BLACK MOUNT BUGLE

COMMUNITY COUNCIL ELECTIONS

At long last, South Lanarkshire Council has announced the date for Community Council elections following the reorganisation proposals which have been debated for almost two years. Existing Community Councils will be formally dissolved on 17th September, and elections for the new Councils will take place ‘in early November’ - the exact date is yet to be published.

Readers will recall that, in December last year, the boundary of Black Mount Community Council was changed to include Newbigging together with some additional hamlets and farms, some of which were formerly part of the Carnwath Community Council area or Libberton Parish and Carmichael Ward.

The ‘new’ Black Mount Community Council will have 9 members drawn from this area, 6 who will be elected and 3 nominated or co-opted. South Lanarkshire Council will be responsible for the election arrangements. A new Community Council can be formed if at least 20 persons, who are entitled to vote in local elections, apply to South Lanarkshire Council requesting that a Community Council be formed. Such requests should be made after 17th September to the Returning Officer (Community Council Elections), 23 Beckford Street, Hamilton ML3 0AA. Quite what will be the position concerning the statutory duties of Community Councils between the date of dissolution and the date of the elections is unclear.

Since there will not be another edition of the Bugle until after the elections, residents should watch the local press for further information.

Brian Curle
Chairman, Black Mount Community Council

Councillor McAlpine will hold a Surgery on the 1st Monday of each month.

Dolphinton Village Hall 6.00pm to 6.30pm

Elsrickle Village Hall
(covering Newbigging/Elsrickle
and surrounding area) 6.45pm to 7.15pm

CALLING ALL BUDDING ESSAY WRITERS

Essay competition for Primary and Secondary School Children

Theme: "What I like & dislike about living in the Black Mount Area"
(Dunsyre, Dolphinton, Newbigging, Elsrickle, Walston and Weston)

The Essay to be completed on no more than 2 sides of A4 paper,
stating Name, Age, Address & School

Prizes: Primary - Gift Tokens - 1st Prize - £15.00; 2nd Prize - £10.00; 3rd Prize - £5.00
Secondary - Gift Tokens - 1st Prize - £15.00; 2nd Prize - £10.00; 3rd Prize - £5.00

Essays to be completed and submitted by 1st October 1999
To: Anne Hutchison, Roberton Mains Farm, Dolphinton. EH46 7AB

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALICE BARRIE

Who, on a wet Sunday in May did a sponsored walk in the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh and raised the wonderful sum of £220 for the Wishbone Fund - a charity associated with the Hip and Bone Replacement Unit at Princess Margaret Rose Hospital, Edinburgh.

EXHIBITION

Thursday November 11th - Sunday November 28th

An exciting exhibition and sale of kilims, rugs, carpets and saddlebags, together with jewellery, textiles, furniture and artefacts will take place in
Dolphinton in November.

It will be held at:

Meadowhead
Dolphinton
Daily, including Sundays
10.00am to 5.00pm

Admission Free
Refreshments Available

The house will be signposted

The exhibits have all been collected by ‘Out of the Nomads Tent’, of Edinburgh, from nomadic peoples of Central and Western Asia, from Turkey to India.

Everyone is welcome to come along and browse and have a cup of coffee. Who knows, you may find the ideal Christmas present?

Don’t forget to put the dates in your diary. If you require any further information please call Pam Taylor 01968 682203, or Jen Peacock 01968 682384.

YOGA CLASSES IN DOLPHINTON HALL

Starting Tuesday 31st August
7.30pm - 8.50pm
Beginners Welcome

N.B. Classes may be a bit irregular during October and November, so please telephone first if you are planning to come along.

For further details, contact Julie Anderson on 01968 661204.

SPORTS NIGHT

Once again the weather forced us to hold the Sports on Monday evening instead of Friday. However, a great night’s competition was had by all.
Cameron Ramsay again won the trophy for Secondary pupils, and there was a three-way tie for the Primary pupils between Isla Ramsay, Hazel Paterson and Sarah Allison.

SPONSORED WALK

Sunday 29th August at 2p.m. at Roberton Mains, Dolphinton.

We will be walking on a circular route, which will include the "potential" Quarry site, the old railway, Tilcon’s quarry site, the old curling pond, and through part of the woodland of Dolphinton House.

A very pleasant walk, taking about 2 hours. Sponsor forms are available from Anne, or join us on the day, when any donations will be gratefully received! Refreshments will be served at the end of the walk.

Money raised from this venture goes towards funding the Bonfire, Christmas Dinner, and Sports.

DOLPHINTON W.R.I.

The Flower Show on Sat. 21st was very successful, with a beautiful display of flowers, floral art, vegetables, handcrafts and baking. Principal prizewinners were: -

Cups for most points in Section:

Flowers - Rob Dickson Vegetables - James Brown Handcrafts- Jean McCracken

Industrial - Effie Dickson Floral Art - Betty Ross Children - Cheryl Prentice.

Special Prizes for best exhibit in each Section were:

Rob. Dickson - Vase of Garden Flowers James Brown - Beetroot
Anne Mackie - Piece of painted glass Betty Ross - Arrangement-Shades of Green
Effie Dickson - Jar of Raspberry Jam. Adam Paterson - Handwork-a wooden boat
Zoe Prentice - Loch Ness Monster.

The first meeting of our winter session takes place in Dolphinton Village Hall on Wednesday 15th September when we look forward to greeting members, and especially any local ladies who would like to join us and take part in our varied activities.

BORDERS COUNTRY-LIVING FAIR

The second Borders Country-Living Fair will be held at KAILZIE near Peebles on Saturday and Sunday 18 and 19 September. It promises to be a great day out for all the family. There will be a fantastic range of events, activities and demonstrations.

