Friday 26 / April / 2024
As cool and snazzy as the digital world we live in is, there is nothing quite like the pomp and ceremony of the old. Sure, some might think that old parades may be showy, the props ostentatious, and the entire spectacle too expensive to throw in the first place, but parades have never been about what is just on the surface. There is a lot of history to the pageantry and pomp that reminds us of yesteryear.
Every banner flapping in the breeze, every pennant being happily waved by the participants and by those who watch such parades, and every symbol, badge and emblem, each of these has a deep meaning that goes back eons, and reminds all of us of who we are and what we represent. Parades are a source of great pride and joy to all of us, or should be anyway.
The Sultanate of Oman’s Royal Cavalry brought great pride to the nation when they represented the country at the recently held Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo, one of the world’s oldest military music festivals. Although Oman had been previously represented by other regiments of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos’ Armed Forces, this was the first time the Royal Cavalry had been invited.
Seeing the Royal Cavalry fly the flag for Oman was special for a number of reasons: His Majesty’s Royal Cavalry represents perhaps the only mounted pipes and drums band across the world, and the representation of yet another branch of the Sultanate’s Armed Forces only strengthened the relationship between Oman and the United Kingdom (UK).
It is this cross-connection beyond borders, which allows people to gain perspective into their fellow human beings from across the world that is central to the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo’s formation. T weekly spoke to Brigadier David Allfrey, chief executive and producer of the Military Tattoo.
“The breaking of barriers and bringing people together are central to the Tattoo’s work, said Brigadier Allfrey. “We have, so far, had people from 55 different countries, and it’s very easy to see that the Tattoo brings everyone together. Everyone has something special about their own country, but we all want the same things. We want our children to do well at school, we want them to grow into fine adults, we want them to look after us when we are old, we want to do good work, we want to be rewarded for our work in terms of pay and recognition, we want a house that is cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and we want to grow old gracefully; so no matter where we are from and what language we speak, we all want these simple things.”
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“Part of the job of the Tattoo is bringing the richness and colour of the different people together, so as to promote different cultures,” he added. With Oman, for example, we’ve got wonderful instances of the sharing of Arabian food, Arabian culture, religion and attitudes, and in the same way, people from Oman could enjoy the attitudes of people from Scotland, their culture and their food, and exchange ideas on these things.”
“The lovely thing about the Tattoo is that we have between 11 and 15 countries coming here every year as representatives, so the possibility of a cross-cultural exchange is great. After the performances, it was amazing to see gestures of warmth and affection between all the countries; it was really something,” said Allfrey.
And what of exporting Scottish culture to Oman? Allfrey had much to say about that.
“I can’t guarantee that the Omanis got to taste haggis when they were in Scotland, but it is barley and lamb and spices, so I think it would go very well with the Omani palate,” he said. “Perhaps we will see a demand for haggis in the Omani market, where crates of haggis are shipped to Muscat.
It is a delicious dish and served with minced turnips and mashed potatoes, or neeps and tatties, as they are called here. It is a lovely dish and very filling. It’s got a good deal of good meat in it, as well as barley and cereals, and it tastes good.”
It was, in hindsight, easy for Allfrey to know what the Omanis would love, given that he has very fond memories of his visits to the Sultanate.
“I have visited all the Gulf countries now for a short time,” he said. “What you get in Oman when you visit there, is a tremendous sense of warmth and hospitality, and this is special, because you get a sense of it the moment you get off a plane in Muscat. The sense of how people interact with you among the clans and villages and up on the mountains is great. I have two great memories of my time in Oman: one was fishing with some men and boys with hand-drawn fishing lines on the road that runs along the edge of the harbour.”
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“I found myself sitting on the wall, sharing a coffee and fishing,” he added. “That was a great experience. I was also looked after very well by a mountain herder up in the Jabal, who tended to sheep and goats and other animals. Between all of the officers and the pipe bands, I met some senior people as well, and everyone was so welcoming and elegant. Everyone in Oman has an elegance about them which is special.”
“I am happy to say that all of these feelings that I had during my journey to Oman, were experienced by all the people in Edinburgh, whether they came from Scotland, America, Switzerland, Canada, the Czech Republic; all of the many countries that were represented on our show had nothing but good words to say about the Omani contingent,” said Allfrey.
