"I was fortunate to journey back from Perth, Australia- where I was born- to live in Edinburgh, Scotland. Sunny days were spent out on the Pentland Hills and rainy days on red double-decker busses taller than many of the shops of the narrow, cobblestone streets. From the moment we arrived it seemed like a spell- as if we were meant to be here... And then came the lone sound of a piper, echoing unseen... (A shaoghail!)"
Tracing family roots by journeying back to faraway lands, can be a once-in-a-lifetime
adventure. But living there- treading the soil, breathing the air, appreciating differences
in seasons and temperatures, surrounded by the magic of the scenery, re-tellings of history, stories of ghosts...
"The kindness of strangers made this a special time to share
and learn. The Gaelic of the highland folk changes from district to
district, and an air of adventure felt complete as our ferry reached the Isle
of Skye, entering the fishing docks, the hillsides disappearing up into
the mists..."
From cobblestones to first snowflakes, from football to piping at the Edinburgh
Tattoo, it's a one-of-a-kind experience. From the poems and songs of Robert Burns to
lesser-known melodies, Wallace & Keldie hope the music in‚ 'A Red,
Red Rose‚' brings the places and memories of the past into light, into
the present and future, going forwards for all to share.
Enjoy sound clips/view "A Red, Red Rose"here.
Interested in your own journey or a reminder of your own experiences? Enjoy and share the following links- some helped shape the lyrics, poems, songs, pieces and recordings for CD, " A Red, Red Rose.
Seamus Heaney: Seeing Things
James Joyce: Ulysses
Robert Burns: Selected Poems
Thomas Cahill: How the Irish Saved Civilization
Nigel Pennick: The Sacred World of the Celts
Anna Wilkes: Ireland: Ur of the Chaldees
Marion Zimmer Bradley: The Mists of Avalon
Howard Pyle: Story of King Arthur and his Knights
Declan Kiberd: Irish Classics
Edinburgh University Press: Early Celtic Art