perth and district pipe band history 2015 band news web history 2015.pdfperth and district pipe band...

PERTH AND DISTRICT PIPE BAND WEB HISTORY FOR 2015 / 24

PERTH AND DISTRICT PIPE BAND HISTORY 2015

JANUARY 2015

The Vale of Atholl Junior Solos kick off the competition scene each new year. The events generally have big numbers of talented players taking part and 2015 was no exception. It is therefore always very pleasing when our younger members pick up so many prizes. Their results this year were:

9 years and under chanter - 2nd Katie Duthie, 4th Cailem Townsley 11 - 18 years chanter - 2nd Duncan Farmer, 7th Lewis Duncan 12 years and under novice piping - 2nd Lewis Duncan 13 - 18 years novice piping - 2nd Jason Townsley Under 15 years piobaireach - 4th Brogan Townsley Under 15 march - 4th Brogan Townsley, 6th Jamie Sinclair Under 15 jig - 3rd - Brogan Townsley Under 12 drumming on the pad - 6th Geordie Farmer Novice drumming - 3rd Rebecca Oswald, 5th Robert Sinclair 18 and under march drumming - 1st Eryn Sinclair Novice tenor drumming - 2nd Corrie Gray 18 and under tenor drumming march - 3rd Eilidh Duthie Dress and Deportment for all competitors - 3rd Brogan

Townsley It was a last minute request to play for the Scottish Night at Tulloch Institute for the Ruthvenfield Primary School PTA on Friday the 23rd of January which kicked off the burns’ weekend. Despite less than 24 hours’ notice Jamie Sinclair tuned out to play in the haggis; Ross MacKinnon had also volunteered to help out. On the Sunday we were invited to play at Tesco Edinburgh Road in what is becoming a regular feature on our calendar. There were the usual ongoing small groups playing in the foyer area. Thanks to the customers who popped money in our buckets. Also in the afternoon, David Wright entertained the residents at the Viewlands House old folk’s home.


Perth Kinnoull Rotary Club did some fundraising by selling calendars in the lead up to the festive period. Our band was one of the organisations who sold some on their behalf. On Monday the 26th January their President, Bob Abernethy, handed over a cheque to the value of £400 for our share of the money raised. He is pictured alongside our learners who attended that night and some of their tutors. We are happy to teach people of all ages so some of the older youngsters are tutors and a few of the oldest adults in the picture are in fact learners!


FEBRUARY 2015 On the 2nd of February a mini-band of 7 youngsters led by the Pipe Major turned out at the Scottish Badminton Championships at Bell’s Sports Centre to play the competitors into the event. Later on Tom Sinclair performed with the Pipe Major at the prize-giving ceremony. Katey Duthie played a few sets solo for the Perform in Perth coffee morning held on Saturday the 7th of February. Following on from the servers hosting our website being hacked on more than one occasion the committee agreed that we should look for a new host. Since the new top level .scot domain name had just been released a decision was made to buy one with a much shorter name and managed to acquire pdpb.scot on the 8th of February. The site went live on the 10th in parallel with the old perthanddistrictpipeband.co.uk. On the 13th Ross MacKinnon was the young solo piper at the Perth Gaelic Society’s monthly ceilidh in St Matthew’s Church Hall.


MARCH 2015

Tuesday the 10th of March marked the 100th anniversary of a battle near Neuve Chapelle in the 1st World War in which 3 battalions from the Black Watch were involved sustaining a number of casualties. Alistair Duthie played at the service held at Balhousie Castle in memory of those who died. Friday the 13th was the date of the band’s annual ceilidh, again held in the excellent venue of the Ex-Servicemen’s Club in Perth. The band played at the start of the programme performing a good number of sets including the competition MSR. The large contingent of drummers entertained guests with their new drum salute. In addition the Gaelic choir, dancers and singers all contributed to the variety of acts on show. Can You Reel It provided the music for the dancing. The annual trophies were handed out to the following:

