It was with great sadness that there is to be no Round Table fireworks display at the Pencil this weekend.
I was a member of Largs and District Round Table for 12 years, and the fireworks display itself, was always one of the major community events which we ran every year. The Round Table was a men’s organisation in the town which started back in 1967, and was very much about fun and friendship, running a range of community events such as the fireworks, fashion shows, Santa’s Grotto, and the rubber duck race on the Gogo Burn.
We were also a group about friendship, and over the years, we took part in a great many local
activities, and supported local groups and charities.
Over the years, the duck race raised monies for Children’s Hospice Association Scotland, Gillian’s Saltire Appeal, and other charities. It was always a great sense of family fun, as a thousand ducks were launched off the Gogo Bridge, with winning prizes for the first ten duck sponsors safely past
the finishing line at the Mackerston Bridge.


And while it was seen as a men’s organisation, there was no doubt about it that the women made their mark too as wives and girlfriends turned out and helped support all the events which the Round Table ran, and played a big part in the organisation too.
The Largs BID have taken on Santa’s Grotto with gusto in recent years, but it used to be the Round
Table’s responsibility to summon Santa from Lapland, for the December Yuletide celebrations. The grotto used to be based at the garden area of Woolworths, when I first became involved, and there was always a great sense of festive cheer when you were on Santa’s sleigh on yuletide evening.
I remember Peter Bowyer of Largs Fire Brigade and Santa used to go on top of the fire engine. It was always a great source of amusement how Father Christmas can jump on and off a sleigh as he pleases, but found it a bit more troublesome coming down the ladder at the back of the fire engine, to the laughter of the mums and dads waiting outside Woolies. Let’s just say he must have been out of practice since the previous Christmas!
So it was indeed extremely sad to hear that the Largs Round Table has disbanded after having served the town for so many years, after falling membership. It was a fantastic organisation to be involved with, and I met some brilliant people, and travelled all over the world thanks to some of them, meeting one former Tabler, John Parr, in Wellington, New Zealand.
We also had some great fun times, including zooming across the freezing cold Clyde on Stephen Ross’s inflatable rib just after New Year’s Day- it may have been cold, but it was fantastic excitement which really pushed the adrenalin to the limit.
Picking up Santa by RNLI Lifeboat at Largs harbour was another highlight, while the Round Table used to go round every street in Largs with their Santa’s Sleigh service. The Round Table really was what community life was all about - and I’d like to think that we put a lot of smiles on people’s faces over the years from fireworks to fun times throughout the year.
Peter Grant of Largs Rotary, also started the Largs Fun Run when he was in Round Table, and over the years, there have been many locals who have played their part in making Round Table what it was in the local area. There have been other community groups in the town over the years too that have played their part in organising events such as the Largs Junior Chamber - which was both ladies and gents - and organised a New Year fireworks display at Aubery and other events around twenty years ago.
More recently, Largs Events, ran by Ian Murdoch, have ran some excellent family fun weekends at
Broomfields, and are very much on the look-out for new members. So if you want to play your part, and get involved in making community events happen, give Ian a phone on 07944 722 027.