Border collie: Arrived at the Piobaireachd earlier, Your faithful Scottish games' chronicler :) ...

Hi M,

Arrived at the Piobaireachd earlier -

Open, free Piobaireachd, MSR and Hornpipe/Jig bagpiping competitions begin mid-morning on Friday at the Pleasanton California Scottish Games https://t.co/e82LrjR0Us SAN RAMON- MARRIOTT HOTEL: 2600 Bishop Drive, San Ramon 94583
Some of the best live piping around the SF Bay Area

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) August 28, 2018

https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1034556265416904704 - and it was a nice scene under a bunch of trees in front of the Sam Ramon Martiott with many pipers playing before different judges at different tables. Pleasant temperature too. Inside I heard many of the open competitors, the top soloists, playing Piobaireachd, and while I like the musical form, none of this top Piobaireachd playing moved me, the way Stuart Liddell's playing of Ceol Mor (Piob ...) can move me, for example.

Scottish Games here further an interesting, somewhat disparate (def: "containing elements very different from one another: 'a culturally disparate country'" - Apple dictionary) culture too ... identity comes out of the wood work as I see it, but only in big gathering form for 1-3 days :), and in a somewhat serene way too (for example, there aren't many ghosts of past wars and battles here, as there are in Scotland, as I see this). Scottish Country Dancing may be a smaller gathering form, somewhat interestingly, too.

Scottish oriented Californians are gear-heads, as I see this too, and it probably doesn't get much better for Scottish goods than at some of these Calfornia / US Games ... (because much / some of America seems to be comfortable financially, and this is a big Scottish gathering, and the people who come to these Games pay entry, - and they buy goods). And this Scottish Games has so many different kinds of events too, from archery to historical reenactments, to birds of prey, not to mention piping and dancing, and sheep dog trials - all kind of anomalous in sunny California, compared with Scotland, in my experience.

In terms of Scottish culture, I think of the great piper, kind of virtuosic even, Jack Lee in British Columbia, who's three sons are all very fine pipers too - and his son John Lee - https://leeandsonsbagpipes.com/our-story/john-lee/ (who's older than in this picture) - competed today in the open piping, and won in light music (and think how interesting it would be to meet and find a partner at these Games in this quite Scottish vein, as I see it), as an example. And Jack Lee and Sons, (having even developed a Bagpipe family business -  https://leeandsonsbagpipes.com/ - have made this Scottishness a commercial success. Jack's brother Terry, too, was the Pipe Major of the great grade 1 Simon Fraser Pipe Band from 1981-2013 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Fraser_University_Pipe_Band) as part of this Scottish family who live in western Canada. ...  I have the sense that Jack Lee married a woman of British background.

May try to get to the Games quite early tomorrow.

How was your day? And how is your time on Cuttyhunk winding down?

L, Scott

Some related Tweets -

Juglans regia: 153rd Scottish Highland Gathering & Games - in Pleasanton, CA, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Can see a 4 couple Scottish Country Dance FLOOR-DANCING LEGO?, What does freedom or self-rule look like for Scots in Scotland in the 2020s? https://t.co/lNqkNBHhFN ~

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) August 29, 2018

Caledonian Club of SF's 153rd Scottish Highland Gathering & Games in Pleasanton, CA, this Friday, Saturday and Sunday https://t.co/Vp5NEpjIBZ - Piobaireachd, MSR & Hornpipe/Jig bagpiping competitions begin mid-morning on Friday at https://t.co/e82LrjR0Us SAN RAMON MARRIOTT HOTEL

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) August 31, 2018

- https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1035392300107456517







Hi M from the Scottish Games,

...

Sheep dog trials are being explained / taught ... these are the 'aggie' Scots:) (with no reference to UC Davis :)

The Scottish trance band Albannach played a little later - 3 drummers, a piper, and a didgeridoo player (effective) - interesting ensemble ... one woman sang a McIntosh ballad (about some lad rising up against an evil Laird, and burning his fields down:) ... posting some vids to this Twitter feed - https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1035392300107456517 ...

This was the year too that all the clan tents moved from near the entrance of these Scottish Games and the Alameda County Fairgrounds to a larger area farther from the center of the games, while pipe bands and their tents spread into the field near the entrance - after more than 2 decades (since at least I think since around 1995 - per what some people said in the Clan MacLeod tent). A new 'ecology' is emerging re noise, and traffic and interactions between various Scottish groups.

Your faithful Scottish games' chronicler :) ...