The theme this year was “the sky is the limit” and this theme was designed to celebrate the Royal Air Force, but also, it was the year of young people here in Scotland. Allfrey said he decided to shape this theme around the idea of manned flight, so it would begin with birds and insects, and go on to gliders and balloons and kites, and then to propeller airplanes, jet aircraft, and finally, space travel.
“The theme we asked the Royal Cavalry of Oman to follow was the night sky, because when I was in Oman, I was in the desert for one night and I was struck by how wide the sky was. Oman has the most brilliant night sky, from horizon to horizon, and I asked them to do a piece that ended up with us imagining that we were looking up at the night sky,” he added. “They did that really well indeed, with the procession and the music, but what was really special about this collaboration was how easy and warm and wonderful the Omani soldiers and their horses were,” he said.
“It was a complete pleasure to be with them. They are very professional, very creative and an absolute pleasure to be around,” admitted Brigadier Allfrey. “The final salute was attended by His Highness Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said, Minister of Heritage and Culture, and that was the one royal visit we had this year. He was greeted in Scotland by members of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, which was my old regiment. So that makes me very proud, and he was accompanied by our ambassador to Oman and Oman’s ambassador to London, so it was a very special evening.”
But how did one of Oman’s most famed regiments end up participating in this world-famous music festival?
“There is a very special place in our hearts for Oman, as a result of which all military officers in the UK have personal friends among officers in the Omani defence forces, and this endeavour to bring the Royal Cavalry here began some four-and-a-half years ago,” recalled Allfrey. “It was agreed that the Royal Cavalry would represent Oman at this season’s Tattoo, along with an all-female military band — which sends a tremendous message of what people are capable of, along with 30 horses, and three drum horses, named Sam, Tom, and Joe.”
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“They are fantastic animals, as are the 27 Arabian horses, each with their own mounted piper,” he added. “So not only did Oman come with its own pipes and drums band, it came with what I think is the only mounted pipes and drums band in the world and that is fantastic.”
Despite all the technological advances that have been made, there is a special sentiment that only comes to the fore when we see horses galloping in unison.
“I served several years as a cavalry officer, a long time of my military life was spent with horses,” said Allfrey, sharing some fond memories of his years in the British Army.
“Each evening, I would enjoy a short conversation with the drum horses each night. Very often, the drum horses were more interested in other things, such as when they were to go on stage, or the riders they had, but speaking to them gave me great pleasure. I am not sure the horses felt the same way,” he joked.
“I think everyone was fascinated by the equestrian aspect, in terms of how they were looked after, how they were ridden, in terms of their saddles and their tacks, which are really different from British saddles and bridles, and the drum horses again were steered by the feet of their riders, and at the same time, they banged the drums and kept the beat, so I think everyone was really interested to see how they would manage all that,” he added.
“When everyone arrived, we had a couple of days to get to know the city and the cast, and the Omanis worked incredibly hard during rehearsals,” he recalled. “The Tattoo is a world-class event, so we have very exacting standards, and the way they worked on the music, on the rehearsals, and indeed, the riding, was fantastic. The contingent understood what was needed, and they relaxed and really began to enjoy the atmosphere. They made some very close friends among not just the cast, but among all the international teams that were here.”
“We have had a wonderful visit from His Majesty’s Royal Cavalry and the military band,” he said. “This is the first time the Royal Cavalry visited here. We’ve previously had contingents from the Royal Army of Oman, as well as the Royal Guard.
There is a very long and a very deep relationship between the UK and the Sultanate, and we are very, very close over foreign affairs, trade and tourism, and in the exchange of culture and heritage and the arts.”
Allfrey also shed some light on the origins of this famous festival.
“The Tattoo was originally part of the Edinburgh International Festival, which was started in 1947 to lift the spirits of the citizens of Edinburgh after World War II,” said Allfrey. “It was designed to bring people together and lift people’s spirits. In 1950, the Military Tattoo split from the rest of the festivals and went its own way. There are 11 festivals, of which, we are one and the biggest. This is now our 69th season and we have been sold out for the last 20 seasons, which is amazing. The show goes live to some 220,000 people every year.”
“We will almost certainly have the Royal Cavalry back in Edinburgh very soon. We have wonderful relationships now with the Omani Army, the Royal Guard and the Royal Cavalry, and we will have them back in the future as well,” he said. –[email protected]
