Hamish Henderson was born 11th November, 1919...he died in March 2002. A linguist, soldier, poet, songwriter and folklorist, Hamish was born in Blairgowrie to a single mother and after a few years they escaped the town to live up in Glen Shee, before moving to England.
We've been having so much fun this last week and a half here in Eastern Perthshire, with folk recitals, plays, ceilidhs, events in the schools to celebrate the legacy of this great Scot, this cultural powerhouse who drove forward the Scottish folk revival of the 50s and 60s and who collected over 10000 pieces of song, story, poems and cultural tradition often from those who were on the outside of society...the people of the ancient travelling clans of Scotland, the Gaels of the Western Isles, the bothy ballad singers of the North East...and all housed in the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh University. This is the third year of our 'Hamish Matters Festival' and I continue to be amazed at the depth of Hamish's legacy.
Here was one of my highlights of many this week; hearing Alison McMorland, an old friend of His, singing Hamish's song 'The Flyting o Love and Daith'.
If you want to find out more about this remarkable man BBC Alba is showing the documentary 'Hamish' tomorrow evening to celebrate the great man - it's a great watch, in my opinion anyway, for what that's worth.
We're celebrating with a concert of school kids singing in Scots, English, Gaelic and Perthshire Cant (the language of the travellers).
Happy Birthday Hamish.
We've been having so much fun this last week and a half here in Eastern Perthshire, with folk recitals, plays, ceilidhs, events in the schools to celebrate the legacy of this great Scot, this cultural powerhouse who drove forward the Scottish folk revival of the 50s and 60s and who collected over 10000 pieces of song, story, poems and cultural tradition often from those who were on the outside of society...the people of the ancient travelling clans of Scotland, the Gaels of the Western Isles, the bothy ballad singers of the North East...and all housed in the School of Scottish Studies in Edinburgh University. This is the third year of our 'Hamish Matters Festival' and I continue to be amazed at the depth of Hamish's legacy.
Here was one of my highlights of many this week; hearing Alison McMorland, an old friend of His, singing Hamish's song 'The Flyting o Love and Daith'.
If you want to find out more about this remarkable man BBC Alba is showing the documentary 'Hamish' tomorrow evening to celebrate the great man - it's a great watch, in my opinion anyway, for what that's worth.
We're celebrating with a concert of school kids singing in Scots, English, Gaelic and Perthshire Cant (the language of the travellers).
Happy Birthday Hamish.
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