Box and Fiddle
Year 45 No 05
May 2022
Price £3.00
36 Page Magazine
12 month UK subscription £49.45
Editor – Pia Walker, Cupar
B&F Treasurer – Scott Band
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
It is with great regret that we unfortunately are having to call a halt on the magazine for July, August and September. I really do hope that this is the last time that I have to write these words .…….
Pia
From the Chairman
As I write this, I hope that this finds you all well. After a difficult 2 years coping with Lockdown, we are seeing a return to normality across the country with the Accordion & Fiddle clubs starting to meet again. However, the spectre of covid, although receding, has not disappeared completely. Many of our member Clubs have reopened, albeit with attendances below the norm, but we expect all to be up and running by the traditional season start in the autumn.
With this in mind, the NAAFC Executive Committee have taken the difficult decision to suspend the publication of the Box and Fiddle for the summer months when few Clubs are meeting. This means we are stopping after the June issue and restarting in October.
The maxim of the NAAFC and the B&F magazine is to support the Accordion & Fiddle Club members of the Association and, since the majority of magazine sales are via the Clubs, the sensible approach was to break over the summer and pick up in October as we expect most Clubs will then return to normality.
For all of our direct subscribers, fear not – your subscription will carry on after the summer break and you will still receive your full compliment of subscribed copies.
We hope you understand the reasons behind the decision, and look forward to seeing as many as possible at the AGM and Celebrity Luncheon at The Invercarse Hotel, Dundee on 26th June.
Nicol McLaren
Guests of Honour 2022
Mabel Gray
by Pia Walker
One of our Guests of Honour 2022 is pianist Mabel Gray, one of Clackmannanshire’s finest. In fact apart from her spell in Glasgow, she has never left the Wee County. I visited her in her comfy flat in Alloa to learn more about this lovely lady.
Mabel was born in Coalsnaughton in 1940 to George and Rose McCallum. She was a late-comer as her brother George was 12 years older. By the way, he played both the accordion and the piano.
Mabel’s father, a Falkirk man, was injured in WW1 and worked as a cashier in an office. Her father’s musical talent was playing the moothie, and her mother Rose sang in the church choir. With a lovely smile Mabel states, “I had good parents.”
Mabel started school in Coalsnaughton Primary School and then went on to Alloa Academy. It was here she was taught by music teacher Robert Younger BMus who “taught her everything.” He was a musician who could play any genre and, as she says, “had loads of patience.”
Indeed, Mabel went on to study for her LRAM at RSAM for three years. The classical training there was excellent for learning how to teach music. She had by then played in bands since she was 12 and had to keep this very quiet as Scottish music was somewhat frowned upon. Her secret life started every Friday, when she went home to play for dances with the Jim Dawson Band, and ended as she went back to Glasgow when the weekends were over. She remembers there were two other Scottish musicians there at the same time, also studying piano. One was a lad from Mull, George Smith, who left after his tendons in one of his hands were cut in an accident. Classical music was not for him and he took up the accordion instead. According to John Crawford, “he was an absolute legend.” The other student, John Crawford, later played for many years with John Carmichael.
After graduation she continued to Jordanhill College School to gain her Dip Mus Ed in piano teaching. After this Mabel came back to Clackmannanshire to work as a visiting music teacher in both primary and secondary schools. She was by then in her early 20s.
Commuting to and from Glasgow was how she met her beloved husband, Robert. Her father and Robert’s father were both on the Clackmannanshire County Council. Robert was working in Albion Motors in Scotstoun, Glasgow as a trainee mechanic and his father used to bring him to and from Glasgow every weekend; and, thanks to the two fathers, Mabel got a lift too. Later on, Robert bought a Morris Minor van and drove them both and, as Mabel says, “it developed from there.” They stepped out together for 4 years until they got married in 1966, and were happily married until Robert passed away in 2012. Mabel stopped playing gigs when she had her first baby in 1969, although she continued to teach music. She feels lucky that her hobby was a continuation of her work - and that she still is in good health, although she has had a couple of scares in her later years.
In 1991, while she was teaching children with special needs, she went part-time to help her husband in his coach business, Grayline Coaches Clackmannan. She told me that many a time when she came home in the early hours from a gig (meeting the milkman on her way into the house), she would don working clothes and go to help to clean coaches in readiness for the next morning.
Mabel had two children: the firstborn was Suzanne Gray, and 3 years later George Gray came along. Both are well-known musicians in their own right and she is very proud of their achievements. She curtailed her band participation while the children were small. It was not until Suzanne joined a Scottish country dance class in Kincardine that she took up playing again, and then it was for this very class.
As previously mentioned, she started playing when she was 12 with the 15-year-old accordion player Jim Dawson. Both were entertaining solo in Tillicoultry’s Devonvale Hall and it was suggested that they formed as a duo. They used to practise in her mum’s house. However, they had to stop at 10 pm so the neighbours could get to sleep. They also practised at Jim’s mum’s house and, when he got his driving license, they used to drive to Crook of Devon to hear and learn from the great bands of the time. Jim Dawson told me that they got in free because they played in the interval. The band grew to a 6-piece and although they were mostly a local band they did go to Northern Ireland and other places in the UK such as Hexham and Dufftown to play for Scottish Country Dancing. They also did 12-14 broadcasts. She told me that at that time if a band member changed you had to reaudition to broadcast. I’m fairly sure that Mabel feels that this was a good thing. She did tell me that bands had their own specific sound in those days as band members were rarely changed out.
Her first broadcast, while she was still at the RSAM, was with Jimmy Shand through a recommendation by Stan Saunders. Ben Lyons was the producer in those days, and the Aberdeen broadcasting studio a large room. She also played the Glasgow Empire Theatre with a young Jimmy Shand Junior while she was only 18 years old, and remembers that Jack Delaney also was there.
