The 40th Anniversary Burns Supper
Saturday 27th January 2024
The venue for the Burns Supper is The Globe Inn in Dumfries, an establishment that was, in fact, Burns’ 'local’. It still has his favoured chair, his bed and a few other items from the period.
The Globe is now a fine dining establishment and our event will be held in the private dining room. The Committee feels that this adds due weight to such a milestone event in our history, and as such, tickets are priced at £55 each. We have lined up some excellent speakers to cover the usual items featured at a Burns Supper. Details will be confirmed soon.
We would like to include a visit to Robert Burns’ Mausoleum and possibly, if there’s time, a visit to Willie Nicolson’s grave down in Borgue. As you may know, Nicolson was a piper and a poet, and Gordon Mooney wrote a great article about him in the June 1998 edition of Common Stock: click here to view the article.
The Globe is not a hotel, however, but Dumfries has plenty of accommodation options.
A ‘Burns Tour’ of The Globe can be had for an extra £10.
BOOKING FORM
The LBPS Collogue and AGM
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the LBPS!
The LBPS Collogue and AGM was held on 16th September 2023 in the Burgh Halls in Linlithgow, West Lothian.
We had a memorable 40th-Anniversary Collogue last month in Linlithgow, a town that played a pivotal role in the early years of the Society. We had congratulatory messages from founder members Mike Rowan and Gordon Mooney; and Jeannie Campbell, another long-term stalwart, spoke about those early years.
The format of Jeannie’s presentation was in an ‘interview’-style with Convenor, Stuart Letford. It was observed by a few attendees that we should consider repeating this format at next year’s Collogue and for it to include a key figure in the middle years of the LBPS’ history. Watch this space ….
The day itself ran almost blemish-free were it not for the IT gremlins that affected Bruce Hitchings’ presentation. Bruce dialled in from his US home in Arizona and his subject was the harmonic nature of the bagpipe. This is a ‘big’ subject and one that can at times be above most people's heads, but Bruce did well in conveying this to those present.
The Committee’s grateful thanks go to Jeannie, Bruce and to Judy Barker, Matt Seattle and Pete Stewart for their excellent presentations.
Photo by Pete Stewart
Colin Melville, winner of the LBPS 40th anniversary composing competition, receives his winning cheque from Stuart Letford.
Photo by Pete Stewart.
Collogue participants playing Colin Melville's tune The Lowland & Border Pipers' Society.
The agenda for the day was as follows:
- 10.30 Convenor’s Welcome plus a mass playing of Colin Melville’s tune for the LBPS.
- 10.45 The Early Years of the LBPS (including the history of College of Piping) – Jeannie Campbell in conversation with LBPS Convenor, Stuart Letford.
- 11.30 Devising Harmonies – Matt Seattle on his approach to devising ingenious harmonies.
- 12.30 Singing Whilst Piping – Judy Barker has long been acknowledged as a skilled exponent of singing whilst accompanying herself on smallpipes. She explains how she does it – and offers tips on how we could, too.
- AGM
- 14.15 The David Young mss – Pete Stewart explains why we need to know more about these often-overlooked manuscripts and why the LBPS is considering publishing them in book form next year.
- 14.45 The Harmonic Nature of the Bagpipe – Bruce Hitchings MBE BEM is an authority on the harmonic dynamics of bagpipes and explains this often complicated subject to us.
- 15.30 Session for all: The set tunes for a mass session in the afternoon are: The Linlithgow March / Lord Randal and The Twa Corbies / Tail Toddle / The Lowland & Border Pipers’ Society / Chevy Chase / Belle Bergère (a French Valse) / Happy We’ve Been A’thegither.
The scores for the tunes that everyone played are available here.
June 2023 Issue of Common Stock
The latest issue of Common Stock is available to logged-in members HERE
To download the issue, click the 'Open' button at the bottom right of each double-page and use the bottom link of the menu pane on the left side
Colin Melville’s entry wins the 40th Anniversary Composing Competition
Colin Melville of Munlochy, near Inverness, is the winner of our 40th anniversary composing competition. We received 21 entries.
