By The Editor With the World Pipe band Championships over for another year the international piping focus switches from bands to solos and in particular to today’s Argyllshire Gathering at Oban. The Gathering is one of the two main piping competitions in the world; only next week’s Northern Meeting in Inverness rivals it in importance in the solo piper’s calendar. (Tickets for the NM are now on sale here.) Contests…

The weather held out for most of the day with a couple of heavy showers at the end of the competition. Five played in the juniors and eight in the seniors. Piob1 Sandy Cameron2 Dan Lyden3 Archie Drennan March1 Jason Craig2 Dan Lyden3 Sandy Cameron S&R1 Dan Lyden2 Archie Drennan3 Angus Nicolson U17 Piob1 Archie Clark2 Laura Robertson3 Ruaridh Drennan U17 March1 Laura Robertson2 Ronald MacIntosh3 Ruaraidh Drennan U17 S&R1…

By Robert Wallace Consistency was always going to be the key to winning this year’s World Championship. Over four performances Inveraray were the only band not to drop out of the top three, placing 2,1,2,3. Two points behind were Field Marshal whose fourth in the Medley on Saturday was to prove very costly to them. It was the weaker of the two they offered and I wonder if they should…

By The Editor Well that’s the first day of the Grade 1 contest over. Thirty performances, 15 MSRs in the morning rain, the same in the Medley in afternoon sun. After sitting through it all I know who I am backing to take the title. I’ve written it on a piece of paper for my own interest. I will make no comment on the individual performances until the results are…

By The Editor If we paid too much heed to weather forecasts in Scotland we would never go anywhere. A black deluge was forecast for yesterday but Wade Park in Aberfeldy had only one major and one minor shower during a warm, sunny day. The wrath of the Gods was reserved for the journey home. Only old India hands will have known anything like the volume of water that descended…