News About Crail w/c 7 th December 2015. No. 246 with Crail Primary School Choir All welcome Don't miss the Christmas Exhibition and please support the Museum by including its shop in your search for Christmas cards, calendars and gifts. Items are all keenly priced. (Saturday 11am - 4pm, Sunday 1pm - 4pm) Crail Museum & Heritage Centre is a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation: Scottish Charity No SC023505. New players are welcome This edition of About Crail News features two special pages for your convenience. On one page you will find information on Crail shops’ Christmas & New Year opening hours. The next page, at the suggestion of a reader, are the Royal Mail latest recommended posting dates for Christmas. We hope you find this information useful. Well this is it - the last Crail Folk Club session of the year. Thursday 10th December 8pm in Crail Town Hall sees our Annual Christmas Party. The big news is that it is FREE. The even bigger news is that included in that price are mince pies and crackers. What do crackers mean? Normally sane people sitting around in daft paper hats. You get the picture. As ever we expect a good variety of singers and maybe even some Festive recitations. Do come along and enjoy. Thanks for all your support in 2015 - a very successful year for the club. We reconvene with our Burns Night event on January 28 th . For more information, although there is none really, call Tony Kingsbury on 01333 450572
Transcript
NewsAboutCrail w/c 7th December 2015. No. 246
with Crail Primary School Choir
All welcome
Don't miss the Christmas Exhibition and pleasesupport the Museum by including its shop in
your search for Christmas cards, calendars andgifts. Items are all keenly priced.
(Saturday 11am - 4pm, Sunday 1pm - 4pm)
Crail Museum & Heritage Centre is a Scottish CharitableIncorporated Organisation:
Scottish Charity No SC023505.
New players are welcome
This edition of About Crail News featurestwo special pages for your convenience.
On one page you will find information onCrail shops’ Christmas & New Year openinghours.
The next page, at the suggestion of a reader,are the Royal Mail latest recommendedposting dates for Christmas.
We hope you find this information useful.
Well this is it - the last Crail Folk Club session ofthe year.
Thursday 10th December 8pm in Crail TownHall sees our Annual Christmas Party. The bignews is that it is FREE. The even bigger news isthat included in that price are mince pies andcrackers. What do crackers mean? Normallysane people sitting around in daft paper hats.You get the picture.
As ever we expect a good variety of singers andmaybe even some Festive recitations. Do comealong and enjoy.
Thanks for all your support in 2015 - a verysuccessful year for the club.
We reconvene with our Burns Night event onJanuary 28th.
For more information, although there is nonereally, call Tony Kingsbury on 01333 450572
Priory SingersMusical Director Gillian Craig
present
Carols by CandlelightCallum MacLeod Organist
Christmas music in a beautiful setting, including traditional favourites and opportunities for all to join the singing.
St Leonards, The Pends (off South Street), St Andrews
Concert starts at 7:00pmTickets £6 at the door
A message from Ruth Redfern
I hope to have a book table at the Christmas Bazaar at the Marine Hotel and S, all day both days. Those of you who have smugly already written your Christmas cards, ordered the turkey
and bought a 2016 diary can chat to me about what is happening in the book world both in Crail and further afield.To those of you who haven’t even started thinking about shopping or entertaining, my advice is not to worry, thereare lots of days left and it’s nearly the winter solstice so there is every excuse to stay indoors with a good book.
I’d like to take this opportunity to send a message to all my dog friends old and new. As my reading aloud of BustersDiary has been proving popular, if weather permits, I shall be happy to ask someone to mind my stall for a fewminutes and sneak out. Just ask your human to knock on the front or back door depending which route you take forWalkies and ask for Auntie Ruth.
