The Great Highland Bagpipe (and its music) has long been embraced by people from all walks of life and cultures. Further evidence of this can be seen in the entries for this weekend’s online C Grade competition organised by the Scottish Piping Society of London.
We understand that at least three of the competitors are Muslim. We wish them and all the other competitors the best of luck this weekend.
The C Grade will be the only grade featured this year although a competiton for SPSL members is being held as well. The competition window closes at 09:00am GMT on Monday (9th). We will post the results when we have them.
Perthshire based piper and pipe maker, Fin Moore has been on to tell us that next weekend sees the return of the annual Blàs festival. Like most events this year, the Gaelic festival will take place online.
We had wondered about whether it would take place at all because there has been no publicity or promotion for it that we’ve seen so we’re grateful to Fin for making us aware of it.
In addition to Fin and Angus MacKenzie (of Dàimh), piping enthusiasts can take part in workshops delivered online by Gold Medallist Duncan MacGillivray, Silver Medallist James Duncan MacKenzie and Brìghde Chaimbeul. Blàs runs for 11 days from November 20-30.
The Lowland & Border Pipers’ Society is holding its annual conference – ‘collogue’ – next Saturday (14th). It will be held online using ‘zoom’ videoconference software.
The bellows-piping organisation has lined up:
• Ian Kinnear (pipe maker),
• John Purser (composer, musicologist, poet),
• Ailis Sutherland (of Hecla).
The organisation also hopes to debut a short film made last month at Arbroath Abbey where several committee members and broadcaster, Ally Heather, marked the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath.
Click here for more information.
George Farron, caretaker at Blair Castle, who was mentioned in Stuart Letford’s Glenfiddich essay on Tuesday, sent us this photograph. George took it during the competition last Friday.
He wonders: “How small is this piper?!!??!”
In the name of the wee man!