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COUNTDOWN TO THE ST. RONAN’S TATTOO `08
The seventh St. Ronan’s Tattoo is set
to take place on Sunday 1 June against the magnificent backdrop of
Traquair House near to Innerleithen in Peeblesshire. As well as great
music from eight bands, the event will be bustling with kid’s
entertainment, great food and ices, face painting and magic. And for the
first time this year, staff from Robert Smail’s Printworks will provide a
mini printers’ workshop to help celebrate 500 years of print in Scotland.
Supported by
Scottish Borders Council and now recognised as one of the premier musical
events in the Scottish Borders, The St. Ronan’s Tattoo will feature the
music of pipe bands and brass bands and big bands. The five-hour feast of
music and family-fun begins at 12 noon with the Tattoo performance itself
commencing at 4.15pm.
The Tattoo performance on Traquair’s Historic Avenue promises to be a real
treat! Alasdair Hutton, famous as the voice of the Edinburgh Military
Tattoo, will narrate the whole performance. This year will see the
appearance of the Norwegian Big Band, Torungen
Storband, who are touring Scotland. Other bands taking part will
be St. Ronan’s Silver Band, Innerleithen Pipe Band, Penicuik Pipe Band,
Peebles Burgh Silver Band, Peebles High School Swing Band,
George Watson’s College Juvenile
Pipe Band
and St. Ronan’s
Future Band.
As always there will be loads to do for young people with a number of
attractions to suit them. There will be a bouncy castle and inflatable
Gladiators. Top-children’s entertainer, Mick Magic, will be on hand to
keep everyone amused with his magic shows. Ever-popular, face painting
will also be available with a range of characters and animals to choose
from! There is even a special concession on the entry fee for families
and young people and under 5 go free!
This year the organisers have teamed up with Scottish Borders Council
Museum Service and Robert Smail’s Printworks in Innerleithen to bring mini
printers’ workshops so that you can have a go at printing to celebrate 500
years of print in Scotland. Smail’s and museum staff will be on hand to
offer practical workshops and to guid you through the process.
There will be hot and cold snacks, Caldwell’s famous ice cream and a beer
tent to satisfy appetites as well as a barbeque serving tasty burgers.
There will also be a grand prize draw with fantastic prizes such as
tickets to the Edinburgh Military Tattoo and Cardrona Golf vouchers.
Entry costs £6 (adults); £4 (under 16/senior citizens); £18 (two adults
and two children) with free car parking and free entry to under 5s.
Tickets are available from Adam’s Bakery (Innerleithen), Robb’s KeyStore
(Peebles), Tourist Information Centre (Peebles) or tel. 01896 831721.
Email
for more info. or visit our stall on Innerleithen High Street on the
mornings of Saturday 24 May and Saturday 31 May!
The event is being supported by Scottish Borders Council.
_______________________________________________________________________
St. Andrew's Concert
with Scocha
Saturday 29 November 2008
Memorial Hall, Innerleithen, 7.30pm
Further details later...
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THE ST. RONAN'S TATTOO COMMITTEE
Chairman - Mark Cockburn
Secretary - Keith
Belleville
Treasurer - Murray Charters
Members - David Allan, Wendy Fulton, Shelley Hamilton.
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THE ST. RONAN'S TATTOO 2006 - ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS!
The sixth St. Ronan's Tattoo has been hailed as a great success. Music
was provided by St. Ronan's Silver Band and Future Band as well as
Selkirk Silver Band and Scocha in the main marquee, while Innerleithen
Pipe Band and the Edinburgh Postal Pipe Band entertained on the Wine
Glass Lawn. Showbrassband Thalita from Holland went down a storm when
they played to a large appreciative crowd, displaying their considerable
marching technique!
There were bouncy castles, magicians face painting, and crafts for the
younger Tattoo-goers and the Scottish Borders Council Guid Scots Diet
exhibition proved popular with adults and children alike.
The Tattoo performance itself was a stirring celebration of the Scottish
Landscape, expertly narrated by Alasdair Hutton. The culmination was a
rousing rendition of favourite, "Highland Cathedral," conducted by
Captain Alex Knox.
"We were delighted with the event," said one of the organisers, Keith
Belleville. "We have had lots of support from a number of community
groups and individuals and were very pleased with the large turnout of
visitors," he explained.
WHAT
IS A "TATTOO"?
You
may have wondered why we call this form of entertainment a Tattoo. The word Tattoo is a corruption of an old Dutch phrase
"Doe den tap toe" - or "Turn off the taps". The practice
started during the campaigns of the First Duke of Marlborough in the Netherlands
in the 18th Century when drummers used to march through the garrison towns
signalling the innkeepers to turn off the beer taps and send the soldiers
home to their quarters in private houses where the reluctant residents
were forced to billet them. As barracks began to be built and the army
became more professional t he practice gradually evolved into a ritual
at the end of the day. Devout Russian soldiers had developed the practice
of singing a hymn each evening to give thanks for having survived another
day and in the last century the two elements were merged in the military
entertainment which we now know as a Tattoo.
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