CeilidhMakers Newsletter - June 2004

The singing, dancing and songmaking project for schools and community continues…
To keep you updated on CeilidhMakers activities we have produced this newsletter for your information.
We are available for workshops and projects.

Portsoy Boat Festival, 3 July 2004
CeilidhMakers are currently working with the children of Portsoy Primary School on a project relating to the local industry of the past. Head teacher Lorna Summers is writing the script of a play which will feature the songs and rhythmical movements created by CeilidhMakers and the children. The piece will be performed at Portsoy Boat Festival on Saturday 3 July 2004.

Visit to Glenbervie Primary School - Autumn 2003
This visit generated a few new songs made by the children of the school. Here is an example by P3/4 to the tune “Donald, where's your troosers”:

Chorus:
Butterflies, flies and hawks
Birds and bees and deer and fox
Sheep on the hills climb the rocks
All around Glenbervie

A martian came from outer space
and landed in our playground
The martian says “what is this place?”
You are in Glenbervie.

Barras isn't very far
Neither Fiddes or Dellavaird
Scaring rabbits from the car
The martian felt quite scared

Trees and trains, wasps and flowers
The martian stared from hours and hours
Purple heather on the hill
All around Glenbervie

P5/6 wrote the following to the “Scotland the Brave”:

Barras, Dellavaird and Fiddes
Some say the transport's rubbish
Dogs are barking
Scaring cats all away
Millennium Garden's growing
Flowers showing, really glowing
Soon we'll see the people bowling
Kids out to play, hey!

CeilidhMakers Newsletter - October 2003

Some comments about our work -
From Development Officer, Susie Kelly:

“CeilidhMakers were excellent! Everyone was delighted with the week's work and with the Ceilidh at the end - the young people gained a lot from it, learning dances and songs and working together to make new songs. Ceilidhmakers' co-operation with visiting Spaniards added an extra dimension to the week and to the Ceilidh.

It was great to see the expressions on the faces of proud parents and family
at the final performance.

Mats and Chris are old hands at this kind of work and the feedback and end
of project reporting from them made my job so easy - they'll be back........”

Susie Kelly,
Traditional Music Development Officer
Dumfries & Galloway Arts Association

and from the children in a Primary School…

The Coolest CeilidhMakers
Mats and Christine came to our school
They were Ceilidhmakers
We performed a ceilidh to the school
Our feet were going like the clappers
The night before I dreaded it
I hoped I would be ill
But as soon as we started
I really got my fill
With Christine we made lots of songs
With Mats we made steps
But most of all, I learned
Ceilidhs are the best
Paul

“ Staff, parents and children thoroughly enjoyed themselves.”
“Thank you for a wonderful day”
“Enclosed letters, illustrations, thoughts and poems of the day you spent with us. As you will find out, the day was a great success enjoyed by all, thanks again.”
“…great to work with people who know what they're doing”

Songbook
Please request (or download pdf file from our website) a copy of “A Richt Sang and Dance”, which contains the songs from the successful Angus Primary Schools Taster Project, details of dances, and outlines how the work provides material for, and enhances the curriculum. Children wrote songs about their own area. One school also organised an extremely successful public Ceilidh as part of Angus Council's Hairst Festival, with Council support, where children taught dances to the adults, and performed the songs they'd written.

St Thomas R C Primary - P5/6

The Sea of Arbroath
Tune: Coulters Candy (Ally bally bee)

Seagulls flying over the sea, go away and don't peck me
I'll have smokies for my tea, come along and join me

Chorus:
Fishermen and fishmongers in the Arbroath harbour
Children scaring seagulls away by the Bell Rock Lighthouse

Catching cod for my tea, even on a rainy day
Fishermen sailing on the sea, Arbroath cliffs are far away

Chorus

Fishermen in the storm, they would like some comfort and warmth
Hoping nothing will go wrong, they will make it to the morn.

Summer Schools
The children of Newton Stewart attended a Summer School in July with CeilidhMakers, the week culminating in a wee Ceilidh and exhibition of artwork illustrating the songs and dancing.

Gorgeous Gallawa (Tune: The Sailor Laddie)

Chorus:
I've been North and I've been south and I've seen all o Gallawa
Past the bloomin heather hills and the rivers flowin all awa

1.
I've seen all the wildlife, like the birds an bees an trees
But the finest thing is the freedom to do what we please

2.
Down the road from Glentrool there are lots of trees
We're swinging from big branches and seeing a lot of bees

3.
Awa to the Dicky Wood I'll go to see the children play
To hear the wind blow through the trees on a lovely summers day.


Invitations
The Centre for Scottish Culture, Perm, and the Russian Caledonian Society has invited CeilidhMakers to Russia, to take part in Festivals. Funding is being sought to allow Mats and Christine to take up the invitation in 2004. An invitation to work in a close knit community also comes from a Scottish Island community, to work with all age groups, in 2004.

Contact us:
For details of CeilidhMakers at present, see www.ceilidhmakers.com/contact

CeilidhMakers! are available for your project!