Most improved piper - Tom Sinclair Most improved learner piper - Rhys Barr Most improved tenor / bass player - Corrie Gray Most improved side drummer - Robert Sinclair Panda award (for the daftest action by a member in the last year) -

Eryn Sinclair Broken Chanter award (for the biggest misfortune with equipment) -

Stewart Donaldson Congratulations to everyone. Stefan Slemmer is a young Dutch lad who is spending time with a Perth family for a few months and also attending Perth Academy as a pupil. He was quite keen to start learning to play the pipes and asked if he could come along to practice. No problem at all. He has settled in well with his tutor, Jim Scott, and is making good progress. He is wearing the blue top in the picture which also shows fellow learner Liam.


APRIL 2015

The first engagement in April was at McDiarmid Park. In this case St Johnstone were not playing; it was instead the Petrofac Cup Final. The clubs who compete in this competition all come from the leagues below the one in which the Saints play. We played for about 15 minutes outside the main stand then entertained the crowd before the match. The spectators were all assembled in the main stand so we had a few sets in the circle at each end and did a march along the front of the stand. The final score was Livingston 4 Alloa 0. We added to the action in Perth High Street on the 11th. There was a long line of canvassing stations for each of the parties contesting the forthcoming General Election and we required to move from our usual location outside Debenham’s round the corner into King Edward Street. Handy though, because the sun shone there and we were sheltered from the chilly, westerly wind blowing strongly down the main thoroughfare. Our numbers were only 4 pipers and and a tenor due to solo competition commitments at Lochgelly High School and the Easter break. Well done to Aaden who shook a bucket for the first time. I don’t think that the Pipe Major’s jacket was quite the right size for him but it sure made for a cosy morning for our young member!


One of our pipers, Ian Stewart, is a forester and was in Idaho in the USA to speak at a conference. While he was there he went along at the weekend to play with the local pipe band called Albeni Falls. He enjoyed his visit, volunteered to play for the dancers and was invited to their the meal afterwards. One of their players even remembered meeting our Pipe Major in Basra in Iraq! There was a new venue of Craigie High School in Dundee for the branch-organised mini-band competitions on the 18th. We had a successful day at the event. We entered two mini-bands in the 4A competition which came in 2nd and 4th, making us the best branch band. In addition we ‘played up’ into grade 3 and managed to gain a 3rd place there too. We entered a trio on the day as well, not something that we have done hitherto. On Sunday the 19th we were able to arrange tuition in piobaireachd in Balhousie castle from 10am to 4pm by Donald McPhee. They don’t come any better! Those who attended, including all the youngsters who were there, agreed that it had been a hugely informative and interesting day. Thanks to The Guildry Incorporation of Perth for their grant to allow this day to happen.


Our final engagement in April was at the prestigious Gleneagles Hotel where we played for the annual dinner of the Scottish Motor Traders’ Association. It was the usual very late start time of 11.15pm in the ballroom. We played 3 sets of tunes; as well as playing the tenor drum, Eilidh Duthie performed twice as a dancer.


MAY 2015

In what is becoming an annual event for the band, we played at the Bankfoot Gala Day on Saturday the 16th of May. This involved a march through the village and playing at the park at the commencement of the afternoon of activities. The weather was fair for the event unlike a couple of weeks earlier when the job in Perth was cancelled due to heavy rain and strong winds.

On Sunday the 24th of May we turned out an unusual combination of 2 pipers and a drummer for a wedding at Fingask Castle. Ross MacKinnon and Tom Sinclair were the pipers and Robert Sinclair the drummer. We received an e-mail to let us know how well they had played and reacted with the guests at the event.


At long last! For a good length of time we have been tuning up and sounding very good right up to the starting line of major championships then going on to compete much less impressively. Well, all the hard work over the winter paid off on the 30th of May: we came in 4th at the British Championships at Bathgate thus picking up silverware for the first time in a few years at a major. Well done to all involved.


