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Don’t forget to offer your opinion on the Champion of Champions poll above. Now that Cowal is past, visitors might have a better idea of how the event could handle re-instituting the awards there.
Still with the bands, a good letter today on the Worlds and Grade 1 players being allowed to play ‘down’. Correspondent Jim Johnson, like all those with any sense, believes the open circle formation can’t come quickly enough. Read Jim’s letter here. We’ll have more on the ‘playing down’ issue later. Here’s what i propose:
One notable missing from the Argyllshire Gathering last week was Angus Nicol of the Highland Society of London. On the phone the other day, Angus, now out of hospital, frail but recovering, told me that this year was the first Gathering he had missed since 1936 when he was aged three! My goodness, think of the piping history he has witnessed. Angus hopes to be up and about in time for the London Championship in November. Angus’s duties at Oban were taken on and efficiently handled by Neil Mulvie, also a representative of the HSL.
I hope everyone appreciated the nice gesture at Oban where Angus MacColl played a tribute to the fallen at the Battle of the Somme and in particular to the composer of the retreat of the same name Willie Lawrie. Allan MacColl included a nice story about Willie in the programme for the recent Lochaber Gathering.
It reads: ‘In 1903 Willie and his friend and pupil Hugh MacDonald’s only means of getting to Fort William was on a shared bicycle. The pair agreed that Willie would pedal the 15 miles from Ballachulish and Hugh would ride on the back with the two sets of pipes in tow.
‘Willie peddled furiously and they arrived just in time. Willie told Hugh that he was in possession of a new shorthand book of pipe music [probably a copy of Gen. Thomason’s ‘Ceol Mor’] and he was going to play his tune as written there. He duly did so and was then called to the bench and asked to explain why he played as he did.
‘Willie responded firmly that that was how it should be played and if they didn’t agree they could keep their prizes! Much to his surprise he was placed first and went on to win all the competitions that day.’
Happy to do that Ewan and please forward the entry form and we’ll post that for download.
Still with Shotts, their P/Sgt Glenn Brown tells me he has taken up a teaching job at St Thomas’ Episcopal School in Houston, Texas, where that other top North American piper Mike Cusack is headmaster. Shotts fans needn’t worry about losing Gold Medallist Glenn’s talent. He’ll be flying back as required to play with the band as required. We wish Glenn all the best in his new job.
