2nd Anniversary Celebrations - La Paidheadh an Deich Ceud
Mile
Well, its the day after Payback Day. Heads are sore, legs
are tired and we're all very, very happy. The day was a resounding
success, from Lesley Riddoch broadcasting her Radio Scotland lunchtime
show live from Gigha, to the raising of the new flag, to the speeches
and the ceilidh in the hall - we celebrated a truly remarkable achievement
of paying back £1 million in two years.
They say a picture paints a thousand words, so here goes ...
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Folk wandered around the new Gigha Heritage Craft Shop, painstakingly
prepared by Nicola Macaulay Smith in the week before.
All the goods on sale are also available on this site ... |
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including the specially designed Gigha Tartan printed onto
the superb Tain pottery. |
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Lesley Riddoch presented her Radio scotland show
live from Gigha. She has a reputation as being a bit harsh
on her interviewees, but the folk of Gigha gave as good as they
got! |
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As this was taken, Lesley was in full flow, speaking straight
form Gigha - LIVE!!! How weird was that? |
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The Gighachs were queueing up to join in the debate on community
ownership. John Martin, carpenter, listened intently and
waited for his turn. |
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The 11:30 ferry was slightly delayed due to the number of
people heading over to Gigha. The ferry crew worked tirelessly
all day to ensure a good service for the big day. |
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In true 15th of March fashion, it poured with rain just when
the speeches started. Lorna MacAlister introduced the
speakers and everyone kept their speeches as short a spossible
due to the driving rain ... |
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everyone apart from Alan Hobbett, who in traditional style
spoke for 14 hours!! Not true, he gave a lovely speech,
highlighting the success of the Gigha community over the past
two years and looking forward to the future. |
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Neil Campbell CBE, Chair of the Scottish Land Fund thanks
us all for the repayment of the £1 million and pledged
to pass the money on to other communities to assist them in
emulating the success of Gigha. |
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And then the newly commissioned Gigha Flag was raised - celebrating
for all to see the payback of the £1 million. Obvioulsy
the school children lent Archie a helping hand. |
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And so its time for a toast - you needed a good dram to keep
the chill away. Archie, again, provided a magnificant
drinks service - and never touched a drop himself! |
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And then to the Hotel, to sample a superb buffet provided
by the staff at the Gigha Hotel and take a few more drams, just
to toast the successful day you understand. All in all,
a fantastic day. |
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At the ceilidh in the evening the children of the Gigha Primary
School sang some beautifulsongs. The banner hanging behind
then was created by Keith Helm, ably assisted by Lorna Andrew |
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Unfortunately, no pictures of the evening ceilidh apart from the
one above. I could make lots of excuses but the truth is lack
of batteries in the camera and excessive liquor in the head!
Anyone with pictures of the night could contact me and we'll get
them on as soon as possible. Just
click here.
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