www.crabpublishing.co.uk MATTERS W/C 17 July No 23 Free - Donation welcome

Eileen Robertson Editorial comment Heather Corbett wishes to inform all friends in Crail of the The Ricoh British Womens sad passing of Eileen Robertson on Friday 7th July. The funeral will take place on Saturday 22 July at 11.00am Open Championship at the Daldowie Crematorium in Uddingston. Please wear bright colours.

Notice has been given that the Scottish Ministers have con- Respite For Young Carers firmed the order made by Council exempting access rights at Kingsbarns for the duration of the Ricoh British Womans Open Championship. The effect of this order is to exempt an area of land comprising Kingsbarns golf links, the adjacent car park and a section of the coastal path and fields to the south west of the golf links from access rights from 31 July to 7 August. This includes a diversion to the coastal path along the beach adjacent to the golf links. The purpose for which this order was made is to enable a charge to be made for entrance to the event, and for public safety and site secu- rity.

The only substantive modification to the order made by the Ministers was to require access rights to be maintained on A new service for the people in Fife from Disabilities Fife. Core Path 67, Back Stiles. What this means is that pedestrian Funded by Young Start access to the beach down Back Stiles is not limited, and in We now have the opportunity to offer respite for young carers, correspondence with Crail Community Council, Fife Council who provide care and support for relatives or friends. legal services confirmed that there would be ‘unimpeded pedestrian access’ to the beach down Back Stiles. Vehicular We can help with everyday tasks and give young people a access is not allowed. maximum of a 2 hours break each week. Given that effectively the whole of Kingsbarns has been de- What is available ? clared a 'No waiting at any time area' for the duration of the Weekdays the service will be available from 4pm onward and Championship, visitors in cars can't park anywhere nearby at weekends from 8am onward. During school holidays these anyway to use this access. This therefore seems at best a hours can be adapted to suit the needs of the individual. rather modest concession to maintaining visitor access to a This service will give the young people time to do the things popular beach. It also suggests that Fife Council, and the youngsters enjoy, perhaps just spending time with friends. Scottish Government, has little regard for the broader issues All our carers are friendly, helpful, and have Protection of Vul- involved in maintaining public access, and chooses to support nerable Groups (PVG) certificate and membership. a commercial venture over access for families to a popular beach at a peak holiday time. In earlier comments on this, a If you know of anyone that needs help, please feel free to con- Fife Council official made reference to the need to balance tact Disabilities Fife on:- differing needs - we can now see clearly where that balance Telephone: 01592 203993 now lies for both the Council and the Government. Yet again, Email: [email protected] and as we have seen in recent planning exercises, public ben- Website: YoungCarersRespite.com efit and objection has been dismissed to enable profit. Twitter: @YoungCarersResp Facebook: Young Carers Respite Fife. The Grenfell Tower disaster shows what can happen when local authorities become distant from the communities they Or arrange an informal chat by contact- serve, and where financial priorities become more important ing any of the above than personal needs and listening to communities. In our small world and thankfully with consequences immeasurably less, at least for now we seem to be similarly afflicted.

