ANZAC Day 2013.

It was an early start, and a late finish for those on the bus to Pinjarra this year. We had a BIG band, including 5 snare drummers, and performed in the street march, then later at the RSL to a great crowd. It was a most enjoyable day for all in the band. Highlights included solo piping from Nick, Colin and LK late in the day, plus Stu and Aiton playing a half set of pipes. Longkuan also surprised everyone with some very competent playing on the bass drum. And our school bus surprised the staff of the Ravenswood Hotel Drive-thru as we scraped under the rollerdoor! It was great to see so many family members and supporters there. A few pictures from the day are below and a video of the band marching off, shot by ex-PHPB piper Johan Mostert, can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJNI7oQARFk
Thanks to all who attended.

 

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State Championships.

The WA State Championships will be held from 1pm to 5pm on May 11 at Riley Oval at the University of WA. The competition circle will be right alongside the bar area of the UWA Club, so it will be a great competition venue for spectators.
This will be the third time we compete against SouthWest Highlanders in Grade 4 and, so far, the score is a win each (we won in Armadale and they won in Fremantle). Unfortunately, we are very low on pipers for the day, but let's hope we can put in a big effort and take the trophy for best of three!

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Curryfest 2013.

Thanks to Keith and Vanessa Allan for opening their home to the band for our first social event of 2013. There were many curies and Kingfisher beers consumed… and classy batik shirts on show.

 

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Colin's first turnout.

The band welcomed Colin Banks into the ranks, playing his first turnout with us on ANZAC Day. Colin has moved to Perth from New Zealand, where he comes from a big family of pipe band players. Colin was most recently Pipe Major of the G4 South Canterbury Pipe Band in Timaru. His wife, Karen, is a tenor drummer and was Treasurer of South Canterbury, and all their children have played in various NZ pipe bands. Colin's son, Hamish, also played a few years ago with the WA Police Pipe Band.

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Bruce Willis leads Perth ANZAC Parade.

Lieutenant Colonel Bruce Willis, a former Perth Highland piper who left the band to pursue his millitary career, was bestowed the honour of being the Parade Commander for the Perth Anzac Day service. Bruce recently retired from the Army and SAS Regiment after a very long and distinguished career. Bruce very generously gave his time to conduct a workshop with the band on overcoming nerves under pressure last year as part of our preparation for the Armadale competition. Bruce's father, Brian Willis, is a Life Member and past President of the band. To read the article above, CLICK HERE

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Election of Playing Officers.

Our annual election of playing officers will be held at 8pm on Monday 20th May at Perry Lakes.
We need all our playing members to be there for this meeting.
As always, all Perth Highland supporters are very welcome to join us on the night to hear the various reports, and stay for drinks following the election of playing officers for 2013/14.

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Rocking wedding performance.

Perth Highland pipers were hired to play "You're The Voice" at a wedding at Aqua Viva Reception Centre (next to JoJos on the river). Phil Richo, Peter MacLean, Gary Macintosh and Malcolm MacLean played with top wedding band, Proof, to a very appreciative crowd.
Video of the performance is on the Perth Highland facebook page. See it by clicking http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=591596234191766

 

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Allan Brown takes leave of absence.

Allan, a Warrant Officer with the Army, is taking leave from the band as he is being deployed to Afghanistan to facilitate the withdrawal of Australian troops from the region and hand over security to the Afghan National Security Forces. We wish Allan all the best for his mission and our thoughts will be with him and for a safe return.

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PHPB to host a World Championships night.

Our major fundraising event for 2013 will be held on Saturday 17th August. PHPB will be hosting the WA Pipe Band community for a live web-feed of the World Pipe Band Championships from Glasgow.
Please put this date in your diary now, as it will be an important fundraiser for the band. Please update your diary!

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WAPOL CD launch.

To launch the CD that was recorded at the Quarry concert, the Police Pipe Band is putting on a launch party. This licensed event will take place at the Forrest Centre Reception Centre, 221 St Georges Terrace Perth at 5pm until Late on Saturday 18th May 2013. The band will be performing some of our new material on the evening and following the launch, there will also be an ‘Open mike music session’ for anyone who wants to perform a tune on the pipes for the crowd. A buffet will be provided on the evening and there will also be licensed bar at the launch for you to purchase refreshments over the course of the evening. If you would like to go, please RSVP by Friday 10th May 2013 to Neil.Walker@police.wa.gov.au

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