Table of Contents

• Representing Scotland in the USA
• From the Director
• Tam Reid of Cullerlie
• A Way of Life - Stanley Robertson
• Celebrating Traditions of Storytelling at Banchory and Crathes
• Cultural Traveller... by Sheena Blackhall
• The Institute looks at North-East Schools
• A Date for your Diary..
• Who's Who at the Elphinstone
• Elphinstone Public Lectures

REPRESENTING SCOTLAND IN THE USA

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival to feature Scottish Cultural Traditions

[Left] In preparation for Scotland at the Smithsonian, Smithsonian researchers interviewed and documented traditional craftspeople and artists throughout Scotland, including Andrew Bradley, Master Sonemason for The National Trust for Scotland at Culzean Castle. Nancy Groce, Smithsonian Institution

[Centre] Master craftsman James Wyllie explains how he puts the finishing touches on a curling stone made from Ailsa Craig granite at Kays of Scotland in Mauchline, Ayrshire. Nancy Groce, Smithsonian Institution

[Right] "The Silk Road" was the topic at last year's Smithsonian Folklife Festival. More than 1.3 million visitors attended the 10-day event, which highlighted two-dozen cultures from Japan to Italy Jeff Tinsley (c) Smithsonian Institution

We are all looking forward to another fulfilling year, with the participation of the Institute in the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the two weekend festivals, and the evening public lecture series - not forgetting our publications programme. There is also the taught M.Litt. in Ethnology and Folklore, now approaching its second year, and a joint convention with RSAMD on free reed instruments, as well as our educational outreach work with Sheena Blackhall and Stanley Robertson. New areas of research include the performers' edition of Greig-Duncan led by Katherine Campbell and further work on the HLF funded Scottish Travellers project.

Greig-Duncan Complete at Last
It is a great cause of celebration that the eighth and final volume of The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection under the editorship of the late Patrick Shuldham Shaw, Emily B. Lyle, and Katherine Campbell, has been published by the re-launched Mercat Press (http://www.mercatpress.com/). The volume is distinguished by contributions from members of the Institute and friends, including Ian Olson, Bill Nicolaisen, Katherine Campbell, Colin Milton, Mary Anne Alburger, and Tom McKean.

The Friends of the Elphinstone Institute together with the Friends of the University Library are to mark the achievement with a celebratory dinner, addressed by Jack Webster, on Thursday 27 February in Elphinstone Hall. Tickets are available from the Secretary of the Friends (Mrs J. Shirreffs, 72 Gray Street, Aberdeen AB10 6JE - 01224 321998). The Saltire Society is also to be represented at the dinner and to make a presentation of Volume 8 to the Institute to join the seven volumes which were previously donated.

Gift of The Scottish National Dictionary
I am pleased to report that a major donation of the 10 volumes of The Scottish National Dictionary has been made to the Institute by Lady Alexander, wife of the former Chancellor of the University, the late Sir Kenneth Alexander.

The Friends AGM
The AGM of the Friends of the Elphinstone Institute will be held in the Seminar Room, Queen Mother Library, on Wednesday 12 March 2003, 7.30 - 8.30 pm.

M.Litt in Ethnology and Folklore 2003-2004
This postgraduate taught programme can be taken full-time (12 months) or part-time (24 months). The component courses cover the theory and practice of Ethnology and Folklore. They aim to develop a broad-based understanding of how the disciplines have evolved, and offer an introduction to the major genres of study - material culture, custom and belief, oral traditions, childlore and games, sports and pastimes - with a special concentration on the Scottish context. For more information and application forms, please contact the Institute.

PhD Studentship : Oral Heritage of Scottish Travellers
Applications are invited for a 3-year PhD Studentship commencing October 2003 under the provisions of the George Reid Memorial Fund (closing date 30 April 2003). Full fees at the Home/EU rate and a maintenance allowance of £6500pa will be provided. The successful applicant will contribute to the Heritage Lottery Fund "Oral and Cultural Traditions of Scottish Travellers" Project. For further information contact the Director or visit our website.

Tam Reid of Cullerlie

Courtesy of The Press & Journal

On Wednesday 29 January Tam Reid, the celebrated North-East singer, died of a heart attack as he was going about his farm tasks.

Thomas Christie Reid was born on 15 May 1929 in Countesswells near Aberdeen and moved to Cullerlie with his family when his father, James, took over the tenancy of Nether Woodside Farm. His apprenticeship in farming included, as a matter of course, working with heavy horses and, of necessity, living in the farm bothy, both activities representing a way of life which slipped away after the Second World War. These early years imbued in him a love of the language and traditions of the North East, which stayed with him and moulded the rest of his life.