1 Bullying bullying and the adverse mental health effects caused by victimisation must include efforts to reduce traditional bullying. “This could be by new innovative in- terventions in schools including online resources and learning or considering approaches involving primary health- care professionals. Furthermore, any study or review of the effects of cyber- victimisation must take into account the effects of traditional bullying.” Bullying is of course not just confined to children and young people. The el- derly, the disabled, and indeed many people who for whatever reason are socially marginalised can face bully- ing. – representing a total of one in five 15 You don’t have to like me…agree year olds in England. Focussing on Resources to counter bullying with me…or enjoy the same things frequent bullying, the researchers A useful web resource is BullyingUK I do. found that one in four teenagers (27%, (www.bullying.co.uk). It offers a 24 But you do have to respect me. 29,302 teenagers) reported facing tra- hour helpline, advice website, live ditional bullying only, less than 1% chat and information on parenting/re- The growth in internet based social (406 teenagers) reported cyberbully- lationship support groups. Respectme media has turned the focus of media ing only, and 3% (3655 teenagers) (respectme.org.uk) is ’s Anti and public attention to cyberbullying. were regularly bullied in both ways. bullying service. Respectme have de- However, recent a study in the UK The authors note that their study does veloped a range of resources for adults published in The Lancet Child and not include estimates on whether cy- and children and young people, which Adolescent Health journal finds that berbullying is becoming increasingly offer practical advice and guidance on face-to-face bullying is still a major common. The study used self-reported a range of anti-bullying issues. Their problem for children. data on bullying and mental well- publications can be downloaded from The study estimates that less than 1% being but did not include formal diag- the website and paper copies of some of 15 year olds in England report only noses of mental health problems, and publications can be ordered by con- being bullied online regularly, while did not include other forms of abuse tacting them directly at enquire@re- more than one in four (27%) experi- or neglect. It controlled for gender, so- spectme.org.uk They also have a ence only face-to-face bullying meth- cioeconomic status and ethnicity due number of videos, which can be used ods. With nine out of 10 of the to their association with higher levels with children and young people to teenagers who are bullied online also of bullying. generate discussion around bullying facing regular traditional bullying, the Professor Dieter Wolke, University of and the impacts that it can have on ev- researchers suggest that cyberbullying Warwick, UK, notes: “Until not that eryone involved. Video resources can is an additional tactic in the bullies’ ar- long ago, being bullied by others was be viewed on the website, and addi- senal, and that both forms must be often considered as a normal rite of tional short films can be found on tackled together to prevent bullying passage… Any intervention to reduce YouTube. and improve teenagers’ resilience. “Despite common perceptions and the growth of the online world for teenagers, our study finds that cyber- bullying, on its own, is relatively rare, with face-to-face bullying remaining most common among teenagers,” says Dr Andrew Przybylski, University of Oxford. Cyberbullying seems to be best under- stood as a new avenue to victimise those already being bullied in tradi- tional ways, rather than a way to pick on new victims. The study used con- fidential questionnaires to assess bul- lying and mental well-being over a two-month period in more than 110,000 15 year olds across England

2 Fife Councillor Report What's happened recently? the footpath out of Crail towards Kil- - Ricoh Golf Kingsbarns- after pro- renny - the missing link - I fully sup- from Bill Porteous - May longed negotiations between IMG/ port this community project to to July 2017 Ricoh Golf and conversations be- safeguard all who use this section of tween residents, Kingsbarns CC and dangerous road and hopefully both First of all, may I Councillors with Fife Council Back community involvement and grants thank you all for Stile Road will not be used for specta- will be available to get this underway electing me as tor traffic and residents’ only signs soon. Councillor for East will be used. Unfortunately, no satis- - The badly damaged gravestones in Neuk & Landward - factory accommodation between IMG Crail Church of Scotland cemetery I look forward to / Ricoh and Fife Council with the continues to be a major concern and representing you all. Cheese Shack at the car park was your Crail C C and I are seeking assis- At the moment, I will not be holding made so locals and tourists have lost tance from various groups to sort this Public Surgeries in my ward but this facility for a month. out. please contact me at any time by - Station Road Development at Kings- phone or email - contacts below. How- barns rejected for planning by your 01333 730837 or 07753982311 ever, if you wish me to visit you in- local councillors. [email protected] stead please get in touch. - There is an ongoing plan to extend

Crail Rowing Club Crail Rowing Club win silvers and a bronze at the Ullapool Regatta 8-9 July 2017

A small group of 15 from Crail Rowing Club at- tended Ullapool’s annual regatta over the week- end of 8-9 July. Conditions looked quite good in the lee of the shore, but proved to be very chal- lenging with strong crosswinds blowing boats off course. Navigating the turning buoys 1km from the start line was fraught and some clubs, Crail in- cluded, suffered clashes as boats vied for position in the adverse conditions. The competition was fierce and with 22 clubs in attendance and only 15 lanes, the fully subscribed races set off in two waves with results determined by best times. De- spite being small in number, Crail competed in 9 of the 20 categories, which set off every half hour. Each one was hard fought and at times, over the 2km course, barely a boat length separated the winners. The Ladies 50+ and the Mixed 50+ teams won silver, with the Mixed 40+ team winning bronze. In the Mixed Under 17 category, Crail’s Frank Fry, borrowed by Eastern Amateur Rowing Club and rowing in stroke position, was delighted to win silver.

