'The Leaving of St Kilda' makes it to London

 We made it to London! Delighted that my poem 'The Leaving of St Kilda' set to music by Fraser D. MacDonald was performed at the Holy Cross Church in London WC1 by the University of London UV8 choir on Monday 8th December.

'The Leaving of St Kilda' in Auld Alliance concert at St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, 23.10/25.

                                                           
      

Another fabulous outing for my poem 'The Leaving of St Kilda' set to music for four voices by Fraser MacDonald. This time part of a concert sung by the St Giles Cathedral choir commemorating 750 years of the Auld Alliance between Scotland and France.

What an honour to be part of such a prestigious event - the Mayor and other Scottish dignitaries, representatives from the French Institute and all the Great and the Good of Edinburgh in a packed cathedral. Also great for Fraser's music to be performed alongside luminaries such as  Fauré and James MacMillan. I was thrilled that my wee poem was also part of an event with Scotland's Makar (poet laureate), Padraig MacAoidh/Peter MacKay reading his poem Coille Lan de Shaorsa/A Whole Forest of Liberty.

The text of Fraser's music was introduced as by the 'Scottish' poet, Stephanie Green.  Well, I have ne'er a drop of Scottish blood but we have lived here for 25 years, so it is my adopted country. Besides, mentioning I am English (half Irish) might not have gone down well at an event celebrating an alliance against the common enemy, England!

Programme

Expect a moving blend of Scottish and French music performed in the majestic setting of St Giles’, echoing centuries of cultural friendship.

Master of the Music - Jack Oades

Organist - Jordan English

Kyrie Eleison (from Messe Solenelle) - Louis Vierne (1870-1937) 

Ave Maris Stella - Guillame Dufay (c1397-c1474) 

O Radiant Dawn - James MacMillan (b. 1959) 

Notre Père - Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986) 

Cantique de Jean Racine - Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) 

Sicilienne (Pelléas et Mélisande) - Gabriel Fauré 

White-note paraphrase - James MacMillan 

Hymn à la Vierge - Pierre Villette (1926-1998) 

A New Song - James MacMillan 

Leaving St Kilda - Fraser MacDonald (b. 2001)

Loch Lomond - Traditional, arr. David Overton  

Gloria in Excelsis - (from Messe Solenelle) - Louis Vierne 

PoetryLit Festival Finale, Poetry as Healing.

It was a great privilege last Saturday (day 2 of Poetry lit's Festival Finale) to host session 2 with three fantastic poets reading from Greece, Toronto and Scotland: Vasiliki Albedo, Ronna Bloom and Sukhema followed by a Q and A.  The session is focused on Poetry as Healing and all the poets are concerned with either chronic illness, or various trauma, pain, grief, and poetry in health care settings. I'm sure that their comments will help anyone trying to write about difficult subject matter.  However, there are recommendations for playfulness and a few laughs too!

You can watch this on PLit's You Tube site:

PoetryLit Festival Finale Session 2

 

Reading with the PoetryLit crew at the festival finale.

Festival Finale. The PoetryLit  crew reading:  with Milla Van Der Have, Iain Whiteley, Lydia Harris and and myself.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBYt0tY4D4U&t=3254s

2-day Festival and Finale of PoetryLit

 5 years of PoetryLit has been fantastic. Who'd have thought meeting Milla Van Der Have at Annaghmakerrig (the Tyrone Guthrie Centre) in Ireland would have borne such fruit! Sadly it's now coming to an end.  But we are going out with a bang.  A two day festival on  Friday night (12th Sept) at the usual time of 7pm GMT on zoom featured the PoetryLit team:  Iain Whiteley, Lydia Harris, Walco Van Loon, myself and Milla.

The second day (on Sat 13th Sept) is several sessions of readings, comprising 12 of our favourite poets, who have been featured on PoetryLit over the 5 years,  hosted by one of the team.

If you've missed the festival or any of the past events, then you can catch up with a selection  on PoetryLit's You Tube page.

It's been a wonderful experience of immersing oneself in poetry, learning from such a variety of different types of poetry and enabling others through the open mics.  And apart from the poetry, I've made some terrific friends. Here are some photos with happy memories of PoetryLit  or get-togethers of the team over the years.

                                             Annaghmakerrig, (The Tyrone Guthrie Centre),

                                               County Monaghan, Ireland, July 2023

Walco, Iain, Milla and myself at the Rotterdam festival, 

June 2023

                                            Hybrid live and online PLit at StAnza Poetry Festival,

                                                 St Andrews, Scotland, March 2024

                                             At Milla's launch of 'Ox and Mandarin' with myself 

                                                   as warm-upreader at the Perdu Bookshop,

                                                         Amsterdam, June 2024

                                             The co-conspirators  in Utrecht, the Netherlands,

                                                   Milla and Walco's home town, June 2024

                                                           

                                            Visiting Lydia Harris in Westray, Orkney, Sept 2021.

 

'The Leaving of St Kilda' in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh.

'The Leaving of St Kilda' set to music for voices by Fraser McDonald has another outing. This time sung by the Seraphim choir in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh, 30th August, 2025. 

To hear audio press this link.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/dSLRyUxl434

The Leaving of St Kilda video. 'Scottish Roots' concert at Edinburgh Fringe, August 2025.

 Alastair Savage and  Ailie Robertson at their 'Scottish Roots' concert at St Mark's church, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, 2025.

To hear Alastair reading my poem 'The Leaving of St Kilda' over 'Dun' played on the clarsach by Ailie press this link

https://photos.app.goo.gl/8Bgy1fcWHQWxvY317

The Leaving of St Kilda: with Alastair Savage and Ailie Robertson on fiddle and clarsarch

 Delighted that my poem 'The Leaving of St Kilda' will be read during this fiddle and clarsarch concert as part of the Edinburgh Fringe on 4th August 16.30 (1 hour) at St Mark's church, Castle Terrace.

Alastair-Savage-and-Ailie-Robertson-fiddle-and-clarsach-scottish-roots

It's amazing how this poem attracts musicians. This will its second outing. The first when it was set to music by Fraser D. Macdonald back in June, 2024.