Editor’s Notebook: Highland Games Threat/ Trophy Search/ Oban Festival/ Dollar Contest/ Sandy Jones

This from a prominent Highland games organiser: ‘On the CPA judge/pupil pronouncements that have lately been made, has anyone raised the problems this causes for competition organisers? ‘How are games committees, expected to be able to attract decent player numbers, or to maintain their ‘local’ feel, when they may not be able to use local piping adjudicators because they then wouldn’t get local competitors? ‘How can they afford to import…

Jimmy McIntosh Scholarship/ Balmoral Summer Camps

The inaugural cycle of the Jimmy McIntosh Piobaireachd Scholarship was completed with a culminating piobaireachd workshop held the last weekend of February, at Carnegie Mellon University, writes Joyce McIntosh. Thirty-two registered piobaireachd enthusiasts travelled to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from eight different states to receive high-level tuition with Mike Cusack and Andrew Carlisle.  Each of the two scholarship winners played a tune he/she had learned over the eight-month course of the scholarship. …

Advice on How Best to Travel Safely With Your Pipes

Well the good news is Barry got his pipes a couple of days after he arrived home, writes the Editor. The bad is that one projecting mount was chipped and there were other nicks here and there. I wondered if the imitation ivory had been deliberately cut to test for the real stuff. The leaflet that tells you they have been into your suitcase has a disclaimer regarding any damage…

CLASP ‘Live Online’ 2023 Results

This February 11 competition was the first CLASP ‘Live Online’ event for 2023 and there was a particular interest as an invite to compete at the inaugural amateur invitational at The Sun Belt in Florida in November 2023 was up for grabs for the overall winner of Grade 1.  Eric Stein, who runs the Sun Belt Professional, has expanded his event to include an amateur invitational and Eric is kindly…

Simon Fraser University Pipe Band to Headline Worlds Week Concert

The Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band is delighted to announce that our Worlds Week concert will this year be headlined by the fantastic SFU Pipe Band from Canada.  By Kurt Mackintosh Pipe Major Alan Bevan commented: ‘The band and I are very excited to be taking the stage again for the pre-Worlds Concert this August.  This will mark our fifth time playing the concert, with the last time being 2015. …