Argyllshire Gathering 150th Anniversary Invitational and Games Contests Announced

The Argyllshire Gathering are to mark their 150th Anniversary by holding a ‘live’ professional piping contest. The date is Wednesday, August 25th. The invited pipers are all from, or have strong family connections with, the county of Argyll. They are as follows: Jamie Forrester, Alasdair Henderson, Finlay Johnston, Stuart Liddell, Angus MacColl, William McCallum and Sarah Muir. The competition will take place in the Argyllshire Gathering Halls in Oban. The…

Scottish Pipers’ Association Online Professional Results (Updated with full details)

Each competition was judged by two judges, and the competitors had to upload each performance to YouTube and send the links to the SPA. I would say that running this competition was a steep learning curve for the Association and there are definitely things that I would have done differently with hindsight, not just on the media side, but in how other things were done. By Logan Tannock, President, Scottish…

Bag Maker Jim Launches Blistering Attack on Pipe Band and Solo Promoters – Readers React

Pipe bag maker James Begg has used his monthly newsletter to severely criticise the dearth of pipe band and solo piping events this summer. Jim points to the thousands of people attending large sporting events in the UK, yet here in Scotland we cannot even put on an open air piping contest. Jim says it is a ‘disgraceful outcome’ for piping and pipe bands. He writes: ‘There were 66,000 football…

George Watson’s New Tutor/ RSPBA Summer School/ ‘World’ Online Contest/ Inverness Festival on Move

Inveraray & District’s John Dew is the new piping instructor at George Watson’s College in Edinburgh. Watson’s Pipe Major, Iain Simpson, said: ‘The position of Piping Instructor has been filled. ‘I received numerous applications and after conducting some interviews, I’m happy to announce John Dew will start at George Watson’s College in August. ‘The pipe band staff are looking forward to working with John. We’d like to thank Jonathon Simpson for…

Piper Eilidh Inspires New Dance Work

A powerful and emotional musical tribute with dancers spanning the length of Britain has been unveiled in memory of Manchester Arena victim Eilidh MacLeod to support the work of the music education charity set up in her memory, writes Iagan MacNeil. Composed by musician Glenn Ross, ‘A Dance for Eilidh’ was inspired by the story of the 14-year-old from the Outer Hebrides, her creativity and love of music as well as the…