Issuu

january 2016

FRE 1 CO E PY

No.256 Distributed to: • Bishopton • Bridge of Weir • Brookfield • Elderslie • Houston • Howwood • Kilbarchan • Kilmacolm • Langbank • Lochwinnoch • Quarriers

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January 2016

No. 256

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Bridge at Duchal Castle by Anna McIlree

your LOCAL community magazine

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Expert Gutter Cleaning With Winter now well and truly here the wind has now blown the last of the leaves off the trees and unfortunately many of them are now lying in our gutters along with moss, twigs, etc blocking the gutter and stopping the water from flowing down the spout where it should go. We use a state of the art carbon fibre gutter vacuum system which is safer for your gutters and safer for us giving a more efficient & effective clean than old fashioned methods whilst potentially saving you money. Call now for a free quote. 01505 863 863.

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Renfrewshireâ€™s Divorce and Family Law Specialist with over 23 Years Experience Dual Accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Family and Child Law. Affinity Family Law is an expert Family Law practice in Bridge of Weir established by Isabella McKerrow. Isabella has 23 yearsâ€™ experience in family law. She is uniquely placed, and is able to offer a top of the range legal service, having practised as an Advocate (Barrister) for the last eleven years specialising in family law at the Scottish Bar. As an Advocate Isabella was instructed in complex high value divorce claims and family and child law cases in the courts throughout Scotland. She has taught family law and delivered seminars at Family Law conferences. Isabella returned to practice as a solicitor in 2015 to set

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up Affinity Family Law and bring to Renfrewshire a highly specialised family law service. The firm has consulting facilities to meet with clients in Bridge of Weir and Glasgow city centre. Consultations are also available by Skype. As well as Divorce and Family law issues, other legal services such as wills, executries and powers of attorney are available. Visit our website for our full range of services.

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Next Issue: No.257 February 2016

Deadline: Friday 15th January 2016 All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. The Gryffe Advertizer cannot be held responsible for unsolicited materials. The views and opinions by contributors in this magazine may not represent the views of the publishers. The Gryffe Advertizer takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisements in this publication.

contents

This

Month

Hopefully you are all taking a well deserved breath after all the excitement of Christmas. Our household was chaotic in the lead-up with me actually forgetting which week we were on and thinking we still had a week to go before Christmas! Awkward eh? A mad rush to decorate and shop! Still we got there. This year again I decided not to send cards but instead make a donation to one of my chosen charities. This year it is Cancer Research UK. Nonetheless, thank you to everyone who took the time to send one to me. Bah Humbug! I just feel the money is better spent on these very worthy causes. Well..... I did have a bit of a rant last month, didn’t I? However, one result was the offer of donations to the funds for the bonfire, and hopefully next year a few more people will take that massive step...... that massive step across the road, pay their contribution on entry and enjoy the event in the field with the fun that goes with it! The rain has been a topic of discussion all over the country, with the Lake District suffering terribly in the wake of storms. But given the amount of water which fell here over one weekend in particular, I feel I was vindicated in my rant. Prior to that weekend Renfrewshire Council had already taken steps to stem the immediate flow of water onto the road from Houston to Bridge of Weir. This is a temporary fix and the Council plans to make repairs to the field drainage system between the flooded area and the gate, and to provide a permanent connection into the culvert during January; although that timing is weather dependent. However, the dip at the farm once again was overwhelmed with at least one car being stranded in the water and the road being closed for most of that dreadful Saturday. As I said last month, the A761 at Scart Farm was probably the least affected by the deluge so congratulations to the roadworks engineers for their work there. However, in Kilmacolm once again the centre of the village was overwhelmed when the burn from The Moss overflowed into Market Place. This problem stems from lack of flow capacity where the burn travels temporarily underground on Gowkhouse Road; once the torrent departs the course of the burn it has nowhere to go but down Gilburn Road, into Market Place and then down Smithy Brae. It was ‘barking mad’, but now some ‘parking sense’ prevails. Inverclyde Council have agreed to suspend the 30 minute parking enforcement in Kilmacolm until the new 2 hour waiting limit starts in May 2016. The relaxation does not cover poor parking on the road, in the main car-park, or parking on single or double yellow lines.

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local news..........................8-12 what’s on..........................14-21 dental blog.............................13 business news.................24-25 it blog..................................26 financial blog.........................25 on the road...........................30 pets...............................58-59 pet blog...............................58 village news.......................34-43 outdoors..........................44-49

photography hints & tips.........49 sports & clubs news.............55-57 sporting blog..........................57 schools news.....................50-54 business classified................60 property classified.................61 church listings....................61 deadlines dates...................61 sales & wants......................62 advertiser directory................63

And good news for Lochwinnoch, we hear that work on Lochwinnoch bridge should commence next May/June taking around 5 months. Points the Council have had to consider are the timing and timescale of the work and temporary provision for emergency vehicles and a pedestrian bridge crossing. With the dark mornings and evenings upon us, it was good to see a post on facebook offering high visibility vests for primary school children from Bridge of Weir Primary. The school has these in stock with their logo, on sale from the school office for only £5 in various sizes - well worthwhile I reckon. Christmas rubbish collections - in Kilmacolm and Quarriers, the collection day is usually Monday so no need for any changes there. However, Renfrewshire Council advise that if your usual collection date is Friday 25th December then bins will be collected Sunday 27th December, and if usual collection date is Friday 1st January then bins will be collected on Sunday 3rd January. Also Renfrewshire Council are suspending the food waste collection service and replacing it by disposal of food waste in the brown garden bin. This service will be extended to cover the full year, and the green food bags will continue to be provided. Houston Community Council has set up a group to protest against the boundary changes to the village, which would effectively split the village in two. They sent a Freedom of Information request to the Local Government Boundaries Commission Scotland and found out that 985 submissions from residents of Houston expressed opposition to the proposals to split Houston between two electoral wards while only 2 submissions supported the proposals. A public notice was placed in the local press on 31 July 2015. The proposals were also available for viewing in Renfrewshire Council Headquarters, Erskine Community Library and Johnstone Community Library. However, it transpires that the proposals were not made available for viewing in Houston. The CC is in discussion over this and we look forward to hearing an update on this. Bridge of Weir Community Council has been keeping us up to date with planning proposals. There is a full report on our village pages which includes information on the Kilmacolm Road proposal by Gladman Developments Limited and the Shillingworth development. The CC now has a facebook page set up which is also regularly updated with local information. So we start 2016 with plenty of changes coming, hopefully mostly for the better. All that leaves is for me to say once again, thank you to all our contributors, clients and supporters, and our contributing Councillors and Community Councils for their reports which contain more news on these issues. We look forward to bringing you all the local news through the coming year. All the best for 2016!

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Registering your child for Primary Education Renfrewshire Entry to primary schools is on a once-a-year basis at the start of the new session in August each year. Registration takes place in mid January in your catchment school. You will need your child’s original birth certificate and proof of residence, to register them for school. Adverts appear in nurseries, schools and newspapers in early January providing details on how to register your child. You can register your child at only one school, either the denominational or non-denominational school in your catchment area. If you are unsure which school you should register at, please call 0300 300 0170 for advice. For more information please visit the website at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk

Inverclyde Children who attain the age of five years between 1 March 2016 and 28 February 2017 should be registered for education on Wednesday 13 and Thursday 14 January 2016. Pupils whose surname begins with the initials A to L should be presented on Wednesday 13 January 2016 and pupils whose surname begins with the initials M to Z should be presented on Thursday 14 January 2016. Parents must register their children in the local primary school, on one of the above dates as appropriate, between the hours of 1.30pm and 3pm. You must register your child in the catchment school even if you are considering a placing request for another school. This includes Primary 1 Gaelic Medium Education at Whinhill Primary School. The following documents are required for registration:- your child’s birth certificate, your Council Tax demand notice for the current year, in your name, a utility bill (i.e. gas, electricity, landline telephone or broadband) in your name, and dated within the last 6 months. We also require the name of your Health Visitor. Booklets providing information for parents on placing request procedures may be obtained from any school or from The Customer Service Centre, Municipal Buildings, Clyde Square, Greenock, Inverclyde PA15 1LY. Telephone No: 01475 717171 Opening hours Monday, Tuesday & Thursday 8.45 am – 4.30pm; Wednesday 11am – 4.30pm; Friday 8.45am – 3.45pm.

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What can you do in 3 hours – Make a Difference! Retail Assistants – Help needed in our busy charity shop in Lochwinnoch.

Barn Tea Room, Howwood – Assist with taking orders, clearing tables and using the till. Furniture Facebay Shop at the Barn Tea Room, Howwood– Help needed with pricing and updating our Facebay page. Other volunteer roles available, please call 01505 705 635 or email info@svh.co.uk for more information.

Help us keep you & the local area moving this winter. Follow us on facebook & twitter @GryffeRoadwatch and if you spot or know of any road works, flooding, ice or blockages let us know! You can send us a message via facebook or twitter or post a wee comment on our or The Advertizer’s page.

The Healing Rooms in Johnstone High Parish Church Hall will be closed until Tuesday 12th January.

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16/12/2015 16:16:04

Nobo from Histo tradit when childr ‘The becom Burns midn hand every neigh while An im with w is to New Y The ‘fi darkinvas host’ To firs

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january 2016

Did you know...

Hogmanay top facts

Nobody knows for sure where the word ‘Hogmanay’ came from. It may have originated from Gaelic or from Norman-French Historically, Christmas was not observed as a festival and Hogmanay was the more traditional celebration in Scotland. The winter solstice holiday tended to be at New Year when family and friends gathered for a party and exchange presents, especially for the children. ‘The Bells’ is the phrase used to describe the midnight hour when New Year’s Eve becomes New Year’s Day. Burns’ ‘Auld Lang Syne’ is sung to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight, not just in Scotland but in many English-speaking countries. To sing it you join hands with the person on each side of you in a circle. At the beginning of the last verse, everyone crosses their arms across their breast, so that the right hand reaches out to the neighbour on the left and vice versa. When the tune ends, everyone rushes to the middle, while still holding hands. An important element of Hogmanay celebrations is to welcome friends and strangers, with warm hospitality and of course a kiss to wish everyone a ‘Guid New Year’. This belief is to clear out the vestiges of the old year, have a clean break and welcome in a young, New Year on a happy note. The ‘first foot’ in the house after midnight is to ensure good luck, a first footer should be a dark-haired male. Fair-haired first footers were not particularly welcome after the Viking invasions of ancient times. Traditional gifts include a lump of coal to lovingly place on the host’s fire, along with shortbread, a black bun and whisky to toast to a Happy New Year. To first foot empty-handed is considered grossly discourteous, never mind unlucky!

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Kilmacolm cycle track by David Walker Surgeries - I am always keen to make myself available to help constituents with any issues that they may be experiencing. That’s why I hold regular surgeries throughout Renfrewshire, giving local constituents the opportunity to raise any concerns with me. This includes holding surgeries in Bridge of Weir and Houston.

Kilbarchan Parish Church “Agatha Crusty” success Kilbarchan Parish Church Drama Group’s performance of “Agatha Crusty and the Village Hall Murders” was performed to three full and appreciative houses at the end of November.

If you’re not able to make one of my surgeries then you can always pop down to my office at 6 Porterfield Road, Renfrew. I operate an open-door policy and constituents can come down whenever and we will look to help you in any way that we can. You can also raise any issue with me by sending me an email: gavin.newlands. mp@parliament.uk or by phoning me on 0141 378 0600. Domestic Abuse Event - Last year cases of domestic violence increased by 2.5%. It is shocking that we’re having to talk about domestic violence and that people are still living in violent relationships. The festive period is a time when cases of domestic violence are at their highest, and as a father and husband it saddens me to think that people will be living in a violent household over the Christmas period. Last week I organised a local event to raise awareness of this and invited along a number of local organisations who can help support people who experience domestic abuse. Domestic abuse is a scourge on society and we all have a role to play in helping to support people who suffer from it. Broadband - Since being elected I have received numerous emails from constituents who have complained about the broadband service that they receive at home. I have been in regularly contact with BT and have asked them what they are doing to improve the situation. I will keep constituents informed of my work on this.

Do you want the skills to help save a life?? BHF January 2016 FREE. Lead by Lochwinnoch and Howwood Heart Start. We have more dates available for the FREE two hour course in 2016. Wednesday 27 January 7-9pm pm Lochwinnoch Masonic Lodge. If you are inserted in attending contact Morag on morag.Thow@gcu.ac.uk or 01505 843183.

Recovery across Mental Health

The course is practical and deals with;

Are you worried about someone with mental ill health but are lost for words? Actually the important thing is just to listen. Remember ALGEE: - Ask open questions - Listen - Give reassurance - Encourage seeking professional support

Fundraising for Studio upgrade

- Encourage finding personal solutions If you know someone whom RAMH could help, ask them to contact 0141 847 8900 or enquiries@ramh.org. For more information on mental health & RAMH services in your area visit www.ramh.org or Facebook at /ramh.org RAMH helps 5,000 people across Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire with all mental health diagnosis from depression to bipolar disorder. To support mental health services in your local area go to www.virginmoneygiving.com and search for RAMH.

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• An unconscious casualty • Cardiac arrest • How to use a AED • Suspected heart attack • Choking • Serious bleeding Dr Morag Thow

We are a Community Interest Company and has been at the heart of the community for around 8 years now. We provide young people with opportunities for learning and development through practical experience in music, media and executive committee roles. We’re raising £3,000 to renovate Erskine Music & Media Studio & Youth Wing because we need a new floor, lights, furniture and paint! If you can help, please visit our crowdfunding page at https://crowdfunding. justgiving.com/erskinemusic-media-studio

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Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame Celebrates John Logie Baird John Logie Baird, the man who was the first in the world to televise objects in motion has been inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame. Professor Malcolm Baird, the son of John Logie Baird, provided some original material for the Hall of Fame website and said “Scotland’s contributions to engineering are so great that it came as a surprise to me that the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame has only been in existence for a few years. The descendants of John Logie Baird in Scotland and Canada are delighted that he has been included and we hope that the SEHF will inspire bright young people to continue Scotland’s great tradition of engineering and innovation”. Chairman and founder of the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame, Gordon Masterton said “The Hall of Fame shows how Scotland can rightly claim to be one of the most important seed beds of great engineering accomplishments since the 16th Century. Engineering inspired enterprise has been part of Scotland’s DNA for nearly half a millennium. John Logie Baird is one of Scotland’s outstanding examples of ingenuity, invention and perseverance. We would like to see the public participate in nominations for the Hall of Fame, especially if it expands our group of living engineers and women engineers. Citation forms can be downloaded from the website:” http://www.engineeringhalloffame.org/index.html Derek Elder, Chair of the IET’s Scottish Policy Group said: “The IET has an annual John Logie Baird Lecture in his memory. That is a measure of his importance in the history of technology. The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame award is richly deserved.” The Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame was launched in 2011 by The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland (IESIS), and is supported by engineering institutions, museums and trade bodies, including the IET.

Baird was born in Helensburgh, and educated at Larchfield Academy, the Royal Technical College and the University of Glasgow John Logie Baird was the first person to televise objects in motion. He produced televised images in outline in 1924, transmitted recognisable human faces in 1925 and demonstrated the televising of moving objects in 1926 at the Royal Institution. He demonstrated colour television in 1928. On 30 September 1929 the BBC transmitted, using the Baird 30-line system, its first experimental television broadcast. Later, on 22 August 1932, the first public (in the UK), 30-line television service was inaugurated by the BBC. When the BBC’s London television service began in 1936, his system was in competition with one promoted by Marconi Electrical and Musical Instruments (EMI), and in February 1937 the BBC adopted the Marconi EMI system exclusively. The last BBC transmission using the Baird system was sent out on 30 January 1937. Baird Television Ltd went into receivership in 1939 after BBC Television was closed down by the onset of war. Despite this, Baird continued to innovate and ultimately held 178 patents. He demonstrated 3-D television in 1942. Although Baird’s system was not the one that was finally chosen by the BBC, it was Baird who led the way in television, and Baird who had the courage, imagination and determination to bring about its success. He created the spark and had the vision to predict the huge impact that television would have on the world. He is regularly cited as one of the world’s great innovators and inventors. His name is synonymous with Scottish ingenuity and perseverance in engineering.

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Happy New Year from us all at LEAP Thank you for making 2015 another successful year for us at LEAP. We’re delighted and proud to have helped our community throughout the year, with our Free Energy Saving Advice, LEAP Car Club, Bike Swaps, Big Energy Saving Week, E-bike hire, LEAP YEP! Workshops and Summer Space programmes for young people, Meddle and Make workshops, External Wall Insulation, Make It Happen energy measures and installations, and representing local rural needs through our work with Tackling Poverty in Renfrewshire and Energy Action Scotland. Thank you all for your support and we’re looking forward to more success in 2016.

Top Tips for Keeping Warm and saving money this winter As the January weather starts to bite, LEAP has prepared a few tips to help you to manage the winter months and energy bills in your home. • Check your heating programmer/ timer and make sure it’s coming on at appropriate times for the colder weather. £150 per year can be saved by only having your heating on when needed. • Adjust your thermal radiator valves – using the heating controls appropriately can help you to heat the areas of the home that are needed. • Measure your room temperature – the recommended temperature for a room thermostat is between 18 and 21oC. Turning your thermostat down by just 1oC could save you £85 per year! • Maximise heat from your radiators with radiator reflective panels. These foil sheets fit down the back of radiators and reflect heat back into the room, meaning you get more heat from your radiators for less money. Come and get yours from our LEAP shops. • Switch lighting off– we need more lights on for longer periods in the winter, but don’t forget to switch them off. £15 per year can be saved by switching lights off when not in use. For even better savings switch to LED light bulbs available from our LEAP shops. • Draught proofing your home – gaps around windows and doors allow heat to escape and let the cold draughts in. Heavy thermal lined curtains will help to keep the heat in. Draught proofing of windows, doors, letterboxes and blocking cracks in floors and skirting boards can save up to 13% of your heating bill each year. If you’re struggling with time and skills to draught proof, we can do it for you.

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For further information and advice contact LEAP Energy Advisors on 01505 842530, email Ingrid@myleapproject.org or visit www. myleapproject.org.

Losing Heat in Your home? A common problem with home heat loss is that we sometimes just can fathom out where the heat is escaping from. Is it from the windows, doors, radiators, walls, the chimney, roof, floor skirting? In January LEAP will be helping householders to identify where heat is being lost in their homes and provide impartial advice on how to prevent further heat loss and reduce energy costs. As well as carrying out home energy checks, draught tests, our energy advisors may recommend that your home would benefit from a thermal image to give you an overall picture of home heat loss. To book a home energy assessment, or for further information, contact LEAP on www. myleapproject.org/contact, email ingrid@ myleapproject.org or call 01505 842530.

Help with Fuel costs this winter The Scottish Government provides a winter fuel allowance to householders to support them to cover the costs of increasing energy costs over the winter period. Find out if you are eligible. You may also be entitled to £140 Warm Homes Discount from your electricity provider. Contact LEAP on www.myleapproject.org/contact, email ingrid@ myleapproject.org or call 01505 842530 for further information.

New Year, New Car – why not pay as you drive? If you want to start 2016 with a new approach to driving and the opportunity to cut down on the cost and environmental impact of motoring, join LEAP Car Club. As a member of the community car hire club, you pay by the hour and the mile, while the car club covers the cost of fuel, maintenance, insurance, cleaning and breakdown. Cars are available 24 hours a day in Bridge of Weir, Lochwinnoch and Kilbarchan and can be booked online. To find out more about becoming a car club member and the ‘Join in January’ new member offer, contact the LEAP Car Club Coordinator, Mike Callaghan on 01505 842530, by email to mike@ myleapproject.org or visit www.leapcarclub.co.uk

Tenants wanted for Johnstone Castle Group Renfrewshire Council has issued a call for tenants in the Johnstone Castle area to join the local tenants and residents association. Any tenant of Renfrewshire Council or Linstone Housing Association is eligible to join. Councillor Tommy Williams, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Housing and Community Safety Policy Board, said: “A number of members have left the association after many years of valuable service and we’re looking for people interested in stepping up and taking their place. The association has been active in the Johnstone Castle area since the 1950s and to keep it running, we need the support of the local community. There’s a lot happening in the area right now and the association has a big part to play in the community.” Residents looking for more information can call Alasdair Miller, Tenant Consultation Officer, on 0141 618 6260 or email alasdair.miller@renfrewshire. gov.uk

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Provost Community Mary Awards 2016 Barbour Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall is searching for nominations of local unsung heroes for the forthcoming Provost Community Awards.

