Middlesex County Volunteers

2007 Season

It's MCV's 25th anniversary year, with a month in Scotland for the Edinburgh Military Tattoo as the first fife and drum corps ever to perform there.

	7 April 2007 - Bedford Liberty Pole Capping Satellite Map MCV opened the season in Scituate for St. Patrick's Day, but I passed on that again this year and started in Bedford for the debut of a newer, straighter Liberty Pole.
	7 April 2007 - Concord: Meriam's Corner Satellite Map Another trip to Meriam's corner.
	7 April 2007 - Lincoln: Paul Revere Capture Site Satellite Map And then down the road to the Paul Revere Capture Site.
	15 April 2007 - Lincoln Fife and Drum Salute Satellite Map Patriot's Day was rained and blown out in Lexington and Concord due to a severe storm that Monday morning, but Sunday's events went on in Lincoln. The performances were moved indoors due to the rain.
	5 May 2007 - William Diamond Muster Satellite Map The muster's new location was a bit of a problem, with a track meet on one side and a fire alarm on the other, but everything worked out in the end. Tip: When a fire truck crosses the parade route, wait a minute to see if there are any more behind it.
	28 May 2007 - Andover Memorial Day Parade
	2 June 2007 - Arlington 200th Anniversary Parade
	22 June 2007 - Massachusetts State House Satellite Map
	30 June 2007 - Harborfest Roving Performances
	2 July 2007 - Harborfest Concert Satellite Map
	3 2007 - Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular Rehearsal Satellite Map
	4 July 2007 - Boston 4th of July Parade
	4 July 2007 - Wakefield 4th of July Parade
	4 July 2007 - Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular Satellite Map
	29 July 2007 - Edinburgh Day 1: Off the plane and straight into rehearsal Newark is evil. Let's just put that out there. Now, Logan isn't the best airport around, but trying to get from there to Newark is a Sisyphean challenge. See for yourself in 36 Hours to Edinburgh. The fun didn't stop there though; after a 10 minute stop at the flats, we were back on the bus headed out for the first day of rehearsals (and our ID photos, just to have something to look back on).
	30 July 2007 - Edinburgh Day 2: Playing for the Lord Provost, rifle training After finally experiencing a bed for the first time since the previous Thursday night, we got a very full day of events, starting with a run through of the performance, relocating to a special performance for the Lord Provost of Edinburgh, and then reconvening at the barracks for rifle training. They sure keep us busy...
	31 July 2007 - Edinburgh Day 3: First day at the castle Finally, on day 3, we got to the castle, with just enough time to run through the show a few times. Then it was back to the barracks for dance lessons, rifle training, and more rehearsals. Yes, the dancing and rifles do fit in there, after a bit of modification to the original plan (and some extreme flexibility from MCV). And then we went back to the castle for more rehearsals.
	1 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 4: Four shows and Princess Anne in the rain The day started off at the barracks for two full runs of the show in the morning, with a rain-soaked visit from Princess Anne. After the rain cleared, there were two more shows in the evening, thoroughly exhausting everyone involved.
	2 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 5: Dress Rehearsals Only two shows today... Things must be pretty bad when you actually look forward to having two shows. The first was an early show for the military group that has been supporting the tattoo. The second was a night show with a full audience, both people in the stands and the media on the field. Luckily, the motorcycle group was elsewhere... The field was a total zoo, but no photographers were maimed during the execution of the show (though some were practically asking for it).
	3 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 6: Opening night After five solid days of rehearsals, any pressure from opening night was more than offset by the thought of only having one show to do. The wind however was a bit harder to deal with.
	4 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 7: Double feature Wind, rain, and fireworks...
	5 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 8: Cavalcade There's not just the tattoo this month in Edinburgh, the fringe festival is also in town to do, um, fringy things I guess. Everything kicked off with a huge parade (82 units in total) in the pouring rain.
	6 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 9:
	9 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 12: Back in action Beware of hamburgers from the falafel stand. After losing two days to a very nasty but quick bug of some kind, I ventured back to the castle for another performance, this time working from the lower left position with the 135mm f/2.0 lens.
	10 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 13:
	11 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 14: Farewell to the first half The second half group arrived with minimal difficulty, allowing us to get a group photo with all but one person in attendance. The first half people put in their final two performances and disappeared into the mist.
