Welcome To The Official Ashbourne & District Pipe Band Website

Unfortunately and with great regret to announce, the annual Ashbourne Highland Gathering for 2009 has been cancelled. The reason for this was due to the bad weather which has resulted in the field being waterlogged. For the latest information regarding the gathering, please check the following website.

http://www.ashbournegathering.com/

The Red Hot Chilli Pipers ARE still performing as planned on Saturday night. The performance is thought to be held on the concrete car park above the pavilion off of the grass however please check the gathering website above for more details.

The offical results for Corby have been released and the drummers in particular can be very pleased - 2nd place behind the strong corps of Wolverhampton shows the progress we are making! the pipers can also be pleased with a 4th place, much improved from Birmingham, placing the band 4th overall. The English Championships at home in Ashbourne are up next and both the pipers and drummers are keen to continue the good work.

The contest draw for the WPBC has been announced and is as follows:

World Pipe Band Championships - 15th August 2009 - Glasgow Green

Grade 4b MAP Heat 1 - Start Time 9.00

1. 9.00 - Royal Burgh of Stirling

2. 9.06 - Renfrew North Youth

3. 9.12 - Nottinghamshire Police

4. 9.18 - Ballybriest

5. 9.24 - ASHBOURNE & DISTRICT

6. 9.30 - William Kerr Mermorial

7. 9.36 - Fivemiletown

8. 9.42 - East Kilbride

9. 9.48 - Glen Mor

10. 9.54 - West Linton & District

11. 10.00 - Denny & Dunipace

12. 10.06 - Greyfriars

13. 10.12 - Tullintrain

With a 4th place finish in 2008, the band once again returned to Corby with hopes of a prize. In the tuning area, the band was sounding lovely and the tone was much better than previous competitions. As we stepped up to the line, nerves kicked in and a few mistakes were made within the circle. Despite this, the band again picked up 4th place. The official results can be seen on the results page and a video of the performance can be found on the videos page of the website or you can alternatively click here to view the video now!

With the gathering drawing near once more, special arrangements are being made this year for the 25th anniversary of the games. Two new events have been arranged to celebrate this:

- A Ceilidh has been organised on Friday 17th July and will feature the Chris Dewhurst Band. Admission is only £10 and this fee includes a buffet bar.

- A Concert featuring the Red Hot Chilli Pipers and Clanadonia is taking place the night before the gathering on Saturday 18th July.

For more information on both of these events and to find out how to purchase tickets please visit the Ashbourne Highland Gathering Website.

The contest draws for both the Birmingham and Ashbourne contests have been announced and are as follows:

Birmingham Contest - Sunday 21st June 2009

Grade 4 - Start time 12.00

1. Nottinghamshire Police

2. Henderson Caledonian 

3. ASHBOURNE & DISTRICT

4. Beverley & District

5. Welsh Piping Society

6. Grampian Association Corby

7. Chorley

8. Wirral

9. Scots Guards   (Manchester Branch)

10. Wolverhampton

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English Championships Ashbourne - Sunday 19th July 2009

Grade 4

1. Henderson Caledonian

2. Glenmoriston

3. Nottinghamshire Police

4. RAF Waddington

5. Grampian Association Corby

6. Wolverhampton

7. Beverley & District

8. University of Bedfordshire

9. ASHBOURNE & DISTIRCT

10. Chorley

11. Essex Caledonian                                                                                                                                                                                      

Ashbourne & District Pipe Band has been leading the remembrance parade in Brereton for the past 30 years. For this commitment the band has been awarded a Certificate of Appreciation by The Royal British Legion for the support given from the band for the Poppy Appeal. Below is a picture of the certificate awarded. A larger copy can be seen if the picture is clicked.

The dates & venues for the 2009 Major Championships have been released and are as follows:

• Scottish - May 16th* - Dumbarton
• British - June 27th - Banbridge
• European - July 25th - Inverclyde
• Worlds - August 15th - Glasgow
• Cowal - August 29th - Dunoon

*Please note that the Scottish Championships are a week early this year!

Also, please check out the engagement calendar to see the engagements that Ashbourne & District Pipe Band will be attending as it may not be all of the above!

2008 has been quite a successful year for Ashbourne & District Pipe band as we attended 3 of 5 major championships, qualifying for the final at 2 of them, and narrowly missing out at the third. Closer to home, we also gained some good results with a 2nd place at Birmigham and a 4th at Corby, the season being topped off with a 1st in the drumming at Chatsworth House. The band have also attended and a few minor engagements and were awarded a framed certificate at our annual remeberance parade Brereton for 30 years of service (Ever since the band was formed). It is fair to say that the band has progressed and become a lot stronger, however this may not of been so without the help from members of Beeston & District. First of all John Wright came along to help out with the corps, then his son L/D Dave Wright  came to lend a hand. This was very helpful for the drum corps and greatly appreciated. Then Connor Maclean decided to play with the band to get some confidence and contest experience before he rejoins Beeston and so his dad, Dave  came every thursday to bring Connor to practice. Dave has since been pushing the drummers forward and helping the band out in many ways. Dave's wife Lynn popped along and helped out with the tenor drummers and occasionally Dave's other son, Cailean came along to lend a hand. Without this help the band probably would not have managed to achieve as much as they did, and so the band would like to give a massive thanks to:

• John Wright
• David Wright
• Dave MacLean
• Lynn MacLean
• Cailean MacLean