Trip a chance to learn about family heritage

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Published on Thursday, September 24, 2015

Submitted photo. Leyton Bennet playing in front of the church at St. Vigeans.

By Kira Paterson

The Neepawa Banner

This summer, Dave and Myra Bennet went to Scotland with their family to see their grandson, Leyton, compete in a bagpipe band competition.

They left on Aug. 8 and returned on Sept. 3.

Dave’s father was from Scotland, so they decided that taking the whole family would be a good opportunity to “instil some heritage into the grandchildren.” They went with their son, Craig, and his family from Portage la Prairie, which included Leyton, and their other son, Cam, and his family from Dauphin. 

Leyton’s bagpipe band, the Lord Selkirk Robert Fraser Memorial Pipe Band, played in five different locations in Scotland. The main event for the band was the World Pipe Band Championships in Glasgow on Aug. 15. They competed with 16 other bands in the junior age group and placed in the middle of the pack, tied for seventh. There was a total of 230 bands from all over the world competing. 

They also played at Stirling Castle in Queen Anne’s Gardens, performed for Lord Selkirk at Lennoxlove, performed in a street festival in Glasgow and played at the Arbroath Abbey ruins with the Arbroath Legion Band.

After the band had played in Arbroath, the family visited a small town nearby called St. Vigeans, where Dave’s father was born. At St. Vigeans, they visited the church, the cemetery and the house that is standing on the property where Dave’s father grew up.

Dave has three cousins who live in Scotland near Arbroath, so they were able to meet up with them there. The cousins were also able to see Leyton perform at Arbroath Abbey.

During the trip, the family also got to see Doune Castle and a number of tourist attractions in Edinburgh. 

On Aug. 24, Dave and Myra’s children and grandchildren came back home because school was starting soon. Dave and Myra stayed behind to visit where they used to live and work in England. They met up with some old friends there as well. 

“[The trip was] a chance to do some family heritage stuff,” said Dave. “It was a neat family activity.”