The Marches Mystery Solved

I grew up in a small town called Linlithgow. The town its self is centuries old and boasts a suitably distinguished historical record. Mary Queen of Scots was born there, Robert Burns joined the freemasons there and (for any Star Trek fans out there) Scotty was born there.

As with any place of great age, there are many traditions that have risen up around the place. One of the most notable is the Marches. Today it takes the form of a parade with bands, floats and local dignitaries. This is usually followed by a trip to a travelling fare and much revelry. The origins of this tradition were not quite so relaxed. It was originally a patrol by those that run the town to check the security of the boundaries.

The Marches for me holds many special memories. It is always on the first Tuesday after the second Thursday in June when the whole town shut down and came together to celebrate where we lived. As a kid I remember enjoying the parades, the candyfloss and the strategic planning of my position to maximise the chances of the bands playing when they passed.

Every year, one particular tune was always played. I have heard it on the pipes, by a marching windband and on the flutes and drums. Every time I hear it I get taken straight back to my childhood and the anticipation of a good day out (as well as the certain knowledge that the summer holidays were round the corner).

For years I have wondered what the tune is called. I had always thought of getting a copy for nostalgia purposes. Music has never really bothered me as an activity in itsself but certain pieces can reliably provoke certain memories (hence the eclectic mix on my itunes when it hasn't been wiped). The trouble is, I never had any idea what it was called. I asked everyone I could think of. I even contemplated writing to my former history teacher who is an authority on local history (I didn't because it would have been impossible to describe it other than "the marches tune"). I have heard a tantalising snippet on a holywood pirate film where it was being played as a sea shanty. I also have a copy being played at the Edinburgh Tattoo however it was part of a medley and individual tunes were not identified.

Yesterday was Marches day this year and I idly browsed through youtube watching old parades when I heard this tune again (admittedly in poor quality recording). Coincidentally, there was an article in the paper about the 10 best music identifying websites. I thought that I would give them a try. Sadly none were successful. I blame youtube. I could only find short snippets of poor quality. I tried with the sorftware buit with no luck. Eventually, I hit a random looking link with the hope of finding a better version for searching.

Lo and behold I did along with a full title. A quick search later suggest, 'the marches tune" might not be the worst name for it. It certainly has a long history with the town and is apparently regarded quite posessively by many of it's residents. Unfortunately I'm struggling to find a copy to download although the search will continue.

Overall I'm pleased I finally found this out. Its a sense of satisfaction after so many years spent searching.

JR

Ps, if you're interested, search 'The Roke' on youtube. The first video will take you to the tune in question. Enjoy.

101

No not my personal room 101 choices for Orwellian torture (although those may come another day) but the non-emergency police telephone number. This morning was the first time I've called it and I have to say, I'm impressed.
True to purpose, my call was far from an emergency. The traffic lights at a major road junction had gone out. Although traffic was just about moving it was more than a little chaotic and a few sets of screeching tyres suggested an accident was not far off. It was also extremely dangerous to cross given there were six lanes of traffic to negotiate, all with cars taking their chances where they saw them. All it needed to restore order was a police officer to take control of the junction and restore order.

In years gone by, reporting this would be a problem. Not many people I know keep the local police station number saved in their phones (and in any case, this wasn't strictly local to me) and dialling 999 for a bit of traffic control seems a little extreme.

I called 101 and was connected pretty much immediately to the local constabulary (slightly scary how they knew that but let's overlook that bit for the time being). There was an option to change the force one was connected to but that's where the, "press one to..." routine ended. My call was answered quickly and by someone who spoke and understood (there is a difference) English fluently. Two minutes later, I had passed over all the relevant details, got a genuine sounding thanks from the lady at the end of my phone and was back one my way to work; job done. Beyond the usual complications of describing one's location to someone who isn't there and may not know the area, it really was that simple.

There have been many gimmicky ideas to do with emergency services over the last few years however this was unequivocally not one.

Slightly random post I know but hopefully it's raised awareness of the phone number if nothing else.

JR

Diamond Jubilee

Well, that was quite a show. Three days of pretty much non-stop celebration. Then again, the likelihood any of us will ever see something similar is slim to none.

What did you do?

In my case, Sunday was spent with friends. The original plan was to have a picnic in Wandsworth park (just up river from where the pagent started), watch the boats marshalling then watch the pagent proper on telly. We thought the BBC coverage would give us better views; not least of Pippa Middleton's bottom!

In the end, the weather wasn't playing nice so we went indoors for food as well. I was glad I saw some 'live'. I have grown up in, around and falling out of boats so it would have been a real shame to miss such a genuinely unique maratime spectacle.

What a spectacle it was too. People spent ages mouthing off about Canaletto but really, life was imitating art. The whole thing appeared to go off flawlessly. The only thing that disappointed me a bit was the BBC coverage. It was never really sure what it was doing. When it wasn't focussing on the Queen, it was showing pundits babbling banal crap or eliciting monosylabic responses from members of the public. All well and good but it would have been nice to see more of the boats. That was kind of the point after all. I don't think the coverage went behind the man-powered ones. It seems a shame to miss out on such a momentous event. Not only that, they missed out on the music boats. Why? They were all sounding fantastic as they warmed up. I am deeply disappointed not to have seen the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra's boat play the Bond theme as it passed the MI6 building (and the Sunseeker from the pre-credits sequence of The World Is Not Enough come to that). And there was a woeful lack of Pippa's bottom!

On the subject of the orchestra boat; well done to the Choir at the end. They were beyond soaked. I think they would have been drier going head-first into the Thames yet they continued regardless. A uniquely British twist I think.

The Queen and Prince Phillip stood the entire way from what I could see. An achievement in itsself for many people their age and worthy of respect. However, is it just me or should some form of weather protection have been built into the boat? It is likely that this event contributed to the infection which is currently detaining Prince Phillip in hospital.

Yesterday was the concert. I haven't had a chance to watch it yet. By all accounts it was quite a show. I did however manage to watch the fireworks from my girlfriend's balcony. They were rather good and had colours other than red, white and blue!

The final day of celebrations was today. It started with a service of commemoration. Yet again I didn't watch it although I have seen photos. All I'm going to say is that, by the looks of it, Rowan Williams could save the health service a fortune by acting as an anaesthetic. Half the congregation was asleep. To be fair to him, the younger royals looked like they had had a thoroughly good night the night before. Who can blame them?

One thing I did notice was that Catherine (Kate) was giving her sister a run for her money when walking up the steps to the cathedral! Am I allowed to compliment the Duchess' bottom or is that treason? Either way; after the service there was a procession back to the palace followed by a flypast by the RAF. Again, I didn't make it it into Central London. I did however see the flypast. The classic planes are beautiful. There's no other word for it. The engine sounds alone make my pulse go a few notches quicker. As for the Red Arrows; I defy anyone not to stand a few inches taller when they see them in action. One thing that amuses me is that they never break formation. One wonders if they even pee in a specific pattern!

The whole weekend was, undeniably, one hell of a show. I would argue that there's nowhere else in the world where one could see even a percentage of the spectacle that London saw this weekend. In a way, I'm a little disappointed I didn't get to see more of it in the flesh. The atmosphere would have been electric (if a bit damp). On the other hand, I woud have been crowded up amongst other randoms. Something that brings out the worst in me. A happy medium might have been to do it as a St. John duty however I could have been put somewhere miles away from the action. Not only that, I know I would concentrate on the duty rather than the event so it sort of negates the point.

Either way I watched history being made this weekend and I'm profoundly grateful I have done. Regardless of how you feel about the monarchy politically, this spectacle was incredible and one to be proud of.

Hope you enjoyed it too.

JR