When Neilston pipe band played in locations across Japan

We delved into the Barrhead News archives to pick out some of the stories from over a decade ago. 

Here are some photographs from our edition which was published on Wednesday, July 17, 2013.

Do you remember these stories or spot any familiar faces?

1. Former Barrhead High School student Kirsty MacLaren celebrated the worldwide release of her first single. “A Touch of Class” was dedicated to her pursuit of musical perfection and looked at what she believed budding stars needed to get ahead in the music business.

2. Help for Heroes got a fundraising boost thanks to the hard work of Barrhead’s United Services Club. The club serving former military servicemen and women held a successful fundraising event and raised £1,000 for the charity.

3. Six young people from Barrhead and Neilston received the gold Duke of Edinburgh award at a ceremony at Holyrood Palace. Robbie Ferguson, Andrew Pettigrew, Andrea Cassells, Jamie Grant, Laura McFarlane and Paul Fox were awarded their certificates by former Motherwell footballer, Kevin Twaddle. The group then met HRH Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex who congratulated them on their efforts.

4. Hundreds of Barrhead youngsters flocked to Cowan Park's new tennis courts, inspired by Andy Murray’s Wimbledon victory. 

4. Barrhead residents were praised for their generosity after digging deep to help those in need. Held at Tesco Barrhead, a foodbank collection saw locals donate over 1,200kg of food, equating to 4,000 meals.

5. Globetrotting Neilston and District Pipe Band were flying high after performing at spectacular locations across Japan. Most notably, the group climbed 2,184 metres high to play for 200 guests at the Hakuba Goryu resort. After the special display, the pipers, who were joined by four Highland dancers, excelled at the Scotland and Japan festival for the fifth year running.

6. The council’s sports services team joined forces with East Renfrewshire Junior Cricket Club and Cricket Scotland to offer new sessions. The programme visited three primary schools in the area including Cross Arthurlie Primary pictured below.