Month: October 2016

The William Grant Foundation and the Sponsorship of Piping

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It was reassuring to see Mr Nick Addington, Chief Executive of the William Grant Foundation, the sponsor,  present the prizes at the weekend’s Glenfiddich Championship at Blair Castle. I am sure he would have been impressed by the organisation and the general enthusiasm for the old competition now in its 42nd year, and he will have seen at first hand where the money he disburses on behalf of the Foundation goes…

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Glenfiddich Championship Results

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The Glenfiddich Champion for 2016 is Roderick MacLeod. He was placed first in Ceol Mor to take the overall title. Runner-up overall was William McCallum with Bruce Gandy in third. The annual competition was held as usual in the Great Hall at Blair Castle, Blair Atholl, Perthshire. Those unable to travel to the event were able to watch it on Livestream which at one point peaked at 7,000+ viewers. The main picture shows the 2016 winner…

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History of the Scottish Piping Society of London/ Letters: City of Whitehorse/ Ceol Beag Tunes

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The annual competition run by the Scottish Piping Society of London takes place a week on Saturday in the Kensington Conference Centre. Since the early 1930s it has been one of the highlights of the solo calendar. Today we begin a look back at the history of this illustrious Society and its early beginnings tracing the origins of its famous competitions for the Bratach Gorm and the Gillies Cup. The…

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PP Ed’s Blog: Gold Medallists of the Queen’s Own Highlanders

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Yesterday’s mention of the brilliant playing of P/M Iain Morrison, Lewis, brought to mind this famous picture of all the Gold Medallists of the Queen’s Own Highlanders attending the 1970 Northern Meeting. It features Iain standing top right. I am not sure if everyone is au fait with the individuals and their tunes, and to the modern generation these gentlemen will probably seem as mysterious as the early MacCrimmons. So, history…

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Tommy Millar MBE

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It is with sadness that we report on the passing of Tommy Millar a true stalwart of the pipe band movement in Northern Ireland throughout his life. Tommy (84) had not been in the best of health for a number of years. His funeral service was held today in his home town of Ballymena. He was known throughout the Province and was often quoted as saying that the pipe band…

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