Further to our report in early August that McCallum Bagpipes is to supply a set of pipes for the Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations next June, organisers have provided further details. Bruno Peek, Pageantmaster, said: “Anyone can enter this competition to win a set of McCallum’s MacRae SL4 pipes. This range […]
News
Andrew Ferguson wins inaugural Lochnell contest
Andrew Ferguson of Dollar, Scotland was the overall winner at yesterday’s inaugural Lochnell Intermediate Piping Championship held at Lochnell Castle, Argyll. Andrew won the MSR and the Ceol Mòr in this competiton which pipers aged under 22. The standard of playing heard from all ten pipers was reported to be […]
Liddell, Forrester and Christie triumph at Capt. John Memorial
Stuart Liddell of Inveraray, Scotland was awarded the overall Edinburgh Castle Silver Trophy in Premier grade solo events at the eighth annual Captain John A. MacLellan MBE Solo Piping Competition. The competition did not take place last year due to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s competition was held, as ever, […]
Jeannie ‘overwhelmed’ at response to book / Roddy’s recital postponed
Piping historian, Jeannie Campbell MBE says she has been ‘overwhelmed’ with the reaction so far to her new book, Pipe Bands. The former curator of the Museum of Piping at the College of Piping published her massive reference book last week and says she has already sold half of the […]
Famous pipe bands: Clan MacRae
One of the truly great bands in the history of the pipe band movement was the Clan MacRae Society Pipe Band of Glasgow, Scotland. Farquhar MacRae (1859-1916) formed the band in the autumn (fall) of 1913 but he called it the City of Glasgow Pipe Band. Farquhar won the Gold […]
Eilidh’s mother tells inquiry how her world was ‘torn apart’ by terrorist bombing / Live solo piping in Scotland this weekend
The mother of Eilidh MacLeod has told how her world was torn apart by the Manchester Arena terrorist attack. Marion MacLeod told the public inquiry into the terror attack that she had arrived outside the venue to collect her 14-year-old daughter and her friend who had been to the Ariana […]
Stuart Letford reviews ‘Bagpipe Brothers’
Bagpipe Brothers by Kerry Sheridan was published in paperback in 2006. It’s taken three attempts for me to finish it. There are two reasons for this: 1) given its subject matter – the four pipe band members, all firemen, who played at the funeral of every colleague who perished in […]
CLASP profile: Damien Pitman
• Where are you from and how did you get into piping?Johannesburg, South Africa. I started learning the bagpipes when I was 12 years old. Rory Bellingan tutored me. I started playing because the secondary school that I chose to attend (Jeppe High School for Boys) had a band and […]
Stories of the Tunes – The Battle of Auldearn
Three miles east of the town of Nairn lies the small village of Auldearn, the scene of a bloody struggle on the May 9, 1645 when Royalist forces under James Graham, 1st Marquis of Montrose fought with those of the Solemn League and Covenant (Covenanters) led by Sir John Hurry […]
The history of the Argyllshire Gathering, part 25
1953-1954 By Jeannie Campbell MBE At the beginning of 1953, in an effort to extend the season, hoteliers in Oban asked the council to hold the Argyllshire Gathering a week later. However, the stewards of the Gathering decided against altering their arrangements.Competitors for the Open Piobaireachd in 1953 were required […]