ECCLEFECHAN FELINE

Taught/practised on: 2014 August 31 st

ECCLEFECHAN FELINE (J8x32) Bob McMurtry Le Petit Chat Celtique 1- 8 1s dance mirror Fig. of 8 on own sides, taking hands, in & down to start 9-16 1s+2s+3s dance mirror reels of 3, 1s in & down to start 17-24 1s dance down middle & up, cast to 2 nd place 25-32 2s+1L, 1M+3s dance RH across, 2s+1M, 1L+3s dance LH across

In the early Middle Ages, Ecclefechan (Dumfriesshire) lay within the British kingdom of Rheged, and the name is derived from the Brythonic for "small church" (similar to Welsh eglwys meaning church and bychan/fechan meaning small). After Gaelic later spread in the area, the belief arose that the name derived from the 7 th C St Féchín of Fore. To the south-west, by the River Annan, is St Kentigern's kirkyard, the county's most significant sacred site. According to tradition, St Mungo, as he was otherwise known, established a simple wooden church here towards the end of the sixth century when he was on his way back from Wales before resuming his work in Glasgow, the city that has him as its patron saint. This could explain the apparent derivation from Welsh. Ecclefechan lies at the foot of a large Roman Fort, Burnswark. Below the High Street, a burn runs through a culvert, constructed in 1875 by Dr George Arnott at his own expense. The birthplace, in 1795, of Thomas Carlyle (essayist, satirist and historian), "The Arched House" is the main tourist attraction, housing a recreation of an 1800s cottage, and has been maintained by the National Trust for Scotland since 1936. Robert Burns composed a song entitled “The Lass O' Ecclefechan”. Ecclefechan also has links to the Guinness family: the story of the Whistling Ploughboy of Ecclefechan under the title A Guinness With a Difference was produced by ministries and charts the ploughboy's influence under God on the Guinness family. "Oor Wullie", of The Sunday Post fame, once got a day off school for spelling "Ecclefechan" correctly, and the Jocks and the Geordies of The Dandy once reminisced the Great Battle of Ecclefechan. Local produce includes Ecclefechan Tart and a blended Scotch whisky called "The Fechan" whose label denotes the Arched House, which gained local notoriety with the tag line "Gie us The Fechan whisky".

The traditional sweet dessert Ecclefechan tart is not unique to the village. The recipe for an all-butter pastry filled with eggs, dried fruit and almonds occurs in local cuisines all over the south of Scotland. Someone at some point must have thought that Ecclefechan made it sound particularly appetizing! The Ecclefechan Tart gained national prominence in late 2007 when the supermarket Sainsbury's promoted it as an alternative to mince pies at Christmas, and the tarts sold over

50,000 packs in one month. A version made by the Moray confectioner Walkers is now nationally available in the United Kingdom. Traditionally Ecclefechan tarts are served warm as a dessert with cream or ice cream.