Whilst we’ve all been observing lockdown, some of our band members decided to have some fun !
Trying to get JP’s Blue Bonnet from our lead pipers home in Rogart Sutherland to JP’s home in France.
We hope you enjoy seeing some familiar faces
We’re excited to launch a series of new limited edition products to support our suburb NHS Scotland frontline workers
ALL Profits from this range will go to NHS Scotland Frontline workers – NO PROFITS will remain with SAPD
All the new products are limited editions so get your orders in quick before they run out
We are also working on new ideas for more SAPD/NHS Scotland goodies, so look out for these coming soon in our online shop.
First Up we’d like to introduce our very special Frontline Worker Teddy Bear
His Name is Richard !
Our band member Richard Kerr is an ambulance technician based in Lanarkshire and he has been working throughout this crisis.
We want to give our grateful thanks to Richard and also to band members Norma Sommerville and Nick Dawson who are also frontline workers in the NHS and Care sectors.
As well as these limited edition SAPD/NHS Scotland products, we’re busy looking into other fundraising activities to assist our frontline health and social care workers in Scotland.]
So keep your eyes peeled on all our social media feeds for further announcements.
PLEASE NOTE : Please “bear” with us on deliveries. They may take a little longer than usual to get to you due to the current social distancing/lockdown.
We will do our very best to get your orders to you as quickly as we can whilst keeping everybody safe.
To see the full range or to place an order visit our online shop https://saoralbapd.scot/shop/
“As Chair of SAPD I am delighted to say that our suggestion to create a ‘virtual’ Arbroath 2020 celebration has been a resounding success.
It has engaged with pipers and Scots worldwide to celebrate this special moment.
I’d like to say a special thanks to JR Ewen (piper and all round techie god) for his help in making this possible.
I’d also to thank the pipers and musicians world wide for your input.
I must also pay great tribute to our Band Manager, Jim Edwards….who took this from a grain of an idea and steered it towards the reality it has become. Always an inspiration.
We built an important moment.
I cannot say more than thank you 💕🏴
Yours aye
J McG”
Calling All Pipers, wherever you are in the world
Join up to our new Facebook Group to find out how you can take part in our Virtual Celebration
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1078701595841041/
Whilst we cant be together in Arbroath on 6th April 2020, we believe that music can bring us all together. We are calling all pipers in Scotland and internationally to be part of this historic virtual event.
PIPER INSTRUCTIONS
Please also share this information with all your piper family and friends – we hope to get as many pipers as possible worldwide taking part.
SAPD will post regular updates on the Arbroath page about how non-pipers and non-players can also join in and take part tomake this the most joyous of Arbroath Celebrations
Stay safe and look after each other
Ronald was from Corstorphine, Edinburgh and would have been celebrating his 60th Birthday in May.
Ronald was well known in the Indy Family.He was a member of the Freedom Convoy and the Society of William Wallace.
He loved travelling all over his beloved Scotland and meeting like minded folk.
When Ronald sadly lost his wife and soul mate Denise in early 2019 he needed something to fill the dark void in his life. A friend of his introduced him to the band family, and he was very soon making himself useful!
He was with us on our very first public outing – Stornaway. He drove the van that carried all our instruments, uniforms etc.
What can you say about a wonderful day out in beautiful sunshine, strolling through the heart of the Highlands with several thousand fellow yessers? It was breathtaking. It was a buzz. It was incredible. It was full of joy and laughter and children and music. And it sent a very clear message that there most definitely is an appetite for Independence in the North.
This was a first for us. A march organised by a group of dedicated locals. Understanding that not everyone can travel hundreds of miles to attend the big marches which are usually several hours away down the A9, for a variety of reasons, this team had a dream to bring the march to the people. It was a gamble, but boy did it pay off. The Indy family rallied round and gave them their full support. This march had everything you’d expect at the big mega marches …. the roar of the Yes Bikers, the dignity of the Silent Clansman, the Cairn of the Yes Stoners etc … and us. It was also supported by our local politicians , including the leader of the SNP at Westminster Ian Blackford and Inverness MP Drew Hendry. And better yet, in Inverness, in January the sun shone down on us all for the whole day. Add to that, the estimated 12000 marches who took part, flags flying, whistles blowing and press teams from all around the globe, this march even made it onto the BBC news.
