Dear Piping Enthusiast,

 

 I hope we all enjoy the forthcoming Northern Hemisphere season whether you are playing, listening or holding the brollies - hopefully not the latter. Piping fits in well in all parts of society and whether we play at the top of piping echelons or not, I trust we will all enjoy good playing no matter what type of event, competition or function it is.

 

Conservation in our world is without doubt a really important issue but it seems things can get out of hand - will the raw products that make a real bagpipe start to become difficult to source? I am thinking in particular about African blackwood and this is a subject I have previously commented on. Rab Wallace did some terrific and comprehensive reporting on the situation raised by the Cites organisation and to find out more, check out this article on his great website Piping Press.

 

The mpingo tree or better known as the African blackwood from Tanzania and Mozambique does in fact take a long time to mature. My good friend Gordon Cameron recounted from his RG Hardie days in the 60s that logs had to be cut into the desired size to make the billets. Today, they are presented in the 14 billets that make up a stand of pipes. Another pal, the late John Hamilton of Hector Russell Kiltmaker fame, has made the same point in the past.  So today's method of supply is certainly more efficient, easier, much better than in the past and with far less waste.  Anyway, there is no way that a few thousand sets of bagpipes are going to destroy the mpingo tree or its future - it's large scale, uncontrolled and often illegal logging driven by profits that is doing the damage to trees in the Amazon, Africa and elsewhere along with many impoverished locals having to burn trees for heating and cooking.

We need to keep an eye on how things develop since we don't want to have to go down a synthetic route and lose all our heritage and authenticity.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                          

 

This question was posed to 67 Pipe Majors of Grade 1 and 2 Bands by the excellent pipesdrums.com online magazine, with a response rate of 84%. It is with delight that we can report that Begg Bags are the preferred choice with a 53% market share. If you were to factor in competition success as well, you would certainly find the Begg percentage becoming even more dominant.  It is also interesting to note that out of the 9 different makes of bags reported, 7 are made with natural materials.

Our thanks go to pipesdrums.com for permission to reprint this chart and if you would like to view other aspects of their findings, please check out their website.

 

 

Yours aye,

 

James Begg

 

 

This is one the best solo piping events on the planet and if you can get to it then please do so. The piping is of course of the highest calibre but the welcome, camaraderie and atmosphere are not to be missed. This is one of my piping highlights and Begg Bagpipes are please to be supporting the event again.

Those invited to play are: Callum Beaumont, Glenn Brown, Wilson Brown, Cameron Drummond, Jamie Forrester, Faye Henderson, Finlay Johnston, Roderick MacLeod, William McCallum, Douglas Murray, Niall Stewart and Craig Sutherland. Pipers will compete in ceol mor, ceol beag and port grad-charach (hornpipe) and port cruinn (jig). Entry is £12 and things kick off at 9am - it will be the best £12 you have spent in a long-time.

The venue has a special significance for me as well since after my initial introduction to piping with the 167th Glasgow Company of the Boys Brigade, my piping foundations and ambitions were "put to the grindstone and my feet to the fire" by the famous tutors of the day including Duncan Johnstone, Duncan MacFayden, Tommy Pearson, the bold Seumas MacNeill and Eddie MacLellan - what a star line-up! It was a school of hard knocks but for those of us who graduated, we are most grateful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These pipes come with German silver which is of a better quality than plain nickel.

It gives a nice soft patina which is aesthetically appealing and does not look as flashy as silver - will generate a more relaxed look. The pipes come with a Begg sheepskin bag which whilst used is still in good condition. All reeds etc are present and correct and all ready to play.

The ivory is in lovely condition with an aged appearance and the sole is of a lovely dimension.  £2500 is the asking price and it comes with the usual Begg Bagpipes reputation of quality. In the unlikely event you are not completely satisfied and happy, we will refund you in full but in fact the reality will be that you'll be asking me if I have another set like this for a friend!

Call James on ++44 141 3330639 or email him on james@beggbagpipes.com

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