PAST EVENTS
Cruck Christmas: In December 2006, we held our first Cruck Christmas event. A large group of neighbours, and other friends of the Cruck gathered to enjoy mulled wine, roast chestnuts, mince pies and Willie Clow’s ‘tattie scones’ The cottage was decked with traditional Victorian decorations, and members of the local church choir led the carol singing. A great night was had by all.
Cruck Easter: On Easter Sunday, 2007, we were entertained by Lockerbie Pipe Band, and a spinning demonstration was given by Margaret Vaughan and friends from Dumfries and Galloway Spinners. We had an Easter egg competition for the kids, which was judged by our local Provost, Ken Cameron. Prizes were generously donated by Westsound Radio.
'Guid Nychburris' Float: On 16th June, we entered a decorated float in the 'Guid Nychburris' (Good Neighbours) gala parade in Dumfries. This was a shared entry with the Torthorwald 'Scarecrow Day' which is held in July each year. We constructed a mini Cruck Cottage on the float and the participants were dressed up in period costume. It was great fun, and we were rewarded with a prize for the best Community entry.
Doors Open Days 2007: Once again we took part in the annual Doors Open Days at the end of September, which is organised each year by Solway Heritage. This event gives the public the opportunity to visit many interesting buildings throughout Dumfries and Galloway free of charge. We again had Margaret Vaughan and friends from Dumfries and Galloway Spinners, who demonstrated both spinning and various types of weaving. We supplied refreshments, including, of course, ‘Wullies World Famous Tattie Scones’!
Book Launch: Nicola Morgan, a noted Edinburgh based author of childrens books, launched her latest book, ‘The Highwaymans Curse’ at the Cruck Cottage on 5th November, 2007. The story is set in Galloway in the 18th century, and parts take place in a cottage similar to the Cruck. The children from Moniaive School, Dumfries, re-enacted scenes from the book in and around the cottage, Nicola read excerpts from her book, and several other local schools came along. Both local and national media were there, and all in all it was a great experience for us.
Christmas Fayre: A Christmas Fayre, arranged jointly by the Cruck Cottage and Torthorwald School, was held in Torthorwald Hall on Saturday, 17th November 2007. There was tombola, cake and candy, lucky dip stalls, etc, and a Christmas Hamper raffle plus refreshments. Proceeds were split between the School and the Cruck, and we are grateful for the support we received.
Cruck Christmas: After the success of last year’s event, we held a similar event on Saturday, 8th December, 2007. Mulled wine, mince pies, and ‘Wullies World Famous Tattie Scones’ were again served, and members of Torthorwald Church choir led the carol singing. The event this year was mainly for the village folk, and was greatly enjoyed by all present.
2008 EVENTS
Cruck Easter:
The Cruck Easter event was held
on Easter Sunday again this year There was an Easter Bonnet
competition, as well as an Easter Egg competition for the kids.
Both attracted a good number of entries, and the standard was
high. We had the spinners and weavers along again who gave a
demonstration of their crafts, and Bill McIntosh and friend
entertained us with accordion and fiddle music. The peat fire was
lit, and Wullies tattie scones and other refreshments were
enjoyed.
Doors
Open Days:
The annual Doors Open Days, organised by Solway Heritage, took
place this year on Saturday 27th, and Sunday 28th September, 2008.
The theme this year was 'Water'. We had fishing fly tying
demonstrations courtesy of professionals Jimmy and Gloria Younger,
plus Gill from the spinners and weavers, and traditional music
from Bill McIntosh and Sam Henderson. A great weekend was had by
all.
Cruck Christmas Fayre: We held a Christmas Fayre again on Saturday, 22nd November, 2008 in Torthorwald Hall. This is the first time that we have organised this ourselves, without the help of Torthorwald School, but it was a tremendous success. The support we received from the local people particularly was fantastic. Once again the members and their various spouses put in a tremendous amount of work.
Cruck Christmas: Our annual Cruck Christmas night took place on Saturday, 13th December this year. Again this year it was mainly for the village folk, and other friends of the Cruck who have supported us so faithfully during the year. The ladies from the church choir entertained us again with Christmas carols. The peat fire was burning, and the guests enjoyed mulled wine, tattie scones and mince pies. Ian Warner brought his accordion along, and entertained us with a selection of tunes. A great night was had by all.
