Not Quite Seventh Heaven at Scottish Championships by Tweedvale Pipe Band.

Tweedvale Pipe Band travelled to Dumbarton on Saturday 16 May to take part in the 100 Pipers Scottish Pipe Band Championships at Levengrove Park, the first major championship of the season. The event “enjoyed” mixed weather – the band endured a major downpour whilst tuning up – but when the band entered the contest arena conditions had settled to dry and breezy. The band was drawn to play 10^th out of 15 bands and this year all bands played. Playing their March, Strathspey and Reel set of “King George V Army”, “Captain Colin Campbell”, and “Lexy McAskill”, Tweedvale put in what was arguably their best MSR performance since the band started competing in Grade 3. When the results were announced Tweedvale found that it had been placed 7^th overall, just short of the prize-list by a single point. The piping judges gave the band placings of 5^th and 9^th whilst the drumming judge placed the band 11^th and the ensemble judge 5^th. The Grade 3B contest was won by the Castlerock Pipe Band from Northern Ireland. The events of the day were not over after the contest ended though, as the band turned rescuers on the way home, picking up the stranded Stow Pipe Band whose own bus had broken down.

Reflecting on the Dumbarton result Pipe Major Bruce Gillie, in charge of Tweedvale Pipe Band said, “I’m quite pleased with this result though naturally disappointed not to have made it to the prize list. It’s a big improvement from the same contest last year when we finished four places lower. A different day with different judges and I think we would have made the prize-list with today’s performance. This result shows that the band is beginning to make progress in Grade 3, and I have high hopes for further progress being made this year.”