Grace Notes 1 Nov. 2006 GRACE N TES Vol. 22, No. 11 Nov. 2006 · Grace Notes 2 Nov. 2006 Grace...

Grace Notes 1 Nov. 2006

w w w . m e m p h i s s c o t s . c o m

Vol. 22, No. 11 Nov. 2006

YOUR MSSI BOARDPresidentBen Kemker............. [email protected] PresidentMary Ann [email protected] Simmons...........272-9240john.simmons@memphisscots.comSecretaryDena [email protected] at LargeEmily [email protected] [email protected] Schultz [email protected]

GRACE N TESSt. Andrew’s Day Tea

Once upon a time, a verra longtime ago, mony years indeed, thecongenial folk of the Memphis Scot-tish Society met in a gracious gather-ing at the end of each November tohonor St. Andrew, the Auld Country’spatron saint. This genteel affair tookthe form of an afternoon tea with potsof hearty brew, fare suitable to theoccasion, some characteristicallyScottish entertainment, and proceedsdonated toward the Scholarship Fund.

This, the St. Andrew’s Day Tea, isbeing recalled from the misty realms of

fond memory. Once again the Societywill host the event, with some of thecherished elements of the earlier teas

and some new elements as well.The tea will be held on Thursday,

November 30th from 2:30 pm till 5 pm atCrumpets Restaurant, 262 S. HighlandStreet. A number of MSSI membershave discovered this lovely small res-taurant and can attest to its elegantambiance and excellent cuisine (askSue Malone, Mary Clausi, or MaryAnn Lucas, amongst others). Addi-tionally, it affords to its tea-drinking

patrons many long-denied amenitieswhich are considered de-riguer bycoffee drinkers – the beverage pre-

sented at the tablealready brewed,second or multiplecups as part of theoriginal order, se-lections of blends,and de-caffeinated alter-natives.

Crumpets’ full-cream-tea mealwill be served,

featuring Taylors of Harrogateblends, overlaid by the performanceof favorite Scottish tunes. Alas, dueto the diminuitive size of therestautant, seating is limited totwenty-five. Tickets are $25 andinclude a donation to the MSSI Schol-arship & Grant Fund. Contact MaryAnn Lucas at 725-1879 [email protected] for tick-ets or more information.

October 24, 2006To: Seldon Murray, Chairman, Nominating Committee

Mary Ann Lucas, Editor, Grace NotesFrom: Dick Bevier, Member, Nominating CommitteeSubject: MSSI Board Nominations

As of this writing, as decreed by Section 8, Article VII, of the Bylaws,as revised, the duly appointed Nominating Committee shall recommend tothe members at the November meeting the following slate:

President: John Schultz Vice President: Mary Ann LucasTreasurer: Cheryl Noland Secretary: Mary ClausiMembers at Large: Sue Malone, Janet Mandanna, Sammy Rich

Further affiant saith not. -- DB/sr



Grace Notes is the official publication of the Memphis Scottish Society, Inc. It is published monthly.Like the Society itself, the credo of Grace Notes is “to foster education and promote understanding ofthings Scottish.”If you have something of interest to readers of this newsletter, please submit a typewritten manuscriptto the editorial staff. If the article or notice is very brief (30 words or fewer), just use the telephone. GraceNotes will accept and publish good quality photographs (preferably black and white; no Polaroids, please).The deadline for all submissions is the second week of each month preceding the month of publication.Please include a self-addressed stamped envelope with each submission, if you want the material returned.

Editorial StaffMary Ann Lucas - [email protected] ................................. Editor, (901-725-1879)Sammy Rich - [email protected] ...................................... Publisher, (901-272-7159)Gavin Anderson - [email protected] Editor, (901-682-5485)Melissa Gibson - [email protected] .......................... Line Editor, (901 299-3170)

Please address all correspondence to:Grace NotesThe Memphis Scottish Society, [email protected]. O. Box 241934Memphis, TN 38124-1934

to foster educationand promote

understanding ofthings Scottish

GRACE NOTES

Scottish ConnectionNowadays, everybody is con-

cerned about fuel conservation, butlong before it became popular to huga tree, did you know that fuel conser-vation had a Scottish Connection?Not for the green movement, how-ever; for that most Scottish of values,economy. In 1828 James Neilsondeveloped a method of blowing hotrather than cold air into the blastfurnace, decreasing the quantity offuel required for smelting.

