HARRY wonders whether Saturday’s Gala will be the last.

IT was the annual Darwen Gala at the weekend and I went along with my youngest granddaughter.

I hadn’t been for two or three years but I thought I’d better have a look. Especially as it could be the last.

It was all very enjoyable and my seven-year-old had a great time.

“Can we come again next year?” she asked. Yes, of course.

There didn’t seem much point in explaining that yet another long-established Darwen tradition is struggling to survive.

There’s been a Darwen Gala since the mid 60s and before that it was the town’s Carnival procession which went back donkey’s years.

But now, the hard-working Gala committee, are getting fed up.

It seems to get harder every year,” says chairman John Sturgess who answered a call for support ten years ago and fairly quickly ended up with the weight of the job on his shoulders.

Big problem is a lack of active, behind-the-scenes support. Just as so many other organisations have found in recent years.

The Gala committee badly need enthusiasts with some experience of organising this sort of thing.

There are always some ready to join a voluntary committee but the work usually falls on to four or five shoulders.

“We need to spread the load more,” says John. “Saturday was another successful day and a lot of people had a great time.

"But in a few weeks we’ll have to start looking ahead to next year and, frankly, there’s not much enthusiasm.”

The Gala used to be run by the former Darwen Town Council and then by Blackburn Council and then, since the early 80s, by local volunteers.

I first got involved back in the 60s and I’ve helped them out from time to time.

The Gala hasn’t lost any of its popularity up at Bold Venture although the road parade has been tailing off for years.

Back in the 50s, for instance, it was the Borough of Darwen’s Grand Carnival with well over a hundred decorated floats, rose queens, bands, morris dance troupes and fancy dress contestants winding their way down to the Anchor from Whitehall.

Among those making personal appearances were the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Anne Boleyn, and Davy Crockett. Great stuff!

In the 70s Darwen Weightlifters became the stars of the show with “Little Chris” Howson leading the fun. This year, among the attractions, were a professional mountain bike stunt team, displays, cheerleaders, a fairground and the ever-popular Land Rover rides up to the tower.

The council supports the gala with a modest donation but there was nothing from the Communities Fund where local groups seem to vote for each other.

There was, however, extra help this year from Herbert Parkinson, Twin Valley, Crown and 107 The Bee.

The elf’n’safety spectre rears its head higher every year.

Just imagine bits of blown-up hot-water bottles or splinters of wood from the piano-smashing competition flying into the crowd.

In the old days everyone would just duck and laugh.

These days there would be accident lawyers roaming around waiting to pounce.

They’d probably have a float. And a stall.