REFLECTIONS ON GALA DAY 2010

Its comin' up for twa o'clock, the sun is blazin doon

it's Abernethy Gala Day on Saturday the fifth of June

The Gala Princess soon appears wi' her attendants twa'

she's greeted by a round of cheers and she is lookin' braw

Nae open float as in years past, we're Health and Safety mad

but as a handy substitute a Bentley's no sae bad

Ahent, the Fancy Dress parade led by the Comrie Pipe Band

display their varied costumes and they are lookin' grand.

Bob Macdonald makes a speech tae start proceedings off

He even sports a golden tie and looks like quite a toff

'cos efter a' its fifty years since Gala number one

and this is Golden Gala Day beneath a golden sun

Now Bob suggested in his speech, as far as he could mind,

the weather when he ran the show was never very kind

a comment he could well regret when later on that day

the weather clerk would pull a trick to really make him pay.

Things were going really well, trade at the stalls was brisk

the clouds appearing overhead didn't seem to pose a risk

events within the ring to entertain the throng,

were running as per programme. Whatever could go wrong?

And then to our dismay some raindrops were discerned,

its just a passing shower, no need to be concerned.

But oh! how wrong we were, the shower didn’t pass

and as we ran for shelter it was stoatin' aff the grass

So after all the planning for our Golden Gala Day,

thanks to our fickle weather it ended in disarray

Mother Nature did relent and the evening turned out fair

as villagers all gathered for the hog roast in the square.

The band were great, they even played the Grand Old Duke of York,

the kids they danced, the adults drank and gorged themselves with pork,

so all in all despite the rain the Gala was a hit,

I guess the only loser was the poor pig on the spit!

Bob Macdonald