Category: History

Editor’s Notebook: US Ship Launch/ Finlay MacRae/ PS Bursary/ Eddie’s New CD

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Reader Michael Hubbard in the US: I thought to send this fairly dramatic photo from October 2021.  This is the Clan Macleay Pipe Band, Portland, Oregon, USA (in continuous existence since 1912).  We are playing at the launching of a barge at Greenbrier Marine.  As can be seen, we were in our typically rainy period, with pipers and drummers in Inverness capes. The Drum Major, Dan Kelley, decided to stand out…

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Donald Morrison Archive: A Letter from Seton Gordon and Donald’s Part in ‘Whisky Galore’

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We continue our excerpts from the archive of the renowned Gold Medallist and composer……… Wednesday evening, August 30, 1972, Upper Duntuilm, Isle of Skye….Dear Donald Morrison, I have just been listening to the wireless recording of the ‘Silver Chanter’ and it has confirmed my feeling that your ‘Iain Garve’ [John Garve MacLeod of Raasay’s Lament] was the best tune of the evening. I think John MacDonald [Inverness] would have agreed…

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Preview: ‘Jimmy, Memoirs of My Life as A Piper’ by Jimmy McIntosh MBE

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                                             The much anticipated memoir of one of piping’s greats is published just in time for Christmas. ‘Jimmy, Memoirs of My Life as A Piper’ by James H. McIntosh MBE, tells the story of a long life completely dedicated to the service of piping both in Scotland and the…

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Online Premier of Acclaimed Pipe Band Film to Go Ahead Next Weekend

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I released a DVD some years ago (title above) about some beginner bagpipe players from around Europe coming together to enter the World Pipe Band Championship. It’s a great tale and the film received some acclaim at the time. I’ve now decided to make it available to everyone online. Following the maxim that ‘the best way of learning is doing’, piping tutor P/M Barry Donaldson enters a band of beginners…

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My Reflections on the Pittsburgh Memorial Service for Jimmy McIntosh MBE

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On Saturday November 27th, 2021, family and friends gathered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to celebrate the life of Jimmy McIntosh.  This was the second memorial for Jimmy, the first being in Anderson, South Carolina, two weeks before.  I was so glad to be able to attend both.  I have found that I needed both occasions, along with a lot of processing time, to put into perspective Jimmy’s impact on my life…

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