Stallholders have been asked to ensure tables are suitably festively decorated. As I cannot possibly compete withprofessional artists and clever crafts folk, I reckon I can cheat by having lots of books with the word “Christmas” inthe title. I shall offer to decorate the tree thus gaining Brownie points for Helpfulness. Although opinions remaindivided as to whether Robert Louis S belongs to North Berwick or Crail, and if his cousin’s book was set in the realCrail, I remain adamant our village has a stronger claim on the Stevenson family connection. So, what BETTER wayto trim the tree than with copies of Treasure Island or Kidnapped dangling from every branch with a pirate flag on thetop? My idea will have to be a fait accompli so I’m sure I can rely on readers to keep my thoughts confidential atthis stage. Speaking of pirate flags, and thereby modulating into Arthur Ransomes, many of the other stallholderswill be using social media to promote the event. Again, I cant really compete but have thought how can contribute. Ibought my Adopted Daughter “Winter Holiday”for Christmas 15 years ago, after that our regular correspondencewas written in Semaphore flags, (takes longer but I can recommend it for reasons of confidentiality). I’d really liketo have had all the publicity for the Bazaar conveyed by semaphore flags, but as it is not actually my event and theBeehive have already produced some lovely fliers, perhaps this idea can be postponed for another time. However ifthere is anyone out there who has a spare set of flags, and is up to speed please get in touch. We would need to startsignalling fairly soon as there is so much to tell you about the Bazaar in general and my books in particular.
With best wishes to everyone for Christmas and the New Year (even to people who don’t like books or dogs).
Two major issues occupied the Community Council Meeting last Monday – the Library closureproposal, and the planning proposal to extend usage of the Airfield for Motor Vehicle events. Onthe Library, we have submitted our objections, and we really now have to wait until Fife CulturalTrust (who run the Library) and Fife Council make decisions about closure. It’s very hard to judgewhat the outcome will be, but we wait in hope.
The proposal to extend the motor sports events at the Airfield generated a lot of discussion, and theCouncil unanimously agreed to reject the proposal. You can see the full submission the CommunityCouncil made on the Fife Planning Portal(http://planning.fife.gov.uk/online/search.do?action=simple) and put in as a search term15/03755/FULL. You will see there all the objections and associated documents; the core of theCommunity Council objection was noise problems, and problems associated with trafficmanagement.
The Community Council was pleased to support the proposal by the Town Hall ManagementCommittee to install a lift in the Town Hall. This will involve Fife Council (as administrators of theTown Hall) granting the Town Hall Management Committee a 5 year lease on the upstairs area ofthe Town Hall, and on the footprint of the lift on the ground floor. The lease also includes the rightto use the toilets on the ground floor, but the clock and clock control room (including the curfewbell) are retained by Fife Council as landlord. The remaining area of the ground floor excluding theLibrary is not leased to anyone, although Fife Cultural Trust have rights through at least part of itfor access and egress. This is of course relevant to how we might think about further developmentsif we are able to retain the Library.
On behalf of our community, the Community Council has made a submission to ENCAP (EastNeuk Community Action Plan) for funding to help Crail Community organisations to develop a 5year plan to identify priority projects and actions, which will ultimately contribute to a larger longterm vision for the East Neuk. We hope that this will help our local groups and organisations todevelop further, and to also help attract funding.
The core activity of the Community Council is toYou can contact the Council personally through its members, or by email at
CRAIL DEBATESSadly, space and time don’t allow for us to insert some newly received letters regarding the greengym debate in this week’s edition. We hope to be able to include them next week.
For those who like to have a real Christmas tree for the festivities, thoughts will soon beturning to when to buy one and also, possibly, which type to get.
Having a real tree in the house at this time of year is a tradition which goes back quite a long way. However,there is evidence that, from very early on, people would bring in evergreens during this time in the belief itwould encourage the sun to return in the spring to help the crops grow.
