Walter Cowan 1936-2026

Walter Cowan, who passed away peacefully in a nursing home in Annan last Friday, took his piping seriously – but not himself. It was an endearing quality which made him popular with everyone. When espousing knowledge and instruction in classroom, band hall or judging bench, there was always his pawky humour to lighten the load. His contribution to piping and pipe bands in the south west of Scotland and further…

Editor’s Notebook: Frasers Fundraiser/ 277 Argylls/ CNE Memories/ Atholl Gathering/ Malcolm and Angus

The 78th Fraser Highlanders band from Ontario have launched a crowd-funder to help pay for a professional recording of their pre-Worlds concert on August 12th. Entitled ‘True North Strong’, the concert will celebrate piping and drumming with a distinctly Canadian flavour. The 78th Frasers are a self-supporting organisation, the band’s members paying their own way to rehearsals and competitions at home and abroad. The fundraiser is intended to help offset…

Guide to the Games News/ John Drysdale

Bryan Spalding, Piping Convenor at Inveraray Games: I wonder if you would be kind enough please to distribute the following press release to your readership/membership? We are currently updating our Games website and the website administrator is updating our entry system. This work should be completed later this or early next month and we intend to open entries for our contests after successful testing. The scheduled date for entries opening…

Livingstone Memorial Report

It is several years since I was in Canada so I was pleased to accept an invitation to judge the Livingstone Invitational solo contest run by the Niagara-Hamilton Branch of the Pipers and Pipe Band Association of Ontario. You can get a direct flight from Glasgow and that brought me seven hours or so later to Toronto to be met by my old Muirheads friend Mike MacDonald, the man immortalised…

Editor’s Notebook: Military Piping Book/ Ceòl Mòr Workshop/ Band Numbers/ UK Championship Draw/ Inveraray Concert

The Piobaireachd Society has published a new book on piping in the British Army. The author, the late military historian and amateur piper, Diana Henderson, describes the ways in which the great Highland bagpipe was taught in the British Army from 1650 to 1959. By quoting from original sources, the author outlines the extraordinary efforts of the Society in establishing and then supporting the ‘Army Class’, the foundation for today’s…