Showing posts with label country. Show all posts
Showing posts with label country. Show all posts

Wednesday 31 August 2022

Claim of Right

  

Is the principle that recognises that the people of Scotland have the sovereign right to determine the form of government best suited to their needs. First set out by the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320. Before this Scotland had been governed by a succession 113  kings. Scotland was founded by Fergus Mor in the  5th century, followed 9th century by the union of the Picts and Scots under Kenneth I. 


In 2018 there was the case of McCormack vs the Lord Advocate  - “The principles of unlimited sovereignty of parliament is a distinct English principle has no counterpoint in Scottish constitutional law. This was later endorsed by the UK parliament. 

 

Scotland’s Claim of Right is not based on conquest, but under a Treaty under International Law, and two acts of parliament, that ratified and implemented the treaty. 


These measures can be rescinded as circumstances changed, if their conclusions no longer prevail, and the disadvantages that arise from the present political structure. The present Scottish government and parliament are competent to renegotiate a withdrawal from the treaty. 

 

At present Scotland is a country but not independent, within the framework/political union UK, yet retains strong national identity and sovereign rights. 


The UN international Bill of Human Rights, as a fundamental human right and binding on the UK on the right of self determination, which determines that -

All people have the right to self-determination., . by virtue of the right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

 

In culture, Scotland’s distinctive music, dance, literature, architecture and uniquely preserves the Celtic culture.

  

I wonder that some in England wanted a Brexit, to bring the UK closer back together. They forgot about Scotland’s long standing historic ties to Europe, which has left many Scots feeling bereft to loose their place in Europe. But also the small indy nations in Europe are out performing. 

 

None of these claims are anti- Britain. The opposite – Yessers believe a more successful Scotland will make the UK stronger. As a family of nations rather than warring tribes.  #¥esScots

 

 

Tuesday 12 October 2021

Great Britain is a Landmass and not a country

 


 
I found a useful Historic page – GB or Great Britain is NOT a country but a landmass and UK came into being in 1801 when Ireland was brought into the union – and not in 1707.  

I found a useful Historic page – GB or Great Britain is NOT a country but a landmass and UK came into being in 1801 when Ireland was brought into the union – and not in 1707.

 

GB is known as ‘Great’ because it is the largest island in the British Isles and houses the countries of England, Scotland and Wales within its shores.  Great Britain came into use to refer to the island. However, that name had no official significance until 1707, when the island's rival kingdoms of England and Scotland were united as the Kingdom of Great Britain.

 

When was the UK established? Although some people argue that the UK was formed in 1707 by the Act of Union between England, Wales and Scotland, the name United Kingdom wasn’t adopted until 1801 when Ireland was brought into the union.

**The United Kingdom (UK)  The UK is short for The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland… quite a mouthful! It is a sovereign state (in the same way as France or the USA) but is made up of four countries; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For Americans, the best analogy would be that the UK is like the USA, whilst its four consistent countries are like states.

There is a long and complicated history that follows the formation of the United Kingdom, but here are the highlights:
c. 925 – The Kingdom of England. Established by the unification of Anglo-Saxon tribes across modern day England.
1536 – Kingdom of England and Wales. A bill enacted by King Henry VIII which effectively made England and Wales the same country, governed by the same laws. Henry Tudor also declared himself King of Ireland in 
1707 – Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of England (which includes Wales) joined with the Kingdom of Scotland to form The Kingdom of Great Britain.
1801 – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Ireland joins the union, and once again the name changes.
1922 – United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Republic of Ireland (Eire, or ‘Southern Ireland’) withdraws from the union, leaving just the northern counties of Ireland. This is the UK that remains to this day.

So when was the UK established? Although some people argue that the UK was formed in 1707 by the Act of Union between England, Wales and Scotland, the name United Kingdom wasn’t adopted until 1801 when Ireland was brought into the union.

Great Britain (sometimes just referred to as ‘Britain’): Great Britain is not a country; it’s a landmass. It is known as ‘Great’ because it is the largest island in the British Isles, and houses the countries of England, Scotland and Wales within its shores.

The name Britain derives from the Roman word Britannia, but there are two conflicting arguments about why the ‘Great’ was stuck on the front of it. The first is that it is used to distinguish Britain from its similar sounding, but much smaller French neighbour, Brittany. The second reason is due to the ego of a certain King James I, who wanted to make it abundantly clear that he wasn’t just the king of the old Roman Britain  (which only included England and some of Wales), but of the entire island; thus he referred to himself as King of Great Britain.

