Happy 80th galaday for Coalburn

As on the past 79 occasions, villagers really pulled out all the stops to dress their streets with bunting and create floats and costumes for the parade which set off from its traditional starting point of the Victoria Hall to the gala queen’s crowning ceremony next to Coalburn Leisure Centre.

The parade was led by the village’s own pipe band, with its silver band accompanying the cavalcade of court cars.

This year’s gala queen was Becca Neil, who was ably supported throughout the day by her fellow Coalburn Primary School pupils in this year’s gala court, namely lord-in-waiting Harvey Frame, maids Louise Hickie and Terri Mitchell, train-bearers Mia Mckendrick and Emily Sirrell, page-boys Leo Rossi and Harley Campbell and car attendants Kyle Thomson, Jonathan Campbell, Andrew Kenny and Finlay Frame.

At the crowning ceremony, again by tradition, Queen Becca was crowned by the lass she succeeded, the 2016 gala queen, Rachel Struthers.

Villagers young and old then carried on the celebrations throughout the rest of the day, the afternoon seeing the annual children’s sports competitions take place.

All judged the event to have been an enormous success, and work is probably already under way planning Coalburn’s 81st gala day!