Landscaping and maintenance Patios and Paving Drainage and Fencing Turfing and Monoblocking Tree work, Free estimates All excavations undertaken 01583 431362 & 07814767813 CARRADALE GARDEN SERVICES Established 1989 IN THIS ISSUE CARRADALE GOLF CLUB THE SECRETARY IS MARGARET RICHARDSON, 2 OLD SCHOOLHOUSE, CARRADALE IS ON PAGE 5. THE SECRETARY IS MARGARET RICHARDSON, 2 OLD SCHOOLHOUSE, CARRADALE PA28 6QJ. TEL: 01583 431788 FURTHER INFORMATION IS ON PAGE 5 CAMPBELTOWN MOTOR COMPANY Snipefield Industrial Estate, CampbeltownTelephone 01586 553200 P2 Keith Campbell. P3 Nancie Smith, Neil Bone and William Kennedy. P4 Grants, Golf and Quiz. P5 Thanks and appreciation. P6 Fuel group meeting No 1. P7 Fuel No 2, and a plea. P8 Wood and Valiant Hearts. P9 Rainfall & School news. P10 Scams and Thanks. P11 Olympic bells, Inveraray. P12 Saddell success. THE NETWORK CENTRE REOPENED ON FRIDAY13TH JANUARY. Winter opening hours 11am - 4pm. Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. A winter scene in many rural Kintyre homes in 2011 and early 2012. Photo courtesy of Martin Mears and the Carradale Goat. SENIOR LADIES CLUB The first Coffee Morning of 2012 will be on Monday 6th February at The Ashbank Hotel. WILD WEATHER & POWER LOSS As Margaret Leighton’s rainfall report for December may well show, there were some wild variations to the weather in Kintyre this year. Those who rarely put a foot other than on a man-made surface were only too aware in December of the rain-soaked nature of the Kintyre soil when attending Keith’s funeral. Fortunately the very large representation at his graveside was spared further precipitation. North-west winds were also a problem with two lengthy periods of over 80mph in December and at least one in 2012. Electricity was cut off twice - once in December for up to eight hours and the other in January for varying periods; Carradale for 42 hours over January 3rd-5th. Trees came down, roads were flooded, the ‘Rest’ decided to slip a bit further down with travellers having to enjoy the longer scenic route via Dalmally and Crianlarich. To round off an unusual year, temperatures crept up and provided an unseasonable landscape for those who look forward to a white Christmas, but in 2012 will man-induced weather changes cause temperatures to rise further and lead to a fall in central heating costs? Its about as unlikely as seeing the Kintyre birth rate rise, Tesco moving to the Creamery site and the Council building a new school in Kintyre. Duncan and Wum Semple keeping traffic flowing. NETWORK CHUG COMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 8TH Members: A. Milstead (Chair), M. Hurst, D. Macal- ister Hall, M. Adams, A. Walker, G. Arkell, D. McIn- tosh, R. Stride, M. Trott, R. Howarth (Lakeland). It was agreed at a previous meeting that CHUG become a part of Network Carradale MOORINGS. Contact has been made with Crown Estates regarding the placement of up to 6 moorings parallel to Shore Road and a lease of the sea- bed is being sought. Finance has been arranged for their installation but further details need to finalised regarding insurance, maintenance, charges etc. They should be ready for use be- fore Easter 2012. HARBOUR REDEVELOPMENT A brief is being drawn up by a third party over the next 4 weeks to be sent to selected marine architects. This will result in the appointment of one firm to finalise our plans for the harbour redevelopment. We have already discussed with Argyll & Bute Council a proposed way for- ward and those plans will be firmed up after further consultation with ABC Harbours and ABC Estates with regard to possible use, occu- pation and management of the harbour area. COMMUNITY SURVEY HARBOUR SECTION We discussed the results of our section of the Community Survey (103 returned). Several con- cerns featured prominently and will be utilised in future proposals. Marcus Adams.
Transcript
Landscaping and maintenancePatios and PavingDrainage and FencingTurfing and MonoblockingTree work, Free estimatesAll excavations undertaken
01583 431362 & 07814767813
CARRADALEGARDENSERVICES
Established1989IN
THISISSUE
CARRADALE GOLF CLUB
THE SECRETARY IS MARGARETRICHARDSON,
2 OLD SCHOOLHOUSE,CARRADALEIS ON PAGE 5.
THE SECRETARY ISMARGARET RICHARDSON,
2 OLD SCHOOLHOUSE,CARRADALE
PA28 6QJ. TEL: 01583 431788
FURTHERINFORMATIONIS ON PAGE 5
CAMPBELTOWN MOTOR COMPANY Snipefield Industrial Estate, CampbeltownTelephone 01586 553200
P2 Keith Campbell.P3 Nancie Smith, Neil Boneand William Kennedy.P4 Grants, Golf and Quiz.
P5 Thanks and appreciation.P6 Fuel group meeting No 1.P7 Fuel No 2, and a plea.P8 Wood and Valiant Hearts.
P9 Rainfall & School news.P10 Scams and Thanks.P11 Olympic bells, Inveraray.P12 Saddell success.
THE NETWORK CENTRE REOPENED ON FRIDAY13TH JANUARY.Winter opening hours 11am - 4pm. Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays.
A winter scene in many rural Kintyre homes in 2011and early 2012. Photo courtesy of Martin Mears and
the Carradale Goat.
SENIOR LADIES CLUBThe first Coffee Morning of 2012 will be on Monday
6th February at The Ashbank Hotel.
WILD WEATHER & POWER LOSSAs Margaret Leighton’s rainfall report for Decembermay well show, there were some wild variations tothe weather in Kintyre this year. Those who rarelyput a foot other than on a man-made surface wereonly too aware in December of the rain-soakednature of the Kintyre soil when attending Keith’sfuneral. Fortunately the very large representation athis graveside was spared further precipitation. North-west winds were also a problem with twolengthy periods of over 80mph in December and atleast one in 2012. Electricity was cut off twice -once in December for up to eight hours and theother in January for varying periods; Carradale for42 hours over January 3rd-5th. Trees came down, roads were flooded, the‘Rest’ decided to slip a bit further down withtravellers having to enjoy the longer scenic routevia Dalmally and Crianlarich. To round off an unusual year, temperaturescrept up and provided an unseasonable landscapefor those who look forward to a white Christmas,but in 2012 will man-induced weather changescause temperatures to rise further and lead to a fallin central heating costs? Its about as unlikely as seeing the Kintyre birthrate rise, Tesco moving to the Creamery site andthe Council building a new school in Kintyre.
Duncan and Wum Semple keeping traffic flowing.
NETWORK CHUGCOMMITTEE MEETING DECEMBER 8THMembers: A. Milstead (Chair), M. Hurst, D. Macal-ister Hall, M. Adams, A. Walker, G. Arkell, D. McIn-tosh, R. Stride, M. Trott, R. Howarth (Lakeland). It was agreed at a previous meeting thatCHUG become a part of Network Carradale
MOORINGS.Contact has been made with Crown Estatesregarding the placement of up to 6 mooringsparallel to Shore Road and a lease of the sea-bed is being sought. Finance has been arrangedfor their installation but further details need tofinalised regarding insurance, maintenance,charges etc. They should be ready for use be-fore Easter 2012.
HARBOUR REDEVELOPMENTA brief is being drawn up by a third party overthe next 4 weeks to be sent to selected marinearchitects. This will result in the appointment ofone firm to finalise our plans for the harbourredevelopment. We have already discussedwith Argyll & Bute Council a proposed way for-ward and those plans will be firmed up afterfurther consultation with ABC Harbours andABC Estates with regard to possible use, occu-pation and management of the harbour area.COMMUNITY SURVEY HARBOUR SECTION
We discussed the results of our section of theCommunity Survey (103 returned). Several con-cerns featured prominently and will be utilised infuture proposals. Marcus Adams.
