1972 By Jeannie Campbell MBE For 1972 the set tunes for the Open and Clasp were Mrs MacLeod of Talisker’s Salute, My Dearest on Earth Give me your Kiss, The Lament for the Union, MacNeil of Barra’s March, MacKenzie of Gairloch’s Lament and The Red Speckled Bull. Competitors were required […]
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CLASP profile: Peter Allen
Where are you from and how did you get into piping?I am from the USA. I got into piping while living in the UK. I was bored with guitar, and always loved the pipes. There was a teacher close by, so it made it doable. Now I live in Thailand. […]
Norman Matheson, 1932-2022
Norman Matheson, the well known piper and piping judge, died in hospital in Aberdeen on Monday. He was 89 and had been ill for some time. Matheson, who was a surgeon by profession, was born in Inverness but lived in Aberdeenshire for much of his life. He also had family […]
Famous pipers: Andrew Pitkeathly
When it comes to conversations about great pipers, Andrew Pitkeathly is sometimes overlooked, particularly by younger pipers today. A military man, he had modest competitive success: he won the Gold Medal at the 1949 Northern Meeting when a young Corporal, the same year in which he joined the Pipe Majors’ […]
More on 1921 / Giving the birl a spin / Queen’s jubilee pipe band draw
After Stuart Letford’s recent article on the 1921 Census appeared, readers have contacted us to point out that the year was the birth of quite a few individuals who would go on to become notable names in piping. These include: Tommy Pearston co-founder of the College of Piping – born […]
Piping in London – Part 8
By Jeannie Campbell MBE In 1877 the Club of True Highlanders held its shinty matches and other sports at the racecourse of the Alexandra Palace company, where it had been held for the previous two years. The Club’s annual gathering took place in July the following year there, too. However, […]
NPC seeks Shop Manager / COVID (1): safety measures force Celtic Connections show cancellations / COVID (2): Ireland pays ‘basic income’ to artists
The National Piping Centre (NPC) is currently seeking a Shop Manager for its busy retail outlet, The Bagpipe Shop. As an integral part of the team, the successful applicant will be tasked with supporting the running of the shop. This is an exciting opportunity to develop and learn more about […]
1921 comes to its Census
By Stuart Letford for Bagpipe.news Pages from the 1921 Census in the United Kingdom (UK) were made available for the first time yesterday. Unfortunately, the pages only cover England and Wales. The pages that cover Scotland won’t be released until late this year due to “complications” as a result of […]
Stuart Letford reviews ‘I Piped That She Might Dance’
I’ve long thought that Angus MacKay’s life would make for a great film. It has it all: sex, drugs (well, alcohol), rock n’ roll and a young death. Angus went from a childhood of poverty to an adolescence spent frequenting palaces and hobnobbing with the great and good of his […]
Famous pipers: Dr. Roddy Ross
By ANDRA NOBLE Roderick – Roddy – Sutherland Ross, who died in Grimsby, Lincolnshire on August 13, 2016, aged 95, was a well known name in piping. He was a noted piper and author of Binneas is Boreraig, the acclaimed six-volume work on the piping of Malcolm Macpherson. Roddy, pictured […]