A VERY good turn out was had for the annual fete which was opened in excellent weather by Council Leader Dick Walsh.  There were a great number of stalls and attractions, many being the old favourites of white elephant, bric á brac, books and home baking, all of which were doing excellent business.

Other stalls to mention a few included cards, bookmarks and a lucky dip made and sold by Beulah, Claire and Lucy.  Jean Black was selling her own original bespoke handcrafted and embroidered cards and Kirsten Sinclair was there with her Pure Therapy products with leaflets available for her many services including some new ones.

Roy Perry and Alan Poland were doing a roaring trade at the bottle stall and the raffle tickets were being sold by Anne, Jan, Sybel, Irene and Margaret (aka the Ice Cream Gals!)  There was an excellent display from Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre featuring the magnificent 5 y.o female Golden Eagle called “Orla”.

Other attractions included face painting and coconut shy among others with the children and adults races being the highlight.

Race results for ages under 5yrs, 1st, Carina McNaughton, Strachur, 2nd, Anna Monigan, Dunoon, 3rd, Sean Suzuki, visitor.  Mixed Group Race ages 5-8 yrs, 1st, Cameron Grewar, London/Bute, 2nd, Caitlin Kennedy, Glendaruel, 3rd, Douglas Brew, Kingarth.  Girls ages 8-12yrs, 1st, Evelyn Finnie, Glendaruel, 2nd, Liza Brew, Kingarth, 3rd, Beulah Sinclair, Colintraive.  Boys ages 8-12yrs, 1st, Jamie MacVicar, Glendaruel, 2nd, Ben Gilchrist, Houston, 3rd, Lewis McRobert, visitor.  The Men’s Open Race, 1st, Stephen McLean, Dunoon, 2nd, Daniel Watt, Colintraive Hotel, 3rd, Matt Donald, Ormsary.   The Duck Race was won by Doug Wilson ‘part-time resident’ at Duiletter.

Proceeds from he sales at the fete amounted to £4,150.00, this will go towards general maintenance and upkeep of the village hall.  Thanks were given to all who attended and supported the fete and especially to those who worked tirelessly to make it the success it was.

THE ANNUAL ‘FAYRE’ was organised this year by George McMillan and held in Glendaruel Village Hall on 19th July in aid of church funds and was opened by the Minister, Reverend David Mitchell.  The day in question had varied weather and just prior to opening, the gazebo holding the children’s stalls and activities took off in the wind and had to be rescued.  As it had become damaged, space was made inside the hall for the children’s items beside the other stalls.

A very busy time was had by the stall holders as shoppers got on with the important task of spending their money.  Everyone did a roaring trade as did the ‘Teas’, ably organised by Joy Kennedy and her team of helpers.

The sum of £1500 was raised which will go towards the upkeep and maintenance of the church.  Thanks to all who worked hard to make the event a great success.

Come and enjoy a night out with friends and enjoy music and dance

With The Saddle Bags

£5 on the door – Children Free

Licensed Bar

All proceeds to the Col-Glen Play Park

Raffle & finger buffet supper halfway through the evening (donations welcome!)

As part of ArtsFeastCowal, Nick Lewis (above right) prevailed on his friends in the music business, and with help from the Wind Farm Trust, dragooned them into the Glendaruel Hall for an Midsummer evening of music.

What ensued was an eclectic and exciting mix of music that, had it been held in a city, would have attracted a massive audience who would willingly have paid five times the modest entrance fee of £5. (Under 16s free.)

Alison Sikora likewise dragooned friends into onion chopping and spud peeling to produce an Argyll Supper of Venison Stovies and Cowal Clangers - don’t ask!

The whole event was well attended and the bar did a roaring trade. We are grateful to Nick for his inspiration, initiative and hard work. He’d better start planning for Saturday June 20th 2009.

Martin and Michael would like to express their gratitude to those who helped clear up on the Sunday morning. So, thank you Cara, Moffat and Calum!

For reasons too complex to detail here, but not the least being the uncertain future of  The Glendaruel Hotel, it was decided by the committee not to hold a Cowal Way Day at the Clachan this May. However, the ever resourceful Nick Lewis suggested that we hold a Midsummer Music Festival instead. To quote him, “The people I’ve got on board so far are all songwriters, so I’m thinking of going with that angle. Five bands / performers with DJ sets and an hour or so of Ceilidh dancing courtesy of Gramps to finish off. Hopefully we can put a barbie on or something.”

So, what d’ye think? Any suggestions or offers of help to Nick, Gramps, Annie or Michael. All culinary offers of help to Ann Lamb.