Tag Archives: Scottish folk music

Come Fly With Me–

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Jack’s Wednesday guest blog – –

There was a time when I enjoyed flying. During the 1980s and 1990s, I flew all over Europe and back and forward across the Atlantic.

Some of this was work-related, some was with my folk band, and some was just for leisure. Of course this was before 9/11, and airport security was much more relaxed.

I was late to check in for my flight from Boston to Scotland and was put on stand-by. I was also the last person left and got the last seat. It was first class – not business class – actual FIRST CLASS!! I had a personal dedicated flight attendant, unlimited drinks and excellent food, just like the other five folks who’d paid for it. And just one of the unexpected perks for an itinerant folksinger.

I was flying with the other members of my old band Heritage to Venice for a two week regional festival called FolkEst. The leg from London to Venice was with Alitalia, and the pilot had a tailwind. So he announced he’d give us a small detour over the Eiger and Jungfrau, explaining we shouldn’t move from side to side, as he would give everyone a view. That’s when we looked down and saw plainly the ledge on top of the Eiger, where we’d all been sitting just a few months earlier when playing on a Swiss tour. Our pilot got a sitting ovation as we touched down in Venice,

Alitalia also had the best food, which is something else that I began to pay attention to over the years. They were also one of the last airlines that still had smoking seats at the back of the plane!

I always enjoyed people watching, but when transferring at Heathrow in London to a Scottish flight, almost all the people on the other side of the walkway were folk I knew every time! Scotland is a small country!!

But do I still enjoy flying? No, NO, NO! Less legroom, pay extra for almost everything, nasty food – – –

The Aftermath–

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Jack’s Wednesday guest post deals with what came next –

We settled into our new abode in the tiny one-street village of New Gilston, with Valkittie (pictured below) and our newly acquired dog, Rabbie.

Wendy quickly set up a non-profit charity called ‘Storytelling Unplugged,’ which created afterschool clubs and community events and she recruited like-minded folk as her team. She was still working on her PhD and traveling a fair bit to interview other storytellers scattered around the UK. In between all this she was continuing to write a regular column for the newspaper where she had worked in Tennessee. I saw her occasionally, a whirlwind coming in or going out the door. And we managed some fun marriage moments between gigs….

Meanwhile I was in a senior position in a local community college with five years still to go before retirement and gigging musically with my buddy, George, who had been best man at our wedding.

But –

Around March following our wedding the previous year, the phone rang. I answered it and Wendy heard me say, “sure Cittie, that’s fine”. I looked over and saw an expression accompanied by a long pause that I would learn to recognize over the next twenty five years. She knew that Cittie Finlayson was the organizer of the ‘Muchty folk festival – yes – the same one that was held the weekend we got married. “Did you just give away our first anniversary?!” she eventually said – – –

I took her to dinner. Next year, we celebrated our anniversary a day early.