Taynuilt

THE first ceilidh in 2017 of An Comunn Gàidhealach’s Cruachan branch, held in Taynuilt Village Hall, began in rousing fashion with piper Andy Matthews in fine form, playing several enjoyable sets of tunes.

Bean an Taighe Audrey Paterson was on hand to guide the audience through the programme for the evening and also to take her place singing with Atomic Piseag, the well-known Argyll ladies’ Gaelic choir, under the guidance of their conductor, Raymond Bremner. The choir was a joy to hear, with a wide selection of songs and arrangements producing lovely sounds and beautiful harmonies.

Talented soloists from the choir, Christine Johnstone, Fiona Munro, Jane Basford, Katie Crossan, Donna Dugdale and 2016 Mod gold medallist Carol MacLean also entertained, with Raymond himself leading the audience in a couple of sing-a-longs from the piano.

Completing the programme for the evening was able accordionist Andrew MacDonald who got the feet tapping on his first, but certainly not his last, visit to a Taynuilt ceilidh. This was a first- class evening of entertainment, sadly only enjoyed by a somewhat sparse audience. JESSIE SERVANT, the president of Taynuilt SWI, welcomed 10 members and six visitors to the meeting held at 7.30pm in Taynuilt village hall on Wednesday January 11.

The speaker for the evening was Sandra Bergant, explaining all about calligraphy, the different styles and effects that are possible. Sandra displayed some beautiful pieces of her work and spoke at length as to how they were achieved.

All the members and visitors then tried their hand at some calligraphy exercises that Sandra had brought along and found it is much harder than it looks.

Everyone had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. A vote of thanks was given by Alice Campbell.

The hostesses for the evening were Jane Gillie and Stella Huntingford, who provided a lovely tea. The competition was a photo of morning mist and was won by Jessie MacFarlane.