1972
UNKNOWN - "As We See It"
Musical Director Bows Out
A NOTABLE PERSONALITY
Making his last appearance
at this year's Fair will be
the Festival's Musical
Director, Mr. James Cuthell.
For those of us who can only
remember the Fair since it
began again with the
crowning of Grange School
Queen Sadie Potter in 1946,
it's impossible to imagine
anyone else wielding the
baton on the Fair Day,
because Mr. Cuthell has been
Musical Director every year
since the war, celebrating
his silver jubilee last
summer.
Mr Cuthell has remained
faithful to the Fair songs
as conducted by his
predecessors as Musical
director, the well
remembered Pre-war Musical
Directors A. G. Peggie, John
Arthur, R. J. Miller and
"Band Sandy", Sandy Bell,
but he has left his own mark
on the music at the
Coronation ceremony, for he
it was who introduced the
various tunes to fit each
group of presentees, instead
of simply playing the same
march throughout all the
presentations. He also
introduced the idea of
visiting the schools for
practice before the Fair and
the one part of the Fair
which Mr. Cuthell says he
will miss more than any
other does not take place on
the Fair Day itself, but on
the Fair E'en, when by
tradition the Musical
Director visits every school
in the town to rehearse
"Our Festal Day" and
"Hail to Our Queen ".
Another resignation this
year is that of
Entertainments Convener,
David Cunningham.
David's resignation, while
regrettable as far as the
Fair is concerned, is
another indication of
David's own success, for he
has now become Falkirk's
full-time Entertainments
Director. David's job
as Entertainments Convener
has been taken over by the
Festival's Director, Mr.
George Renton.
FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER
For the first time ever, at
this year's Fair one of the
schools will be led in the
procession by its own band.
The school is the new
Deanburn Primary and its
brass band is already making
a name for itself in the
area. With Alex
Fleming as its conductor and
with Headmaster James
Vallance, himself a keen
brass player, as it s
director the new band is a
certain to be a hit on the
Fair Day as "Amazing Grace",
which it is featuring in its
repertoire of pieces.
Just how far Bo'nessians are
prepared to go to ensure
that everything is perfect
for the Fair has been
demonstrated this year by
the parents and staff of
Bo'ness Public School.
The teachers and mothers
carefully selected the
material for the flower
girls' dresses and ordered
it from the Silk Shop of
Princes Street, Edinburgh,
only to be informed that
their choice of embroidered
nylon was out of stock.
The mothers refused to be
dettered and the manager was
asked to obtain the material
from his firm's headquarters
in London. This he did only
to be informed that there
was none of this material in
Great Britain. Still
the mothers insisted and so
the manufacturers in
Austria were telephoned.
With time fast disappearing
the rush then began to make
the material and whenever it
was completed it was rushed
to Heathrow, London, and on
to Turnhouse where the Silk
Shop manager turned out to
meet the plane late on
Friday night so that the
mothers could have the whole
weekend to start work on the
dresses.
By coincidence the material
for the flower girls'
dresses is not Bo'ness
Public's only link with
Austria as far as this
year's Fair is concerned,
for the school's
presentation this year has
an Austrian theme with a
minature Austrian lake on
the lawn and the main school
building transformed into an
Austrian Chalet.
Bo'ness Fair has over the
years become famed for the
coincidences which it seems
to produce, with daughter
following mother as Queen
and sister following sister.
This year it's the turn of
the Gourley family to pull
off the 100 to 1 outsider.
Five years ago when Bo'ness
Public School last provided
the Queen their daughter
Catherine was Queen of the
Fairies. Now this year
with another Public Queen on
the throne Catherine's young
sister Linda has been chosen
to play the same role.
In all this Fairy business,
perhaps there really is a
touch of magic.
Grange Primary School seems
to be tempting fate a bit
this year by choosing
"Dancing in the Rain" for
the theme of its presentees.
It is interesting to note
that after several years of
choosing presentees from the
senior classes both Grange
and Kinneil have this year
reverted to choosing their
presentees from among the
infants.
UNKNOWN
