Thursday - Glasgow Worlds

Up early to work on my flying schedule for next month.  I get to bid every month on the flying that is available and pick my days I would like off. After checking with Kelly about camping & RC contests, I managed to get it all done via cyber space.

At 8:30 sharp the drum section met up in the Mackay penthouse for their early session and the pipers went over their stuff in Warren's room.

Chelsea Patrick arrived this morning from Victoria and quickly got her pipes ready for the morning session. Although tired she joined right in.

At 09:30 the band assemble in the usual patio area for the run through of the MSR. We also have numerous pipers that are not playing the MSR warm up and go through various other band tunes.
Once everyone was tuned up they went through some band tunes and moved off to the parking lot next door for additional play.

Drummers warming up.

Another drummer pic during practice this morning .

MSR

The parade group also get in a good practice before joining for the "full band" session.

 The band members broke off after Colin gave us the Friday bus details and the parade route. The band will eventually end up at George Square to play a few tunes. Weather reports indicate that rain capes should get a thorough washing! Yikes!

Brunch was consumed then it was off to the subway to attend the afternoon practice of Field Marshall Montgomery (FMM) at Kelvin Grove. The subway is actually two trains going in opposite directions that do a loop around the city. Pick your return point and away you go.  It was straight forward and in short order we headed to the park from the Kelvin station. A beautiful park hosted several bands but we watched FMM for the duration.

Beautiful park!!

The drum section got going as the pipers were tuned up in small groups. Interesting tuning protocol as the Pipe Major and Pipe Sargent kept checking chanters and the other smaller groups also tuned and check chanters. Warm up consisted of each individual piper playing whatever he wanted then, at the hand command of PM Parkes, they would stop and start playing a tune in unison.... and when I say unison it sounded like one loud chanter. The drums came in and a couple runs through several sets of music. All very entertaining and we could get right up close to see and hear the band.
 

Field Marshall Montgomery

FMM Practice... very nice music

 As the wind was cooling we followed Dave Hennigan, J.W. Troy and Peter Aumonier to the
Park Bar close to the park. The place was deserted and we quickly obtains the requisite fluid replacement location (bar). 

More road candy!

Thirst quencher at the Park Bar!

We were not the first Canadians in here!

 While enjoying our well earned drink, in walks the FMM band, obviously following us! The bar was quickly packed and the bartenders swamped.

Kris mentioned that it would be great to talk with one of the FMM guys about their drum set ups, in particular the heads that they used etc.  Seizing the opportunity, he spoke with their drum Sergeant Kieth Orr for about ten minutes. Keith was very cordial and answered Kris's questions about... you know...  drumming stuff.   Very nice of him to take the time to chat!


We grabbed a cab back to the dorm and had a quick pint at the local Todd's Bar then it was off to the chipper for a fish supper. The place was really small but the food came fast & hot so we went back to our dorm and ate there. The drummers left for an impromptu practice and we went up to Doug & Shelley's for a small social. Sensing a party, the drummers quickly joined us :-)

He is so happy!

Paul was presented with a lovely parting gift of a WestJet 737...which I suspect will be used for "flight testing" from the sixth floor   :-)

Chelsea plays the chanter.

Chelsea eagerly demonstrated her chanter skills.... very good.

Home to bed early at ten p.m. as the band has a parade and then a performance at George Square tomorrow.  Drummers practice at 08:30.

Wednesday - Glasgow Worlds

Alarm at 7 a.m....  alarm off at 07:00:02. We made breakfast and showered up for the day. The drummers headed up for their morning 8:30 practice in the Mckay penthouse.

The band once again congregated at the pub patio for the morning practice session. The usual warm up tunes to get the drones settled and chanters adjusted (although after J.P.'s work yesterday there was not a lot required). Nice initial sound playing through the dorms.

Pipers warming up in the brilliant sunshine.

Drummers going through a set.

The drummers came down and joined up for several sets of tunes before the MSR practice took hold.

The band moved over to the adjacent parking lot to go through the  MSR several times. Lots of tourist came and took pictures during the sets. After the final MSR set the entire band formed up and marched through the parade tunes with Ajay on bass.

All together

MSR Practice in a local parking lot.

