Video: Family of pipers entertain staff and residents at Aberdeen care home

A family of pipers played a 20-minute set to staff and residents at an Aberdeen care home.

Neil Mitchell, 46, pipe major of Bucksburn and District Novice Juvenile Band, said he felt fortunate to have his two sons by his side during the performance at at Eastleigh Care Home in Peterculter.

Snare drummer Callum Mitchell, 10, and piper Craig Mitchell, 11, joined their father to spread joy during lockdown.

They played the Green Hills of Tyrol and When the Battle’s O’er for their opening tune.

The doors of the care home were flung wide open to hear the melodies, as residents stayed indoors for safety measures.

Neil said: “It’s nice to do something for the local community and it was a great chance to put a smile on their faces.

“A lot of the care staff came a bit closer, but kept the two metre separation and you could see how much it meant for them.”

The family who live near Eastleigh Care home, said staff reached out after hearing them play their instruments during lockdown.

He said: “We’ve been doing this every night from our house so it’s the first time we’ve been to another venue. They said in the message they were running out of things to entertain the residents with, so it was three weeks of trying to do the same thing.”

Now he hopes fellow pipers will band together to make the displays a regular occurrence.

He added: “There was a lot of interest and there’s a number of local pipers in the village, so it would be nice to maybe do a rota and people could take turns and come round and play.

“What made it special for us is we are isolating together so we can play together, so it’s quite fortunate that we can offer that as a family.”