Nominations are now open providing a chance to recognise people who devote their time to helping others in the community, but expect nothing in return. There are five categories under which people can be nominated; Community Group, Community Volunteer, Sporting Achievement, Carers’ Award and Employer of the Year. Provost Hall said: “Every year we uncover new people who work tirelessly for the community for nothing more than the satisfaction that they are making a difference. These awards are an excellent opportunity to thank those whose efforts go under the radar. Nominations are increasing each year which is terrific and deciding on the winners is proving more and more difficult. I would encourage everyone to take the time to nominate as we must reward those individuals and groups who continually go that extra mile.”

Pioneering social activist, Mary Barbour, honoured in her home village. Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall unveils Mary Barbour cairn in Kilbarchan along with Frances Rough and Rachel Paterson, descendants of Mary Barbour; David Blair of Kilbarchan Community Council; and Maria Fyfe of the Remember Mary Barbour Society.

before she moved to Glasgow as an adult. I would like to pay tribute to all those who have helped to keep Mary’s memory alive and to keep her legacy relevant and inspiring for future generations.”

David Blair, Chairman of the Kilbarchan Community Council, said, “Mary Barbour’s legacy has a massive ongoing impact today. A plaque on the cairn features the inscription: Before her intervention there were no ‘Mary Barbour. Born New Street, Kilbarchan. tenants’ rights. The government just 1875-1958. Champion of the People and Social Reformer.’ didn’t think it should get involved in any area between buyers and sellers. A woman whose pioneering community activism a She forced the government to take a role and to hundred years ago still inspires people today has legislate to improve conditions.” been honoured in the village of her birth. Mary Maria Fyfe, of the Remember Mary Barbour Barbour, who led the famous Glasgow Rent strike of Association, said, “Mary is regarded as the mother 1915, has been honoured with the installation of a of social housing. She had a huge ability to engage commemorative stone cairn in Kilbarchan. people and make them think they could win in spite Several of Mary’s descendants joined members of of everything that was against them, including the the local community and political representatives law and the government’s laissez faire attitude. Her to see Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall unveil the rallying cry at meetings was, ‘Are we going to let cairn. them get away with this?’ We have a huge amount Provost Hall said: “Mary Barbour continues to be to thank Mary Barbour for, especially her drive to an inspiring figure. She spoke up for people who help others.” needed and deserved fair treatment and inspired The cairn has been funded by a grant of £6000 them to stand up for their rights as individuals and from the Renfrewshire Citizens Fund following a as a community. It is a source of much pride that recommendation from the council’s Johnstone and Mary learned those values here in Renfrewshire – in the Villages Local Area Committee. Kilbarchan where she was born and then in Elderslie,

Three categories are sponsored by local companiesCommunity Volunteer by Glasgow Airport Ltd; Community Group by the Piazza Shopping Centre; and Sporting Achievement by Acre Industrial and Cleaning Services. The Employer of the Year award is sponsored by Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark MacMIllan and encourages employees to nominate employers who have provided a positive working environment which provides training and development opportunities to its workforce. Former Renfrewshire Provost Nancy Allison donates the Carers’ Award which rewards anyone who cares for a relative, friend or neighbour. Anyone who lives or works in Renfrewshire can be nominated for an award. Nominations can be submitted online at www. renfrewshire.gov.uk/provostawards. Printed forms are available at Council offices and facilities. The closing date for nominations is 31 January 2016. Winning candidates will be invited to the Provost’s Community Awards ceremony in March 2016.

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Construction gets under way on Russell Institute Work has now started to bring one of the jewels in Paisley’s architectural crown back into use – and bring almost 80 new office jobs into the town centre. Builders are now on site inside the A-listed Russell Institute as they kick off the year-long construction phase of the £4.5m project to restore the former health centre. The building on the corner of New St and Causeyside St – notable for its distinctive statues – has been empty since 2011, but Renfrewshire Council this year took on ownership from the NHS, and secured funding to restore it to its former glory. When it opens in late 2016, the building will house a skills and training hub, with the Scottish Government jobs agency Skills Development Scotland as the anchor tenant. They will be joined in the building by staff from the council’s successful ‘Invest in Renfrewshire’ employability scheme. Over the next year, a number of specialist contractors will be on site to help restore unique features including the stonework, statues and railings.

Dinner & Dance Every Saturday night from 8pm - 11pm at Willow Bank Hotel, 96 Greenock Road, Largs. Booking essential. Call 01475 675435 for further information.

Scaffolding will be erected round the building in the next few weeks, but access will be maintained to neighbouring businesses, and disruption will be kept to a minimum. Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan visited the building to meet bosses from main contractors CBC, who have worked on other historic buildings including Paisley Town Hall. Councillor Macmillan said: “The Russell Institute is one of the finest examples of Paisley’s outstanding architectural legacy – within Scotland only Edinburgh has a greater concentration of listed buildings than we do. The project to restore the Russell Institute has been years in the making and we are delighted it is now entering the construction stage. This is just the latest bit of good news in the ongoing rebirth of Paisley town centre, with plans moving ahead for a £56.7m revamp of Paisley Museum, development on the Arnotts site nearing completion, and the Townscape Heritage Initiative which has transformed Causeyside Street almost finished too. Making the most of Paisley’s built heritage will be a crucial component of the town’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021, as that is all about using unique elements of our past to transform the town’s future.” The work is being funded by Renfrewshire Council, the Scottish Government’s Regeneration Capital Grant Fund and Historic Environment Scotland. The Paisley Development Trust kicked the project off by commissioning an initial feasibility study into its use. The Russell Institute was opened in 1927 and was gifted to Paisley Burgh by Miss Agnes Russell, who wanted it to be used as a child welfare clinic as a memorial to her two brothers.

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Dental Blog

by Sheila Macintyre, Practice Owner, Kilbarchan Dental Practice

How can dentists help care for your skin? The excesses of Christmas and New Year often prompt healthy new years’ resolutions to detox and get fit which is brilliant. However with the added drying effects of central heating, cold temperatures and lack of sunlight your skin can also suffer at this time of year. So what can my dentist do to help? It is becoming more common for dentists to offer services above and beyond everyday dental treatments. In some modern practices aesthetic services are now also offered. This makes a lot of sense as dental staff are highly trained and work in tightly regulated clinical environments. As well as teeth whitening, veneers and crowns some dentists provide facial rejuvenation services. Skilled and qualified staff can advise on and administer a range of treatments from wrinkle reducing injections (you may have heard of Botox) to facial peels and fillers. A member of staff who is a specialist in this area can offer valuable advice on the most suitable treatments on an individual basis. This service often includes skin assessments, advising on skincare regimes and “cosmeceuticals” (skin treatments only available by prescription). So if one of your new years’ resolutions is to look after yourself better why not book yourself in for a consultation, most dentists offering these services will provide this for free and it is important to find out what will work for you. If you would like to find out more about aesthetic services offered by dentists don’t hesitate to visit us at the practice, call us on 01505 704969 or check out our website at kilbarchandental.co.uk

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January events Sun 3 January Countryside, Coffee and Cake

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

Sat 9 January Swan Chat

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 2pm to 3pm

There’s more to our swans than eating bread and chips by the lochshore. Come along to Swan Chat to find out more! More info tel 01505 842 882 Ex 20

Mon 11 January Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 10am to 4pm

FREE bike checks, advice on walks, get healthy apps for your new phones/tablets and, after all that exertion, a FREE cake bite to sweeten the deal (show the leaflet on your phone it’s on our FB)! Plus set yourself a fitness target and find out about Pedal the Park 2016. More info: tel 01505 842 882 Ex 20

Sun 3 - Sun 31 Jan Castle Semple Shop January Sale Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 10am to 4pm

here will be up to 50% off selected items, come down and pick yourself up a bargain! More info: tel 01505 842 882 Ex 20

Thu 7 January OUTLOOK

Kidston Hall, High St, Kilmacolm 2pm OUTLOOK returns for an afternoon mixed with friendship and fellowship. Gentle Keep Fit, a Friendship Quiz, table tennis, with afternoon tea of course. We meet on the first and third Thursdays monthly at 2.00p.m. In Kidston Hall. Further details from Jill Russell on 01505 872393

Fri 8 January RSPB Local Meeting

McMaster Centre, Donaldson Drive, Renfrew 7.30pm

There will be an illustrated talk entitled Barons Haugh - history, wildlife and the future by Stephen Owen. All welcome.

Fri 8 - Fri 15 January St Columba’s School Entrance Assessments

St Columba’s School, Duchal Rd, Kilmacolm 8th & 11th Jan - Junior School.

9th Jan - Transitus (J7) - Senior VI. 12th & 13th Jan - Junior 1 Interviews. 14th & 15th - Early Years. Join the St Columba’s family - call 01505 872238 for further details. www.st-columbas.org

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Kilmacolm Dramatic Society Needs You

Kilmacolm Community Centre, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm 7.30pm

Why not join your local drama society for a bit of fun and a great social life? We welcome new faces for: on-stage, back-stage, props and everything else you can think of for a play! Come along tonight and see what we are all about everyone will be made most welcome.

Fri 15 January Advertizer Deadline

The Advertizer - Neva Place, Bridge of Weir

If you want something placed in the next issue, either send an email to info@advertizer.co.uk or call the office on 01505 613340. Don’t miss out!

Sat 16 January Volunteer Open Day

Lunderston Bay, Cloch Road, near Gourock PA19 1BB 11am to 12pm

It’s Beach Watch weekend, come and help with the quarterly clean and recording of items and meet members of the Greenock Cut Volunteer Group at the same time. More info: tel 01475 529 543.

Sun 17 January Bishopton Art Group Winter Art Exhibition

Ingliston Country Club, Ingliston Estate, Old Greenock Road, Bishopton, PA7 5PA. 10am and 3pm

Members of the Group will be in attendance at the exhibition and there will be the opportunity to ask any relevant questions. The venue has adequate free parking & admission to the exhibition. Additional information is available by contacting Ms Mitchell by telephone 01505 862792 or email Lamitchell26@ntlworld.com.

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Wed 20 January

Sat 23 January

Come and Try Curling

Paisley Abbey Recitals

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Paisley Abbey, Abbey close, Paisley 12.30pm Trio Vocalise. Tickets £5 at the door + Cloister Café with baking from 10am

Bowfield Rd, Howwood, PA9 1DE Coaching for beginners will be provided at the session. It will cost £5 for the ice. It is a great way to meet the curling club members and experience curling. If you are interested in attending this session or would like some further information about this event please do not hesitate to contact any of the following committee members: Wanda Bird @ wandajadwigabird@googlemail.com; Jim Lochridge @ j.lochridge@btinternet.com. You can also look at the clubs web site for information at: info@howwoodcurlingclub.co.uk

Thu 21 January ACCORD Hospice 26th Annual Burns Supper

Family Ceilidh

Brookfield Village Hall, Woodside Road, Brookfield

All are welcome to our Family Ceilidh. Tickets need to be purchased in advance by emailing brookfieldvpa@gmail.com. We are also looking for volunteers to help set up and co-ordinate the event and you can do this by emailing the same address.

Burns ‘n’ Stuff

Bernie’s Cafe Deli, Main Street, Bridge of Weir

A light-hearted celebration of our national bard & general Scottishness. Enjoy a three course Burns Supper, wee dram & evening of entertainment. Tickets £19.95 (advance bookings only)

Wed 27 January Glynhill Hotel, 169 Paisley Road, Renfrew

Tickets are £30 per person and this includes a traditional 3 course meal with coffee followed by musical entertainment and after dinner speakers. For tickets call Fundraising on 0141 581 2000 or email fundraising@ACCORD.org.uk. For online purchases visit www.accordhospice.org.uk

Praying for Peace in Israel & the Occupied Palestinian Territory

Freeland Church, Main Street, Bridge of Weir 7.30pm

Part of a series of monthly meetings held all over Scotland to raise awareness and understanding of the situation in “the Holy Land”. Kathy Galloway (head of Christian Aid Scotland) and Valerie Brown will lead the service and there will be discussion and questions. Olive Tree Stall with crafts from the Holy Land and refreshments.

Fri 22 January Houston And Killellan - Ladies Charity Night Houston Bowling Club 7.30pm

The people who are making the Pilgrimage to The Holy Land in February 2016 are holding a Ladies Charity Night. Tickets are £5 each, includes a supper and can be bought at the kirk or from Liz Tel:01505612569. All the proceeds from this event will be given to The Al-Shurooq School for Blind Children in Bethlehem.

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Monte Carlo Classic Car Rally

Paisley - various venues Venue: Abbey Close and Bridge Street, Paisley Back in Paisley for a third year... The only UK start leg of this internationally-famous event. Expect more than 70 classic cars from through the ages to gather outside Paisley Abbey during the afternoon, before setting off for France. You can get up close to lovingly-preserved Porsches, BMWs, Mini Coopers and more before the cars head over the ramp one by one. Entertainment will be held during the day.

Sun 31 January Come And Sing Mozart Requiem with Orchestra Paisley Abbey, Abbey close, Paisley 6.30pm

Rehearsal: 2.30pm Performance: 6.30pm (entry from 2pm) Singers: Adult £15, Students/school pupils £5 Audience: £5 at the door. All singer applications are welcomed but places will be allocated on a first come basis to enable the conductor to achieve as balanced a choir as possible. There will be a limited number of scores available to pre-book and hire. There will be no formal dress code. Information for singers on how to apply, pay and hire scores etc. Can be had at 0141 848 1392 or from proutley@talktalk.net

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Devils in the Making: Glasgow School of Art & the Collection

A Century of Style: Costume and Colour 1800-1899

Until 28th February at the Gallery of Modern Art Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow City Centre G1 3AH

Until 14th February at Kelvingrove Art Gallery And Museum, Argyle Street, Glasgow West End G3 8AG. Tickets: £5/£3, Under 16s FREE

Opening Hours: Mondays: 10am - 5pm; Wednesdays: 10am - 5pm; Fridays: 11am - 5pm; Sundays: 11am - 5pm

Opening Hours: Mondays: 10am - 5pm; Wednesdays: 10am - 5pm; Fridays: 11am - 5pm; Sundays: 11am - 5pm; Tuesdays: 10am - 5pm; Thursdays: 10am - 5pm; Saturdays: 10am - 5pm.

This is a free event! Tel: 0141 287 3050 Exploring Glasgow Museums Contemporary Art collection through connections with Glasgow School of Art, this exhibition includes artists such as Christine Borland, Jim Lambie, Roderick Buchanan, Victoria Morton & Simon Starling.

Billy Connolly Exhibition Until 18th February at the People’s Palace and Winter Gardens Glasgow Green, Glasgow City Centre G40 1AT. Tel: 0141 276 0795 Opening Hours: Mondays: Closed; Wednesdays: 10am - 5pm; Fridays: 11am 5pm; Sundays: 11am - 5pm Best known as a comedian, not many people know that the ‘Big Yin’ is also an artist. Connolly describes the process of drawing as meditative, where his inspiration comes from being alone on a page. Also includes rarely displayed objects from the Collections. This is a free event!

This beautiful exhibition of 19th-century clothing comes from Glasgow Museums’ collection of European costume. Showcasing some rarely seen examples of womenswear, menswear and children’s clothing, it considers how such clothes were made and where they were sold, as well as revealing the stories of some of the people who wore them. The displays feature dresses and outfits made with delicate embroidered cottons and elaborate woven silks, as well as beautiful wedding dresses and opulent evening gowns. Leading Glaswegian department stores and dressmakers are represented in the exhibition, alongside an exquisite beaded couture dress from Paris. There is also a wide range of accessories on show, including delicate jewellery, bonnets, colourful shawls, purses and even a metamorphic parasol. Inventions such as sewing machines, aniline dyes and paper patterns helped to revolutionise the fashion industry, allowing for the mass production of garments. Magazines with hand-coloured fashion prints spread the news of what was in and out of fashion and helped to fuel demand. That demand was met by the large warehouses and department stores that began to dominate the shopping streets of major cities, including Glasgow. There are currently no long term displays of this part of the costume collection in any of our museums, meaning this exhibition offers a fantastic opportunity to see some fabulous and rarely shown gowns, accessories and jewellery.

Gift of Knowledge for Hospice’s all Female Management Team The 11 strong all-female management team at St Vincent’s Hospice in Renfrewshire is celebrating today after being given the chance to learn from some of the country’s top businesses, including Chivas Brothers – Pernod Ricard, Q Hotels Cameron House Lodges and Scottish Enterprise, as part of a £60,000 leadership training programme which was generously gifted to the hospice by Stirling-based consultancy, The Leadership Factory. It is believed to be the first donation of its kind to a hospice in Scotland. Over the past six months, the St Vincent’s Hospice management team has benefited from over 600 hours of time and expertise from a total of 28 consultants and business mentors, providing a mix of workshops, coaching and mentoring. Kate Lennon, Chief Executive of St Vincent’s Hospice, said: “We feel very fortunate to be the recipients of such a unique gift. We have learned so much about Victoria Russell of The Factory ourselves and our business and the way in which we Leadership can work together more effectively for the benefit of the and Kate Lennon, Chief Executive of St Vincent’s hospice and all those whose lives are touched by the Hospice care services we deliver. The team at the Leadership Factory has been outstanding throughout the programme, and their expertise together with the commercial advice and guidance gained from the network of business mentors has been invaluable. We feel truly honoured that directors and senior management from some of Scotland’s top businesses and organisations, including Brewdog Bars, Cancer Support Scotland, Chivas Brothers - Pernod Ricard, Flex Medical Solutions, Jumpstart UK, Lindsays, McDougall Johnstone, ML Photography, Reni Onayemi of Scottish Enterprise, Q Lodges at Cameron House, Scottish Linda Lawrie Community Nursing Enterprise and Tractus, should give up their Manager at St Vincent’s Hospice and time to share their knowledge with the team Stuart Robinson of Scottish Enterprise at St Vincent’s Hospice.”

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While many businesses help to fundraise for charities by scaling Ben Nevis or abseiling down buildings, this is believed to be the first time a Scottish hospice has been gifted a development support programme for its management team with the opportunity to gain invaluable commercial skills from top industry professionals. The ambitious project was the brainchild of Victoria Russell, Principal Consultant at The Leadership Factory, Scotland’s fastest growing Joe Arciero, Sourcing Director of business management consultancy: Chivas Brothers Pernod Ricard “The idea to offer our time and expertise rather and Elaine Rae, Family Support than simply participate in fundraising activities Service Manager at St Vincent’s came about after speaking with St Vincent’s Hospice Hospice Chief Executive, Kate Lennon. Kate was keen to put a leadership programme together to help her team develop and implement a new strategy for the hospice but with a limited budget, the programme would only have been able to scratch the surface of what was required. After speaking to The Leadership Factory directors, Andy Kelly and Brian Glennie, we agreed to donate a full-service programme and we’ve been very fortunate to be able to tap into our extensive network of business professionals, all of whom have been delighted to gift their time and expertise for such a worthy cause.” For further information, please contact Lesley Miller, Fundraising & Communications Manager at St Vincent’s Hospice on t: 01505 705635 m: 07552 127109 or e: Lesley.miller@ Joe Arciero of Chivas Brothers Pernod Ricard surrounded by the managers of St Vincent’s Hospice and their svh.co.uk mentors

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every Monday

3rd Friday monthly

Lochwinnoch Community Walk

Hearing Aid Clinic

The Cross, Lochwinnoch 10.30am

The Bridge, Bridge of Weir 1-2pm

This event will not take place on public holidays.

Personnel are at The Bridge for the issue of hearing aid batteries and hearing aid checks.

every Tuesday

2nd Saturday monthly

Bishopton Belles Line Dancing

‘Brunch & Browse’

Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Hall 6.30 - 8.30pm

St Fillan’s Hall, Kilmacolm 10am-2pm

Beginner/Improver class. All welcome. Call David or Mair 07886 034037.

Home made soups, home baking, tea, coffee, books & lots of stalls. Great value! Disabled access. £4.

every Wednesday Knitting Group Three Sisters Bake, Quarriers 10am - 12noon

Knitters of all levels welcome!

every Thursday Weekly Volunteer Group

last Saturday monthly Table Top Sale Linwood Parish Church, Blackwood Ave 11am1pm

This is a free event. Call 01505 328802 for details.

Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch 12.30pm - 3.30pm

Evening & Saturday Classes at The National Piping Centre Ever wanted to learn the bagpipes, but didn’t know where to start? Or haven’t played in a few years and want to take it up again? Try our Evening & Weekend classes. On a week day to suit you, we have classes for all levels, from complete beginner to proficient player. Its a 10 week course, starting from Saturday 16th January and its only £90 adults, or £80 for U16s. Find out more and register online: www. thepipingcentre.co.uk 30-34 McPhater Street, Glasgow City Centre G4 0HW

Conser vation Volunteers - adult group. Newcomers always welcome.

every Saturday Weekly Volunteer Group Greenock Cut Visitor Centre 10.30am - 2.30pm

Conservation Volunteers, adult group. Newcomers always welcome.

