Gatehouse NewsNEWS, INFORMATION & WHAT’S ON IN GATEHOUSE OF FLEET | Winter 2012

London 2012. The Olympics. The Paralympics. What a wonderful summer. Despite the big names it was the unpaid helpers – the ‘Gamesmakers’ - who stole the limelight for making London 2012 so spe-cial. And in our midst we have our own special lady, our own gamesmaker.Her day-job is making jam for Fiona Hesketh at Gal-loway Lodge Preserves, but Liz Scott is just coming back down to earth after a wonderful time at London 2012.A Twynholm lass by birth, Liz married postman Nigel 36 years ago and has lived in Gatehouse ever since. Daughter Jane competes in Glasgow as a tal-ented sprint hurdler, long jumper, triple jumper and high jumper.After providing the obligatory parental taxi service to meetings, Liz has now become an official with 10 years’ experience as a field judge at Scottish level and for the last 4 years she has been a UK international official, culminating with the Diamond League meet-ing at Crystal Palace, just before the Olympics.Well over 2 years ago Liz applied to be a volunteer at London 2012, along with a quarter of a million others.Her twin brother Jim Callander is also a high-ranking

athletics official. He was one of only 5 chief technical officers covering all events in the Athletics Stadium. He was on duty when Usain Bolt won the 100 me-tres.Liz is very grateful to Fiona for allowing her to work flexi-time to be able to take 7 consecutive days off work for the Olympics and then again for the Para-lympics.In common with 70,000 other gamesmakers, Liz gave her time for free (10-11 hours a day), she even paid for her travel to London and she slept on a couch in a friend’s sitting room. She didn’t know until she arrived in London just ex-actly what her role would be, but she couldn’t have planned things better. At the Olympics she was one of a team of 4 who were allocated to look after the IAAF president and his team. The president’s lounge was in the stand over-looking the finish line and was just behind the BBC commentary team.Unsurprisingly the two most memorable times were the two Saturdays at the Athletics Stadium.The first, dubbed Super-Saturday, when the GB team won 3 golds in little more than half an hour courtesy of Jess Ennis, Greg Rutherford and Mo Farah. The second Saturday was when Usain Bolt won the 100m and Mo Farah won gold in the 10,000m.BBC reporters told us about the noise levels in the stadium but this was not always obvious on TV. Liz echoes the reporters’ view, describing it as a Mexican Wave of sound as each athlete did their ‘lap of hon-our’.After the Olympics, Liz came back home for nearly 2 weeks, then she went back down to London to help at the Paralympics where she was part of a team who were responsible for escorting the first three in each final from finishing their races to being ready for their medal ceremonies.She met the likes of Oscar Pistorius, Johnny Peacock and David Weir.Wheelchair athletes had to be ‘helped’ during their change from racing chair to their ‘everyday’ chair. It was during this time that Liz experienced the size and weight of the medals, the same as the Olympic med-als but with a different logo.The paralympians really let it be known how much they appreciated the efforts made by the gamesmak-ers. The whole experience was fantastic and something Liz will never forget. She proudly wore her uniform during her tube rides to the Athletics Stadium. People around her would speak to her and everyone there was very enthusiastic about the Games. What next? Liz is very confident of being asked to of-ficiate at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. So roll on 2014 - Let’s show them what Scotland can do !

From the EditorThis issue of the Newsletter marks the end of the third year of publication. It is also a landmark for other reasons: the end of the wettest and most miserable summer (is the climate really begin-ning to change?), the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations, the Olympic and Para-lympic Games – featured here in Liz Scott’s remarkable story on our front page. Cricket, football and the Hor-ticultural Show have been hit by the weather, but there have been many positive events to report: awards at the Drop-in Centre and the Bakehouse, finds on Trusty’s Hill, new Christmas lights and the safe return of the youth trip to Mongolia among others. Keep the good news coming in and we will continue to publish it. Yes, I am still searching for volunteer assistance even if in a small way: for example, to take over responsibility for producing the Sports section, or for the Entertain-ment and Leisure section. By spread-ing the load the future of the Newslet-ter becomes more secure, something which the Community clearly wants. My usual thanks to Ken Smyth and our printers, to our advertisers and many contributors and very best wishes for the forthcoming festive season. The next issue will come out in April.

