Guess how much the Queen's alarm clock costs.

He does a wee bit more than just wake the queen up, seeing as he's a serving soldier...

I can't get indignant about a piper getting 15 minutes extra practice on a morning...

And I knew all about it, have done for years and years. I'm quite surprised that you seem to thinks it's 'news'. I thought most people knew about it. I believe the custom was initiated but that fervent Scotsphile, Queen Victoria.

Thought that was common knowledge

And he probably wakes up some other folk while he's at it

Are we supposed to get indignant about this? I thought this had been well known for years

I never knew about it.
Could be because I couldn't care less!

If he’d been waking me up like that for years I would have shot him by now!
Yes he is a serving soldier and will have other duties. They probably do it on a rota basis. They have plenty to choose from.

I’m not sure I’d like that, at least I can turn my alarm off as soon as it beeps. I might end up throwing somthing out of the window at the piper majors head
Ps. Thank for the army pay scale information it means I’m never going to feel guilty at letting my son pay for a meal, as a matter of fact I’m never paying again. Oh the things you learn on gransnet

As they have free accomodation and meals not a low salary

I wonder if the ripe has a 'snooze' button?
She bashes him on the head until he goes quiet, then starts up again in ten minutes.

Piper!

Annie I think you’ll find that all serving soldiers pay for their accommodation and single soldiers pay for their meals, and they are deducted an amount for council tax. Even as far back as the mid 1970’s, I had civilian friends labouring under the misapprehension that we didn’t pay for our service quarters, or fuel, or council tax. We wished!

He is seconded to the Royal Household. He doesn't just pop in first thing and play for 15 minutes. She uses him as an to top up the lackey numbers and we pay for it. Is no one concerned at the cost to the taxpayer or the fact that a highly (and expensively trained) soldier isn't performing his military duties. Remember the figures I quoted are simply his wages. You have to add his employer's national insurance, pension payments to that and other employer expenses such as his instrument and uniform.

Greyduster, i didn't know single men paid to live in barracks , thank you

From 2012:

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2191056/Hunt-Queens-piper-Army-Major-stands-listening-bagpipes-day-Her-Majesty-want-new-one.html

I still can't get excited about this.

And thanks for that information, Greyduster. I wonder how many of us didn't realise that serving military personnel had to pay for their accommodation etc. Do they have to pay when they are serving abroad?

Cost of a Pipe Major? £40,000
Cost of ear plugs? Priceless

Does he go with her when she goes on Foreign trips? Only I forgot my travel alarm clock last time and it was a real pain.

Oopsadaisy12

Yes, UK and abroad.

The army employs musicians to provide music for ceremonial occasions including showing respect for fallen soldiers. That is the task for which they are trained. My Dil is a professional musician, with a music degree, who joined the army in order to perform this role. By performing this role, she releases a "professional soldier" for other duties.

It might seem like a stupid job and ridiculously archaic, however, in the event of a terrorist attack or act of war, communication systems can fail. Mobile phone networks are jammed and power outages occur, so potentially, the traditional role of an army musician to play "calls" to communicate may still have a role to play.

Pipe or Bugle Master positions are used to train future band leaders and soloists and also to teach "calls" to soldiers. It's a two way teaching/mentoring system. It's a job my DiL would love to be promoted to.

An Army musician needs to practise handling ceremonial attire and slippery soled boots whilst marching into gusts of wind, sleet and hail, keeping in tune and remaining to tempo. The sound of a practising musician isn't always a listening treat! Playing reveille is difficult to practise "properly". It isn't the same thing at all to play at 11 0'clock, or indoors - learning to wrestle with a cold instrument at dawn in all weathers requires practise. Even on a military base there are sleeping babies and other personnel whose work/rest shouldn't be disturbed so there only a few military bases where soloists can get in the essential practise they need.

When my Dil isn't practising her music drills she works as an administrator within the army base. She's also received basic military training, so in the event of a terror attack on a public gathering at which she is playing, she will be able to take on a first responder role.

Based on a salary of £37k with 6 weeks leave and a 40 hour week, the cost of a 15 minute reveille call is £5 or £35 per week This seems IMHO excellent value for a back up alarm system on key sites. To train a musician as a soldier and first responder and employ them as part-time administrators to save them twiddling their thumbs waiting for an emergency or a state funeral also seems a good use of public money.

Bet that causes confusion in Muslim countries if it clashes with the Muezzin’s call to prayer.

Is no one concerned ?
Dear Vampirequeenie, no.

I think that instead of worrying about the Royal Piper (who, incidentally, pipes at 9 a.m. so the Queen's probably been up for a while before he gets going) maybe there's a question to be asked about the cost of maintaining regimental bands of what amounts to professional musicians?

After all, their original purpose was to maintain the morale of regiments on the march or going into battle, with a secondary role of helping to carry the wounded off the battlefield. Neither of which seem to be particularly relevant to the modern army..

Having said that, I'd like to make it absolutely clear that I love regimental bands and have no problem at all with the fact that they exist and offer people an excellent career.

I just think that if folks are going to get indignant about one relatively inexpensive musician perpetrating a 150 yr old tradition perhaps they should be thinking about the whole picture of the anachronistic role of regimental bands...

Sarcasm isn't necessary, eazybee.