This weekend sees the start of the Royal National Mod 2019 which is to be hosted in Glasgow for the first time in 29 years. Kicking off the week long competition schedule will be the Senior and Junior piping competitions which are to be held in the Glasgow Royal Concert hall on Saturday 12th October with competitions starting at 9:30am. This year entry numbers for the senior competitions have increased…

Seller Allan Russell writes: 1965 RG Hardie Silver & Ivory African Blackwood Bagpipes, thistle engraving, fitted with Canmore pipe bag Eezedrone drone reeds, Moose valve, Naill pipe chanter, wooden pipe case, spare set of Eezedrones, corks and hemp included. Price: £3,000 Contact Allan Russell on 07754 702078 Or e-mail arussellbagpipes@lycos.com Do you have pipes, chanters, uniforms, books or any other piping accessory to sell? Then why not take advantage of the…

We conclude our report taken from the Oban Times of almost 50 years ago. The article is unattributed. We would be interested to hear from anyone who was at this gathering featuring as it does some of the great names of the past and present…. Forty-six competitors had entered for the Strathspey & Reel competition, however some were unable to be present and others were unable to complete their tunes….

The Editor: We continue with the second excerpt of the Oban Times report from Inverness of almost 50 years ago. Thanks to those who have been in touch regrading our quest for the writer’s identity. One described him as a ‘big tall guy who as far as I recall walked with a bit of a limp. He often wore the kilt and seemed to turn up regularly. I can picture him fine, but…

The following series is from an issue of the Oban Times from September of that year. The article is unattributed. We would be interested to know who the writer was if anyone has any information. The article is of considerable length taking two full broadsheet columns – a credit to the newspaper. The writer is clearly someone with a knowledge of the art of piping….. Following upon his success at…