It is with regret we report the passing of Angus Lawrie formerly of Strathclyde Police Pipe Band, noted composer and pipe bag maker. Angus (88) died at home in Doonfoot, Ayrshire, yesterday morning. He had been in poor health for some time. Angus was originally taught by his father, also Angus, who had had extensive tuition from P/M Willie Ross. On leaving school Angus jnr. joined Glasgow Police in 1955…

While I applaud the Competing Pipers’ Association [CPA] for taking steps to create a quantifiable method of qualification for the Silver Medal, the system announced on 29th November has some glaring problems within its structure. The following comments are offered with a view to their being incorporated in a constructive review of the announced system. Firstly, there was no consultation with the CPA membership. It was just announced out of…

The 2019 Annual Conference of the Piobaireachd Society will be held in the National Piping Centre on Saturday 23rd March. There will be an informal ceilidh in the Pipers Tryst on Friday evening 22nd March. The conference will conclude with a dinner and ceilidh in the Centre on the Saturday evening. The conference rate including dinner is £55; day rate including lunch, teas and coffees £35. [wds id=”2″] A  preferential…

Christmas has come early for UK bagpipemakers with the announcement that from March next year they will not have to apply for a Convention on Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) certificate for every instrument they sell. The ruling, in place since January 2017, meant that all manufacturers had to charge up to £60 on each set to pay for a licence to export their African blackwood (ABW) pipes. The process…