BLACK MOUNT BUGLE

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

For once I am writing this with the sun bursting through the skylight, but note that heavy rain is forecast for tomorrow! I fear we may have had our Summer in May but am still hoping for better summer days to come, especially on Sunday the 4th of September when the Social Group are organising the Sponsored Walk. Further details are in this edition of The Bugle.

I would like to thank the Social Group for having organised The Annual Sports Evening which was held on Thursday 26th May. This would have been another great success had it not been for the poor weather, which meant that the event had to be curtailed. Congratulations to all those who competed and well done the winners of each event that actually took place. The next event after the 4th of September Sponsored Walk will be the Bonfire and Fireworks Night at Dunsyre on Friday the 5th of November.

I make my usual plea for people to come and attend the BMCC’s first Monday of the Month Meetings, normally held in Elsrickle Village Hall starting at 7.30 pm but do please check the Notice Boards outside Dolphinton, Newbigging and Elsrickle Halls for when they are held in Newbigging and Dolphinton. All MSPs are very welcome to attend our Meetings as we are a totally non-political Community Council.

Having complained about the Dunsyre to Newbigging road it is now my turn to congratulate the Council on the immaculate condition of the totally refurbished road. Next priority is the state of the road just after the bridge on the Dolphinton to Blythe Bridge Road.

On a serious note, in the coming months an invitation will be extended for nominations for election to the Black Mount Community Council for a period of 3 years. Local groups will also be invited to nominate a representative to join the Community Council for a period of one year. The invitations will appear in the local press, on Village Hall Notice Boards and on the Black Mount website: www.blackmount.org. Meanwhile, if any of you reading this Bugle can contribute a little time of a minimum of one evening per month to keep the Black Mount Community Council thriving, please step forward. The formation of a new Community Council brings with it an opportunity to refresh its Membership as well as update its vision of its work, value and aspirations.

I have done my time as Chairman and will be stepping down so as to have a younger and more energetic Chairman than yours truly! It has been a great honour and a pleasure to have been the Chairman and I offer my successor every possible good wish.

Enjoy what I hope will be a wonderful warm and sunny end to the summer.

Charles Ritchie – Chairman

BMCC MEETINGS
Meetings are held on the first Monday of each month, except Public Holidays. A warm welcome is extended to everyone.
Dates and venues are posted outside Dolphinton, Elsrickle and Newbigging Village Halls.

ANNUAL WREATH LAYING CEREMONY

On the 11th November at 11.a.m. the annual wreath laying ceremony will take place at the SMALL war memorial at the top of Elsrickle village (Townhead).
There will be a special welcome to all those who wish to attend for this simple but nonetheless meaningful service of remembrance
Those attending should gather outside Townhead Cottage by 10.55a.m.

David Taylor

SUNDAY WORSHIP

Church of Scotland, Dolphinton
Morning Service – Sundays 12 noon

St Isadore's Roman Catholic Church, Biggar
Holy Mass Sundays 12 noon
Weekdays (Mon, Tues-Thurs, Fri) 9.30 am

St Mungo's Scottish Episcopal Church, West Linton
Sung Communion Sundays 10.00 am
Said Communion Wednesdays 10.30 am

SPONSORED WALK


DATE: Sunday 4th September

TIME: 2pm

ROUTE: Start at Ferniehaugh to West Linton, returning to Ingraston Farm for refreshments.

All money raised is contributed towards fireworks, flowers for the hall, sports day etc.

Ross Barber

ACCESS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE

The BMCC have been informed that farmers are concerned about the action of some local residents who show little regard to fences, crops and animals as they exercise over the land. In particular people exercising their dogs create the most concern.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 provides for a statutory right of access to most land for recreational purposes. However, this is not an unbridled right of access. The Act introduces a Scottish Outdoor Access Code. The Code provides detailed guidance on all aspects of access to the countryside. It has a specific section relating to dog ownership and it is kept under review by Scottish Natural Heritage. Help can be provided by a Local Access Officer in the event that mediation is required over particular access at a particular time. The Local Access Officer is in the employ of the Local Authority.

