Working for Lochmaben

And supporting LOCHMABEN’S DAY OF THE REGION 2013

The Initiative is very grateful for the continuing support of The Lochmaben Community Council

* Contact us on the Website at www.lochmaben.org.uk , by phone to 01387 810094 (Chairman) or 01387 811406 (Vice-Chairman), or in writing. Correspondence should be clearly marked for the Initiative and left at the Town Hall. 1

Day of the Region Participation in Day of the Region on 4 th,5 th and 6 th of October has brought a total of £5,000 into the community, mostly in the form of Legacy items. These will remain in the community and will be available for groups to borrow as required. The Community Initiative will be required to keep an inventory of the items, where they are being kept etc., and will provide details of how they can be accessed by other groups and organisations. Scottish Land Fund holds the Key The Steering Group set up to progress the community bid to purchase Castle Loch, Lochmaben has done its work well. Under the leadership of Chairman, David Rose, members have developed a strong business plan, have attracted initial funding from various sources, now have a database of some 229 members who have pledged their support, have listened to local ideas and suggestions and have completed an application form to the Scottish Land Fund. The last point holds the key, as, without major funding, the idea will not go ahead. The Land Fund decision is imminent and is awaited with some trepidation. Hoping for a positive reply, the Steering Group is ready, willing and able to take the project forward. Congratulations are in order • The Save the Children charity is better off by £1,472.22 thanks to the generosity of Lochmaben Primary School. Raised through the school’s Penny Box collection and the annual fete, the donation adds to the regular sponsorship of a child undertaken by the School through the Save the Children New Beginnings programme. • Danny, Mickey, Robbie and Rory Collins who, as part of the family based ‘Team Collins’, took on the Nevis Rocks challenge in early September and raised the super total of £5,300 for the Love Hope Strength Cancer Foundation in memory of their uncle Stevie Collins of Kirkcudbright. Special thanks from ‘Team Collins’ to the brilliant staff and customers of Lochmaben Post Office for encouraging and supporting this adventure. • The green-fingered gardeners of Lochmaben have again provided great splashes of colour this year. Well done to them all. Full results of the Gardens Competition are on p10. • The Gala Committee put on a splendid Gala in 2013 and are to be congratulated again. • Rachael Common has been hard at work practising her Carriage Driving skills at Boreland with Sports Driving Unlimited and performed well at a recent competition organised by Chariots of Fire. Football Good to see that Lochmaben AFC are repeating their success of last year with 8 wins and a draw in the 9 games they have played so far this season. Art Success Some Lochmaben artists' works have been selected for the prestigious Dumfries and Galloway Fine Arts Society exhibition at Gracefield, Dumfries. Included are works by David Rose, Isabelle Gow, Carol Paget, John Lethbridge and Alayne Smith. The exhibition is open until the end of September. Area Committee Grant Lochmaben and Distric Community Council have been awarded £4140 from the Annandale and Eskdale Area Committee towards extending the Town Centre Christmas lights on Lochmaben High Street. Town Hall closure delayed The extensive refurbishment works planned for the Town Hall have been put back because of problems obtaining listed building consent. Watch this space. Bus Shelters It was good to see that the shelters on the High Street were spruced up and cleaned recently.

The Blae Meadow Dental Practice have introduced new hours of opening. Monday 9am - 4pm Tuesday 9am - 4pm Wednesday 9am - 6pm Thursday 9am - 6pm Friday 2pm - 7pm Saturday appointments by prior arrangement. Tel. 01387 811422 e-mail: [email protected]

