Staying in Glasgow means the wonderful River Clyde is never far away. Here we see Bell’s Bridge leading to the Armadillo, the 3,000-seater auditorium forming a part of the Scottish Event Campus. Its shape is said to represent an interlocking series of ships’ hulls, paying tribute to Glasgow’s ship-building heritage.
While there,
we were fortunate to be able to attend the annual World Pipe Band
Championships held on Glasgow Green. 13 countries were represented – Australia,
Hong Kong, Canada, USA, Oman, China, Ireland – sending 204 bands and more than
7,000 pipers and drummers. What amazing organization to bring all these
together.
All that
blowing means we have to have services to cater for peckish pipers. One takes
fish ‘n’ chips, haggis and neeps as given; but glad the Greek Gyros had
a look in too!
I was
delighted to see the Inveraray and District Band especially dear to me,
coming from Argyll and Loch Fyne - my homeland area. My heart leapt as
they marched, playing, towards the Judges’ enclosure. There they are judged on
overall musical proficiency; that includes execution, expression, tone and
unison. And those guys clearly meant business: they were measured, meticulous,
melodic. These braw lads were kind enough to pose for me as they left the
enclosure.
You’ll recognize some of them in the Oban Times photo below
announcing that their band took first place – a hat trick since they also won
in 2017 and 2019. Bursting with pride, me! Aren’t they grand?
One goal was
for Z to chalk up a visit to a different Scottish island. This we did and we even
found a castle with a moat. Any idea where we went?