The website http://www.outdooraccess-scotland.com/ provides access to a copy of the Code and details of how to contact the Local Access Officer.

In the interests of local harmony the BMCC committee recommends that all dog owners, who wish to exercise their pets over local farmland, make themselves familiar with the SNH leaflet, which can be downloaded at http://www.snh.gov.uk/docs/C233791.pdf

Black Mount Community Council

COUNCILLOR HAMISH STEWART

As I write this in early August it is the eve of the start of the International Children’s Games. Associated with the Games, the two Lanarkshire councils and the associated Leisure Trusts have hosted an International Conference on Health and Wellbeing. I have been involved with the conference which attracted delegates from all over the world and has been dubbed a great success. I welcomed all the delegates to the first business session and gave the final vote of thanks on the last evening. I’m just hoping for a decent few days weather now so that there are no disruptions to the events at the Games themselves. None of the venues being used are in Clydesdale unfortunately but there are several Clydesdale youngsters involved, including one from Biggar.

The Council is still officially in recess so there have been no committee meetings for some time but things begin to get back to normal from mid-August. The very first committee to sit is the Rural Task Force on 17th August. This group was an innovation in 2007 and was introduced as a Conservative initiative but very quickly embraced by the rural members of all parties. It has done good work in keeping the rural agenda and rural problems to the forefront of the Council’s mind.

We may have been in recess but the work has not stopped. On my return from holiday – two and a half weeks on the glorious Costa Clyde – and yes, the sun did shine a lot of the time – I had just under 200 e-mails and a large stack of correspondence waiting to be dealt with. A good percentage of the communications was in connection with the most recent planning application submitted for a quarry extracting sand and gravel from Overburns near Lamington. I was contacted by several Blackmount residents last time about the previous application, usually with concerns about the potential increase in lorry traffic on the A702. I talked against the previous application at the planning committee but as there are differences in this application I cannot comment specifically on it until it comes to committee.

I am still acting as Chair of Community Resources and of South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture. Unfortunately this means I will miss my September Blackmount surgeries as I will be attending a meeting of Chairs of Leisure Trusts in East Lothian that day and will not be back in time. Normal service will hopefully be resumed in October.

In the meantime I can be contacted on 07748 114 582 or by e-mail at hamish.stewart@southlanarkshire.gov.uk or by post at Member Services, South Lanarkshire Council, Almada St., Hamilton ML3 0AA.

Hamish Stewart

BLACKMOUNT SPORTS NIGHT

Once again there was a great turnout of children, parents, and grandparents at the annual Black Mount Sports Night on Thursday 26th May. The weather was rather unkind but did not deter anyone from taking part and a full quota of events took place.

Toddlers to teenagers competed firstly in the very speedy sprints, then the egg and spoon races, to diving over the line in the sack races and throwing the bean bag in the Atlanta race. The final event, the obstacle race, was eagerly awaited with tyres, bales, ladders, hoops and finally the cargo net to negotiate. It was a great spectator event with lots of laughs, especially when Robert Campbell, competing in the Gents race, slipped when trying to jump the ladder and ripped his trousers. This was a very high spirited race with Jack Noble the eventual winner.

After the five events the winners of the Agnes Allison Shield were announced. The Primary Shield was won jointly by two brothers and sisters, Hamish and Niamh Barber and Robbie and Emma Orr. The Secondary Shield joint winners were Alison Orr and Rachel Brett. The winner of the Toddlers medal was Keira Erskine.
To finish off the evening a little fun event was arranged similar to Hares and Hounds. Jamie Orr was the hare and was released with two tails, one pink and one blue. The children then had to chase him with a girl to catch the pink tail and a boy to catch the blue tail. Hanna Grant won for the girls and Finlay Stewart won for the boys. Everyone enjoyed this and there was no sign of tired legs after two chases.

It was a great night despite the rain and I am pleased to report that £38 was raised by everyone's kind donations and this has been passed on to the Quarriers.

