Time in Basel

Long time no see. Yet again! I need to start making time again. Anyway, recently I've been away at the Basel tattoo. (Ok, I've been home about a week now, but I've been catching up on sleep and other essential stuff at home) Anyway, despite everyone getting ill at some point, being pushed to our limits in the heat of a foreign country, and myself just more generally feeling down (for reasons I would prefer not to disclose lest people I know read this blog), it was a brilliant trip. The first two days were spent rehearsing on home soil, and travelling, then the second three were rehearsals in the city of Basel. There were two dress rehearsals, with an audience before we launched into our 2-shows-a-day routine.
The night after the first show was as good as expected. A live band played every night, and sometimes 2 or three played. The band on the first night seemed very good, and with the help of a "happy hour" of free beer and wine, the night passed very quickly and very well. It was a great night, for many reasons.
Other nights varied, depending on the plan for the next day, the quality of the bands playing, and the mood or tiredness of the members of the band population. I would guess I went out  maybe every second night or so, whilst others barely had a sober moment, and others still barely stayed out with the exception of the first and last night (when I don't think there was a sober person in the whole place).
I think I've met some decently good friends. Those from near home I'm glad to have met, and will likely see some of them again at some point, as is the nature of the pipe band world. Those from abroad, I was more sad to see go, and hope that someday, some of us will meet again. Perhaps if we ever end up at another tattoo, or concert, or competition or something. I'm hopeful - the band world seem decently well connected. Until then, there's just Facebook.
One band that was there was the Transvaal Scottish Pipes and Drums. If only I had had one of our spare Atholl Highlanders badges. With their connections, I'm sure one of them would have appreciated it. Perhaps I could post one to the band In either case, I acquired a collar-dog and cap badge from one of them (in exchange for a piece or two of my own, of course).


Anyway, as tired as we were and glad that it was finished, it was such great fun, that at the same time we were sad to go, and leave behind all that we had seen and met there.


Tomorrow, I'm off to a wedding party, though I don't currently have a place to stay, so might need to leave early (unless I can stay on a friends couch, but the vast majority of them are in the process of moving in or out of flats at the moment - well it is that time of year, when people have just graduated/changed years/moved out of halls, etc.).
Then its a week of tidying and packing up myself, before a week in Glasgow for piping live, then Dads retirement 'do, then its move-in time for my own new flat. Jeez time flies. We'll see how much time I have to update here, but as you can imaging with moving out, I'm going to guess it will likely be quite busy