MERRILY DANCED THE FIDDLE!

I was delighted and honoured to accept a kind invitation to be a special guest when the Scottish Fiddle Orchestra performed at their debut concert in Dumfries. Under the guidance of the musical director John Mason MBE and conductor Blair Parham the orchestra were in great form playing a varied selection of tunes old and new and suitable for all tastes. John Mason in his own inimitable style conducted the first few sets of tunes before handing over to compere for the evening Jim McColl of Beachgrove Garden fame, Jim had the audience in roars of laughter with his ‘couthy’ one liner stories. It was the first time I had seen both John and Jim perform in concert for years and I was taken aback how aged they both looked, although they still gave their all. Young Blair Parham has the John Mason style about him when conducting and gets the most out of both the orchestra and the audience with his enthusiasm. Soloists were Dennis Heggarty a superb tenor from Ayr and Belfast lass Debra Stuart who included in their performances songs of Burns. Burns was of course highlighted very much with many tunes having a Burns theme to them and the famed ‘Tam o Shanter Overture’ arranged by none other than John Mason. Another highlight was the involvement of the Dumfries and Galloway police pipe band that joined the orchestra for surely one of the best renditions of Highland Cathedral anyone will ever hear! This brought proceedings round to the interval when I was introduced to the musical director John, conductor Blair, other members of the orchestra and soloists for refreshments and a friendly chat. John reminded me of the time he conducted the ‘Strings of Scotland’ in the Academy hall for a Howff concert and still had, and showed me, the programme and the souvenier beer mat the club presented him with after the event.

The second half of the show was equally thrilling and included some Highland dancers from the Myra Shuttleworth School of dancing. I entertained with Myra many years ago and she is still the best Highland dancer Dumfries has ever seen and I’m sure her girls who danced at the SFO concert will follow in her footsteps.

The Star o’ Rabbie Burns and Auld Lang Syne sang by both soloists and performed by the orchestra and the pipe band brought the evening to a close all too soon. It was the orchestra’s first ever gig in Dumfries and with the applause and appreciation they received from the capacity audience I am sure will have let them know that we all thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have also this month chaired the committee meeting of the Howff executive and met with the secretary to outline the Halloween Supper programme. I compered the retrial party of Shirley Bell retiring chief executive of the RBWF and enjoyed the ‘first’ Whistle competition and entertainment laid on by Thornhill Burns Club at Friars Carse Hotel.

JOHN M CASKIE

PRESIDENT

BURNS HOWFF CLUB

20TH OCTOBER 2009