History, traditions and heritage. The bagpipes have all of this in spades.
I played on the beaches, on the land, at sea, hospitals and senior homes. It was a busy Remembrance week in the Lower Mainland of BC. As usual, I was the piper at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club 8-Bells service at sea on Nov. 11. This is an 80-year old solemn event for lost members …
Read more “Catching my breath after a busy Remembrance Week”
I lost a good friend recently. As did many in the Canadian and global bagpiping and highland dancing world. He was a wee man but he carried a big pipe. And that pipe took him on a lifetime of adventures, collecting stories and good friends along the way. Alan James Walters passed away at his …
It was a dreary day to hold a highland games. I’m kinda glad we didn’t. Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, all large gatherings, including the 89th BC Highland Games, have been cancelled for 2020. This decision was made in May and we all knew it was coming. However, it was still a melancholy day for …
My first piping instructor – still going strong, with her father’s pipes. What the story doesn’t say is that when Barb’s father showed up in Scotland during leave, to pick up and pay for his pipes, his regiment had already paid for them out of respect.
On a windswept piece of landscaped rough, overlooking the Pacific Ocean and its pounding surf, as golfers and guests gather to wrap up their day and reminisce about their drives and putts, they witness a beautiful sight and sound as a bagpiper strolls along the fairway at sunset, playing the sun down with haunting airs …
Read more “Bagpiping & golf: the sounds of Scotland in the New World”
Looking to satisfy that summer urge for piping, kilts and haggis? British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest is the place to be in 2015. It all starts this weekend with the annual Victoria Highland Games and Celtic Festival which kicks off the outdoor piping and drumming competitive season with a three day event at Topaz …
Read more “Seven great 2015 Scottish highland games & festivals near Vancouver”
From the world’s largest, to North America’s oldest, there are many great Scottish highland games around the world. To name just a few, the largest is the Cowal Highland Gathering in Scotland; in the US, there are the Pleasanton Games in California and the Grandfather Mountain Games in North Carolina and the Glengarry Highland Games in Maxville, Ontario. …
Read more “Calling non-competitive pipe bands in the Lower Mainland”
When the bagpiper plays the lament this year at cenotaphs in Vancouver and around the country on November 11, it will a poignant moment for many. As most Canadian are well aware, we lost two soldiers recently on our own shores. Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was run over and killed as he departed a government office …
Read more “Remembering the fallen, with bagpipes in Vancouver and beyond”