Very shortly after, in early '75, I was posted to Laarbruch in Germany where I joined the remnants of the Station Pipe Band, which had been decimated by a number of postings.
For some reason unknown to me I was very nervous about letting anyone see what I was able to do, with very shaky fingers. I was told I would never make a piper, by the new Pipe Major. However I persevered.
It was while at this unit that I could have seriously dented my service career, by discussing technical details in a German pub. The topic of conversation was the famous Martin Baker Ejection Seat & how it had saved many lives. I was discussing how the sequence operated in the simulator & was pounced upon by an over-zealous young RAF policeman who thought he was on a good collar. Unfortunately for him I was talking to a Wing Commander who suggested the police officer should 'grow up' & recognise a 'threat to security' correctly.
The 'practice makes perfect' ethic on learning to play the pipes did start to work & I soon got to grips with the various movements associated with the basic notes, which were called Doublings and other Embellishments. However the new man in charge was not there too often as he had to come from a camp quite far away. He was also in the army & had other commitments. Consequently the newcomers were left to get on with it, getting help wherever possible from more experienced members.
A German learner seemed to be more interested in where I worked & what I did than what we were trying to do on the practice chanters. I became very suspicious of his motives & gave very ambiguous answers to any question.
I had a great time at Laarbruch, drove a terrific Opel Record car, had a lovely flat in the town of Weeze & toured the region extensively. It was at Larrbruch that we closed the Flight Simulator, dismantled it & returned with it to the UK.
Mind you, it's very strange how unexpected events can change the course of your life. The original intention in going to Germany was to take the simulator from there & install it at Akrotiri in Cyprus, replacing the old Lightening Flight Simulator.
As we prepared to go to Germany a war broke out between Greece & Turkey which ended in a divided Island. The roll of the Phantom aircraft was changed by the MoD & the planned 3 year tour in Cyprus fell through. Had it all gone to orginal plan I doubt I would have continued to learn to play the bagpipes. There was no band that I knew of out there.
Cyprus is a beautiful Island which was transformed by the war in '74. A massive task to replace pebble beaches with sand all along the Limassol/Larnica coastline & the building of hundreds of hotels brought a huge tourist trade to this part of the island for the first time. Previously everyone flocked to the north around Kyrenia & along the Pan Handle, which had beaches to die for.
I saw the transformation in the island when I went back there in '90, having previously been there in '71.
I returned to Wattisham in the UK in late '76, and eventually joined the RAF Honington Pipe Band in Suffolk. Here I discovered that I was making a lot of mistakes, & had to start again. That was very hard, trying to forget the errors & relearn to right way. However, as in Germany I was not deterred, & began to put things right. This time I had a good tutor, who was prepared to put in the time to help me get it right. The shakes had all gone.
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