Inveraray Games Entries Open/ Blairgowrie Games Info

Inveraray Piping Secretary Brian Spalding: The entry form for the 2025 piping contests at the Inveraray Highland Games is now available online. Entry form here or via the Piping Section of the games website. Please refer to the Rules and Regulations on the entry form before committing to entry and tick the relevant boxes before submitting payment via PayPal. No other means of payment can be accepted and no payment…

Gordon Castle Games Results/ James Campbell Medal

Gordon Castle Games are the first outdoor solo piping competition of the summer. They are held in the castle grounds near Fochabers in Morayshire. Seventeen entered the senior events. Piobaireachd: 1 Hamish Munro 2 Angus MacPhee, Old Men of the Shells 3 James MacPetrie 4 Hector Munro, King’s Taxes 5 Keith Bowes, Desperate BattleMarch: 1 Hamish Munro 2 Hector Munro 3 Norman Gillies 4 Keith BowesS&R: 1 Angus MacPhee 2…

Editor’s Notebook: Gourock Contest/ Kohima Tune/ Michael the Monk/ JB Robertson

No Grade 1 bands at Gourock last Sunday. Perfect weather, good transport. Where were Glasgow & the West’s Shotts, Police Federation, Scottish Power, Inveraray and Johnstone? In my day this branch was the heartbeat not only of Scotland’s pipe banding but of the world movement itself. The first contest of the year would have had the top bands clamouring for an early season run out. Was it lack of notice,…

Northern Ireland News: Trophy Return Threat/ Antrim Indoor/ Leinster Contest / New President

The RSPBANI Branch Executive Committee is threatening to suspend bands over the late return of trophies. A significant number, including some from previous years, have yet to be returned. The committee expressed particular concern over memorial trophies, which hold deep sentimental value for the families or bands who have generously donated them. These trophies are intended to be presented annually, and failure to return them undermines the respect and recognition…

‘Life, Times and Music of John Macdonald, Inverness’, by John H Shone – A Review

The name of John Macdonald, Inverness, must be one of the best known and illustrious in piping history. However, until now, there has not been a single account of his life and his influence on the development of piping, and piobaireachd in particular, during a critical period towards the end of the nineteenth century and the early twentieth century. By Alan Forbes John Shone has put that right in his…