GIG Seasonal Entertainment Dec 2017

Having had an offer to come and entertain us at our christmas meeting we awaited Jean and Alistair with baited breath! Previous talks by Jean had proved to be very entertaining so we were expecting a good night.
Some came dressed up for the occasion, others didn't.

Jean began by "mixing" a Christmas cake ....

making sure to test the vital ingredient

on several occasions...

Words began to get confused, slurred and generally confused by the end of just a few minutes!!
(Luckily the amber liquid was only cold tea!!)
Christmas stories and a quiz filled the remainder of the time and Alistair accompanied all Jeans' deliveries with the relevant music!

After a break for a delicious supper (provided by members) prizes were awarded for the quiz.

The winners were the "festive" flashers ...

... but we are hoping everyone enjoyed the evening.

On a more serious note thankyou to everyone who brought - or made in many instances - owl-related items to donate to D&G Blood Bikes.
A stunning collection of items that will hopefully raise money to support their vital work in the region.

A wonderful evening.

AGM 6th Sept 2017

Our first meeting of the GIG year was our AGM and Trophy night. Memberships were renewed, enabling members to vote in the various categories - for which there were a good number of entries.
However business came first.
Our Chairperson gave her report of the years activities - the various speakers, trips and competitions offered to members. Hearing details of our activities showed just how busy we had been during the year!
Our Treasurer then presented the Financial Report for the group. Details of income and expenditure were given showing the group as financially sound.
The re-election of the Secretary and Committee Members followed, along with general club business before the AGM closed.
Voting then commenced for the various categories. All members vote to decide the winners and the standard of the entries this year looked as if that was going to be a difficult task. Votes were counted while everyone enjoyed the delicious supper members had brought to the evenings proceedings.
The Tom Straiton memorial Trophy is awarded for a floral display. Only two entries this year but both looked very colourful.

... and the winner was .... Glenys.

The Gretna GIG Craft Trophy drew in a record number of entries this year - all of a very high standard.

.. and the winner here was ... Susan.

with her cushion.

Our other three categories are all photography based. The Annantown Garage Trophy is awarded for a bird photograph. Again, some wonderful exhibits.

... and the winner was ... Dennis.

with his photo of swans.

The Memet Cup is awarded for a wildlife photograph. Yet again a good level of entries.

...and the winner was ... Val.

Our final category was the Hodgson Cup, awarded for a landscape photograph. Some stunning views in this category.

...and the winner was ... Val.

The count was very close in all categories - down to one vote in some cases! Thankyou to all those who entered and well done to all our winners.

Everyone went home after a very enjoyable evening - looking forward to another exciting GIG year.

Trip to Hawick 14th Aug 2017

A trip to Johnstons Mill at Hawick was our destination today. We met up with two of our members who live in Hawick in the car park and after posing for a group photo we were off.

After a warm welcome we enjoyed the excellent facilities of the coffee shop until our tour time arrived when we were split into three groups to go around the mill. Before setting off we were warned that as it was a working mill - and working on some exclusive items - we were not allowed to touch anything or take photos!! Intriguing!

(This also explains why there will be no photos from inside the mill!!)

The tour itself took us around the whole mill starting with the area where the wool is stored. There was every colour you could imagine on the shelves there. We then moved on to see the machines that do the knitting - some of them still knit the items in sections that are then joined together but modern technology means that some machines now knit the whole item with no joins! There are obviously many of these machines in the mill and the noise is quite loud! It is also very hot in the mill which explains why people were only wearing shorts and T-shirts!

We were able to talk to some of the workers as we passed by their stations and they were very willing to explain what they were doing. The attention to detail in the mill is quite amazing - articles are checked and rechecked frequently during their manufacture.This is also where we found that the mill was working that day on items for Chanel! One lady told us that she was stitching Chanel logos onto articles by hand. The logos have to be positioned exactly the same for every item and the stitches have to be uniform too. Each logo takes her half an hour to sew on! No wonder that Chanel items are so expensive.

A visit to the shop let us see the range of Cashmere articles produced by Johnstons and although they may seem expensive we now know the care and attention to detail that goes into every item - and perhaps the prices are more understandable. A very interesting, comprehensive tour of the mill enjoyed by all.

We returned to the coffee shop where a delicious lunch was awaiting us.We can highly recommend both the coffee shop and the tour of the mill!

Part two of the day then took us to Scottish Borders Art Glass, also in Hawick. Despite having previously arranged our visit with the owner he had forgotten to write our visit in the diary and when we arrived his son was rather surprised! Wish I had a photo of the look on his face!

However he soon set to and stoked up the ovens offering to make some glass items. Only a few minutes passed before he was ready to begin and he then took us through the various stages involved. A very talented man who made it all look very simple! He made two birds and a ring holder in just a few minutes, telling us that no two ever come out the same.

A look around the shop showed the huge variety of items that are made in the small unit they occupy.Some of their items are also stocked in shops around the area (eg Tourist information at Gretna!)

Several items of glass came home with us on the bus and other people expressed a desire to return another day. 

The unit is open to the public and is another highly recommended place to visit.

Trip to Rose Castle Mon 26th June 2017

Having filled two minibuses with people wanting to look around Rose Castle and its garden, we set off on a beautiful sunny day with none of the strong wind that we have been used to over the last few weeks.
Calling in at Dobbies Garden Centre allowed everyone the chance to take on some refreshments before moving on.

We set off for Rose Castle, travelling through some lovely countryside for the few miles to Dalston.

 The driveway as we approached, passed through a very stately gatehouse.

First impressions of the castle itself were very positive too ...

We were greeted by Owen May who then introduced us to Canon David Weston - who is apparently "the" expert on Rose Castle. David explained that he was going to take us around the outside of the castle before then going inside.

As we walked around David gave us details of the history of each part of the building ...

The castle was a defensive building, and a halting place of Edward I in the 14th century, in his progress against Scotland. It was later burned and dismantled, until renovation and extension projects began. It was altered and added to in different styles and became the site of the home of the Bishop's of Carlisle.

Canon David Weston worked for one of the said bishops as domestic chaplain at Rose Castle, and as residentiary canon and canon librarian of Carlisle Cathedral. His knowledge about Rose Castle developed over these years and we reaped the benefits as David shared his knowledge with us.

As we walked around we saw glimpses of the garden - about which we had heard at a talk at our monthly meetings in Gretna.

And then it was time to go indoors...

David showed us a model, he had made, of what the original buildings looked like.

The inside of the castle is as impressive as the outside ... we began in the library

Then up the stairs ...

to the Chapel ...

and the drawing room, with its hand-painted wallpaper!

Returning downstairs we were greeted by Owen May who is project manager for the Rose Castle Foundation. A benefactor recently bought the castle and donated it to the foundation for use as an international centre of peace and reconciliation.  Renovations and refurbishment plans are in hand so that eventually events will be held with participants staying in the castle.
We were then offered a delicious afternoon tea - with a variety of sandwiches and home-made cakes and scones (very ably baked by Georgia herself). The scones were finished with fresh strawberries direct from the garden.
We were given the freedom to sit anywhere inside or outside the castle to enjoy our tea.
With a short time left, we took the chance to look around the garden - as beautiful as the rest of the estate.

All in all a wonderful afternoon in a wonderful place. History, gardens, good company and a delicious afternoon tea in one complete package!

We hope everyone enjoyed their trip.