Whatever You Do—Don't Win Grade 2!



Since winning the Worlds with two outstanding performances back in August, the Robert Malcolm Memorial Grade 2 band has been in the piping news, as people speculated what would happpen with their grading—would they stay in Grade 2? Go to Grade 1? Compete against their own SFU? The story more or less finished with the resignation of the band's leadership this week. Dave & Shaunna Hilder, and Andre Tessier have all packed it in, and rumours are that many others have too.

Last year at this time, we had the 2005 World Champion Drambuie-Kirkliston Pipe Band folding after several successful seasons building to the top of Grade 2.

On the one hand, it's sad to see a great band go, and you can't but admire the skill and dedication that brings a band like RMM to the top of its grade. RMM2 has always had a scrappy competitive relationship with Maple Ridge that drove both bands far forward of where they might otherwise have ended up. Dave, Shaunna and Andre deserve a lot of credit for the band's ultimate success, as do former builders, including Dave Hicks, Pat Napper and Kathy MacPherson.

On the other hand, the RMM band will be just fine, and the spaces will likely fill with other people willing to stand in the Ancient Fraser kilt and be part of an overall winning and successful organization. By this time next year, it'll likely be off the radar screen, and a "new" RMM2 wil have successfully finished a season in the field.

What's lost in that big picture is the individual effort and committment that it took to get the current band to where it was. So, congratulations to all those RMM2 members on their success, and best wishes for your future plans, be they in RMM, or elsewhere.

On Remembering

The role of pipe bands and pipers in Remembrance Day calls out a cast of characters that we don't always see together. The annual services in Regina see the City of Regina, Conservatory and Wa Wa Shrine pipe bands perform together at the Agridome, and the RCMP Pipe Band plays a separate role there as well. At the Cenotaph in Victoria Park, the Regina Police Service plays. While we are remembering the veterans who gave their lives, and honouring those who remain, as well as the current military, I also tend to think about the more immediate losses reflected in the ranks of the pipe bands.

I can't play that parade without remembering Brian Fraser. Our former bass drummer was a big part of the band in so many ways, and he had a special place and role on Remembrance Day. It was on that parade that he adopted the name "Only the Bass Drummer," which became his own joke on himself. This year, we missed Bruce Cooke, who was PM of the Wa Wa Shrine for a long time, and who did these ceremonies for many years. I thought about him yesterday, and reflected on his many years of service to the community. And these are just two.

In the life of a piping community, we see a lot of people come and go, and doing an annual parade where we see most is one way to note that passage of time, and the change of guard.