PP Ed’s Blog: Composing Competition/ Dunedin Errors/ British Reminder/ Guineas Results

Entries for the Shasta Piping Society’s piobaireachd composing competition, sponsored by the Burley Bagpipe Company, have now closed. Twenty-six tunes from seven different countries have been received by the Society’s co-ordinator Steve Rooklidge. This represents a tremendous success on his, the sponsor’s and the Society’s part. The judges, myself, Bill Livingstone from Ontario and Mike Cusack from Texas now have the difficult task of selecting our favourites and finally deciding…

Dunedin Games, Florida, and Stuart Liddell Recital

Our North American Correspondent reports a St Thomas Alumni win in  Grade 2 at this north Florida games. The picture up top shows adjudicator Ken Eller scoring Dunedin Middle School… In a sun drenched arena, 17 bands took part in the afternoon competition, with over 120 solo performers going through their paces in the morning session. A crowd of around 15,000, with a strong Texan contingent,  attended a full day of…

SPA Adult Amateur Results

This popular contest was held today at the College of Piping in Glasgow. Veteran winner was Andrew Frater. Veterans (over 60) play a two part slow-air and a four part march consecutively . Andrew played Leaving Lismore and Kantara to El Arish. The picture above shows some of the competitors on stage at the conclusion of today’s event. Veterans: 1 Andrew Frater 2 Brian Mulhearn 3 Graham Alexander Best slow air…

P/M Iain McLeod, Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band

It is with regret that we report the death of P/M Iain McLeod, World Championship winning pipe major of the Edinburgh City Police Pipe Band. P/M McLeod, passed away last night.  He had been in hospital until recently as a result of breaking his hip following a fall at home. It is understood that Iain’s funeral will be private to family and close friends but the family want to arrange some…

PP Ed’s Blog: Pipe Band Anger/ PB Mag/ Braemar/ SPA/ Dunedin/ Letters

Apart from running Pipe Band Magazine for the RSPBA and reporting on competitions, I have no direct involvement in the pipe band competition milieu. I am essentially on the periphery – the best place for the fourth estate in that fraught world. It was not always so given that I learned piping via the pipe band system in the Boys Brigade and later graduated to Muirhead & Sons at age…