Oldtime Maxville
March 2, 2010 on 8:28 pm by Michael Grey | In Photographs, Pipe Bands, Stories | 2 CommentsI’ve had this ripped page from a really old magazine ad hanging around my desk for ever – on my handy magnetic bulletin board, to be precise. I don’t know about you but I tend to put stuff up on the fridge or the bulletin board and have every intention of “doing something with it”. Clippings, photos, ticket stubs, all kinds of bits and bobs, I set it aside and the only thing that happens is I forget about it all – and corners curl from age (kinda like pipers). I can’t remember where this particular bit of paper came from. Maybe someone gave it to me. It looks like it came from Popular Mechanics or a mag of similar dimensions. But it’s kind of interesting. So, here’s me doing something with it.
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Google Me a Picture
February 23, 2010 on 7:57 pm by Michael Grey | In Humour, Stories, Whinges | 5 CommentsI sometimes find Google’s search prompt annoying. It can be a distraction when I’m impatiently on the hunt for some bit of info. It’s way too easy to get drawn in to other lines of thinking, other searches and subject matter. Looking for a new Indian restaurant? Well before you know it you’ve got “indian names”, “indian consulate” and “indian railways”. Too many interesting prompts and challenges for my modest attention span. The prospect of a tasty new palak paneer dish just has to wait while I’m whisked away to some helpful, yet unplanned, visit to completely unconnected websites. Who knew that the Indian railway system carries 18 million passengers a day? Not me – until today.
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CBC Radio One Interview
February 16, 2010 on 7:46 pm by Michael Grey | In News, Stories | No CommentsAn excerpt from a piece produced by CBC Radio’s Aparita Bhandari. Broadcast January 25, 2010.
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A Good Reed Soaking is What You Need
January 20, 2010 on 10:04 am by Michael Grey | In Humour, News, Stories, Tips | No CommentsMy first email of the day was a seriously laugh-out-loud experience. I mean LOL in the real sense. Not just the sort of thing we all do when we often send a sort of nondescript note or text and add “LOL”: “I backed out of the driveway today and nearly hit the neighbour’s cat LOL”. Well, I’m sure you wouldn’t write that, but I know you get my gist.
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10 Favourite Musical Memories of the Noughts
December 29, 2009 on 9:18 pm by Michael Grey | In News, Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Stories | Comments OffYikes. Its two days to 2010. Cliché alert: it seems like yesterday … we were all freaking out about the apocalyptic possibilities of a new millennium. Then, as now, I was working in the technology field and clearly recall being assigned a “war room” shift. For those not familiar with the tech business staple of system recovery, the “war room” is a small group of multi-skilled people charged with restarting failed computer systems. I was the scribe of the group (an important role, of course). With black marker at the ready I was set to record the crashing systems and falling sky. Continue reading 10 Favourite Musical Memories of the Noughts…
Aged to Perfection (Ravi Shankar)
October 19, 2009 on 8:57 pm by Michael Grey | In Music, Solo Piping, Stories | Comments OffI had a great night last Saturday. I was treated to a concert of Indian classical music. And what a treat. None other than the world’s greatest exponent of the art was centre stage, sitar in hands. Ravi Shankar, the eighty-nine years old living legend, and his twenty-eight years old daughter, the remarkable, Anoushka, enthralled the sold out audience with non-stop musical virtuosity.
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A Good Use of Time (Maybe)
September 27, 2009 on 5:06 pm by Michael Grey | In Stories, Tips, Whinges | 4 CommentsI was watching the local news last week and a segment popped up that talked about the release of new internet stats. I can’t find the link to the piece otherwise I’d happily provide it here. Anyway, the story centred on the internet: now preferred over TV for entertainment and info-gathering.
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Tea with Lord Lovat
September 2, 2009 on 7:04 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Solo Piping, Stories | 6 CommentsWhen I think of early September I think of the Northern Meeting in Inverness, Scotland. The grand daddy of all solo bagpipe competitions. It’s the number one event on the solo piper’s calendar; or, maybe more correctly, the solo piper with the most experience, the nimblest fingers and s/he amongst the select global one hundred and fifty or so pipers who aspire to `the medals`: the oldest, most venerable prizes offered in the Highland bagpipe world. Of all the indelible memories I have of times spent at the Northern Meeting none stand out more than the one not directly related to bagpipes: tea with Lord Lovat.
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Memorable
August 10, 2009 on 1:21 am by Michael Grey | In Stories | Comments OffI write this while standing outside the entrance doors at Paris’ CDG airport; a cloud of smoke enveloping me as a dozen smokers take their last, desperate pre-flight drags. The flight home awaits but not before a few moments of quiet(ish) reflection.
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Lorient Cheese Nazi
August 4, 2009 on 2:55 pm by Michael Grey | In Pipe Bands, Stories | 6 CommentsJust as you should expect the music at the festival is superb. I’m still savouring the great tunes delivered by the first grade bagads at Saturday’s competition. It seems to me the best bagads play with a level of musicianship that exceeds even the best of pipe bands. It’s inspiring.
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