Maybole Pipe band has been travelling to the Rosenmontag Festival in Germany now for twelve years and still band members are amazed by the reception they receive.

Band stalwart Bryce McCulloch was there again and he told us: “This year we were fortunate enough to play alongside a Pipe Band from Koblenz. This was a fantastic experience for both bands, we don't know who was the more apprehensive - what standard were they expecting or what standard were they?”

It turned out that the band had a great time and the playing was made all the easier by dividing the two and a half hour parade into sections where the two bands would either play together or take it in turns to play some of their own sets of tunes.

The weather in Germany was extremely cold and Bryce added, “We had to do our best to keep warm whilst dressing in the true Scottish manner - a difficult and perhaps embarrassing situation could have arisen!

Wearing gloves and scarves, we made our way to the different venues to meet one hour before the start of the parades. We walked to most them, one by crossing the River Rhine and even one by public transport, this raised a few eyebrows and a few gasps as the big drum rolled to the front of the bus when we slowed down.”

This year was special for Ian Walker, Adam Hastings and Kenneth Hutchison as it was their first year. Bryce said, “They fitted in very well with the hosts and performed exceptionally well under very difficult and tiring conditions. In fact, everyone did and we all returned richer for the kindness, friendship and the total experiences we had on the trip. We are already looking forward to next year.”