She has played with many other bands right up until this day, including her daughter’s band in the late 80s with whom she also did two broadcasts. During the interview Andrew Rankine, Jack Delaney, Ian Holmes, Hamish Menzies Nicol McLaren and Michael Philip were all mentioned, but there are far too many to name here. She could tell many a story, she says with a glint in her eye, but won’t. I asked her if she saw herself as one of the boys. “You had to,” she tells me. “If you had to go on a 3-hour cramped car journey, you had to fit in. A band is more than just playing the music. But I was always a lady and was always shown respect.” There was a very mischievous glint in her eye just then. She did tell me that she had fallen off her piano stool twice in her life: once during a CD recording and once at a dance. “It was one of those folding stools and it hadn’t clicked in well enough, obviously - so when I sat down, I continued on to the floor. And what did the band do? Well, they just looked at me and began laughing as I lay sprawled on the floor.” So, obviously, one of the boys then! She also remembers playing with Jimmy Shand Junior when a draught blew her music off the stand. “What could you do, but busk. I certainly wasn’t going to go crawling round the stage during a concert.” She now brings clips with her to hold the music in place.
When she was asked to join Bill Black’s band in 1990 she was over the moon, and played with Bill till around 2009 when he stopped playing. She just loved his style of music and wished she had got to play with him much sooner – “But manners dictate that you have to wait until asked.” she says. They went everywhere, she told me. She mentions village hall dances in the middle of nowhere with sheep all around and, after she stopped working full time, playing Bells Brae during Up Helly Aa from 1992. She remembers being given the advice: “Just don’t look at the clock!” Until it happened, she didn’t believe that they were to play all night and she quickly learnt to take a couple of ProPlus to keep going. She fondly remembers staying with the Nicholsons while in Shetland.
Mabel loves music. In her living room she has a piano which came from her mother and a keyboard given to her by Bill Black. Bill brought it to her after he stopped band playing and she told me that she burst out crying when he told her it was a present. She plays a couple of times a week, but listens to Classic FM every day. She loves playing with others and being part of a group. “I like to put my wee twist on the music and hope that the band likes it too.” When she started playing with bands, she only played the melody as she didn’t know what vamping was. She went to the dancing in Cochrane Hall in Alva regularly as there were some great bands playing there. It was there she learnt this important skill from Jimmy Scott and Stan Saunders when Andrew Rankine played for the dancing. They invited her to sit behind the piano so she could see what went on. This new skill allowed her to play with many other bands.
Can she play other instruments? “I could get a tune out of an accordion. At the Academy you had to have a second instrument, and mine was the fiddle. Luckily you didn’t have to be good at your second instrument, just to know about it.”
In Scottish music she likes the old style best. She played mostly for old time dances but also for Scottish Country Dancing, which she sees as more disciplined with regard to barring etc. When she listens to Scottish music she likes to hear ‘the whole sound’, i.e. a well-balanced sound. “I would never want to be a band leader; they are the bosses and I would rather sit in the back than have that kind of responsibility.” She is not too keen on the melody getting lost. “Scottish dance music is about dancing and a band should keep an eye on the dancers.” She also thinks that if musicians can dance, their playing for dancing has another dimension.
She loves accompanying soloists. One such person was Kathryn Nicol whom she accompanied in 1993 when she won the Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship. “You need specific skills to support them. For fiddlers you need to listen, have eye contact and watch their bowing – it can tell you a lot.” She has also accompanied choirs and solo singers regularly and here, she says, it is it is important to watch their breathing and fit the music accordingly.
She is a regular at Dunblane Accordion and Fiddle Club where she shares the accompanist duties with Marissa Bryce.
Judy Nicolson says:
I first met Mabel in the 90’s when I lived in Shetland and she was playing with Bill Black. We had some great afternoons of music and laughter. After I had relocated to Aberdeenshire, Bill, Mabel and I played regularly for the Cults social dances. Her talent as a musician and her great sense of humor made the perfect combination for many great musical evenings. I treasure the recording I made with Bill and Mabel entitled ‘Just the Three of Us.’ Mabel’s playing is so versatile, and I especially admire her style of accompaniment for slow airs; just beautiful.
Multi-instrumentalist Mike Vass names first Associate Artist in Traditional Music at The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
Mike Vass, multi-instrumentalist, composer, producer and arranger, is the first…………..
TMSA Traditional Competitions
by Denis Shepherd
The general consensus was that it was great to be back ……………..……….
Musical Memories – Part 21
by Denis Shepherd
At the start of Musical Memories, I told you about my early interest ………..
Centre Stage
IN MEMORY
Donal Ring – Cork – 1935 – 2022
by Dermot Lyons
On 5th March 2022 the accordion world lost one of its greatest bandleaders with the passing of Donal Ring Snr, founder and leader f the Donal ring Ceili Band from Cork, at the age of 86.
Donal formed his band in 1958 and the band continued to perform up to his passing. Born in Grenagh, Co. Cork, Donal was second in a family of six, two of whom, Jerh and Michael, played in the band at various times. Indeed, family has always played a huge role in the band, with sons Dermot and Donal Jnr and daughters Mary and Breda all taking to the stage with their dad, while his wife Brydie handled all band correspondence.
Success was not instant and 1958 -66 were tough years on the road, but a television appearance on Trom agus Eadrom catapulted the band skyward and from then on it was six nights a week for roughly 10 months a year.
A regular visitor to the UK, Holland and Canada, Donal was invited to tour Scotland by the late Bruce Lindsay Snr in 1988, and continued to travel to the UK until the last few years. Donal was a lifelong friend of Sir Jimmy Shand and indeed Jimmy played at Donal’s 21st Anniversary dance in Connolly Hall, Cork in 1979 to a packed house.
Such was the high esteem in which Donal was held in Scotland that he received the Fife Council Person of the Year Award from the Provost in 2008. At home in Ireland his achievements included Cork Person of the Month, presented by the Mayor of cork, and Hohner All-Ireland Champion Ceili Band back in 1961.
On a personal note, I’m privileged to have been asked to write this and would add that with Donal’s passing, I have lost my musical idol and, above all, a wonderful friend.
My sincere sympathies go to his wife Brydie, his sons Dermot and Donal Jnr, daughters Mary, Breda and Frances, and his wider family.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Pia
In July 1975, while playing at my summer cabaret season in Edinburgh, I was informed that a young couple from Shetland were in the audience. On making their acquaintance, I discovered that they were on honeymoon. So began a lasting friendship with Cecil and Sheila Hughson which subsequently led to me being introduced to Shetland and making many friends there, enjoying musical sessions with enthusiastic, consummate musicians.