The British Isles:  The British Isles is the name of a group of islands situated off the north western corner of mainland Europe. It is made up of Great Britain, Ireland, The Isle of Man, The Isles of Scilly, The Channel Islands (including Guernsey, Jersey, Sark and Alderney), as well as over 6,000 other smaller islands. It is perhaps understandable then that England is often (although incorrectly) used as a term to describe the whole of the UK.

https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-UK-Great-Britain-Whats-the-Difference/

**So there you have it! If you’re still a bit confused over the differences, here’s a quick summary:


The UK – a sovereign state that includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.


Great Britain – an island situated off the north west coast of Europe.


British Isles – a collection of over 6,000 islands, of which Great Britain is the largest.


England – a country within the UK.

Thursday 14 February 2019

Transatlantic Sessions Celtic Connections 2019



It is always welcome to hear the unique blend of Shetland fiddle and West Virginia song, dubro and Irish pipes, when the TS sessions on stage at the Glasgow concert hall creates warm fires with the winter chills blowing outside. The Transatlantic Sessions is one of the major highlights of this highly respected annual folk, world and roots music festival. 

Dubro master and tonight’s host, Jerry Douglas sang the powerful Jimi Henrix’s song Hey Joe, Aly Bain was on good form, and at one point he dropped his fiddle. Ah the joys of live music! 

Irish singer Cara Dillon gave a glowing performance with her sublime voice. She sang the song Banks of the Foyle and P For Paddy, Bonny, Bonny and Sailor boy. Paul McKenna sang The Dreamer, a song to encourage past dreamers to keep faith, and also Long Days, Banks of the Moy.
Jerry Douglas

It was great to see the return to the TS stage of West Virginian Tom O’Brien, who sang Where the River Meets the Road, form his new album, and Guardian Angel and Keith in a Palm TreePhil Cunningham performed his tune, So Long Liam, 

Nashville’s’Gretchen Peters impressed with the character and emotion of her songs and voice: she sang Matador, On a Bus to St Cloud, Black Ribbons. Peters has received good reviews for her 2018 album, Dancing with the Beast. American 
Molly Tuttle is a young talent with a unique guitar style and she performed Take the Journey, Million Miles Away, and Save This Heart. She is 2018’s AMA Instrumentalist of the Year, plus Song of the Year at the International Folk Music Awards. 

Aly Bain

(Tunes included, The Wishing Tree Set  and Federals)

The TS music offers cross-collaborations between Celtic music and mid American bluegrass and country. Music to re-energise and recharge the soul.
These quality singers were backed by the Transatlantic house band – Shetland fiddler Aly Bain and dobro virtuoso Jerry Douglas, Russ Barenberg, Phil Cunningham, John Doyle, Michael McGoldrick, John McCusker, Donald Shaw, Daniel Kimbro and James Mackintosh.

Wednesday 15 April 2015

The Shires Oran Mor



The Shires entertained us with big-hearted memorable songs and warm smiles!
I first noticed The Shires single on radio Scotland a few months ago, for its strong melody and vocals and upbeat vibes.
 After only a few shows things have taken off for the pair and they were signed to Decca Records in 2014 and to Universal Music Nashville, The Shires are singer-songwriters Ben Earle and Crissie Rhodes.


The audience were all ages here tonight in the busy hot venue. They started their set tonight with the energetic fun of their debut single 'Nashville Grey Skies'. They followed their upbeat opening tunes - Ben took the tempo down on piano with some touching country ballads  - 'Think I'm Falling in love with you', 'Statements' (their next single), 'Let Me Be The One' and Made in England.’.

After which they took the energy up with several country rock pleasers and their single 'Friday Night' had the packed audience singing along. For their last song 'Tonight' – ‘Your mine I'm Yours’, they divided us into two sections to sing the two parts and they were thrilled on their return on stage for their encore to be greeted with the audience singing the song back for them!    


For the encore they sang 'When It's Real Love' the first song Ben played for Crissie and a popular cover of the Bee Gees love song 'Islands in the Stream'. 


Crissie looked the part with her golden locks and she sang with pure country tones and strong harmonies that added that extra sparkle. Ben is a touching, smooth musician and songwriter who made it all feel effortless. This duo has songs people remember. The Shires are the first ever UK country act to be signed to a major Nashville label. Their debut album Brave in 2015 made the UK top ten.   

