Glasgow - Saturday - Competition

On the day.... 

All the hard work, practice and preparation will be tested today as the band heads over to Glasgow Green and the World Pipe Band Championships. Over 200 bands will assemble and play in numerous "Grades" or levels from Juvenile on up to Grade 1. 

Each band will have their time in the competition circle (arena) to play their required tunes under the watchful eyes and ears of several judges. They usually consist of two of three  piping judges, a drumming judge and an ensemble judge.

The band was up early and departed for the field via bus at 07:10 local time. They are scheduled to play in Arena 6 at 09:48 so plenty of time to prepare. 

Awaiting the band bus. Several other bands are also departing from the dorms.

The bus was able to park very close to the field of play so we didn't have to do a big hike. As the bus was unlocked this made for a very convenient gathering spot.   

Nice warm up area right beside the bus! Drums cases reserve the spot :-)

There are bands everywhere and the noise can be overpowering if you are unaccustomed to it.  We had a nice grass area just inside the gate for tuning while the drum corp used the paved area.

Tuning underway.

The tuning of the pipes started and this is an important step towards the final set up. Timing is critical as you don't want to overplay your pipers to the point that they leave the best performance right there in the field! 

The drummers also prepped and ran through the set numerous times. It was sounding good!

Photo op!

Tenors.

I was tasked with registering the band at the main tent and after that was completed, I checked in with the marshals at Arena 6. They had started on time with the first band on at 9:00 am sharp. The warm up area was right next to it so I then went back and advised Warren  (the Pipe Major) of the details.  As the time grew closer the band moved over to the official "Tuning area" as Jamie put the final tuning touches on the drones.

Final tuning continues as they build for the performance.

One last play through.

The band played on to the circle and I went live on Facebook for our friends and family watching back home. Had some issues with orientation but it worked out I hope :-) They played great with a good "attack".. this is when the pipers come in with an E note simultaneously to sound as one. The tempo was very nice with good breaks between the tunes. I though it was well played. 

The band comes off the field after a great set.

The post debrief had good comments from everyone and they were very happy with the overall play. It will be up to the judges to see who makes it past the qualifying round to play in the final. This is the bands goal.

 As mentioned, there are a lot of bands here and our nephew Cody was playing with North Stratton from Edmonton, Alberta

Cody is third from the right.

We watched them tune up and then do their set in Arena 2. It was well played and a very nice tune selection. We meandered around the park and watched Inverary & District play in Arena 1. It was hard to hear as the winds carried the pipes away. They looked good!

I & D at the line.

The other Grade 4A bands all finished playing and we then waited for the announcement of the finalists. This was done at 1 o'clock on the big screen at the Needle. The first six where announced from the first flight and then they started with the second group.... the seventh and then it happened! 8th up was City Of Victoria Police! A small roar erupted from the band members and congratulations started. This was the goal and now it would be all gravy from here on in. I was very happy for everyone involved.

Not the best picture due to the frequency of the camera and the tv.

The band now had to prepare and re-tune as they would play again in Arena 3 at 2:56. They all met at the bus and scheduled a meet up time to prepare later. Lots of hugs and congratulatory hand shakes as everyone was excited about the placing! 

Arena 3 tune up area was at the top of the hill and the actual playing area was just down on a bit of a slope. Lots of people watched and the small grandstand was packed full. With the weather cooperating an a nice breeze flowing through it made for a great "Finals" venue.

Round two of tuning as they prepare for the finals.

A light rain fell as they prepped.

It was now their time to play and with a nice break in the weather, they came down the hill and played the MSR. Another nice attack and melodic effort that I recorded. Unfortunately it is too large a file to upload here so it's on Facebook here. 

The band came off the field and once again was happy with the performance. Many hugs and handshakes as this will be a memory that few who played will ever forget. Seeing them play on the larger stage was fantastic.

Off to the beer garden for a celebratory drink as the official playing was completed. It was such a different vibe from 2017 when the band did not make the finals that year. It was a win for these guys!

Let the social begin!

Lots of smiling faces!

Cody and Kris at the beer gardens.

The band (and everyone else) then left and formed up to attend the massed band and awards ceremony. It took a while to get all the bands in but the presentations were eventually made. Some results here

Kelly and Kris await the reward presentation.

