This week sees the anniversary of the deaths of two Scots who did much to
enrich our treasure of traditional music and song. The Tarland-born fiddler
Peter Milne, known as ‘The Tarland Fiddler’, died 100 years ago and although
only some thirty of his compositions for the fiddle survive, they are of an
extremely high standard and an important part of Scotland’s rich fiddle
heritage. The Blairgowrie-born folklorist Dr Hamish Henderson died six years
ago and was the man mainly responsible for the Scottish Folk Revival of the
1950s and 60s. He did invaluable work for the School of Scottish Studies,
including the discovery of great traditional singers from the Travelling
People such as Jeannie Robertson and Belle Stewart. In the 1960s, throughout
Scotland, you could just about visit a different folk club every night and
the expansion of folk clubs and the interest in our rich heritage of music
and song marched hand in hand with the emergence of the modern Scottish
National Party.
Tonight
(Friday 7 March 2008) sees a reminder of those days as the 18th
Milnathort Crackin’ Ceilidh Weekend gets underway. Milnathort is fortunate
on being able to call on local folk artistes who all played a major part on
the folk revival – Gaberlunzie, John Watt, Tich Frier, Wildfire, Colin
Ramage and Neil Paterson, as well as calling upon the very best of visiting
talent. Milnathort is a crackin do in every sense and includes The Orwell
Gird championship and Bairn’s street games on Saturday in the Milnathort
Primary School playground at 12 noon. The Saturday night concert in the
Thistle Hotel at 9pm featuring top Scottish folk duo Gaberlunzie (Gordon
Menzies and Robin Watson) will in particular recall many happy memories for
old folkies of a certain generation! Youth is also well catered for at
Milnathort, and the Youth Concert on Sunday (2pm) in the Thistle Hotel
showcases the up-and-coming talent on whose shoulders the carrying on of the
tradition depends.
Folk Nights
and a wee refreshment go hand in hand and this week’s recipe – Meat Ball
Casseroles – contains a drappie yill and is guaranteed to warm you up during
these cold March days.
Meat Ball
Casserole
Ingredients:
1 lb/450 g
beef, minced; ½ lb/225 g sausage meat; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon salt; ½ teaspoon
pepper; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 3 tablespoons oil; 1 oz/15 g flour;
1 pint/600 ml brown ale (Newcastle Brown or Scotch Ale); 4 tablespoons
tomato paste; small tin tomatoes; 1 dozen sliced stuff green olives
Method:
In a bowl mix together the beef, sausage meat, egg, salt, pepper and onion.
Shape into small balls. Heat the oil in saucepan and brown the meat balls.
Remove and put in a warm oven. Leave a little oil in the saucepan and stir
in the flour into it over a low heat. Add the beer gradually, stirring the
whole time. When it boils stir in the tomato paste and the tomatoes. Then
add the meat balls. Cook for about 15 minutes. Season to taste and add the
olives. Serve with rice or noodles.