2 The ANTLER 2
KEITH CAMPBELLOn the 15th of December, 2011 everyone was shocked and saddenedto learn of the sudden death of Keith Campbell, a much respected andlifelong resident of Carradale; the fact that on 28th December Saddelland Carradale church was filled to capacity for his funeral bore witnessto that.
Keith was Carradale through and through, (in fact the family treegoes back to 1762). He was born on the 15th of November, 1924 atPost Office House, as was his father Donald before him - that part ofthe family business which was later to become the tearoom.Life at Carradale Stores (D.Campbell and Co) was always busy and itwas a happy household with Margaret his older sister, Keith and Walter.
School days were spent at Carradale and Campbeltown and in hisyounger days Keith enjoyed joining the Glasgow Burnside Scoutswhen they set up camp at South Dippen.
On leaving school Keith joined the crewof his uncle Jack McIntosh’s boat, the ‘StellaMaris’ and it is said that once Keith wentaboard, the ‘Stella Mari’s had the tidiestfo’csle in the fleet - and as we all know thisdesire for perfection was to follow him allthrough life.
The war years came and Keith joined upbefore he was 18, eventually serving onRoyal Naval Ocean-going Rescue Tugs as asignaller.
Keith and his friend Johnny McMillanjoined up together in Campbeltown andsailed from the Clyde to New York aboardRMS ‘Queen Mary’ which, acting as a troopship, was carrying up to 15,000 troops. Noluxury trip this, but the liner was so fast thatshe needed no escourt during the voyageand despite having to set a zigzag course,the journey was completed in four days
From New York the two Carradale sail-ors travelled on to New Jersey, and then toport Arthur, Texas, where they joined HMRT‘Athlete’.
On returning to Europe Keith saw actionin the Mediterranean pulling beached craftback out to sea and assisting with convoys.He was in Africa at Anjou and Solerno and,when off Leghorn, (Livorno) Italy, ‘Athlete’was mined and sank very quickly. Four ofthe crew were lost, Keith suffered a footinjury and was taken to hospital which inpeacetime was the Palace of King VictorEmmanuel of Italy.
Keith was sent home to recuperate thenjoined HMRT ‘Reward’, a new and biggervessel. He sailed with her to Norway and the final task before demobin 1946 was towing U-boats to Lough Foyle, where they were scuttled.Keith was rightfully proud of his war service but not in any boastfulheroic way. He took part in the annual Remembrance Service at thevillage war memorial and also in the church. He was probably the lastsurviving member of the crew of the ‘Athlete’ and possibly one of thelast surviving World War 2 veterans in the village. The medals he worewere - the 1939-45 star, the Atlantic Star and bar, the Italy Star, theAfrica’s Star and the defence metal 1939-45.
On returning home after the war Keith joined the family business.Keith was very popular with all ages as he drove the mobile shoparound the outlying areas, from Skipness to Peninver, calling at everyhouse and farm, there were always sweets for the children, a customhe continued with in the shop - many still recall this fondly.
In 1949 the arrival of electricity made the production of ice creampossible and this became a big feature in the Tearoom which wasstarted by Keiths mother.
In the early 50s the first extension to the shop was made and Keithand Chris were married, living first at Dunvalanree, Chris’s home. In1954 Moira was born and in 1956 they bought the former parish manseand renamed it ‘Limetrees’, where Chris ran a very successful guesthouse.
Keith had many interests in village life. Involved in the village hall hewas responsible for organizing the entertainment and in the 50s JimmyShand, Iain Powrie and Lochgilphead band ‘The Rhythm Boys’ provid-ed music for the dances to which bus loads of people travelled up fromCampbeltown. These events raised a lot of money for the HarbourFund and the village hall. Another interest was the Amenities Commit-tee, being especially involved in the upkeep of the Bay road andensuring the footbridge from the car park to the beach was in goodrepair.
In 1962 after Keith’s father’s death there was a major expansion tothe shop and tearoom. At this time the shop was very busy supplyinglocals and visitors many of whom came for up to a month, takingholiday houses. The shop stocked high quality goods of every descrip-tion and also fancy goods such as Susie Cooper China (now acollector’s item) which many holiday makers can remember buying.The tearoom was always packed with everyone enjoying a wide selec-
tion of home baking and the now famous icecream, which was also always donated toschool sports day and village hall sales ofwork (10 gallons a day was produced).
In 1971 a further expansion was madeand ‘The Glen’ was built as it was realisedthat many more people coming to village werehaving bed and breakfast and required meals.
The Glen was hugely successful andchanged the face of Carradale, attractingcustomers from all over Kintyre, Mid-Argylland beyond. During the summer seasons itwas quite common to serve 150 eveningmeals having previously served a similarnumber of lunches and high teas - bookingwas always essential.
During the winter months Supper Danceswere introduced and they proved very popu-lar cheering up many a dreich night.
The business employed 25 staff at theheight of the season which was a great sup-port to the local economy.
In all of this Keith was a perfectionistensuring everything was ‘spic and span’, andthat steps were scrubbed and windows weregleaming! Many girls have remarked thattheir training at the Glen had been a greatbenefit to them in later years in their ownhome. Happy days gone by in ‘The Glen’ willnot be forgotten; the Campbells built up agreat friendship with their staff, customersand visitors alike.
After a very successful business careerKeith retired in 1988 allowing him and Christime to enjoy holidays and their favourite pas-time, ballroom dancing. Keith retirement also
gave him time to enjoy his garden, of which he was rightly proud and itwas always greatly admired by all who passed by.
Keith and Chris were always most welcoming and generous hosts;hospitality at ‘Limetrees’ was legendary, especially at New Year - thisyear being the first time in 56 years that the lights at ‘Limetrees’ did notshine out to welcome all who called to bring in the New Year.
Chris’s early death in 1995 changed life for Keith, however he stillkept his high standards and remained very independent. He continuedto take a great interest in village life and always supported any fund-raising events - there was no point in trying to guess the weight of thecake - Keith would win it, his time in the shop stood him in good stead.
A lifelong supporter of the Church, Keith attended every Sundayalways immaculately turned out sometimes passing comment if otherswere not suitably attired.
Carradale has lost a very special gentleman. Unfailingly courteous,with a cheery friendly smile and a mischievous sense of humour. Hewill be sadly missed by all, but remembered with much affection and forever held in high regard. Above all, Moira and Keith were a team, special friends, one rarelyseen without the other. Moira gave her dad an unsurpassed level ofcare and attention, which only a loving daughter can give - his passingleaves a huge gap in her life. R.M.F.
3 THE ANTLER 3
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NANCIE SMITH / McGLYNNNancie, who died just before Christmasaged 66, will be remembered as thevoice of Campbeltown. Throughout herlife she sought to defend her town fromthe onslaught of reorganisation, andfrom un-sympathetic moves to destroyits character and importance in Argyll.As one of the longest-serving Chair-persons of Campbeltown CommunityCouncil, and more recently asSecretary, she stood both for traditionalvalues and for long needed improve-ments to the town’s physical structure. A teacher and Deputy Head at Dalintober Primary School,she strove to instil in children the importance of community spiritand the need to enhance their lives and the lives of those aroundthem. Active in both European and American relations she wasinvolved in the exchange scheme with students of Amberg-Sulzbach, and was proud to promote naval relationships with thetown of Campbelltown in Pennsylvania. Long a part-time worker and informant to the CampbeltownCourier, she provided a home-grown knowledge of the structureof the town and of its social needs. Other organisations benefitedfrom her help including the local branch of the Leukaemia &Lymphoma Research Society, the Mull of Kintyre’s annual 10kilometre run and the Kintyre Community Forum web-site. Shewas also instrumental in helping establish the Argyll & Butebranch of the Council for Voluntary Service and the Dalintober &Millknowe Tenants & Residents Association. She supported thethe Association of Argyll & Bute Community Councils and waspreparing to stand for the Scottish National Party at the 2012Council elections. Sadly two of her ambitions were not realised -appointment as a Primary Head-teacher and the return of theBurgh Council, dissolved in 1975. On a personal level it seems only a few weeks ago that I mether outside the Campbeltown Co-op and enjoyed exchangingviews about Campbeltown and its affairs. She made no mentionof her own problems; her concerns were to see the town prosperthrough increased employment opportunities. I left the Co-opwith a feeling that with Nancie back in the fray as secretary toCampbeltown Community Council, the old fire will be re-kindledand the heat and glow generated last for at least another tenyears; unfortunately this was not to be. Nancie’s funeral service was held at Lorne and LowlandParish Church on Friday 23rd December 2011, and the burialtook place at Patchan Cemetery, where crashing waves will forever proclaim the power of her endeavour to battle againstbureaucracy and centralisation. G.P.
