Category: History

PP Ed's Blog: Two New Books Reviewed/ Northern Winter School/ South Florida

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I am always struck by the gratitude of students. At last year’s Northern Winter School Horst Krauss  presented me with this fine book ‘The Bagpipe – The History of a European Folk Instrument in Pictures’ by Fritz Schneider. The well-written text is in four languages, including English, and is graced with  beautifully reproduced photographs. It says this about the GHB: ‘The British brought the Scottish bagpipe to the once worldwide…

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PP Ed's Blog: Mull School Pipers/ Duncan Lamont/ N Ireland Fundraiser

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Just back from a very enjoyable weekend on Mull teaching the kids at Tobermory High School. Calum MacLean is the local schools teacher and given that he only has two days a week to cover the whole island and neighbouring Iona it is remarkable that he can turn out a band at all. In total he has 48 boys and girls all learning pipes. It augurs well for the future…

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PP Ed's Blog: Alasdair at the Games/ MacDonald Mem./ Indian Lady Piper/ Masters of Piobaireachd/ Corby Change

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Our Guide to the Games is proving very popular even after only one day. It gives me the opportunity of running the picture above from the collection of reader Duncan Watson. It is of a young Alasdair Gillies playing at Cawdor Castle games in the 1980s. Alasdair was a supporter of the games even after he achieved what you might call piping’s equivalent of superstar status. Too many of our…

More PP Ed's Blog: Alasdair at the Games/ MacDonald Mem./ Indian Lady Piper/ Masters of Piobaireachd/ Corby Change

Guide to the Games/ Pipe Band Drum Corps Recordings from 1970

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The  Piping Press Guide to the Games 2018 is published today. It is based on that of the Scottish Highland Games Association and we are grateful to them for the information. Apart from the dates, this list does not profess to be complete or totally accurate. We have done our best with the available information.  The list has been published as early as possible to allow pipers and enthusiasts to plan…

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PP Ed's Blog: Band Numbers Poll Result/ Piob Soc Recital/ Ulster Petition to BBC

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I think it is a bit far-fetched for yesterday’s Sunday Mail newspaper to say there is a boycott of the Worlds over band sizes. Quite the opposite with record numbers signing up every year.  Still, good that they picked up on the Wall Street Journal story and gave the issue some publicity as best they could. Shouldn’t expect the SM to get everything right and I had a laugh at the…

More PP Ed's Blog: Band Numbers Poll Result/ Piob Soc Recital/ Ulster Petition to BBC