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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Final comments from the Team

A FEW WORDS FROM THE NEWBIES

Shaana Edwards
Basel.... what a beautiful place to be during my very first tattoo. had so much fun, met heaps of new people and had the time of my life doing what i love. thanks for giving me an amazing story to tell my friends and family

Manawa Bell
Ultimate high wearing the Cameron of Lochiel tartan representing New Zealand in my dream Lochiel.  Many thanks to Colleen for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime, your an admiration to one and all in all regards of showmanship and precision drill.  New friendships made, made for a lifetime.  The Basel Tattoo, a total blast, body pushed to it's limits and smiles from ear to ear - would love to do this tattoo again one day.  A lovely bunch of true marchers with passion and pride.  Thank you Lochiel for having me.  Many thanks to my partner and my family for making this opportunity possible.  I love my two beautiful children who were well behaved for my partner and I while we entertained the world.

Dana Brown
AMAZING is the word that I would use to describe my experience at the Basel Tatoo. This being my first Tatoo I was caught in a whirlwind of training and performances the weeks rolled on like a machine with every minute of every day mapped out. It’s tough, tough on the body and the mind, at times taking every bit of mental and physical stamina that your body can endure, but completely and utterly worth it. Surreal to me in every way, in all my years of marching I never thought that I would be in a Lochiel uniform performing at a Tatoo, the meaning of the uniform forever apparent as you put it on for the first time, knowing the history and that standard that is required of yourself for all 18 performances. Thank you so much to my Teamies for making me feel a welcome part of the team when I had such little time to mold in. The biggest thank you to Colleen for seeing the potential in me that I never saw in myself, sharing her incredible knowledge, and for making a little marching girls secret dream come true. I will forever remember this experience, the people I met, and the friends I made for life.

A FEW WORDS FROM THE GIRLS WHO HADN'T BEEN TO BASEL BEFORE

Danni Lowe
The Audience – this is what I will remember most about the Basel Tattoo. They were so excited, appreciative, and active! They clapped and bounced along to our Colonel Bogie piece, and awarded us with standing ovations for most of our performances.
The thing I liked the least about coming home, was sporting chunky monkey Kankles for two days after the plane ride. Sigh. Bring on Edinburgh!
Shannon Perry
Basel was amazing best experience I have ever had, definately go back 2 visit. Met lots of new people that I hope to see again, it was a beautiful, peaceful place.

Nani Kirk
Basel - a vibrant city that made this tattoo different from others. This tattoo was a lot of hard work and physically exhausting in comparison to the previous trips I have been on, but for me that is what made it even more rewarding :) Girls’ getting sick was definitely unfortunate, but in the end we managed to pull through which was a bonus. I miss the girls ALOT and cherish the fond memories that we all made. Many many thanks to all those who were involved with making this Tattoo experience a success. Beautiful Basel, I hope to see you again sometime soon.

Char Tanuvasa-Kamo
Basel itself was amazing, beautiful scenery, a great vibe, friendly people, a city I would definitely visit again, the amazing Frites (Fries) and the awesome chocolates that I couldn’t resist .The Basel Tattoo made the experience extra special, putting on a fantastic show every day/night. The memories we shared, the girls we bonded with, the people we met and hope to see again. The different acts were spectacular from around the world. Performing every night was never dull, the reactions from the audience I will never get sick of. Thank you to everyone that made the Basel tattoo possible, at the end the kankles were worth it.

Chelsea Brassington
My first time at the Basel Tattoo in Switzerland and I loved it. Had only heard a few things about it from the girls who went in 2007 and they all seemed to like it so I was really looking forward to it and it turned out great. I made so many more marching memories on yet another awesome trip, being able to socialise with the girls and meet the different groups in the tattoo, memories cherished forever. I liked that we were all well looked after by the tattoo and everything went very successfully. This tattoo has been one of my favourites and Switzerland as a country is amazing, reminded me a lot of home and would love to go back there one day.