More parade practice.

The local roads have some great eye candy on them... not quite London but close.

Road Candy

A few comments from J.P. on sound and some minor maintenance items to attend to later in the Troy Repair Facility. A couple action items from Colin regarding the weekend (bus departure times, uniform selection etc) and the band was dismissed.

We headed back to the dorms to plan the rest of our day. Kris was now in London doing the run to the Express then to Euston to catch the Virgin Train to Glasgow.

Alberta's North Stratton

We walked over to George Square to listen to North Stratton from Alberta. It is a great feeling to see all these Canadian bands over to compete. We are well represented. This is Val Nichol's band and we had played together at Big Rock P. B. back in 94 when we went to the Worlds. Had a quick visit with Val who is recovering from hip surgery so not playing. Her daughter Heather plays tenor in the band and the resemblance is obvious.

 We walked up Buchanan Street around the bend to Sauchiehall and over to the National Piping Center. We enjoyed a delicious BBQ burger and a cool drink. We enjoyed the musical entertainment as we waited for the McCallum Bagpipe presentation.

Stuart Liddle come out and gave a great performance playing a set of McCallum pipes. He was followed by several other widely known professionals with some playing a new plastic chanter reed. Sounds was good and I see a market for certain playing abilities.

Plastic chanter reed... the future??

We walked around through the main pedestrian streets of Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall then headed back to the dorms with the usual stop for some groceries at Aldi. (They know us by name now)

We relaxed at the dorm for a couple hours then walked down to the Central Station to meet Kris's bullet train. He looked well rested but we grabbed a cab back to the dorm to let him get settled in. I bolted down to the store to grab a couple small pizza's for dinner.

We left him to his own devices and joined some of the band for the Shotts Concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall.  It was a full evening of music and everyone enjoyed the band's performance, piping solo's and drum salute. A great mix of other non traditional instruments made the music all the more memorable.

Shotts Concert... very good!

We all headed back to the University dorms and had a little social in the Mackay penthouse. Lots of chat about everyone's travels. Paul & Sue took Ajay to Sterling via train to show him around the sights.

Both band sections (pipers and drummers) have individual practices set for 08:30 in the morning with everyone coming together at 09:30 for a full band practice.... only 2 more practice days left!!

We walked a lot today and my feet are screaming at me for bed rest so I am calling it a night. I will have this edited in the morning to check for the usual mistakes.

Tuesday - Glasgow Worlds

Up at 7am for coffee and breakfast. The morning band practice commenced once a suitable area was found. The pub patio made for a good central location as student exams were taking place in other areas. Several times through the various band tunes then the band was cut down and the MSR was played numerous times through. Slowly coming together.

J.P. Troy arrived along with Leanne and they went to work within minutes of dropping their bags. JP  tuned the pipe section and the sound was coming in nicely. The drum section played without the lead tip so it was a slightly different ensemble sound. Once Kris arrives on Wednesday that dynamic will change and the drum corp and band will only sound better.

Gord Magee tunes the drum section.

Piping duo Shelley & Kelly

Full band goes through some tunes.

 The band "broke off" which simply means they were done for the day and everyone went off to various destinations in the city and elsewhere.

Kelly and I took a stroll over to the Glasgow Cathedral and on up to the Necropolis and the huge cemetery with it's amazing headstones & crypts all aligned in neat rows.

Glasgow Royal Infirmary

Glasgow Cathedral

Necropolis

More graveyard views

 We came down off the hill and headed towards George Square so Kelly could swap out a shirt that was the wrong size. This was quickly done so we headed to Waxy O'Conners for a late lunch with Sue, Paul, Ajay and his coworker from Victoria, Reid.

After a nice lunch we walked down Buchanan Street towards the River Clyde. 

Walking the shoreline of the River Clyde.

Roman Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral

Our walk took us over to the site of the World Championships in Glasgow Green.  This was being transformed into a huge venue with fencing, seating and portable buildings all being constructed in anticipation of the opening. Look that Ice Cream truck has Sliders! Kelly was in her glory!!!

