I arrived back at Glasgow Airport late on Friday night from the Canada Day exploits in London and stayed overnight in an airport hotel to participate in my home town of Paisley's annual festival Sma' Shot Day
The festival commemorates a weavers' strike of 150 years ago which led to the mill owners agreeing to pay the weavers for the sma' shot, or thin thread which held together the delicate Paisley pattern shawls of the era.
Three of my four grandparents came from Paisley weaver families so it was appropriate that I should wear my Paisley pattern kilt.
Here the Paisley pattern kilt is seen against the Paisley tartan in Houston's kilt shop, photo taken by the great grandson of the founder of the business. The Paisley tartan was first woven by Robert Drennan in Paisley's Anchor Mill in 1952 and was adopted by Paisley Town Council as the town tartan and also by the Paisley family as their tartan. It was a comment here on xmarks in response to my photo of my heavyweight 8-yard Paisley tartan kilt which inspired me to commission a lightweight fun kilt in Paisley pattern.
Beside the Paisley Pinks in the Paisley Heritage Garden in the courtyard of Sma' Shot Cottages. The Paisley weavers selectively bred their own strain of the Dianthus.
Note that the flowerbeds in the Paisley Heritage Garden are laid out in Paisley pattern.
Now it was time to meet up with the parade.
The Cork is a large effigy of the wealthy mill owner. The parade starts at Brodie Park and marches to Paisley Abbey where The Cork is burned.
The parade is led by the Charleston Drum.
A few of the children in Victorian costume.
This big fellow looks the part!
The parade passes the South Clock in the Charleston District of Paisley. Both of my parents were raised within sight of this clock and I was born and lived my first three years within less than a quarter of a mile from this clock so this was a moment when my hairs stood on end as I felt proud to be a Paisley buddy.
More of the children in Victorian costume.
More to follow shortly.
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