Setting the Record Straight on Reid v Ross in the 1923 Gold Clasp

We are very grateful to piping historian Jeannie Campbell for helping us put the record straight regarding the tie for the Clasp between Willie Ross and Robert Reid at the 1923 Northern Meeting. Jeannie has produced two pieces of corroborating evidence which show that Craigie Calder (see last weeks’s story here) was misled in his assertion that the award should have been split between the two piping titans. Jeannie has…

Editor’s Notebook: Piobaireachd Society Conference/ Three Tenors/ Ian Green/ Northern Meeting/ Band News

Places are filling up well for next weekend’s Piobaireachd Society Annual Conference, March 22 – 24 in the Royal George Hotel, Perth. Fees are £200 for a single room and £300 for a double. This includes two nights bed and breakfast, and lunch and dinner on the Saturday. Day tickets are £15 and include lunch. We will meet on the Friday for informal drinks, a meal and perhaps a tune or…

The Day Ross and Reid Tied for the Clasp and a Recording of the Great John MacColl

A trawl through my old audio archives has turned up a remarkable recording made by one Craigie Calder, a former P/M of the Johnstone Pipe Band in 1984, writes the Editor. The tape was give to me by Ian Sinclair formerly of the College of Piping Veteran Pipers Society. Ian knew Craigie well and played with him in the band. One of the regular tutors of the Johnstone pipers was…

A Short History of Piping and the British Legion Golden Jubilee 1971

The following article is taken from a programme published for a Massed Pipe Bands and Beating of Retreat on Edinburgh Castle Esplanade in May 1971. The occasion was the Golden Jubilee of the Royal British Legion. The note may have been written by Captain John MacLellan, one of the main organisers of the event. Antiquity obscures the precise origin of the sophisticated modern bagpipe but it is known that it…

10th Annual Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championship Results

YOUNG MUSICIANS from a Renfrewshire schools pipe band have won gold at one of Scotland’s biggest piping and drumming events. Renfrewshire Schools Pipe Band hit the right note with the judges at this year’s annual Scottish Schools Pipe Band Championship (SSPBC), bagging wins in the highly-contested Freestyle category. By Alexandra Duncan, Chief Executive Ninety-seven schools went head-to-head vying for success across The Championships’ eight categories. The Championships were launched in 2013, as part of a…