Historic dance cup discovered and handed over to Wick museum

Wick Players drama group gifted a historic Highland Dancing Cup, dating back over 50 years, to the local community.

Secretary of the Players, Jayden Alexander, said that “out of nowhere” the club appeared to have been in possession of a trophy called 'The Garricok Cup' which was from the first Wick Highland Dancing Festival – the first name engraved on it is Shirley A Ross who was a winner in 1971.

“When Jeanette Geddes (nee Shearer) became a qualified dancing teacher, she started the Wick Highland Dancing Festival and the collection of awards was obtained from local businesses that sponsored the festival,” said Jayden.

After being in touch with Jeanette recently, it was felt that handing the cup over to the Wick Society would be a good idea and so on March 31, Jayden officially handed the cup over to the organisation at Wick Heritage Museum.

The cup features engravings of the winners’ names from 1971 to 1985 as follows: 1971 Shirley A. Ross; 1972 Avril Oliphant; 1973 Alison Richard; 1974 Alison Richard; 1976 Reay Mackay; 1977 Carol Robbie; 1978 Janie McPhee; 1979 Caroline Tait; 1980 Lorraine Bremner; 1981 Morag Pretsell; 1982 Diana McBoyle; 1983 Elise Lyall/Diana McBoyl; 1984 Trudi Munro/Robyn McBoyle and 1985 Julie MacLennan.

For more info on Wick Players and how to join please visit: www.wickplayers.com/

Membership isn't only open to those who might fancy treading the boards but also to those who would like to support the club as a patron.

Membership benefits include:

• Priority booking for winter productions.

• Subscription to the triennial newsletter ‘The Curtain Call’.

• Access to the script library at its headquarters on Moray Street in Wick.

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