Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championships

The Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championship have issued this press release: ‘Scotland’s National Instrument in Danger of Extinction’ The iconic sight and sound of pipers playing Auld Lang Syne at Hogmanay street parties could be under threat – according to piping enthusiasts who are campaigning for more tuition in state schools. More than 75,000 people are expected to descend upon Princes Street on December 31 to attend one of the world’s…

PP Editor’s Blog 26/12/14

With only five days to go before we announce our Piper of the Year, another opportunity to make your choice. The pipers, in no particular order, are P/M Stuart Liddell, P/M Douglas Murray and P/M Richard Parkes. Stuart won many top prizes during the year including the Former Winners’ MSR at Oban and the Glenfiddich Championship. His band, Inveraray & District, were runners-up in the Worlds, their highest ever placing….

New Piping and Drumming School for Florida

A  new school of piping and drumming will take place in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, next March. The press release reads: Are you a piper or drummer looking for a break from a cold winter and an opportunity to improve your skills? Does some serious fun in the sun working on the music you love sound an attractive proposition? If so the South Florida Pipe and Drum Academy is for you….

New Name for European PB Championships

A legal challenge has meant that the successful ‘Piping Hot Forres’ tag can no longer be used as the umbrella title for the European Pipe Band Championships held so successfully over the past two years in the Highland town. The following press release regarding the change was received today: ‘Piping Hot Forres’ is changing its name. Ahead of the next event to be held in Grant Park, Forres, on Saturday 27 June,…

Big Donald Retires

One of the big characters in the pipe band world, Donald MacPhee, has retired from his position as a senior member of World Champions Field Marshal Montgomery. On his Facebook page Donald has written: ‘In mid September I phoned Richard [P/M Richard Parkes] and retired from FMM and decided to go on to the full RSPBA adjudicator panel. ‘My nine seasons with FMM were very special. It’s time to start…