THE ARRAN BANNER 20 YEARS AGO

Saturday December 18, 1999

Super trooper

The show must go on. That is the maxim of the theatre and it was to be played out at the Lamlash Drama Club performance of Cinderella this week.

Helen Mcfarlane was playing the part of wicked stepmother in the pantomime at Lamlash when she tripped and fell back stage, being knocked out cold and suffering a broken arm.

Those who know Helen know that it would take more than a broken arm to stop her and, after the services of Dr Graham Tinto were called upon during the break, she was back on stage for the second half as if nothing had happened.

Lochranza hall

Lochranza will soon have a new village hall. After 18 months of fundraising, £63,000 has been raised by locally and, after initially being rejected, the hall committee will receive £222,414 from the National Lottery and a further £164,00 from the Scotland Office, NAC, the TSB and AIE.

They hope to build a new public hall in front of the existing one starting in February 2000. Once the hall is open the present wooden hall, which was built in 1927, will be knocked down to make way for an area for tennis, basketball and inline skating.

Chocolate factory

The butcher’s shop in Brodick is to become a chocolate factory. On the market since the end of the summer, it has been bought by Ian McChlery of the Island Cheese Company.

Ian’s son James has been making luxury chocolates at the Home Farm shop and will now move into the centre of Brodick where visitors and chocoholics will be able to watch them being made. He hopes to be up and running by March 1.

01_B50twe04 Devilla and one of the Ugly Sisters (Tom Miller) gives Cinderella a hard time as Buttons looks on. The other Ugly Sister was played by Alan Little.

01_B50twe03 This year’s Lamlash Drama Club pantomime was Cinderella. Here we see Cinderella (Eilidh Campbell) has fun with Buttons (Alasdair Henderson) under the disaproving eye of wicked stepmother Devilla, played by Helen Macfarlane, who suffered a broken arm during the show.

01_B50twe02 Shiskine Browinies express their gratitude to the Shiskine Valley Sports Day committee as they were one of the many groups to receive money raised at the sports day in June. The Brownies are, left to right, Eilidh Kerr, Karen Brown, Jessica Payne, Raiann Sim, Karen Barrie, Kirsty McMaster, Yazmin Nazary and Sheena McMillan. Holding the cheque is Jennifer Ingham.

01_B50twe05 Santa Claus is a busy man these days and we were lucky to catch him at the Shiskine Hall Christmas Fayre last Saturday. Visiting him at the time was young Keiran Bunyan of Portnalochan , Blackwaterfoot.

01_B50twe01 Arran’s young naturalists with the country park rangers who introduce them each week to all aspects of nature. Last Saturday they held their Christmas party where the ‘young naturalist of the year’ award was given to Joanna Marr (centre). Runners-up were Thomas McMaster and Jack Ward.