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Piping High in China
On 24th April 2005 Alister McNab and Steven Dewar made the trip out to Beijing to perform at the launch of Matisse Whisky, an exciting brand, blended in Scotland by Inverhouse Distillers.

The launch was very successful, with Beijing's Crowne Plaza packed full of journalists, media and celebrities. Our performance opened the show in dramatic fashion. Alister started the ball rolling with a drum solo and then the pipes emerged from behind the stage to join the drums on the cat walk. We performed a few traditional Scottish melodies, before being joined on stage by a Chinese Flute player for a chorus of local music. The integration between the cultures went down a storm.

After the performance we faced the media for a question and answer session on all things Scottish and Whisky. We were delighted in their enthusiasm and intrigue they showed towards our culture.

After the official launch party we were lucky enough to share a fine glass of the sponsors finest with Mr Matisse himself in the hotel bar.

Alister McNab & Steven Dewar at launch of Matisse Whisky

Half way up the wall, feeling, emmmm, shattered

 No one goes to China without taking a trek up the wall. So armed with pipes and kilts we went. We booked the all inclusive package through our Hotel, which included the wall, a Jade factory, lunch, a traditional medical centre (We'll keep that story to ourselves), and Ming Tomb. Great value for money. The hotel advised to wear warm clothing for going up the wall, yeah right. We were in shirt sleeves and even that was too much. If you look closely at the picture to the left I'm sure you can make out the beads of sweat. The climb up the wall was a fantastic experience, albeit exhausting. The tourists loved us in the kilts, photo after photo, we felt like a right pair of celebs. I stopped off at various points to play a few tunes. Just what you need after a hard climb. It was a thrilling experience to play on the wall. An enormous sense of pride to be a Scottish and sharing our culture.

 
I'd like to make a special mention to our guide for the day, the lovely Lotta. (See pic below). A fantastic 'wee wumen'. I have never heard someone talk so much, what an abundance of information. She couldn't be more helpful. Unfortunately I dropped some Chinese warrior figures I bought when we got back to the hotel, she immediately offered to bring me some more the next day. As well as Lotta, we had a fantastic group of people on our tour, a crew from Qatar Airlines, we got to know them well over lunch and some Sachhi. (Lovely stuff.).

As well as the organised tour, we also took time out to visit Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden Palace, the taxi drive there, gave a great understanding of the vast size of Beijing, unbelievable. Again the locals were first class, so keen to talk to us and work on their English. The square itself didn't do much for us, but it was a great experience to go there and see it for yourself. Unfortunately it is now infamous for the massacre in 1989.

Having taken in a  fair amount of Chinese history and culture, it was important to see what the bars were like, again a good experience. With the sheer vastness of Beijing it is actually quite hard to find a bar. We discovered they are all grouped together in small pockets, often referred to as Beer or Market Street. When you find them, you find pub after pub after pub. Again we took the pipes and drums and played in a few of the bars. This went down a treat with the locals. The Chinese are into their Karaoke in a massive way. Alister thought he would sing them Flower of Scotland, absolutely hilarious. I wished I had a video camera.  He is normally a good singer, but unfortunately the local keyboard player didn't quite master the chords.

Overall, a fantastic experience. Hopefully the locals are now enjoying a fine glass of Matisse.

Left - Right: Alister/Us with Lotta/Steven (Do you like the hats?)

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