St Ayles Skiff

The St Ayles Skiff built by pupils from Smithycroft and St Mungo's high schools hit the water at Anstruther this weekend for her sea trial. The last coats of paint and varnish were put on last week before the GalGael team towed her up to the East Neuk of FiFe. The building of the boat has been taking place in the GalGael workshop over the last year as part of the Sense over Sectarianism project. Another skiff is well underway and is being collaboratively built by Lourdes Secondary and Govan High School. Find out more about the event at;

http://scottishcoastalrowing.org/2011/05/30/skiff-19-galgael-join-the-fleet/

GalGael in the Gallery

Some of our staff and volunteers have been assisting in setting up a large sculptural work in Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum with artist Trish Cain.

A letter of thanks from Trish is shown below.

See the link within the text for youtube video:

Hi Martin

Anne and I just wanted to say a really huge thank you to everyone for the help you gave us to construct the installation for the Kelvingrove Exhibition.

Without the considerable skill and expertise of everyone at GalGael, it just wouldn’t have been possible at all and a huge part of the exhibition would have been left unfulfilled, so thank you for taking that phone call and then getting roped into it all!

We’ve had fantastic feedback about the structure and a lot of interest in the process of construction. As you know, a film was made about how the exhibition came together by Isla Pedrana and Solveig Seuss. Here’s the link to the uploaded video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sq8JQg1l_kM

I’d like to say thank you to you, Norrie, Ben, Dave, Omair, Kevin, Stuart, Michael, Robert, Cameron and anyone else I’ve missed and also to say a special thank you to John Campbell for coming up so often to the gallery to help us.

Please keep me in mind for any assistance I might give you in return, particularly in relation to drawing projects, as I owe you.

All the best and see you soon no doubt.

Trish Cain

Glasgow's Trees

Hope some of you make it down... there'll be crafts demonstrations and other activities on the day!

For a map showing how to find us - click here!

Govan Folk University

GalGael along with some other local groups and local folk are in the process setting up of the Govan Folk University.

We are asking, what kinds of knowledge and ways of learning do we need to empower our community and the people who live there. We believe that many of the answers lie in the people and with the spirit of the community itself.

You can find out more about who is involved and what we are hoping to do by clicking on the link below.

http://www.govanfolkuniversity.org/

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