 The band came in 11th overall and the score sheets showed 7th & 8th in Piping and buried 11th & 12th in Drumming in the final. Drums sounded much better than the scores indicate IMHO. 

Everyone headed for the bus and the band posed for one last photo before everyone scatters in the coming days.

2019 GVPPB @ The Worlds

A band social ensued in our kitchen with numerous speeches by members and friends. A great end to a long day! Kelly made a comment that it was always two bands that she idolized as a kid and that was Triumph Street and City of Victoria. She got to play with James W. Troy in 2017 in Glasgow and now with Hal Senyk in 2019... pretty cool.

Hal & Jamie

Social gets started.... pizza is inbound.

A big thank you to all the band members and extended family and friends for making this such a great experience for me. It was a blast watching the excitement!

Tomorrow is a sleep in!

Glasgow - Friday - Final Practice

By now you get the idea of our day... coffee, toast (or a full breakfast) and then band practice.... it's raining steady so it will be a wet one today. Forecast has rain and winds for tomorrow but that can change quickly here! 

Reports from last night have several band members out for Pad Thai while others hit the Hard Rock Cafe for appetizers.... then a stop at the Station Pub for a pint. A relatively quiet night as the band starts to focus and readies for the big day.

The drummers invaded the kitchen on queue and their practice went well. A good discussion on preparation, expectations and the realty of just doing the best you can and feeling good about the performance, regardless of the outcome.   

The last drum practice in Scotland!

Practice - The pipes are coming in quickly and setup is becoming shorter and shorter with all the recent playing. Sound is solid and the musicality of the band overall is well ahead of 2017. A bit of misty rain fell and gusty winds her and there but on almost on queue, it started to clear as the practice ended... yep this is Scotland!

We gathered in the kitchen and had a bite of lunch as the live stream from Glasgow Green played on our TV. The Grade 1 bands played their MSR in the morning so Kris had set up his laptop and ran the feed in. 

Live stream into the kitchen

With the forecast for nicer weather in the afternoon, a bunch of us headed out to watch the Grade 1 Bands play their Medley at Glasgow Green. Kelly, Paul and I jumped in an Uber and went down to 1) to watch the Grade 1's play and 2) scope out the venue for the band's playing on Saturday.

We were dropped off at the park and quickly made our way in. Once settled into the free grandstand seating, we watched the bands march on, play one of two medleys and then exit. Every three minutes a new band would march on. Fantastic!

SFU is the first band up in the afternoon... great sound!

Field Marshal Montgomery walks out after another great performance

During a break Paul and I waved at the fans watching online while Kris grabbed a screen shot back at the dorm.

This is as close as well will get to the circle!

We then walked over to the area where the band will play and checked out the grounds. The Drumming Major practice was in full swing :-) This is the same location that they played at in 2017 so somewhat familiar ground. This particular field area #6 was in good condition and will work out nicely.

Field #6 is in good shape

 A quick ride home and we made dinner plans... now dinner plans ago something like this.... "Well what's the plan?.... I don't know.. what do you feel like?... I don't know... well I'm hungry.. lets go somewhere... how about fish & chips?... no I'm done with fish & chips!..." You get the idea!

We "decided" on Wagamama, a Chinese Fusion place just off the main walkway downtown. It had a nice variety of dishes and was very good. The Mackay clan also came down.  


A quick supply stop on the way home for sandwich makings and then back to the dorms. We all took turns making lunches for tomorrow as it will be along day. 

The bus leaves at approximately  7 am so everyone headed for bed. With over 200 bands here to compete it's going to be a bit crazy!
Tomorrow's schedule has two groups in 4A for a total of 31 bands in that particular grade alone . I am told 6 bands from each flight (total of 12 bands) will qualify for the final group starting at 2 pm.  The band plays 7th at site #6. 

