The Piobaireachd Society Conference at the Golden Lion Hotel, Stirling, this weekend March 27-29. This local landmark is right in the centre of town, on King Street, less than 10 minutes walk from both the bus and train stations.
It has a long history, the most famous guest perhaps being Robert Burns who scratched a poem on one of the windows.
By Peter McCalister, PS Vice President
Stirling Castle is straight up the hill (15 mins walk) if you fancy some fresh air. Here’s the website: www.thegoldenlionstirling.com. If walking from the station the address is 10 King Street, FK8 1DQ.
Parking is more generous than most hotels, due to a dedicated car park which is accessed by the street behind the hotel. You drive along Murray Place and look out for the Cancer Research charity shop on the right.
Note this is a one-way street accessible from the north. A white gateway beside the shop (marked as the Golden Lion car park) has a barrier: you say you are coming to the Piobaireachd Society Conference and the reception team will buzz you in.
If you are a what3words fan, the car park entrance is located at decay.runner.tins. Inside the hotel you’ll be welcomed with a cup of coffee from 0900 on the Saturday. The conference is in the Wallace Suite.
Before that, on the Friday night we plan to have an informal meal at 7 pm (meet in the bar at 6.30). The bar area has a separate ‘Wingates’ area for dining and we have booked a table there which can be curtained off from the main bar.
I mention this, because we have been given permission to play pipes in the bar after the evening meal. This is where pipers have a chance to play a tune in a relaxed atmosphere, though there will also be a chance on the Saturday from 4-6pm at the piobaireachd ceilidh in the conference itself.
Note that the Piobaireachd Society team have swapped everyone seamlessly across from the old venue, the Royal George, Perth, to the new venue. So if you booked a single (or double) room in the original venue you will get the same in the new one.
Ticket prices remain unchanged, and if anything Stirling is more easily accessed than Perth – and despite the last-minute alteration to our plans, the Conference looks on track to be a good one.
Here is the Saturday schedule:
9.30 – 10.15am: ‘The Origins of Piobaireachd’ – Hugh Cheape, Peter McCalister; host: Robert Wallace
10.45 – 11.30am: ‘Life and Music of Bill Livingstone’ – Michael Grey; host: Mike Cusack
1.30 – 2.15pm: ‘Let Piobaireachd Flourish’ – John Mulhearn: host: Karen McCrindle Warren
2.45 – 3.30pm: ‘100 Years of the Piobaireachd Society Collection’ – Jack Taylor, John Frater; host: Bill Wotherspoon
Piobaireachd Ceilidh 4-6pm (please bring your pipes!); black tie dinner 7 for 7.30pm.
The conference is open to members and non-members. More information and day tickets here.
