The lecture hall of the Art Gallery was almost full on 16 June, when the Scottish star, Brian Ó hEadhra gave an exclusive, free concert, organized by the Albannach Scottish Cultural Society. The popular singer and his friend arrived from Inverness, invited by Albannach. The two Celts had a great time in Hungary, as they themselves put it: This is remek!

Nobody would have thought that more than one hundred people would be present in the lecture hall of the Art Gallery to see and listen to Brian Ó hEadhra, the special guest of Albannach Scottish Cultural Society. We have known the world-famous Scottish star for more than a year, he gave an interview to our website, skocia.hu and our friendship is still very important for both of us. It was a wonderful opportunity that with the help of FruitCafé we could invite Brian for a long weekend. Brian was accompanied by his friend, Alasdair Meek, the almost two metres tall singer-composer.
On the first evening, the Presidents of Albannach invited the two Scots to the Matthias Restaurant in Újpalota. The tables were full of food and drinks. Our guests became more and more sociable after a few glasses of pálinka, Unicum, Hungarian red wine and a few pints of beer. Next day they visited the Houses of Parliament and St. Stephen’s Basilica. They were both very much interested in Hungarian culture, history and politics, they insisted on visiting the House of Terror on Andrássy Street, which had a great effect on the two artists. In the afternoon they spent some time preparing for the performance, put on their kilts and tuned the guitars. More than one hundred people were present in the Art Gallery, to the organizers’ greatest surprise and pleasure. The performance was compéred by Alexandra Jenei, Secretary of Albannach. The first performer was György Kéri, the first Hungarian bagpiper, followed by Brian performing Scottish Gaelic and Scots songs. The audience listened to the songs and the poems performed by the young poets of Parnasszus with great enthusiasm. Between two poems, Dániel Rab, the youngest Hungarian bagpiper also played a song, just like Alasdair Meek with his guitar. Finally, István Turczi poet-translator recited a poem by the Scottish Edwin Morgan, whish he himself translated to Hungarian. The last performer of the evening was Péter Gerendás, singer-composer, who sang three songs to the audience. Several people managed to get an autograph from Brian after the show and most of them bought his CD on the premises. They could also have some biscuits, cakes and they had the chance to taste the special espresso of FruitCafé and the newest products of Guinness. Soon there were long queues by every counter.
On the next day, our Scottish guests went for a walk in the city centre, then travelled to Szentendre with the leaders of Albannach. The two Celts enjoyed the Ethnographic Village (Skanzen) very much, especially the old dwelling houses and embroidery. For lunch they had scones filled with sausages and Hungarian Soproni beer – which they liked very much. In the afternoon they spent a few hours in the Széchenyi Spa, then went up to the Citadel and had a look at the wonderful evening view of the city. We had dinner in the Morrisons Music Pub, next to the Opera. The greatest star of the karaoke show was undoubtedly Brian Ó hEadhra, who chose mostly Johnny Cash and Beatles songs. Hey Jude and Yesterday brought tears to the eyes of the audience; three girls even expressed their admiration for the Scottish singer. Unfortunately, Brian didn’t understand a word of the confession, so he could only answer with a smile. Alasdair also joined the show, but only for one song. It was both touching and funny how hard they both tried to follow the lyrics of Hungarian classics by KFT, Hungária or Demjén Rózsi. Their favourite, however, was Hello Tourist! By Emil Rulez, especially since it was performed by Alexandra Jenei, the Secretary of Albannach. Brian also showed us how he could dance, first on his own, then with Alexandra. The programme finished at 3 o’clock in the morning.
On the very last day the two Celtic singers visited the Fisherman’s Bastion, the Castle and the city, then went shopping to West End City Centre. We spent the last night in Old Mans Pub, listening to the show of Cotton Club Singers. „ Fenomenálisch! This is remek!” said the two Celtic boys and promised to come back as soon as possible.
We hope so...