Reflections on the Argyllshire Gathering – Part 2

Argyllshire Gathering Day 1. I judged the Silver Medal with Robert Barnes and Donald MacPhee. We started at 9am sharp and finished at 4.30 with a short break for some lunch. The winner was Kyle Cameron, now a son of Tobermory on Mull. His tune was the shortest in the list, You’re Welcome Ewen Lochiel. The pipe was rich-toned and as rock steady as the finger. Kyle’s only fault was…

Reflections on the Argyllshire Gathering – Part 1

I think it would be fair to say that everything went off very smoothly over the two days of the Gathering held in Oban last week. It is no easy task to organise more than 100 highly motivated pipers and more than 30 judges and stewards, so all credit to John Campbell, Kilberry, Piping Steward, and Assistant Steward Torquil Telfer and their team. Conditions could have been kinder on Games…

Lochaber Gathering Results (Juniors added)

This competition was held yesterday, August 29, in Fort William. The senior events were held in and outside the Highland Cinema and the junior events on the lawns in the town centre. The day was a great success with more than 50 pipers taking part and concluding exactly on schedule. It was a credit to new Lochaber Piping Society Chairman James Rosie. James took over from Ken Cameron earlier this…

Argyllshire Gathering Day 2: Complete Results

Ceòl beag is the focus of the second day at Oban with competitions for ‘A’ and ‘B’ grade March and Strathspey & Reel and Jig. There is also the Intermediate MSR for young pipers who played in the MacGregor Memorial the day before, and local contests. Conditions were mild with a little rain; a threatened deluge failed to materialise. ‘A’ March, Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society Bronze Star1 Calum Brown2 Ben…

The Focus of World Piping on Oban (Updated)

The cream of the world’s solo pipers gather in the West Highland town of Oban today Aug 27 for the annual Argyllshire Gathering competitions. Judges met last night to select tunes to be played in the piobaireachd events. The selected tunes are given to each piper by the steward in the final tuning room. There are four categories of piobaireachd competition: the MacGregor Memorial for pipers under 22, the Silver…