A Few Days on Mull of the Cool High Bens

Time stood still this week on the island of Mull. The sun shone on calm water and soaring summit. But the idyll belied an inner tension. The ‘tier zero’ island is confronting an influx of bug carriers, or so it thinks. It means restrictions more stringent than in covid city, Glasgow. By Robert Wallace It will be a time before we learn to live with this but we need to…

Lochaber Gathering Entry Form Available Tomorrow/ Carnegie Mellon Drum Tutor

Ken Cameron, Chairman of Lochaber Piping Society, has posted this: ‘Well, OK, the Argyllshire Gathering, Glen Urquhart Games and the Northern Meeting have been falling by the wayside around us, but we see every reason to hold the Lochaber Gathering as planned. What’s not to like? A LIVE event; spectacular prizes, terrific venue at the Highland Cinema in the centre of Fort William – AND generous prize money to be…

Eagle Pipers’ Online Contest Results

Douglas Gardiner, President of the Edinburgh-based Eagle Pipers Society reports: ‘You may be aware we ran an online competition for B and C graded pipers.  Not quite a return the grand days of the old Eagles competition but something to keep the aspiring pipers playing. I enclose the results. With a total prize fund of £1,000, demanding playing requirements and SPJA/CPA judges, we very much hope prize winners will be…

New Covid Study Gives Boost to Piping

Playing wind instruments generates fewer airborne particles than speaking or singing and is no different than a person breathing, a study by scientists at Bristol University has found. This new research could have a significant bearing on the full resumption of piping contests and recitals. Scientists say the findings, published online in the journal, Aerosol Science and Technology, could help end restrictions in the performing arts. The study examined the…

RSPBA History: ‘Farcical’ and ‘Tragic’ Judging in the Post War Pipe Band World

We conclude our look back at the history of the RSPBA as described in an edition of the Piping, Drumming and Highland Dancing Journal of 1949. The author, Mr RC Whitelaw, Secretary of the then Scottish Pipe Band Association, turns his forensic eye on the establishment of a pipe band college and problems with judging as he saw it. Pictured are Bowhill Colliery Pipe Band, Fife, winners of the first…