Corby's Scots to See the Tapestry ... and lots more besides

Tapestry heading south of the Border again this autumn ...

The Battle Tapestry is now booked to be on show in Northamptonshire - at Corby's Grampian Club - on St Andrew's Day and the week before. It's there for two reasons:

[i] so that the many Scots living in Corby [Viking Kori not Aldhammer then] can see the artwork and enjoy the story of Bonnie Prince Charlie's success in 1745;

[ii] and this is particularly significant, as a showpiece to recruit embroiderers in the Corby neighbourhood to stitch their 500mm x 500mm panels for the new Scottish Diaspora Tapestry.



Corby has been invited to take on [and accepted!] the role as 'major representative' of the Scottish diaspora in England. It was selected because it is the largest migrant grouping of Scots we have been able to locate. Aberdonians and Glaswegians went south in large numbers in the 1930s to work in the new Stewart and Lloyds Steel Mills built to exploit open cast drag mining of iron ore in Northamptonshire.



Like the Pans where we lost our pits in the 60s, it was Corby's turn in the 70s to lose its steel works - although there is still just a small amount of production. Today they are a 'new' town astride the A1 [just like us] and regularly on HM The Queen's travel schedule - she was there for the Diamond Jubilee. And like us they sent 3 Olympians to this year's Games. And there are more coincidences too ...

The Grampian Club just like a Goth really ...

The Grampian Club is a members' co-operative, funded and managed initially by Aberdonian migrants from the 1970s, whence the name, although many a steel worker came from Glasgow. Today it is home to bowling greens, function suites and bars [with 50p off the price of a pint of any beer this week!]

The Tapestry Exhibition: November 25th/ November 30th

The Exhibition will as always tell the story of the Battle Tapestry and the Prince. But during the week, with the help of the Club's Manager Keith Palmer, the Club's Pipers will raise the roof and tell the town we're there. And the Club's Scottish Dancing Groups and Burns Society will join tailored events. And most particularly there will be two/ three Open Days/ Evenings for local embroiderers to come along to see what's what and volunteer. And a chance to taste deep-fried mincepies and Mars bar perhaps as well ...



During the week, and beforehand too, working with Billy Dalziel at the Corby Heritage Centre, we'll be collecting together the community's Scottish diaspora stories. Clearly the migration to work in the Mill and the founding of the Grampian Club will be there, and the creation of D Day PLUTO [Project 99: Pipe Line Under The Ocean] steel pipeline taking petrol across the Channel for the Allied armies. But what are the other significant tales to tell?

All in all quite an agenda, and that's before moving along to Derby for a week or so beginning with their Annual Re-enactments on December 1st/ 2nd ... and after that? Back to Glasgow we hope with the Prince for Christmas and the New Year.

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Ed. And whilst all this is going on, there'll be plenty of Corby headlines nationally as Louise Mensch's seat at Westminster is hotly contested!