Braemar Gathering Results – Updated with Comment, Pictures and Juniors

The final major Highland games of the summer was held in dry, overcast, but warm conditions. There were changes at the piobaireachd board with a new canopy and screen. This helped greatly in reducing extraneous noise and unwanted breezes. One minor hiccup came when Jamie Forrester put a brogue through a rotted plank on the platform. Luckily he was still tuning. It was the only foot he put wrong in…

Northern Meeting Complete Day 2 Results

Highlight of the second day at Inverness is the Gold Clasp competition, which, with the Senior Piobaireachd at the Argyllshire Gathering, is the most prestigious ceòl mòr prize in world piping. It was a major win for Angus MacColl adding to his Senior Piobaireachd title at Oban. Angus capped a super day by taking first in Hornpipe & Jig as well. Gold Clasp1 Angus D MacColl, £1,000, Nameless, Cherede Darievea2…

Northern Meeting Day 1 First Results Complete: Gold Medal, Silver Medal, ‘A’ MSR, Former Winners’ MSR

Results will be added here as we get them. The 2022 Inverness Medal went to Nick Hudson a teacher at St Thomas’s Episcopal School in Houston, Texas. Nick takes piobaireachd from Mike Cusack and is a former student of the late Jimmy McIntosh. The Oban Gold Medallist, Jamie Forrester, narrowly missed doing the double when he was placed second today. Highland Society of London’s Gold Medal:1 Nick Hudson, Houston, Laird…

Why I Won’t Sit in the Stands at the Worlds Again

Fistly I want to say thanks to Alistair Aitken for his reports from the 2022 Worlds. They are always respectful, well researched and authoritative. I was interested in his comment: ‘Perhaps strangely, most of the spectators preferred to stand or sit around the competing band arenas.’ By Iain White I can give some personal insight. I have attended the Worlds for as long as I can remember with my two…

Editor’s Notebook: The Worlds, The Worlds, The Worlds

A few more thoughts from the Green. I must respectfully take issue with one aspect of Alistair Aitken’s excellent article of a couple of weeks ago. He wrote: ‘…..one of the main reasons for pipe bands traditionally competing in a circle as the original thinking all these years ago was that the circle contains and balances the sounds much better.‘ I am not sure there was ever any trial done…