Donnie Munro's New Album

Donnie Munro of the famous Scottish group Runrig and now a member of Sabhal Mor Ostaig, the Gaellic College on Skye has released a new CD with the interesting title: Heart of America

The album released by Greentrax Recordings Ltd. contains twelve songs - all of them great. The album takes its title from the openning song written by Mr. Munro "after a journey across the U.S. with my family at the height of the Iraq war..." The songs are marked by the relationship of people who left Scotland and traveled to other parts of the world.

The disk comes with a booklet with both the Gaelic and English versions of the songs, and a number of photographs

HIGHLAND HOUSE OF FRASER

The Highland House of Fraser is a recently formed company which has taken over the large three story, 12,000 square foot building which sits on the Ness River as it flows through Inverness.

The building at 4-9 Huntley Street was originally the headquarters for Hector Russell Kiltmaker, but was taken over by Bill Fraser, who had retired as the Purchasing Manager from that company.

The building houses a large store on the ground floor which specializes in the sale and rental of highland dress along with a remarkable number of Scottish items. Kilts, trews, skirts fill a part of the shop while an enormous array of other items such as jewelry, books, quaichs, and the like fill the rest of it.

Visitors can take a tour of building which includes a visit to the kilt making shop and a kilt museum. The Scottish Kiltmaker and Exhibition Centre, as the complex is known, allows visitors a chance to see much about the history of kilts as well as the space where kilts are being produced at the moment. See the slide show for a peek at what you can see.

The operation employs some 20 to 40 people, depending on the time of the year. Becoming a kiltmaker requires a good deal of training and Highland House of Fraser is interested in keeping that typically traditional Scottish occupation alive.

Mr, Fraser and his wife, Shona and daughter Pauline constitute the backbone of the organization, while son James, A Mercedes Benz engineer runs Moray Firth Motors at 32 Harbour Road. In addition, the Frasers fill their spare time running Steeple Jewelers

You can visit the Highland House of Fraser Website at highlandhouseoffraser.com

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