JUNE 2015 The Kirking of the Council is a long standing event in the City of Perth. We led the parade to and from St John’s Kirk on Sunday the 7th of June with the High Constables acting as the traditional escort to the large party of councillors, council staff, pupil representatives of the local high schools, newly re-elected MP Pete Wishart and John Swinney MSP, Depute First Minister of Scotland. Thereafter, some members of the band attended the civic reception in the Royal George Hotel.


The good competition results continued at the Strathmore Highland Games on the 14th. A first place overall and a top placing in the piping in our own grade 4A was followed with 3rd in grade 3 which was the best result of any of the bands playing up. Oakbank Primary School moved into its new premises on Tuesday the 16th of June. Adam Scrimgeour piped them the short distance from their old premises. Even though built in the 1960s the old building will soon be demolished. On the same day the Pipe Major was asked at very short notice to play for a large group of pensioners in the Bell’s Sports Centre and he duly agreed to help out. The Pipe Major was involved in two events on the 22nd. In the morning he played for Armed Forces Day, as he does every year. At tea time he played at the Royal George Hotel during the award of a British Empire medal. On the 26th of June the Pipe Major played at a handfasting ceremony ie a wedding at Gask Hall, a job which came through the band via the website.


JULY 2015

There was a double-header on 5th of July. Firstly was the Game Fair at Scone Palace starting at 9.30am and finishing up at 1.15 pm including a stint in the arena. The band then drove the short distance to Kincarrathie House to play in the second engagement. This involved the usual parade along the drive to the marquee outside the house to play a few sets. Kincarrathie laid on some light refreshments and then the band entertained the guests again in the marquee itself. St Johnstone qualified for the Europa Cup when Inverness Caledonian Thistle beat Falkirk in the Scottish Cup final in May. Their opponents were Alashkert FC from Armenia. The band played twice, before the kick-off and at half time. Both times our rendering of When The Saints was greeted with lots of cheers and applause. Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, St Johnstone managed to win the game 2-1 but went out on the away goals rule. The Scottish Championships were held on Saturday the 25th of July at Dumbarton. The band went there hoping to make it 3 prize-winning performances in row. They came very close but missed out by only one place when the judges placed them 7th. The Pipey played on Wednesday the 29th July in his capacity as City Piper when he entertained the visiting judges from Scotland in Bloom who were deciding on the award level for the city that day.


AUGUST 2015

The 1st of August was the date for the Perth Show. We played, initially, from noon to 1pm along all the rows of stalls stopping at regular intervals to play a few sets in a circle. Our next slot was to be 2.15 in the ring but we were told to start at 2.05 so rushed across to get there on time. When we arrived, the event being held ran overtime and we didn’t get on until 3pm. However, the sunny weather we had dressed for ie shirt sleeves and waistcoats had disappeared by then and we got thoroughly soaked despite sheltering for a while under a tree.

On the 8th of August the Perth Kilt Run and half marathon was held at the North Inch. We played a couple of sets at 11.30 to start off the event. Our second stint was at the start of the 5k Kilt Run and Kilt Walk. The two mascots led the way;


we played directly behind them and Strathearn Pipe Band came along shortly thereafter before the runners and walkers set forth. The same venue held the Perth International Highland Gathering the next day. International it certainly is for the piping competitions. Our own grade alone featured 4 bands from the USA, one from Canada and another from Austria. The general consensus by the players was that we had played quite well in the event but the judges didn’t agree at all and we came a lowly 13th in their view. On the 14th of August, Matthew Davidson, who plays bass drum with the band, flew off to the USA on an exchange year during his course at the University of the Highlands and Islands. He will be based at Monmouth College in the small town from which the college takes its name, not far from the Iowa border. Matthew will also be playing with the college’s pipe band. We wish him well with his studies.