Hayley Gray
For me, Basel had a lot to live up to.  From what I had heard Basel was taking the world by storm in the tattoo circles and on that note I can't disagree.  The team had been to Basel in 2007 and all the girls including Colleen all rave about it, and now I am one of them........  The whole vibe of the tattoo is just amazing, from the producer, to the production staff and the people of Basel everyone is just so behind the tattoo and I think that's what makes this tattoo so successful.

This sure does go down in the history books (and this trip we made a few),  for being one if not my favourite tattoo so far (and I've done a few).  Don't get me wrong it was hard work and probably one of the more demanding of tattoos but somehow we managed to find the right balance.  New and old friendship reformed and another successful tattoo.  Thanks to Colleen, Shona and Mum for all their hard work and dedication over the past year to make this trip so successful..  Also a note out to the girls, without you we wouldn't have had the show we had..  You are truely a great bunch of marchers and amazing friends.....  Bring on Edinburgh 2013!!!!!  Oh and one last thing....  WOWOW.......  :)

Rach Ross
I'd heard so much about the 2007 tattoo that my expectations of Basel were high and it definitely didn't disappoint.  The city is beautiful, the people are sooo friendly and the tattoo was amazing.  I love how the city totatlly embraces the tattoo, something I think is unique to Basel and I love how everyone there loves Marching (NZ take note).

As with any tattoo though there were highs and lows.  Some of the teamies getting really sick was definitely the low point (especially now that i have a virus and I'm in Barcelona), but we managed to pull through it as a team and do some great performances.  The high point for me was definitely the final night on Saturday.  Emotions started early with gift presentations accompained by our Waiatas (can be viewed on youtube), then pulling off a great finale performance (a 10) always makes the months of hard work worth it and finished by an amazing night at the cast bar with all the girls and other friends we'd made throughout the tattoo...  Definitely created some lasting memories, bring on Edniburgh 2013.


Michelle Snape
Switzerland has been a great trip.  It is a beautiful place and I am so glad that I got the opportunity to see another beautiful country.  The Basel Tattoo had it's experiances good and bad but we always make the most of it and come out on top and will always have the memories with us.


WORDS FROM THOSE GIRLS WHO WERE THERE IN 2007

Nic Adamson
Basel.. A city with an incredibly peaceful and harmonious vibe, a vibe that made my experience of the tattoo so much more memorable. Loved every moment with the girls..good times and bad ;) but that's what it's all about right? I would like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved with the tattoo.. Had a wicked time and hope we all meet again one day.
 
Jacqui Hill
I had an AMAZING time in Basel this year. Definitley saw improvements from the last trip in 2007 to Basel. I really enjoyed the tattoo and the beautiful country. I think we can agree as a team that we all had an awesome time performing for the people of Basel/Switzerland. It was amazing to see all the people out in the street for the parade through Basel city and all of the children who came to childrens day. I have left with some great memeories and I hope that we have left some people with great memeories of our show.

A few thank you's are need. First of all thank you to all the other cast members for making this an enjoyable and memerable trip. Secondly a big thank you to all the staff who made this trip happen and comfortable for us. Lastly an even bigger thank you to my coach, manager, chaperon and fellow team mates - another amazing trip under the belt and a job well done!

Erina Mayo
What can i say...... Once again the Basel Tattoo has been one of my faves. Although it was much more demanding this time round, the way in which we were looked after, the atmosphere and the magic of the tattoo made it worth all the hard work.......even though my feet may have thought differently at times. The trainings started out long and tough, lots of work on the display was required and my fitness needed to increase!!! This didn't take long, before I knew it Colleen's coaching had me feeling super fit and the display was coming together well. This meant our daily trainings were able to be relaxed a little, allowing time to explore Basel, catch up on sleep and give the precious legs a rest.

The performances went well, especially the nighttime ones, with scores in the high 9's and a few 10's. What was special was how the crowd appreciated the drill and the spectacular design of the display, another masterpiece of Colleen's.

