| aughintober, northern ireland

Gail's Lyrical Check-in

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 13:55:00 +0000

Version:1.0StartHTML:0000000167EndHTML:0000008209StartFragment:0000000632EndFragment:0000008193 p { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }a:link { color: rgb(0, 0, 255); }a.western:link { }a.cjk:link { }a.ctl:link { font-family: "Times New Roman"; }Passengersarriving at the airport in Londonderry yesterday were treated to thesounds of Aughintober piper Gail Graham who worked with VisitScotlandand Ryanair to host a celebration of Burns Night.

28year old Gail from Castlecaulfieldjourneyed to the airport to play for those lucky enough to betravelling on the Ryanair flight from Northern Ireland into Prestwickin Scotland, there were extra treats to mark the lifeand work of the country’s famous bard.

AfterGail’s tuneful welcome, adultpassengers on Prestwick flight were handed complimentary goodie bagscontaining Walkers shortbread and a miniature Johnnie Walker bottleof whisky. They were also given Robert Burns songbooks and joinedmembers of the crew in celebrating the unique talents of Scotland’sbard.

TheVisitScotland initiative aimed to give Northern Ireland passengers areal taste of Scotland on their journey to the home of Robert Burns. Burns Night is celebrated every year across Northern Ireland, withan increasing range of events scheduled throughout the province withthousands of Ulster Scots raising a toast to commemorate the life ofRobert Burns, Scotland’s national poet. Passengers on thePrestwick flight are among thousands of Burns enthusiasts fromNorthern Ireland expected to make the journey by air or sea toperhaps the best place to soak up the tradition and culture…inScotland itself.

LondonderryMayor and Alderman MauriceDevenneycommented: “We are very pleased to support VisitScotland inbringing a taste of Scotland to the Airport in celebration of BurnsNight this year. Gail’s piping proved somewhat of a wake-up callfor passengers arriving early to the airport. Beyond our ancestralconnections, I believe Northern Ireland has a special affinity withScotland in terms of the warmth and hospitality of our people. Weare therefore delighted to support this special Burns Nightinitiative.”

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MariaMacken of Ryanair said: “Ryanair is delighted to welcome NorthernIreland passengers into Scotland on this special day. There isno better place to celebrate Burns night than in the birthplace ofthe poet himself. Ryanair operates a total of 62 routes to and fromScotland, giving passengers all over Europe the chance to explorethis fascinating country.”

MalcolmRoughead, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, said: “People from allover the world enjoy celebrating the work of Scotland’s Bard onBurns Night. Rabbie Burns is an iconic symbol of our country.Visitors to Scotland can visit some of the wonderful places connectedwith Burns as well as experience our famous traditional Burns Nightsupper this evening.”

Thereare a number of special and surprising Burns events scheduled acrossScotland this year. Whiskylovers will find a warm welcome at Burns-themed events at the Scotchwhisky training school at the Scotch Whisky Experience in Edinburghwhile the Famous Grouse distillery in Perthshire is hosting a specialBurns tour to include; adram, a serving of haggis, neeps and tatties and a Burns recital. Musicand storytelling promise merry-making for all ages with a specialBurnsfest for 2012 taking place as part of Scotland’s WinterFestivals in the Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh. Thosevisiting the region of Dumfries and Galloway, can enjoy a newfestival - the Big Burns Supper taking place from 27 - 28 January.

Forthose inspired by Burns Night to explore Scotland in 2012, should goto www.visitscotland.com/surprise,which also contains over 300 discount vouchers for places to stay,things to see and do and places to eat across Scotland.

NorthernIreland travellers to Scotland can avail of additional celebrationsthis year. The Year ofCreative Scotland began on January 1, 2012 and celebrates Scotland’scultural and creative strengths on a world stage with a dynamic andexciting year-long programme of activity celebrating our world-classevents, festivals, culture and heritage. More information about theprogramme can be found at: http://www.visitscotland.com/creative

HAPPY BURNS DAY!

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:25:00 +0000

Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae let the Lord be thankit.

Today, is Burns day! And to celebrate it, piper Gail Graham was asked up to the City of Derry Airport by Ryan Air to kick off the celebrations properly. I don't know what Gail charges for such events, but I'm sure the pricing policy is a set fee for a certin amount of of tunes, Gracenotes are extra, and only one movement per tune...or that also will cost extra ;-).

Sista's are doing it for themselves...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 20:45:00 +0000

That's right folks, hot off the fb press is the shocking news that the Girls in the Pipe Corps are getting together to....PRACTICE! The three quietest members of the band Andrea, Gail and Lynne are apparently meeting up tonight for practice, tea and to scheme about us fella's!

But to be honest, we're not bothered as they'll be doing so much practice they'll not have time to talk about us!

The Blonde Tommy Miller...

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:50:00 +0000

That's right folks, there's a new Tommy Millar in Rathfriland...she's Blonde and only wears sunglasses indoors! Her other talents include bringing buns to band practice and chatting to Andrea!

You heard it here folks, somebody was mad enough to give our very own Gail Graham her own radio show! From tuesday evening she will be hitting the airwaves with her pipe band/ulster scots show 'up to the line' on fUSe FM 106.2. For those of you not in rathfriland but want to listen to her talking bands (yep, bands folks!), interviewing people etc you can tune in via a live feed on www.fuseonthehill.com

Good Luck Gail, can't wait to hear it!