Dinner at Wagamama

Grade 4A - Qualifier 2
17 09:00 Kirkcudbright and District
18 09:08 Lower Clyde Pipes and Drums
19 09:16 Raphoe Ulster Scots- Eire
20 09:24 Rothesay and District
21 09:32 High Desert - Albuquerque - USA
22 09:40 Kelty and Blairadam
23 09:48 Greater Victoria Police - Canada
24 09:56 Glenrothes and District 2010
25 10:04 Elgin and District
26 10:12 Cullybackey
27 10:20 12 Wing RCAF - Canada
28 10:28 Kirkcaldy and District
29 10:36 Fraserburgh Royal British Legion
30 10:44 Edradour Pitlochry and Blair Atholl
31 10:52 Royal Burgh of Stirling 

There is a live stream of the Grade 1 pipe bands that you can watch at https://www.theworlds.co.uk/live-stream

I will post to my FB page as time permits but the blog will be much later.... 

Glasgow - Thursday - Practice

This morning we all enjoyed a nice cooked breakfast created by our flatmate Doug. It was very tasty and a great start to the day! I finished up yesterday's blog and the now usual drumming practiced commenced in our kitchen at 9 am sharp.

The band formed up outside and started tuning up. The weather is nice (at the moment) so a welcome change from yesterday's rain!

Counting down the minutes until 10 am.

Tuning... it never ends!

 

Hos gives Doug some tips!

Drum section.

New Tenor Drums! Very nice!

The band hard at it.

After practice I hoofed over to the National Piping Center to watch the Piping Idol Competition. There are many events taking place around the city and this is the one I really enjoy. We saw four competitors do their best MSR, Jig/Hornpipe and Medley before grabbing a BBQ burger for lunch.  The piping and the burger were all very good....  we made our choice of the winning piper 😄 (#3) James Stone. Not sure if he moved on to the final but he should!

Solid performance in front of the crowd.

We had some lunch and grabbed an Uber over to Kelvingrove Park to watch the Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band practice there.  Lots of people showed up with numerous Victoria band members in attendance. Always interesting to see how they prepare the band.

Lots of people out to watch the band practice.

Great views of the Stewart Memorial Fountain and University of Glasgow Business School when not raining!!

We watched for an hour or so then off to the local Park Bar for a pint. This is a short walk from the park and is a favorite stop after any band function. In fact this weekend we will see the road  beside the bar "closed" as it will become a huge beer garden. On the wall is a picture of the original Wallace, the Canadian Scottish mascot.  

Picture on the wall of the Park Bar.... Canadian Scottish Regiment Mascot Wallace 

Doug & Shelly.... Bar flies! :-)

Dave, Kelly, Dave, Annabelle and Kris at the famous Park Bar!

We Uber'ed back to the dorm and had a small social as dinner plans were being formulated. Well the planning part never really came about so it was a pizza in the oven for me... easy to prepare, tasted good and cheap :-) 

 A bunch of folks ended up at the Station Bar for a social but for us, a very quiet night :-)

Glasgow - Wednesday - Practice

The word of the day is "Rain"  

While laying in bed, the day started off nicely with a text message offering me a hot coffee... have to like that! 

The drummers took over the kitchen again for their morning practice so I finished drying some dishes and listened in on the session. It was good to see the unison these guys have and the overall focus and commitment as well. 

I followed the drummers out to find a chunk of parking lot for the morning session.

Drum practice.

Tuning the drones.

Gord's a true BAGpiper

The drummers practiced with their pads until 10:00 as there is a curfew on playing between 7pm and 10am. With school still going on here, this gives the students some “quite time”. 

The rain was coming down so everyone had rain capes on. It can’t get much worse than this on the day so it was good to get acclimated to that possibility....  it is Scotland after all. 

Interesting tidbit.... Chelsea’s Grandmother Betty Jeffrey had past away many years ago and Chelsea recently received several things passed down from her aunt who had kept them all these years. One item of particular note was a drum pad that Betty had won for Solo Juvenile Drumming in 1948.  Betty went on to marry Robert Gavin Hardie who formed R.G. Hardie in 1950. He was with the famous Muirhead and Sons Pipe Band who held the Worlds #1 Pipe Band title for six straight years. 

Jack and Andrew Lee put on a lunch time recital at the National Piping Center. Kelly and I had purchase tickets long ago so off we went. Most all the others were going over to the Todd Bar at Strathclyde University to watch the "Drumming for Drinks" competition.

