Dean Castle in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, Scotland, the former stronghold of the Boyd family, is currently undergoing a major redevelopment. The castle was known as Kilmarnock Castle until the 1700s. East Ayrshire Leisure’s Dick Institute is responsible for the operation and management of the castle and estate, and has been […]
We have received a couple of interesting responses to the two items that appeared in yesterday’s post. Firstly, piping historian, Jeannie Campbell of Glasgow, Scotland has provided more information on those early piping competitions held in London. Jeannie says: “The first reported Highland Gathering in London took place on the […]
A few weeks ago we carried a couple of articles on old Angus MacPherson and the early competitions that took place in London and wider southeast of England. Readers may recall Roddy Livingstone, London, sent us interesting additional information. Roddy wrote: “It is recorded (although I can’t remember exactly where) […]
Our second member of the Competition League for Amateur Solo Pipers (CLASP) to be profiled is Dagmar Pesta from Germany, pictured. CLASP is the National Piping Centre’s circuit of graded solo piping competitions for adult amateur pipers. There are now 107 members worldwide – a record – and its latest […]
Despite the restrictions placed on us all by the coronovirus pandemic, many a Burns Supper took place around the world last night. All were held online, of course. More will take place tonight and tomorrow. For a couple of members of the Bagpipe.News team who ‘attended’ events last night, the […]
Things look increasingly bleak for hopes of a return to a normal competition season this year, whether in the pipe band world or in solo piping. It’s only mid-January yet several major non-piping outdoor music events have already been cancelled, including, yesterday, the massive pop music festival held at Glastonbury […]
By Dr John Smith, chairman of the Lewis and Harris Piping Society Pipe Major Iain Murdo Morrison passed away at the Western Isles Hospital, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis on December 17. Although he had been unwell for some time his death came somewhat unexpectedly, and caused ripples of sorrow in […]
This year’s Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships will go ahead. However, the competition will be smaller and will take place online. Organiser, the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust (SSPDT), said the competition is going ahead in March – even if the country’s state schools remain closed. Currently, schools are […]
Stuart Samson MBE has released his second book of original music. The book – digital only – comes a decade after his acclaimed Lands of Bens and Glens and Heroes collection and has been compiled and produced during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The former Pipe Major of […]
By Bridget MacKenzie This article is based to a large extent on material kindly supplied by George Moss’s nephew, Jim (Hamish) Hamilton, Aberdeen, to whom I give my thanks George Moss (1903-1990) was an important figure in Highland piping who has not received the recognition due to him. Such men […]