Letters to the Editor

Dear friends, P.S. Can you also take a moment to share the petition with others? It's really easy – all you need to do is forward this I just signed the petition "Investigate whether Crail Raceway email or share this link on Facebook or Twitter: is operating illegally" and wanted to ask if you could add http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/investigate-whether- your name too. crail-raceway-is-operating-illegally This campaign means a lot to me and the more support we can get behind it, the better chance we have of succeeding. Dear Sir You can read more and sign the petition here: I was a bit surprised not to be credited with having provided http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/investigate-whether- the information about John Lewis' Cheeky Seagull range. crail-raceway-is-operating-illegally They also have a Shoals of Fish towel range, presumably so Thank you! the cheeky seagulls have something to eat! Beaty Bluetit Jenny Wren

3 WILD CRAIL Will Cresswell, with Photographs by John Anderson

Last week Balcomie Beach continued to be the place to go. is probably indicative of the general reduction in the quantity and quality of insect food, as well as possibly tidier fields Whimbrel and earlier mowing of hay fields. But there are still many ne- glected field edges that should suit a whinchat – they cer- tainly would suit a whinchat in Africa and a bird on passage to Africa. These edges have enough to keep a single bird that can move on when necessary but not a breeding pair and its growing brood for two months. Whinchats pass through Crail mainly in August so the bird of last weekend was fairly early. Some Augusts, particularly on an easterly wind with rain showers, every field might have one or two: they will sit jaun- tily on top of the unharvested crop of wheat or rape so are easy to find. But most autumns (or springs) there are only a few that come through Crail. From down to the mouth of the Kenly Burn seems to be the most reliable site for them then.

On the 8th, the star wader at Balcomie was a whimbrel. Two There was more action at Balcomie on the 10th. There were curlews flew up from the rocks and I noticed one was much over 100 dunlin present with the first juveniles of the year. smaller than the other. A quick check of its bill shape (whim- More redshanks and the first turnstones back. Other new brels have an initially mostly straight bill with the decurve at the end) confirmed it as a whimbrel. I whistled at it – the Black-tailed Godwit seven note whistle of a whimbrel is about the easiest bird call to imitate. And it checked its flight, came back to look at me, whistling as well. Whimbrels love company when they mi- grate and generally only hang out with curlews when there are no other whimbrels about. I couldn’t resist whistling at the whimbrel again as it flew off looking for a real whimbrel to join. It checked and came back whistling at me once more before heading off to rejoin the curlew, hopefully not too dis- appointed by my deception. But there is something magical about calling to a wild bird and having it respond to you. And especially so when that bird is a literally globe-trotting whim- brel. The all time champion migrant bird in my opinion. birds were a couple of common sandpipers, another knot and best of all two black-tailed godwits – always a good bird for There was a whinchat on the 9th halfway between Crail and the Crail list. They are common on the Eden Estuary but only Hammer Inn, on the now fairly overgrown footpath up from a few pass through Crail in July or August. One of the god- wits, at least, looked like an Icelandic bird with strongly Whinchat barred chestnut flanks. They breed in Europe generally to the south of us and then winter even further south and only breed to the north of us in Iceland so this makes sense. Most of the waders were gathered into the main high tide roost on the large rock by stinky pool (this is the one where all the shags and cormorants sit regardless of tide), with half the dunlins feeding with the many gulls and eiders on the tideline of Bal- comie Beach.

