I am in a quandary. I don’t want to demote the guy, but MacStig is under pressure. We’ve had quite a few representations from bandpeople in Grade 3A asking why they are being neglected in our coverage. Grade 1, as expected, gets the bulk of our pipe band space. With MacStig’s popular input, G2 has been riding high for the past few years. But is it time to give 3A…

This weekend sees the start of the Royal National Mod 2019 which is to be hosted in Glasgow for the first time in 29 years. Kicking off the week long competition schedule will be the Senior and Junior piping competitions which are to be held in the Glasgow Royal Concert hall on Saturday 12th October with competitions starting at 9:30am. This year entry numbers for the senior competitions have increased…

By Robert Wallace Whatever happened to the pleasant tuning phrase, the melodious trill of notes as the piper settles himself before the off? Where are the measured tones, the little parcels of tunefulness by which he tests his drone tuning, his chanter intervals? There seems to be no rhyme or reason to much of what we hear today. Often is a machine gun like rattle of triple grace-noted birls, a…

Seller Allan Russell writes: 1965 RG Hardie Silver & Ivory African Blackwood Bagpipes, thistle engraving, fitted with Canmore pipe bag Eezedrone drone reeds, Moose valve, Naill pipe chanter, wooden pipe case, spare set of Eezedrones, corks and hemp included. Price: £3,000 Contact Allan Russell on 07754 702078 Or e-mail arussellbagpipes@lycos.com Do you have pipes, chanters, uniforms, books or any other piping accessory to sell? Then why not take advantage of the…

Trevor Dear’s funeral will be on Thursday, October 10, at 2pm at the Church of Scotland, Castle Street, Dingwall, and thereafter to Urray Cemetery on the A832 road between Marybank and Muir of Ord. Read more of his life here and I recommend readers take time to read the contributions in our comments section from those who knew Trevor well. A synopsis. From Gordon Ferguson: ‘I met Trevor in 1974…