A feature of the modern piping scene has been the increase in piping events where the focus is not so much on competition but on fun. The Wheel of Fortune competition was one such event. Hosted by the City of Edinburgh Pipe Band and held in Danderhall Miners’ Club, these events ran for a decade and were immensely popular with the pipers as well as the audience.
The invited contestants would deliver a short recital spontaneously based on a spin of a big wheel from musical parameters such as tunes composed by G. S. MacLennan, a 9/8 march, or a pibroch ground etc. At the end of their recital, each competitor had to tell a joke which they are also graded on by both judges and the audience.
The 2017 Wheel of Fortune was the last one and featured, left to right, Gordon Bruce, Jonathon Simpson, Sarah Muir, Jock Elliot of G1 Reeds (sponsor), Ben Duncan, Lachie Dick and Jenny Hazzard.
Ben Duncan came out on top although Jenny Hazzard’s joke was voted the best.
