Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association Lothian & Borders Branch | 75th Anniversary

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Dear Band Secretaries,

Please share this email with your Pipe Majors, Leading Drummers, and Band Tutors as well as your band members.

Stating the obvious, we know this past year has been an incredibly difficult time for bands and the present situation of not being able to hold practices and continue tuition for our pipers and drummers looks set to continue for a while longer.

While some of you may have been able to engage with your membership with virtual online lessons and practices, we understand that many bands will have found this challenging, particularly with your younger members with all the necessary child protection and safeguarding protocols that need to be in place for this kind of activity to take place.

We as a Branch are offering to support our valued membership by providing a series of funded lessons online to pipers and drummers, young and not so young.

All of the tuition would be provided by qualified RSPBA instructors who have gained a lot of experience teaching online.

The initial programme would be a 6 to 8 week course, one hour per week online split between music theory and playing. The course would probably start after the Easter school holidays.

Our initial offer is geared towards PDQB Level 3 and 4, so pipers and drummers who can play a few tunes on the chanter/pipes or on the drum pad/drum, who want to take their playing to the next level.

There is no requirement to sit an exam at the end of this, however the option is there should you wish to, and the Branch would endeavour to support members with a contribution towards the examination fee.

These exams for piping and drumming are recognised by the SQA and having these exams can be a big advantage on any job or university application.

If there are members who would like more beginner classes or more advanced classes than those currently on offer then please let us know. We will do our best to accommodate.

We would encourage all bands to get in touch with their members and tell them about this opportunity to continue their progression on their instrument.

If any of your band members are interested in engaging with this opportunity, please send an email to education@rspba-landb.org with their contact details and we will get in touch.

The closing date for initial notes of interest is Saturday 10th April 2021. That will give us a chance to schedule sufficient instructors to deal with the demand.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to further develop the individual playing capability of your band members.

Lee Moore
L&B Geographical Representative
RSPBA Pipe Band College

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Due to the restrictions that we find ourselves in during the Covid 19 virus, I regret to advise that the NBHG committee have decided that the Games scheduled for August 7th 2021 will not take place.

The requirement to apply for Partnership Funding by Friday 12th March, and with associated penalties for cancellation starting in May and increasing thereafter, is not something that we could financially commit to.

So we will hope to reconvene in August 2022 for our 25th Highland Games instead, if all is well health-wise in the world by then.

John Starr
President
North Berwick Highland Games

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In response to the continued Coronavirus pandemic, and in line with national guidance from the Scottish Government, the Lothian & Borders Branch of the RSPBA, in conjunction with our various partners, have taken the decision to cancel all of our outdoor contests during May and June 2021.

As a result, the following contests are cancelled for 2021:

• Dunbar – Saturday 15th May 2021
• Innerleithen – Saturday 5th June 2021
• Edinburgh – Sunday 20th June 2021

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To all Lothian & Borders Bands, there is no doubt that this has been a difficult year for many if not all of us, and it looks like it’s not over yet. Having lost all of the 2020 season was a disappointment to us all.

At this point in time, we are still hopeful of a season of some sort next year, but at present we do not yet know what that will look like. However, as in previous years, we need to start preparing now for the coming season. We will be having discussions with our Branch Contest promoters shortly to see how they are positioned. They too have their challenges as it is likely that there will still be restrictions in place for mass gatherings next year, as well as a number of specific and detailed guidelines that will need to be followed.

As a result, at last month’s Branch meeting, the Committee unanimously agreed that the Registration fees paid to the Branch for the 2019/2020 year will be carried forward to this year 2020/21. The Committee felt that this would help the branch bands offset the very necessary cost of RSPBA Registration. The online entry system has been updated to reflect this position.

Please ensure that your band information is up to date and accurate, as it is likely we will need to communicate with you more through email and social media in the short to medium term. Please advise any changes to the secretary via the Contact - Page.

The way forward is still unclear due to Covid 19 but we will do all that we can, and will be working closely with our promoters of the Branch contests for the 2020/21 season.

Best regards
John

John Hughes
Branch President

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As a result of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic, the committee of Peebles Highland Games Association have decided to take the difficult but necessary decision to cancel this year’s event which was due to take place on Saturday 5th September.

Whilst we know that this decision will be disappointing for many, we feel it is the correct one to make in the interests of protecting the safety of the local community, competitors, spectators and officials many of whom travel from far and wide to come to Peebles.

Chris Patterson, Chairman of Peebles Highland Games Association said “It’s been a very difficult decision to make. Having cancelled the Games in 2013 whist the drainage issues in Hay Lodge Park were being addressed we had hoped the Games wouldn’t need to be cancelled again for a very long time. However, the ongoing threat from Covid-19 to the wellbeing of our community, visitors and volunteers has meant that we have to put safety at the forefront of our considerations and call-off the Games for 2020”.

Being one of the last events in the annual Highland Games calendar we had hoped that we might still be able to stage the Games in some shape or form. When considering our options we were well aware that many pipe bands, dancers, heavies and spectators were desperately hoping that they might yet have an event to attend this year. However, the recent updates on the continued spread of Covid-19, travel restrictions and social distancing instructions from the Scottish and UK Governments have confirmed that this will not now be possible.

