What a great weekend that was. I'm still not fully recovered!

Friday's Talent in the Tent was great fun and gave everyone a chance to strut their stuff on the stage in front of an appreciative audience, whose appreciation was kept topped up by several kegs of fine real ales courtesy of Robert Lindsay and the Creel Inn.

At the Gala on Saturday, Black Jack McFhartie and his crew (aka Blitz Entertainment) kept all the youngsters entertained all day in a hunt for the pirate ducks, while the grown ups browsed the various stalls, ate burgers and teas and marvelled at the display of the 21 carties entered in the Cartie Challenge. Highlights of the day included The Great Hootini's magic show and balloon sculpting, the Cartie Sprint race around the field and the kids races and tug of war.

Saturday evening's ceilidh in the marquee was the best I've been to in a long time - possibly ever. Cabrach's traditional sound was fresh and exciting and kept us dancing into the wee hours, and the entertainment in the break by The Trybe went down a storm.

The Cartie Challenge on Sunday had all the thrills and spills we've come to expect and also showed that many of the the teams have learned from previous years. The machines are now much more effective carties than they were three years ago, and many now sport disk brakes and steering racks. It was a very hard fought competition, but for the second time in three years the winning cartie was Elijah.

Event like this cannot happen without the help of a small army of volunteers and supporters who give freely of their time and resources both on the day and beforehand to make sure everything works as well as possible. The Gala Committee would like to express their sincere thanks to the following;