A Family Affair
Sharon Haston of Falkirk, Stirlingshire remembers:
In the area surrounding Falkirk, it’s heartening that many of the local villages and towns continue with their tradition of holding an annual children’s fair day in the summer.
These include Camelon’s Mariner’s Day, the Linlithgow Marches, and the Bo’ness Fair Day. Most of them are steeped in history, especially the Linlithgow Marches, which stems from the 16th century when they checked the town’s boundaries.
Bo’ness Fair also has “Fair E’en” where people walk around “viewing the arches”. These are elaborate garden decorations, often involving an ornate full castle facade, especially at the Fair Queen’s house. They are always a sight to behold, with a lot of work going into them.
But the children’s fair closest to my heart is, of course, that of my own childhood village Shieldhill’s Gala Day. I believe ours was started by local miners as a fun day for children to enjoy. When I was at primary school, it was the highlight of the year. Everyone always got new outfits and shoes for it. We’d pray for sunshine, or at least dry weather.
A procession of bands, decorated floats, people dressed up, and all the primary classes in number order, set off from the school. Many of the children waved handheld flags. As it made its way through every street in the village, many people would join in, so the procession became longer. Those not marching stood at their doors to watch.
There was usually a brass band and a pipe band separated at either end of the procession, so they didn’t clash with each other. Our local special constable, in his uniform, would lead the procession and stop any traffic. Not that there were many cars driving through the village in the 1970s.
As well as folks dressing up, some people decorated their gardens, too. As a minimum, neighbours would put up bunting. Often, paper flowers were made from toilet paper and put on to sticks in gardens. These did not hold up well if it rained. The gardens were judged by the gala day committee which organised the event. Looking back, they must have put in a lot of hours and commitment throughout the year.
My family often took part in the dressing up. My mum was a member of the Shieldhill Ladies’ keep fit group and they always participated. Once they dressed up as figures from The Wizard of Oz and my mum was the tin man. Another time she was Cinderella, and her friend Janice was Prince Charming. My big moment came when I was Aunt Sally and my friend, also Janice, was Worzel Gummidge.
Before that, I didn’t get dressed up as I was a member of the local majorettes. We dressed in red kilts and white blouses and did a marching display in the grounds behind the school. This is where all the events took place after the procession had finished. Every child received a bag containing a pie or sausage roll, a cake, a packet of crisps and a carton of orange juice. That bag was a joy to munch through.
Us children also participated in races. There were serious ones such as a marathon around the “bing” (slag heap) and fun ones such as the three-legged, wheelbarrow, and egg-and-spoon races. The most heartfelt moment was when the procession stopped at the cenotaph when we honoured those villagers who had paid the greatest sacrifice in both wars.
The minister would deliver a short sermon then lead everyone in saying the Lord’s
Prayer and singing The Lord’s My Shepherd and a wreath would be laid. I’m honoured to say my family had a huge role in laying that wreath. It was always carried by a boy and a girl from Primary 7 and they were at the front of the procession. They were chosen each year by their peers. My dad carried the wreath in 1957 and so did both his brothers, John and Willie, and his sister, Margaret, in the years before him. This was a huge honour, especially as every child in the Henderson family fulfilled that role.
Interestingly, almost every other children’s fair in the area had a queen who was voted by their peers. Others were chosen to be in the queen’s retinue as ladies-in-waiting or page boys. They would have a crowning ceremony, usually carried out by a local dignitary, and the queen would wear a long robe and carry an orb and sceptre. My husband was a halberdier in his own village of Slamannan’s Gala Day. However, Shieldhill chose not to go down that route for whatever reason. It was always such a special day, whatever role you were playing. I have many happy memories and am proud of my family’s participation.