All roads lead to Dumbarton tomorrow for the third major of the pipe band season. Weather is looking pretty good (for the west of Scotland), with perhaps a few showers early on; dry by the March Past.
A highly respectable 132 bands have entered for what will be the 25th Scottish Championships to be held under the shadow of the Rock. The sponsors, West Dunbarton Council deserve all credit for the way they have supported our movement since 1999.
Each year they lay on a manicured venue at Levengrove Park and let the public in for free. I hope they get a good crowd tomorrow. The council has put out a press release which features Glasgow Skye piper Craig Bell and bass drummer Ian MacMillan (pictured above); they have competed in all 25 Dumbarton championships.
Craig , 35, said: ‘My fondest memory was in 2016 when I was playing in the Johnstone band with my younger sister Rebecca; we both won that year.’
Chieftain, Provost Douglas McAllister, said: ‘Many people will hold fond memories of this championship and I look forward to welcoming everyone back for the anniversary event.’
Grade 1 starts at 2.15pm and ends two hours later. Running order: Fife Police, Shotts, S Power, Johnstone, FM, SLOT, Boghall, Closkelt, Police Scot., Inveraray. Judges John Wilson, Peter Hunt, Stuart Coils, Thomas Brown will here some good medley playing I am sure.
(It was a pleasure catching up with Stuart last week whilst up in Tobermory. He is tutoring the local kids band and even strapped on a side drum at the Kilchoan show the day after the games.)
Aboyne Games
Piping Convenor Jack Taylor has been in touch: ‘Aboyne Games entries may close on the website today (July 26). Here’s the link: https://register.aboynegames.com/. There is a good entry, but room for more seniors and juniors but I am happy to take entries after this, and on the day.
‘If the website is closed, please contact me on jackandmarytaylor@gmail.com. The games are on Saturday, August 3rd. Please note, competitors coming from south should cross the Dee at Potarch – the bridge in Aboyne is closed.’
Games round up. Today we have Durness in the far north west and tomorrow Hallkirk in Caithness, and Airth (entries on field by 11am). On Sunday entries on the field at St Andrews before 12 noon. Midweek same time for entries at Arisaig on July31.
Newspaper clipping from 50 years ago
This is from the Edinburgh Evening News from 1971. It reads ‘Pipers keep in tune on the Zampogna…Nero may have fiddled while Rome burned but his real musical love was in fact the zampogna, or Italian bagpipes.
‘More light was thrown on this primitive instrument by the Italian Institute for Foreign Trade in Edinburgh yesterday. To help launch an Italian gastronomic festival, two Italian bagpipers arrived last night.
‘At the airport Giovanni Oliva and his son Antonino played their pipes along with Pipe Sgt. John Percival and Martin Wilson of the Edinburgh Police Pipe Band.
‘Sergeant Percival tried the Italian version of the bagpipe which has two chanters and one drone….’
Hawai’i Pipers
P/M Hardy Spoehr has forwarded an updated version of his book on the islands’ piping history. A huge tome, it will be of interest to anyone with a connection to Honolulu, Maui etc.
Hardy writes: ‘This is our final publication and I hope you will find it interesting. One chapter details historical relationships between the British and Hawaiian monarchies, the latter prepared for our celebration of Her Late Majesty’s Platinum Jubilee here in Hawai’i at ‘Iolani Palace.
‘Our band, the Celtic Pipes and Drums, continues to thrive and is now under the leadership of Tina Yap who you may remember joined us at Coeur d’Alene for a number of years – great memories. Me Ke Aloha.’
