Friday 4th March
The Ceilidh represents Chester Caledonian’s celebration of Scottish culture whether it be music, song or poetry. This year, we returned to the Leverhulme Suite in the County Stand at Chester Racecourse. The arriving guests were escorted upstairs for pre-dinner drinks prior to enjoying an excellent meal.
It is a rite-of-passage for the Associations incoming president that he has the dubious honour of organising the entertainment for the evening. This year’s victim, Murray Brown introduced a new twist by starting the evening off with a mystery quiz won by Jim Lester mainly as result of insider “Dundonian” knowledge. Once again, we were fortunate that Mod Gold Medal winner, Calum Macleod had agreed to perform. The guests were treated to a virtuoso performance on the clarsach accompanied by some fine singing. The Ceilidh would not the same without the poetry contribution from the Bonnars.
There several outstanding acts featuring singers accompanied by their guitar and a special mention should go Dugie Gemmill and Ben Walton. Unfortunately there is a flip side to every coin and the song from Mr David Murdoch is best forgotten which is what he did with the lyrics.
Still there was something for everyone and a special thank you should go the Angus McSween and Murray for putting it all together.