PP Ed’s Blog: SPA Pro/Jimmy Jackson/ SPJA/ Xavier Vid/ Balmoral Schools/ Allan Chatto/

What will be the first professional piping contest of the season (following the weather cancellation of the Uist & Barra) will be held this Saturday April 14. It’s the Scottish Pipers Association contest and it will be held at NPC West (College of Piping, Otago St. to us old timers) with a good entry in all categories. Last year’s overall winner was Sarah Muir (pictured top with her trophies) who will be…

Results and Report from Dunedin Highland Games, Florida

From the Sunshine State of Florida, our Special Correspondent reports on the Dunedin Highland Games……. Now arguably one of the larger solo and pipe band gatherings in North America, Dunedin, that west coast Florida town with Scottish roots (twinned with Stirling), packs a real punch with an ever-growing and burgeoning Highland Games. As the solos kicked off at 9am so did a few thousand 5k runners in the humid, high…

Preview of Third Annual Virginia International Tattoo American Pipe Band Championship

Organisers have sent this press release…….The Virginia International Tattoo is pleased to announce that 10 bands are registered to compete in the 2018 Virginia International Tattoo American Pipe Band Championship. The third annual event will take place on Saturday, April 28 at Scope Arena (above) in Norfolk, Virginia, and is open to Grade 2 and Grade 3 pipe bands from around the world. City of Dunedin Pipe Band (Florida) and…

Why Ensemble Matters in Pipe Band Adjudication – Part 2

Pipe band adjudication expert Alistair Aitken concludes his well-received article on the place of ensemble judging in the modern pipe band world. Not read the first instalment yet? Click here….. There are of course other factors which affect adjudication. While the approach can be objective, the final assessment is very much a subjective process and it is highly unlikely that results and comments will be the same unless there is collusion…

P/M Jimmy Jackson

The well known pipe major and solo piping adjudicator James Jackson has died at home after a long illness. He was 76. Jimmy’s funeral will take place at Rosskeen Free Church, Alness, on Monday 9th April followed by an interment. In the 1960s Jimmy was a noted member of the Invergordon Distillery Pipe Band under P/M Donald Shaw Ramsay, winning every major championship with them bar the Worlds. He later…