Finally a big thank you to all the hardy souls who helped with the preparation and running of the event and Mr & Mrs Bell for the use of their house and toilet.

See you all next year and hopefully it will be a night for shorts and shades.

Mara Orr

ELSRICKLE WRI

On May 11th, the Elsrickle Rural outing was to Dundee. A jute museum was visited and the members were able to see jute being made. Afternoon tea was enjoyed in Perth on the way home.

At the Biggar Show on July 23rd, Elsrickle Rural were the winners of the Community team effort. The theme was ‘Tutti Frutti’. Congratulations to the four team members. Prize-winners were also very well represented in the baking and craft sections.

The annual Flower Show will be held in the village hall on Saturday August 27th.

Pam Hart

COUNCILLOR REV BEV GAULD

Ongoing improvements in the rural areas of South Lanarkshire: Schools and RoadsTaken from South Lanarkshire Council’s Executive Committee Report of 06 July 2011: In the updated Capital Budget Monitoring 2011/2012 presented at the meeting of the Council’s Executive Committee on 6th July 2011 the Committee was asked to approve, amongst other matters, that the recommendations for the General Fund Capital Programme be noted: including a revised Primary Schools Modernisation Programme, where an allocation of £73,410 million is required council wide in 2011/12; and, in relation to the Roads and Rural Investment Plan, that the spend profile for the long term programme of works previously approved at the Executive Committee on the 30 April 2008, that is, an allocation of £12,750 million, was approved for 2011/12.

Primary Schools Modernisation Programme:
In the Black Mount area served by the ‘Bugle’, and in the wider Clydesdale East Ward 3 constituency area, Councillors Beith Forrest, Hamish Stewart and I have been working to secure, and ensure, the benefits of the Council’s Primary Schools Modernisation Programme for parents and their children of this beautiful rural ward which we are elected to represent. Clydesdale East has the largest number of small rural primary schools in the whole of South Lanarkshire.

Roads and Rural Investment Plan:
In our Clydesdale East Ward we are all benefitting from the ongoing Roads and Rural Investment Plan and associated works. What a pleasure it is to be able to drive on our rural roads with the confidence that we are not going to encounter a long sequence of dangerous potholes. As ever, please drive with care and thanks once again to Beith and Hamish for the ongoing support we are able to give to each other in these vital constituency matters.
Councillor’s surgeries resume in September.

Next Bugle Newsletter:
In the next newsletter I’ll be recalling the story of Black Mount parish’s ‘Anderson’ communion silver, its sale in the 1980’s by the local Kirk session and congregation and, with the gracious help and support of the Mackenzie family who held the title to the former school at Dolphinton, of the purchase of that former school property by the congregation for the benefit of the kirk and the community.

Councillor Rev Bev Gauld

DOLPHINTON VILLAGE HALL

As you will know the new booking system now operates through Carluke and most hall users now contact them direct on 01555 770308. This system does mean that you have to plan ahead far more than in the past and also, of course, costs have risen. The Hall is being used far less often now which is sad to see.

The WRI are on their summer break which ends on September 21st with their first regular meeting. Also, the Flower Show is due to take place on August 20th in the Village Hall.

Yoga will return to the Hall in September. Contact Julie Anderson, on 01968 661204 for more details of the classes to be held from autumn onwards.

Carpet Bowling will re-start mid-October. Anne Ross on 01968 682227 can give you further information on dates and times.

If you would like to explore the possibility of starting a new venture in the Hall, do contact me and we can discuss possibilities - ZUMBA anyone?

Pam Taylor

DOLPHINTON MARKETS & FAIRS

We held a Summer Fair in Dolphinton Hall on Saturday June 25th. Our chosen charity was Cancer Research UK and I am happy to report that we raised nearly £130.00 through donations, entrance charges, and the Tombola, not to mention other activities such as the highly successful and hilarious Human Fruit Machine (thank you Trish Brown and helpers for your invaluable and noisy contribution!).

