Edinburgh Piper for Hire - Euan Anderson

It has been quite an interesting year watching the Events industry spark back into life. Piping in general has been slow to get going but the signs are good. I have been bust doing a bit of judging solo competitions, playing at events and playing socially for fun. The year was marked with the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth ll and I was delighted to be part go a group of Eagle Pipers who joined The Sons of Scotland Pipe band from Canada, to play for her at Balmoral Castle shortly before she passed. She was a great lady and outstanding monarch. Below are a few picture that mark the second half of the year.

I think it is fair to say that we back in full swing. It has been interesting to see the change of staff at the event venues as, understandably, people have moved on. There seems to be new wedding venues popping up all over the place as farms have converted barns into function rooms and couples are using humanists to get married. The big traditional venues are still there though and I met these two ‘clippies’ at Dundas Castle

What a few weeks. Flat out. I have added some new pictures to the Gallery page so please have a look. Weddings, conferences, welcome piper, graduations et all. We are back. Thankfully.

A spot of Judging at the Army School of Pipers an Drums in early March.

The Army internal Championships

June and July have been quite busy with weddings but I have also played at a couple of small private birthday parties. One from Sweden and the other from Switzerland. Apparently the TV series Outlander is a big hit which is of course good for tourism.

The piping season has pretty much come to a close and I enjoyed judging at the Captain John MacLellan competition at the Army School of Pipes and Drums and in London for the final big competition of the year. There are still a few piping jobs to be done and it is always interesting meeting new people from all over the world.

The winter saw one or two interesting events and people still get married all year round.Pics on the right are from a corporate workshop in the Hub Edinburgh. Great fun as you can see.

Well that was another quick year and many tunes played along the way. Congratulations to all those who tied the knot and it was pleasure to play a tune or two for you. Remember if you are in Edinburgh the Eagle Pipers’ Society meet every second Tuesday in the Scots Guards Association Club, Haymarket Terrace Edinburgh. Pop in for a chat, tune or just listen to a few tunes.

Once the Haggis season was over it was time for an early season wedding fair at Mansfield Traquair followed by a cold corporate dinner to celebrate the refurbishment at the National Museum.

It is always nice to play at a friends wedding, especially ex colleagues who are tying the knot. Susan Balfour and Grant ‘Snowy’ Johnstone.Not before time. Congratulations guys.

Of course it is not all work and the Eagle Pipers’ Society, who hold their meetings in the Scots Guards association Club, Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh, were hosts to the Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society in March. A great evening of piping.

The 6 Nations rugby threw up an interesting job. A couple from Edinburgh won an Innes and Gunn competition to have the ‘6 Nations experience’ at home. Unfortunately Scotland lost to Wales on their way to a grand slam.

A damp day at Dundas Castle for the wedding of Gary Bendell and Lyn Brymer but it did not damped the spirts. A small intimate wedding of 60 enjoyed what Scotland had to offer.

And so it goes on. The piping season is in full swing and Piping Live and the World Pipe band Championships are to come along with the big solo events at Skye,Oban and Inverness. All this piping is interfering with my golf :)

Rabbie Burns and no time for a detox. I played at a few suppers and gave the address to the haggis at Murrayfield Golf club.It was also nice to be invited back to the Police Burns supper in Edinburgh Castle. What a avenue.

An unusual cold snap "The Beast from the East caused major disruption and a  wedding and a few functions  were postponed or cancelled. (I wonder what the poor bride and groom did about their honeymoon? I'll ask when I see them in April). However I did manage out but you will see conditions were not the best.

A few weddings on the go as the season starts to pick up. I also played at the launch of Lindores Abbey product Aqua Vitae a couple of weeks ago and did a wee recording for Good `Morning Britain with presenter Andy Peters

The 2018 Glenfiddich Championships at Blair Castle

April and May were very busy months with a wide variety of events. The pictures above were taken in Glen Coe at a Corporate event with Scotland looking its best. A couple of weddings, a charity event at RBS and a very social night, hosted by the Royal Scottish pipers, rounded off a great spell.

With Oban and Inverness done and dusted and the World Pipe Band championships out the road with another excellent win for Field Marshall Montgomery, It was time for some R and R before the final push towards the end of the piping season, but first we had the Captain John A MacLellan MBE memorial dinner.

A 10 day trip to Lorient was quite the piping/music marathon with the solo piping at the beginning and bands at the end. (lots of fun in between). We survived!

These images are from a wedding in St Andrews last Saturday, 19th August, with the ceremony at the lovely Parliament Hall, followed by the reception at Forgans, just round the corner. I met a chum, Kevin Mullins, who very deftly managed to get me to play a few tunes at the new sushi restaurant in St Andrews, Kazoku. It was quite a day.

After Bobs funeral the piping community headed up to Blair Castle for the Glenfiddich Championship and the following weekend saw the last big solo-piping event in London, where I was on C grade duties judging the piobaireachd and jig competitions.

The Kensington town hall chambers was our venue and as you can see from the photo it was very stylish and good acoustically.

It was quite a busy end to 2017 with a few winter weddings and of course Hogmanay. The following photos give flavour to the years end and there is little rest as Rabbie Burns awaits

As the wedding season comes to an end we look forward to a winter of practice. Of course we still have the John MacLellan competition, at the Army School of Pipes and Drums on Saturday 7th October, the Glenfiddich Championship at Blair Castle at the end of October and then finally the Scottish Piping Society of London, in November, to come, but then its down tools as far competition season is concerned. Of course we have St Andrews night to prepare for and I need to get the Burns books out to brush up on some verse.