pipes|drums’ fearless forecasts for the year 2014

6. Field Marshal Montgomery Pipe-Major Richard Parkes will retire after Cowal.

Incorrect. Richard Parkes stays at the helm of FMM, building his reputation as the greatest pipe-major in pipe band history.

7. Cameron Drummond will win a Highland Society of London Gold Medal.

Incorrect. But Drummond gained an invitation to the Glenfiddich Solo Championships without winning a qualifying event, a rarity in the contest’s history.

8. For the first time ever, no Grade 1 band will release a full-length CD recorded entirely in the studio.

Correct. The pipe band studio recording is all but dead, and even the live concert recording is now seldom made by any band but those at the very top. YouTube and live streaming have for all purposes eliminated what was once an important revenue source for pipe bands.

9. Overall entry to 2013 World’s from all bands will decline due to domestic bands unable to afford increased accommodation/travel costs.

Correct, but entries were only very slightly down, as the two-day format had no real impact.

10. United States adds at least one more Grade 1 band in fall.

Incorrect. After the assimilation of the Grade 1 Oran Mor into the Grade 2 Stuart Highlanders, remaining Grade 2, the USA is actually down to one Grade 1 band, with only the Los Angeles Scots waving the flag in the top tier.

So, we were 50/50 with our predictions. That wasn’t very good, but we’re sure to do better with our calls for 2014, which we of course plan to revisit this time next year.

But now let’s return to some of those one-off predictions for 2014 that . . .