Favorite quotes

[rorybbellows]

My favorite is this one by an unknown piper,
Uilleann pipes are like a big book, never grab it by the cover or the pages might fall out.

RORY

[john]

or the variant of 'not the full shilling':

he's not playing with a full set of regulators

[ennischanter]

"Whoa, dude! That's NOT a bagpipe!!!!"


Gave me a good chuckle.



Usually when I am playing outside though, not many heads turn 'cause they're so damn quiet! (Not that I have a prob with it!)

[TheSilverSpear]

When I was doing my master's degree at Durham Uni, the guy in charge of organizing college events heard I played "the bagpipes" and approached me, asking if I could pipe in the haggis for a Burns supper. I asked, "Does this involve walking?" He said, "Er... yes." I explained, "I'd be happy to do it, but someone will have to push me in a wheelchair." I got a blank stare and never heard from him after. A Highland piper piped in the haggis.

I've been asked if I have a footpump, but my personal favorite -- and you have to realize I only play a half set and at the moment seemed doomed to that for eternity -- are the ones who ask me what kind of bagpipe it is, and when I answer Irish/uilleann pipes, they argue with me. "No, those aren't uilleann pipes." They are, I insist, thinking I ought to know what instrument I play, and then they explain to me that proper uilleann pipes have the tubes with the keys that go across the lap, and mine doesn't have any of those. Yes, I KNOW, and f *** ck you very much. Well, I don't say that, but I think it.

[tommykleen]

The other day I was a-busking when a women interrupted (mid-tune) to ask "Is that the theme from Titanic?"
To which I replied "No, it's Amazing Grace".

[Ian Lawther]

Rather than comments made to me when busking I remember fondly seeing a young fella busking in Holborn underground station when I was working in London in the 1980s. After listening for a while I complemented his playing and, as is the way with pipers, I asked who made is pipes. "Leo Rowsome" came the reply. Then almost as an after thought he added quietly....."my grandfather."

Ian

[Ted]

Sean Folsom was busking in San Francisco a few years back and was playing a non-solo type zampogna without a piffero player to play melody. He overheard a couple of young Irish gents just off the boat talking. One said to the other, "Look at that Mick. He forgot the chanter and is just playing the drones and regulators".

[giles b]

Paddy Keenan at the Blarney Star in NYC a number of years ago, just finished a set of tunes, someone from the crowd yells out and asks what the second tune was and who wrote it, Paddy responds that he doesn't know, someone else from the crowd yells out that it was Junior Crehan, Paddy responds "oh? I don't think so, he may have made it up, but he definitely didn't write it" guffaws all round.

[ennischanter]

Rather than comments made to me when busking I remember fondly seeing a young fella busking in Holborn underground station when I was working in London in the 1980s. After listening for a while I complemented his playing and, as is the way with pipers, I asked who made is pipes. "Leo Rowsome" came the reply. Then almost as an after thought he added quietly....."my grandfather."

Ian

Kevin Rowsome?

[KJM]

he added quietly....."my grandfather."

I can totally see that.

[m4malious]

One - with parallels to older anecdotes somewhere on this forum - is the introduction of a globally known piper at a concert
here in this part of the world as someone who would "...now play on the villian pipes...."
M

[Cathy Wilde]

A man came up to me in a pub and said "I've bet my wife $5 that those aren't bagpipes." I pointed to the bag and said "Bag," then pointed to the rest of the rig and said "Pipes." His wife smiled ever so broadly as she directed him to give us the $5 as a tip.

[rorybbellows]

A man came up to me in a pub and said :

if you keep looking at my wife that way,I'll smash your face in.



RORY

[geoff wooff]

A man came up to me in a pub and said :

if you keep looking at my wife that way,I'll smash your face in.



RORY

Hmmm, yes well there are people who are married to their pipes!

[rorybbellows]

Hmmm, yes well there are people who are married to their pipes!

My wife keeps flirting with a banjo so I'm looking for a divorce .

RORY