The Golden Slipper reel

Tune written by Thora Linklater. The subject is an Orkney shebeen run by Willie Farquhar from his home near
the Brig O‘Waithe, Stenness from the 1940s to the 1960s when the town of Stromness was ’dry’. He would
serve whisky from chipped teacups along with pies. He was closed down in the 1960s - he’s still famous in
Orkney. Thora worked on the tune and added “twiddly bits” but this is the older version I think.

In Australia here the Golden Slipper is a big annual horse-race

“The Golden Slipper” has no connection with “The Silver Slipper”, also known as “The Golden Slipper”. Thora’s
tune is an Orkney one and the similarly titled “Slipper” is Irish…. and older.

This tune shld go into far more than 5 tunebooks. Just look and listen, it is FANTASTIC (so is Thora from Stromness).

Thank you Thora Linklater for your lovely tune. And she has written other tunes and songs. As a schoolteacher she wrote some good children’s songs which have been recorded by an Orkney Songwriting project funded by the lottery (old and new Orkney songs).

The Orkney/Norway Walrus (waltz) is another of Thora’s Orkney tunes - posted on thesessiom.

Silver and gold have I none? This Orcadian tune was written to remember a famous shebeen serving booze in cracked cups along with meat pies etc (when part of Orkney, Scotland was DRY ie no alcohol could be sold). It was eventually closed down… 1940s or ’50s?