According to some people I have a weird taste in music. I love brass bands for example and drum bands. Marching bands as well and Dolly Parton. Well, Dolly Parton didn't feature last night, the other ones did. The Royal Marines were there, as were the Airforce and the Territorial Army. There were pipers and dancers all the way from New Zealand, a great band and dancers from Surinam (our last colony that was), a British artillery group and a fantastic Swiss drum band.
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| The drumband 'Top Secret' from Switzerland |
So, how did I get there? Well, I may have mentioned in the past that we do a lot of jobs for the Ministry of Defense and one of the jobs I occasionally get is driving the Royal Military Band Johan Willem Friso around. And last week while visiting the Queen I had to drive them as well. Before leaving in the morning though, I sat in their little staff room and saw leaflets of the Military Tattoo to be held this week. My parents always used to go, but I never had the chance before. And then one of the men offered tickets. At first I declined and then I thought, no, I want to go. So I called my boss, I called my parents and yesterday my dad picked me up to go to the tattoo (my mum unfortunately had to work).
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| Some of the women/dancers from Surinam |
We didn't go to the official show, we went to see the dress rehearsal. One or two groups still needed a little tweaking (especially the only civilian group), but it was brilliant. We had great seats, could oversee the lot and I was able to take great photos, even without flash.
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| The piping band from New Zealand |
The music was lovely, although they could have had about twenty more pipers in the piping band (I love the sound of a lot of pipers). The drumband from Switzerland might have been small, but they were making enough noise as it was and I loved the way they were dressed!
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| The dancers with the piping band from New Zealand |
On our way home my dad said that they still wanted to go to at least two other tattoos: the one in Edinburgh and the biggest one in the world is in Halifax, Canada! Hm, I might have to go along with them.
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| The finale |
Of course by now you may have realised I didn't get a tattoo and may not get one for a while yet. After all, I have been told it hurts to get one...
Nothing like the sound of the pipes - they get me every time. My brother-in-law is a piper in Nova Scotia and has taken part in the Halifax Tattoo. It's quite something, I hear.
ReplyDeleteAs for the other type of tattoo, they hurt a bit but don't let that stop you. (I have a maple leaf on my back shoulder) If you want one, go for it!
And I like your blog!
I think it's neat when someone enjoys music other than contemporary pop or rock or ...
ReplyDeleteDefinitely not the tattoo I was expecting! Great post though ;-)
ReplyDeleteFirst let me tell you that YOU DO NOT HAVE A WEIRD TASTE OF MUSIC!
ReplyDeleteWe are all individuals and one who speaks of someones interests weird should zip it.(I am trying to teach my 6th grader that she doesnt have to like what EVERYONE ELSE likes)I would have loved to been there with you and enjoyed every minute. Wish I lived there and could have given you a ride. As for the tattoo, speaking from one with a half sleeve and a few other areas, it hurts, yes. If I ever win the lottery I am personally moving you to Canada where you want to be, and buying you a car and any bike you want and we WILL go get a tattoo together k?
I share your taste in music too. A drum trio or quartet playing is incredibly intricate and interesting.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love a military tattoo. I went to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo with 9 other members of my family in 1996. The youngest of us was only 3, and he said, "I love Scotland, and I love bagpipes."
ReplyDeleteWell, he probably doesn't love bagpipes any more, but I still do. Love to hear pipes and drums. They make me happy and sad all at the same time.
As for the other kind of tattoo, I still don't see the point in enduring unnecessary pain, but I do have pierced ears, so, maybe if I were younger. A maple leaf on the shoulder sounds pretty.
-- Kay, Alberta
Sounds like you had a great time. My father loves music like that. I am sure that if I was there I would have enjoyed it too!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first read Tattoo - I thought, "Oh my, second blog today that talks about tattoo!" Didn't expect this, though! Really fun! Thanks so much for sharing! I love pipes!
ReplyDeleteAnn
P.S. I like Dolly Parton too! I watch, A Smokey Mountain Christmas, every year and have been known to play her music loud quite often!She has the BEST voice!
Oh, what fun. I went to the Edinburgh Tattoo once and it was great - really atmospheric. I get all emotional listening to military bands! As for the other kind - get a stick-on one! They don't hurt and you can change your mind about them afterwards too.
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