1st Saturday

every Sunday

Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm

Weekly Volunteer Group Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch 10am - 12noon

Youth volunteer Group - age 12 - 18 years. Newcomers always welcome.

1st & 3rd Thurs monthly ‘Outlook’ Kidston Hall, Kilmacolm 2pm-4pm

Social activities group for the community in Kilmacolm. Guest speakers, afternoon tea, local issues of interest. Everyone welcome.

2nd Wednesday monthly Inverclyde Carers Outreach

10am-2pm (“The Square”)

1st & 3rd Sunday Loch Lomond Shores

10am-3pm Tel: 07977 179 861

2nd Thur & last Sat Paisley Cross

10am-2pm Tel: 01655 770217

3rd Saturday Erskine Garden Centre

10am - 2pm Tel: 0141 814 4626

Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm 11am-2pm

Please Donate Blood Kidston Hall, High St, Kilmacolm PA13 4BP Wednesday 30 December - 4pm - 7.30pm Erskine Community Sports Centre, Kilpatrick Dr, Erskine PA8 7AF Wednesday 6 January 2016 - 2pm - 3.45pm & 5.15pm - 7.30pm

Email enquiries@inverclydecarerscentre.org.uk or call: 01475 735180.

2nd Thursday monthly Solas Bereavement Support Group The group meets in the Kidston Hall. 6.30pm to 8.30pm. Everyone welcome.

regular updates t: @GryffeAds

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the

Johnstone Recreation Hall, Greenend Ave, Johnstone PA5 0LD Wednesday 6 January 2016 - 2pm - 3.45pm & 5.15pm - 7.30pm Donating Bus Morrison’s Store, 30 Napier St, Johnstone PA5 8SF Friday 8 January 2016 - 9:30am - 11:30am - 1pm - 3.30pm St Mirin’s Cathedral Parish Hall, Incle St, Paisley PA1 1HR Tuesday 12 January 2016 - 2pm - 3.45pm & 5.15pm - 7.30pm St Mirin’s Cathedral Parish Hall, Incle St, Paisley PA1 1HR Wednesday 13 January 2016 - 2pm - 3.45pm & 5.15pm - 7.30pm St Mirin’s Cathedral Parish Hall, Incle St, Paisley PA1 1HR Thursday 14 January 2016 - 2pm - 3.45pm & 5.15pm - 7.30pm

You can also drop in to give blood at 8 Nelson Mandela Place, Glasgow. Call today to make an appointment on 0845 90 90 999. Go on - the only think you’ll feel is good about yourself!

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BEACON ARTS CENTRE, CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY, GREENOCK, PA15 1HJ INFO@BEACONARTSCENTRE.CO.UK TELEPHONE: 01475 723723

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Keep it Clean, Keep it Classy Having trouble keeping your floor maintained? Is keeping it clean turning into a full time job? Combining classy looks with low maintenance, the Karndean ranges (which we specialise in) are the ideal choice for people who are always on the go but also like to keep a beautiful home. People traipsing in and out with muddy or slushy shoes needn’t cause any stress or calls of “take your shoes off!” Being waterproof, hardwearing but ALSO stunning sounds like an impossibility, but ask any customers of Orchard Flooring and

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we are certain they will have nothing but praise for the products on offer and the service carried out. Keeping it classy has never been so easy. With a home sampling service and advice on picking the floor to suit your home, why not give us a call and be on your way to a fabulous floor from Orchard Flooring. You can contact Scott on 01505 22 9584 or 07563 633 432 E: sjmproducts@hotmail.com Website- www.orchard-flooring.com

Peter Pan Pantomime

Wedding Band Showcase

Until Sunday 3rd January at the Clyde Auditorium

Thursday 4 February from 6.30pm - 10.30pm at The Glynhill Hotel & Leisure Club, Renfrew This is a free event Looking for the perfect evening entertainment for your wedding? Join us for a relaxed evening listening to five fantastic wedding bands all performing live, along with other great wedding suppliers.

Showbiz legends and comedy duo, The Krankies, will return for the sixth year running to join the legendary David Hasselhoff and Glasgow’s own Pop Idol, Michelle McManus, in the Fan-dabi-dozi Pantomime Peter Pan!

Call 0141 258 3380 for further information.

David Hasselhoff, aka, “The Hoff”, best known for his iconic roles as Michael Knight in Knight Rider and Mitch Buchanan in Baywatch, will star as pantomime’s ultimate baddie next season. Tickets available from the SECC Box Office: 0844 395 4000.

Historic Tours of Glasgow University Open Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 2pm-3pm until 19 October 2017 The University of Glasgow, Glasgow West End, G12 8QQ Price: £5 for children, £8 for students/over 60. £10 for adults £25 for family of four. Call 0141 330 5360 for further information. Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world. Originally located on High Street in the city centre near Glasgow Cathedral, in 1870 it moved to the stunning collection of buildings perched upon Gilmorehill today, where it continues to watch over the bustling city and picturesque tenements of Glasgow’s West End. The University of Glasgow tours, run by Glasgow University Students’ Representative Council, will take you on a fascinating journey around some of the university’s most significant spots - from philosopher Thomas Reid’s tombstone and the atmospheric cloisters, to the very same staircase Lord Kelvin would take from his house to his laboratory - whilst discovering the connections of James Watt, Adam Smith and Isabella Elder whose names are inscribed on the university’s Memorial Gates. Look at our Facebook or Twitter page for upcoming seasonal themed topics, and to see our short promotional video.

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Winter Viewing Nights at Coats Observatory Winter Viewing Season will run Every Tues and Thurs from 7 Jan – 24 March. Please note that the Pre-viewing Planetarium Show takes place on Thursdays only during this period. Telescope Viewing Our Winter Viewing Nights operate every year from the end of October to the end of March, allowing visitors the opportunity to view the wonders of the night sky up close through powerful telescopes housed in the building. These events are free, with no booking required. Telescope viewings need clear skies and low wind. If a scheduled telescope viewing can’t go ahead for some reason, alternatives like planetarium shows will be arranged. Every Tuesday and Thursday, 6.30pm - 9pm (last admission 8.45pm). Free, no need to book in advance.

Planetarium Shows Transport yourself to a galaxy far far away... Experience constellations, distant galaxies, nebulae and star galaxies in incredible detail through our state of the art digital planetarium. Free shows run every Thursday, 6pm to 6.30pm between October and March. Maximum of 15 places, please book these evening slots in advance at Paisley museum on 0300 300 1210. (If the skies are clear planetarium films will be shown in advance of the viewing night instead of the tour of the night sky guided show.) 49 Oakshaw Street West, Paisley PA1 2DE - Tel: 0300 300 1210

Musicality Night Quarriers Ladies Lunch (Glasgow Theatre Guild) Lochwinnoch Arts Festival Friday 19th February Parish Church, Lochwinnoch Doors 7pm Tickets £5 (con £3) The 14th annual Festival of Music, Drama, Literature, Creative & Visual Arts in Lochwinnoch - Wed 9th - Sun 27th March Details of the submissions for the Lochwinnoch Arts Festival Art Exhibition can be found on the website at www.lochwinnochartsfestival.co.uk

Some of the village went to see the Glasgow Theatre Guilds excellent production of Sweet Charity in Eastwood theatre in 2015. Their cast will be performing a selection of songs from film and theatre for us again. A very talented group of artists who have been great supporters of our Arts Festival.

Sunday 28 February from: 12.30pm - 4pm The Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow City Centre £40 per ticket - Call: 01505 616054 Get the girls together and join Quarriers for a fun day out at The Grand Central Hotel, you know you deserve it! If you are a lady who lunches then we’d love you to join us for a sparkling champagne reception in the stunning Grand Ballroom. Great food, shopping, goody bags, guest speaker and live music from the fantastic Paulo Martini. It really is an event not to be missed.

Paisley Town Hall Wedding Fayre Sunday 28 February from 1pm - 5pm at Paisley Town Hall, Paisley Call 0141 258 3380 for further information. FREE Entry Wedding Services Scotland are delighted to host once again Renfrewshire’s premier wedding event at the stunning Paisley Town Hall. A great selection of the finest local wedding suppliers will be on hand who will be delighted to discuss your big day, there will be live music and bridal and menswear catwalk show.

Kelvingrove Organ Recitals Open until 14 January - Monday - Saturday 1pm and Sunday 3pm This is a free event Hear a recital on the beautiful organ, which has been in place in the centre hall since 1902. So relax in our centre hall for a free musical event! They take place at 1pm Monday - Saturday and on 3pm on Sundays. If you want to know more, join a short tour each Friday with Dr Jim Hunter, the Director of Music at Kelvingrove. These tours take place after the recital, and are free to join. Call 0141 276 9500 for further information.

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KDS Panto Kilmacolm Dramatic Society would like to thank everyone who supported our pantomime Mother Goose in November. It was a great success and we thank everyone for braving the weather and coming along as part of our very active audience! Auditions are now underway for our Spring Production of 2 One Act Plays, more details will follow, but it promises to be a very amusing evening at the Kidston Hall. Should anyone like to help in any way it would be lovely to hear from you. Back stage crew, set building/design, painting, costume, lighting and sound are all required to put on a play as well as Actors so please get in touch if you are interested in any aspect. In the meantime KDS would like to wish everyone a very Happy and Healthy New Year and all the best for 2016.

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COME AND SING MOZART REQUIEM with Orchestra directed by George McPhee PAISLEY ABBEY - SUNDAY 31 JANUARY Rehearsal: 2.30pm Performance: 6.30pm (entry from 2pm) Singers: Adult £15 Students/school pupils £5

Audience: £5 at the door

All singer applications are welcomed but places will be allocated on a first come basis to enable the conductor to achieve as balanced a choir as possible. NB There will be a limited number of scores available to pre-book and hire There will be no formal dress code Information for singers on how to apply, pay and hire scores etc. can be had at 0141 848 1392 or from proutley@talktalk.net Paisley Abbey (Church of Scotland) – Registered Charity No. SC007633

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Johnstone History Society Our first meeting of 2016 will take place on Tuesday 12 January at 7.30pm in the Masonic Hall on Collier Street. Our speaker that night will be Douglas Breingan talking about the Isle of Lismore. In November, St Paul’s Church Anchor Boys made a visit to the Museum to see our display on WW1 and learned a bit about it for a project they are doing. This information was ably provided by two of our volunteers Stewart Michie and Bill Speirs. Our December meeting was well attended and Jennifer Giles gave us a very interesting talk about the National Library of Scotland and the amazing collection they hold. The museum continues to open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10.30am till 4pm. We still have Johnstone Calendars available at the very reasonable price of £7, these are also available online at johnstonehistory.org

Receive a Personal Service from Inverclyde’s New Estate Agents

Slimming World Stephanie & Joanne met at their local slimming world group and between them have lost over 5 stone. They were so amazed by the healthy eating plan and decided to become consultants to inspire others. They launched their groups in early spring and have helped members lose the equivalent of 2 adult elephants. Following on from their success, Stephanie is re-launching a 2nd group on Tuesday 29th December @ Houston village Hall, 9:30am or 11:30am. Joanne is opening a new group on Wednesday 6th January @ Port Glasgow Town Hall, 7:30pm.

With an improving housing market and growing demand for selling and letting services, Inverclyde now have a new Estate Agent to consider. Hames Estates, based in the heart of Kilmacolm, have a simple mission after recently opening their doors for business: Improve the home buying and letting experience. With over a decade in the industry, Director Joe McKenzie has seen all too often the stress and fatigue home buying and letting can cause. Joe explains: “I founded Hames Estates with goal of improving the services I have seen and experienced before. I believe having a personal relationship with your Estate Agent, who can be reached when you need them and keeps you suitably up-todate, is a step in the direction of improving the buying and letting experience”. Joe continues, “Honesty, transparency and hard work should not be too much to ask for”. With their quirky name, Hames Estates are located in St James Terrace in Kilmacolm and provide collective residential property sales & lettings expertise to ensure vendors and landlords enjoy a profitable and hassle-free experience. For information about the forward thinking Estate Agents, visit them online at www.hames-estates.com

Marjorie, in her 3 groups that cover Johnstone and the surrounding area helps over 200 people every week to fulfil their weight loss dreams. Kirsty has gone from strength to strength since opening her new group in Kilmalcolm. Her members have lost over 136 stone in 4 months and many have reported associated health benefits. We are all very much looking forward to welcoming more members in the new year be they old friends or new. Happy New Year everyone!

‘Together We Are Stronger’

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Return your Self Assessment and find your inner peace The deadline for 2014-15 Self Assessment filing is fast approaching and HMRC is urging all customers to find their inner peace by returning theirs before the 31 January. More than 85% of customers chose to submit their return online last year, the service is quick, easy and has a wide range of support resources available, such as web chat. If you’re filing online for the first time, you will need to register for an activation code, which will be posted to you. This can take a few days, so you’ll need to allow time for this. But remember – you have to file and pay any tax owed by the 31 January to avoid paying a penalty or interest on any tax paid late. This year we are giving more than one million Self Assessment customers access to their own Digital Tax Account for the first time. This is an online service personal to each individual customer, allowing them see how their tax is calculated, update personal details and access all their tax information in one space, just like online banking. Ruth Owen, Director General, Personal Tax, HMRC said: ‘The 31 January deadline will soon be here. And while it’s tempting to put completion of your tax return to the bottom of the ‘to do’ list at this time of year, it’s not something I would recommend, if you want to avoid a last minute rush in January. ‘We have improved our online services again this year to help our customers get their tax right quickly, simply and securely.’

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Help Stop Bogus Callers Scottish Water is reminding customers to follow our Card, Check and Call advice to stop bogus callers. With the dark winter nights here, and our staff taking thousands of water samples from customers across the country, we are advising people how to recognise a genuine Scottish Water employee from a bogus caller when we turn up at their door. Scottish Water carried out more than 150,000 water quality tests at customers’ taps last year to enable us to ensure we continue to provide customers with clear, fresh drinking water. These ongoing tests are carried out by a sampling team whose members will arrive in recognisable vehicles and will always have photographic identification available. Following Scottish Water’s simple Three C’s advice could help people to beat the bogus caller: • Card – You can ask callers to pass their ID card or letter through the letter box in order to verify their identity. • Check – Check the identity card carefully: Is the photo on the card the same as the person at the door? Does the card contain the Scottish Water Customer Helpline number? Has the card been tampered with in any way? If you are not confident that they are a genuine caller, then send them away! • Call – If you are in any doubt about the caller’s identity please call our Customer Helpline on 0800 0778778. We advise customers to contact utility companies by using phone numbers found in telephone directories or the internet, but never from ID cards or letters presented, because these could be false. If you are still suspicious contact a neighbour or call the police.

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Financial Blog by Carl Melvin,

Affluent Financial Planning Ltd

Financial Resolutions 12 Financial Resolutions you may wish to commit to 1. Get Organised – get a lever arch file and get your financial paperwork in order. 2. Know what you have – make a list of your assets and debts. Do this every year, so you can see your wealth build for the future. 3. Create a Budget - do you overspend? Be honest with yourself and list all your income and expenditures. This is the most difficult thing for many people to make themselves do, but it really is essential if you want to get control of your finances. 4. Get your debts sorted – The inability to deal with debt is the single biggest barrier to achieving financial security. Prioritise your debts and implement a plan to repay your debt within a set timeframe. 5. Declutter and Sell – Why not clear your loft /garage of unwanted items and sell online to raise some cash. 6. Build Emergency Cash – Ideally, you should have 6 months spending as an emergency fund. 7. Start Saving – Start with building your emergency cash before considering investments. 8. Review your Insurances – review your Insurances to see if they are adequate or whether you can achieve better value. 9. Join a Pension Scheme – join your company pension scheme or start a personal plan to save for retirement. You’re never too young to start. 10. Get a Will - Stop putting this off. You know it’s important, so get it done. 11. Power of Attorney – This permits someone else to handle your affairs if you lose capacity. Everyone should have this. 12. Commit to review – Resolve to take more control of your finances. Achieving financial independence does not happen by accident – it is planned. Consider taking professional advice. The first meeting is normally free and there is no obligation. Call for a FREE financial review on 0871 702 9490 or info@affluentfp. co.uk. Alternatively, pop into the Affluent office opposite Amaretto restaurant on Main Street, Bridge of Weir. www.affluentfp.co.uk

When householders receive a cold call from anyone claiming to be from Scottish Water they should not, under any circumstances, open the door without first checking the caller’s ID card or letter – this should be passed through the letter box for verification. This stops a bogus caller forcing their way in, even if the door is ajar, or on a chain. Our employees will be more than happy to wait while you check their identity. Handy advice is available on our website www.scottishwater.co.uk/ boguscaller.

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17/12/2015 10:52:23

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Gryffe Valley Rotary supporting local young people This is always a busy time of year for Gryffe Valley Rotary’s projects in support of local young people.

Youth Speaks Young Chef The local heat for the Young Chef was again hosted at the excellent facilities at St Columba’s with entries from there and from Gryffe High. To help concentrate minds, contestants were advised that Jonathon Ferguson, a previous winner of this heat, was now working in a Michelin starred restaurant at Gleneagles!

The annual Youth Speaks heat was held in the Kilmacolm Community Centre with teams at Intermediate and Senior level from Gryffe High School and from St Columba’s. After an evening of informed arguments and feisty exchanges, with some of the contributions being described as “outstanding” by the judges from the Renfrew Speakers club, the intermediate team from Gryffe High School and the senior team from St Columba’s emerged as the winners and they now go forward to the West of Scotland regional finals.

The judges, ably led by Liz Fairbairn, marked on planning and budgeting skills as well as the taste, texture and presentation of the dishes. The culinary skills on display from all the young chefs made it a very difficult job for the judges to make a decision. “It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it,” said fellow judge Tommy Langley (at least that’s what it sounded like, but his mouth was rather full at the time!). Eventually Emily Svensson was chosen as the winner (for her mouth-watering Chicken Stroganoff followed by Baked Alaska) with Katie Reid a close runner up (for her delicious Prawn and Spinach Risotto with a Lemon Cheesecake) – both girls from Gryffe High School. Special thanks are due to Gibb Stuart and their supplier Zyliss who generously donated cookery books for all and a wok for the winner. Emily now goes forward to the Regional cook off in January.

Young Photographer In addition to the above, Gryffe Valley Rotary was again pleased to support the Gryffe Camera club with their Young Photographer competition – the winning photographs were shown at a recent meeting and Members were very impressed by the high standards of photography, composition and originality on display. Two outstanding candidates have been selected to represent the West of Scotland in next year’s trip to visit the European Parliament in Strasburg, and budding authors are now underway scribbling (or is it tapping?) out their entries for the Young Writer competition. Some Gryffe Valley members may have seen a few summers, but they never cease to be impressed by the talents and personalities of our local youngsters.

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Renfrewshire Centre Strategy Consultation - BRAEHEAD A Draft Centre Strategy has been prepared for Braehead Strategic Centre. The Centre Strategy has been prepared in draft form as we need the input from the people who live, work and visit our centres to shape and inform this vision for our centres. The Centre Strategy explains the role of the centre, its strengths and opportunities for enhancement. Consultation on the Centre Strategy will take place over an 8 week period commencing Friday 18 December 2015 until 12 February 2016. Copies of the Draft Centre Strategy is available to view at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk as well as at the Customer Service Centre, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1JD between the hours of 8:00am and 6:00pm, Monday to Friday and at all Council libraries. Any person who wishes to make comments should return completed response forms to towncentrestrategy@renfrewshire.gov.uk or by post to: Development & Housing Services, Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley PA1 1JD. The closing date for representations is 5.00pm, on the 12 February 2016. If you need further information please contact the Planning Service on 0300 3000 144 or email towncentrestrategy@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

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Landlords Despair On 8 July 2015, George Osborne announced a number of changes to the taxation of property businesses. Without a doubt the most impactful change is the loss of higher rate tax relief for finance charges, which includes mortgage interest. What he didn’t explain was the not so gentle push of many landlords, who were previously basic rate tax payers, into the higher rate tax band. Consider the fate of Joe who has built his property rental business by maximising the use of low interest rate mortgages – in accountant speak he is highly geared.

Scottish rate of Income Tax

He has built up his rental business profits (after deducting costs excluding mortgage interest) to £120,000 a year. All his mortgages are interest only and the annual interest charges are £100,000. He is content to manage on the modest £20,000 income that this provides as he is in the business for the long term – nursing long term growth in the capital value of his property portfolio. Up to the tax year 2016-17 he can deduct the £100,000 from the £120,000 and pay tax on the difference. For 2016-17 this will amount to just £1,800. After 5 April 2017, new legislation will disallow an increasing percentage of the mortgage interest as a business expense, until by 2020-21 none of the £100,000 will be allowed as a deduction when computing tax payable. At a stroke, and with no change in property income and outgoings, Joe’s taxable profits from his property business will increase from £20,000 to £120,000. In this way Joe will become a higher rate tax payer and lose much of his personal tax allowance as his income exceeds £100,000.

