By the Editor Over last weekend I judged the Balmoral Classic junior amateur championship contest held annually in the US. This year it was a virtual event and thanks to excellent organisation it worked very well. My fellow judges, Jim MacGillivray (Canada) and Scott Walker (US), were sent video recordings of the pipers’ piobaireachd and MSR entries towards the end of the week. We came together on Saturday to make…

We continue with our look at the great pipers whose music marked the tragic era of the First World War…. Next we will consider P/M George Stewart McLennan of the Gordon Highlanders, GS as he was, and still is, known. He is pictured above in full ceremonial dress. GS was a child prodigy – at 10 years old he was commanded to play for Queen Victoria at Balmoral Castle.  He…

Good news this week on the Covid-19 vaccine. The British Government had wisely ordered millions of doses in advance and Scotland will, rightly, gets its proportionate share. Other scientists working on other vaccines will report soon on their efficacy, hopefully positive. Whether it will all be in time to save the 2021 pipe band season remains to be seen. It will take months to roll the jabs out to the…

This week saw the 100th Anniversary of the unveiling of the Grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey, and what better time to remind ourselves of the harrowing sacrifice of the men who fought, and the pipers and the music that accompanied them into battle – pipers who played at many a graveside and on many a route march too. To remind you….on one side in this conflict there…

In this article we follow the story of a man who learned to play the pipes from the Rankins on the island of Mull. Originally from Ireland, he ended up living on the isle of Skye. The story starts when the laird of Muckairn (Taynuilt, the village a few miles east of Oban) employs two men from Ireland, one a blacksmith called Robert and the other a harpist called David….