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Lochmaben Art Group Anne Yuill Johnston reports……..We have had rather a busy summer-- At sessions, the group have been using a variety of art forms including watercolour, acrylics, pastel, pen and ink and that old faithful- pencil and rubber! We have been painting landscapes, seascapes, animals, trains, flower studies, exotic tigers and eagles, abstracts and even the Family Silver. The weather has been too hot during the later months to paint inside (the paint dried too quickly) but now that the autumn is upon us perhaps we will be inspired by the autumnal colours. The Art Group meets every Friday in the small Church Hall- side door- 10am to 12 noon. We have refreshments at 11am and set the world to rights over a cup of tea or coffee. All are welcome whether you are an absolute beginner or more experienced. Tel. 01387 810257. The Art Group is also participating in the Day of the Region. From 10am to 4pm on Saturday 5 th October in the Church Hall, the Group will display paintings and be on hand to talk about their work. There will also be opportunities for adults and children to try some painting—self portraits or a Lochmaben scene. Lochmaben Tennis Club Tennis is thriving in Lochmaben as we've had several new members and visitors to our club over the past few months. Good weather and a good performance from Andy Murray have boosted our club members. We hold Junior club night on Tuesday evening with both sessions well attended. Coaching for Juniors takes place on Friday evening, with mixed doubles for all ages on Sunday morning which again has been well attended. Lochmaben was well represented in the South of Scotland Tournament at Moffat and those who attended all enjoyed the experience. Chad Lawson and Raymond Varrie won the Men's Handicapped Doubles and Rhona Park and her partner were beaten in the Ladies’ Doubles Final. The Club is looking forward to holding an event on the Day of the Region. There will be Cream Teas, Fun Competitions, Have a Go sessions and an opportunity to try our new tennis ball machine from 10am - 4pm on Saturday 5th October. Great competition within the Junior Leagues has taken place over the past few months from our Under 14 and Under 16 teams. Any enquiries about the Tennis Club please contact Mary Park, Tel. 01387 810627 and for up to date info on the club go to our Facebook page which was kindly created by Club Member Andrew Barrie. Lochmaben Friendship Group (over 60s) The above Group resumed on September 4th for the 2013/14 session. In October we have a Speaker from "Guide Dogs", in November a demonstration on Decorative Painting and in December we have our Christmas Party as well as a visit to the Theatre Royal in Dumfries to the Pantomime "Cinderella". In January we travel to Dinwoodie Lodge Hotel for our Festive Lunch which we all look forward to! Will update rest of programme in next Newsletter. The Group meets on the first Wednesday of the month at 1.30p.m. in the Portacabin and we would be delighted to welcome new members. For more information contact President Mary Ross on 01387 810256. Lochmaben Action Group Helen Middleton (Secretary) writes……………. We will be providing teas in our Portacabin for ‘Day of the Region’ on Saturday 5 th October from 10am-4pm. Our Fun-Day still meets on the second Tuesday of each month when we play dominoes from 2pm-4pm. On Mondays and Wednesday evenings there is Freestyle Karate provided by Rab Walls. Both the Lunch Club and Friendship Group started up again after the summer break. Also, a Youth Group meets on a Tuesday evening from 6.30pm. All of the above groups will be delighted for any new members to join them. Lochmaben Bowling Club Hazel Sloan (Secretary) writes……………… The Club’s members have had an enjoyable season. The summer sunshine has been a bonus. We had 6 new members join this year which was wonderful. Next year we are hoping to get the Primary School involved. Any person interested in joining the Club should get in touch with me on 01387 811830 or with Ann Wilson on 01387 810598.

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Do you recognise this man?

Clue 1 He’s a well known Lochmaben resident.

Clue 2 ‘The driver of the 3-ton armoured car took us out into the jungle for the start of the 5-day patrol. Our journey took us along earth tracks recently made dangerous by heavy rains and through country well-known for terrorist activity. He looked extremely fit on the hard conditions out there (in Malaya) and, to quote his officers, was “Doing very well”. Needless to say, he was an expert driver.’ S.W.R.I. Lochmaben Institute meets second Tuesday of each month September to May in Lochmaben Church Hall at 7.30pm. We have a variation- speakers or demonstrations. New members welcome. For more information contact President Christine Vidler on 01387 811839 or Secretary Linda Duff on 01387 811834. Sing4Fun On Monday, 26 th August, Sing4Fun begins its new sessions. It seems incredible that Sing4Fun has been going for three years and, except for refurbishment work when the Church Hall was closed, we have met every other Monday to sing a whole mixture of songs-from anywhere and everywhere- songs from Musicals, from the Charts, from deepest Africa! Sing4Fun was the brainchild of Rosemary Bromhead who wanted to sing- just that- ‘for the fun of it!’ It was, therefore, with great shock and sadness that we learned of Rosemary’s death just a few weeks ago. We shall be thinking of her when we start again on Monday. Marian Dawber, her daughter, has been invaluable in supporting us with posters and fliers- essential to those of us who lack those important IT skills! So, we are about to start a new session- and a new challenge! We are taking our singing skills to the ‘Interactive Concert’ which will take place in Lochmaben Church on October 6 th as part of the weekend event – Day of the Region. If you would like to join us- come along on any Monday evening in September. Alternatively, ring myself (Jenny Agnew, tel. 1387 811632) or Sheila Wade (tel. 01387 810791) for extra information. Food Train – Befriending service The Food Train runs a befriending service for people aged over 65 in Annandale and Eskdale and is looking for volunteers in the Lochmaben area. If you enjoy talking to others, are able to listen, and have a couple of hours each week/fortnight that you could spend with an older person, we would love to hear from you. Food Train Friends will offer one-to-one, group and telephone befriending and our volunteers will have the support of experienced Food Train staff. The aim of Food Train Friends is to help improve the quality of life to our customers through providing them with a befriending service and a friendly face to talk to. Volunteers will provide a consistent and reliable support to help customers experience social interaction on a regular basis. Our volunteers will be provided with support by the Food Train through training and supervision and out-of-pocket expenses will be paid. All Food Train volunteers undergo a PVG/Disclosure Scotland check. For further information call Food Train Friends on 01461 206586 or see our website: www.thefoodtrain.co.uk Table Tennis If you are interested in joining a "fun" Table Tennis group, why not get in contact with Colin Howe who writes………………. I have just moved to Lochmaben and where I used to live, we ran a ‘Seniors’ Table Tennis Club, once or twice a week in the local Scout Hall. Nothing too serious and usually included a cup of tea. I wondered if anyone locally might be interested. I have made some initial investigations for equipment and venue. At the moment the Church Hall looks a possibility as I understand they might also have a table tennis table. So get that old bat out of the cupboard and let me know if you are interested. My contact details are: Colin Howe Email: [email protected] Tel: 01387 810009 4