It is always an honor to put on my Lochiel uniform and march out onto the arena to represent NZ. As always the last performance was emotional for me, but even more so this time as I felt someone special was there watching over me every step of the way. A tear was even shed during the backwards crossover, and it went through near perfect!

Once the 2012 Basel tattoo came to an end the feeling of being slightly lost and lonely kicked in as cast members started to leave, new friends went home to their respective countries and the city became quiet. And now we are home and back to the harsh reality!! It's the time where I miss being with my teamies 24/7 and miss the lifestyle that the tattoo offers. So I am left with the amazing special memories of the time spent in a magical city representing my country doing something I love with a group of girls who i consider as my best mates, an amazing coach and the best support crew (thanks Pauline and Shona!). Memories that will last forever xx

Vanessa Gilmour
Basel, where do I start. Going there again was just amazing, I had so much fun with the girls, if I had it my way i would still be there! But of course reality had to pop it's head up sometime and bring me back home. Missing Basel already.


Sara Mangin
I would just like to say a massive thank you to Colleen for giving me the opportunity in been able to return to Basel and perform at such a successful Tattoo.  Basel is such a beautiful city and been amongst the atmosphere and vibe of the tattoo made it rather upsetting when it was all over!:(

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Last couple of Days in Basel

Sunday 22nd July
As the Tattoo has slowly come to an end the next couple of days seem to be have a very airy feel about them...  As most groups gather up their belongings and head home we still have 2 days here to relax and get our thoughts together on the last 2 weeks in Basel..... 

Some wake on Sunday with sore heads, some with not, of course the sickness is still working it's way through the team with many now to have picked up flu like symptoms...  The keen ones are up at the crack of dawn to get some Basel City sightseeing done, along with more shopping, while others just relaxed in their rooms chatting, laughing and discussing the memories shared in the last few weeks.....  Before we knew it 6.00pm hit and it was time for our last team dinner together so for one last time we take a walk down towards our much love training ground to a restaurant for dinner.... 

This evening was was spent sleeping, packing and a few girls went out for one last drink to celebrate with Nicole who is leaving us for a few months to brighten her horizons and get some travelling done before heading to Oz then back to NZ to train for Edinburgh 2013.

Monday 23rd July
This is where the packing and reality of going home really sets in......  After sharing a room with 2 others for over 2 weeks the state of the hotel room is well, interesting....With not much space for storing our clothes most of these are now in piles on the floor (photo can be viewed on the photo page).  Again today girls are packing, shopping, and spending time in the sun before heading back to the NZ winter......  A few of us spent some time down at the Rhine, relaxing, sun tanning, listening to some kiwi music and spinning a few yarns about our time here in Basel.

Today Colleen and Nicole leave to go and spend a few days in Edinburgh to sort things out for our trip next year...  Was an emotional goodbye as it always is when team members leave the group....  Earlier today Michelle (also left to spend a few weeks touring Europe with my parents), and Rach who was also off on a little adventure to Barcelona with friends.

Today most of the team have been feeling a little under the weather with whatever the bug is going around with only a few of us lucky ones being able to escape it..... 

The bus arrives to pick us up for the aiprort at 6.00 pm and the the long 33 hour journey begins...... 

Monday, July 23, 2012

It all comes to an end

Saturday 21st July

Can't believe it's the final day already! Time really has flown by 

We started it morning.. Or rather ended up last night at 2am at the cast bar so we were nice and fresh for a big day ahead (same cannot be said for our boots though!). A 10am wake up call for our final  waiata practice was successful and then it was fully dressed for 12 for the street parade. 

The citizens of Basel, and probably everywhere else in Switzerland lined the streets of the city to watch the famous parade which included all the  acts from the tattoo and also other bands and groups - 41 in total. We were number 23 in the queue which made for a long (long) wait. We marched behind the NZ Army band and the parade went well with an estimated 130,000 people attending. There was lots of waving to the crowd, a sprinkling of rain, a lot of dodging of the horse 'droppings' which were unfortunately ahead of us, some very sore arms from rubbing jackets and an impromptu Haka with the NZ Army Band finished off with free drinks - non alcoholic of course!

