A CALENDAR showing the changing face of Haddington – with a twist – is officially launched by Haddington Pipe Band this weekend.

The calendar, with the theme of ‘Haddington Old and New’, has been produced by the pipe band and is launched at the opening of an exhibition of photographs in the town’s Loft Cafe and Bakery on Saturday at 10.30am.

Thirteen photographs – 10 from Haddington, along with others from East Linton, Gifford and Pencaitland – have all been created using 19th and 20th-century images sourced from the archives at the John Gray Centre, on Haddington’s Lodge Street.

Each photograph has then been merged with a new image taken at the same place by professional photographer Nick Callaghan.

Among the shots are the long-gone Bothwell Castle in the Hardgate, the train accident of 1937, High Street in 1895, St Mary’s Kirk before and after its renovation, the ford at the Nungate Bridge, the 1927 flood and the motor engineers’ garage in East Linton in the 1920s.

Alastair Bruce, the band’s chairman, was hopeful the calendar would prove a real hit with the public once again.

He said: “For this year’s calendar, we have drawn on old photographs and sought to create a window into the world of those who lived in our community in these times by staging new photographs of the same locations and blending them with the old scenes.

“The final images, we believe, not only highlight the developments in or the constancy of our environment and built heritage, but also allow us to share space, and seemingly time, with our predecessors.

“These are not ghosts from the past but real people who walk the same pavements, work in the same streets, sit in the same resting places, and cross the same river.”

Mr Bruce also thanked everyone for their efforts in putting the calendar together.

He added: “We are extremely grateful to the many businesses who have sponsored the production [and] to our superb photographer Nick Callaghan – the quality of his work is there for all to see in the calendar and exhibition.

“And the support of the John Gray Centre, in particular local history officer Bill Wilson, was invaluable.”

This year’s cover shot draws on a photo of Court Street in Haddington in 1910, with the modern photograph capturing members of the pipe band, as well as the work of the award-winning community organisation, Blooming Haddington.

The exhibition, which will run until after Christmas, will open at the Loft, on the town’s Peffers Place, with the band playing to mark the occasion.

The calendar will shortly go on sale for £5 at various outlets and online at haddingtonpipeband.co.uk All funds raised from this calendar will be used to pay for tuition, instruments, uniforms and other initiatives which help the band to develop and make a positive contribution to the town and the community.