The tradition of a tree being linked to Christ goes back to St Boniface. In 718 Pope Gregory sent him towhat is now Germany, to convert the pagans to Christianity. St Boniface was originally called Winfrid andwas born in Devon around 680AD. He proved to be very successful in Germany, winning over many pagansat Geismar by demolishing the Oak of Thor without any harm coming to himself. Later on, he dedicated a firtree (Tannenbaum) to the Christ child and thereby displaced the pagan Oak as a tree of worship.
It is thought the Tannenbaum started to become popular in parts of Germany, especially Bavaria, around themid sixteenth century. Some even credit Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) with making this more popular.
It was in 1605 in Strasbourg in Alsace, then in Germany, that a chronicler wrote (in old German):(“At Christmas they set up
Christmas trees in Strasbourg in their rooms…”). Through the centuries the tradition spread throughout Eu-rope and became popular in the UK after Prince Albert encouraged Queen Victoria to have a tree at Christ-mas. It is now almost unthinkable even in our modern society to not have a tree at Christmas.
But which one to get? The Norway spruce (Picea abies) is extremely popular because of the pleasant scent ofthe needles but unfortunately, as I’m sure many of us know only too well, the needles drop very easily.
Another option is to consider the Nordmann or (Abies nordmanniana) which is a popular tree despite beingquite costly. The needles have no discernible scent, are not sharp and will stay on the tree even when it hasdried out. It originates from the mountain region of the Black sea and is typically found at elevations above900 m (2000 ft). This is the tree I like to have.
The Fraser fir, (Abies fraseri), named after the discoverer, Scottish botanist, JohnFraser (1750- 1811) is found along the south eastern Appalachian mountain range in
the United States. Unfortunately, it has suffered severely inrecent times from an infestation of a non-native insect thebalsam woolly adelgid. This has been the most popular tree atthe White House over the years and is favoured as it keeps itsneedles, has a nice shape similar to a Norway spruce but witha narrow base making it ideal for fitting in tight spaces.
A lovely alternative to the Norway spruce is the Serbian spruce (Picea omorika). It hasa more slender shape than the Norway spruce and a blue tinge to the underside of the needles.
The Douglas fir, (Pseudotsuga menziesii) is one of the tallest trees reaching wellabove 200 Feet, with only the coast redwood growing taller. This tree has thehonour of being named after two Scottish botanists. The common name, is afterDavid Douglas (1799-1834) from Scone in Perthshire, who was a plant hunter forthe Royal Horticultural Society and travelled extensively throughout the United
States and Hawaii, where he died. He introduced the tree to the British Isles andwith it and other introductions helped to transform the UK timber industry.However, the Latin name is after Archibald Menzies (1754-1834) also fromPerthshire, who while working at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh wasencouraged by Dr John Hope to go to Edinburgh University and study medicine. Healso travelled widely in the Navy as a surgeon and discovered many plants includingthe monkey puzzle tree (Araucaria araucana) – the seeds of which were served to himby the Viceroy of Chile for dessert.
The Douglas fir is a very popular Christmas tree in America as it has good needleretention and a nice citrus smell.
Another nice tree to consider is the Noble fir (Abies procera), alarge evergreen tree with lovely glaucous blue-green needles,seen here on the left.
If you like a tree to have deep blue needles then you shouldconsider the Blue spruce (Picea pungens) which has a lovelyshape and incredible blue needles
Whichever tree you decide to get try to pick the healthiest you can. You want onewhich has been freshly cut, ask the assistant when they were cut, you don’t wantanything which is more than two or three days old as the tree will begin to besuffering from a lack of water. Ideally the trees, which most are, should be stored outdoors - don’t buyanything which has been stored in a heated room as the tree will start to become dry.
I usually try to select a supplier that has a netting unit. That means you can open up the tree check, it is rightfor you with a good spread of proportioned lower branches and then it can be netted again to make it easierto carry home. Having your tree netted reduces the risk of it becoming damaged. A netted tree is also easierto fit into a stand once you have it at home.
