Bagpipes...
Val Hamilton wrote:
My husband Graham always said that if we moved to Scotland he would learn to play the bagpipes. I always said that if he learned to play the bagpipes I would divorce him. In December 1988 we moved to Scotland.
It's actually quite hard to find someone who will teach an Englishman in his 30s to play the pipes so for a while the issue was avoided. But eventually Graham discovered Hugh who agreed to teach him in his council flat near Falkirk. However, before he was let loose on the full beast he had to spend a year learning to play the chanter, the part on which the tune is played and which in volume terms sounds like any other wind instrument. So we had another year of marital harmony.
But then came the time for full scale bagpipes which even some pipers will admit are not an indoor instrument. It was time for serious discussion. We came up with the compromise of the 3 door rule. Graham could practise inside but there had to be three closed doors between him and me. And the only way to achieve this where we lived was to build a utility room. In the mean time, he was limited to playing outside but at this stage of his learning curve, playing in the garden of our suburban estate was not an option. So he would go out and attempt to hide in the local woods although on numerous occasions curious passers-by would seek him out.
Once the building work was complete, I could sit in the living room listening to the stereo through specially bought headphones, while he went through the kitchen and out into the utility room, closing all doors behind him. Marital harmony retained.
We've moved twice since then and the 3 door rule has been an important consideration in our choice of house. One difference from other musical instrument tales is that there are never problems with neighbours. It would be considered unpatriotic for a Scot to complain about bagpipes being played.
Many thanks!
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