Arrival in Scotland or Back @ Gowanbank Again

   

Malcolm and Mary's "Farm" on the Loch

     We have been in Scotland for a full day now.  Last night we were floor spots (opening act) for a five piece band.  They were local heroes.  Kilmarnoc Edition was their name.  I've got to say that the response to us was overwhelming, especially after we heard the band play, and the other floor spot.  Frankly, we brought the house down.  I didn't feel that we did anything special.  I guess we were just in the right room with the right songs at the right time.  We played my song, "Whistlin' In The Rain" first.  They were clearly right into that song, and sang along once they got the idea of what the chorus was.  After that we played Stephen Foster's "Hard Times".  They all sang along to that one.
     The band was two women singing,  a rhythm guitarist who sang and wrote songs, a drummer who also played guitar and wrote songs, and an acoustic bass player who sang and wrote really funny songs.  There were few harmonies, but everyone was competent, and the guitar player had a great voice.  He is truly and exceptional singer.
The bass player plays with a swing/rockabilly trio and is a very funny guy.  He is a Russian transplant to Scotland.  We played first and stayed until the end.  During the break the bass player told me I have a very convincing American accent.  In a small talk situation here I often just tell people I'm from Seattle because most people have heard of Seattle, and I don't like to make a long explanation of where Tacoma is because the only thing they'll actually understand in the end is that it is near Seattle.
     We drove the A-1 motorway to get here.  At one point Kristi commented that she thought that they might have turned it into a larger arterie to the north by now.  It is often only two lanes populated by trucks going between 30 and 40 mph.  It runs along the ocean for a long stretch, and is somewhat scenic.  We have driven it a good deal by this time.  If we follow the GPS it often takes us on a backroad, smaller, but less trafficked.  We have visited quite a few places on the A-1 so the drive is full of memories for us.  There is Holy Island, aka Lindisfarne, Bamburgh (bamburrah) Castle, Berwick (berrick), and quite a few other castles, some right on the motorway, others a short drive away.  Northumberland is full of castles.  They range in age from the 19th century back to the 13th century.  Berwick went back and forth between England, and Scotland several times over the ages.  At one point the English killed everyone in Berwick and left the bodies to rot.  There is much bloody history here.  Of course, that's humans wherever you go.
     We have gotten so we are often quite perfunctory in our travels.   We simply get in the car and drive to our destination, having seen enough of the sights to at least have the strength, and resolve to resist them.  We haven't seen everything, but we have seen more of England than most English have.  One thing I haven't mentioned is that the singing guitar player had seen Kristi and I in Haddington.  It had to be 2002, or 2003.  It was definitely one of our first tours.  He was quite complimentary.

Gowanbank Resident Peacock

     We are staying at Gowanbank in a house owned by our friends Malcolm and Mary.  It is probably the last time we'll stay here, as we just happened to get here in between rentals of the place.  They have a renter that will be moving in on Sunday when we will move to a B & B prior to making our escape (temporarily) from Scotland to stay one more night with Jimmy and Val, and then on to Leicester to play one more night with John Montague and company.  Today we'll go to Greenoch and see Malcolm and his "Barrow Band" at the city hall there.  We'll try to get out of Gowanbank early enough to be tourists for part of the day before we go to Malcolm's gig.  I can feel that Malcolm and Mary are quite stressed, having had a number of financial misfortunes with these houses over the last few years.  I think that they feel like a lot of people our age, that they may never actually have the opportunity to retire.  Malcolm, like me, wonders how long he'll be able to continue playing music in any kind of credible fashion.  That's life.
     In the meantime we're staying in the Scottish countryside, meeting people, and seeing some sights.  Last night was quite rewarding as the organizer made it quite clear that he'd welcome us back as a guest.  Success.  Somehow it does feel this time like we have achieved some success over here.  I am enthused about returning, and I haven't even left yet, although we only have two more gigs left, and I don't think we'll be playing anymore floor spots this time, as folk clubs are usually during the week, it is the weekend, and we will be traveling again on Monday.
    This coming week will be our last in the U.K.  We will be back in Scotland on Wednesday night to play the Dunfermline Folk Club.  Malcolm told me that he and Mary and company will be coming out to see/hear us.  It is a very homey little club, and we are personally acquainted with several of the members.
We'll probably not have a chance to tell you about that until we get back to the USA.  We fly out on Thursday.  Steve Nebel