CHATTERBOX

No 184 April 2009

www.lochwinnoch.info

Community newsletter produced by lochwinnoch publicity committee for lochwinnoch cc

MATTHEW NEW & SONS

ROOFING - ROUGHCASTING - BUILDING MAINTENANCE

Emergency Repairs, Storm Damage Insurance Work, New Roofs, Flat Roofs

Roughcasting –UPVC Cladding—Guttering Tel No 01505 843400

FMB Certificate No 26366

Nuisance HelplineNuisance HelplineNuisance HelplineNuisance Helpline Anti-Social Behaviour

Noise problems Support and Advice

Every day 9am – 10pm

Tel: 0800 169 1283

ASISTASISTASISTASIST Anti-Social

Investigation Team

Office 8:45am – 4:45pm

Tel: 0141 840 2163

Editorial & copy for Chatterbox Let us have your stories, notices, news, information, events & items of interest — either hand-deliver them to the Chatter-box drop-box in the Library or e-mail to:

chatterbox@lochwinnoch.info

To advertise in Chatterbox

Tel: 07899 746403 or e-mail: chatterboxaccount@btinternet.com

Copy Deadline Copy Deadline Copy Deadline Copy Deadline

for May Issue Is for May Issue Is for May Issue Is for May Issue Is

Monday 27th April ‘09Monday 27th April ‘09Monday 27th April ‘09Monday 27th April ‘09

Lochwinnoch Partnership will be holding a

PUBLIC CONSULTATION MEETING on

Wednesday 22nd April 2009 at 7pm

in the McKillop Institute, Lochwinnoch

Lochwinnoch

Community Council

What’s On See centre pages for club activities, village events & classes.

See back pages for Visitor Centre/ RSPB events and outdoor activities.

Lochwinnoch Partnership was established in March 2005 to address village policing and traffic issues. The Partnership operates on a community-based approach to solving problems together and depends, for its success, on the co-operation and support from local people in our village and local area. Over the past 4 years, a number of initiatives have been undertaken by members of the Partnership and considerable progress has been achieved. Although the Public Meeting on Wednesday 22nd April is primarily to address traffic issues in the Johnshill area of Lochwinnoch, there will be the opportunity for members of the public to raise any other village traffic issues.

This is your community and your views matter so help us to help you and come along to this meeting and have your say.

MASONIC CLUB

EVENTS

EASTER DANCE

Saturday 4th April Dance to “Time and a Half”

7.30pm for 8pm

in the Masonic Hall

Tickets £5

Prize for the best Easter

Bonnet, which must be modelled

by a man!

Contacts for tickets are Liz on

842387 or Willie on 843359.

***

PRIZE BINGO NIGHT

Friday 1st May 7.30pm at the Masonic Club

Everyone welcome.

***

SPORTSMAN’S DINNER

Saturday 2nd May 6.30pm for 7pm

at the Masonic Hall

Presenting - Ken Buchanan, Boxer

and Paul Reid, Sporting Celebrity

and Impressionist

Tickets £25

Contact for tickets:

Willie on Tel: 843359.

UPDATE Despite the current deadlock, the Struthers Feasibility Report under-taken by Community Enterprise in Scotland (CEiS) has now been finalised for LCBG. A copy of this document is available to view in the library. An electronic version will in time be made available on the village website. This report assesses the feasibility of the proposals put forward by LCBG for the Struthers site. This provides an in-depth analysis of LCBG’s proposals in the context of local, regional and national trends. Despite the site specific nature of this report, the content may be of interest to many individuals and groups in the village as it covers such a wider range of subject mat-ter and contains such a wealth of data. For example, the report pro-vides an overview of the socio-economic profile of Lochwinnoch and the wider area, the market profile for community based social, business and leisure services, and the feasibility of a range of poten-tial commercial ventures in the vil-lage. This information may there-fore be of particular value to exist-ing business operators in the vil-lage, as well as anyone wishing to start a new business. The conclusions of the report vin-dicate LCBG’s proposals by sug-gesting that there would be a strong business case for establish-ing a community run operation fo-cusing on local products including beer from a microbrewery and fruit and vegetables from a market gar-den. Arts and craft workshops, business space and leisure facili-ties could also be integrated into the development. To date LCBG have had no further correspondence from the site owners.

Lochwinnoch Surgery and Branch Surgery

at 5 Mains Road, Beith. The results of our practice survey con-ducted in February this year were once again very encouraging with the high-est scores being overall satisfaction with the practice and staff and lowest scores with waiting times and opening hours. Unfortunately we do not have the resources to open the practices out with the normal 8am–6pm surgery hours. We have had many requests to open on Saturday mornings but have found this service to be unsuccessful in the past as there are no support ser-vices, eg. blood uplifts to lab, which has meant patients having to make a return appointment during the week.

The practice in Lochwinnoch is now open till 4 pm on Thursdays (pre-viously half-day) and Doctors are available for advice by phone every morning. If you require confidential medical advice urgently (eg emergency contraception) and there are no ap-pointments available, please ask the receptionist for a telephone consulta-tion and the Doctor will call you back after morning surgery.

Practice nurse appointments are also available for chronic disease manage-ment, wound dressings, minor ail-ments, cervical screening and contra-ceptive advice.

We would like to thank our patients very much indeed for the many kind and complimentary comments re-ceived. We will continue to improve the practice. Any suggestions are wel-come. Lochwinnoch Surgery Tel: 01505

842200 and Beith Branch Surgery Tel: 01505 502344

LCBG

The Struthers Project

blessing dental care

New spaces available to register

NHS patients

Check-ups are free

Tel: 01505 843105

69 High Street, Lochwinnoch PA12 4AB

www.blessingdentalcare.com

LOCHWINNOCH SWRI

Members and friends enjoyed and par-ticipated in an interesting demonstra-tion of caricature drawing by Meg McLucas with interesting results. The competition winners were: Three Gingerbread People - 1st P Matthews, 2nd L Benzie, and

Photograph of a Scottish Landscape 1st R Gould, 2nd K Brunton and 3rd I Templeton. The next meeting is on Wednesday 15th April at 7.30pm in the McKillop Institute, when we will celebrate our 56th birthday and have the presenta-tion of prizes. Members only. SWRI Federation Show A wonderful array of crafts, flowers and foods were on display. Lochwin-noch was very successful in the com-petitions, winning the Team Work Trophy, Mrs Elma Richmond won the Curran Cup for the Outstanding Em-broidered Article, Mrs Dorothy Donn won the trophy for the Chairman’s Choice and other members won vari-ous other prizes.

Lochwinnoch Lochwinnoch Lochwinnoch Lochwinnoch Elderly ForumElderly ForumElderly ForumElderly Forum

Our well-attended March meet-ing featured a talk from Harry Gould of the Renfrewshire Me-diation Services. He gave a lot of information on how the media-tors handle issues of anti-social behaviour and neighbour dis-putes. Advice was given on how they help to deal with instances of these which may be experi-enced and gave assurances that all calls for assistance in these matters are dealt with in com-plete confidence. The number to call, should their services be re-quired, is Tel: 0141 840 5140. Our next meeting is on Thursday 30th April at 1pm in the McKil-lop. Our AGM takes place at this meeting when the the office bear-ers are elected. We expect to welcome as speaker, Alex Stafford from Strathclyde Fire and Rescue.

An amplifier should be in place by then to ensure that members at the back of the hall can hear speakers more clearly. The ever popular T Bar will be opening on Thursday mornings as well as Tuesday during this month.

Lochwinnoch Historical Society

The speaker at the meeting on

Thursday 19th March was archi-

tect Gordon Gibb who designed

the restored India of Inchinnan

building.

He gave a most interesting

powerpoint presentation on the

design and on the history of India

tyres and how the building was

originally used to build airships.

Our next meeting, our last for

this season, is on Thursday 16th

April at 7.30pm. The speaker

will be Judith Bowers from the

Britannica Panopticon in Glasgow,

the oldest surviving music hall.

Her talk "Get aff - yer rotten!"

promises to be entertaining.

As usual visitors are most wel-

come; entry £2 to include tea,

coffee, biscuits and cake.

LOCHWINNOCH COMMUNITY

COUNCIL NOTICE

The Community Council is look-ing for ideas for a smallish pro-ject that would provide lasting benefit to the village and/or com-munity. We are thinking of something with a budget of around £4,000 to £12,000. If you have any ideas, please con-tact the Community Council by the usual channels, or come to the next meeting on - Tuesday 7th April at 7.30pm in the Guild Room of Lochwin-noch Parish Church

Lochwinnoch Branch of

Arthritis Research are holding their annual

Coffee Morning In the McKillop Hall on

Saturday 25th April from 10am to 12 noon

All the usual stalls

Home baking, Nearly New,

Jewellery, Bric-a-Brac

Books and a super Raffle!

Donations for any of these stalls

will be most welcome. Please

phone 842407 or 842558.

Tickets/Tea:

£1.50 for adults

75p for children

Where Art Our Queen (Mary)

Like a murky shawl over Carnoustie green

trying to explain would trial the queen dungeoned blanket holding a scream frankly not the words that I mean.

If I met this lady what would she say

standing above the estuary across the Tay

her bosoms nurturing like Lomonds drift

kingdoms of the world can heal that rift.

So lady warrior of the weathered soul

cast amid places our spirited soul emerald green diamonds

glitter of thee land locked mermaid soul

seeking free.

