Working late last night I wearily left my office at Lochaber College, only to hear the unusual sound of an accordian and general merriment drifting up the stairs.
Down in the foyer the weekly Homecoming Hub Ceilidh was in full swing. I was easily persuaded to join in. Before I knew it I was part of a slightly shambolic 'strip the willow' set that comprised Scots, Portuguese, English, American and German dancers. I am not sure we would have won any awards but we had good fun!
After the set by accordianist Jimmy Smith, and more music from Kevin and Deidre on pipes and fiddle, there were performances of gaelic song and music and Scottish dancing by local youngsters; Hannah and Catherine from the Junior Lochaber Choir, Emma and Carchie from the Nevis Dancers and the musical brother and sister Hannah and Alasdair.
The kids were great - not easy standing up in front of 40 or so grown ups you don't know, so thanks to them and to Eilidh Shaw from Commun na Gaidhlig for organising the evening, along with Margert Boyd. The Homecoming Hub is a genuine, authentic Highland experience - organised by locals who want to show visitors their culture, and it is all put on by volunteers. They are also raising money for local charities with a raffle and I won the booby prize of a bottle of Irn Bru!
To find out more about events in Lochber with a cultural and historical theme go to our events listing.
0 comments:
Post a Comment