His creation of Cullerlie Farm Park, with his wife Anne whom he married in 1975, with its traditional livestock, including Clydesdale horses, extensive farm museum, and welcoming tea room, was a public affirmation of these values. However, Cullerlie was much more than just another visitor attraction, for with Tom's natural talent as a bothy singer (in the tradition of George Morris and Willie Kemp), his unfailing good humour, ever present in the twinkle in his eye, and Anne's lovely singing and hospitality, the enterprise achieved the status of a 'ceilidh hoose', with regular singsongs and entertainment. Coach parties went out of their way to call at Cullerlie to sample its unique atmosphere - 'hame bakes, fancy pieces, an a sang'. Events were organised for school children and the farm became a popular venue for steam engine rallies and vintage tractor shows.

In 1977 Tom's singing achieved legendary stature when at the Haughs in Turrriff he sang at the Bothy Ballad competition. Organised by Marc Ellington and Charlie Allan, with major prize money at stake, the event attracted an unprecedented crowd of over 10,000 to hear the 23 competitors. The judges, including television celebrities Robin Hall and Jimmy MacGregor, unanimously chose Tom; he was declared the Bothy Ballad King and crowned, literally, with an amazing golden crown by Lady Aberdeen. The competition has never been repeated and Tom's title has remained undisputed ever since.

Tom, often performing as a duo with his wife Anne, was a regular guest at numerous events in the North East, including the Doric Festival, and the TMSA festivals at Keith, Kirriemuir, and Auchtermuchty. They also sang further afield at the National Folk Music Festival in England, in Issoire and Clermont-Ferrand in France, and in Nevada USA. This summer Tom was to be a guest at the prestigious Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington DC.

In 2000 the Institute formed a partnership with Tom and Anne to host the Traditional Singing Weekend. This annual gathering of outstanding singers from Orkney, Scotland, England, and Ireland, in the setting of Cullerlie proved an instant success. (News of the 2003 festival, planned for 25-27 July, will be announced in due course.)

Tom leaves an older brother, Peter, and two sisters, Molly and Gladys. His wife Anne has the excellent support of her family - three daughters and their husbands, seven grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Recordings and videos of Tom's singing are available - from Ross Records, Sleepytown Records, and Carnie and Lyall Productions.

Celebrating Traditions of Storytelling at
Banchory and Crathes

For the second year the Institute in partnership with Woodend Arts Association is to hold a storytelling festival at Woodend Barn on 26 to 27 April 2003, following the great success of last year's event.

This year we feature four distinct traditions:
Scottish Travellers with Sheila Stewart and Stanley Robertson,
Northern English Travelling Showpeople with Vanessa Toulmin,
Northern Ireland with Mick Quinn and Patricia Flynn and
North-East Scotland with Grace Banks, Sheena Blackhall, Maggie Fraser, and Jake Simpson.
Plus two brilliant wild cards - Bob Pegg, originally from the English East Midlands, who now draws his inspiration from the Highlands where he has lived for many years; and Ewan McVicar who has Highland roots but is now based in Linlithgow.

The weekend will provide a welcoming and encouraging atmosphere in which those that wish can participate and those that don't can just listen and enjoy the craic.

Alongside workshops, storyrounds, and ceilidhs, there will also be two talks - one by Dr Vanessa Toulmin, Director of the National Fairground Archive at Sheffield University, and the other by Stanley Robertson, who is the Keyworker for the Scottish Travellers project at the Institute, which is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

This year there will also be a special additional event at Crathes Village Hall for children and families on the Saturday with Bob Pegg, Ewan McVicar, and other storytellers.

Martha Stewart was one of over seventy people who enjoyed the first festival and wrote to tell us so: "I have never enjoyed a weekend so much in a long time. My friend and I along with her daughter and Sam thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Sam I'm especially proud of, brave fellow. I went away feeling uplifted and privileged to witness at first hand master storytellers like Stanley Robertson and Alec John Williamson. It made me feel proud of my Traveller culture."

So don't delay to book. Places will be strictly limited.

(c) Bob Pegg In search of the conyach - Sheila Stewart in action

Exodus o Traivellers Oor wearie fitsteps leave behind the Babylon o Aiberdein, An wi lichtsome heart the folks traivel tae a fairer scene. Whaur Nesmore Nature caas oor pining sowel tae repose An be at een we bracken, birk and briar rose. Tae savor in the reek o burnin whins Or lie aboot whaur the lisping burnie rins, An tae listen tae stories roon a living fire - Big ballads warble oot an niver tire. A land o music whaur pipes and fiddles reign, A Traiveller's Nirvana, is maakin in the main. Aye, oor fitsteps hae brocht us oot tae auld Lumphana's fame, We're happy tae be here again. "Dear Mither we are hame". By Stanley Robertson about his Travelling ancestry.

Cultural Traveller...

Some folk work as commercial travellers...as outreach worker in Scots with Aberdeen University's Elphinstone Institute I'm more of a Scots-cultural traveller, and this year this has taken me into hospices, drop in centres, children's wards, and schools from Angus to Moray promoting the use of Scots by song, story and poem. Collaborative work with Les Wheeler one of the Institute's Research Associates and co-editor of the Elphinstone Kist (www.abdn.ac.uk/elphinstone/kist) has continued as have joint projects conducted with Aberdeen Art Gallery, the National Trust, and the Conoco Centre which hosted writing workshops I ran for Reachout. In-service days are planned for 2003 to introduce teachers to the Kist's rich resources throughout the coming months.

