Gargunnock Village Gala

Saturday June 21st 2003

It has to be said that in Gargunnock we always have a good Gala day, however the weather plays a big part in how good a day it is and this year we were fortunate.

Our fancy dress parade gathered at the school and then the parade through the village began, headed by our Gala Queen, Eilidh McRae and her attendant, Hannah McKeich, both looking beautiful. The girls were transported through the village on a pony and trap kindly provided by John Paterson. John puts a tremendous amount of work into preparing the horse and trap for this occasion and the committee would like to pay tribute to his efforts.

In the park the parade was met by our compere for the day, Mrs Kindly.

The committee were devastated when, earlier in the month, our usual compere, Kindly Shopkeeper, intimated that he was unable to attend this year. We really felt that there could be no suitable replacement. We were delighted however when he offered to find us a replacement and waited in anticipation to see who he would find. Suffice to say he did not let us down and sent his other half, Mrs Kindly, who more than amply fitted the bill.

The Gala Queen was crowned and presented with the Moira McPhate memorial trophy by Mrs Maureen Ferguson.

Then the judging of the fancy dress competition! This year this huge task was undertaken by John and Helen McLaren. There was, as always, a vast range of outfits and the task of picking winners and runners up extremely difficult. However, the results can be seen here.

The judging finished, all children received their prizes and goody bags, all paid for out of Gala funds.

There was a brief respite to allow the children to eat and the adults to have a cup of tea in the tea room, organised this year by our village Guides, led by Elizabeth Mansion and Margaret Murchison.

Outside the Pavillion Tea room the side stalls were busy. We had Beat the Goalie, Bat the rat and a coconut shy. Andra McPhate had his usual Treasure Map, the Playgroup provided amusement for the younger children with hook a duck and decorated biscuits along with tattoos for all ages.

To add to the activities we were pleased to have a Fire Engine from Stirling and the children greatly enjoyed having a chance to look around and to sit in the driver’s seat.

Then the races began. Suzanne McKeich organised the children into ages and classes and we had flat races, 3 legged races and the potato and spoon. Then things got a bit more competitive with the Dads race shortly followed by the Mums.

The races over the football started. The heats had been held during the BBQ on Thursday and now Eric McKeich refereed over a fiercely fought final which saw the blue team emerging as winners, 4-3 over the oranges.

The winning team comprised David Johnstone, Matthew Stevenson, David Mayhew, David Johnstone, Rory Bain, Nicky Lamond, Callum Bain and Jamie Urquhart (not pictured).

The Netball competition was played out on Thrusday, organised by Elaine Hendry and Kirsty Lamond. The winning team were Rachel Ferrier, Tabi Hendry Christina Finlay, Laura Henderson, Julie Chrisite, Romy Berits, Rhona Hendry and Mimi Brophy.

The Committee wish to thank Gargunnock Football Team for providing our Gala teams with their gold and silver medals.

With most of the events over the raffle was called while the children enjoyed their ice-cream donated by Ashers. Mrs Kindly was called away urgently to our local store and the post of compere taken over by Jane Muirhead.

We had a vast amount of raffle prizes donated by locals and local companies and businesses. Among the list of prizes were a bike donated by Stewart Wilson Cycles, the new Harry Potter book, 6 tickets to the Saturday Show, vouchers from the Gargunnock Inn, Culcreuch Castle, Marks and Spencers, Burger King and many others. Many thanks to Claire Gill, Gillian Bruce and Wendy Grant for organising the raffle.

Guess the Teddy’s name was won by Lauren Hendry and Guess the Dog’s birthday was won by Margaret Murchison.

The park events over the crowds headed home to prepare themselves for the children’s Gala Disco. This was held in the Community Centre and was extremely well attended. The music was provided by Elaine Corry, Liza Stevenson, Sarah Murchison, Cara McGlynn, Hannah McKeich, Kirstin Armstrong, Erin McKeich and Katie Johnstone. Jonathon Anderson proved himself invaluable on the dance floor, while Nichola, Douglas, Anne and Susan manned the busy tuck shop.

At 7pm the crowds went home, not nearly as tired as the helpers who sat down to a curry tea donated by the India Gate in Dunblane.

There is a huge amount of effort in staging a successful Gala, the committee would like to thank ALL those who contributed in any way. There are too many to mention, but please be assured that your efforts are appreciated.

The committee would also like to say a special thank you to Andra McPhate who has been our chairman for several years. This was Andra’s last year as chair and we would like to thank him for all his work over the many years.

The Gala committee will shortly be holding an EGM to make some constitutional changes. We would welcome your support and ideas. Please watch the notice board and web site for details.