Cruck Easter 2009: The Cruck Easter event took place again this year on Easter Sunday, 12th April, from 10.00am to 4.00pm. Margaret Vaughan gave another excellent spinning demonstration, and Ian and David Warner entertained everyone on the accordion and ‘wee’ pipes. Both the Easter Egg and Easter Bonnet competitions attracted a number of entries, and the standard was, as always, amazing. We had the best day of the year so far weather wise, and that was an added bonus. The support from both locals and visitors to the area was very much appreciated.
Doors Open Days 2009: Once again we took part in the DoD’s, which is organised by Solway Heritage. We had another excellent weekend, with decent weather. All our old friends came along to entertain the visitors: Jimmy and Gloria Younger, Fly-Tyers; Ian and David Warner, Sam Henderson and Bill McIntosh musicians; and Margaret Vaughan and Gill Pettigrew, the Spinners and Weavers.
Cruck Christmas 2009: We held our Cruck Christmas open night on Saturday, 12th December this year, and it was well attended by local folk, and other friends of the Cruck. Unfortunately our tattie scone chef, Willie, took ill and was unable to cook, so no tattie scones! However we had a very enjoyable night, and were well entertained by Ian Warner on the accordion, and the mulled wine went down well again!
Cruck Easter 2010: The Cruck Easter open day took place on Easter Sunday, 4th April this year. Alan Pettigrew came along and gave an interesting demonstration of crook making; Gill and Margaret did their bit of spinning and weaving, and Bill and Sam entertained on the accordion and fiddle. There was an Easter card competition, as well as the Easter eggs, and as usual the standard was very high. Whilst we did not get as many visitors as last year, everyone who did come along enjoyed it, and the weather was very kind to us.
Santa Documentary: On 23rd September, a unit from ITV filmed part of a documentary at the cottage, on the history and legend of Santa Claus. John Sergeant was the presenter, and also took part as a Santa ‘recruit’, being trained by Stuart Thompson of the ‘Santa School’ from Gretna. This was a great experience for us. The programme was shown on Christmas Eve on ITV, and was very interesting.
Cruck Easter 2011: The Easter event this year was again held on Easter Sunday, 24th April, from 11.00am to 4.00pm. There was great musical entertainment from Ian Warner, Bill McIntosh and Sam Henderson, and Jacqui Hutchison with her electric fiddle. Margaret and Gill gave their demonstration of spinning, and Jimmy and Gloria Younger their fly tying. There was a good entry for the easter eggs, and whilst the numbers were disappointing, all who did come enjoyed themselves, and gave generously to cottage funds. We also raised some money for Tommy Jardine's (Westsound) Cash for Kids.
DOORS OPEN DAYS 2011 The Doors Open Days took place on Saturday 24th and Sunday 25th September this year. We had a great week-end, with 250 visitors counted through the door. The theme this year was ‘The Key to the Door’, as this is the 21st anniversary of DoD’s, and our giant 'Great Key of Torthorwald' was on display! Our musical and crafts friends came along again and entertained, and everyone had an enjoyable time.
See ‘Dumfries & Galloway Doors open Days’ on Facebook.
CRUCK COTTAGE AUTUMN FAYRE We held an Autumn Fayre in Torthorwald Hall on Saturday, 22nd October. There was a great variety of stalls, including our own 'Play Yours Cards Right', Treasure Hunt, Tombola, etc. There was a good many visitors, and we raised a lot of money for the cottage. Thanks to all the stall holders and the customers.
CRUCK CHRISTMAS We held our Cruck Christmas event again this year, on Saturday, 17th December. Jacqui Hutchison brought her electric fiddle along again, and Jessie Carnochan lead the carol sing with members of the Church choir. Mulled wine and mince pies were served, and the cottage was packed! A good night was had by all.
CRUCK EASTER We will be holding our usual Cruck Easter event again this year on Easter Sunday, 8th April. More details to follow.