I’m sitting watching the Trooping of the Colour ceremony. This year the colour being trooped is that of the Scots Guards, complete with their pipes and drums in Royal Stewart tartan. We’ve already had arrangements of two poems by Robert Burns: ” My love is like a red, red rose “and then “Ye banks and braes o’ bonnie Doon”. As one of the pipers commented, when a Scot hears the pipes he/she always thinks of “home”. The quick march was a composition entitled “The Glaswegians” incorporating that well known song “I belong to Glasgow”. Yes, I did sing along.
It was interesting to watch Clare Balding “interviewing” the drum horses, who had had a bath and shampoo first thing this morning. The third drum horse, who is apparently the biggest horse in Britain at 20 hands, is still too young for such ceremonial occasions as he has not completed his training.
It really is a magnificent spectacle, even though of relatively recent origin, having been started by Edward VII. We’ve just had “Men of Harlech” for the Welsh Guards and there are four Irish pipers in with the Scots, so it is a spectacular celebration of the whole UK.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Oi!
OZ
Oops, Sheona, forgot the 🙂
OZ
Sorry, OZ, I don’t understand the “Oi”. Did you want me to mention the Blues and Royals and the Grenadier guards who were there too?
Oh dear, this is going to be complicated. The ‘Oi’ was because we both published ‘Trooping the Colour’ posts at more or less the same time.
OZ
I think you’ll find it goes back a little further than that, Sheona 🙂 http://www.trooping-the-colour.co.uk/
I hope my change of title will help. Great minds think alike!
Rupert King-Evans is commanding Number 4 Guard Nijmegen Coy. His father and I served together in BAOR in 83.
🙂
OZ
Core blimey, if you blinked at any point, you’d have missed the flypast, still good though.
Aye I was enjoying it fine, Sheona, until thon mixter-maxter of rubbish Weegie tunes came on and I had to mute the sound.
I jest, of course, Sang along to all of them from ‘Road to the Isles’ through ‘Men of Harlech’ and everything else I knew the words of including ‘I belong to Glasgow’.
Just finished watching it because I went on the red button when BBC1 finished and went to ‘Question of Sport’. The Red Arrow flypast was superb.
God save the Queen and God rot Alex Salmond.
Tocino, I heard the reference to the Nijmegen company. I can guess where it gets its name from.
JM, like you I hoped that Salmond and his cohorts were watching and wondering. Are you entitled to sing “I belong to Glasgow”? I was born there. You have embraced the dark side, as I’ve said before.
Bravo, I’ve just realised that my reply to your comment and thanks for the link seems to have disappeared. I think Clare Balding was saying that it was Edward VII who united the Trooping the Colour with the sovereign’s official birthday and I misunderstood.