Tom Johnstone: Just stumbled across the College’s ‘Follow Me, I’m Right Behind You’ video today. Very entertaining and honest, and very moving about the College and its history and of course subsequent events. A few tears.
On a parallel, John Nevans and I are are teaching a Swiss band called ‘Scotch Watch’ who will play in 4b at the Worlds and it is so similar!
One guy in the band is Irish living in Germany who I teach piobaireachd and he just won the CLASP piob ground contest. He was just as you described in the video….telling his friends he’s going to play in the Worlds! As you rightly said – these people will never be great players but if they can improve and achieve some of their goals then that’s great. Anyway well done to you and big Barry doing that! All the best, Tom.
Thanks Tom. There were those who failed to understand the purpose of the band and we got a bit of flak from judges at the time. In a way the idea summed up the ethos of the College of Piping from the days of Tommy Pearston and Seumas MacNeill. No matter how poor a player or how low in funds, if you wanted to play the bagpipe they would help you.
James Campbell Medal
The fourth annual Pembroke College Cambridge Piping Competition vying for the James Campbell Medal will take place at Pembroke College on Saturday 17th May 2025 at 2:30 pm, writes Robert Porter.
Competitors are expected to play a medley of tunes (which may include a piobaireachd ground) of between five and 10 minutes. All students, fellows and staff of any Cambridge College are eligible to enter. Any eligible person interested in participating should contact master@pem.cam.ac.uk in the first instance.
The James Campbell Piping Competition is named in honour of the late James Campbell MC of Kilberry, a Law Fellow at Pembroke College, a piper and a respected authority on piobaireachd.
Piper Soldier
Here is a photograph from a supplement magazine which comes with the Press & Journal newspaper, writes Duncan Watson. The front page has a striking photograph of a soldier piper in combat dress. He is Lance Corporal Jamie Killorn and attended Oban High School.
The article brings home to us what our people are engaged in on our behalf and should give us food for thought. There is a sense of pride in this, but also a sense of sadness that these exercises are necessary.
The article reads: ‘Oban-born Lance Corporal Jamie Killorn, 26, an assault pioneer with 4 Scots found himself the focus of international media attention when he proudly piped out of the trenches in front of NATO VIPs on the final day of Exercise Steadfast Dart.
‘At the end of a large scale battle simulation, attended by the world’s press, he emerged from the smoke-covered trenches playing a haunting battle song [sic]. Said James: ‘As far as our NATO allies are concerned wherever the ‘Jocks’ go the sound of the pipes will closely follow.’
‘James attended Oban High School before joining the Army in 2019. He has piped and served all over the world. The highlights of his career have been the overseas deployments and state ceremonial duties – the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Coronation of King Charles III.’
Wheel of Fortune
This popular competition takes place tomorrow from midday at Danderhall Miners Club. The pipers are: Sandy Cameron, John Dew, Cameron Drummond, Brian Lamond, Gordon McCready, Cameron May, Ross Miller and Sarah Muir.
Full address of the venue is Danderhall Miners Club, 88 Edmonstone Road, Danderhall, EH22 1QU. Further information: therealjpwhite@gmail.com or call 07941 679015. Entry is £15 at the door (£7.50 for U16s). Doors open 11.15am; competition starts at 12 noon. Prizes at 4.30pm.
Antrim Bands
Also tomorrow is this indoor band event in Northern Ireland (venue Parkhall Integrated College, Steeple Rd., Antrim, BT41 1AF.
