Account and Images from our
Scotland Trip
12th - 22nd August 2005
Above: The De La Salle Scout Pipe Band taking part in Pipefest 2005.
The idea of bringing the band to Scotland, as part of the 70th Anniversary celebrations was first muted when we became aware that there was going to be a massed pipe band parade in aid of cancer care in August 2005. The preparations began in earnest in August 2004 when Pat Murphy Pipe Major visited Scotland during his annual leave and in the company of Lyle Crawford of North Berwick Pipe Band sussed out what was required to make a successful visit for the band. Pat had met Lyle by chance in New York at the end of the massed pipe band parade held there in 2001 and ever since they have maintained contact. Lyle also brought a small contingent from North Berwick to take part in the 70th Anniversary parade in May 2004.
On Wednesday night August 10th the full travelling party assembled at the scout hall with their gear and the van kindly donated by Walker Van rentals through the aid of Celtic Linen Ltd was loaded with the gear. Dave and Bernie Rogers then headed off towards Belfast on Friday to catch a boat to Scotland early Friday morning. At 6.45 a.m. on Friday morning 18 members of the band gathered in Patrick St and were taken to Dublin Airport by the VEC bus to catch a plane to Prestwick. The journey was very comfortable and on reaching Prestwick we were met by Mr John Starr the President of the North Berwick Pipe Band. We then proceeded to North Berwick by bus. On arrival at the 1st North Berwick scout hall representatives of both the North Berwick Scout Group and the Pipe Band met us. We were all given a welcome pack and served a delicious meal prepared for us by Margaret Ann Crawford and her team of helpers. The rest of the travelling party arrived by various methods over the following days and we had the full compliment by Wednesday.
Performance at Leuchie House
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Band Practice
Highland Night at Pithlochry
World Pipe Band Competition:On Saturday morning August 13th the band made its way by bus to Glasgow to attend the World Pipe Band Competition. This is the world showpiece for the Highland Bag Pipe and Drumming and attracts the cream of the Pipe Bands from all over the world so we were treated to a day of high class piping entertainment. There was also Highland dancing and Highland games ongoing throughout the day so we got to sample a lot of Scottish Culture. There were also stalls selling all kinds of Scottish and Piping goods and what could only be described as a tented village. The members of the band also got an opportunity to visit Glasgow city centre for a few hours.
Joint Parade with the North Berwick Pipe Band
On Wednesday night after entertaining a large crowd in North Berwick the Band was accorded a Civic Reception by the North Berwick Community Council. At the reception the Band was formally welcomed to North Berwick by Lady Chairman Mrs. Pat Burton and she presented Pat Murphy Pipe Major with a North Berwick Plaque. In response Pat passed on greetings from the Mayor of Waterford and presented the Council with a Greeting Certificate from the Waterford City Council. The Band also presented a beautiful piece of Waterford Crystal which it sponsored for use by the North Berwick Highland Games in all their future Games. The Games President Mr John Starr accepted this and he responded by inviting the band back to North Berwick next year to participate in the Games. The band also made a presentation to Lyle Crawford for all of his help in the preparation of the band’s trip to Scotland and for his friendship with the band. In return Lyle made a presentation of a painting of North Berwick to Pat Murphy.
The Edinburgh Tattoo
On Thursday night the band attended the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and everyone enjoyed what was an excellent show. The band was delighted to be welcomed publicly to the event by the Tattoo Compare prior to the commencement of the displays. Members of the band felt very at home when the Massed Pipe Band played The Minstrel Boy and we were also delighted to see the Saffron kilt being worn by the Irish Guards and the South African Irish.
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Band performances in and around North Berwick
On Wednesday evening some senior members of the North Berwick Pipe Band gave us some tuition and assistance with tuning and then that evening the two bands paraded through the town together. Both bands entertained the very large crowed both on their own and together and its with delight that we can report that we played very well and kept up the good name of De La Salle Scouting. On Thursday the band entertained the residents of Leuchie House, which is a respite home for MS sufferers, and again the band put on a fine performance and received an excellent reception. After playing, the band had lunch with the residents and everyone enjoyed themselves. On Friday the band entertained a very large crowd of visitors and local North Berwick people at The Sea Bird Centre and again we got a great reception and were very well looked after by the staff of the Sea Bird Centre. On Saturday the band again joined with the North Berwick Pipe Band to entertain the crowds assembled for the local raft race and again a fine performance was given which was much appreciated by the assembled crowd.
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Visit to Sea World
Pipefest 2005
Sunday August 21st 2005 was the highlight of the trip. It was a beautiful day and after a very substantial breakfast band members got into uniform and thus began what was probably the most memorable day of piping ever experienced by all the band members. By 11.30 a.m. everyone was safely on board the bus and heading for the parade starting point on the outskirts of Edinburgh. Having disembarked from the bus the two bands did a little tuning and headed to meet up with the rest of the players in our block. By 2 p.m. all seventy or so players in the block from Scotland, Ireland and Canada were in a very large circle practicing the tunes and then shortly afterwards it was time to take part in what was to be a most enjoyable and memorable parade. The sun continued to shine for the duration of the parade and the standard of playing in the blocks was excellent.
The uniform of the De La Salle Scout Band attracted a lot of attention and complements. On arriving at the field three blocks came together and over two hundred players played together as we made our way to our final assembly point. But the best was yet to come and this happened when all 9,500 pipers and drummers had assembled and they all proceeded to play together. Now that experience will never be forgotten by anyone who attended and for the members of the De La Salle Scout Band it will not only be the highlight of the trip but probably also be the highlight of their playing lives.
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