Bandchat1 - The Cutting Edge

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:55:00 +0000

Tonight at band discussion (as happens when you need to keep the PM occupied so you can get a breath), chat turned to the latest practice techniques, and how technology can aid this. Glenn, proudly presented his new smart phone (only took him 6 years to upgrade!) and showed off his new metronome app proudly, showing how one can never be without one's metronome these days, giving you less things to remember!

Discussion then turned to the various advantages of a skype band practice, the obvious one being that you can practice in the comfort of your own home, in your underwear if you desire and nobody need know!

New member Lynn then reminised about the days when herself and a friend pioneered 'phone practice', taking turns to play down the phone while others listened. This was in the days before the mass availability of mobile phones, so you had to do it in the hallway with your mum shouting in at you to stop so she could hear brookside! The sounded like a good technique to other members, until band elderstatesman Raymond piped up that such a technique had, infact been perfected by his goodself many years earlier, although due to the lack of a phone they were forced to use string and tin cans!

Here's to a Cold, Hard Winter!

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:00:00 +0000

Here's to a cold, hard winder.
Here's to an excellent AGM, where lots was discussed.
Here's to an exciting future, with lots of surprises.
Here's to learning new tunes, new drum scores and making new friends.
Here's to a fine meal with fine friends.
Here's to the same excellent committee, doing the same excellent job.
Here's to Spelling Mistakes.
Here's to the stickiest toffee tarts in the world.
Here's to Sweat
Here's to driving to band in the dark.
Here's to the kids

And most of all, here's to 2012...the hard work begins now!

This, my friends, is how it's done!

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 17:35:00 +0000

DRUMMERS. Who'd have em? I mean really, all that banging just gets on your nerves! I tell ya, my Dad was a drummer, so my two brothers decided to become drummers as well...which is the main reason I decided to pipe...to get away from the relentless banging! But when David Brown walked into the hall durning the winter, and joked his Drummers lived and breathed drumming...while standing there they were going over scores in their heads...he wasn't joking.

Walking into the competition, Aughintober's 'Lean, Mean Drumming Machine' had every reason to smile. Winning the Ulster Championships two weeks before had secured a very well deserved Champion of Champions award for the lads...but they wanted more.

With the efficiency of a well-oiled machine they approached the end of year contest. Glad to get back to the Medley, just for a change - but it didn't phaze them. They drummed their hearts out, taking the Drumming Prize as well as the Grade 2 Northern Ireland Champion of Champions...a first for the band in Grade 2!

So there you have it folks...the season is ended! Time for a well earned cup-of-tea and a break...see you all soon!

Ulster Champions!

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:15:00 +0000

Banbridge, Northern Ireland. The scene of two brilliant awards. One we would like to give, and one which we received!

The Award we would like to give: Myself and Mr. Scott would like to award Banbridge Rugby Club the 'Burger of the Year' award. Yes, we are aware of the fact that there is clearly 2 contests left in the season, but so sure that nothing will beat this masterpiece, we're giving it out now!

Take a burger bun, 2 steak burgers, a slice of cheese, onions and 2 pieces of bacon, put it all together, call it the B.R.F.C. and charge a fiver. Yes, a fiver, and it was worth every penny! Infact, i'd go back for another!

Now, the second award, the one which we received. After a fantastic run, our drummers managed to retain their Ulster Title! A brilliant achievement, especially when you consider that we've won it twice in a row, with two different men at the helm. We'd like to congratulate David and the dummers on their brilliant win, and just because you've done so well, we'll not let slip which drummer celebrated his 50th Birthday this week!

On Thursday we head for the worlds, Quiz is being written as we speak, so we'll see you all in Glasgow!

What did he just say?!

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 17:59:00 +0000

It's funny the things that you don't quite hear. Usually it's small things like your mum telling you to tidy your room, or your wife asking you to paint the kitchen. Other times, it's a little bit bigger, like not hearing when someone who owes you money calls your name. But on Saturday, the members of Aughintober pulled a whopper - so much so that the Pipe Major has cancelled band practice on monday, and instead we've got experts coming to check everyone's hearing!

At the start of the year, the LD said everyone should be wearing earplugs in the band hall, but having never done it before, hardly anyone did...so David, i'd just like to say, you were right!

You see, it took most of the members of the band a few seconds to realise that we had been placed 5th in a Major Championship! One would think that getting a prize for the first time at at a Major in Grade 2, we would instantly be cheering and whooping, enjoying the moment, so the only explanation I can come up with is that our hearing is gone, and we need to get it sorted!

So, as you can guess from the last paragraph, Aughintober had a great day out at the Europeans in Stormont, lifting our first major silverware!

In other news, I've just been informed that I'm putting the Worlds Bus Quiz together again....all I can say is Good Luck! Glenn say's he's looking forward to taking part in his first ever Worlds Quiz!

Sunshine City

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:28:00 +0000

Sunshine and Blue Skies greeted the Aughintober Lads & Ladies as they returned to competition after the 12th 'break' on Saturday. It was in the Sunny climate of Bangor Castle, with a lovely breeze off the sea which the competition was to be held - and it was just lovely!

I'd love to regale you to tales of the band antics, as usual, but to be honest the band didn't really have much time for antics, as we were playing last, and had centre band duty to do as well! I could tell you though, that a good friend of the band, Mr. Scott got shouted at by an O.A.P. for using the park and ride carpark for the competition, like half the field!

So, after playing, having a break, and playing again in centre bands the band managed a wonderful 3rd! Well done lads!

Next week, it's the European Championships in Stormont...it'll be good to be on home soil!