Tag Archives: Hogmanay

Easdale’s Ne’erday celebrations – see even more

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Donald Melville Is this what happens when Easdale Island wins two ForArgyll Awards? They go mad. A load of people from the mainland get there fast. There’s a panto – audience of 110. Women take to the waves. The menfolk stick to dry land and Easdale plays… ah… Easdale at footie. And by the way, the winner, by 2-0, was… Easdale.

And there’s a DIY ceilidh. What happens at a DIY ceilidh? Well, just that. Everybody gets up and tells stories, sings songs, recites poems (some specially composed for the day – you can imagine!) and piping and dancing. Why would you want to be anywhere but Easdale for Ne’erday?

Sheena, Sandra and Ellie after Easdale Hogmanay Swim. Photo Donald MelvilleFor Argyll can’t really take the credit for this. It was a couple of hours after the island’s annual Ne’erday fun and games before they knew how well they’d done in the ForArgyll Awards. Now you see why.

Look at the light hearts in these photographs by Donald Melville (who bears a lot of responsibility for the antics). Look at the obvious sense of community. Look at the fun. This is Argyll and this is uniquely Easdale.

The top photo is most of the audience at the panto, made possible by Donald stitching two photos together. The lower photo shows Sheena, Sandra and Ellie, just out of the water – which really was freezing cold. But the photo below shows that this Ne’erday dip was serious. Sandra Melville isn’t just there for a quick splash. She’s in deep and enjoying it. Top that.

Easdale - Sandra in waves

And here’s the band at the DIY Ceilidh.

Donald Melville

And let’s not forget the Panto – Ali’s Magic ‘Barra’ – and the first place the magic barra takes them to is – Las Vegas – well, it’s all about suspension of disbelief and that’s no problem on Easdale. Below we see the consequences when ‘KIrsty’ comes back from the desert palace of varieties – pregnant. Her Mum (Donald Melville in the whiter wig) is about to get the news.

Easdale Panto - Kirsty returns pregnant

And all in one Ne’erday on Easdale. Never say never again. It’s all happening there.

Hot Pipes in Oban…

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Copyright Dee RudigerHogmanay, Oban… A relatively peaceful slide into the New Year?

One couldn’t be more wrong. Once again the Obanites and visitors from further afield gathered in their masses to celebrate the dawning of 2009 – a year that promises to be an interesting and challenging one. The Tesco’s Car park was the staging area for the event and although it was relatively full, the main throng gathered around the centre stage where Skerryvore were strutting their stuff. The highlight of this was an exclusive performance of ‘Caledonia’ which had everyone singing along, patriotically waving their hands in the air. Oban Hogmanay 2008-2009 Fireworks Photo Copyright Dee RudigerThey were followed by the highly entertaining ‘Red Hot Chilli Pipers’ who counted us all in to the Bells.

The fireworks were tremendous, as usual but they failed to keep everyone’s attention for too long, as the RHCP continued their antics on Stage. Even the fog horns of the great ships in the bay couldn’t pierce the din.

All in all, it was a fantastic evening with plenty of refreshments and well-organised facilities, including the bars being well dispersed so that the queues were dealt with quickly. Everyone could enjoy themselves with a minimum amount of fuss.

The only point that seemed to be the general consensus is that the tickets were very overpriced – a big leap from the free event last year. Of course this was all forgotten on the night, and fun was had by all.

Congratulations to all the organisers for a brilliant event. (Reporter and photographer: Dee Rudiger)

Photographs: Copyright: Dee Rudiger.

Oban’s Homecoming Hogmanay rockfest. Fantastic gig. Wrong venue.

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Yes, it’ll be the start of the Year of Homecoming and Oban plans to get it moving big time with an estimated audience of 8,000 for a genuinely exciting Hogmanay gig.

The headline act is the Red Hot Chilli Pipers who chose Oban in preference to requests from Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Stirling and Perth. Hard to think of a hotter band to rock Argyll into 2009.

Then there will be last year’s headliners, Tiree’s Skerryvore, this time with the addition of the brass section featured in their new CD, On the Road.

And one of the top bands on the Scottish rock circuit in the 1980s, local band, The Works, is reforming exclusively for the night, contributing a mix of energy and nostalgia.

The Gaelic culture will have a strong part to play with the Oban Homecoming Gaelic Choir and the Oban High School Pipe Band, taught by former world champion piper, Angus McColl.

Literally topping it all off will be a massive fireworks display fired on the stroke of midnight from McCaig’s Tower by Oban Fireworks Team. From this crown of Oban, the fireworks will light up the sky in celebration of the incoming Homecoming year. The boats in the harbour hoot their horns and the entire experience can be quite magical.

The big downside to the galvanic programme is the location. It’s held in a cordoned off arena in the local Tesco supermarket car park at the back of the town. This is an uninspiring location which is blindsided to the town, McCaig’s Tower and the Bay. Unless there’s a good wind blowing in the right direction, the boats in the harbour can hoot all they like and only the people on the Prom and not at the party will hear them.

This event needs to be on the streets, embraced by this soaring, wraparound town, in sight of the Bay with its sheltering island of Kerrera on the far side – imagine an answering fireworks display from there? Why not use the car parks and streets around the Corran Hall, the Esplanade and the North Pier where there would be a great view of McCaig’s Tower, the town and the Bay? Tesco Car Park just doesn’t cut it.

It will still be a good night but it’s not going to be the memory of a lifetime – which it could have been. As an event, it’s not setting the benchmark for ambition which Argyll needs – and it could have done.

Event Director & local Councillor Neil Mackay says: ‘Last year’s inaugural Oban Hogmanay was an amazing success and Oban are again delighted to be joined by such wonderful acts at this year’s event. As the event will launch the Argyll & Bute Year of Homecoming Scotland 2009, we invite Scots & ex-pats from all over the UK and the world to come home to Oban to join in the Hogmanay celebrations’.

The Oban Hogmanay Homecoming Street Party is a fully licensed event, catering for families with a food area where visitors can try some local delicacies and a small family fun fair. Tickets are £11.50 for adults; £6.50 for children from 5 -12 years-old; and under-5s go free. Go to the website for all information and tickets.