Jam Maker becomes Gamesmaker

Have your SayCommunity Council and Gatehouse Development Initiative Meetings are

open to all.

COMMUNITY COUNCIL2nd Tuesday of every month,

7pm, Community Centre.

GATEHOUSE DEVELOPMENT

INITIATIVELast Wednesday of every 2nd month,

7.30pm, Community Centre. Next meetings: 30th January,

25th March.

Rainton’s DairyYou’ve almost certainly noticed the building of the new dairy at Rainton over the last couple of years. But did you know that the milking parlour has been live since the end of August?David Finlay admits that the first day was just a tad chaotic. “Well if you had been doing the same thing twice a day, every day, for the past 12 years and someone tried to get you to do something different, then you might have a few objections. And cows are no different. So the first afternoon, we had Jim Haworth our dairyman controlling operations in the par-lour, with 7 people pushing the cows into their new milking stalls!”The next big step in the plan is to keep the calves staying with their mothers. That will start in mid October when the Autumn calv-ing begins. The final piece of the jigsaw will be getting the anaerobic digester working, which David plans to be complete by Christmas.“The whole system is designed to be as self -sufficient as possible” said David. We will be minimising our bought-in feed, producing a little less milk, but a lot more beef, and the anaerobic digester will provide all of the elec-tricity required by the farm, with the balance being used by Cream o’ Galloway.”You can see the new system by joining a farm tour at Cream o’ Galloway.

Around the Community

David encouraging the first cow into the new parlour.

Jim controlling operations in the parlour.

By the end of the week it was going like clockwork.

Mongolia expedition returns!32 pupils from Kirkcudbright Academy (6 of whom are from Gatehouse of Fleet) returned on Monday October 29th from their expe-dition to Mongolia. For the past year they have spent time and energy raising funds for their trip of a lifetime. They would like to thank the community and everybody who helped and supported them in any of their fund-raising activities. The expedition in-volved a lot of travelling, many new experi-ences, the construction of a day care centre in the capital Ulaanbaatar and horse riding and trekking in a challenging environment. Mongolia was a fascinating country to visit and the young people have amazing stories and pictures to remember their expedition.

Old Gatehouse School PhotosWhen the Dorothy McFadzean Meeting Room at the Community Centre was paint-ed a few years ago, a suggestion was made that the walls be decorated with old school photographs – a reminder to people that the building had originally been the local school. This theme was carried on when the centre was given a complete renovation in 2010.Graham and Margaret Wright took charge of the photos and now have nearly 60 class pho-tos. There are too many to hang on the walls but the collection is housed in a loose-leaf folder which can be borrowed by anyone. At-tempts have been made to date the pictures and collect as many names of the pupils and teachers as possible. Any help to identify folk

and copies of any photos that are not in the collection would be much appreciated.As well as Gatehouse School, the collection includes Girthon, Fleetside and Skyreburn Schools, but the oldest photo is a class of 1913 from the Rusko School (the building behind the old Cally Estate Office in Ann Street). There is a large gap between 1925 and 1952 and then the collection continues up to the 1980’s.There are also photos of school concerts, sports and picnics and other school memorabilia.If you would like to see the folder please con-tact Graham and Margaret on 01557 815022 or call at The Smithy in Victoria Street. You may be able to add to the collection.

