THE ART OF NOISE

 What is it about the bagpipes ? It's a polarising musical instrument like the ukulele and the banjo - people either love them or loathe them.

For me, the distant sound of bagpipes interests me and I'm drawn to the source. In Wellington a few weeks back I was walking along Dixon Street and heard the sound of bagpipes far away. I stopped and turned around trying to locate the source which was way along Courtenay Place somewhere. Bagpipes sound carries a long way, much further than other instruments which is why, I guess, the British army used them so much in warfare.

THE LONGEST DAY - PIPER

I wasn't the only person who stopped to listen although most people ignored the sound. I concluded that those who stopped, like me, had some kind of connection to the pipes. I have Scottish background but a bit far removed. The direct family line left Scotland in the early 1800s and never returned. My dad encouraged me to learn when I was a kid but I was too lazy to follow through for which I now regret.

The Old Girl was born in Scotland and also has an affinity for the pipes. She hears them way before I do when we are out and about -it's definitely a legacy of her upbringing.

I live in an area that has a history of Scottish settlement - some by far distant cousins of mine. I live in Stuart Road. The bay is McLeod Bay and other bays in the area are named McGregor's, McDonald's, Urquhart's, Munro, McKenzie and others - you get the drift.

Some sound carries quite well across the water from bay to bay and from valley to valley and I'm certain that the pipes would do so as well. I've only heard them once in our road in the 10 plus years we have been here and that was a piper from Prince Edward Island in Canada who was here for the galaetach that takes place every January. If I could play the pipes I'd love to go out late at night when it is misty and play on the beach in front of our house. That would wake up the neighbours.

Mind you I could always settle for pulling the tail of the neighbours cat that is often setting off the security lights in the middle of the night.