Changes at the College and the Funding of Piping

Just when things seemed to be settling down at the College of Piping we hear of another departure, that of General Manager Fraser MacInnes, writes the Editor. My information is that the parting was not as harmonious as it might have been. There must have been personality issues here for, according to the Office of Scottish Charities Register (OSCR), the College’s profit last year was £21,000. The old place seemed…

A Look Back at the Worlds and in Particular the Playing in Grade 1

Firstly, congratulations to all the bands who made the prizes last Saturday and commiserations to those who didn’t. The latter can console themselves with the fact that they made their contribution to what was a spectacular occasion carried off with some elan by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association and its army of dedicated officials and adjudicators. This is the biggest participative musical event in the country with 8,000 bandsmen…

Worlds Grade 1 Qualifiers Announced, ‘Brolly Wars’ Discussed and Drones Banned!

The Qualifying Heats for the Grade 1 World Pipe Band Championship were held today at a blustery but ultimately dry Glasgow Green. Pic above is of the 78th Fraser Highlanders who unfortunately didn’t make it to the final.  Twenty bands were vying for 12 places in tomorrow’s final. Those who made it through, in playing order for tomorrow, were: Shotts Inveraray Glasgow Police Fife Police Dowco Triumph Street PSNI St…

PP Ed’s Blog: Worlds Viewing/ Book Launches/ RACPADS Sponsor

Worlds Grade 1 Qualifying gets underway shortly. It is raining and overcast in Glasgow. Cape-wearing weather but not cold. Those not managing to Glasgow Green can watch the action here, details courtesy the RSPBA: The Grade 1 qualification on Friday will again be streamed live by Inner Ear on behalf of Glasgow Life. The stream will consist of only the main arena and not the secondary arena. Online viewers will see…

‘RISE’, the 23rd Annual Worlds Weeks Pipe Band Concert by Shotts & Dykehead Caledonia

Straight off the bat, we’ll avoid the mumbo jumbo about the Pre Worlds’ Concert (PWC) band having the best chance of winning the big title itself a few days later.  It’s one of those unconscious bias things we have, and in most recent times only FMM has done it. A double-edged sword perhaps. All that practice and time spent on the programme content, whilst the competitive edge may not really…