The Scottish rate of Income Tax will start on 6 April 2016. Depending on the level the Scottish Parliament sets the rate at Scottish taxpayers may pay a different rate of Income Tax to the rest of the UK. Some of the Income Tax collected under the Scottish rate will fund the Scottish government and the rest will fund the UK government. The Scottish rate of Income Tax doesn’t apply to income from savings such as building society interest or income from dividends. This rate will stay the same for all taxpayers across the UK. The Scottish government is expected to announce the proposed Scottish rate of Income Tax for the tax year 2016 to 2017 on 16 December 2015, which is after our publishing date, but we will bring you an update in our next issue.

Relief for his mortgage interest payments will be given by a basic rate tax credit. For 2020-21 this will amount to £20,000 (£100,000 x 20%).

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will collect the Scottish rate of Income Tax on behalf of the Scottish government. National Insurance contributions are unaffected by the introduction of the Scottish rate of Income Tax.

Unfortunately, even with this tax credit taken into account, Joe’s Income Tax liability for 2020-21 will rise to £19,500 (based on current information available). This is a massive increase and it will consume most of Joe’s property business cash flow.

It’s where you live, not where you work, that decides whether you’re a Scottish taxpayer. If you live in one place during a tax year, and it’s in Scotland, you’ll be a Scottish taxpayer. If you live anywhere else you won’t be.

Fortunately, there is time to plan. We will be working with all our property business clients to mitigate the downside effects of these tax changes. Readers who would like our support should call for an initial consultation sooner rather than later.

If you move to or from Scotland, have more than one home, or don’t have a home, you’ll need to work out if you’re a Scottish taxpayer.

Murray Associates, Paisley, PA3 3AT Tel: 0141 889 4247 Email: info@murrayassoc.co.uk Web:www.murrayassociates.co.uk

Tax gets digital with online Personal Tax Accounts UK taxpayers will now be able to manage their tax affairs online with the official launch of Personal Tax Accounts. During December more than a million customers completing their Self Assessment were directed to their online Personal Tax Account (PTA) which will: • provide a clear and joined-up view of the tax they pay and benefits they are entitled to • enable customers to update their tax details as they occur in real time, removing the need to resubmit information • make it easier and more efficient to contact HMRC officials through services like web chat and virtual assistant. The launch of PTAs is the latest step towards a fully digital tax service. Two million businesses are already using their digital accounts and every business will have access to one by April next year. Speaking at HMRC’s stakeholder conference in London, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke said: “Giving customers the ability to manage their tax affairs online is our latest step towards a fully digital tax system. This government is determined to

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You can only be a Scottish taxpayer if you’re resident in the UK for tax purposes. If the address HMRC holds for you is in Scotland, you’ll be sent a letter to check your address is correct, these letters will start going out on 2 December 2015. You’ll be classed as a Scottish taxpayer if the address HMRC holds for you is in Scotland. It’s your responsibility (not your employers’) to notify HMRC if you change your address. Your April 2016 tax code will begin with the letter ‘S’ to show you’re a Scottish taxpayer. If you pay your Income Tax through your wages HMRC will advise your employer to treat you as a Scottish taxpayer so you don’t need to do anything. If you fill in a Self Assessment tax return you’ll declare if you’re a Scottish taxpayer on the return. More information will be available on the HMRC website at www.gov.uk/ government/news/the-scottish-rate-of-income-tax revolutionise how we deliver public services and the tax system is no exception. “By 2020 HMRC will be a world-leading tax administration that is efficient, effective and easier for customers to use, enabled by £1.3 billion of extra investment announced in November’s Autumn Statement.” Ruth Owen, Director General of Personal Tax, said: “The launch of Personal tax Accounts is a ground breaking development for HMRC and our customers. Remember when you started banking online? Well, this is the equivalent shift in service for the majority of our customers wanting to do business with us online. “We’ll be developing the PTA further so it will becomes the one place to go for all our customers to do business with HMRC.” Making Tax Digital sets out four key foundations: - Tax simplification

- Tax all in one place

- Making tax digital for individual taxpayers - Making tax digital for businesses.

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Primary schools target thoughtless drivers Renfrewshire’s primary schools are taking part in a campaign to improve children’s safety going to and from school. The campaign aims to make drivers aware of the dangers of parking illegally near schools and the threat that idling engines pose to children’s health. Renfrewshire’s primary schools are taking part in a campaign to improve children’s safety going to and from school. The campaign aims to make drivers aware of the dangers of parking illegally near schools and the threat that idling engines pose to children’s health. Council officers, school staff and pupils at Auchenlodment Primary School in Johnstone organised a week-long blitz on inconsiderate drivers with a high-impact banners outside the school.

The campaign will target other Renfrewshire primary schools over the coming weeks. Councillor Eddie Devine, convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Environment Policy Board, said: “It is paramount that children in Renfrewshire are able to get to and from school without risk to their safety or health. “Ideally, parents should avoid driving children to school where possible. “Where this is not possible, we are asking parents who need to stop or park near a school to do so safely. “Avoid parking on zig-zags and yellow lines and do not stop in the middle of the road. “Also, if it is essential to wait outside a school, drivers should switch off their engines and minimise the dangerous CO2 emissions which can endanger children’s health.” The campaign was kicked off during National Road Safety Week which takes place in November every year and which aims to raise awareness of death and injury on the roads, and the steps that can be taken to improve road safety.

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Paisley Community Trust unveils £40m cinema and theatre plans The Paisley Community Trust has thrown its weight behind the town’s bid to be UK City of Culture in 2021 - while announcing details of plans to create a £40m cinema and performing arts theatre venue in the heart of the town. The ambitious plans outline potential for a 500+ seat main theatre, 5 cinema screens, café bar, restaurant, educational hub and a cultural creative industry space – all connected by a state-of-the-art digital broadband connection. The Trust was formed in 2014 as the first community led Trust following the publishing of the Heritage Strategy for Paisley by Renfrewshire Council. The Heritage Strategy report outlined several key areas for the regeneration strategy of the town including the 2021 City of Culture Bid, the provision of a 300+ seat Theatre and a strong focus on community led initiatives. Over the past year, the Trust has engaged with key organisations in the town including Renfrewshire Council, West College Scotland, PACE Theatre Group, University of West of Scotland, as well as a number of local businesses and other community groups. In July 2015 and supported with a £40,000 grant from Renfrewshire Council, The Paisley Community Trust engaged in a full Feasibility Study with Edinburgh and London based BOP Consulting. The Feasibility study was to address the overall need and demand for a Cinema / Theatre in the town, potential suitable locations, financial costs & requirements and fundraising options. The report concluded overwhelmingly that there was a strong audience demand in the town and surrounding areas as well requirement from Educational partners. More than half of those surveyed expressed a demand for live music, theatre, comedy and blockbuster movies. In addition dance, arthouse film and live broadcasts featured strongly. It is estimated the cost of the new venue will be around £40 million which will be funded from a mixture of private, public and lottery funding sources. It is hoped the venue will be open by 2021. Gary Kerr, Chairman of the Trust stated “We are delighted to support the towns bid for the UK City of Culture 2021. The town has a proud and rich history in cinema and a highly regarded performing arts scene, home of course to the UK’s largest Youth Theatre Group PACE and the recently opened Rock and Pop School of Scotland.

Monte Carlo Classic Car Rally Wednesday 27 January 2016, Time: TBC Venue: Abbey Close and Bridge Street, Paisley Back in Paisley for a third year... The only UK start leg of this internationallyfamous event. Expect more than 70 classic cars from through the ages to gather outside Paisley Abbey during the afternoon, before setting off for France. You can get up close to lovingly-preserved Porsches, BMWs, Mini Coopers and more before the cars head over the ramp one by one. Entertainment will be held during the day.

“At the conclusion of our feasibility research, we are all confident in the demand and convinced on the transformational impact our new venue will have on the town. “This is a community led initiative and we urge all Paisley residents to support us.” David Wallace, Director of PACE agrees “Paisley’s bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021 could be transformational for our town both in terms of regeneration and in its cultural offer. “Currently Paisley and Renfrewshire has a thriving and vibrant cultural scene which will now be able to build capacity, develop and produce new, exciting and innovative artistic projects both locally and in partnership with national and international cultural partners. “A new multi purpose Arts venue in the town centre will be at the heart of this cultural transformation and PACE, one of the many cultural organisations in Paisley, is fully behind both this proposal and that of the bid for UK City of Culture status for our magnificent town.” Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan said: “Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021 has had some phenomenal support from throughout the community since it was publicly launched the other week. “We’ve always said the bid will only succeed if the local community comes forward and takes ownership of it - which is why we are delighted the Paisley Community Trust have been doing exactly that. “We expect the bid will bring about an explosion in cultural activity around the town and this proposed venue could help capture much of that, while also being a valuable educational facility. “The initial feasibility work showed there is a demand for it - we will continue to work with the Trust as they develop their plans further in the months ahead.” Paisley 2021 Bid Director Jean Cameron added: “It’s great to be able to work with a local organisation so determined to realise their vision for a new arts and cultural venue in Paisley. “They are showing the imagination and drive that I know to be such a strong characteristic of our town and which will come across in spades in our bid for UK City of Culture 2021.”

Stay Safe around Watercourses this Winter Scottish Water is calling on people to stay safe around watercourses this winter. They advise people to be vigilant and not to take risks around freezing cold rivers, reservoirs and lochs also remind parents to keep their children safe and ask adults to act responsibly around watercourses. People should not go too close to the edge because they could slip and fall in. Dogs also need to be kept on a lead if they are being walked near reservoirs and other bodies of open water. Reservoirs are man-made features which, because of their purpose, have unique, sometimes hidden, dangers such as dams, spillways (overflows) and hidden water intakes (underwater pipe work that takes water out of the reservoir) and other hazards common to natural bodies of water, for example reeds, strong currents, steep banks and deep cold water. Also, as the majority of Scottish Water’s reservoirs are situated in remote locations, there is a lack of immediate assistance. For these reasons, and in the interests of public safety, Scottish Water does not encourage swimming or diving in any of its reservoirs. Scottish Water’s safety message is being supported by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA). Further winter safety advice is available at www.rospa.com.

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Bridge at Duchal Castle by Anna McIlree

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir ..................................................... A Good New Year to you all! What rain we have been having over the last month or so. I feel for the people who have suffered flooding, particularly last month, and it is not likely to get any better. We now get 30% more rain here than we did 30 years ago. Was Storm Desmond so extreme? I don’t think so. We had similar flooding like this about ten years ago. I shudder to think of the devastation that a one in 200 storm would cause, and this is what we are supposed to be gearing up to by complying with the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009. They only have two “gully slurpers” to clean out the 30,000 drains that we have in Renfrewshire. So many gullies are full to the grating with silt, and many of the ones that get cleaned out have blocked pipes leading from them so that doesn’t help. Un-adopted pavements allow loose gravel to get washed onto the road and fill the gullies within weeks of them being cleaned out.

Praying For Peace in Israel & the Occupied Palestinian Territory

All this water lying on the roads is eroding the surface. We need to do more to keep the water off the roads and that way our resurfacing programme would be so much more successful at improving the roads we drive on. A number of you have requested resurfacing for particular roads and I will keep this in mind when I put forward my bid for resurfacing of roads this coming month.

OLIVE TREE STALL – crafts from the Holy Land. Refreshments on the night. Big car park up slope opposite the church.

Thursday 21 January at 7.30pm - Freeland Church, Bridge Of Weir, PA11 3NR. This Christian Aid/Church of Scotland “Investing in Peace Service” for Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories is part of a series of monthly meetings held all over Scotland to raise awareness and understanding of the situation in “the Holy Land”. Kathy Galloway (head of Christian Aid Scotland) and Valerie Brown will lead the service and there will be discussion and questions. This is a rare opportunity to understand the complex and important issues involving Israel and O.P.T. As well as the repercussions in the Middle East today.

Bridge of Weir Messy Church

Langbank SWI

Bridge of Weir Festival

Messy Church at Freeland Church, Bridge of Weir will move from 3 Jan to 10 Jan to allow more people to attend. 4pm-6pm. Free entry for all ages. Meal included. Just turn up. Tel Catherine on 07980 649377.

We would like to thank all the organisations, volunteer drivers and, of course, Santa who braved the weather throughout December.

BoW SWI

On Thursday 21 January in The Village Centre at 7.30pm, we will be holding a 'Jean Armour' evening. This is a ticketed event at £5. There will be no competitions held on this occasion, as it is an open meeting. More details and tickets from committee members.

Surgeries: Bishopton Community Library - 1st Monday of every month (6.30pm), Cargill Hall - 2nd Monday of every month (6.30pm), Langbank Parish Church Hall - 3rd Monday of every month (6.30pm). Contact: 0300-300-1291 or email cllr.james.maclaren@ renfrewshire.gov.uk . Also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/councillormaclaren “Working with you and improving our local area”. Please feel free to contact me with any of your concerns, and I am happy to meet with you at a mutually convenient time.

We would also like to thank Morrison’s Supermarket in Johnstone, and all their staff, for allowing the Bridge of Weir Festival Committee (& Santa) to hold a collection to raise funds for The Beatson Cancer Charity. We managed to collect a massive £515.00! Many thanks to everyone who donated. Wishing all of you a peaceful and prosperous 2016. Our next meeting of the Festival Committee is our AGM scheduled for Tuesday 9 February at 7.30pm in the Cargill Hall. All interested parties are welcome to come along.

We would like to wish everybody a Happy New Year.

Our first meeting of 2016 will be on Thursday 7 January in the British Legion. We meet at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start. Our speaker will be William Harper from Gryffe Wraes farm who will be telling us about 21st Century Farming. We look forward to welcoming everyone, members and guests, as we embark on a new year.

Bishopton Art Group Winter Art Exhibition Between 10am and 3pm on Sunday 17 January at Ingliston Country Club, Ingliston Estate, Old Greenock Road, Bishopton, PA7 5PA, Bishopton Art Group will host their inaugural winter art exhibition. Members of the Group will be in attendance at the exhibition and there will be the opportunity to ask any relevant questions. The venue has adequate free parking. Admission to the exhibition is free. Linda Mitchell, organiser of Bishopton Art Group’s winter exhibition said, “Bishopton Art Group is pleased to announce that our inaugural winter art exhibition will be held on Sunday 17 January at Ingliston Country Club, Bishopton. There will be a varied selection of art mediums on display and they will be available to purchase too. Admission to the exhibition is free.”

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Successful Bridge of Weir, Christmas Lights switch-on The Christmas Lights switch on this year was a highly successful occasion for the Village. The Community Council wish to thank Bridge of Weir Leather Company, Renfrewshire Council’s Local Area Committee for their financial support, Freeland Church Outreach for their support towards catering costs, Brighter Bridge of Weir who did a fantastic job decorating the Grotto, the British Legion Club for use of their premises, the Festival Committee for the attendants who switched on the lights, and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Heritage Trust for bringing along Santa in style. Finally, a huge thank you to everyone who contributed to the bucket collection on the night. £333 was raised which will enable preparations to commence for switch on 2016.

Flooding on Houston Road

Renfrewshire Council have informed Bridge of Weir Community Council that they have provided a temporary solution to the flooding of the park and the main road at Houston Road, Bridge of Weir. They have identified that there was a blockage in the field drainage system, and that this system was not connected to the culvert under Houston Road at the gate into the park. Meantime they have installed a temporary connection to the culvert to allow water to flow into it, and this has addressed the flooding in the short term. They are proposing to repair the field drainage system between the flooded area and the gate, and to provide a permanent connection into the culvert. The works will take place between now and the end of January. There will be some disruption within the park, although it will improve the condition of the park in the longer term.

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Brighter Bridge of Weir THANK YOU A lot of the work that we did in 2015 will (we hope) be seen in all its glory for the first time in 2016. Much of what we did last year could not have been achieved without the many residents and businesses of Bridge of Weir who gave us both moral and financial support. Such support not only provided us with the funds to purchase the things we needed, from spring flower bulbs to Christmas light bulbs, it gave us the will to keep on doing what we were doing, whatever the weather and however hard the work. Every bit of that support was greatly appreciated, from the passers-by who would give our volunteers a few pounds while they were working, to the businesses who donated cash and prizes for our fund-raising events. All can be assured that every penny received was spent furthering our aim of making a brighter Bridge of Weir. We don’t want to create a ‘league table’ of donors, but we do want to publicly thank them, so we’ll be acknowledging the contribution made by those whose identities we can reveal on our website. Not the details of their contributions, just a recognition of their help. Among those we’ll be mentioning are the management and staff of this very publication, the Gryffe Advertizer, who always found space to let us publicise our efforts and fund-raisers. Every one, from the passer-by who simply said “you‘re doing a great job“, to the residents and businesses who donated funds and who freely provided specialist materials and skills, shows the strength of our community and gives us the desire to make Bridge of Weir even brighter in 2016. Happy New Year! and thank you Brighter Bridge of Weir, for keeping our frontage looking so bright and colourful all year, from the Advertizer and Bernie's Cafe!

The Bridge Happy New Year to our customers, volunteers and employees. A big thank you for using the Post Office, Shop and Community Centre during 2015. The use of the Community Centre continues to increase. Make it the place in the centre of the village to catch up with friends. The monthly Hard of Hearing Clinic is very well used and appreciated by village residents. The Citizens Advice Bureau provides a fortnightly bookable service. Our weekly Bridge Class is very popular on Friday afternoons. Surgeries are held by some of our elected representatives. Films, shown on a fortnightly basis, are well attended - please collect the new list of films to be shown during the first half of 2016. Learn more about the history of your village during the First World War - we are very pleased to host an Exhibition entitled “Bridge of Weir in the Great War” between the 3rd and 24th January. Much research has been undertaken to compile a comprehensive picture of the role young men from our village played in the Great War. On Saturday 9th January a Family Day is planned which should have something to interest everyone. The Bridge also boasts an extensive selection of Greetings Cards and essential Stationery items. A drop in café, ever-changing exhibitions, sales of used books and a showcase for the sale of gifts produced by local craft workers. Lastly a big thank you to our team of dedicated volunteers as without them The Bridge could not operate. Please make their day by popping in to view all The Bridge has to offer. (Opening Hours: Mon – 9am to 5pm (PO closed 12 noon to 12.30pm); Tues & Fri – 1pm to 5pm; Wed & Thu – 10am to 2pm; Sat – 9am to 1pm)

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Bridge of Weir Community Council Our final meeting of 2015 was on Tuesday 1 December, where the main issue of the evening was planning. Gladman Developments Limited has submitted a proposal of application notice (POAN) to Renfrewshire Council for a residential development on Green-Belt land lying to the north of Kilmacolm Road. This is a large site and, if approved, will be a major development. The public consultation/exhibition held in the Cargill Hall outlined the application in principle giving no detail on the number, style or quality of the houses or on any infrastructure changes planned. This is simply a pre-cursor to submitting a planning application for approval in principle for the development with detail to follow at some future date. An exit poll conducted by the Community Council of residents leaving the public consultation showed 90% against and 10% for a development at this location. The community council will write to Renfrewshire Council with its concerns. A change proposal to the original plans for Shillingworth has been lodged with Renfrewshire Council. This modifies the internal road layout to include a cul-desac terminating at the land adjacent to Shillingworth Steadings, thus creating the opportunity to extend the development further into the Green-Belt at some future time. The community council will object to this proposed change. Whitelint Gate: Renfrewshire Council has still to receive a formal application for this development. Bulls Garage: This site is still available, but to date no development proposal has been submitted to Renfrewshire Council. Renfrewshire Council has finally taken action to prevent the water pouring out of Houston Road Park on to the pavement and to Houston Road. Community Council Chairman expressed strong disapproval on the way Renfrewshire Council has handled this problem taking years to listen to voices within the Community who had argued for works to be carried out, rather than waiting for nature to drain away the pool of water as Senior Council Officials predicted. We have now been informed they have provided a temporary solution to the flooding, having identified that there was a blockage in the field drainage system, and that this system was not connected to the culvert under Houston Road at the gate into the park. Meantime, they have installed a temporary connection to the culvert to allow water to flow into it, and this has addressed the flooding in the short term. They are proposing to repair the field drainage system between the flooded area and the gate, and to provide a permanent connection into the culvert. The works will take place between now and the end of January. There will be some disruption within the park, although it will improve the parks condition in the longer term.

Christmas Tree Recycling

Barshaw Park, Paisley

Household waste recycling centre, 52 Underwood Road, Paisley Lochwinnoch Public Park Thomas Shanks Park, Johnstone Inverclyde residents can take their Christmas trees to Pottery Street Recycle Centre, Greenock, PA15 2UH. Please note if you are taking a tree by van this has to be booked in by phoning 01475 717171 for a reference number to take.

