To Talk of many Things
"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."
[Lewis Carroll: The Walrus and the Carpenter]

Quite a bit of water has flowed under the bridge since the last post. Hard to know where to begin, or how to draw it together. The weekend after being in Greenwood, NS as reported below, I was off to Calgary to judge a wee contest and play a few tunes. I had the pleasure of hanging out with James W and James P Troy, father and son from Victoria. Ever passionate about everything piping, Jamie senior is a fascinating guy, and no less so is James P, who only a couple of weeks later became one of a very few people in history to sweep all three pro piping events at the BC Pipers Annual Gathering. [See JWT Blog & Photos] What a great result for all concerned.

Also in Calgary, I had the pleasure of spending time with Dave Hicks, and it was great to catch up on the news, and hear how well things are going there. Sorry to hear that Dave won't be playing with the band this year, but it has been great having him in the band for the past couple of seasons! That would be a huge loss to any band.

Then there was St. Patrick's Weekend [remember when it used to be just a day?] and the concerts in Minot and at the Confluence Centre near Williston. Can't say enough about how well we were treated and received, and MANY thanks to the Celtic Committee in Minot for their hard work getting us down, and to the Moose Lodge for sponsoring us, and for Ebenezer's Bar for their fantastic hospitality and pints, and for the many people we met who were genuinely appreciative of the band and the music. Thanks to Paul and Diane Behm especially for their hospitality and organization. Thanks also to the staff at the Confluence Centre for once again having the band down, and for promoting the concert so well. We had a full house once again, and this time a gorgeous day for piping above the rivers. Then on the actual Holy Day of Obligation—March 17— we were at O'Hanlon's for pints and tunes, and quite a few laughs. Thanks to Niall and the staff at O'Hanlon's.

Easter Weekend we had a few sessions with the band. People in from Winnipeg, and drummers working hard to get the medley up, and lots of progress made. The medley is coming together, and starting to feel like fun.

The huge news in the past week os was the tragic death of one-time CRPB member Dan Matheson. Dan played with the band for a season way back in the early days, and then was for many years part of the Victoria Park Pipe Band, up until the last VP trip to Maxville, in about 2003. Since then, Dan had been P-M and piper with the Wa Wa Shrine in Regina. Hard to fathom this kind of news: terrible for all concerned, and certainly the local community will miss Dan's passion for piping and pipe bands. Our condolences to his many friends and family members.

And as to whether pigs have wings...just watch the band fly later in the season. ; )