James Beaumont Neilson wasborn in Shettleston, a village threemiles east of Glasgow, on June 22,1792. After leaving school at agefourteen he went to work at a colliery(a coal mine and its associated build-

ings), responsible for tending a wind-ing engine. He was apprenticed as anengineer two years later. In 1817 hewas appointed manager of the newlyestablished Glasgow Gas Company,a post he was to hold for forty years.

During the 1820’s he was invitedto correct a fault which had devel-oped in a blast furnace at the MuirkirkIron Company. On inspection it oc-curred to him that he could increasethe force of the blast by passing hotrather than cold air through the red-hot vessel. He set about conductingexperiments in the smithy at the GasWorks, where he proved his theoryto be correct. After further trials at afoundry, he patented his hot-blast

process. The process quickly provedits worth through significant savingsin fuel consumption and was rapidlyadopted by the iron industry through-out the west of Scotland. Frequentlychallenged as the inventor of the hot-blast, Neilson successfully defendedhis claim in a number of actions. Hebecame a rich man and a keen advo-cate of technical education.

So, next time you’re re-fuelingyour car, stop crying long enough toremember James Neilson’s fuel con-servation and its Scottish Connec-tion.

- from the Texas History CelticConnection website andWikipedia.

Scotland,Ho! w/Ed MillerThanks to Kathy Schultz for this:

“Dear Kathy: Many thanks for yourinterest in possibly joining one of the2007 Ed Miller Folksong Tours ofScotland. The dates for 2007 are June16-30 and Sept. 8-22.We will rendez-vous in Glasgow Airport on the morn-ing of June 17 or September 9. As inpast years, the tours will cover manyparts of Scotland, including the Bor-ders, Edinburgh, Fife, Perthshire,Angus, the Central Highlands, Skye,Glencoe, and Glasgow.

The cost of the tour is $2900 perperson, based on double occupancy.This price covers all transport andhotels in Scotland, all breakfasts anddinners, performers’ fees and entry tomost historical sites. It does not coverlunches, tips, single room supplement($350) or airfare. Direct flights intoGlasgow and Edinburgh are avail-able. If you plan to use frequent-flyermiles towards buying your ticket,please book very early as only a fewspots are allocated for such programs.

The basic aim of these tours is togive people the chance to enjoy andlearn about Scotland through experi-encing its music and landscape. Youwill meet and hear performers andsongwriters on their home ground,visit the contexts from which thesongs and music have come, andhave the chance to enjoy occasionalhikes in both the Lowlands and the

Highlands. This is NOT a search forthe Scotland of Brigadoon,Braveheart, and the Loch Ness Mon-ster – rather it is a once-in-a-lifetimeopportunity to learn about the music,people, history and landscape of thisamazingly varied country in an inter-esting, personal and entertaining way.

The tentative itinerary includes 3

(cont on pg. 3)



Cymanfa GanuWe are not the only Celts, of

course. It is good to keep up withwhat our Brythonic cousins are doingfrom time to time. Since I probablyhave more Welsh than Scot in me, Iguess I qualify as one of those cous-ins. Anyway, the first recorded useof Cymraeg (Welsh), “yr iaith ynefoedd,” (the language of heaven)was in Scotland, so we have anotherconnection there.

While Scotland developed a na-tional kirk after the Reformation,Wales became strictly nonconform-ist, with Baptist, Methodist, and Con-gregationalist chapels springing up.The Great Awakening brought aflurry of hymn writing in Wales, andthe tradition has continued with manyhymns being written during the nine-teenth century. The most familiar ofthe Welsh hymn tunes in hymnalstoday are “Cwm Rhondda” (“GuideMe, O Thou Great Jehovah”), “Dia-dem ” (“All Hail the Power of Jesus’Name” ), and “Joanna” (“Immortal,Invisible, God Only Wise” ). Ourown Caledonian Chorale even has aWelsh tune in its repertoire: “Llef”(“Cry”), though sung to differentwords than the Welsh use.

There developed in the mid-nine-

teenth century a tradition called theCymanfa Ganu (pronounced cuh-MAHN-vah GAH-nee), which means“a gathering for song.” Due to initialconsonant mutations in Welsh (don’task), it is usually written GymanfaGanu. It is considered a worshipservice, though not as formal as aregular church service. The invita-tion to a cymanfa is “Deuwch, Canwni’r Arglwydd” (“Come, let us sing tothe Lord”). It is also just a great timeof singing the beautiful Welsh hymns,reminding us of a time when churchlife and social life were much moreclosely connected than they are formany today.