The following members of our own Community will be there:-

GARVALD WEST LINTON will be selling various crafts including Weaving, Woodwork, Basketwork and a delicious range of Home Baking.

GARVALD HOME FARM, a farming community including adults with learning difficulties which runs a 35 acre, bio-dynamic (organic) farm with demeter status on its meat products. At Kailzie they will have a stand showing its work and selling its own wool, spun and plant dyed in various delicate colours. It will also wish to highlight its new hall which was created from outbuildings and partly funded by the National
Lotteries Charities Board.

LESLEY KERR, CLINICAL AROMATHERAPIST will be providing free facials and hand massages. You will also be able to learn about the history of aromatherapy as well as sampling her collection of aromatherapy products including face and body creams, oils, shower gel, shampoo, bath foam, essential oils and other products.

Because of the downturn in the Borders economy there will be a CENTRE OF OPPORTUNITY which is being sponsored by Scottish Borders Enterprise. Members of the Prince’s Trust, Scottish Borders Enterprise, Employment Services, Redundancy Unit, Borders College and the Scottish Agricultural College will be to hand to offer advice and answer questions on redundancy, training and re-employment.

Other events/demonstrations include: -

Cookery Demonstrations, Wine and Whisky Tasting, Gardener’s Question Time (with personalities from the BBC Beechgrove Garden Team), Equestrian Events, Archery and Crossbows, Falconry, SSPCA Pet Clinic (bring your pet along), Helicopter Flights, Free Fall Parachutists, Country Sports, Craft Fair, Food and Beverage Tent, Gun Dogs, Working sheep Dogs, Spinning, Dancing Displays, *Alternative Medicine Centre,
Go-Karts & Mini-Quads, Yo-Yo workshop (by present Scottish champion), Junior Assault Course, Air Rifle Range (under expert supervision), Face Painting, Bands, Chain Saw Sculpture, Off-Road Vehicles, Forestry, Emergency Services, Farming, Plant Stalls, Estate Management, Fishing, Conservation.

There will be a huge variety of stalls with top quality goods such as food & drink, country clothing, ladies' wear, sporting equipment and much more. There is also a raffle with excellent prizes.

This is a very special event in the Borders calendar with all profits going to OSTEOPOROSIS and GYNAECOLOGICAL CANCER FUNDS.

Please come along. Admission only £2.50 per adult and £1 for children under 12.
Car parking is free and there is a parking area for the disabled.

*Please note that Lesley Kerr will be located in one of the main tents and not the Alternative Medicine Tent.

Lesley Kerr

CHRISTIAN AID

The organiser of this house to house collection, Mrs Mary Kerr, has received a ‘big thank you’ from head office; and all the other volunteers have received a ‘thank you’ – so here’s an acknowledgement of the generosity of the people of Black Mount.

The amount raised this year was £415. The Rural Association for Mutual Support in Mozambique has benefited from your donations, helping rural farmers to sell their produce locally. They have a saying there - "if we stick together we will succeed" - a useful adage in many situations.

BLACKMOUNT SOCIAL GROUP

We are losing the services of our secretary, Amanda France, who is going back down to live in Northumberland. She has done a wonderful job since the Social Group was formed, and she will be sorely missed. However, Mandy says that no-one is irreplaceable, and we are now seeking someone to take minutes, prepare agendas and generally keep us organised, until such times that the Community Council elections have been held.

ANY VOLUNTEERS?

Contact Anne Hutchison on 01968 682256.

TABLE TENNIS GROUP

Table Tennis coaching will be starting sometime in September, again on Monday evenings in Dolphinton Hall.

Look out for notices in the "Gazette" and on local notice boards.

AROMATHERAPY

Since it is ‘summer’ the appropriate flower to look at seemed to be the ROSE, (rosa centifolia and Rosa damascena)

Herbal Tradition: The Rose has been associated with beauty and love for thousands of years. The white rose symbolises purity and the red rose, passion. It was also called the queen of flowers by the Greek poet Sappho and has been prized by many cultures. Originating from Asia it is thought that the cultivation of roses was spread throughout the world by the Arab nomads. The Romans scattered rose petals during banquets and put them in their wine as well as their baths. Mark Anthony covered the ground 8 inches deep with rose petals when he first met Cleopatra.

It is the Bulgarian Rosa damencena, which is considered to produce the finest quality distilled rose essence or otto. Because it requires 60,000 roses (120lbs) to make 1 ounce of rose otto it is extremely expensive. However, a rose oil extracted by solvents to produce a rose absolute is available at a more reasonable price.

Home Use: Rose is considered to have a soothing effect on the nerves, is a mild sedative and, due to its anti-depressant action, it can help deal with emotional shock, bereavement and grief.

Perfume: Blend 1 drop of rose oil with 10mls of a vegetable carrier oil and use as a perfume.

Bath: Add a few drops to an evening bath to soothe the spirit and aid restful sleep.

Burners: Add a few drops to create a warm, romantic atmosphere.

Rosewater: Use as a facial cleanser for dry, mature or sensitive skin.

Pot Pourris: Use rose petals with a drop or two of rose oil.

Lesley Kerr,
Woodend,
Dolphinton. Telephone: 01968 682331

LAST DATE FOR CONTRIBUTIONSTO THE NEXT BUGLE IS THURSDAY 18th NOVEMBER 1999.

Please send all your articles, dates, reports, news and advertisements to:

Liz Gilfoyle, 3 Oxengate Farm Cottages, Elsrickle (01899 810373).

The Bugle is published by the Black Mount Community Council, but the views expressed therein are not necessarily those of the Council.

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