Thanks to everyone who came along to our fourth annual Big Lunch event in Overtoun Park on the 3rd June 2018.  It was a lovely day which started with the official launch of the Ruglen Ropewalk sculpture trail and was followed by the Big Lunch in what has become the favoured location – alongside the tree lined avenue, underneath the shelter of the trees with views of the bandstand and fountain.    It’s a lovely spot for a picnic with good open views for parents to keep an eye on children as they climb trees and explore this area of the park and a great spot for the live music provided by the fantastic Mairs Family Band.

Free Pictures The Big Lunch ,Overtoun Park Rutherglen On Sunday, 18 June, Scotland joined in with the rest of the UK for the annual Big Lunch, where communities organise their own BBQs, get-togethers and street parties, getting to know each other and celebrating their communities. Last year, events in Scotland took place as far north as Stornoway and as far south as the borders. Now in its ninth year, the idea from the Eden Project, made possible by the National Lottery, is the perfect recipe for having fun with neighbours, feeding community spirit and helping to build stronger neighbourhoods. So far events registered take place in Edinburgh, Dumfries, Lundin Links, Rutherglen, Newtongrange, Fenwick, Forres, Oxgangs, Newhaven, Glasgow and Brechin. Your community is being urged to join in, put out the bunting and ask your neighbours along on 18 June, and remind them to bring a dish! The Big Lunch is the culmination of The Great Get Together, an idea inspired by the late Jo Cox, in celebration of her belief that we have more in common with our neighbours. Emily Watts, Eden’s country manager for Scotland added: “What The Big Lunch does is give neighbours a reason to come together. Every year more people join in and more communities benefit from the annual get-together. “It doesn’t matter if you're holding a street party, a BBQ, or a picnic in the park – people are the key ingredient. It’s all about connecting people to create stronger communities.” For people interested in getting involved this June, free packs and event resources are available from www.thebiglunch.com. These include invitations and posters to adapt for communities as well as lots of ideas and info to help get the ball rolling. -ENDS- Media enquiries: Laura Sutherland, Aura M: 07764 936 840 E: laura@aura-pr.com Tw: @laurafromaura Interviews available on request Case studies available from previous Big Lunches Mark F Gibson / Gibson Digital 07792445 437 infogibsondigital@gmail.co

The Ruglen Ropewalk launch was led by the lovely storyteller, Amanda Edmiston, who enthralled those present with the stories relating to each sculpture: the Richmond Laundry; the Pechs of Rutherglen; and Templeton’s Carpets.   We handed out copies of the Ruglen Ropewalk map which has been beautifully illustrated by Rosie of Illustration Etc and features abbreviated versions of the stories written by Amanda.  A copy of the map can be downloaded here.

As with any big event, it takes a big team of people to make it happen so we’d like to thank all those people who came to help us set up for the event and tidy up afterwards – we couldn’t have done it without you!

Big Lunch Rutherglen MFG

A big thanks also to: the Mairs Family Band who provided the live music; to Tesco Burnside for the donations of water, cakes and crisps; to Overtoun Park Bowling Club for very kindly giving us access to their toilets once again; to Friends of Overtoun Park for their support; to the organisers of the Christian Aid Fun Run which took place in the park at the same time and was also a great success; to Iain the tree surgeon who helped get the ropes for our parachute up in to the trees; and finally to Wendy and volunteers from R:Evolve who yarn bombed a very old bike and transformed it into a thing of beauty!

We hope everyone who came to the Big Lunch enjoyed it – hope to see you next year!