Various Welsh churches and soci-eties in America have localcymanfaoedd canu (the plural). Ev-ery year on the weekend before La-bor Day, the Welsh National GymanfaGanu Association puts on the na-tional Gymanfa in a different city inthe U. S. or Canada. This year’sGymanfa, the 75th, was held in Cin-cinnati at the Hilton NetherlandsPlaza. They now call the event theNorth American Festival of Wales(http://www.nafow.org) since it hascome to include much more than theactual Gymanfa itself. On Thursday,

Friday, and Saturday, there are semi-nars, films, Welsh language and sing-ing classes, Welsh folk dancing, folkand formal concerts, banquets, timesof informal singing, a vendor market-place and a Welsh tea room. Thereis also an Eisteddfod, a musical andliterary competition. This is anotherWelsh tradition in which contestantscompete in singing, recitation, andliterary composition. On Sunday,there is a bilingual church service inthe morning, followed by the after-noon and evening sessions of theGymanfa itself.

I had not been to a Gymanfa forfifteen years, so this year Linda andI made the trip to Cincinnati. It waswell worth it. We especially enjoyedthe twmpath dawns (Welsh folkdancing), which is similar to the Scot-tish country dancing that we do here.It was great to see a few old friendsfrom Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,where I first got involved in Welshactivities. And, of course there wasthe music, always the beautiful mu-sic. I even bought a tartan tie for theGwynne family, my Welsh ances-tors. And who knows: later, perhapsanother kilt? There were some kiltedlads there! — Thanks John Simmonsfor sharing this bit of history.

nights in Peebles; 2 in Edinburgh; 3 inBirnam/Dunkeld; 2 in Plockton; 1 inGlencoe and 2 in Glasgow. There willbe free days where hiking will bepossible, with other activities for non-hikers. Some of the performers youwill probably meet and hear includefiddler Iain Fraser, songwriter BrianMcNeill, Fife singer Jack Beck, youngbrilliant singer/fiddler Lori Watson,the Singing Kettle children’s pro-gram, Gaelic folklorist/singer Mar-garet Bennet, singer/songwriter Jim

Malcolm, bothy songster ScottGardiner, fiddler Pete Clark and hisceilidh band, local singers/musciansin Plockton and Glasgow-on-legsAdam McNaughtan….I, and guideCharles Hunter, will also be singingand telling stories thoughout the trip.

[Space is extremely limited], so ifyou are interested in joining the group,please send in your deposit ASAP toensure a place, Once I have re-ceived these, I will send you a de-tailed proposed itinerary, reading list

and other materials. I do very muchhope you’ll join us in 2007! If youhave any preliminary questions,please contact me at 2411 W. 8th St.;Austin, TX 78703 or [email protected].

A’the best, EdEditors Note: MSSI member,

Debra Parmley is also organiz-ing a tour of Scotland for nextyear. Contact her for moreinformation at:331-4982,[email protected]

(cont from pg. 2)



Have you ever seen such a ghostly affair?Ben Kemker pipes for all on the leftt. Old friends- new friends! Lottie Rich and Marty Wooley,below share common interests the violin.

Ok, I will be thefirst to admit toSandy and EllenSimpson, I am notsure what thesecostumes are, but letme be the first tosay congratulationsto the most out-standing color of theevening! Don’t lookbad in the GraceNotes either. Bill, Ididn’t get a chanceto read all yourpatches, Have youbeen every-whereman? Oh yes, lest Iforget, thanks forthe impromptu song!It was great fun.

Some thoughts on Halloween



Dancing, singing, adequate eats,“hot dogs roasting o’er an open fire”Does it get any better than this ?They ask that in the beer commer-cial, and I’m here to tell you, theyare on to something. I do believeeveryone that came enjoyed theevening, a few even stayed to helpclean up. Ok. That is Mary AnnLucas and Elaine Meece dancingthe night away on the right.

Where else to meet acertain lass (Mary EllenKemker) we all know andlove, who walks around ina pirate’s git-up, completewith a pet parrot that leavesmarks, and an in-law(Elizabeth) as thatHarry Potter gal, I con-fess I have forgotten hername, that Harry Pottergal? I better check withmy children, they willknow.