Gatehouse Community Council: a call for reinforcements from Provost Pat Jacques!Gatehouse Community Council held their AGM in October following the recent elec-tions. Membership has fallen from 14 to 8 and with neither the Minute Secretary nor Treasurer positions filled, it is impossible for the Council to function effectively. The Community Council is there to act on your behalf and help the people of Gatehouse with local issues that concern them. In the last two years the Community Council has been in-strumental in bringing about a range of im-provements, e.g. maintenance of footpaths, control of Japanese knotweed, the handrail at the Spar, fencing in the waste bins in the car park,, the Flying Fox in Garries Park and the bike run in Burgher Park. The Council needs your help – either by joining us or coming to our meetings which are held at 7 p.m.every second Tuesday of the month in the Com-munity Centre. There is now a Community Council page in Facebook as well as the link from the Gatehouse web-site which allows all to read the minutes of meetings, and shortly there will be posters around the town with photos of the Council members so that you know whom to approach on any issue that concerns you.

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A wide range of art and gifts from Scotland and the Borders. Plus exclusive baby clothes.

WRECK IN THE RIVER FLEETThe more observant residents of Gatehouse may have seen some timbers protruding from the riverbed upstream from Port Macadam. Some of the older residents may be aware of the remains of a boat in the river but not know of its history. Younger residents and visitors may be interested in the following in-formation.Jimmy Grieve, one of our oldest residents, offered the information that it was called the Diamond and it was owned by Mrs Heron.With these brief comments in mind the Stewartry museum was approached to see if it could provide any more information. They in turn contacted Mr David Collins, a local maritime historian, who found a reference to the vessel in an article entitled Solway Sailing Vessels by James Copland in the magazine Sea Breezes published in 1930. From this we learn the boat was named the Diamond, and registered in Stranraer by the Marshall family, grain merchants in Drum-more. It was a two-masted schooner registered as a 25 toner, built at Burscough Bridge in Lancashire in 1832. It was officially described as, One Deck, Two Masts, Round Stern, Carvel Built, No Galleries, Fiddle Figurehead, and measured 63 feet long, 15 feet wide, and hold depth of 6 feet. She was bought by Gate-house interests in 1908 and became the prop-erty of Elizabeth Heron in 1909.

In December 1920 the registry was can-celled as the vessel was broken up at Gate-house of Fleet.This vessel was noteworthy for being one of the very earliest sailing ships to be fitted with an auxiliary engine, this being put in around 1898.When the schooner entered Liverpool for the first time afterwards she was the cause of much head scratching by the Custom of-ficials who could not make up their minds as to whether she should be rated as a sailing vessel or a steamer for the dues. There was a considerable delay before the point was finally settled to the mutual satisfaction of both the skipper and the authorities.Captain Twentyman commanded the vessel for many years. There used to be an amus-ing yarn related in connection with Captain Twentyman. When hailed by passing ves-sels, or on going into harbour, as to what crew he had on his little schooner, his in-variable reply would be “Twentyman and a boy”.The vessel has been in the river for a long time as a hulk below the town of Gatehouse of Fleet, and upstream from Port Macadam. There is a tale that it was filled with com-bustible materials and set alight as a bon-fire to celebrate a special event. This event could have been the wedding of Miss Eliza-beth Murray Baillie to Mr Neil Usher. The

records reveal that the wedding took place on Saturday 14th December 1929, and on that day the Diamond was filled with com-bustible material and set alightAlthough the vessel was owned by Mrs Eliz-abeth Heron it was sailed by her husband James. In the 1911 census he was described as Mariner, Coal Merchant and living in Fleet Street. It therefore follows that he car-ried coals into Port Macadam and they were transported from Maryport in Cumberland.If anyone can provide any information about its travels, the cargo it carried, or any other details of interest we would like to know.

The photograph below shows all that is now left of the Diamond.