I finally caught up with the ring-necked parakeet that is reg- ularly roosting in a garden on the south of Marketgate. A Balcomie caravan park. The last whinchat I saw was in Nige- beautiful male with a bright pinky-red neck ring with a ria, last year: I see hundreds of whinchats in Africa where I blueish border. It looked so vividly green and tropical in the study them but hardly ever see them in Scotland. They used light drizzle of the early morning last Tuesday. I’m glad to to be a much more common bird but are now confined to the see one back in Crail. It has also been seen in gardens around West and the uplands. It is strange because they are very gen- Beech Walk Park. eralist, needing only small insects and a perch – unimproved pasture or meadow with some small bushes and scrub does The Mediterranean gull is still in residence in Crail. It was the job. That they have disappeared from lowland Scotland seen in Roome Bay last week and I saw it again on the 10th

4 roosting with black-headed gulls on the rocks at Sauchope Caravan Park, at the roundabout, at high tide. There are a lot of gulls sitting in the surf feeding on the tideline at high tide in Roome Bay most afternoons and I would predict that the Mediterranean Gull will keep feed- ing there for the next few days. Look for the black hood rather than the chocolate brown head.

Black headed gulls (left) and the Mediterranean gull (right) that is around Roome Bay at the mo- ment (photo Erica Hollis)

ROYAL OF CRAIL AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL NOTES

Toilets of complaints about parking in Crail, munity Council are so pleased to be At the time of writing, there has been particularly around the Co-op. There able to keep it in a good shape. Help no progress on replacing or repairing has been a noticeable increase in traf- with controlling/ removing litter the damaged toilet, nor any movement fic, and as the summer progresses and would be appreciated. on provision of a temporary toilet. The visitor numbers grow, parking issues Community Council will continue to are likely to get worse. We would re- Tree Charter follow up on this. The lack of action spectfully ask drivers not to park on Crail is proud to be a ‘Tree Charter on toilet provision by Fife Council is the pavement, and to have regard for Community’, and to mark the launch not acceptable (although not surpris- the flow of traffic and pedestrians of the Charter for Trees, Woods and ing) as it's now fully 8 weeks since the along the main road. There are many People in November this year, 800 incident. Diverting folks down to the more children than usual in the centre ‘Tree Charter Legacy Trees’ will be harbour where the opening hours are of Crail at the moment, so please ex- planted across the UK, serving as liv- restricted isn't good enough. Elderly ercise caution. ing reminders of the 800 years that folks can't do that brae and there's no separated the 1217 Charter of the For- space for buses to manoeuvre. One The Coastal Path Crail est and the new charter. The Charter is option is for the Town Hall & Com- Parts of the coastal path between led by the Woodland Trust, and it in- munity Hall to be designated as public Roome Bay and Crail has again been cludes more than 70 organisations toilets during the summer and pay for resurfaced, and the weed growth has from across multiple sectors who are a cleaner. been successfully controlled (without working together to build a future in the use of chemicals!). A walk along which trees and people stand stronger Parking the path is very popular with visitors together. Crail will apply to receive a The Council have received a number (and of course residents) and the Com- Charter Tree.

CAN YOU HELP? Crail Museum needs someone to translate the descriptions of our Exhibition Rooms into Spanish and Italian. The descrip- Last week's Red Cross Coffee Morning raised a total of tions enable visitors who only speak those languages to get £619.12. Grateful thanks to all involved. much more out of their visit.

Please leave contact details at the Museum. Funding Crail Matters Stagecoach Bus Services changes to timetables implemented 14 august We depend on your support to keep producing Crail Matters. If you enjoy reading what we produce and wish to make a Stagecoach have announced a number of changes to their donation, then please contact [email protected] for de- timetable, none of which directly affect Crail, but may affect tails of our account for bank transfers, or contact a member connecting services. http://www.travelinescotland.com/ has of the Editorial Team. If you take a hard copy, we would wel- further information. come a suggested donation of 30p per issue to cover costs.

