... In My Rear View Mirror

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The World Championships is over for another year so it only remains to sit back and reflect upon my impressions for the extended week in Glasgow. Certainly the Grade 1 arena itself, the primary purpose of any trip, takes the featured spot. However, ranking a close second are all the events of Piping Live and the Todd's Bar. I MC'd the Drumming event and kicked off Drumming for Drinks. It is the latter that leaves a lasting impression - Top Secret, the Basil, Switzerland based drum corps performed live - I mean really live, right in front of us. Thanks have to go to Jim Kilpatrick for making this possible. Roddy MacDonald kicked off his new book with a launch at the Piping Centre... the Perth and North Berwick Highland Games provided a great backdrop for meeting friends from everywhere. Normally I would be judging and miss this opportunity, so in a back-handed way, perhaps I should thank the powers to be for this year's suspension from the judging panel. The photo here depicts a rare opportunity where Bob Worrall and myself had the chance to dine with our South African friends on the Monday nite prior to the championships. I judged two solo events - the piping quartettes and the piping idol contest...both very relaxing and less formal that some. If anything, the qualifier for the Grade 1 was a big disappointment. First of all, the first 6 bands or so were at an extreme disadavantage - not only playing early in the morning, but also in a terrible downpour. This resulted in several subpar performances - none as major as the 78th Fraser Highlanders - perennial finals' competitor. There were few outstanding performances from the qualifiers' section, which was confirmed by the results of the afternoon final. The top 6 or 7 bands are light-years ahead of the rest of the field. So in hindsite, hats off to SFU, FMM, SLOT and Strathclyde Police - especially Strathclyde whose performance under the dark cloud of departmental politics was even more rewarding.... next year is only 51 weeks away...I am booked already.

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