A poetic night in Castlereagh…

Robbie Burns Night Celebrations

 

A lively night to celebrate the anniversary of Robbie Burns’ death, the great Bard of Scotland.  The lady Mayor of Castlereagh opened the evening with ‘The Selkirk Grace’ and a warm welcome to all present.

There were bagpipes and the unique Address to a Haggis, recited by Councilor Michael Copeland, here’s a little of it if you missed it:

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,

Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!

Aboon them a' ye tak your place,

Painch, tripe, or thairm:

Weel are ye wordy o' a grace

As lang's my arm.

…And if you don’t have a clue about what it means, you’re not alone! The ceremony was followed by food aplenty. Haggis with ‘neeps’ and ‘tatties’, a true Highland classic.

After the meal, ‘Bright Lights’ dance troupe entreated the audience to several Highland dances, and a beautiful Scots Ballet to the tune of the Burns classic ‘My love is like a red, red rose’.

Music stories and poetry were on display from ‘Keep er lit’ who finished out the evening to the ringing of laughter and applause.

Blown away by the wind …and the music!

First Friday Concert

First Friday concert series are back! Castlereagh Arts is delighted to indulge its audience again with a new round of First Friday performances, and our very own Jeremy Doherty was the first musician of the list!

Former recipient of the Ernest Anderson bursary, Jeremy took the audience to an enchanting musical journey across Ireland and Scotland, interspersing the music with some information and anecdotes about the composers.

While outside the wind was blowing, inside the council offices the listeners were blown away by the relaxing contemporary and classical music played by Jeremy!

He also moved the audience with the emotive piece that he composed to mark the 30th anniversary of the bombing of La Mon Hotel in Castlereagh, where twelve people died and more than twenty were injured.


The next First Friday performance will be a traditional Ulster Session on 4th March at 1pm in the Castlereagh Civic Centre, not to be missed!