We grew up celebrating Milngavie Week every June. It began with the Milngavie Week Parade on the first Saturday in June, continued with the church service at the Preaching Braes on Sunday and culminated with the Milngavie and Bearsden Highland Games the following Saturday.
There are many photos of Milngavie Week floats in our family albums which I’ll come to over the coming weeks and months but starting with this one which was from around the late 1960s.
This was Dad’s van bedecked with ribbons and flowers. On top was a mannequin dressed in my mum’s wedding dress. Dad had spent hours at the bottom of the nursery, decorating the van and getting everything ready for the parade. When it came time to join the parade he drove the van out of the nursery onto the street not realising there were cables (power or phone I’m not sure) which caught his bridal mannequin and couped her right over 🤣
Looking back over the photos I’ve found so far it’s clear how invested my family were in the annual parade – the thought, time and effort they put into decorating their floats were considerable. Here are some of the recorded efforts :
Here is my Uncle Ronnie’s float in what I presume was 1966. It prompted me to look up Pickles to find out the story of the lost world cup. (One version of that here)
Anne and me with “Tulips from Amsterdam”. I remember these wee Dutch girl costumes and also being extremely happy to have proper wooden clogs to wear. Circa 1970.
My sister Anne and me again with Dad’s decorated van. I had forgotten all of these cellophane bows we used to tie on bouquets til I saw this! This was prob the early 1970s.
Another of Uncle Ronnie’s floats this one marking the twinning of Milngavie with Bauge in France. This must have been around the end of the 1960s
This would have been about 1976 and our “entry” to the parade was based on the Wizard of Oz. Anne was dressed as Dorothy and Ruth as the tin man. They got to sit on the bonnet of Dad’s volvo for the parade.
If you look carefully beside the amazing rainbow that is sitting on top of the car you might notice my top hat. I was sitting on the roof of the care dressed as the scarecrow! Not sure health and safety would let you away with that nowadays!
I’m not sure what the “theme” of Uncle Ronnie’s lorry here is but this is the same year as our wedding dress float so around the late 1960s. I love this photo because it’s taken from outside my Gran’s house at Clober Road and shows the “garage” opposite. You can clearly see James Baird Ltd on the shop front and behind it was my Grandpa’s and latterly Uncle Ronnie’s garage.
Looking and thinking about the Milngavie week celebrations brings memories too of similar photos in Montrose. They might be next in my memory crawl 😉
Craigachan 