Cecil’s strong connections with Edinburgh from his early days at Edinburgh University, watching football and enjoying a few malt whiskies together, have enhanced our relationship.
I quickly formulated the opinion that Cecil was a force of nature, always busy and working long hours while finding time to organize and run the Da Fustra Dance Band with whom I have played on many occasions – including some 40 annual Up Helly Aas. Indeed, in some of those marathon 12-hour nights in stage, I have observed Cecil’s ability to continue playing the bass guitar while appearing to be fast asleep!
Cecil is steeped in Shetland traditions and culture and has been a true ambassador for Shetland on his many travels around the world.
I am grateful to Cecil, Da Fustra and the people of Shetland for their fundraising efforts for the National Music and Festival Trust (of which I am Chairman) with the monies they have collected helping provide accordion tuition for deserving children in Scotland.
I am delighted that Cecil has been given the Guest of Honour award for his contribution to the great tapestry of our traditional music. It is richly deserved.
Iain MacPhail
See Hear! with Bill Brown
CD Reviews
Will We Give It A Go – Andy Martyn – MartyN001
Reclaim – Mishra – Shedbuilt Records MSR005
About Time! – Stella Wilkie and Joan Blue – SWJB01CD
Take the Floor – Saturday Evenings 19.05 – 21.00 with Gary Innes
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Old Machar RBL) –
Alnwick (The Jubilee Hall, Newton-on-the Moor) 11th May 2022 – Blackthorne CB
Arbroath (Arbroath Artisan Golf Club) - 1st May 2022 – Frank Morrison SDB
Banchory (Royal British Legion) –
Banff & District (The Fife Lodge Hotel) – 25th May 2022 – Iain MacPhail SDB
Biggar (Biggar Bowling Club) – -
Blairgowrie (Rattray Bowling Club) - 10th May 2022 – Steven Carcary SDB
Button Key (Greig Institute, Windygates) – 11th May 2022 – Frank Morrison SDB
Campsie (Glazert Country House Hotel) - 3rd May 2022 – Willie Scott Trio
Canderside (Stonehouse Bowling Club) -
Carlisle (St Margaret Mary Social Club) - 12th May 2022 – Charlie Kirkpatrick Trio
Castle Douglas (Threave Rovers Football Club) –
Clydesdale (St Mary’s Club Rooms, Lanark) -
Coalburn (Miners’ Welfare) -
Crieff & District (British Legion) 5th May 2022 – Kyle Innes SDB
Dingwall (National Hotel) – 4th May 2022 – Calum McColl Trio
Dunblane (Victoria Hall) – 18th May 2022 – Ian Cruickshanks SDB
Dunfermline (Masonic Hall, Rosyth) – 10th May 2022 - AGM
Dumfries (Crichton Royal Golf Club) -
Forfar (Forfar RBL) - 29th May 2022 - tbc
Forres (Forres Golf Club) – 9th May 2022 – Duncan Black & Marie Fielding
Galashiels (Clovenfors Hotel) -
Glendale (The Glendale Hall, Wooler) -
Glenfarg (Glenfarg Village Hall) - 4th May 2022 – Burns Brothers
Glenrothes (Queen Victoria Hall, Coaltown of Balgownie) - 31st May 2022 – Scott Band SDB
Gretna (The Richard Greenhow Centre) -
Hidden Toun (Haddington Bowling Club) - 1st May 2022 – Liam Stewart
Highland (Waterside Hotel) – 16th May 2022 – Alan Gardiner Trio
Inveraray (Inveraray Inn) -
Isle of Skye – (The Royal Hotel, Portree) - 5th May 2022 – John Stuart SDB
Kelso (Kelso Rugby Club) – 25th May 2022 – Frank Morrison SDB
Langholm (Langholm Social Club) – 7th May 2022 – Iain Anderson Duo (Evening Dance)
Lewis & Harris (Caladh Inn, Stornoway) - 20th May 2022 - tbc
Macmerry (Miners Social Club) -
Mauchline (Harry Lyle Suite, Mauchline & District Kilmarnock FC Supporters Club) -
Montrose (Park Hotel) – 4th May 2022 – Scott Band SDB
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) – 30th May 2022 – Bob Liddle
North East (Royal British Legion, Keith) – 3rd May 2022 – Steven Carcary
Orkney (The Reel, Kirkwall) –
Peebles (Rugby Social Club) –
Perth & District (Salutation Hotel) – 17th May 2022 – Alasdair MacLeod SDB
Rothbury (Queen’s Head Hotel) - 12th May 2022 – Leonard Brown & Malcolm Ross
Seghill (Old Comrades Club) - 3rd 10th 24th & 31st May 2022 – Club Night 17th May – Gavin Piper
Shetland (Shetland Hotel, Lerwick) -
Thurso (Pentland Hotel) –
TMSA (Aberdeen) – Sportmans Club -
Turriff (Royal British Legion, Fyvie) – 5th May 2022 – Susie Simpson Trio
Tynedale (Tynedale Farmers Function Suite) – 19th May 2022 – Gavin Piper
Uist & Benbecula (C of S Hall, Griminish) -
Wick (MacKay’s Hotel) –
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Biggar
2. Blairgowrie
3. Canderside
4. Castle Douglas
5. Crieff
6. Dunblane
7. Dunfermline
8. Forfar
9. Forres
10. Glendale
11. Highland
12 Isle of Skye
13. Kelso
14. Lewis & Harris
15. Macmerry
16. Mauchline
17. North East
18. Perth
19. Shetland
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT DEC 2022
(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. Arbroath A&F Club (1991? – present)
4. Banchory A&F Club (1978 – present)
5. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973 – present)
6. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974 – present)
7. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
8. Button Key A&F Club (
9. Campsie A&F Club (Nov 95 – present)
10. Canderside A&F Club (Stonehouse) (Feb 2019 – present)
11. Carlisle A&F Club (joined Sept 1993 -
12. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980 – present)
13. Clydesdale A&F Club (Sept 2016 – present)
14. Coalburn A&F Club (
15. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
16. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
17. Dumfries A&F Club (1965 renamed Islesteps Jan 1981 – 2021 then back to Dumfries)
18. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971 – present)
19. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
20. Forfar A&F Club (1984 – present)
21. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
22. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
23. Glendale A&F Club (Jan 1973 – present)
24. Glenfarg A&F Club (formed 1988 joined Assoc Mar 95 -
25. 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)
26. Hidden Toun A&F (Haddington) (Jan 2022 – present)
27. Highland A&F Club (Inverness) (Nov 1973 – present)
28. Inveraray A&F Club (Feb 1991 - present)
29. Isle of Skye A&F Club (June 1983 – present)
30. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976 – present)
31. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967 - present)
32. Lewis & Harris A&F Club (Aug 1994 – present)
33. Macmerry A&F Club (Feb 2016 – present)
34. Mauchline A&F Club (Sept 1983 - present)
35. Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
36. Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1977 - present)
37. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971 - present)
38. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978 - present)
39. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981 - present)
40. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970 - present)
41. Rothbury Accordion Club (7th Feb 1974) orig called Coquetdale
42. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978 - present)
43 Thurso A&F Club (Oct 1981 - present)
44 Turriff A&F Club (1st April 1982 - present)
45 Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980 - present)
46 Uist & Benbecula A&F Club (Dec 2007 but formed 1994 -
47 Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975 - present)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership, closed due to Covid or omitted in error?)
