Saturday, I finished first for the first time in this competition season, at the Colonial Highland Gathering in Fair Hill, MD. The 1st place finish (field of 15?) was for the 2/4 March contest, the only contest held for Grade IV Sr. The judge thought my tuning was good and my blowing steady, and my execution over all very good. My expression was a little lacking, and I have to agree with him. They were picking pipers out of order, and though I was warmed up, I was waiting by the steward to find out how much more time I had, I wasn't quite ready to go yet! As a result, my first part was a tad rough.

But I'm happy with the result, and after a quick jaunt to Eastern Market for groceries, I (still in my piping outfit) headed to a fiddle jam at Potomac Overlook park. It was a lot of fun, but it was a general fiddle jam, and they played a lot of Irish and old-timey repertoire I don't yet know. I think this is going to be a regular event, though.

Today I played my first gig with City of Alexandria Pipes and Drums. I made a few errors on stage, mainly regarding spacing myself relative to my bandmates. But that's a beginner's thing. It was quite the challenge to play in full dress, especially striking in and cutting off, and between not being able to see the drum major's baton over the feather bonnets, and not being able to hear his commands over the noise, it made for a challenging day. But I did pretty well all in all, a good first time out.

I am so extremely tired now. It's gonna be hard to get any fiddle practice in...