Eternal vigilance needed

The BIB editor reports:

Eternal vigilance is the price not only of liberty, but of catching a whiff of our music on the mass media. Switching to BBC2 TV tonight, I was confronted for all too short a time by the solid, driving music and the genial faces of the Broken String Band. Checking the current Radio Times, I found I had only myself to blame for not seeing more: there it was as clear as day on p. 102. The blurb for tonight's episode in the Ulster Scots series 'Santer' read: '... Geordie McAdam plays a Hugh Gordon fiddle and Mark Wilson is in Tennessee.' You can see more about the programme, including some still images and a taster clip, on the BBC2 website.

Hugh Gordon (1794-1854) of Ballymacward, Stoneyford, Co. Antrim, and his two sons, Hugh and James, all made fiddles. Their story is told in the recently published book The Gordons of Stoneyford, Co. Antrim: violin makers, by Michael Costello, and the photo above of a Hugh Gordon fiddle is reproduced from Michael Costello's website.

Update 25 Nov.: Sharon Loughrin reports on the series - 'Geordie McAdam presents some of the items and they've covered subjects like the wagon trail, the Carter Family Fold, the roots of bluegrass music, and even music from the Hillbilly Gypsies...' Episode 4 can be watched on BBC iPlayer now and for the next six days, but may not be available in all areas - for instance, apparently not in Dublin.