The Essay: Dig Where You Stand

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The Essay: Dig Where You Stand: Pickin' Tatties near Arbroath

Pickin' Tatties near Arbroath

Dig Where You Stand

BBC Radio 3 - The Essay, Dig Where You Stand, Pickin' Tatties near Arbroath

Unearthing old tunes and songs from around the UK.

Steve Byrne discusses the song 'Pickin' Tatties' at Dickmontlaw near Arbroath.

Folklorist and singer Steve Byrne sets out the concept of 'Dig Where You Stand' using an example from his home town of Arbroath on the East Coast of Scotland.  Whilst digitising archive tapes from the School of Scottish Studies at the University of Edinburgh, he came across the songs of Mabel Skelton recorded by Hamish Henderson in the mid 1980s.  The song 'Pickin' Tatties' struck a chord and resulted in Steve taking it back to the town and teaching it to school children. He takes us to the spot where the song was born and discusses the cultural confidence that comes from connecting local people with their own traditions.  And how this concept has been utilised in other parts of the world.

Written and presented by Steve Byrne
Produced by Helen Needham
Mixed by Ron McCaskill

A BBC Audio Scotland Production made in Aberdeen for BBC Radio 3

Live music and the arts: broadcasts more live music than any other radio network. Classical music is its core. Genres include world and new music, jazz, speech and drama.

Unearthing old tunes and songs from specific places around the UK

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