Ali and his pipes help break the PTSD silence
The squawking of gulls, buzz of Tarbert seafood being landed and clanking of yacht rigging at the marina has been joined by a new sound - Skirlness.
Ali Duff - perhaps better known as The Hairy Piper - is taking on a daily piping challenge for a cause dear to his heart.
To raise money for armed forces charity Poppyscotland, Ali will play his pipes, streamed on his Facebook page, each day for the entire 30 days of April - a mission he has dubbed ‘Skirlness’.
Aside from raising money for the charity, the aim is to make plenty of noise for awareness and break the silence around Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and mental health among armed forces veterans.
Ali spoke honestly and movingly about his reasons for taking on the challenge.
‘I’m a veteran with PTSD from the conflict in Kosovo,’ he explained, ‘where I served as a gunner in 32 Regiment Royal Artillery. A few years ago I became suicidal and my wonderful partner Siobhan and I lost our bed and breakfast business due to my mental health and not being able to work to help with the running costs. We become homeless on Christmas Eve, 2017. With the help and support of Poppyscotland, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association and other veterans’ charities, we found a house in Tarbert and we were given the keys on February 14 2018.’
Ali continued: ‘On moving, here I started playing the bagpipes again after a 25-year absence and found my mental improving through the power of music, so I wanted to share that experience.
‘With Siobhan's encouragement we formed The Hairy Piper Facebook page and played every day through lockdown for the first month, then
I started raising money for Poppyscotland.
‘I have raised more than £3,000 so far with individual appeals through our JustGiving page and gift aid.
‘Now I want to reach £3,000 on my JustGiving page by Armistice Day, November 11, and I will keep working towards that target for as long as I can.’
And that’s where Skirlness comes in.
Launching Skirlness on Friday April 1, Ali posted on Facebook: ‘On this day in 1973 John Lennon and Yoko Ono formed a new country called Nutopia; it’s anthem being silence.
‘Well today I’m going to form my own little world called Skirlness and it will be anything but silent, because for the next 30 days I’ll be making a lot of noise for PTSD awareness and mental health among our veterans.’
But it is not quite as straightforward as it might appear. ‘I suffer from PTSD, so some days I find it harder to play in public,’ said Ali.
‘Sometimes the memory plays tricks and can get me quite flustered, but I get there in the end.’
And, technical hitches aside, the fundraiser is well up and running, and so far Ali has performed at his own home, where his support dog and family member Brochan enjoyed the fun, and at Tarbert war memorial.
Ali is now thinking about extending Skirlness to 70 days in remembrance of the Falklands War. Later this year, he hopes to travel to every war memorial across Scotland to play his pipes for the cause and in tribute to the fallen, but added: ‘With petrol costs rising, I’ll have to change my car to a more economical model before setting off.’
The charity Poppyscotland has been supporting Scotland’s ex-servicemen, women and their families since 1921. Whether a veteran is struggling with a life-changing battlefield injury, psychological trauma, financial hardship, homelessness or has turned to substance abuse as a way to cope, Poppyscotland is there to help.
To support Ali and Skirlness, search the Just Giving website for ‘Ali Duff Hairy Piper’ and scroll down to find the page.