Dots

My fiddle tunes as they were written out. Gica painted the cover of the manuscript book.

Click on an image to see a larger, clearer version of the tune and, at the bottom of the page, there is a little note to go with each tune if you would like to know from whence came the names.

1. James Stephens’ – great fiddler, friend from Ottawa
2. Cunningham Hall – the technology building where I was based when I was working at Port Regis school in Dorset
3. Thomas Bridge’s rocket – I wrote this tune for my nephew and I have always regretted that I didn’t write it down…
4. David’s jig – my wonderful partner of 29 years
5. Winton House waltz – a wedding venue – maybe the first ever Belle Star Band gig?
6. The day off – I must have taken a day off…
7. In bed with the Belle Stars – inspired by publicity shots of the Belles in bed together!
8. For David Parry – David and his wife Caroline would attend the Old Sod dances in Ottawa. I only knew him to say “hello” to but, at the leaving party that Mary and I had when we both left Ottawa in 1992, David took the time to talk to me about the value of community. I was left with a strong feeling that I was a significant member of his community and that I would be missed by lots of people. I had never thought of myself like that before – it left a big impression. David died at the age of 52 of a heart attack
9. The Sciennes Steppers – a tune I wrote for the Scots Music Group Adult Learning Project step dancers when I played for their lessons.
10. The falls of Roy – walking with David in the Monadhlaith Mountains
11. The golden nugget – for Belle Star Band Cathy. This is the name of the fish and chip, brown bread and tea shop in Kiltimagh in County Mayo, Ireland. The Belle Star Band played in Kiltimagh in several of the tiniest pubs ever, staying with Cathy’s family for St Patrick’s day. Such a blast!
12. The resolution reel – this was originally named “Snorton House” after Lynn’s impenetrable joke about a hotel we played at. Gica changed the last couple of bars and it became a tune in need of resolution
13. The mechanic’s delight – after a postcard that became a Belle Star thing. It showed a very well-muscled mechanic…
14. The French connection – for our lovely French friends, Bertrand and Caroline – all the good times we have shared with them…
15. Crinan stomp – … such as our (pre-children) trip to the Crinan Canal
16. Compliments to Loyko’s leather pants – Loyko played Russian gypsy music. When we shared a dressing room with them, their leather trousers were compelling
17. Compliments to Wendy Nicholson – good times in London at Gica’s friend’s 40th birthday party
18. A tune for Anna – a friend’s child who did not live to be very old
19. Compliment’s to Garry Gauthier – an inspirational headteacher in Ottawa
20. Sandy Paterson’s jig – another tune I failed to write down! One of my fiddle students. Actually…..Alison did write this tune down…We now have it…courtesy of Sandy Paterson of course!
21. Jane Watson’s jig – another fiddle student
22. For Belle Star Band Lynn – this tune worked really well for dancing.
23. For Belle Star Band Gica – we needed a tune to lead into Lynn’s birthday reel…
24. John Main (David’s father) grew up with his brother and two sisters in a house called Braemore on Lochloy Road in Nairn. There were so many Mains (and Meins) in Nairn that people were identified back then by the addition of their house name. When John retired, he and Catriona (the best mother-in-law one could wish for) moved to a house called Harden on Lochloy Road. I have so many, many wonderful memories of time spent at Harden with them and David and, later on, with the boys – along with David’s three brothers and all the cousins, travelling from all over. It seems the whole family gravitates back to Nairn whenever possible and it is not hard to understand why – it is such a beautiful place.
25. Miss Sally Simpson – Sally is a great fiddler from Edinburgh. She, Herbie Loening and Daniel Jefferson were pupils at Portobello High School where I taught for the last part of my career and the four of us formed a little folk group. They were so great to play music with – we had some gigs around Edinburgh and I had an absolute blast!
26. Thrift – walking my mother-in-law’s dogs along the sand dunes in Nairn with thrift brushing my ankles
27. Snowfall – David and I had a few days away staying in a wee bothy in Nethy Bridge in February 2020 – snow was falling! By this time, I had discovered the old-time session at the Argyle and was heading home, musically speaking…
28. Still trying to think of a good name for this tune…
29. Innocent railway – I need to write this tune out but it’s on the Play Along page. I recently acquired an electric bike which makes cycling just amazing – no effort and I sit upright and can see the world going by instead of being hunched over, working really hard to keep up with David and ending up with a sore neck. I cycled to Portobello High School every day all the way along the Innocent Railway bike path – masses of blackberries in the summer. In the morning, the sun would rise so that it shone directly along the path as I cycled east – completely magical. Occasionally the sun would flood the end of the long tunnel by the Commonwealth Pool and I would feel as though I was cycling into paradise.
30. I need to write this tune out – it’s on the Play Along page