In June, we are going to play at the harp tent at the Highland games, and I have been looking for happy Scottish songs to play. (They're not as easy to find as you might think.) Last night I was reading one of Reginald Hill's Dalziel & Pascoe novels. In this one, the great fat man, Dalziel, is lying in a coma in Intensive Care. His true love has set a music player of some sort by his bed and to play him some big band music. Then she switched to Scottish traditional, Dalziel being half Scottish.

As Dalziel floats between life and death, he vaguely apprehends a song called 'Mairi's Wedding.' "Aha!", I told myself, "A song for the Games!" I've found the tune, and it's a good one. This is going to work.

Except for one thing - I need to know how to pronounce 'Mairi.'

Also 'sheiling.' Is it shee-ling?