Ron Sinclair While working in Fife I learned a wee bit about Mary's captivity in Leven Castle and the views she would have seen then in 1542, would be the Lomonds and out into the Tay, but not the golf course. Where does poetry come from? if I knew that I would go and live there.

My puir wee beastie, a’ alaine You’ve wandered in the win’ and rain; Mang bleating sheep and blooming heather You’ve freedom had without a tether. You’ve jinked shepherds’ dogs and foxes In daylicht, aye as weel’s the noctes You’ve frichted weasles, hoodie craws, And rabbits sped as win’ that blaws. You’ve had to fen yourself as weel, ‘Tis hard to guess what you could steal In such a barren waste o’ heather, What kind o’ food you chanced to gether. But He who feeds the ravens knew, And ilka day provided true Your earthly food frae morn to eve, Nae lack of meat ye had to grieve. I’d gie a croun almost to gether Your thochts when coming thro’ the heather, Ye saw a human face aince mair, When almost given to despair. For monkeys, like the human race, Scorn solitude as out of place, And follow man in earthly zone, Feel “’Tis not good to be alone”.

FIREWOOD

* Seasoned hardwood logs and kindling from sustainable sources, split and ready to burn. * Supplied bagged, loose or by the trailer load. * FREE local delivery. * Order now - discounts available

for advance purchases.

Tel: 07973 719688 and ask for Mark

Your joy however, was cut short As, gleefully, in playful sport, Ye made a spring to catch his shouther But faith! He had ye doon like pouther. Wi’ throbbing head amang the heather Ye lay, puir beastie, like an ether; Your joy was soon turned into sorrow, No sympathy from man could borrow. But gentle zephyrs fanned your head, And brought you from ‘mang the dead; Your captor, feeling death’s alarm, Then kindly took you in his arm. You’d solace plenty at Muirshiel, Were kindly treated, fed fu’ weel, And brought wi’ care doon to the village And kept so that ye couldna pillage!

But ye were sought for, far and wide, By those you left at Noddle side; And when ‘twas known you’d landed here, It gave your friends at Largs good cheer.

On Tuesday last, in motor grand, I saw you leave for native land I’m sure your heart wi’ joy will fill When hame aince mair at dear Hawkhill.

The Muirshiel Monkey

Extract from the Largs & Millport Weekly, May 1906

(The strayed monkey found at Muirshiel, Lochwinnoch, by beaters during shooting operations last week, has now been returned to its rightful owner)

The Muirshiel Monkey Notes Added by Nigel Willis:-

Gether = gather, shouther = shoulder, pouther = powder, ether = adder, aince = once

Hawkhill, or Halkshill as it became shortly after this, is situated in the Gogo glen east of Largs. My grandfather, Charles Scott and his family (Scotts’ of Greenock, the shipbuilders founded in 1711) lived there in 1906 and the monkey was a very popular family pet. The poem mentions Noddle side which is wrong; it should be Gogo side!

The distance travelled by the monkey over the hill from Hawkhill to the Muirshiel moor is 6.5 miles, as the crow flies; a long way from home!

(Thanks to Ron and Nigel for these wonderful contributions to this month’s

Chatterbox. If you have items you would like us to feature, e-mail or write in to us -

contact details on front page. Ed.)

Councillor Arthur’s Report

As Chairman of the Lochwinnoch Partnership I am

delighted to report that, in March, we celebrated the

4th anniversary of our Partnership.

Our Partnership, which is made up of the Police, the Anti-social B e h a v i o u r T e a m ( A S IS T ) , Lochwinnoch Community Council and Renfrewshire Council, was originally set up to focus on polic-ing issues but quickly took on the issue of speeding traffic, nuisance drivers and traffic movement i s s u e s w i t h i n t h e v i l l a g e . Over the 4 years, we have been suc-cessful in reducing the amount of anti-social behaviour and traffic issues but acknowledge that there is still a lot of work to do to tackle the quantity of traffic that we have travelling in and through our village as well as the un-acceptable behaviour of some of the drivers. If you have any issues of this type that you feel you need help with, then please don’t hesitate to contact me or the Anti-social Behaviour Team (ASIST) who can be contacted on the numbers as shown at the top of the front page of Chatterbox. I am delighted to report that funding was secured to carry out improvement work in two areas of the village, which have been causing concern and distress for quite some time. The first area is the steps which lead from the corner of Semple Avenue and Braehead to Grahams Avenue, a route that is used by some of our school children as well as many of our other residents. The intensive work that has just been completed will keep the ground water from emerging from between the steps and from continu-ally running down the pavement, making underfoot conditions slippy and therefore difficult to walk on.

• Monoblock driveways

• Patios and walls

• All types of landscaping

• Ground maintenance

• Gardens cleared

• Tree and hedge pruning

and trimming

• Exterior painting around

the house and garden

• FREE estimates

W. A. THOMSON Tel: 01505 842498

Mob: 07778 680933

Lazy Sunday afternoon? Not any more..

Now there is a good excuse not to mow the lawn, clean the car or

visit the mother-in-law on Sunday afternoons.

Just wander into the village instead and have a leisurely look in

Now & Then for that wedding, birthday, new baby or anniversary

present – or buy a gift from you to you.

We are now open each Sunday from 12-4pm

and have all sorts of interesting stuff for you and your home.

Good stock, good prices and friendly local service.

Gifts Cards Jewellery Leather Home

The second area is the drainage on Calder Street between the school and Bridgend. Ground water running off the field gathered on the road due to the inadequate drainage. This meant that the flooding could easily reach two feet in depth with, at times, its only escape being through the wall behind the houses on Speirs Road. With the weight of this water on the wall, the Speirs Road residents feared that the wall would give way and a deluge of wa-ter would hit their gardens and homes. Hopefully this fear has been removed. It was great to see such a large turn-out at the recent St.Vincent’s fund-raising sale in Our Lady of Fatima Church on such a wet March Satur-day. As always the tea and home baking was superb as was the com-pany. Thanks again to Anne, Moira and her dedicated team of helpers.

I enjoyed my time spent with the Pri-mary 6 children speaking about the council election and what councillors’ duties are. My visit was part of one of their recent topics.

If your group would like to apply to Renfrewshire Council’s Johnstone and Villages Local Area Committee for a grant, then grant application forms can be downloaded from the Renfrewshire Council website, by contacting:

Corporate Services, Renfrewshire Council,

Cotton Street, Paisley PA1 1TR or Tel: 0141 840 3399 or by emailing

local-area-committees.cs @renfrewshire.gov.uk

My next Surgery is on Saturday 18th April but there is no need to wait for a Surgery if you require my help, you can contact me on 843507 and we can agree a time when we can meet.

Councillor David Arthur

Around 140 people joined the na-tionwide attempt to set a world re-cord for eating Fairtrade bananas in 24 hours. Highlights of this were the pupils in three primary school classes (and their teachers!) each eating a banana; the many custom-ers at Cucina Minucci who chose the banana themed items and a 'Go Ba-nanas' event involving staff and young volunteers at the RSPB which also offered free Fairtrade tea and coffee to visitors. We are very grate-ful to the Co-operative store in Beith who donated the bananas for several of these events and sell a wide range of Fairtrade products throughout the year.

Fairtrade Fortnight ended with a Stall at The Castle Semple Centre selling the wide range of products supplied by the Rainbow Turtle in Paisley which is the major Fairtrade hub in the West of Scotland. Consid-ering the appalling weather, there was strong interest in this new initia-tive. All of the products sold on the stall – tea, coffee, chocolate prod-ucts, dried fruits – can be bought at the Rainbow Turtle.

Finally, the stunning photographs taken by Trevor Leighton, shown in Lochwinnoch Library, highlighted the positive impact that buying Fair-trade products has on poverty and explained why the featured celebri-ties buy Fairtrade.

More Fairtrade Products available Fairtrade is no longer on the fringes of business. Tate and Lyle is commit-ted to selling sugar bought on fair-trade terms and plans have been an-nounced to achieve Fairtrade certifi-cation for Cadbury’s Dairy Milk by the end of Summer 2009. This move sets a new standard for the main-stream chocolate industry and will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana. It also means con-sumers will be able to enjoy Fair-trade ingredients in Britain’s top selling chocolate bar.

A Cadbury’s spokesman claimed “the Fairtrade Foundation and

Cadbury’s believe we can get more people in the UK to buy Fairtrade products and achieve more for this cause … what’s good for the farmers is good for our customers and our busi-ness.” The Fairtrade Foundation and its international partner certification body, FLO-Cert, will be independently monitoring and auditing the supply chain against internationally agreed Fairtrade standards.

Cadbury’s will also be sourcing cocoa from Kuapa Kokoo with over 40,000 registered cocoa farmers across Ghana. Here Fairtrade has allowed them to construct primary school classrooms, wells and corn mills. Sell-ing cocoa to Cadbury’s on Fairtrade terms will increase their Fairtrade pre-miums, and therefore the range of farmer support and community devel-opment programmes.

