Slunge book makes a pipe band splash for Bone Cancer Research Trust

The one-woman pledge-driver, Fiona Morris, who has so far almost single-handedly raised more than $25,000 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust, is at it again, and again with the assistance of friends with the online publication of A Slunge in the Bidet, an e-book that compiles amusing and amazing stories from the pipe band world.

Written and illustrated, respectively, by Barham Brummage and Islay Spalding of Dundee, Scotland’s Grade 2 MacKenzie Caledonia Pipe Band, and edited by Morris, all proceeds from the £5.53 Amazon Kindle book will go to the charity.

As a cause, the Bone Cancer Research Trust struck a chord with the pipe band world after Morris was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare form of the disease, in 2012. A tenor drummer with the Grade 1 Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia Pipe Band, Fiona Morris beat the odds and, so far, the disease, through rigorous treatment that also spared her the amputation of a leg. After several months of rehabilitation and therapy, Morris was back playing with Boghall and competed with the band throughout its successful 2013 season.

“For anyone who thinks pipe bands are full of grumpy old men the book will give an insight into what actually goes on in a band,” Morris said. “The book is great for bandsmen and general readers and had me laughing out loud.”

The stories were donated by numerous pipers, drummers and enthusiasts in the pipe band world, coming from Canada, Australia and Scotland. Tales include a judge struck by lightning, a bass drummer who lost his drum out a third storey window, and a competitor that was unfortunately too close to the heavy events at one event.

The electronic book does not require Kindle hardware, and can also be read using the Kindle application, which is available for numerous other platforms and is a free download from Amazon.

A “slunge” is slang for various terms, including a lazy person, a stuck-up female, and a verb in Scots slang meaning a splashing sound in water. Readers of the book will have to find out.