For the second week running, this time on the 15th at the World Championships in Glasgow, we didn’t play at all badly but picked up 13th place and thus failed to make the finals. The Crieff Highland Gathering changed format from a competition to a march through the town, each of the 6 bands present leading a group of representatives from interested organisations. We led the Scottish Highland Games Association party. All of the bands played in the arena in the afternoon and again at 5pm for the massed bands. The weather was very kind and there was a big crowd in attendance lining the route of the march and at the events in the park. The annual Rotary Fair was held in its usual venue of King Edward Street on Saturday the 29th. Our opening stint was at 10 am when we paraded along the High Street before completing a range of tunes beside the Soutar ring followed by a march to St John’s Kirk. A wee while later we turned out in front of the old City Hall to entertain another gathering of spectators. Our final slot involved a march from St John’s Street to outside Marks and Spencer, retracing our steps after a short selection of sets.


In the afternoon we gathered again, this time at the foot of Scone. Firstly, we led the fancy dress parade for the youngsters then played a few sets in the circle beside the hall. Later that afternoon we performed beside the stalls in the car park area.


SEPTEMBER 2015

We were invited for the third year in succession to perform at the Braemar Gathering on the 5th of September. This involved the expected routine of a number of street marches between the Invercauld Hotel and the park, a stint in the arena, outside the Overseas tent and twice marching round the park, once for the royal family. The massed bands played back to the hotel where our evening meal was very welcome indeed prior to the trip home down the A93 and A94. The weather on Saturday the 12th of September was utterly atrocious in Pitlochry for the Highland Games. Nevertheless, the large number of bands paraded from the railway station through the town to the games park down beside the river. We picked up 3rd prize for marching and uniform. In the games themselves we were 4th in our grade. Even with the gazebo we had to pack up early along with most other bands before hypothermia set in. Alistair Duthie, our P/M, managed to fit in two jobs on Friday the 18th: the 10th anniversary celebrations at the Concert Hall and the opening evening of the season for the Perth Gaelic Society in St Matthew’s Church Hall. The Brechin Solos this year were held on the 19th. Our prize-winners were:

Katie Duthie - Chanter - 1st; Cailem Townsley - 2nd Tom Sinclair - Intermediate Piping - 1st Brogan Townsley - U15 march, jig and piobaireachd - 2nd, 3rd and 4th.

Well done to each of you! On Sunday the 20th of September the Pipe Major played at Glamis as part of the ceremony of a dedication of a new standard for the Angus Black Watch Association.


OCTOBER 2015

Although now into autumn, the weather at the parade of graduates on the 1st of October was an absolute sizzler: glorious sunshine all day and virtually no wind. Robert Sinclair acted as lead drummer for the 1st time and Corrie Gray took over as base drummer. No less than 10 pipers attended, a very good showing indeed for an afternoon engagement mid-week outwith the holidays. With the band on its October break, Alistair Duthie was the piper who entertained those gathered at St Matthew’s Church hall on the 23rd for the monthly Gaelic Society ceilidh. One of our youngest playing members, Brogan Townsley played at a number of times at the curling event at Dewar’s Rinks on Saturday the 24th of October. This was very much appreciated by all those in attendance. Perth and Kinross Council organised a Halloween parade from Thimblerow to the City Halls. A quartet of pipers, suitably attired for the event, played alongside the myriad of youngsters then performed a few sets on the stage at the end of the parade.


NOVEMBER 2015

The band held its AGM on Thursday the 5th of November. Despite competing attractions elsewhere there was a good turnout of members. After debate, changes were agreed to the constitution. The Pipe Major and all other current post holders were re-elected with the exception of the post of Secretary where Ian Stevenson took on that role from Neil Myles. Neil was given warm thanks for the sterling work he had carried out over his 9 years as secretary and committee member. St Johnstone held a Remembrance event at McDiarmid Park when the managers of the local team and Kilmarnock laid wreaths before the match. The band played round the field first of all then led the representatives of the army, veterans and two pony mascots straight thereafter. The crowd responded extremely well, clapping the parade all the way to in front of the main stand. For Duncan Farmer it was his first ever public engagement in a band and for Dana and Jack Liddell their first time out with us. Congratulations.

Left to right: Duncan, Dana and Jack.

