I awoke to a nice hot coffee placed at my bedside again. Kelly had been up, dressed and ventured across the square to Cafe Nero where she grabbed a couple coffees. Now that is service!!
We showered and after loading up the backpack, we headed over to Collegelands to meet up with the band. We will hitch a ride to Perth and attend the European Championships. We will support North Stratton in their quest to repeat as Grade 2 Champions. This is a great warmup to the World's next Saturday.
We arrived in plenty of time and enjoyed meeting several of the band members. One thing we noticed was the use of some old drum cases as a beer cooler. Cagey!!
 |
| Beer coolers... for the return trip! |
 |
| Getting ready to depart for Perth. |
 |
| Loading up for the trip. |
We loaded up and after ensuring there was enough seats for all, headed off to Perth at 10:08 am . We sat in with the drum core towards the back whom preceded to entertain us on their practice pads.
Our drive took us past Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. The weather took a turn to cloudy skies with rain showers but once in Perth, the skies cleared and the sun came out...right on cue!
We arrived at South Inch Park in Perth at 11:25 The band is scheduled to play their medley at 1:18 so plenty of time to prepare. The Pipe Major Hugh Armstrong addressed the band and announced the warm up schedule for everyone.
With 147 bands competing today it was a bit of a mad house if you've never been to one. Just much bigger than we usually see on the west coast.
Entry was easy…. At the gate the attendant asked if we needed to pay, we said “yes” but he said the machines were not working so it was Free Admission!
First thing I noticed was the biggest portable Jumbotron I'd ever seen!
 |
| I said it was huge!! |
We grabbed a burger to quell the hunger and then found the beer tent with Alex. Had a good catch up with him and then went looking for the band as time was approaching for the competition. We easily found the band with their yellow drums and watched the warmup process.
 |
| Warmup time! |
They moved to the
tuning area and we took position in the arena to get some video. I went
live on Facebook and Kelly recorded it. A very good performance and
everyone seamed happy following the band’s play.
A full on retirement to the beer tent was now in order. We then watch the Grade 1 Medley and had almost front row seats to watch Inveraray, FM and others. it was very good. I picked FM, Inveraray and then Boghall for 1, 2, 3 places.
 |
| Shenanigan's in the beer tent! |
We watched the closing ceremonies and the results given out for all the grades.
The Grade 2 winners were.... 1st Place: Ulster Scottish 2nd: North Stratton and 3rd: Glasgow Skye and in Grade 1: 1st Place: Inveraray & District 2nd: Field Marshall Montgomery and 3rd: Peoples Ford Boghall & Bathgate
We headed back to the bus and prepared to return to Glasgow. The band was a bit down initially and the Pipe Major came on the PA and said to be proud as the band came second at a Major. Still a great accomplishment. They will now be more motivated in the coming days to tweak the performance. They reviewed all the judging sheets as well. They all started to become more lively as we head towards Glasgow, drinks in hand:-)
We arrived back at 20:40 and the band was going to gather at a local establishment for dinner. We decided to head back to our place and let them have their time together.
We grabbed a bite to eat and retired for the evening. Starting to hit the wall.
It's an off day tomorrow... nothing planned as of yet.
Steps: 10,700
No comments:
Post a Comment