On the 5th of May the Society joined forces with The Strathleven Artizans for the second annual commemoration at Loudoun Hill in Ayrshire where both William Wallace & Robert the Bruce fought against English forces who were hell bent on making our country part of their empire, they soon saw the error of their ways as both encounters resulted in stunning victories for the Scots.

There are probably few backdrops that can match Loudoun Hill in all her magnificence, if you haven't yet seen it you should make a point of doing so, it really is a beautiful part of the country.

We mustered at 2:30pm whereupon we set off on a short march to the Spirit of Scotland monument, it was grand to see so many saltire's and banners fluttering in the wind, always a magnificent sight to behold and so many folk in period costume, magnificent

On reaching the monument Society Convener Duncan welcomed everyone to the second Loudoun Hill Commemoration and we started by laying our wreaths in memory of the fallen, the honour this year went to Charli Stewart who did a wonderful job. 

First speaker of the day was local councillor Bobby McDill, a keen historian himself, Bobby gave us his local knowledge of the area.

Next up was Society committee member William Ballantyne who gave another heartfelt passion filled speech once again which went down well with the assembled throng of patriots.

Next up we had Gordon Aitken who wrote a new song for the occasion, he was later joined by Kate Smith for another song, great stuff

Duncan Thomson of the Artizans gave us a few words which were off the cuff but described exactly what everyone was thinking and feeling at that particular moment.

We also had a magnificent and funny re-enactment of Wallace fighting Fenwick. The performance was warmly received and we had more than a few chuckles.

Duncan Fenton wrapped up proceedings and thanked everyone for their attendance on this special day, well done to everyone involved especially William for all his work behind the scenes.

When we returned to the car park there was one more job to do. Our new friend Gerald Thorpe had made two battle ready shields for presentation to the Wallace Society and the Artizans, words cannot express our gratitude at such a kind gift and I'm sure I speak for both us and the Artizans when I say thank you so very much to Gerald and his wife Edna for making the journey north to present the shields in person, Gerald, yer a star.

Finally, everyone retired to the Railway Tavern in Darvel where a night of friendship and spontaneous music occurred, thank you everyone for helping make the evening a wonderful accompaniment to the daytime commemoration.

We'd like to thank the staff at the Railway Inn, The Rusty Rims, Fiery Jack, Freedom's Flame and everyone else for taking part and playing purely for the enjoyment of it all, thank you all, Alba Gu Brath!