Kelso
22. Ladybank
23. Lanark
24. Lewis & Harris
25. Livingston
26. Lockerbie
27. Mauchline
28. Montrose
29. Newburgh
30. Newtongrange
31. Northern
32. Oban
33. Orkney
34. Peebles
35. Perth
36. Renfrew
37. Rothbury
38. Seghill
39. Shetland
40. Stonehouse
41. Sutherland
42. Thornhill
43. Thurso
44. Turriff
45. Tynedale
46. West Barnes
47. Wick
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT OCT 2012
(Clubs didn’t necessarily notify the Assoc when they closed so the following may not be entirely correct. Only the clubs submitting the reports or in the Club Diary above were definitely open.)
1. Aberdeen A&F Club (1975 – present)
2. Alnwick A&F Club (Aug 1975 – present)
3. Annan A&F Club (joined Assoc in 1996 but started 1985 – present)
4. Arbroath A&F Club (1991? – present)
5. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue – present)
6. Banchory A&F Club (1978 – present)
7. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973 – present)
8. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition – present)
9. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
10. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974 – present)
11. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
12. Britannia B&F Club ( joined 07-08 but much older
13. Bromley A&F Club (joined 95-96 – closed early 08-09)
14. Button Key A&F Club (
15. Campsie A&F Club (Nov 95 – present)
16. Carlisle A&F Club (joined Sept 1993 -
17. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980 – present)
18. Coalburn A&F Club (
19. Coldingham A&F Club (Nov 2008 -
20. Crathes (aka Scottish Accordion Music – Crathes) (Nov 1997 -
21. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
22. Cults A & F Club (
23. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981)
24. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
25. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971 – present)
26. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
27. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
28. Duns A&F Club (formed 20th Sept 04 – present)
29. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980 – Closed 04/05)
30. Ellon A&F Club (
31. Fintry A&F Club (Dec 1972 – reformed Jan 1980 – present)
32. Forfar A&F Club (
33. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
34. Fort William A&F Club (2009 -
35. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
36. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
37. Glendale Accordion Club (Jan 1973)
38. Glenfarg A&F Club (formed 1988 joined Assoc Mar 95 -
39. Glenrothes A&F Club (Mar 93?
40. Gretna A&F Club (1991) Known as North Cumbria A&F Club previously (originally called Gretna when started in June 1966 but later had to move to venues in the North of England and changed name. No breaks in the continuity of the Club)
41. Haddington A&F Club (formed Feb 2005 - )
42. Highland A&F Club (Inverness) (Nov 1973 – present)
43. Inveraray A&F Club (Feb 1991 - present)
44. Islesteps A&F Club (Jan 1981 – present – n.b. evolved from the original Dumfries Club)
45. Isle of Skye A&F Club (June 1983 – present)
46. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976 – present)
47. Ladybank A&F Club (joined Apr 98 but formed earlier
48. Lanark A&F Club (joined Sept 96 – closed March 2015)
49. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967 - present)
50. Lauder A&F Club (May 2010 -
51. Lewis & Harris A&F Club (Aug 1994 -
52. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – present)
53 Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973 - present)
54 Maine Valley A&F Club (
55 Mauchline A&F Club (Sept 1983 - present)
56 Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
57 Newmill-on-Teviot (Hawick) (Formed late 1988 joined Assoc 1999 - closed March 2016)
58 Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1977 - present)
59. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971 - present)
60. Northern A&F Club (Sept 2011 -
61. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975 - present)
62. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978 - present)
63. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981 - present)
64. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970 - present)
65. Premier A&F Club NI (April 1980)
66. Phoenix A&F Club, Ardrishaig (Dec 2004 -
67. Renfrew A&F Club (1984 -
68. Rothbury Accordion Club (7th Feb 1974) orig called Coquetdale
69. Selkirk A&F Club (
70. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978 - present)
71 Stonehouse A&F Club (first report June 05 -
72 Sutherland A&F Club (Nov 1982 -
73 Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition – closed April 2014)
74 Thurso A&F Club (Oct 1981 - present)
75 Turriff A&F Club (1st April 1982 - present)
76 Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980 - present)
77 Uist & Benbecula A&F Club (Dec 2007 but formed 1994 -
78 West Barnes ( - present)
79 Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975 - present)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership or omitted in error?)
80. Araharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
81. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months) Last meeting May 2010
82. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition) Closed
83. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
84. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
85. Brigmill A&F Club (Oct 1990) Closed
86. Buchan A&F Club
87 Callander A&F Club (
88 Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980)
89 Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
90 Club Accord
91 Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2? – became Rothbury?)
92. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
93. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
94. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
95. Derwentside A&F Club
96. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
97. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughtons) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
98. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
99. Dundee & District A&F Club (January 1971 – 1995?)
100. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
101. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
102. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F)
103. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
104. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
105. Islay A&F Club (23 Apr 93 -
106. Kintore A&F Club (
107. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
108. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
109. M.A.F.I.A. (1966 – 1993?)
110. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
111. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
112. Muirhead A&F Club (Dec 1994 -
113. Mull A&F Club
114. Newcastleton Accordion Club
115. Newburgh A&F Club (joined 2002 but founded much earlier – closed April 2011 when venue closed)
116. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
117. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
118. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club (closed April 1992 – per Sept Editorial)
119. Reading Scottish Fiddlers (cMarch 1997
120. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984)
121. Stirling A&F Club (Oct 1991 – closed 20000/01?)
122. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
123. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
124. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
125. Tranent A&F Club
126. Vancouver
127. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
128. Wellbank A&F Club
129. Yarrow (prev known as Etterick & Yarrow) (Jan 1989 – closed 2001/02)
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