In this, the week we remember John MacDougall, I thought it apposite that we should share a recording of his wonderful playing with our readers, writes the Editor. It comes to us courtesy of Breton piper Patrick Molard and is of John competing in the Former Winners’ MSR at the Argyllshire Gathering in 1971, a competition he won on five occasions. I don’t know what the results were (perhaps someone…
Tom Johnstone, President of the Scottish Pipers’ Association, has responded to our call for more on the demise of the celebrated Clan MacRae Society Pipe Band by forwarding a couple of pictures from the last days of the band. Tom writes: ‘The first [below] is of Donald MacDonald, brother of the late Willie (Benbecula), who now lives in the Inverness area, helping someone on with his plaid. The second [top] is…
A sad loss this week with the passing of John MacDougall. John was a hugely respected figure and a great example to the younger generation of solo competitors with his dedication to his art, his prodigious ability. On the boards he was a fearsome competitor, very seldom ever opening the door to a rival with a slip or a poor pipe or a missed taorluath; off the boards a thorough…
One of the great pipe bands of days gone by was the Clan MacRae Society. Piping and Dancing Magazine of 1936 detailed the formation of the now defunct band, and its progress up the competition ladder … The Clan MacRae Society Pipe Band was formed in the autumn of 1913 by the late Pipe Major Farquhar MacRae, under the name The City of Glasgow Pipe Band. The majority of the original members…
Riona MacInnes of the Highlands & islands Festival has sent this: ‘We now have a Facebook page which is being regularly updated and if you have a look at that you will see that the syllabus is now available and the entries are to be in for 14th March. We are trying to be a bit more rigid this year about pipers changing their tunes at the last minute and I…
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