In what will be seen as a welcome taste of normality, the two major solo piping competitions in the world have announced that they are now accepting entries for next year’s competitions at the Argyllshire Gathering and Northern Meeting. The AG is at Oban on August 25 and 26 and the NM at Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, on September 2 and 3. The last two dates represent a return to…

I would like to make readers aware of a new product we have developed, Twist-Trap Goose Pipes, writes Alastair Dunn, Managing Director of RG Hardie Ltd. Our goal is to make learning to play bagpipes as easy as possible, and along with Twist-Trap Practice Pipes, they provide a smooth transition from practice chanter to Highland Bagpipes.  Twist-Trap Goose Pipes are unique in that they can be played with either a…

This short piece recalls the grand old days of BBC piping broadcasts. It is taken from the Radio Times of 1957. Headlined ‘Broadcasting from Scotland – The Big Music of the Pipes’, it features the late Ronald Morrison. The caption to the picture above reads ‘Piper Ronald Morrison from South Uist, making his first broadcast, plays ‘MacCrimmon’s Sweetheart’ in the Scottish Home Service’. The accompanying article reads.. Only a minority…

Throughout the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s the band were regularly featured on BBC Northern Ireland Radio programmes such as ‘Ulster Band’. In 1974 they were invited to perform in a BBC television programme entitled ‘The Rock of Fergus’ along with The Pattersons folk group and harpist Deirdre O’Callaghan. It was one of a number of television appearances throughout this period. The band is pictured above 1974/75 at Carrickfergus Castle. The band…

I had forgotten what a superb player Jimmy Hardie was until a video recording of a recital he gave in Canada in 1985 (see picture above) was pointed out to me on Facebook. There, thanks to Jim Barrie, was Jimmy in all his musical glory playing as well as any piper you will hear today, no exaggeration. The piping stars were aligned for Jim, born unto Bob Hardie and his…