Wick’s 1964 gala queen meets this year’s ‘royalty’ - and reveals bonfire tradition she started
A 60-year Wick Gala link was bridged earlier this week when the present queen rubbed shoulders with the star of the 1964 pageant.
Youngster Anna Durrand and her “royal” court were delighted to meet Nancy Nicolson when they dropped into the town’s Seaview care home.
Nancy, a prominent Scots singer and story-teller, recalled how she did her bit for women’s lib during her reign as the gala queen.
At that time, the job of lighting the gala bonfire on an island on Wick river fell to a male member of the committee.
He would be rowed out in a small boat to perform the task at the traditional finale to the week-long carnival.
“I really fancied doing that and believed that, as queen, that should be my job,” said the sprightly 82-year-old.
“The committee were horrified. They said: ‘But Nancy, what if you get your frock and shoes wet?’
“It took a while but I gently but firmly argued my case and got my way.
“I think the crowd loved seeing this lassie in a long, white frock being rowed over in a peedie boat to light the fire.”
She was the first of a run of queens who did the honours, a tradition which continued until the installation of a sluice and weirs on the river.
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Nancy was 22 when she was chosen at a dance in the town’s BB hall to be the face of the 1964 summer gala.
It was a big year for her as in October she was to be married.
She vividly recalls the response of her mother when she excitedly returned home to impart the news at the family croft at Newton Hill, on the outskirts of Wick.
“My mum was not too pleased. She said: ‘Oh my God, have we not got enough to do in the middle of the summer with the peats and the hay, and having to plan a wedding at the back end.’”
While believing her mother was secretly very proud of her, Nancy could understand her reaction.
Nancy was at the time home after finishing a teacher training course in Edinburgh. She went on to have a long career in the central belt teaching and establishing herself firmly on the national cultural scene. Her last job was as Glasgow-based education officer for Celtic Connections.
She contributed to BBC Scotland's schools radio and advised on the use of Scots culture and language in the Scottish school curriculum.
Nancy, whose husband Denness died 12 years ago, returned to Caithness in 2018.
She and fellow residents of Seaview were delighted to have a visit on Monday from the 2024 queen and her attendants, Mia Gunn and Lena Forbes.
“We had a lovely chat with them and they were very interested to hear about galas from the past,” Nancy said.
The job of lighting the fire has in recent years fallen to Dounreay worker Leslie Grant, who dons waders to make his way out to the island. He will be performing the role at this year’s gala finale on Saturday.
Wick Gala Committee chair Donna Plowman does not foresee the tradition of deploying a boat at the ceremony returning any time soon.
“With the sluice, you’re not going to get over in a boat, not unless somebody dredges the river,” she said.