Y U M Y U M. Have I mentioned Hot DogsRoasting o’er an ... yea, maybe I have. How ‘bout atip of the hat for a unique way to roast enough dogsat a time with only one fire. Pretty darn good Scottishingenuity, if you were to ask me. I nearly forgot therewas a bit of singing from the Caledonia Chorale andMary Ann gave us a good Halloween story completewith Musical accompaniment from Marty Wooley.Good job from both of you. Have you got any betterideas? Step up, let’s have them. See you all next year.-- Thoughts on Halloween by Sammy Rich, picturesare from him as well.



Murray Shoolbraid, an introductionMurray Shoolbraid has been my mentor in collecting Scottish music for the past couple of years and has

consistently provided me with outstanding guidance, and in many cases, outright instruction. For this I am indeeda lucky man. Murray is not only an outstanding source of information in this field, but he is willing to share his timewith myself and many others who study the Scottish Ballads and the folklore behind them. He has shared severalsongs and hymns that our Caledonia Chorale has performed.

Murray was born in Fife, Scotland, in 1931, to a third generation dancer and teacher. His education, which beganin Scotland, progressed through England and Ireland and was completed at the University of British Columbia wherehe graduated with a Masters of Arts in Slavic Studies in 1965. Murray, a librarian in Lanarkshire, entered the RoyalNavy in 1952 and upon graduating from U.B.C., taught Russian language and literature for eleven years at SimonFraser University. Murray is an expert in the field of Scottish literature prior to the 20th century and is sought asa reference by many of the finest ballad scholars around the world. Sammy Rich

Some tunes are more popular than others, and in some cases there is a bewildering plethora of words to one tune(or close variants thereof), though usually only one set is considered the text, at least in one area. In the United States,the melody of “O Tannenbaum” is usually known as “Maryland, My Maryland”, from the poem by James RyderRandall of Baltimore (1861) - one of the many good songs to come out of the War between the States. Elsewhere,naturally, other chauvinisms come into play. In its native Germany it seems to have appeared first in 1799 as “Eslebe hoch”, and in 1820 it was set to the “Christmas Tree” words with which it is mostly associated. A little later,a student song (of around 1815) was set to the tune, and passed around the universities (in many countries) becauseit was in the learned tongue of Latin:

“Lauriger Horatius, quam dixisti verum: /‘Fugit, Euro citius, tempus edax rerum.’ / Ubi sunt, O pocula, dulcioramelle / Rixae, pax, et oscula rubentis puellae?”

Translatable as “Laurel-wreathed Horatius, true it is your saying:/‘Time flies swifter than the wind, all things everslaying.’ /Draughts of wine so honey-sweet, where are now their traces, /Where the quarrels and the peace, blushingmaids’ embraces?”

This tune for some reason supplanted “The White Cockade” (a good Scottish tune) as the melody to carry JimConnell’s immortal “Red Flag”:

“The people’s flag is deepest red, / It shrouded oft our martyred dead. / And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,/ Their heart’s blood dyed its every fold. / Then raise the scarlet standard high, / Within its shade we’ll live and die;/ Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, / We’ll keep the red flag flying here.”

In Britain, therefore, it’s commonly known by this title. It’s very popular, hence has acquired, as pops do, severalparodies, mostly cheeky or satirical. Try this, which is very close in many of the words and rhymes to the original;I got it from a Vancouver amateur mountaineer:

“The people’s crag is deepest red, / It cushioned oft our fallen dead. / And ere their limbs had ceased to twitch,/ Their life’s blood dyed its every pitch. / Then raise the piton hammer high, / Upon the crag we’ll do or die; / Thoughleaders fall, and seconds spill, / We’ll raise the standard higher still.”

