THE cheerful bunting decorating a small Glasgow village hides a hundred stories and more.
Look closely at the colourful pendants adorning hedges, fences and lampposts around Westerton in the north of the city.
It is made up of fabric donated by members of the community, young and old, and has been lovingly stitched together by the village’s senior section Guides in a feelgood project which has got everyone talking.
It was the brainchild of Laura Cassidy, who is chairperson of Westerton Gala Day which takes place this Saturday.
“Westerton is a lovely village, but like all communities in Scotland, it has its ups and downs,” explains Laura.
“The last year has been difficult for some families and I thought having some new, cheerful bunting to decorate the place would brighten everyone up.”
She laughs: “I had no idea how big a project it would become.”
Laura asked for donations of fabric back in May – and was inundated with contributions over the next three months.
“We were overwhelmed by how much support we had, and the fabrics themselves tell a story about the people who live and work and visit here,” she smiles.
“The gala day brings people from all over Drumchapel, Bearsden and Westerton too.”
The bunting includes everything from old clothes and bedding to discarded school uniforms, curtains and even a tent.
There are bright pink napkins, little Paddington bears, an embroidered bicycle and some tartan – and even, laughs Laura, a flag of China.
“That’s one of my favourite pieces,” she smiles.
“No idea where it came from. My daughter Kali and I were walking down the street yesterday and she pointed up to the bunting because she recognised one of her old dance costumes!
“It has been really funny watching people spot their own contributions, and it’s a real conversation starter. It has brought everyone together ahead of the gala day itself, which is lovely.”
The senior section guides, Cara Silverstein and Helen Cunningham, gave up a large chunk of their summer holiday to sew 800 pendants - around 250 metres -of bunting together, with the help of senior section leader Liz Galashan.
“Doreen Jackson, who has been involved in guiding in Westerton for many, many years, gave us some expert help too,” smiles Liz.
“I’m really proud of Helen and Cara, because this became a much bigger project than we had anticipated, and they kept going and never gave up.”
One of the pendants is particularly special for Liz.
“It is made from an old shirt of my dad’s,” she smiles.
“He died a couple of years ago, so this is a lovely memory of him.”
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