Bo'ness Fair Day Memories

I WAS born in East Castleoan, Bo’ness in February 1950 amongst the close knit community of hard working miners, their

IN April 1938 my family came to Grangepans from Dalkeith as my late father Jimmy Forrest had arranged to take

ON being asked to write this article for the Fair Programme. I found myself reflecting on and over a period

FROM the industrial town of my childhood and of the earlier Fairs, to the town where ” Tourism, Heritage and

LORD EWING got it right – Bo’ness is its people and its people are Bo’ness, and our Children’s Fair Festival

MY INTRODUCTION to Bo’ness Children’s Fair Festival was in the Old Kirk vestr. The late John Gilfillan, a real minister’s

READERS will have heard many times all the old stories told about the Bo’ness Fair, the most common one being

HOW MANY times have you heard it said that if you are not Bo’ness born and bred, no matter how

IN common with many other towns in Scotland who celebrate an annual festival or community event, such as Lanark with

SINCE my school days I have always been involved with the Fair – from being a pupil and carrying the

What more can be be said regarding our Fair weather over the last few years. Where has Lady Luck been?

” IF YER no’ a Granger, yer a stranger” or so the saying goes, I have to admit to being

HOW unfortunate with the weather we have been this past year or two and how disheartening it must have been

IN 1960, or thereabouts, I used to visit all local primary schools in Bo’ness in my capacity as an itinerant

THE Band is now assembled into ranks of four abreast the road, just in front of Craigmaillen Church on Braehead.

As most Bo’nessians will know, the town was once Scotland’s second port ( and reported as such by the 17th

THE crowd of ‘20.000’ packed the Glebe Park for the crowning ceremony and suddenly I was the focus of attention.

FOR weeks now our news from home had been full of Bo’ness Fair. We were on first name terms with