BALLANTRAE Smugglers’ Festival was in full swing again recently where pupils from the primary school took part in an ‘on the spot’ storytelling session.

The event took place from August, Friday 25 to August, Sunday 27. On the Friday, the school children took part telling stories. The “Smugglers’ Supper in the King’s Arms Hotel ran on the Saturday.

This was followed by a “Ballantrae Smugglers’ Chase involving small boats and the tall ship La Malouine on the Sunday.

During the “On the Spot” session in the school, the children heard Ballantrae’s smuggling story from two different points of view -the skipper of the HM Customs Revenue Cutter and the leader of the local Smugglers.

The two main characters each told their stories separately to the various classes and then answered questions.

The Customs Officer was trying to recruit people to spy on the smugglers while the leader of the smuggling gang wanted them to spy for him.
At the end of the session they all got together with some of the children dressing up as smugglers and some as Customs Officers.

Andy McAlpine, Chairman of the Ballantrae Smuglgers’ Festival, said: “This year’s festival has been spread over four months rather than being concentrated in a week or weekend.

“The session with the children on Friday was great fun. They asked us good questions and didn’t let us away with anything.

“The staff at the King’s Arms were the perfect hosts for the Smugglers’ Supper and Davie, Lorna and Beatrice were fantastic.

“On Sunday we had more boats in the water and more rowers than last year. Thank you to everyone who made this weekend a success.”
Saturday’s Smugglers’ Supper guests described the meal as “typical Scottish fare”, “just like my mother made” and “great value for money”.

The entertainment was provided by Davie Hunter, Lorna McColm and Beatrice Clark with a musical programme that included Scottish songs - many funny - but also some with haunting melodies.

Davie’s excellent guitar playing, Beatrice’s flute and guitar work, and the three fabulous voices all contributed to a great performance.

On Sunday five skiff crews from coastal rowing clubs from the south west of Scotland battled it out in Ballantrae Bay for the hand-crafted Ballantrae Smugglers’ Chase Trophy.

The overall winners were the Firth of Clyde Coastal Rowing Club for the second year running.

The last event in this year’s festival is on Saturday, September 23 and involves a “Carrick Smugglers’ Road Trip” from Ballantrae to the Heads of Ayr ending with a book launch of “Carrick’s Smuggling Story”.

The Ayr Advertiser Series will have more information on the Ballantrae Smugglers Festival nearer the time.