48. Annan A&F Club (joined Assoc in 1996 but started 1985 – Covid 19 – March 2020)
49. Araharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
50. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months) Last meeting May 2010
51. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition) Closed
52. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue – restarted ? till Covid 19 in March 2020)
53. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition – present)
54. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
55. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
56. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
57. Brigmill A&F Club (Oct 1990) Closed
58. Britannia B&F Club (joined 07-08 but much older
59. Bromley A&F Club (joined 95-96 – closed early 08-09)
60. Buchan A&F Club
61. Callander A&F Club (
62. Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980 – 1997?)
63. Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
64. Club Accord
65. Coldingham A&F Club (Nov 2008 – cFeb 2014)
66 Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2? – became Rothbury?)
67. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
68. Crathes (aka Scottish Accordion Music – Crathes) (Nov 1997 -
69. Cults A & F Club (
70. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
71. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981 - ?)
72. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
73. Derwentside A&F Club
74. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
75. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughton’s) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
76. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
77. Dundee & District A&F Club (January 1971 – 1995?)
78. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
79. Duns A&F Club (formed 20th Sept 04 – April 2020 – Covid19)
80. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980 – Closed 04/05)
81. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
82. Ellon A&F Club (1984 – April 2020 Covid19)
83. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
84. Fintry A&F Club (Dec 1972 – reformed Jan 1980 – ?)
85. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F - later The Railway Club, Inverlochy )
86. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
87. Glasgow A&F Club (Aug 2017 – March 2018)
88. Glenrothes A&F Club (Mar 93? – left the Assoc c2013)
89. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
90. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
91. Haddington A&F Club (formed Feb 2005 – 6th December 2015)
92. Islay A&F Club (23 Apr 93 -
93. Kintore A&F Club (
94. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
95. Ladybank A&F Club (joined Apr 98 but formed earlier -
96. Lanark A&F Club (joined Sept 96 – closed March 2015)
97. Lauder A&F Club (May 2010 -
98. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
99. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – March 2020 - Covid)
100. Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973 – Covid 19 – March 2020)
101. M.A.F.I.A. (1966 – 1993?)
102. Maine Valley A&F Club (
103. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
104. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
105. Muirhead A&F Club (Dec 1994 -
106. Mull A&F Club
107. Newcastleton Accordion Club
108. Newburgh A&F Club (joined 2002 but founded much earlier – closed April 2011 when venue closed)
109. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
110. Newmill-on-Teviot (Hawick) (Formed late 1988 joined Assoc 1999 - closed March 2016)
111. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
112. Northern A&F Club (Sept 2011 -
113. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975 - present)
114. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club (closed April 1992 – per Sept Editorial)
115. Premier A&F Club NI (April 1980)
116. Phoenix A&F Club, Ardrishaig (Dec 2004 -
117. Reading Scottish Fiddlers (cMarch 1997
118. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984 – closed at Covid 19 in March 2020)
119. Selkirk A&F Club (
120. Stirling A&F Club (Oct 1991 – closed 20000/01?)
121. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
122. Stonehouse A&F Club (Opened 2003 - first report June 05 – Closed April 2018)
123. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
124 Sutherland A&F Club (Nov 1982 - ?
125 Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition – closed April 2014)
126. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
127. Tranent A&F Club
128. Vancouver Fiddle Orchestra
129. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
130. Wellbank A&F Club
131. West Barnes (1981? - April 2016?)
132. Yarrow (prev known as Etterick & Yarrow) (Jan 1989 – closed 2001/02)
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B&F Treasurer – Scott Band
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
It is with great regret that we unfortunately are having to call a halt on the magazine for July, August and September. I really do hope that this is the last time that I have to write these words .…….
Pia
From the Chairman
As I write this, I hope that this finds you all well. After a difficult 2 years coping with Lockdown, we are seeing a return to normality across the country with the Accordion & Fiddle clubs starting to meet again. However, the spectre of covid, although receding, has not disappeared completely. Many of our member Clubs have reopened, albeit with attendances below the norm, but we expect all to be up and running by the traditional season start in the autumn.
With this in mind, the NAAFC Executive Committee have taken the difficult decision to suspend the publication of the Box and Fiddle for the summer months when few Clubs are meeting. This means we are stopping after the June issue and restarting in October.
The maxim of the NAAFC and the B&F magazine is to support the Accordion & Fiddle Club members of the Association and, since the majority of magazine sales are via the Clubs, the sensible approach was to break over the summer and pick up in October as we expect most Clubs will then return to normality.
For all of our direct subscribers, fear not – your subscription will carry on after the summer break and you will still receive your full compliment of subscribed copies.
We hope you understand the reasons behind the decision, and look forward to seeing as many as possible at the AGM and Celebrity Luncheon at The Invercarse Hotel, Dundee on 26th June.
Nicol McLaren
Guests of Honour 2022
Mabel Gray
by Pia Walker
One of our Guests of Honour 2022 is pianist Mabel Gray, one of Clackmannanshire’s finest. In fact apart from her spell in Glasgow, she has never left the Wee County. I visited her in her comfy flat in Alloa to learn more about this lovely lady.
