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Gary Miller's Blog

Feb 09 2017

Burns Night Celebration 25th January 2017

On Thursday 25th January 2017, I had the pleasure of taking part in a private Burns Night Celebration, with lots of great friends in attendance (many of whom gave their own unique performances), organised by my friend and 'partner in creative crime'(!) Keith Armstrong, at the 'Redhouse', Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Beforehand, however, I managed a sneaky pint or two in 'The Botanist'...

 

As part of my contribution to the proceedings at 'The Redhouse', I gave a unique 'one-off' performance of the traditional Scottish folk song 'MacPherson's Lament' (a.k.a. 'MacPherson's Rant'), a version of the lyrics of which have been attributed to Robert Burns. The song tells the true story of the hanging of James ('Jamie') MacPherson, a Scottish outlaw. I specifically chose this song in honour of my good friend Heather Wood (née MacPherson), who was there on the night and is a living descendant of Jamie MacPherson.

 

Here is a partial clip (unfortunately the footage is incomplete and misses the end of the song but at least it preserves a small flavour of the night's event): -

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