In 1904, a Scottish expedition headed to the Antarctic and brought ceilidh music to a unique new demographic:

“A number of emperor penguins, which were here very numerous, were captured. … To test the effect of music on them, Piper Kerr played to one on his pipes, — we had no Orpheus to warble sweetly on a lute, — but neither rousing marches, lively reels, nor melancholy laments seemed to have any effect on these lethargic phlegmatic birds; there was no excitement, no sign of appreciation or disapproval, only sleepy indifference.”  (Rudmose Brown et al., The Voyage of the “Scotia,” 1906).

Thankfully, when last night’s crowd gathered to celebrate Derek’s 50th at Clarkston showed no indifference to the marches, reels and laments that echoed through the venue during the evening! Even the first-timers were excited by Jiggered’s tunes and were keen to dance the night away. We had a brilliant time with Emma, Andi and Raymie on fine form!

Thanks to Derek and Paula for having us play ay this birthday bash. There was even discussion about another big birthday for Derek in 2066…!