Category: Comment

History: P/M William Fergusson, Dornie Ferry and Loch Duich – Part 2

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Solo adjudicator John Don MacKenzie concludes his interesting feature on the great composer Willie Fergusson and some of his tunes……. There were a number of pipers from Dornie who joined the Scots Guards under P/M Willie Ross – one being my granny’s brother Christopher MacRae, Lag. Another was Kenny MacKay, who after the war became keeper at Pait Lodge in the remote Loch Monar area north of Strathfarrar. He had…

More History: P/M William Fergusson, Dornie Ferry and Loch Duich – Part 2

History: P/M William Fergusson, Dornie Ferry and Loch Duich – Part 1

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We are grateful to piping adjudicator John Don MacKenzie for this feature on one of the great pipers and composers of yesteryear, P/M William Fergusson. The above picture is of Loch Duich and Glen Shiel and is dated 1907. Willie Fergusson (1885 – 1949) was born in Arbroath. As a youth, and now living in Glasgow, he became a pupil of Farquhar MacRae. He firstly was in a Boys’ Brigade band but…

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Review – Grade 2 at the 2017 UK Pipe Band Championships, Belfast

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There may have been some turbulent arrivals into both Belfast airports early on, and the young stars of the future in the novice grades probably faced the cloudiest and most inclement elements of the day, writes our Special Correspondent. A brightening sky and warming breeze blew the clouds out of Stormont and the cricket field was at its best as lunchtime arrived. Grade 2 started at 2.30pm in Arena 2,…

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PP Ed’s Blog: Old Pipes v New/ Gordon McCready/ Strathallan School/ Drumlough PB

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I read the other day that according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences an extensive study has shown that audiences actually prefer the sound of newer violins over those made by master craftsmen such as Antonio Stradivari. Violin acoustics expert Professor Claudia Fritz, of the Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris, asked seven world famous soloists to play at concert halls in Paris and…

More PP Ed’s Blog: Old Pipes v New/ Gordon McCready/ Strathallan School/ Drumlough PB

UK Championships Picture Gallery/ Cadet Pipes & Drums Contest Report

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We are grateful to photographer John Kelly for these shots from Saturday’s UK Pipe Band Championships held at Stormont, Belfast. In what was a very successful day, local band Field Marshal Montgomery of Lisburn were placed first in Grade 1 – and they also took the drumming title. Leading drummer Keith Orr and P/M Richard Parkes are pictured above.  Scottish bands were to the fore in Grade Two with the…

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