History: Pipers, Piping and Pipe Music in the Seaforth Highlanders 1778 -1924

Today we begin abridged excerpts from the above book by Ian Hamilton Mackay Scobie. The book was published in 1924 and is now out of print. It contains interesting details on the origins of titles such as ‘Pipe Major’ and the author also comments on drums drowning out pipes, questions whether playing in a band helps the piper’s playing and gives a date for the formation of the first pipe…

PP Ed’s Blog: Glenfiddich/ Strachur/ Bobby MacLeod/ Scots Guards KO

‘Charlie’ posted a comment on the Glenfiddich results report asking if I will be doing a critique on this year’s performances. The answer is no Charlie. They don’t invite me I’m afraid. The last time I was there, in 2014, I had to ask for a press pass. People might not realise it but behind all the smiles and bonhomie on display ….. My report that year mentioned that the…

PP Ed’s Blog: Tommy & Anne Are Our Heroes/ SG KO and G’fidd Livestream/ New Piping Jobs in Highlands and West Lothian

Well they’ve always been heroes to me but now their bravery has been officially recognised by the Scottish Government. Tommy and Anne Johnston received their Brave@Heart Awards from Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon at a special ceremony at Edinburgh Castle on Tuesday (above). They were among 47 people from the emergency and voluntary sectors and the public to be presented with Brave@Heart Awards recognising acts of bravery and heroism. Of the 47…

Review: The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders Collection of Bagpipe Music

What a year it has been for Argyll piping: Inveraray winning the Worlds, Alasdair Henderson taking the Northern Meeting Gold Medal – and now a superb collection of bagpipe music courtesy the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders. The book represents a 200 year long musical journey of one of the iconic Scottish regiments, perhaps no longer with the identity of yesteryear but with a corpus of pipe music which will ensure…

South East Asia Pipe Band Championships/ Chris Terry, South Africa

In a new development, Pipe Bands Australia (PBA) are to canvas support for creation of a South-East Asia Pipe Band Championship. The move follows discussion at the recent PBA biennial national conference. Australia and New Zealand have promoted a South Pacific Championship for almost two decades, the event alternating between countries every three years in conjunction with national titles. The formal agreement ended with this year’s South Pacific and New Zealand…