Sunday, August 23, 2015

March Out

When the Changing Of The Guard ceremony is finished, a process of around a half hour, the entire body of troops march off Parliament Hill to the accompaniment of the brass, drums, and bagpipes. The police officer you see in the third shot is a Mountie, one of a number stationed here (Mounties wear the utility uniform in everyday work, and leave the red serge to special occasions) The Guards proceed back through the streets, heading towards Cartier Square. The rest of the day, some of their numbers are on sentry duty at Rideau Hall. I recently paid a visit there (my first time on the premises) and will be featuring it in a series next month.

32 comments:

  1. Very orderly soldiers! I have been to Ottawa on one occasion and that was in the middle of winter. We drove by the Parliament, but didn't get out of the car.
    Nice photos of the marching practice!
    Have a Beautiful Day!
    Peace :)

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  2. A very official looking occasion. And such British looking scenes.

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  3. I just wonder where the idea came from for those hats. :-)

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  4. Looks so smart when they parade like this, nicely captured William!

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  5. They look great in their red uniforms, very official yet festive.

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  6. This serves to draw a little attention and say they are there. It is very good !

    Tomás.

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  7. I actually didn't know we had a Changing of the Guard in Ottawa. Very interesting (and colourful).

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  8. I didn't realize that it was such a large troop that was involved with the changing of the guard.

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  9. Mounties sometimes wear this outfit? Did you have to burst my bubble? Where's Dudley D0-Right when you need him? And is the beautiful Nell nearby on a RR track?

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  10. I have some shots that look very much like these that I took in London.

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  11. A little pomp and ceremony is always nice!

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  12. Great pictures, love the bright colors! And ciel is right, by the way...

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  13. Regal! I'm with cieldequimper. Would love to hear them. Bet you enjoyed it and that the sound comes rushing back when you look at the photos.

    Janis
    GDP

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  14. A grand ceremony and I can imagine the marching in tune with the music!

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  15. Even on what looked like a dreary and kvercast day, this group was a standout in more ways than one!

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  16. vu il y a plus de 30 ans ca ne me rajeunie pas ;o)

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  17. Great shots William, so colourful...

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  18. now that would b cool 2 c n person just once!! ( ;
    happy weekend!

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  19. This would be fun to see. It seems that you got pretty close to the activities.

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  20. At first glance I thought I was on Mike's blog. :)

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  21. This is good to keep in mind if I can't quite make it as far as London...this and the buskers are worth a visit to Ottawa.

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  22. Gorgeous pictures, William, I love such parades !

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  23. @GreenComotion: thank you!

    @Gemma: there's a strong British influence, particularly with this ceremony.

    @Revrunner: the Brits use them too, but they ran out of bears centuries ago!

    @Grace: thank you!

    @EG: it's quite an occasion, while it lasts!

    @Tomas: thanks!

    @Furry Gnome: oh, yes, it's a tradition going back a long time, but you only see them on the Hill once a day during the season.

    @Red: there are quite a lot of them, all quartered out at Carleton University during the season. I didn't get any shots of them drilling on one of the parking lots.

    @Birdman: Mounties usually wear that when they're working. The red serge uniforms you see in images of them with the Mountie hat are just ceremonial. They wear those on official occasions or for tourists to pose with!

    @Sharon: that's where the concept comes from. The ceremony would be very similar.

    @Whisk: so did I.

    @RedPat: it is.

    @Ciel: if I'd done the video right, I would have posted a link, but the video went weird on me.

    @VP: hopefully the next time I try a video it'll actually work.

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  24. @Janis: it certainly does!

    @Nancy: and there's a lot of music!

    @Beatrice: I was just surprised none of them succumbed to the heat.

    @Audrey: merci!

    @Marleen: and they do the job well. Most of them have seen service in Afghanistan.

    @Norma: thank you!

    @Geoff: thanks!

    @Tex: very hot.

    @Beth: if you're ever up this way, come in July or August and see for yourself.

    @Jack: yes, I did get close enough. As long as you're on the sidewalk and not the road, they've got plenty of space to march through.

    @Linda: very much so!

    @Debs: not in this case!

    @Kay: they certainly are.

    @Karl: so do I.

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  25. Military bands are so exciting! Makes you want to wave flags and cheer!

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