Incredible Edible Gatehouse A new project, Incredible Edible Gatehouse launched in September with a well-attend-ed event in the Community Centre. This community idea, which was dreamed up in Todmorden in Yorkshire and has since spread to many towns around Britain as well as in other countries, makes use of under-used ground within communities to grow herbs and vegetables which are then available to all. Labels which can be placed

with the plants help to educate those who don’t know their way around their herbs or vegetables, and other community events and volunteering opportunities can help to extend the range of the project, allowing people to get actively involved. Since start-ing up, a team of volunteers has built raised bed boxes in the Community Centre car park and planted them up with herbs. Not only will these hopefully thrive and provide a source of fresh herbs for those who don’t

have access to them normally, but the boxes help to beautify the car park and soften the edges with atractive greenery. More raised beds, hopefully of dry stone wall construc-tion, are being planned for the front of the Primary School with the children involved in planning and maintaining them. The group has a Facebook page - Incredible Ed-ible Gatehouse - and the group can be con-tacted through Ju Clear or email edible@gatehouse-of-fleet.co.uk.

Entertainment, Leisure & CultureArchaeology ReportFollowing the successful dig at Trusty’s Hill, the archaeologists are now busy examining the finds. Radiocarbon dating shows that the site was first occupied around 400 BC and an Iron Age glass bead from the period turned up in one of the soil samples. The site was occupied again from the early 5th to the early 6th centuries AD and the rock cut well at the entrance to the site probably continued in use even after the vitrified fort was destroyed. The important finds such as pieces of pottery and a brooch are now be-ing analysed and the archaeologists will be giving a full report in Gatehouse next April.In a different but related project, the For-estry Commission has conducted an ar-chaeological survey at Cally Motte in the Cally Woods, with a view to doing some thinning round the motte to improve the views. On October 3rd a group of volun-teers learned about geophysics techniques with archaeologists Giles Carey and Rich-ard Jones from Glasgow University. The magnetic survey showed clear signs of the building of a Roman road in the area be-tween Girthon cemetery and the River Fleet. The survey also showed up a possible dark age burial site in this area but more investigation is needed to confirm this.

Burns SupperThe Gatehouse of Fleet Burns Club will hold its annual Burns Supper on 26 Janu-ary 2013 in the Murray Arms Hotel. There will be a 3 course meal with the traditional haggis. neeps and tatties as an option for the main course. The haggis will be piped in and addressed in the traditional fashion and there will be the usual toasts and speeches.

There will also be musical entertainment and recitations by the winners of the Gate-house Primary School Poetry Competition. The removal of the central pillar in the din-ing area will enable the diners to see the performers wherever they are seated – for the first time on this traditional occasion. Contact Pauline Logan on 01557 814667 for further information and to book tickets.

Gatehouse Scottish Country DancersThe Annual Dance will be held from 7.30pm on 1st December in the School Hall, tickets costing £8 for dancers and £4 for spectators with supper included. Classes will resume on Monday January 7th 7.30 -9.30pm in the Community Centre.

Spend a Penny Investment Club needs new members!Unbeknown to many of our readers, a small group of locally grown financial wiz-ards meets at 8pm in the Murray Arms on the third Sunday of every month to make decisions which rock the stock market and send shivers down Wall Street and Canary Wharf! For a mere £25 a month you could be part of this, so if you are interested and could contribute your financial wisdom to their decisions, contact Caroline Taylor on 814716.

Gatehouse Christmas LightsDuring the summer months the Christ-mas Lights Group have held very successful fund-raising events including fancy dress entrants in the Gala Week Fun Run, a deli-cious strawberry tea in Garries Park, and a Duck race on the River Fleet. Thanks are due to our many supporters, local and visi-tors alike, as we are now able to report that the new lights have been purchased and will be installed in the run up to the “Big Switch On” on at 4pm on Sunday December 2nd. If you would like to help us erect the lights, please call us on 01557 814503 or at gate-houselights@btinternet.com.The switching on will also be accompa-nied by a Christmas Market in the Mill on

the Fleet grounds on Sunday December 2nd 4pm to 7pm. Bookings for the stalls have been overwhelming and we promise an exciting array of gifts and crafts on the stalls. There will also be hot food, music, our Grand Prize Draw, entertainment and a special visit from Santa Claus himself. Tickets for the Grand Prize Draw will be on sale soon.We also plan to hold a decorated window competition, any theme of your choice, between December 14th and January 4th, open to anyone with a Gatehouse postcode, free entry and cash prizes to be won. En-try forms will be available from local shops shortly.

