Page 6 - What's In A Name - The Barry Pipes Canon

WHAT’S IN A NAME? The Barry Pipes Canon • 2005 - 2018 EH3 7AF 011-2007-November-Set&Link
This is a name? Of a dance? What will they think of next? My first thought on noting the 1999 emergence of a jig called EH3 7AF in RSCDS Book 40 was one of derision.
There are so many intriguing place names in Scotland that I found it hard to believe that something as mundane as a Brit postcode (that’s what they are called) would surface as the name of a Scottish Country Dance, to identify the street address of RSCDS Headquarters Edinburgh.
From Set&Link, newsletter of RSCDS Toronto
Then I realized that EH3 7AF was the creation of that talented Yorkshire dance deviser, Roy Goldring, the pride of RSCDS Leeds Branch. Now that placed a whole different dimension on what was clearly a tongue-in-cheek piece of whimsy. Along with Canada, Britain started to introduce alpha-numeric postal codes throughout the country in 1959, finally concluding the undertaking in 1974.
So, mundane by name or not, let’s give Mr. Goldring credit for adding yet another winner to his lengthy stable of outstanding RSCDS dances. The “Postal Code Dance”, EH3 7AF, will be on the program of
Toronto’s November Monthly Dance for the enjoyment of all those in attendance.
There’s a sad epilogue, reported in last month’s Set & Link. Seventy-eight- year-old Roy Goldring died in September, 2007, after suffering a heart attack. He gave us much to remember him by. ◼︎
Balquhidder Strathspey 012-2007-December-Set&Link
Pronounce it incorrectly as Bal-kw-idder, and you may have to be removed from the set and suffer a five-minute penalty by sitting out the next two dances. The correct pronunciation is Bal-wh-idder. From the Gaelic Both Chuidir, the Village of Balquhidder is to be found at the head of Loch Voil in the rugged Trossachs area, just off the A84 as you travel north from Stirling via Callander. And while often spelled on dance programs without the “h”, the Ordnance Survey folks seem to have it correct on their maps.
Originally, it was Clan MacLaren territory, until they were ousted by the MacGregors a few hundred years ago. Now! Whom do you know as the most infamous MacGregor in Scottish history? Why, it is Rob Roy, of course! A staunch supporter of the Jacobite cause, he was very much “front & centre” in the 1715 Rebellion. Unfortunate circumstances caused him and his clansmen to become cattle thieves throughout the Trossachs. For greater story detail, check out the movie Rob Roy in which Hollywood featured an Irishman (ouch!) named Liam Neeson.
Rob Roy MacGregor died in Balquhidder in 1734 at around the age of 64. His grave, together with his wife’s and children’s, is located in the local kirkyard. The headstone is marked defiantly with the words “MacGregor Despite Them”.
There are other dances celebrating beautiful Balquhidder. (The Braes of... and A Wedding in...). However, the Balquhidder Strathspey (RSCDS Book 24, issued 1968) remains one of my favourites and is a welcome addition to the December Monthly Dance. ◼︎
Roy Goldring
RSCDS Headquarters, 12 Coates Crescent, Edinburgh EH3 7AF
The graves of Rob Roy and his family are found in the Balquhidder Kirkyard. The name MacGregor was once banned in Scotland.