Issue 34 The Grapevine November 2019 Blair Drummond Grapevine gratefully acknowledges United Auctions generosity in printing this and previous editions of this newsletter. Births Aileen and Greg Burnett, Anvilside, Blair Drummond are delighted to announce the birth of Annie Joyce Burnett, born 9th of May weighing 9lbs. Mum and baby are doing very well and Calum is delighted to be a big brother. Congratulations to Bruce and Nathalie Smith, Mill Lodge, Rossburn Lane on the birth of Grayson Joseph Jack Smith on 8th August weighing 7lb 9oz. 1 Rocktalk – the Talk of the Town! Where do you find the latest chat? How can you catch up on the local news? An obvious place would be the newspaper, and the Stirling Observer just fits the bill for our area. But hang on, supposing you have lost your sight, or it has become so bad that newspapers just don’t work for you any more? This is where Rocktalk is the answer- a talking newspaper! It was in 1983 that a group of journalists from the Stirling Observer decided to read selected articles on to audio cassettes, for folks who couldn’t see, and about 20 of these were copied and distributed each week. Since then, the service has grown in numbers, in volunteers and transformed in technology. Around 2005, the audio tapes were replaced by CDs and in 2016, these were succeeded by memory sticks. Very fast copying is now possible and well over 100 copies have been sent out each week over the years. Each recipient is given a robust player which is simple to use in their own home and receive a weekly memory stick in a re-usable padded envelope, delivered free by the Post Office. These are then returnable in the same envelope, simply by turning over the address label. Listeners can then enjoy around 80 minutes of news and reports, these days read by a team of over 20 readers, working in groups of 4 on a rota basis. Several of this number undertake to be ‘editor’ for the week and dissect 2 copies of the paper, choosing which items to include. This actually leads to an interesting selection of articles, according to the editor’s taste! In total, there are 40 volunteers to keep this service running, technicians, copiers, admin folks, readers and editors. And there is more! Each month a group of folks gather together interesting articles from various magazines and record about an hour of fun, fact and fiction, which goes out with each newspaper, so listeners don’t have to read it all in one week. Rocktalk has come a long way in over 30 years, and has been a real blessing to hundreds of people in that time. It is a completely free service to its users and as a charity depends on the generosity of the public. Although throughout the UK there are dozens of local talking newspapers, they can often be relatively unknown and under publicised. So… SPREAD the WORD! For more information, or if you, or anyone you know might benefit from this service, please contact us by e-mail: [email protected] or call: 01786 816673 Marilyn and Steve Willett 2 Weddings Ailsa Cullens from ‘Orchardhead’, Cuthill Brae, Blair Drummond married Alastair Stevenson (from Kinross and Coll) on 18th May, 2019. The ceremony and reception were at home ‘Orchardhead’, Cuthill Brae. “It was a great day, the weather the week before had been glorious, the actual day was rainy but it certainly didn't dampen the occasion!” said Sheila Cullens, mother of the bride. Kirsten Buchanan, Spittalton Cottage, Coldoch, Blair Drummond and Colin Woods were married on 21st September 2019 at Pratis Barn, Leven, with a ceremony, followed by a party and ceilidh with plenty of dancing. (Photo courtesy of The Gibsons Photography) 3 THE STIRLING MEMBERS CENTRE – NTS The Stirling Members’ Centre numbers about 200 people and membership is £5 per annum for individuals, or £8 per annum for a complete household at one address. When joining you will enjoy membership rates immediately but there will be no membership charge until the start of the financial year in October 2020 and you only pay for the talks. We welcome new members who are also members of the National Trust for Scotland, but anyone who is not a member of the NTS will be welcome to any of our talks, subject to places being available. The current rates for winter talks are £6pp for members or £7pp for guests. Please come along – we are a friendly bunch!! Our programme of talks held in the St Ninian’s church hall from October 2019 to March 2020 is as under:- Thursday 21st November, 2019, at 2.30 pm “Surveying St Kilda” – illustrated talk by James Hepher Thursday 12th December, 2019, at 2.30 pm ”The Story of Dr John Roebuck and James Watt at Kinneil House” – illustrated talk by Ian Shearer, Chairman of Friends of Kinneil House Thursday 16th January, 2020, at 2.30 