Red Letter Day

Today's the day the kids got their turn to star. The Beltane Queen and her court were chosen a few weeks ago and since then, there has been a lot of training and practising going on - all for the big day today when the Queen is crowned. Tradition based on many years takes centre stage and it is with great dignity and pomp that the ceremony takes place. Those who are not in the main entourage dress up as characters in traditional groups that have generally been part of the Saturday proceedings for many years. It is not uncommon to hear visiting ex-pats ask of each other "What were you in the Beltane?", So Andrew, I ask, "What were you?"

There are sailors and soldiers, penguins, children of other lands, flower girls, characters from Toyland, and so many others.

While the court stands at the top of the church steps, and the Queen receives her crown, all these other children have to stand on the lower steps and try not to look tired and fidgety - a tall order since the whole spectacle does go on a bit. Finally the deed done the Queen and her courtiers descend the steps and are helped into horsedrawn landaus , while the rest of the children troop off the steps in an orderly fashion to find their floats for the parade that will follow.

Pretty much everyone turns out to line the High Street for the big parade where parents, uncles and aunties, grandparents and the cousins can wave and shout Hur-ray! to their family member, throwing them a few sweets/candies/lollies as is also traditional.

After parading along the High Street and back, the lorries and landaus take a fixed route round the streets of the town, by which time the children are definitely tired and fed up! All the sweeties are gone and no-one to throw any more in the outlying parts of town. However, once they return to Tweed Green and the festival is all but over, they soon revitalise with the thought of an afternoon at the Shows, which is what we call the Fairground that has set up in a local park on the south of the river!

At night, the last event of the week was the Beating Retreat, an extravaganza of pipe bands from various towns, in Scotland and often further away. Then it is over! The bands disperse. The Shows move on, and tonight the bunting, flags and pennants will be taken down. Tomorrow it will seem like it never happened.