Worthy of your patronage!

As we are all out shopping this time of year I want to share one of the best customer service experiences I have ever had. I have a set of "Kitchen Pipes" made by Scott’s Highland Services, LTD. I purchased these back in 2004. I always thought it strange that these pipes which produce a much lower volume than my GHBs would be noticeably harder to blow. You know, one of those things you always intend to inquire about but never get around to.

Well, I finally sent Jim at Scotts Highland Services an email asking about this phenomena. Not only was he full of useful suggestions, he insisted I return the pipes to him for a complete refurbishing. It is a rare thing for me to encounter a manufacturer who is so proud of his product as to offer this level of support. In fact, you would have to call him a craftsman, not a manufacturer.

Good on you Jim!"

The Holidays begin

Well here we are, with only two days left in November. Despite an overload of Thanksgiving turkey, I have finished prepping and practicing my Christmas set. First I’ll inflict it on family and friends, and then it’s off!

And, while I’m goofing around with Christmas, I will begin prepping for St. Patty’s day.

I also want to pick up another march or two as I have six parades between now and the next Shrine Ceremonial in March (right after St. Patty’s.)

It is just one continuous cycle. But such fun!!

Sharon and I want to take this opportunity to wish you and those you love the Merriest of Christmases and a Happy New Year.

Anthem Veterans' Day Parade

I piped for El Zaribah Shrine in yesterday’s Veteran’s Day parade at Anthem, Arizona. It was a little over two miles in length and I learned some valuable lessons. I was the solo piper immediately behind the Color Guard, and just in front of the Legion of Honor.

Lesson number one: Although the first mile and a half is up hill do not complain, the last half mile is a real downhill treat.

Lesson number two: Because the crowd is intermittently spaced along the parade route they can not appreciate your piping on vacant stretches of the route. Save your breath for when you have an audience!

Lesson number three: If you don’t have a lot of non-Celtic marches and you are following the Color Guard, play obscure marches, and resolve to learn a few “American” marches by the next parade.

Lesson number four: Finally, and this is true for everything, do not take yourself too serious. Have fun, this is not a dress rehearsal.

See you at our next parade!

El Zaribah Shriners

I just returned from Lake Havasu City in western Arizona. I had the pleasure of leading the 2008 fall class of Shriner Candidates on their mile long parade through town, and then Piping for the Arch Degree in that evening’s ceremonial. It gave me pause to think of just how blessed most of us are, not just for our own health, but for the health of our children and grand children.

All day on the way up and then again the morning of the parade I was totally focused on performing for the Shrine. However, as I watched and participated in the Arch Degree, which is a celebration of the great work done by the Shrine hospitals, I realized what larger blessings life gives most of us.

So, here’s a toast to your good health and to the good health of those you love. May you never need the Shrine and may you always know they are there.

Slainte

Reeds for your Bagpipe

Just in case there is anyone out there who actually follows this blog, you will notice that I have posted a link to Chris App's website. Now I know this will appear to be a bit of shameless whoring (advertising), but the truth is Chris has some excellent on-line videos on reed adjustment and maintenance. There is also a lot of very good information on reeds in general. I hope he will forgive me for saying so but by following his video directions it is really quite easy to make even Paki reeds serviceable.

Naturally, he also has an outstanding product line at very reasonable prices when you consider he will custom build to your specifications. Good on you Chris! :-)

This was written by an Anah Shriner Highlander regarding an incident prior to a parade in Bangor Maine

WHY WE MARCH
An Experience Related By Highland Drummer Noble Tony Smith

Friday afternoon, August 22nd, we were tuning up for the Sea Dog gig under the Joshua Chamberlain Bridge prior to the opening of the Folk Festival. We were approached by a Maine family; a Mom, Dad along with the approximate 3 or 4-year-old child in a stroller. The child’s mother kept waling towards us shouting: “THANK YOU”, THANK YOU”. At first from a distance it wasn’t apparent why she was saying thank you. I was thinking she may have thought we were one of the traveling bands there for the Folk Festival and was happy to see a pipe band in the lineup.
That certainly was NOT the case. She saw the ANAH logo on the Bass drum and knew exactly who we were. She pointed to her child’s prosthetic legs and said that is the work of the Shriners Hospital. “THANK YOU so much for what you do, ALLYOU SHRINERS, THANK YOU”. This child was wearing shorts and sneakers and if she had not pointed out they were prosthetic, then I probably wouldn’t even noticed.
This family was very grateful for the work Shriners hospital had done for their child and even watched our band’s performance. They wanted us to convey their thanks and gratitude to ALL SHRINERS for the hard work they do to support the hospitals and families of patients.
Hearing this really brightened up that late Friday night drive to Manchester for the Northeast Shrine Field Days which followed the Sea Dog gig.

Learning to play the Bagpipe

I was watching the ads appearing on the side bar here and I saw one for”learn2pipe” a DVD tutorial by Pipe Major R Pinkman. Well… I decided to give it a try.

It was without doubt the best $40.00 I have ever spent! Mr. Pinkman’s course is complete, sufficiently detailed, and VERY well illustrated. He walks you through the very basics of holding the chanter properly, finger positions on the chanter, the scale, grace notes, doublings, triplings, tachums, grips or leumluaths and toarluaths and includes a nice repertoire of tunes. Naturally you must provide the effort to practice.

Now, will this make you a piper in 48 hours? Absolutely not! But, if you live far from a qualified instructor as I have for most of my life, then this is the very best alternative I have ever seen and I must tell you I have tried many. If you treat each lesson as a private tutoring session, practicing diligently each week in between, you will amaze yourself. In addition you will not spend much of your life as I have “un-learning” mistakes.

This package can be ordered at learn2pipe.com. Do not be put off by the basic nature of Mr. Pinkman’s web page; after all it is his teaching you are buying not his skill as a graphic designer. As soon as you make payment, you will be directed to a website where you can download the entire course onto your computer or play it directly from the Web site. The DVDs will arrive by mail with in a few days.

If you want to learn to pipe and for whatever reason can not get a qualified instructor then you must get this course. It is just that good!

Medeival experience in the 21st century?

And so, as I sat around I began to ponder….. How bad would it be to become a Ren Fair/SCA vendor? Have a small enclosed trailer to transport your pavilion and wares, traveling from one event to the next, and then returning home for the Winter. You could simultaneously sell your wares on Ebay and at the event, running all your credit transactions through Paypal or some such service.

A good source of inventory would be critical, from a wholesaler who could ship timely to different locations as you traveled. Deciding what to sell would be a challenge. Establishing price points for the product could also be an issue. There is also the merchant’s fee to consider as well as various local sales taxes. Also there is the cost of living on the road. I'm sure it wasn't this complicated in Middle Ages!

Wouldn’t it be grand though! I used to ride a motorcycle, and I attended many of the larger rallies. The merchants were always a main attraction. You knew they had substantial mark-ups, but it was all stuff you had never seen before. Very exciting.

Selling your wares by day, piping by the fire of an evening, all the while traveling the country with some rather colorful individuals.

Sadly, as a consultant by trade my first inclination is to develop a Business Plan, and then there goes the Majik!