Renfrewshire Council are suspending the food waste collection service and replacing it by disposal of food waste in the brown garden bin. This service will be extended to cover the full year, and the green food bags will continue to be provided. An approach has been made to Community Services for works to clear the grass verges on Mill O’ Gryffe Road and Back Road. A request for additional Grit Bins in various locations has been submitted to Renfrewshire Council. Many residents will have witnessed our new festive tree lights at Livery Walk where an additional set purchased by the Community Council has been placed on each tree. Unfortunately our new street lamp column motifs did not arrive in time for the switch on. Traffic Congestion at the Nursery and Primary School is proving problematic for residents entering and leaving their properties at this location, this will be looked into. Since the meeting severe rainfall resulting from storm Desmond caused major disruption to the Village road network and public transport. The Community Council will discuss flood prevention measures with the appropriate authorities. Many residents were grateful for the updates on the Community Council Facebook page. The Chairman and representatives of TARA attended a meeting hosted by Councillor Holmes with Ralph Roberts Managing Director and colleagues from McGill’s Buses along with a representative from Strathclyde Passenger Transport. McGill’s informed us that no progress had been made with their review of the Clyde Valley network. We reiterated our requests from the April meeting better usage of the X7A to include an improved frequency for St Andrew’s Drive and Ranfurly areas, a fairer ticketing pricing policy on the X7 Glasgow service, and consideration of a local route to include direct links to the ON-X and Phoenix Retail Park. The Community Council wishes everyone a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

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kilmacolm & quarriers .....................................................

Thankfully, Inverclyde Council at a meeting at the beginning of December took the decision to suspend on-street parking enforcement in Kilmacolm while a new traffic regulation order comes into force. This followed after a motion to the meeting was agreed unanimously by councillors. It means that on-street limited waiting restrictions on Lochwinnoch Road, Bridge of Weir Road, Port Glasgow Road and Market Road will not be enforced until the new regulation order is introduced which could be May 2016 depending on the public consultation. This will make things easier for businesses and shoppers in the village until the TRO is decided, where it is proposed to extend parking to 2 hours Monday to Friday. Please note though that all other restrictions including double yellow lines and car parks will still be enforced. Unfortunately, due to illness I was only able to attend a few events in the run up to Christmas one of which was the Inverclyde Schools Christmas Music Concert. We were well entertained by the children’s choirs and orchestras. As I write my column I am hopeful of also attending St Columba’s Christmas Music Celebration in Greenock town hall later in the month. I attended the last one two years ago and it was a great night. I am always very impressed by the continuing high music standards in Inverclyde and the fact that our choirs and orchestras have won so many national awards. Last month I wrote about the success of two local businesses PG Paper and the Three Sisters Bake. I have heard they have recently won national awards they were nominated for. Very well done to both companies. A national code of practice and charter has been launched by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to improve recycling rates across the country. Inverclyde, which earlier in the year was crowned the top area for recycling, is at the heart of things. Last year Inverclyde recycled 56.8% of our waste. This is a great increase from where we were about 8 years ago when we were among one of the poorest performing councils in Scotland. The new charter should make things easier for us all to recycle even more waste in the future and reach the national target of 70%. At a time when nations around the globe met in Paris in December to discuss climate change and how we can all do our bit to tackle global warming doing all we can to reduce dumping in landfill sites will go a long way to help. I hope everyone had a peaceful Christmas and I wish everyone a Happy New Year. For my next surgeries please see my announcement in the local newspaper and surgery posters. If wanting to contact me please phone me through my office at 01475 712727 or mobile 07747 765 839 or by emailing me at jim.macleod@inverclyde.gov.uk or writing to me at Inverclyde Council, Municipal Buildings, Greenock, PA15 1LY.

january 2016

My motion to full Council was passed unanimously to suspend enforcement of the 30 minute parking in the Village until the new 2 hour waiting limit comes in in May 2016. Both single and double yellow lines will of course remain in force. The relaxation does not cover poor parking on the road or in the main car-park and I have to warn drivers that regulations regarding parking on kerbs and straddling the parking lines will still be monitored and enforced by the Traffic Wardens. The relaxation of the parking time restriction is what both shoppers and traders have been asking for and I hope our traders had a busy Christmas. When the Christmas lights were switched on in Quarriers and Kilmacolm, I applaud those who turned out in horrendous conditions at the former and thanks to Sylvia who pressed the plunger. KPS choir entertained us in the Cargill with traditional and some new Christmas songs, interspersed with really strong solos. I thoroughly enjoyed the school’s Christmas concert in their temporary decant, while major refurbishment is completed The RBS cash machine broke down the day after the bank closed! Cargill board are in talks with the bank to have the cash dispenser on the wall of the Centre near to the bakers. I suspect the new Cooperative shop may have one also, but no harm in having two. The location of the mobile bank seems to suit most people and is readily accessible to all. I have written to the relevant director regarding the rugby pitches at Birkmyre Park. The rugby club have completed half their games compared to others in their league and St Columbas School have been unable to fulfil fixtures. Drainage is a problem and although some monies have been set aside to deal with the problem, I am asking that matters be accelerated. Good to see Sir Eric Yarrow, who opened the original 50 years ago, at the official opening of the new St Columbas Science building. The guest of honour Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde gave a quite motivational and amusing address to the assembled school and guests. I attended an open day at the Haven, Kilmacolm, and note this venture is going from strength to strength and continuing to bring back into society young men who have strayed. I recommend a visit and Gary Lister can be contacted on 87 2099. The bonfire and fireworks went ahead inspite of the weather. Do I not remember, in the mists of time, November being dry and frosty? Thanks to the teamLawrie Campbell, Sam Johnston, Dougie Lyle of Scart Farm, Andrew Malcolm of Malcolms and the rest of the helpers who make this an important village occasion.

OUTLOOK

My surgery is 23 January, 10-11 Cargill. I can be contacted on 01475 741969 and 712727 and 07766 992294 and email: david.wilson@inverclyde.gov. uk.

Hall to Hire Kilmacolm The Guide Hut on Woodrow Avenue is a great venue with easy access near to the village centre. Newly refurbished main hall, with additional kitchen facilities and outdoor area. Perfect for children’s parties, weekly classes and one off special occasions. For further details please contact Carol on 01505 874428.

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We will return on Thursday 7 January, meeting in Kidston Hall, Kilmacolm at 2pm for an afternoon mixed with friendship and fellowship. Gentle Keep Fit, a Friendship Quiz, table tennis, with afternoon tea of course. On Thursday 21 January, we are delighted to be welcoming pupils from St Columba’s school who will be presenting a Burns Afternoon. A very special occasion indeed. Everyone welcome to come along to OUTLOOK, the social group for the community of Kilmacolm, so start the year in style at OUTLOOK. We meet on the first and third Thursdays monthly at 2pm In Kidston Hall. Further details from Jill Russell on 01505 872393

16/12/2015 16:59:09

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t: 01505 613340

e: info@advertizer.co.uk We would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year. December was a busy month with the highlights including the Christmas lights switch-ons in Quarrier’s Village and Kilmacolm and the excellent Nativity and Christmas Concert at Kilmacolm Primary.

In our December column we reported that the Council is looking for your views in the run up to the budget being set at a meeting in February. Public consultation events have been held across Inverclyde, including one in Kilmacolm Community Centre on 1 December. The feedback from these events will help inform the decisions to be taken by elected members.

kilmacolm & quarriers

..................................................... Library Membership Just a ‘Click’ Away Membership of Inverclyde Council’s libraries is now just a ‘click away. People can now become an eMember gaining access to a range of free services including eBooks, eAudio books, eMagazines and online reference sources. Education & Communities Convener Councillor Terry Loughran said: “It is quick, simple and you don’t even need any identification. If you are already a library member you can access the online services using your library card and PIN. If the thought of using the internet is a bit daunting you can even book a one-to-one session with one of our tutors. Just bring your tablet or smart phone, library card and an email address and we can get you started.” Authors available online include Lee Child, Lisa Jackson, Jodi Picoult and Nora Roberts. A wide range of publications are also available in the eMagazine section including Health and Fitness, Good Housekeeping, Homes & Garden and National Geographic. www.inverclyde.gov.uk/forms/ ShowForm.asp?fm_fid=420

If refuse collections are delayed due to adverse weather conditions, please put your bins out by 7am every day to allow collection at the earliest opportunity.

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As reported last month, the Policy & Resources Committee on 17 November agreed to suspend on-street waiting restrictions on Lochwinnoch Road, Bridge of Weir Road, Port Glasgow Road and Market Place on the four Saturdays in December to encourage trade in the run up to Christmas. Following unanimous agreement at the full Council on 3 December this suspension was extended to every day of the week until a revised traffic regulation order (TRO) is approved. The Council is proposing a revised TRO for the village centre, which will provide 2 hour waiting with no return within 30 minutes. This arrangement would operate Monday to Friday. Councillor McColgan My surgeries this month are on Tuesday 12 January, 6pm – 7pm in Kilmacolm Community Centre and Tuesday 26 January, 6pm – 7pm in St Francis Primary School. You can reach me on 01475 712727 (during office hours) and 07881 280016 (anytime) or by emailing me at james.mccolgan@inverclyde.gov.uk. Alternatively you can write to me at Inverclyde Council, Municipal Buildings, Greenock PA15 1LY. You can keep up to date with my work as a Councillor by visiting my website: http:// jamesmccolgan.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @jamesmccolgan. Councillor McCabe

To join online fill in the form available here:

Christmas and New Year Bin Collections Regular day Revised day Tue 29 Dec Normal collection Wed 30 Dec Normal collection Thurs 31 Dec Normal collection Fri 1 Jan Sun 3 Jan Mon 4 Jan Normal collection Tues 5 Jan Normal collection Wed 6 Jan Normal collection Thurs 7 Jan Normal collection Fri 8 Jan Normal collection

There is still time to submit your views as part of the Council’s online interactive budget simulator. It only takes a few minutes and can be accessed by visiting our website www.inverclyde.gov.uk/council-and-government/yoursay. The tool allows you to review the savings options approved by Elected Members for consultation and then gives you the opportunity to balance the Council’s budget by selecting the savings you would take. The budget consultation is open until 11 January.

To book a free one-to-one half an hour appointment with an Inverclyde Council library tutor phone 01475 712322. Sessions take place on the following dates and times: • Kilmacolm Library, 11 Jan, 5-6pm • Central Library, 14 Jan, 10-12 noon • Central Library, 21 Jan, 2-4pm • Kilmacolm Library, 15 Jan, 2-3pm

My surgeries this month are on Tuesday 12 January, 6pm - 7pm in Clune Park Resource Centre and Tuesday 26 January, 6.30pm – 7.30pm in Kilmacolm Community Centre. You can also contact me directly to discuss any matters that are of concern to you by telephone on 01475 712020 (during office hours) and 871368 (home) or by email to Stephen.McCabe@inverclyde.gov.uk. Alternatively you can write to me at 10 Victoria Gardens, Kilmacolm PA13 4HL. You can keep up to date with my work as a Councillor by visiting my blog: http://councillorstephenmccabe.blogspot.com/ and follow me on Twitter @ CllrSMcCabe.

Kilmacolm Spiritualist Church Kilmacolm Community Centre, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm. Help every Tuesday at 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)

Do you want to improve your Bridge? Classes resume in Kilmacolm Community Centre on the 6 January for 4 weeks then on the 24 February for 8 weeks. Class meets on Wednesdays from 7.15pm until 9.15pm. These are stand along lessons and it is possible to attend on a weekly basis. All welcome except complete beginners. Look forward to seeing you. Further information tel : 01505 872345.

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BeardyBeardy Open for Business Local young family man Stephen Ross, who has been in the hair industry for almost 10 years, has opened up his own barber shop in the centre of Kilmacolm called BeardyBeardy Grooming Co.

Agricultural Whist Drive Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow Agricultural Society Annual Whist Drive Friday 19 February at 7.30pm in New Community Centre Kilmacolm. Tickets £3 includes light supper.

howwood & elderslie ..................................................... Hi there, I hope you all had a good time over the festive period. I attended the last Parent Council meeting of the year at Johnstone High. As many of you know, the school did have its troubles during the summer. I am more than satisfied since then that the school has made good progress and is certainly now in a better place. I would like to thank the interim head teacher Mr Dewar and all his staff for all their work as well as the members of the Parent Council who were very supportive during a very difficult time for the school Planning permission has been granted for a cafe in the empty shop in the village. I am pleased that a new facility will be in the village but I am concerned that any extra cars parked in this area as a result could potentially cause problems in this area. I know the Community Council have similar concerns and we will continue to speak to the council and the police about how we can improve traffic management in the village. I have been working along with council officers to bring social work and health services for adults together under the one organisation. This is a radical change for these services and the Health and Social Care Partnership will be up and running on the 1 st April. As I write this Scotland s councils do not yet know how much their budgets will be for 2016/2017. The council announces its budget in mid February and I will let you of any implications for Howwood. My surgery in January is on the 28th January in the Village Hall.

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The shop has a modern rustic look which has created a relaxed atmosphere, but retaining a high standard of cutting and styling. As well as dealing with the hair on your head, they are also cutting and shaping beards. With the incredibly busy start that BeardyBeardy has had, they have now introduced another barber into the company. 1 Lyle Buildings, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm, PA13 4LE. Tel: 07538 680825

Elderslie Lights Switch On Elderslie Community council would like to thank everyone who made the Christmas lights switch on such a success. The annual event took place on Friday 27 November in Stoddard Square. Our Chairman Denis Wadsworth introduced the Wallace primary Choir who gave us some Christmas songs to entertain the crowd. The main highlight of the evening was Wallace primary Primary pupil Alisha Asare who switched on the lights after the countdown. A certificate of appreciation was presented to Alisha by our vice chairman John O’Neill. St Andrews trinity Boys Brigade Band played for the rest of the evening to entertain the crowd. We would like to thank the local businesses, the Nisa store, Forgotten dreams Jim’s food and wine, Elderslie Coffee Shop, Ice and Glitz as well as St Andrews trinity BB brigade band and Wallace Primary School for helping the evening go so well. Lindsay Brown Secretary Elderslie Community Council The next meeting of the Elderslie Community Council will be held on Tuesday 2 February 2016 in the village hall, Jean Goldie Room at 7.30pm. Guest, Shona McDougall, Director of resources Renfrewshire Council.

Howwood WI Tuesday 19 January - Corners Night Beads & Tassels by Margaret Jamieson, Sugarcraft by Christine Drennan, Flower by Nan Steel, Beadwork by Ethel Hamilton, Competition - Favourite Cushion Hostesses - Gail Gilchrist & Margaret Jamieson. Vote of Thanks - Morag Wills Meetings in Howwood Village Hall at 7.30pm. Subscription £18 per annum

16/12/2015 16:59:17

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houston, crosslee & brookfield ..................................................... Can I take this opportunity to wish all residents in Ward 9 a Happy New Year. It was a very wet and windy end to the year with flooding in many areas of the villages, causing a number of road closures and traffic disruption. On a brighter side, it was a pleasure for me to be invited and attend the wonderful polished performances of the pupils in their Christmas shows. A number of proposals that have recently been agreed by the Council’s Leadership Board include the future introduction of ‘Co-mingled Garden and Food Waste Kerbside Collection Services’ where it is proposed to extend the garden waste collection to a full 12 month provision, combine food waste with garden waste and collect both through the garden waste collection service. Flats and tenements will continue to receive weekly food waste collections. Also agreed was the proposal on the future ‘Rationalisation of Household Waste Recycling Centres’ that would see the Linwood site converted to a self service “bring site” supported by a small mobile staffing resource operating during opening times. Larger items of waste “white goods, electrical goods, scrap, wood and household hazardous waste being directed to the larger Waste Recycling Centre at the Underwood Road depot in Paisley. Full details of both proposals can be found on the Council Website under Leadership Board 2 December 2015. My surgeries are held on the second Tuesday of the month in the Brookfield Village Hall from 6pm to 6.30pm then in the Houston Village Hall from 7pm to 7.45pm. I can be contacted by phone on 01505 610018 or by e-mail at cllr.allan.noon@ renfrewshire.gov.uk or through Renfrewshire Council on 0300 300 1265

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Houston Community Council Meeting Wednesday 18 November 2015 Police Report: Sgt Ward stated that 5 crimes were reported within the period 21/10/15 – 18/11/15 of which 1 was detected. He highlighted the new campaign, effective now, highlighting awareness of housebreaking particularly around the lead up to Festive Period. The CC undertook to investigate who is responsible for the repair and maintenance of footpaths within Craigends Estate, and also the wooden bridge linking Ninian Avenue and Crosslee Park, since these have not been adopted by Renfrewshire Council. Flooding at Craigends Rd seems ongoing. Residents cannot get through, with water up to 2ft deep on occasions and cars have been flooded. Royal Mail will not deliver when flooding is bad. Renfrewshire Council is trying to get farmer to clean out the drains leading to Houston/Georgetown Rd. Councillor Noon laid Council wreaths at war memorials at Houston and Bridge of Weir on 8/11/15. Poor white road markings within Houston to be reported. All relevant paperwork for new bank account signatories has been submitted, and the process should be completed within 2-3 weeks. A submission has been made to the Local Government Boundaries Commission objecting to their proposal to split Houston between two electoral wards. This followed a Public Meeting attended by an estimated 226 residents unanimously opposed to the plan. Both Houston MSP’s support our campaign to keep Houston united. Houston Community Council Facebook page is up and running. All Houston residents are strongly encouraged to join, catch up with our news and make comments. Arrangements were made to switch on the Christmas lights and to devise a 4 year development plan for Christmas lights in the future. Full minutes of the meeting are available at Houston Post Office and the Carrick Centre. Next meeting scheduled for Wednesday 20 January in Carrick Centre at 7.30pm

Houston and Killellan Kirk Houston and Killellan - Diaporama Ladies Charity Night 3rd Jan 11am First Service of the New Year. 10th Jan 11am Morning Worship. 17th Jan 11am Morning Worship. 24th Jan 11am Morning Worship. 31st Jan 9.45am Early Service 11am Morning Worship.

Friday 22 January The people who are making the Pilgrimage to The Holy Land in February 2016 are holding a Ladies Charity Night in the JG Fleming Bowling Club in Houston on Friday 22 January from 7.30pm. Tickets are £5 each, includes a supper and can be bought at the kirk or from Liz, Tel:01505 612569. This should be a fun evening! All the proceeds from this event will be given to The Al-Shurooq School for Blind Children in Bethlehem. We have visited this school on previous pilgrimages and have seen for ourselves the good work that is going on with the children. Please come along and support this event.

Houston and Killellan Kirk Guild The Guild next meet up on the 12 January, when our Session Clerk, James McBeath, will give a talk on “Houston & Killellan Archives”. Please note that the Guild Guest Evening will be on the following Tuesday, 19 January. The entertainment will be provided by the duo, “Harmonise”. Tuesday 2 February is a “Bring a Friend” evening, when our speaker, Mr Grant Young, will tell us about his travels “Across Europe on a Bike”.

Lane at Burntshields looking towards Howwood

Our December meeting is always lots of fun and a chance for all of us to be involved. We always have a competition and this year we decided to leave the theme up to the individual member, but it had to be related to Christmas. It is amazing how many different interpretations this lends itself to! At each meeting we usually have a cuppa and a biscuit but this meeting just needs a little extra i.e. festive fayre - it really creates a great atmosphere particularly for our welcome guests. Our next meeting is on Monday 11 January, 7.30pm at the Carrick Centre, Houston when Adrian, Ronnie and Sue will showing a very different programme of sequences. All Welcome!

So a busy time ahead, with a packed programme. Do join us in the West Hall at 7.30pm, where a warm welcome awaits.

