On Friday 12th May, the Company held its' Annual Inspection in the theatre of the Wellington Academy, its' 109th Inspection.

Our new Chaplain, Rev Francis E Murphy and his wife were the Guests of Honour, and opened the evening with the inspection of the three sections of the Company that were gathered on the stage.

 

Anchors Action Song

 

First up were the Anchor Boys and with the assistance of Officer in Charge Ann MacDonald and Warrant officer Margaret McGill they entertained the packed house with action songs and a couple of games.

Following on from the Anchors were the boys of the Junior Section who got very involved in their Port and Starboard game before having the audience in stitches with their rendition of "Oh yeh cannae throw a piece oot a twenty story flat". This went down a treat with the audience or was that a jelly piece!.

 

 

 

Being somewhat restricted by the limited stage space available in the theatre, the Company Section Drill squad was a little curtailed in actually marching, but did manage to show off the ability of the boys to work as a team.

This is one of the main reasons why the 3rd still perform drill.

 

For the Company Sections second item, the boys performed two songs and while it was a brave attempt by all concerned that curse of the Boards, Stage Fright, crept in and sadly the performance was not as good as the rehearsal versions.

 

It is very hard to stand up in front of a couple of hundred people when you are not used to doing so, especially so when combined with an age given to Self Consciousness and Natural changes, unlike the unburdened boys of the Junior section.

It was still a valiant attempt and was to be commended.

 

Company Section in full voice.

 

Following the Interval the Award Ceremony got underway, with all the sections being presented with the many Awards that festooned the table. We may need to get a bigger table next year.

 

After these Awards the Ceremony moved on to the two main Awards of the night with the presentation of the Presidents Badge and the highest Award in the BB, the Queens Badge.

 

All the Presidents Men 2006 style

 

We had nine boys receiving their Presidents Badges and three boys gaining their Queens Awards. Both of these awards are not given out lightly and a great deal of hard work must be completed successfully by the candidates before they can receive these.

 

Our Queens men and their Mothers, oh and Captain Love.

 

One of our Queens Men receives his Award from our Inspecting Officer.

 

 

Our Three Queens Men with Chaplain Rev Francis Murphy and his wife.

 

The Inspection concluded with the comments of Captain Robert Love and inspecting Officer and Chaplain Francis Murphy.

As in the past, the Inspection marks the end of the Brigade year and the start of the Company's' summer break.

A time to recharge, plan and ready ourselves for the next session.

It is also a time for the young Presidents' men to ready themselves for the hard work to come and for the three Queens Men to decide on the challenges and the paths that lie ahead.

 

Finally, tributes must go to all our Special Guests, Parents, Church Members, helpers and friends that every year help us, the staff, to run the 3rd Greenock Company.

Special thanks also go to our Accompanist Mr William More for his skills at the piano, and his words of musical advice.

 

Thank You All