L,
Scott

Some related Tweets -

Albannach ... Scottish trance band - 3 drummers, a piper and didg player - a new world ... #Didgeridoo isn't yet in the Music School @WorldUnivAndSch planned as wiki pages for open teaching and learning to begin accessible from https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Music  -

Albannach ... Scottish trance band - 3 drummers, a piper and didg player - a new world ... #Didgeridoo isn't yet in the Music School @WorldUnivAndSch planned as wiki pages for open teaching and learning to begin accessible from https://t.co/DzmgnVzPHc - pic.twitter.com/b9SHfYUL33

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) September 1, 2018

https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1035989284367429632

*

Andrew Lewis wins the open Piobaireachd competition on Friday at http://thescottishgames.com ... in Pleasanton, California ... Blogging a bit about this Gathering here - http://scott-macleod.blogspot.com/2018/09/border-collie-arrived-at-piobaireachd.html?m=0 … ... ( @scottmacleod )

Andrew Lewis wins the open Piobaireachd competition on Friday at https://t.co/M5l6TUfV9d ... in Pleasanton, California ... Blogging a bit about this Gathering here - https://t.co/b83gU8c1cN ... ( @scottmacleod ) pic.twitter.com/kZaaGFcMjy

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) September 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1036278598015934464


*
Historical reenactments -"Sword Fighting' ... as education and performance too ... (liking the 'House of Gordon' T-Shirt in foreground - my @scottmacleod @sgkmacleod legal name amusingly) To 'Skills' - https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Subjects  or https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Historical_Societies_Open_Teaching_and_Learning_Resources… - @WorldUnivAndSch ?

Historical reenactments -"Sword Fighting' ... as education and performance too ... (liking the 'House of Gordon' T-Shirt in foreground - my @scottmacleod@sgkmacleod legal name amusingly) To 'Skills' - https://t.co/jHXl7KIaZH or https://t.co/OIK0ef6i2V - @WorldUnivAndSch ? pic.twitter.com/6PJcawKvTr

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) September 1, 2018

https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1035975621493452800
Sheep dog trials with some explanation / teaching ... these are the aggie Scots:) ... amazing sheep dogs ..

Curious where behaviorist BF Skinner 'went' in explaining operant conditioning with interspecies' relationships like this -Into a #RealisticVirtualEarth @WorldUnivAndSch?

Sheep dog trials with some explanation / teaching ... these are the aggie Scots:) ... amazing sheep dogs ..
Curious where behaviorist BF Skinner 'went' in explaining operant conditioning with interspecies' relationships like this -Into a #RealisticVirtualEarth@WorldUnivAndSch? pic.twitter.com/ACfdomTLVr

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) September 1, 2018

https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1035973274843246592


*

Hammer dulcimer at Scottish Games in Pleasanton ...

Hammer dulcimer at Scottish Games in Pleasanton ... pic.twitter.com/IHBBs1iquQ

— Open Band (Berkeley) (@TheOpenBand) September 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/TheOpenBand/status/1036277380552187904


*

Historical reenactment ... ring of soldiers with halberds, with piper and woman in the middle of circle in this 'military' history... (this is northern California in 2018!) ... interesting to 'go there' To https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Historical_Societies_Open_Teaching_and_Learning_Resources… @WorldUnivAndSch & into a #RealisticVirtualEarth -

Historical reenactment ... ring of soldiers with halberds, with piper and woman in the middle of circle in this 'military' history... (this is northern California in 2018!) ... interesting to 'go there' To https://t.co/30L7mc589E@WorldUnivAndSch& into a #RealisticVirtualEarth - pic.twitter.com/mnrEjtTK7x

— scottmacleod (@scottmacleod) September 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/scottmacleod/status/1036277101106622464


*

Highland dancing at Massed Bands at the Scottish Games at Pleasanton (@TheOpenBand) & to https://wiki.worlduniversityandschool.org/wiki/Celtic_Music… - @WorldUnivAndSch ...

Highland dancing at Massed Bands at the Scottish Games at Pleasanton (@TheOpenBand) & to https://t.co/BaEWl6bnNC - @WorldUnivAndSch ... pic.twitter.com/OYtSXanvsN

— scottmacleod (@scottmacleod) September 2, 2018

https://twitter.com/scottmacleod/status/1036259633281683461


*

Hi M,

Visiting today ahead at the Games ... potentially in the MacLeod tent, where these tents are in a completely new part of the Alameda County Fairgrounds.

Went to the MacLeod tent yesterday, and Jeff (MacLeod, I think), was playing the Scottish small pipes, so I asked if we could play harmonies together on Amazing Grace (having the sheet music with me), and so we did. We then proceeded to play Scotland the Brave, and Battle of Waterloo ... enjoyably so.

Are you winding down and getting in order / putting the house to bed for the winter:)?

L, Scott