Editor’s Notebook: Northern Winter School/ Caritas Banner/ Letters/ Sound of the Somme

Snow falls on cedars here on the North German plain as the 2024 Winter School draws to a close. It was a rewarding week of long days teaching and long evenings round the hostel campfire. Pictured above is one of the 60+ piping students, 16-year-Niklas Helmke. He was placed second in the Under 18 Piobaireachd at Inverness this year and will be back again in 2025. This lad tunes accurately,…

History: The Kilberry Pipers – Part 2

Below are extracts from the diaries of John Campbell of Kilberry, father of Archibald Campbell. They have been reproduced here by kind permission of John Campbell of Kilberry, the current Piping Convenor for the Argyllshire Gathering. They show the extraordinary lengths the family went to support and promote piping. It was at John Campbell’s instigation that the piobaireachd Society was formed and his son and grandson, Archibald and James, went…

History: The Kilberry Pipers and their Medal

I came across this piping medal which I thought might be of interest, writes John Campbell, Kilberry. It was struck in 1899 and competed for by the estate pipers. It has the names of five recorded winners on the reverse. The pipers were all members of the Kilberry Estate pipe band tutored by my grandfather, Archibald Campbell, compiler and editor of the famous ‘Kilberry Book of Ceol Mor’. The competition…

Outcomes from the Latest RSPBA Board of Directors Meeting

Take aways from the recent RSPBA Board of Directors meeting….. The association has formed a group to examine ways of reducing the time it takes for the March Past and prize announcements at contests, particularly the Majors. BoD have agreed that at the World Championship all qualifying announcements will held at the Needle on Glasgow Green.  Former Chairman Kevin Reilly will continue his involvement within the 850th celebrations for Glasgow…

London Championship Results

This contest was held in the Caledonian Club, Belgravia, on November 15/16. Bratach Gorm1 Finlay Johnston, Lament for the Union2 Callum Beaumont, Lament for MacLeod of Colbeck3 Alasdair Henderson, Phantom Piper of the Corrieyairick4 Jamie Forrester, Daughter’s Lament5 Nick Hudson, Farewell to the Queen’s Ferry Open Piobaireachd, William Gillies Cup (6 tunes)1 Stuart Liddell2 Finlay Johnston 3 Iain Speirs4 Callum Beaumont 5 Calum Briwn MSR: London Medallion & John MacFadyen…