Lochmaben Little People

Whether you have a bump, baby or toddler, we welcome all little people (& their Bigs) from Lochmaben and surrounding areas to join us for fun in the Church Hall on a Monday mornings from 9.45am – 11.15am. Lochmaben Little People will run during school holidays but will break for 2 weeks over Christmas & New Year. Unlimited tea / coffee / juice for Bigs and a healthy snack & juice for Littles for £2 per child, £1 for every extra per family. Join us on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/lochmabenlittlepeople We are currently trialling Friday afternoons from 1pm – 2.30pm during September .

Lochmaben's most recent centenarian, Les Brown of Vendace Drive gets his wish……….!! You may recall that, in our last edition, we put the spotlight on Les Brown, who was determined to celebrate his 100 th birthday in the way he loves best—on a bike run!! And that’s exactly what Les did. Friends and neighbours toasted his 100th birthday with some cake and liquid refreshment at his home and, later, cycling friends from all over Dumfries & Galloway joined Les and Tom Hanley in a gentle cycle run to the Art Cafe at Dalton for further celebrations. Well done, Les, and congratulations on the BIG DAY!!!

Tenants & Residents Association for Lochmaben & District We are a committee of local tenants’ and residents’ association, who meet every two months at the Town Hall from 2pm. Our objective is to be One Voice For All, working with other organisations in the area i.e. the community council, elected councillors and the police. We aim to represent the views of the people in the town and surrounding areas. The group undertake their own community projects i.e. installing garden furniture at Glebe Crescent and at the Barras, getting roads repaired and our latest project is our objection to the number of re-cycle bins the folks of Lochmaben could be landed with come 2015. We are concerned about the idea of a Roll-- out Service for the elderly and the vulnerable residents who live in terraced homes with no kinnels or back alleys. We try to resolve tenants’ housing issues with their landlords i.e. DGHP and Loreburn Housing. We are a fairly new set-up, but happy with what we have achieved to date.

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Lochmaben Royal Burgh Pipe Band Pipe Major Alan Hope writes……. Lochmaben Royal Burgh Pipe band have just completed yet another busy year, which has seen them travelling to Dunbar, Bathgate, Dumbarton, Glasgow and Dunoon in order to take part in competitions. They have been very successful on the competition front this year, where they have finished 5th twice, 3rd twice and 1st seven times, winning a total of 11 trophies. This season has seen the band finish 3rd in the Championship Table which is calculated using all of the results over a whole season. This year the band was able to stay the full day at Lochmaben Gala, as the contest which had been in Annan over the last 3 years had now moved to Forres. Unfortunately this meant that the band was unable to compete in all 5 major championships. On Gala day the band were very happy to play at Lochmaben Hospital, immediately after the parade, which brought back memories to Pipe Major Alan Hope, who first played at Lochmaben Gala in 1974. He said, ‘’I can remember climbing onto the back of one of the lorries after we finished the parade and travelling to the Sanatorium where we played. I don’t know when this finished but I thought that as the band were remaining at Lochmaben this year then it would be nice to bring back an old tradition and have the band play for the patients and staff in Lochmaben Hospital. The band also played in the field during the afternoon which was something they have not been able to do before.” The band was privileged to be asked to take part in this year’s Kirkcudbright Tattoo, which took place on Saturday, 24th August. This is an annual event which attracts an audience of over 5000 people and the band made such an impact that they have already been asked to play at next year’s event. The band will be holding the Annual Scottish Night on Saturday, 26th October 2013 within Lochmaben Community Centre . Please come along and help support your local Pipe Band, which provides many youngsters with an active hobby which encourages being part of a group and also teaches discipline and respect. Tickets will be available from any band member, Crolla’s Café and Kennedy’s Fruit Shop. Once again the band will be joined by the popular group New Era and an excellent night of entertainment will be on offer. At this time the band are having to move out of the Town Hall, for their practice nights, due to planned refurbishments and are having to go to Lockerbie Academy. This has not been an easy decision, as the band are having to move out of Lochmaben, but due to all other premises in Lochmaben either being too small or not available, the band has had no choice but to move away to Lockerbie. It is hoped that once the refurbishments have been made to the Town Hall and the Library has been relocated to the upstairs hall there will be sufficient space for the band to return but if not then it is unknown what the band will do.

