In last Saturday’s newspaper I saw that an old military colleague was staging “Bagpipes for Poppies” on the Sparks Street Mall at 1:11pm today. Never one to turn down a chance to have the skill of the pipes stir my Scottish blood necessitated a trip.
Because of the sad circumstances of last week, when Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who was killed while on duty at the cenotaph we decided that a trip there would be in order before the walk down Sparks Street. It was amazing to see the amount of flowers, stuffed animals and Canadian flags that, in his memory, surround the War Memorial. The number of people who were there was also a sight to behold. They were not just there to see the memorial but, in my opinion, to feel and sense the meaning of the monument. There was also an armed police presence as well but they seemed to be very casual and in no way dampened the overall somber spirit. I took the opportunity to place a poppy on The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, an act that I always find very moving.
It was then down Sparks Street to meet up with the old colleague. He was there with his bagpipes slung over his shoulder and in full Scottish uniform. After a bit of warm up the pipers and drummers, probably about 50, played a couple of tunes and then marched off to the cenotaph. At the cenotaph my old comrade played a solo and then the b*starded played “Amazing Grace”. This is one piece of music that I always find extremely emotional and even more so when played by a pipe band. I took a couple of videos but it seems as if the camera only takes about 1:25 minutes and during Amazing Grace the battery died.
The dull, cool and windy weather seemed to match my somber mood while in the downtown area. It was decided that we should head off to get warmed up and have a coffee. it was a bit more of a coffee we had, Thai food in the Rideau Centre with enough to have for supper as well.
Because of the sad circumstances of last week, when Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who was killed while on duty at the cenotaph we decided that a trip there would be in order before the walk down Sparks Street. It was amazing to see the amount of flowers, stuffed animals and Canadian flags that, in his memory, surround the War Memorial. The number of people who were there was also a sight to behold. They were not just there to see the memorial but, in my opinion, to feel and sense the meaning of the monument. There was also an armed police presence as well but they seemed to be very casual and in no way dampened the overall somber spirit. I took the opportunity to place a poppy on The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, an act that I always find very moving.
It was then down Sparks Street to meet up with the old colleague. He was there with his bagpipes slung over his shoulder and in full Scottish uniform. After a bit of warm up the pipers and drummers, probably about 50, played a couple of tunes and then marched off to the cenotaph. At the cenotaph my old comrade played a solo and then the b*starded played “Amazing Grace”. This is one piece of music that I always find extremely emotional and even more so when played by a pipe band. I took a couple of videos but it seems as if the camera only takes about 1:25 minutes and during Amazing Grace the battery died.
The dull, cool and windy weather seemed to match my somber mood while in the downtown area. It was decided that we should head off to get warmed up and have a coffee. it was a bit more of a coffee we had, Thai food in the Rideau Centre with enough to have for supper as well.
Cenotaph flowers are in memory of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo who was killed while on duty 22 Oct 2014 - 01 Nov 2014
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