Recent Happenings
Scottish Society Meetings & Special Events
June: Installation Dinner at The Sizzler Restaurant in Goleta
Members and guests enjoyed salad, entrée and dessert, along with entertainment by pipers Bob and Jim, with Chol on keyboard and Robert W. on tin whistle. Society officers for July 2008 through June 2009 were introduced, too. We forgot to bring the camera, so no photos this time.
May: Gaelic Language and the Highland Piping tradition
Diane gave us a short presentation on the Gaelic language, talking a little about the history of Gaelic, the present state of the language, and some of its peculiarities. She played a recording of a Gaelic song, and (with the aid of a very nice handout) taught us some phrases and poetry.
Jim played the ground (or main theme) of a couple of pibrochs (the “classical” or “great music”) on the pipes and talked a little bit about the history and traditions of piping in the Highlands and how these relate to Gaelic culture.
For the curious, here is an introduction to the Gaelic music tradition and its connection with the language, and Dave McKenzie has a short article on Piobaireachd with interesting history and traditions.
The Santa Barbara Sherifff’s Pipes and Drums in the entryway before the opening procession.
Photos by Jessica MacFarlane.
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April: Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan
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In late April the Scottish Society hosted the annual Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan and Blessing of the Wee Beasties, a non-denominational service blessing families, individuals, and family pets. The program began with an organ prelude, a procession of pipers and drummers, presentation of the ceremonial claymore, and a prayer for peace. Music included the singing of hymns, the playing of pipes, and songs by Robert Burns. Some people brought their tartans for a blessing, and some brought their wee beasties. The festivities concluded with tea and cookies on the lawn.
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Right above: Singing a hymn on a traditional Gaelic melody.
Far left: The sword bearer holds the ceremonial claymore.
Left: Barbara sings Robert Burns’s “A Rosebud by my Early Walk”.
Left below: The Pipes & Drums play a medley of pipe tunes.
Right below: The sanctuary of Trinity Church, State & Micheltorena Streets, Santa Barbara.
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Left: Rev. James D. Nelson receives tartans for blessing.
Right: Waiting in line to present tartan cloth or garments for the blessing.
Left below: Pipes and drums lead the recessional at the end of the program.
Right below: Two wee beasties and their people.
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Looking at pictures of tartans in the Scottish Lion catalog.
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April: Tartans!
In anticipation of our Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan later in the month, this meeting was about the history and development of tartans and Highland dress. We saw a video showing how tartan is made, including the dying of the wool and how it is woven on the looms. The Clan of the Month was MacNaughton.
March: Saint Patrick’s Day Celebration
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, the dish of the month was Irish potatoes with a variety of toppings. (No famine here!) Kathleen talked at length about potatoes and the various ways of preparing them. “I had no idea potatoes were so interesting,” said Chieftain Jim Gilmore. The Clan of the Month was Guthrie. We all forgot to bring the camera, so no pictures this time!
Haggis and Chinese food.
Kathleen explains the haggis.
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February: Scottish Chinese New Year
This month's theme was inspired by 5th-generation Chinese-Canadian Todd Wong. In 1998, Chinese New Year and Robert Burns Day were only two days apart. Todd had an idea to combine the two celebrations, and so the Gung Haggis Fat Choy dinner began. So our recipe of the month was haggis and, in the silly spirit of Gung Haggis Fat Choy, we feasted on haggis won-ton and Peking haggis, among other goodies, while Kathleen gave us an overview of haggis lore.
According to Kathleen, a haggis is a four-legged hairy creature whose fur is used to make sporrans. The haggis hunting season is from St. Andrew’s Day in November to Robert Burns’s birthday in late January. The food known as haggis is made of lamb, beef, organ meats and oatmeal stuffed into a sheep’s stomach. The filling is similar to turkey stuffing, but with oatmeal instead of bread crumbs.
Gung Haggis Fat Choy has become quite an event in Vancouver, BC. You can read more about how the event came about on Todd’s Gung Haggis Fat Choy Dinner page.
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Some of the many members and guests celebrating Robert Burns’s birthday.
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January: Robert Burns Birthday Celebration
Addressing the haggis.
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The birthday of Scotland’s national bard in late January is a time of celebration for Scots around the world. Nearly 90 members and guests came for dinner, pipes and drums, Burns’s poetry and songs, and of course the traditional “Address to a Haggis” and Toast to the Immortal Memory! (The haggis, by the way, was delicious!)
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The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Dept. Pipes and Drums
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Our wonderful servers!
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Barbara sang songs of Robert Burns.
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Guests danced with the Scottish Country Dancers.
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Jim, Robert and Chol played “Highland Cathedral”.
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December: Christmas Ceilidh
The Gaelic word céilidh, pronounced “kaylee”, originally meant “visit”, but now usually means a musical celebration or get-together. December is the month of mid-winter celebrations, a time of good cheer with friends and wishes of good luck for the coming year. This month, several of us played music or brought a favorite poem, song or story to share. Of course, we had the usual tea sandwiches and other edible treats we were inspired to bring.
A merry time singing carols.
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Pipers Robert, Davie and Jim at the Pies and Peas Dinner.
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November: St. Andrew’s Day Pies and Peas Dinner
November is the month of our Pies and Peas Dinner. It’s also the month of the feast day of St. Andrew, Scotland’s patron saint. We feasted on meat pies, peas, and potatoes with gravy, with pumpkin and apple pies for dessert. Our storyteller Lilian told how St. Andrew came into Scottish history, with further lore contributed by Richard. Pipers Jim Gilmore and Robert Guthrie played, along with Robert’s student Davie. Singer Barbara sang and got us singing, too.
Our booth at the Seaside Scottish Highland Games.
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Robert Guthrie in the piping competition.
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October: Highland Games and Scottish Country Dancing
October is the month of the Seaside Scottish Highland Games in Ventura, and this year we had our own booth. We made many new acquaintances; consequently, attendance at our October meeting the following Saturday was more than usual. Jamie and Gerry told us about their clan, Clan MacDuff, and Kathleen gave us a fascinating presentation about oat cakes! There were different kinds of oat cakes for us to taste, along with plenty of other great refreshments.
Frank Ibbott watches his students dance Postie’s Jig at the October meeting.
Then Frank Ibbott and his Scottish Country Dance students gave us a sampling of what his classes are like, doing a half-dozen dances for us including Fisherman’s Reel, Postie’s Jig and Byron Strathspey — and they invited us to join them for Mamie’s Jig!
Links: Seaside Scottish Highland Games · Scottish Country Dance Classes in Santa Barbara.
Frank Ibbott’s Scottish Country Dance class at Ventura College.
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Jim presents a plaque to Frank.
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Musical entertainment by Charlie, Jim and Chol.
Cock-a-leekie soup was the recipe of the month.
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Jim on fiddle and Chol on keyboard.
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September: Super Salad Supper
September is the month we begin our year, and we began a new tradition of presenting a Clan of the Month and a Recipe of the Month. Society Chieftain Jim Gilmore gave a talk about his clan, Clan Morrison, and Kathleen McNeel Barber gave a presentation on cock-a-leekie soup. Of course, we had bowlfuls of it along with other tasty refreshments! Musical entertainment included Jim on fiddle, Chol on keyboard, and singing by Charlie. We ended the evening with everyone joining hands and singing “Auld Lang Syne”.
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