*This was a two for the price of one event and the show was started by another fun country duo on guitars - two entertaining Americans John and Jacob, who had the crowd cheering and dancing along. They played with pumping guitars, some well chosen covers and their own songs. They are hit-making Nashvillle songwriters and their new singles have attracted Radio 2 airplay. Worth watching out for these guys too!  http://johnandjacob.com

There appears to be a resurgence in interest in country music today. It has shaken off its over-produced days and gone back to basics with more authentic, striped back arrangements. My favourite country musician is Jerry Douglas, who is such an expressive and dynamic player of the resonator guitar and he plays at Celtic Connections here every January. 


Saturday 10 March 2012

Jim Byrne and the Blackwoods and Dinny at Bar Brel Feb 2012

On a wet Glasgow night Jim Byrne and his band brought colour to the dull February days with enriching and soothing sounds..

The Bar Brel was full and cosy and I took a seat near the front in the hope of getting some good shots. This was the CD launch for Jim’s new set of tunes for his album The Innocent and he was accompanied by the Blackwood’s which consisted of Graham MacKintosh (banjo, violin), Elanor Gunn (violin) Dinny (guitar, harp and vocals), and Peter Bryne (bass, percussion, backing vocals). The band all did a very good job of backing Jim’s deep soothing bluesman vocals.

Stand out songs were requested - Two Empty Chairs, Sand in Our Shoes, and cover song Thirteen. I enjoyed the gypsy guitar vibe of Down by the Wildwood, after which Bryne took the temperature down with the comforting Sweeter than a Rose and the earthy Sand in Our Shoes.  He sang the covers Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes, Satisfied Mind ( Joe "Red" Hayes), There Stands The Glass (Russ Hull, Mary Jean Shurtz and Audrey Greisham) and a fun Make Me a Pallet on the Floor. His cover songs are well thought out as are his own songs which show his obvious love of music.

Jim’s music has a warm nostalgic feel and their set was very much in Jim’s chilled out late night groove style.
I am impressed with the way Jim maintains his Scottishness while taking on his American folk and blues influences. His sound draws on diverse influences such as Johnny Cash and Tom Waits, as well as other lesser known folk artists. Jim Byrne is a singer songwriter influenced by Americana, folk, alt-country and blues music. 
Byrne has an expressive voice and slightly eccentric songs making for a distinctive sound. He steered a calm ship with his quiet relaxed manner and smile which filters through his mellow country tunes and quality guitar playing. 

His new album has a cover by Susanne McGreevy and is called The Innocent. It has more atmosphere and is a step on from his well received previous album "Every Day is Sunshine.” The Innocent has an earthy sound and his songs have quirky and unexpected lyrics. The backing musicians play a wide variety of instruments on the record which adds a rootsy sound with a richer depth and with more fluid soundscapes.

A highly enjoyable night and I recommend checking out Jim's latest offerings.
Dinny sang a few of her own songs as the support slot and she has a very good voice with a pure quality to it as well as being a talented guitarist.  http://songsbyjimbyrne.com/
 As on Jim's previous album, he's joined by some of Glasgow's best musicians, notably Yvonne Lyon (delicate piano on Sleepy Head) and virtuoso guitarist and banjo picker Graham Mackintosh (Satisfied Mind, Thirteen). Jim’s brother, Peter Byrne, adds harmonic richness on backing vocals (check the chorus on Sand in your Shoes) as does Glasgow singer songwriter Dinny (Two Empty Chairs, You Are A Good Friend Of Mine).   

Set List Fancy Wooden Box
Tell Me You Love Me Again
Down By The Wildwood
Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes
Satisfied Mind (cover song by Joe "Red" Hayes)

Thirteen
Sweeter Than A Rose
Sand In Our Shoes

II
You Dont know
There Stands The Glass
Two Empty Chairs
When You Bit Into That Apple
Make Me down A Pallette On Your Floor
The Handle's Broken On my Cup
Daddy's Car

Tuesday 7 February 2012

Rab Noakes and Friends at Celtic Connections Celtic 2012

The last time I saw Rab play a gig ( at the Oran Mor Glasgow, review on my blog) the venue was not so busy, so it was good to see a full house for him tonight at Celtic. 

