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1979
JAMES VALLANCE - "Fair"
Comment
In Bo'ness a person who is
born and bred in the town is
known as a "Hamebider." and
such I have been invited to
contribute to this year's
magazine, giving my views of
Fairs as I have known them.
To do this one must first
delve back into the past to
the hazy, golden hours of
childhood in the Thirties,
when the approach of the
great day brought that
magical excitement which
gave a fairy tale colour to
our then rather simply lives
- simple, that is, to the
present generation of
youngsters, accustomed as
they are to the
sophistication of TV and the
"tranny."
Those were the times, when
among the highlights of the
Fair were carts and
haywaggons of the local
merchants and farmers, drawn
by familiar horsey friends
of everyday acquaintance,
but hardly recognisable in
their finery of decorated
harness.
This was followed by the
grey years of war when the
spirit of the occasion was
kept very much alive by the
numerous "Wee Fairs" held
each summer in back greens
all over the town. Schools,
too, helped by faithfully
rehearsing the Fair Songs at
each anniversary, so that,
consequently, when that hot
day dawned in 1946 and Queen
Sadie restarted the whole
cycle, we knew what it was
all about.
Around this time I became,
like many of you, a kerbside
supporter, thoroughly
enjoying every part of the
spectacle, and applauding -
or criticising as the
occasion demanded. This
state of affairs continued
for a long time and my only
contribution during that
period was once when I
helped to build a Queen's
Arch ( Mairi Pritchard, 1959
). This was not an
experience to heighten my
enthusiasm for in that year
we had one of the wettest
Fair E'ens in living
memory. I can still feel
the water entering at the
nape of my neck and never
stopping until finding a
home in my wellingtons.
However, all this changed
with startling suddenness
when coming to Deanburn. I
knew that something was
expected of us and that the
school would have to make a
presentation of sorts, but
how high that standard
should be was only really
brought home to me at the
rehearsal in the Glebe
Park. So, with less than 24
hours to go, frantic
additions and alterations
had to be made to the
routine. Thankfully, the
occasion passed without too
much adverse comment.
Since then, in succeeding
years, without respite, one
has been faced with the
dilemma of finding new ideas
and putting them into
operation. To this is
added, every so often, the
gigantic task of preparing a
Queen and Court for public
display. "Gigantic " is not
an exaggerated term, but is
the only appropriate word to
describe the months and
months of hard work and
planning by staff and
parents alike, who deserve
nothing but the highest
praise. This all starts in
the dark days of winter,
continuing relentlessly
until the culmination within
a few short hours on the
last Friday in June.
The Fair of 1974 really
brought public recognition
that Deanburn had come into
its own with our very first
Queen, Linda Dow. Perhaps
it is rather sad that this
also marked the last year in
office of the Town Council
who, for so long, had
organised the event.
At moments like these it is
easy to reflect that Provost
Stewart, long-sighted man as
he was, could never have
anticipated that his
Children's Festival could
have survived so long or
could have gone from such
strength to strength in the
process. Nor could Fleming
and Schofield have realised
that their "Festal Day"
would come to symbolise the
spirit of the Fair, being
sung in all corners of the
world whenever Bo'nessians
meet.
Certainly this year the
words will have a special
meaning for one person. As
second in succession from
Deanburn and seventy-first
overall. Queen Kirsty will,
with her predecessors,
remember the unique occasion
for the rest of her life.
So, too, will many more of
us, and perhaps in years to
come, will be proud to
recall that we are numbered
among those who played some
part in the formation of the
history or our local
Children's Festival.
JAMES VALLANCE Headmaster
of Deanburn School
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