We enjoyed the recital as these two players are very accomplished. Andrew started the set with Jack joining him midway then finishing off with a solo performance. So clean and crisp on a well tuned instrument.

Kelly went off to grab a few necessities and I went back to the dorm to get the Drumming For Drinks live stream going on my laptop. On the way I ran into Alex MacIntyre from Edmonton and we had a quick chat...  didn't recognize him without his beard!! 

We relaxed in the kitchen and enjoyed the online show. This was a show comprised of various ad-hoc drumming recitals all trying to take the grand prize of £500 and some great prizes.

A quick nap to recharge and we were off to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall for the Scottish Power Pipe Band Concert. 

The place was packed and the show was as expected, very good although not as heavy on the pipe's and drums as I thought it would be. An ensemble performance to start off playing several sets then a couple solo pipers performed to the roar of the crowd. Then a stunning Piobaireachd set with piano accompaniment. The drum core finished the first half with a huge fanfare including some neat stick work.

We grabbed a drink and then settled in for the second half. It was basically a bagad style of music that was a bit overpowered at times. I think a more band oriented approach with perhaps some MSR's and light music would have met the expectations of the crowd. All good though as one has to be open to the variety of music presented. 

 Back to the dorms for a short social and it was off to bed. 

Glasgow - Tuesday - Practice

I awoke to sunshine this morning and a then a hot cup of coffee in the kitchen! 

The focus of the trip here is to have the band compete at the worlds so this means practice!  Initially the band sections start with group practices in the various rooms. The drummers have taken over our kitchen with the pipers on chanter, in the Troy's kitchen.

Drumming

Tenors

Pipers

Each group goes through the various music that compromises the competition "set" that they will play in front of the judges. It is an MSR that consists of three different time signatures. The tunes are the March - Donald Mclean's Farewell to Oban, Strathspey - Susan MacLeod and Reel - Lachlan Macphail

The judges will be looking for clarity of notes, unison, tempo and clean breaks (change between tunes) and overall musicality of the performance. With this in mind, each section practices separately and then joins together as an ensemble on their respective instruments

There are many bands staying in and around the University so I am treated to music from 10 am through to 7 pm should I stay in my room.

My view out my window :-)

The morning practice finished off with the band playing in between the dorms. Tuning the band is always a bit tricking as the weather can significantly effect the instruments. First each pipe chanter is tuned to each other and then the drones are adjusted to reach a specific pitch. Once all done the pipes sound identical and this is where tuning comes into play. The idea is to sound like one set of very loud pipes and if everyone plays the notes the same then unison is achieved.

Tuning the chanters...

After the practice there was a brief announcement on the bands departure time on the day along with some instructions on personal behavior expected during the run up to the competition day. All very straight forward stuff.  More work ensued on individual pipes to get them up to the standard required.  

We made some bacon sandwiches at the flat and then Kelly and I launch off in an Uber to Clydebank about 11 km to the west of Glasgow. This is the once proud home of one of the largest shipbuilding areas and the Singer Sewing Machine factory that employed thousands of people back in the day. There is a museum in City Hall that Kelly wanted to see as her Singer 222 was built here. Unfortunately the museum was closed for renovations but there was a small... very small... collection on the wall :-)

The sewing machine on display was no match for the condition of Kelly's so it was a bit of a bust... oh well... we grabbed a geocache close by, popped into a cab and ended up back at Buchanan St in short order. 

A walk up the street to the Whisky Shoppe and then around the corner to Tesco's for some supplies. A short walk up to the National Piping Center to hopefully watch the Piping Idol Competition. With more bands pouring into the city as the weekend approached, the crowds grew and we could not get in to see it. Oh well we pulled up a chair in the refreshment area and shortly thereafter pretty much the whole band showed up. 

Warren dons his old City Of Victoria Jacket

Lots of fun as we had a good social.

The local TV station was doing a promotional video and the gals helped out.

We all returned to the dorm and got ready for our dinner. Bobby G had arranged for Indian food at one of the many restaurants in the area. About 25 of us descended on the place and enjoyed a great meal.

A quick stop at the Station Pub and we returned to the dorm for a small social... including card tricks by AJ's daughter Cailidh. 


 Done for the day.