Weekly Gathering at the National Piping Centre
Bob McFie attends the National Piping Centre in Glasgow every Friday. As president of the Veteran Pipers' Association, he participates in a weekly "dram and jam" session with friends. However, this week his friends arranged a surprise to mark his 100th birthday.
A new composition titled "100 cheers for Bob McFie," written by fellow piper George Johnson, was performed for the first time in his honour.
"I had a suspicion that something would be going on, maybe an extra bottle of whisky on the table," he said.
"It was a surprise and I like surprises."
Early Life and Musical Beginnings
Bob has been playing the pipes since he was three years old and has taught hundreds of pipers while composing several tunes over the decades. Born in Glasgow in 1926, he received his first chanter from his father. By the age of nine, Bob had surpassed his father's abilities.
"I was told I was a child prodigy," he recalled.
"I didn't know what prodigy meant, it was a swear word for all I knew."
Growing up in 1930s Glasgow during a period of high unemployment made it easier for him to practice.
"There were only three people with jobs on our street," he said.
"Two were footballers and one was a postman.
So you could practice all you liked because no one was up for work in the morning."
Performances and Compositions
One of Bob's earliest public performances was at the Empire Exhibition in Bellahouston Park in 1938, an event he fondly remembers as it "got him off school for a day." Fifty years later, he performed multiple times at the Glasgow Garden Festival and composed a theme tune for the event titled "Strathclyde Heritage." Bob does not know the exact number of tunes he has written, although one of his publications contains 134 compositions.
Teaching and Legacy
Bob wrote his first tune, "Euphemia Morris," for his grandmother while serving in the army during World War Two. Over 30 years at the College of Piping, he taught numerous young pipers, though he has lost count of how many.
Current Status and Reflections
Bob has been unable to play the pipes for the past two years.
"I'm not strong enough to play the pipes the way I want them," he said.
"Others said they can weaken the reeds, but if they don't sound like I want them to I don't want to play at all."
He now enjoys listening to others perform.
"I play the pipes because I like it," he stated.
