Welcome to the first report of the New Year. I hope everyone had a good time. I think we can all look forward to a better 2021, at least in the latter half of the year. I always avoid the Hogmanay shows on television if I can and managed to do so again this year even with all the isolation strictures. Trawling through them on New Year’s Day they all…
For piping the year 2020 has not been all bad. The degree to which you concur will depend on the degree to which you view what we do as art or sport. If your sole driving force is to use the great Highland bagpipe to beat the you-know-what out of the next guy then the past 12 months have been a disaster. No battlefield around on which you can do…
James Kirk MacKinnon was a highly respected piper who worked hard for New South Wales’s Lower Clarence Scottish Association (LCSA) and travelled throughout the state attending gatherings. Although Australian born, Jim’s heart was always for Scotland and he mainly lived to uphold Scottish traditions. Unfortunately, as with all these fellows, most of those who knew Jim have passed on, and of course at the time we do not think to…
The Piping Press Audio Archive has a full range of solo performances in both ceòl mòr and ceòl beag. The library is free to everyone. During this covid lockdown/holiday period why not spend some time exploring it? We also thought it would be of interest to see which recordings have been the most popular to date. The current listening figures show that South African piper Chris Terry (pictured) has by…
This article, by BBC radio producer Hugh MacPhee, first appeared in the Radio Times, the BBC’s listings magazine, on November 9, 1956. Mr MacPhee was involved in all aspects of Scottish culture in the early days of the BBC in Scotland, variously head of Gaelic broadcasting, a keen supporter of the National Mod and of shinty. His piece ends with a note that ‘You can hear the music of the…
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