www.crabpublishing.co.uk CRAIL MATTERS W/C 10 April No 10 Free Local elections - Candidates for East Neuk and Landward Ward Candidate Party Benjamin Bridgman Scottish Green Polling to elect the 3 Councillors to represent the Elec- John Docherty Scottish National toral Ward of East Neuk and Landward will take place Rosalind Garton Scottish Labour between the hours of 7am and 10pm on Thursday, 4th Alisdair Gilbert Scottish Liberal Democrat May, 2017. Margaret Harper Scottish National Linda Holt Scottish Conservative and Unionist The deadline for applications to be included on the Bill Porteous Scottish Liberal Democrat Register of Electors is midnight 17 April. The deadline for new postal vote applications is 5.00pm 18 April.

Crail Folk Club Our next guest night at Crail Folk Club is on Thursday 13th April in Crail Town Hall and features Maggie Holland. Maggie is best known for her song ‘A Place Called Eng- land’ which won her the prestigious BBC Folk Award for Best Song. A song covered by such gods of the folk world as June Tabor and Martin Carthy. She worked for many years with ex-husband Ian Anderson in the duo called Hot Vultures; latterly she has been work- ing in the band called the Broonzies which also features club favourite Jez Lowe and Lindisfarne’s Rod Clements. However, it is mainly as a solo artist that she is now best known with several albums to her credit featuring her own material and songs by the likes of Al Stewart. Maggie accompanies herself on guitar and banjo and is an accom- plished bass player. This is sure to be a popular night which starts at 8pm (BYOB)

Crail Scouts Crail Community Choir Our Scouts are going to Ireland this summer and we are looking for Kilts to fit boys & girls aged 12-14 The Choir will next meet on 17th April 7.30 pm in The along with socks and plain sporrans, if anyone has any Town Hall of these items that they no longer require and would be Everyone will be made very welcome. happy to donate them to the scouts please contact Lisa There is no obligation to attend every week. or Alastair on 450035. Crail Art Group Funding Crail Matters Crail Art Group are holding their annual Easter Exhibi- tion in Crail Kirk Hall. Framed, unframed paintings, The Editorial Team wish to thank those readers and ad- cards and Crafts for sale. vertisers who have very generously made donations to Crail Matters. We continue to depend on your support FRIDAY 14TH APRIL 10 AM-4PM to maintain what we hope is an interesting and useful SATURDAY 15TH APRIL 2PM-5PM Newsletter. SUNDAY 16TH APRIL 12.30-5PM MONDAY 17TH APRIL 10AM- 3PM To donate, please make cheques payable to ‘Crab Pub- Refreshments Raffle lishing’, or please contact us for the necessary details FREE ENTRY to make a bank transfer.

1 Easter The Christian Festival of Easter is a countries. Indeed, in some parts of the complicated amalgam of a number of country, the tradition of rolling hard traditions, with origins that go back boiled eggs, or pace egging, still survives long before Christianity as a religion as an Easter tradition. The eggs are dec- was founded. It commemorates of orated, and then distributed to children or course Christ’s death and resurrection, pace eggers on Easter Sunday, who pro- a central fact for Christians – but there cess around a village collecting money. is no clarity about when Christ was This tradition was once common in the crucified, other than it was at the time North of England and , and still of the Jewish festival of Passover. exists in some parts of Lancashire. That, then locates Easter more or less in our season of Spring, a time of new Easter, as a celebration of Christ’s resur- beginning and growth and a time rection, actually receives little reference when, at least in our climate, the in the Bible. The New Testament is weather begins to lose that bleak mid- Ethel Quayle largely silent on what is now regarded by winter quality. many Christians as the central holiday of the year. Indeed, Baptism, rather than Easter, is stressed However, this period of the year has a long association as the symbolism to celebrate associated with the death with festivals from other religious traditions, which also marked the change from winter to summer and the fer- tility this implies. One Northern European tradition that seems to have influenced our symbols of Easter, and perhaps even its name, is derived from the Germanic or Norse God Ostara or Eástre, the embodiment of dawn or light. Bede, in the De Mensibus Anglorum (The En- glish Months written around 700 AD) describes the in- digenous names of the months of the English peoples and identifies Ēosturmōnaþ as the month of the goddess Ēostre which he says is translated as ‘Paschal month’. This has been a source of scholarly dispute for cen- turies, although recent work suggests it may have some truth to it. Whatever the origins, it does seem likely that our term Easter seems to have roots in Eástre. www.romanicoaragones.com and resurrection of Christ ‘Therefore we were buried Some of the symbols of Easter we are with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ familiar with, such as Hares and Rab- was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, bits (the Easter bunny), also seem to even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if have roots in association with Eástre we have been united together in the likeness of His or perhaps the Norse goddess Freya, death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His with ideas about fertility and renewal. resurrection’ (Romans 6:3-5). The symbolic origins of Easter eggs, in contrast, seem to have Easter celebrations seem to lie, then, in the early their roots in ancient Mesopotamia Church’s need to commemorate Christs’ rebirth, and the and Crete, where some 5,000 years ago, there is evi- earliest references to Easter occur around the mid-2nd dence that decorated eggs were placed in tombs, sym- century, rather than Biblical injunction. bolising both death and new life; there is one body of opinion using a similar logic (new light, dawn, fertility) Whatever the origins, the idea of light, new life, and the that also links Easter eggs with Eástre. It seems more optimism associated with the resurrection characterise likely, however, that our traditions associated with eggs our sense of Easter. In the troubled times we live in, a spread from the ancient world to Western Europe celebration of optimism seems appropriate, and it is through the influence of the Orthodox Christianity. The perhaps also an opportunity to reflect on the values we role of eggs at Easter may also have a more prosaic ex- hold together and share, and the ties that bind us to our planation, however. It was the tradition to forbid the eat- families and communities, and more broadly, together. ing of eggs during Lent, resulting in an abundance of And this of course, is not something just confined to eggs accumulating as Lent progressed. To preserve Easter, however we take meaning from it. them, these eggs may have been hard boiled – and then eaten at Easter, a tradition still found in some European

