Tom Johnstone, President of the Scottish Pipers’ Association: ‘Thanks for that article on the 1970 Mod. Happy memories for me there – I knew I had won something but didn’t remember that it was the strathspey and reel.
‘I also got a Kilberry Book as a prize which I still use to this day (getting a bit tatty though!). Here is the photo of us juniors which appeared in the Oban Times [above]. L-R: Ronnie Elmslie, Me, Les Hutt, Donald McBride – the rest I don’t remember their names.
‘The other photo [below] is the trophy that I won. Lipton’s supermarket had it as a window display with a bottle of whisky in it and asked if they could keep it in the window for the rest of the week to save disrupting their display. I agreed and had to go back to Oban the following weekend to pick it up and they gave me the bottle for my trouble!
• See also the interesting comment from Less Hutt on this story. That very small, cherubic, innocent person in the middle of the first picture surely can’t be Donald McBride?
• Remember children play for their fun not yours
• Never ridicule a child for making a mistake
• Praise your child’s effort win or lose; focus on the performance and not the result
• Encourage your child to respect the decisions of the officials
• Playing in a band should be a fun place for children to be.
All good advice for anyone involved in juvenile bands or with kids in adult bands. And to the above I would add that children – naturally competitive – should occasionally be reminded that it is not all about winning but also about music and friendship.
Composing Competition for a new Pipe March. £1,000 first prize…..
Someone has sent this in an unnamed email. It’s in reply to an earlier post apropos the All-Ireland Solos: ‘The winner of the Senior Grade was James Boyce of Saintfield Pipe Band; it was the first of three in a row – and as I don’t have the 1963 result maybe four in a row.’
Last chance to take part in our poll on piper’s dress. Results very soon: [polldaddy poll=10116643]
With the approach of the World Solo Drumming, I thought it a suitable time to run this picture from Alan Chatto in Australia. Alan writes: ‘Just attaching a photo of the Rutherglen Pipe Band (Glasgow) Snare Dum Corps, before competing in the Worlds Grade 1 Pipe Band Championship at Linksfield Stadium, Aberdeen in 1958. The Drummers are L/D Willie Corr, mid Eddie Wright and Flank, Allan Chatto (Australia) I thought this may be of interest to your readers.’
Alan has also included this picture of the Dalzell Highland Pipe Band. He writes: ‘Here is a photo of the Dalzell band probably taken in the late 1940s’: 
I can spot drummers Alex Duthart sitting front right and Billy Stevenson standing in the back row. Anyone any other names?
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