Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia at the 2014 Forres Europeans

Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia Pipe Band under Pipe Major Ryan Canning got things off to a rousing start in the Grade One Contest at the European Pipe Band Championships held in Grant Park, Forres, Morayshire on 28 June 2014. This was a medley competition and the band's medley was: The Siege of Dubrovnik Carnegie Drive The Boys of the Ballymote Megan's Lullaby Lady Madelina Sinclair Duncan Lamont The Weasel's Cage Philip Greer's Big Weekend Bessie McIntyre This sparkling performance earned the band fifth place in the Grade One Competition. The band also led the centre bands on to the field for the march past and prize-giving at the end of the afternoon. Each band was preceded by a pupil from Applegrove Primary School bearing a board displaying the name of the band. It was a lovely idea to involve these children, whose school overlooks Grant Park, in the event in this way. With over a hundred bands, quite how they got the correct name attached to the correct band remains a mystery - but they did. Impeccably turned out, they engaged with the bands with joy and enthusiasm. A nice innovation.