Back to the hotel to pack our things ready for the big night ahead of us an walking back to the arena the streets and packed with a definite buzz in the air! 

Before we can think about our performances though we have gifts to give accompanied by our Waiata (credits are due here Shaana and Nani for organsising these and getting us to a presentable state, for those interested this is now posted on utube) first for Carol, the executive producer of the tattoo we presented a West Coast Pounamu and sang Tiaho Mai Ra. Next for Eric Juliard, the producer of the tattoo we presented a Mere greenstone and sang Kotiro Maori with actions. Finally for Angelo, our lovely liaison officer we also presented him with a Pounamu which he loved and put on straight away and we sang Puti Puti to him also with actions. Everyone seemed to love their gifts, and our singing - Eric even invited us to join the tattoo choir for next year!! 

Presentations and parades always signal the end of the tattoo but before we can start to get emotional we've got two big performances to do so for now there's individual practice,  team run through and dressing to be done, with the finishing touch of Colleen checking skirts and plaids of course! 

First performance felt good but as there a couple of "smudges" to the picture Colleen marked us a 9.9!! Definitely amping for the final performance tonight but have few hours to kill first. Our final dinner at the food hall took care of a little time but for now it'll have to be charades! Top marks to Char for her actin out of chitty chitty bang bang and to Colleen for guessing it!

Time now for the last time we'll go through the routine.. Hair checked, individual practice, team run through, all dressed and checked then for the nerves to build up for the last of 17 performances! As nerves filled the air standing begin the drawbridge we all gathered together for our final traditional hands in the middle and some inspirational words from Danny on the production staff who always bought smiles to our faces just before the drawbridge opens!!!

We pulled off a 10 for our final performance, everyone felt great that the display went well and a job well done!! However sad at the same time that the tattoo is over!!!!

Final night celebrations are always memories that girls will hold on to!! The NZ Army Band were the entertainment and again did a fantastic job!! Really got the crowd going, of course with another haka and Hayley even got happy birthday sung for her (even though it wasn't even her birthday) !

With most of the groups leaving early Sunday morning I'm sure there were a few sad goodbyes to new and old friends!!!! Sunday will be a very slow day for most!!

By Rach and Hayley

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Friday 21st July 2012

10.30am
Another sleep in! Could get used to this! Coldest morning yet but still not as cold as New Zealand! Took a stroll around Basel this morning looking for a pharmacy as the sniffles are being passed around the team at the moment :( 

2pm Training
To me the worst part about training is not 3 blocks we have to walk to get there but the million steps we have to climb as well. That aside training went really well with a few "problem areas" from last nights performances ironed out. Love short and sweet trainings! 

1st performance
Stopped at the store to stock up on some treats to get us through the night. Do a little checklist in my head to make sure I haven't forgotten anything - cant forget anything important now can we - Jacqui!! Now the performance where we are so hoping for another 10! It was a rainy one so had to be careful of the slippery drawbridge. The display went really well and the hype of the crowd always makes me smile and lifts us all. A minor hiccups in the end of the display but still pulled of a 9.5 :)

Dinner time in our uniforms- again! And being so careful not to spill my turkey and mash with gravy YUM!! 
Then in our down time we had another waiata practice as we need them ready for presentations tomorrow, don't think we're all the best singers but we'll get there with volume! 

Night show
Rain has stopped thankfully making the ground look shiny which contrasts nicely against our white boots ( well MOST of them are white aye girls!!) another good show though and our second 10!! Woo hoo!! Now its off to the cast bar we go but not for long as we've got the final day of the tattoo tomorrow complete with two performances and a 2km street march through Basel! Wish me luck!!

Shannon 

Friday, July 20, 2012

SLEEP IN!!! 
Awesome sleep in this morning - didn't get out if bed until 10.30am. We (Chels, Ness and Jax) went to a cafe called Lily's for lunch then for a relaxing walk along the rhine and ended up at a park where we sat and rested for an hour. Cartwheels and rollie pollies did not go down well! 

