PP Editor’s Blog: Band Majors/ Herald Story/ Letter/ SPA

Calling all band secretaries: a substantial number of pipe band contest entry forms are now available. These include those for all the major championships. You can access the forms via the events calendar on the RSPBA website. Please don’t forget the minor contests. They need your support. Hard to believe that it is only seven weeks or so to the first major, British, at the new venue at Paisley. If…

PP Editor’s Blog: Uist & Barra/ BB Contest/ Letters/ Eden Court Fears etc.

To the Uist & Barra contest tomorrow for the annual professional competition. I hear that the tuning times have been restricted to four minutes in the piobaireachd, three in the MSR and one (if needed) for the H&J. Tuning lights will be in force to ensure these times are stuck to but by my calculation we will still have to endure a collective two hours of tuning time during the…

PP Editor’s Blog: Schools Funding/ New Letters/ Donald McKillop

The annual 214 Glasgow Co. BB Reunion is on March 4.) Three new letters added today on Willie Ross, Norrie Gillies and old pipes in North America. Read them here. If anyone is any doubt about the amazing work being done by the Scottish Schools Pipe & Drum Trust have a look at their website to see the amount of cash that is being invested in young pipers and drummers….

New Recordings from Alasdair Gillies and Jimmy McIntosh/ Letter

Two new recordings today. The first is from Jimmy McIntosh who has added part of Donald MacLeod’s composition, A Son’s Salute to His Parents to his audio archive. This is one of the set tunes for the senior piobaireachd competitions at  Oban and Inverness this year and may be of interest to contestants. It is one of Donald’s more difficult tunes. Of it,  Donald writes: ‘A tribute to my parents,…

PP Editor’s Blog (Updated): SPA KO & Dates/ Owen MacNiven/ Piob Soc/ WW1 Memorial

Revised dates for Scottish Pipers’ Association contests are as follows: The Professional competition will now be held on April 16. The provisional date was April 23rd but for various reasons this was unsuitable.  The Adult Amateur and Veterans contest is on March 26 to allow some of those attending the Piobaireachd Society Conference from overseas to stay on for a week to compete. The Juvenile/ Amateur contest will be in September,…