HELEN BROWN COURIER COLUMNIST & MUSIC LOVER

Glamis Prom no more? What a pity that would be. I and many others will miss what became a regular “save-the-date” event in Scotland’s cultural calendar.

It was always classy, but not stuffy. Opera singers rubbed shoulders with music theatre stars and orchestras of the calibre of the RSNO and the National Symphony Orchestra of Scotland.

The cast list over the years included Nicola Benedetti, Elaine Paige, Susan Boyle, Lee Mead – and latterly, local talent picked out over stiff competition to sing with the pros.

The sounds ranged from Bohemian Rhapsody via Scottish folk songs to the 1812 Overture, complete with accompanying tank fire!

And the closing fireworks were always a literal and spectacular highlight to send everyone home on a high.

And the setting? How could you better sitting on the lawn – or half-way up the sweeping drive when the audience numbers hit the thousands! – of Glamis Castle?

It was an inspired choice for an outdoor event. Even when the climate let us down, the setting never did.

The Glamis Prom created the kind of atmosphere that couldn’t be dampened even by downpours .

There are still pictures somewhere of our party barely visible through layers of plastic macs, umbrellas, tarpaulins and parasols that never saw the sun. Didn’t matter. When the weather was good, it was very, very good.

The picnics got bigger every year, laundry baskets packed with everything from trestle tables and folding chairs to linen table cloths, full-scale candelabra, whole smoked trout and dinner jackets. And if it’s goodbye Glamis? Thank you for the music. And the fun!