Moving the campaign foward Over the fortnight, the campaign group arranged meetings between the Director of the Rainbow Turtle and local shops in an attempt to extend the range of Fairtrade goods available in the village so making it easier for us to include them in our regular shop-ping. We also hope that fairly traded aromatic rice from Malawi and jams from Swaziland will be available for sale in the village soon. If you want to know where to buy Fairtrade, copies of the Fairtrade Guide to Ren-frewshire for 2009, produced by Ren-frewshire Council, are available in the Library, Post Office and all of the Fair-trade outlets in the village. More folk have registered as supporters of the Lochwinnoch Fairtrade campaign: households not already signed up are welcome to complete the forms avail-able from the Junction. Fairtrade Fortnight was a great example of how much can be achieved when many people net-work together to support a com-mon cause. Thanks are due to Ivan and Jo Minucci at the Junction; Christine Murdoch, the Minister of Lochwinnoch Parish Church and its Kirk session; staff at Lochwin-noch Primary School; staff and young volunteers at the RSPB Cen-tre; staff at the Castle Semple Cen-tre; and, finally, Pauline Moss and Margaret Sweenie at the Library for arranging to bring and display the exhibition.

If you wish to help the Fairtrade campaign in the future, please contact Bob Turner (843068).

LOCHWINNOCH INTERNATIONAL AID

NEWS Fairtrade Fortnight and Go Bananas The local campaign group was de-lighted with the positive response to the various events it organised during Fairtrade Fortnight, the annual cam-paign that raises awareness of Fair-trade in an enjoyable and interesting way. This article briefly describes the fortnight as a whole; whilst the accom-panying report on Cornelius Lynch’s talk, by Tristania Currie, explains why buying Fairtrade goods makes a differ-ence to farmers and workers in parts of the world that are poorer than Scot-land.

The Junction, a major supplier of Fair-trade in the village, held two coffee mornings which raised £80 to help subsidise a new Fairtrade shopping bag, going on sale after Easter. An-other highlight was the coffee tasting evening given by Ivan Minucci when he introduced coffee lovers to four single origin coffees. Comparing the aroma and taste of these distinct Fair-trade coffees, all available at the Junc-tion, was great fun. Ivan plans to re-peat this venture so please let him know if you are interested.

A packed Bowling Club audience loved the warmth of the group Quinteto Son al Son who played son, a 1920’s style of music still played in cafés and bars across Cuba. We raised £462 for Cu-ban musicians, promoting Fairtrade goods in the raffle. We also aim to develop a closer relationship with St Lucia after hearing the talk by Corne-lius Lynch.

noticed immediately. There was a significant rise in numbers of farm-ers joining the scheme between 2002 and 2006; 12 Fairtrade groups were established with a membership of over 1400 farmers.

Why a commitment to Fairtrade makes a difference

Membership of Fairtrade is volun-tary but farmers must meet strict criteria to ensure fairness for all; equality, democracy and transpar-ency are the watchwords here. Fair-trade farmers also demonstrate a commitment to respect the environ-ment by using non-GM seeds and by ensuring that the plastic used to pro-tect the banana trees is collected and disposed of responsibly.

Community projects have benefited from the ‘social premium’ which is paid per box of bananas and the im-portance of this premium lies in the fact that the farmers’ groups get to decide where and how the money is spent unlike previous projects. The current social premium rate is US$1 per box. Some projects that have

benefited from the social premium are:

* fans were purchased for a medical centre to keep patients cool in the heat * a hospital received an autoclave – expensive sterilising equipment – to replace the pressure cooker they had previously had to use to sterilise medical items * a computer lab for a primary school * a new resource room at a secondary school, including computer equip- ment and new reading materials * a new truck to distribute banana packaging materials & fertilisers.

The future? However, there is a threat hanging over the success of Fairtrade in the Windward Isles. If the World Trade Organisation resurrect talks that aim to reduce trade tariffs on bananas, this could have a disasterous outcome for the farmers. It would mean that the market would be flooded, possibly forcing the Fairtrade farmers out of business. Cornelius says that this is his biggest fear and ‘definitely is worse than any hurricane for us if it ever happens.’ Where you come in… Cornelius ended his talk by comment-ing on how delighted he had been to discover the extent to which people in the UK were supporting Fairtrade, not just by purchasing the products but by proactively organising and par-ticipating in events such as the recent Fairtrade Fortnight activities.

Show your support for farmers such as Cornelius as they continue to strive for fair reward for their labour – buy Fairtrade and consider giving some time to Lochwinnoch’s ongoing Fairtrade campaign.

FROM ST LUCIA TO

LOCHWINNOCH A personal insight Lochwinnoch was privileged to host a talk by banana producer and Fairtrade farmer, Cornelius Lynch on Tuesday 3rd March. Those who braved the sleet to make it to the Parish Church that evening were treated to a unique personal insight into the difference that Fairtrade really does make to pro-ducer communities. Cornelius Lynch left his family and beautiful, warm homeland of St Lucia for two weeks to travel in the UK winter to spread the word about the success of Fair-trade in his own country.

The introduction of Fairtrade Cornelius’ story is an inspiring tale of how one person’s endeavours can make a difference to a whole commu-nity. He was one of four children raised by his mother who funded her children’s education by growing ba-nanas. After a period of studying and working for the Ministry of Agricul-ture, he worked for 13 years as a ba-nana farmer. During this time, the number of banana farmers decreased from 5000 to 3000 due to the effects of trade policies that squeezed the farmers’ profit margins.

In 2000, Cornelius was closely in-volved in the introduction of Fairtrade to St Lucia which was possible through close collaboration with WINFA (Windward Islands Farmers Association). By July 2002 the first shipment of Fairtrade bananas had left St Lucia. The price difference was

Councillor Neil Bibby’s Report

I am pleased that calls made by local residents and I for a public meeting about speeding traffic on Johnshill have been heard. This meeting organ-ised between the Roads Department and the Community Council will take place on the evening of Wednesday 22nd April in the McKillop Hall. I will be at the meeting to listen to the views of local residents and to make sure they are also listened to by the Roads Dept. As I have said before, concerns over safety for motorists and pedestrians, young and old, are very serious and all that can be done should be done to address these concerns. As a local Councillor I have over 10,000 residents to represent in Lochwinnoch, Kilbarchan and Johnstone. I try my very best to get round every area to listen to as many of the people as possible. I will be in the following streets on the afternoon of Thursday 23rd April to listen to the views of local residents in:

Crookhill Gardens, Crookhill Drive, Calderpark Avenue, Calderpark Street, Calder Drive, Calder Street and Speirs Road.

Notices from Renfrewshire Centre for Voluntary Service (RCVS).

NATIONAL SPRING CLEAN

runs from 1st to 30th April 2009.

This annual, month-long blitz on litter is now here and Keep Scotland Beautiful is looking for volunteers. Clean Renfrewshire are keen to support local groups who want to organise a clean up.

If you’re interested, please contact Seona Boyle on Tel: 0141 842 4448 or

0141 840 6227 or e-mail : seona.boyle@renfrewshire.gov.uk

CHARITIES UPDATE

The Office of the Scottish Regulator (OSCR) is removing 85 charities from the Scottish Charity Register. The 85 charities that are being removed have either been verified as inactive or have served their charitable purpose and have been wound up. 790 charities, listed as “defaulting” because they have failed to submit annual accounts - despite repeated reminders - are also being pursued. It was reported that the 790 charities have been instructed to provide the required information, and most have given the OSCR assurance that they will comply. For further details, contact OSCR at their Dundee office on: 01382 220446 (Mon-Fri) or visit their website at: www.oscr.org.uk

Annie Davis On behalf of the family, can we ex-tend our sincere thanks to our good friends in the village and be-yond for their kind words of sym-pathy and respect shown for Annie during our sad and difficult time of her passing. We would also like to thank the Co-operative Funeral Service for their professionalism and com-passion shown during and after the organisation of the funeral; the Rev. Brown and the staff of the Calder United Free Church; and our thanks to the Ladies Section of Lochwinnoch Bowling Club.

Thank you, once again, From the Davis family.

To make sure I call at your door, please call or leave a message for me on 07917 882 294. Blue badge holders in Lochwinnoch will welcome new laws aimed at preventing the abuse of disabled parking spaces which were recently approved by the Scottish Parliament. This means that disabled parking bays will now become legally en-forceable and anyone without a blue badge caught parking in these bays can get fined.

There are 224,000 blue badge hold-ers in Scotland and I know that there are a number of Lochwinnoch resi-dents who will welcome these changes.

The new laws proposed by my col-league, Jackie Baillie MSP, will also put an obligation on the Council to negotiate with owners of private car parks - e.g. supermarkets, on how the scheme can be extended to those areas.

I hold my regular advice surgery in the McKillop Hall on the first Satur-day of the month at 9am.

You can also contact me on - Tel: 0141 840 3653

or by emailing -cllr.neil.bibby@renfrewshire.gov.uk

about any issue at any time.

Councillor Neil Bibby

Easter Holiday

Club

We have a fantastic programme lined up for the Easter Holidays, including specific themes at the club, making use of the local facilities, and trips outwith Lochwinnoch. This year, we are introducing the voucher system (that we use during the summer) which will be used at Easter too. We are open every day of the school holidays, apart from 7.45am-6pm on Good Friday (10th April) and on Easter Monday (13th April). Remember, Monday 20th April is an in-service day but LOSC will be open as holiday club from 7.45am-6pm. For more details, you can come into the club between 7.45am - 9.30am or be-tween 2.30pm - 6.30pm to talk to the staff and find out more about our exciting programme. Alternatively, you can phone us on 0775 780 1042.

