2011 Edinburgh Military Tattoo

There's a brand new stand

on the Castle esplanade,

but like Edinburgh's famous trams,

they haven't quite finished the job in time.

CHEERING

A Typhoon fighter from 6 Squadron,

based at RAF Leuchars,

and the fanfare, Salute to the Stands,

mark the opening of the 2011 Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Now, the massed pipes and drums cross the drawbridge

to the tune "The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo",

written by Captain Steven Small,

Director of Army Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming.

This year, the bands featured are: The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards,

The First Battalion Scots Guards, The Royal Scots Borderers,

The Royal Highland Fusiliers,

First and Second Battalions of The Royal Regiment of Scotland,

First Battalion of The Royal Irish Regiment,

First and Second Battalions, The Royal Ghurkha Rifles,

and The Royal Air Force.

From overseas, The Royal Caledonian Society

of South Australia,

The Royal Army of Oman

and The Crossed Swords,

from Germany.

The March of the Cameron Men gives way

to the slow march, Rhu Vaternish...

In the Garb of Old Gaul...

The Gallowa' Hills...

Dark Lowers the Night...

..and to end this set, Kelsey's Wee Reel...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

HE ISSUES BAND COMMANDS

Drum Major, Brian Alexander,

the senior drum major in the British Army,

in his last Tattoo, gives the command

for the massed pipes and drums to continue with a march,

written to mark this,

the 90th anniversary of The Royal British Legion Scotland.

And as they form a Celtic cross,

they play the strathspey, Monymusk...

Fingal's Weeping...

The drum salute, Stoke The Boiler,

leads us aboard The Steam Train To Mallaig...

The jig, Asturia...

..and the Jig O' Slurs...

The Gypsy Dance...

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The massed pipes and drums.

APPLAUSE

And now for something completely different.

The Band of the Royal Netherlands Army Mounted Regiments

uphold the traditions

of the Nederlandsch Wielrijders Muziekcorps,

the Dutch music corps of the Bicycle Regiment,

as they take to the esplanade in replica First World War uniforms,

bikes and instruments.

AIR HISSING

Oh, dear, oh, dear, oh, dear.

And, of course, they are subject to the usual

occupational hazards associated with the bicycle.

In a cycle-friendly country like theirs,

where there are more bikes than people,

they've had a bicycle regiment since 1894.

The first music bicycle corps was founded in 1917.

Help is at hand, from the pump major.

And this is The Bicycle Song.

SOLDIERS SING IN DUTCH

'Sometimes we bike one hour or ten,

'On silken tyres so slick,

'Of all the mounted military men,

'We are the ones who are quick.'

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OFFICER ISSUES COMMANDS

Whoops! That close-up was maybe a wee bit too close.

The Musickorps last appeared in Edinburgh in 2002

and are back in formation with that perennial favourite,

Tulips From Amsterdam...

And now they're on the high road to Loch Lomond...

It may be safer on the low road.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

It's a dangerous game, this musical cycling.

Emergency treatment required.

AMBULANCE SIREN WAILS

LAUGHTER

Well, they'll soon have that one back on the road again.

AMBULANCE SIREN WAILS

And this one?

He's hitching a lift on a bicycle that's suddenly built for two.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The Banda Dos Fuzileiros Navais Brazil,

The Brazilian Marine Corps Martial Band,

whose motto is 'Adsumus' - 'Here we are' -

and, indeed, here they are!

The first commander of the Brazilian Navy in the 19th century was a Scot.

Their Highland bagpipes, however, were only presented in 1951,

by a former British ship, which was integrated into the Brazilian Navy.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

As they perform the familiar tune Aquarela, or Watercolour Of Brazil,

they break ranks for a little samba.

Coming from Rio De Janeiro, they're probably not used to dancing

in the tropical heat of a Scottish summer(!)

Still, it's one way to keep warm.

The Brazilian Marine Corps Martial Band spell it out.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The Royal Navy is the lead service at this year's Tattoo.

The oldest ship in Scotland, HMS Unicorn, is berthed in Dundee,

but her figurehead takes pride of place, here on the esplanade.

When she was launched in 1824,

Unicorn, a sailing frigate, was fast and heavily armed,

with 46 guns.