NEIL BONEFollowing the publication of Professor Roberts’ tribute to theinternationally renowned amateur astronomer Neil Bone in theJuly 2009 issue of the Antler, another distinguished Kintyreastronomer, Dr Alexander L. MacKinnon of the School ofEducation, University of Glasgow, has joined Ronald Roberts inseeking recognition of Neil’s achievements by raising funds for atangible memorial for the Campbeltown-born bio-chemist. One idea is that donations could be made to a Neil BonePrize fund through the agency of the Primary School he attendedor Campbeltown Grammar. Contact has also been made with theTreasurer of the The Kintyre Antiquarian and Natural HistorySociety, Elizabeth Marrison, in the hope that the Society may beable to suggest ways in which Campbeltonians have celebratedtheir illustrious forbears in the past. Co-incidentally Eric Dudley’s ambitious ideas to promoteCarradale as an excellent place to carry out astronomicalobservations was recognised by Neil, when, as a student at theGrammar ‘he used to cycle towards Carradale where there wasvery little light pollution and set up his personal observatory, adeck chair, a clipboard, pencils, a red torch and a pair of goodbinoculars. It was here that his great interest in the AuroraBorealis so frequently visible in Kintyre, noctilucent clouds, andmeteors began, and he became an international authority onthese, lecturing as far away as China’. If you wish to assist with this appeal please ring RonaldRoberts on 01586 554417 or the Editor on 01583 431281.
WILLIAM KENNEDY1896 -1915
In compiling a record of local war veter-ans, Charles Macmillan has made inter-esting discoveries on the Internet. Arecent one was 2/Lt William RobertKennedy of the 2nd Argyll & SutherlandHighlanders who was born in Carradaleand killed in action on 25th September1915, the first day of the battle of Loos.
William's service documents showthat he was born at Ardcarroch on 8thMarch 1896. He was the son of a DrKennedy who had married the previousyear in Elgin before coming south toCarradale to take up the post of medicalpractitioner. Disappointingly, no traceof the family's short stay here has so farbeen found in local records; no morechildren were registered here and as thename does not appear in the 1901 cen-sus it is assumed they returned north.
William was educated first at Dun-beath Public School then Tain RoyalAcademy and Wick High School beforeentering Aberdeen University in thesummer of 1914 to study medicine. Liketens of thousands of other young mennationwide who flocked to the colourson the outbreak of WW1, William enlist-ed at once and volunteered for overseasservice. On 4th August he and fellowundergraduates were mobilized to form'U' Company, 4th (City of Aberdeen)Battalion of the Gordon Highlanders.
The Battalion left Bedford for Francein February 1915 and for the next coupleof months they were on difficult anddangerous front line trench duties, butnot until 15th June were they engagedin a specific battle, Bellewarde, whichwas part of the 'murderous' 2nd battle ofYpres. The Battalion diary shows thatthey now took casualties in fierce fight-ing and encountered the first use of gas.
Several acts of heroism are record-ed for the student soldiers of 'U' Com-pany and William himself showedconspicuous bravery in carrying des-patches across a shell-swept zone,earning the congratulations of the Divi-sional Commander and recommenda-tion for a decoration. This episode, andno doubt others, must have shown spe-cial qualities of leadership in 19-year-oldWilliam and he was singled out for im-mediate promotion. A course of trainingat St Omer followed and August sawhim gazetted 2nd Lt. in the 2nd BattalionArgyll & Sutherland Highlanders. Only amonth later, however, he was killedleading his platoon in the initial assaultat Loos and is buried at CambrinChurchyard Extension.
Among the casualties on the sameday, many of whom have no knowngrave, was another Carradale man, Ser-jeant John Mitchell of the 8th BlackWatch, whose name is on our war me-morial.Charles would welcome names andphotographs for inclusion in the DVDrecord. A veteran does not necessarilyhave to have been born here to be eligi-ble - close association with Carradale,Skipness or Saddell is sufficient.
G.S.
TOM GRANTDip., Arch.,
R.I.B.A., R.I.A.S
Mobile 07770 538 661
24 Argyll StreetLochgilpheadArgyll PA31 8NE
Tel: 01546 603050
41 LongrowCampbeltownArgyll PA28 6ER
Tel: 01586 554727Fax: 01586 551727
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FEBRUARY 2012COPIES DELIVERED Volunteer distributor16 Shore Road Mary Donnelly22 Lochpark Margaret Campbell18 Quay Brae South Rachel McMurchy42 Broomfield - Ballymeanach Neenie McDougall13 Woodside Matt & Sheena Ramsay22 Hill 60 - Quay Brae North Shelagh Cameron40 Tormhor Jean Campbell18 Portrigh Morna Paterson22 School Park Mary Semple 8 Tosh’s Park Robert Strang19 Brackley Road Michael Foreman12 Torrisdale Dave Washington19 Saddell Wendy Vandome or temp16 Main Peninver Helen Owen13 Peninver & Ugadale David Byford11 High Peninver Mr Craig26 Campbeltown & Main Road Mary & Geoffrey Page18 Waterfoot Mary Page 5 River Bank Gail McIntosh 8 Mains & estate Mike Hurst84 Subscriptions, Public bod. Matt & Sheena Ramsay 2 Office454 TOTAL 460 ORDERED
4 THE ANTLER 4
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ANTLER DELIVERIESDuring the combined Network and Pump meet-ing on Wednesday 23rd of November the Editorwas asked about the effective cover of theAntler in East Kintyre. The Editor’s responsewas that every household between Grogport inthe north and Kilchousland in the south of Kin-tyre requesting a copy currently receives one.As this did not seem to satisfy the questioner,the information to the left and below may give aclearer picture. In general holiday home owners who occupytheir second homes infrequently, do not receivea free copy; some who visit regularly do. Infre-quent occupiers can subscribe so that copiesare sent to their home address. In at least onepart of Carradale holiday home owners/holidaylets/part-time residents match the number offull-time residents. Other delivery areas have anunrivalled record for delivering copies to almostevery house and even empty houses when achange of tenancy is in progress. In addition afew residents who know of the Antler’s exist-ence have not yet expressed a wish to receivea copy. What that says about universality ofdistribution, I am not sure. What it does say isthat for a free publication that reaches partswhich others may not; the extent of its coverageis a credit to the warrior band who battle witheverything from weather, narrow and badlyplaced letterboxes, snapping dogs to bring thegood or critical news from the Kintyre equivalentof Ghent to Aix.
There were 12 applications for a request of a totalof £12,396. Requests from Campbeltown Airbaseand Campbeltown Rugby Club were rejected on thebasis of the criteria laid down by Argyll and ButeCouncil in regard to our geographic area.The following grants were agreed: - Carradale Village Hall £ 3000 Carradale School £ 300 Crime Prevention £ 300 Homestart £ 200 Tosh’s Park Road repair £ 276 Carradale AFC £ 600 S.C.D.A. £ 500 Carradale Playpark , £ 300 Campbeltown Cinema £ 1000A further grant (Portrigh Steps) was deferred pend-ing clarification of land ownership. J.S.I.
CARRADALE GOLF CLUB200 CLUB MONTHLY AND SNOWBALL DRAW
The winners in the November, December andSnowball draws are as follows: - Prize November December 1st £30 A. Robertson S. Douglas 2nd £18 Sue Campbell Lindsay McGregor 3rd £12 Elma McClean Isobel Williamson 4th £ 6 Eleanor Robb R. Rixson SNOWBALL 1st £150 Alan Neilson 2nd £100 Dugie Campbell 3rd £ 50 James Allan J.S.I.