J Quinn & son

Memorials

Personal Service & Quality

Guaranteed

New Memorials

Additional Inscriptions

Cleaning & Renovations

Mon 10am –5pm, Tue –Fri 10am –2pm Evening & Weekends by Arrangement

4a Dalry Road, KILBIRNIE Please Call 01505 68 54 55

From the Parish Church

Easter

Just when I thought there would be no more light

in the Jerusalem sky, the Bright and Morning Star

appeared and the darkness

has not overcome it.

Ann Weems You will know by now that Ann Weems is one of my favourite po-ets. Not just because of the beau-tiful word which she writes, but also because the joy radiating through her poems was born out of heartache. Her poem Easter, above, is one to which I turn again and again at this time of year. As I write, I am beginning to look forward to Easter. Before I reach that wonderful day, I will journey through Lent and Holy Week. Easter is a joyful celebration within the Church which lasts not for one day, but for forty. Before that we have a time of prepara-tion, Lent and the last week of Lent, Holy Week is a time when we travel with Jesus through the events which led to his death. Each day in Holy Week brings to mind a different encounter in the closing days of Jesus’ earthly life: we remember Jesus’ feet being anointed with oil – a symbol of burial in Judaism; we recall Jesus predicting his own death and that a friend, Judas, will betray him to the authorities; on Maundy Thursday we re-enact Jesus shar-ing the Last Supper with his friends, some Churches include ritual foot washing, a reminder of Jesus being the servant of all; on Good Friday it is Jesus’ walk to the cross which comes to mind. This is not meant to be an easy journey. This is a time when the mood of the Church reflects the pain and hardship which we often experience in life.

Of course we want life to be full of happy occasions, but, as so many of you know all too well, it is just not like that. Bereavement and loss are as much part of life as celebration and joy. Even the changes we initiate ourselves, such as moving house or chang-ing our jobs can bring us pain when we leave the old behind, before embracing the new. Living in Lochwinnoch, we are fortunate to see this reflected in nature each year as the trees be-gin to lose their leaves in the au-tumn, the flowers and shrubs in our gardens die back for the win-ter and the song-birds depart for warmer climes. Yet we also know that in the spring the flow-ers will grow again, the birds will return and the trees will once more open their buds and blos-som to the welcoming sun. So too in our lives. Yes there is pain and sorrow; of course there are days we are glad to leave be-hind. Yet the promise of the Christian faith and the truth of each new dawn is that the future does hold brighter days. I am not saying that all of the future will be rosy, yet the return of spring, the reality of Easter is that darkness does give way to light and no matter how hard it tries, the darkness can never overcome the light. However you will be spending Easter this year, I pray that the joy of that first Easter morning, when the disciples and the women who were closest to Jesus journeyed to the tomb in deep sorrow and were given the good news that Jesus was alive, will touch your own hearts, giving you the courage to face any darker days which may come your way, knowing that the Bright and Morning Star will re-appear and that the darkness will not be able to overcome it.

God bless you all, Yours,

Palm Sunday in Lochwinnoch

Palm Sunday is the first day in Holy Week. It is a day when the Church re-members the time when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey and those who saw him hailed him as their King, proclaim-ing, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the king of Israel!” The people also took palm branches and laid them on the ground as Jesus passed by.

This year in Lochwinnoch, we will be welcoming Molly back to our Palm Sun-day service. Molly is quite an elderly don-key and has helped us to celebrate Palm Sunday before. She will be walking from the McKillop Institute down to the Parish Church. Some of the children will follow behind her with their palm branches. You are very welcome to come and join with us on Sunday 5th April at 11 o’clock.

During the rest of Holy Week, Calder UF Church will be open for prayer on Mon-day, Tuesday and Wednesday from 7.00pm. There will be services of Holy Communion in both Calder United Free Church and the Parish Church on Thurs-day, again at 7.00pm, while on Friday 10th of April there will be a joint service in the Parish Church at the same time. You are welcome to all and any of these services.

USEFUL CONTACT NUMBERS Strathclyde Police – 0141 532 5900 Johnstone Police – 01505 404000 Johnstone Community Safety Office – 01505 404023 Trading Standards – 0141 840 3233 Care and Repair – 0141 812 4111 Renfrewshire Council - Tel: 0141 842 5000 Anti-social Behaviour Investigation Team (ASIST) - 0141 840 2163 Victim Support – 0141 887 0328 Nuisance Support & Advice Helpline – 0800 169 1283 Crimestoppers – 0800 555 111

Johnstone Police Office.

What’s On

(Regular Clubs, classes and local

groups) • Lochwinnoch Community

Walks - Mondays (ex. Public Holidays), 10.30 am at The Cross.

• Lochwinnoch Playgroup - For under 5’s, every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 9.30-11.30 (during term time) at the McKillop Inst. *

• Kickjitsu for Kids - Monday nights, from 5pm-6.45pm in the Parish Church Hall.

• Lochwinnoch Gymnastics Club - For primary school-age children every Monday,5-7pm at the Annexe. Phone Coby for de-tails on: 0772 9051615.

• Morag’s Keep Fit - Mondays and Thursdays from 7pm, in the McKillop Institute.

• Lochwinnoch Choral Soci-ety. Rehearsals on Monday eve-nings, Parish Church/ Hall. Juniors 7-7.30pm, Intermedi-ates 7.30-8.30pm and Seniors from 8pm.

• Lochwinnoch Art Group Meet fortnightly on Monday evenings, 7.30pm, McKillop Institute.

• Advice Works - Tuesdays

10am -12.30 at the Library. *

• Drop-in T Bar - Lochwinnoch Elderly Forum. Every Tuesday and Thursday from 10am-1pm, McKillop Institute. All welcome. For details, call Reta on: 01505 842054.

• Baby and Toddler Rhyme-time - every Tuesday, 2.15pm at Lochwinnoch Library. *

• TaeKwon-Do Fitness and Self-defence classes for all. Tuesdays from 5-6pm, McKillop Institute. For details Tel: 01259 210716.

• Scottish Country Dance Club - On Tuesdays, from 7.30-9.30pm, the McKillop Institute.

• Linda Margaret School of Dancing - Tuesdays from 4pm-8.45pm, McKillop Institute. For details, Tel: 0141 581 9104.

• Boys Brigade - Anchor Boys and Junior Sections meet on Tuesday nights and Company Section on Friday evenings, Parish Church Hall. (See Church notice board for more details.)

• Girls Brigade - 1st Lochwinnoch Company Wednesday evenings from 6pm-9.15pm at the Parish Church Hall for various age groups.

• Yoga Classes - Tuesday day-time classes for Beginners from 1pm-2pm at the McKillop Inst. and two Wednesday evening classes - Yoga & Relaxation from 6-7.20pm and Yoga & Meditation from 7.30-9pm at the McKillop Inst. Contact Mary for further details on: 01505 842877.

• Yoga and Healing Medita-

tion Workshops (See separate notice below for details.)

• Happy Harminis - Fun for pre-school children. Thursdays from 10am in the McKillop Insti-tute. Contact Frankie Plater for details: 01505 612248.

• Slinky Strollers - on Thurs-days (see back page for details).

• Calder Drama Club—Thursdays, from 8pm-10pm McKillop Institute.

• Scottish Slimmers - Thurs-days, 7/7.30pm, McKillop Inst.

• Lochwinnoch Pre-School Gymnastics ( for children from 18 mths to 5 yrs). Fridays, from 10.15am - 1.45pm at the Annexe. Further details from Coby on Tel: 0772 9051615.

• Tai Chi for Beginners - Friday nights, 6.45-7.45pm, The Room, Lochwinnoch Library.

The Strathclyde Police website contains information on all of the new local Community Policing Teams, which aims to increase the visibility of the officers within their communities.

Take a look at our website - www. strathclyde.police.uk for contact details of officers in your local Policing Team.

Please note the new phone number for ASIST (Anti-social Behaviour Team) - see below and front page (top right-hand corner) of this issue of Chatterbox.

YOGA and HEALING MEDITATION WORKSHOPS

April 26 Sunday "KINDNESS"

May 17 Sunday "TRUTH" June 21 Sunday "ENTHUSIASM"

All workshops are held in Kilbarchan

Guide Hall. Cost £15.00

Contact Rebecca on

Tel: 0141-881-6700.

Sarah Stewart (Morag)

Sarah Stewart, better known as Morag, would like to thank all well-wishers from the

village of Lochwinnoch and for the prayers said at church services on her behalf.

Morag would also like to thank everyone for the kindness shown at this difficult time.

The Stewart family.

VILLAGE EVENT CALENDAR

for 2009

Lochwinnoch Post Office has a wall-mounted planner, where members of the public can enter details of forth- coming events.

Please use this planner to -

• avoid any clashes when choosing dates to hold events, and

• to help publicise your own events in and around the village and local area.

Dates for your diaries

• Friday 3rd April - The Groan-box Boys and special guest, The Shed Inspectors - 7.30pm, McKillop Hall. Admission £12, tickets from the Corner Bar.

• Saturday 4th April - Councillor Neil Bibby’s Advice Surgery, at 9am, McKillop Inste. *

• Saturday 4th April - Easter Dance, 7.3opm in the Masonic Hall. *

• Sunday 5th April - Palm Sunday service at 11am in the Parish Church, Lochwinnoch. (See Palm Sunday notice in this issue of Chatterbox for dates, times and venues of prayers and services during Holy Week.) *

• Tuesday 7th April - 7.30pm Lochwinnoch Community Council meeting, in the Guild Room of the Parish Church.