Mabel was born in Coalsnaughton in 1940 to George and Rose McCallum. She was a late-comer as her brother George was 12 years older. By the way, he played both the accordion and the piano.
Mabel’s father, a Falkirk man, was injured in WW1 and worked as a cashier in an office. Her father’s musical talent was playing the moothie, and her mother Rose sang in the church choir. With a lovely smile Mabel states, “I had good parents.”
Mabel started school in Coalsnaughton Primary School and then went on to Alloa Academy. It was here she was taught by music teacher Robert Younger BMus who “taught her everything.” He was a musician who could play any genre and, as she says, “had loads of patience.”
Indeed, Mabel went on to study for her LRAM at RSAM for three years. The classical training there was excellent for learning how to teach music. She had by then played in bands since she was 12 and had to keep this very quiet as Scottish music was somewhat frowned upon. Her secret life started every Friday, when she went home to play for dances with the Jim Dawson Band, and ended as she went back to Glasgow when the weekends were over. She remembers there were two other Scottish musicians there at the same time, also studying piano. One was a lad from Mull, George Smith, who left after his tendons in one of his hands were cut in an accident. Classical music was not for him and he took up the accordion instead. According to John Crawford, “he was an absolute legend.” The other student, John Crawford, later played for many years with John Carmichael.
After graduation she continued to Jordanhill College School to gain her Dip Mus Ed in piano teaching. After this Mabel came back to Clackmannanshire to work as a visiting music teacher in both primary and secondary schools. She was by then in her early 20s.
Commuting to and from Glasgow was how she met her beloved husband, Robert. Her father and Robert’s father were both on the Clackmannanshire County Council. Robert was working in Albion Motors in Scotstoun, Glasgow as a trainee mechanic and his father used to bring him to and from Glasgow every weekend; and, thanks to the two fathers, Mabel got a lift too. Later on, Robert bought a Morris Minor van and drove them both and, as Mabel says, “it developed from there.” They stepped out together for 4 years until they got married in 1966, and were happily married until Robert passed away in 2012. Mabel stopped playing gigs when she had her first baby in 1969, although she continued to teach music. She feels lucky that her hobby was a continuation of her work - and that she still is in good health, although she has had a couple of scares in her later years.
In 1991, while she was teaching children with special needs, she went part-time to help her husband in his coach business, Grayline Coaches Clackmannan. She told me that many a time when she came home in the early hours from a gig (meeting the milkman on her way into the house), she would don working clothes and go to help to clean coaches in readiness for the next morning.
Mabel had two children: the firstborn was Suzanne Gray, and 3 years later George Gray came along. Both are well-known musicians in their own right and she is very proud of their achievements. She curtailed her band participation while the children were small. It was not until Suzanne joined a Scottish country dance class in Kincardine that she took up playing again, and then it was for this very class.
As previously mentioned, she started playing when she was 12 with the 15-year-old accordion player Jim Dawson. Both were entertaining solo in Tillicoultry’s Devonvale Hall and it was suggested that they formed as a duo. They used to practise in her mum’s house. However, they had to stop at 10 pm so the neighbours could get to sleep. They also practised at Jim’s mum’s house and, when he got his driving license, they used to drive to Crook of Devon to hear and learn from the great bands of the time. Jim Dawson told me that they got in free because they played in the interval. The band grew to a 6-piece and although they were mostly a local band they did go to Northern Ireland and other places in the UK such as Hexham and Dufftown to play for Scottish Country Dancing. They also did 12-14 broadcasts. She told me that at that time if a band member changed you had to reaudition to broadcast. I’m fairly sure that Mabel feels that this was a good thing. She did tell me that bands had their own specific sound in those days as band members were rarely changed out.
Her first broadcast, while she was still at the RSAM, was with Jimmy Shand through a recommendation by Stan Saunders. Ben Lyons was the producer in those days, and the Aberdeen broadcasting studio a large room. She also played the Glasgow Empire Theatre with a young Jimmy Shand Junior while she was only 18 years old, and remembers that Jack Delaney also was there.
She has played with many other bands right up until this day, including her daughter’s band in the late 80s with whom she also did two broadcasts. During the interview Andrew Rankine, Jack Delaney, Ian Holmes, Hamish Menzies Nicol McLaren and Michael Philip were all mentioned, but there are far too many to name here. She could tell many a story, she says with a glint in her eye, but won’t. I asked her if she saw herself as one of the boys. “You had to,” she tells me. “If you had to go on a 3-hour cramped car journey, you had to fit in. A band is more than just playing the music. But I was always a lady and was always shown respect.” There was a very mischievous glint in her eye just then. She did tell me that she had fallen off her piano stool twice in her life: once during a CD recording and once at a dance. “It was one of those folding stools and it hadn’t clicked in well enough, obviously - so when I sat down, I continued on to the floor. And what did the band do? Well, they just looked at me and began laughing as I lay sprawled on the floor.” So, obviously, one of the boys then! She also remembers playing with Jimmy Shand Junior when a draught blew her music off the stand. “What could you do, but busk. I certainly wasn’t going to go crawling round the stage during a concert.” She now brings clips with her to hold the music in place.
When she was asked to join Bill Black’s band in 1990 she was over the moon, and played with Bill till around 2009 when he stopped playing. She just loved his style of music and wished she had got to play with him much sooner – “But manners dictate that you have to wait until asked.” she says. They went everywhere, she told me. She mentions village hall dances in the middle of nowhere with sheep all around and, after she stopped working full time, playing Bells Brae during Up Helly Aa from 1992. She remembers being given the advice: “Just don’t look at the clock!” Until it happened, she didn’t believe that they were to play all night and she quickly learnt to take a couple of ProPlus to keep going. She fondly remembers staying with the Nicholsons while in Shetland.
