It was heartening to read of the RSPBA’s determination to get band contests moving again in 2021. As John Hughes the Chairman said, everything must be done to restore our band tradition to its rightful place in our cultural life. I was interested in his reference to band formations. Wouldn’t it be ironic if it took the tragedy of this pandemic to get bands to change from the old fashioned…

Keep PP subscription free by supporting the Piping Press Shop. On special offer today are three lots of second-hand books either donated to us or superfluous to the PP archive. SOLD Lot 1 comprises an old size copy of the Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor by Archibald Campbell. This historic book is offered in its 1973 edition and is in very good condition. It comes complete with a reduce-sized photocopy…

Apropos the Somme bagpipe and the doubts and comment thereon, consider this possible sequence of events. The pipes are delivered by the War Office to the family in Northumberland some time in 1917. They have been scraped up from the battlefield mud and blood. It would be fair to assume they were in a state of disrepair after what they had been through, mounts shot up, joints cracked. The grieving…