Trip Report
Sunday, March 27, 2005 (Easter Sunday)
Yesterday we were 5 hours ahead of those of you in Bowling Green, but today we are 6 hours ahead of you. Unfortunately for us, we lost an hour during the night due to British Summer Time (the British version of daylight savings time) and we’ll lose another next week when we change to daylight savings time.
After an early breakfast, three opportunities were provided for students to spend their Easter Sunday morning. One group went to a protestant (Anglican) Easter service and one went to a Catholic Mass. The third group, who wasn’t interested in attending a church service, took a walk in the area around the hotel, looking at nature and architecture. To spend a major holiday like this in a foreign country is an experience that will be long remembered.
The students had to leave the hotel at noon so by 11:45 most students were attaching American flags to their instruments and were waiting in the lobby, having already visited the “loo”. The weather was very cold, dark, and drippy and there was disappointment that the students would have to wear their raincoats, covering their uniforms. Fortunately, by the time the parade started, the rain had held off and our band members were able to march raincoat-free. The start of the parade was at the top of a hill that has a couple of bends (it’s not Lombard St. in San Francisco, but nevertheless, it’s impressive to watch a parade travel along the route.) The parade was not a large one (only about 30 groups) so the opportunity for bands to participate is very limited. The Bobcat band was very well received. They were in just about the middle of the parade and while the Scots are more reserved in their enthusiasm than some, the comments overheard were all positive and the awe and amazement they expressed at a band our size was touching. The parade was taped for airing on the local television stations but many spectators also had video cameras held up in the air trying to tape over the heads of those lined along the streets. At the concert last night we learned that the festival draws about 50,000 spectators. And they lined the streets in spite of the weather.
The parade route was down Mound Street (which is the curved road mentioned above), along Princes Street, the main thoroughfare in the Old City and down into the Princes Street Gardens, at the base of the castle. The students were given about half an hour to wander and get something to eat. Many of the vendors gave out large (about 5 inches) chocolate eggs with any purchase! After their lunch, the band members returned and lined up for their performance in the gardens. There is a large amphitheatre in the gardens, with chairs set up up the hill for spectators and many of the groups in the parade performed their various acts. Dancers danced, baton twirlers twirled, and bands played (and in the case of BG, danced!) Unfortunately, by the time our band performed, the rain had started, but the crowd stayed in their seats, opened their umbrellas and enjoyed the concert.
I have come to the conclusion that the Scottish people are very tough. The number of adults with young children (even very young ones in strollers) was amazing. It had turned very cold and damp with bone-chilling winds (just like BG) and yet none of the spectators appeared fazed by the weather. They just wandered through the park or sat and enjoyed the entertainment. By the time our students and adults got onto the buses to go back to the hotel, they were cold and tired and ready to get in the shower. But there were a lot of happy faces. It was a performance well-done and long to be remembered.
We had an early dinner tonight, but prior to the dinner each band member and chaperone was awarded a medal with a thistle on it for participation in the Edinburgh Easter Festival. (The thistle is the national flower of Scotland.) Students enjoyed a couple of hours of long-awaited free time to just relax prior to leaving for the ghost tours.
The weather for the ghost tours was appropriate…cold and gloomy and wet. We heard several true stories about life in Scotland in long ago years. Some of the stories of torture and gore were a bit graphic for some of our students, but the stories of revenge and deceit were fascinating and educational. While the tales weren’t particularly scary, and we saw no ghosts, the tour guides were dramatic, and we traveled through some underground vaults which was an experience.
Students had about an hour of free time tonight to socialize and spend time together (or order pizza) before light’s out. The students were happy with this privilege and ecstatic to be informed that tomorrow will be a little later start so they’ll be able to sleep in.
Identify who said the quote of the day….”News travels through you like corn through a goose.”
Answer to yesterday’s question: A doodlesac is the German term for bagpipes.
- Peg McClanahan
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