5 My Name Is Tom Dawn Black

“Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it – J.K. Rowling 2009. London. My name is Tom. I was five when I turned ‘not normal’ or as adults like to say, ‘abnormal’. I’m eleven now and I’m more normal than most adults I know. It was the day after my birthday it happened, the ‘thing’. My birthday is in August which is brilliant because the sun is always out, most of the time anyway. Everyone was in the garden having fun, me and my pals all had water pistols and were firing water all over the place, especially at the girls and the girls were screaming (as they usually do) and trying to escape, some of them even tried to hide in the bouncy castle which was great because it meant that when we caught them they had nowhere to run and so screamed even louder, that annoying girly scream. It was when my little brother Joe actually threw his water pistol at Lottie and Lottie started to cry when things started to get really bad. My Mum started screaming at Joe, Lottie’s mum started screaming at Joe and I just stood there watching, hating my brother for ruining my party. Then I started to scream at Joe and then Joe started to cry but while Lottie cried like a girl, sniffing and gasping, pretending she couldn’t breathe, at least she cried quite quietly. Joe on the other hand cried like only boys can and pushed his tears out with so much noise that I remember clasping my hands over my ears shouting at him to shut up. I don’t normally shout, don’t like it but that day I shouted and shouted and shouted. I shouted so much that my throat got sore and my head started to hurt but is still didn’t stop me shouting. It was my Dad. It was my Dad who finished my party and told everyone to go home, to get out. He just kept shouting, over and over and over again. I couldn’t believe it, why was he shouting? Dad’s shouldn’t do that sort of thing, it’s not fair. Dad’s should be the ones working the barbecue thing and asking if anyone wants another sausage or if the kids want more juice or if the ab- normal adults want more wine. But my Dad didn’t do that that day, my fifth birthday, my Dad stopped my party and made me cry and I hated him for a long time after that, until I was about eight anyway. I watched everyone leave as I perched on the top of the stairs, peering down through the bannister, no-one noticed me, and they were too busy trying to get out the front door, away from us, from me, from my mad Dad. Some left on their own, others in bunches, huddled together trying to escape the mad sunny day that the Saturday had become. My brother was still bubbling away but now he was in the hall, like me he was watching everyone leave but he was right next to them all but no-one cared about Joe now, he didn’t matter anymore and it was almost as if he cried louder and louder as more and more people scuttled out. By the end he was the one that was screaming, my Dad was still shouting but my Mum was now crying. I on the other hand just sat there, listening, watching and knowing that this was a very bad day for us all, especially me. When I woke up the next morning I felt unsure. It was like I could smell something but didn’t know what it was. I rolled over and grabbed my watch; it was only eight o’clock so I turned over and put my head back on my pillow and snuggled under my quilt.. I didn’t close my eyes though; it was the smell that stopped me. I knew something was bad but didn’t know what so I quietly got up and put my dressing gown on, the house was cold, why was it cold? Maybe Mum and Dad were still sleeping so no-one had put the heating on. I tried that once, to put the heating on I mean but my Dad caught me and went ballistic, telling me I didn’t know what I was doing and to leave it alone. The truth was he was right, I must only have been about three or four but I felt as if I knew what I was doing at the time, that’s the confusing thing, I felt I knew what I was doing until the abnormal adults told me I didn’t. And I believed them. Joe was still asleep. I stood watching him as his chest moved up and down and he let out strange noises, not snoring exactly, more gurgling sounds, like he was under water or something. ‘You ruined my party and I hate you’ I said out loud, hoping he’d wake up but instead Joe just lay there, making those stupid noises as I talked to myself about how horrible yesterday had been and how much he’d ruined my life and my special day. Part of me wanted to grab him and shake him awake so I could shout in his face but I was scared that I’d wake Mum and Dad and then I’d be in deep trouble. It was a Sunday and Sunday’s were ‘lie-in’ days in our house, no-one and I mean no-one was allowed to get up before nine, even Dougal the dog was shouted at if he got up and disturbed anyone but only by the abnormal adults. I used to worry that Dougal would go deaf with the number of shouts that were thrown at him, I even asked Dad that once but he just laughed at me and told me not to be stupid. I think any man who calls anyone under ten stupid is more than just stupid. I was too young to say anything then though it never stopped me thinking it or stopped me from feeling sad inside. Stupid is a stupid word, it shouldn’t be in dic- tionary’s, it should be banned except for using it in one situation. If I was in charge I’d only let kids under ten use the word ‘stupid’ when it came to describing the abnormal adults. I’m eleven now so I think I should be allowed to use it but only in the way that I’ve just described. Most adults I’ve met are stupid in one way or another. They do stupid things, the sort of things that they tell under tens not to do, like shouting or screaming or drinking alcohol (I think all Mums drink wine) or telling fibs or hurting other people’s feelings, yep all the things that they tell children not to do they do themselves so what does that say about them? I reckon it sucks being grown up because you do things that even I know are wrong. If I could I’d magic me staying eleven until I was eighteen I would. That way I’d put off doing stupid things for a few more years though I’ve told myself that even when I am grown up I won’t act like that, like the rest of them I mean, it’s my number one secret. I call it ‘Tom’s Top Tip’ or TTT for short. I’ve only ever told one person about TTT, my best friend Dylan, when we were both eight. He laughed at me (a lot) so I decided I wouldn’t tell anyone my secret ever again. My secret is my invisible friend. I like that, it’s mine. I stood and watched her and I started to feel really sick. What was she doing and why was she doing it? My head was full of whooshing, like a Red Arrow in my brain doing stunt after stunt after stunt with the roar of its engines and its coloured smoke filling my skull and getting louder and louder as each second ticked by. I don’t know how long I stood there for, it didn’t seem

