Capers for a Ceilidh!!

Knowing nothing about music, other than I like it or I don't, I was actually really pleased to find myself at an exclusive preview of music for an upcoming ceilidh in Ballinluig, near Pitlochry, in Scotland. For the benefit of my overseas friends, 'ceilidh' is pronounced rather like 'kayley' and is taken from the Gaelic word for 'a visit'.

On the 30th January at 7.30pm in the Ballinluig Hall is a fund raising ceilidh for the Mid Atholl Hall and Community Fiddlers. It's going to be an informal concert, with great music, friends, merry making and a bit of food as well. It sounds fantastic and just the ticket for that post-Christmas 'what shall we do now' lull. The musicians are all local and amazingly talented!! Wayne, Liam and John are one of the wonderful local bands, but there will be others as well... it's going to be a great night!!



The ceilidh band is the heart and core of the ceilidh. A simple and obvious statement, I mean clearly without the band there is no music to dance to... but nor is there a rhythm for your soul to sing to, nor a beat for your heart to follow or for your laughter to echo!

Poetic nonsense? No, absolutely not. The boys played several pieces, none of which I'd heard before and I didn't know the stories behind them but every one had me spellbound. You had to be there I suppose, but oh what an amazing sound!



Ceilidhs have a huge long history. Originally used for people to gather and visit, to tell stories and make merry, amazingly the ceilidh still does all that today! The music that I heard on Sunday told me stories of love, of reminiscences, of longing, and, when you think about it, of lives that are still the same even after centuries of technological innovation and progress.

Our mode of transport has changed, our community centres and village halls have changed and the way we cook our food. We may use clubs and discos more often than the ceilidh, but still we meet, we sing, we dance, we love, we laugh, we cry, we reminisce and we break our hearts. Are we really so different from our ancestors? Are we really so different from our any of our friends overseas?

Wherever we are, whoever we are... we meet, we sing, we dance, we love, we laugh, we cry, we reminisce and we break our hearts.



Even in the days of Cromwell when singing and dancing and frolics were banned, people still did it. It's in our nature and we can't crush it, even with the strongest oppressive forces. Even in times of war people still meet, fall in love, dance in secret, cry, reminisce and break each others hearts!! I know nothing about music, and I know even less about the performance of it, but I know how it makes me feel.

I am useless at playing any kind of instrument, I can't sing, I can't dance... in fact, the only time I will ever sing is if I'm in the car by myself and I'm on a motorway where there is no chance that anyone will hear it, and as for dancing, trust me, it's not pretty and it's not clever!!

So, I'm about as musical as a big bag of spanners but I do know when I like something, and I do know when my heart is lifted or a song makes me drift off into my memory, or my dreams and imagination... and the music that I heard last Sunday did just that. The boys were spectacular!



There may be a large age gap between the eldest and the youngest, but there was no skills gap that's for sure!!

The guys played their hearts out and my toes were tapping in spite of themselves; I almost started humming along as well but managed to control the urges so as not to destroy their harmonies, and boy, my smile was bone deep!!

That smile came from right down inside and is still with me now when I look at the photos and feel the music again. We were in Wayne's kitchen, it was impromptu and cramped (from a photographer's point of view, I mean it's a lovely kitchen from a cook's point of view!!), but it was so much fun and so uplifting. Good luck at the ceilidh boys, and thank you for such an entertaining day out. Wow!!!!

Rebecca, x

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/

Autumn Portraits

How lucky were we? If you live in Scotland, or anywhere in the UK for that matter, you'll know that the last few weeks have seen some appalling weather conditions. Rain lashing in sideways, gales, storms, it's been bad! It was therefore with some trepidation that I aquaplaned my way up from Dudley a couple of weeks ago to do a photoshoot in Pitlochry.

