PP Ed’s Blog: SPA Pro/Jimmy Jackson/ SPJA/ Xavier Vid/ Balmoral Schools/ Allan Chatto/

What will be the first professional piping contest of the season (following the weather cancellation of the Uist & Barra) will be held this Saturday April 14. It’s the Scottish Pipers Association contest and it will be held at NPC West (College of Piping, Otago St. to us old timers) with a good entry in all categories. Last year’s overall winner was Sarah Muir (pictured top with her trophies) who will be…

Results and Report from Dunedin Highland Games, Florida

From the Sunshine State of Florida, our Special Correspondent reports on the Dunedin Highland Games……. Now arguably one of the larger solo and pipe band gatherings in North America, Dunedin, that west coast Florida town with Scottish roots (twinned with Stirling), packs a real punch with an ever-growing and burgeoning Highland Games. As the solos kicked off at 9am so did a few thousand 5k runners in the humid, high…

Why Ensemble Matters in Pipe Band Adjudication – Part 2

Pipe band adjudication expert Alistair Aitken concludes his well-received article on the place of ensemble judging in the modern pipe band world. Not read the first instalment yet? Click here….. There are of course other factors which affect adjudication. While the approach can be objective, the final assessment is very much a subjective process and it is highly unlikely that results and comments will be the same unless there is collusion…

PP Ed’s Blog: Vintage Pipes for Sale/ Dunedin Games/ Lament for the CoP/ NEPADA/ Robert Turner

A very special set of pipes is offered for sale today via our Online Ads service. The instrument pictured above is a vintage bagpipe by Peter Henderson and dated 1904/05. It is in fully engraved silver (no ivory worries) and African blackwood, complete with original pipe chanter. The pipes were made for a Gordon Highlander and have been in the seller’s family for many years. They come complete with wooden…

Why Ensemble Matters in Pipe Band Adjudication

Having previously contributed a number of articles about pipe band ensemble in the RSPBA’s quarterly magazine when I was an ensemble adjudicator and also deeply involved in adjudicator training, the Editor of Piping Press asked me for my thoughts on a suggestion made recently that it is now perhaps time for this type of adjudication to be abolished due to ineffective adjudication. I am a strong supporter of ensemble adjudication…