Mabel loves music. In her living room she has a piano which came from her mother and a keyboard given to her by Bill Black. Bill brought it to her after he stopped band playing and she told me that she burst out crying when he told her it was a present. She plays a couple of times a week, but listens to Classic FM every day. She loves playing with others and being part of a group. “I like to put my wee twist on the music and hope that the band likes it too.” When she started playing with bands, she only played the melody as she didn’t know what vamping was. She went to the dancing in Cochrane Hall in Alva regularly as there were some great bands playing there. It was there she learnt this important skill from Jimmy Scott and Stan Saunders when Andrew Rankine played for the dancing. They invited her to sit behind the piano so she could see what went on. This new skill allowed her to play with many other bands.
Can she play other instruments? “I could get a tune out of an accordion. At the Academy you had to have a second instrument, and mine was the fiddle. Luckily you didn’t have to be good at your second instrument, just to know about it.”
In Scottish music she likes the old style best. She played mostly for old time dances but also for Scottish Country Dancing, which she sees as more disciplined with regard to barring etc. When she listens to Scottish music she likes to hear ‘the whole sound’, i.e. a well-balanced sound. “I would never want to be a band leader; they are the bosses and I would rather sit in the back than have that kind of responsibility.” She is not too keen on the melody getting lost. “Scottish dance music is about dancing and a band should keep an eye on the dancers.” She also thinks that if musicians can dance, their playing for dancing has another dimension.
She loves accompanying soloists. One such person was Kathryn Nicol whom she accompanied in 1993 when she won the Glenfiddich Fiddle Championship. “You need specific skills to support them. For fiddlers you need to listen, have eye contact and watch their bowing – it can tell you a lot.” She has also accompanied choirs and solo singers regularly and here, she says, it is it is important to watch their breathing and fit the music accordingly.
She is a regular at Dunblane Accordion and Fiddle Club where she shares the accompanist duties with Marissa Bryce.
Judy Nicolson says:
I first met Mabel in the 90’s when I lived in Shetland and she was playing with Bill Black. We had some great afternoons of music and laughter. After I had relocated to Aberdeenshire, Bill, Mabel and I played regularly for the Cults social dances. Her talent as a musician and her great sense of humor made the perfect combination for many great musical evenings. I treasure the recording I made with Bill and Mabel entitled ‘Just the Three of Us.’ Mabel’s playing is so versatile, and I especially admire her style of accompaniment for slow airs; just beautiful.
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IN MEMORY
Donal Ring – Cork – 1935 – 2022
by Dermot Lyons
On 5th March 2022 the accordion world lost one of its greatest bandleaders with the passing of Donal Ring Snr, founder and leader f the Donal ring Ceili Band from Cork, at the age of 86.
Donal formed his band in 1958 and the band continued to perform up to his passing. Born in Grenagh, Co. Cork, Donal was second in a family of six, two of whom, Jerh and Michael, played in the band at various times. Indeed, family has always played a huge role in the band, with sons Dermot and Donal Jnr and daughters Mary and Breda all taking to the stage with their dad, while his wife Brydie handled all band correspondence.
Success was not instant and 1958 -66 were tough years on the road, but a television appearance on Trom agus Eadrom catapulted the band skyward and from then on it was six nights a week for roughly 10 months a year.
A regular visitor to the UK, Holland and Canada, Donal was invited to tour Scotland by the late Bruce Lindsay Snr in 1988, and continued to travel to the UK until the last few years. Donal was a lifelong friend of Sir Jimmy Shand and indeed Jimmy played at Donal’s 21st Anniversary dance in Connolly Hall, Cork in 1979 to a packed house.
Such was the high esteem in which Donal was held in Scotland that he received the Fife Council Person of the Year Award from the Provost in 2008. At home in Ireland his achievements included Cork Person of the Month, presented by the Mayor of cork, and Hohner All-Ireland Champion Ceili Band back in 1961.
On a personal note, I’m privileged to have been asked to write this and would add that with Donal’s passing, I have lost my musical idol and, above all, a wonderful friend.
My sincere sympathies go to his wife Brydie, his sons Dermot and Donal Jnr, daughters Mary, Breda and Frances, and his wider family.
Letters to the Editor
Dear Pia
In July 1975, while playing at my summer cabaret season in Edinburgh, I was informed that a young couple from Shetland were in the audience. On making their acquaintance, I discovered that they were on honeymoon. So began a lasting friendship with Cecil and Sheila Hughson which subsequently led to me being introduced to Shetland and making many friends there, enjoying musical sessions with enthusiastic, consummate musicians.
Cecil’s strong connections with Edinburgh from his early days at Edinburgh University, watching football and enjoying a few malt whiskies together, have enhanced our relationship.
I quickly formulated the opinion that Cecil was a force of nature, always busy and working long hours while finding time to organize and run the Da Fustra Dance Band with whom I have played on many occasions – including some 40 annual Up Helly Aas. Indeed, in some of those marathon 12-hour nights in stage, I have observed Cecil’s ability to continue playing the bass guitar while appearing to be fast asleep!
Cecil is steeped in Shetland traditions and culture and has been a true ambassador for Shetland on his many travels around the world.
I am grateful to Cecil, Da Fustra and the people of Shetland for their fundraising efforts for the National Music and Festival Trust (of which I am Chairman) with the monies they have collected helping provide accordion tuition for deserving children in Scotland.
I am delighted that Cecil has been given the Guest of Honour award for his contribution to the great tapestry of our traditional music. It is richly deserved.
