Havana Radio and....Erotica?!

A photo of James P. playing made the Havana Radio website!
He also is shown on this blog . Although it's dedicated to erotica, I suppose the authors figured it was a good way to share their photos from Cuba!



The pipes both Jamie and Ryan are pictured with came from McCallum Bagpipes. A huge thanks goes out to them for donating the pipes which were given to Alejandro Gispert Galindo of Banda de Gaitas de la Sociedad Agrupación Artística Gallega. A more detailed post on the presentation is to follow.
-JLT

Bagpipes and Tambourines

Our Ryan MacDonald was photographed...finally!
Check out the full length article and more photos from the Havana Times!


-JLT

And The Winner Is...

The Vancouver Island Pipers Club has always been a big part of our family's life. Ever since James P. and I were born...and believe me, we were there in our baby seats...we have attended the Pipers Club on the first Saturday of the month from October to May for YEARS!

James W. was a founding member and went on be President for a stint. I have followed in his footsteps and have been the President for four seasons now. The Club has been around since 1968 and was near extinction in 2006. I felt that with it being such a big part of my life and such an important vehicle for local musicians, both young and old - I could not let the Club disappear. With a great executive behind me, we have managed to increase attendance in small increments and gain some enthusiasm and support from the local musicians and lovers of Scottish music once again.

One thing that we've been trying to do is re-instate the importance of supporting and encouraging the young up and coming musicians. The Club was formed based on the notion that it would be a non-competitive environment yet it has been hard to break the impression from many of the local organizations that they must be up to competitive standard. Even though Victoria is a small place, there are many pipe bands, mostly militarily connected, that we have not seen at the Club in a long while. Slowly but surely and one by one, we are convincing them to participate and to help feature young players within their organization that otherwise might not have had the chance to play the Club.

One tradition the Club used to have was competitions. We haven't seen this at the Club in years but out of the archives, these photos surfaced! Thanks to Richard and Lorraine Collett for these!

Best Pupil of the Month - Marches

The Lieutenant-Governors Challenge Cup Awarded to the Champion Pupil of the Year

Best Pupil of the Month - Strathspey and Reel

Best Pupil of the Month - Strathspey and Reel

Look at some of the names! P/M Terry Lee!

Best Pupil of the Month - Marches

Bruce Gandy - two years in a row! He actually won the Strathspey and Reel trophy from 1975-1978 as well.

The last time these trophies were awarded were in the 1980s. Some great trophies with some great names on them!

-JLT

Easter etc...

Easter weekend means bunnies, chocolate and the BC Pipers Annual Gathering. This year the BCPA was lucky enough to get Stuart Liddell and Steven McWhirter as judges - both have done fabulous things solo and band wise but have recently turned out a wonderful band in the Inverary and District Pipe Band. Both outstanding musicians and knowledgeable individuals, it's always a pleasure to have guys like that around.

Speaking of outstanding musicians, Bruce Gandy was also a judge at the Indoor which also means a visit to Victoria in order to see his family and spend some time drinking red wine with us Troys! Considered 'Uncle Bruce' in this house, there is never, ever enough time with him.

The day after the Indoor, James P. and Ryan headed off to Havana, Cuba to participate in a Cuban Celtic festival modeled after Celtic Colours in Cape Breton. To get in the spirit for their trip, James P. posed for a photo session hours before he played - resulting in a 2nd in the Piobaireachd and a 3rd in the MSR....see the photo as Ryan's Photo of the Week on the Photographer Network! Full solo and band results from the Indoor can be found at the BC Pipers website.

Stay tuned as there will be video, pictures and stories straight from Havana posted in the coming weeks right here on the JWT Reedmakers blog!

-JLT