‘Tis the night of ghosts and
bogies! Happy Hallowe’en, everyone! Hope you have a lovely time - not ‘trick or
treating’- I’ve always thought that sounds rather salacious and not what you
want to be encouraging children to go door-to-door for! No, I mean the old
traditions of guising (dressing up); trying, while blind-folded, to bite
suspended treacle scones; dooking for apples - kneeling on a chair and trying
to drop a fork from your mouth to spear apples bobbing in a basin below. And, of course, going round to entertain the
neighbours and collect sweets, toffee apples, fruit and nuts as well as the odd
penny for fireworks for the November 5th Guy Fawkes’ celebrations. Happy 10th Birthday to Katie in far
off New Zealand and welcome to our new followers, especially Ellie and Dino,
thank you all for joining us!
In Thessaloniki we have just
celebrated the name day of patron Saint Dimitris on 26th October, as
well as the 100th year of the city’s liberation from Turkish
occupation, followed swiftly by Oxi
Day, 28th October, the day Greece repulsed Mussolini’s Fascist
forces. We’ve been looking back on our history and turned the clock back so .. kalo mas xeimona .. may our winter season be clement in
every conceivable sense.
I’ve been looking back on our
recent, special summer when we had a ‘Highland Haj’ – a family pilgrimage back
to the homelands of Argyll. On the way
we stopped off in Glasgow to take in the World Pipe Band Championship.
This is the city of my birth;
sadly it’s not one I have spent any length of time in, but arrival there always
has a sense of home-coming. We’d heard foreboding forecasts as usual, but since
‘Glasgow’Smiles better’ J
she welcomed us very warmly indeed!
We stayed at the Jury’s Inn - presumably where jury members
were accommodated when doing their duty at nearby court-houses. The location
could be said to be central, next to – and I mean right next to -Central
Station. In fact, here are actual views from my bedroom window!
Glasgow Green, the championship
venue, was a delightful ten-minute walk along the banks of the Wonderful Clyde,
as the song goes. Still in evidence are some of the huge warehouses, grand
merchant residences and the old Custom House, echoing the city’s great
industrial and commercial past. More modern buildings express the
multi-ethnicity that the city has always encouraged and enjoyed.
After many years of industrial and
trade depression, during which Glasgow’s ‘no mean city’ image of poverty and
violence did little to encourage development, in the 1980s and 90s a huge
cultural renaissance took place, changing it into the vibrant, exciting, proud
city of today. The spruced-up waterfront
area now houses state-of-the art, res.des. property and is the setting of
amazing transformation. An example of this shown above is the Clyde Auditorium
3,000-seat concert venue. Completed in 1997 and built on the in-filled Queen’s
Dock, its design symbolizes hulls of the ships built on Clydeside. It is much
loved by the locals who fondly refer to it as the Armadillo. And still the
development goes on - clearly!
On reaching the venue on Friday afternoon, we
got a sneaky preview of what was in store as competitors practised on the Green
in sweltering heat. It was a delight to see how many young people were
participating in the Juvenile category – and how many of them were girls. Here
they were in T-shirts, shorts and jeans, adorned with tattoos, mohican or emo
cuts, piercings, Goth paraphernalia, blowing their wee lungs out.
But for Saturday morning’s
competition they had really cleaned up well – resplendent in Scotland’s
traditional costume. The kilt is made of wool tartan, of patterns and shades that
indicate our kin or company, our origin or organization. We Highlanders
strongly identify with and are greatly proud of our clan colours. As you can
see above, tuning the pipes is not just done by ear but the sound is mechanically
measured and adjusted accordingly
In the early 80s, I attended the Cowal Games in Dunoon, Argyll. I was
with an uncle who was intrigued at how the pipe-majors would isolate themselves
to tune their pipes prior to performing. I remember one piper turning on his
heel with an indignant swish of his kilt - he had perhaps mistaken my uncle’s
interest to be that of a tuning-technique spy!
What was really memorable on that occasion was that the organizers had
wanted to mark the passing of two councillors in that past year. To that end,
so to speak, all the competing bands drew up in circular formation around the
audience in the field. A heavy mist rolled down from the hills and what we
locals call a cold smir – or fine rain - could be felt on our cheeks as the bands
played the haunting lament, ‘The Flowers of the Forest’. With well over a thousand pipers playing in measured, slow
unison, I doubt there was a dry eye in the crowd. What a send-off!
It was sweet to see budding drum-majors, some bearing maces
almost as big as themselves, having their kilt-length checked before being
examined. They concentrate on tossing – and catching!- the mace as in future
they hope to lead their bands in parade.
Good to see drum-majorettes too!
Bonnie dancers in vibrant-coloured costumes,
practice their Highland dance steps before being led onto the platform to strut
their stuff in front of piper and panel of judges. The little lad, mid-twirl - answers an
oft-posed question on under-kilt apparel!
But to oor pipers- the main focus
of the event! The very best bands compete in Grade One category and are
expected to play a March, a Strathspey and Reel, and one further more open
event where the choice and arrangement are up to the band. Our lone piper shows just how much puff is
needed. As the bandsmen march forward in formation they do look awesome - in
the original sense, generating a touch of fear along with wonder.
Here they are performing after many, many months of hard
work and dedication, braw, braw lads!
This year’s winning band was
Northern Ireland’s Field Marshall Montgomery band, highly polished performers
who have won many prizes.
It was a privilege to see so much talent at such a
splendid venue. Above you can see the People’s Palace, a museum of the social
history of the city of Glasgow, along with its adjoining Conservatory.
And striving takes its toll on lungs, arms and spirit so it was time to discard the
drums and take time out, maybe for a wee helping of the traditional haggis,
neeps (turnip) and tatties ( mashed potatoes), washed down with Glasgow’s
answer to Coca Cola :Irn Bru, claiming to be made from Scottish girders.
Pipers,
drummers, dancers, judges… and tourists... need all the strength they can get!
.......to
be continued......
