Red Nose Day on the Clyde

(Yes, you see right. Helen rowing a boat)

Comic Relief Day on Friday 13th, saw Orcuan doing her bit for charity in the basin at Pacific Quay. Seven teams from various local agencies and organisations donned costumes and red noses to row against the clock to raise funds for a good cause. We will keep youposted as to how much we raised soon. Winners on the day were Glasgow Council Dev.& Regen. Services but every one seemed to enjoy the occasion. It was certainly something we would consider building upon and it was great to see people using the Clyde. We would like to thank all the teams who turned out to support the event;

(pic by BBC)

Cardonald College

BBC Scotland

Glasgow SW Regen. Agency

Big Lottery

Job Centre Plus

Glasgow Dev. & Regen. Sevices

& The GalGael Trainees,Thanks also to- All our volunteers and trainees who helped out. Sunny Govan Radio, Seaforce,ScotEnt, Glasgow City Council, The Harbour Master and Loch Lomond Seaplanes and the Science Centre.

BBC link;

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7942542.stm

The Lepers Bell

Norman Maclean recounted some of his early life in Glasgow when he was transplanted in Ibrox from the heart of Gaeldom. The reading from his new autobiography "the Lepers Bell, Reflections of a changling" gave a snippet of a fascinating life with many highs and lows, giving us an insight into one of Scotlands living national treasures. the reading was fimed for a forthcoming TV documentary which will be shown to co-incide with the release of his book in autumn.

John Muir Trust Article.

Use the link below to read Alastair Macintosh's article in the latest John Muir Trust Journal featuring Galgael.
http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/articles/2009-John-Muir-Journ-Wildness.pdf

Late Feb. Update

Just to remind you. Norman Maclean will be giving readings from his new autobiography this Thursday at the GalGael workshop (more info on post below). We hope to have some live music as well as food, so all are welcome to attend.






On the Afternoon of March 6th we will be once again welcoming Luke Concannon from the chart toping band Nizlopi (remember the "JCB song "?) with his friends from "The Manjinga 7" - who will be helping Luke to do a song writing workshop with our trainees and volunteers then giving us a performance later in the afternoon. Food- as always, will be available. Performance will be just after 3pm in the workshop.






Thursday evening taster sessions are gathering momentum. In the workshop we had work being done on a rowing boat and some Medieval weaponry being made in the metalwork area. We hope to build up a small stock of this for re-enactment events etc. The front shop was heaving with activity. Anneruth was tenderly showing a young child (wee Thomas)and his mother (Samantha) the wonders of woolcraft while six feet away the girls were practicing bodhran with young Josh playing AC/DC riffs on the guitar. Three feet in the other direction, Alan was giving boxing lessons. It was a bit mental but it's early days yet. (Anneruth has a viscious left hook by the way)

If you are interested in coming along on a Thursday evening, please contact us.

Alan and Keith trading punches.































Josh, Laryna and Alison at the guitar and bodhran session.





Condolences to the family and friends of Jim mcCulloch who past away a few days ago. Jim loved sailing and was making great progress in gaining his certificates and qualifications. He also supported GalGael by doing various electrical jobs in the workshop.

Wood for our new boat arrives in Govan

The first delivery of larch trees to be used for the construction of our new boat has arrived and we are expecting a similar amount to be dropped off tomorrow. The Scottish Environment Minister Mike Russell, offered to help us out last year and put us in contact with the Forestry Commission in Appin who duly offered their support, so thanks again folks.

It only took about ten minutes for the hi-ab to lift the huge larch logs off the truck and stack them up. We still have a bit of work to do before we start on the construction but it shouldn't be too long before we are milling the logs. Well done to all who helped clear the space to allow the delivery. We will keep you posted with progress.

Thursday Evenings

Our premesis on Fairley St. is now open on Thursday evenings and we are offering people from the local community, our friends and participants an opprtunity to try out various activities and crafts. The first two weeks have gone well and things are starting to take shape. Taster sessions on offer so far are pottery, guitar wool craft and art and we will be expanding on this soon. If you fancy getting involved then get in touch. 0141 427 3070

Norman MacLean at GalGael

Our good friend, comedian, piper and all round Gaelic entertainer, Norman MacLean will be giving a reading from his recently completed autobiography at the GalGael workshop next week. I had a sneak preview and I won't give too much away but Norman is one of Scotland's most colourful characters and a bit of a legend in Gaeldom, so it's well worth a read. The event will also be filmed for a forthcoming TV documentary about his life and times. The event is on 26th Feb. Doors open at 5.30pm at 15 Fairley St, Ibrox. Tel. 0141 427 3070.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQBBWgDI4QY&feature=channel_page