• Thursday 9th April - Yugen Puppet Company at 2pm in Loch-winnoch Library. Book tickets in advance. FREE event. *

• Friday 10th April — Prize Bingo evening at Lochwinnoch Bowling Club. Doors open 7.30 for 8pm start. Entry £1, which includes tea. All welcome.

• Friday 10th to Monday 13th April inclusive - Lochwinnoch Library will be closed for the Easter holiday weekend.

• Easter Holidays. LOSC is run-ning an Easter Holiday Club. See separate notice for details.

• Wednesday 15th April - Lochwinnoch SWRI meeting at 7.30pm in the McKillop Inst. *

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• Thursday 16th April - Lochwinnoch Historical Society evening “Get aff - yer rotten!” with speaker Judith Bowers. Starts at 7.30pm in the Guild Room of the Parish Church. *

• Friday 17th April - Chips and Opera Night at Harry Rams-den’s. (See separate notice in this issue of Chatterbox.) *

• Saturday 18th April—Councillor Arthur’s Surgery from 11.30am at the McKillop Insti-tute. *

• Saturday 18th April - Creative Class - Mind Detox, from 1.30-4.30pm in Lochwinnoch. The start of a 21 day intention ex-periment to rebuild a ‘positive state of mind’. For details, Tel Becky on: 0141 881 6700.

• Thursday 23rd April - Councillor Neil Bibby’s Doorstep Surgery, 1pm-4pm. See Council-lor Bibby’s report for locations and contact details. *

• Saturday 25th April - Annual Coffee Morning by Lochwinnoch Branch of Arthritis Research, from 10am to 12 noon at the McKillop Hall. *

• Thursday 30th April - Lochwinnoch Elderly Forum meeting and AGM at 1pm in the McKillop Inst. *

• Friday 1st May - Prize Bingo Night at 7.3opm, Masonic Hall. *

• Saturday 2nd May - Sportsman’s Dinner, 6.3o for 7pm, Masonic Hall. *

• Sunday 10th - Saturday 16th May - Christian Aid Week. *

* See inside this issue of Chatterbox for further details of these events.

Renfrewshire Libraries Renfrewshire Libraries Renfrewshire Libraries Renfrewshire Libraries PresentPresentPresentPresent

Baby & ToddlerBaby & ToddlerBaby & ToddlerBaby & Toddler

Rhyme time Rhyme time Rhyme time Rhyme time atatatat

Lochwinnoch LibraryLochwinnoch LibraryLochwinnoch LibraryLochwinnoch Library Every Tuesday 2.15pmEvery Tuesday 2.15pmEvery Tuesday 2.15pmEvery Tuesday 2.15pm

Lochwinnoch Library

NORMAL OPENING HOURS :

Monday, Wednesday and Friday:

2pm–5pm & 6pm–8pm Tuesday and Saturday: 10am–1pm

and 2pm–5pm Closed Thursday.

Tel: 01505 842305

New Books for April Jessica Stirling : A kiss and a promise Servant girl Betsy McBride thinks she has as much right as any girl to Tom Brodie, the most dashing young man in the dis-trict. When her master asks her to help out the Brodie family she jumps at the chance to get a bit closer to him. She doesn't real-ize that Tom Brodie thinks the only way to save his family's fortune - or at least their farm - is to dazzle his landlord's daughter. There is heartbreak on the hori-zon unless Tom's down-to-earth brother Henry can catch Betsy's attention. Michael Marshall : Bad things On a beautiful summer's afternoon four-year-old Scott Henderson walked out onto a jetty over a lake in Black Ridge, Wash-ington State. He never came back. John Henderson's world ended that day, but three years later he's still alive. Living a life, of sorts. Getting by. Until one night he receives an email from a stranger who claims to know what happened to his little boy…………

Anne Baker : All that glistens When jeweller Edwin Jardine gives a job to Hilda Thorpe, his daughter Jane sus-pects that he's been blinded to the attrac-tive widow's flaws by her looks and her hard luck story (she's alone with a teenage daughter, Kitty). Jane's dismayed when Edwin and Hilda become romantically involved; she knows that her father de-serves happiness again after the death of her mother, but must it be with Hilda? John Macken : Breaking Point Reuben Maitland is a forensic scientist forced to work outside of the law. Fired from his job with the CID, he takes work where he finds it. But when he discovers that his long-abandoned work on Behav-ioural Profiling, to predict latent homi-cidal behaviour from people's DNA, is being put back on track at his old unit GeneCrime, he knows he has to act. Rogue elements within GeneCrime be-lieve that prevention is better than cure, and are using Reuben's research to hunt down and incite innocent people beyond their breaking point. Reuben turns to the one person in GeneCrime he can trust………….

Christian Jacq : Tutankhamun – The last secret After receiving an anonymous letter, New York lawyer Mark Wilder arrives in Cairo to learn the shocking news that he is the illegitimate son of Howard Carter, the famous British archaeologist who

discovered Tutankhamun's tomb. Before he died in mysterious circumstances, Carter informed Abbot Pacomas, the last descendant of the great priests of Amon, that only his lost son could continue his life's quest: to find the papyrus hidden in Tutankhamun's burial place and reveal its contents to the world. The quest to uncover Tutankhamun's final secret is fraught with danger…… Sarah Rayne : Ghost song The old Tarleton music hall on London's Bankside is the subject of a mysterious restraint order that has kept it closed for over ninety years. When Robert Fallon is asked to survey the building, he finds clues indicating that its long twilight sleep may contain a sinister secret……

AND

Wendy Holden : Beautiful people Dean Koontz: Your heart belongs to me Jayne Ann Krentz : Running hot Jeff Lindsay : Dexter by design Roisin McAuley : Finding Home Nora Roberts : Born in Fire ( Book 1 in a new trilogy)

* * *

Renew and Reserve at

www.renfrewshwire.gov.uk/libraries

Library members can view, renew and reserve their library loans online. All you need to get started is your library membership number and a password. If you don’t have a pass-word just ask at any library.

EASTER HOLIDAY NOTICE

LOCHWINNOCH LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED:

Friday 10th, Saturday 11th and Monday 13th April

Yugen Puppet Company

The Magic Horse Puppet Show

at Lochwinnoch Library

on Thursday 9th April at 2pm

Suitable for 6 ~ 9 year olds

This is a FREE event. However, Tickets must be

requested in advance, as numbers are limited.

ADVICE WORKS

Tuesdays 10am –12.30pm

Advisors are on hand to help fill in claim forms, check and advise on welfare benefits/money problems. Advisors can provide expert advice on a wide range of debt related topics, such as credit card, mortgage arrears, council tax, etc.

The service is FREE, confidential and open to all Renfrewshire Residents.

Across Europe, the movement was interpreted in many different ways, reflecting the individual character of each country and hence it was known by various names e.g. Le Style Metro in France, Jugenstil in Germany, Secession in Austria, La Stile Liberty in Italy and Modernista in Spain. What united them was the desire to break free from the past in order to forge a new artistic iden-tity.

But it is Britain which must take the credit for laying the foundations for change, beginning with William Morris, writer and craftsman who promoted the virtues of hand crafts-manship over the industrial ma-chine. Morris had already helped initiate the Arts and Crafts move-ment from which Art Nouveau de-veloped in the United Kingdom. His colleague Arthur Heygate Mack-murdo, a progressive architect and designer set up a Craft’s Guild called the Century Guild of Artists in 1882.

ART NOUVEAU

Emerging around 1890 and lasting for less than 30 years Art Nouveau was a major design movement which com-pletely transformed the decorative arts. Often thought of as purely in-spired by nature it was in fact a com-plex reaction to the previous decade’s heavy and overly ornate styles. Art Nouveau came about when a group of disparate artists, designers and crafts-men felt the need to dictate a new de-sign foundation, as the 20th Century dawned, rather than simply rework the designs of the past.

It is the second of three art design movements spanning the period 1880 to 1939. The other two are Arts and Crafts and Art Deco each of which pro-duced their own distinctive and influ-ential styles.

Genuinely international, Art Nouveau had a profound influence on an aston-ishing variety of art forms in many different countries.

Antiques, Curios and Crafts A dynamic selection of oils, watercolours and

limited edition prints. Bespoke crafts by local artisans, vintage and

contemporary jewellery. Well worth discovering for yourself.

The Barn on the Farm, open 10am till late every day. Contact Greta Logan on Tel: 01505 683338 Mob: 07786 720586 e-mail: greta@thestirrupcup.co.uk www.thestirrupcup.co.uk

West Bankside Farm, Geirston Rd, Kilbirnie, KA25 7LQ

Just opposite the Golf Course on the Largs Rd.

It was the linear simplicity, flowing asymmetrical composition, abstract plant motifs and undulating move-ment of his designs that paved the way for the European interpretation of Art Nouveau.

Credited with being one of the most interesting and important exponents of the Art Nouveau movement is our own Charles Rennie Mackintosh, but more of him next month.

Art Nouveau’s success was ultimately responsible for its brief life and subse-quent decline. Hand made products became too expensive for the masses, who under increasing industrialisation were becoming poorer.

