Carstairs Gala Day 2018

As ever, folk from all walks of life in the village came together to create a spectacle that would put some large towns to shame. The gala’s organising committee declared the day a major success and thanked all the individuals and groups who contributed to this.

At the very centre of the celebrations on the village green were, of course, Carstairs Gala Queen 2018 Leah McNab.

She was ably supported by her Court, namely 1st Maid Grace Curry, 2nd Maid Lily Rafferty, Ladies in Waiting Paige Kearney and Trang Nguyen, 1st Champion Harris Scott, 2nd Champion Cameron Baillie, Guards of Honour Sean Bilton, Tavis Boyle, Fraser Kelly and Callum Walker.

It was the task of 1st Champion Harris to escort the then still Queen-elect Leah to the crowning podium where this year’s Crowning Lady Elizabeth Brown carried out her task to the cheers of the whole village.

Also, as ever, the gala parade was filled with imaginative and colourful entries.

This year’s overall fancy dress winner was ‘Scooby Doo’.

There were also congratulations for prominent villager Ian Brown who, amazingly, notched up his 69th year as Gala Day Driver, conveying the Queen and Crowning Lady to the enthronement.

The happy day concluded with music and sports and the planning of Carstairs Gala 2019 is doubtless already underway!