  A great turn-out of supporters, many travelling from distant parts of Scotland, saw over 600 people replicate the gillies, or camp-followers of 1314, and walk over the Gillies Hill and onto the Field of Bannockburn on June 20th. Led by our now customary pipers, marshalled, as always, and very appropriately by Stewart (Marshall) in beautiful weather, and accompanied also by King Robert and his comrades, who’d arrived, strikingly dressed, via their present Renton HQ, the 2010 gillies made a big impact. Which was the desired intention, as we hit the national news, broadcasting and print – just 4 days before Stirling Council made their vital – and welcome – decision to offer us legal support, should it be required: such public pressure,  in every sense of that phrase, would have been difficult to ignore and was a powerful visual reinforcement of our Petition.
At the Borestone, we heard excellent and highly supportive speeches from our two parliamentary reps, Westminster’s Ann McGuire and Holyrood’s Bruce Crawford, before the main speaker this year, an old boy of both institutions, Denis Canavan, cheered the crowd with an outstanding oration.   The date for next year’s event - Sunday, 19 June, has already been set. (Whatever happens, this looks like becoming an annual and appropriate commemoration of the sma folk of 1314.) Let’s hope it celebrates the agreement Stirling Council are seeking.
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