The P5 visits enjoyed workshops last Thursday with local musician Jake Williams. Jake has been doing a project with Deveron Arts about the River Deveron, and has walked from it’s source near the Cabrach to where it comes out to the sea at Banff. Along the way he has collected songs and ballads from the area. He played some of these to the p5’s. Songs included The Marchioness of Huntly, The Deveron Reel, Drumdelgie and The Burning of Auchindoon. The Song The Burning of Auchindoon was written in 1597 around the time of Mary Queen of Scots, and the p5s are hoping the learn it and perform it at the Launch of the Junior Tour Guides at Huntly Castle in early July .

Pupils had a chance to handle some of Jake’s musical instruments, which included a ukelele and a double guitar. Some pupils also took part in some impromptu highland dancing.

Jake told the classes about how he found two bottles on his travels along the Deveron. Inside the bottles were messages, written by past pupils from Gordon Primary! Pupils found this very exciting, and many thought it would be great to write their own messages to put in bottles.

The children enjoyed singing along with Jake and hearing old songs from this part of Scotland