Editor’s Notebook: Solo Judging/ Ian’s Funeral/ Fifth Major Secured/ Diary Dates

Following our report from the Solo Judges Association last week we received this anonymous comment: ‘In your report on the judging of solo piping there is a reference that judges must not judge their pupils and I understand this has been extended to include genres of pipe music the judge may in fact not teach that individual. ‘It would appear that if she/he teaches him solely ceòl beag, she/he may not…

UKs Return to Northern Ireland/ Jimmy McIntosh MBE Workshop Weekend

The United Kingdom Pipe Band Championships will be held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Saturday, 13 June 2026. Securing the fifth major is a significant success for the RSPBA and its Chief Executive Colin Mulhearn and his team. They had come under criticism for not fulfilling the statutory number of championships in 2025, and until now only four had been announced for 2026. These are: British Championships, Ingliston, May 30;…

Editor’s Notebook: Jamie Troy/ Ian’s Funeral/ Talk Piob/ Solo Judges/ Letter

A nice, well-deserved comment from reader Bruce Young about the late Jamie Troy: ‘I remember maybe 15 years ago ordering reeds. I was sent a dozen and told to pick what I liked and return the rest with a cheque. I kept them all and still have a couple hidden away. The piping community is the best, and he was the best of the best.’ I couldn’t agree more Bruce….

History: The Rise of Inveraray Pipe Band, Part 2

The following is the second instalment from an article in the Pipe Band Magazine of July 2009. Headlined: ‘Seventy Years On and the Bells of Inveraray Herald Town’s New Band’, it charts the resurrection of a band first founded in the 1890s. Now they are the current World Champions and P/M Liddell has four such titles to his name….. The band’s Pipe Major, Stuart Liddell, said, ‘I always had a…

The Kettlewell Legacy: Inspiring the Next Generation of Pipers

I have just finished my term as President of the Glasgow Highland Club. One of my last duties was accepting a most generous donation from the family of the late David Kettlewell. David spent a lifetime teaching youngsters the pipes and a stipulation of the gift is that it should be used as a prize for junior piping. By Colin Kerr The spark that ignited David’s lifelong love of piping happened…