Music for mental health, a local author’s new novel, Ulster-Scots for virtual assistants and introducing the Bard of Dunclug.

Ever the one in search of pipes and drums, Rab Lennox meets the organisers of a new mental health project exploring music for veterans. “Mind the pipes and drums” is setting up it’s own band for all musical abilities - from experts to complete beginners. Helen Mark chats with author David Dunlop about his third novel - “A Maid Again” – the sequel to “The Broken Fiddle” and hears how the language can differ even between his home- town of Ballymoney and Castlederg where the story is set. Language problems of a different kind are the theme of Jonnie Crawford’s report. As one ‘virtual assistant’ gets to grips with the local lingo, how does artificial intelligence cope with Ulster-Scots? A bust in a Ballymena cemetery stirred Willie Hill’s curiosity about the Bard of Dunclug – and Matthew Warrick had the story.
The friendly folk on the Kintra team are always up for a yarn if you’ve one to share – a tune to request or an Ulster-Scots event to promote. They’d be happy to hear from you by email at [email protected] .