ST Ronan’s Silver Band are an instrumental part of Games Week.

And this year they welcomed back a former member as a special guest.

Trombone player Michael Heaney played for the band as a schoolboy before emigrating to America.

But last week he returned to his roots in Innerleithen with his wife Tipton to join in the festivities.

Speaking during the visit to St Ronan’s Wells on Friday evening, Michael, who lives in New Hampshire, said: “Our local town has an annual festival and a parade, and the fire trucks come out and a few stalls on the village green and that’s it. But nothing like this.

“I still play with community bands in America, which is similar to the Silver Band here but with more woodwind.

“I was born and grew up here and I played with the band when I was a kid until I went to university, and occasionally after that I tried to get back every so often.” It turned into a family reunion for Michael whose sister and nephew play in the band, which is conducted by his brother-in-law David Robb.

“It’s a different perspective because when you are playing you are right in the middle of it and you’re part of the performance,” he explained. “And, as a guest, you see a whole different thing, and you hear things differently - it’s great.” Tipton revealed it was her first visit to Innerleithen for Games Week and praised the community for welcoming them. She admitted not many people Stateside will be familiar with the festivities which she compared it to the independence day celebrations in America.

When asked how she could describe the Games Week to back home, Tipton said: “I’m still trying to figure that out. So many people in America, the only thing they think of when they think of Scotland involves bagpipes and kilts and the Loch Ness monster. So I just tell people what a nice town this is and what a sense of community it is and I think the shining feature of these Games is just how much the community comes together. If it rains people are still out there supporting everybody. That’s pretty amazing.”