I headed up to beautiful Ullapool last weekend to teach at Fèis Rois’s Adult Feis and present the organisation with one of our Landmark Awards. I hadn’t been before but what an event! 265 adults in Ullapool learning traditional music – how amazing is that?! I was working with the groupwork classes and had a lovely time. I played a recital in Ullapool museum on Saturday lunchtime and all the tutors performed at the tutor concert on Sunday night which included a hilarious monologue from accordionist Sandy Brechin. At the end of the concert I presented the award to Fiona Dalgetty at the end of the concert before the big finale! You can read my tweets speech below. The event was really well organised – it flowed really smoothly and everyone really enjoyed themselves. Definitely an event to got to next year!
Award presentation speech.
We are very lucky in Scotland to be served by many amazing organisations. Some of these organisations have been around for a long time enriching our lives with their brilliant work. Feis Rois is one of these organisations. It has has been such a positive force in our lives. I can’t think of anything better than being in beautiful Ullapool this weekend making music, sharing experiences with our friends. Young people, students, seniors, weekly class attenders, Ceilidh trailers also have these fabulous opportunities.
But can you imagine the scenario that if music teacher Christine Martin hadn’t took her children to the Barra Feis all these years ago. If she hadn’t come back and discussed the idea of a Ross-shire feis with Kate Martin, Jock Watt, Neil McKechnie and Jean Urquhart. Imagine if the first Fèis Rois didn’t take place in 1986 at the Ceilidh Place. Well luckily we don’t have to because it did!
When it started the numbers of kids attending the Ross-shire feis quickly grew and soon it was decided to hold separate events for primary and secondary pupils. Local Authority Arts Officers Bryan Beattie and Jim Gaitens superseded Kate and Christine and then, serving as Manager from 1991 to 2008, Rita Hunter was the driving force behind much of the organisation’s initial development. Rita’s creativity and vision ensured that Fèis Rois became recognised nationally as a significant and excellent provider of traditional arts education. When Rita left who would have known that they would recruit such a talented manager as Fiona Dalgetty. Just when you think the organisation could do no more they just get better and better. Their future is so bright!
So I am here today representing Hands Up for Trad and we are celebrating Feis Rois’s 30th birthday by presenting them with a Landmark Award for services delivered to Scotland. Let’s have a big hand for Fiona Dalgetty and her team for doing such a great job and let’s welcome her to the stage to accept the award.
Simon Thoumire