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Murshiel Country Park

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january 2016

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houston, crosslee & brookfield

..................................................... H.O.S.T. The Carrick Centre, Houston What’s on January 2016 Monday to Friday, Woodlands Out of School 01505 615438

MONDAY Embroiderers Guild (from 11th) 10am - 12pm. Yoga (from 11th) 1pm. Mary Laidlaw 01505 610217. Rockstar Tumbling Class (from 11th) 4.15pm Roz Hart 07734714131. Diaporama 11th 7.30pm TUESDAY Musical Theatre (from 12th) 3.30pm - 5.45pm. Yoga (weekly) (from 12th) 7pm. M/s Lawson 01505 613690. Agric Discussion Soc. 12th 7.30pm WEDNESDAY Paint Pot Tots (from 13th) 10am. Dawn Campbell 07789 262350. Galaxy Dance (weekly) 4pm. Lauren 07974 285102. Councillors Surgeries 20th 6.30pm. Gryffe Melody Makers 6th & 20th 7pm. Camera Club (weekly) 7.30pm. Houston Community Council 20th 7.30pm

THURSDAY French Class (from 14th) 4pm. F McDevitt. Crafty Friends 7th & 21st 7.30pm. Folk Club (weekly) 8pm. Paddybullen@live.co.uk FRIDAY Galaxy Dancing (weekly) 4pm. Lauren. MP Surgery (8th) 12.30pm -1.30pm SATURDAY Galaxy Dancing (weekly) 9.30am. Lauren. SUNDAY Baptist Church (weekly) 11am and 6pm Booking enquiries to Ian Simpson, 01505 612203 Sandy Young 01505 331488 Bill Haddow 01505 690693 hostbooking@outlook.com or The Coffee Shop

Brookfield Village Council Brookfield enjoyed a hectic but successful Christmas season, starting with the children’s Christmas party on 5 December. The children enjoyed the party, but of course the highlight was to see Santa and receive an early gift from his elves! The following weekend, our Christmas Carol service was accompanied by a primarily village brass ensemble and we were treated to mince pies and mulled wine afterwards. Then to complete the set, villagers, friends and relatives got together in the village hall on 27 to enjoy our usual post Christmas cheese, wine and chinwag. And here we are in 2016, Happy New Year everyone. We begin this year with a Family Ceilidh on Saturday, 23 January to which all are welcome. If you would like a ticket, these need to be purchased in advance and you can do this by emailing brookfieldvpa@gmail.com. We are also looking for volunteers to help set up and co-ordinate the event and you can do this by emailing the same address. On a serious note, the Village Council is a very small team which we would like to expand. In addition, some members are retiring in March. We are responsible for running the village charity, fund raising through various social events, as well as dealing with maintenance issues in the hall and around the village. We hire the hall out for events and clubs, but we need more help urgently. Whether you wish to become a member of the village council, or you have some spare time to help at events, or doing odd maintenance jobs, please, please get in touch... You know the email address, brookvieldvpa@gmail.com or if you prefer a more traditional method of communication, telephone your local village council member, details of whom are on the Syllabus.

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Boundary Review Update - Many constituents have asked whether any outcome has been reached in relation to the proposed boundary changes. Houston Community Council successfully submitted a freedom of information request which revealed almost 1000 submissions were made by Houston residents. This is an amazing response. What is even more telling is that only two submissions favoured the boundary commission proposals! All credit to Houston Community Council and local residents who took the time to make their views known. We will await the outcome with interest. Festive period - I hope you had an enjoyable Christmas and New Year and wish you well for the year ahead. Surgeries - I will hold a surgeries on Thursday 7 January at Linwood High at 7pm, Tuesday 19 January at 7pm at Tweedie Hall, Linwood and Wednesday 20 January at 6.30pm in the Carrick Centre, Houston. Keep up to date! - Please feel free to ‘like’ my Facebook page to keep up to date with local issues: www.facebook.com/CouncillorStuartClark

Connor Thomson Connor Thomson recently competed for Scotland in the tennis Tri Nations Championships which took place at Scotstoun, Glasgow. He was one of two boys at the Age Group 14 & Under. Whilst Connor won all his matches, Scotland overall were 2nd in the competition when all the scores for the girls and boys age groups 12’s, 14’s and 18’s were combined. The event took place over two days and there was a lot of good tennis on show. Having won a couple of Tennis Europe Doubles events earlier in the year, and having also won the Doubles event at Wimbledon, this was the highlight of Connor’s year, representing his Country for a second time. Connor, from Houston, trains at David Lloyd in Renfrew.

16/12/2015 16:59:22

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One of the oldest organisations in Kilbarchan is the Kilbarchan General Society, and I was the only ward councillor who recently, with my wife and the Provost, attended a civic reception in honour of the Society to celebrate its 250th anniversary as a friendly society. They exist solely to fundraise for local charities, and actually helped to secure the funding of the Kilbarchan public park a century ago. It was also good to be able to attend the opening of the Mary Barbour Cairn in New Street, Kilbarchan, to honour a great social reformer, and ILP Councillor, who was in the great radical tradition of the Kilbarchan Weavers. Together, the Cairn and the Weavers Cottage, and not forgetting the Robert Allan Fountain in Church St, are just some of the wider Renfrewshire attractions which put Kilbarchan on the map. To continue in the tradition of honouring those who serve the wider community, I was delighted to be able to attend a ceremony to commemorate the winning of a Queens Community Award by Castle Semple Rowing Club. This is a great testimony especially to their work with disabled young people. In principle I am sympathetic to wind farms and solar farms, but I have formally objected to an application for two solar farms behind Lochwinnoch, at Weels Farm, and at West Mitchelton Farm, on the basis that I believe it would be detrimental to the rural environment. My advice surgery in Kilbarchan is on the second Wednesday of the month in the Steeple Hall at 7.45pm, and my advice surgery in Lochwinnoch is on the fourth Wednesday of the month in the McKillop at 7.30pm, excluding July. But I am also always available to constituents who can call me on 07534 148224, tweet me on CllrAndy4Ward8 or email: cllr.andy.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Country Dance Classes Tuesdays in the McKillop Hall, Lochwinnoch at 7.30pm. We always have great fun and it's good exercise too! Phone Lorna Black 01505 843048 for more info.

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Old Library Centre At the Old Library Centre you can do many things. You can improve your health by joining the Pilates Class or the Yoga Class and if you are a toddler you can join the First Love Music and bring your Mummy or Daddy to watch your enjoyment. It may be that you have a desire to learn computing or a problem with your computer. You can get help from our expert Ian. We are intending to start a new computer class in January. If You are interested please phone the Centre or call in to see our receptionist Doris. You can use the Centreâ€™s computer suite and print all sorts of documentation. You can join the Family and Social History group where our expert Russell will give you help to source your family roots. You can learn Bridge with our expert Hamish. The class is suitable for beginners and improvers and no partner is required. It maybe that you want to be entertained - our programme may suit you. The book club chaired by our expert Brian might be of interest to you . Of course, you might just wish to visit the Reading Room where magazines, coffee and tea are available. So much happens at the Centre that I urge you to look at our www.kipcokil.com site or our window notices to see what may suit you. All our costs are very low. We are a registered Scottish Charity which needs your support. We wish you a Happy New Year and look forward to seeing you when the Centre opens after the festive period on Wednesday 6th January 2016. Tel: 01505 706070 www. kipcokil.com kipcokil@hotmail.com

Kilbarchan General Society The Kilbarchan General Society had their AGM on 8th December. Mr N Kerr was voted in as Preses for the coming year with Mr E Black supporting him as Vice Preses. We welcome 2 new managers as Mssrs Tennant and Blair were unanimously voted on to the management committee. We look forward to another year of fund raising for local projects.

The Disbursements were made on Tuesday 24th November with the Society distributing funds to Kilbarchan organisations; BB, Scouts, Guides and the Nursery. We also contributed to Erskine Hospital, St Vincentâ€™s Hospice, Accord Hospice and one off donations to Pipe Band for their trip to the Somme and Community Council to help place defibrillators at the top and bottom of the village.

Gryffe Scottish Country Dance Club The club finished off the winter session with a very enjoyable Christmas Party/ Dance and are now looking forward to starting the new term on Thursday 7 January. As usual we meet at 8pm in the Kilbarchan Guide Centre. New or experienced dancers will be most welcome to come and join us. If you haven't been dancing for a while, no problems, take things at your own pace and we shall help you get back in the swing. We finish up at Easter once again with a Spring Dance on Wednesday 13 April. Music will be provided by the very popular Marian Anderson. Contact Les Lambert for details at 01505 704398.

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16/12/2015 16:59:26

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january 2016

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kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

..................................................... Rapid Departure... ...the brand new immersive comedy from Right Lines! This play could have been written for Lochwinnoch read on!!!! Lochwinnoch Arts Festival in partnership with Renfrewshire Leisure and Paisley arts centre will present Rapid Departure on Saturday 12th March 2016 in the McKillop hall tickets £8 (con £5) The surrounding area has been hit by a freak flood and the locals (the audience) are guided to the safety of the Village Hall (McKillop!), the designated Emergency Rest Centre. Environmental calamities are on the increase and extreme weather conditions can arise at any moment. The question is, how would we all cope? Plunged into the fraught world of the rural Rest Centre the evacuees and officials grapple with the ever-deepening crisis both outside the Hall – and in! Right Lines can always be relied upon to make a drama out of a crisis. In this evening of immersive comedy, our five characters are desperately trying to keep their heads above water as the Emergency Plan is swept away before their very eyes! Over the last few years, Right Lines has deliberately pursued different styles of theatre with the successful musical Whisky Kisses - the flagship production at Pitlochry Festival Theatre in 2014 - and the award-nominated international terrorism drama Be Silent or Be Killed in 2013.

Road Resurfacing - The resurfacing of Wheatlands Drive in Kilbarchan which was planned for mid November was postponed due to the recent heavy rain. The council has advised me that this work has been rescheduled for early in the new year, with the nature and timing of the work involved weather dependent Lochwinnoch Bridge - The council has also clarified the plan for work on Lochwinnoch bridge. The main points are the timing and timescale of the work, and temporary provision for emergency vehicles and a pedestrian bridge crossing. It is anticipated that the construction work which will take around 5 months will commence next May /June. Kilbarchan Pipe Band Battle of the Somme Anniversary - At the most recent meeting of Johnstone and Villages Local Area Committee, I was delighted to recommend that the committee support the grant application from Kilbarchan Pipe Band, to assist the band to attend the centenary anniversary commemorations of the Battle of the Somme in July of next year. The band is the only one in Scotland invited to the event, which will be one of the most poignant moments of the 4 years of commemoration of the first world war.

Kilbarchan NWR The new session begins on the 6 January with a Planning Meeting, followed on the 20th by a review of the book Brooklyn by Colm Toibin, recently released at cinemas. For further info please see the website: www.nwr.org.uk

Lochwinnoch SWI We hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas and New Year break and are looking forward to the 2016 half of our syllabus. The next meeting of Lochwinnoch SWI is on Wednesday 20 January at 7.30pm in the McKillop Hall. Caroline Stewart will be tantalising our taste buds with a demonstration of Scottish Desserts, so forget about the New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and come along and enjoy! We look forward to welcoming members and visitors, particularly the new members to have joined us this year. For any further info contact Elma Richmond at 01505 843193 or richmond32@ tiscali.co.uk

Kilbarchan Parish Church The Service of Union of Kilbarchan West and Kilbarchan West took place on Tuesday 15 December, to form Kilbarchan Parish Church and at this service the Rev Stephen Smith was inducted into the new charge. All services of worship will now be in the church buildings off Steeple Square. Sunday Services are at 11am and the Midweek Fellowship will meet in the small hall on Wednesdays from 10.30am. Please come along and join us at any of these services. You will be made most welcome. Crèche, Junior Church and FEWsion meet at 10.45am on a Sunday morning. The Guild meets for its first meeting of the New Year on Tuesday 12 January at 2.30pm. Mr Jack Glenny will tell us of his experiences of speaking at Burns Suppers abroad. On the Tuesday 26 January, we will hold a Candlelit Service.

It is an honour for the band, the village of Kilbarchan, and Scotland to be involved in this most important act of remembrance. Mary Barbour - The unveiling of the Mary Barbour cairn in New Street Kilbarchan took place on the 21 November. Thanks to Kilbarchan Community Council, David Blair, the Reverend Stephen Smith for their support of the event, and to those many community organisations and individuals, who attended. A fitting tribute to a true visionary. Christmas Lights - Thanks also to the respective Community Councils and groups in Lochwinnoch and Kilbarchan for their work in arranging the Christmas lights events which despite the dreadful weather gave both communities really enjoyable evenings. I will not be holding surgeries on Saturday 2 January however, I will be available at any time on 07534 156007 or at cllr.derek.bibby@renfreshire.gov.uk. In the meantime, may I wish you and your family a Happy and Peaceful 2016.

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16/12/2015 16:59:29

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Prepare for winter Cracked pipe There are many ways of preparing for the worst winter can bring. Preparations arenâ€™t costly or time consuming and will keep you equipped for the worst. Prepare your home During winter, pipes can burst due to the water in the pipes freezing. There are a few simple measures you can take to prevent pipes from freezing, such as keeping your heating on at a low temperature or leaving taps open slightly to keep a small flow of water continuing through the pipes. Follow this advice from Scottish Water on protecting your pipes: Identify where the stop value on your boiler is and then learn how to turn off your water. Learn how to turn off your electricity supply at the mains.

Gryffe High Gardening Club

Ensure your property and contents are insured.

Angela Smith from the Royal Horticultural Society recently came in to give the gardening club training on planting. She also took us outside to explore our grounds and discuss the kinds of things we might like to do. We talked about collecting water, planting a variety of seeds and herbs, creating a chilli challenge and most exciting of all an outdoor classroom. We practised sowing some seeds with Angela and even got to take some flowers and herbs home with us.

Keep funds available to pay for emergency plumbers, electricians etc.

We are getting lots of help with creating our outdoor classroom:

Understand the terms of instance policies to understand what you are covered for, for example, flooding, burst pipes and storm damage. Identify your nearest grit bin. Keep a shovel, salt/grit and de-icer which will assist in clearing paths, driveways and ice from cars. Consider buying portable gas or oil-filled heaters for emergencies. Prepare yourself Keep supplies of cold/flu medicine at home. Ask if you are eligible for a free flu vaccine â€“ speak to your doctor. Keep warm indoors and out, and wear a hat in cold temperatures as your head is where most of your body heat escapes from. For more information on staying healthy in the winter months, visit the NHS website. Be helpful

Local business man Mr Mackenzie supplied us with pallets to make the outdoor class room.

Check on elderly friends, neighbours and relatives regularly.

Mr McClelland, the school Technician is helping to build the outdoor seating. The Craft Club are going to paint the seating when it is ready.

If safe to do so, help if you see a vehicle in difficulty. Perhaps you could offer the use of a telephone or simply a warm drink?

We will keep you updated on our progress. Andrew Hay & Ross McGowan S1

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Ask if you can help in any way, for example, with food shopping.

For more tips on preparing and coping in the winter months, visit the Ready Scotland website http://www.readyscotland.org/

16/12/2015 11:49:35

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january 2016

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Happy new year to all members, visitors and schools! December was a very busy month with Christmas tree sales, conservation work and many children attending the New Santa’s Grotto, so many in fact that we completely sold out so if you missed out please book early for next year. Although regarded by many as the quieter time of the year, the next few months will see much activity, not only conservation work in the woods and gardens but also gearing up for the snowdrop trails taking place throughout February. We all look forward to seeing you on the estate soon and the much anticipated opening of the Falconry Centre. Dates for your Calendar: Every Sunday in February we will have a ranger guided walk through the snowdrop trail, these are from 1-2pm and 2-3pm. We will have a “Special Moonlight Snowdrop Walk” in Feb the cost of this is £7.50 per adult and £5 per child aged three or over. This is a pre book event please look at the web site for details. Waxwings Visit The waxwing is a round bird, which is smaller than a starling. It has a large Mohican-like yellow crest. It is reddish-brown with a black throat, a small black mask round its eye Waxwings have been visiting the estate this winter to feast on berries, the birds don’t breed in Scotland but are winter visitors from Scandinavia. There has been a very good season for them and large numbers ‘overflow’ their home territories in what is known as an irruption, we then see increased numbers stripping the bushes of berries. Logs

Tearoom

Seasoned Logs available at Soft Wood or Hard Wood - All logs are produced on the estate

The Tearoom will be open at weekends between 11am and 4pm.

In the garden

Further information call 01475 540505 or visit www.finlaystone.co.uk

We can normally expect January to be our coldest month of the year, and probably the wettest also, with average rainfall in the region of 200-250 mm; however even in these poor conditions we can still enjoy the garden. Many shrubs and plants in our winter border will be blooming; The Silk- tassel bush (Garrya eliptica) looks stunning with its long silver catkins which can measure up to 14” (35mm) in length; Viburnum bodnantense with their rose tinted flowers, (which are sweetly scented) are still in bloom and are great value plants as they bloom for most of the winter. Even though flowers are scarce at this time of year, there are many evergreens; Conifers, Hollies, Mahonias etc which add great structure to the garden (especially when draped with fresh snow), they make great subjects for photographers and artists alike.

Winter vegetables now in season include Parsnips, Red and Green Brussels Sprouts, Red Kale, Leeks and Purple Sprouting Broccoli.

Kilmacolm Horticultural Soc January lecture will be held in the New Community Centre, Kilmacolm, on Wednesday 20th January at 7.30pm. The subject of the lecture is GARDEN BIRDS - a talk with slides from the experts - the Royal Society for Protection of Birds (RSPB Scotland). Our gardens provide a rich source of nourishment and protection for the birds, come along and hear more. Everyone welcome. Refreshments will be served after the lecture.

Winter Waste Local household waste and recycling centres will be open during the festive season as follows. Both centres will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Renfrewshire: Middleton Rd, Linwood (nearest postcode PA3 3DP) November to 29 February: Monday to Sunday, 8am - 4.45pm Inverclyde: Pottery Street, Greenock PA15 2UH October to March: Monday to Sunday, 8am – 6pm

Press cuttings We would be grateful if you see anything about Finlaystone in the press to cut it out and bring it in for our press files as these will help form the archives of the future! Volunteer news Are you interested in doing some survey work? This is a great opportunity for budding naturalists to hone their skills and for people interested in nature to learn as we are planning on setting up several easy to do monitoring schemes in 2015 – sampling lichens to assess air quality, bird watching and wildflower I.D. No prior experience needed. Your data will be used at a national level and could make a real difference to conservation in Scotland. And a big thank you to all the volunteers who help out in the woodlands and gardens, we couldn’t run this place without you and we hope to see you in the new year. Volunteers required to help with Snowdrops Regular visitors will be aware that February is Snowdrop time at Finlaystone and many hours are spent lifting, splitting, selling and replanting these magnificent plants. If you would like to be part of this activity, even if it is just for a couple of hours, please contact Norah or Fraser on 01475 540505 or email shop@finlaystone.co.uk Fraser Lang Happy New Year on behalf of all the staff at Finlaystone

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16/12/2015 11:49:40

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Pedal the Park 2016

Kilbarchan & District Beekeepers Association

Be at Clyde Muirshiel on Sunday 24 April After the success of the first Pedal the Park event in April 2015, Clyde Muirshiel and Ride 63 Community Cycling Club are excited to announce a new date for 2016, Sunday 24th April! Back again will be the sportive (with new longer alternative option) and para cycling on hand bikes time trial.

Over 100 riders leave Castle Semple Visitor Centre at Pedal the Park 2015

Pedal the Park is a ‘Cycling Event’ comprising of a number of different rides to suit the intermediate to advanced cyclist. For the road bikers there will be a ‘Classic 75km’ sportive and new for 2016 a ‘Challenge 100km’. Both routes will be roughly around the Park’s boundary, taking in the beautiful moorland scenery around the Regional Park.

Sportive riders pass Loch Thom and pass down the scenic Brisbane Glen Road, Clyde Muirshiel’s moorland hills and landscape make for a wonderful backdrop for any ride!

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The exact sportive routes are yet to be confirmed however it will start at Lochwinnoch and head to Greenock/ Gourock taking in the old scenic road to Largs, then loop back through North Ayrshire along the attractive Dalry Moor Road back to Castle Semple Visitor Centre.

Also returning for 2016 will be the para cycling ride, this ride opens the event up to a wider audience and includes a time trial route along the cycle track to Kilbarchan. This element of the event includes the use of a wide range of adapted cycles such as trikes and handbikes. How do you enter? The British Cycling online entry for the route has now gone LIVE! The link is - https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/ details/137500/Pedal-the-Park-Sportive-2016- or search ‘Pedal the Park 2016’ on google or British Cycling (BC) website. Participants don’t need to join BC but must register (it’s free) on the site to book their place. The sportive has been graded as ‘Challenging’ by the British Cycling Grading system. Pedal the Park 2015 was the first big event organised by recently established community cycling club based primarily in Lochwinnoch, Ride 63. Since its conception in October 2013, the group have held monthly ride outs and social gatherings. They are made up of enthusiastic local mountain bikers, road cyclists and a couple of Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park’s Outdoor Activity Team.

January and February are the least ‘hands-on’ for time in the hive and for the beekeeper and most time is spent on planning for the year ahead, cleaning, maintaining and replenishing equipment. The honeybee does not hibernate, the colony is reduced to minimal numbers that are able to keep the small cluster of bees warm enough to survive the low temperatures, with the Queen kept at the center of the cluster at all times. Weather permitting they will still venture out of the hive for water and to do other essential ‘business’, which are called cleansing flights. Snow does not cause issues for the Honeybee colony, as long as the entrance is not fully blocked, and it can actually help insulate the hive. Right is a photo showing an extreme example of bee hives covered in snow. Cold, wet and windy winters are the worst for our honey bees, and we have had a poor enough Autumn in this concern (although mild). It can be an anxious time for the Beekeeper, waiting to see if the colony has survived the dark cold winter months and resisting the temptation to take a peek, as this can lower the hives sorely maintained temperature to a dangerous level. The association holds its annual Honey Show in November, this gives beekeepers enough time to have processed any honey they have extracted from their hives, as well as other products such as wax. The Kilbarchan Beekeepers show has categories from Honey, in its different types, flavours and textures, to Mead, Backing and Wax moulds or candles. Left is a photo taken showing the Judge, Claud Wilson, examining a section of honey (honey in its comb), to make sure cells are sealed with honey, no pollen and no bits of bee. Interested?