2 Easter Services Crail Kirk 12th April 6:30pm Holy Wednesday Service in Church (Cluster Event) 13th April 6:30pm Maundy Thursday Sacrament of Holy Communion in Crail Church 14th April 6:30pm Good Friday Service in Crail Church 16th April 8am Easter Day Early morning service at Triangle Park followed by breakfast in the Kirk Hall. 16th April 11:15am Easter Day Service in Crail Church

St John’s Pittenweem 13th April 7:00 p.m. Maundy Thursday - Ecumenical Communion - Kilconquhar Church or Pittenweem Parish Church 14th April Good Friday Reflection 2:00 p.m. 16th April Easter Sunday 8:00 a.m. Ecumenical Dawn Service at Elie Harbour followed by breakfast at the Parish Hall 1130 Easter Communion

St Salvator’s Chapel 16 April 1100 Sunday Service followed by Eucharist.

Christ The King, Pittenweem 13 April 5.30pm Thursday of The Lord’s Supper 14 April 7.30pm Stations of The Cross 16 April 8.45am Easter Sunday Crail Kirk Coffee Morning The Easter Coffee Morning will take place in the Kirk Hall on Saturday 15 th April, 10 - 12 noon. Baking stall and raffle. All welcome. Come and begin the Easter celebrations with us. (Donations of baking and/or raffle prizes would be very welcome). Crail Guild Crail Guild meets on Thursday April 13th at 2.15pm in the Church. It is the AGM with a Slide Show Quiz from Eldon Zuill. PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF VENUE.

Planning Notices - Installation of replacement windows - 19 Castle Street Crail Fife KY10 3SJ - application refused Installation of replacement windows - 19 Castle Street Crail Anstruther Fife KY10 3SJ

Crail Matters Short Story Award and Prize

Crail Matters has established a Short Story Award and Prize to encourage creative writing in Crail and the East Neuk in general; if this initiative is successful, we hope it will be offered on a regular basis. The award will consist of a cash prize of £50 and a certificate. In addition, selected entries will be published in Crail Matters, and may also be included in a collected anthology which may be published as an ebook by Crab Publishing. The Editorial decision in all matters is final.

Stories can be on any theme or subject but must be original and written in English, and should not be longer than 3,000 words. They must also be for adult or young adult readers; non-fiction and fiction written for children under 13 years is not eligible. Entrants must be 16 years or over. Work should be submitted by 9 June 2017 to crailmat- [email protected]. Authors should be resident within the East Neuk, or be able to demonstrate significant association with the area. See issue 9 for Conditions for entry, or visit www.crabpublishing.co.uk

3 WILD CRAIL Will Cresswell, with Photographs by John Anderson Saturday, April 1st was a fine spring day, full of poten- above but with a second year clear black bill tip. I tial, but with only a chiff-chaff appearing. One was checked the diagnostic head shape – a gentle expres- singing late afternoon from near the town Hall. I was sion, a rounded head and a slighter bill than a herring down at Balcomie in the morning. A few dunlin were gull – and the long white primary projection. They are Grey Heron amongst the ringed plovers on much more elegant than bruiser glaucous gulls: like the the beach, lots of skylarks difference between common and herring gulls, Iceland singing and a nice, grey heron gulls don’t look like they are about to rob you. All pre- stalking the rock pools at . Two pink-footed geese flew up from the rocks, perhaps having a rest on their way north as was a redwing at Kilminning.

