The Bagpipe Society

Starting Drone

That’s the finished set of pipes below. I had the

chanter from Chi Allen’s partner after his death a few years

ago and at last got round to bringing it to the Blowout where

Dominic Allan sorted me out with a reed that worked in it.

It’s not really a French set at all but I thought the layout would make it easy to handle for the Morris where I can easily roll it up and stuff it in my pipes bag without having to deal with pipes sticking out in all directions. Also, I quite like the absense of a bass drone. There’s no law, after all, that says you have to have one!

Another good piping thing that’s happened in the Tose household is that my youngest daughter Daniele has taken up the Welsh pipes herself. It’s early days yet of course, but she’s already piping for the Morris team and last saturday even managed to play continuously for a 30 minute procession around Narberth for their

carnival. Not bad for only having been playing for about 6 weeks and only having learned the tune (Big Ship) the day before.

You can hear her duetting with me on Youtube if you look up my channel - ‘Pibydd’ - the video’s called ‘Welsh bagpipes - Raglan Castle’.

All she has to do is finish making the set of pipes she started last summer and she’ll be able to call herself a proper piper…

You can imagine that living out here in Pembrokeshire I don’t often get to see other members of the Bagpipe Society

very often apart from at the Blowout - or indeed any other pipers at all!

Pictured right is our very own Chairman, Don Ward piping for his own Morris team - Blackadder - at Upton upon Severn back in May. Also there, for the

procession at least was Stephen Rowley with his Gloucestershire Grallers…

And pictured left, piping for the Welsh side

‘Full Moon Morris’ is BagSoc. member Phil Edwards along with Jane Ruel at the All Wales Morris Festival in Llanidloes.