Piper, composer and Donald Drone cartoonist Iain Bell, from Dumfriesshire, has had four tunes published in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police 150th collection tune book. It all came about by happy coincidence, which demonstrates the fellowship and common bond between pipers and drummers worldwide. Former RCMP C/Supt. and piper Rod […]
Tag: From Scots Borderer to Ulster Scot
Iain Bell shares a couple of tunes and talks of the Ulster Scots traditions that inspired his book
Iain Bell is a piper, composer, tune book publisher and the creator of the Donald Drone cartoon series that was a well-loved feature of the Piping Times magazine. His tune writing emerged at the age 13, after he had experienced a few years in a pipe band, but his serious […]
Lathallan’s Loos pipes / Jack records a ‘stoater’ of a tune / Remembrance Day marked in Berlin
A set of pipes that sounded at the Battle of Loos and which belonged to an east of Scotland school’s first piping instructor have been donated to the school. Harry Stott taught at Lathallan School near Montrose throughout the 1960s and 70s. However, much earlier, at the outbreak of the […]
Clan MacRae pic / Musicianship / Donald Drone
Last Friday’s post on the Clan MacRae Pipe Band jolted a few memories from readers. Donald Macleod was among those who contacted us and he was able to identify some of the individuals in the photograph. Donald, brother of Kenny Macleod of McCallum Bagpipes, told us: “In the back row, […]
Bob Semple: a new tune for a pipe band legend
A new tune has been composed in honour of Robert – Bob – Semple O.A.M, B.E.M. who died in January after a short illness, aged 99. Bob was a huge figure in the piping scene of Australia and was at the centre of the pipe band movement there for most […]