Billy's accordion tunes among the highlights at Caithness macular group virtual ceilidh
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Local musician Billy Mackay was among the entertainers at Caithness Macular Society Support Group's latest virtual ceilidh, which again brought together members and performers from as far afield as Skye and Shetland.
The 75-year-old, of Cairns, Stirkoke, encouraged everyone to sing along to well-known tunes as he played his Italian Serenellini piano accordion. Billy is a member of Wick Accordion and Fiddle Club and the Tannach Ceilidh Band.
The monthly event takes the form of a telephone conference call hosted by the local sight-loss group's chairman, Eric Farquhar, from the kitchen of his home in Wick.
As usual there was a great sense of camaraderie across the airwaves with all the guest artistes receiving rapturous applause during the hour-long session.
Eric began the proceedings with a humorous song called Hairmless, then Willie Mackay, Oldhall, upped the tempo by tapping on his spoons to a rousing Scottish tune.
Nancy Nicolson, Wick, gave a light-hearted poem about listening to the teacher and this was followed by a selection of Scots melodies on the mouth organ by Angie Wares, Thurso
Nancy rounded off the ceilidh with four well-known Scottish songs – Roaming in the Gloaming, I Love a Lassie, Will You Stop Your Tickling Jock and Keep Right On to the End of the Road.
Age-related macular degeneration is the biggest cause of sight loss in the UK, affecting more than 600,000 people. The Caithness support group is one of several hundred across the UK.
