Skirling House has to be the finest accommodation we have had as a quartet. Bob and Isobel Hunter were our most welcoming hosts and we were treated to an incredible breakfast in the conservatory with a view of the grounds.
Today’s journey was the shortest of the whole tour, from Biggar to Peebles so we had all afternoon to relax before the final concert. We also had a hotel for the night instead of host’s houses, meaning we could check in our luggage and were in the centre of town, 2 minutes walk from the concert venue, the Eastgate Theatre.
We arrived and went for a walk around the town, stocking up on local treats as well as finding a lovely wine and spirit shop for Mother’s Day presents! Rehearsal at the theatre was a quick one but we were able to add lots of final touches as the stage had really good access on and off. Tuesday evening is the rehearsal night of the Peebles Borough Bands and we had organised a workshop with the youth band prior to our concert. Small in number but very enthusiastic, the band played through a couple of pieces whilst we all sat in followed by a training session led by Jonny where we talked about breathing, tongue and dynamics. We love working with youth bands and it’s great to see community banding as strong as it is in the Borders. Peebles Youth Band players were also given free tickets to our concert!
The final concert was probably our most enjoyable of the tour. The largest audience by far (120) was the result of fantastic advertising from the society Music in Peebles and really does make a difference to us musicians when performing. The theatre was a great chamber music venue and it was nice to see some familiar faces in the audience from many of the local brass bands. Definitely a fitting finale to our Scotland Tour, and a pleasure to end the Music in Peebles Concert Series for this season.
Our post-concert routine is super slick now due to all of these consecutive gigs! Jonny and Mike straight out to the merchandise stall whilst Jamie and I pack down and clear the stage. Jamie drove home after the performance for work on Wednesday morning leaving the three of us to enjoy our last night of the trip with some local beverages, Brewdog and Tennent’s!
This tour has been particularly special for me, seeing lots of old friends and my family as well as bringing our unique sound and music to my home nation. Travelling to some of the nicest towns and villages around the Borders & South West of Scotland and sampling plenty of local food, drink and culture, it has been incredible.
Huge thanks to Jonathan Tunnell and the Tunnell Trust for this opportunity, we hope to be back soon! 🏴
Chris Robertson
26/3/19
We woke in idyllic surroundings in Gatehouse of Fleet, in the middle of beautiful woodland. After a wonderful breakfast I was handed a bugle by the hosts that was built in 1915 and was used in the trenches of World War 1 with the seemingly easy challenge of playing it (which proved relatively difficult). After a brief attempt we picked up the other members and were on our way.
We had quite a lot of time before the concert so we decided to stop in Moffat. One thing that is always a struggle on tour is trying to keep healthy due to the amount of time in the car and the irregular meal times. Therefore we managed to fit in a quick game of football. Unfortunately our moment of healthy behaviour was cancelled out by the deep fried mars bar and Irn Bru fudge that we consumed after (both were wonderful, by the way!).
We arrived at the concert venue in Biggar to a wonderful chamber music venue! After setting up we headed for our last meal of the day and a local pub. The concert was well attended, including the chairman of Brass Bands England, Kenny Crookston and our Euphonium player Chris’ dad, who managed to watch the quartet in a more ‘local’ concert for the first time! We enjoyed the performance very much and gained lots of positive feedback after the concert, which is always nice to hear!
After the concert we went back to our accommodation, which was a stunning 17th century building entitled, ‘Skirling House’. The hosts bought it 25 years ago and used it a guest house until only 2 years ago, hence us all having our own double room with en suite! After talking about the history of the building, bonding with their pets and sampling some local beer it was time for bed.
Time for rest before the final day of our tour. On to Peebles!
Jamie Smith
25/3/19
Day 3 saw us travel south from Ayr to Gatehouse of Fleet, after a morning spent sampling the local delights of Pirate Pete’s mini-golf and the amusement arcade, in less than tropical weather conditions!
Having left plenty of time for the picturesque drive down, we decided to spend a couple of hours having lunch and looking around Kirkcudbright – a small harbour town just a few miles from Gatehouse of Fleet – which is renowned for it’s popularity amongst painters even to this day as an inspiration for many of their works of art.
Upon our arrival at Gatehouse Parish church, we received a very warm welcome from the hosts (complete with soup, sandwiches and quiche!) and put in the usual tweaks to our set to deal with the difference in staging which the platform posed us.
A compact yet responsive audience took their seats across the two-tiered hall as we embarked upon the first half – featuring the same programme as our first concert of the tour in Melrose on Friday evening, before our ‘Alone at the Opera’ set closed the concert in the second half. At both the interval and the end of the concert, it was great to talk to a number of members of the local Solway Symphony orchestra who had come to listen to the concert!
Jonny Bates
24/3/19
