By Frankie Greenwood, Families & Community Development Worker

On Wednesday 16th November 2022 we were delighted to present a wonderful multi-media event, hosted by Gryffe High School; “Celebrating the Tales and Legends of Houston Past Present and Future.” The event consisted of photo sequences of Houston Past and Present, that were overlaid with audio clips of interviews conducted by pupils of Gryffe High School where local residents shared their memories of Houston, told us stories, talked about their favourite place in Houston and who they felt were Houston’s local legends. We also heard what people felt the best thing about living in Houston was. High on the list of answers was the beautiful scenery, well-kept flowerbeds by the Bee Happy group, and community spirit.

We watched and listened to two beautiful soundscapes, one for the Houston & Killellan Kirk Men’s Shed, and one for the Bee Happy Gardening Group that captured the sounds and spirit of these wonderful community groups.

It was, however, the children of our local primary schools, Houston and St Fillan’s Primary who stole the show. Some of the pupils had worked with singer/songwriter Yvonne Lyons to write songs about Houston past, present and future. They performed the three songs at the event with confidence, enthusiasm and huge smiles on their faces and were a sheer delight to hear. The first song was called “The Magical Place” and was about Hugo de Padunian, a Knights Templar whom Houston is named after. The second song was called “Granny D” – a tribute to our very own Houston legend, Marion Dawson, the oldest person in Scotland at 109 years old. Finally they performed “Hope for Houston”, an inspiring song that took us on an imaginative journey of what the children hope Houston will be like in the future – where “the very coolest thing of all. There was no homework for us at all!!”

Guests were then invited to enjoy some refreshments, including home baking made by pupils and staff from the Health, Food and Technology department at Gryffe High School. As they did so, they were able to browse the fabulous artwork that the nursery school children had produced to represent Houston Past and Future, the architectural ideas and models of Houston Future and fabulous drawings of Houston landmarks and buildings created from pupils at Gryffe High School, and artwork and memories of some collaborative work between the pupils of Gryffe High and Houston Primary School.

The Houston Lockdown Quilt 2020/21 was on display, as was a film telling the story of how the Strathclyde Tennis Club, the Scouts and Boys Brigade began in Houston. A beautiful slide show of letters and telegrams of a local Houston resident who was captured in Java as a prisoner of war during WWII was also playing for all to enjoy.

This event has been supported by the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. This fund was delivered in partnership between VisitScotland and Museums Galleries Scotland with support from National Lottery Heritage Fund thanks to National Lottery players.

Marie Christie, Head of Development at VisitScotland said: “We are delighted to be supporting “A Celebration of Houston Legends and Tales from Past Present and Future” through the Year of Stories 2022 Community Stories Fund. Events play an important role in our communities as they sustain livelihoods and help to celebrate and promote our unique places, spaces and stories. Themed Years are all about collaboration and Museums Galleries Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund and VisitScotland are pleased to work in partnership to create this fund to showcase community stories. By supporting events taking place within our communities, including “A Celebration of Houston Legends and Tales from Past Present and Future”, new opportunities with be provided for locals and visitors to come together and find out more about the diverse stories, past and present, that our communities.”

You can view the video’s and soundscapes on our YouTube channel here.

You can also see our story of the Houston Lockdown Quilt 2021/21 on the Houston and Killellan Kirk Facebook page here

We would like to thank all those involved in this project and making the event such a huge success. A special thanks to the pupils and staff of Gryffe High School for their input and involvement with preparing and serving refreshments, in conducting the interviews, creating some wonderful works of art, presenting during the evening and for their technical support, and for agreeing to host the event; all those who agreed to be interviewed and sharing their stories; Hugh Kerr for putting together the photo sequences and audio clips; Barry Hedges for taking most of the photographs used in the event, and everyone else who supplied photographs; the pupils of Houston and St Fillan’s primary schools for writing fabulous songs and an excellent performance; Yvonne Lyon for working with the children to write and perform the songs and producing the soundscapes; the pupils of Gryffe Manor, Abbey and Houston Primary nursery schools for their wonderful art work; and Louisa McSherry for managing the administration aspects of the project.