Festival aids Scots hit by hotel closure
A VISIT by a pipe band and a Scots Gaelic choir from Mid-Argyll to Ballycarry's Broadisland Gathering almost went badly wrong after the recent closure of Larne's Highways Hotel.
The two groups, totalling over 70 people, were mostly booked into the hotel, and were dismayed when they received the shock news that it had gone out of business.
Another venue had to be found quickly: not an easy task given the number of rooms required. Worse still, both the band and the choir had paid substantial deposits to the Highways and it looks unlikely that these will be recovered.
"We as organisers were totally dismayed at the news," said festival organiser David Hume. "We have been working hard to raise funds to make this trip special for our guests from Mid-Argyll and we would hope this could be the start of a major initiative with this area of Scotland.
"But the first impressions they had of our area were not good with the hotel disappointment. The group wanted to stay together and ultimately the only hotel which could cope with the numbers was outside the area, which was disappointing as we had hoped they would have more opportunities to be in Larne during their stay."
FULL STORY IN THIS WEEK'S PAPER
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Larne
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