CHRISTMAS QUIZThe Christmas Quiz was held this year on Friday 30thDecember. The timing seemed to suit locals and visi-tors alike, as a record breaking 22 teams took part.There were so many in fact, that we had to hastily setout additional tables and create more answer sheets.It was a wonderful response and thank-you to all thosewho, despite the poor weather, turned out for the event. The tried and tested format was in place with tenrounds of ten questions in each and with teams aug-menting their total with the judicious use of a joker card. There were 29 perfect round scores recorded.Who says the questions are too hard?! The categories of Capitals, Christmas Music &Whose Voice were answered particularly well, Gener-al Knowledge more confidently than previously, butthe Sports Round proved demanding for most teamswith six being the highest total scored in the round. Congratulations to everyone. Most teams scoredaround 75% … very commendable and everyonecorrectly answered well over half of the questions. The team of Junior Biscuits made up the Aber-nethy family team of Gordon, Laura, Bobby and Caitlinwere there to defend their Winning position in lastyear’s Christmas Quiz. This they did with a magnifi-cent and unassailable score of 97… especially com-mendable as they had to forego their anniversarydinner to attend. Can they repeat this next year andmake it three in a row? Congratulations to them, allfour of them. They each received a mug filled withchocolates and the admiration of all. There were boxes of chocolates too, for the teamsof Shore Mor and Wee Sea View East who tied forsecond place with 91 points. The Marsupials were 4th,just one point behind, with a total of 90. Each teamtable was supplied with crisps and nibbles. The VillageHall Committee ran a bar throughout the evening andthere was a raffle with numerous prizes. Judging by the comments afterwards the Quiz waswell received and it had proved an enjoyable evening.
The Secretary,Margaret Richardson2 Old Schoolhouse,
Carradale,PA28 6QJ
Tel: 01583 431788
Servicing Motor andCommercial vehicles,Repairing & Servicing
Garden machinery& Outboards
Garden maintenance,Grass cutting
Hedge trimming& Fencing,
Paths and drivespressure washed.
Small building workundertaken,
Joiner, Plumbing,Tiling, Plastering.
JOHNNYDURNAN
CARRADALE’SODD JOB MAN
GIVE ME A CALLON 431365
REST AND BE THANKFULUNTIL THE NEXT TIME: A BRIEF HISTORY
‘The A83 at the Rest and be Thankful fully reopenedto traffic today (14th December). The road, whichhas been subject to closures during the hours ofdarkness to all vehicles except emergency vehiclessince a landslip earlier this month, will now be opento all traffic around the clock, although this remainssubject to weather conditions. Transport Scotlandoriginally announced the road would reopen 24hours a day yesterday morning. However, it laterhad to close because of the heavy rain and highwinds’. ‘Minister for Housing and Transport, KeithBrown said: "Since the landslip at the Rest and beThankful on 1 Dec and the clean up operation whichfollowed, our road engineers have been workinghard to find a solution to allow a full reopening of theroad on a 24 hour basis to general traffic. We arevery grateful to the local community who haveshown a great deal of patience as we worked to finda solution. The safety of road users is always ourfirst concern and must rightly remain so, and theclosures during darkness were necessary in ensur-ing this”. "Now that the gale force winds and heavy rainhas subsided floodlighting has been installed andtested along the section of road we know to besusceptible to landslip. This will allow conditions onthe road to be monitored through the night, addingan extra layer of safety for drivers. We must cautionthough that we are at the mercy of the weatherwhich in recent days has been extreme”. “Concerns remain about slope stability particu-larly during periods of heavy rain, and severe windsmay de-stabilise the floodlights which have beeninstalled. Should we find ourselves in a positionwhere monitoring during the hours of darknesscannot be undertaken, or that we find evidence oflandslip - then full or partial closures of the road maybe forced on us again. In the meantime we haveprocured additional instrumentation which we ex-pect to have in place before Christmas which willprovide an early visual indication of movement ofthe hillside, and increase the ability to monitor thehillside during the hours of darkness”. “Geo-technical experts continue to monitor thehillside for any further evidence of movement whichwill allow a quick response to events as they hap-pen. Traffic management is also in in place toprovide additional protection to road users. Sincethe last incident of a landslip in 2009 an earlywarning system has been installed, advising motor-ists of a higher risk of landslips occurring. Flexibleflow netting and a new culvert has also been in-stalled”.’
PIER HOUSE FIRETIMELY ARRIVAL OF LOCAL FIRE-FIGHTERS
In late November Fire and Rescue Services werecalled to the Pier House at Carradale Harbour. Twolocal Firemen, wearing breathing apparatus, wereable to extinguish the fire before it progressed intothe upper floor and before the arrival of a Campbel-town crew; this followed a chimney fire a few weeksearlier at the same premises. No one was hurt as aresult of either fire.
A NEW CHESTNUTOn New Year’s Day excavations were in progresson the narrow strip of land between the road and the‘School path’. It was not the scene of a water leakor electric fault but a gift to the village of a chestnuttree by some public spirited residents. Thanks.
LOAN AND BE THANKFULJUGGLING WITH ACRONYMS
SKADG HELPS SKDT OUT OF A FDIt looked as though all the good work that the SouthKintyre Development Trust does was in jeopardy justbefore Christmas, as it tried to cope with a cash flowsituation due to a delay in the retrospective processingof Leader funding. Fortunately the South Kintyre Area DevelopmentGroup, previously called The Dalintober and MillknoweTenants and Residents Association, although techni-cally ‘on hold’ since their AGM in June, still had abalance of over £2,300 in its bank account from thetime when ABC and Government agencies decidedthat DMTRA no longer served an area of housingdeprivation, and diverted support to SKDT which cov-ers the whole land area of South Kintyre. Anxious to keep SKDT financially secure, SusanPaterson asked SKADG members if they were pre-pared to lend SKDT £2,000 interest free until its grantarrived. The response was very positive especiallysince SKADG already supports SKDT and the originalagreement was for a minimum of £2,000!
FERRY FARESCHANGES TO R.E.T
The leader of Argyll and Bute Council has welcomedthe principle of an extension to the Road EquivalentTariff (RET) scheme. However, Councillor Dick Walshexpressed his disappointment that the introduction ofsome of the routes affecting Argyll and Bute islandswas still some way off. The RET scheme involvessetting ferry fares on the basis of the cost of travellingan equivalent distance by road.
Transport Scotland announced that the scheme –which had previously covered only part of the WesternIsles, Coll and Tiree – would be rolled out on a phasedbasis. First to begin a new pilot will be Colonsay, Gighaand Islay, although RET will not start there until afterthe 2012 summer season in October 2012.
In the case of the two Arran routes (Brodick andClaonaig) RET will not kick in until after the 2014summer season in October 2014, three years fromnow.The others – including the two Bute routes, Iona,Lismore and three Mull routes – will be rolled out ‘withinthe terms of this Parliament’.
The Tarbert-Portavadie route is not mentioned atall in Transport Scotland’s plans. Councillor Walshsaid: “We are pleased that a wider range of islandcommunities are going to benefit from RET, because itis evident from the first pilot that the scheme has anearly beneficial effect on island communities andeconomies.
FUEL TAXRURAL FUEL REBATE
I am writing to you today to update you on ourcampaign’s progress over the past few months. In March 2011, the UK Government formally ap-plied to the European Commission for permission tocut tax on the fuel sold in rural areas of Scotland. Justa few weeks ago, this application was approved by theEuropean Commission, opening the way to the RuralFuel Rebate becoming a reality. I am sure you willagree that this is a major step forward in delivering acut in fuel prices for rural motorists. I will continue topress my Liberal Democrat colleagues in the UK Gov-ernment to introduce the 5p price reduction as soon asis practical. I will continue to keep you updated as thecampaign progresses towards a successful conclu-sion. In the meantime, if I can be of any assistance toyou, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours Sincerely, George Lyon, MEP.