TRAINING - 2pm
The girls are now back in old positions and Shaana fit enough to march again! The team fixed issues from the previous nights performances - we had an awesome training! Hopefully we get our first 10 tonight. Fingers crossed!

GETTING READY
Hat, skirts, vests and make up on - the only thing keeping Sara awake is the very loud annoying fifes practicing outside our window (musical instruments).
Time to clean our boots and for a run through of the display. 
Jackets on and final uniform check from Colleen -  we are ready to go!! 

PERFORMANCE #10
Colleen surprised us with a side view of our display tonight which wasn't quite up to par so awarded us a 9.5.

BETWEEN SHOWS
Ate dinner in our uniforms again being careful not to spill on our WHITE jackets. 
Practiced our Maori songs for the producer etc. Shaana and Nani struggled to teach us really really white girls the actions - we had a few laughs.

PERFORMANCE #11
Guess what.....we got our first 10/10 tonight with an awesome performance - minor glitches. Hopefully more 10s to come!

CAST BAR
Curfew at 3pm tonight - Finnish band was playing again tonight. They know how to get the party started.

Jax, Ness &Chels

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Wednesday 18th July

This is my second trip to Switzerland with Lochiel it's been such an amazing opportunity being able to represent New Zealand at the Basel Tattoo 2012. Only 5 of the girls came to Basel in 2007 so it's been great getting to know other girls in the team that I haven't marched with before.

As we're getting to know the cast bar staff on a first name basis a few of us have woken up with sore heads thankfully training isn't until 12.30 today so maccas is a must before training!:)

Training was very positive & constructive though we had to make a few positioning changes due to a sickness in the team and worked on a few movements where we were having structural problems.

Performance 8 at 5.30 went through fine, well done to Vanessa, Nani & Shannon who were in brand new positions they did really well. We got a score of 9.2 from Colleen so we need to step it up in performance 9 to get that '10' we are aiming for!

Performance 9 at 9.30 didn't go as well as we hoped didn't get that 10 we wanted.

So two shows down for the night off to the cast bar for a couple of well needed bubbles!;)

By Sara

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

You know that moment when you're busting to pee, and the relief that comes afterwards? That's about half as close to how we feel after removing our boots at the end of the night! 

In fact, the only time we're not in boots is when we sleep. Okay, slightly exaggerated for today - we did get a few hours of jandel time when we were let loose on the city of Basel to speed shop (mainly at the supermarket stocking up on chocolate!) 

Best moment of today was seeing one of our very own being not so subtly flirted with by the "quite-perfect-hair-and-smile" coffee man. Our girl (who shall remain nameless) was given a free coffee, extra foam, a cinnamon stick and a flirtatious wink!! ;) 

Tonights show - as if performing isn't stressful enough, to tonight we were faced with cameras filming from the front, sides, angles, above and below. The pressure was on to hold the "I'm having a great time" smile whilst not messing it up PLUS ensuring we don't look like stunned possums in the headlights of oncoming traffic.

Still pulled off a great performance that scored us a 9.9 (0.1 was taken off for a few clipped feet in the backwards). 

Finale -Dear Russian Drill Team: please step out on the left beat tomorrow. Thank you.

Dana & Danni

PS. It seems there is such a thing as experiencing "lock jaw" in your angles.. Though we still manage to squeeze out feet into heels for a few hours of mingling  and dancing at the cast bar! 

Monday, July 16, 2012

Room 439, Sunday 15th July - Ernie, Munz (and Emma) reporting...

After a few hours at the cast bar and 6 hours sleep we had a 9.30 breaky with the worst eggs ever - who ever thought runny whites were ok??!! EWWW!! The amazing swiss muesli always hits the spot though and fuels us for our scheduled day at the tattoo.