EXPLOSION

A Royal Navy 18-pounder gun was powerful,

able to punch a hole in three feet of solid oak.

APPLAUSE

The famous Royal Navy

field gun display first took place at the Royal Tournament

in 1907

and has been a popular naval spectacle ever since,

encouraging inter-ship and inter-port competition.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Crews from HMS Neptune, based in Faslane,

and HMS Raleigh, based in Plymouth, will now compete in this display.

Dating back to the Boer War in 1900, the Gun Run, as it became known,

commemorates the actions of a Naval Brigade, who dragged

specially-adapted guns overland, to relieve the Siege of Ladysmith.

This version of the display has been adapted to suit this location.

GUN BLAST

The teams race down the esplanade with the gun and the limber,

carrying the ammunition.

They exchange limber wheels with gun wheels...

..and fire three rounds each.

CANNON FIRE

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

They then head back up the esplanade and do the same thing halfway up...

before the run home.

The guns weigh about 1,200 lbs and each of the wheels 100 lbs.

I just hope these guys have had their porridge!

GUNFIRE

EXPLOSION

It's a home win this time for HMS Neptune

but clearly it's the taking apart not to mention the putting together

that counts in this race!

And they leave to the official march of the Royal Navy -

"Heart Of Oak" nothing more appropriate.

It's 25 years since a German military band

performed at the Tattoo.

This particular band, the Gebirgsmusikkorps,

are based in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Bavarian Alps.

They are very proud of their Bavarian traditions

so much so they've transformed Edinburgh Castle

into an Alpine chalet.

That cap badge is an edelweiss.

Military music gives way to the more traditional image

of German folk music.

The spoons being played on the thigh of band leader

Major Christian Prchal.

CHEERING

Lederhosen, leather breeches, are still worn in Bavaria

and are practical garments, more durable than cloth trousers.

Ideal for everyday tasks such as dancing and thigh slapping.

Or chopping wood as demonstrated in this Tyrolean wood-chopping display.

Strictly Come Chopping, perhaps?

More work as the band play the Anvil Polka.

Accompanying the heavy metal music, some men with whips.

The whip, or Goselschnaltzer, was traditionally used

to generate loud sounds to waken the good spirits.

Apparently the whip is the only musical instrument that actually

breaks the sound barrier and was the first human invention to do so.

CHEERING

The German Mountain Army Band.

Members of the Tattoo Highland Dancers and Total Dance Company

from West Ulster take to the esplanade,

for this display choreographed

by former world champion dancer and Tattoo stalwart Billy Forsyth.

The theme, celebrates Scotland's rich fishing history

and its traditions.

The Tattoo Highland Dancers and Total Dance Group from Ulster.

Having ditched those pesky bikes

and donned their historic cavalry uniforms we welcome back

the Band of the Royal Netherlands Army Mounted Regiments.

This musical selection takes us to the cinema,

the castle walls becoming a movie screen,

providing an atmospheric backdrop to some familiar and rousing tunes.

The Theme from Harry Potter.

Mussorgsky's "Night On The Bare Mountain"

as featured in Disney's 1940 film Fantasia.

Over The Rainbow giving way to music from The Wiz by Quincy Jones.

The band of the Royal Netherlands Army Mounted Regiments.

The Royal Navy has always had an important role to play,

policing the seas around the world particularly now

as international piracy is on the increase.

In this naval display, Edinburgh Castle becomes a motor vessel

in distress as pirates board and take control of her.

ALARM WAILS 'Mayday, mayday.

'This is MV Edinburgh Castle. We're under a pirate attack

'in position 3 degrees, 34 North, 59 degrees, 32 East. Help. Over.'

Modern-day pirates are very active in certain parts of the world

disrupting trade routes, holding ships and crews to ransom.

'Edinburgh Castle, this is British warship Montrose.

'We're proceeding at best speed to your assistance. Over.'

The crew from HMS Montrose, a Clyde-built frigate,

hearing the mayday call, come to the rescue

and the boarding team re-enact their operations.

'Montrose, this is the boarding officer.

'Vessel secured. Releasing the crew. Over.'

They quickly, safely and calmly hand control of the ship

back to a very relieved crew.

