------Est. 1980 Piping Perfection------
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August 2023 Newsletter
Dear Piping Enthusiast,
I trust your reeds are all in order and the high A is not too peaky - it's always a potential issue.
It’s the best note on chanter as I'm sure you can hear from my good friend Roddy MacLeod. As the leading piper of his generation, his high A is legendary and his RJM bagpipes and pipe chanters are flying off the shelf. You can check out his playing and his high A via YouTube on his website.
We are very busy and glad all the major bands and soloists are using our products. Our bags of course lead the way but a big seller at the moment are Moose valves. We are verging on having to introduce waiting times even though we making loads of bags every week. It’s 44 years in business and still can’t keep up – I’m sure many companies would love to be in this position. It's interesting that split stocks have come back into vogue with a trap dri attached. It seems odd they were about for years and no one caught on to the use of them. I include myself in this category as I thought there would be more loss of air with the extra connection but not so it seems – could be worth a try if you have no prior experience with them. Click here.
We have a great field report this month from Australia - by none other than my daughter Lisa. She is in Melbourne as a civil engineer working on the fabulous Metro Rail Project and building a huge 9 km long tunnel. Along with her Scottish boyfriend Calum, they took time out to attend the annual Melbourne Tartan Parade and by all accounts had a great time - see below.
Yours aye,
James C. Begg
Piping Perfection
www.beggbagpipes.com
News.  
The annual pre-worlds concert organised by the Glasgow Skye
Association P.B. features Simon Fraser University and this will be a cracker for
sure. It takes place on Wednesday 16th August at the SEC Armadillo Glasgow and
there are tickets available on Ticketmaster. We are pleased to support this concert.
Piping Live! will be on the go shortly and I look forward to seeing many friends there.
Balloch Games were very well organised and I enjoyed the day. It was good to bump into Fred Morrison who seems to be back into the solo scene. He’s an outstanding player and will do very well again.
Special Offer - Lovely Old Pipes
We have an old set of pipes for sale which have a very nice tone and are of a lovely appearance. Complete with a modern canmore bag, warnock chanter and a set of wygent drone reeds, they are ivory mounted with celluloid aged ivory that matches in well. The slides are of
nickel with some silver engraving. The history of these pipes is somewhat vague although they are believed to have featured in the award winning Red Hackle Band from several decades ago. First offer of £1200 secures and of course if you are around Kirkintilloch, then do pop in and check them out. They are all set up and ready to go.
Field Report - Melbourne Tartan Parade
A familiar sound, far from home.
The pipe bands stood in front of the Old Treasury building in traditional Scottish attire, eagerly waiting to begin the march through Melbourne CBD. I felt as though I could have been back home in Glasgow… only the sky was blue, and the sun was shining! It was brilliant to see all the punters that came to support the parade, sporting Scottish hats, tartan scarves and even little scotty dugs.
The parade began to make its way down Collins Street:
“Haud yer horses!”, one man shouted, as a few of the troops stormed ahead.
When it was time to begin, the drums proudly kicked in and the pipes began to sing. 
The march continued down Collins Street, to The Westin Melbourne forecourt where the sound echoed and danced around as the people of Melbourne listened in awe. My heart filled with pride as I felt the familiar sound, far from home.
I wondered if any of the bags being played could have been one that I helped my dad to make last summer before I started travelling. Or maybe even crafted by Dad’s new apprentice, Bede, from Sydney!
The Melbourne Tartan Day Parade on Collins Street happens every year during the annual Tartan Festival. This year it was held on the 9th of July, organised by the Victorian Scottish Heritage Cultural Foundation (VSHCF) and Scots of Victoria Co-ordinating Group (SVCG).
The VSHCF organisation was established in 2010 to keep the Scottish cultural heritage alive in Victoria, Australia.
These are the pipe bands that played in the parade:
- Ambulance Victoria Pipes and Drums
- City of Melbourne Highland Pipe Band
- Haileybury Pipes and Drums
- Frankston R pes SL Pipes and Drums
- Victoria Scottish Pipes and Drums
- Old Scotch Pipes and Drums
- Scotch College Pipes and Drums
- Watsonia RSL Pipes and Drums
- Rats of Tobruk Pipes and Drums
- Ringwood Highland Pipe Band
- 5th/6th Royal Victoria Regiment Pipes and Drums
You can check out some more details on this fabulous event at Melbourne Tartan Parade.
Lisa Begg
Melbourne, Australia
Photos courtesy of @oot_in_the_field
YouReport
If you would like to report on any aspect of the Piping World from wherever you live, or if you would like to comment on any articles or issues, we'd be pleased to hear from you. Email to bill@beggbagpipes.com
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