6 to matter. I remember glancing up at the great big black clock, my Mum called the clock Bertie, after the man she’d bought it from in Camden Market when she was twenty. Funny that, calling a clock Bertie. It was one of her most loved things, apart from me and Joe of course. She always said good morning to it; see, abnormal. I once asked her why she did that, say good morning every morning to a ‘thing’ and she just looked at me, as if I was the mad one, replying ‘Why not?’ I’ll never forget that. Bertie ticked and ticked as I stood and stood and watched and watched. She was still sitting there, not moving, except to wipe her eyes and put her hands through her messed up hair. I looked down after a while and realised that I’d had an ‘accident’ and I watched as the pool of pee got bigger and bigger on the floorboards. I didn’t know what to do except pray that it would go down the cracks between the boards and somehow magically disappear. But it didn’t disappear, it just got bigger and as the pool got larger and it reached my toes I knew that I was in for a huge row and someone was going to start shouting at me. I was scared to move though. Moving meant that she would hear me and if she heard me and looked up she’d see me and then god knows what would happen. I needn’t have worried though, when she looked up at me she called my name and came over to hug me. She wiped away my tears and told me it was OK, told me not to cry but I couldn’t stop, I didn’t even know I’d started. As she put her arms around me I knew that I was crying more but didn’t understand why and as she tried to sooth me all I could hear was Bertie ticking away in the background, pushing the day forward. I realised then that time never stops nor ever goes back, not even for me. It was my Mum in that room, the ‘she’ who was wiping her eyes. And it was only much later, maybe when I was around nine years old that I suddenly realised that was the morning he’d left her, that he’d left us. My Dad had gone and he never came back. He shouldn’t have done that, that was abnormal, especially on a Sunday.

This story was submitted to the Crail Matters Short Story competition. Temporary Road Closures 31/07/71 until 06/08/17 Ricoh Women’s British Open 2017 - Kingsbarns ROAD AND CAR PARK CLOSURES Back Stile from its junction with Seagate to the Public Car Park entrance at the extremity of Back Stile. Public Car Park at the extremity of Back stile. Pedestrian access remains unimpeded.

TEMPORARY "NO WAITING AT ANY TIME" RESTRICTIONS Main Street (Both Sides) over its entire length Back stile (South Side) from Main Street to Seagate. A917 (Both Sides) from 30 mph speed limit at Back Stile to the south entrance to Cambo Layby.