On Remembrance Sunday a big band started off at Perth Concert Hall taking the councillors and local dignitaries, flanked by the High Constables, to St John’s Kirk. Pipe Sergeant Alastair McIntosh then went along to North Church to play Flowers of the Forest. At the same time, young Brogan Townsley was taking part in the Remembrance service at Luncarty and Rab Wallace likewise in Bankfoot. The band played after the service at John’s, this time a shorter route to the foot of the High Street and stopped outside the Royal George Hotel. In the afternoon, a good sized band braved the wind and heavy rain at Scone at the head of a group of veterans marching behind Captain Baxter to the memorial. Alistair Duthie played the lament during the service.


On Remembrance Sunday a big band started off at Perth Concert Hall taking the councillors and local dignitaries, flanked by the High Constables, to St John’s Kirk. Pipe Sergeant Alastair McIntosh then went along to North Church to play Flowers of the Forest. At the same time, young Brogan Townsley was taking part in the Remembrance service at Luncarty and both Rab Wallace and Jason Townsley likewise in Bankfoot. The band played after the service at John’s, this time a shorter route to the foot of the High Street and stopped outside the Royal George Hotel. In the afternoon, a good sized band braved the wind and heavy rain at Scone at the head of a group of veterans marching behind Captain Baxter to the memorial. Alistair Duthie played the lament during the service.


Ross MacKinnon was the piper who was in action at St Matthew’s Church hall on the 13th for the monthly Gaelic Society ceilidh. We had 3 younger players involved in the branch Solos on the 14th November at Craigie High School. Every one came home with a trophy for 1st place! Well done to all 3 of you:

Novice piping - Jack Liddell Under 18 march - Jason Townsley

Drumming on the Pad - Dana Liddell

Dana, 2nd left, and Jack, front row, at the morning prizegiving.


After a long, mild autumn the weather had turned noticeably colder for the annual Switch on of the Lights. The place was ‘heaving’ all across the city centre with a huge array of stalls and rides plus the reindeer in George Street. As a consequence, the arrival place was changed to outside the Hotel Mercure at the last moment. We had a long stint at the west end of the pedestrianised part of the High Street late pm and then led a long procession from Thimblerow to Speygate starting off shortly after 5.30pm.


Dobbies invited us to play at the arrival of their Santa Claus (in a white car!) and lead the children’s parade to the store. We played a number of sets in the plant area then had the usual lunch. Thereafter, we had an Indian file parade twice through the store and stint on the stairs, a new phenomenon for a number of the band.

The 29th of November was meant to be a busy day in Scone followed by an afternoon in Perth at the celebrations there. The 10am march was called off at 9.30, due to heavy rain and a very poor weather forecast, and the pm slot at 10.15 when the snow was falling heavily.


DECEMBER 2015

For the 3rd time in a row an engagement was cancelled when the nativity and lantern parade we were meant to lead in Perth on the 5th of December fell foul of 24 hours of incessant rain and strong winds preceding the event. At the Annual dinner of the Society of the High Constables of Perth, Pipe Major Alistair Duthie entertained the guests for half an hour as they arrived for the event. Treasurer, Adam Scrimgeour, was also invited to attend. Pipe Major Alistair Duthie was involved on the 11th at the regular ceilidh organised by the Perth Gaelic Society in St Matthew’s Church hall. Fundraising was the order of the day on Sunday the 27th. The band played in groups in the foyer of Tesco Edinburgh Road whilst collecting money in our buckets. On the final day of the year we played in the High Street in Perth. There was a series of solo pipers on duty outside the entrance to the St John’s Centre and Marks and Spencer accompanied by bucket shakers. Then there was an extensive amount of playing by the whole band beside the Soutar Ring. Visitors from as far away as New York enjoyed the sets along with a bus load from northern Wales plus many others from London, Poland etc. One young dog from the Guide Dogs for the Blind sat for a wee while helping it become accustomed to the sound of the pipes and drums. Later, another guide dog appeared whilst being taken for a walk for its owner. The generous crowds contributed heartily to our buckets. Thank you.

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