Category: Letters

Were Wallacestone Pipe Band the First World Champions 120 Years Ago?

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We have received this intriguing information from expert piping historian and author Jeannie Campbell: ‘In 1903 a contest was held in the Waverley Market, Edinburgh. ‘Thirteen bands took part and the contest was reported in the papers as the World’s First Pipe Band Championship. The winners were Wallacestone and their opening march was Bonnie Anne.’ The band is pictured above with the handsome trophy with all the personnel clearly named….

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Editor’s Notebook: RSPBA Board of Directors/ Ontario View/ Aberdeen PS/ Duthart Tune/ Black Watch Tunes

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The RSPBA’s Board of Directors met on April 15 and the minutes of the meeting were published yesterday. Out takes from the meeting are as follows: Consideration is being given to the restoration of the popular Twitter results feed at the Worlds. This was particularly useful in letting bands know the outcome of the qualifiers. Posts were made after official announcements, but they meant that band members had an instant…

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Editor’s Notebook: New BBC Piping Show/ Charles Dunbar/ Captain John Dinner/ Electronic Pipes for Sale/ Moray Boost

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I must say I was impressed with the crisp, no-nonsense delivery of the BBC’s new piping presenter Micheal Steele – maybe not so much with the show. Micheal, from his Gaelic pronunciation, is clearly a speaker of the old tongue and that bilingualism will work well when he re-works things for the Gaelic medium ‘Crunluath’ programme. The new show, entitled ‘Piping Sounds’, is more or less what the critics predicted…

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Creagorry Blend, Lachie Ban MacCormick and P/M William MacLean

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Christoph Warth from Germany regarding the reel, Creagorry Blend: ‘Dear Mr. Wallace, I hope you are doing well. You may remember me from the first years of the Brüggen classes in Germany. I was the one with the saffron kilt. ‘I frequently play my pipes for myself and together with a friend but stopped playing in a band or competing in lack of time. By the Editor ‘I´m looking for…

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Charlie McMillan of Machair Uinnein, Machrihanish, Kintyre (1934 – 2023)

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As a young boy it was Charlie’s wish to be taught the chanter by the illustrious Willie Thomson, but Willie considered him just a bit too young.  For those who have never heard of Willie Thomson, he originated from the Glendale area of Moray near Inverness and after serving some years in the Scottish Horse Regiment took up the position of Piper to the Macneals of Ugadale (Kintyre) in 1907,…

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