Luss Highland Games Results – Open, CLASP (MSR added), Juniors

The picturesque Loch Lomondside village was the setting for a full day of amateur and professional piping. The weather was perfect and a good crowd was in attendance. Thirteen amateur pipers, all participant in the Piping Centre’s CLASP league, played their piobaireachd in the morning and their light music in the afternoon. For the professionals it was the reverse. The picture above shows Champion Piper Donald MacPhee with the piobaireachd…

PP Ed’s Blog: Saturday Round Up/ Piper Request/ Gala Concert Latest/ Bill Writes Foreword

Luss Games on Loch Lomondside and Thornton Games in Fife are the main solo events tomorrow (Sat., July 7). The committee at Luss have asked us to remind everyone that their games Luss has a piobaireachd and MSR contests for seniors and junior contests too. On Sunday there are games at Harpenden and at Braemar (Juniors). Results as we get them.The early season games seem to have done a bit…

PP Ed’s Blog: Band Circles/ Cancale/ Northern Meeting, Lochaber, Aboyne

Difficulties over ‘concert’ formation positioning mentioned in Alistair Aitken’s piece yesterday should be easily overcome after a little trial and error. Bass sections are different in the circle set up so there is nothing new there. Going by the photographs I thought the formations at the Ross Bandstand pretty good and must have been much more comfortable for the judges than what they are used. No walking about, balancing of…

Reflections on the Pipe Band Competition Season So Far – Part 2

Pipe band authority Alistair Aitken concludes his look at the season so far…. The final event I would like to mention in particular is the local competition held in Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh on Sunday 24 June.  It is pleasing to see that this Lothian & Borders Branch competition (now in its second year) has been resurrected in Scotland’s capital city, as Princes Street Gardens for many years during…

Donald MacPherson’s Bagpipe: Sad News from Down Under

Disturbing information has reached me from Australia via a well known piper and acquaintance of mine, writes the Editor. It concerns the late Donald MacPherson’s bagpipe, that glorious instrument which in Donald’s hands made him the most successful competing piper of all time. It was a pipe I had the good fortune to hear many times. We have several fine instruments on the boards today but none that quite captures…