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

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Folks, following discussions at the Lothian & Borders Branch meetings and with our Contest Promoters, the following dates are proposed for the 2022 pipe band season.

Confirmed
Dunbar - 14th May
North Berwick – 6th August
Bridge of Allan – 7th August
Peebles - Sat 3rd September

Still To Be Confirmed
Indoors – 2nd April (James Young High School)
Innerleithen - Sat 4th June
Edinburgh - Sun 19th June

We are still looking for sponsors for the Dunbar and Edinburgh contests, so if anyone is in a position to offer support, the Branch President would be very happy to have a conversation.

At this point we are yet unclear on what Covid related restrictions, if any, will still be in place next summer. However, the Branch Committee have committed to do everything in its power to facilitate a pipe band season if at all possible.

The Branch AGM is scheduled for Sun 28th November 2021 at 3pm, and will be again held online.

Details will be sent out to the band secretaries shortly, so please ensure the Branch have the up-to-date details for your band.

If changes are required, please email the Branch Secretary on secretary@rspba-landb.org with the updated details.

Best regards
John B Hughes
Branch President

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

The Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association - North of England Branch - North West England Section Prepare for 2022, obtain a critique by Playing for Sheets.
The objective of this Open event is to provide a Band with a challenge on their journey of preparing for the 2022 Season as they return to practices following the Covid-19 enforced lockdown. Click the link for details on the Playing for Sheets and how to enter.
John Hughes
Branch President

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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

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