Category: History

A Look Back at Early 2018 Outdoor Pipe Band Competitions

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By Alistair Aitken OBE, former RSPBA Adjudicator and not MacStig! Now that the RSPBA’s 2018 outdoor pipe band competition programme is in full swing I have been asked to give general views about some of the contest venues and observations about results etc., with a historical slant where possible.   The outdoor season started with a bang with five outdoor competitions over the same weekend – Dunbar and Bangor (Northern Ireland)…

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PP Ed’s Blog: Glasgow Pic/ Mary MacLeod/ Beattie Collection/ Games News/ NI President’s Charity

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My comments on the Lament for Mary MacLeod (see British Championships 2018 – Grade 1 Review) may have baffled some non-piobaireachd players in the pipe band world but you can listen to the whole 12 minute or so tune here (scroll down the page a bit) played by maestro Donald MacPherson and you might get an idea of what I was talking about. To pick and mix ‘tuney’ sections of ceol…

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Livestream and New Clarsach Contest at Armadale, Skye

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The organisers of the Donald MacDonald Cuach competition have sent this: Finalists have been announced for two prestigious traditional music competitions to be held at Armadale Castle, Gardens & Museum of the Isles this June.  The Donald MacDonald Cuach piobaireachd competition, now in its 32nd year, will bring together five renowned pipers from across Scotland on 15 June. The following day introduces a major new competition for Senior Clàrsach, where…

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Composer Charles MacLeod Williamson As I Knew Him

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The following has been received from Steve Connor in Toronto in response to a recent letter regarding the composer Charles MacLeod Williamson.  It gives a fascinating insight into the composer’s character and musical inspiration…… By Steve Connor, Toronto I am responding to your enquiry about Charles MacLeod Williamson. I live in Canada now but knew Charlie probably better than anyone in the piping scene in the 1980s and into the…

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Jimmy McIntosh, DR’s Scrapbook and the Day John MacFadyen Did the Double

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I spent yesterday afternoon with Jimmy McIntosh who, with his wife Joyce, is on a three-week visit to the UK. Jimmy, now in his 90s, continues to amaze everyone with his energy and enthusiasm for piping. He is a firm believer in the adage ‘don’t count the days; make every day count’ and is currently involved in a number of projects, which, with Joyce’s valuable support, I am sure he…

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