The band are always looking for new members and at this moment in time have vacancies for both drumming and chanter classes. If anyone would like to learn the pipes or drums please get in touch with any member of the band.

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The Church Hall Alistair Brown writes………………… The refurbished church hall has been open for almost a year now and has proved a great hit with the various user groups. There have been no complaints – so far! This surely proves that a bit of planning and a lot of thought went into the final design and is a credit to the small group who undertook this work. It is also thanks to the contractors who carried out our wishes and smoothed the rough edges of our original ideas! One of the main doubts was the loss of the stage but everyone has since agreed that the extra space in the small hall is of much more practical use. The enlarged kitchen has been a hit with all catering groups. Perhaps the most valued change has been the new toilets which replaced those cold, draughty, less than comfortable toilets that we tolerated all those years. All the previous user groups continue to enjoy the new facilities. An additional session of the Lochmaben Little People meets on a Friday afternoon. There is a possibility of a table tennis group starting up soon and there may also be a Pilates class meeting on a Tuesday afternoon. Lochmaben Church Guild Marian Howell writes………. The Church Guild resumes its new 2013-14 season on the 17th of September in the Church Hall when the visiting speaker will give an illustrated talk on ‘Christmas Shoe Boxes’. Every year many people in Lochmaben cover an old shoe box with Christmas paper and fill it with little toys and surprises. These boxes are collected all over the country in their tens of thousands and sent to deserving children in Eastern Europe and in Africa. Each month the Guild has interesting speakers whose topics range from Medals, to the First Base Agency charity, Visiting Rome and Migrants hoping to escape from Africa and seeking a new life elsewhere. We meet every month, generally on the second Tuesday of the month, over the winter period. Details can be found on the Lochmaben Initiative website. We do have lighter moments with a humorous Christmas Celebration and we have successful fundraising efforts. We send money that is raised to our various projects including Christian Aid, Ekwendeni Hospital in Northern Malawi. Our membership remains steady and we have about 40 loyal and supportive members. We look forward to welcoming our new minister and we always welcome anyone to any of our meetings which are well publicised in the Initiative website. Isabelle Gow writes…………………… One day in July I received a call from Marion Dawber, the Librarian, asking whether I was available that afternoon to speak to a film crew who were in the area and wanted someone local to talk about Lochmaben. I said that I was and asked when they would want me. She said, “In half an hour!" No time to prepare notes or get the hair done. The TV programme is called Escape to the Country which I was aware of and I fervently hoped that it would Alistair Appleton who would be the presenter this time. A wee while later I was standing at the town hall when indeed it was the lovely Alistair who appeared with a cameraman, sound engineer, director, the couple who were looking for a new home, but no makeup technician and I had no script! The instructions were, "Just talk naturally about the amenities Lochmaben has to offer and don't look at the camera." After the director had seen the Lochmaben leaflets he decided he wanted to film at the Castle Loch. It didn't take long to film and Alistair was so charming and professional that it wasn't difficult to feel at ease. I really can't remember what I talked about other than golf, bowling and Robert the Bruce, but I did get Alistair's autograph! They will let me know when they are going to show it, but of course it may find itself on the cutting room floor. Please note Isabelle has written another local history book. This was commissioned by Stenlake Publications and is called, "Old Moniaive, Dunscore and the Cairn Valley," and is based on old postcards of the area, including the large mansion houses of Maxweltown and Craigdarroch. It also tells the stories of Annie Laurie, Thomas Carlyle and Jane Haining. It is available from Stenlake directly, from Waterstones and from Amazon.

Lochmaben Bridge Club meets in the Golf Club each Monday from October to March commencing at 7.00pm. The club is very popular and members enjoy playing with a different partner each week. The new season starts on Monday 7th October. New members are welcome and anyone interested is invited to Phone Ian Stewart on 01387 810394 or email [email protected] There is also a bridge club which meets in Queens Hotel, Lockerbie on Wednesdays throughout the year. Bridge here is more competitive with regular partnerships and again information can be obtained using the above contact details.

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The Day of the Region offers a wonderful opportunity to try out new ACTIVITIES and to learn more about what the ROYAL BURGH OF LOCHMABEN has to offer

AND IT’S HAPPENING HERE

on OCTOBER 4 TH , 5 TH & 6 TH

ALL Events are FREE

Times and venues are listed in the Official Leaflet which will be delivered to all households in Lochmaben.

A special Burgh Passport has been designed to show all events, venues and times. Collect it at the Opening Ceremony at 7pm on Friday 4 th October. STICKERS will be available at each event – how many can you collect?

