PP Ed’s Blog: CITES, Boghall, David Murray, Jimmy Anderson

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Bagpipe manufacturers looking to explore the CITES regulations and how they affect blackwood trade with Australia should click here. Be prepared for a difficult trawl through. A meeting was held in Bristol last week between the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA), the body that polices CITES in the UK, and the Society of Instrument Manufacturers. I am awaiting info from the meeting, but the latest I have heard is…

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PP Ed’s Blog: Celtic Conns/Red Hackle/ Virginia

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The Celtic Connections festival kicks off next weekend in Glasgow and looking through the programme I could find dashed little of piping interest. The highlight will be the concert by Inveraray & District and Breton band Bagad Kemper at 12.30pm on Jan 28 (tickets  £15). There is also a concert on Feb 3 featuring ‘Breabach’ a folk group that uses pipes but outside of that very little of the piob mhor…

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Piobaireachd Society Reveals Full Line-up for Conference ’17

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The 2017 Piobaireachd Society Conference will take place on Saturday/Sunday 25/26 March at the Birnam Hotel, Perthshire. Booking arrangements are slightly different this year than in the past. Those staying at the hotel for the weekend should contact reception directly on 01350 728030. Rates are available for two nights bed and breakfast including conference dinner on the Saturday evening. A conference fee of £40 is payable directly to the Piobaireachd Society via their…

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PP Ed’s Blog: Inauguration Pipe Bands/ Crossgare & Mountjoy/ David Murray

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Good to see that pipe bands will be well represented in President – Elect Donald Trump’s Inaugural Parade in Washington DC on January 20. Here are the Pipes & Drums on the list: Coastal Florida Police & Fire Pipes & Drums, Palm Coast, Florida Nassau County Firefighters Pipes & Drums, East Meadow, NY NYPD Emerald Society Pipes & Drums, East Moriches, New York The Citadel Regimental Band & Pipes and Summerall Guards, Charleston, South Carolina US…

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Is it Not Time that we Capped the Numbers of Pipers in Pipe Bands?

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Pipe bands seem to have settled on a ‘no more than 25 pipers’ rule in the past couple of seasons. Before that we had showmen P/Ms turning out with nearer 30. Now they realise the difficulties this means for unison and control. There was a time when the optimum size of a pipe band was considered to be 12 pipers, four side drummers, two tenors and a bass. Among the top bands…

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