LANARK LANIMER DAY
An ancient celebration held within the Royal Burgh of Lanark on the Thursday between the Sixth and Twelfth days of June annually since the year 1140.
 

Diary of the Bands Committee

Margaret Green, Sheena Howat and Brian Edgar

It's the first of January, we've been to the Het Pint (some of us), we've done our first footing and now it's time to sit down and relax, then the phone rings "when's the band committee meeting?" We're off!

Our first meeting is usually early January, that's when we decide which bands to 'invite' to play on Lanimer Day, hopefully the same ones as last year. Top of the list are the two Lanark bands, Vale of Clyde Lanark (red kilts) and Lanark and District (green kilts), then there's Strathclyde Police, they lead the procession and Coalburn IOR, they've been coming to Lanimers for over a hundred years. Lanarkshire are fairly new to Lanimers, they only formed in 2000 and their second band had their first visit last year, as did Glasgow Schools. Coalburn Silver is a regular and plays for the crowning ceremony, Clydebank Burgh Band are also old hands at Lanimers, Dumfries Town Band were newcomers last year and last but certainly not least we have Carluke Primrose Prize Flute Band who are relative newcomers and have been a great success. We try to look out for new bands and for new types of bands to add to the pageantry and musical experience of the day but that's the difficult bit. Letters are duly dispatched with some of the details of what we expect from them and what they get out of it - apart from the prestige and very sore feet! They all get the same fee except Strathclyde Police who don't get paid at all; they all get breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea, for this we expect them to play from 8.45am to 6.45pm with a few breaks of course to get their breath back They have to be in Lanark before Sam so some of them have to leave home by 05.30am, who said bands weren't dedicated.

Around the middle of February we're waiting for replies from most of the bands but we forge ahead anyway and book the caterers, the halls needed for meals and of course the buses to get them around the town (it's the sore feet again).

By March most of the bands have replied. Unfortunately there's usually at least one that can't make it, this year it's Glasgow Schools, so out comes the list of bands and we start trying to get a replacement, lots of phone calls, letters, and e-mails. Many bands would love to come but can't manage a Thursday; it's not so easy to get time off work if your boss isn't a Lanarkian.

March is also the time we start fundraising, in spite of a budget from the Lanimer Committee. This year we had a sale in the Tolbooth and a concert by Carluke Primrose Flute Band in the Memorial Hall, something we hope to make an annual event, all the raffle and tombola prizes are donated by lots of local businesses and the usual members of the Lanimer Committee. Due to some excellent housekeeping by our little committee, costs were drastically reduced in 2004.

Early April, all the routes the bands will use for the whole of Lanimer Week, and what time they will use them has to be written and given to the Police Liaison Officer to be incorporated into the police orders, it's not as complicated as it sounds as the only part that changes each year is the name of the band going to the Lanimer Queen Elect's house, and of course the address of the Queen Elect. This year the Vale of Clyde will go to Bankhead Terrace and escort Kirstie to Danny Ross's garage to await the start of the procession, next year it's the turn of Lanark and District to escort the Grammar School Queen Elect from wherever she lives. April is also the time to meet with the procession committee to decide what order the bands will be in for the procession. Hopefully by this time, we've managed to get another band. We have a meeting with representatives from each of the bands in St Mary's Clubrooms to answer any questions and to outline the evening Tattoo.

May passes in a flash with things like the commentary to be written and given to the appropriate person, deciding who will Steward which band, ordering tables and chairs to be delivered to the halls and collected again after Lanimers. Parking passes have to be printed and sent to the bands to allow them to park all day in Somerfield car park and Official Car passes need to be collected and given to the bus company etc, etc.

All too soon it's June and while the rest of the Lanimer Committee is praying for sunshine the bands committee have their collective fingers crossed that none of the bands will cancel at the eleventh hour. Two bands did cancel in 2003 with only two days to go until the big day. After we stopped panicking we decided that all we could do was rearrange the order of the bands we did have; I wonder how many people were confused by the commentator announcing "Coalburn IOR Pipe Band" and Clydebank Brass Band marched past, sorry Bill, we forgot to tell you we had to change the order at the last minute.

As Lanimer Day draws to a close the members of the bands committee, who have been with the bands from breakfast time at eight until the end of the Tattoo, draw a sigh of relief and go home (or to the nearest pub perhaps) to relax and reflect on what wonderful day we've all had and it really wasn't much work ... Honestly.