It has been a while, but last Tuesday night the twitch was on with an Iceland gull reported from Pittenweem Harbour. I had just Iceland Gull got back from Ab- erdeen and wasn’t keen to go out again, Grey Wagtail but we haven’t had an Iceland gull near tence of elegance was then lost as it puked up various Crail since 2008, and bits of lobster leg that must have got stuck in its throat. this would be only Then it tried to mug an eider of a small fish before col- my 3rd here in 15 lecting itself and catching the wind like a storm petrel years. When I got to to do elegant again. Gulls always seem to be this con- Pittenweem there flict of their beauty of clean whites and sharp sailing was beautiful late lines with their beastly, business like thuggery. A good evening sunlight and first rarity of the spring and no. 103 for the Crail year the sky was full of list. gulls in the cold westerly. John Anderson was already I think we have grey wagtails breeding again on the there and happily told me that it was still about, some- Brandyburn in Crail. They have been regularly flying where in the gull flock above the harbour entrance. I past my house, following the course of the burn as it diligently searched through the gulls looking for one flows underground from the bus stop by the school to without black wing tips and pale as a ghost, before I no- where it re-emerges by the old cinema on Nethergate. ticed John frantically waving at me to look down. The Birds frequently have to commute between the best Iceland gull was back in the harbour, sitting on the areas of their territories, so I don’t suppose it phases water right in front of me. A young bird, probably just them much that their burn exists in two separated sec- coming out of its first winter, still with biscuit speckling tions. It probably bothers me more that the Brandyburn is buried: streams tumbling through seaside towns add such a lot of character and many a Cornish or Devon village is made by them. There a couple of other hidden burns through Crail and many more in the surrounding farmland; channelled into pipes and covered over when a wild landscape was just something to be sorted out, rather than valued. Still, you can see the grey wagtails in Victoria Park, in Denburn Wood and perhaps easiest of all down at the mouth of the Brandyburn. Hugely long tails and more yellow than grey, picking flies from the wet rocks. When disturbed they leave with a lovely bounding flight and a clear “tchick-tchick” call. Look Iceland Gull out for the first swallows of the year this week. Kings- barns always seems to get them before Crail.

4 5 ROYAL OF CRAIL AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL NOTES Road Repairs currently in Crail, and the danger that any new devel- As we have frequently noted, the condition of Crail’s opment will result in further holiday homes. It is under- roads are very poor, and if anything seem to be getting stood that Fife Council are looking into the feasibility worse. Kirkmay Road in particular seems to be in a very of restricting the number of second homes, perhaps bad state. It was reported to the Community Council drawing on the models that already exist in the UK for that work is scheduled to be undertaken there 10-14 restricting the sale of new build housing to local resi- April, although no notification of this has been given to dents, or people with a local connection such as em- the Council; we are unclear if residents have been in- ployment, family, etc. Currently council tax is charged formed, or indeed if it will happen. There is, however, at 190% on holiday properties with a plan to increase a notice on Lamont Terrace saying it will be closed 10th this to 200% (ie double the rate of local residents). to 14th April 08:00 to 16:00 with Kirkmay Road as al- ternative access. MUGA At the last Community Council meeting, questions were Bins asked about liability for future repairs and maintenance The Council has again received complaints about bins of the MUGA. Questions were also raised about public not being properly maintained and cared for. Part of the liability insurance. Further work on the MUGA next problem is undoubtedly the proliferation of bins, which year has been identified with a likely cost of £7,000. whilst in theory no doubt seemed a good idea, in prac- Whilst the Community Council wishes to be helpful, tise seems less than optimal. Given that summer is ap- and will respond to requests for help, the Council un- proaching, and the numbers of visitors in Crail will derstands that responsibility for this lies with Crail increase, could we request residents to exercise appro- Community Trust. It was noted at the meeting that there priate care in putting bins out and retrieving them. was a lack of clarity about the MUGA management, and to ensure future viability, this needs to be ad- Holiday Homes dressed. The Council currently holds £1,100 given by Concern has been expressed at recent Community Crail Settlement Trust for the recent cleaning of the Council meetings about the number of holiday homes MUGA court.

