Category: Reviews

Ceres Games Results and Comment

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

A snell wind greeted us as we arrived in the Howe of Fife for the annual Ceres Highland Games, purportedly the oldest in Scotland, dating from 1314, and a year my rabid nationalist pal tells me coincides with some minor altercation at Bannockburn. By Robert Wallace It’s just over a year since the old grappler and piper Willie Baxter left us and there he was on the front of the…

More Ceres Games Results and Comment

Editor’s Notebook: Dumbarton Draw/ General Thomason’s Sword/ Lorient Festival/ Scots Guards KO

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

The RSPBA have published the draws for the next pipe band championships, the Scottish at Dumbarton. In Grade 1 there are ten bands playing in the following order: Fife Police, Shotts, Scottish Power, Johnstone, FMM, SLOT, Boghall, Closkelt, Police Scotland and Inveraray. Judges are John Wilson, Peter Hunt, Stuart Coils and Tom Brown. The contest is not until July 27 so bands have five weeks to prepare. After that the…

More Editor’s Notebook: Dumbarton Draw/ General Thomason’s Sword/ Lorient Festival/ Scots Guards KO

History: The Northern Meeting 1949

Posted on      by      1 Comment

I have in my possession four pages from an old Northern Meeting programme for 1949. The pages are for Day 1 only. Above is a picture of Andrew Pitkeathly, the winner of the Gold Medal that year. Twenty-four entered the Medal, but whether they all played I am not sure. The programme was given to me by the late Dr James Finlayson who was a Consultant Physician at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary….

More History: The Northern Meeting 1949

Editor’s Notebook: Forres Thoughts/ Ian C Cameron/ Jim Dow/ Balmoral Concerts/ Gaelic Cash

Posted on      by      Leave a comment

Not being able to travel to Forres for the British I had a listen to a few of the Grade 1 bands online. Not ideal, but better than nothing. Of those I heard I thought third placed Shotts had the most complete MSR. The winners Boghall had an outstanding march…but then the strathspey. Inveraray, second, likewise. Band drummers these days don’t play strathspeys in the traditional sense, four beats to…

More Editor’s Notebook: Forres Thoughts/ Ian C Cameron/ Jim Dow/ Balmoral Concerts/ Gaelic Cash

More Information on Donald Ruadh MacCrimmon and Glenelg

Posted on      by      1 Comment

The mention of Donald Ruadh MacCrimmon [pro. approx. Roo -ah] in the report on the Piobaireachd Society Summer School mentions the formal attempts by the Highland Society to provide teaching through him. This is fine but only tells part of the story. I have copies of several letters by Donald MacCrimmon which add to story. I really should have got around to publishing something on them I suppose, though I…

More More Information on Donald Ruadh MacCrimmon and Glenelg