6 THE ANTLER 6
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FUEL GROUP MEETING: NO 1,THURSDAY 17TH NOVEMBER 2011 AT THE VILLAGE HALL
PRESENT: Marcus Adams, Shelagh Cameron, Molly Dodds, Eric Dud-ley, Catharine Forbes, Jim Galbraith, Sue Harris, Cameron McNair,John McMillan, Mary McMillan, Lachie Paterson, Morna Paterson, Ken-neth Semple, Mary Semple and Robert Strang.The meeting was chaired by Shelagh Cameron.BACKGROUND: Shelagh explained the background to the competitionand related the conversations she has had with Terence Barker Ltd, apotential supplier of an above ground tank system. Unfortunately theyhad not yet supplied a detailed price. Eric Dudley explained that he hadbeen in contact with the Big Lottery to ask if part of the grant moneycould be used to buy the first consignment of fuel and so act as a float.They replied that this would not be possible.ROLES TO BE FILLED. A suggested list of roles to be filled waspresented. It was decided that we should not attempt to fill the roles nowbut think about it with a view to assigning roles at the next meeting.1. Overall coordination. Coordination both of the process of putting theproposal together but also of the long term implementation.2. Technical. Determining the technical specification and prices.3. Organizational. How are other communities running their fillingstation and what is our proposal?4. Business. When all the information is available, writing the businessplan. In the meantime determining whether we need to set up a compa-ny now and a merchant account – what costs are involved.5. Legal. Are we correct in thinking that by using the Semple site we areOK for planning and other regulations? If not what is required? What arelong term legal requirements regarding maintenance, inspection, andinsurance? What form of contract should we have with the Semples?Who are “we” for legal purposes?6. Fund raising. Depending on the above issues, what additionalmoney is required and where can we get it, and how quickly?7. Proposal writing. When all the information is available pulling ittogether into the formal application.
TECHNICAL DISCUSSIONKenneth Semple gave an invaluable briefing about many of the techni-cal and financial issues surrounding running a fuel business. Among thepoints were:
· The profit was around 3 to 3.5 pence per litre.· The price paid to the supplier includes the tax.· The tanks capacity was 20,000 litres but they were never full.· The annual consumption was around 225,000 litres each of petrol
and diesel.· Due to some rural enterprise scheme he did not have to pay rates
on the fuel business.· Due to the small size of the installation they had not been required
to install an inceptor. This is a significant issue since TerenceBarker Ltd, the potential supplier of the new system, has suggest-ed that we would need an inceptor. Ken undertook to look into thisand the situation regarding whether Argyll and Bute would allow anabove ground petrol tank.
ORGANIZATIONAL DISCUSSIONIt was explained that the Big lottery required an organization to pay themoney to and that the organization could not be a public body such asa Community Council. It would have to either be Network Carradale ora new Community Interest Company established for the purpose. Theconsensus was that it would probably make sense for Network Car-radale to adopt the project. One suggestion was that the project shouldbe described as a joint venture initiated by the Community Council andimplemented by Network Carradale. It was agreed that at the nextmeeting we should decide how best to proceed.There was also a consensus that it was urgent that we learnt more ofthe experiences of Applecross and other communities which alreadyhave a community petrol station. Shelagh said she would try and revivecontacts with Applecross.
FINANCIAL DISCUSSIONIt was explained that under the rules of the competition there was norequirement for matching funding. However, although the prices for theinstallation were not yet available it seemed pretty clear that for theproject to work it would need additional funds. It was explained thatunder the rules of the Village SOS completion the Big Lottery elementof the funding had to be the majority component, which means that the
maximum which we could raise from other sources would be one penceless than £30,000.There was discussion about the Wind-farm Trust. The next meeting isnot due until March but it was felt that an earlier meeting could bearranged if need be.Morna Paterson undertook to pursue possible funding leads in Argylland Bute Council.
LEGAL DISCUSSIONThere were concerns raised about:
· Health and safety issues around above ground tanks.· Would the established use of the Semple Garage be sufficient
Planning Permission to cover above ground tanks, bearing in mindthat they are considered ‘mobile’?
· Was the Semple’s generous offer to host the installation on theirsite going to raise complications for them, particularly if they want-ed to sell their property? Would this be a problem for the proposal?
Nothing was decided on how to advance these issues but we agreedthat they were urgent.
MAILING LIST AND SKILLS AUDITThe e-mail addresses of those who wanted to be kept informed aboutprogress were collected. There was also an attempt to collect details ofrelevant areas of interest or skills. The one result from this was that JimGalbraith is an engineer with technical interests who could be a usefulresource on the technical aspects of this projectNEXT MEETING The next meeting was arranged to be on Wednesday23rd November at the Network Centre.If there are any significant inaccuracies or omissions in this report pleaselet me know (Eric Dudley) at [email protected] and I’ll attempt to fixit. Also if you have any relevant information or documentation that youwish to share please send it to me and I’ll put it on the fuel page atwww.villageweb.org.uk Eric Dudley.
FUEL GROUP MEETING: NO 2WEDNESDAY 23TH NOVEMBER AT THE NETWORK CENTRE
PRESENT Marcus Adams, Alasdair Bennett, Shelagh Cameron, EricDudley, Jim Galbraith, Sue Harris, Mike Hurst, Donald Macalister HallAlan Milstead, Geoffrey Page, Lachie Paterson, Morna Paterson, Ken-neth Semple, Robert Strang, Catriona Trott, Malcolm Trott, Jim William-son. Alan Walker and Stuart Irvine were present for the beginning of themeeting. The meeting was chaired by Shelagh Cameron.OUTCOMESImplementation. It was agreed that the project was initiated by theCommunity Council and will be implemented by Network Carradale.Technical. Jim Galbraith agreed to coordinate the development of thetechnical proposal.Business. Morna Paterson agreed to coordinate the development of thebusiness plan.Organizational. Shelagh Cameron agreed to coordinate the develop-ment of the proposal for community management of the project.Fund Raising. Robert Strang agreed to coordinate fund raising, thougheverybody agreed there was an urgent need to first know what costswere involved.Proposal. Eric Dudley agreed to coordinate the assembly of the finalproposal, providing the bits not covered by the business plan. He alsoundertook to place information on the web site and liaise with thecompetition organizers where necessary.Legal. Nobody undertook the responsibility to look at the legal issuessuch a planning, health and safety, environmental regulations, and thecontract with the Semples. It was suggested that the Technical teamshould look at the planning issues.Marketing. Nobody undertook to specifically address marketing but itwill be implicit in the business plan. Eric Dudley.
A third meeting was held on Wednesday 30th November and othersmay follow before the February deadline for second stage submissions.
