#TBT: “The Winter of Our Discontent”

two things very clearly about that night. One was the gentleman who’d wet his grey wool trousers, and either was unaware or didn’t care. He swirled and twirled on the dance floor, with a great spreading wet mark heading toward his knees.

The other clear memory is a visit to the men’s washroom, where one of the band dads was on his knees fishing in the toilet with his hands. He’d been sick, flushed, and was trying to get his false teeth back. Robert Burns, himself no stranger to the excesses of drink, may have had this kind of incident in mind when he wrote:

O wad some Power the giftie gie us, to see oursels as ithers see us.

Now there’s a cultural experience that’ll mark you for life. I’ve been to many Burns Suppers since that night, and none have left me with such clear images as that first experience. A close second might be the time the bass drummer for the “O’er the Hill Pipe Band” fell onto his back during the warm-up, but even that memory fades compared with the original Burns Supper.

February in the piping calendar is mostly spent making up to people you may have offended at either Hogmanay or Burns Night . . . or both! If you haven’t been too offensive, then February is a great month to finally learn the new band music, get your solo tunes finalized, and start planning your summer activities. The University of Stirling sends out its enticing brochures in February, in the hopes that you and your band will be staying with them in August. Of course, you’ll miss the Piping Festival [now Piping Live!], the recitals, the SLOT concert . . . but no worries: the ducks are really nice in that pond in the middle of the campus, and that Tesco is the best shopping in Scotland.

Early in February, we have the Saskatchewan version of “Celtic Connections.” I’ve heard it suggested that in fact Celtic Connections was based on the much older “Mid-Winter Celtic Festival.” You can pretty much hear the conversation:

“Oh aye, we cannae afford the band from Regina, so Shotts or Scottish Power ‘ll have t’dae.”

“Aye, and we’ll save a few bob havin’ local bands: Black Rose, Shooglenifty . . .”

In Saskatchewan, of course, we have the real thing, and not only that, we provide a venue that is actually warmer than the outside temperature. Nothing like hitting the Celtic Festival on a cold winter night, and waiting ten minutes until the fog clears off the glasses.

In our part of the world, February is the month of the Winnipeg Scottish Festival. Essentially, this is a cruel trick on judges from Florida, Ontario, California . . .