News
stay in touch...
...by following GalGael on our blog for 2010. This is where you'll find all the chit chat of what we've been up to down in Fairley Street and up in the farmhouse at Loch Awe. If you want to receive an email to let you know when new stories go up then email Tam at with Blog in the subject line.
GalGael on the telly!
Last night, if you were tuned into BBC2 Scotland then you'd have seen our faces come up on the screen!
If you missed it, or you weren't viewing in Scotland... you can catch it online at the BBC's L.A.B. pages and click on Govan!
This was Helen's debut performance, but it gives a good idea of what goes on in the workshop and the worth of our work beyond the numbers!
What's more, our participants were involved in camera, sound recording and editing! Well done to everyone involved!
Keep it coming
GalGael Blog
For latest Galgael news please check out our Urban Clansman blog at this link;
http://galgael2009.blogspot.com/
For updates on our Navigate Life training course see link;
http://galgaeltraining.blogspot.com/
Orcuan at the Crinan Canal Festival - 3rd to 6th July
Orcuan, our Highland Galley has been back on the water for a few weeks now after extensive love and attention to get her sea worthy for the summer months. She is at present on the Crinan Canal having attended the festival on the 3rd - 6th July. The crew arrived in Argyll on the Thursday and shacked up at Barmaddy for the evening apart from the vigilant Mr Bogle who camped at the canal to keep an eye on the boat and equipment. The lads hadn't been sailing on Orcuan for quite a while so decided to skip the sailing on the Friday as the weather was rather blustery and enjoyed spectating the yacht races instead.
The weather was still not that great on the Saturday but the crew decided to get the boat out of the basin and into the loch . They managed to get in some sailing and also do a bit of rowing though they ended up sailing backwards when they attempted a tricky tacking manoeuvre. They managed however, to get back on track soon enough for the evening ceilidh.
We will keep you posted on her progress when she heads for Mull and Iona.
Thanks to Alec Howie, Mike Dalgliesh and Ross Ryan for all their help and support.
Glasgow River Festival 2008
The run up to the Glasgow Fair saw a flurry of activity for us in the workshop; as it was all hands on deck as preparations were in full swing for the River Festival.
The GalGael area had the usual mix of traditional craft demonstrations. Wood carving proved popular as ever with many folk picking up a chisel to help carve a Pictish panel. New this year was the Pottery stall with hundreds of kids stopping by to paint motifs and tiles. Another new development for us was the small product range designed and made entirely by GalGael volunteers.
Popular as ever were the weaving and spinning demonstrations, Scots stories that brought Scottish history to life and demonstrated the wearing of the plaid, silversmithing and stained glass demonstrations, ropework and boat building. The pole lathe was as popular as ever too, with dozens of people having a go a 'turning' the woodland way.
We were joined this year by Sparr, a partnership theatre project joining the ship building legacies of Govan and the Western Isles. All this activity was comfortably covered by our Clyde Waterfront marquee and the interpretive exhibition explaining regeneration happening on Glasgow's much loved River had pride of place in the centre of the marquee. GalGael manage hires of the marquee to communities up and down the River. More information on hiring the marquee can be found on the Clyde Waterfront Regeneration website.
Setting the tone and getting our hearts beating faster were Albannach, pipes and drums as you've never heard them before! The crowds were later thrilled by a repeat performance from Elvis Prestwick and the Midges who brought their prize-winning Rock Around The Croft performance to Millennium Square.
GalGael's River Fest Raffle is becoming something of an annual feature and this year was no exception with a stunning coffee table hand crafted by Allan Walker with inlayed Celtic knotwork. This years winning ticket was pink no. 8 (McCurry, Queens Park Glasgow) with two runners up winning a t-shirt (pink 213 & green 95). Many thanks to all those who bought a raffle ticket. Proceeds help to support our work and this year they'll be especially focused on our Voyaging activities with plans to take Orcuan around Mull.
Many thanks also to all those who slugged their guts out to make the GalGael stall a special event. We'll add some pictures very soon....