Loanhead Gala Day |
Centenary Retrospective |
| Loanhead celebrates 100 years of Children's Day |
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A look back to the Centenary Celebrations in 2003 |
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| Loanhead Children's Day is always a special occasion and is without doubt the high spot in the town's annual calendar of events. The year 2003 was however an extra special occasion as we celebrated the Centenary of our annual celebrations with a programme of events befitting such a special anniversary in the history of Midlothian's oldest and largest local festival. |
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| A huge amount of planning and preparation was undertaken by the Gala Committee and there were some sharp intakes of breath when it was realised that it would be necessary to raise between three and four times the cost of a “normal” Gala if the ambitious plans were to be realised. The feeling of the Committee members was however that this was such a special occasion in the history of our Burgh that we should pull out all the stops and there was confidence that the town would support us. |
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| It soon became clear that our confidence in the people, businesses and organisations in Loanhead was not misplaced as contributions and offers of help came flooding in from all quarters. Fundraising events were so well supported that on some occasions the demand for tickets could not be met. Midlothian Council took on board the special significance of the occasion with substantial financial and practical assistance and various other grant applications came up trumps. |
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| In the week prior to the Gala Week itself, an exhibition tracing the history of the event was staged and this allowed both older residents to reminisce and the younger members of our community to obtain a glimpse of how things used to be. The exhibition was just part of a major exercise in recording and making available the history of our festival, the other elements being a book, a video with cine and video clips from previous years and a local history project which was worked into the curriculum of each of the town's three primary schools. |
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| The main programme got underway in traditional fashion with the Carnival Parade and a glorious sunny evening saw the largest parade for many years take to the streets. A number of groups took part for the first time and other former participants made a special Centenary comeback No less than eleven bands ensured everything went with swing and the large crowds dug deep to contribute what was an all time record collection for the parade. |
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| A number of sporting events followed including the now well established and highly popular Sunday morning Fun Run. By the middle of the week preparations were in full swing as a fleet of lorries and a squad of workmen descended on the Memorial Park and the Centenary Tented Village began to take shape. Much of the park began to disappear under a sea of white canvas whilst, a short distance away at Fountain Green our scaffolding crew (all unpaid volunteers) erected not only a huge and fully roofed stage but an extremely impressive grandstand. |
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| Events in the tented village commenced on the Thursday when the programme offered something for those at either end of the age spectrum. First it was the turn of our senior citizens to enjoy a Tea Dance, the musicians once more being volunteers giving their services free of charge. After a couple of hours of tea, cakes, waltzes and foxtrots it was time for the younger members of our community to sing, shout, cheer and dance their way through the Happy Gang Show The popularity of these entertainers was evidenced by the queue to get in which stretched half way across the park. |
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| Things stepped up a gear on the Friday with three separate events. The first of these was a Re-enactment of a Crowning Ceremony from the early years of the Gala. All three of the Primary Schools took part and each paraded behind a specially commissioned banner with the school name and badge. This was the first occasion on which all of the town's schools had paraded for many years and the event was clearly enjoyed, particularly by the younger children who were all supplied with a flag to wave. |
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| Following a break for lunch, Sports were next on the agenda. The programme was based on the sporting events listed in the programmes for the pre First World War Galas and the children of modern day Loanhead found the wheelbarrow, jockey, egg and spoon and sack races just as enjoyable as their predecessors almost one hundred years earlier. |
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| The evening entertainment was in the form of a Concert and the large audience enjoyed the contributions of MacTaggart Scott Loanhead Band, Loanhead Brass Roots and the Kevock Choir. The stars of the show were undoubtedly the members of the Primary 6 classes at the three schools who, dressed in their period costumes from the morning re-enactment, delighted everyone with their well choreographed choral items. |