As usual our intrepid team of band assistants came from all over the country to make sure the band could play without worrying about any practical details.
But as you’d expect, the relaxed family friendly atmosphere meant there were not too many demands on them so they had time for a wee dance while the band warmed up.
Despite it being Burns day and a lot of our pipers having previous commitments to play at various events round the county we managed to put out a reasonable size band. A special mention for JR and his wife who made the trip and then dashed off as he was booked to play in Edinburgh that night ! As usual our team came from all over, from the Borders to Glasgow, Oban to Falkirk and of course our “local” members who were delighted for a change not to be the ones doing the early start !
The only thing that confuses me about the day is the counter demonstration.
We’re all used to marching past a few unionists with flags – but does anybody now what the gnome costumes are all about ? They certainly made me smile
The beauty of a windy day is the flags fly and make a fabulous backdrop to the photos – so check out our gallery of pictures from the day at https://saoralbapd.scot/projects/freedom-march-inverness/ 
It was an honour, a joy and a privilege for us to lead this march – days like this are the very reason we were formed and the reason we exist … to join the Yes family marching on the road to Independence
This was everything a March should be. The organising team really cant be praised and thanked enough. They thought of everything and brought the local community along with them. Local businesses offered discounts to Yessers, arranged entertainment for them and embraced the influx of visitors to the area. Rather than march and run, people were encouraged to enjoy our beautiful city and actually taste a wee bit of our history, our culture and our people. Imagine that being replicated all across Scotland.
If any local groups across Scotland are inspired to try and replicate this wonderful event in your own area and would like us to support you please get in touch – we cant promise to attend every event, but we’ll try our best.
We are all very aware that the fight for Scottish Independence has been going on for a very long time.
Many loyal campaigners and supporters have very sadly not lived long enough to see our beautiful country regain her freedom. We know they march with us in spirit, we know most of us have somebody we carry with us in our hearts every day. When news that a band supporters mother had passed , the idea was born for the band to play a tune in her memory. One of our pipers suggested that we could maybe extend the tribute to include more friends and loved ones who would be marching with us if they could. When the idea was floated on our facebook page we were overwhelmed by the interest – and quickly collected a list of over a hundred names of people who needed to be remembered.
Before we took part in the March in Glasgow we took some time out to play “Freedom Come all Ye” by the Stewart Memorial Fountain in Kelvingrove Park, whilst our lead piper Alasdair read out the list of names of your lost loved ones.
We hope our heartfelt tribute brought some kind of comfort to those of you grieving, and went some way to show how much we appreciate your support as we keep marching on the road to independence.
Given the apparent popularity of this tribute we will be doing it again some time in the future (perhaps not at every event, but we will do it).
If you would like any of your loved ones remembering during a future tribute, please keep an eye on our facebook page as that’s where we will ask for names.
It was a great honour for us to be able to do this and getting feedback on how much it meant to the families has been both moving and humbling.
You can see all the photos of the whole day (including the march) in our gallery at https://saoralbapd.scot/projects/glasgow-january-11th-2020/
Hope Santa was good to you all and you’ve started 2020 with renewed vigour to march with us on the road to independence.
Our online shop is now fully back up and running and the first orders of the year have been posted !
On Saturday we will join thousands (hopefully hundreds of thousands) at the Mega March in Glasgow. If the weather forecast is right , expect lots of black capes as like everybody else we try and keep warm and dry .. good job our trademark blue bonnets are waterproof !
We are currently collecting names of loved ones who didnt live to see our beautiful country regain her freedom. Our plan is to read out their names and play a tune in their memory before the march. We know they march with us in spirit.
