Category: Solo Piping

Gordon Stewart Clark  1937-2024

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Gordon Clark, prizewinning piper, games organiser and member of the Atholl Highlanders Pipe Band, has died aged 87. Gordon was born near Aboyne in Aberdeenshire. Being the son of a piper it was always likely he would follow in his dad’s footsteps. And so it turned out. In his early teens Gordon learned from his father in their home near Aberfeldy. Following National Service, Gordon set sail for New Zealand…

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Donald MacLeod Memorial Results

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The Annual Donald MacLeod Memorial Competition was held today (April 5) in Stornoway, isle of Lewis. The competition is organised by the Lewis and Harris Piping Society. A very high standard was reported. Piobaireachd1. Alasdair Henderson, Lament for John Morrison of Assynt House2. Callum Beaumont, Peter James MacInnes’s Lullaby3. Stuart Liddell, A Son’s Salute to his Parents4. Finlay Johnston, Lament for Angus MacPherson of Invershin March, Strathspey & Reel1. Finlay…

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Editor’s Notebook: Balloch Games/ Over 50s Contest/ Piping Tutor/ Contests and Seminar/ Eilidh’s Trust

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The news that Balloch Games has been scrapped is both disappointing and bewildering. Disappointing because this was always a popular games right at the start of the Glasgow Fair holidays, this year on July 13. Balloch launched a full week of other piping competitions at the likes of Inveraray, Lochearnhead, Tobermory, Luss (before the day was changed), and the island games. It’s bewildering because the crowds at the wee town…

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Historian Comments on Campsie Controversy and Reveals Discovery of Oldest Pipers’ Contract

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In response to recent comments, the cases of Alistair Campsie and Simon Fraser are quite different. When the Fraser material in the National Library of Scotland was ‘opened’ to research I did some work on the subject for the late Roddy Cannon. Although Fraser’s MS could be seen as an alternative approach or style, the problem was the claim that it was writ on tablets of stone directly from the…

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Tributes for Major John Allan/ MacLean Games Results from Australia

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Reader Neil Angus Gillies: ‘The passing of Major Jock Allan is sad news indeed. What’s missing from reports is mention of the years Major Allan spent teaching at George Heriot’s School in Edinburgh. ‘This was after he left the Army School of Piping, the school being located a stone’s throw from Edinburgh Castle. He was Chief Piping Instructor at Heriot’s throughout the 1990s and 2000s and every pupil that received tutelage…

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