HMS Montrose was deployed in the Indian Ocean in 2010,

disrupting piracy in the Horn of Africa and the Somali Basin.

APPLAUSE

The Massed Bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines

from Portsmouth, Rosyth

and the Commando Training Centre, Devon and the march By Sea, By Land,

which celebrates the Royal Marines' motto - Per Mare, Per Terram.

The drum corps march at the front of the band

as they have done since 1903.

Din Eidyn is Pictish for Edinburgh and is the title for this

remarkable show of co-ordination, control and concentration.

CHEERING

CHEERING

Great stuff and not just for show.

Historically drums were used to communicate orders during battle.

That display was written by corporal buglers Graham Stephenson

and Stewart Warmington from the Corps of Drums, Royal Marine Band Scotland.

Now a Seafarers set.

Haul Away Joe.

The popular tune Bobby Shafto.

Now senior drum major James "Wiggie" Whitwham hands control

of the bands to the Tattoo's Principal Director of Music,

Lieutenant Colonel Nick Grace, as they finish this Seafarers set

with the famous American folk song Shenandoah.

APPLAUSE

The Massed Bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines take us back

to the cinema now, with this suite from the 2010 fantasy film

How To Train Your Dragon.

The music was written by John Powell,

and this arrangement is by Mac McDermott.

The film score was nominated for an Oscar, and appropriately,

the castle walls once again provide a cinematic backdrop.

The Royal Marines are joined by

the band of the Royal Netherlands Army Mounted Regiments,

the German Mountain Army Band

and The Brazilian Marine Corps Martial Band.

Now The Band of The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

DRAGON ROARS

The dragon's roar greets the return of the massed pipes and drums.

The Tattoo Highland Dancers

and Total Dance Group from Ulster join in.

APPLAUSE

APPLAUSE

And the remainder of the cast begin to assemble.

The Bagpipes from the Brazilian Marine Corps Martial Band.

APPLAUSE

The crew from HMS Montrose - The Royal Naval Piracy Patrol.

APPLAUSE

The Royal Navy Field Gun Display teams from HMS Neptune and HMS Raleigh.

APPLAUSE

The Dutch Bicycle Corps.

Pony Major William Perrie leads Lance Corporal Cruachan III -

mascot of the Royal Regiment of Scotland.

The guard of honour - the Royal Highland Fusiliers -

the second battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland,

recently returned from active duty in Afghanistan's Helmand Province.

Garrison Sergeant Major Graham White

follows the guard down the esplanade.

APPLAUSE

Now, that universal song of longing for old friends

and old times by Rabbie Burns.

One of the Tattoo crew, Cameron Goodall, leads the company.

# Should auld acquaintance be forgot

# And never brought tae mind

# Should auld acquaintance be forgot

# And auld lang syne

# For auld lang syne, my dear

# For auld lang syne

# We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet

# For auld lang syne. #

AUDIENCE CLAPS ALONG

RUMBLE OF FIREWORKS

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The Naval Hymn, Sunset, and the lowering of the colours.

"Oh hear us when we cry to thee for those in peril on the sea."

High above the esplanade on the castle ramparts,

the Lone Piper, Pipe Major Gordon Rowan, the senior pipe major

in the British Army, with the air A Parting Glass.

APPLAUSE

"Land of my high endeavour,

"Land of the shining river,

"Land of my heart forever,

"Scotland the brave."

Time now to bid farewell to this talented international cast.

It's been another memorable Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo,

supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland,

the first produced by Brigadier David Allfrey MBE.

He's only the 8th producer since the Tattoo was first staged

in 1950 in front of a total of 6,000 spectators.

It's grown a lot since then.

This year, over 226,000 will have seen the show from the new stands.

The massed bands of Her Majesty's Royal Marines

perform their Regimental Quick March - A Life on the Ocean Wave.

AUDIENCE CLAPS ALONG

The Black Bear, and the massed pipes and drums

head for the Royal Mile and back to barracks.

I hope you've enjoyed this unique and quite wonderful event.

I'm Bill Paterson.

Thanks for watching, wherever you are in the world,

and until the next time, good night from Edinburgh

and joy be with you all.