You can also CHALLENGE yourself with our TREASURE HUNT.

GET INTERESTED GET ORGANISED GET INVOLVED

P.S. Hand in your Burgh Passport and Treasure Hunt for the chance to win a prize

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MOSTLY GHOSTLY WOODLAND WALK Saturday 5 th October

Meet at the Bowling Club Car Park from 6pm Fancy Dress Judging at 6.15pm Walk begins 6.30pm Children must be accompanied by an adult

Join us as we meander along the soft wooded paths under cover of darkness. Our way lit only by the ethereal glow of home-made lanterns we plan to finish at the historically important fortress of Lochmaben Castle.

Fancy Dress Dress as a ghost or ghoul, witch or wizard. Prize for the best dressed.

Lanterns Home-made lanterns available to borrow. Bring a torch in case we run out!

PLEASE WEAR WARM CLOTHES AND STURDY FOOTWEAR

Free Refreshments afterwards in the Bowling Club

Some free transport available

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Lochmaben Gardens Competition 2013--The Prizewinners.

Red Zone 1st Mrs Sheila Grant The Heft. 2nd Mr / Mrs I Milligan 6, Merton Court. 3rd Mr / Mrs W. Chisholm Camilly. Highly Commended Mr / Mrs. D. Charlesworth Sunnymede.

Blue Zone 1st Mr / Mrs J. Graham The Millis. 2nd Mr / Mrs G. Cairnie 19, Croft Terrace. 3rd Mr /Mrs W. Urquhart 1, Castleview Gardens. Highly Commended Mr / Mrs M. Rankine 3, Halliday Terrace.

Purple Zone 1st Mr / Mrs T. Allan 46, Mossvale. 2nd Mr / Mrs G. Boyd 21, Barras. 3rd Mr / Mrs I. Vidler 5, Barras. Highly Commended Mr / Mrs L. McLean Lochmarnock.

Green Zone 1st Mr / Mrs M McCormick 16, Wallace Court. 2nd Mrs I. McVittie 1, Grummel Court. 3rd Mrs S. Carmichael 65, Annandale Cres. Highly Commended Mrs Cath. Little 5, Whitehills Avenue. Highly Commended Mr / Mrs R. Dickson 8, Stanedyke Cres.

Large Gardens 1st Mr Hugh Sloan Bally Ho, Templand Road. 2nd Mr A. Campbell 12, Rankine Heights. 3rd Mr / Mrs J. Ogilvie Lake House, Bruce Street.

Baskets 1st Mrs D. Coupland 6, Mayfield Court. 2nd Mr / Mrs J. Davidson 68, Princes Street. 3rd Mr / Mrs S. Brough 8, Mayfield Court. Highly Commended Mr / Mrs C. Paterson 67, Princes Street.

Commercial 1st Mrs N. Macdonald Post Office, High Street. 2nd Mr / Mrs L. Crolla Crolla’s Café, Castle Street. 3rd Mr / Mrs B. Wall Dentist, High Street. Highly Commended Mr Hugh Elliot Crown Hotel, Bruce Street.

Special Prize Mr / Mrs J. Halliday Wallace Court. Special Prize Ms Peacock / Ms Wallace Court. McLaughlan Overall Winner Mr / Mrs J. Graham The Millis Runner up Mr / Mrs l. McCormick 16, Wallace Court.

The winning gardeners take a well-earned rest!

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Lochmaben Primary School Update

Already we are well into the swing of the new session and the holidays seem long ago. Our new boys and girls who started either in Nursery, Primary One or in another stage in the school have all settled in very well and are becoming familiar with the routines within our school. We welcome some new members of staff :- Miss Megan Gracie (covering Mrs Broll’s Maternity Leave until Christmas), Miss Emma Fairbairn & Miss Sarah Irving to the teaching staff, Mrs Mary Hill to our Nursery s taff and Ms Rosella O’ Kane full time to the Support Staff Team.

IMAGINEERING CLUB We have a new initiative in the form of an Imagineering After School Club in hosted by Mr Colin Howe a retired lecturer who has recently moved to Lochmaben. The initiative involves purchasing specialised kits for the children to build and enjoy their first taste of engineering type skills. Whilst the members of the club will contribute to the cost we have also been seeking sponsorship. I am delighted to report that Clark Engineering, Parkgate have given us a generous donation towards this new venture and we are most grateful to them for this. If anyone does know of any business or individual who would be willing to contribute a donation towards the costs of this exciting venture, we would be most grateful indeed. RAG BAG Thank you to everyone who has been depositing textiles in our textile bin. Not only is this a good way of recycling but the proceeds also provides donations to our school fund. The textile bin is situated outside the Nursery entrance and can be accessed freely both during and outwith school hours.

