hello DEACONB. As usual good sound advice from jockscot. this wee tale may help and make you understand how important your contribution to the funeral can be for the greiving family. when a second cousin of mine died last year from the scottish side i asked if they would like me to pipe at the funeral if i could get my pipes going(i had not played them for a while and knew it could possibly be difficult to get new reeds and tune them in, hence the uncertainty)i knew it could take a bit of prepping if my offer was taken up so before i went to all the effort i checked first. they said they would love it.worst fears realized i could not get them up to scratch in time, and as there was no way i wanted my pipes making the outlandish noises and the embarrasing cutting in and outs that ill tuned drones can cause i did not bring them.australia being the big place it is ,they lived far away and we don't see each other very much,and when news of the funeral reached us i had little notice.none of these factors seemed to matter however because when they realized i could not pipe they were not just dissapointed.i had the distinct feeling that they felt i had let them down.

i learnt not to offer what you're not 100% sure you can give.but i also realized just how much it had meant to them once i had made them think it was an option. so don't under estimate their request to you. wear the kilt because for families with scottish heritage living in lands far from 'home' a piper and or a kilt at a wedding or a funeral means a lot. i know.