Stewartry Flower ClubMeetings in the Parish Church hall are held at 1.30pm on the second Thursday of the month. In particular at the February 14th meeting the Club welcomes back Caro-lyne Sorrell form Dumfries who will lead a practical on modern techniques “Spring Constructions” and has promised to dem-onstrate how to construct a Japanese style arrangement. On March 14th the Club welcomes Lynda Fraser who is expected to get everyone going with her “Razzle Daz-zle” themed arrangements; to complement this, members are invited to bring their flo-ral interpretation of “Bling”.

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Digging at Trusty’s Hill in the summer (Guard Archaeology)

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Gatehouse SingersThe Singers’ Christmas Concert will be on Friday December 14th at 7.30pm in the Parish Church, tickets at £7.50 from choir members or at the door. The programme will include music by J S Bach, P I Tchaikovsky, David Willcocks, John Rutter, Alan Bullard and others with some traditional carols for audience participation. Conductor is Sean Rae with Accompanist Jeremy Gott.

Library FundThe Murray Usher Foundation has an an-nual library fund available for schools, stu-dents or youth groups and organisations within the Gatehouse of Fleet, Girthon and Anwoth parishes, to purchase books for educational purposes. This fund is open to applications now and we will consider all approaches from groups requiring to bulk-buy books for their stu-dents or members, or indeed individuals who require books or materials for their ongoing studies (at school or university and even studying aids for exams etc).If you would like to make an application to the fund, please do so in writing to Kay Paton, at Smiths Gore, 28 Castle Street, Dumfries, DG1 1DG or email her at: kay.paton@smithsgore.co.uk and if you would like to discuss your application in advance, please do not hesitate to call Kay on 01387 263066.

Home-made Music on Draught!As this is being written, Guitar Guru Sean Flanagan is playing and singing in Gate-house’s only real ale outlet – just one ex-ample of the Masonic Arms’ refreshingly welcoming attitude towards live music, thanks to new brooms Claire and Jamie. By the time you read this, the Masonic’s Kayperceilidh will have delighted a room-ful of revellers. Every Thursday evening lo-cal musicians gather in the bar to play, sing and entertain themselves. These occasions are highly inclusive and all are welcome to join in, either instrumentally, vocally or – at least as important – by listening – you might even laugh too! No set line-up but you can usually find most or all of Harry,

Iain, Jill, Jon, Mary, Susi, Ted and Tommy in various combinations (and Susi looks lovely in hers!). Songs from local super-group The Razorbills’ recent CD often surface in the mix. And talking of CD’s, it’s rumoured that Ted Percy is currently cutting one featuring his silly songs and sensible music-makes, all master-minded by Marcus (20 guitars) Wright. And if that were not enough, Mar-cus is presenting his own evening with the Blues on November 24th. So, depending on when you read this, you may be just in time to catch this presentation. Or you could just come along on a Thursday!.

Royal Scottish Country Dance SocietyMeetings are in the Church of the Resur-rection Hall, Riverbank between 1.30 and 3pm on Fridays, or there are evening classes in the same venue between 7.30 and 9pm on Mondays. Classes run until 3rd/7th December 2012 and re-start in the week beginning January 6th, 2013. They are de-signed to suit all levels of ability and are a good way to keep fit. Cost is £3 per class for Friday afternoons or £25 for a session of 12 Monday-evening classes. Enquiries to Fiona 814432 or Moira 339308.