This whole item is by way of a Thank You note really. After much consideration those involved in the organisation of the markets in Dolphinton have decided not to continue. We would like to thank all those members of the community who supported us in this venture: the traders who turned up time after time, regardless of how small their takings; those who provided sustenance via the Cafe - yummy bacon rolls, cakes and scones; the 'helpers' who delivered fliers, arranged advertising, moved tables and chairs; and lastly, but most importantly, those of you who came to the markets and fairs to buy, to browse, to chat.

While we know that those who came to the markets regularly enjoyed themselves, sadly not enough people shared our vision of a regular community activity, to be enjoyed by everyone from 2 to 92 year olds. However, if there is someone out there who would like to take on the market/fair idea in the future, we would be happy to pass on our mailing lists and trade contacts to you. Just get in touch.

Thank you again from Pam Taylor, Lesley Kerr, Nan McQueenie and Laura Munro

DOLPHINTON WRI

The Annual Flower Show is on Saturday 20th August at 2pm in Dolphinton.

The hall will be open on Thursday 18th at 7pm for entries. Children should bring their potato which they have been growing in a pot at 7pm too, when the potato plants will be judged.

September 21st is our first meeting of the new season. There will be a demonstration of quilting and a talk about the Linus appeal.

Baking for afternoon tea will the subject of the meeting on October 19th and on November 16th it will be a craft demonstration and Christmas workshop.

Jean Campbell

ELECTRICITY SUPPLY

I'm sure other residents in the region will also have been experiencing small power outages, sometime several occurring in one day. This can be annoying and inconvenient when clocks are reset, alarms are triggered, computers rebooted etc. every time the power is brought back on.

SP Energy networks have provided a reason for this which we thought should be shared with others not in the 'know'.

With recent advancements in technology, Energy Networks has been installing auto-reclosure switches. This allows for certain faults, such as bird life flying into lines and lightning strikes, to be dealt with without dispatching staff. When a fault occurs the auto-reclosure switches isolate the supply quickly and attempt to reconnect until either the fault is cleared or it becomes permanent, at which time staff is dispatched to fix.

What many people in the Black Mount area will have been experiencing lately are small transient faults where the switches are tripped and then the supply is quickly reconnected.

SP Energy appreciates that some customers may feel this is happening too often and are happy to collate comments on this. The number for reporting these occurring faults is 0845 2727 999.

J Lister - Dolphinton

DOMESTIC HEATING OIL

I read or heard on the radio about a community who joined together to order domestic heating oil. They coordinated their orders and in doing so achieved cheaper prices from bulk ordering. It also meant there were fewer journeys for the oil company.

It seemed to be fairly simply run. The oil companies were contacted to get the cheapest price, and everyone paid the company directly.

If anyone is interested in discussing setting something up, please email lancaster974@btinternet.com or phone 01899 810296

Margaret Lancaster

WALSTON PRIMARY SCHOOL

Reports by pupils
ZOOLAB

We had a visit from the Zoolab Team. They brought with them some real life Rainforest animals! There was a scorpion- it was very small but had a powerful sting. The keeper also showed us a tree frog- it stuck to the door and we got to touch it (it was sticky).

We also got to hold a giant millipede, a snake and a tarantula. It was fun and interesting because the keeper told us lots of information.
We would love to have the Zoolab Team back again.

Stuart Watson & Robbie Armstrong

CROSS COUNTRY

Primary 6/7 from each school in the Clydesdale area went to Biggar Rugby Club to take part in the Cross Country. We had to check in and we each got our number.

The first to race were the P6 girls. In this race for our school we had Niamh Barber, Megan Lamont and Hannah Grant. They all did very well, especially Niamh who was 7th.
The next race was P6 boys. In this race were Finlay Stuart, Reece Hall, Robbie Orr, Stuart Watson, Robbie Armstrong and Charles Connolly. They all did very well, especially Robbie Orr who was 2nd.
The next event was P7 girls. In this race were Chantel Willis, Mirrin Hegharty and Morna Hegharty. They all did very well.
The final race was P7 boys -Ryan Evetts, Cammy O Donnell, Calum Knight and Jason Donald. They also did very well.

