NOTES FROM PIPEY'S CORNER

Volume VII Number 5; May 2001

...THE PLOT SICKENS....

Once more into the jaws of Ozzie Reid - yes, it's DRM time again, folks! Seriously, we look forward to another great 'recital,' using Ozzie's now infamous Marathon format. It's the only piping competition that requires weight training....See you at the St. Francis on the 19th - BTW if you want to go for just the competition, you'd best get your tickets now. Word has it that there will be NO ticket sales at the door this year....

For those who didn't get enough last month, here are a few more pix from the trip:

from left, Robert the Bruce's statue at Bannockburn; a view of Stirling castle from the Wallace Monument; the arches of the Wallace Monument; the undercroft at Lennoxlove, now a chapel

Recently I came across a 1952 publication from the College of Piping called A Guide To The Judging of Piping by the late D. Graham-Campbell, which I thought I'd lost years ago. Looking through it after all this time, I was reminded that what the author put down fifty years ago is not only still valid, but too often overlooked. We here print an excerpt from this highly accurate and worthwhile little booklet, now unfortunately out of print:

"...It is sometimes argued that no man can be a good judge unless he has himself been a good player, and therefore the only good judges are professionals. This is, however, not true. A judge must reach a certain minimum standard as a player, but what is infinately more important is that he should be able to recognise all the features which make good playing, and all the faults and tendancies which are undesirable. This is largely a matter of his teaching, and is not affected by his being an outstanding player or not. On the other hand, he will be able to pick out the technical details of a performance more easily and certainly if he has been or is a good player himself. It is therefore essential that a judge should have a) been schooled in the best piping traditions and b) reached a certain minimum standard as a player, and c) he should have a good ear and keen critical faculty. Once these conditions are fulfilled, the art of judging will only be learnt by experience and therefore, the younger he starts and the more practice he has, the better judge he will be...."

...to be continued next month.

As a NEW feature we're beginning a 'bullshit reduction' contest; the person who most P.O.'s the WUSSIES in the month of May will receive an honorary Black Part 'Scourge of the Scottish Main' silver bullion patch for your pipe bag or blazer (worth $15.00), AND an official Black Part eye patch. Send us your stories; send us your recommendations. ANYONE is eligible! Hell, we'll even expand it to include anyone who really riles games or competition organisers as well!

ALL ENTRANTS must be proposed by an impartial party. Only one nomination per person; all nominations MUST include the name and address of the nominee; all nominations must be in by the 30th of each month, and will remain confidential until the winner is announced in the next issue of Pipey's Corner! Remember, Costa Mesa is coming up; I'm sure there will be some doozies there!

until next month . . . .