Alastair Donald Begg was born in Scotland on 11th May 1951. He grew up at Lochailort, on the west coast, where his father was the Station Master. His mother was in charge of the local Post Office. His father Walter was a good fiddler and both Alastair and his brother Hamish started playing music at a young age.
After secondary school, he went to Glasgow where he obtained a degree in science and his teaching qualifications. He only taught for a couple of years before he started work in Museums. His work involved preserving varying types of artefacts, but he was also keenly interested in Scottish history and politics. He was proud of his Scottish origin.
In 1984 he moved to Tromsų in Norway and started working at Tromsų Museum. However, he soon decided to return to university, and gained his `hovedfag' (close to a Master Degree) in Sociology. He was soon after awarded a three year stipend to do a `doctoral degree', and he finished the main work on his thesis just a short time before he died.
In 1998 he was diagnosed as having a brain tumour, and he died a year later.
Alastair played the fiddle, the accordion, the Scottish Pipes, the Uileann Pipes, the tin whistle and enjoyed trying out new instruments. He had a wide range of interests including music, photography, genealogy and not the least politics. His friends knew him as somebody who would always lend an ear and who enjoyed a good discussion. He was a truly good person.
Ingvild Begg
Alastair's doctoral dissertation
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