I notice from the latest LBPS Membership Directory [Bill Telfer writes from Hong Kong] that a few members give their e-mail address. E-mail provides virtually instantaneous communication between two or more computers via the telephone network, and is operable even by computer-idiots like myself.

A consequence of e-mail is the proliferation of Internet Newsgroups - about 15-20,0000 of them so far on all subjects imaginable. Mail is sent not just from one computer to another but to a newsgroup site (e.g. the main bagpipe group is rec. music.makers. bagpipe) and   received by anyone who chooses to read or listen to the group. I say listen because these are really discussion rather than news groups, and anyone can join in.

The bagpipe newsgroup is pretty well dominated by Highland pipers, most of them apparently in the USA. Much of the discussion tends to be on topics such as bag seasoning, highland outfits, competitions, piobaireachd styles, etc, though discussion threads on Small, or Lowland, or other kinds of pipes sometimes develop.

Often someone will ask what are Lowland or Border pipes, where can they be obtained, etc. (A good answer is to direct such enquirers to the bagpipe website - http://pipes>. tico.com/pipes.html - where they will find links to the home pages of, for example, Julian Goodacre, David and Hamish Moore, Gordon Mooney.)

This group seems to have been going on for years. A few months ago, a separate mailinglist for Northumbrian Smallpipes was initiated - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. - and there’s no   reason why a Lowland/Border/Scottish smallpipe group shouldn’t get underway as well.

For the moment though, much of the NSP discussion has relevance for Scottish Smallpipes. To give an idea of how the thing works, whilst at the same time answering the Editors                 request to follow up a topic previously raised in CS Vol.6, No. 1, here is a little discussion thread which occurred over the course of a few days around the end of February this year:-