AFTER SCHOOL FOOTBALL Mr Horne, along with Mr Swan has resumed the after school football sessions on Tuesdays from 3pm-4.30pm until the October holidays and then it will be 3pm-4pm. We know the children are training hard and are looking forward to some friendly matches soon.

AFTER SCHOOL LACROSSE Miss Gibson, with help from Miss Fairbairn will host the after school Lacrosse Club on Thursdays from 3pm-4pm in the Community Centre, starting on Thursday 5th September.

OPERATION SAFETY Our Primary 7 children will visit Operation Safety on Friday 27th September at the Crichton Campus, Dumfries. The event runs from 10am until 2pm and the children will require a packed lunch that day. This year’s session will include workshops/activities on Road Safety, Internet Safety, Fire Safety, Emergency First Aid, Electrical Safety, Dangers of Smoking, and Countryside Safety & Water Safety.

CURLING’S COOL Our Primary 7 pupils will take part in a Curling’s Cool Taster Day at Lockerbie Ice Rink on the morning of Wednesday 9th October. This is an opportunity for all our Primary 7 children to try curling. We will then be given the opportunity for any children who do curl to take part in a Festival in March

GARAGE BAND Our Primary 5 pupils are taking part in a ‘Garage Band’ Workshop over the course of this term. Mr Martin Thomson will come into school every Monday to tutor the children on how to make music using the Garage Band app on the iPod minis. This is a superb initiative and shows how the use of technology is integrated into school life.

BUILDING WORK The installation of new pipe work and building of a new boiler house is now complete. As yet there has still been no decision made about the new type of fuel which will heat our school.

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CHRIS LUBBE VISIT On Tuesday 1 st October the children in Primary 5-7 will hear a talk from motivational speaker Chris Lubbe, a former body guard of Nelson Mandela. We are sure this will prove to be a most interesting experience for our pupils and staff.

FUTURE DATES

School closes Friday 11th October School reopens Monday 28th October Parental Consultations Wednesday 13th & Thursday 14th November LSA Christmas Bazaar Wednesday 27th November Inset Day (no children) Thursday 28th November St. Andrew’s Day Holiday Friday 29th November Christmas Concert Wednesday 11th December 1.30pm Christmas Concert Wednesday11th December 6.30pm Christmas Concert Thursday 12th December 1.30pm Christmas Concert Thursday 12th December 6.30pm School closes Friday 20th December School reopens Monday 6th January Holiday Monday 17th February Inset Days (no pupils) Tuesday 18th February & Wednesday 19th February Parental Consultations Wednesday 12th & Thursday 13th March School closes Friday 4th April School reopens Tuesday 22nd April Holiday Monday 5th May Inset Day (no pupils) Friday 6th June School closes Wednesday 2nd July

Lochmaben School Association is looking forward to taking part in Day of the Region on Saturday 5th October. We have new equipment for use in the playground (skipping ropes, balls and Frisbees) and also basketball and badminton equipment. Come along and take part in our Games in the Playground and test our new Balance Bikes, Basketball Posts, Badminton Racquets and more. All pupils have been busy designing their own Christmas Cards which we hope parents will like. The School Association will receive a donation for every pack of cards bought. This is a new project and we hope a successful fundraiser. We are also planning our annual Christmas Bazaar which will take place on Wednesday 27th November from 7pm – 9pm in Lochmaben Community Centre. Any donations of baking or Raffle Prizes will be gratefully received. Everyone is welcome to come along on the night. All money raised by Lochmaben School Association is used to benefit and enhance the education of the pupils of Lochmaben School. Thank you to everyone who helps us.

What's in a name? Church Crescent is a short lane off a small square at Barrashead and is not to be confused with Church Place at the other end of the Royal Burgh. The origin of the name is connected to the Barras United Presbyterian Church which was built at the top of the lane in 1813. It was completed at a cost of "not much under £800”! Coincidentally it seated 800! By 1863 further additions to the Church were planned such as a Vestry. Five years later a manse was built at a cost of £717.14.7. In 1869 the church was renovated at a cost of £500 to seat a congregation of 500. Later in 1902 the Barras and Kirkmichael U P Church united and by a further union in 1920, the Barras and the Victoria United Free Church formed the new congregation of St Margaret's Church, worshipping in what had been the old Victoria Church. After lying empty for several years the Barras Church became the Barras Cinema, opening during World War 2 and providing screen entertainment until the 1960s. In recent years, the building became a private residence, still commanding a high point in the Burgh. 12

The only furnishing from the Barras Church still to be seen inside the current Parish Church is above the door from the Meeting Room to the Church. It is the Dove with the Olive Branch in its mouth, the symbol of the United Presbyterian Church. The old Barras manse remains the home of the minister of Lochmaben Parish Church.