Ride 63 was set up to help develop new off road trail rides for cyclists in the area covered by Ordnance Survey map 63, where Clyde Muirshiel lies. The range of interests covered is wide and monthly ride outs embrace this and a variety of abilities.

If you are interested in beekeeping for yourself or the whole family, anyone is welcome. Contact Helena Jackson, the Kilbarchan and District Beekeepers Association Secretary via e-mail Helena.Jackson72@sky.com if you would like to know more!

There is also a postal entry method. All of the options and prices are on the event homepage hosted by Clyde Muirshiel - http://www.clydemuirshiel. co.uk/things-to-do/cycling/pedal-the-park/.

KBA hold evening meetings during Autumn & Winter months in The Steeple Halls, Kilbarchan between 7.30pm–10pm. You can come along and find out more about Honeybee husbandry and related topics, drop in to find out more at one of the remaining winter season meetings below.

Lastly if you would like to get involved, but don’t fancy the cycling part then the event organisers are also looking for volunteers to marshal the sportive rides in particular. These people are essential to ensure the rider’s safety along the route. If you would like to help then get in touch with the event organisers at routes@clydemuirshiel.co.uk.

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Evening Programme 2015/16 12th January Beekeeping DVD’s Peter Stromberg 9th February Basic Bee Anatomy Alan Riach 8th March A to Z of Swarm Control Phil McAnespie

16/12/2015 11:49:44

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january 2016

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Welcome to Scotland’s largest Regional Park Happy New Year to All!

Clyde Muirshiel Wildlife Update

Happy New Year! We hope to see you down enjoying a relaxing stroll with the family getting some fresh air after the holiday season! Castle Semple re-opens at 12noon on 2nd January and then resumes normal daily hours 10am-4pm.

The Windows on Wildlife Project aims to bring people closer to wildlife, gaining a unique insight to the furry & feathered inhabitants of Castle Semple Country Park. Countryside Ranger Hayley Douglas gives us an update.

Jump Start January!

Wildlife News Happy New Year everyone. I do hope you had a great festive period and were able to get out and about and spot some wildlife. The wildlife trail cameras have been in the field now for over 3 years, with 4 of them having stayed in the same position over that period. Recent footage has shown Pepper, the badger cub, being chased by a roe deer, a woodcock preening and a jay.

On Sunday 3 January we’re hosting Countryside, Coffee and Cake! Join us to help jump start your healthy resolutions from 10am-3pm and drop in for FREE bike checks - advice on fit and safety, fitness and nutrition apps for your new phones and tablets plus guidance on running routes, trails and tracks in the Park and beyond. There are numerous events in the weeks afterwards too, including volunteering, swan chats and a cycle ride with Ride 63!

Pedal the Park 2016 – Sun 24 Apr

The jay, in particular, was special as these birds are incredibly shy and are rarely seen in the woods. All the footage is now on the Clyde Muirshiel YouTube channel: https://www. youtube.com/playlist?list=PL61Fcf_1kvrIht_ GwS08jUpNvCNBHJ-iF

The popular cycling event is back!!! This year we will have 2 exciting sportive options Classic 75km and a Challenging 100km! Also returning will be para cycle ride. Put Sun 24 Apr in your diary now and check Ride 63’s facebook page for link to British Cycling Entry – now LIVE!

Duke of Edinburgh Programmes at Clyde Muirshiel

Castle Semple Loch is now playing host to a large number of over-wintering wildfowl with scaup, smew and a flock of 300 canada geese having been seen. Last year there were 3 barnacle geese in amongst the canada flock, which comes to roost at night time, but no sign of them yet this year.

The Park has expanded our range of expeditions and skills to suit Duke of Edinburgh students of all abilities. Get in touch with dofe@clydemuirshiel. co.uk if you know of a group of 14-24 yr olds who could benefit from a tailored programme!

Ride 63 Club News The Ride 63 AGM will be Thursday 21 January at Castle Semple 6.30pm. There will also be a New Year Ride on Sunday 10 January 10am. Save the dates now and get involved! Email the Secretary ridesixtythree@gmail.com to become a member or email the Park routes@clydemuirshiel.co.uk for more information.

at at at at

CMRP Online Keep up to speed with events and activities taking place on the Park’s Facebook facebook.com/ClydeMuirshielRegionalPark or Twitter @ Clydemuirshiel pages.

If you are up at Muirshiel Country Park, why not check out the feeding station behind the Centre and see what visitors are appearing there. You may notice that many of the birds have little silver rings on their right legs. I regularly set up mist nets to catch the birds to monitor their biometrics and to find out where they are going. Both adult great spotted woodpeckers have been ringed and sighted on numerous occasions, along with various tits, finches and even a wren. Look for the next ringing demo date WoW and Park’s Facebook page and website for details.

Regular Events

Events The next Swan Chat, where you can pop along and find out more about the swans and wildfowl at Castle Semple Loch, takes place on the 9 January at 2pm. Details can be found on the Park’s website page www.clydemuirshiel. co.uk or by emailing wow@clydemuirshiel.co.uk. Footage can be viewed on the Park’s Youtube channel or on the WoW Facebook page. Talks to groups can be arranged. For more information please contact Hayley Douglas, Countryside Ranger – CMRP tel 01505 842 882 Ex 25.

Mondays (but not public holidays)

Saturdays

Lochwinnoch Community Walks meet 10.30am at The Cross, Lochwinnoch.

Weekly Volunteer Groups

Greenock Cut Conservation Volunteers, Adult group, 10.30am – 2.30pm.

Newcomers always welcome!

Sundays

Thursdays Castle Semple Conservation Volunteers, Adult group, from 12.30pm – 3.30pm.

Castle Semple Young Volunteers, 1218 yr olds, 10am – 12noon

Keep up to speed with events and activities taking place on the Park’s Facebook facebook.com/ClydeMuirshielRegionalPark or Twitter @Clydemuirshiel pages.

Recycle your Christmas Tree!

We are offering ourselves as a recycling point to help with the green environment. Pop in to see us at Gowanlea Nurseries, Barochan Road, Johnstone, PA5 8YS - we are open 7 days a week. You can contact us if you need further information on 01505 328921 or visit our website at www.gowanleanurseries.co.uk

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16/12/2015 11:49:48

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Happy New Year! Here at the reserve, we had some excitement the other week in the form of a mole! We were all glued to the window watching a pile of earth moving, waiting to se if a little furry creature was going to poke it’s head out. Just when it looked like it was about to emerge, the resident whooper swan, stepped on the mound. Not to be deterred, the mound moved again, only to be stepped on again! Eventually the probable “mole” decided it wasn’t a safe place to emerge. The whooper swan has been a year-round resident of the area for several years, since injuring his wing rendered him unable to migrate back to Iceland with his fellows, in spring. Affectionately known as “Whoopie”, he can regularly be seen just outside the windows of the viewing are in the visitor centre here at the RSPB reserve, in Lochwinnoch. He often taps at the window, making his presence known! If you enjoy watching the birds in your garden, why not take part in the next Big Garden Bird Watch? All you need to do is record the birds you see in your garden over an hour during the weekend of Sat 30 & Sun 31 Jan. If you’d like more information on how to take part, drop into the reserve, or check out the RSPB website: www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch It is the biggest wildlife survey in the world! Even if you don’t have a garden, pop along to a local park or even come visit us at the reserve to get involved! Last year, over half a million people took part, counting more than 8.5 million birds – a tremendous effort! We’re hoping even more of people will join in this year. The survey is incredibly useful as it helps us monitor population trends of garden birds, such as the continuing long running decline in greenfinch numbers (53% decline since 1979). This long term drop is likely due to Trichomonosis, a disease which can be contracted at garden feeding stations - so it’s good to clean them every now and then! If you fancy taking part in the Big Garden Bird Watch, but would like some hints and tips, we’re running a “Birds for Beginners” event on Sat 30 Jan (11am – 1.30pm). It’s a laid back event where we’ll share some handy pointers before going out and about to try them out.

Renfrewshire Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The next meeting of the Renfrewshire Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Local Group will be held on Friday 8 January 2016 at 7.30pm. There will be an illustrated talk entitled Baron’s Haugh: history, wildlife and future by Stephen Owen The meeting will be held in the McMaster Centre, Donaldson Drive, Renfrew PA4 8LX. All welcome.

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16/12/2015 11:49:53

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PHOTOGRAPHY HINTS & TIPS

With The Studio Bridge Of Weir

Aperture The aperture is the hole in the lens that controls how much light gets through the lens to the chip.

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Joint Winners of Paisley Colour’s Summer Assignment The judging of Paisley Colour Photographic Club’s Summer Assignment Competition 2015 took place recently at the McMaster Centre in Renfrew. PCPC were very pleased to welcome Stan Millar DPAGB (Wester Ross) to judge the competition and he gave a very thorough and detailed critique of 88 images ensuring that each entry satisfied the requirements of each of the seven themes for the competition - Fruit and Veg, Windows, Curves, Slow Shutter Speed, Selective/Differential Focus, Black and White and Urban Decay. Entry, open to all members, consisted of up to four images, one from any four of the seven themes and each image was marked out of twenty. In the fruit and veg section “Garlic” by Andy Kerr was top image. The top windows image was “Window Reflections” by Richard Bennett and

The bigger the hole – the more light you get in. The smaller the hole – the less light you get in. A given lens will have a maximum aperture quoted on the body of the lens and a zoom lens will often have two different aperture numbers quoted. A typical kit lens you get with your camera will typically have a maximum aperture around F4.5 or F5.6. Each lens will also have a minimum aperture which will vary from lens to lens and with focal length. The minimum aperture can be in the range of F22 to F32. The confusing thing about apertures is that the smallest f number i.e. f2.8 is the largest hole, and f32 – the largest number is the smallest hole. Aperture has a major impact on your photography other than controlling the amount of light reaching your chip. It also controls how much of your image will be in focus through an effect called “Depth of Field”. At any given aperture some things both in front of your point of focus and behind it will be in focus. If you set your aperture to maximum (smallest number) you will have the smallest zone of sharpness F2.8 @ 70mm Focal Length either side of your focus point Great for isolating things from their backgrounds. If you set your aperture to the minimum setting (largest number) you will have the greatest zone of sharpness either side of your focus point. Ideal for landscapes and groups of people. Depending on your aperture, the focal length of your lens and how close you are to your subject, your Depth of Field can range from a couple of inches to hundreds of feet.

january 2016

F22 @ 24mm Focal Length

the top curves image was “Downward Spiral” by Ian McIntyre. Tony Barr’s “Galloway Night Sky” was judged to be top slow shutter s p e e d image whilst the top selective/ differential focus shot was Fiona McEwan’s image “Dew Drops”. Finally the top image in the urban decay group was judged to be “Derelict District” by Nan Caldwell.

This year there were joint overall winners of the competition, Pauline Smith and Pat Cook each achieving 72 points. Pauline’s set of four winning images included “Strawberry” and “Glasgow University Cloisters” which was judged as the best black and white image. Pat’s set of four winning images included “Forgotten Past” and “Growth Curve”.

Club meetings continue on Thursday evenings throughout the winter and spring with a variety of lectures and competitions.

The wider the lens i.e. 16 to 35 mm Focal length – the more depth of field The longer the lens i.e. 100 to 300mm Focal Length – the less depth of field If your point of focus is close to the camera - several inches to several feet – the less depth of field. If your point of focus far from the camera - tens of feet to hundreds of feet– the more depth of field.

Every Month The STUDIO – Bridge of Weir (07904 419578) will bring you hints and tips to improve your photography - regardless of what kind of camera you have. More detail on each tip can be found on the Advertizer web page

Visitors are always welcome. For more detail please visit: www.paisleycolour. co.uk

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44-49 OUTDOORS_256_JAN16.ind.indd 49

16/12/2015 11:50:00

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every Monday Lochwinnoch Baby & Toddlers

McKillop Hall. 9.30am-11.30am £2/

family fee includes tea & children’s snacks.

Kilmacolm Playgroup

St Columba Church Hall, Kilmacolm, 9.30am-11.40am

Howwood Baby & Toddler Group

Howwood Parish Church. 10am-12noon.

Kilbarchan East Tots Club

t: 01505 613340

45th Scouts enjoyed Meggernie Adventure

1st Bridge of Weir Scouts

Scouts from Quarrier’s Village had a fantastic weekend at Meggernie Outdoor Centre where they hiked in the snow and did some grass sledging.

It has been an extremely busy time for the 1st Bridge Of Weir Scouts. After falling foul of the weather the Beavers and Cubs joined the Scouts in their recent camp and firework display.

every Tuesday Bridge of Weir Toddlers

Cargill Hall, Lintwhite Cres, BoW

Pop along and see us from 9.30-11.30am

Baby Social

Three Sisters Bake, Quarriers Vill. 11am

Kilmacolm Playgroup

Howwood Church Hall 9.45am-11.35am

every Wednesday Kilmacolm Toddlers

St Columba Church Hall, Kilmacolm, 10am - 11.30am For children from birth to 3 years.

Lochwinnoch Baby & Toddlers McKillop Hall. 9.30am-11.30am

£2/family fee includes tea and children’s snacks.

Howwood Playgroup

Howwood Church Hall 9.45am-11.35am

every Thursday Houston Toddlers

Church Hall, Main Street, Houston

Pop along and see us from 9.30-11.30am

Kilmacolm Playgroup

St Columba Church Hall, Kilmacolm, 9.15am-11.40am

Howwood Playgroup

Howwood Church Hall 9.45am-11.35am

every Friday Langbank Under 3’s

Church Hall, Langbank 10am-11.45am For children from birth to 3 years

1st & 3rd Friday Renfrewshire Inverclyde Twins Club McKillop Hall, Lochwinnoch 1011.30am £3. Bring a mug along for a cuppa.

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The cubs have just finished a series of swimming lessons, built bug hotels and a messy (but enjoyable!) science night where they made their own ice cream.

Special thanks to Meggernie wardens Rab and Judith.

Meet mums, drink coffee & eat cake.

Howwood Playgroup

The Beavers have been working hard to achieve new badges.

They also had a go at archery, the traversing wall and Frisbee golf as well as campfire, a quiz and “minute to win it” games. The packed weekend flew past and everyone had a memorable time.

East Church Hall. 9.15am-11.30am

St Columba Church Hall, Kilmacolm, 9.30am-11.40am

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

Greenock and District Scout Zodiac campers defy Storm Desmond Scouts have completed this year’s Zodiac Camps at Everton, surviving most weather conditions including the recent onslaught from Storm Desmond. Zodiac Camps have seen Scouts camping out almost every month through the calendar to earn the award. The camps have brought Scouts from across the district together to form new friendships and experience new activities and learn new skills.

The Cubs and Scouts represented the group at the Remembrance Parade in the British Legion and some of the Scouts were delighted to be asked to open the CoOperative Store after its recent refurbishment. In the lead up to Christmas we had our Christmas Fayre, raising over £1000, a huge amount towards our funds and we wish to thank all the parents who supported this event.

During this final camp, the Scouts practiced their first aid skills on fake wounds, CPR and stretcher building. They had a relaxed evening with quizzes and games, but also gave feedback for what they liked and didn’t like about this year and also what they wanted to see next year.

We were very excited to be accompanying Santa as he travelled around Houston and Bridge Of Weir. We would like to wish everyone a very happy & healthy 2016!

Deputy District Commissioner Campbell Cairns was on hand to present the Camper of the Year Awards on Sunday. He said that the series of camps this year had been a huge success for Greenock & District Scouts and thanked Camp Skipper Paul Laverty for pulling these together and thanked the team of leaders that have supported and run programs over the camps.

Camp Skipper Paul thanked all the Scouts, Explorers, and leaders who have supported the camps over the year and hopefully next year can be bigger and better. Camper of the Year winners included Rowan Seel from Bridge of Weir who goes to Quarriers Scouts. Kilmacolm Cubs’ night hike - 35 cubs hiked in the dark tonight around Glen Moss guided only by torchlight and some photographs showing the route. Fortunately, all returned safely to the hall for some well-earned hot chocolate. Special thanks to the parent helpers.

16/12/2015 22:30:49

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january 2016

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New Look for Kilmacolm School at Heart of Village Life

New Name for Playgroup! Back row left to right: Debbie McNamara, Councillor Stephen McCabe, Councillor David Wilson, Councillor Terry Loughran, Kenny Anderson, CBC, Councillor Martin Brennan and Depute Head Teacher Grace Reid. Front row: Ailish Osbourne (7 years), Peter Ingram (10 years) and Georgia McEwing (5 years)

Work has begun on the £4.29 million refurbishment of Kilmacolm Primary School and Nursery. It is the latest project in Inverclyde Council’s unprecedented £270 million Schools Estate programme delivering new and refurbished schools across the area. Education & Communities Convener Councillor Terry Loughran said: “The school was built over 40 years ago so this is a project that has been warmly welcomed in the village and will serve the children well for many years to come. The building will be completely stripped back and effectively rebuilt incorporating a new gym, new classroom arrangements and learning spaces. It will be a state-of-the-art school and something the whole village community will be rightly proud of.” The primary school has moved to the former St Stephen’s High School in Port Glasgow for the duration of the work. The nursery school is in temporary accommodation within the school grounds at Kilmacolm. As well as a complete upgrade internally, new rooflights are being introduced to increase natural daylight in classrooms and sections of the building will be re-clad. The existing blaes pitch will be replaced with a new, fully enclosed and floodlit multi use games area, (MUGA) and the playground will be re-lined. Improvements to school grounds security will see the introduction of new CCTV cameras and new railing. A new main entrance canopy will also be installed. The project is being delivered in partnership with hubWest Scotland. Chief Executive Debbie McNamara said: “We are proud to work with our partners Inverclyde Council on another essential school project. It was a delight to have the children represented at today’s milestone event.” The design has been led by Elder and Cannon Architects and the main contractor is CBC Ltd. CBC Managing Director James McAlpine commented “We are delighted to be continuing our relationship with both Inverclyde Council and hubWest on the Kilmacolm project and look forward to delivering improved facilities for the teachers, pupils and wider community.” The work is due to be completed by October 2016.

Gryffe High School Social Dancing Gryffe Style! It has long been a Christmas tradition in Gryffe that Social Dancing is incorporated into PE lessons. This year the S1 pupils showed off their dancing skills at their S1 Dance held in the school. This was organised by the Guidance Team and S6 House Captains. Our photograph (taken by Mr Gerard O’Hare who is Faculty Head of Health and Wellbeing) shows the S5 pupils enjoying a full Orcadian Strip the Willow.

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Kilmacolm Playgroup and Toddlers We have a new name - Kilmacolm Playgroup and Toddlers. We are now the only playgroup and toddler group in Kilmacolm, and we take pride in offering a happy, friendly and safe environment for your little ones to grow and play, make new friends and learn new skills. We are based in the Lesser Hall at St Columba Church, Kilmacolm, and everyone is welcome. As a self-funded charity, we rely on the support and goodwill of the parents and local community and we would like to thank all those who have helped make the group what it is today. We look forward to enjoying the next chapter with you! Our Toddler group is held on Wednesday mornings from 10am to 11.30am (no booking required, just come along), for children aged 0-3 years. We have a wide range of toys and baby equipment available, and this session is also a great chance for mums, dads, grandparents and carers to get to know one another over a cuppa and a bit of cake. For more information please contact our Toddlers secretary Beth at thebbles@ hotmail.com. Our Playgroup offers a more structured session where parents can leave their children with our experienced and qualified play leaders, who encourage the little ones to take their first steps to independence with craft-time, painting, water and sand play, dressing up, gym, songs and stories, and much much more. Playgroup is registered with the Care Inspectorate and has consistently received Good and Very Good gradings. It runs on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Places are allocated according to our admissions policy, so please contact our playgroup secretary Emma for more information at emma@kehoes.com. We have lots of children scheduled to start Playgroup between January and May and we are taking names for spaces from August onwards, so please contact our Playgroup secretary Emma for more information at emma@kehoes.com. We have lots to offer children aged from 2 years 4 months, with creative, messy and imaginative play plus quieter times with puzzles, a story or a 1-1 craft or food activity. We find that the children enjoy these first steps towards independence and love having fun and socialising with their peers. We are based in the Lesser Hall of St Columba Church on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings and visitors are welcome any time!

