Get your own Free Home Page, blarst ye!The day might hae started out as a drenchy, rainy affair, but, little by little, things dinna seem tae matter, as the participants began tae arrive along the established line o' march. St. Andrew's Bar and Grill, Home o' the Kilted Waiters, once more served as the base of operations fer the major performers, includin' the principals of these Pipe Bands what were nice enough tae be joinin' us:
Representing the Tri-State Area: The Pipes & Drums, U.S. Naval Academy; P/M Jonathan Henken and the Mt. Kisco Scottish Pipes & Drums, the Clan Gordons of Locust Valley & Lattingtown, with Commander Bob Small and the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment; the New York Scottish Pipes and Drums; the Atlantic Watch; the Leatherneck Pipes and Drums; the NYC Corrections Department Emerald Society Pipes & Drums; members of the Pipes & Drums, Carpenters' Union Local 608; Cold Spring, NY Fire Company Pipe Band; The AOH Pipe Band of Orange County, NY; The Shamrock & Thistle Pipe Band; the AOH Pipe Band from Trenton, NJ: The Pipes & Drums of St. Brendan the Navigator; Colonel D.B. Kelly's Pipes & Drums; the Pipes & Drums, Local 94, International Union of Operating Engineers; the Brian Boru Pipe Band; the Tri-County Pipes & Drums; the Syracuse Scottish Pipers; the Breezy Point Catholic Pipes & Drums; the NYU Pipers; the Transit Pride Pipes & Drums; the Fairfield County, CT Gaelic Pipe Band; the Staten Island Pipers' Association; The Police Pipe Band of Morris County, NJ; and the Middlesex County, NJ Police & Fire Pipes & Drums!
Representing the Rest of the U.S.: The Maine St. Andrews Pipes & Drums; the Palm Beach, Florida Pipes & Drums; the Pasadena, CA Scottish Pipes and Drums; the Rhode Island Highlanders; the Worcester, Mass. Kiltie Pipe Band; the Pipes and Drums of the Wisconsin Shamrock Club; and the Erie County, PA Sheriff's Office Pipes and Drums! And even our own Department of Homeland Security sent along its own Memorial Warpipe Band!
Representing Scotland and Britain: The Pentland Caledonian Pipe Band; the Red Hot Chili Pipers; the Melrose Pipe Band; and the Newtonhill Pipe Band, Aberdeenshire!
Representing Pakistan: The Jaffray Pipers and the Patiala Pipes and Drums!
As noted, the Grand Marshal fer this year's Tartan Saturday Afternoon Parade was Lawrence Tynes, who surprisingly, hails from Greenock in Scotland! Who knew that it would take a Scotsman --- and, at that, the only Scottish-born NFL player --- tae catapult YOUR New York Football Giants tae the fourth major Super Bowl Championship the franchise has had in its 80-plus year history?
Bill Reid, Boss of East of the Hebrides Entertainments, once again presided over the line of march from the Official Tartan Saturday Afternoon Parade Double-decker bus, located about five or so blocks from the end of the Parade route, where, as per the usual tradition, the marchers and their families and friends posed for photos with those who wanted them, engaged in serenading interested listeners, and pretty much engaged in clever conversation before returning to St. Andrews Bar & Grill for the most jam-packed of the several post-Parade parties. (In other words, the end of our Parade is what yer auld Uncle Fergus calls a "Bagpipers' Block Party.") In all, we had 1941 marchers, among them, individual Pipers and Bagpipe Bands taking part in our 2-hour ceremony which was, fer all intents and purposes, a usual quiet/loud celebration, spearheaded by the Gordons and their Pipe Major, Andy McDicken!
But perhaps the major highlight of the day was when yer auld Uncle Fergus got to share a few moments speakin' wi' Alasdair Hutton, longtime voice of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, who later reprised those duties when the Edinburgh Military Tattoo did a similar show for its Australian fans!
Now, because, as I've just explained, we had only two hours to get everyone from West 44th to West 58th Streets, things had to proceed pretty quickly, which meant that, despite the 10th Anniversary thing, this year's Parade was, for all intents and purposes, one of those few 'blink-and-you'll-miss-it' events that only happen in New York! It doesn't ta'e much fer a parade to appear and then vanish in the space of two hours; but that was the case here. But of course, the cast o' characters were, as were yer auld Uncle Fergus, expectin' an on-again/off-again sort o' rainy Parade. Still, a proud-hearted Scotsman always laughs at the rain, or so I've heard it said. So how about it, then: Think we can git ourselves drenched on Tartan Saturday Afternoon 2009? Stay tuned!
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