What a glorious night here at The Girvan Folk Festival and there’s been some glorious tunes too. #trad #sessions #ScottishMusic

It’s a lot cooler tonight, but still bright and dry, so I’m off on another long walk to the West End for a session reconnaissance mission. Last night was successful, I would return to two out of the three sessions, let’s see how tonight fairs. #glasgow #trad #sessions #ScottishMusic

The whisky collection is fair coming on eh? 🤪

What a miserable concept eh? Especially pointless here as it’s in a village station on the West Highland line, unlikely that rough sleeping is likely to happen here.

What’s the reasoning behind a design decision like this train waiting room? A large opening about 1.5m wide, gaps all around the bass, three cold metal seats and 4 leaning things. No protection from the wind, cold hard surfaces, it’s a depressing piece of architecture. Can we not do better?

Another fine, calm crossing to Belfast. Brisk and fresh on deck but some spring warmth in the sun.

The 05:38 Red Eye Express* to Glasgow means mini adventure time. It’s St Patrick’s Day on Monday and I’m off to Kilkenny in Ireland for a weekend of gigs with @theabsurdistpipeband
*There’s nothing express about it, average speed… 30mph!

The vine terrace is starting to look good again. It took a fair bit of scraping, washing and brushing but delighted with the outcome.

The stone around here is beautiful… before and after. #Portugal #PlanaltoMirandês #TerraDeMiranda

Getting ready to busk outside The Colosseum in Rome, on this day twenty years ago, with our group Gigantones. We didn’t last long, the noise police soon descended upon us with their decibel meters and moved us on.

I’m going to have to buy one next week!

What drunk mad person came up with that idea eh?

Some folk think I go to Portugal for the music, the culture, the landscape, the climate… no, i go for the Pizza Dawnuts!!

Eurosport is closing down in the UK - cycling is about to get a lot more expensive to watch Live cycling to be shown on TNT Sports from next month

Capitalism eh? 4 years ago it was £40 a year. Then WB gets involved, forces us to use a shittier app & charge £7 a month. Now they close Eurosport and add cycling to the TNT Sports brand which, despite being £31 a month, still has ads. Awa an bile yer heids!!

www.cyclingweekly.com/news/eurospo...

Burns Night Session - 26th Jan 2025 The Oban Inn has an informal Burns event every year with free haggis, neeps and tatties for all followed by a session. Here are some pics from the 2025 event.

We had another great session in The Oban Inn last night, to celebrate the birth, in 1759, of our national bard Robert Burns. Photographs are over on my website.

bagpie.net/burns-night-...

It was 10°C this morning, that’s 17.5°C degrees warmer than the same time four days ago!

Cut And Dry Dolly This is a tune from south of the border that I learned recently and is based on the setting in Robert Riddell's 'A Collection of Scotch, Galwegian and Border Tunes', published in 1794.

Another auld tune added to the site. Cut And Dry Dolly is a tune from south of the border and my setting is based on Robert Riddell's setting in 'A Collection of Scotch, Galwegian and Border Tunes', published in 1794.
bagpie.net/cut-and-dry-...

The Glen Lonan Reel Glen Lonan was always one of my favourite glens in North Argyll so in 1997 I gave its name to two matching tunes, a Strathspey and a reel.

And here is the reel version of the Glen Lonan tune I wrote in 1997.

bagpie.net/the-glen-lon...

#TradMusic #ScottishMusic #Tunes #Scotland

The Glen Lonan Strathspey Glen Lonan was always one of my favourite glens in North Argyll so in 1997 I gave its name to two matching tunes, a Strathspey and a reel.

A Strathspey I wrote in 1997 and named after Glen Lonan, long before I found myself living at the entrance to it.

bagpie.net/the-glen-lon...

#Strathspey #TradMusic #ScottishMusic #Scotland

Cold, calm and bonnie in Oban today. #scotland #argyll

A photograph of the screen of a Weather station showing outside temperature of -6.6°C

Well at least it was a bit milder last night, only dropping to -6.6°C. 🥶❄️😱 #winter #scotlland #GetYerThermalsOn

Fiona Blakey's Reel My Tunes - Reels

It's been taking me too long to record audio and video for my own compositions so I'll be adding tunes to my website with just the dots included in the meantime.
Here's the first tune I wrote for my (now) wife back in 1997.
bagpie.net/fiona-blakey...

Pryde - The Funky Beggarman YouTube video by Love42se

Just stumbled across this. 'The Funky Beggerman' by Jimmy Pryde, I would never have guessed this bagpipe synth fusion would have come from as far back as 1977.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNp0...

Wee Totum Fogg Set Tune Sets - 3/2 Tunes

I'm going to post some of my tune sets on my website. The dots for this set of 3/2s were requested at the session last Wednesday so it's as good as any to start with.

bagpie.net/wee-totum-fo...

#tunes #ScottishMusic #bagpipes #BorderPipes #LowlandBagpipes #TradMusic

It feels like the clouds and rain have been with us for months so it’s a delight to see this on the first clear night for ages. #aurora #NorthernLights #Scotland #Argyll

A fine finish to a lovely few days! #COYS

We’re actually selling up here in Taynuilt. Going to be splitting our time between Scotland and Portugal. I’ll be back in Argyll pretty regularly though so hopefully our paths will cross.

Ah that’s a shame, would have been good to meet you in the flesh after all these years. I was only away in Germany for the long weekend. Next time indeed.

Not sure it falls into your remit but for Scots a rival to Eurostar is the ferry from Newcastle to Amsterdam. Saves the long journey through England and avoids London. No train to the terminals though, have to take a bus. I was on it last weekend. Affordable in winter, less so in summer.

Were you in town last night? We had our monthly Wednesday night session in The Oban Inn.