We went around the outskirts and found our way into the Peoples Palace. It contains a Museum & Winter Garden and is next to the Doulton Fountain

The People's Palace

Inside the Winter Garden

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Doulton Fountain

 With tired feet we headed back towards the dorms and went by the Talbooth Steeple at the base of High Street.

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Stopped at Aldi for some additional supplies and then a short hike up to the dorm. We have now completed the hiking portion of the day and have switching to the fluid replenishment portion 😄  Lots of great conversation, history and band stories etc now ensued.

Dinner was chicken with potatoes (& pepper), veggies and a great salad... all deliciously prepared with minimal equipment on one of the worlds smallest stoves!

Band stories continued and then it was time to retire for the night. Kris is now back in Calgary and will return later tonight on a YYC-LHR flight. We hope to see him in the late afternoon tomorrow after his train journey north.

Monday - Glasgow Worlds

Scottish tip of the day... Bacon buddy! Close but it's actually bacon butty or butties. See... some of the great things we can learn in Scotland! Lol
 

I made these this morning for breakfast and they were great!

 Band practice was scheduled for 9:30 and everyone gathered at the entrance to get instructions on the morning.  The Pipers headed off to tune up under the cover of James Goold Hall... yes it was raining.

The drummers took a practice over by the local pub before forming up to run through the music.

 Wait a minute... I see the sun!!! Yes it's breaking to the blue here in Scotland! Look a parade! people dancing in the streets... well not quite but close!!

I also walked over towards the Hospital grounds that is home to the Glasgow Cathedral for a quick look about.

Glasgow Cathedral

Glasgow Cathedral

 After band practice we met up with Shelley, Doug, Chelsea , Austin and little London and walked over to RG Hardie with a stop at the National Piping Center along the way.

To avoid the cracking and loss of pipes in Africa, these rare metal pipes were constructed. They are heavy!

Next up was R.G. Hardie & Company Ltd to look in their store... well it turns out they don't have a store... but after working our way through the back entrance and chatting with staff we had a mini tour of the facility from Field Marshal Montgomery piper and Managing Director Alastair Dunn. 

On the way to R.G. Hardie and Company

Kelly checks out the workmanship.

Engraving CNC machine

Shelley, Alastair, Austin, Chelsea, London and Doug outside the shop.

We took some pics of the engraver machine in action and then received some nice hats and umbrellas for stopping by. We also took a photo of the the Hardie descendants and found out where and when FMM was practicing this week. I feel a field trip coming up! (It's published in a brochure.. so no secret!)

We stopped for a geocache on our walk back to the main pedestrian walkway Sauchiehall street. Some light shopping then off to the iron horse pub for lunch and a pint.

We walked down to George Square to see some bands performances and met up with Barb & Dave Hennigan. As we strolled down the street we quickly lost everyone so we headed over to  George Square to watch the last of today's bands perform. It was the Grade 2 St Andrews band from Melbourne Australia 🇦🇺  BTW Sounding very nice!

St Andrews PB

 Some of the many great buildings along our path today.

 We stopped at Aldi and picked up some basics.. salt & pepper, chicken for dinner and more bacon... you never have enough bacon it seems!

Back at the dorm I had a nice little nap and awoke to a small social in full swing in our kitchen. Paul heard from the airline about their bags & drum as they tried to call him all day. It does help to have your phone turned on!! Bags are in Glasgow and slated for deliver tonight!! He is looking forward to the underwear change... and so are we!

While waiting for Paul's luggage to arrive we stopped by the pub and had a pint. Jacquie Troy-Carter and little Iona were there along with J.W. & Louise Troy. The highlight was watching the Inverary & District Drum Corp go through their practice. Very nice unison and tempo... top notch!

I texted with my son Kris in London and sent various video clips (via drop box) to him as close to live as possible. He enjoyed the show from his pub seat in London but you could tell he so wanted to be here with his band.. Soon!!

Inverary & District Drum Corp goes though their paces

Dinner out with Sue & Paul LeBlanc and son Ajay at the Amore Italian restaurant...  had a very nice meal then as we were leaving Paul's phone rang with news of his luggage. We high tailed it up to the office but no sign of the gear. About 10 minutes later the driver arrived and the relief on Paul's face was evident. He was very happy to see that underwear!!

 We headed for bed exhausted once again.