Posts for February, 2022

A mixture of fine art and craft on show to showcase local talent. The emphasis in this exhibition is more on crafts than fine art, with work rearranged so work from one artist/ craftsperson is in one area so you can appreciate the breadth of their work. Jewellery, glass, wood, tweed, fabrics, ceramics and so much more.

Explore the old park that the Laird gave to his alcoholic sister, find out about how a desolate moor became the capital of Strathspey and learn about a mysterious death in Anagach Woods during the height of the Cold War.
This walk will include the opportunity to forage for seasonal wild food.

Find out how Boat of Garten developed from a simple ferry crossing of the Spey to the Highland Railway village.
The walk occurs on the same day as the Strathspey Railway Diesel Gala and will give guests great views of the railway and the trains.
More details TBC on the Facebook page.

This 2.5 hour guided walk begins at Grantown Caravan Park before travelling to Castle Grant along the old Highland Railway line (The Dava Way). We will then walk into Grantown to find out why the town was moved.
Hear stories about the Comyn Skull, Lady Barbara’s ghost and why a railway cutting is named after a outlawed clan.
There will also be a chance to forage for seasonal medicinal and edible plants.

This 4 hour guided walk (including breaks) will start at the medieval Castle Roy with its connections to the infamous Wolf of Badenoch, before walking past the elegant Aultmore House. We stop at a viewpoint to see an awe inspiring vista of the Cairngorm mountains before climbing up to the breathtaking Backharn Valley.

Hear stories from the local folklore of an ambush of cattle thieves in the Backharn valley, the evil white serpent and fairy changelings.
The walk will also include an opportunity to forage for seasonal wild food, just as highlanders did through the centuries.

*Tickets available from EventBrite link online (preferred) or purchasable in cash from Boat of Garten Post Office and shop (but please do try to use the EventBrite booking online instead if you can, thank you).

EVENT PROGRAMME

18.00 – 19.00 – ‘Cairngorms Connect’ talk. How to restore a landscape” talk with speakers from across the CC partnership covering peatlands, woodlands, rivers and floodplains, people and science and monitoring. Including Q&A.

19.00 – 19.30 – interval #1

19.30 – 20.15 – 1st half of musical performance Hamish Napier The Woods Folk Trio

20.15 – 20.45 – interval #2

20.45 – 21.30 – 2nd half of musical performance Hamish Napier The Woods Folk Trio

*It is likely that some audience members may not be able to attend all of the evening’s programme, which is absolutely fine.

PERFORMERS:
Hamish Napier – wooden flutes, whistles, piano and stories
Patsy Reid – fiddle and viola
Innes Watson – guitars and viola
Robbie Synge – Artist in Residence for Cairngorms Connect

HAMISH NAPIER is a Scottish folk multi-instrumentalist and composer inspired by the heritage and nature of his native landscape of Strathspey. Join us as he performs his award winning new album The Woods (Album of the Year at the Scots Trad Music Awards) funded by local habitat restoration project Cairngorms Connect. His original March 2020 Woods album launch tour was cancelled just as the national lockdown hit, and postponed to 2021 and then again to 2022. Not one to give up easily, Hamish finally will finally get the chance to share his music inspired by the flora and fauna of Scotland’s native forests. Hamish’s music is innovative, incorporating sounds from jazz, electronica and classical music, while also celebrating and respecting Scotland’s rich musical heritage. Humorous, engaging and heart-warming, Hamish’s performances are often interdisciplinary, incorporating poems and stories about nature, folklore and communities. The Woods is album no.3 in his Strathspey Pentalogy – a 5-album exploration and celebration of his homeland, following on from The River and The Railway.He will also share a few of the work-in-progress pieces from forthcoming album no.4! www.hamishnapier.com

PATSY REID is one of Scotland’s finest fiddle players. Patsy Reid is one of the most in-demand traditional fiddle players in the UK. She has performed with Dougie Maclean, Kylie Minogue and Zakir Hussain, and recorded with Mark Knopfler, Donald Shaw, Duncan Chisholm, Bella Hardy, Treacherous Orchestra, Tim Edey and many more. With an accuracy and tone that many fiddlers only dream of, Patsy has truly mastered her instrument and has developed a unique style. https://www.patsyreid.com

INNES WATSON, from Glasgow, is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist with fifteen years of contemporary and traditional Scottish music performance, recording, teaching and producing under his belt and one of the most highly-regarded and sought-after musicians in the field. Innes Watson is a rhythmic guitar wizard and a first class fiddle player to boot, with a unique style and approach. Like Hamish, Innes also performs in ace Highland fiddle player Duncan Chisholm’s band. www.inneswatson.co.uk

ROBBIE SYNGE studied science but now makes performance, film, objects and other things rooted in choreographic thinking around the body and its meeting points and touch – alone and with others – in landscapes and with objects and materials. He lives in Nethy Bridge, a small village in the Cairngorm National Park, Scotland, where he currently focuses his time on developing community links and contemporary art activity particularly in relation to land use and restoration issues. He is developing new partnerships with artist residencies in the area (e.g. The Work Room Time Away residencies 2021). www.robbiesynge.com

SHOP: On the night Hamish will be selling all 3 albums from his ‘Strathspey Trilogy’ at a one-off special reduce rate for this local show. A chance to pick up a signed copy of the CD at a very modest price, while at the same time helping support local musicians livelihoods.

COVID GUIDELINES: We will be keeping a close eye on national coronavirus guidelines with regards to public performances. It is recommended that people take a lateral flow on the day of event, and do not attend if they or anyone in their household has Covid symptoms. People are encouraged to wear face coverings when not seated.

Imagine you are about to die.
You have one meal left.
What are you going to have?

It’s the question award-winning restaurant critic, MasterChef judge and writer Jay Rayner has been asked most often by audiences across the UK. It happened so often that he decided the time had come to investigate the concept of the last supper and why it intrigues us so. Is it because of the opportunity it presents us with to let your appetites run riot? Or is it because it’s
a greedy way in which to tell the story of your own life? And if so, what would a man like Jay Rayner, who for two decades has made a living eating out in restaurants, choose to put on the menu?

In this barnstorming new show, based on his new book, Rayner investigates our fascination with last suppers and tells the stories of the killer dishes that would end up on his table: how he was introduced to oysters by his late mother, how he almost burnt down a hotel because of his love for snails in bubbling garlic butter and of the many ways by which the mighty pig has
fed him over the years. Plus, he’ll get the audience to design their own last meal. My Last Supper follows the success of his sell out shows, My Dining Hell and The Ten Food Commandments, which have taken audiences by storm across the UK, Australia, New Zealand and the US.

My Last Supper with Jay Rayner. It’s a show to die for.

Join us during the February school holidays for a laugh out loud live panto of Robinson Crusoe.

‘All aboard’ for this exciting, engaging and musical story of the heroic captain of the ‘Good Ship Lizzie’. On a mission
to seek out wondrous treasure, discover strange new lands, and to boldly go where no action-packed adventure has gone before! Packed with songs and laughter, there’ll be no need to walk the plank.

Visit the ancient Pictish Stone at the old Inverallan churchyard and learn about the mysterious Picts. Hear stories of drowned Bailies and cursed Lairds. Visit the standing stones of Ballintomb and explore the unexplained cross shaped earthwork.

Scottish Children’s Champs and Bairns Bucket

ENTRY FEES

Scottish Children’s Championships – £30 per single day or £50 for both.

Bairns Bucket – £25 per single day, £40 for both