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WOODEN IT BE NICE?In a peninsula with extensive cover of Forestry Commission andprivately owned conifer plantations, it is not surprising that trees havea unique place in the memory and in the future of its residents. During the war years, when timber of all sorts was a priority, needwas distinctly more important than preserving natural habitats. Afterboth the first and second World Wars preservationists saw thecontinuing blanket of sitka spruce and other non-native trees as a bloton the landscape and caused the Forestry Commission to slowlychange its attitude, embracing environmental issues concerned withrecreation and the re-instatement of community planting of native trees. The Commission was always an important employer in Kintyre butas harvesting methods changed and mechanised harvesting becamecommon, there was less need for local forest workers and contractingout to private companies became the order of the day. With a steadydecline in the coal industry and the rise of nuclear energy as a meansof producing electricity, even pit props lost their place in the hierarchyof uses. When nuclear became a dirty word, oil and gas seemed the way togo but when North Sea products started to wane and the Soviet Union,having lost its prestige with perestroika, saw its untapped reserves asa way of returning to the power scene - prices rose. Now, in Scotland, with little SNP support for nuclear energy, windand water schemes are proliferating, slowly at first, but quickening asresistance to violent changes to the landscape grows amongpreservationists. Wood has emerged from this period with a somewhatindifferent reputation, but in chip form is providing a heat source fordomestic and some business applications. Although its polluting aspectis not so prominent as coal was in the early 1990s when Argyll and ButeCouncil was concerned about air quality in Tarbert and some parts ofCampbeltown, wood has emerged as an increasingly important fuel forthose without town gas and who find it difficult to keep up with the risingcost of premium heating oil and bulk deliveries of ‘liquid’ gas. More sophisticated systems working on ground heat and reverserefrigeration principles are becoming available, especially for newproperties, but with large numbers of properties remaining up for salein some areas of Kintyre, there is little interest in new building exceptfor those who have sold to advantage in areas, where house priceshave been much higher than they are locally. However, for those of more modest means, wood has been in useas a fuel for centuries where it can be procured from the sea or fromlocal woods, but with Forestry Commission detritus becoming morecommonly available and wood and multi-fuel stoves, with or withoutback boilers, now humping their way into a number of homes, there isa resurgence of interest among those who traditionally chose oil orelectricity for heating and hot water. There are, however, a few ‘brace & belt’ owners who are preparedto house a multi-fuel system, but the initial costs out-way the advantageof being able to switch when the price of one fuel rises significantly.Solar water heating is becoming more popular and if you believe whatadverts say about the pay-back advantages of solar heating, you maybe tempted to add yet another ‘logue’ to the conflagration. Perhaps a more sensible and environmentally friendly move is tojoin the cuckoo, swallows and house martins (and some Kintyreresidents) and spend the winter months in the rocky and tree-lessslopes of Spain and Portugal, returning in the spring to greet yetanother cold and wet summer with the secure knowledge that anymoney saved on fuel will have been lost by ambitious anduntrustworthy bankers.
THE 'VALIANT HEARTS' WALKThe sponsored walk in aid of Erskine Hospital, which seems set tobecome an annual event, took place on 19th November. CharlesMacMillan and Mark Charlswoood, started from Campbeltown Warmemorial at 7am and followed the Kintyre Way, arriving at their goal,Carradale Memorial, in near darkness shortly after 4pm. The distancecovered, 27 miles, was slightly more than intended owing to anunscheduled detour but the two walkers were in good heart whenwelcomed back by friends and relations for soup and sandwiches at theCruban. The total raised by sponsorship was £950. £700 will go toErskine Hospital and £250 towards the cost of the cleaning, repairs andtidying up of the Carradale Memorial and it's garden. In bright sunshineon Remembrance Sunday the improvements were much appreciatedand admired by the larger than usual attendance.Charles and Mark would like to thank everybody for their support.
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COUNCILTHE SITUATION: JANUARY 2012Despite scouring notice-boardsand bus shelters, with a camera atthe ready, the Editor was unableto find the minutes of the Decem-ber meeting of East Kintyre Com-munity Council. Two residents who attendedthe meeting, one as an office-holder, and the other as a memberof the public, said that both theConvenor Shelagh Cameron andthe Vice Convenor, Lachie Pater-son had resigned their positions,leaving the appointment of theirsuccessors to the meeting on Feb-ruary 2nd. It is not clear whetherShelagh and Lachie remain asmembers of the Community Coun-cil. Some time ago the Communi-ty Council were asked to increasethe number of councillors from 7 to10 but the Convenor decided notto follow Argyll and Bute Council’sadvice. Now with the possibility ofhaving 7 or less councillors, six orless representing Carradale andonly one serving East Kintyresouth of Saddell Burn to theCampbeltown border, the demo-cratic representation is unbal-anced and probably inadequate.
9 THE ANTLER 9
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NOVEMBER RAINFALLNovember was a month of two distinct halves. Upuntil Wednesday 16th there had been a total of26mm (just over an inch of rain) and on nine daysno rainfall was recorded. It all changed on the 17th.The second half of the month was wet, at times verywet and rainfall was recorded on every day. There were notably high daily totals on the 18th,24th, 25th, & 26th when 24mm, 12mm, 25mm,15mm were recorded. The wettest day of all, wasthe 29th when there was a massive 35mm (an inchand a half.) The accumulated total rainfall for Novemberwas 189 mm (over seven and a half inches.) Butwith the relatively dry start to the month the total isbelow average for November although you wouldbe forgiven for thinking otherwise as to all appear-ances it was a dull, dreary and wet. With just one more month to go the annual totalto date is 1684mm. Of the eleven years of ourrecords 2011 is plumb in the middle. So whether itis an annual figure above or below average willdepend entirely as to what rainfall we get in Decem-ber….
DECEMBER RAINFALL….and what did we get ? Rain, Rain, and moreRain. Rainfall was again recorded on every day ofthe month with high rainfall on many of them whichresulted in a monthly total of 327mm (over 13inches). This statistic reflects the highest monthly totalfor December during the time that we have beenkeeping records. Country wide statistics record thehighest rainfall ever and if we had not had a drySpring it would have been a record breaking yearhere too, but the annual total for 2011 in this area is2011 mm (80.44 inches). This is in fact our 4thhighest annual total behind:- 2004 2253mm 90 (90.12) inches 2002 2189mm 88 (87.89) inches 2006 2050mm 82 (82.00) inches.It is into the New year that I write this report andcontinuing very stormy strong winds and accompa-nying heavy rain makes it a very wet start to 2012. M.L.
INITIATIVEITISCCC, VHC, EKCC, CHUG, & AD HOCIANA
ACRONYMIC CONFUSION?While most local groups have an independent andseparate role, why do the same or similar facesappear on almost every committee? One pre-Christmas example was the sudden, late and dra-matic appearance of a well-known resident at themonthly meeting of the Camera Club when heshould have been at a ‘road fuel’ meeting in theVillage Hall the following evening. Confused bybeing an uninvited guest of the CCC and at theVillage Hall on the same night, he came and wentwith such speed that he left photographers some-what ‘over-exposed’ to the November night air. Nodoubt his ‘snappy’ action may have surprised somenew-comers to the hobby, but whether it encour-aged him to ‘develop’ his artistic side or to add yetanother committee to his blossoming repertoire isnot known.
SCHOOL NEWS
CHRISTMAS CONCERTOn Tuesday 13th, the school Christmas concert wasperformed to a large audience. The pupils put onthree plays: 'The Nativity', 'Snowmen at Sunset' and'Pirates with Molly on Board'. As well as the plays,the p4-7 recorder group played 'Jingle Bells' and thenplayed 'Good King Wenceslas' on the bells; ElliotGemmill sang 'The Twelve days of Christmas', whichthe audience joined in with. The school raised £280and would like to thank everyone who came along tothe concert.
CHRISTMAS LUNCHOn Thursday 15th December, the school held itsChristmas lunch which the community were invitedto. 44 members of the community joined staff andpupils for a wonderful Christmas Lunch. We wouldlike to thank the community members for joining usfor lunch and Mrs Sheena Ramsay for cooking alovely meal.
Carradale Primary has recently achieved Eco-Schools Green Flag Award status and received their secondgreen flag. On awarding this to the school, Eco-School Scotland said, "Despite a falling school role, I wasdelighted to read that Carradale Primary has been carrying on its environmental activities from previousAward most thoroughly, as well as having many good ideas for the future. In so doing, you have continued toinvolve parents, members of your local community and environmental agencies. In particular, I was pleasedto note that you were making super use of your outside space for learning and teaching and taking part, mostsuccessfully, in the Forest Schools' Initiative. Well Done!" Reports by Lynn Galbraith.
