The Band of the Welsh Guards at Spruce Meadows

Labour Day at Spruce Meadows, and the Band of the Welsh Guards took the outdoor stage.

Scarlet tunics, black trousers with the red stripe, white belts and pouches, peaked caps. Saxophones up. One man at the microphone in white gloves. Behind him, trees, a tent, and the usual Meadows clutter of speakers and cables. Formal dress on a Calgary long weekend. It should have felt out of place. It did not.

They were very nice to listen to. Not background. Not a recording leaked through a PA. A working Guards band, tight and bright, playing for people who had come for horses and a holiday and got a courtyard concert instead. The uniforms do some of the talking. The playing does the rest.

I shot a still and a short clip. That is enough. The back of a red tunic. Gold braid. A white pouch. A conductor at the mic. Labour Day is usually the last barbecue and the drive home. For a short set it felt like a ceremony that had wandered onto the show-jumping grounds and decided to stay.

The Welsh Guards came a long way for a September afternoon in Alberta. They sounded like they meant it. That is the post: scarlet, brass, and a band that was worth standing still for.