In this, the week we remember John MacDougall, I thought it apposite that we should share a recording of his wonderful playing with our readers, writes the Editor. It comes to us courtesy of Breton piper Patrick Molard and is of John competing in the Former Winners’ MSR at the Argyllshire Gathering in 1971, a competition he won on five occasions. I don’t know what the results were (perhaps someone…
Forget the house or the car. The most important decision a piper has to make is the instrument he buys. Get it wrong and face years of wasteful and expensive plumbing trying to make something out of a very bad situation. Get it right and you can have hours of musical satisfaction from an instrument that is easy to reed, steady, and an all round pleasure to play. In short,…
The annual 214 Glasgow Co. BB Reunion is on March 4.) Three new letters added today on Willie Ross, Norrie Gillies and old pipes in North America. Read them here. If anyone is any doubt about the amazing work being done by the Scottish Schools Pipe & Drum Trust have a look at their website to see the amount of cash that is being invested in young pipers and drummers….
If, like many, you enjoy piping history, you will read the following with avidity. It is from P/M Sandy Hain, formerly of Fife and now domiciled in Ohio, USA. Sandy ‘did the course’ at the Army School of Piping, Edinburgh Castle, 1950 -51. He has many stories of his time there with P/M Willie Ross, great piper and a great character (as you will see). We asked Sandy if he would…
An important initiative to help youngsters learn the pipes has been launched by the Scottish Schools Pipes & Drums Trust. ‘The Bagpipe Amnesty’ is asking for individuals with old sets of pipes to donate them to the trust so that they can be handed over to needy children. The Trust is being supported by Scottish Fire and Rescue Services who have offered fires stations as drop-off points for the instruments. The…
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