I made it home in one piece wow! What a trip that was back from Glasgow but at 9pm Monday night I was finally back home. I didn’t expect myself saying that but I was really looking forward coming back home even though that meant leaving Glasgow. Uist really captured me!
Tuesday started back again with college and we prepared last sets for Barra. Then Wednesday we were off to Barra! It was raining cats and dogs but oh well. We were in the car so it didn’t really matter. The journey down to Eriskay where the ferry leaves for Barra was stunning. The landscape is amazing. Apparently the football pitch on Eriskay is one of the most stunning pitches in the world! I saw it with my own eyes and it’s really unique. A normal pitch but surrounded by tiny houses, green fields, turquoise water and white beaches. Amazing! Driving onto the ferry I realized I had never seen such a small ferry before and you need to almost drive into the water to drive onto the ferry. Interesting adventure.
As we landed on Barra we drove down to Vatersay and arrived at the venue for the gig which the Vatersay Hall. A cute small hall that was perfect for our gig. We had a Live Music Sound Workshop in the afternoon, after some great lunch at the café in the hall. It was interesting learning about how to set up the microphones and monitors on stage and how to get the sound you want for yourself and the crowd. After that there was a lot of time sitting around and waiting but then we could finally try out some sets on stage and had our soundcheck. It all went well and it didn’t take long till we were finished. Then on to the hostel and some outfit changes as well as some well-deserved dinner! Pizza was on the menu today and I couldn’t have wished for anything better.
Off we went to our gig and as we were driving to the car park we were surprised seeing so many cars! What a perfect start to the evening. The programme was very divers and had very interesting tunes in it. Chloe Steele opened the evening with a wonderful pipe set and we had the Barra Gaelic Choir as well, delivering an amazing performance! After that we played some sets and although it was our first official gig together I think we did very well. Of course it was not perfect and there is stuff to work on but the whole evening went very smooth and it felt great sharing the stage with all those wonderful musicians! I had the privilege to play a Frisian set from my home island Föhr for the Vatersay audience and it was a great success. Even though the audience didn’t understand a word I felt that there was a connection because gaelic and frisian have similarities in their culture and music. After the gig a couple came to me mentioning how much they enjoyed the frisian song and that they had exactly that melody just with different lyrics as their wedding song! What a coincidence! I mean I brought a tune from my tiny home island Föhr to Vatersay which is even tinier and someone in the audience had exactly that song I picked as their wedding song! It proves how much music travels, how many similarities cultures have and that music really is the greatest thing in the world!
We went back to the hostel in Castlebay hoping that we could have a pint in some pub but… no luck. To be fair it was a Wednesday so fair play to them, we would’ve probably been the only ones in the pub. No problem for us though we just went into the sitting room in the hostel with some wine we had bought before. The next morning we took the ferry back to Eriskay and recaptured the day in Barra at the college, which in our eyes was a total success! It was a great experience for all of us and it’s good to know what to work on and what to improve.
Friday night I had a very much needed talk to my friend that ended in three and a half hours talking. Oh well. There are certain people where time just flies and you could still go on for aaaaages. Too many good memories we had during the last one and a half years! Another thing I talked to her about was my biggest project up to date and the things that come with it. That is going to be next level, honestly! I am sure that this will work out and I can’t wait to start organizing. That project is one reason why I will possibly stay on Uist for another year. Two months ago I didn’t think I would ever say that but here we are. Being here gives me more time and freedom on the planning and as well as that I am just building up a lot of things and leaving in April again I would need to build all of that up again in a different place and that’s a great shame in my eyes.
I won’t announce my project till there is more clarity, which will probably by the beginning of next year and till I actually contacted the people that will be involved in it but once that’s done I will keep you up to date with the process for sure! Can’t wait to share it! I will give little hints during the next blogs so keep your eyes peeled! Music will be involved I can guarantee that.
Until then take it easy & take care!
Cheerio bye,
Emilia
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