Lochmaben Church George Smith, Session Clerk writes………….. We have now elected a new minister to lead us. The date for the induction service for the Rev. Paul Read is Wednesday 16th October (watch the local press and the Lochmaben website for more news about the time of the service). Paul is coming to us from New Deer in Aberdeenshire; he was ordained thirteen years ago, having previously been an airline captain flying 747’s. We are looking forward to Paul and his wife Joy moving into the Manse. This is an exciting time for the church as we move into a new phase of our church life. Despite the lack of a minister for the last 18 months, services have continued in both churches, led by four preaching elders from Lochmaben, retired ministers and Readers from within the Presbytery. After a break over the summer our activities are now starting up again. The Guild meet at 7.30 on the third Tuesday in the month, apart from January and February when they meet on the third Saturday of the month. Meetings are held in the Church Hall and new members are always welcome; the syllabus for the coming months presents an interesting selection of speakers. Our Prayer Group, who meet at 7.15 on Friday evening, will recommence on the 4th of October, in the Church Hall, while the Sunday Evening fellowship will start up again at 7 pm on Sunday 13th October in the Meeting Room. We will start these sessions by viewing DVD’s recorded at this year’s Keswick Convention. A small group visited the Convention for a day during the summer and we are sure that our Sunday evening meetings will prove to be inspirational and challenging. We would give a warm welcome to anyone who would like to join us for either of these meetings. On Thursday mornings in July and August we once again ran our Open Church programme; we opened the church, offering coffee tea and biscuits and the opportunity for anyone who wished to have a tour of the church and hear about the history of the building and a bit about some of the interesting features. These included the organ, the gallery and the bells. Most of the folks we saw were local, many from the church, but we were able to welcome some visitors as well. Our activities will continue as usual; we invite you all to join us for worship each Sunday at 11:30 a.m. Lochmaben Golf Club This has been a busy and successful year at Lochmaben Golf Club. We have welcomed 50 new members this season as well as an increased number of visitors. The course has been in excellent condition thanks to our hard working green keeping staff. It is also encouraging to see the growth in the number of younger members who have joined and they receive regular coaching from Maitland Pollock and David Wright. We are hoping that more adults and youngsters will come and try golf at the Day of The Region Weekend. In addition to the weekly competitions the club has continued with their annual charity events. The Ladies’ “Pink Day” in July raised almost £7,000 for the Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary Breast Cancer Care Team. Organisers Jackie Bell and Jane Reid have now raised £25,000 since 2009. This is a wonderful achievement. The Gents’ section choose a different charity each year and the “Mhari L’’ Day in aid of Marie Curie Nurses raised almost £2,500. Well done to all concerned! We will be having two membership days in October when new members can join on favourable conditions and the normal entry fee will be waived. Anyone interested in joining will be made most welcome.

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Fibre Optic Broadband The South of Scotland Next Generation Broadband Project report that the number of people in Dumfries and Galloway who have added their names to a register they have been collecting of people who want fibre optic broadband is disappointing, much lower than in the Scottish Borders. This could prove to be a double whammy since the telecom giant BT is expecting to create jobs to help increase fibre broadband across Scotland. Is Dumfries and Galloway going to miss out?

From Lochmaben Website---lochmaben.org.uk Usage of the Website has risen steadily over the past year. Enquiries to the website cover a wide variety of topics such as ‘Where can you fish? How do we access the wheelie boat? Would you put our link on your site? Are there any toddler groups in the town?’ Regularly there are requests for information on residents whose relations are trying to find out more details on their ancestors. Recently two requests one from England and one from Canada concerned the same family! The website is grateful to Dr Jack Wilson, Isabelle Gow and Wilma Twidale for providing relevant information. We would welcome any suggestions on how the website can be made more useful and particularly would request that local organisations keep their details up-to-date. Please support our businesses who advertise on the site. As always, the Website would welcome the following information: o Photographs of local interest--old or current o Local news items--forthcoming events or reports o Local events to be put on the Calendar--one off, weekly, monthly o Information on local groups/businesses kept up-to-date o Any ideas or suggestions for topics not on the website o Any suggestions on how to encourage more people to log on

For any of the above just send the information via the "Contact us" button.

Day of the Region Lochmaben will be one of the ten communities in the region taking part in The Day of the Region. It will showcase some of the hobbies, activities and pursuits which Lochmaben offers and will demonstrate the fine community spirit that still exists in the Royal Burgh. All of the volunteers involved in the design and delivery of Lochmaben’s Day of the Region hope you will turn out, be part of it and enjoy the weekend’s programme of Events. Attendance at all Events is free and there are free refreshments at several venues.

JayBee’s Jaybees after school group has been busy with Jordyn, Georgia, Pat and Sheona getting ready for the Day of the Region. This is Tom who has been busy making his lantern for the ghost walk!

