Happy Hogmanay!

Happy Hogmanay, which across the pond means Happy New Year!

With the start of a new year, I’m excited to get back to blogging and sharing my piping adventures with you. In fact, in the first three days of 2015, I have already played two birthday party gigs! Let’s hope this pace continues in the months ahead.

Birthday Bash

The first birthday party was in Sarnia, Ontario at the Quality Inn and was the first gig I ever booked through this very website! It was a surprise party for Andrew (a great name by the way), who immigrated from Scotland. He thought he was attending a five-year wedding anniversary party his wife, Stephanie, had organized, as this was the only way she could think of getting 75 of his closest family and friends together without him knowing what was really going on.

During the cocktail hour, it was my duty to help greet the guests with a selection of tunes and play Happy Birthday as Andrew entered the hall and clued into what was really going on!

Leading up to the night, Stephanie had been very generous and invited my wife and I to stay for dinner. Overall, it was a great evening of fellowship and it was wonderful to hear more about the couple from the relatives we dined with. After dinner, we were entertained by dancers from the Sarnia School of Irish Dance and then filled the dance floor with as many people as possible for a traditional ceilidh dance.

90th Birthday

The second gig was a 90th birthday party that saw my wife and I brave true Canadian weather on the drive to Burlington. Despite the blowing snow, the party was still going strong! With it being so close to the start of the new year, I felt I could still get away with playing Auld Lang Syne. Here’s a wee clip of the sing along session that ensued!

(Hover over the bottom right corner of the video and click the speaker icon to hear the audio!)

Of course, I finished my set for this gig with the all-time favourite request – Amazing Grace!

— Andrew