On the 3rd of October 1989, two of Hawick Pipe bands most trusted and talented pipers, the Lauder thrush a.k.a Archie Anderson ( you should hear his pipes sing) and the much younger shy sophisticated quiet lad Cammy Renwick set out on what was to become a very successful promotion in encouraging the fine people of Taiwan to buy British.

Departing from Edinburgh, we were on our way to Heathrow airport to pick up an extra piece of baggage in the form of  Raquel Jory who just happened to be Miss England / Miss UK 1989, after our introductions we had a few pints provided by Arthur Guinness and then we flew in to the night sky on a 747 ( club class of course)  heading for Taiwan via Bombay and Hong Kong before finally landing in Taipei.

The first night saw us performing in one of the bars at the Ambassador Hotel (free drink) where we were well received, the audience just couldn't get enough of us, in fact the longer we played the more free drink they gave us and of course we knew that this would help us to sleep after such a long and arduous journey, the beverages that they supplied were of course well appreciated. The next day was our first working day playing in front of large excited crowds who had gathered outside the Far Eastern Department Store in Taipei, they more than appreciated the efforts of  the two Scottish pipers. The next few days that followed were much the same as the first with the only difference being that the friendly people of Taipei were really warming toward our father and son like team from the Scottish borders. One particular day saw us doing an Island tour starting at 9:00 am in Taipei then moving on to Taichung, then Chiayi then Tainan and finishing in Kaohsiung with a 7:00 pm performance ( bloody long day ) After a quick wash of the nuts and a change of clothes we were taken out for a traditional style meal which included many slimy chewy rubbery things that came out of the sea. The next day was one of relaxation, we had time to relax as we had the day off and it was a leisurely journey back to Taipei. The 10th of October was Taiwan Independence day, the last day of the promotion, we were back at the  first two stores that we had played in and our adoring fans turned out in droves to see us for the last time and I can still hear the voices of Taipei ringing in my ears "goodbye Father and Son of Scotland" I would like to thank all the staff of the Far Eastern Department Store for the kindness that they bestowed upon us especially Mr. Chang and Mr. Woo, and also a big thank you to Mr. Brian Court and Miss Evada Lam of M.D.O. for taking us on this trip.

So it was farewell Taiwan and hello Hong Kong. Arriving safely in Hong Kong after a rather shaky China airlines flight we said bye bye to Miss England, we were now on our own for one week and with only one days work to do, so we took advantage of the numerous hostelry's that was on offer to the paying public and we did our best to go round them all which we didn't manage, but we did our best and we got pished which is easy to do when you've had eight pints and then the barman tells you that it's happy hour, and you have another eight pints paid on with us being Scottish and looking for value for money ( like Jonesey) we couldn't leave them to go to waste.

The working day that we had started with me falling out of bed, hung over, missed breakfast by about two hours ( all the usual joys of band trips) so now it was time to get ready and report to the Hilton Hotel to find out what we were doing. On entering the hotel, some Scottish people on holiday out there invited us to join them and forced some fine whiskey down our throats which was just the job after a night on the tiles. Then it was off to work to play for some Americans who were traveling round the world on Concorde, they were having a sunset cruise aboard a Junk, we were to hop on behind them play for them and make the most of the complimentary bar before playing them back off the Junk again, then it was away for a meal with the Concorde crew. For this part of the trip, I must thank Jacky Green from British Airways for arranging the job, also I'd like to thank the Crew of Concorde  for all the good laughs we had throughout the day, but the next time , find a good restaurant with edible food please.

By Cammy Renwick.