The History of the Clan MacRae Society Pipe Band – Part 1

Farquhar MacRae (1859-1916), winner of the Gold Medal in 1898, was a member of the (Blythswood) Highland Light Infantry (3rd Volunteer Battalion HLI) from the 1880s and for many years thereafter he was pipe major.  Towards the end of 1908 this battalion was renumbered, becoming the 7th Volunteer Battalion HLI.  That year, at Cowal Games his band placed fifth in the Argyll Shield Open Competition (World Championship), just one example…

Review: The Northern Meeting 2023

All the excitement of top class piping competition was contained neatly in Eden Court Theatre and its environs for the 2023 Northern Meeting. The NM committee and staff could not have been more welcoming, putting nervous pipers, inquisitive visitors, doddery judges at their ease the moment they stepped through the theatre’s glass doored maw. The bar prices were reasonable too so people were more inclined to hang around chatting in…

Chatsworth Country Fair Results

Clear skies all day at the Duke of Devonshire’s estate in Derbyshire on Sunday, September 3rd. Several pipers from Scotland made the drive south as did some from the US having a tune on their homeward bound journey. Fifteen entries, one no show. In the picture above the piper had to match his drones to the drone of a WW2 Lancaster bomber making its fly past. Four tunes of each…

Lawrie and Thow Pipes for Sale/ Pitlochry Games/ NZ PB Champs./ Capt. John Contest

Two sets of ivory pipes plus other instruments and chanters are on offer from reader Tom Smith. Get more information here. Pictured above is a detail of the Lawrie set. Pitlochry Games The final Highland Games of the summer will be held at Pitlochry on Saturday (Sept.10). The new piobaireachd event sponsored by the Piobaireachd Society has a full complement of entrants, capped at 15. The organisers have opened a…

Blairgowrie Games Results

Here are the results from today, writes Piping Convenor Stuart Samson. Great weather; 47 pipers in attendance across all the piping events. Champion Piper Steven Gray is pictured receiving his trophy. Open Piob1 Sarah Muir2 Steven Leask3 Ben Duncan4 Darach Urquhart Open March1 Steven Gray2 Ben Duncan3 Greig Canning4 Cameron May Open S&R1 Cameron May2 Brodie Watson Massey3 Steven Gray4 Bobby Durning B Piob1 Bobby Durning2 Campbell Wilson3 Mike Fitzhenry4…