The Senior Citizens’ Party will take place on Wednesday, 4 th December this year. This is a free event paid for by the Lochmaben Community Council. Anyone who is 65+ is welcome to attend. As long as one person at the same address is 65+ then they can bring their partner. Please do not wait to be asked; you must register your name, and address at the Town Hall to be included this year. There will be entertainment, crackers, sweeties, a free raffle, & a miniature whisky for everyone. Transport is laid on free for anyone who is disabled or needs help to get to and from the Community Centre. 14

Also selling Oft hev a traivelled ti places afar SWEETS: CONFECTIONERY: COFFEE: TEAS By bus and by railway and whiles in ma car Mony’s the wonderful thing a hev seen But a always come back here for Crolla’s ice-cream.

Chorus: Crolla’s ice-cream, your taste is supreme And at night a aye dream O’ gaun ti Lochmaben for Crolla’s ice cream.

A’ve eaten mony o Europe’s delights Italian pastas on warm Naples nights Magnifique gateaux that tastes like a dream But the grandest of these is Crolla’s ice cream.

Chorus: The Borders are blessed wi ice cream o a’ sorts Guid though they a’ ir, ti me it would seem There’s not yin fit to compare wi Crolla’s ice cream.

Chorus: When life’s journey’s over and upwards I fly To feast with the angels of God in the sky The poem written by Ian Landles A’m sure that the taste will familiar seem The heavenly flavour o Crolla’s ice cream. To the tune of ‘Mull of Kintyre’ 15

Lou Crolla

We met up with Lawrence Crolla, better known to one and all as Lou, in the very house where he was born, a property bought originally by his grandparents when they made the move from Langholm to Lochmaben. They opened a shop here 100 years ago and that shop has been Lou’s life since he was a boy. Born in 1937, one of a family of three, Lou attended Lochmaben Primary School then moved to St Andrew’s School in Dumfries. He was Sports Champion there and left when he was 15. He remembers the Lowland Games and has great memories of playing with pals Tommy Duff and James Carmichael at the Bogs woods and of his main hobby at that time--shooting. On the Castle and Mill Lochs, and out at Hunterhouse and Burnside, he regularly bagged geese, ducks, rabbits and pigeons. He worked in the shop until he was 18 when, like all other young men of that age, he was called up for National Service. Unlike other young men at that time, however, Lou had also passed his driving test so in the KOSB he soon became a skilled armoured car driver. He went for training to Berwick and was then posted to Malaya. It was when the School Sports Champion returned to the Burgh in 1957 that he developed a great interest in two sports- Squash and water ski-ing. Disappointed that a decision was made not to site squash courts in the old Barras Church, he nevertheless pledged his full support to the construction of new courts in Lockerbie where he was an active member with his great pal Bill Hunter for a number of years. He helped set up a great water ski-club in Lochmaben and, in company with the likes of Billy Wells, Kerr Little and Bruce Beveridge, remembers some terrific fun on both the Castle and Mill Lochs. There was drama too, and Kerr remains convinced that Lou saved his life when he fished him out of the Mill Loch after he came off the ski when going through the slalom course. Lou still keeps fit and can be seen out cycling on local roads. And he still shoots--but now it is clay pigeons. He has great memories, too, of Sunday mornings around 6am at the shop. He was regularly visited by cronies who included Davy Shankland, Bill Hunter, Noel Lennox, David Hannah, Davie Rae and Maurice Green. They set the world to rights each week. He doesn’t know whether they knew that he got into the habit of adding a tot of whisky to their coffee just to spice the conversation up but it certainly seemed to work. But, above all, Lou has been a businessman-- and a successful one. He set about expanding the ice-cream business, putting vans on the road to take his product to a wider clientele. His ice-cream became very popular, tickling the taste buds of Ian Landles from Hawick so much that Ian wrote a poem about it. (See p15). Wanting to expand his business interests, Lou later diversified, and, with his brother Pat, opened a betting shop in Lochmaben then took over other betting outlets in Moffat and Lockerbie. The latter is still run as a family concern. Always a generous man, Lou has provided ice cream to the Lochmaben Children’s Gala for, he reckons, the last 45 years. Along with sister-in-law Rita, and nephews Tony and Sean, he helped set up and run the very successful Pat Crolla Memorial Football Competition which raised considerable funds for Cancer Relief. He also gives regular support to various community groups. Apart from his National Service, Lou has spent the whole of his life in this Community and he is very happy with that for, to quote him, he ‘loves being here’. DID YOU SPOT LOU AS THE 18 YEAR OLD SOLDIER on p4 ?

The Initiative intends to publish another Community Newsletter in Spring 2014. As you know, the Newsletter goes to all households in the Burgh so it is a good publicity and information opportunity. Please submit items you would like to be included from February 2014. • To the Website at www.lochmaben.org.uk • Online to [email protected] • To the Town Hall, clearly marked for the Initiative-fao D.Mair. 16