Piping hot piping

An enthusiastic crowd were superbly entertained last night in a cosy corner of the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow by pipers piping - and not just Scottish ones either - a Breton band, 'Forz Penaos', and Ian Macdonald and Iain MacFarlane - both well known hereabouts, and young Jarlath Henderson and Ross Ainslie, kept us humming, clicking our heels and whooping with delight before Kathryn Tickell and her band from the North Tyne valley in Northumberland rounded off the evening with some hauntingly beautiful music from south of the border.

My personal favourite - though it was difficult to choose one from a plethora of beautiful tunes, was an air on the wide fells of Northumbria - I know them well, they are indeed wide and wild too, and the music, written by Kathryn herself did them proud. It was a splendid night.