The Bakehouse Wins Prestigious Arts and Business AwardThe Bakehouse was honoured at this year’s Arts and Business Scotland awards winning the New or Returning Sponsor Award joint-ly with corporate sponsor Weesleekit. They won the award for bringing Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre’s production of Hamlet to the Crichton in Dumfries in August – the fifth time they have brought the Globe on Tour to the region.Chrys Salt said: “We’re delighted. The Bake-house is run by a great group of volunteers. The award is for everyone on the board and everyone who helps to make it work.” Bar-clay Price, Chief Executive of Arts & Busi-ness Scotland, said: “It is terrific that in spite of difficult trading conditions Scottish-based companies continue to recognise that a partnership with the arts offers real busi-ness benefit.”

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Open daily until 4th November 2012

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Newsletter Contributions WelcomeIf you would like to contribute an article or other content for future issues of the Newsletter, contact the editor:

Willie McKie, 51 High Street, Gatehouse

t: 01557 815008 e: willmckie@aol.com

SnookerThe winter season is now in full swing, with competitors in the Club’s annual Handicap Competition battling it out on the green baize for the main prize and the right to keep the newly acquired Handicap Shield for the coming year. The semi-finals and fi-nal will be played in December. This will be followed by the Club Championship in January/February for which the winner will receive a prize and temporary ownership for a year of the Championship Cup, and during the succeeding spring and summer a repeat of the successful Ladder contest, won this year by Club Secretary John Morton.Sadly we are bidding farewell to our Treas-urer, Tom Myers, who is off to sunny York-shire. He deserves our warm appreciation for managing the Club’s finances during our start-up, and a worthy successor has stepped into his shoes in the person of Brian Napper.Thanks to the strength of the Club’s fi-nances, new membership fees for 2013 and beyond will no longer require a joining fee, so a full year’s membership will be £50 for adults and £25 for juniors. So although the grim reaper has sadly deprived us of some of our members, we look forward to a good intake of new members to swell our num-bers. Your Chairman is also looking at ways to improve the social element of Club life.Novices and experts alike should be aware that for all Club competitions except the Club Championship, our excellent handi-cap system helps to create closer results in matches, whether in competition or friendlygames. Obtaining and maintaining a Hand-icap is a simple matter, thanks to our Hand-icap Secretary Graham Wright.

Fleet Star Football ClubThe results so far this season have kept the Club firmly at the bottom of the Southern Counties League, but these do not reflect the quality and attendance at regular train-ing sessions, which have been well attended with much hard work being accomplished. The Club has basically a very young squad this season.Looking more confidently to the future, the Club is going through the process, in con-junction with the Scottish Football Associa-

tion, of obtaining a “Quality Mark” which, if obtained, would assist with future Grant Funding applications. The Club is also keen to start a Youth set-up, but assistance will be required for this. Anyone interested in helping, please contact Irvine Hannah, Sec-retary, on 07745 903610. The Club is con-tinuing in its efforts to obtain the necessary funding to fulfil the Pavilion plans.

Carpet bowlingThis is a good winter sport played indoors, for all age groups. Meetings are every Tues-day from mid-October to the end of March at 7.30pm in the Community Centre. Bowling is played on boards covered with felt. This a small friendly Club and wel-comes new members. Contact Annie-Mar-garet Johnstone 01557 814059.

Gatehouse Golf ClubWith the season now over, the Golf Club recently held their annual presentation evening at the Masonic Arms, with 36 at-tending. The Club Championship was again won by Graham McMillan who beat Stevie Thompson in the final. The “B” Champion-ship was won by Paul Pickthall. All other competitions have been completed, with only two having been re-scheduled because of the atrocious weather. but the club is missing the Anwoth Cup! Would members please check if they have it, and let Robert Hope know on 0774 9080871.Overall this year, visitor numbers are well down on previous years with the weather playing a big part, but the course is still in good condition and the programme of win-ter works has begun, with drainage workscompleted on the 7th and 8th Greens. The Club is offering a winter membership from now until the end of March at a cost of £50; forms are available in the Club House, or by contacting Robert Hope.The AGM will be held on January 14th in the Murray Arms; time and agenda will be placed in the Club House in mid-Decem-ber. Any member interested in joining the Committee please contact Robert Hope fordetails.

