Editor’s Notebook: Gordon Duncan Trust/ Robin Morton/ Barlinnie Highlander/ Piper’s Eczema/ COP26 Appeal

Chatting to Ian Duncan at the weekend he tells me in his understated way that the memorial trust for his brother Gordon has now donated more than £110,000 to help young pipers and other musicians with their lessons. Isn’t that worthy of the highest praise? A fitting tribute to Gordon too. He would have been both amazed and delighted. Though he died 16 years ago, Gordon’s spirit lives on –…

Argyllshire Gathering Score Major Success with New Intermediate Piping Championship

The Lochnell Estate lies low on a wooded spit of land jutting out into the Firth of Lorne. Sheltered on its eastern lee sits a castle, home of the Cochrane clan for 100 years and the Campbells for centuries before. For most of last Saturday its ancient walls resounded to the call of the bagpipe. There may have been some unkind things said about the sea-going Cochranes back in Admiral…

Captain John MacLellan Memorial Results

The 8th annual Captain John A MacLellan MBE memorial Piping Championships were held at the Army School of Bagpipe Music and Highland Drumming at Inchdrewer House in Edinburgh today. The event, one of the premier solo piping contests in the world, received a record entry once again with B & C grade contests full and the A & P grade contests also attracting a very strong entry. By Senior Pipe…

Order of Play for Captain John Contest/ Lochnell Intermediate Championship Official Preview

The draws for the Captain John MacLellan Memorial competition have been announced. The competition will take place the Army School of Piping at Inchdrewer House, Edinburgh, this Saturday October 2. It has a attracted a very high quality field with Piobaireachd and MSR competitions for all CPA grades and an Open Jig event. The order of play is as follows (use arrows to scroll through from P Grade to C):…

Editor’s Notebook: RSPBA Appointments/ Early Days of the 214/ Norman Matheson/ Book Search

I see that the RSPBA are holding elections for the jobs of Piping and Summer School Principals. This is a statutory procedure which will be carried out at the first Pipe Band College AGM in November. I understand John Nevans is standing again for the summer school job. In my view it would be remiss of the Association’s member bands and branches not to re-elect him. In John they have…