Monday, October 3, 2011

This Way Lies Madness

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Scottish Games And Festival At Night 4

There is something about bagpipes that can breed insanity: bwaaah BWAAAHHH . . . They curdle the brain with dreams of haggis and dying goats, filling the ears with their mocking, nasal tone. Look at the faces of the people above - his crazed leer, her numbness. And the young man below - well, what more need I say.

That's how they affect me, anyway. (Being of Irish ancestry might have something to do with it.) Public opinion was quite different at the Scottish Games And Cultural Festival in Forest Park last weekend. You could often have two or three groups of them going at the same time (have mercy!). The crowd went wild.

Scottish Games 3

Scottish Games 4

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16 comments:

  1. Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.comOctober 3, 2011 at 12:44 AM

    When I worked for a member of Congress about 30 years ago, the boss's son got married. They thought it would be a memorable touch to have a bag piper play from the church balcony during the service. The friend who played the bagpipes managed to achieve the transition from a gutteral belch to a musical sound by about the third note. It was memorable all right.

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  2. OlivierOctober 3, 2011 at 12:56 AM

    beau portrait de nuit, mais j'aime bien la dernière avec tous les joueurs de cornemuses qui avancent d'un seul pas

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  3. Brighton PensionerOctober 3, 2011 at 4:06 AM

    But the Irish play bagpipes as well!

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  4. Stefan JanssonOctober 3, 2011 at 5:38 AM

    Some nice photos here.

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  5. pattyOctober 3, 2011 at 6:43 AM

    love the sound of the pipes; its music to my ears. I listen to them at work all the time, some would say it's a good thing I'm in the office by myself!

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  6. ChoppographyOctober 3, 2011 at 7:54 AM

    Had friends in West County that lived in an condo complex years back. Each night, around dusk, their rather eccentric neighbor popped out and walked the open field in back while playing the bagpipes. Sure, it was kind of neat to visitors, but my friends grew tired of the routine quickly.

    Chip

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  7. VirginiaOctober 3, 2011 at 9:09 AM

    I think they sound like they've just stepped on a cat myself, but I do love the costumes and watching someone play is interesting.... from a distance!
    V

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  8. William KendallOctober 3, 2011 at 9:59 AM

    Ah, laddies and lassies, the pipes are grand! Tis a reminder of the old country and the ceremonial eating of the haggis in the rain!

    There's the old joke of the Scot who goes off to university, calls home, and says he's got terrible neighbours. The one on the right howls in agony, and the one on the left bangs against the wall. His mother asks what he does to put up with it, and he says, "Well, Ma, I just sit there quietly playing my bagpipes..."

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  9. PerthDailyPhotoOctober 3, 2011 at 11:01 AM

    Now come on, that marching band is a magnificent sight Bob and I bet they sound unbelievable.. hahaha!I mean that in a fabulous way, how can anybody not be moved to tears by the sound..This is not working our the way I'd planned.. I'm just going to say..BAGPIPES ARE GOOD!! Excellent photos Bob.

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  10. SpeedwayOctober 3, 2011 at 2:04 PM

    We have a local group, the Gordon Pipers, which marches in all local parades and is especially active, say, around March 17th. They also are a part of the activities around the Indy 550 each May, marching around the track playing their bagpipes and drums. I love them.

    One of my favorite memories of the Pipers was watching them in the St.Patrick's Day parade while the drummers had a little jam session, each responding to the other's riffs and tricks with another of His own, all within the tempo of the piece being played by the pipers. It was great!

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  11. Oakland Daily PhotoOctober 3, 2011 at 2:35 PM

    Imagine how pipers at an imminent battle scared the bejezzus out of the enemy. Probably why the Romans built Hadrian's Wall.

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  12. HalcyonOctober 3, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    When I first moved to Toronto, there was a man who practiced his bagpipes in the parking garage of the building. It drove me crazy, as I could hear it all the way up to our 9th story apartment. I'm not sure I could have survived the day in St. Louis. :)

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  13. SpeedwayOctober 3, 2011 at 5:15 PM

    Of course, I meant 'Indy 500' and a lower case aitch for 'him.'

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  14. JackOctober 3, 2011 at 10:18 PM

    Sorry, Bob, I am of mainly Irish extraction and yet I LOVE bagpipes. Ecumenical, no?

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  15. chauffeur philOctober 4, 2011 at 9:55 AM

    In my neighborhood there is a young man who is always play his 'pipes about a block away. His parents must go crazy because he is always outside weather permitting. I on the other hand, sit a block away drinking my coffee and enjoying the music from off in the distance. I often wonder what made him make that choice.

    On another note..... GO CARDS!!

    Chauffeur Phil
    www.mychauffeurphil.com

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  16. NathalieOctober 5, 2011 at 12:00 PM

    Say what you want, a bagpipe march is a spectacular sight!

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