CARRADALE PRIMARY GET THEIR SECOND ECO-SCHOOLS GREEN FLAG AWARD
10 THE ANTLER 10
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BARCLAYCARD CALLINGA former Barclays Unicorn Trust employee wasinterested to receive a welcoming call from a Glas-gow voiced agent offering to make him more awareof the facilities offered by Barclaycard. Warming to his declared familiarity with Car-radale, the resident answered the request for hisyear of birth, but stopped short when he was askedfor his e-mail address. Surprised by the lack ofco-operation the enquirer was somewhat disap-pointed when he was thanked for his call and thetelephone was switched off . Barclaycard was contacted through the tele-phone number on a monthly statement and, afterfighting through seemingly endless automatic proc-esses, an Indian gentleman was told what hadhappened; he said he would consult the fraud de-partment. After some delay he confirmed that Bar-claycard had not been in contact earlier that dayand that a scam had been attempted which couldhave had costly implications. So, once again, the warning goes out – don’t tellanyone telephoning you anything about your af-fairs; if they are genuinely representatives of abanking, investment, insurance, telephone or elec-tricity company, they already have your details.
KANGAROO TEARS?“I had an email this morning from, allegedly, JohnDixon, who was 'writing with tears in his eyes'because he had been on a short holiday in Spainand robbed AT GUNPOINT in the street, relieved ofall money, credit cards, mobile phone etc and wasdestitute and urgently needed help....!!!! The mes-sage was preceded by a warning from some secu-rity mechanism that it might not be all that itseemed. I'll say!” A Carradale resident received thismessage supposedly from someone she knowswho lives in Australia. Subsequently she had ane-mail from the real John Dixon saying that he hasbeen a victim of cyber-crime and had all contactaddresses etc stolen, hence the pathetic appeal.He was with ‘btinternet’ but has now changed hise-mail address. If you receive a message like this,contact your friend by land line or mobile and see if(a) he is in trouble, (b) is still having difficulty return-ing home or (c) is aware of his computer identitybeing compromised.
CINEMA GRANTIt has just been announced on the RBS CommunityForce web-site that we have won £6,000 to gotowards our new digital projection equipment. Thank you and all those you dragooned intohelping so very much for your support. It was onlybecause each one of you bothered that we are inthis position. You had to be extremely determinedto jump through all the necessary hoops to achievethe chance to vote, but it all paid off. The rest of theBoard of Campbeltown Community Business Ltd.(The Picture House) join me in thanking you mostsincerely. What a fillip and credit for our small town,you have kept this cinema going as a communitybusiness for over 20 years. It was touch and go on the last morning ofvoting, our rivals were racing up behind our score,50 behind us the night before, then 30 first thing inthe morning and we reckon we finished up with 443votes, about 18 ahead of our pursuer! Please keepan eye on our web-site www.wee pictures.co.uk forfurther news and developments in The CentenaryProject. With best wishes, Jane Mayo.
CREDIT AT 27.2%HOME IMPROVEMENTS LOANS
Argyll and Bute Council’s trading standards team iswarning the public to be on their guard when it comesto signing credit agreements for home improvements.Trading standards has received several complaintsfrom consumers regarding particular home improve-ment company salespeople. These salespeople visit your home to quote forpotential work and then encourage householders tosign up to credit agreements that they do not fullyunderstand. One local consumer, a 78 year old lady, wasgiven a ten year credit agreement with an APR of27.2%. The original cash price for the work was£5000; but under the agreement she would end uppaying the company £13,172.80 in total. She had noidea that what was she was signing for was in fact acredit agreement. Another gentleman was told by the sales rep thatif he signed up to a credit agreement he would begiven six months of interest free payments. At thattime the gentleman had the money to pay off thebalance in full, but was advised that he would benefitfrom a discount if he signed the Credit Agreement.After six months passed, the gentleman called up topay off the balance for the work done and found thatinterest had in fact been charged during the suppos-edly interest free period. Chair of the Planning, Protective Services andLicensing Committee Councillor Daniel Kelly said, “When a consumer signs a contract in their homethey are entitled to a cancellation period of sevendays. This starts as soon as they are given thecancellation notice. It is an offence for a company ortrader to enter into a contract under these conditionsif they do not provide the consumer with such acancellation notice. If a consumer cancels the con-tract within the notice period this automatically can-cels any Credit Agreements attached to it. Howeverif you cancel the credit agreement after the cancella-tion period, they will be liable for the cost of the workdone. If you are not sure what you are signing thendon’t sign.” Anyone who need more advice on credit agree-ments should contact Consumer Direct on 0845 4040506 or Trading Standards on 01546 604 404.
A SOUND INVESTMENTHORSE TRADING AT ITS BEST
Young Paddy bought a donkey from a farmer for £100.The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the next day.The next day he drove up and said, ' Sorry son, but I
have some bad news. The donkey's died.'Paddy replied, ' Well then just give me my money
back.'The farmer said, ' Can't do that. I've already spent it.'Paddy said, ' OK, then, just bring me the dead donkey.'The farmer asked, ' What are you going to do with
him?'Paddy said, ‘ I'm going to raffle him off.'The farmer said, 'You can't raffle a dead donkey!'Paddy said, ' Sure I can. Watch me. I just won't tell
anybody he's dead.'A month later, the farmer met up with Paddy and
asked, ' What happened with that dead donkey?'Paddy said, 'I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two
pounds a piece and made a profit of £998'.The farmer said, ' Didn't anyone complain?'Paddy said, ' Just the guy who won. So I gave him his
two pounds back.'Sent in by Isabella Soudan of Lochgilphead.
11 THE ANTLER 11
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FORGET PENSIONERS CARRYING THE OLYMPIC TORCHWE HAVE THREATS OF OLYMPIAN BELLS
While there may well be a valid reasonto celebrate the Olympics coming to theUK, the extent of the celebrationsstretching over eighteen months sinceLondon was awarded the honour is be-ginning to take its ‘toll’ on those of uswho are not particularly competitive, na-tionalistic or keen to celebrate physicalrecords being broken. Although Scotland may become in-veigled in some serious and worthwhileway, the most recent and most unlikelyScottish contribution has come fromMartin Creed, a Glasgow born artistliving in the East End of London. With little understanding of the im-practicability of what he is proposing inasking for bells of all kinds to be ‘rung asquickly as possible for three minutes’ tocelebrate the opening of the games, hemay be successful in persuading‘sporty’ Scotsmen to press their own ortheir neighbour’s door doorbell for threeminutes, but he may greeted with a pealof abuse on his Olympic performance. Some churches and the CentralCouncil of Church Bell-ringers have putthe death knell of a ‘half muffle’ on their‘clappers’ and closed tower doors to anyyoung inexperienced ringers keen totake part. At least one national newspaper hasalso shown its ignorance of campanol-ogy in showing pictures of bells in anumber of towers with descriptionswhich didn’t ‘ring true’. Great Paul fromSt Paul’s Cathedral (16.5 tons), GreatGeorge of Liverpool Anglican Cathedral(14.5 tons) and Great Tom of Oxford (6tons) were ‘cast’ with pictures of unrelat-ed frames elsewhere in the UK, withmuch lighter bells. So the Creed initiative, with little torecommend it to encourage ringers tomake the steep and exhausting climbsto bell-chambers, will be discordant anddoomed to fail – much like the penchantfor expecting average to good athletesto perform like champions. I’m afraid itwill be left to a few cycle bells, schoolbells and hand-bell groups to celebratethe event. Martin’s ‘creed’ and ‘artisticcalling’ are inexorably of the same ‘ilk’;he certainly has his work cut out if he isto surpass his 2001 Turner prize-win-ning work No 79 entitled - ‘Some Blu-
Tak kneaded, rolled into a ball, anddepressed against a wall’. While any really Olympian task iswell beyond Martin Creed’s range, hecould try ringing the tenor bell dedicatedto St Molaise in the tower at Inveraray –it weighs in at 41cwt (2112kgs), andwould take him much longer than theallocated three minutes to get it to makea single chiming sound; learning to ringthe bell from its inverted position wouldtake months of practise, and need anexperienced campanologist to augmentthe muscular development he has ob-tained by rolling Blu-Tak into a ball. It was a much more sympathetictreatment of bells on BBC2 on 7th andon BBC4 8th of December when theorchestral conductor Charles Hazle-wood managed to combine three localtowers and a large group of hand-bellringers in a festival of bell sounds in thesquare of Great St Mary’s in Cambridge,while the street market was in progress. The following week Richard Taylor,(no intrinsic connection with the novelistDorothy L. Sayers about Lord PeterWimsey’s investigations and the story ofmysterious deaths associated with anemerald and nine Taylor bells,) intro-duced an encyclopedic history of bellson BBC2, which was also repeated aday later on BBC4. No doubt as weapproach the Olympics and programmeplanners try to keep non-sporting fami-lies interested in watching the TV, bothprogrammes may be repeated againand again and again.
