Local piper honours Elizabeth

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This article was published 18/09/2022 (828 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Park-goers within earshot stopped and turned as bagpipe music rang out in the English Gardens at Assiniboine Park Sunday morning.

The bagpiper, 16-year-old Colin Tighe of the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band, was there to honour the death of Queen Elizabeth, The short memorial ceremony was organized by the St. Andrew’s Society of Winnipeg, a group that works to preserve Scottish culture and tradition in Manitoba.

“(The Queen) loved Scotland and she loved the bagpipes,” said society president Evelyn Mitchell in a release. “We feel this is a very fitting way to say goodbye to the Queen who had such great affection for Canada and was loved and admired by tens of millions around the world.”

For Tighe, it was a chance to put skills he’s been working on for five years on display, while paying his respects to the long-reigning British monarch.

“It’s pretty sad,” he said of the Queen’s death, adding that he is interested in seeing “what comes next” for the monarchy.

The park was packed with Winnipeggers out enjoying the sunny Sunday and taking in the gardens where flowers were still in full bloom.

Many followed the sound of Tighe’s bagpipes to a statue of Queen Victoria in the gardens, where he played Amazing Grace before a moment of silence. About two dozen people stood for the solemn pause, including two children rollerblading by, who stopped and took off their helmets.

Peter Heavysege, the second vice-president of the St. Andrew’s Society, said the ceremony was the last chance the society had to mark the Queen’s passing before her funeral today. The society organizes other events throughout the year, described as “pop up” performances, he said.

Tighe said he was nervous — it was his first time playing in public — but he was proud to play a role in ceremony marking an important moment in history.

katrina.clarke@freepress.mb.ca