This was a night enjoyed with a sense of self satisfaction on the back of numerous EPS members’ prizes at recent competitions.
The Hon P/M Euan Anderson warmed up the thronging crowds with his usual solid bagpipe and was followed closely by Josien Teerlink-Wiegerinck. Josien, originally from Holland, played a number of very interesting and unusual melodies on her 1965 Robertson pipes.
Josien has edited and published the book, In Touch with the Dutch; a collection of 170 original compositions and 50 drum scores by Dutch pipers and drummers. If you buy a copy from her, the full £15 goes towards a worthy cancer charity. Alternatively, it is available from all good (bagpipe) bookstores.
Callum Wynd
Next for shaving was Callum Wynd, aged 13, from Stirling. Callum gave us a very mature performance on his grandfather’s 1937 Hendersons including two musical jigs of his own pen, The Gairloch Bus Stop and Fruit Salad. He is a pupil of EPS member, Chris Gibb, and is very much a rising star. You heard him here first!
Northern Meeting Convener and some time rugby referee, Alan Forbes was ambushed into playing next on his delicate and finely balanced Center drones. More accustomed to gracing the floor of The Royal Scottish Pipers’ Society he took to the EPS stage with his usual aplomb including the swinging march David Ross.
The Pre-Pie-Piper was in fact a quartet from The Edinburgh Academy under the tutelage of EPS member P/M Michael Gray. The pipers were P/M Nick Keyden, P/Sgt Chris Allan and P/Cpls Angus Lutton and Jamie MacLean. They were warming up for the Scottish Schools CCF Quartet contest on Friday and played a very well constructed medley with excellent control on four well set pipes.
The Edinburgh Academy has a long pedigree of spawning great piping careers such as that of the late John D Burgess. Indeed a number of Academy alumni continue to compete at the premier level and enjoyed glory in Saturday’s SPSL contest in London. This quartet look set to continue this high achieving tradition.
During the break, the Hon P/M ran through the recent competitive success of EPS members such as Jenny Hazzard, Peter McAlister, Taylor Townsley and Andrew Gray. EPS members took 25% of the total prizes awarded in London. Not bad for a society which, in its current form, is less than 12 months old.
However, full honours undoubtedly went to the Society’s Secretary, Iain Speirs, who won the overall champion piper in London with two 1sts, a 2nd and a 3rd. In fact, the only event he didn’t get a prize in was the Under 18 Slow Air. He can now look forward to a well deserved place at the 2011 Glenfiddich.
After the pies (no record broken this week despite the efforts of The Edinburgh Academy), Keith Christie, a student of piping at Stevenson College, played a fine selection of tunes on a big and bold, but expertly tuned, bagpipe. He finished off with a powerful display of dexterity in RS MacDonald’s Good Drying.
The evening was brought to a splendid end with CPA Vice President, Derek Midgley, playing the piobaireachd, Glengarry’s March. Derek, originally from Tinton Falls, New Jersey, settled a wonderful pipe with a variety of tunes including the delightful march Carradale Bay – immortalised by Strathclyde Police in their 1986 Worlds win. Derek played the Colin Cameron setting and showed why he earned his 2nd place in the Oban Silver Medal this year. Look out for the tune on You Tube.
Douglas Gardiner
The Eagle Pipers' Society, Edinburgh 
Callum’s tune was The Gairloch Bus Stop