On the Easter Ross Peninsula, Highland
Inspiring A Community With Creativity
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Collegiate Church
Tain is unusual in Scotland for the rare distinction of having upstanding remains of three medieval kirks or chapels.
Each one of these owes its existence to the respect, amounting to veneration, in which men and women of previous times held St Duthac the Patron Saint of Tain.The Collegiate Church is a well-preserved medieval church built at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries as the parish church of Tain. The church was restored after being abandoned and allowed to fall into decay around the year 1815.
In 1877 the restoration began and today is managed and maintained by a volunteer committee.
The Arts Connect us to our Cultural roots, Memory and History
The St Duthac Book and Arts Festival Group are thrilled that the Collegiate Church were once again a venue to some festival events. Afterall, it is the perfect venue.
Henry Fosbrooke — Family Drumming and Music Making
The Collegiate Church, Tain IV19 1AJ
The multi-talented Henry Fosbrooke took us on a thrilling adventure into music making with drums of all sizes, handmade by Henry, and other musical instruments. They were carried away by the rhythms and vibrations of the drums and soft beaters. And made wonderful music in the beautiful setting of the old Collegiate Church.
Woodworker Henry has been making and using musical instruments all his adult life, sharing his love of all things wood and visiting schools and Care Homes with his handmade instruments.
Henry was also taking part in the school programme.
Helen Percy - Whistlebare:
The Shepherd, her dog, the mist and the mountain
The Collegiate Church, Tain IV19 1AJ
Helen Percy, a former Church of Scotland minister, decided to change her life and become a shepherd. In her first book, Scandalous, Immoral, Improper (2011), Helen told of endurance and survival of familial and ecclesiastical abuse. Over the years, Helen has worked with victims of child rape in South Africa and donkeys in the Kalahari. Back in the Highlands, she is contracted to several eccentric farmers, often travelling in a small van with her sheepdogs, a tame duck and an epileptic hare. The stories in Skirly Crag and its sequel Whistlebare are based in Sutherland.
Helen reflected on the similarities and the differences between her previous career as a pastor of people and the last 30 years as a shepherd. Helen offered some top tips for dealing with awkward animals and cussed farmers. Whistlebare is nature writing, humour and the reality of living on the land rolled into one.
Gizzen Briggs - Popping Up
Collegiate Church, Tain, IV19 1AJ
A selection of the talented young musicians from Gizzen Briggs popped up to play during the festival.
Dr Greg Kenicer - Scottish Plant Lore
The Collegiate Church, Tain IV19 1AJ
In collaboration with Tain and District Gardeners’ Club
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s Greg Kenicer delved into Scottish Plant Lore, looking at the many intriguing ways in which people have traditionally used plants. From the practical to the supernatural and the medical to the magical, Greg explored just how versatile our flora is.
Dr. Gregory Kenicer is a botanist and the author of a range of popular botany books, including Scottish Plant Lore, Plant Magic and Scottish Plant Names: an A to Z. Greg joined RBGE to work on the Flora Celtica project over 25 years ago and, since then, has delved into the evolution and diversity of peas and beans and taught botany across all age groups.
D James Ross and Bill Taylor In Concert - The Art of Musick : Ancestral Voices
Venue: The Collegiate Church, Tain, IV19 1AJ
James Ross & Bill Taylor wowed their audience with a musical feast in the stunning setting of Tain’s Collegiate Church.
James and Bill, described as ‘The leading lights in their field’, use voice, early wind instruments and harps to evoke a thousand years of Scottish music - sacred plainchant, Ossianic songs and airs, Renaissance part songs, mysterious 'ports', lively dance tunes and poignant songs of love and loss.
Wistful and charming, lively and uplifting, the music chosen for this Concert cannot fail to touch the heart and the soul. Five years ago, at the first St Duthac Book and Arts Festival, James and Bill delighted their audience with their virtuosity. It is with very great pleasure that we welcomed back this highly talented duo