Iain MacPhail
See Hear! with Bill Brown
CD Reviews
Will We Give It A Go – Andy Martyn – MartyN001
Reclaim – Mishra – Shedbuilt Records MSR005
About Time! – Stella Wilkie and Joan Blue – SWJB01CD
Take the Floor – Saturday Evenings 19.05 – 21.00 with Gary Innes
CLUB DIARY
Aberdeen (Old Machar RBL) –
Alnwick (The Jubilee Hall, Newton-on-the Moor) 11th May 2022 – Blackthorne CB
Arbroath (Arbroath Artisan Golf Club) - 1st May 2022 – Frank Morrison SDB
Banchory (Royal British Legion) –
Banff & District (The Fife Lodge Hotel) – 25th May 2022 – Iain MacPhail SDB
Biggar (Biggar Bowling Club) – -
Blairgowrie (Rattray Bowling Club) - 10th May 2022 – Steven Carcary SDB
Button Key (Greig Institute, Windygates) – 11th May 2022 – Frank Morrison SDB
Campsie (Glazert Country House Hotel) - 3rd May 2022 – Willie Scott Trio
Canderside (Stonehouse Bowling Club) -
Carlisle (St Margaret Mary Social Club) - 12th May 2022 – Charlie Kirkpatrick Trio
Castle Douglas (Threave Rovers Football Club) –
Clydesdale (St Mary’s Club Rooms, Lanark) -
Coalburn (Miners’ Welfare) -
Crieff & District (British Legion) 5th May 2022 – Kyle Innes SDB
Dingwall (National Hotel) – 4th May 2022 – Calum McColl Trio
Dunblane (Victoria Hall) – 18th May 2022 – Ian Cruickshanks SDB
Dunfermline (Masonic Hall, Rosyth) – 10th May 2022 - AGM
Dumfries (Crichton Royal Golf Club) -
Forfar (Forfar RBL) - 29th May 2022 - tbc
Forres (Forres Golf Club) – 9th May 2022 – Duncan Black & Marie Fielding
Galashiels (Clovenfors Hotel) -
Glendale (The Glendale Hall, Wooler) -
Glenfarg (Glenfarg Village Hall) - 4th May 2022 – Burns Brothers
Glenrothes (Queen Victoria Hall, Coaltown of Balgownie) - 31st May 2022 – Scott Band SDB
Gretna (The Richard Greenhow Centre) -
Hidden Toun (Haddington Bowling Club) - 1st May 2022 – Liam Stewart
Highland (Waterside Hotel) – 16th May 2022 – Alan Gardiner Trio
Inveraray (Inveraray Inn) -
Isle of Skye – (The Royal Hotel, Portree) - 5th May 2022 – John Stuart SDB
Kelso (Kelso Rugby Club) – 25th May 2022 – Frank Morrison SDB
Langholm (Langholm Social Club) – 7th May 2022 – Iain Anderson Duo (Evening Dance)
Lewis & Harris (Caladh Inn, Stornoway) - 20th May 2022 - tbc
Macmerry (Miners Social Club) -
Mauchline (Harry Lyle Suite, Mauchline & District Kilmarnock FC Supporters Club) -
Montrose (Park Hotel) – 4th May 2022 – Scott Band SDB
Newtongrange (Dean Tavern) – 30th May 2022 – Bob Liddle
North East (Royal British Legion, Keith) – 3rd May 2022 – Steven Carcary
Orkney (The Reel, Kirkwall) –
Peebles (Rugby Social Club) –
Perth & District (Salutation Hotel) – 17th May 2022 – Alasdair MacLeod SDB
Rothbury (Queen’s Head Hotel) - 12th May 2022 – Leonard Brown & Malcolm Ross
Seghill (Old Comrades Club) - 3rd 10th 24th & 31st May 2022 – Club Night 17th May – Gavin Piper
Shetland (Shetland Hotel, Lerwick) -
Thurso (Pentland Hotel) –
TMSA (Aberdeen) – Sportmans Club -
Turriff (Royal British Legion, Fyvie) – 5th May 2022 – Susie Simpson Trio
Tynedale (Tynedale Farmers Function Suite) – 19th May 2022 – Gavin Piper
Uist & Benbecula (C of S Hall, Griminish) -
Wick (MacKay’s Hotel) –
THERE WERE CLUB REPORTS FROM :-
1. Biggar
2. Blairgowrie
3. Canderside
4. Castle Douglas
5. Crieff
6. Dunblane
7. Dunfermline
8. Forfar
9. Forres
10. Glendale
11. Highland
12 Isle of Skye
13. Kelso
14. Lewis & Harris
15. Macmerry
16. Mauchline
17. North East
18. Perth
19. Shetland
CLUB DIRECTORY AS AT DEC 2022
(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. Arbroath A&F Club (1991? – present)
4. Banchory A&F Club (1978 – present)
5. Banff & District A&F Club (Oct 1973 – present)
6. Biggar A&F Club (Oct 1974 – present)
7. Blairgowrie A&F Club (
8. Button Key A&F Club (
9. Campsie A&F Club (Nov 95 – present)
10. Canderside A&F Club (Stonehouse) (Feb 2019 – present)
11. Carlisle A&F Club (joined Sept 1993 -
12. Castle Douglas A&F Club (c Sept 1980 – present)
13. Clydesdale A&F Club (Sept 2016 – present)
14. Coalburn A&F Club (
15. Crieff A&F Club (cSept 1981)
16. Dingwall & District A&F Club (May 1979 – per first report)
17. Dumfries A&F Club (1965 renamed Islesteps Jan 1981 – 2021 then back to Dumfries)
18. Dunblane & District A&F Club (1971 – present)
19. Dunfermline & District A&F Club (1974 – per first edition)
20. Forfar A&F Club (1984 – present)
21. Forres A&F Club (Jan 1978)
22. Galashiels A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
23. Glendale A&F Club (Jan 1973 – present)
24. Glenfarg A&F Club (formed 1988 joined Assoc Mar 95 -
25. 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)
26. Hidden Toun A&F (Haddington) (Jan 2022 – present)
27. Highland A&F Club (Inverness) (Nov 1973 – present)
28. Inveraray A&F Club (Feb 1991 - present)
29. Isle of Skye A&F Club (June 1983 – present)
30. Kelso A&F Club (May 1976 – present)
31. Langholm A&F Club (Oct 1967 - present)
32. Lewis & Harris A&F Club (Aug 1994 – present)
33. Macmerry A&F Club (Feb 2016 – present)
34. Mauchline A&F Club (Sept 1983 - present)
35. Montrose A&F Club (joined Sept 1982 - present)
36. Newtongrange A&F Club (joined Sept 1977 - present)
37. North East A&F Club aka Keith A&FC (Sept 1971 - present)
38. Orkney A&F Club (Mar 1978 - present)
39. Peebles A&F Club (26 Nov 1981 - present)
40. Perth & District A&F Club (Aug 1970 - present)
41. Rothbury Accordion Club (7th Feb 1974) orig called Coquetdale
42. Shetland A&F Club (Sept 1978 - present)
43 Thurso A&F Club (Oct 1981 - present)
44 Turriff A&F Club (1st April 1982 - present)
45 Tynedale A&F Club (Nov 1980 - present)
46 Uist & Benbecula A&F Club (Dec 2007 but formed 1994 -
47 Wick A&F Club (Oct 1975 - present)
Not on official list at the start of the season (closed, did not renew membership, closed due to Covid or omitted in error?)
