Page 4 - What's In A Name - The Barry Pipes Canon

WHAT’S IN A NAME? The Barry Pipes Canon • 2005 - 2018 From Set&Link, newsletter of RSCDS Toronto
Bon Accord 004-2007-January-Set&Link
By now, there must indeed be a whole book of Bon Accord dances of one kind or another, each celebrating that fine city of Aberdeen, or one of its inhabitants. As many may know, Aberdeen’s Coat of Arms, including a couple of rampant leopards and its original three castles, also depicts the city’s proud motto: Bon Accord.
Legend has it that in the early 1300s, Bon
Accord was the secret watchword for Robert the Bruce’s forces to attack and massacre the local English military garrison, during the Wars of Independence at that time.
It is little wonder that some SCD dance devisers have entitled their efforts using this motto. Among them is The Bonny Lass of... The Blooms of..., The Belle of..., and more recently, John of...
John of Bon Accord is named for Leicestershire-born John Drewry, who has been a proud Aberdonian for 40 years or more. With John having created so many outstanding dances, it was fitting that another Dance Master, Roy Goldring, should honour him in this way. ◼︎
Neidpath Castle 006-2007-March-Set&Link
As you pass through the Royal Burgh of Peebles in the Scottish Borders Region, stop by Neidpath Castle. It is 2 km out of town, overlooking the River Tweed.
As a feature of British History, Neidpath Castle is known by English schoolboys as one of the places that “Cromwell knocked about a bit!” Its history dates to the mid-1200s. It was built by Sir Simon Fraser, centuries before the eponymous Vancouver University was created. Despite Oliver Cromwell’s destructive cannon-fire, the castle was rebuilt shortly thereafter. It has long been a busy tourist attraction, although still owned by a Scottish aristocrat, the Earl of Wemyss.
In 1963, a prominent Scottish Country Dance deviser, Derek Haynes, created Neidpath Castle as a lovely three-couple strathspey (Book 22). RSCDS mourned Derek’s death from cancer in 2005. Other great dances he devised include The Clansman and Miss Gibson’s Strathspey. ◼︎
The Royal Deeside Railway 0045-2007-February-Set&Link
The magnificent “Silver Dee” is one of Scotland’s most prolific salmon-fishing rivers. It flows 150 km from the Cairngorms until it reaches the North Sea at Aberdeen. Its scenic valley became a favourite of Queen Victoria, hence the expression “Royal Deeside”.
Following the royal purchase of the Balmoral Estate in the 18403 and the erection of a new castle, a railway line was developed to run along the river valley from Aberdeen to Ballater. Its completion in 1866 provided Victoria with easy access to her estate, as Ballater was just a short coach ride from
Balmoral. For the following hundred years,
to take The Royal Deeside Railway was also
a popular sight-seeing trip, until it was
closed down unceremoniously by British
Railways in 1966.
Steam-railway enthusiasts have since
redeveloped some short sections of track and refurbished the old station at Ballater as a Visitor Centre. In 1999, RSCDS Book 40 included a lovely, flowing 32-bar reel called The Royal Deeside Railway to celebrate this piece of Victorian history. ◼︎
Seann Triubhas Willichan 007-2007-April-Set&Link
The year 1782 brought great joy to Scotland. A much-reviled Act of Parliament called the Act of Proscription 1746 was repealed. Under this Act, Scots had been “prohibited from wearing the plaid, philibeg (kilt), trews, or any part of the highland garb” in an effort to break up the Clan system in every way possible following the 1745 Rebellion.
In the intervening years before repeal, many people romanticized stories about how Scots found ways to circumvent the prohibition against “highland garb”. It has been said that Seann Triubhas (Gaelic for “old trousers”) was one such
story for which a Highland Dance had been created,
originating in Perthshire, and was long a staple Highland
Dance.
Seann Triubhas Willichan was introduced in RSCDS Book 27 (1975) as a new strathspey. Although our Willie’s Auld Troosers in no way resembles its Highland Dance predecessor, it has become quite popular among RSCDS members. It appears on the West Toronto Ball programme in May. ◼︎
Might this have been Scottish national dress had the Act of Proscription not been repealed?