I WOULD like to express my thanks to the Wagga and District Highland Pipe Band for the help and support over the last nine months as I have been learning to play the bagpipes.
I'm deeply appreciative of the support and guidance offered by the band members as they have assisted a beginner to come into their fold, especially the Pipe Major, Bob Scott, who has an infectious energy and enthusiasm for his craft which is inspiring.
Like many community organisations the band is struggling for membership.
I understand that once-flourishing bands in neighbouring towns such as Leeton and Griffith no longer exist, and I'd hate to see Wagga lose this part of its cultural fabric.
So from the perspective of a beginner, not only to pipes but also to music, let me outline some reasons that others in the same position might want to consider a start at bagpiping.
- 1. It's inexpensive. You can start with practice chanter (second hand off ebay from $20/new from $100), which is a recorder-like instrument which you can use to practice the fingering of tunes without upsetting the neighbours. Club membership is only $40 per year, and tuition currently is free (as long as you make an attempt at your homework). Bagpipes can be more expensive, but you wouldn't need to buy them until you were committed.
- 2. It's easy. The most common excuse people have is that they aren't musical enough to play an instrument. Let me put it like this: there are only nine notes, no rests, and one volume. What could be simpler? If you put 30 minutes aside three or four times a week you should be presentable within a year.
- 3. You help to stop the cultural desertification of the community. Think of going to watch a parade without any music.
- 4. You'll get to participate in community events. Band members often go off to shows, tattoos, and parades in town and around the region. If you enjoy going to these sort of events, think of how much more fulfilling it would be to actually participate in them.
If you are interested contact the club through its facebook page, or just come along to the band practice to find out more.
Band practice is at the band hall at the Wagga beach car park each Tuesday evening, from 7.15 pm.
Michael Hatherly
Mount Austin
Metal art outrage
I NOTE in the council pages in (Weekend Advertiser, March 28, 2015) the full description of the metal pole installations council have approved for the roundabout in Tarcutta and Forsyth streets.
These metal poles are up to four metres in height, and made of solid steel. And the Council Traffic Officer has approved the installation giving consideration to the potential for lack of visibility, potential to distract drivers, and the risk of the work being damaged!
What about the risk to the council (ie. ratepayers) having to foot the bill for compensation when a vehicle is damaged as a result of mounting the roundabout kerb accidently?
Or, even more expensive, the compensation for the physical injuries or death of a driver or passenger when one of these solid metal poles penetrates a vehicle?
Anyone who has seen what metal poles can do to a moving vehicle will be able to tell you that such an obstruction on a roundabout is highly dangerous.
Roundabouts are designed to calm the traffic flow, period.
To continue to entertain the project as viable I consider an unwise move, verging on foolhardy, and I just hope Wagga Wagga City Council has plenty of Risk Insurance.
