Thursday, September 7, 2017

A Sunset Military Ceremony On The Hill

Before getting started, a note to my fellow bloggers: there has been a Thai spammer, or spammers, getting past spam filters in multiple blogs, especially photoblogs, in the last couple of weeks. If you've seen comments from Srun Por, Ly Heng, or Koi Seo, they're getting into your posts and leaving comments with a spam link. They're even copying and pasting comments from one of your readers and passing it off as their own. I encourage you to delete them and to report them as spam profiles.

To those spammers, whatever fake name you come up with next, understand this: your comments will be sent to the spam folders by me post haste every single time you get past the spam filters. So it won't last long. Go find something else to do with whatever passes for your lives.

Now then, that behind us, let's move on to today's post.

Fortissimo is an annual tradition on Parliament Hill, taking place on a weekend in late July on the lawn. Military bands march together in a sunset ceremony, consisting of the Ceremonial Guard, other members of the Canadian Forces and guests- this year it was a group of retired U.S. Marines and a group from the German military participating. The concept is called beat retreat, a tradition that dates back to walled cities and the closing of the gates at sundown, and features a mix of music, centered around a performance of the 1812 Overture, brass band style, incorporating cannons and the bells of the Peace Tower. I have videos of the event as well: Bagpipes, music from the Pirates Of The Caribbean score, a portion of The 1812 Overture, and the anthems.


After it's all done, there is a march out of the participating troops off the Hill.

32 comments:

  1. Those red coats didn't necessarily help the British in the Am. Revolution, but they sure are sharp looking. :-)

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  2. ...the sailors look quite sharp!

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  3. That looks like it was a huge event. You got some good pics and the weather was perfect.

    Janis
    GDP

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  4. The military band must have sounded incredible. Looks like you had some nice weather for the event. Nice photos William.

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  5. @Francisco: I love seeing this event.

    @Revrunner: they are quite the uniform.

    @Tom: they do. Those were the Germans.

    @Janis: a great many people came out for it.

    @Bill: it is something I enjoy seeing each year.

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  6. Hello, wonderful photos. What a fun event. I do not like the spammers! Have a happy day!

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  7. First, thanks for the spammer comment. I've been checking comments every day and marking this guy as spam but it is quite irritating to have to do that.
    I love the ceremony photos. So very colorful!

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  8. How fantastic to see William and at sunset too, wonderful light! Thanks for the tip re the spammers, they're getting good aren't they, had me fooled!

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  9. Very symbolic activity with some very good music.

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  10. @Eileen: thanks!

    @Sharon: they've been persistent.

    @Lois: it really is!

    @Grace: they time the whole thing really well. I noticed yesterday reading other blogs how much they were copying other comments- including mine. That's their latest adaptation to getting past the filters. Hopefully if they're reported enough, they'll be sent to oblivion.

    @Red: they had great music choices this year. I wonder if it'll be held while Centre Block is under restoration work though.

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  11. That must be fascinating to watch. I thought at first the first picture is an oil painting. Great photos

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  12. Very impressive activities and ceremony. Thank you for the info concerning the spammer. One had visited and commented on my post too!

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  13. Some pomp & ceremony on a fine evening goes down well. Great photos!
    Thanks for the spam alert I have found some & it's most annoying!

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  14. I like the music of the military band.
    This had to be a great event.

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  15. I had a few of those spammers a week ago but just deleted them.
    Looks like that was a great event, William!

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  16. I always find these ceremonies very moving. The uniforms ar very smart. Thanks for sharing the great photos.

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  17. @Lady Fi: thanks!

    @Maywyn: it's quite a thing to watch unfold.

    @Nancy: I'm actually several days behind in blog reading, so I'm catching these comments on other blogs from that time period. They're a pestilence.

    @Christine: at some point this evening I'm going to copy and paste their profiles into a complaint at Blogger and point out how they've been getting past the spam filters.

    @Cloudia: thanks!

    @Orvokki: it was!

    @RedPat: they were persistent. I expect they'll try again here, if not under those names, then another.

    @Denise: you're welcome!

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  18. Now that would be an interesting event to see. Love the music
    MB

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  19. Thanks for the heads up. What a program that is!

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  20. I've been getting spam from Russia, too. Comments on my blog no longer post automatically so whatever my filters don't catch I will catch manually. And, regrettably, I doubt whether they read or see (or care about) anything you've written.
    Nice event!

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  21. The uniforms in Canada, and other civilized nations, are spectacular. (snark, snark)

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  22. Exceptionally nice light in some of these!

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  23. I enjoy those red coats! My late, ex father in law was a mountie! (1950s)

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  24. Lovely to see these photographs William.

    All the best Jan

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  25. @MB: it is a wonderful tradition to carry on.

    @Mari: I enjoy it each year.

    @Kay: I suspect most of these spammers aren't even literate in English.

    @Catalyst: well, I think so!

    @Linda: it was a pleasant evening.

    @Linda: thanks!

    @Norma: me too.

    @Klara: that it was.

    @Jennifer: they look so distinguished.

    @Jan: thank you!

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