Friends of Rab’s joined him on stage. Rod Clements of Lindisfarne sang Turn a Deaf Ear with RabJimmy McGregor who was on Scottish television music shows in the 60s, talked of the Skiffle groups and he sang Mormond Breas and Freight Train with Rab. Noakes sang some of his older songs such as Eden’s Flow, Turn a Deaf Ear and Clear Day. He also performed a selection of his newer songs. 

Noakes sang his very deep Gently Does It when he talked about all those artists he’d lost in the past year, including Gerry Rafferty. Lyrics, ‘You’ve been n the road so long, Building a highway to take you home.’ Sang Noakes in Living in the Past, ‘The past is a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. Old dreams tie you down.’ Nostalgia also came up in his song Memories.

He always includes one older song and tonight it was the classic Bye Bye Blackbird with Frazer on harmonica.
In between the songs Noakes talked about the story behind his songs. Noakes lets the songs come to him and he doesn’t force anything. He understands the meaning and depth of the songs he interprets and for him it’s all about the narrative. Noakes also talked about the movies that have inspired his work, such as 'Midnight Cowboy' inspiring his song 'I'm Walking Here.'

For his encore song he sang Dylan’s Mississippi. Many of his songs have strong blue grass and Americana influences. Rab has drawn on his Scottish Fife roots and taken on board American artists that he grew up with. I thought about how our music went over to America and then bounced back here! 

Rab took to the stage at the Strathclyde Suite concert hall 31st January. I was wishing there was a ‘Best of’ album of Noakes songs! http://www.go2neon.com/rab-noakes.htm

SET LIST

First Half
Wait a Minute
Slippin Away
What are you doing here?
Turn a Deaf Ear
Meet me on the corner
Eden’s Flow
Seeing is Believing
Mormond Breas
Freight Train
Living in the Past
One Dog Barks

Second Half
Gently Does it
No More Time
I’m Walkin’ here
Song to the Siren
Sleepless nights
Bye Bye Blackbird
Absense
Clear day
Wrong joke
Fallen Ones
Long Dark Night
A Day Away from here
Mississippi
A Brighter Blue

Thursday 14 July 2011

Beth Hart - Take it Easy on Me



Something a bit cheesy - quite like it though. Lots of soul and piano. Thanks Tom X

Wednesday 26 January 2011

Cash was supported by Denver singer songwriter 'Nathaniel Ratcliff'

Cash was very well supported at her City Halls gig Celtic Connection Glasgow January 2011 - by Denver singer songwriter 'Nathaniel Ratcliff' who has a powerful voice

'Rosanne Cash' at the City Halls Celtic Connections January 2011


Rosanne took us a heartfelt journey in the Glasgow City halls - over to heartbreak, hope redemption and love.  She travelled with her famous deep-voiced father Johnny Cash and his second wife June Carter, and the Carter family who she toured with as a young teenager and who helped to shape her musical voice.   
Rosanne was there at the concert with her husband  - producer, composer and guitarist John Leventhal.  Leventhal provided the perfect backing to Rosanne songs with melodic and blues-filled guitar - and he has produced and written for many famous artists. 

Her set consisted of well-known country songs such as 'Ode to Billy Joe'  and also original material by Rosanne.  She started with songs from her well-received album 'The List' released in 2009:  the songs for this album were selected from a list of 100 songs that Johnny wrote for her -  when she didn't seem to know many of the songs that meant the most to him, he went to the back of the bus and wrote this 'List.' Later she realised it was his legacy and tonight she performed from 'The List' album -  'Sea of Heartbreak,' 'Long Black Veil,' 'Girl From the North Country (Dylan),' '500 Miles', 'Heartaches by the Number.'     

Then she also performed her own original songs from her 2006 album ' Black Cadillac' album  - 'Burn Down This Town,' 'House on The Lake,' 'I Was Watching You,' and 'The World Unseen.' And also her first hit single 'Seven Year Ache'  - her 1981 breakthrough hit. 
For her encore, as it was Burn night, Rosanne sang a Burns song - 'My Love is Like a Red Red Rose', along with Scottish singer songwriter Roddy Hart.  She then finished the evening with a Carter family song 'Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow Tree.'  

Cash often wears muted clothes but her 'magenta purple velvet shoes' gave her away!   It feels like she has lived through many rollercoasters, seen bright sides and heartache to be able offer us her moving songs and a voice that can crack and break your heart.  

Cash was very well supported by Denver singer songwriter Nathaniel Ratcliff who has a powerful voice.