Latest news with #Caledonia
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
Dougie MacLean's anthem causes Scots to start greetin' and drinkin'
This is one of these weeks when I must think carefully (reader's voice: 'That's a first!') about whether the Icon is the person or their most famous work. But there's more to illustrious songwriter Dougie MacLean than 'Caledonia', Scotland's unofficial national anthem. That said, he actually had Perthshire in particular in mind when he wrote the song as a homesick young man abroad. However, 'Perthshire's been everything I've ever had' would have had limited appeal. It's a song for the nation. 'Wester Hailes has been everything I've ever had' wouldn't have worked either. Not that Wester Hailes has been anything to Mr MacLean – no fault on either part – but his love of the land in Perthshire is very real. He lives and works where he grew up, even converting his old school and teacher's house in Butterstone, by Dunkeld, into a music studio and home. Dougie told punk rock fanzine Scottish Field in 2015: 'When the school closed in the 1970s it lay empty for a long, long time, then I was able to buy it. We also bought the old teacher's house, which my mum used to clean. We live in it now – it's really bizarre!' Born on 27 September 1954 in Dunblane, Dougie MacLean has described his childhood in Butterstone as 'idyllic'. His father's side of the family hailed from Mull, his mother's from around Taynuilt. Father, a gardener on a big estate, played the fiddle. Mother played the melodeon. Grandfather was a shepherd on the hills above Butterstone. When full of whisky, he'd sing old Gaelic songs with tears flooding down his face. 'We would say, 'What's wrong with Seanair [Gaelic for grandfather]?' MacLean told the National earlier this year. 'My mum would say, 'Oh, no, it's fine. He's just happy'.' HALL OR NOTHING THE kitchen table would then be pushed back, as mother and uncles produced their melodeons. By the time he was five, Dougie could play 'Morag of Dunvegan' on the harmonica. A year later, taken round village halls to hear Scottish country dance bands, he wanted to be a drummer: 'I used to sit up on stage beside the drummer with a pair of drumsticks and play along.' Soon, mandolin was added to his repertoire and, while at high school, he and buddy Ewan Sutherland (singing Corries songs) would play the Angus Hotel in Blairgowrie, earning £1 a night. With a few more pals, they formed a band called Puddock's Well, with Dougie on fiddle, the instrument for which he became best known in his early years. In 1976, while working as a gardener in Aberdeen, the 20-year-old was invited to play for the Tannahill Weavers – beginning in Germany the following day. After quickly consulting friends – 'Do it or you'll regret it for the rest of your life' – he gave up his job and flat and ended up, as he told Klof magazine, 'travelling all over Europe, sleeping in sleeping bags on people's floors and going through some real hard times'. Good times for folk, though, which was growing in popularity on yonder Continent. In the late 1970s, MacLean spent six months touring with Silly Wizard. Wanting to focus more on his own songwriting, he left the band, taking up an invitation from a friend living in Germany, the late Alan Roberts, to form a duo. (Image: PA) SICKENING TALENT AROUND this time, in just 10 minutes, he wrote 'Caledonia' while homesick on a beach in Brittany with a group of Irish buskers. It received its first airing at a concert in West Berlin and has since been embraced in Ireland, Norway, Denmark, all sorts of places, but mostly in Scotland, the homesickness capital of Europe. As MacLean has said: 'It's a magical thing when you put a bunch of words with a melody. When it works, it's really powerful.' It's been played during childbirth and in folk's dying moments. A commenter on the National's website called for it to be sung in schools as Americans do with the Star Spangled Banner. A version sung by Frankie Miller was used in a Tennent's Lager advert, which was quickly pulled for allegedly promoting a pro-independence message. It's since been watched by hundreds of thousands on yon YouTube. 'Caledonia' was written near the start of MacLean's stellar career, during which, while still in his early 20s, an English record company told him his music was 'banal, stupid and parochial'. This was at a time when cosmopolitan sophisticates Chas & Dave were all the rage. The insult led him to set up his own recording studio and label (Dunkeld Records), 'the best thing I ever did'. Musically, 'Caledonia' may have been the best song he ever did, but he also won plaudits internationally for 'The Gael', a dramatic and ominous version of which was used as a theme tune in 1992 film The Last of the Mohicans. READ MORE Rab McNeil: Get your Boots on, we're going shopping for unicorn hair gel Rab McNeil: No wonder the whole Scottish nation loves Nicola (no, not that one) Scottish Icons: William McGonagall - The poet who right bad verses wrote still floats some folk's vessel or boat Scottish Icons: There is a lot of tripe talked about haggis – so here's the truth BY ECK ANOTHER song, 'Holding Back', received a particularly emotional outing in 2013 when the late Alex Salmond presented MacLean with the BBC Radio 2 Folk Award for Lifetime Achievement for Contribution to Songwriting. It's a song about contentment: 'That's one of the great things