Tag: Pipe Band News

Rankin Pipers Memorial Cairn Unveiled on Mull

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Kilbrennan on the island of Mull is the place where the Rankin pipers lived and taught the pipes from around 1700 to 1800. They had their own College of Piping where someone could live and learn, staying until they mastered the art. The Clan Maclean Heritage Trust erected the cairn pictured above in memory of these Rankin pipers. The Rankins are affiliated to the Clan Maclean and were, in their…

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Our Juggernaut Pipe Bands – Are They a Good Thing?

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The two hot topics of the pipe band winter have been the major championships and band sizes. The first is now settled with a final announcement on the forth and fifth majors expected from the RSPBA on Monday. The second continues, with PP readers to the fore as witnessed yesterday in the letter from David Cross, Northern Ireland. In response….. Eric McGaw: I agree with some things that David has…

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Germany’s Northern Winter School Inundated with Students/ Reader’s View on Band Sizes

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The popular Northern Winter School, held each November in Germany, opened for registration at the weekend and is already sold out, the organisers report. Principal Ronnie Bromhead said: ‘After opening the online booking portal on February 1 we have received significantly more booking requests than we could give places. ‘Because of this flood we are doing our very best to fulfil all individual requests, but unfortunately some may not get…

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Editor’s Notebook: Pipe Band Championships/ AKQ Draw Update/ Tune Search/ Northern Meeting/ Metro Cup

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‘Missing Majors’ no more. My information is that we will have a full complement of pipe band championships for the 2024 season. Final contract details will be concluded next week. Already confirmed are the Worlds, Glasgow Green, August 16/17, Scottish, Dumbarton, July 27, Europeans, Perth, August 11. I can’t say more about the British or the UKs, but the ink is almost dry. They will be in May and June….

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The Dying Art of Piping Reports – Some Reader Reaction

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Response to last week’s comments on the dearth of competition reports in the piping world….. In regards to the suggestion that competition reports are a dying art, it is actually true, writes Duncan Watson. I have expressed this to a few piping associates from whom I obtained similar responses. It should be a pre-requisite, particularly for judges in the highest rank of Senior Judge. They should be required to occasionally…

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