‘Best kept’ war memorial garden aims to retain national title
The team powering a single of Scotland’s “very best retained” war memorial gardens is hoping to keep its title as Scotland’s winner.
Golspie War Memorial has already secured the regional Highlands and Islands title for “Little Group with Yard” this 12 months, and having won the Countrywide Award in 2021, the team looking just after the web site are eager to keep on to the accolade.
The group dependable for the memorial and its back garden are from the Golspie Branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland, aided by Golspie in Bloom, a team of volunteers dependable for floral displays in the village.
The Greatest Saved War Memorial levels of competition is made up of many categories and awards presented by Legion Scotland.
The memorial’s layout is not considered, but judges pay specific consideration to capabilities such as the stone and brickwork and deterioration this sort of as flaking, cracking, pointing or weeds increasing all over the memorial.
The problem of any metalwork that may well require to be repainted or repaired is also taken into consideration.
Clarity of the lettering have to also be thoroughly clean and legible with any fading or weathering, to be in with a possibility of profitable an award.
Kenny McAulay, branch treasurer for Golspie Royal British Legion Society, claimed: “Since successful past year we have built improvements by adding a wreath retainer at the foundation of the memorial and having the entrance gates refurbished.
“We are pretty fortunate to be assisted by Golspie in Bloom and several trades in the region allowing for us to hold the memorial yard to this kind of a higher regular, making certain it stays a fitting tribute to those people names on the memorial.
Department secretary David Hignett and his wife Lynn have been liable for the bulk of the maintenance and watering of the backyard garden, ably assisted by Lynn’s mom Sandra Morrison, a member of Golspie in Bloom.
The group keep the area managed all year round by weeding, portray remembrance benches, cleansing the slabs and memorial, and planning the ground and tubs for planting.
Mr McAulay extra: “Golspie in Bloom carry on the crops in the spring and we all muck in to get them planted out in May. We are also very grateful to Donald Rowe our branch chairman and Highland Council parks office who workers continue to keep the grass awesome and tidy all summer season, and very clear leaves in the autumn.”
The Countrywide Ultimate results are envisioned to be declared in the direction of the close of August.