It will be difficult for me to write in just a few words the amount of good experiences and feelings that I experienced in the International Pipe and Tabor Festival, not only from seeing the pipe and tabor playing a major part in the music and traditions of its country, but from the feelings of friendship and hospitality of the members of the Taborer's Society. these made my stay in England an unforgettable one. For that reason, before starting to describe my experience of the festival, I want to especially thank Rob and Gillian Guest, Stephen Rowley, Phil Day and Ronny, Richard Sermon, Graham Lyndon-Jones, Andy Richards and Dick Bagwell, for making me feel so wonderfully welcome.
Morning:
After the first people had arrived at Blackfriars from their different parts of England (and the USA), there was a visit to Gloucester's Folk Museum. here, we saw an exhibition of several medieval bone pipes that had been found in the city in archaeological excavations in the eighties. we also saw several historical tabor pipes and tabors in the museum. The previous day some guests to the festival went on a trip to see some splendid iconography in Gloucester Cathedral, which showed examples of pipe and tabor players.
Then we went to Blackfriars Priory again, first to practice tunes for the Big Dub, then for the workshop in bone pipe making which was given by Richard Sermon, an archaeologist from Gloucester City Council. While we were there, we saw and played some of Charles Wells' tabor pipes, which he made based on the drawings of Praetorius (C XVI). They came in a whole range of keys, including a low A, which had a bent metal tube for the airway. Later on, many of the taborers went to the city centre, playing all together and individually. Then, we returned to Blackfriars (our base), where we started the main procession to the City Centre. Leading this were the young people of the Staffordshire Youth Recorder and Renaissance Ensemble with their Renaissance costumes and instruments. After them came all the taborers (and one tamborilero) and bringing up the rear, were the Gloucestershire Morris Men, with their colourful costumes and traditional hobby horses. There, in the old centre of the city, where four historical streets cross and meet (North, South, East and West), we played and danced together - both with our own repertoires and in ensemble pieces, even including an exotic mix of extremaduran castanets and English tunes. After the City Centre, the procession then went to The Fountain Inn, where we chatted, tasted fine English beer and food, and shared some good company together.
Afternoon and evening:
Back in Blackfriars again, after lunch, there was a wonderful concert by the Staffordshire Youth Recorder and Renaissance Ensemble. They gave an interpretation of some early music tunes, played on a multitude of Renaissance instruments.
Several pipe and tabor workshops went on in the afternoon, for both beginners and more advanced players. And again, after finishing the workshops, we went into Gloucester City Centre to continue playing in the streets there, and then finished up in The Swann Inn chatting about instruments, dances, costumes, etc
Back in The Fountain Inn we had our evening meal, and afterwards, we went to Christchurch for the final concert of the day. This was in two halves, showing the audience the different pipe and tabor traditions and tunes brought by the guests to this year's festival. From all styles of American music played by Dick Bagwell on pipe and tabor, to the jotas, charrás, pindongos and perantones of the Spanish "far west" that I interpreted with "gaita and tamboril" and "bone pipe and frying pan", the day drew to an end, and we all went away to sleep and to recharge for the following day.

Morning:
Back at Blackfriars Priory, the Master Classes were given by two of the festival guests, Dick Bagwell from the United States and Andy Richards from England. Dick showed us how to get the most out of the different parts of the tabor (centre and ends of the skin and the hoop) to play early music. Andy showed us the different ways of playing tunes for the Morris Dances with different versions of the same melody and its variants in the dancing.
After another practice together, we went to the streets of Gloucester again to play and finished in The Fountain Inn having lunch, drinking, playing and chatting.
Afternoon:
And as all good things come to an end sooner or later, there was no better way to finish than with a concert in which everyone could play one or two pieces of their choice in the same pub, which was recorded for a future compilation CD of the festival. After the concert, all those who had attended began their journey home, already thinking about the next festival... incidentally, to finish it off, we heard the exotic combination of "gaita serrana de Madrid" and English bagpipe... music knows no borders.

Note: There is another report from the "taborer" Phil Day with more photos from this and previous festivals in http://www.phil.day.dial.pipex.com/glouc2002/gl2002.htm.