INDEPENDENCE marches could soon be getting a boost from Scottish pipers, thanks to a new fundraiser.
The Saor Alba Pipes & Drums Indy Pipe Band is seeking financial help to reach its target of £15,000.
Its crowdfunder was at £5112 at the time of writing.
As The National exclusively revealed earlier this month, more than 80 pipers have expressed interest in joining the band.
READ MORE: Pipers for Indy 'proving doubters wrong' with their project
The original plan was to have the band ready for the All Under One Banner (AUOB) march in Edinburgh on October 6. However, secretary and treasurer of the new group, Jim Edwards, said he was too optimistic about this. “We have said from the start that we would love to attend the Edinburgh march but realistically it is not going to happen. However, we will be attending the march in some capacity with around 20 from the group going along informally. There will be no uniforms and very few drummers but we will be supplying the Edinburgh march with music” he added.
The band is now hoping to make its official debut at the AUOB march in Glasgow in 2019.
A big hurdle for the group is that while pipers own their own pipes, it is standard practice for bands to provide drummers with drums. Of the £15,000 funding target, around £10,000 will go towards drums for the band’s 10 drummers and the rest will go towards what Edwards describes as a “basic” uniform so the group “looks like a band”.
“We are going to take away the military style uniform and are adopting a Jacobean style with traditional blue bonnets made by the lady who makes headgear for Outlander,” Edwards said.
The outfits are approved by the National Museum of Scotland as authentic to what Jacobeans would have worn.
“The uniform is almost an exact replica of the Jacobites and they all came from different clans so they wore different types of tartan. So the top half of the uniform will look the same and the bottom half will be a complete splash of colour,” Edwards added.
Edwards said he is “completely open” to where the new band will be in the march. He added: “There are lots of comments out there about a pipe band leading the Yes movement but that’s up to the organisers to decide, we won’t assume where our place is.
“I imagine the police will have something to say on the matter so this is something we will discuss with all the relevant parties.”
To donate to the crowdfunder go to https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/saoralbapd.
The band are also looking for tenor drummers and would be interested in talking with any potential sponsors.
To find out more or for sponsorship details email saoralbapd@gmail.com.
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