A Review of the Worlds Day 2

My plan for the Saturday was to listen to the whole of the Grade 1 MSR and then to try to take in some of the performances in the other grades. Grade 1: I thought Inveraray were the outstanding band in the morning, again fluent and finger perfect. Boghall were good but a shade careful, though the technique in the strathspey was outstanding. FMM had a poor run with one…

A Review of the Worlds Day 1

I penned these notes a few hours after the close of play last Friday….. There is not a band that let themselves down today. The top outfits are all in the mix going into tomorrow’s last two legs, the standard among them unbelievably high. Equally in the mid table bands. The weather was kind, no rain, and the day ran to schedule as per the RSPBA’s usual efficient system, kicking…

Editor’s Notebook: Worlds All Set/ Gold Medal Hero/ Island Bands Plea/ Lonach Axemen

Well who’s your money on? Boghall, Inveraray and Field Marshal have one major each this season. SFU were brilliant by all accounts the other evening. If SLOT up their game they could figure, as could the Power. And don’t rule out Shotts taking the top prize. Remember when Ryan Canning surprised everyone not so very long ago? One thing is sure, after four legs and the opinions of 16 judges,…

Blue MacMurchie’s Extensive Collection of Piping Artefacts For Sale/ New Interviews on Pipers’ Persuasion

After making pipes for 25 years in  West Calder, West Lothian, MacMurchie Bagpipes is re-locating to nearby Kirknewton, writes Blue MacMurchie. It’s a move of eight miles to where our business started. The move will be done over a few months. For three generations the family has collected more piping memorabilia than you can poke a stick at. With the pending move it now comes time to downsize this collection. It includes pipes,…

Northern Ireland Pipe Band Round Up

All-Ireland Pipe Band Championships: The spacious grounds of Ballymena Academy were the venue for Ireland’s premier pipe band competition which took place on Saturday 1st July. The weather was ever changing but never cold. The popularity and importance of this competition to the pipe band fraternity on the island of Ireland was illustrated by a large attendance as friendships were made or renewed around the arenas and tuning areas. The variable…