Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Men in Skirts

Last Saturday morning, still clad in my night clothes, I was quietly sitting in the back yard on the wicker settee sipping my morning coffee.  Absorbed in reading the newspaper,  I gradually became aware of a loud droning noise.  Attributing the sound to the local roving bands of mosquitoes and bees I paid it no mind.  But then I began to detect a sort of a pattern and rhythm to the hum, a sort of a recognizable tune, and my blood began to stir as I heard the distinct call of...



BAGPIPES!

Indeed, it was the annual homecoming parade that I traditionally miss year after year.  This summer day, however, I'd heard the call early enough.  Quickly rousing my daughter to action, we donned appropriate clothes and dashed off down the street just in time to  to see...



the pipe major in fine fettle leading the troops past our vantage point.



There were pipers of all shapes, sizes and ages, blowing for all they were worth.




And one lucky guy who gets to bang on a big drum with fuzzy headed sticks.
Huzzah for the Hussars!

For those of you who missed my rather appropriate Maxim of the Week on my Ragzedge blog a week or so ago, I'll share it with you here as an added bonus...


For many parade spectators, Robbie cleared up the mystery about what a Scotsman wears under his kilt.
Maxim:
Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies.
 
Fortunately, there was no Robbie to rain on our parade!
 
(More exciting parade pictures in the days to come.  Don't give up your place on the blogwalk.)
 

13 comments:

  1. For some reason the word "blowhard" comes to mind for the second time in the space of a couple of days, after having lain dormant for years in my unused vocabularic closet.

    And with the racket those pipes make, if any of them have wind, there'd be no one the wiser...

    Glad to hear you donned appropriate attire before chasing after all those men in skirts !

    Bagpipers in Moncton, and Hussards no less... who would have guessed such a thing possible...

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  2. Anonymous20 July, 2010

    Isn't its sound amazing, calling ... Years since last heard on me own, I thank you for this escape into memories once again.
    Please have you all a great Wednesday.

    daily athens

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  3. BlOwen,
    It's good to dig out musty old forgotten words from the back of our vocabulary closets from time to time; try them on, see if they still fit. I must say you wear the old term well: Blowhard becomes you. It's as if you have a new wind in your sails as you waft through the blogosphere.

    Although the village where I live is mostly of German heritage (post-Acadian, post-Micmac) there is also a strong Scots history in the region. The province, being New Brunswick, maintains strong ties to Old Brunswick but, truth to tell, I haven't a clue where that might be. There could well have been hordes of Hussars there (to say nothing of Hussards, as you mentioned).
    ;-)

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  4. Robert,
    Surely there must be some sort of Greek equivalent to the bagpipes? I was going to post a video from YouTube of pipers, but really who could ever forget the sound once they've heard it, as you mentioned.

    Are there still Greek soldiers anywhere wearing those darling little pleated skirts?

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  5. Oooops, I stand corrected, read it too fast, but now am wondering what the difference between a Hussar and a Hussard ???

    Well, as long as there aren't any hussies in tow...

    :-)

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  6. Owen,
    A hussard is something that is dangerous, or risky, or could be some sort of setback or impediment, such as a water hussard in the game of golf, or wearing a kilt on a windy day, or blowing bagpipes while marching in sweltering heat, which is hussardous to one's health.

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  7. The Highland Games are in Fredericton this weekend - always fun.

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  8. Driftwood,
    I knew you'd be one to appreciate men in skirts! Let the games begin.

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  9. Anonymous21 July, 2010

    Oh wow! No body will ever be able to catch me wearing a skirt, no matter what culture, especially an ugly skirt like that.

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  10. Dear Anonymous,
    Thanks for the link to shop for more attractive skirts. I happen to own the tie-dyed number shown on that site, if you'd like to borrow it sometime, to wear in the privacy of your own home where nobody will catch you wearing it.

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  11. Oh I loves me bagpipes and no mistake. I guess I would considering my ancestrey hails from Scotland. And Ireland. Both fighting about where the first bagpipes came from I'm safe on both counts.
    Howeverm I was disappointed not to see any pix of you wearing 'appropriate' garb.........

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  12. Saj,
    With such heritage as yours, I can certainly see how you'd appreciate the skirl of the pipes and the swirl of the skirts! If your eldest daughter was a piper you could redub her the Skirly Teen.

    As for my "appropriate garb," let's just say it involved a baseball cap, which is very inappropriate for me but I did buy myself one with the Olympic 2010 Winter Games logo on it the last time I was on a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria because it was 1/2 price. Paired with my sunglasses, it provides an excellent disguise--no one knows it's me. What--did you think I'd be wearing clown shoes and a red rubber nose?

    WV: snotla
    What a Frenchman says while pointing at your nose to indicate that it is dripping.

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  13. and lets not forget that famous line from Spike Milligan "Is anything worn under the kilt?" "Na, it's all in perfect working order."

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