ISSUE 34 - SPRING 2017 B L E T H E R S SCOTLAND'S NATIONAL NETWORKS FOR TRADITIONAL ARTS AND CULTURE SCOTTISH TRADITIONAL TRADITIONAL STORYTELLING MUSIC DANCE FORUM OF FORUM (SSF) FORUM (TMF) SCOTLAND (TDSF) Supporting and Scotland's network of Celebrating the celebrating the traditional traditional music diversity of traditional art of storytelling and the organisations - putting dance and other diverse network of traditional music at the related traditional and storytellers across heart of Scotland's social dance forms in Scotland today culture Scotland A living flow of song, music, dance, story and wordplay Space for conviviality and collective energy open to all Creative practice inspired by shared memory and experience A wellspring for community identities and personal growth www.tracscotland.org Scottish Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR THE PEOPLE'S PARISH OUR PLACE, OUR STORY The People's Parish is a new initiative from TRACS to support communities to shape and share the story of their own place. The aim is to inspire and The project was launched in March support creative 2017 with an event piloting some of neighbourhood projects in the developing free community resources. This included exploring each of Scotland's 871 civil old parish maps with Laragh parishes, connecting local Quinney from the National Library stories, traditions and cultural of Scotland and creative re-mapping memory with the diverse with artist Kate Downey and David voices of Scotland today, Francis. Ethnologist, folklorist and bound together by a sense of traditional singer Chris Wright from Local Voices spoke about the place. The civil parish is the importance of building community "We need to use Scotland starting point because it through the sharing of local culture reflects this human-scale such as song and story, and imaginatively, to reassess relationship with local place. ethnologists Mairi McFadyen and Ella and repossess it Leith chaired a discussion on the The inspiration for this initiative ecological 'Lifelines' that thread imaginatively; to suggest that came from the old Statistical communities of place together. many Scotlands might exist Account of Scotland, which began over two hundred years ago at the These starter resources are within its geographical close of the 18th century. In the available to download on the bounds" 21st century, the story of our places resource website: should be told not by a few www.peoplesparish.scot James Robertson professionals or central institutions, but by the people who live and work in each individual parish, on their own terms. THE PEOPLE'S PARISH AIMS We hope the result will be a to involve all of Scotland's 871 parishes democratic 'creative account' of to bring together local activists and organisations Scotland, reflecting the distinct local to encourage participation in community life voices, culture and creativity of our places today. The resulting work will to inspire new forms of mapping be archived and made available for to gather and give voice to songs, stories, dances, traditions, visuals, future generations, while the histories and fictions process of creating and producing to facilitate digital representation of local culture and access to it the work will have many positive to create a resource for generations to come. outcomes for the communities undertaking it. We are currently assembling ideas for supporting communities to carry out this work, connecting with local resources and an emerging national network of field-workers and community artists. If you are interested in initiating a local participatory creative project in your local area and would like more information, support or training, please contact us: David Francis [email protected] www.peoplesparish.scot 2 www.tracscotland.org GENDER IN FOLK AND TRADITIONAL MUSIC Rachel Newton, BBC Radio 2 Folk Award Musician of the Year 2017 and Scots Trad Music Awards Instrumentalist of the Year 2016, has been outspoken in her concerns about the role of gender in traditional music in Scotland. A Facebook post in November 2016 provoked a debate across the traditional music scene, leading to the formation of 'The Bit Collective' - a space for people who are interested in exploring these issues to come together. She reflects below. www.rachelnewtonmusic.com I wrote a Facebook post back in Despite the support I received in the and contributing to the conversation November 2016 after voting in the lead up on social media and from with thoughts of their own on how to Scots Trad Music Awards and being friends, I was extremely nervous make progress towards gender struck by the ratio of men to women about hosting the talk, having never equality and dealing with gender issues in certain categories, particularly the done anything like it before and in the trad scene. category 'Live Act of the Year,' but wondering what support there really Since the event at Celtic Connections, was for such an event in real life also 'Instrumentalist' and 'Composer.' and all the conversations and articles (away from social media). I was so It got me thinking about the roles that have emerged since, I've had women are expected to play in pleased with the turn out and the fact that there were so many people some time to digest it all. I met up traditional/folk music and why it is that with Jenn Butterworth and Mikaela so many of the headlining festival interested in what we had to say and wanting to join in the conversation. Atkins who were also on the panel to bands are all male. I wanted to find have a debrief and to discuss what out why it's the case that when we There is so much discussion around happens next. The panel were brilliant see a woman performing on a high women in the arts and gender and I hope to meet up with them all profile platform, it's usually as a singer equality across all platforms at the again to work on future talks and who is nearly always accompanied by moment - including at this year’s Trad plans. We hope to put on more an all-male band. The response to my Talk - and from my point of view it's events in the future for people to post showed me that I wasn't the important that the trad music scene share their thoughts and we are about only person asking these questions gets involved and doesn't shy away to launch the beginnings of a new and so I set about planning a from joining the conversation. collective of people looking to conduct get-together for those of us research and make plans to identify Since bringing up the issue, I've always interested in such issues to discuss it and address the issues raised so far. been keen to keep the conversation all further and in more detail than 'The Bit Collective' had their first as inclusive as possible and am aware gathering in Glasgow in April of this social media can allow. Celtic that it's so easy for some to feel like Connections agreed to host the talk year. We look forward to continuing they're coming under attack. This this conversation into the future. 'Exploring Music and Gender' at this really isn't my intention and I was year's festival, based on the fact that heartened to see a good number of Rachel Newton their theme this year was to men in the audience, mostly keeping @rachel_newton_ ‘celebrate women in music’. an open mind to what we had to say @BITcollective1 www.tracscotland.org 3 IN MEMORY: LAWRENCE TULLOCH 1942-2017 This year we lost Shetland storyteller Lawrence Tulloch. In the words of his dear friend, Orkney storyteller Tom Muir, 'a light in the north has gone out.' Many fine tributes have been shared which are testament to Lawrence's kindness, warmth and talents as a tradition bearer. Lawrence Tulloch was a tradition bearer in its true meaning; he carried with him the stories of Shetland and passed them on to a new generation. His stories came from his father, Tom Tulloch, who in turn inherited them from his mother, and so on down the years. I had the great privilege to travel with him, telling stories in many countries. We were storm tossed in a force nine gale off the Faroes, told The first time I had the good fortune What a wonderful way he had of our tales in a Viking longhouse in to meet Lawrence was on the Isle of telling stories, many of which he had northern Sweden, ran workshops for Skye at George McPhersons home in heard on Yell from his father Tom. His new storytellers in Slovenia and even Glendale. I had never really heard a books were written just the way he entertained members of the royal Shetland accent before and had to spoke too and I shall treasure them. family of Lichtenstein in their 14th lean in keenly as he told a story whilst His encouragement to me in my early century castle in Austria. Lawrence's I tuned my ears into the musicality of days of becoming a storyteller were love of stories was infectious and he his rich voice. He was telling a very precious. The world is a richer was always ready to spend time comical tale about a Bear with a place for having him in it and talking and sharing his treasure trove glistening twinkle in his eye, which left storytelling has lost a shining star. of tales with anyone who was people in the room roaring with interested. I have lost a brother and Anne Pitcher the world has lost a precious soul.