As the popularity of Art Nouveau be-gan to wane, it was the simpler more geometric strand of design that en-dured, transformed during the 1920’s into the linear graphic style that formed the foundations of Art Deco and Modernism.

Christian Aid Week 10 – 16 May 09

Keeping hope alive! Christian Aid Week is seven amazing days of fundraising, prayer and action against global poverty. Add your time, money and voice this week, and see them multiplied to make an impact around the world through Christian Aid. Be the lifeblood for poor communities.

LOCHWINNOCH Christian Aid Group will be active in and around the village on Christian Aid Week 10th to 16th May. Please give generously in your support when the red envelope comes through your letterbox. Every pound given will help Christian Aid fund pro-jects throughout the world where there is genuine need. Take this opportunity to make a difference to the lives

Be the lifeblood for poor communities!

of those blighted by disease, famine and war. Make an even bigger difference by filling out the Gift Aid part of the envelope before it is collected. This simple act will ADD almost 20% to your donation. The Group will be working hard to give all in the village the opportunity to make a donation. Please give as generously as you are able to do.

Christian Aid Week – keeping hope alive!

at Lochwinnoch station and drove them to Muirshiel." Among the family members who came to Muirshiel in these idyllic days just before the Second World War were Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard and his elder brother, Lord Miles Fitzalan-Howard, who succeeded a cousin as the 17th Duke of Norfolk in 1975. One of Lord Michael's happiest memories of these happy family gath-erings at Muirshiel was the 21st birth-day party of Lord Miles on July 21, 1936. The glittering event took place in the mansion one beautiful summer day with all the estate-workers and members of the local farming commu-nity among the guests. The meal was a true ducal, mouth-watering feast with the menu includ-ing Scotch broth, sirloin beef, pota-toes, vegetables, apple tart, trifle, bis-cuits, tea and coffee. Those who at-tended what was described in Loch-winnoch as the social event of the sea-son included Archibald McKellar, fa-ther of Quintin McKellar, who lived at Heathfield Farm, near the Muirshiel estate entrance. For Archibald McKellar, it was a noteworthy occasion in more ways than one. After the meal was finished, he was invited to present Lord Miles with a beautiful silver salver in the walled garden which was situated

Muirshiel mansion at the head of the Calder Glen, along with the sur-rounding moorlands and woodlands which covered 3300 acres and in-cluded a 1000 acre grouse moor, two sheep farms and several cottages. Baron Howard purchased the man-sion, which had eight rooms, a hall, drawing room, dining room, gun room, two dressing rooms, five ser-vant's rooms, and two bathrooms, for £7250 on June 24, 1935. The Fitzalan-Howards - the family name of the Howard Barons - were descended from Walter Fitzalan, the High Steward of Scotland, who founded Paisley Abbey in 1169, and granted its monks land and fishing rights in the Lochwinnoch area. Their main residences were Carlton Towers in Yorkshire and Arundel Castle in Sussex. Every autumn, the family travelled north to Muirshiel for the grouse-shooting season which started on August 12 and ended in mid-December. "Lord Howard brought two cooks, six domestic staff and six cleaners when he came to Muirshiel," re-membered well-known Lochwin-noch man Tom Clark, whose father lived and worked at Muirshiel estate. "He had a beautiful Rolls-Royce car. The servants travelled by sleeper train and my father picked them up

PUTTING THE KETTLE ON FOR THE

DUKE'S BROTHER By

Derek Parker THE rain was pouring from grey skies and the Misty Law was wreathed in low-lying clouds as I sat in the visitor centre at Muirshiel Country Park where I worked as a countryside ranger. It was the year 1985 and at that time the centre was just a wooden shed with one small staff room, kitchen and an exhibition gallery with photographs illustrating the wildlife and history of the former Muirshiel estate before its conversion to a country park in 1970. Because of the inclement weather, the visitor centre and the park were quiet and I hadn't seen a soul all day. Then the phone rang and at the other end of the line was Betty McKellar who lived with her husband, well-known sheep-farmer Quintin McKellar, at Conveth Farm a couple of miles back down the lonely Calder Glen Road. "Put the kettle on. The Duke of Nor-folk's brother is coming up the road to see you. He's just visited Quintin and me," said Betty. To be forewarned is to be forearmed, as they say. So, by the time Major-General Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard, brother of the 17th Duke of Norfolk, stepped out of his car and came into the visitor centre, the mugs of tea and a packet of biscuits were on the table and we sat down to enjoy a fascinating blether about the role of his family in the illustrious history of Muirshiel. His visit was a veritable trip down memory lane for Lord Michael who had gone on to become a war hero and one of Britain's top soldiers during a military career which took him to many of the world's most dangerous trouble spots. But life had been more tranquil back in the 1930s when Lord Michael's father, Baron Howard of Glossop in Derbyshire, owned the magnificent

Write to: 2014 Mile End Mill, 12 Seedhill Road, Paisley, PA1 1JS

Tel: 0141 561 0333. E-mail: dalexandermp@talk21.com or come to one of my advice surgeries.

L o c h w i n n o c h r e s i d e n t s L o c h w i n n o c h r e s i d e n t s L o c h w i n n o c h r e s i d e n t s L o c h w i n n o c h r e s i d e n t s ---- Can I help? If so, please don’t Can I help? If so, please don’t Can I help? If so, please don’t Can I help? If so, please don’t h e s i t a t e t o g e t i n t o u c h .h e s i t a t e t o g e t i n t o u c h .h e s i t a t e t o g e t i n t o u c h .h e s i t a t e t o g e t i n t o u c h .

Douglas Alexander, Lochwinnoch’s MP

Lochwinnoch Gala Day takes place this year

on

Saturday 13th June

So mark that date in your diaries.

It promises to be another exciting event.

Our theme this year is Country and Western.

If you think you can help us out in any way at all with this Gala Day,

please contact Christine on

07815 087794.

BRIDGE

We’ve had an encouraging response from people who are interested in be-ing part of a local Bridge club. If you missed our appeal in previous issues of Chatterbox, here it is again. To date, we have 14 people expressing an interest but we need at least 20 people to make it viable, given that some people will inevitably drop out. Over the years, a number of people have commented about the lack of a Bridge club in Lochwinnoch. The Scottish Bridge Union is very keen to support any new initiative when it comes to the development of Bridge as a game at all standards. They are willing to give grants to aid the set-up of a Bridge club. This will include the provision of lessons both for begin-ners and returnees to the game.

There are a number of conditions at-tached, the most important of which is that there are sufficient numbers of people to make it viable in both the short and medium term. Conse-quently, I am trying to establish the level of interest in the village and any surrounding areas.

In order to do this, I would be inter-ested to hear from anyone who would like to participate. (There will be a number of issues which will need to be resolved, e.g. where we would play, etc but these can be discussed once it is identified that there is suffi-cient interest.)

I can be contacted on 01505 842151 (please leave a message on the an-swerphone if I am not in) or e-mail at: rogerandjune@ukonline.co.uk Alternatively, leave a message at the Library, marked for the attention of Roger Evans.

Lochwinnoch Scottish Country Dance Club

Are you fit, active and looking for a new interest?

Join our Scottish Country Dancing Club at 7.30pm on Tuesday nights in the McKillop Institute and learn how to enjoy our traditional country dancing with Reels, Jigs, Strathspeys and the various steps associated with them. It's all good exercise for the mind as well as the legs and a most enjoyable and inexpensive evening. New Members will be most

welcome - come and have a try.

New Teacher

Our Club is delighted that we can now confirm that a Mr Les Lambert from Kilbarchan will take over from Janie Andrews when we start back on Tues-day 1st September. He is a very experi-enced Scottish Country Dancer/ Teacher and presently teaches at Bridge of Weir on Thursday evenings, Glasgow School-children in term time and appreciates our sociable and enjoyable classes we have on Tuesday evenings which he will be pleased to continue.

betweeen Muirshiel House and the River Calder to commemorate his 21st birthday. The rare photograph (to the left of this page) shows Archibald McKellar handing over the gift to Lord Miles, watched by Baron Howard. Lord Michael can be seen in the back row, far right. However, the rural idyll was to last for just three more years. On September 3, 1939, Britain de-clared war on Germany and Lord Miles and Lord Michael went off to join the colours. "It was all so very sad," said Betty McKellar, who is better known today as the Bard of Lochwinnoch and whose poetry is inspired by the history and heritage of Muirshiel estate and the Calder Glen. "Miles and Michael visited all their tenants, including Quintin's family, to bid them farewell because they were all going off to the war. It was the end of an era when the Fitzalan-Howards sold Muirshiel es-tate soon afterwards. Happily, both Lord Miles and Lord Michael sur-vived the war. Miles became Duke of Norfolk and died in 2002, aged 87. Michael passed away, aged 91, on November 2, 2007. He took part in the Normandy, Pales-tine and Malayan campaigns, attaining the rank of Major-General and win-ning the Military Cross for valour along the way. Nearly quarter-of-a-century has elapsed since I was privileged to welcome Lord Michael Fitzalan-Howard on his final visit to his child-hood home at Muirshiel. But the passing of the years has not dimmed the memory of that historic day when I put on the kettle for the Duke of Norfolk's brother.

Derek Parker worked as a country-side ranger at Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park from 1985 until 1999.

