To all who know her, Colleen - a senior swimmer in Aberfeldy - is extremely modest about her ground-breaking achievements in open-water swimming (swimsuit only). These include traversing the English and North Channels, swimming round Manhattan Island and Jersey, the Loch Tay Tummel and Rannoch for charity, and in 2011, she became the first person to swim the Pentland-Firth.
The Queen’s Baton received a warm welcome as it entered Perth & Kinross on Day 21 of its whistlestop tour of all of Scotland’s 32 council areas. The relay team stopped in many towns and villages across the county including Pitlochry,Birnam, Dunkeld, Blairgowrie, Rattray and Perth.
Highlights included a visit to the former crowning place of Scottish kings at Scone Palace, a stop at Blarigowrie Golf club where the baton team presided over the Junior Ryder cup and a flotilla of canoes down the Tay to Perth, with fireworks to greet the relay team.
The quality of the day’s entertainment was matched by the caliber of the Perth & Kinross batonbearers.
Colleen Blair - a senior swimmer in Aberfeldy - is extremely modest about her ground-breaking achievements in open-water swimming (swimsuit only). These include traversing the English and North Channels, swimming round Manhattan Island and Jersey, the Loch Tay Tummel and Rannoch for charity, and in 2011, she became the first person to swim the Pentland-Firth.
The oldest batonbearing candidate in the Perth and Kinross district, Margaret Flockhart is a stalwart of her local community having been a Boys Brigade leader for over 30 years, firstly at St. Stephen’s School serving boys from Muirton and North Muirton, then later at Perth’s Salvation Army shop. She even returned after retiring in 2004 to help the company survive when the leader became ill and she’s still there!
Also making an appearance was Scottish comedian and broadcaster Fred MacAulay ran with the Queen’s message at Scone Palace to rapturous applause.
The closing of the day’s proceedings in Perth was one of the most impressive seen so far on the Queen’s relay. Hundreds gathered in North Inch Park, Perth, to congratulate 1986 Commonwealth Games badminton Gold medal winner, Dan Travers and day was played out to music from acts including Gareth Gates and Stooshie.