Tag Archives: Haddington

Concerts, Feeling, Life, Live Events, Memory, New Ideas, Pupil Performance

Top Of The Pops for Haiti

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Last night I attended an astonishing event in Haddington’s Corn Exchange organised by Mike Cullen and a host of talented and generous friends  in aid of the victims of Haiti’s earthquake. I’m sure Mike won’t mind my mentioning here that the amount raised is already over £5,000 and rising. Perhaps Mike could let us know the final figure and the names of all those involved in putting on such an excellent night.

The Corn Exchange was transformed into a TOTP studio:

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The quality of the bands was outstanding – including State Freed, featuring some Knox lads:

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The audience were invited to dress up and many really pushed the boat out. I was keen to do my bit with this barely noticeable tweak to standard school dress code:

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All 500 tickets were sold and the atmosphere was fantastic. I found this quite a moving event – not least because I had the chance to catch up with some old friends – including school friends. The dynamic between music, geography and emotion is a strange one. I lived in Haddington until I moved away to study in 1979 – quite a while ago. Yet last night, I’d never felt more part of, nor proud of, the place.

Well done to everyone involved!

Blogging, History, Language, Life, Wider Connections

Romancing The Tyne

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Flooded at home, driving cautiously through Erie puddles, 3-point turning upon hitting Road Closed signs – I couldn’t resist swinging by The Sands, in Haddington on Friday to have a look at the rising Tyne – or The Panny as we used to call it as children. Growing up in 1960s/70s Haddington, we used whatever slang words were around without much curiosity as to their etymology – this was pre-language-across-the-curriculum 🙂 Years later, I learned that many of these words had come to us from Romany people, either passing through or settling in East Lothian. Many more years later, as a result of a second-hand report of a chance conversation, I learned more about the source of the Romany language.

I imagine that the owners and neighbours of The Waterside

must have been getting nervous about the height of the river but, fingers crossed, we seem to have been spared the aquatic disasters of days gone by.

Additional Pages, Harmony, Listening, Practice

Guitar Group Parts

Pupils! Pdf parts for Hungarian Wedding Dance have been uploaded to the Guitar Group Parts page. Use these in conjunction with the play-along midi files on the Guitar Group Midis page.

Repeated listening and playing along will help you overcome the two things which make this piece sound unusual:

  • the time signature of 7/8 – the beats are grouped 2 + 2 + 3

  • the unusual Lydian Dominant scale – 1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, b7

Rehearsal this Friday 31 Oct in St Mary’s PS, Haddington 13:30 – 15:30

Showcase Concert – Friday 27th March at 19:30 in Musselburgh Grammar School