Author: Robert Wallace

Big Two Solo Contests at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering Looking Less Likely

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

Not much has changed since we last spoke about this, but with each day that passes the odds against there being 2021 Gold and Silver Medal competitions at Oban and Inverness lengthen. I say this because neither the competing pipers themselves nor the sponsors want them to happen without the presence of overseas competitors. By Robert Wallace These top players have already entered for the Northern Meeting and the Argyllshire…

More Big Two Solo Contests at the Northern Meeting and Argyllshire Gathering Looking Less Likely

International Piper Lives Again as Part of Piping Centre Project/ Ontario Composing Contest

Posted on      by      1 Comment

Following the success of its crowdfunding project to digitise the back issues of Piping Times and Piping Today magazines, Finlay MacDonald, the National Piping Centre’s Director of Piping, has announced a new target to allow them to add Captain John MacLellan’s magazine the ‘International Piper’ to the endeavour. The new aim is to garner £33,500. The NPC have already raised £31,000 in just two weeks. Finlay said: ‘The generosity of…

More International Piper Lives Again as Part of Piping Centre Project/ Ontario Composing Contest

Editor’s Notebook: Audience Restrictions Lifted/ Talk Piobaireachd/ Duncan Watson/ Tryst Supergroup

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

Anyone thinking about putting on a ‘live’ piping event should consider the following positive guidelines from Scotland’s administrators: Level 2 of covid restrictions begins on Monday May 17, Level 1 from ‘early June’ and Level 0 in ‘later June’. What this means in audience numbers is as follows: If the will is there, there is no official impediment to running a piping or pipe band competition this summer. Reader Ian…

More Editor’s Notebook: Audience Restrictions Lifted/ Talk Piobaireachd/ Duncan Watson/ Tryst Supergroup

Editor’s Notebook: Piping Times Archive/ Online Contests/ Brian Lamond/ Gavin Stoddart

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

Director of Piping Finlay MacDonald continues his positive work at the Piping Centre with his announcement this week of the plan to archive the Piping Times and make it accessible to all online and free of charge. It would be criminal to allow this resource to be lost to piping and I hope everyone will support the project. Much of the indexing work has already been carried out. Annie Grant,…

More Editor’s Notebook: Piping Times Archive/ Online Contests/ Brian Lamond/ Gavin Stoddart

Editor’s Notebook: 2022 Concerns/ Anne’s Class/ Lockdown Piper/ SFU Video

Posted on      by      1 Comment

I have diminishing confidence that there willl be a ‘normal’ pipe band season in 2022. If I accept that the reasons for this year’s wipe out were social distancing, masks, money, foreign travel then, I become even more sceptical. The UK government has indicated that, despite the easing of lockdown, ‘baseline’ measures such as masks and distancing will stay for another year. Foreign travellers coming here will be subjected to…

More Editor’s Notebook: 2022 Concerns/ Anne’s Class/ Lockdown Piper/ SFU Video