48. Annan A&F Club (joined Assoc in 1996 but started 1985 – Covid 19 – March 2020)
49. Araharacle & District A&F Club (cMay 1988)
50. Armadale A&F Club (Oct 1978? or 80) originally called Bathgate Club (for 2 months) Last meeting May 2010
51. Ayr A&F Club (Nov 1983 – per Nov 83 edition) Closed
52. Balloch A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per January 1978 issue – restarted ? till Covid 19 in March 2020)
53. Beith & District A&F Club (Sept 1972 – per first edition – present)
54. Belford A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
55. Bonchester Accordion Club (Closed?)
56. Bridge of Allan (Walmer) A&F Club (Walmer Hotel, Bridge of Allan) (c March 1982)
57. Brigmill A&F Club (Oct 1990) Closed
58. Britannia B&F Club (joined 07-08 but much older
59. Bromley A&F Club (joined 95-96 – closed early 08-09)
60. Buchan A&F Club
61. Callander A&F Club (
62. Campbeltown & District A&F Club (c Dec 1980 – 1997?)
63. Cleland (cNov 1981 – March 1985) originally called Drumpellier A&F Club (for 2 months)
64. Club Accord
65. Coldingham A&F Club (Nov 2008 – cFeb 2014)
66 Coquetdale A&F Club (Feb 1974 or c1976/77 – 1981/2? – became Rothbury?)
67. Coupar Angus A&F Club (cSept 1978 - ?)
68. Crathes (aka Scottish Accordion Music – Crathes) (Nov 1997 -
69. Cults A & F Club (
70. Cumnock A&F Club (October 1976 - forced to close cDec 1982 - see Jan 83 Editorial)
71. Dalriada A&F Club (Feb 1981 - ?)
72. Denny & Dunipace A&F Club (Feb 1981)
73. Derwentside A&F Club
74. Dornoch A&F Club (first mention in directory 1986)
75. Dumfries Accordion Club (Oughton’s) (April 1965 at the Hole in the Wa’)
76. Dunbar Cement Works A&F Club (Closed?)
77. Dundee & District A&F Club (January 1971 – 1995?)
78. Dunoon & Cowal A&F Club (
79. Duns A&F Club (formed 20th Sept 04 – April 2020 – Covid19)
80. East Kilbride A&F Club (Sept 1980 – Closed 04/05)
81. Edinburgh A&F Club (Apr 1981) prev called Chrissie Leatham A&F Club (Oct 1980)
82. Ellon A&F Club (1984 – April 2020 Covid19)
83. Falkirk A&F Club (Sept 1978 - )
84. Fintry A&F Club (Dec 1972 – reformed Jan 1980 – ?)
85. Fort William A&F Club (21st Oct 1980 – per Dec 1980 B&F - later The Railway Club, Inverlochy )
86. Galston A&F Club (Oct 1969 – per first edition – closed March 2006)
87. Glasgow A&F Club (Aug 2017 – March 2018)
88. Glenrothes A&F Club (Mar 93? – left the Assoc c2013)
89. Gorebridge (cNov 1981) originally called Arniston A&F Club (for 2 months)
90. Greenhead Accordion Club (on the A69 between Brampton and Haltwistle)
91. Haddington A&F Club (formed Feb 2005 – 6th December 2015)
92. Islay A&F Club (23 Apr 93 -
93. Kintore A&F Club (
94. Kirriemuir A&F Club (cSept 1981)
95. Ladybank A&F Club (joined Apr 98 but formed earlier -
96. Lanark A&F Club (joined Sept 96 – closed March 2015)
97. Lauder A&F Club (May 2010 -
98. Lesmahagow A&F Club (Nov 1979 – closed May 2005)
99. Livingston A&F Club (Sept 1973 – March 2020 - Covid)
100. Lockerbie A&F Club (Nov 1973 – Covid 19 – March 2020)
101. M.A.F.I.A. (1966 – 1993?)
102. Maine Valley A&F Club (
103. Monklands A&F Club (Nov 1978 – closed cApril 1983)
104. Morecambe A&F Club (joined Sept 1982)
105. Muirhead A&F Club (Dec 1994 -
106. Mull A&F Club
107. Newcastleton Accordion Club
108. Newburgh A&F Club (joined 2002 but founded much earlier – closed April 2011 when venue closed)
109. New Cumnock A&F Club (cMarch 1979)
110. Newmill-on-Teviot (Hawick) (Formed late 1988 joined Assoc 1999 - closed March 2016)
111. Newton St Boswells Accordion Club (17th Oct 1972 see Apr 1984 obituary for Angus Park)
112. Northern A&F Club (Sept 2011 -
113. Oban A&F Club (Nov 1975 - present)
114. Ormiston Miners’ Welfare Society A&F Club (closed April 1992 – per Sept Editorial)
115. Premier A&F Club NI (April 1980)
116. Phoenix A&F Club, Ardrishaig (Dec 2004 -
117. Reading Scottish Fiddlers (cMarch 1997
118. Renfrew A&F Club (original club 1974/5 lapsed after a few years then again in 1984 – closed at Covid 19 in March 2020)
119. Selkirk A&F Club (
120. Stirling A&F Club (Oct 1991 – closed 20000/01?)
121. Straiton Accordion Club (c1968 – closed March 1979)
122. Stonehouse A&F Club (Opened 2003 - first report June 05 – Closed April 2018)
123. Stranraer & District Accordion Club (1974 – per first edition)
124 Sutherland A&F Club (Nov 1982 - ?
125 Thornhill A&F Club (joined Oct 1983 – see Nov 83 edition – closed April 2014)
126. Torthorwald A&F Club (near Dumfries)
127. Tranent A&F Club
128. Vancouver Fiddle Orchestra
129. Walmer (Bridge of Allan) A&F Club
130. Wellbank A&F Club
131. West Barnes (1981? - April 2016?)
132. Yarrow (prev known as Etterick & Yarrow) (Jan 1989 – closed 2001/02)
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