50% of the post is funded by the SAC to enable me to develop my own work, and this year I have set time aside for personal writing on two retreats, one at Dhanakosa, Balquidder, the other at Pluscarden in Moray, as well as participating in an Arvon Foundation course at Moniack Mhor. The Fower Quarters, a collection of short stories in Scots and English (non-children's market) was published by G.K.B. Enterprises in association with the Elphinstone Institute, Autumn 2002. A poetry collection entitled A Bourich o Breets (non-children's market, limited edition ) was also produced at that time, to raise funds for a local mental health charity, Forak.

Two Scots novellas, Minnie and Loon are currently being considered for publication. Loon was commissioned by Matthew Fitt for pupils aged 13-15 and various stories and poems have appeared this year in national anthologies. Itchy Coo Publishers have been calling for 'daft, rude, scunnersome, haiverin' poems for bairns, and I've submitted several. (see two below):

I also continue to write songs linked to the school's 5-14 curriculum, part of which covers 'Inventions'. The concluding song was inspired by a traditional verse sung by Stanley Robertson, Elphinstone's newest recruit, a one-man ceilidh of international standing. Many of his traditional rhymes are excellent springboards into creativity as the popularity of 'Machines' has proved. It sings reasonably well to a variant of 'Macnamara's Band'

The Institute looks at North-East Schools

In its ever more wide-reaching efforts to serve the history and the culture of the North of Scotland, the Elphinstone Institute pursues a strong interest in the region's schools and the educational system.

The aim here is to explore the contributions that the local school has made to the shaping of our area's distinctive identity and cultural experience. The Scottish people have long prided themselves on the way in which their communities have valued education. They can point to a rich history where, for centuries, their nation led the world in its provision for all its citizens, however poor and lowly of rank. This is a commitment which has established a heritage of personal and social values which, it may be claimed, still has power today. And, with their lore of lads o' pairts, of dominies and the parish skweel, it has been the counties of the North East which have come to be regarded as the heartland of such ideals.

It is a tradition which deserves to be commemorated through research into the places and the characters which have contributed to the region's proud record in education. But it is also important to do this in a spirit of critical investigation, not mere celebration, for behind the official version there has always existed a more complex story, one that is to be encountered in the personal recollections and the local histories of the people of the North East. For some, there has been no doubt that 'opportunity' and 'getting on' have been true enough - but there are others who will point to a schooling that was narrow, over-disciplined, neglectful of the less academically inclined and repressive of their home culture and the tonue that went with it.

In my role as Research Associate, I am attempting to engage with these issues in a number of ways:

1. In September 2000, the Institute hosted a conference on 'Local Schools and National Schooling'. I am currently editing a collection of articles which is based on that event. Contributors include Professors Robert Anderson and Ian Campbell of Edinburgh University, Gordon Booth, Derrick McClure, Peter Murphy, the late Robbie Robertson, Dr Douglas Young, and myself. Their topics range from the classroom position of Doric to the future of the local classroom in the computer age. There are also articles that deal with R. F. Mackenzie's place as a North-East romantic rebel, with the Keig upbringing of Robertson Smith, the prodigious 19th century scholar who was also arraigned for blasphemy by his church, and the way in which such writers as Lewis Grassic Gibbon, William Alexander, Jessie Kesson and Ian Macpherson have represented their own educational experiences in their literature. It is hoped that the book will come out some time later in 2003.
2. It is important to treat North-East education as a living experience. A series of 90-minute audio-taped interviews are being gathered together as an ongoing project. In them, local folk are being invited to record their own memories and views of what their school has meant to them. To date some 30 oral histories have been captured. They include Norman Harper, James Michie and Robbie Shepherd as well as a trio of vigorous nonagenarians.
3. In May, Edinburgh University Press will be publishing my book Scots at School, which brings together a wide-ranging collection of personal accounts of going to school in Scotland through the ages, complete with historical commentary. Although this work is national in scope, it is the North East which has provided the largest number of contributions. These range from patriotic pieces in the Aberdeen Magazine of 1832 to Evelyn Glennie's music (and mental arithmetic) lessons at Cairnorrie some 150 years later.

In Scotland, the local school, along with death and the common cold, is just about the one life experience we all share. I would be delighted to hear from any friend (or friend of a friend) who might have any views about what I am trying to do. I should be especially grateful for any suggestions as to likely interviewees.

Balloch Public School, 1907, Upper Strathdon.
All 19 pupils of this remote Aberdeenshire School are present for the photographer, along with their one teacher, Miss H. Singer. Depopulation led to its closure after the war; the building has long since become overgrown by foliage.

Postscript If you have any information, comments or suggestions of relevance to the work of the Institute, do not hesitate to contact us.

The Institute relies on outside financial support to make many of its activities possible. If you would like to help us in this way and/or become a Friend of the Elphinstone Institute, please contact the Secretary.