Next stop - training, but let's not forget the music machine - Erina!! Skirts on, laces pulled and everyone's ready for Colleen's call, "by the centre, quick march and out and 3,4..." a constructive training was had by all, positive vibes were flowing and hows about our waving, who would have thought that learning to wave to an audience could be so difficult and funny?!

After training we headed back the basilisk (our hotel) to pack and prepare for our double header shows, along with some waiata practice thrown in the mix "tero a-ho" is not correct Ernie!!

To be honest, not our best performances tonight - one may have been flat and the other may have suffered a few "hiccups" in the final third, but still appreciated by the crowd and cast.

Time for a late diner in full uniform - arrgh - not the best time to be eating spag boll!! Followed by official photos with the NZ Army Band.

A few tired giggles between Ern, Munz and Emma and now were signing off at 11.30pm for a much needed early night.. Woo hoo!!!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Saturday 14th July
After a good opening night performance we ventured to the Cast Bar to mingle, and just like Canada last year we rocked it in our tracksuits!  It didn't take long but we soon took over the dance floor :-).  The band was great and it was good to be able to relax and chat with the other cast members. Our curfew of 2.30am soon rolled round and we were off back to our hotel.

An early 8.30am breaky call had us looking like the walking dead.  We were soon off to training only to find our training building was locked up tight so had to wait around for it to be opened.  
Training was constructive covering the areas that went wrong on the previous nights performance. It was then time to head back for lunch only to find we had been locked inside the building!! A quick phone call to  our liaison officer Angelo soon got it open... but that was not to be the end of it, after starting the walk back to our hotel we realised we were one girl short... yep Sara had been locked inside the building.  So again we had to make the phone call to Angelo to open the doors up.

Lunch wasn't the best today so I think it was salad for most of us.  We were then back to the hotel for a quick change before going back to the arena for Childrens Day.  We had a ball baking in the sun while teaching kids how to march, signing flags and lots of photos.

Before we knew it it was time to head up to the dressing room to get ready for our next two performances.  The second march was great filled with excitement and smiles.

It was then back to the hotel to change into mufti and back down to the Cast Bar for more dancing and mingling.  The best part was the NZ Army Band were playing so once again we dominated that dance floor supporting a band from our country like little groupies!! Check out a video of them playing and a time lapse video of the whole show from one of the dress rehearsals! 

By Michelle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZpqWYoUD7g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZpqWYoUD7g&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Friday, July 13, 2012

7.30am - Early start this morning from a late rehearsal last night...tired start to the day but on the plus side croissants for brekkie!

9am - 12.30pm Training!! Broke the display into three sections. 
Part one - tears, frustration and finally correcting problems
Part two - on the rise.  Q
Part three - Eekk! 
Started off hairy but after crashing the backwards a few times we finally got there. 

Lunch!!! Pasta, burgers, fries, salad annnnd icecream!! 

1.30pm - 3.30pm - sent home to bed for a nap. Oh how we love napping!! 

4pm - off to the arena to get prettified and dressed for our show. Bit of singing practice (wasn't the best but we're marchers not singers, give us a break!)

5.30pm - 7.30pm - last dress rehearsal completed. Pouring rain all night... running mascara, watery eyes, wet white uniforms (sorry Pauline). Best performance we've done so far though! 

Dinner - pasta, burgers, fries, salad and chicken....again. 

OPENING NIGHT!!!
9.30pm - 11.30pm
9.5/10 not too bad for first performance. Thank you to Patsy and Craig Sproull for being there to supporting us! Lots more room for improvement though!! 

'The Cast Bar' 
Midnight till late (nek minnit curfew at 2.30am) dancing, socialising and a little drinking...lots of fun. Time for sleep as training is at 9.30am tomorrow! 

