1933-1934 By Jeannie Campbell MBE In 1933 the usual advertisements appeared in the usual newspapers during August ahead of the Gathering on September 13 and 14. Accommodation at hotels and boarding houses was taxed to the utmost. The Duke of Argyll, chieftain of the gathering, was not present this year. The […]
1931-1932 By Jeannie Campbell In 1931 the games and balls of the Argyllshire Gathering were held on September 9 and 10. As usual, the Gaelic concert was held on the evening prior to the Gathering (Tuesday 8). Oban had been enjoying a month of glorious weather and this continued during the […]
Jeannie Campbell’s recent article on Owen MacNiven contained a few passages that triggered in solo piping judge, Roddy Livingstone a few memories of some of the leading lights of the London piping scene of yesteryear. He writes: “During the 25 years I was a pupil and friend of James Campbell […]
By Jeannie Campbell MBE In mid-April 2020 an article appeared on this website about the legendary Robert Reid (1895-1965). Born in Slamannan, Scotland, Reid was one of the finest pipers of the 20th century and the most dominant piper of the 1920s and 1930s. The article that appeared – ‘The master […]
Owen MacNiven was a well-known piper of the pre-war era. Born in Paisley in 1916 he was taught initially by John Morrell 1926 before the great Pipe Major Robert Reid took him on. By all accounts, Owen was an excellent piper – and the only one of Robert Reid’s pupils […]
GREY’S NOTES by Michael Grey Piping Today #58, 2012. There’s one sure thing about being involved in the piping game: there’s never a shortage of memory-making material. The bagpipe seems to have a way of finding the centre of the most percolating social action. Or maybe it’s the pipes that […]