INVERARAY BELLS‘In 1914 the 10th Duke of Argyll, Niall Diarmid Campbell,became the Honorary Colonel of The 8th Battalion of TheArgyll and Sutherland Highlanders. When the First WorldWar ended he decided that there should be a fittingmemorial to commemorate the Clan Campbell dead. Tothis end he commissioned architects Hoare and Wheelerto design the Bell Tower, the original idea being to link thenew tower to the church’. ‘At the same time John Taylor and Company of Lough-borough were approached to cast a ring of 10 bells suita-ble for the memorial. As the housing for the bells would notbe finished until well after they were cast, a woodenslatted annexe that allowed the bells to be chimed via akeyboard was built nearby. The bells were cast in 1920 inLoughborough. Their transport from there to Inveraray,which took place in November 1921, was less thansmooth. The first lorry broke down in Lancashire. Thenwhen the second lorry reached ‘The Little Rest’ on thelower part of the old ‘Rest and Be Thankful road’ it wouldgo no further. The treble bell and ironwork frames had tobe unloaded to allow the lorry to continue the ascent.However even this was not enough and the second bellhad to be left behind as well before the lorry made it to thesummit. The abandoned bells and frames were retrievedthe following day’. ‘The construction of the 126 foot high tower wasbegun in 1921 and completed ten years later in 1931. Thebells were then taken from the annexe and hoisted intotheir proper place, where they can still be seen today. Thewhole exercise had cost just over £21,000 (approximately£1 million in today’s money!)’.
Source: The Inveraray Bells web-site.
AND A TINKLEThe absence of electricity over the New Year period, anda necessary return to analogue phones, left Kintyre tele-phones cut off from other parts of Britain; some mobileswere also out of action. Surprised by an automatic callfrom the electricity supplier some residents received arequest to comment on its service. In agreeing they wereasked to press button 1 and were promptly cut off. Replac-ing the phone and lifting it again customers were informedthere was something wrong with the service!
ANOTHER CLANGERThe loss of Oliver Postgate and RonaldSearle in the last twelve months has leftthe 1950s and 1960s generation withlittle of cultural value to pass on to itsgrandchildren. Children’s TV moved toBlue Peter, and more colourful pro-grammes like Rainbow, Telly-tubbies,Balamory, Wallace & Gromit, Shaun theSheep, and more recently to theSplatalot game-show where youngsterstake risks which youth leaders andteachers have long been advised toavoid. What will 2012 bring to children’sTV? Will it force parents to turn off, visitthe library and ask for an unexpurgatedcopy of Grimm’s Fairy Stories?
Photo and text from the Inveraray bell-tower web-site.
Local make-up artist Diana Mackenzie has justreturned from Birmingham Clothes Show Live,where she worked alongside Kimberly Wyatt, exPussycat Doll promoting Kimberly’s new mineralmake up range called BM Beauty. Diana assisted Kimberly Wyatt and Laura Mc-Comiskie, Co-founders of BM Beauty to launchtheir mineral make up brand. Diana was involved inapplying the mineral make up to potential clients aswell as Kimberly’s fan base who were keen to tryout the new make up worn and developed by theiridol. Kimberly was also performing at the ClothesShow Live with her new band ‘Her Majesty and theWolves’ along with making numerous appearancesat the BM Beauty stand meant there was never adull moment during her presence! ‘BM Beauty is proud that their make up prod-ucts and ingredients are cruelty free and have thestamp of approval from the BUAV and PETA. BMBeauty make up is also free from bismuth oxychlo-ride, parabens, nano particles and synthetic dyesand fragrances’.
DAD’S ARMY:ARNOLD RIDLEY
One of the perennial features of ChristmasTV is the re-appearance of ‘Dad’s Army’.Although quite a few of the platoon are nowdead, at least one has had his real militarycareer reviewed in an authoritative maga-zine devoted to military history. The January issue of ‘Britain at War’contains a double page spread about thewartime experiences of the most venerablemember of the cast of Dad’s Army, ArnoldRidley, appearing as Private Charles God-frey. The highlight of his appearance in oneepisode was while recovering in bed he wasvisited by the platoon who had only recentlyignored him because of his theatrical roleas a conscientious objector in an earliercampaign. In the scene a photographshowed Private Godfrey with the MilitaryMedal, awarded for his gallantry as astretcher bearer for rescuing wounded menon the Somme. In real life Arnold Ridley served in theSomerset Light Infantry after being initiallyrejected because of a toe injury. In traininghe was found to be an excellent shot forwhich he was awarded the crossed riflestrade badge – a mark of distinction thebadge which he removed from his uniformas he didn’t want to become a sniper. He received a shrapnel wound in theback at Arras, but after hospital treatmenthe was sent ‘over the top’ at the attack atDeauville Wood where he was struck overthe head, bayoneted in the groin and thehand. Fifteen surgical operations saved thehand but three fingers remained almostuseless for the rest of his life; he was dis-charged on health grounds, with the rankLance Corporal. Having unsuccessfully attempted to es-tablish a film company between the wars,Ridley rejoined the army in 1939 with therank of Major in the Intelligence Corps andagain saw active service with the BritishExpeditionary Force in France during theSecond World War. He suffered shell-shockas he escaped from Boulogne on the lastdestroyer to leave France in May 1940when it was repeatedly dive-bombed. On returning to Britain he was repri-manded for not declaring previous warwounds and was invalided out of the Armybut served in ENSA, the Entertainment Na-tional Services Association. He also joinedthe Local Defence Volunteers (the forerun-ner of the Home Guard) but was dischargedonce again because of his injuries.
‘During this timehe adapted theAgatha Christienovel ‘Peril at EndHouse’ into aWest End play.He worked regu-larly as an actor,including an ap-pearance in the1964 British com-edy ‘Crooks in
Cloisters’. He was also known for playingDoughy Hood in the radio soap ‘The Arch-ers’ in the 1960s. However he only becamea household name during the 1970s whenhe was offered the role of Private CharlesGodfrey, the gentle platoon medic in one ofthe most successful British sitcoms: ‘Dad'sArmy’. He appeared in other productionsand wrote more than thirty plays amongwhich was ‘The Ghost Train’ which went to665 performances in London and wasmade into a film three times. He continuedto appear into his eighties and was appoint-ed an OBE in the Queen's New Year'sHonours List of 1982, for services to thetheatre. Arnold died in 1984 aged 88’. If you see another episode of ‘Dad’sArmy’ over the next few years look out forPrivate Godfrey’s damaged hand – if its notdiscretely concealed behind his back. With thanks to G.S. for a loan of themagazine ‘Britain at War’ and to Wikipaediafor further details on his professionalachievements.Editor’s comment:For those of us who are old enough toremember the Second World War it is sur-prising that so much attention is given tocomedy and to serious comment about as-pects of both the first and second WorldWars. What is even more surprising is theinterest shown by today’s teenagers. Thepomposity of Mainwaring, the meek sub-mission of Uncle Arthur, the simple antics ofthe black-market ‘spiv’ Joe Walker, Corpo-ral Jones enthusiasm, the critical Scottisheye of Fraser and the actions of Mother’sboy Frank are unique examples of creativewriting and, in addition, a reasonably life-like portrayal of what often happened insmall towns in Britain, in church halls, Ob-server Corps buildings & Warden dug-outs.
Pictured: Diana Mackenzie and Kimberly Wyatt.
SNAP, CRAIC-EL AND POPThe Carradale Camera Club celebrate the end of
another successful year. Photo courtesy of JohnnyDurnan and the Carradale Goat web-site.
