Author Archives: Mike Chisholm

Delta Police Pipe Band’s recent trip to Germany

TweetFrom March 2013. The Delta Police Pipe Band’s third performance in their 2013 tour of Germany

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Shamrocks and bagpipes: Five great ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in Vancouver.

Tweet1. Hire a bagpiper for your St. Patrick’s Day party or pub crawl.Top off your green-themed house party with a grand entrance of a fully kilted bagpiper. Celtic tunes echo while everyone dances and drinks green beer. Or join any … Continue reading

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Playing bagpipes for Police Funerals and for Deputy Sherriff Jeremiah MacKay

TweetA lone piper stood outside the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office on February 14, lamenting the death of a fellow piper and deputy sheriff, Jeremiah MacKay.  After years of playing at funerals for fallen police colleagues as the chief piper … Continue reading

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The Pied Piper of East Van

TweetThe ancient story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin is a well known children’s fairy tale. The citizens of the German town of Hamelin needed to rid their community of rats. They hired a piper for the job, who played … Continue reading

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Top 10 reasons a bagpiper can transform an event

TweetI monitored a Twitter conversation recently about bagpipes. The “tweeters” seemed to associate the bagpipes solely with funerals and death. A Yahoo conversation was similar; many people south of the border have only heard the pipes at funerals of police … Continue reading

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Brightening “a stable all forlorn” with bagpipes and celebration

TweetIn the Christmas song “Mary’s Little Boy Child” written by Jester Hairston (check out this corny but popular disco version by Boney M), the song relates the story of Christ’s birth “in a stable all forlorn”. The song relates that … Continue reading

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New Years, Auld Lang Syng, First-Footing & bagpipes!

TweetThe door is suddenly thrown open. The midnight countdown has ended. The crowded room stops, stares, then cheer as a bagpiper, in full regalia, playing Auld Lang Syng strides into the centre of the room. Music fills the house as … Continue reading

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Thirty years of great piping and drumming & six World Championships: SFU Pipe Band

Tweet Jack and Terry Lee reflect on the past 30 years of the Simon Fraser University (SFU) Pipe Band

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The Fab 18: Delta Police Pipers & Paul McCartney

TweetIt was quite a performance, and one the 18 members of the Delta Police Pipe Band will not soon forget. Several months ago, PM John Ralston contacted the McCartney folks to see if they wanted a pipe band to join … Continue reading

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Bagpiping in the cold November rain in Vancouver

TweetVancouver, BC – There’s something moving and poignant  about the sound of a solo piper playing The Lament on Remembrance Day every year. As aging veterans, families, service men and women, politicians and citizens huddle together, heads bowed, under grey … Continue reading

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