Boats on the go.

Its great to see plenty of boat action going on in the GalGael workshop right now. The St. Ayles skiff project with St Mungo's Academy and Smithycroft Secondary is nearing completion and looking great. We now have two local schools, Govan High and Lourdes Secondary pupils working on a second skiff and have got off to a great start with the formers in place and the group busy sawing and planing.

If you would like to build one of these 22ft rowing skiffs with your school or centre then check out the link below.

http://scottishcoastalrowing.org/

Both projects are being supervised by Ben Duffin who is also working on repairing Orcuan, our 32ft Hebridean Galley. She is back in the workshop after incurring some damage in the summer. Ben has been very active over the past while juggling all these projects but is finding out more about GalGael and what we do as well as what Orcuan means to us.

"In 2000 the Gal Gael launched Orcuan, a 30 ft Birlinn or Highland Galley. She is a very traditional Scottish boat and a thing of rare beauty. She is also an integral part of Gal Gael’s operations and much more than that an emblem, a symbol of what the Trust stands for. With this in mind you can imagine the feeling of dismay that went around the workshop when people heard that she had gone down in a storm while moored in Millport. She was saved from breaking up by Martin and Norie, lifted out of the water and eventually brought to the workshop at Fairley Street to be repaired.

I started working on her a month ago and the work is going well. Looking at the damage it soon became clear that in addition to replacing the four broken planks much of the internal structure would need to be replaced. She will need totally new seats (known as thwarts on a boat) and much of the structure associated with them in addition to many new frames and sister frames. A group of volunteers and myself have removed the first two thwarts and cleaned up the damaged areas. We have put in new structure for the two forward seats and got the first seat finished. The mast stands on a piece of wood known as the fish which has had four new knees made to replace broken ones from before.

So far all the new timber used has been sourced in Scotland by Gal Gael’s Timber business, from a boat builders perspective it is a rare thing to know exactly where the wood you use comes from and who milled it to planks. This connection is part of why this is such a wonderful place to be working.There is a lot of work still to do, but with a growing team of very skilled and eager volunteers learning as they work the work will move quickly. There is a lot of interest in the project in the workshop, we often have to explain what we are doing and how or why. I am frequently reminded how much of an honour it is to get a chance to be involved in Gal Gael at all, let alone be repairing the vessels that has been described to me more than once as ‘the soul of Gal Gael’."

Ben

Ben and volunteer Davy with Orcuan.

Wool dyeing workshop.

10th+17th of February from 5.30 pm
Heather, a member of
Galgael's woolcraft group offers a workshop in natural dyeing in GalGael.

Come, watch and get to know more about this ancient and still popular technique!

The Heart of Govan

GalGael participants were resplendent in ancient costume as part of a special performance held in Govan Old Parish Church in late January. Dressed as , Picts, Britons, Scots and Vikings we represented the ancient peoples who settled at the junction of the Clyde and the Kelvin. The "Oratorio" celebrated the many peoples who have shaped the heart of Govan over the centuries.

Well done to Frank Miller and Alex Harvey for all their hard work and imagination in pulling it all together. More details on the link below.

http://www.localnewsglasgow.co.uk/index.php?s=New+heart+beating+in+Govan

NATURAL DYE WORKSHOP

All the best for 2011

We at GalGael would like to wish all our friends and associates all the very best for the New Year. 2010 was a testing year for us on a few fronts and though we are not out of the woods yet, we are dealing with things and are seeing signs of improvement. The workshop was a real hive of activity and we continue to make a real difference to the lives of those who come through our doors and have.

So all the best for 2011 and thanks for your support.

http://www.scvo.org.uk/policy/sots-case-studies/galgael-crafting-community-regeneration/

SECRET MILLIONAIRE RESCHEDULED!

Just to let you know... Channel 4 have rescheduled the Secret Millionaire featuring GalGael to tomorrow - Thursday 18th November at 9 p.m.

A celebration of Colin's life.

Thanks to all who attended or contributed to our event to commemorate the life and achievements of our own Colin Macleod. Around a hundred people braved the terrible weather to turn out and we kicked off with haggis and neeps to warm us up for the rest of the evening and thanks to all the kitchen posse once again. We had songs, tunes, poems and reflections all relating to Colin who passed away five years ago on November the 2nd.

It was great to see some faces from the past among the audience as well as folk who never met Colin but wanted to be involved.

It was celebratory event where we looked at Colin the guy who inspired us, made us laugh, and who let us see what is possible when we work together to build community with nature and with each other.

Recordings of the event should be broadcast soon on Sunny Govan Radio- we will keep you posted.

Thanks also to all those who attended our recent annual general meeting. Again, we were very happy with the turnout and Gehan, myself and all at Galgael would like to extend a very special thank you to Mhairi Hearle, Alan Edmonds, Penny Cousins, Wendy Reid, Ronnie Renton and our Alastair- our non staff board members. They have put in a huge shift recently when things got a bit difficult on a couple of fronts and we would like to express our gratitude for all the skills and hard work they bring to GalGael.