Interesting response to Allan Hamilton’s comment on Dolina MacKay and her son Evan. Allan wrote: ‘Evan MacKay, a prominent pupil of the College of Piping in the ’50/’60s. Quite a character too. Attended Woodside Academy [Glasgow] and always dressed in the kilt. All the time. In his 20s he joined the Army for a week and decided it wasn’t for him. He joined Glasgow Police …. before joining Hong Kong Police…..
Scott Bennett: ‘Good to read Alan Hamilton’s comments about Dolina Mackay and her son Evan. He was a good friend of mine in our early College of Piping days. Evan was our pipe major when our College band played at villages throughout Brittany on our way to the Celtic Congress in Brest in 1956.’
Iain Alexander: ‘I remember Evan well in my class at Woodside; quite a character as you say; always in the kilt. He disappeared to the Army for a very short time. His explanation was the khaki unbearably irritated his legs after the kilt. Gaelic was taught [at the school] and my chums, like Angus Munro, were from the islands, as was my mother, Mairi MacPherson.’
Cancale
Still in Brittany, Youn Pensec, has kindly forwarded this short video of last year’s ‘Piobaireachd by the Sea’ at Mont St Michel. It features Jakez Pincet with one of his own compositions and effective accompaniment on voice and box:
Scots Guards KO
A large crowd saw Bobby Allan win through against Callum Wynd in the latest heat held at the Scots Guards Club, Haymarket, Edinburgh, yesterday. A high standard of playing was reported by experts in the large crowd.
Contact re Malcolm Ferguson
Ben Maclennan in South Africa: Hi Robert, About the Donald MacLeod tune and my granny, I see Colin Moulson replied with information about his grandfather Malcolm Ferguson. I’d very much like to contact him directly. Would you be so kind as to either give me his email, or forward this to him? Ben 072-976-3194 whatsapp only; 087-550-2565 farm landline; Postnet Queenstown / Komani; skilderkrans@gmail.com
Hello again re Evan MacKay. Your report states that in the ‘1953’ photo of the CoP band in Brittany, Evan may have been the PM. I would suggest in that year that Evan would have been 11/12 years and the piper behind the PM would be Evan. That’s him with the cheeky eyes.