Well worth your time.

THE ART OF SOLO PIPING:

One of the things that I love most in piping is solo piping. One of the things I am inspired by most in solo piping is when the very best players use architecture and landscape to their advantage; like Dr Angus MacDonald at Culloden in 2009, which is my most inspirational moment in piping. At the ceremony, Dr Angus played a Pìobaireachd as he walked around the 1881 Cairn, causing the chanter to fade and the drones to spread, before ending by walking off into the heather, where his chanter faded into the dense ground as the drones floated and drifted away.

In the link below, at Prince Philip’s funeral yesterday, we have an absolutely stunning example of this masterful use of architecture inside a building, using a corridor and a doorway and a gateway to masterful effect to create a fade which lingers in the atmosphere and resounds through natural reverb which feels like it could last forever. Well done Pipe Major Peter Grant (who is also a Colour Sergeant) of the 4 Scots (Highlanders) Pipe Band.

The tune is, of course, Flowers of the Forest, which I also played at Culloden House on Friday. As I walked up and down in front of the building I was searching for those sweet spots where the sound did what I wanted it to do. It’s not easy to do this and it will take me many years and many performances to get it right, but it’s one of the things I enjoy most about playing in a variety of places and atmospheres - which I very much hope I can do again on tours soon.

https://youtu.be/1zVI4r2nW5w ... See more

April is Scottish Heritage month and this Friday, you can be a part of a special program! Click to register. It's free!
https://hubs.americanancestors.org/tartan-tales

Free webinar on historic Scottish houses from American Ancestors.

Find out about our plans to mark the 275th anniversary of the Battle of Culloden with a series of online events.

Check out this publication to see where many of your favorite films were shot in Scotland including our wonderful Eilean Donan Castle! It is an awesome resource! Just click on this link.
https://www.visitscotland.com/ebrochures/en/set-in-scotland.pdf ... See more

Second-annual 24-hour genealogy webinar marathon starts tomorrow and it is free!!!
April 8-9, 2021

https://familytreewebinars.com/intermediate_page.php?diply_nm=24

Legacy Family Tree Webinars

Pull out your kilts and scarves and give them a wear today! Happy Tartan Day! April 6th was chosen as it is the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320.

The Grandfather Mountain Highland Games is thrilled to report we have obtained approval to hold the Games, provided COVID situation continues to improve, and we follow the COVID Management Plan included on our website.

In summary, the COVID Plan requires masks in certain areas and hand sanitizing. basically everywhere. Masks are required by Federal regulation while in line or on a shuttle bus. Masks will be required in the bleachers, while standing in food lines, in the Patron's Hospitality Tent, and in the Music Groves. There are other restrictions as well, and everyone is encouraged to review the Plan before coming to the Games. Of course, the Plan is subject to revision if circumstances change regarding the presence of COVID in our society.

What can you do to help? Be a part of the solution- wear your masks in public, observe social distancing, wash your hands, and above all, get your vaccinations! This behavior helps everyone, and it will certainly help The GMHG Board bring you our 65th Anniversary Highland Games.

Steve Quillin
President, GMHG ... See more

NEW RECORDS ALERT!

We’re very pleased to announce today that we’ve added over a million new images from our kirk session and other church records to ScotlandsPeople.

The new records are free to browse and view from the comfort of your own home for the first time - thousands of volumes from the kirk session and other court records of the Church of Scotland, containing details of key events in communities across the country between 1559 and 1900.

These records offer remarkable insights into the everyday lives of ordinary Scots, recording important moments such as births, marriages and deaths. The church also adjudicated on paternity of children and provided basic education, as well as disciplining parishioners for what could be called anti-social behaviour – drunkenness, cursing and breaking the Sabbath.

The newly added records also include accounts of how people dealt with exceptional historical events such as wars, witchcraft trials, epidemics, crop failures and extreme weather.

We’ll provide you with guidance, hints and tips on using these records here on Facebook over the next two weeks, and you can find out more about what’s in them and how use them for research now, at the ScotlandsPeople website...

https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/virtual-volumes ... See more

Now would be an awesome time to join our Clan MacRae Society for our March issue of the Sgurr Uaran newsletter is going out in just days! Lots of fascinating articles in it. When you join, you get a nice welcome packet with a booklet on Clan MacRae and 3-4 Sgurr Uaran newsletters every year. Plus full access to our Member's Only portion of our website. Join now! www.macrae.org ... See more

We should all be there!

Wonderful show of the aurora borealis last night behind the Skye Bridge, just 9 miles from the castle.
Image by ©Tadhg MhicLeòid An Fhilidh