Entry forms will be available from the usual local agencies. Also, watch out for posters with more information - such as details of the Waterstone Trophy, entry fees and closing date for all entry forms. Alternatively, further details can be obtained from Race Organ-iser, Murray Lawrie at Tel: 0141 887 8791 or by e-mail at: amurraylawrie@hotmail.co.uk

In 1983, the Lochwinnoch Fun Run was born as part of the Boys’ Brigade centenary celebrations. Local events at that time fixed the second Saturday in June as the best date and it has been held on that Saturday ever since - so this year’s race is on

Saturday 13th June.

Many changes have been made over the years, with the adults now racing over 6 miles (previously 7); and the race is now firmly fixed in the Scottish Athletics Calendar. Last year, the adult trophies were won by local lass Jacquie Donaldson and Michael Finlay (Kilbarchan). Will they retain their titles, is the big question - and will Allan Penny maintain his domi-nance as the Leading Local, or will David Nicholls made a comeback? There are also medals for veterans (ladies and men) and Leading Lo-cal boys and girls.

1st Lochwinnoch Company, The Boys’ Brigade

27th running Of

LOCHWINNOCHLOCHWINNOCHLOCHWINNOCHLOCHWINNOCH

OPEN OPEN OPEN OPEN

RACERACERACERACE

on

Saturday 13th June 2009

Starting at Calder Street, Lochwinnoch at 2.15pm

Attention: CYCLISTS Your rights and responsibilities are ex-plained fully in the Scottish Outdoor Ac-cess Code. Advice on the use of green-ways, paths and cycleways are available from Sustrans.

For further information, visit -www.sustrans.org.uk and

outdooraccess-scotland.com When out and about, the 3 key things to remember are to: Respect the interests of other people: Be considerate, respect privacy, liveli-hoods, and the needs of others outdoors. Care for the Environment: Look after the places you visit and enjoy. Care for wildlife and historic sites. Take responsibility for your own ac-tions: The outdoors cannot be made risk-free for people exercising access rights; land managers should act with care for people’s safety. When cycling on shared use paths please: * give way to pedestrians, leaving them plenty of room * keep to your side of any dividing line be ready to slow down/stop if necessary * don’t expect to cycle at high speeds be careful at junctions, bends and en-trances * give way where there are wheelchair users and horse riders. Many people are hard of hearing or visually impaired. Don’t assume they can see or hear you. Carry a bell and use it. Don’t surprise people. When cycling on roads: * always follow the Highway Code * be seen - most accidents to cyclists hap-pen at junctions * fit lights; use them in poor visibility * consider wearing a helmet and con-spicuous clothing * keep your bike roadworthy * don’t cycle on pavements except where designated - pavements are for pedestrians * use your bell to be seen and heard. And in the countryside… * follow the Outdoor Access Code * respect other land management activi-ties such as farming or forestry and take litter home * keep erosion to a minimum if off-road * be self-sufficient - in remote areas carry food, repair kit, map and waterproofs * try to cycle or use public transport to travel to and from the start and finish of your ride * cycle within your capabilities * match your speed to the surface and your skills.

SAVE YOUR REGIONAL PARK

CAMPAIGN Update

Wings Law - application for 24 tur-bines was rejected by North Ayrshire Council, as reported in last month’s Chatterbox.

Leapmoor, Inverkip - application for 10 turbines lodged with Inverclyde in July 2006 has not been before the Planning Committee yet. Wardlaw Wood, Dalry - 6 turbines were constructed in 2006. In re-sponse to SYRP’s letter in January, North Ayrshire Council has written to Community Windpower Ltd, con-cerning the conditions of planning that would appear to have been ig-nored. A further response is awaited. Kaim Hill , Fairlie - no further news on this application for 5 turbines by Fred Olsen Renewables. If you have not already objected to this application, please do so online at: www.saveyourregionalpark.com Glenlora , Lochwinnoch - Glenlora Estate have indicated that considera-

tion was being given to a windfarm

with between 1 and 6 turbines within the property which is in Clyde

Muirshiel Regional Park. Glenlora were to make a presentation to the

meeting of Lochwinnoch Community Council on 3rd March but this was

cancelled. It has not been confirmed

whether or not this should be inter-preted as cancellation of the pro-

posed windfarm or merely a post-ponement of the presentation. We

will report further as matters are

clarified.

Kelburn , Fairlie - Scottish Ministers supported the appeal of the develop-ers, subject to satisfactory agree-ment on certain conditions within the next 3 months.

The Save Your Regional Park cam-paign will continue to fight all pro-posals for windfarms in the Park and take heart from the section in the Reporter's report pointing out that in giving the go ahead to the Kelburn wind farm, it should NOT be taken as an indication that other appeals will automatically be allowed by them in future. They will deal with each application on its own merits.

TEENAGE CANCER TRUST NEWS

Thank Yous !

I collected a cheque for £392.49 from Beith & District Young Farm-ers at their recent annual dinner dance. Many thanks to all con-cerned for their donation, hard work and support. Thanks to the Johnstone Chapter of the Eastern Star for a £200 do-nation from their Divine Service collection. Thanks also to every-one for their private donations. TCT Yorkhill Appeal.

Work is due to begin on the 6-bed TCT unit on 6th April. Despite fan-tastic fundraising efforts through-out the West of Scotland over the past 18 months (especially in Lochwinnoch!), unfortunately we are still well short of the amount required of £350,0000. Please help us by continuing to support our fundraising events and by spreading the word to your friends, families and work colleagues. I will of course tell you all about the new unit once work is in progress. Chips & Opera - Last year’s event was a sell-out success, so get your tickets ASAP (details in main notice). Alternatively, you can order them from me, John, on Tel: 01505 844801. The Midsummer Evening 'Not the Booze' Cruise sets sail on Friday 19th June. Tickets will be on sale nearer the time - keep your diaries free. 2009 Teenagers.

In May, with the help of the Scot-tish Football Association, TCT will be launching a campaign to have 2009 teenagers throughout the West of Scotland each pledge to raise £50 for the charity. I hope as many local teenagers as possible will sign up to help us. Full details will be released at the time, but maybe the young 'uns can get their thinking caps on now and come up with ideas on how to raise their money.

John Delaney

RUNNING that is! Yes, this time it’s the Flora London Marathon on

Sunday 26 th April 2009 AND

the Edinburgh Marathon on Sunday 31 st May 2009.

(Good preparation for the TEN in TEN – 10 maras in 2010!!!) I’m running (read walking/ crawl-ing/ gasping) round the 26.2 miles to raise funds for the Teen-age Cancer Trust’s Yorkhill Ap-peal (see John’s main article). Please consider donating on my JustGiving page http://www.justgiving.com/fortct . Its quick, its easy and if you go there you’ll even get a good laugh at my photograph, now that’s gotta be worth £10 at least!!!

Chips & Opera Yes fans, it’s back !!! Another fabulous fun-filled night with bubbly, 3 course meal, outstanding opera from Scottish Opera members and danc-ing the night away to the floor-filling sounds of Penny Dogs! So fluff up your frocks, dust off the tux and enjoy yourself, all in aid of Teenage Can-cer Trust’s Yorkhill Appeal.

Harry Ramsden’s Restaurant, Glasgow Friday 17th April 2009

Champagne Reception 7.30pm Carriages - 12.30

Tickets £25 from TCT@KarenKellyDesigns.com Tel: 01505 705767 / 07801 898196

or send a cheque to Karen Kelly Designs Ltd, 14 High Barholm, Kilbarchan PA10 2EF (cheque made payable to TCT GladRags & Gowns)

Alternatively, you can contact me direct by phone or at my address below for details of how to donate. In all seriousness, your donation is incredibly important in helping Scottish teenagers deal with can-cer so please be as generous as you can and consider passing this request to your friends.

Thank you very much. Karen Kelly

Tel: - 01505 705767 Email - info@KarenKellyDesigns.com

Karen Kelly Designs Ltd

14 High Barholm, Kilbarchan,

Renfrewshire PA10 2EF

Oh no, she’s at it again !!

Flying the family flag

To celebrate Homecoming Scotland 2009 Castle Semple has a special invitation to all members of the Semple family, however distant, to raise the Semple Clan Flag when they come to Castle Semple – the ancestral home of the Semple Clan. This little ceremony will be avail-able from Monday the 6th April when local man Jim Semple has been invited to raise the first flag, until the 30th September 2009 during centre opening hours. All the visitor has to do is call into the reception area, sign a special family visitor book, after which they will raise the standard on the flagpole outside. This will notify that a member of the Semple family is visiting the area.

At Castle Semple Visitor Centre, there is an exhibition, which gives information about the history of the Semple clan and the area, and a large-scale reproduction of the origi-nal mapped lands of the Semple Es-tate. Copies of this map will soon be available for sale from the shop, in conjunction with Paisley Museum.

‘Pawsitivity’ a dog-day afternoon

Join enthusiastic dogs, and their owners, in a Sponsored Dog walk and other canine orientated activities at Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch on Sunday 26th April 2009 from 12.00 until 3.30pm.

Have fun and raise funds for St. Vincent’s Hospice at the same time. There will be a variety of dog-orientated activities at the centre during the afternoon, to help raise funds, including face painting to look like a dog. For further infor-mation, Tel: 01505 842 882 ext 22.

