Results and Comments on the Archie Kenneth Quaich 2018

  By Peter McCalister This was a smaller contest than previous due to severe snow on the day and the two days before. We had 25 pipers initially on the list and on the day 13 appeared. Those included pipers from the USA, Germany, and the frozen West of Scotland. A lot of effort was made to attend in these difficult circumstances – so thanks go to all of them,…

Skye Gathering 2018 Entry Forms and Information Now Available

The 2018 Skye Gathering will take place on August 7th & 8th at Portree. Entries for the prestigious Dunvegan Medal are limited to 25 and will be accepted from April 1 to May 31.  Piping is supported by the Royal Hotel, Portree, the Highland Society of London, and the Clan Donald Centre. Pictured above is Ian K MacDonald, Toronto, last year’s winner of the Medal. Piping Convenor Cameron MacFadyen has added…

FAMOUS PIPERS – DUNCAN JOHNSTONE, THE PIPER’S PIPER, PART 2

Next weekend (March 10) sees the annual Duncan Johnstone Memorial competition held at the Piping Centre. A few weeks ago piper, composer and adjudicator Stuart Finlayson, New Zealand, regaled us with tales of the late master piper who was so influential on so many people. Today we have the second part of an interview with Duncan conducted by our Editor Robert Wallace in 1996.…. ……Three months later I got home….

Juvenile Indoor Season Preview

Our special correspondent reports on the forthcoming juvenile band contests….Following the cancellation of this weekend’s George Watson’s College (GWC) contest in Edinburgh we look ahead to the Scottish Schools Pipe Band Competition with its now traditional ‘second Sunday in March’,on the 11th, at Inveralmond Community High School, Livingston, West Lothian. The event, now in its 6th year, is presented by the Scottish Schools Pipes and Drums Trust, doing much to…

Uist & Barra Cancelled

Saturday’s Uist & Barra Professional contest has been cancelled due to the weather. Here is the official statement from Piping Convenor John Angus Smith: ‘Due to the adverse weather conditions in an around the Glasgow area and the rest of Scotland, and the likely weather prospects for the next few days, we have decided to postpone this year’s competition. ‘We would like to thank everyone for their interest and support in…