Bridge of Allan Highland Games

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Another Sunday and the piping routine conntinues with another Highland Games competition but this Sunday we are at the Bridge of Allan in Scotland. The Bridge of Allan is only a couple miles from where we are staying at the university. For the kids, it's on the bus at 9:45AM to be transported to the games site. Not too far for pipers to walk but can you imagine packing some of those drums, especially the big bass drum that far ?!
Parents made our own way to the games, most I think by enjoying a Sunday morning walk.
The Bridge of Allan is a small community not far from Stirling which is about midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. The community may be small, the games venue might be small, but it is a very busy venue and not insignificant in terms of piping. Unlike the Canada/USA Pacific Northwest highland games here are more to their roots. There was a midway, track and field events, highland heavy events, vendors, and three competition rings for the performances of Eighty pipe bands from Grade 5 to Grade 2.
The parent group of the Grade 3 Robert Malcolm Memorial Pipe Band were paid back somewhat by the kids performance. Most of them probably still somewhat jet lagged but they did their best and came up with 1st in Grade 3, and 1st in Grade 3 drum corp. Not bad considering they were competing against 13 other bands and normally in Scotland they compete at the Juvenile level as all the players are under 19. Rumour has it that apparently the Judges Comments included something to the effect that that band was on it's way to Grade 1 or performing at a Grade 1 level. Hopefully that bodes well for us and the Judges at the Worlds on Saturday will concur.
It was a very busy place and by 3:00PM there were thousands of people there. You never know who you might run into and where but while talking with RJ (Robert John Houston) one of Robb's friends who now pipes in Australia I felt a tap on my shoulder. When I turned around there was Jimmie Wilson, one of Robb's former teachers. For those who don't know, Jimmie is an old Scot of about 80 years who has taught hundreds of pipers with many different pipe bands in the Vancouver area. Each summer he returns here where he still has family living. So it was a treat of run into both RJ and Jimmie. Being nearly a "local" Jimmie also shared with me the name of his favorite pub which was quickly added to my list of "must see" places.

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