To play a full schedule for two weeks, as Hawick Pipe Band did in Shanghai recently,  requires rigorous organisation;  and on this score the Chinese authorities excelled themselves – efficiency going hand in hand with helpfulness every day of the week.   Every morning we were given a programme for the day’s events, and I remember no hitches, snags or misunderstandings at all.   They managed to run a tight ship without making the band feel in any way restricted,   and for that reason alone – let alone the friendship they showed us,  and their sheer professionalism – a special mention is due to Mr Cheng Yuan and Mr Zhou Yong Qiang.

We were of course tourists as well as musicians, and as such the reaction of the band to Shanghai was one of amazement and surprise;   we had no idea that the city was as modern as it turned out to be,  and such is its importance to - and popularity with - the international business world that a second airport is being built to alleviate the pressure on the existing one.   The Jin Mao tower, the third tallest building in the world,  was one unmissable landmark - and with the Cloud Nine bar on the 87th floor,  it just had to be worth a visit!   For people interested in other social activities there was ten pin bowling, discos,  and a huge variety of pubs,  notably O’Malley’s Irish pub where we were well received on Saturday night after a little stint we did.   Then there is the fantastic Chinese cuisine;  I do not think we were ever in a bad restaurant  (do they exist?)  and if I was to start giving you the menu I would still be here tomorrow.

Predictably perhaps,  the reaction of the general public was at first a muted one.  But it seemed that once they began to understand who we were,  we were rewarded with ample applause.   We noticed too that we could start to play in an empty courtyard and it would fill up very quickly,   so the impression was that after the initial strangeness the band was very well received - socially as well as musically;   for every person we met,  whether ordinary man / woman in the street or board of directors in the Friendship stores,  was friendly and courteous, and very open.

It only remains to mention that the hotel accommodation  - the Regal International East Asia – was second to none.   I and the other members of the band would like to thank MDO and in particular Ms Evada Lam for giving us such luxurious facilities,  and all in all for arranging a memorable week.