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This section gives details of selected events taking place in and around the Central Belt of Scotland this fortrtight. Events are listed by area and then alphabetically. All submissions should be accompanied by a contact phone number for our information. Days Out compiled by Thom Dibdin.
BORDERS
I KELSO HORSE SALES Sat 25. l0am—2.30pm. Springwood Park. Kelso. Details from 031 443 4444. Free. car park £l. catalogue £l. If it‘s a bargain on the horse front that your wanting. then trot on down to Kelso this morning for the horse sale. The 550 lots of tack and saddlery which had been entered for the sale as we went to press will be on sale from 9.30am. Horses and ponies hit the sales ring at noon and the horse boxes and trailers from 2pm. Ifyou don‘t get what you bid for. there are always various trade stands around selling everything from hacking jackets to odd bits of tack.
I YETHOLM BORDERS SHEPHERD’S SHOW Sat 2. 8am—5.30pm. The Haugh. Yetholm. near Kelso. (Take the first left on the way into the village from Edinburgh). £l. (kids 20p). car park 50p. Traditional Borders show. with the sheepdog trials starting at 8am and continuing all day. All sorts of prizes. from Cheviot sheep via terriers to large horticultural and industrial sections as well as the ‘Scottish Champion of Champions‘ walking-stick competition. Various open foot races including the Brae House Hill Race at 3pm. All-day catering with the beer tent licensed llam—l lpm and a disco in the marquee after the show.
I FRIENDS OF THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE Sat 25/Sun 26. l0am—6pm. Strathspey
Steam Railway (Aviemore — Boat of Garten). £3.80 (£1.90). platform tickets £l. Details from 0479 810725. See photo
capnon.
‘ DUMFRIES & OALLOWAY
I ESKDALE AGRICULTURE SHOW Sat 25. 9.30am—5pm. The Castleholm. Langholm. £2 (50p) (£1 after 2pm). car park £1. The l45th annual Open Show features all you’d expect at a country agricultural event. There are livestock competitions. with everything from Jacobs sheep to cattle and horses by way of Wyandotte bantams. Also walking sticks. handycrafts and home baking. The Parade of Champions is in the Main Ring at 2pm. followed by the South of Scotland Sheaf Tossing Championship at 3pm. Besides the excitement of all the usual stalls. Royalty watchers might catch a glimpse of Princess Alexandra who is visiting during the day.
LOTHIANS 8r FIFE
I ADVENTURE TALKS Mon 27. 7.30pm. Queen Margaret College. Corstorphine. £4 (from Tisos). and Fri l. 7.30pm. The Queen‘s Hall. Clerk Street. £5/£4 (from
031 668 2019). They go north. they go south. and they endure extreme ; temperatures. all for the chance to relate
their tales to you. John Dunn led the first expedition to complete a traverse of Ellesmere Island. the most northerly in
I EllliOSllliF 93 Thurso. Sat 2—Sat 9. Various venues in Turso.
CAMERA VISIONS
Contact Thurso
tourist office on 0847 62371 for accommodation information and daily event details. lley it’s hardly a day out, but what the hell, the surfing in Thurso is famous! Those swells come rolling in, clear from Greenland, are pushed straight up onto the continental shelt, squeezed in the Pentland Firth and come thundering in at Caithness as the picture shows. Bondii beach it may not be, but a local offshore wind normally makes for good clean surf without having to wade through hypodermics and beach-bums - just the odd plutonium fragment from llounreay. From the spectators point of view there are good high vantage points at all of the four designated surfing beaches to see the fifteen teams compete and a good programme of evening entertainments at venues around
‘ CENTRAL & TAYSIDE i
Canada. He will be giving an audio-visual presentation with slides. describing the spectacular landscape. hardy flora and fauna and lnuit pre-history of the island at Queen Margaret College on Mon 17. Dr
1 Mike Stroud was one of the nutters who
trekked a mere 1350 miles across
Antarctica. unaided by animals or
machines. last February. Talk about testing the limits of endurance! Well. he will be. at The Queen‘s Hall on Fri 1.
5 I cum AND ossrcv Fillli 3m 25.
l0am—4.30pm. St Stephen’s Church. St
j Stephen Street. Edinburgh. 60p (30p). 1 Over 55 exhibitors are promised for this
event organised by Northern Craft Fairs. Everything from silk scarves to leather
and knitwear with all sorts of
contemporary craft and design work in between.
