Pipers at the gates, jousting in the garden, a children’s orchestra in the Great Hall and the launch of our very own movie. We’re busy at the moment. Last week we had an excellent free event called Medieval Mayhem. Costumed performers taught kids some basic tournament skills in the Queen Anne Gardens. The youngsters were armed with lances (bendy and blunt), donned helmets (cardboard) and charged across the lawns (not a horse in sight) at special targets. It’s amazing what a few props and a young imagination add up to. They came away with their eyes shining. For five minutes they really had been medieval knights – for fans of 70s British children’s TV, it reminded me of Mr Benn and the magic shop where he tried on outfits and was transported to another time or place for an adventure.
Visitors also love our young pipers, Joss Bryson (13) and Stewart Reid (18), of the Balaklava Pipe and Drum Band, who are providing top entertainment with popular favourites like Scotland the Brave. They not only sound good, they look splendid, kitted out in full Highland uniforms. They’re around each Monday, Wednesday and Friday until the end of August if you want to catch them.
If you were watching the BBC Scotland evening news last week you might have seen The Big Noise making their Stirling Castle debut in the Great Hall. It was quite something – schoolchildren from the recently regenerated Raploch estate, below the castle walls, who have formed a classical orchestra. The project is the first of its kind in the UK and was inspired by Venezuela’s El Sistema movement. It’s such a hit that learning an instrument is now just about the norm in Raploch with eight out of 10 eligible children taking part.
We have also launched our own four-and-a-half-minute internet mini movie. The star of the show is the royal palace, and it’s an excellent chance to get a glimpse of what’s going on in our £12 million project to return it to its Renaissance magnificence. To take a look just click on
www.youtube.com/historicscotlandtv.
Gillian MacDonald, Executive Manager