After all the races were finished it was time for the award ceremony. The only person from our school to get a medal was Robbie Orr. Because they were in the top 10, Robbie and Niamh went through to the South Lanarkshire final to represent the Clydesdale area. In that race Robbie Orr came 7th and Niamh came 19th.
WELL DONE!

ROTARY QUIZ

Mirrin Hegharty, Morna Hegharty, Jason Donald and Calum Knight from P7 went to the first part of the rotary quiz in the Tinto Hotel. They were greeted by quiz officials and the warm smell of soup and sandwiches.
There were 8 rounds which included subjects in the new national curriculum learning plan. Walston won with over 30 points! We won the trophy and went on to the semi-finals.

The semi-final was held in Penicuik High School. There were another 8 rounds but this time the questions were much harder. Unfortunately we lost, but with a reasonable score of 25 points.

FAIRTRADE

Walston Primary went to a fairtrade event in New Lanark. There was a cotton trail and bidding and other fun things. They also had a fairtrade breakfast. In it were toast, orange/apple juice, banana and muffins which were all fairtrade.

Walston Primary also learned a lot about fairtrade. Some people learned extra and made a board about it!

GENERATION SCIENCE

Two ladies came to the school from Generation Science. They brought with them at least 12 robots and laptops. On the floor were 3 big rectangular wooden boxes for the robots to move in.
We had to programme the robots with the laptops and do lots of challenges e.g. we had to go round obstacles on a course (a few of us forgot to put in a STOP.) At the end we programmed the robots to do a dance.
It was great fun and we learned a lot about programming computers.

Craig Watson
Submitted by D Ramsay

WALSTON PRE-5 GROUP

Walston Pre 5 Group offers the opportunity for children from the Black Mount Community to play together on a weekly basis before attending school.

The Pre 5 Group helps the children develop their social and learning skills through free play and creative art work, such as: dressing up, painting, play dough, reading, singing and musical games, as well as playing outside with balls and games, all in a safe environment.

We meet at Walston Primary School on a Wednesday morning, for children from 2½ years up to school age, and children do not need to be toilet trained to attend.

Each session runs from 9.15am until 11.30am. We would welcome children of this age to come and join our group and if you would like to register them, please telephone Heather Ferguson (Playgroup Leader), Hannah Cairns or Carrie Allison at the numbers below or call in on a Wednesday morning.

If you’d like to contact the playgroup, please call either
Heather Ferguson Tel: 07900128748
Carrie Allison Tel: 07725170123
Hannah Cairns Tel: 07980681978

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
August – November 2011

Aug 20th
Dolphinton Flower Show - Dolphinton Hall
2pm

Aug 27th
Elsrickle Flower Show - Elsrickle Hall
2pm

Sept 4th
BMCC Sponsored Walk - Ferniehaugh
2pm

Sept 5th
BMCC Meeting
See Hall Noticeboard
7.30pm

Sept 21st
Dolphinton WRI : Quilting - Dolphinton Hall
7.15pm

Oct 3rd
BMCC Meeting
See Hall Noticeboard
7.30pm

Oct 19th
Dolphinton WRI: Baking - Dolphinton Hall
7.15pm

Nov 5th
Bonfire Night - Dunsyre

Nov 7th
BMCC Meeting
See Hall Noticeboard
7.30pm

Nov 11th
Wreath Laying - Elsrickle
11am

Nov 16th
Dolphinton WRI: Craft - Dolphinton Hall
7.15pm

Last Date for Contributions to the next Bugle is Monday 17th October
Please send your articles, dates, reports, news and advertisements to:
Norma Love : Tel: 01899 810285
email bugle@blackmount.org

The Bugle is published by the Black Mount Community Council, but views expressed therein are not necessarily those of the committee. The Community Council cannot accept responsibility for any errors printed in the Bugle.