Waiting in Dollar

As this was an early start and the Hat was driving I was super organised. However I decided at the last minute to wear my uniform and take my pipes, forget my hat, chair and lunch and dash back in for my phone. I think the excitement of a new venue got to me.

Gourock, return of the rain

With a not unreasonably early start more dictated by parking concerns than Pipe Majoral demands myself and the Hat were wafted to Battery Park in electric luxury as it should be. The rain Gods of Auld Scotia had found us and the late spring driech made getting the Big Blue House of Fun constructed and the coffee table set up a priority

Civic Dancing

2022 was a good year for the band, twenty years since a conversation in a pub spawned the idea of resurrecting a village pipe band and a run of fantastic results in competition that resulted in being crowned 2022 Champion of Champions in Grade 4B and subsequent elevation to Grade 4A.

2022 Overview

As with all the other posts lately this is late. I write this on MV Loch Seaforth heading for Stornoway in a billowing snow storm after successfully completing the Inverness to Ullapool bobsleigh run. 2022 was our best season ever in competition and socialising. Period.

Felice Navidad

Merry Christmas everyone, the big day is over and it’s turkey sandwiches and cold sprouts for the foreseeable future. The band have been working hard on the new tunes Pipey wants mastered but tradition dictates a pause over the festive period so we can forget them and concentrate on Auld Lang Syne and tunes for the dancing.

Autumn Statement

With winter fast approaching and the pipe band competition season over the band are resting on their laurels with nothing to do until March when we dust down our instruments and learn a couple of new tunes. Aye right!

All The Worlds a stage

Remember how I said I would be taking Worlds Week off from work as a matter of course. Well I couldn’t get it this year so had to make do with sporadic updates on Instagram and unpleasant gloating on Facebook. The star of the show this year has undoubtedly been Wee Joanne who has appeared everywhere. I will ignore everything that happened during the week and concentrate on Saturday, The Worlds. Because if I’m not there it didn’t happen.

Arran by instalments

We had been doing a running gag on FaceBook about ‘what did your pipe band do to get ready for whatever’. Well for the Worlds we returned from Arran and lost umpteen pipers, drummers and almost the entire tenor section to gastro-intestinal turmoil and Covid. We should all be fine before the Big Day except Ma McGeachy who I’d imagine they’ve locked in the summer house. I’m getting a wee bit ahead of myself here so lets rewind

Red Hot Pipers

Another sign of life returning to normal is the return of pipe bands playing for the lucky passengers of cruise ships visiting Greenock, I’m sure it sounds very upmarket in foreign tongues, Ockverdé?

Oirland 2022

This blog will be full of second hand stories, supposition and stuff I made up. So nothing new there then. I was booked on the bus , boat and accommodation and had even paid the pennies and put my name on the list but a family tragedy engulfed me and I had to step back as some things just take precedence.