Box and Fiddle
Year 41 No 04
December 2017
Price £3.00
52 Page Magazine
12 month subscription £33.60 + p&p £15.85 (UK
Orkney Celebrations
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October was a celebratory month for us as it is 40 years since the Club was formed. Jim Marwick, our present Chairman, was a founder member and is still playing his accordion with us – and drums if necessary. We celebrated with a dinner at the Legion with around 50 members and fiends. Jim welcomed everyone and gave a brief and interesting history of the Club. Through the years playing members have numbered around 20 and today’s we still manage well into the teens every Wednesday. Venues have changed over the years, but now we meet in The Reel, an ideal venue, all year round except for a couple of weeks around Christmas. Jim introduced our special guests; Ally Eunson (widow of founder member Alfie Eunson) and her daughter, Evelyn; Jim Anderson, our faithful compere; and Harvey Johnston, OIC Convenor, and his wife Helen.
A lovely meal was served by Mitzi Collingwood and her staff and the beautiful anniversary cake, made by Netta Harcus of Westray, was cut by Ally and Jim. Harvey proposed a toast to the future of the Club. In thanking the Club for the invitation, he said that while we might no be able to communicate in all the languages over the world, music was a universal language that everyone could share. He listed a wide range of people who had kept traditional music alive in Orkney from the past, right through to the present.
We invited Da Fustra, the very popular Shetland band, to come south and celebrate with us. We had four fantastic nights with them. They came to The Reel on the Wednesday and had a tune with us there. On Thursday in Westray they played at a fund raising concert for the Lifeboat. A very enthusiastic audience enjoyed a first class concert of excellent music and, of course, the friendly banter within the band. It was great that 10 people from the neighbouring island of Papa Westray hired a boat to come across for the occasion. Then it was back to Kirkwall on Friday morning to prepare for our open night to continue the 40 years of celebration – and what a celebration. Over 100 people equally enjoyed the wonderful selection on styles of music from Scottish to Irish to French musettes with James’ French accent improving by the minute. The highlight and surprise was when the band played a new tune, a march written by Alan Gifford, fiddle player with Da Fustra. He had specially composed it for us and called it Orkney Accordion & Fiddle Club’s 40th Anniversary. Thank you, Alan, Kevin, James, Derek and Cecil for a truly special evening.
On to the Saturday, and they were all geared up to play for a dance at the British Legion. It was hugely successful with enthusiastic dancers filling the floor for every dance. This concluded what had been a fantastic few days of music at its best.
by
October was a celebratory month for us as it is 40 years since the Club was formed. Jim Marwick, our present Chairman, was a founder member and is still playing his accordion with us – and drums if necessary. We celebrated with a dinner at the Legion with around 50 members and fiends. Jim welcomed everyone and gave a brief and interesting history of the Club. Through the years playing members have numbered around 20 and today’s we still manage well into the teens every Wednesday. Venues have changed over the years, but now we meet in The Reel, an ideal venue, all year round except for a couple of weeks around Christmas. Jim introduced our special guests; Ally Eunson (widow of founder member Alfie Eunson) and her daughter, Evelyn; Jim Anderson, our faithful compere; and Harvey Johnston, OIC Convenor, and his wife Helen.
A lovely meal was served by Mitzi Collingwood and her staff and the beautiful anniversary cake, made by Netta Harcus of Westray, was cut by Ally and Jim. Harvey proposed a toast to the future of the Club. In thanking the Club for the invitation, he said that while we might no be able to communicate in all the languages over the world, music was a universal language that everyone could share. He listed a wide range of people who had kept traditional music alive in Orkney from the past, right through to the present.
We invited Da Fustra, the very popular Shetland band, to come south and celebrate with us. We had four fantastic nights with them. They came to The Reel on the Wednesday and had a tune with us there. On Thursday in Westray they played at a fund raising concert for the Lifeboat. A very enthusiastic audience enjoyed a first class concert of excellent music and, of course, the friendly banter within the band. It was great that 10 people from the neighbouring island of Papa Westray hired a boat to come across for the occasion. Then it was back to Kirkwall on Friday morning to prepare for our open night to continue the 40 years of celebration – and what a celebration. Over 100 people equally enjoyed the wonderful selection on styles of music from Scottish to Irish to French musettes with James’ French accent improving by the minute. The highlight and surprise was when the band played a new tune, a march written by Alan Gifford, fiddle player with Da Fustra. He had specially composed it for us and called it Orkney Accordion & Fiddle Club’s 40th Anniversary. Thank you, Alan, Kevin, James, Derek and Cecil for a truly special evening.
On to the Saturday, and they were all geared up to play for a dance at the British Legion. It was hugely successful with enthusiastic dancers filling the floor for every dance. This concluded what had been a fantastic few days of music at its best.