The death has been announced of Mrs Eleanor MacFadyen, wife of Iain, and his constant companion throughout his long piping career. Eleanor passed away in Raigmore Hospital, Inverness, surrounded by her family. She had been ill for several months and visits to the hospital were made all the more heart rending given the isolation regulations of the pandemic. Eleanor was known throughout the solo piping world and was a regular…
Welcome to the first report of the New Year. I hope everyone had a good time. I think we can all look forward to a better 2021, at least in the latter half of the year. I always avoid the Hogmanay shows on television if I can and managed to do so again this year even with all the isolation strictures. Trawling through them on New Year’s Day they all…
For piping the year 2020 has not been all bad. The degree to which you concur will depend on the degree to which you view what we do as art or sport. If your sole driving force is to use the great Highland bagpipe to beat the you-know-what out of the next guy then the past 12 months have been a disaster. No battlefield around on which you can do…
Lots of responses to recent articles on PP and I’ll try to tidy some of them up today. On World War 1 hero, Pipe Major David Anderson and the penguin piper picture, reader Ron Abbott writes: The piper in the photo in the Antarctic with the penguin is Gilbert Mitchell Kerr, born at Glencorse in 1870. During the 1890s/early 1900s, Gilbert Kerr was a Volunteer/Piper of the Queens Edinburgh Rifles…
Not looking good for the early pipe band season I’m afraid. Our Chancellor of the Exchequer has just confirmed that the furlough scheme which subsidises UK wages will stay in place until the end of April. Relief for beleagured businesses, but it also means that we can expect lockdown or semi-lockdown restrictions until that date at least, and this despite the vaccine coming on stream. We are back close to…
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