Edinburgh: S'More Rain!!
Brooke Privett
Hello all you happy peppy people in the land of 110 degree heat index! I saw that on weather.com yesterday. Since I wrote my last blog yesterday afternoon, I wasn’t able to tell you about our performance last night. Well, something happened last night during that performance that I never thought I would see in my life… I could see my breath in August!! Yes, it was 50 degrees, windy, and very rainy! Mr. Bernhardt said he has seen the Tattoo probably 65 times in his life, and has never seen it rain like that! Thank goodness our uniforms (which have been sent off to the dry cleaners this morning) are wool.
I felt sorry for the guard, twirler, and the dancers, they had to be freezing. The guard’s flags weighed about 10 pounds more than usual, the twirler couldn’t see her baton when she threw it and the dancers were afraid they would slip and fall. I watched the dancers last night, and they looked amazing because every time they kicked, they flung arches of water over their heads! That made some great pictures. I’m very thankful I’m a brass player because some of the woodwind instruments are in need of major repair due to the pads on their keys getting wet and swelling. It is quite expensive to get those replaced. Some of the players in the other bands during the finale didn’t even have their instruments.
We didn’t wear our plumes last night, so we looked like a bunch of toy soldiers. I never realized how cumbersome those plumes are until we didn’t have to wear them! Even with the rain, I think last night was one of the best performances we have given. For me, I feel so bad for the people that have bought the tickets and are still sitting there having a good time that I feel I need to perform to the absolute best of my ability for them. We received the best response yet from the crowd last night. They cheered after every song and that is a great feeling knowing that even though they are wet and cold, that we are still providing them with a great time.
We were told last night that we would be heading out to St. Andrews this morning. So, I got up at 7:35. I was already awake because I got a major charley horse at 7:00, which was funny because I said “Ooohh, charley horse, charley horse” and my roommate said “Brooke, wake up!” I said “I am awake!” She said “Oh, I thought you were dreaming and calling me Charley Horse because we were just talking about Lamb Chop’s Play Along!” She timed it and said it lasted almost 3 minutes! I knew it was coming at some point because I have felt like I needed to get one all week! My leg is still sore!
Wegot ready and headed down to where we were meeting to walk to the train station. It is still raining today. Mr. Bernhardt came outside and said that we were going to postpone the trip until tomorrow morning, when it is hopefully not raining. So I have yet another rainy day of nothing to do and I hate walking around because of my stupid leg, which ought to be real fun to march with tonight! I’m still not tired of the show; I love it even if it does rain. Oh, if you get the chance, ship me a chicken quesadilla with a side of sour cream and a caramel empanada from Taco Bell. OH TACO BELL, HOW I LONG FOR THE DAY WHEN WE MEET AGAIN!!