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| Excitement was now reaching a pitch as the Centenary Children's Day finally dawned to find Loanhead covered in decorations and flags. The Committee had asked everyone in the town to decorate their homes to supplement the wonderful decorated house frontages of the Court members which have become such a feature of the celebrations. Once again the people of Loanhead did not disappoint. Everyone seemed to wish to be involved and those selling bunting struggled to meet demand. The effect of entire streets covered in bunting was quite startling and although every street was involved, the extra special efforts of the residents of Mavisbank and Hunter Avenue/Terrace deserve special mention. |
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| Then just as the morning parade was about to move off the weather broke down and rain began to fall. But Loanheadians were not about to allow a little rain to spoil the big day. After all, the stage for the Crowning Ceremony was covered by a huge roof, there were enough marquees in the Memorial Park to provide cover for thousands and, for the rest, the umbrellas just added to the colourful scene. |
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| The crowd for the Crowning Ceremony was swelled by many hundreds of Loanhead exiles who had quite literally travelled from all comers of the globe to be in Loanhead for this extra special occasion. For many, the highlight of the event was the opportunity to meet up with old friends and classmates, some of whom had not been seen for many years. Everyone, from the mounted police to the council workers, was wearing one of the Centenary badges and there was an overwhelming sense of community. |
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| The Crowning Ceremony was, as always, a stunning and very colourful spectacle with the children, headed by Centenary year Queen Nicole Davidson and Herald Ross Sinclair, playing their parts to perfection. Crowning the Queen was Mrs Cathie Halliday who herself had been Queen in 1934. Cathie is someone who just loves the Children's Day and all it stands for. She was the perfect choice as Crowning Lady for the Centenary year and no-one could fail to notice her huge smile as she so clearly enjoyed every minute of the whole day. |
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| Immediately following the Crowning Ceremony the Grand Procession made its way around the town. The procession was simply huge, stretching out to around a mile in length and taking around 30 minutes to pass any given point. Music was provided by no less than fifteen bands with a spectacular carnival marching band from Derbyshire, a Caribbean style steel band, a New Orleans style parade jazz band complete with dancing girls, the Pipes and Drums of The Royal Scots and a military band from Yorkshire joining the usual complement of local pipe and brass bands. |
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| A particular feature of the procession was the Loanhead Mining Heritage banner with panels showing scenes of the town's three former collieries and the Miner's Institute, another special commission for the Centenary year The banner was carried by a group of local ex miners dressed in pit overalls and helmets and they received an especially warm welcome from the crowds. Not to be outdone, the team of volunteers who carry the Children's Day banner each year turned out in highland dress. Another feature was a French Tricolour carried by the children representing our twin town of Harnes. The Tricolour had been kindly donated by Mrs Margaret Harkness in memory of her son, the late Councillor Sandy Harkness, a great supporter of both the Children's Day and the Town Twinning Association. |
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| The afternoon entertainment in the park offered something for everyone. An innovation was a short ceremony at the War Memorial in the presence of the British Legion Standard Bearers as the Court returned to the park. As the Queen and the President of the Ex-Servicemen's Club laid a wreath at the Memorial, a reflective moment was introduced to an otherwise hectic day. With so much going on it was impossible to see everything as a tightrope walker and the massed bands operating in the arena and the Elvis Pressley and Freddie Mercury tribute acts on stage in the main marquee vied for the attention of the crowds. The large crowds still in the park at the end of the afternoon said it all. |
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| After the excitement and activity of the previous days, the Sunday events were intended to offer a more relaxed atmosphere and so it proved. A well attended Thanksgiving Service conducted by Rev. Graham Duffin and Father John Morrison with a mix of traditional and modern styles of worship was well received and, after our catering operation managed to serve afternoon tea to over a thousand people, it was time for closing speeches, souvenir photographs and a musical finale with massed pipe and brass bands. |
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| And so it was all over. Without doubt the greatest event ever staged in Loanhead and something which generated the best community spirit many in the town could ever remember. We are not however simply left with memories and photographs. Many of the ideas and innovations of the Centenary year have been incorporated in the programme in subsequent years. The Friday afternoon Sports and the Friday evening Concert have both been retained. The Mining Banner and the School Banners now appear in the parade each year and many residents now annually take up the Committee's invitation to cover the town in bunting on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Children's Day weekend. It can be just as good as the Centenary year every year, if we want it to be. |
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| © Copyright Alan McLaren 2006 |
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