Features

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 24

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 24

1952 By Jeannie Campbell MBE In 1952 the newspapers reported that the Duchess of Argyll was indisposed at Inveraray Castle so the Duke was unable to attend the Gathering. There was an attendance of 600 at the ball on the first evening of the Gathering. Competitors entering the Open ceòl […]

Stuart Letford: Echoes of Oban

Stuart Letford: Echoes of Oban

Day 1The drive from my home in central Perthshire was sublime. By the time I reached Killin, the morning mist cleared and the sun shone brightly. There was not one cloud in the sky. I stopped briefly at the Green Welly Shop in Tyndrum, the quintessential ‘tea and a pee’ […]

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 23

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 23

1951 By Jeannie Campbell MBE In 1951, competitors for the Argyllshire Gathering’s Open Piobaireachd competition had to offer four tunes, MacDougalls’ Gathering, John GarveMacLeod of Raasay’s Lament, The Daughter’s Lament, Lachlan MacNeill Campbell of Kintarbert’s Fancy. The Gold Medal competitors were to submit six tunes of their own choice. John […]

One foot in front of the other …

One foot in front of the other …

DAN NEVANS relates last week’s in-person competitions at Oban and Lochaber from the perspective of a competing piper I’ve never really been one for vacations. I’m just not good at relaxing. I always feel like the sands of my own personal hourglass increase their irreversible passage as soon as I […]

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 22

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 22

1949-1950 By Jeannie Campbell MBE In 1949, competitors for the Open Piobaireachd had to offer four tunes, The End of the Great Bridge, Lament for MacDonald’s Tutor, Scarce of Fishing and The Vaunting. For the Gold Medal no tunes were listed but for the Northern Meeting Gold Medal the requirement […]

16 questions with … Seumas Coyne

16 questions with … Seumas Coyne

1. How are you these days and how did you spend your time during the lockdown?Creating music, future music books, recordings, The Citadel … entertaining the world one tune at a time! 2. What’s your favourite destination, either for a holiday or for something piping related?Piping: Vancouver, BC. UK, and […]

Stuart Letford: Where are we now?

Stuart Letford: Where are we now?

Well, readers. What’s up? “It’s an adverb!” I’m aware of that, thank you. What I mean is, how is the COVID-19 situation in your part of the world? From what I gather, the picture globally remains quite inconsistent yet. In some places, such as Australia, where we in Scotland had […]

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 21

The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 21

1948 By Jeannie Campbell MBE In 1948, the Gaelic Concert took place in Oban Old Parish Church Hall on the evening of the first day of the Gathering. Sir Charles MacLean Bt., Duart Castle, Chief of the MacLeans, presided. The programme included Oban Gaelic Choir plus various other vocal and […]

Brodie Watson-Massey: The future won’t stop coming

Brodie Watson-Massey: The future won’t stop coming

It may be a cliché to say this but lockdown has been hard for everyone. Our struggles and experiences will have differed greatly but for most people reading this, the common struggle has been the lack of social gatherings that revolve around our instrument. The stoicism that the world has […]