A recorded impression of Irvine's annual Festival
On the Saturday of the third week of August, the town of Irvine holds its traditional ceremony, which reaches back in time to the twelfth century, the period when King Alexander III granted the town's charter. The old ports or gates of the town are visited in a Riding of the Marches, and a Marymass queen is crowned, some say commemorating a visit paid by Mary Queen of Scots, some say in observance of an older ceremony. The business done, the town is given up to sports, races, and the Fair. The recording van followed these proceedings in Irvine last Saturday.

with VIOLET ROBERTS
JACQUES PERONI and PETER LESTER