Harry’s 2016 Raspberry Awards

The Environmental Awareness Award

This award to CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) for their listing of African blackwood, the main hardwood used in making bagpipes. Although the bagpipe trade is not the largest user of this wood, it is significant, and the numbers have grown over the last 30 years because of the expansion of piping worldwide. There are more makers than ever before, and all mostly using wood from the same sources. Is it time to start all new players on poly pipes? Harry wonders what are the environmental consequences of using more plastic? (Hey, how about a bagpipe recycling station for disgruntled plastic pipe pipers at Glasgow Green?) Harry’s all questions and no answers on this one, but he does support the protection of endangered species. To the pipers wringing their hands that it’s all so unfair, give yer wee heid a shake. There are other solutions out there without seeing things go extinct. Henrietta is known to like a bit of wood on occasion, and she recommends this site to learn more about African blackwood. Harry’s all about the maintenance of old pipes, so read up on your preservation techniques, and keep those MacDougalls gleaming like they did in the cottage window that time the sun came out in Aberfeldy.

+ Blackwood use could soon become tricky