By The Editor
There has been a great deal of response to the article by former Northern Meeting Dress and Deportment judge Bill Blacklaw first carried in these pages a few weeks ago. It was followed by his erudite exposition on how to wear Highland Dress – widely read by hundreds of pipers and bandsmen and women around the world according to our figures. We also carried out a poll which showed the overwhelming majority of readers were in favour of a smart appearance for pipers and drummers when appearing in public.
However such were the misunderstandings and the misplaced nature of some of the comments on Mr Blacklaw ‘s original article that I asked him to respond in a fuller piece for the magazine. This he has kindly agreed to do. It begins:
‘I have just got back from a few days holiday and was absolutely horrified to discover the hornet’s nest that had been stirred up over my article on the declining standards of dress at piping competitions; and even more horrified to find that some correspondents were regarding it as an attack on or tirade against Gordon Walker….’
What a storm in a sporran;
High hose, low hose, who knows,
Laces to the front of them, laces to the side of them;
Flashes a sunder !
Makes ye wunder.
Yes, the time has come to smarten up on dress and deportment; Bur never forget, the piping comes first.