It was a snowy drive up the A9 to Forres and then on to the Universal Hall near Findhorn. Shooglenifty's last gig here was four years ago and the place is always filled with memories for me. Growing up in Forres, my friends and I would walk or cycle to Findhorn in the summer to go and play in the dunes or swim in the sea and we would usually stop off at the caravan site on the way home to buy juice from the shop, or just have a look at the slow construction of the hall which seemed to take many years to complete. If you look at the exterior walls as you walk round the building, you can see the different styles of the masons who worked on the walls. I had a jam with some teenage pals in one of the rooms there while we were still at school. It was still filled with plaster dust so the building must have been nearing completion. I don't even remember what the first performance I went to see was. Years later I was lucky enough to play with other musicians on recordings of the TV series Tacsi in the hall: Video of Tacsi
That's me playing shakers with Martyn Bennet and the rest of them with James on Djembe.
It was so good to see so many friends who had turned out on a wild night to see Shooglenifty and have a good dance. I hope it is not too long till we return again.