We are delighted to confirm that we will also be putting out a band for the Inverness March on the 25th January. Bearing in mind its January, so most people are finding it tough to get to payday, its only 2 weeks after the Glasgow March,its the middle of winter and its way up in the Highlands, we will not be attending in the numbers you may be used to at the big city marches – not because we dont want to, but because of a diary clash with Burns Night …there’s a lot of Burns Suppers that had booked their pipers well in advance making it impossible for some of our members to get up to Inverness and back in time to pipe in their respective Haggis. But we are none the less thrilled to be supporting this grass roots march and fully support the local team making it happen. If you have no other plans, please consider supporting this event, make a weekend of it – Inverness is a fabulous city with loads to see and do, you could even add in a visit to Culloden Battlefield !
Time to get those boots back on and start Marching on the Road to Independence
Our last orders have been boxed up and posted, and now our shop volunteers are taking a break to spend Christmas with their loved ones.
The online shop will remain open, so you can still browse and place orders, but nothing will now be dispatched till after the holidays.
We’d like to thank you for your orders,for your support and for marching with us on the road to Independence.
The band are all taking a well deserved break, and will be back with you in Glasgow on 11th January.2020
Merry Christmas from of us all.
Saor Alba
Double Tree by Hilton, Glasgow
The cat is finally out of the bag and we can all stop creeping about. The band were honoured to be invited to be the surprise guests at the SNP Independence Magazine Awards dinner. A flash mob in a big ballroom, without anybody knowing we were there .
Our biggest disappointment was that we were limited to numbers and couldnt take the whole band with us, so we had to pick from those ready willing and able to commit to a friday afternoon in Glasgow. The places went to those who had attended most events over the year (marches and practices) and who could get time off work. Although we missed those we couldnt take we had a backing video running on the huge screens all around the venue with their faces smiling down on us. The edge was slightly taken off our excitement (but only slightly) by the news that our First Minister had had to change her plans and was in Sheffield for a Question Time Leaders special so wouldnt be watching the performance .
All making our own way to the venue we had from 2 – 4 to rehearse, work out which doors to use, where to stand etc The nerves were starting to show and I’m not sure the staff trying to set up the tables fully appreciated our musical input .
At 4pm we all made the dash to our hotel in Hamilton to get ready (not easy for those of us who dont know Glasgow, dont usually drive in cities and not used to friday teatime traffic)
After a very quick shower and change we were back in hotel reception within the hour, blue bonnets donned and aboard a bus back into town.
Its not the easiest thing to get a pipe band from a bus and through the entrance lobby of a very busy hotel unseen, but we did it and then hid in the green room till show time. Warming up was difficult – pipes are remarkably loud when you dont want anybody passing to hear them. As our time slot drew near our 2 drummers opening our set were smuggled through the kitchen to be able to appear unnoticed in the ballroom., whilst the rest of the band formed up in the lobby.
Goosebumps … when that band stuck up, the doors opened and they marched in playing “Blue Bonnets” .. a very emotional moment for us all
A flawless performance despite the nerves .
All the guests at the dinner stopped what they were doing to sing along to Flower of Scotland (I’m smiling just remembering it),and clap along to Killiecrankie.
The 10 minute slot passed in a heartbeat, and just like that it was over and the band were back out in the foyer smiling for the cameras.
With the “work” of the evening over, the band got the very rare chance to relax together, have dinner and and just enjoy each others company. Some of our younger members took the chance to get photos with the better known faces in the room (huge thanks to them for being so kind and generous with their time and smiling for our cameras) – a few even tried on the Blue Bonnets
After a fabulous time, like Cinderella around midnight it was time to board our bus for our hotel. The icing on the cake. As we were leaving, wandering through reception our First Minister arrived … much excitement and the perfect end to the night and another chance to get the treasured selfies.
The journey back to Hamilton was much rowdier than the outward trip … much laughing, singing and back slapping went on.
Nobody wanted the night to end, so the hotel bar became home for an hour or 3. Despite having been at a luxury dinner, pizzas were ordered, friendships were cemented and memories were made.
What an incredible way to round off our first full year Marching on the Road to Independence.
You can see the gallery of photos at https://saoralbapd.scot/projects/snp-st-andrews-night-awards-dinner/
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