about being an older musician – you can feel content with your place in the greater scheme of things.' Among other awards, in 2011 MacLean was conscripted as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), a higher award than the Quite Good Order of the British Empire. In 2014, Till Tomorrow, recorded in collaboration with The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, revisited some well loved songs. In Perthshire, MacLean set up the Amber Festival, so that fans might visit the places that inspired his songs. This coming November, a revitalised Shades of Amber will light up life in the county. In April, Dougie returned to New York's Carnegie Hall for a special concert with celebrated Scottish musicians Julie Fowlis and Mànran, while last month saw him perform at The Reeling, Glasgow's summer celebration of traditional Scottish music, at Rouken Glen song, though. Here are some final words on 'Caledonia', from the man himself: 'People sing it at weddings, they sing it at funerals. It becomes a kind of tool that people use in their everyday life. Music is much more than just a commodity. When it's done right it's a tool in life's toolbox to keep you from getting depressed or for celebrating in your own home.'
Hamilton Spectator
5 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc: Notification of relevant change to significant shareholder
ST HELIER, Jersey, July 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc ('Caledonia' or 'the Company') (NYSE American: CMCL; AIM: CMCL; VFEX: CMCL) announces that it has received notification that Baker Steel Resources Trust Ltd has crossed a threshold for notification of a relevant change (as defined by the AIM Rules for Companies). A copy of the notification is below. Enquiries: TR-1Standard form for notification of major holdings
Hamilton Spectator
7 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc: Profitability expected to be materially ahead of market expectations
ST HELIER, Jersey, July 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Caledonia Mining Corporation Plc ('Caledonia' or 'the Company') (NYSE AMERICAN, AIM and VFEX: CMCL) expects to announce its financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2025 ('Q2 2025') and the half year ended June 30, 2025 ('H1 2025') on August 11, 2025. The Company anticipates reporting a profitable second quarter, building upon a strong performance in the first quarter of 2025. This reflects Blanket Mine's gold production summary announced on July 16, 2025 and the strong and sustained gold price. Based on the current production profile at Blanket Mine, and assuming the continuation of favourable gold prices, the Company estimates that profitability for the full year of 2025 will be materially ahead of market expectations. Further details will be provided in the Q2 2025 results expected to be announced on August 11, 2025. Mark Learmonth, Chief Executive Officer, said: 'We were pleased with the excellent production results announced on July 16, 2025. Combined with a robust and sustained gold price, we are enjoying strong profitability. This reflects the hard work and dedication of the team at Blanket Mine and at group level, which we have strengthened significantly in recent times.' Enquiries: Note: The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ('MAR') as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Information Information and statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts are 'forward-looking information' within the meaning of applicable securities legislation that involve risks and uncertainties relating, but not limited, to Caledonia's current expectations, intentions, plans, and beliefs. Forward-looking information can often be identified by forward-looking words such as 'anticipate', 'believe', 'expect', 'goal', 'plan', 'target', 'intend', 'estimate', 'could', 'should', 'may' and 'will' or the negative of these terms or similar words suggesting future outcomes, or other expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions, intentions or statements about future events or performance. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based, in part, on assumptions and factors that may change or prove to be incorrect, thus causing actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by forward-looking information. Such factors and assumptions include, but are not limited to, achieving Blanket Mine's annual production forecast and maintaining a favourable gold pricel. To the extent any forward-looking information herein constitutes a financial outlook or future oriented financial information, any such statement is made as of the date hereof and included herein to provide prospective investors with an understanding of the Company's plans and assumptions. Security holders, potential security holders and other prospective investors should be aware that these statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: risks relating to estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources proving to be inaccurate, fluctuations in gold price, risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining, risks relating to the credit worthiness or financial condition of suppliers, refiners and other parties with whom the Company does business; inadequate insurance, or inability to obtain insurance, to cover these risks and hazards, employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; political