I battled across the border, the car getting battered by possibly the worst storm this year and thought I'll be lucky to get home at all, let alone out to do a photoshoot. Having arrived a little damp round the edges but otherwise intact, I went to bed in full expectation of a cancellation due to floods and landslides (not uncommon in the area).

Imagine how surprised and delighted I was to open the curtains on the Saturday morning to clear blue skies and not a breath of wind. Yessss!!!

As a good Girl Guide though, I went prepared and also had the mobile studio so we could go in if the weather turned. As it happens, we had a smashing day out running around by the dam and then into the studio for some warmer, cosier shots.

The girls were incredibly lively, full of fun and spirit. Perfect!!

Thanks to Ian, Clare, Aimee, Evie and Poppy and also a big thanks to Niaesha ;)

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

The High Road

Scotland is such a beautiful country, there's no doubt about that, and I'm sure most people know about Glencoe, the Cuillins of Skye, the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond and all those other iconic places... but my favourite place in Scotland is just up the road from where I live and is barely on the map.



Most people have never heard of it, and even people who live round here don't often notice it, let alone visit just to be there. But, I love it. I feel at home there, feel some sort of resonance with the landscape and it's long history that is still so evident.



There's a tension about the place that is almost palpable; it's exciting and slightly unnerving at the same time. There's something there, something I can't put my finger on, but something that draws me back time and again.



I'm not Scottish, I'm English. I have no Scottish ancestry that I know of, yet here I feel a part of the landscape, a part of the past somehow. Strange, but oddly true. Mind you, wouldn't be the first time I've been called odd, eh? So anyway, this is it, Moulin Moor.



The high road above Pitlochry in Perthshire, and a route for centuries that has seen armies, rogues, bandits, caterans, cattle drovers, secret trysts, farmers battling to survive, and even the one who lost. Poor auld Mr Soutar, who lived in the ruined farmhouse that stands above the road, and who died when trying to get back to the warmth and safety of his house in a violent snowstorm.



A memorial stone stands beside the road, and I'm sure he's still there, watching over his farm and maybe still trying to get home.

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Whatever the Weather!

I have to decide which out of 5 of my images best sums up the word 'weather'. You'd think that would be easy enough, but no... I'm seriously struggling! Every time I make up my mind, along comes another thought, another reason why one of the others is more suitable instead, d'oh!

My brother calls this one 'the Eurythmics one' because I called it 'Here Comes the Rain Again... well, snow actually but I don't know a song about that!' It was taken in Glenshee, Perthshire and was about 5 seconds or so from point of impact of the first snow flurries!!



The next, carrying on the the song title theme, is called 'Four Seasons in One Day... or, Somewhere Over the Rainbow... or, Raindrops Keep Fallin' on ma Lens' Again, taken in Glenshee, but this time impact had already occurred and raindrops were indeed falling on my lens! A quick pic of the rainbow and all was packed away for ten minutes until the sun came out again.



This one is just called 'Brrrr!' and was taken, as you can imagine, in sub-zero temperatures up at Laird's Loch by Dundee. The temperature was somewhere in the region of -10 celsius and my fingers were pretty numb by this point. I was enjoying myself though!



Next is 'Cold & Frosty Morning' and was taken on the same trip as 'Brrrr', this being the actual Laird's Loch by Dundee. Sitting at the top of a hill known locally as Tullybaccart, Dundee lies below the hills on the distant horizon. Although not immediately apparent, the loch was completely frozen... as were my toes before I'd finished getting this shot!



Last in my selection, but by no means least, is 'Henry's Kite'. A 10th birthday present, the kite was magnificent and had to be flown, whatever the weather! Moulin Moor above Pitlochry is excellent kite-flying territory so across we went and braved the elements to see the kite soaring it's full height of 100m... or is it 100ft? I never was much use at distance and measurements!! It goes up a very long way anyway!!!

So, these are the 5 images I'm trying to decide from, which one best describes the weather? Hmmm, I still can't make up my mind!

Rebecca, x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/
rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk