Scottish Folksinger and Songwriter
Orange dis-lodge! I’m Naval gazing at my great friend Scottish Sue’s hoose in Poway, Southern California. Breakfast was fresh oranges and toast with Dundee marmalade, from the Caledonian Californian Sue. Had a reasonably straightforward trip out to start my tour tomorrow. El Nino has made it look as green here as I’ve seen it in many years….
Susie and I attended the funeral of our great musical hero Andy M.Stewart on Monday in Edinburgh. It was a moving event with some wonderful stories especially from Andy’s Silly Wizard days. Here is a snap of some of the surviving members of the band who gathered to celebrate his life. His music lives on and boy did he write some great songs…
Sloped off to the slopes at Glenshee today, the first time in a very late starting season. It was perfect day to see if I could still ride a snowboard, with only a few falls and nothing injured but my pride.
I spotted a snowy hare near the top of a mountain. It seemed not to mind all the commotion going on around it with skiers zooming about..
Have my first real gig of the year on Friday at Celtic Connections in Glasgow. I’m playing at the Piping Centre which is a great venue. It will be a good warm up gig for my US tour which starts next week in San Diego..if El Nino hasn’t washed it away!
Happy New Year everyone. I am just recovering from the festivities of the season and knuckling down to a number of resolutions that are bound to fall by the wayside as quickly as ever! I had a great Hogmanay gig at the Dunkeld Hilton, singing with a smashing band – Pete Clark and Jen Knussen on fiddles, Gregor Lowrey on accordion, Steve Gillies on guitar, Eric Knussen on bass and Graham Mulholland on pipes and whistles.
Like many folkies all over the world Susie and I were very sorry to hear about the passing of one of Scotland’s most beloved singer/songwriters – Andy M. Stewart. Andy had been suffering from poor health for quite some time and it has been couple of years since we last saw him. We very very honoured to have organised one of his last ever public performances in Glasgow where he had us all both spellbound and in stitches with his songs and patter. The snaps are from his songbook which he signed and presented to us – a wonderful collection of his original songs and Scottish favourites that he popularised. As a troubador myself I am often regaled with stories of Andy’s travels and exploits particularly in America. Like me he was a keen fisherman, the beautiful Valley of Strathmore is a song I often sing whilst casting across the Perthshire streams he fished as a lad. He brought a great deal of pleasure to a great many people and left the culture of Scotland very much enriched. Thanks for all the music, Andy.
Perhaps my favourite lines of all songs…
Hi folks it has been a week or three since I last blogged and it has been dominated by this stuff. Yes it has been as wet as a haddock’s bathing costume. Fortunately we escaped some of the severe flooding that they had in the north of England. The marks on the railway bridge in Perth are where the water comes over the top of the flood defense system which has so far done its job since it was built in the early nineties.
We did have a teasing fall of snow at the end of November and here are Beth and Sandy having a birthday sledge up Kinnoull Hill.
I am very keen to get up to the mountains on my snowboard and this site was very encouraging. However it all melted quite quickly and infact this month has been good for nothing except writing Xmas cards…So let the festivities commence!
Jim Robertson in Virginia is a wonderful musician with a fabulous collection of musical instruments that he had to shift in order that I could perform at his house. This is the good stuff that has hard cases.
A two hour tailback on the way to my final gig at Catoctin Creek distillery, which deprived me of my afternoon nap! The gig was great, by the gleaming stills and amongst the barrels.
I roosted with lovely folks Tracy and Richard in Loudon Co Va. They helped me get the critical end-of-tour packing sorted out and plied me with some select malts. Snapped this majestic bald eagle on the way to the airport, it was even closer but flew up to a tree when I pulled over. Thanks America for another wonderful trip. Enjoy Thanksgiving on Thursday and I’ll enjoy St Andrews Night on the 30th!
