Members of the band were joined by other pipers, drummers and friends from other bands around the UK. Nineteen intrepid people all told:

• Colin, John, Garry, Brian & Emma, Jay, Lewis - Exeter
• Mike & Gay, Darren & Jodie - Bideford
• Jon & Nicola - Cornwall Caledonian
• Tom & Shirley, Andy & Chenda - Kernow
• Scott - Plymouth
• Graham - Norwich (friend of Colin's from Bruggen days)

We were sponsored by Spirit of Adventure for one mini-bus, and they also enabled us to rent our second mini-bus at a reduced rate. They are a leading Dartmoor based Outward Bound centre for Personal and Team-Building Courses, and Adventure Trips both in the UK and abroad, and we are immensely grateful to them for their support.

We travelled from Plymouth to Santander on Brittany Ferries, and drove down to Madrid. We stayed in a hotel situated in the very heart of the city, right beside the Plaza Mayor. Meals were subsidised to about 50% of the cost, thanks to Spanish contacts and friends of Colin's.

No real plans were made over playing but we concentrated ourselves in and around the nearby streets: Calle Postes, Puerta del Sol, Called de Preciados, Calle de Santiago, Called del Arenal and Plaza de Oriente. We tried to play a few times inside the Plaza Mayor itself but we were creating far too much interest and noise, so were politely asked by the Municipal Police to move outside. They were in all other respects immensely supportive, and helped us with the traffic and other advice throughout our stay. A very different attitude to the "you can't do that here.." job's worth syndrome found in the UK.

The Spanish loved us. Crowds gathered around us wherever we went, and we even got a few (rather bad quality unfortunately) entries on YouTube from passers-by. On one occasion we had to let a dust-cart pass through, so we parted into two lines, and saluted as it passed, much to the amusement of the men inside and crowds about. Another time we had to let a police car through, so we parted again, still playing, and reformed the circle, still playing, once they were past. The crowds cheered heartily at this seemingly carefully rehearsed ability.

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