A right royal occasion at the 150th Argyllshire Gathering
Glorious sunshine provided the perfect backdrop for the 150th anniversary of the Argyllshire Gathering and Oban Games with visitors from near, far and the palace in attendance.
Having been forced to cancel the event for the past two years due to Covid-19, organisers were determined, restrictions allowing, that this year the ‘show would go on’, despite only having two months to bring it all together.
And a fine job they did too. From the piping competitions on Wednesday, Thursday’s grand March and all the action at Mossfield, competitors and spectators entered into the spirit of the occasion with records broken, special commemorative medals won and much fun had by everyone in attendance. Games Steward Paul Nicoll told The Oban Times: ‘As the Argyllshire Gathering Trust is a charity which supports and funds the tutoring of piping to ensure the future of piping in the area, it was a difficult decision as to whether we should press ahead with the 150th anniversary Games this year.
‘However, the Scottish Government’s Events Recovery fund underwrote some of the additional costs which gave the stewards the confidence to go forward.
‘I and the other stewards would like to particularly thank the committee who worked so hard to put the games on at such short notice and staff and pupils of Oban High School for their help and participation.’
Among those in attendance at the games was Her Royal Highness the Princess Royal,
who took time to talk to many of the organisers, participants and competitors as well as visit the Heritage Tent and many of the stalls around the ground.
‘The games this year were a resounding success, helped by not only superb weather, but the presence of the Princess Royal, who was genuinely interested in the five tenets, of the games and spent a long time with each of the committee members who were pivotal in the organisation,’ added Mr Nicoll.
As always, competition took centre stage over the two days with the lack of international categories only serving to make the 150th anniversary event truly ‘local’.
With Covid stopping pipers from overseas, the usual Gold Medal competition was replaced by an Argyll Invitational competition which was won by Stuart Liddell, pipe major of Inveraray and District World Champion pipe band.
This year saw the playing for the first time of Dr Whittow’s Salute to the 150th Argyllshire Gathering on the march to Mossfield with the Oban High School Pipe Band excellent as usual and a credit to the area.
Heavy and running events, along with the highly popular tug o’ war, dominated the action at Mossfield, with Czechborn Vlad (The Impaler) Tulacek breaking Games records in the light (16lbs) and heavy (22lb) Clachd (stone) events. First time visitor to the games Natasha Armstrong brought her husband Michael and children Daniel, 8, and Mickayla, 6, from England to join in the fun. She told The Oban Times: ‘We have had an absolute ball. The children have absolutely loved it and we even joined in the tug of war.
‘Oban is a truly wonderful place; everyone smiles at you.’