I SCOTTISH DEER CENTRE Daily. 10am—5pm (until the end of October). On
the A9l. three miles west of Cupar. Tel
033 781 391. £3.75 (cones: £2.75. kids: £2.25). The deer are getting agitated and
more than a little noisy as the rutting
season approaches. If you can‘t make it
out to Ardgarten for the deer rut safaris
(see Strathclyde). then a day at the deer centre might ease your voyeuristic
tendencies. Daily displays of falconry. with falcons. hawks. owls and eagles. ranger-led tours of the show paddocks. a
30ft-high aerial walkway and ‘Adventureland’ — a massive adventure playground — should grab the kiddies‘ attention while you get into that tea-shop to sample local fare or taste Scottish Country wines and liqueurs in St Aggies Winery.
Sun 26. l lam—5pm. Grampian Transport Museum. Alford. 28 miles west of Aberdeen on the A944. Tel 09755 62292.
r Viewing from llam. bidding commences ' at lpm with accessories and small lots. Although there are classic and vintage
cars. commercial vehicles. tractors and
' barn engines being offered for sale. the
most interest is likely to be created by a i Japanese motorbike; a Honda 400 Four no less. in pristine ex-factory condition.
Besides the auction. there‘s the usual opportunity to sample the delights of the
: museum. complete with its Montier Dance
Organ.
f I EUROSURF 93 Thurso. Sat 2—Sat 9.
Various venues in Thurso. Contact Thurso 3 Tourist Office on 0847 62371 for
accommodation information and event
details closer to the time. See photo capnon.
STRATHCLYDE
I ADVENTURE TALK Wed 29. 7.30pm. Mitchell Theatre. Granville Street. Glasgow. £5 (£4) from 041 227 5053. Dr Mike Stroud talks about his epic journey across Antarctica last February.
I ANTIOUES SUPER FAIR Sat 25/Sun 26.
FRIENDS OF THOMAS TiiE TANK ENGINE Thomas himself won’t be there as he’ll have to be working his branch line with Annie and Clarabel. but his pals Cairngorm. Sulaer aid Diesel will be pulling trains over the weekend. There’s plenty of things for all the kiddies to get to to. from the engine shed to an activity playsheet. Extra rides and entertainments are also expected and stalls selling those Thomas The Tank Engine goodies. The railway is open daily until the end of September then Weds and Suns in October.
lOam—Spm. Hall 3. SECC. Glasgow. £l (£2 entry for preview on Sat: 8.30am—10am). Over 100 dealers are promised from all over Britain for this major antiques attraction. Hugh Scully lovers.
I BASTABLE’S AUTUMN FAIR Thurs 30—Sat 16 Oct (not Suns) 6.30-10pm (Sats: 2—l0pm). Hamilton Fairground. Strathclyde Country Park. (Junction 6 on the M74). Free car parking. Strathclyde Park: 0698 266 155. The Hamilton Fair goes back to I600 when it used to be a feeing fair. Now all that‘s left is this reasonable size funfair. Ten big rides with all the usual side stalls. candyfloss and new dodgerns. There's always loads to do at the country park. both on the loch and around the park itself. ()n Sat 26 there‘s a guided birdwatching walk (9.30am Watersports Centre) giving participants a chance to learn how to birdwatch without disturbance to the objects of their gaze. I CROSSFORD RAFT RACE Sun 26. noon—4pm. Crossford. Lanarkshire. Free. Three rafts will leave Hazelbank every three minutes on their way downstream to the Sandyholm Garden Centre. Judging of the rafts begins at noon. with prizes for the best and worst constructed. the best dressed. the funniest and the most original. The first of the expected 60 rafts leaves about lpm and the best vantage point is said to be the Crossford Bridge with its conveniantly local lnn. There are prizes for the fastest and slowest craft down the two-mile course in two catagories: a ‘perfect‘ raft with four crew members and your ‘free-style' contraption which can be whatever you like — so long as it floats. Raft entry costs £3 per crew member and is open right up to ll.30am on Sunday morning.
I DEER RUT SAFARIS Sat 2. Mon 4 and every Monday in October. 2pm. Ardgartan Forest Enterprise office. by Arrochar. Cowall. Limited places. phone 0369 84666 to book. £5. It‘s time for the deer to get busy again. and boy can they be heard for miles around! The Argyll forest ranger will take you by minibus into the hean of the deer's territory in search of those mating does and stags. lt all sounds dubiously voyeuristic.
I SCULPTURE AT THE SALTINOS Fri l/Sat 2. 10am—4pm. The Saltings. Erskine Ferry
' Road. Between the River Clyde and the
Forth and Clyde Canal. underneath the Erskine Bridge. Free. The Kilpatricks project are improving the link between the countryside and the town. Their work at the saltings includes realising its high ecological potential. Four sculptors have been invited to work with objects found at the site. including a brick Pill Box. a fallen beech tree and flotsam and jetsam. For these last two days of the sculptor‘s five day stint. the public are invited come and watch them work and possibly even take part.
I
The List 24 September—7 October I993 61