Unfortunately the Scottish government’s change of heart regarding indoor gathering has come too late to save the Celtic Connections festival here in Glasgow (it’s going ahead as a restrictions-affected hybrid) but the expected U-turn has to be good news for all other events especially those early year indoor mini band and quartet contests. And with the cap lifted on the numbers attending outdoor gatherings from last Monday, can we really…

The Piobaireachd Society had founded and paid for the Army Class in 1910. Its aim was to improve the standard of piping in Scottish regiments. By 1939 it had grown into the Army School of Piping and P/M William Ross was in charge of the school based in Edinburgh Castle. In December that year, three months after the outbreak of war, his services were placed, with his consent, at the…