Fife Council Notice - Temporary Road Closure Tolbooth Wynd, Crail – Entire Length. 00.01am Wed 19 April to 6.00pm Sun 23 April The alternative route for vehicular traffic is via Nethergate, Rumford, Castle Street, Shoregate and High Street.. Access for residents and emergency service vehicles will be maintained via the alternative route - Nethergate - Rum- ford - Castle Street - Shoregate - High Street. Access for pedestrians will be unaffected. Temporary No Waiting at Any Time Road, Crail (North Side) from the junction with Marketgate in a westerly direction for a distance of 50 metres or thereby. High Street, Crail (West Side) from the junction with St Andrews Road in a southerly direction for a distance of 35 metres or thereby. This is to allow the use of 3-way traffic lights and installation of BT cabinet and ducting and to be carried out in safety. Local Government elections You may have noticed that there are 7 candidates competing for the 3 seats in the East Neuk and Landward ward of Fife Council. You will also no doubt have noticed that all represent national political parties, rather than standing as independents. After Easter, Crail Matters will approach each candidate and invite them to highlight their policies for Crail, and more generally the East Neuk. As part of that, we also invite our readers to send to us questions they would like to put to the candidates. We all complain about the Council from time to time, but this is our opportunity to ask direct questions about what policies the candidates support that affect us, and what proposals they have. Doing this may help us identify their positions on local issues, rather than meeting some party or national agenda; and through that to at least make a reasonable assessment of their policies as they might directly affect us before we vote.

6 Do you know what the most common form of can- some personally commissioned stained glass Y- cer is that affects young men? It is testicular cancer. fronts. You may have seen Elaine C. Smith making This is a relatively rare cancer overall, but seems a pair of underpants in the East Neuk on Burdz Eye to be most prevalent in men between 15-49. The View on STV … well this is your chance to do the good news is that this is one of the most treatable same and help a good cause. You can order them forms of cancer, and overall the treatment outlook directly online by clicking on the pants. Please is one of the best for cancers. Almost all men who send details of primary colour of the pants, colour are treated for testicular germ cell tumours are of waist band and y front (name of business or per- cured, and it's rare for the condition to return more son on waistband extra £10) and email address and than five years later. Treatment almost always in- postal address. Pants will be made of photographic cludes the surgical removal of the affected testicle glass from projects already being working on at the – called orchidectomy or orchiectomy – which time. For more information, simply visit doesn't usually affect fertility or the ability to have www.eastneukglass.com and click on pants. All the sex. pants will be displayed on washing lines and you will be invited to come down and pick them up if April is Testicular Cancer Awareness month and you can. They will only be displayed for a day be- amongst the events organised to raise awareness fore being picked off the line or posted out to the East Neuk Glass is mounting an exhibition on Cel- owner/designer. Pants will cost £30 pounds each lardyke Harbour on 15 April, where you can buy with 1/3 of that going straight to the charity

Crail Matters Easter Publication There will be no issue of Crail Matters published over Easter weekend, April 17. Next issue 24 April - copy to receive by 21 April.

very poor and disruptive parking around the shops. Its sometimes hard to cross the road safely both for seag- The Crail Seagull ulls and people. All the fuss about parking controls and yellow lines doesn’t seem to make much difference to An eye on our world what some people do. Have you noticed how many Last week, a very excited friend came to see me. Ap- plastic bottles there are left parently he’d had a peak into the new distillery at around in Crail? Every morning Kingsbarns taking a very enjoyable tour, and looked I see new ones just left on the into the Doocot there. He said there were pigeons there pavement. Apparently, scientists have found that as that seemed to have drunk so much whisky, or maybe many as 90% of seabirds have eaten plastic. I can’t say inhaled the ‘angel’s share’, that they were immobile - I’ve ever fancied a plastic bottle, but it doesn’t seem just happily stood there looking bemused but happy. right, does it. My cousin in Elie says they are having a He said he wanted to volunteer as a tour guide so he big beach clean up there especially to pick up discarded could do that as well. I fear any pigeons that go to live plastic. Could we do this in Crail? in our local Doocot when its renovated won’t get such good treatment - no ‘angel’s share’ there (but maybe The volume of traffic in Crail is increasing as the hol- the Wine Club could help). iday season approaches, and I’ve noticed recently some

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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