Tunes of Glory 2002

Tunes of Glory

Aftermath

4.30pm Central Park

If one can imagine what it was like after Culloden in April 1746 - there were bits of Central Park that maybe looked a little like Drumossie Moor - but without the blood!

OK - I maybe exaggerate but there were some tired pipers and drummers! Jet lag, adrenaline slump, low blood sugar and the easing of tension and discipline worked into folks' bones and people slumped for a bit before forming up and moving out. But there were some great stories and some real heroisim.

I met a piper from the Rochester NY band with a serious limp and in a lot of pain. "My epidural - just wore off" he explained. He had the doctor numb is lower half after getting injured just before coming to the city. "I was not going to miss this for the world!"

The individual pipers truly deserve mention - sure many play in bands and came to this event on their own but I met many an individual who was just that - and this was their first band experience. That is really laying it on the line when the first time you do it is in front of New York! WELL DONE and thanks must be extended to the many bands that took them in when the organization slipped.
"Here you 6 - form a line behind us and follow our lead" was heard on more than one occasion.

"Jimmy" from Glasgow - sorry Jim - I didn't get your real name through the celebration fumes - was in the US for the first time since 1942 when he served here during World War II. "I had always kept in touch with one girl", he explained. "She invited me over to visit when she heard I play the pipes - haven't seen her in 60 years." Did I just meet the oldest piper? He must have been at least 78 for that story to be true.

The beautifully timed mace toss at the end of the march that whirled up into the only gap in the overhanging trees with a perfect catch as it twirled down.

"Damn our pipe major! Telt us nae tae drink till the end. He chust emptied my flask! - it was fu'"

"Are you having fun?" I asked one piper from my hometown of Glasgow. "Sure", he replied, "I chust love these sponsored no-sleeps!"

The American standby - "Why you wearing a dress?" - "It's a kilt" - "I just LOVE the way you talk - say that again".

The Scottish Power Band for forming up again after all the bands were in and marching back out the park playing "The Black Bear" full bore - you guys must have been tired (I KNOW you were tired - I met the remains of some of you in the hotel lift later!) You helped put a finishing mark on the parade.

Evening

As the evening wore on the bars downtown filled with pipers. Our cellphone reunited family had dinner in Little Italy and after I marched down to Ground Zero to pay my respects. Not hard to find with the twin blue lights pointing skywards and the lines to get onto the public viewing platform. It was 11.30pm and the platform was supposed to have closed at 9.00pm. A police captain kept patiently explaining that you needed tickets which were not available at night and that there were still hundreds waiting in line to get in who did have tickets. Many stood and looked at the impromptu memorial wall of artifacts, clothing, images and letters pinned to the hoardings outside St Mary's church - spared in the destruction.

Down the barrier a sergeant seeing the looks of disappointment on the faces of many pipers who had travelled so far broke the barrier and let in anyone wearing a kilt. "Flannagan!", shouted the police captain, "what the f%*$k do you think you are doing?" but there was a humourous edge to it and the sergeant kept waving us in - "Quick, Quick! - before the crowd notice" - I'm sure they did but were wonderfully tolerant..

I heard some truly wonderful piping that night - there was a complete respect for the moment and in the biting wind and sub-zero temperatures pipers quietly waited their turn while trying to keep their fingers warm. There were some wonderful piobaireachd played in really difficult conditions. Well done if you played. Also well done for holding back - which some thought more appropriate for their own reasons.

Later in the St Andrews bar we watched some great impromptu playing and dancing. Mind more than a few were heard to comment - "Some people should know better than to try after they have been drinking!"

I don't know when I went to bed. I do know that for all practical purposes my daughter never did before heading back to college in Washington and I awoke Sunday morning to the sound of a pipe band playing outside in Times Square.

Did we do Scotland proud? Sure! Thousands of New Yorkers were exposed to a horde of kilties and welcomed us. There was some national and local coverage in the USA and "Tartan Day" - however invented it is for the tourists is another evolution in the way of things. Give it enough time and persistence and it could be as big as St Patricks day over here - heaven knows enough folk tell me they are Scots when I meet them. In reality they mean their Great Grandfather came over on a boat - but there is a strong sense of quiet Scots pride amongst many Americans - let's keep trying and learn from the mistakes.

Walking around Sunday morning watching the workers clearing barriers and sweeping up I was struck by the comment from one - "This is the cleanest I've seen the streets after a parade - ever"

Closing Thoughts

There were some true heroes on the day but as has been remarked upon in plenty of other fora - the organizers and some sponsors did not do the overall mass of pipers proud at the end. The let down was not of the moment but it became clearer for many through the night.

Everyone I talked to was proud of their part and some are just a little miffed to get so little recognition - at the start in the form of clear direction about changes - and at the end in the form of a massing of the bands or a party. Even some extra porta potties at the finish would have helped. The pipers rose above the problems and kept it together.

Through the night New York absorbed the 10,000 and their supporters (or whatever number really marched!) and there were some great parties but it is easy for 10,000 to get lost in a city the size of New York and some focal point would have helped thank many who came a long way and laid it out for the sponsors.

Visit Scotland did achieve impact. Believe me this is a tough town to make a mark in and to get 5 min spots on the Today Show two days running and any press at all the next day for a first time event is pretty good. I met many New Yorkers who DID know what it was all about - many were wearing the new "New York Tartan" and were proud of it. Those who didn't know what it was about were educated by hundreds of pipers, drummers and attired Scots and others from around the world and the US who explained what it was all about and in the end I think were great ambassadors for Scotland.

I am truly disappointed at the awareness the charities achieved on the day. It is tough in the shadow of 9/11 in New York but their cause is just as worthy in a different way. I only saw one bit of press mention the charites - well done the piper who worked it into the answer to a question on TV. Shame on the organizers for not pushing the message down onto the streets more - sure every piper and drummer wore the daffodils and badges but there was nothing to explain to the crowd the significance.

On balance perhaps it was simply a failure to communicate downwards to the mass of pipers what was really going on at a more global level coupled with a lack of a focus at the finish - but it sure would have been nice to know how many really marched on the day! (Organizers posted a count on 4/12/02 - 7,820 (+/-50) so not a record. But still a good time!)

Do it again? Sure - for me it is a four hour drive and I'm going to learn how to tame the five legged monster for next time. For those who travelled so far - organizers and sponsors - you might have a slightly harder sell.

A plea

If you made it this far and enjoyed the tale or the pictures - please consider making a donation to one of the official charites of the event - thanks.