When I get my tree home I cut the bottom 5cm or 2 inches off the stump. This enable the vessels to take upwater, below this level they become clogged with resin and won’t take up water. I tend to leave my treeoutside until the week before Christmas standing in a bucket of water. When I bring the tree in I place it asfar away from a heat source as possible to reduce the drying out of the needles and in particular, the risk offire, especially important if you have an open fire.
Place it in a stand with water in it and remember to top up with water every few days to ensure your treestays as fresh for as long as possible.
About Crail News welcomes articles and letters from contributors or readers. All letters and articles will always bepublished . Any comments or opinions expressed in such articles or letters are purely the authors’ own andshould not be seen as those of About Crail or Peter Salkeld personally. We also reserve the right not to print any itemconsidered illegal or defamatory.
Wild Crail! Will CresswellPhotos by John Anderson
I have not written anything for the last month. I have been away in Nigeria and then aseemingly endless succession of very drear and rainy days have followed precludinggetting out and seeing things. Even the gulls are starting to look a bit wet and miserable.All of them flying into Roome Bay this week were dangling their legs below them,carrying great big clods of mud picked up from the fields they have been feeding in. As asmall antidote to the current weather – November was officially one of the dullestmonths ever – I am posting a picture from my recent trip. A red-throated bee-eater.Very unlikely to ever make it onto the Crail list. A shame – but these are common whereI stay in central Nigeria and brighten up every walk.
Last Saturday was another day of storms and heavy rain. The only thing to do was to look out to sea and watchwhat was passing. With being away and the short days I have not been in a position to have a good seawatchuntil last weekend. I finally found a window of opportunity during daylight on Saturday to look through mytelescope from my back garden. The last month has been good for little auks along the East coast and so I washopeful to finally catch up with some. It seems to be every other year that we have a good little auk winter.There were a handful last winter, none the year before but 2013 was good. A series of big storms early in thewinter with strong northerlies seems to be the key to little auks turning up in the Forth. It only took a fewminutes on Saturday before I picked up a flock of six flying into the Forth past Crail. Little auks really are wellnamed – they are tiny – barely starling size. They have a distinctive wobbly, flickering flight as if they can barelyremain airborne except by maintaining a terrific speed. They behave like puffins inflight, only more so. When they land on the water it looks more like a crash as ifthey have finally given up their frantic struggle to stay airborne. I counted 216passing in 30 minutes although were all far out and what I would call “technical”even through a telescope. All were headed into the Forth. If we continue to havebad weather with southerlies they might come in closer to Crail or even getwashed up on the beach. Little auks are famous for spectacular “wrecks” whenthey get blown onto land and end up on garden ponds or even wet tarmac for awhile before they get their bearings. Look out for a “baby puffin” anytime soonaround Roome Bay or Harbour Beach.
The rain of the last few days cleared away on Sunday to give a proper East Neukwinters day with plenty of sun and a much crisper feel. There has been so muchrain recently that my weather station in my back garden has started to play up.That or it was -45.6 degrees out there on Sunday morning. It has got colder sinceSaturday’s unseasonal high of 13 degrees but probably not that cold. I hope itcomes to its senses as things dry out. The mallards, at least, are enjoying the rain.Many of the fields above Crail have large ponds in them now and I counted a goodflock of mallards sitting contentedly on what was last week a field of winter wheat.
The sun was hidden by some low cloud first thing on Sunday giving a nice flatlight for seawatching from my house. In the winter the sun rises straight out fromCrail and so the first couple hours of the day are written off it is not cloudy. Nolittle auks on Sunday morning but a few razorbills, kittiwakes, one or twogannets and the usual cormorants and shags. From Crail most of what looks likea shag or a cormorant will be a shag but maybe 5% will be cormorants. Theeasiest way to tell them apart is by their shape when they fly by. Shags are potbellied with a heads, neck and bill in distinct sections; cormorants are muchflatter from belly to neck to head and bill.
Red-throated bee-eater.Sadly not the latest addition