pm “Recent discoveries in Stirling’s Archaelogy” - illustrated talk by Murray Cook, Archaeologist Thursday 13th February, 2020, at 2.30 pm “Gardens and Designed Landscapes” - illustrated talk by Colin Wren NTS Gardens Manager Thursday 12th March, 2020, at 2.30 pm “Glass & Light” – illustrated talk by Alison Kinnaird, Glass Artist & Clarsach Musician Contact details: Sandy & Margaret Moreland, Joint Secretaries Tel:- 01259 761700 E-mail:- [email protected] or see website:- www.spanglefish.com/ntsstirling Glass & clothing recycling If using the recycling bins at the hall and you find they are full, please take your glass/clothes away with you to recycle elsewhere. Thank you 4 Blair Drummond Blethers Goodbye to Mirren Graham With lots of folks away in August, we had a reasonably quiet Chat Afternoon in terms of numbers but there was plenty of chat! In September 45 people planted their bowls of bulbs which, hopefully, will flower in time for the festive season or the New Year. We also said our farewells to Mirren Graham, who has been a stalwart volunteer since the very early days of the Blethers. We have enjoyed her support and good humour and take this opportunity to wish Ronald and Mirren well in their new home at Drymen. At the end of October, we held our annual fundraiser Bring A Pal lunch, which 48 people enjoyed. Stuart Brown from the Safari Park gave an excellent illustrated talk on the work of the Safari Park and their plans for the future. We raised £300 for the charity chosen for this year, which is RSABI (Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution) and donated a further £20 to Link to the Wild which is the charity which the Safari Park is supporting. Monday 25th November will be a Chat Afternoon, and Monday 16th December will be our Christmas Lunch when we'll enjoy the company of the local schoolchildren, singing their Christmas songs. Then, come the New Year, we will have our Burns Lunch on Monday 27th January. Come and join us, if you live in the community of Blair Drummond or surrounding areas and are over 50 years. We will be at the Community Hall in Blair Drummond, from 12 – 2pm. Christine Bauer 5 Thornhill and Blair Drummond Community Council Here is a summary of the salient points from the meeting held on 2nd October 2019. The full minutes are on the Blair Drummond notice board. Safari Park entry/road safety: Kenny Aiken of Scottish Roads Department has sent a map showing the proposed alterations to the junction of the A873 with the A84. Chair Ronald Graham met with Chris Corden (Chair) and David Shearer of Callander Community Council regarding the ongoing request for a roundabout to improve the traffic flow and safety on the A84 and alleviate the traffic queues at the Safari Park. The situation will further deteriorate if Heart 200 proves popular. Callander Community Council is willing to lend support to the drive for action on this issue, as residents in Callander believe tourists are becoming disinclined to access Callander by the A84 north from Stirling due to this bottleneck, information on which is readily available on social media and traffic news. This support from Callander CC will encourage momentum, and it was agreed to keep up political pressure, with Ronald also approaching Kilmadock, Doune, Aberfoyle and Gartmore Community Councils to seek support. Police Scotland: PC Deans reported that activity has been quiet since last meeting but there have been bogus invoices received resulting from hacking and bogus phone calls have been reported. PC Deans suggested residents sign up to the online Neighbourhood Watch Scotland scheme (www.neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk) to receive free crime alerts and information about where you live. Your response to these alerts can help the police catch criminals or be better prepared to deal with other threats to your community. Thornhill Conservation Status: Chair Ronald had written to Councillor McDonald, who agreed to investigate the process to reverse Conservation status. This resulted in an email dated 1st October from Catherine Malley, Stirling Council Planning Officer (Conservation). She is happy to meet representatives to answer any questions about the “Process of de-designation of the Conservation Area”. Councillor Tweed (in attendance) advised that the discrepancy between the Scottish Government’s push for action on climate change/energy efficiency and the constraints applied to listed buildings, requiring them to utilise antiquated forms of insulation, should be highlighted in discussion on this topic. Blair Drummond School Bus from Callander: The bus is unable to pull in to the small off-road area at Rossburn Lane/Kirk Lane due to parents 6 parking to uplift children.