Blu,

I can't take credit for all of it, more's the pity. The "totem and talisman" remark comes from the Colonel of the 1st Battalion, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, who was quoted in the documentary "Instrument of War", about pipers and the military tradition.

Beg, borrow, buy (but not steal) a copy of this 2-volume series! It is well worth the price, including interviews with surviving WWI pipers (now all gone, sadly)!

Cheers,

T.