Sma Shot Day - 2009

Last year I blogged about Sma Shot Day, which is an annual fixture in the Paisley calendar. This year’s event took place last Saturday (July 4th). I would have posted these pictures sooner, but for events, overtime at work and just generally not having enough time in the day.

In the words of the Paisley.org website, this is what Sma Shot is about…

“This Saturday 4th July 2009 is Sma ‘ shot day in Paisley, the day traditionally begins with a parade from Brodie Park this year leaving at 12 noon, weaving its way to Abbey Close, led by a replica of the Charleston Drum with Tony Lawther at the realm of the drum, The parade shall feature banners representing Ferguslie, Toonheid, Sandholes, Sneddon, Causeyside, Newtoun and Charleston.

A wealth of stalls, funfairs, street theatre and onstage entertainment – including a re-enactment of the Sma’ Shot Story by local youth theatre PACE, and the ‘Burning of the Cork’ – will ensure that Saturday night will be a memorable one.

This year there is a later start to the parade as it weaves out of Brodie park at 12 noon, and with the whole day overhauled this year to include sections designed to meet age groups there is something for everyone, Clyde 1 , street entertainers and the highlight of the night starting at 8pm for the festival of fire and burning of the cork and music this is the ideal time to spend your day in Paisley.

What is Sma’ Shot Day? The festival came about as a result of a political battle fought between the weavers of Paisley and their employers, the manufacturers, in the 19th Century.

The Sma’ (small) Shot was a cotton thread which bound all the colourful weft threads into the warps of the famous shawls.

However, the Sma’ Shot was unseen in the finished garments and so the manufacturers, known locally as ‘corks’, refused to pay for the thread. The weavers had no choice but to buy the thread themselves. Without it the shawls would fall apart and the weavers would not be paid for their work. A long dispute followed.

The Charleston drum, which was beaten through the streets of Paisley to summon the weavers in times of trouble, was beaten once again to rally the weavers in protest marches. After a long and hard struggle, the manufacturers backed down and the weavers were paid for the Sma’ Shot.

In 1856 the first Saturday in July, a traditional holiday for the weavers, was renamed Sma’ Shot Day in honour of the victory.

From that day and for many years, the Charleston drum was used to rally weavers and lead them to the departure point for their annual trip, usually “doon the watter” to Ayr.

The demise of the weaving industry, the introduction of the five day working week and a change in local government brought an end to Sma’ Shot Day in 1975, but in 1986 local councillors and the people of Paisley decided to revive this great tradition.

Since then, on the first Saturday of July, once more the beating of the Charleston drum rallies the people of Paisley to a gathering outside Paisley Town Hall, and a procession is held through the streets of Paisley, led by ‘The Cork’, an effigy of one of the manufacturers defeated by the Paisley weavers”


Last Saturday was a better day than last year, at least there was sunshine, and while the parade has evolved rapidly over the past couple of years, I am not really too sure about moving the burning of the cork to later (arount 10pm-ish) on the Saturday.

We did see the PACE group’s re-telling of the story of the Sma Shot, well acted with a script which was a cross between Titanic and Strike! The irony of a day in honour of people, who if they pulled the same stunt today would be universally condemned by the “dignitaries” now queuing up to support Sma Shot Day, was... well you I think can write the rest.

Sma Shot Day

This weekend was the annual Sma Shot day in Paisley. Not the nicest day overall, which was a shame. This extract about what the day is about comes from the Renfrewshire Council website...

"One of the oldest workers' festivals in the world takes place in Paisley this weekend.The traditional Sma' Shot Day celebrates the historic victory of the weavers over the mill owners of 19th century Paisley.

The event, which takes place this Saturday (5 July), has developed into an annual celebration of arts and culture in Renfrewshire.The festival is the result of a political battle between the weavers of Paisley (who created the famous Paisley pattern cashmere shawls) and the mill-owners.The Sma' (small) Shot was a thread binding the shawls together. However, as it was unseen, the manufacturers, also known as the corks, refused to pay for the thread which the weavers had to buy.

The Charleston drum, which was beaten through the streets of Paisley to summon the weavers in times of trouble, was used to rally them in protest marches. After a long hard struggle, the manufacturers backed down and the weavers were paid for the Sma' Shot. The first Saturday in July was declared a public holiday by the weavers, who beat the drum and took part in the annual trip until 1975.

However, in 1986, local councillors and the people of Paisley revived the traditional event and the Charleston drum still rallies the people for a procession through the streets, led by an effigy of one of the mill owners known as The Cork.The burning of The Cork is the climax to the Sma' Shot Story as told by PACE Theatre Company.Provost Celia Lawson said: "Sma' Shot Day is a unique tradition and an important celebration of Paisley's cultural heritage."The parade will set off from Brodie Park at 11am and will weave its way through the streets to Abbey Close beside Paisley Town Hall.Once there, entertainment will include stalls, funfairs, the re-enactment of the Sma' Shot story, Loud 'n' Proud celebrating the Charleston Drum with a drumming extravaganza, and the burning of The Cork.Coinciding with Sma' Shot day this year is the Danny Kyle Memorial Concert, being held in Paisley Town Hall at 7.30pm.The concert commemorates 10 years since the death of one of Scotland's most famous folk musicians, and a number of acts are paying tribute."