Editor’s Notebook: Dumbarton Draw/ General Thomason’s Sword/ Lorient Festival/ Scots Guards KO

The RSPBA have published the draws for the next pipe band championships, the Scottish at Dumbarton. In Grade 1 there are ten bands playing in the following order: Fife Police, Shotts, Scottish Power, Johnstone, FMM, SLOT, Boghall, Closkelt, Police Scotland and Inveraray. Judges are John Wilson, Peter Hunt, Stuart Coils and Tom Brown. The contest is not until July 27 so bands have five weeks to prepare. After that the…

History: The Northern Meeting 1949

I have in my possession four pages from an old Northern Meeting programme for 1949. The pages are for Day 1 only. Above is a picture of Andrew Pitkeathly, the winner of the Gold Medal that year. Twenty-four entered the Medal, but whether they all played I am not sure. The programme was given to me by the late Dr James Finlayson who was a Consultant Physician at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary….

‘Pibroch by the Sea’ Details Announced

Details of the annual ‘Pibroch by the Sea’ event in Brittany, France, have been announced by the promoters. In a departure from previous years, performances of ceòl mòr will be given at the spectacular Mont St Michel a couple of hours drive east from the usual host village of Cancale. The date is Saturday, September 7, and the performances will be given between 11am and 2.30pm. Ten piobaireachd players from…

Editor’s Notebook: Forres Thoughts/ Ian C Cameron/ Jim Dow/ Balmoral Concerts/ Gaelic Cash

Not being able to travel to Forres for the British I had a listen to a few of the Grade 1 bands online. Not ideal, but better than nothing. Of those I heard I thought third placed Shotts had the most complete MSR. The winners Boghall had an outstanding march…but then the strathspey. Inveraray, second, likewise. Band drummers these days don’t play strathspeys in the traditional sense, four beats to…

More Information on Donald Ruadh MacCrimmon and Glenelg

The mention of Donald Ruadh MacCrimmon [pro. approx. Roo -ah] in the report on the Piobaireachd Society Summer School mentions the formal attempts by the Highland Society to provide teaching through him. This is fine but only tells part of the story. I have copies of several letters by Donald MacCrimmon which add to story. I really should have got around to publishing something on them I suppose, though I…