In the December 2010 issue we printed the text of the original 1981 announcement calling anyone interested in Lowland piping to a meeting in Edinburgh. Here we reproduce the invitation that was sent out in March, 1983, inviting ‘fellow pipers’ to attend the first official meeting of the proposed society.

Word processing has come some way since 1983;  For those struggling to read the original, here is the text of Mike’s letter:

 Mains Castle,
    East Kilbride.  
 31st March, 1983.

Fellow Piper,
You may have thought that the Lowland Pipers' Society had died the death, and that you would have to struggle on by yourself. If you did, you were wrong! Oddly enough it is almost exactly a year since I wrote to you last and that may have been the problem, because I have found that the meetings for which I had sent out letters immediately beforehand were all well attended, whilst those that were set up a long time in advance were small to say the least. You obviously have bad memories and don't keep diaries.
Throughout the year new ideas have been developing and more instruments have become available. We need to meet again or the good work will have been wasted.
Happily Seumas MacNeill has kindly made the College of Piping available to us for a meeting and workshop on 16th April, 1983. Following on our previous meetings we have decided to change the format to suit our requirements better, so we’ll have 3 sections. Firstly we'll have a workshop to get the pipes in working order; there will be items for sale, such as bags, bellows and reeds, and there will be several skilled players and makers on hand to help you tune up, repair leaks, even fit new bags. Bring along your pipes and any old bits and pieces you might be able to swap- spare drones, chanters, bellows or stocks-for exactly the piece you require.
Secondly we'll have a playing session - again there will be experts to help you with your style (if you need it) and maybe we could all play a tune together (Mary Scott or Sir John Fenwick's the flower among them) we'll have to work out which version we're playing on the day.
Finally we'll have the talking bit. There is a lot to discuss but the most important business is going to be formalising the Society, so here is a simple agenda to cover that:‑ [Ed. This agenda followed on a separate page]