Glasgow Letter

Congratulations, Inveraray and District

It was lovely to hear of Inveraray and District Pipe Band’s great triumph on Glasgow Green last Saturday.

They were crowned World Champions after fighting off strong competition from second-placed Field Marshall Montgomery Pipe Band who have won the Worlds an incredible five times in the past six years.

As usual, the event on Glasgow Green was tremendously busy with 35,000 spectators, 8,000 pipers, and 219 bands in attendance over the course of the two days.

I cannot pretend to be any kind of authority on the world of piping (I follow it only through what I hear from friends who are involved) but it seems to me that Inveraray’s year has been round the corner for some time.

Last year, they achieved second place but could not quite topple Field Marshall from the top spot, which they have made pretty much their own over the past few years.

Their achievement this year is even more astonishing when one considers they were formed in 2004 and only entered Grade 1 level in 2010.

Huge credit must go to the legendary Pipe Major Stuart Liddell. I believe Stuart now joins Bill Livingstone as the only pipers in history to have won a Clasp for Piobaireachd at the Northern Meeting and led a Grade 1 band to a World Championship title.

The day was the culmination of a terrific week for the band and Stuart at Piping Live!, where Inveraray won the international quartets competition and Stuart took the Pipe-Major Alasdair Gillies Memorial Recital Challenge.

I welcomed in 2017 with Stuart in Stirling Castle for the BBC Alba Hogmanay show. Little did I know back then what a fantastically successful year he had ahead of him. It is great to see.

Glasgow bands on top form

I would especially like to send a huge congratulations to the Glasgow Skye Association Pipe Band, who lifted the Grade 2 title. Their drum corps also took the Champion of Champions Award for the second consecutive year. The band, formed in 1968, must surely have made the whole Glasgow Skye Association proud at the weekend. Runners-up in the Grade 2 competition were the Lomond and Clyde Pipe Band. They gave of their time on Thursday night to perform live in the Park Bar, so it was good to see them among the prizes.

A memorable fringe

This year brought another successful fringe for the World Pipe Band Championships. Piping Live! put on its usual programme of exciting events.

I was out of the country all week but I can see how buzzing the city was by photos sent to me from the Park Bar on Sunday. This event has become known as the unofficial ‘after-Worlds hangover cure’, for which the Park operated an outside bar in an extended beer garden. The sun was shining and I have it on good authority that the craic was great.

Pub scene

Islay Inn Friday August 18: Crooked Reel Saturday August 19: The Raggaels