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1990
S.G Pollock - "Round The
Arches"
IN 1960, or thereabouts, I
used to visit all local
primary schools in Bo'ness
in my capacity as an
itinerant Art teacher. Mr
Alex Ritchie, that great
stalwart of the Bo'ness
Fair, was at that time
Headmaster of the Grange
School. He it was who
approached and persuaded me
to join the ranks of the
judges of the Decorated
Arches, and I have been
performing that task every
year since then.
I started learning the
business under the expert
tutelage of John Cannon who
had many years experience in
judging arches. He seemed
to know everybody and was
greeted as a friend by all.
He would often give a
ticking off to arch builders
who had not entered for
judging. This is a great
pity as a lot of artistic ,
creative and hard work goes
into their making. Also,
the children and even the
adults in the house are
thrilled and proud to have a
winner's card tied to their
arch.
When I receive my list of
entrants my first task is to
arrange them into the order
in which we intend to view
them. If I didn't do this,
we would be dodging back and
forward all over Bo'ness,
getting caught up in school
processions and marching
bands. I personally like to
do a quick survey of the
entrants on the Fair E'en.
Not, I hastily add, to
prejudge, but to make sure
my proposed route is the
right one and the most
direct one. It would not do
on the Fair morning to waste
time vainly searching for
one or two arches and,
believe me, this can
happen. My two fellow
judges and I set off at
7.30a.m. on the Fair Morn
and, even after all theses
years, I feel a certain
tingle of excitement. We
each have our clipboards and
several sheets of marking
paper with four headings,
each worth a possible ten
marks. The headings are:
General Appearance; 2.
Colour, 3. Workmanship; 4.
Originality; and a total of
a possible 40 marks. It is
wise not to mark too highly
or you will end up with many
arches with the same total
of marks. A good idea is to
write short comments about
each arch, as this will
refresh your memory later
on. After looking at 30 or
40 arches, your mind can
become a trifle confused.
We have three prizes for
small arches. Then we have
six special prizes we can
award. Often, there are
only two large arches and so
we just return the third
large arch prize.
Technically, a large arch
should be one under which a
vehicle could be driven, but
the way some modern schemes
are laid out this is not
always possible. We used to
have about 40 arches to
judge, but nowadays it is
usually around 30. This is
because more people are
going in for Decorated
Frontages. Some people
enter and arch and a
frontage. I think this is
to cause confusion between
Jim Aitken and his judges
and us. When we reach the
end of our route, we have to
settle down and compare
marks and decide on prize
winners. This can cause
some differences of
opinion. Very often we are
in complete agreement about
first prizes and sometimes
on the second, but the third
prize and the special prizes
can be difficult decisions.
Having picked our winners,
we then have to go back and
attach the prize cards and
deliver the prize money.
All this takes a good few
hours. I haven't managed to
see the Crowning at the Town
Hall for many years.
Many will still remember the
old style arches made of
strips of wood, lovingly
covered with boxwood
greenery. Unfortunately, I
understand, boxwood is very
slow growing and is now very
scarce. however, ever
adaptable, the arch builders
were quick to see the
advantages of ferns and
paper flowers. This style
was popular for some time,
and then stone patterned
wallpaper was used
extensively. This saved a
lot of hard work with
paintbrush. I would like to
point out that the judges
don't just look at the front
of the arch, but also give
close examination to the
back. Take note! We
ourselves are conscious that
we are under close scrutiny
from behind the twitching
curtains. Contrary to
popular opinion, we are not
offered liquid refreshments.
When talking of arches, one
immediately thinks of the
late Bobby Heath, who
created many beautiful
arches in his own inimitable
style. Bobby was a
craftsman and a painter. A
true artist in every way.
Nowadays, when walking round
the arches on the Fair E'en,
one soon becomes aware of
the number of lights used
for decorative effect;
especially effective when
darkness falls. Not only
lights, but with appropriate
musical accompaniment.
Truly, the ingenuity of the
Bo'ness arch builders must
be seen and heard to be
fully appreciated. What an
atmosphere there is in the
town on the night before the
Fair.
If you meet a Bo'nessian who
now lives in England or even
abroad, and you talk about
the old town and its people,
as you inevitably will, you
will see a puzzled look come
on their faces when you
mention Braefoot Brae,
Pennelton Place, Greentree
Lane, Chestnut Grove,
Sandpiper Walk, or any other
new streets. It is at such
moments that you realise how
the town has grown. We are
all familiar with the Town,
Carriden, Kinneil,
Grangepans, and even
Maidenpark and Grahamsdyke,
but in the last 10 to 15
years a great deal of
building has spread our
boundaries to the south.
This growth of the town
means we have to travel many
miles before we complete our
task. In places like the
Mingle and Dawson Place, it
si difficult for arches to
be seen to the best
advantage. Many lovely
arches are tucked away in
quiet corners where people
won't see them, which is a
shame. The house numberings
in Liddle Drive and
Pennelton Place is a
nightmare for the judges.
This is why I find it
important to spot the
entrants the night before
the competition. If it is a
Kinneil Queen, the majority
of arches are in Maidenpark
or Deanfield, and if it is a
Grange Queen most of them
are in Grangepans or
Grahamsdyke, with a few
others scattered round the
town. This understandable,
but from the point of view
of the public it would be
better if there was more
even distribution, such as
happens when it's a St.
Mary's Queen. On the other
hand, when there is a
concentration of decoration
in one area, it makes a
wonderful sight. All those
arches and frontages and the
rows of little bunting
flags, bearing a remarkable
resemblance to shirt
material, are quite
breathtaking.
One Fair Day we were vainly
searching for an arch in the
Deanburn Walk area and were
on the point of giving up
when a lady in nightie and
dressing gown and waiving
her arms, shouted "It's over
here". True enough, we found
a lovely arch, beautifully
constructed and decorated.
We might have missed it.
How many others did? On
another occasion, my route
plan failed me. We motored
down Gauze Road on our way
to Hadrian Way and then on
to Harbour Road. I had it
all worked out. We turned
right along Academy Road and
found ourselves surrounded
by a huge brass band from
Moosejaw Saskatchewan. We
had to abandon ship and walk
along to Hadrian Way and
come back for the car
later. The most worrying
moment occurred many years
ago. We had made our
decisions and were going
back to deliver the prize
money, when I couldn't find
one of the prize envelopes
containing £12. We searched
the car but it was gone . I
must have dropped it getting
out of the car to inspect
some arch. Thank goodness
there are still honest
people in the world. That
afternoon I got a phone call
from the Police Station to
tell me that a lady visitor
from Canada had found the
envelope in the gutter and
handed it in.
Let me correct one
misapprehension. The
Queen's Arch does not always
win first prize. Very often
it does, but not always.
Bo'ness arch builders have
always maintained a very
high standard of workmanship
and creativity. The
ingenuity, the delicacy of
colour, and the decorative
features employed, continue
to delight the eye. The
Great arch makers of the
past would not be ashamed of
their modern counterparts.
What of the future? Bo'ness,
it is predicted, will
tourist centre with much to
offer the visitor - The
Steam Railway Preservation
Society, the Museum of
Communications, the Heritage
Trust, and the wonderful
views across the Forth. New
housing will bring new
residents with new ideas to
contribute to our Festal
day. I am sure we can look
to the future with a happy
heart and a great deal of
confidence.
S.G. POLLOCK
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