CricketAs with so many outdoor activities, the Cricket season suffered badly from the weather but the new all-weather Wicket helped enormously and enabled coaching and some matches to be played on all but the worst days. The Overseas Amateur play-er, Anton Jacques Vosloo from South Africa proved an excellent addition to the Club. A first-rate player, he raised the team standard and also helped with coaching.The Club has been actively coaching in Douglas Ewart High School, Newton Stewart during curriculum time and on Friday evenings, and at Gatehouse School on Thursdays and on Wednesday evenings for ladies and juniors at Kirkcudbright Academy. Anyone interested would be very welcome to attend. We now have 6 level one coaches and 1 level two coach oper-ating within the Club and with Nick van Zwanenberg’s continued generous support we are hoping to extend coaching to Cas-tle Douglas and Dalbeattie. Coaching has already enabled under 11’s and under 13’s Junior teams to enter Club Championship leagues and the Ladies to enter a team in the National League.There will be a fund-raising Bag-packing day at Sainsbury’s in Newton Stewart on November 3rd. (Mary Hughes would wel-come volunteers for limited shifts), and on November 23rd there will be an “Evening of jazz” with Howard Bradley’s All Stars in-cluding John Fenner, David Sanderson and the delightful vocalist Terri Farley. Venue Gatehouse School from 7.30pm, tickets at £12.50 include supper obtainable from Dennis Coombs (814404) are already in demand. So do not delay!All efforts are now concentrated on the New Pavilion and considerable progress has been made in drawing up plans and investigat-ing the best sources of funding. Hopefully once these have been approved we can make a start, and although it may not seem the best time of year to build, it surely cannot be worse than this summer. Very sadly ourPresident Graham Carson died on Octo-ber 15th; he has been an incredible source of support to the Club and will be greatly missed.

Sport

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Gatehouse of Fleet YMCA needs local supporters!The Drop-in Centre for young people of sec-ondary school age is run by one paid worker and a large group of enthusiastic volunteers: those who maintain three evenings per week for activities, and another group who man the Charity Shop in the High Street to provide income to meet overheads and expenses.To engage support from local people, a Sup-porters Club was launched in 2005; this enabled local residents to sign up for regular donations to provide an additional stream of income. This is to be re-launched to increase the level of local support and to include those who are new to the area and perhaps less aware of the good work done by the Drop-in Centre. Over the next few weeks, each household will receive a request to consider making a regular donation; please give serious consideration to this request when it arrives. If you do not receive a letter and would like to know more, please contact Denis Samways on 814095 or leave a message at the Drop-in Centre, 5 Digby Street, 814704.As a fine example of the work done by vol-unteers, there is none better than the awards recently made to Mandi Houfe, a regular (weekly) charity shop volunteer, friendly and welcoming to all, and to two young members of the Drop-in Centre. Mandi’s role on the lo-cal YMCA Board is to support the paid Youth Worker, represent the volunteer youth work-ers, and take a role in planning the activity programme. As a regular Drop-in volunteer

youth worker herself, Mandi is energetic and imaginative, learning members’ names and faces quickly and taking an interest in each young person individually. She has brought her own set of skills and insight to the Drop-in, and has contributed considerably to the service it provides for the young people of Gatehouse and the surrounding area.In recognition of Mandi’s special contribu-tion to the lives of volunteers and the young members of the Drop-in over 6 years, she was presented with the Award for YMCA Scot-land Volunteer of the Year 2012, for which she received an engraved Silver Cup, and a glass memento to keep. She was accompanied by Josephine King, and Natalie Hamblin for the presentation in Perth on September 22nd. At the same Award ceremony, Natalie and Michael Beggs each received glass mementos as Young Volunteers of the Year.Congratulations to them all for the superb work that they have done and will keep doing to ensure that the Gatehouse Drop-in Centre remains in the forefront of service to young people in Gatehouse of Fleet!

