Scottish Bagpipe

We recently took a trip to Scotland and although our final destination was Edinburgh, we decided to fly into Glasgow, Scotland and then take the train to Edinburgh.  

We had one mission in Glasgow . . . to purchase a bagpipe chanter for Josh.

What's a bagpipe chanter?  

If you want to learn to play the bagpipes one day, it's recommended to first learn on a chanter.

When we heard (thanks, Randi :) that Josh was interested in this, Jim set about learning about chanters, how they're made and which ones are considered the best.

With this information, we decided on the R. G. Hardie and Co. Ltd. in Glasgow.  

Here we are outside the shop where they make each chanter and set of bagpipes by hand.

This is Robert Hardie showing Jim the chanter we chose for Josh.  

The R. G. Hardie Company has been making bagpipes for over 100 years.

He was also nice enough to take us on a tour of their shop.

This is the office!

Turning the bagpipe parts on a lathe.  The older man has been working for this company since 1962!

Mr. Hardie said the shop can make one Great Highland bagpipe per day.

These are the parts that have been hollowed out to eventually become parts of a bagpipe or bagpipe chanter.

It's called African Blackwood and it looks like this before it goes to the lathe.

Before and after.

Everything is handmade, including the silver engraving on each piece. 

This is the chanter we chose for Josh.

It's engraved with a thistle design, which is the official emblem of Scotland.  

The legend of the thistle is that a sleeping party of Scots warriors were saved from an invading Norse army when the Norsemen trod on a thistle with bare feet. Their cries roused the Scots and they defeated the invaders.  True or not, t's a good story.

Soooo . . . despite this being a Christmas present, and despite our best efforts to have it arrive before Christmas, the chanter is still en route.  It's only coming from Scotland, but I think it's made a couple of trips there and back!

Assuming it actually makes it to its final destination . . . Merry Christmas, Josh!  We're expecting great things and perhaps this calls for another trip to Scotland in the summer.