Warm welcome for Roman invasion
THERE was a friendly invasion of Roman foot soldiers and visitors at Kinneil Estate on Sunday.
The free annual Kinneil cultural feast this year celebrated those behind the building of the Antonine Wall, that now proudly bears UNESCO World Heritage status.
Dressed the part, members of re-enactment society The Antonine Guard gave a duelling display before historic Kinneil House.
In the arena, ponies carried Roman cavalrymen from group Comitatvs who demonstrated archery and javelin throwing.
Youngsters wanting to try out some action for themselves were guided by senior centurion 'Marcus Aufidius Maximus', paying a special visit from his Hadrian's Wall post.
Wearing tunics and helmets, the children were taken through drills, shield formations and battle techniques.
Euan Crawford of Linlithgow Bridge Primary proudly took his place among the volunteers.
The six-year-old's dad Jim said: "He's interested in Roman history and he's got a Playmobil Colosseum.
"As he's so interested in Roman memorabilia and weaponry I thought this would be a good port of call."
Craft lovers meanwhile rolled up their sleeves and got stuck into activities with a Roman twist.
Physical theatre company Tepooka's members helped children make boulas, small pouches to wear around the neck, that held clay amulets decorated with Roman numerals.
Roman head-dresses with cut out laurel leaves also proved popular with younger visitors, while arm cuffs and necklaces were also designed.
Toga-wearing members of Falkirk Council's library services ran a mosaic workshop and tested word power, challenging visitors to match English words (for example, dog) to their Latin roots (canis).
Chris Middleton, of Hillcrest in Bo'ness, took along five children, including his daughter, for the afternoon.
He said: "The archery was great, I think they had five shots each and touched the target once, but they enjoyed it.
"We're off to the bouncy castle now, it's a great Sunday for them."
A golden eagle was among the birds from Saltire Falconry captivating the crowds while a Central FM roadshow made the event go with a swing.
Community Sergeant Keith Jack and his team greeted locals and Bo'ness Safety Group ran a stall with practical giveaways.
Both Kinneil Museum and Kinneil House were open, with nearly 600 visitors guided round the latter by Friends of Kinneil volunteers.
Councillor Adrian Mahoney, Falkirk Council's environment and heritage committee convener, officially opened the day with Fair Queen Eilidh Thomson.
Hailing it a "terrific success" Councillor Mahoney said thanks went to all involved for working so hard to bring it together.
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Weather for Queensferry
Monday 21 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 6 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
