Trad awards a great night

Paisley made a great impression on everybody who attended the trad awards on Saturday night.

What a lovely evening it was with many superb nominees and deserved winners - unfortunately there are far too many to mention here.

Tide Lines had a table at the awards, but I was only able to keep half an ear on the stage as we were playing during the course of the evening and we, therefore, kept having to sneak away to set up our gear and for interviews.

Live performances that stood out for me, however, were the Seumas O’ Sullivan Experience, whose set swung along wonderfully and had the audience stamping their feet, and a selection of Uist Gaelic singers’ tribute to the Paisley bàrd, Dòmhnall Ruadh Phàislig, which was wonderful.

Another most memorable moment was Dr Kenna Campbell MBE’s acceptance speech for the special award bestowed upon her for her services to Gaelic.

She rightly received a standing ovation as she both humorously and sincerely urged everyone to learn Gaelic both in order to become happier people but also, more practically, as a means to deal with nuisance callers.

On a personal level, as I said in a television interview, Paisley has turned out to be a lucky place for me.

In 2013, I won the Mòd gold medal in the town hall and this year I won the Gaelic Singer of the Year. For this reason, I think I might have to start supporting St Mirren!

I will certainly support Paisley’s bid to become the first town ever to be named UK City of Culture and will be keeping my fingers crossed on Thursday.