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First Responders are local trained volunteers who are available to bridge the time gap between an emergency 999 call and the arrival of an ambulance. Action is under way to set up a First Responders group in Gatehouse by early 2013. Following a 999 call and the dispatch of an ambulance, the emer-gency services would call out a local First Responder to an emer-gency that they deem appropriate. This would not include road traffic accidents, alcohol-related violence events or births.Hopefully responders would only be needed for a few vital minutes until expert help arrives. Training will be provided by the Ambu-lance Service and equipment would be provided either by them or by locally-raised funding.Ideally the Gatehouse group would like to be available 24 hours a

day throughout the year but that depends on the number of vol-unteers available and how much time each person can commit. Volunteers will be asked to cover a number of 12 hour shifts each month. It has been estimated that on average Gatehouse might have one call-out every 3 weeks.Responders would also need to be available for occasional training days and refresher courses. The area covered by the group would initially be around the town and up the Fleet Valley, but again depends on the number of vol-unteers. Help is urgently needed to support this very worthwhile cause. If you can help, please contact Margaret Carruthers on 814502 or Margaret Wright on 815022.

Emergency Health Support - First Responders

Drop-in trip to London in Trafalgar Square

Among life’s many pleasures, few are more satisfying than seeing and enjoying a new lease of life bestowed on an old friend. The Masonic Arms has, in its long history, given pleasure to many, Gatehouse residents and visitors alike, and is now set for recovery after coming close to cardiac arrest. As the only traditional real ale pub in Gatehouse, now in the capable young hands of Claire and Jamie, the warm welcome, low beamed seating area, quality food service in the con-servatory (complemented by the sheltered garden for summer days), are back, and all the fresher for the smiling faces of Kristie and Sam behind the bar and the expertise of locally well-known Chef Leslie Han-nah in the kitchen. The improvement in atmosphere is almost tangible. Not only are pub regulars glad to be back, but they do so against the background of Claire and Jamie’s commitment to the Masonic’s future by what they have already achieved and by bringing up their young family in the living quarters over the “shop”, a sure sign that they are in this for the long haul. We owe them a truly warm welcome and believe that in their capable hands the high

quality pub product which has made the Masonic a feature of all that is best about Gatehouse of Fleet’s sense of community and friendly social activity will be restored. For the coming winter the main emphasis will be on bar service, the open fire, friend-ly atmosphere and good food backed up by the normal facilities of the pool table, and television. Takeaway fish and chips on a Friday evening has been a success and is to be extended to other days. The Masonic is open daily except Mondays until January 6th, then re-opening on January 22nd, with a special Burns Supper on Saturday Janu-ary 26th. While visitors in winter (except over Christmas and New Year) are in short supply, the main aim will be to make the locals feel at home when they step through the door. Regular evening events include Poker on Tuesdays, a Pub Quiz on Wednesday, Live Music on Thursday and Darts and Domi-noes on Fridays.

For information and reservations

01557 814335 or www.masonicarms.co.uk

Business in FocusEach issue we feature an in-depth interview with a local business to highlight individual contributions by the business sector to the local economy. This issue our choice is The Masonic Arms.

Large Haddock & Chips - £6.95Small Haddock & Chips - £4.95Burger & Chips - £4.95Cheese Burger & Chips - £5.15Battered Haggis & Chips - £5.15Sausage & Chips - £3.95Battered Sausage & Chips - £4.15

Portion of Chips - £1.50Chicken Curry & Rice - £5.95

Served Tuesday to Sunday 12-2pm & 5-8pm Tel: 01557 814335www.masonicarms.co.uk

Masonic Arms : Take-away MenuNew owners Jamie and Claire welcome you to The Masonic Arms

Our new menu offers starters, main courses, light bites, sweets and children’s menu all at good value prices ...

... and kids eat FREE on Tuesdays & Wednesdays!Tel: 01557 814335 www.masonicarms.co.uk

The Masonic Arms