risk; risks related to natural disasters, terrorism, civil unrest, public health concerns (including health epidemics or outbreaks of communicable diseases such as the coronavirus (COVID-19)); availability and increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of obtaining or maintaining necessary licenses and permits, diminishing quantities or grades of mineral reserves as mining occurs; global financial condition, the actual results of current exploration activities, changes to conclusions of economic evaluations, and changes in project parameters to deal with unanticipated economic or other factors, risks of increased capital and operating costs, environmental, safety or regulatory risks, expropriation, the Company's title to properties including ownership thereof, increased competition in the mining industry for properties, equipment, qualified personnel and their costs, risks relating to the uncertainty of timing of events including targeted production rate increase and currency fluctuations. Security holders, potential security holders and other prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. By its nature, forward-looking information involves numerous assumptions, inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and various future events will not occur. Caledonia undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or other such factors which affect this information, except as required by law. This news release is not an offer of the shares of Caledonia for sale in the United States or elsewhere. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the shares of Caledonia, in any province, state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such province, state or jurisdiction.
Scotsman
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
Dougie MacLean set to open Edinburgh International Festival with free singalong
Scottish music legend Dougie MacLean is set to open Edinburgh International Festival kicking off a free singalong in the city centre. Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The Scottish capital is calling MacLean, who will headline The Big Singalong in Princes Street Gardens on August 3rd joined by a range of community choirs led by choir director Stephen Deazley. The iconic Scottish singer will sing his most beloved song, Caledonia, and the event encourages crowds to come and singalong with him. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dougie Maclean will lead a free singalong in Edinburgh | PA For the opening weekend of the International Festival, Scottish national treasure Dougie MacLean headlines free event The Big Singalong with iconic song Caledonia, joined by a range of community choirs led by choir director Stephen Deazley. The range of choirs include The Phoenix Choir, the Maryhill Integration Project Joyous Choir and the Westerton Male Voice Choir. While the event is free, it is still ticketed. Tickets go on sale on June 19.
Edinburgh Reporter
05-07-2025
- General
- Edinburgh Reporter
Edinburgh Zoo has given names to the rescued lynx
Three abandoned lynx which were quarantined in Edinburgh after they were rescued in the Highlands have been named Caledonia, Cardrona and Bluebell. The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) trapped the vulnerable big cats in January after they were spotted near Kingussie in the Cairngorms National Park. The animals – all females thought to be under a year old – were quarantined at Edinburgh Zoo before being given a permanent home together at the RZSS's Highland Wildlife Park in May. The wildlife conservation charity offered the chance to name the trio to Scottish schools and people and organisations who had donated money to help care for the animals. Judith Bowman, carnivore team leader at Highland Wildlife Park, said: 'It has been wonderful to care for the three girls here at the park over the past month. We are already seeing their playful and curious personalities flourish. 'Thank you to Kinlochleven Primary P3-4, who chose Bluebell's name, and submitted an amazing competition entry on their commitment to protecting nature. 'Caledonia was named by our prize draw winner and Cardrona by the Weir Charitable Trust. Without support from kind people like this our wildlife conservation charity wouldn't be able to continue its vital work.' A total of four lynx were abandoned in freezing conditions in January. They were humanely trapped but one, a male around the same age, died shortly after being rescued. The surviving trio were put into quarantine in Edinburgh where they were monitored closely by vets and given full health checks. It was quickly established that the animals would not be able to survive in the wild, which ruled out any possibility they could be transported to parts of Europe where the species is being reintroduced. Speaking in May, RZSS chief executive David Field said: 'The lynx were clearly habituated to humans and would most likely have died if they hadn't been rescued as they would not have been able to find food for themselves. 'Caring for these cats at Highland Wildlife Park will help raise awareness of this incredible species and support discussions about how to reintroduce wildlife in Scotland responsibly.' Visitors to Highland Wildlife Park can now spot Caledonia, Cardrona and Bluebell and learn more about the species and the conservation challenges they face. Like this: Like Related