Muirshiel Stargazing and Moon Watch Night

On Friday 3rd April, from 7pm, staff from Coats Observatory in Pais-ley will join the Rangers to lead ob-serving sessions, which will look at various wonders of the night sky. Away from the artificial lights of ur-ban living, the night sky becomes a wondrous sight in this truly dark sky location. This event takes place during National Moon-watch week, which is part of 100 Hours of Astronomy, from 2nd - 5th April. Saturn will be the other highlight of early evening viewing. Telescope observing can only take-place in clear, dry weather and in the event of poor conditions, a talk and planetarium show will operate. The event is FREE but places must be booked, in advance, by telephoning Muirshiel Centre on 01505 842803.

Easter Bunny Hunt at Castle Semple

over the Easter Weekend.

We want families to come and search for our rabbits over the four days of the Easter Weekend - Friday to Mon-day, and finishing on Monday at 4pm. The hunt is for a number of 'Bunny' shaped silhouettes hidden around the trails in Parkhill Wood, each of which have a letter on them. Families can collect the clue sheets in Castle Sem-ple Visitor Centre and the search will take people around the loch side and up into the woods which are already full of bird song and bursting buds, giving people a nice spring walk, with something to occupy the children too!

The letters will make up a codeword, each sheet handed back in with the correct codeword will collect a small treat per sheet, and the names will be put into a draw for a large Easter Egg. For further details please call 01505 842 882 ext 22

Spring at Ardgowan Estate Woodlands

There will be a Springtime walk through the Ardgowan Estate Wood-lands, led by the Clyde Muirshiel Re-gional Park Ranger Service on Sun-day the 12th April 2009 starting at 13.00 hours from Lunderston Bay Car Park. Numbers are restricted so reserve your place now by calling Cornalees Centre on 01475 521 458 This is the best time of year to dis-cover the flowers of the woodland floor such as Bluebells, Lesser Celan-dine and Wood Sorrel as well as spot-ting those elusive small birds that are busy with courting displays and nest building. This private woodland is rarely disturbed and is well worth a visit, so take your chance to find out more about this area with a Ranger.

Peelers wanted!

WANTED - enthusiastic people to help give the historic Peel Tower is-land in Castle Semple Loch a good spring clean!

The Rangers are planning to give the Peel island in Castle Semple Loch, Lochwinnoch a good clean up on Wednesday 15th April 2009. They will be crossing over by boat at 10.30 am. The area around the tower is in need of some vegetation control and also, over the year, there has been a build up of litter brought in by the wa-ter level changes and flooding.

The island is only accessible by boat and this transport will also be pro-vided for volunteers who reserve a place. If you would like to spend a day assisting the Rangers then call and book a place as soon as possible, as boat numbers are limited. For further information or details please call the Rangers on 01505 842 882 ext.22

The single track road to Muirshiel has undergone extensive repair work and is now virtually pothole-free. Charles Woodward the Park Manager said: "We are delighted that these repairs have been completed before the start of the 2009 season. It makes a great difference to the quality of the drive up to the Muirshiel Centre above Lochwinnoch". The new Regional Park “What's On” brochures should be available by the end of March. These are distributed around the visitor centres, so pick up a copy soon and check out the events and activities for the year ahead.

Activities Courses

Please book your places with our activities staff by phoning Castle Semple Centre 01505 842 882 Ext 21. Bespoke service available - for groups of 4 or more people courses can be arranged out with published dates. Why not arrange a party with a difference!!

Magical Muirshiel Moorlands

Discover some of Clyde Muirshiel’s wildlife with the Rangers by joining them for a walk along some moor-land tracks from Muirshiel Centre on Saturday the 25th April 2009 leaving the centre at 1.00pm. This will be the first of six moorland walks over the summer to enhance the enjoyment of moorland habitats. Lis-ten to the natural sounds of the moor-lands far from traffic noise – Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, even the droning of Bumble bees flying over the heather moors. Keep your eyes peeled for sightings of Red Grouse and the fabu-lous wind-dancer the Hen Harrier. This is a great opportunity to tune into the natural world and forget about the cares of daily living for a few hours. Reserve a place now or get further information and details by calling Muirshiel Centre on 01505 842 803.

Arts and Crafts for Young Teens, Lochwinnoch The Chameleon Club Art Classes are for anyone aged 11+ who would like to try some arts and crafts, e.g. plas-ticine animations, ceramic money banks, printed and folded origami creations, mosaic frames/boxes, drawing and creating comics.

Classes run from 2-4pm at the RSPB Centre, Beith Road, Lochwinnoch and are led by local artist Cáit Gould. The cost is £10 per session, all materials included. Contact Cáit on 01505 842380 for more details.

Classes will continue to be held on the las t Sa turday o f each month , except for the months of April, July and December when classes will be

held on Saturday 18th April , Saturday 18th July and

Saturday 19th December ‘09.

RSPB LOCHWINNOCH A Quacking Good Easter

Tuesday 7th April - 11am-3pm Are you an egg-cellent egg painter? We have plenty of wildlife-themed Easter activities for children of all ages, including egg decorating a treasure hunt and face painting. £3 non members, Free for RSPB

members.

Lochwinnoch Holiday Club Friday 10 April & Friday 17 April

11am – 2pm Throughout the school holidays, join us to take part in mini-beast safaris, pond dipping, bird watching, wild-life gardening or indoor activities if the weather is poor. Friday 10th : Hopper Helpers – learn more about frogs, toads and newts Friday 17th : Birds Eye View – there’s treasure to be found if you can piece the map together! Please bring a packed lunch and be sure to book in advance. £2 Wildlife Explorer members. £4 non-members. Adults must ac-company children aged 8 and under.

Wildlife Wander Plus Saturday 18 & Sunday 19 April

10am – 12noon Get your listening apparatus in gear with this great opportunity to learn more about bird song, with expert help from the reserve team. Stout footwear and waterproofs recom-mended. Booking essential. Cost £2 non-members, FREE-RSPB members

Subscribe to the RSPB Lochwinnoch Blog!

For weekly updates about what is

happening at the reserve, visit: http://blogs.rspb.org.uk/

lochwinnoch/default.aspx and subscribe using the RSS link.

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News & Events at RSPB, Muirshiel, Cornalees & Castle Semple Centres

• Thursday mornings - Slinky

Strollers - Morning walks, meet at 10.30am at Castle Semple Centre.

• Friday 3rd April - Stargazing Night, focusing on National Moon Watch week at Muirshiel Centre. Details inside. To book Tel: 01505 842882 *

• Saturday 4th April - Teenage Volunteers Group join us at the RSPB Centre from 11am-4pm and take part in bird surveying, out-door work and much more. Book-ing essential; Tel: 842663.

• Tuesday 7th April - A Quacking Good Easter. Wildlife-themed Easter activities for children at the RSPB Centre. *

• Friday 10th April—Monday 13th April. Easter Bunny Hunt in Parkhill Wood. *

• Fridays 10th April & 17th April Lochwinnoch Holiday Club from 11am to 2pm at RSPB Centre. *

• Sunday 12th April - Ardgowan Estate Springtime Walk, led by a Regional Park Ranger. *

• Tuesday 14th April - Does that nest need a duvet? Help and learn about nesting birds, from 12 noon-2pm at RSPB Centre.

• Wednesday 15th April - Peel Tower island clean up. Enthusias-tic volunteers wanted. To book a place on the boat and for further details, see inside. *

• Friday 17th April—Natural spring-cleaning at Lunderston Bay beach area. To book, contact Cornalees Centre: 01475 521458.

• Saturday 18th April & Sun-day 19th April - Wildlife Wan-der Plus: Bird Song. From 10am-12 noon at RSPB Centre. *

• Saturday 18th April - Chameleon Club workshop with Cáit Gould, 2-4pm at the RSPB Centre . *

• Saturday 25th April - Plant Sale and Wildlife Garden-ing Day from 1oam-2pm at RSPB Centre.

• Saturday 25th April - Magical Muirshiel Moorlands - first of six Ranger-guided walks. *

• Sunday 26th April - ‘Pawsitivity Day’ St Vincent’s Hospice Sponsored Dog Walk at Castle Semple Centre. *

• Thursday 30th April - Coffee morning at the RSPB Centre from 11am—1pm. Enjoy a hot drink, a chat, the wonderful view and wildlife of the reserve. £2 to cover tea/coffee & biscuits.

* See inside back pages of Chatterbox for further information on these events and activities.

VISITOR CENTRES SUMMER OPENING HOURS

Castle Semple Centre Open daily, 10am-5pm. Tel: 01505 842882.

Cornalees Centre - Open every day from 11 am-4pm (April to Oct ‘09.) Toilets open daily. Tel: 01475 521458

Muirshiel Centre - Open every day from 11am-4pm (April to Oct ‘09.) Park and toilets open daily. Tel: 01505 842803 RSPB Reserve - Reserve is open at all times; Visitor Centre open daily, 10am-5pm. Tel: 01505 842663.

CHATTERBOX Chatterbox is a free community news-paper, produced for the Community Council of Lochwinnoch through finan-cial assistance from local sponsors and advertisers and distributed every month by volunteers. The aim of those involved is to produce an informative and enter-taining journal for those who live, work and visit in this area.

The Editor welcomes all items for possible inclusion but will reserve all rights over them, i.e. the right to shorten, edit or not publish any item. Please note, all views are of individuals and the Editor accepts no liability for editorial errors or statements and claims made in advertisements.

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