"The Wee Folk Club" of Edinburgh calls itself "The Smallest Folk Club in the World".  Maximum seating is 30 people.  Nevertheless, some pretty famous names in Scottish Folk music have played there.  It's located a short distance from The Royal Mile downstairs in the Royal Oak Pub.  The Royal Oak is quite tiny itself - not a tourist place by any means but a real down to earth pub complete with a roaring fire.  It's run by Paddy Ehbort from Stuttgart, Germany, He's lived for many years in Scotland and is very active on the Scottish Folk Scene. 

The lovely medieval town of Dunfermline - "Ancient Capitol of Scotland" was next, and I was truly enchanted with its charm and history.  I had a chance to explore a bit the afternoon before the gig, exploring the cobbled streets and  visiting  the Abbey.  The Dunfermline Folk Club is run by Gifford Lind, who is an accomplished singer and songwriter himself.  

The Falkirk Folk Club was held in a lovely old building called "The Polish Club" and it was a nice stage setting with a very appreciative audience.  The club has been operative for almost fifty years and is still thriving.  

I stopped by the Dalmellington Folk Club on Halloween night and did a guest spot, and I'm glad I did.  I was treated to some wonderful Appalachian music by a group called "Appalachian Mist".  They're Scottish, but they've got American style picking and singing down perfectly.  I met Jim Gray, who is one of the club's organizers, and in general was made very welcome at the club.  Jim's  children performed a guest spot that evening, and it was lovely to see youngsters so enthusiastic about traditional music!

In Pitlochry, at The Pine Trees Hotel,  there was a session/song swap  in which everybody participated.  I met musician Murray McCleod who plays an impressive guitar and has and endless stock of songs - (lot's of them witty!) and we were joined by a local fiddler.  It was a wonderful evening in front of a roaring fire in a lovely, elegant setting.  The hotel looks like something out of an Agatha Christie novel with rich mahogany paneling and beautiful antique furnishings.  

It would be hard to top the regulars at The Glenfarg Folk Club for enthusiasm or knowledge about traditional music.  I performed on a Monday night and they were just getting in from a long weekend of folk music-related revelry, but that didn't put a damper on the evening.   There I was privileged to meet Sheila Douglas, ballad scholar and collector, and an expert on the Scots language (no, I'm not talking about Gaelic here - but Scots - considered a language in its own right, descended from a Northern form of Anglo Saxon).  Sheila actually knew many of the great traditional singers of Scotland, such as Belle Stewart, and has extensively studied the culture of the Scottish Travelers who kept the ballads alive.  She was one of the founders of the Traditional Music and Song Association of Scotland.  It is a source of great pride to me that Sheila praised my renditions of traditional ballads, and she was especially interested in some of the American versions of well known Scottish ballads that I performed.

The Kelso Folk Club was next, and I was thrilled to drive through the wild and majestic scenery of the Scottish Borders - passing through such famed ballad sites as Annan and Yarrow!  The Club is hosted by David Kilpatrick  (a brilliant singer and guitarist) at The Cobbles Inn right in the center of the town of Kelso.  Due to unforeseen circumstances the date of my performance had to be changed on short notice, so there wasn't a big crowd, but what was lacking in number was more than compensated for by congeniality.  And I was also able to hear David perform live, after listening to so many of his songs on the now defunct MP3.com.

My next stop was Northern Ireland to perform at The Black Nun, in Ballycastle, which is run by Dick Glasgow.  Dick is well known on the music scene in both Scotland and Ireland and has worked tirelessly to promote traditional music.  Ballycastle was not exactly a hub of activity on a chilly Monday night, but it was great to meet Dick and his wife Sabina, who is from Germany but you'd never know it when she sings and plays the Irish harp!  

It was back the next afternoon to Scotland to play at The Chapleton Inn Folk Club - on the outskirts of Glasgow.  Chapleton  is a tiny town - from what I could see the Chapleton Inn is the only pub, but what a pub it is!  Stone walls, rough hewn beams, a cheerful fire, and a great crowd of regulars who love traditional music and singing.    Scottish singer Dave Gibb made a guest appearance and did a great version of "Pancho and Lefty"!   

The Redburn Hotel, in the town of Irvine located in Ayrshire (Robert Burns country) is the site of the  Irvine Folk Club .  Joyce Hodge has been running the club for almost forty years, and doing a great job of it!    There is a real sense of camaraderie at this club, and a strong feeling of community.  I was warmly welcomed and thoroughly enjoyed the evening.  In a long running club with a strong  core of dedicated members  there will be excellent floor singers, and this was certainly the case at the Irvine Folk Club.    Great pickers and singers!    

I had a break and took a quick drive to England, where I visited The Lake District.  Despite all I'd heard about Cumbrian weather (horizontal rain?) it was beautiful, sunny, and surprisingly warm for November.  I didn't get a chance to listen to any traditional music while I was there, but I did stop and have lunch at the coastal town of Whitehaven. 

The Stirling Folk Club, run by Isobel Methven, meets at the Golden Lion in beautiful, historic Stirling, gateway to the Scottish Highlands and site of Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument.  I did a guest spot there, performing two Appalachian ballads, but the main attraction was a traditional band called Cantrip.  They are young, high energy, and traditional - what more could you ask for?? 

My final gig was at the Girvan Folk Club.  My first "Scottish experience" was in Girvan when I attended the Girvan Folk Festival in 2001, so it was good to go back to this pleasant little seaside town - with a wonderful view of the Ailsa Craig.    Held at the Queen's Hotel in a comfortable, rustic room with great acoustics - this was a wonderful evening, and I have rarely met people so knowledgeable about traditional songs.  

The Girvan concert went late in to Friday night, and next morning early (November 22nd) it was a rush to get to the airport and bid farewell to Scotland - for a while!

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