On Sunday 10th July, I was once again pleased to judge the solo piping competitions at the Harpenden Highland Gathering in Hertfordshire, southern England. It may seem unusual that a London commuter town hosts a Highland games, but the history is an interesting story in itself. During World War 2 there was a large concentration of aircraft factories in the Harpenden, St Albans, Luton and Stevenage areas, with a high…

Michael Grey, the invigorating new President of Ontario’s Piping and Pipe Band Society, lamented on social media the decline of bands and piping in his province. Mike’s bout of mild depression was occasioned by his perusal of an old programme from 1972 of the Canadian National Exhibition Intercontinental Gathering held in Toronto. Ontario then was second only to Scotland in the piping empire. Dozens of bands in every grade. Top…