	12 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 15: Storming the distillery Dewar's seems to be intimately tied to EMT; not only is their merchandise in the shops, logo on the field, and name in a song ("Dewar's Spirit of the Tattoo," complete with double meaning), but they also got a mini tattoo at their Aberfeldy distillery. The performance concluded as the rain began, driving everyone under cover of the gift shop, which was loaded with an endless supply of free samples.
	13 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 16: Back to the drawing board With 14 performers swapping in for the second half, things needed a bit of work to get in shape for the first show of the week. And filming for the DVD and television broadcast begins on the next night. No pressure...
	14 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 17: And then came the rain The rain may add some distinctive Scottishness to the show, but it also caused many uncharachteristic mistakes, including a dropped mace for the Russians and a missed march off cue for the Trinidad and Tobago drum major. The rain made the footage largely unusable anyway, much to everyone's relief.
	15 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 18: A good day for filming The rain started briefly before the performance, but it held off for the rest of the night. The performance itself was back on track as well, hopefully giving the BBC some good material to work with.
	16 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 19: Mini tattoo, storming the carousel It was time for the final mini tattoo, after which a reenactment of the 1994 MCV carousel ride was staged. Then another evening performance, the last chance to get it right for the BBC recording.
	17 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 20: Out with the old... It was the last performance for our first of two drum majors, who will be greatly missed by all the Taiwanese girls. The incoming drum major was in attendance and promised to take charge and have everyone "shaking in their boots," apparently implying that his first act as drum major would be to change the uniform to include boots. It is not known whether short skirts would also be added to the uniform, but that could help to get some pictures of MCV in the local papers...
	18 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 21: ...and in with the rain With two shows on Saturday, someone ordered a double helping of Scottish rain. Luckily, we had the next day off to dry out. Our only free day for the entire month. You'd think someone was doing this on purpose...
	20 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 23: Almost dry The uniforms had a day off to dry out, but even that wasn't quite enough. Everything survived though and made it through the final Monday performance.
	21 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 24: Party at the stables The rain gave the ground a nice reflective coating before the show and held off for the rest of the night. Following the performance, we headed over to the barracks for a party at the Blues and Royals stables, featuring a performance by the Trinidad and Tobago band.
	22 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 25:
	24 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 27:
	25 August 2007 - Edinburgh Day 28: The End Two final performances, then a night of packing and an early morning departure - and no time to think about the trip coming to an end. The last shows were a bit more unusual than the rest, including an appearance by our military escort in an MCV uniform for the shooting sequence.
	3 September 2007 - Marlborough Labor Day Parade After the somewhat chilly weather in Scotland, the intense heat was still not particularly pleasant. Making matters worse, the parade couldn't seem to keep moving for more than a few hundred feet at a time, leaving us standing out in the hot sun for extended periods of time. Welcome home...
	22 September 2007 - Townsend 275th Anniversary Parade More heat was there to greet us in Townsend. The parade went smoothly, despite a few low-hanging wires.
	29 September 2007 - Sudbury Colonial Faire & Muster Muster Web Site Satellite Map The warm weather held out for yet another week, giving us clear skies and lots of sun for Sudbury. This would mark the final performance of the EMT drill, slightly modified for the small field.
	17 November 2007 - Plymouth Thanksgiving Parade After a lot of rain and the threat of snow earlier in the week, the sun was out in Plymouth long enough to get through the parade.
	18 November 2007 - Haverhill Santa Parade The weather was somewhat warm (44 degrees according to one sign) and the leaves were still on the trees, but candy once more filled the road. Adding to the fun, the big hill had several patches of slippery fake snow. Haverhill continues to lead the way in parade hazard innovations.
	24 November 2007 - Malden Holiday Parade The cold weather finally hit in time for Malden, with an early morning start to get everyone nice and frozen.