Chauvinism proper creeps in when a patriotic or nationally boastful song is employed by other nations to their ownflattery; hence “The Roast Beef of Old England” becomes “The Old Scottish Broadswords” (by J. G. Lockhart,1821), and “The Fine Old English Gentleman” has been transmuted into (of course) Scottish, as well as Irish andDutch! - - Thanks for sharing this with us, Murray Shoolbraid

Tunes and Text



Calendar of Events

Scottish/ CelticRadioMusicSundays, 12 noon“Delta Celtica”Cassie Tobin, hostWEVL-FM 89.9Sundays, 5:00 p.m.“The Thistle and Shamrock”WKNO-FM 91.1Saturdays, 10:00 a.m.“Strands of the Celtic Knot”Robert Campbell, hostWEVL–FM 89.9Sundays, 6:00 p.m.“The Thistle & Shamrock,”WMAV–FM 90.3 Copyright 2006 NPR/Fiona Ritchie

Nov 2 | Kate Rusby and JohnMcCusker

Kate Rusby has been called “thebrightest light in English folk music”(Daily Telegraph) while her hus-band John McCusker, composer,producer and multi-instrumentalist,is widely regarded as “a great tal-ent” (Living Tradition). They are all

of these things and great fun too asyou’ll find out when you meet them tohear about their albums “10” and“Goodnight Ginger.”

Nov 9 | Still Sounds GreatWe’re in the mood to reminisce this

week, as we celebrate 10 years of themusic of Solas with their “Reunion”release, featuring band members pastand present. We also mark 20 years ofmusic from Greentrax, and re-live theexcitement of the 1980s whenStockton’s Wing stormed across theworld as one of Ireland’s leading liveacts. Their album “Live - Take One”has been digitally re-mastered and re-released.

Nov 16 | Frankie GavinThe internationally revered Irish fid-

dler and flute player talks about themany facets of his music, from hisdecades of groundbreaking work withDe Dannan to the individual projectsthat occupy much of his time today.Featured are recordings with Frankie’slifelong friend Mairtin O’Connor, alsorenowned jazz violinist the lateStephane Grappelli, and De Dannan.

Nov 23|RememberingMícheál Ó Domhnaill

Everyone who has thrilled to threedecades of music from The BothyBand, Relativity, and Nightnoisewas greatly saddened by the loss, inDublin this summer, of one of theforemost figures in folk and tradi-tional music . A native of CountyMeath, Ireland, Mícheál ÓDomhnaill’s guitar accompanimentwas a seminal influence on acousticmusic throughout Ireland, the UKand the US, where he made hishome in the 1980s and 90s. Weremember him through his manyremarkable recordings.

Nov 30 | Live from D.C.Savor highlights from a live per-

formance by humorist andsongwriting legend AdamMcNaughtan. Hosted by FionaRitchie, his appearance at the Na-tional Mall, Washington DC, waspart of “Scotland at theSmithsonian,” a celebration of Scot-tish music, arts, crafts and food atthe Smithsonian Folklife Festival2003.

MondaysCaledonia Chorale 7:00 p.m.-Churchof the Holy Communion, WalnutGrove at Perkins, 272-7159 for info.

ThursdaysWolf River Pipes & Drums, 6:30-9:30 at St. Luke's Lutheran; G'townPkwy. 753-9494 for more info.

FridaysDancing: 7:30 til 10:00 p.m. -Idlewild Pres.; 1750 Union Ave,West entrance.

1st, 3rd & 5th FridayContra Dancing. 278-1216.

2nd & 4th FridayScottish Country Dancing. 274-1889

November 7Board Meeting at Shoneys Syc-amore View at Summer.- 5:30 pm.

November 11WKNO/ Auction/ MSSI/oncall

November 13Regular monthly meeting at HolidayInn , Poplar and 1-240. Reservationsrequired by Thursday, 11/7, call725-1879 or online at www/Memphisscots.com. 6:00 pm dinner

& 7:00 pm Program: Bill Maguire:“Gaelglish”

November 30Saint Andrew’s Day Tea; 2:30-5:00 pm at Crumpets Restaurant262 S. Highland. See page 1 fordetails.

********************************December 11******

Regular Members Meeting will beour Annual Christmas Party atAll Saints Episcopal 6:00 pm.

1508 S. White Station**************************



The Memphis Scottish Society, Inc.P. O. Box 241934Memphis, TN 38124-1934

Next Regular Monthly Meeting - Nov. 13th - Dinner Reservations Required 725-1879 Holiday Inn at Poplar and I-240; Dinner at 6:00

Program @ 7:00 : Bill Maguire, “Gaelglish” Board Meeting, Nov. 7th at 6:30 Shoneys at Summer and Sycamore View

GRACE NOTES

Frank and Becky Trafford

Brenda and Bill Maguire

Westley, Allen and Sandy Simpson

MSSI members- Stone Mountain Games

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