No Grade 1 bands at Gourock last Sunday. Perfect weather, good transport. Where were Glasgow & the West’s Shotts, Police Federation, Scottish Power, Inveraray and Johnstone? In my day this branch was the heartbeat not only of Scotland’s pipe banding but of the world movement itself. The first contest of the year would have had the top bands clamouring for an early season run out.
Was it lack of notice, lack of publicity? Washington Street should have someone working on the 2026 calendar, five majors and the minors, as early as possible. It is not enough to leave minor contest promotion to the branches. Headquarters needs to be proactive in pushing them. And I repeat again for the umpteenth time, Grade 1 bands should be required to play at at least two of their branch minor contests before they can compete in the majors.
Heroes of Kohima
Michael Stuart: I would like to inform you that you have an error in your 2019 article by Harry Stevenson. The pipe tune, The Heroes Of Kohima was written by my uncle, Andy Stuart, Pipe Major for the Gordon Highlanders, during the Second World War. He wrote it while fighting the Japanese in the Burma campaign. It was not written by Bombardier J Stewart and Captain John Young.
RW: Happy to correct that Michael but perhaps Harry would like to comment firstly.
Michael the Monk
Like me Tom Johnstone is always imploring his pupils to practice particular movements that are giving them difficulty ‘1,000 times before breakfast’, half in jest of course but they usually get the point.
Tom teaches a monk, Michael, who is not only dedicated but has a sense of humour too. He has taken the ‘1,000 times before breakfast’ mantra to heart witness the video below.
Tom writes: ‘Michael (pictured) was born in Estonia but is based in Norway. He travels a lot and is currently in Poland. He speaks several languages and took up chanter lessons with me a couple of years ago then bought a new set of pipes from McCallums. He plays quite a few tunes now and of course loves hymns and carols.
‘I introduced a new catch phrase from ‘Good King Wenceslas’ which he finds amusing. I want grips and taorluaths ‘Deep and Crisp and Even’ which kind of sums these movements up as a lot of them neglect the second low G.
‘Michael also plays tin whistle and would like to try smallpipes after hearing and seeing Neil Clark playing them. Hope you like his video!’
P/M JB Robertson
Yahya Hussein: Thank you for processing my John Macdonald, Inverness, book order today. I look forward to reading John Shone’s work on the great man. I have a question for Mr Shone, which, given that he was taught by JB Robertson, perhaps he could reply to.
From 1984 I had lessons with John Bottomley, my sole teacher for many years. (He’s now a senior piobaireachd judge in the US). John told me that his teacher in New York during the ’60s and ’70s was a man named Stewart (or Stuart) Robertson who was either a brother or nephew of JB Robertson. Stewart had emigrated to New York City in the 1930s. Could Mr Shone shed any light on this?
