Apologies to The Sunday Class - Music for Ramadan-ce
A Dance for Ann
Caroline M-S devised a dance to honour our main teacher - Ann Prior.
Ken Martlew composed a tune to go with it and recorded this track for
us.
Reel of the Royal Scots
Guy Temple was seconded from the British Army to help form an army in Dubai.
As the fledgling army grew it was felt necessary to have a band . . .
Initially this was a purely military band recruited from Pakistan, but as the
local Arabs already played pipes - albeit not Scottish ones - Guy, a keen Scottish
dancer, encouraged the formation of a pipe band.
This is their stirring rendition of a favourite dance tune.
Of course, they also needed a tartan to wear, so Guy briefed a company in
Scotland to design a tartan using predominately red and white, the colours of
the Dubai flag and also green for Islam. The final choice was made by Sheikh
Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Ruler's youngest son, who was the Commander
of the Army.
Thus the "Mak toum" tartan was born - it sounds even better
when spoken!!
N.B.: Officially
STWR ref: 1531
Designer: Stallard, Pipe Major
Tartan date: 01/01/1977
The original Al-Maktoum Tartan was based upon the Cameron Tartan and designed
in 1977 by the late Pipe Major Stallard for the late HH Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed
Al-Maktoum, the Ruler of Dubai. It was initially for the use of the Dubai Pipe
Band and the tartan became one of the international symbols of Al-Maktoum. It
later fell into disuse for a number of years before being rediscovered in 2002
by the Dundee based Al-Maktoum Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies and
it was officially used by the Al-Maktoum Foundation in 2006. Now woven by the
Strathmore Woollen Company of Forfar.