Bands of Gold – Fèis Rois 2014

Fèis in Scottish Gaelic means “festival” or “feast.”  Over the years the word Fèis has become synonymous with the Fèisean movement (Fèisean is the plural of Fèis)  A movement set up in the 1980s to encourage, mostly young people, to celebrate and learn the music and song culture connected with the Gaelic language.  There are now hundreds of Fèisean in the calendar with Fèis Rois (Rois is the Gaelic word for Ross-shire) being held for adults in Ullapool in the first weekend in May.

Loch Broom from the campsite

We attended Fèis Rois in 2011 and 2012 when our accommodation was a rented chalet in the hamlet of Ardmair three miles north of Ullapool.  Then we envied the campers who were in the heart of the town, they could stay out late at pub sessions and could toddle along to the classes at the last minute.  This year was different.  Bessie had us trundling into the fast filling campsite on Friday evening and by the time you could say ‘hook-up’ we were hooked up and off to the chippy for a much anticipated fish supper.

Registration took place in Ullapool High School next morning and it is there we picked up our bands of gold. These wrist bands entitle the wearer to get into all the many fringe events taking place throughout the town, like any festival the wristbands are on for the duration.

Unlike the other years both Colin and I chose the same classes. Morning was Intermediate Guitar with the very young and hugely talented Matheu Watson and in the afternoon we were beginning Step Dancing with John Sikorski.

Bands of Gold

I was a bit apprehensive about both classes. My guitar is always a bit hit or miss, but Matheu is an excellent teacher and introduced everyone in the class to drop D tuning. He has a knack of making music theory simple. And his famous people stories kept us entertained while we gave our hands a rest from the contortions of new chord shapes.

The step dancing class was mixed ability but most were beginners.  John took us through the Strathspey and Reel steps and consolidated our learning as we went.  By the end of day one we’d learned (not mastered) a dozen new chord shapes and as many dance steps. By four o'clock my brain was puree.

But there was no time for relaxing. It was back to the van, shower, change, food and off to the school for the Homecoming Concert.  Cathy-Ann Macphee, Louise Mackenzie and Patsy Seddon had all been involved in the first Fèis Rois in 1986.  Their performance was a selection of Gaelic song, clarsach and fiddle tunes with some good old craic thrown in for a laugh.  This was followed by Rant, a quartet of fine female fiddlers, Jenna and Bethany Reid, Lauren Maccoll and Sarah-Jane Summers.  Even after all the dancing toes were still tapping jig time.

Aaron Jones, Jenna and Bethany Reid in session at The Argyll Hotel

And that wasn't the end of the night.  Nearly every pub in Ullapool had a music session happening. We dashed for a seat in The Argyll Hotel where things were already in full swing with some local musicians and Aaron Jones. We were soon joined by Jenna and Bethany who fairly pumped up the pace. Keep up or listen is the moto at these sessions, I mostly listened and it was a treat.

Despite the late night we had to do it all again next day. The Sunday evening is dedicated to the tutors concert, a great opportunity to see everything that is on offer. The hall was packed for this highlight, but the gold band secures entry.   On the way back to the campsite we popped into The Arch to watch the Simon Bradley Trio play an unusual mix of fiddle, viola and with Matheu on guitar.  Excellent. We left them to it about midnight.

Mondays are shorter teaching days but Matheu still managed to cram in some theory and taught us how to play The Beatles Blackbird. (I can’t say I learned it though but I have the gist.)

If it sounds exhausting it’s because it is.

By the time we got to the step dancing I was Feis’d out.  After such a packed weekend there was only one thing left to do.  Go to the Ceilidh Place for a well-deserved beer and wonder if tomorrow any of the chords or steps will be remembered. 

A huge thanks to all the organisers who make things run smoothly and keep everyone supplied with tea, coffee, cakes and music. They deserve more than a beer.