We know the Games are one of the highlights of the year for many people and an event which many make plans for well in advance. We share your disappointment at this news but hope that all our supporters stay safe and well until the treat posed by the virus has passed.

Peebles Highland Games will still be here next year when we look forward to welcoming you back to Hay Lodge Park on the banks of the silvery Tweed in heart of the rolling hills of the Borders.

Peebles Highland Games will return on Saturday 4th of September 2021.

John Hughes
Branch President

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Folks, due to the continuing COVID-19 Restrictions, we will be unable to hold our Branch Meeting scheduled for Sunday 26th April 2020.

As a result, our next L&B Branch meeting will be at 6pm on Sunday 27th September 2020... all being well!

If anything urgent crops up I will contact the committee via email.

Keep safe & well..

John Hughes
Branch President

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Folks, just received the sad news that Ann Hazzard passed away on Monday 30th March 2020.

Ann was our Branch Secretary for many years and was a key member of the Branch Committee.

She will be sadly missed by all.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Peter and the family.

John Hughes
Branch President

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Following the recent government announcement surrounding the COVID 19 pandemic, the Directors of the Bridge of Allan Highland Games have taken the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Games.

The health, safety and wellbeing of all our guests, competitors, and staff has to be our number one priority, so it is only right for us to follow all government advice.

It is also our responsibility to protect the legacy of the Games so that we are in a position to come back bigger and better, and ready to make Bridge of Allan Highland Games the premier games in 2021. We know this is disappointing news, but we thank you whole heartedly for your support, and look forward to welcoming you all with open arms next year.

Stay healthy, keep in touch via our Website, Facebook and Instagram pages, look after your families and communities around you, and we’ll see you for the 170th Bridge of Allan Highland Games

All entry fees will be refunded by the Branch for these contests.

John Hughes
Branch President

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The games will not take place this year due to the Corona Virus pandemic.

We have regrettably had to take this decision in keeping with many others at this time due to the practicalities and uncertainties that we face.

Please keep safe everyone and see you in 2021.

All entry fees will be refunded by the Branch for these contests.

John Hughes
Branch President

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In response to the revised Government guidelines regarding COVID-19, we have closed our Headquarters building at 45 Washington Street in Glasgow to safeguard our staff, members, and volunteers.

Although our Scottish (25th July) and World (14th /15th August) Championships are still on the calendar at this point in time, we are liaising closely with the promoters of these events West Dunbartonshire Council and Glasgow Life respectively. We are meeting on-line weekly with Glasgow Life to review the situation regarding the Worlds and will advise as soon as any decisions are made.

If you have any trophies still to be returned for any of this year's Major Championships, please keep hold of these for the time being.

In these trying times we must all do our part to minimise the spread of Coronavirus. Please make sure you keep your friends and family safe and follow the guidelines issued by the Government and health professionals.

RSPBA Board of Directors

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In response to the current Coronavirus outbreak (CoVid-19) and in line with national guidance from the Scottish Government, the Lothian & Borders Branch of the RSPBA, in conjunction with our various partners, have taken the decision to cancel all of our outdoor contests during May and June 2020.

As a result, the following contests are cancelled:

• Dunbar Pipe Band Contest which was due to take place on Saturday 16 May 2020.
• Innerleithen contest scheduled for Saturday 6 June 2020.
• Edinburgh Pipe Band Championships due to take place on Sunday 21st June 2020.

All entry fees will be refunded by the Branch for these contests.

John Hughes
Branch President

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In light of the recent outbreak of the Novel Corona Virus COVID-19 we have decided in the interest of public health and safety to postpone the event including the RSPBA Adult World Solo Drumming Qualifier until a later date.

The event will now be scheduled to take place later in the year once the situation has improved and restrictions have been lifted.

All entry fees received so far will be refunded in full and cheques returned or destroyed.

We hope that you can understand the reason behind this and that at this time the health and safety of the competitors, judges, spectators and support staff is extremely important.

John Hughes
Branch President

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The RSPBA Annual General Meeting scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday 14th March 2020, in Glasgow, has been postponed due to the escalating coronavirus situation. The decision to postpone was taken after the Board of Directors considered in detail the advice of both local and national government agencies and is intended to minimise the potential health risk to our membership.

We know and appreciate that our members from across the UK will be disappointed by this late notification, however we have been working to assess the risk from a situation which continues to change rapidly. In the circumstances we believe the right thing to do for our membership is to postpone.

The RSPBA heed all government health advice. Branches and bands are also asked to re-assess all activities during the period of the current pandemic in the interest of the wellbeing of all band members and supporters.

The RSPBA will continue to be vigilant about coronavirus and will of course follow all advice from Health Protection Scotland. We will advise the membership of a new date for the AGM once the situation has improved and restrictions have been lifted.

John Hughes
Branch President

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Online entries now open for 2020 competitions

We are pleased to announce that our online entries for bands and drum majors are now open via our Online Entries page.

Any band who has not yet paid there 2020 fees can pay these along with their entries.

John Hughes
Branch President