Boghall pulls out of Lomond & Clyde event; Torphichen in

Boghall & Bathgate Caledonia has withdrawn from the March 20 Invitational Indoor Pipe Band Competition in Glasgow, but Torphichen & Bathgate has stepped in to fill the spot.

According to organizers, Boghall & Bathgate Pipe-Major Ross Walker chose to pull out of the event as a result of his travelling on business in Europe during the preceding week.

“I always endeavour to prepare the band to play at our optimum level whenever we compete and the situation that I’m now presented with would significantly curtail the collective ability of myself and the rest of the pipe corps to deliver the level of performance that your event clearly demands,” Walker said.

The competition is being organized by the Grade 2 Lomond & Clyde Pipe Band to mark its tenth anniversary, with some of the richest prize money ever offered in a UK competition, with a first-prize of £2,500.

“We have however moved quickly to replace [Boghall & Bathgate] and are  delighted that Torphichen & Bathgate Pipe Band have accepted our invite, with what will be their first outing in Grade 1 under new leadership,” said Lomond & Clyde spokesman Scott Smart.

Stuart Shedden was named pipe-major of Torphichen & Bathgate last fall after Gordon Stafford resigned from the post and the band. Stafford subsequently joined the Lothian & Borders Police under that band’s new pipe-major, Ian Duncan.

Other bands still scheduled to compete at the Invitational Competition are Ballycoan, Cullybackey, Fife Constabulary, House of Edgar-Shotts & Dykehead, Inveraray & District, Robert Wiseman Dairies-Vale of Atholl and the Tayside Police.

Tickets for the competition, which will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Glasgow, are priced at £20, and are available online or directly from the band.