Where’s the nicest place you have whistled?
I think mine might be here at Weobley Castle on the Gower Penisular in South Wales (the most becastled area in Europe).
http://www.castlewales.com/weobley.html
Few people visit this ancient monument so I thought the family was picnicing alone when I took out my whistle and played. A while later an old couple wandered out of the stone work and said they had loved it and that it had made the visit to the castle very magical.
Beautiful.
Mine is kind of weird. Years ago, my then-band was on the way to a gig when the alternator blew out of our car in the middle of nowhere. Our guitarist and bodhran player had to hike up the road half a mile to a hay farm to find a phone (This was before so many people had cell phones!) to call a tow truck. Anyway, while we were waiting for the engine to be repaired, we held an impromptu session in the parking lot. Not the “nicest” place, but definitely a memorable one. And it was a good session for me–nice and relaxed.
Caitlin
Mine is in the Columbia River Gorge, at Latourelle Falls.
http://www.ashcreekimages.com/Gorge/Waterfalls/Latourell-Falls-01.html
http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/latourell_falls.html
Another case where I thought we were alone, but it turned out that other visitors snuck up on us and complimented me on providing a lovely soundtrack.
That’s the visit when my avatar picture was taken (the white stuff behind me is waterfall spray).
I would have to say Dun Aengus fort in Ireland at the Aran Islands.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=310517488&albumID=773403&imageID=5544469
What comes to mind is Ground Zero, a couple of years after the attack on the World Trade Center.
Wow, that must have been intense.
Caitlin
Saint Anne’s Church in Jerusalem:
Hmmmm, this is a hard one for me.
There was the Great Wall of China:
and a temple in Cambodia (if memory serves, I think it is called Bayon):
and the Emporer’s Summer Palace on the outskirts of Beijing:
Cahir, County Tipperary, Ireland:
a lava tube underneath Hawaii:
the ancient city of Gerash, in Jordan:
atop Masada, in Israel:
the ancient city of Beit Shean, in Israel:
Petra:
Jerusalem:
Viet Nam:
Lantau Island, Hong Kong:
and many, many more. but these will do for now.
By the water’s edge opposite the seal colony at West Hynish, Isle of Tiree, on a calm day with one or two seals checking out the sound of the whistle.
The third & 7th pictures on http://www.tireecottage.co.uk/tiree%20pictures.htm give some idea of the setting, though they’re not the exact location.
Well, I can name lots of “weird” and “cool” places, but the nicest is Kiev ITM session. And Moscow irish session sometimes (few times a year ago).
Those were great Blackhawk.
I chickened out of what would have been my nicest place . The orchestra I play with played Severance Hall in Cleveland–one of the worlds finest concert halls–and during a break when most everyone was relaxing back stage or whatever, I came this close to pulling my whistle out and playing a tune on stage. But I wasn’t very good at the time and I was among seriously good musicians. Plus I later found out that the stage is miked at all times and it’s piped into the break room. Yikes!
Evidence for the prosecution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zy81hqvBvaw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwBPC0B7gDQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ypjwfXpyJw
David
BigDavy, 
There’s no myself in these videos though - I was either recording, or playing.
Great pics, blackhawk . For whatever reason, it just tickled me pink to see you right there with your whistle in all those awesome locations.
Ditto!
Caitlin
Thank you, Caitlin, Squidgirl and Whistlecollector. Just for you three, here are a few more:
in the background, the famous India Gate, in New Delhi:
they wouldn’t allow me into the Taj Mahal with a whistle, so I had to go a mile or two away, to Fort Agra and take this pic from there:
and Fort Agra wasn’t half bad itself:
then there was the famous Red Fort of New Delhi:
and atop a Mayan temple named Xunantunich, in Belize, with the ancient city and jungle down below:
and Chichen Itza in Mexico:
and one of my all time favorite places, Piper’s Stones, County Wicklow, Ireland:
and now you have all suffered enough.
Fantastic pictures - reminded me of the bloke who dances all over the world on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcFq0z26V3w
You should set the photos to whistle music and slide show them on YouTube - that would be great.
P.S. You beat my castle.
Though not nearly as visually stunning as the places Blackhawk and others have played, one was when I was still with the band SlipJig and opened a Gaelic Storm concert at Work Play in Birmingham, AL. THAT was a magical evening all around and the crowd was amazing. http://www.slipjigband.com/SlipJig%20Band%20-%20Gallery.html. Scroll down to large photo of the band with caption “A Celtic Evening” - Birmingham, AL Feb 26, 2005". I’m on guitar in the photo but played whistle on three tunes that night. All the instruments behind us are Gaelic Storm’s.
Another was being asked by Grammy nominee Claire Lynch to play whistle with her band in a special Christmas concert a few years ago. Another memorable evening. No photos from that night but Claire’s web site is: http://www.clairelynch.com/
Trust me, when I get to Ireland I plan to play whistle in all the places I’ve only dreamed about.
Your castle is very cool, Tootler. I didn’t beat anything because it’s not a contest. It’s just a bunch of us having fun sharing the experience of whistling in fun places. I travel a lot and photography is a hobby of mine, and I carry a whistle in my backpack, so it’s only natural for me to say to someone “Hey, get a pic of me over there, okay?” I didn’t mean to hijack your thread, my friend, I just wanted to share a little of what I’ve been doing the last few years.