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16 - The Oakville Beaver, Friday January 30, 2009 www.oakvillebeaver.com Piping pride of tradition By Donald Goodspeed GRADE 11, MACLACHLAN COLLEGE I www. GRAND OPENING · Prizes · Promotional Pricing · FREE Gift With Purchase* February 6, 7, 8 n my mind, there is no other sound capable of stirring the blood or awakening the glow of ardour in one's breast as the drone of the piob mhor; the Great Highland Bagpipe. Ever since I was a child, I thrilled at the sound of the pipes, and the vivid, fantastic images they awoke in my imagination. I remember many an evening spent begging my parents to rewind the crinkly VHS tape of Disney's Bedknobs and Broomsticks, to a scene where a rag-tag group of war evacuees watched wide-eyed as their sorceress nanny's spell causes a local castle's armoury to rise up in defence of its small Dorset village, accosted by villainous Nazis. The drums began to beat, the heraldic banners and regimental colours were paraded by unseen troops, and suits of plate armour were brought to life, all as a ghostly high- land regiment played their pipes on the hill above. In my parents' daily battle to get a rambunctious three year old to brush his teeth, my Dad taught me to hum Amazing Grace and Scotland the Brave through clenched teeth as a way of ensuring oral hygiene. Now, the pipes are an even more important part of my life. I've taken my first steps down the road to *Free gift with purchase applies to purchases over $50.00 while quantities last. CHANGES ARE HAPPENING! BETTER THAN EVER! GREAT FOOD! FRESH LOOK! We are Heritage Furniture T RU E L I F E T I M E QUA L I T Y F U R N I T U R E AT HUGE SAVINGS! IN STOCK NOW LIMITED QUANTITY Great selection of 100% Canadian made solid wood Bedrooms $ 50% 2199 $1299 Reg. King size beds from Up To SAVE BIG DURING OUR IN-STOCK SPECIAL SALE! Great Value Solid Wood Canadian Made Dining Sale · Great chair styles · Tables from large to small · Custom finish Table & Six Chairs: $ becoming a piper myself, taking lessons from a retired RAF Pipe Major. This is something more than a hobby, it's almost spiritual, a profound feeling that's hard to describe. In learning to play the pipes, I'm paying homage to centuries old tradition, preserving it, celebrating it and carrying it on. The pipes and Féileadh bheag are not the eccentric symbols of nationality paraded by soccer fans and mocked by comics. In my childhood, my family went on a number of family vacations, but there were none as special to me as our trips to Ireland and Scotland. For me, being able to see the humble croft where my grandparents and great grandparents grew up near the seashore in County Kerry, to walk the hills around Oban Harbour, from whence my heilan' ancestors began their long, sad exodus following the Clearances, was something indescribable. To hear the sound of a fiddler on the street corner in Killarney, or the forlorn, yet peaceful strains of a lament drift over the moors at Culloden, made the experience complete. These age-old melodies carry with them the same emotion now, as they did in years past. A nation's music is as much a part of its cultural identity as geography or language. From the giddy reels of a Cornish fiddle, played by the fireside of a lonely croft overlooking a wave-battered shore, to the idyllic melodies of a hornpipe drifting dreamlike over the impossibly steep, stoney slopes of Snowdon, music has helped to define and preserve proud traditions of the nations of Britain, all too often downtrodden by foes in their 1,000year-old history. Music has often been the last bastion and refuge for these traditions of language and culture. In learning to play the pipes, I hope to be able to carry on the languages of Scots and Gaelic, to perhaps pass that on to others. For me, traditional music, especially that of the bagpipes, is far more than notes on a stave, it is something that defines who I am, who my ancestors were and who I wish to be. FREE APPETIZER with a purchase of an entree. Offer expires February 12, 2009 Mention this Ad and Receive a Pastafest UNBEATABLE PRICING 3999 $2499 Reg. From VOTED #1 SEAFOOD RESTAURANT 3145 Dundas Street West Mississauga 905-569-3656 SPECIAL OFFER Pair of Recliners Sale You choose the style You choose the fabric $ Reg. $1899 1199 for pair Now DUNDAS STREET LOCATION ONLY!! THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BUY! 4205 Fairview Street, Burlington · 905.634.5298 The Heart and Stroke Foundation in Halton will host its annual Pastafest dinner and silent auction on Friday. This year's event will take place in Burlington at The Holiday Inn. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and there will be entertainment by the Peter Bloom Band, a silent auction table and a dance troupe performance. The event will kickoff February as Heart Month in Halton. Tickets cost $45. Contact 905-634-7732 and ask for Trina or Matthew.