Milestones

May Long Weekend has been a big piping and pipe bands weekend on the prairies ever since I was a wee boy in the Fraser Pipe Band. In those days, it was always the "Moose Jaw International Band Festival," at which I played my first ever solo on the pipes ("The Duke of Roxburgh's Farewell to the Blackmount Forest" - 2nd prize), and in later years contests at Moose Jaw, Saskatoon, and since 1996, Regina. This weekend we had games in Moose Jaw on Saturday and Regina on Sunday, and beautiful days for the contests both days, with a decent entry of soloists and bands.

It was a good weekend of practice and performance for the CRPB, in which we finally got to test new equipment and new players in game conditions. Too bad the other regional Grade 2 band doesn't come to play...it's always more fun to play against another band, and a shame they don't seem to see it that way also.

 When you play in a pipe band in this part of the world, and devote as much time and energy [and money] to it as we do, you sometimes question the wisdom of your choices. Is trying to maintain a Grade 2 band in this place really a worthwhile venture, and what are the benefits? I've always considered that apart from it being fun for me [selfish motivation], it's also fun for others, and an opportunity for local players to gain experience that might pay off in other places.

That experience paid off for long-time band member (and son) Ruaridh MacDonald this past weekend, when he played in his first Grade 1 competition with the Inveraray & District Pipe Band, which placed 3rd in the Scottish Pipe Band Championships on Saturday. That amazing opportunity is a direct result of the many weekends spent trying to cobble together and maintain a band in Grade 2, and give people opportunities to develop their skills, and see the wider world out there.

Meanwhile, in Moose Jaw and Regina, we competed without his sister Eilidh, who is now a member of the 78th Highlanders, Halifax, and who has also made the transition to Grade 1 from the CRPB. And, on the same day, son Duncan (8) competed for the first time on chanter, and was 2nd both days to another boy from a well-known pipe band family! All milestones for me, and all good reasons to put in the time.

Coming home at the end of the Sunday night ceilidh, I checked my messages, and there was a note from former band member Nils Michael, now a member of the Dysart & Dundonald Pipe Band who pointed out that the BBC Scotland radio programme "Pipeline" played a track from the CRPB's 2001 release "One Scottish Evening" on this week's show. Listen here.

And finally, at the massed bands in Regina, the SPBA honoured two long-time pipers for their contributions to piping in Saskatchewan. P-M Don Felstrom  and P-M Don McDonald started their piping careers together in Saskatoon 66 years ago, and they have been playing, organizing, teaching and enjoying pipe bands ever since. In this photo, you can see them having a tune with the massed bands following the presentation.

This was another great milestone on the weekend, and maybe a sign that there is something to enjoying the time spent in the pursuit of a good tune. These gents are inspirational for us all.