Month: February 2017

History: P/M Donald MacLeod As I Knew Him

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Next month sees the annual Donald Macleod Memorial competition in Stornoway, Isle of Lewis. Few people knew the late pipe major as intimately as the author of this article for whom Donald wrote the popular 2/4 march ‘P/M Jim McWilliams’…….  Today everyone can look up the achievements of Pipe Major Donald MacLeod MBE on Wikipedia. However, you can’t get to know or appreciate what a fine man he was from lists of facts….

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PP Ed’s Blog: Florida/ 277 Pic/ Picture Poser/ Ardrossan Games/ RSPBA Summer School

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Heading home now after five solid days of teaching in Florida. Think we progressed the cause of piping and drumming another few notches. Good crowd at the closing concert and everyone looking forward to next year when we plan to incorporate a band and solo contest into the Academy’s roster. In order to maintain a high teacher/ student ratio we capped the numbers at just over 40 this year but…

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Metro Cup, New Jersey, First Results

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The annual Metro Cup run by the EUSPBA was held yesterday in New Jersey.  Pipe Major George M. Bell Amateur Championship Piobaireachd 1st Andrew Hutton 2nd Laureno Thomas-Sanchez 3rd Steven MacDonald Judge: Ian K. MacDonald Tommy Brancella Memorial MSR 1st Andrew Hutton 2nd Laurent Thomas-Sanchez 3rd Patrick Johnson Judge: Andrew Hayes Overall Champion: Andrew Hutton Runner Up: Laureno Thomas-Sanchez Stay tuned for more results as we get them

PP Editor’s Blog: Donald McBride on that Contest in 1972

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Donald McBride, one of our instructors at the South Florida Pipe and Drum Academy, has given more information on yesterday’s post on the SPA Amateur contest in 1972. During a break in the lessons Donald told me: ‘When I arrived at Washington Street I discovered my bag had burst so my father called Donald MacPherson. I had been going to him for lessons for two months. We went up to…

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History: The Scottish Pipers’ Association Junior Competition of 45 Years Ago

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The following comes from the November 8, 1972 edition of the Oban Times and is by its then piping correspondent, John MacFadyen. The Oban Times is a popular newspaper and reflects a wide range of west Highland and Argyllshire news. To its credit it has, over the years, always had a piping column, a column usually written by a leading piper or authority on piping such as John. This article…

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