In 2003, my then wife Anne took part in the “Bravehearts to Beijing” expedition, walking parts of the Great Wall of China in order to raise funds for the Scottish Society for Autism’s New Struan School in Alloa. I wrote the song to celebrate her achievement, and it featured on a four-track CD that was produced for the occasion. It was later adopted as part of the soundtrack to the official video of the trip.
A lot of our friends seemed to like this song, and I often used to perform it when Anne was present. She had some quite harrowing tales of the time in China. This was the first group of its kind that had visited the area after the SARS epidemic, and the paths had become overgrown, making for very hard going. At one point she was only saved from a serious fall by the quick thinking of another member of the team. Much of the food was totally alien to Western palates, and they all suffered from the Chinese equivalent of Delhi belly. I can tell you one thing for sure – I would not have coped nearly as well as she did.
The recording of this song was one of three for which we owe thanks to Jim Dawson, formerly accordionist and sound engineer with the Skelpit Lug Ceilidh Band. He worked very hard to engineer this track to a high standard; so if it doesn’t sound right, it must be my fault! |
