The report card

Following the disappointment that was Cowal, our Pipe Major has elected to enter us into one more minor competition to finish off the season. That competition occurs this Sunday. However, ultimately, that competition will have relatively little bearing on our overall success, or lack thereof, over the course of the year.

Being a very goals-focussed person, late last year I outlined to the band what I thought our goals for the coming season should have been: I felt that we should be aiming to win one of the minor competitions that we entered in the year, and also that we should be aiming to at least qualify for the contest proper at all the major competitions in the year (of which there are five).

Things took something of a blow in Janurary, when four of our pipers, including two of the best, suddenly quit. They took a second blow a couple of months ago when the then Pipe Major stepped aside. As a consequence of these upheavals, we moved first from entering all five majors down to three, then to two, and then to only one, being the Cowal Gathering.

And, as we know, at the Cowal Gathering we failed to qualify for the contest proper. So, out of the majors we attended, not only did we fail to qualify at all of them, we failed to qualify at any of them.

On the other hand, although we only won one prize at any of the minor competitions, that was a first place at Callendar. So, that goal was achieved.

There is, perhaps, one other consideration. At our second contest of the year, and the last one before our Pipe Major stepped down, the band actually embarrassed ourselves. We were really bad. That hasn't been repeated. Indeed, the band is now significantly better than it was at the start of the season, and probably even than we were at the end of last season.

So, the final verdict? I think it has to go down as: must do better. However, I also think there are genuine signs of improvement, and reasons for optimism for next year.