By Jeannie Campbell During that first British tour in 1904, Albert and the Kilties played for King Edward VII at Balmoral and a newspaper reporter in Dundee asked about the experience. “Yes,” he said, “the King was certainly pleased. … I piped and danced for Queen Victoria many a time. […]
By Jeannie Campbell Some time ago, I received a letter from Dale Brown with a request for information on an unknown piper from the past. He told me that he had been asked to look at a piece of music found in a pipe box few years previously by a […]
One implication of Brexit that is of interest to UK-based bagpipe manufacturers – as well as pipers with silver-mounted pipes – is how their silver will be recognised after January 1, 2021. From this date, the United Kingdom’s obligations to recognise the silver hallmarks from countries in the European Union […]
This article from the April 2000 Piping Times looked at changes made to hallmark regulations as a result of a ruling by the European Court of Justice a few months previously. Read also ‘Know your hallmarks’. By Robert Wallace Anyone buying new silver-mounted pipes would do well to heed the […]
Entries are now open for the 2021 Junior Competition organised by the National Piping Centre. This will be the 25th year of the contest – and it, like virtually all competitions this year, will be an online video submission competition, rather than an in-person event. To mark the milestone, however, […]
By John J.van OmmenKloeke So many times questions are asked about the age of hallmarked silver mounts on the pipes, that it seems wise to offer some more precise information on just how to interpret those hitherto quizzical hieroglyphs on the luxury parts of our favourite musical instrument. On close […]
Next year, the National Piping Centre marks its 25th anniversary. Among other initiatives planned to commemorate the milestone is the publication of a collection of original pipe music. The organisation is inviting all students, former and current, over the past 25 years to contribute to the project. Tunes should be […]
By Keith Sanger During the talk, ‘Ceol Mor and its Gaelic Definitive Terms’ given at the 1987 Piobaireachd Society Conference, a mention was made of the term ‘Eallach’ used for the double echo played on low A. Apart from confirming that the translation as “burden” given by Major General C. […]
We can thank the Lowland & Border Pipers’ Society (LBPS) for the successful revivial of bellows-blown bagpipes that’s taken place in Scotland in recent years. The Society was founded by a handful of enthusiasts in Glasgow in the early 1980s. At the time, the instrument and the pipe music of […]
In 2000, as the new millennium dawned, William Donaldson published his controversial The Highland Pipe and Scottish Society 1750-1950. It was a landmark publication and it remains a masterly – and controversial – work. It should be part of any piper’s library. In his book, Donaldson takes a swipe at […]
