Piping and Drumming Scholarships at Top Fee Paying School Now Available

Glenalmond School in Perthshire is in the position, for the first time in my 27+ years here, to offer scholarships to pipers and pipe band snare drummers, writes Brian Elrick. I’m keen for this to reach as wide an audience as possible as it can offer life-changing educational opportunities for successful applicants. I run the Pipes & Drums programme at the school and Sandy Bayne is my snare drumming instructor. Sandy…

Northern Ireland News: County Fermanagh/ Mid Ulster/ Moira/ George Ussher MBE

It was unfortunate that after weeks of beautiful weather it should break just when the 2025 pipe band season got underway at the County Fermanagh Championships in Enniskillen. Not all bands or drum majors experienced the inclement weather, but that was really by good fortune.  The adjudication panel were Willie Garrett and Richard Parkes MBE (Piping), Gordon Parkes (Drumming), Mark Wilson (Ensemble), David Brownlee and Alicia Dickson Hamilton. Ravara, on…

Worlds Seating and Prices Reaction Continues

To be fair to Glasgow Life, the crowd photo being used in this year’s promo for the Worlds is the 2024 stand. It had had two blocks (A and B) with six rows of seating in each block, writes Iain Duncan   The ‘Country Fair’ covered trailer stand aberration (pictured below) only ever made one appearance, in 2023, had only two blocks, A and B, and from memory had only…

Further Details on the 2025 Silver Chanter

Craig Sutherland, now living in western Canada, is unable to travel to the 2025 Silver Chanter competition/ recital. Craig qualified by winning the Gold Medal at Inverness last year. His place will be taken by Angus MacPhee, runner-up in the Dunvegan Medal 2024. Other invitees are Nick Hudson, Texas, (Inverness Clasp), Alasdair Henderson, Dunoon, (Snr. Piob. Oban), Derek Midgley, New Jersey, (Dunvegan Clasp), Sandy Cameron, Roy Bridge, (Dunvegan Medal), and Cameron Drummond, Edinburgh,…

Worlds Ticket Price Increases Spark Reaction

Readers have responded with considerable anger to yesterday’s story of ticket price hikes at the Worlds. Here is a selection: Mark J: ‘Ticket prices are terribly high. Add on to that not being allowed to take any liquids at all into the park. Last year even sealed bottles and cans of soft drinks were prohibited. Water bottles had to be emptied and filled from the ‘water points’ inside the park…