Jacqui, Vanessa and Chelsea :)

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Another day with the good old pair of boots, at this time of the trip my feet start to ache, swell and blisters start to appear.  My trick to help manage pain is to put panty liners in my boots  but take note - if you think this will make you realise your beautiful pedi feet your dreaming because at the moment my ankles are CANKLES!!!  We headed off to training and went back to the roots of marching. We did basic drills and I found that I was making it hard for myself and now I don't look like a complete beetroot! :) We also did the display without arms, just thinking about our feet and once we had the feet everything else came together - this will show all the awesome formations Colleen has designed!

Today for a change of scenery we went out for lunch at Feldschlosschen. I ordered the sausage salad with fries, the only thing that caught my eye was the fries! While waiting for my food a couple of us girls practiced singing a waiata, personally I think I have a fantastic voice, kidding!!  I finally had my meal, the fries were awesome but my instincts told me otherwise on the sausage and after trying it my instincts were right!

Tonight we had our first dress rehearsal and getting into my Lochiel uniform always makes me so proud! Walking to the arena my palms started to sweat  and I was so worried about my eye make up, I was trying so hard to keep my eyes open wide to the point that I was doing a  pukana! I was getting more and more nervous closer to the time that we were due to march out. While waiting I was in my marching zone going through the counts in my head and boosting myself with positive thinking. We all marched out to the music of the previous act - "The Conscript Band of the Finnish Defence Forces" - and also in the dark but seeing the amazing crowd (about 8,500 people!) and their reaction to us gave me a boost to smile!

Our performance was our best so far but we know that we've got a lot of work to do if we're to get a 10 out of 10 from Colleen! And more hard work to get there starts at training tomorrow at 9am followed by the 2nd dress rehearsal and opening night  at 9.30pm!  After the show we even had some photos with some of the audience! I think that the best thing about going to tattoos is showing thousands of people what Lochiel can do! 

By Char!!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Day 1 & 2 in SWITZERLAND!!

This is my third trip with this team and yet again I cannot get enough of the excitement and atmosphere that each trip brings. The perforamance ground is phenomenal and Switzerland is a beautiful place. We have had a few rehearsals with the NZ Army Band which was cool. Can't wait for the Tattoo to begin!

Naku na,

Nani Louisa Kirk.

Monday, July 9, 2012

A 4.30am wake up call signals the end of our two day Dubai adventure. We arrived Saturday morning at around 4am after a very long flight from Brisbane to find it was already 33degrees and probably about 90% humidity! After showers and a few hours of sleep we set about exploring the city, although only for a few hours as we were being picked up later in the afternoon to go on a desert safari. Starting with a few hours of nerve wracking driving/sliding over the sand dunes which were up to a height of 15 meters, stopping occasionally to spot the native wildlife, watch the sunset over the desert and a falcon show with a Peregrin Falcon we eventually stopped at camp for the evening. There we had camel rides, henna tattoos, a belly dancer and a dinner of amazing local food. The whole evening was amazing and definitely a highlight of our time here. The next day we split off in groups exploring the markets/souks although at around 43degrees most of us eventually escaped to the air conditioned  malls which include the biggest mall in the world with indoor waterfalls, ice rinks, aquariums and ski fields. Some of us even made it to the beach for a dip in the Persian Gulf. Now we are heading back to the airport for a (quick) 7 hour flight to Switzerland. I can safety say that all of us have had an amazing time here in Dubai and leave for Switzerland rested, bonded as a team, slightly lighter in the wallet and ready to do what we came for at the Basel Tattoo.  Watch this space for photos later today!!!


Friday, July 6, 2012


The team all ready to board, the first photo of many.  Next stop - Dubai!

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

When I first started marching back when I was TWELVE I just thought that it was so cool that I could wear the AWESOME white boots. Six years has passed since then and I find myself STILL wearing the boots. And I never thought that I'd EVER get the chance to still be marching now and be apart of a really great team.

This upcoming trip will be my first ever MAJOR overseas trip :)

Everyday that goes by I feel the EXCITEMENT building up.

This is going to be a great experience, a chance to see the world, bond with my team mates and perform for many people every night

By Shaana Edmonds

Saturday, June 30, 2012


Last day of training tomorrow and only 6 days to go until we fly!