Traveler’s Journal
About the presentation:
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 26
Where: Sequim High School library, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
Cost: Suggested $5 donation (adults); 18 and younger, free
Presenter: Willie Weir
Presentation: “You’ll be staying another night”
by Willie Weir
For the Sequim Gazette
Excerpted with permission from his book, “Travels with Willie: Adventure Cyclist”
I pedaled my touring bicycle into the town of Middlemarch on the South Island of New Zealand in a drizzle, just as a group of men in Scottish garb were filing out of a meeting hall.
“You got a place to stay?” a man holding a bagpipe asked. “My name’s Neal, and if you cycle down that road, I’ll meet you out by our driveway.”
About 20 minutes later, there was Neal, out by his mailbox as he had promised. He greeted me with, “You’ll be staying another night. Tomorrow’s New Year’s Eve. That’s no night to be alone in a tent, now is it?”
Neal introduced me to his wife, Wendy, and his son, Toby, age 9, and his daughter, Megan, age 6, before showing me to my cozy guest room in their beautiful 1917 farmhouse.
I had a feeling I’d remember this particular holiday. Boy, was I right. How many people can say they spent New Year’s Eve touring around in a bus with a New Zealand highland pipe band. And not your average pipe band — this one was comprised of four bagpipes, two drums and two saxophones.
But in a small town, you take what you can get.
The guys in the band were dressed to the hilt — or should I say kilt? They all looked authentic, except for those two saxophone players. I couldn’t help calling them the “McBlues Brothers.” The small school bus was driven by Wendy, chosen for her ability to drive a multi-passenger vehicle, and willingness to drink soda without the scotch.
The first stop was someone’s garage. The handful of observers outnumbered the band, which assembled in a semi-circle around a table filled with munchies, beer and scotch. They blew out three or four numbers and then it was time to drink and chat.
The next stop was the golf course, where only the proprietor was present.
“One more than last year,” someone commented.
The band played in the small ceramic tiled bar/clubhouse. A serious problem with bagpipes is their lack of volume control, so it was like being at a Celtic heavy metal concert. The audience of one took the time to take his fingers out of his ears and gave a round of hearty applause before handing round pitchers of beer and, yes, a bottle of scotch.
After a few more stops we ended up at the pub, where everybody, just about everyone we’d played for earlier, was drinking whiskey and beer. The band marched into the pub and squeezed their way into the back. It seemed to me they could have saved a lot of time and gas by simply playing at the pub all night.
At 11:59 p.m., I asked the woman in front of me what they did at midnight. She put down her beer and free sausage (provided by the pub in gratitude for a month’s worth of business in one night) and said, “Not much.”
She was right. The band was halfway through “Auld Lang Syne” for the second time before anyone noticed we were in a new year.
At 2:30 a.m., as the bus rocked and bumped its way down farm roads, Neal leaned over and said, “You’ll be staying another night.”
“I’ve got no plans,” I replied.
About the presenter
Willie Weir has played the fools of Shakespeare and the nerds of musical comedy. He has worked as an actor, columnist, commentator, photographer, truck driver, bike courier, public speaker and tour guide.
He’s broken a couple of world records and way too many dishes. He has lived in Seattle for 25 years and lived on a billboard for 32 days. He’s received a few awards, but has thrown away all of his trophies. He’s written two books (“Spokesongs” and “Travels with Willie”) and read a few more than that.
He shares a birthday with President Obama but rarely shares dessert.
About the presentations
Traveler’s Journal is a presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition. All of the money raised is used to buy project supplies and food for volunteers working on Olympic Discovery Trail projects.
Shows start at 7 p.m. in the Sequim High School library at 601 N. Sequim Ave. Please note the change of venue: All shows are in the library, not the cafeteria as in previous years.
Suggested donation is $5 for adults. Youths 18 and under are welcome for free. One selected photo enlargement will be given away each week as a door prize. Creative Framing is donating the matting and shrink wrapping of the door prize.
Call Dave Shreffler at 683-1734 for more information.
