Just back from Scotland

I see you have been getting "wired in" to quite a few Jim:-) Nice colection. I was thinking of you when I was playing music in the Lawers Hotel the second Sunday in September. We had a wee session round the back of the bar on the Sunday afternoon. It is indeed a beautiful place and a vibrant bunch of musicians live in the area trying to build affordable housing and set up a younger community as opposed to the well off and often snobby folk that live in houses around the loch. We will be playing at the ceilidh at new year at the other side of Loch Tay at this hotel:

Peace,

Jock The Step-We-Ceilidh Band.

Ah, we ate there twice - great food. Best steak I've ever tasted.

Yes, in hindsight that makes sense. Good luck to you.

Ah, we could see that hotel from where we were staying - we were two miles to the west of the Lawers Hotel.

Jim

Ah, we ate there twice - great food. Best steak I've ever tasted.

Yes, in hindsight that makes sense. Good luck to you.

Ah, we could see that hotel from where we were staying - we were two miles to the west of the Lawers Hotel.

Jim

Uzytkownik "boudinman" napisal:

Hi Jock,

I keep promising myslef we have to meet one day. Ideally, in Scotland. I know it is a bit early, but the plans are the lady of my heart and I are going to travel in Scotland next summer. What will be your whereabouts so that we can plan our itinerary to finally have a chance to listen to your music? I gather it is somewhere around Loch Tay. Which is good, as I've never stayed there long enough to fully appreciate the beauty of the area. Will it be Ardeonaig Hotel? Anyway, I'll be sure to find you once we are there... After all, Scotland is not a big country, is it?

Cheers, Rajmund

Two miles west? It wasnt Culdees was it? In Fearnan? I know people there. The falls of Dochart are a sight eh?

Peace,

Jock The Step-We-Ceilidh Band.

No, it was here:

Lovely place.

I assume the RAF use Ben Lawers (or Loch Tay) as a waypoint? There was quite a lot of aircraft activity. The Nimrod was a surprise :-)

Jim

Yes it would indeed be good to meet up Rajmund. I actually live in The Netherlands, but am frequently in Scotland. Several times a year and sometimes a couple of times a month. I usually stay either with musician friends near Killin at Loch Tay, but more often at Meigle, near Blairgowrie. There is some great music around Blairgowrie and Kirriemuir. I also like the mentality there. Well grounded and steady people. In Kirriemuir they dont take readily to strangers, but once they have accepted you, you have a friend for life. Next summer I should be in many places in Scotland, but especially around Perthshire. Sometimes Glasgow and Ayreshire visiting family. But if you are travelling by car and ferry and need to stop over in Holland for the night, you would be more than welcome to stay here with us in Arnhem. My contact details are on my website. If you would like to fly to Gasgow Prestwick cheaply and hire a cheap car hire, then I recommend ryanair.com from Dusseldorf Weeze. Its only

Peace,

Jock The Step-We-Ceilidh Band.

The world gets smaller and smaller. In Kirriemuir there is an excellent African drumming circle called Afrodisiac who organise a drum camp at Glenisla each August, which always attracts me even from nearly 500 miles away in Wales. I'd be interested in finding out about any events in that area to go to before or after the camp.

Renko

Wow Jim it looks great. I bet it was lovely there indeed.

Peace,

Jock The Step-We-Ceilidh Band.

It was fabulous. For this Scot trapped in England it was an almost spiritual experience. Especially when we added the spirit..!

(back on topic a bit) When we took a trip to Perth's Tesco for a major food run we found a whisky called 'Glen Foley'. Single malt, quite cheap (about 12-13 UKP) and my memory tells me it was similar to a 'standard' Glenfiddich. Certainly worth a risk at that price.

Which reminds me...must get another Caoran Reserve soon. Asda have it for sub-20 UKP.

Jim

Every Tuesday night in the Three Belles pub in the centre of town there is a very VERY good session. Its led by a guy called, "Banjo Iain". He makes sure everybody gets a go. His wife Christine is one of Scotlands finest singers of traditional songs and she is often present and together with her small band of female students, they often sing in harmonies that give you warm fuzzies. In Blairgowrie there is a session on most Sundays in the Ericht Alehouse in the centre of town. Also in Birnham neard Dunkeld there is a session in the hotel, but I forget which night of the week. That one is led by a fiddle player from Scotlands excellent band "Shooglenifty". Well worth a visit and if you can play percussion, then why not take the gear along and play with the punters. They are welcoming enough. Across the river in Dunkeld itself there is a hotel called The Taybank. It used to be owned by Dougie MaClean and now is a real folkie bar. Sessions just start up there spontaniously. Actually the whole area is alive with music.

Peace,

Jock The Step-We-Ceilidh Band.