Colin’s entry is a four-part tune that will be henceforth titled, The Lowland & Border Pipers’ Society. He wins £400 plus a full run of the LBPS’ music collections and CDs.
Colin, who used to play with The Tannahill Weavers for over a decade, said: “I am absolutely delighted my entry was deemed by the judges to have merit enough to take the top spot.
“I’d had fragments of the melody in the back of mind for a few years and the first part came quite quickly. This competition was the ideal opportunity to work on it and form something fuller.”
Judges, Gary West and John Purser, said: “We feel that Colin’s entry is a splendid tune which has every chance of becoming a standard within the lowland and border bellows pipes repertoire.
“Like all the best tunes, it is not overly complex, and every phrase does its job very well. It is the kind of tune that all levels of player should be able to play, and to learn without too much difficulty. I can certainly imagine it becoming something of a theme tune at LPBS gatherings, and indeed well beyond our immediate community, too.”
LBPS Convenor, Stuart Letford, said: “The committee had thought that, with many other piping organisations having tunes named for them, it was time the LBPS had one, particularly in this its 40th year. Colin’s tune fits the remit we asked composers to take cognisance of and the judges agreed that his tune was the clear winner. Indeed, I understand both had it as their respective choices before comparing notes.
“We look forward as an organisation to playing this tune whenever we meet. It is a lovely tune. “
Please click Read More to see the score.
LBPS 40th Anniversary
The LBPS is pleased to announce that 2023 is the year of the 40th anniversary of the society and the committee is planning some exciting celebrations during the year to mark the occasion.
December 2022 Issue of Common Stock
The latest issue of Common Stock is available to logged-in members HERE
To download the issue, click the 'Open' button at the bottom right of each double-page and use the bottom link of the menu pane on the left side
June 2022 Issue of Common Stock
The latest issue of Common Stock is available to logged-in members HERE
To download the issue, click the 'Open' button at the bottom right of each double-page and use the bottom link of the menu pane on the left side
LBPS Annual Competition 2022 – The Results
The LBPS Annual Competition 2022 was held in Linlithgow on Saturday, 9th April 2022.
It was the first time the Society had been to this historic town. The town's old municipal building, the Burgh Halls proved to be a superb venue and was only a five-minute walk from the railway station. The town itself is conveniently situated roughly halfway between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
December 2021 Issue of Common Stock
The latest issue of Common Stock is available to members HERE
To download the issue, click the 'Open' button at the bottom right of each double-page and use the bottom link of the menu pane on the left side
The results of the two LBPS Competition classes held at the Annual Collogue and AGM in October 2021
The Society held its Annual Collogue and AGM at the end of October along with two remaining classes from the competition in what turned out to be a very pleasant day at Old Gala House in the Scottish borders.
The competition was organised by Anne Duncan and featured a mix of in-person and pre-recorded entries. Hamish Moore was the judge along with members of the audience in the time honoured fashion.
Some of the performances can be watched on the LBPS Youtube channel at Lowland & Border Pipers' Society Official - YouTube
The winners were:
Skeely Piper, Sir Walter Scott theme
1 - Robert Porter - Jack Lattin
2 equal - Matt Seattle - Soor Plums, Hoop and Gird Her.
2 equal - Anne Duncan - Uamh an Oir
3 Pete Stewart - The Border Widow Lament, Hoopers and Girders, Round Headed Cuckolds Come Dig.
London Trophy- New Composition
1 - Matt Seattle- The Little White Rose of Scotland
2 - Pete Stewart - The Auld White Road
3 - Rod Nevin - Whitmire
Binders for Common Stock
Binders for Common Stock are now available from the Shop.
The binders are beautifully embossed with the Common Stock logo. Each binder can hold 12 issues (6 years of Common Stock).
One binder costs £12 or you can buy a 2-pack at the reduced price of £20.
