Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Not While the Giro;
his controversial novel
How Late It Was, How Late
won the 1994
Booker Prize.
The novels of Irvine Welsh, who grew up in
Edinburgh's working-class district of Muir-
house, describe a very different world from
that inhabited by Miss Jean Brodie: the modern
city's underworld of drugs, drink, despair and
violence. Best known for his debut novel
Trainspotting,
Welsh's most accomplished
work is probably
Marabou Stork Nightmares,
in which a soccer hooligan, paralysed and in a
coma, reviews his violent and brutal life.
Ian Rankin's Edinburgh-based crime novels, featuring the hard-drinking, introspective
Detective Inspector John Rebus, are sinister, engrossing mysteries that explore the darker
side of Scotland's capital city. Rankin's novels are filled with sharp dialogue, telling detail
and three-dimensional characters; he has a growing international following (his books
have been translated into 22 languages). Rankin seems to improve with every book - the
final Rebus novel,
Exit Music
(2007), is one of his best. In
The Complaints
(2009) and
The Impossible Dead
(2011) he created a new and completely different character, Mal-
colm Fox, a cop who investigates other cops.
FOLK MUSIC
The Living Tradition
is a bimonthly magazine cov-
ering the folk and traditional music of Scotland and
the British Isles, as well as Celtic music, with fea-
tures and reviews of albums and live gigs. See also
Music
TRADITIONAL MUSIC
Scotland has always had a strong folk tradition. In the 1960s and 1970s Robin Hall and
Jimmy MacGregor, the Corries and the hugely talented Ewan McColl worked the pubs
and clubs up and down the country. The Boys of the Lough, headed by Shetland fiddler
Aly Bain, was one of the first professional bands to promote the traditional Celtic music
of Scotland and Ireland. It has been followed by the Battlefield Band, Runrig (who write
songs in Gaelic), Alba, Capercaillie and others.
The Scots folk songs that you will often hear
sung in pubs and at
ceilidhs
(evenings of tradi-
tional Scottish entertainment, including music,
song and dance) draw on Scotland's rich his-
tory. A huge number of them relate to the Ja-
cobite rebellions in the 18th century and, in
particular, to Bonnie Prince Charlie - 'Hey Johnnie Cope', the 'Skye Boat Song' and
The Traditional Music & Song Association
(
www.tmsa.org.uk
) website has listings of music,
dance and cultural festivals around Scotland.