TEMPORARY 30 M.P.H. SPEED RESTRICTION A917 from 30 mph speed limit at Back Stile to the south entrance to Cambo Layby.

Mon. 24/07/17 at 09.30hrs to Fri. 28/07/17 at 15.30hrs. West Green, Crail From adj. to properties nos. 47/49 High Street to rear of Hotel to allow replacement of defective sewer equipment in the carriageway to be carried out in safety. There is no alternative route for vehicular traffic. Access for emergency service vehicles and residents will be maintained. Access for pedestrians is unaffected. A Plant Lux are responsible for these works and can be contacted as follows:- Contact Telephone No: 01698 745069 Between 9.00 a.m. and 6.00 p.m. on 22/07/17 Rumford and Nethergate Fife Council has made an Order under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 prohibiting the use by vehicular traffic of Rumford (from property no. 10 Rumford to property no. 70 Nethergate) and Nethergate (from its junction with Castle Walk to property no. 56 Nethergate). The alternative route for through traffic will be via Tolbooth Wynd, High Street and Castle Street, Crail. Access for emergency service vehicles and pedestrians will be maintained. The Order is to allow the Crail Festival Street Market to take place in safety. Crail Festival Society is responsible for this event and can be contacted on the telephone number shown below:- Contact Telephone Number: 01333 451345

Calling all Crail Jam Makers

Do you have any jam jars as several Jam makers urgently need them all sizes acceptable?

The garden fruit this year is plentiful and jam and jelly is always needed for coffee mornings and sales.

Please had them into Chat bite on a Wednesday morning at the Kirk Hall.

7 The Crail Seagull An eye on our world

It’s no wonder us Seagulls have a bad name. The poor lady in Kirkcaldy who was attacked by one of my bad cousins, and then suffered a heart attack, makes me feel very sorry. These Kirkcaldy birds even make me feel nervous when they come up here - we have enough bad uns without them adding to it. 10 yr. old Niamh is our newest recruit for starting hut duty at the Putting Green. Niamh spends her summer holidays Have you seen the petition doing the rounds about Crail in Crail. All year she looks for- Raceway, requesting Fife Council to investigate if it is ward to helping operating legally? I wonder how many people have the adult volun- signed, and if it will come to anything. As I fly over I teers at the Crail don’t see much evidence of anyone from Fife Council Festival Putting monitoring anything, but who knows? Maybe they are Green by putting under cover driving cars! But money talks louder than out the pins then people in these things - how else would the summer re- having a few strictions at Kingsbarns Beach get the go ahead? rounds of putting. Well done The flower arrangements along Marketgate look as nice Niamh, we ap- preciate your as- this year as ever. I watch the people working away on sistance. Sadly the tubs with great admiration. There’s a very noticeable Niamh returns to increase in the number of people in and around Crail, her home on Sat- so its nice to see the old place looking well. And all the urday, 15th July. increased litter and the food dropped just makes for Even without good snacks for me. Niamh the putting green Took a spin over Crail Wednesday morning and saw a stays open daily from 1.30 – 7.30pm until Sunday, 20th Au- couple of Fife Council vans (and presumably people in gust. them) sat in Roome Bay park. Came back after a nice snack at the Chippie after about an hour or so, and saw Crail Parish they were still there. They seem to be erecting some Church of Scotland fencing around the damaged roundabout. Ever heard the (Charity registered in Scotland SC 001601) old joke - how many safety inspectors does it take to change a light bulb? Four - one to change it and three to Rev. Peter Neilson is taking Pastoral care of Crail Parish. hold the ladder. Well ...... His contact information is: Landline: 01333 310477 Email: [email protected]

Kirk Sale 19 July 2017

Doors open at 2.00pm and more information can be had from Helen Armitage 450516.

Material for inclusion in Crail Matters should be sent to [email protected] and received on Friday midday before publication. We reserve the right to edit copy for length and style. Submission does not guarantee inclusion. © Crab Publishing 2017: Editorial Team this week: Graham Anderson, Julie Middleton, Isla Reid, Valencia Sowry, Max Taylor, John Wilson

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