16/12/2015 22:30:53

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Bridge of Weir Primary Everyone at BOW primary would like to wish all readers a very happy and healthy new year! It was a very busy end of term with lots of money being raised. The Christmas Fayre and school photographs were a great success with a total of £3,100 going towards the school fund – a fabulous note to end the year for the parent council and all involved. Our ‘Walk to School’ committee organised two creative competitions during Road Safety Week and were delighted that Elaine Lorimer from Renfrewshire Council accepted our invitation to select the winners - a very difficult task! By co-incidence the winners of the poster competition were sisters with Sophie being the P4-7 winner and Lucy winning the P1-3 prize. The second competition to design a colourful footstep was won by Amy in P3 and Erin in P7. Well done to all the entrants, the standard was very high.

St Fillan’s Primary

The school has recently introduced a new play area to encourage creativity, imagination and co-operation and pupils have been loving the opportunity to play in a different way. No football or chasing games are allowed, but there are mega tyres for hiding and balancing, notebooks and pens for investigating, Lego bricks and waterproof mats for outdoor construction plus lots of other resources to encourage positive playtimes. Pupils need a special wristband to get access to the Imaginarium and demand for these has been very high! Michael in P3 said he thought it was “100% great!” and Casey said she liked looking for bugs with the giant magnifying glass.

The whole school visited Paisley Arts Centre in December for a Pantomime performance of “Sleeping Beauty” – Oh yes we did!! It was a great show and was a good start to our preparations for the Festive Season.

P3 recently embarked on a trip to the local library to take part in the Skoobs competition. The ‘Skoobs’ are a bunch of colourful characters designed to attract children to the library. It certainly seemed to do the trick with Isaac and Calan discussing library tickets and their pleasure at being introduced to Minecraft and Horrid Henry books. P3/2 had an open afternoon for their topic ‘The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark’. Parent feedback was impressive with many pleased with the interactive activities the children were participating in and the effort they had put into this subject. One parent commented that they had learnt a few new facts too! Now that Santa has been and gone and all the parties are over, the nursery can concentrate on looking forward to learning about Scotland and preparing for the senior citizen concert – which, never fails to be a success! The nursery also looks forward to welcoming all new starts and seeing the opening of the new building for 2 year old children.

Duchal Nursery School Give your child the best start in life The children enjoyed a wonderful end of term, with a magical trip to the Tron Theatre for our festive trip out, together with 2 fantastic Christmas music workshops held by Musika Glasgow. These workshops followed on from our extra lunch club sessions giving the children a longer day in nursery. We’ve created a beautiful array of amazing festive crafts that have decorated the nursery during the run up to Christmas. As usual we had a wonderful Christmas party and nativity with an extra special guest in red arriving on his sleigh at the end wishing us a very Merry Christmas. This set the scene for our Sunset Christmas Concert held to raise funds for Yorkhill Children’s Hospital. However with the arrival of the New Year we have lots of new activities and adventures ahead. We will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Beatrix Potter, covering some of her stories in all sorts of wonderful ways. As well as learning about China while celebrating Chinese New Year. It is also getting to that time of year to start planning for the forthcoming school year. If you have young ones who are due to start nursery this August please get in touch to have an informal look around our nursery. We can arrange a time convenient to you to come and see the purpose built facilities, meet the teachers and children and get an insight into Duchal life. If you would like to come and visit the Nursery and meet the teachers please contact Head Teacher Jean McCarthy on: Tel. 874358. Also visit our website at: www.duchal.com to keep up to date with all the latest news or find us on Facebook.

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St Fillan’s Nativity had a Scottish Theme called “McTivity”. All the infant pupils worked really hard and although there was a wee bit of anticipation performing for their mums, dads and families, they all performed extremely well. Our other pupils also performed well for the two Christmas songs for their parents on the 15th and 16th December.

P7 became scientists for the day when they visited the West of Scotland College, Paisley Campus and took part in various workshop activities. They also took part in another Basketball tournament at the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley. Our choir performed a medley of Christmas songs at the Paisley Centre on the morning of Tuesday 8th December. They had a great time doing this and raised money for Ronald McDonald House. They especially enjoyed the burger and drink they received afterwards! Well done to Mrs Cleary and all the members of our singing group. P5/6 visited Scotland Street Museum as part of their study of the Victorians and P7 recently visited Clydebank Museum as part of their study of World War 2. Many classes are enjoying basketball training from coaches who have come from Gryffe High School. At our Fair Trade Coffee morning at the beginning of December we raised over £50 for SCIAF. Thank you to all those parents who were able to support us. Please note that P1 registration takes place in January. Children who are due to begin primary school in August 2016 should be enrolled in their catchment primary school in January 2016. P1 registration for surnames A-L will take place on Wednesday 13 January 2016 and P1 registration for surnames M-Z will take place on Thursday 14 January 2016.

Kilbarchan Parish Church Tots’ Club Santa paid us a visit at our Christmas party on Monday 21st December. The club resumes on Monday 11th January at 9.15am. There is a waiting list at present, with priority given to Kilbarchan and Brookfield tots.

Missed something or fancy taking a look back over the last 8 years? visit www.advertizer.co.uk or

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16/12/2015 22:30:55

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january 2016

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St Columba’s School Science Building Opening Fifty years after its original opening, St Columba’s School celebrated the official opening of its Science building, which has undergone a thorough transformation to provide state-of-the-art teaching facilities. Guest of Honour Professor Sir Jim McDonald, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Strathclyde, said that, according to research by the Royal Academy of Engineering, by 2020 the UK will be more than one million engineers short. “In terms of young people’s future prospects, sciencerelated (STEM) careers will be your international passport, enabling you to go anywhere in the world.” He added that the enthusiasm of the School’s teachers was absolutely uplifting and vital in preparing students “for jobs that don’t yet exist. In fact, many ‘Top 10’ in-demand jobs of today did not even exist in 2005. I feel truly inspired by all I have seen here today.” He advised pupils to “challenge the norm, discover new knowledge and search for innovation in everything you do.” before cutting the ribbon and declaring the Science building open. The opening of the science faculty with its six modern laboratories presents a significant milestone in the School’s development project, which is designed to ensure the School’s continued place at the forefront of Scottish education and to enhance the overall educational experience. Designed by award-winning architects PagePark, phase 2 of the development is currently underway and includes a 13 classroom extension to the Senior School with a new library and a pastoral suite, to be completed by autumn 2016. The Open Evening provided guests with an opportunity to tour the building and, under the guidance of science teachers and pupils, try their hand at several fun yet educational experiments that were set up in the Chemistry, Physics and Biology laboratories.

Behind the Stable Door - Infant Christmas Celebration

Black Conference Rugby Champions Congratulations to the 1st XV who are the Under18 Schools Black Conference champions. Our rugby players won the league undefeated with the following results: Queen Victoria School – 32 - 60

Morrison’s Academy – 15 - 47

Carrick Academy – 7 - 19

Jordanhill – 19 - 35

Marr College – 10 – 39

Lomond School – 7 – 17

Wellington School – 19-38

Lenzie Academy – Lenzie unable to field team – result conceded

Entrance Exams for 2016-2017 8th, 11th January - Junior School Assessments; 9th January Senior School Assessments; 12th, 13th January - Junior 1 Interviews; 14th, 15th January - Early Years Assessments; 21st, 22nd April - Early Years Assessments. Please visit the School website for full details on admissions: www.st-columbas.org .

Musical Celebration At the time of going to press we are looking forward to our Musical Celebration, a wonderful evening in the run-up to Christmas which showcases the musical talents of our Junior and Senior School pupils in Greenock Town Hall. Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening is Ian McCrorie MBE, a well-known conductor and regular adjudicator of our Silver Tablet Concert. For photos of the event please go to st-columbas.org or visit our facebook page at facebook.com/stcolumbasschool . You can read more news at www.st-columbas.org

Interesting fact! Sir Eric Yarrow cut the ribbon at the original, official opening of the Science building 50 years ago in 1965. Prof. Sir Jim McDonald opened the building late November 2015.

Children from Early Years to Junior 3 performed in this year’s Infant Christmas Celebration ‘Behind the Stable Door’, a lovely start to the Christmas season.

Spirit of Christmas Appeal The response by parents and staff to the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ appeal has been overwhelming, and we are very grateful to everyone who donated a gift to ensure that all children in Glasgow and the surrounding areas receive a Christmas gift this year. We are delighted that we were able to deliver 370 gift bags to the charity.

CLIC Sargent Carol Concert The J6/Transitus Choir performed at CLIC Sargent’s 37th annual Glasgow Hospitals’ Christmas Carol Concert at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall in December. The concert was conducted by Ian McCrorie and featured the Glasgow Chamber Orchestra. We are delighted to hear that the carol concert raised over £40,000 in support of young people with cancer and their families.

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16/12/2015 22:31:00

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Houston Primary School

Why not 614080.

Road Race Houston pupils are on a winning streak. At the recent Road Race at the On-X in Linwood, the pupils scooped up trophies and medals galore! The stars of the day were P7’s Brodie Gillanders and Cate Meiklejohn, and P6’s Lily Caldwell and Jamie Newton. Well done to all of the other athletes who participated.

December was a very busy month in the lead up to Christmas. On 5th December we held our Christmas fayre and in spite of the bad weather, the turnout was excellent. Children and parents enjoyed; tombolas, raffles, home baking, tea and coffee, face painting, craft stall, decorations made by the children, Christmas Wishes present wrapping and a special visit from Santa. Thanks very much to everyone who supported us and helped to raise over £1,750 for Nursery funds.

Camera Competition Roma Crichton of P7 won first place at the annual Gryffe Camera Club competition with a beautiful photograph of the Isle of Craig, in second place was Jack Nelson with a stunning sunflower and 3rd place Emma Corr with a fabulous fish. The school won the overall prize and were presented with an amazing trophy in the shape of a camera.

Our Christmas show ‘Where’s Rudolph’ took place on 10th December with all the children taking part enthusiastically Christmas Celebrations

The nursery pupils performed ‘A Very ‘Beary’ Christmas’ on Thursday 10th December. Great fun was enjoyed by all. much to the delight of a packed audience of parents/relatives and friends. The nursery reopens on Thursday 7th January.

Kilmacolm Primary School

P1-3’s Christmas shows were also a success. The dress rehearsals were a great fun and the costumes looked amazing. Many thanks to the very talented teachers who worked very hard to prepare the children for their performances. The Junior Choir also had their version of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’ and the senior choir performed ‘Cinderella and Rockerfella’ pantomime. Many thanks and congratulations to all the pupils, you all deserve to be very proud of yourselves. As the Festive celebrations are now behind us, may we all at Houston Primary School wish everyone a Happy New Year!

We recently held our first Headteacher’s Tea party to recognise pupils in school who are good role models. The special event was enjoyed by all the selected pupils who had a special tea with Mrs McCredie in her room. The last few weeks were spent in preparation of Christmas events. We held our annual Spirit of Christmas event, organised by our PTF. This year, due to an encouraging turnout by parents and friends, we raised a total of £1,200. Our thanks go to all who helped to organise and run the event and to all parents who came along to support us on the night. Our Nativity afternoons were very well received by everyone who came along to enjoy the efforts of P.1-3, who performed “Whoops - A -Daisy Angel” and by our P4-7 pupils who entertained us with a variety of carols and Christmas songs. Well done to all of our boys and girls and to the staff who worked hard to prepare the children.

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16/12/2015 22:31:08

Brookfield Curling Club www.advertizer.co.uk

january 2016

55 55 .

Why not fill up those long winter evenings with a new sport or revive old skills? Interested in taking up Curling? All standards welcome. For information, telephone 01505 614080.

Johnstone Burgh FC

Table Tennis Houston Village Hall on Monday nights from 7.30pm 9.30pm. All welcome. Donation £2. Call Mark on 07968 052538.

Johnstone Burgh’s presentation was a significant evening held in Elderslie Golf Club on Saturday 21st November as the boys are moving up from 7 a side to competitive 11 a side next season. The event was a huge success and we had a special guest to present the boys with their trophies. Mr Ally McCoist, who was a true gent and took time out from a previous engagement, made the evening extra special for the squad.

Exercise & Health event at Freeland Church, January 19th Once Christmas is over and you are regretting eating too much lovely food, we may have just the answer you need to get in shape for 2016! Come along to Freeland Church hall on the afternoon of 19th January when the Pirie Information Centre will be inviting you to find out the many ways Renfrewshire Leisure can offer to help you become fitter.

Clyde Physiotherapy and Pilates I have been teaching Pilates in Renfrewshire for more than 10 years. I am a HCPC registered Physiotherapist with an interest in providing Pilates strengthening as part of rehabilitation and promoting fitness and injury prevention. Pilates is an exercise technique that targets the deep postural muscles of the abdomen and spine to improve muscle balance, body awareness, flexibility, posture and overall central core strength. It is suitable for a variety of conditions including spinal pain, sports rehabilitation, pelvic floor strengthening, post abdominal surgery and post pregnancy. Pilates is effective in retraining core strength, correcting movement patterns and helps prevent injury recurrence and long term disability. Pilates can be the key to helping you prevent and overcome injuries as well as maximising your performance in sport or more demanding day to day activities. My classes are based in Bridge of Weir and Kilmacolm. The class numbers are kept small to provide attention to each individual attending. One to one sessions are also available on request. For details visit www.clydephysiotherapy.co.uk or call 07786224367.

A team of instructors and advisers from Renfrewshire Leisure will offer short taster sessions of exercise classes. These will be aimed at all abilities and are likely to appeal especially to over 55’s. These classes could be offered locally at no cost to participants if sufficient people are interested, so do come and find out more. There will be the opportunity for you to ask about supported gym sessions, home exercise programmes and falls prevention and strengthening exercises. For pregnant mums to be there will be information on ‘Healthy for Two’, aqua natal classes and pre natal yoga. On the afternoon we also hope to offer health testing, another reason to come along and think about your own fitness. We look forward to welcoming many of you at a time of year when most of us want to be as fit as we can be in a new year. Teas and coffee will be served and we look forward to a fun and active afternoon.

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16/12/2015 22:31:13

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Renfrewshire Golfers rewarded for their Season’s efforts Get into the Swing of Things Budding golfers are being given the chance to try the sport for free thanks to the coaching programme offered by Kilmacolm Golf Club. The free sessions, aimed at beginners or those returning to the game, will cover the basics, including set-up and grip, putting, chipping, short and long irons.

The performances of three Renfrewshire golfers during the season have been recognized with two of them being selected to represent Great Britain and Ireland in the Concession Cup in Florida next April and one being named as Boy Golfer of the Year by Renfrewshire Golf Union. Matthew Clark has been selected as one of the mid amateurs and Ronnie Clark as a senior member of the eighteen man squad. Both selections were based on their respective Order of Merit rankings and they are looking forward to some early sunshine next year. Bridge of Weir’s Jamie Stewart was unanimously named as Boy Golfer of the Year as he has had a magnificent season.

Iain Nicholson, Kilmacolm Golf Club’s PGA professional, said “The sessions give anyone interested in trying golf the ideal opportunity to give it a go alongside people in a similar situation in a relaxed and enjoyable environment.” The programme starts on 4th February and runs each Thursday (7-8pm) until the 24th March at St Columba’s Church Hall, Kilmacolm. Extra sessions will be run at Kilmacolm Golf Club after the 8 weeks for all those interested in learning more. The lessons are FREE and all are welcome to attend! All equipment will be provided and further details can be obtained from Iain Nicholson 01505 872695 or email: enquiries@ iainnicholsongolf.co.uk

Strathgryffe Youngsters Excel! Six Strathgryffe junior players have been excelling on the tennis courts recently. Mathilde Sreeves has been picked for the under 14s Scotland team in the upcoming Tri Nations to be held in Scotstoun. Mathilde now trains full time at a tennis academy in France but still retains her membership at the club and trains at the club occasionally. Eleanor Cochran has been picked for the Scottish under 10 team in a friendly versus Wales on the back of the Tri Nations main event. Anna Daisley & Holly Docherty narrowly lost out for places in the Under 18 & Under 14 Scottish team and finished 3rd in both the play offs so will now be 1st reserve in each age category respectively.

In addition to winning the Scottish Junior Champion of Champions and representing Scotland at international level, his winning performance at Arbroath in the Scottish under 16 Championship was probably the highlight. His scores of 65, 66, 69 and 65 added up to the lowest aggregate recorded in Jamie, Boy Golfer of the Year, with his trophies the Championship in its 32 year history. Jamie works hard on his game and had to be persuaded to leave a dark golf course to receive his trophies. He had been unable to attend the annual prize giving because of Scottish Golf commitments. Congratulations to all three and best wishes to Matt and Ronnie for Florida next year.

Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix Emirates Arena - 20 February 2016 A whole host of global stars will be attending the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix on 20 February. Including double Olympic and five-time world champion Mo Farah, Olympic, World, European and Commonwealth long jump champion Greg Rutherford, current European record holder and 200 metre world champion Dafne Schippers and Britain’s fastest ever woman Dina Asher-Smith! The Grand Prix is the best indoor athletics meeting in the world and will be staged at the Emirates Arena for the very first time, following its move from Birmingham last year. Farah will compete in the 3000m, likely to be his only indoor race of 2016 whilst Greg Rutherford will be continuing his preperations for the Rio Olympics, in the best single day of indoor athletics ever to be staged in Scotland. Sprint sensations Dafne Schippers and Dina Asher-Smith are set to meet over 60m, which is the most exciting head-to-head in European sprinting. Glasgow has a rich athletics heritage having held the indoor international match for over 25 years, hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games and has bid to be the host city of the 2019 European Indoor Championships. Buy tickets online or call 08000 556056 but hurry, limited tickets remain.

Liam O’Brien won a Grade 2 under 9 event at Manchester hot on the heels after his Grade 2 win at Liverpool. Grade 2’s are GB national standard and so this represents a very good achievement by Liam. Carla Ward also competed in the Girls under 9 Grade 2 in Manchester and finished with 3 wins and 3 losses gaining good experience with another year to compete in this age group. The coaching programme for January 2016 is now available on-line from the website www. strathgryffe.net Non-members are welcome to sign up!

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16/12/2015 22:31:15

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every

january 2016

57 57

Monday

Kilbarchan Athletic Club On-X, Linwood, 7pm

All abilities welcome. Tel: 07941 686990.

5-a-side Football

Powerleague Paisley 6pm Tel: Jim on 01505 874215; or jimbretherton@aol.com

Bridge of Weir Ladies Badminton Cargill Hall, Lintwhite Cres, 7.30pm

Callanetics

Brookfield Village Hall, 7.15pm

Strathgryffe Motorcycle Club

The Trust Inn, Kilbarchan 9pm-10.30pm Visit www.strathgryffe.org for details.

The Shotokan Karate Club

Woodlands Primary School, Linwood, 7pm - 8pm & 8pm - 9pm. www.linwoodkarate.co.uk

every Tuesday

Bridge of Weir Walking Group Outside the Co-op, BoW 10.30am

Sat Sweep Curling

1 hour walks. Call Senga on 0141 842 3000.

Gryffe Badminton

Strathgryffe Tennis Club, 8pm

Football Training

Johnstone High School 6pm-9pm Call Ali on 07775 578795 for details

every

Wednesday

Greenock Hockey Club

Inverclyde Academy, Greenock, 6.30pm-8pm Contact Liz Baldwin, mobile 07944 607005

Callanetics

B rookfield V illage H all , 5.15, 6.15 & 7.30pm

every Thursday

Kilbarchan Athletic Club On-X, Linwood, 7pm

All abilities welcome. Tel: 07941 686990.

Kilmacolm Walkers

Birkmyre Park Pavilion, Kilmacolm 10am David 01505 874192 kilmacolmwalkers@talktalk.net

Brookfield Curling Club Why not fill up those long winter evenings with a new sport or revive old skills? Interested in taking up Curling? All standards welcome. For information, telephone 01505 614080.

Every Saturday until 2 April, from 11.45am 2.15pm at intu Braehead, Renfrew. Price: £10 in advance and online only. £15 on the day, subject to availability. Ticket includes introduction to curling, warm up and game. Please bring a warm jumper, clean pair of trainers and a sense of fun! The curling rink is located on the upper mall of Braehead Shopping Centre between McDonald’s & Pizza Hut. Open to all standard of curlers from beginners up to expert level.

Sporting Blog

by Lesley Handley

Reasons Your Diet Could Be Failing...

Callanetics

Brookfield Village Hall, 9.15am & 10.30am

The Shotokan Karate Club Woodlands Primary. Linwood 7pm - 8pm & 8pm - 9pm www.linwoodkarate.co.uk

Football Training

I assumed some of my regular readers would have been expecting tips on nutrition and fitness over the festive period, but rather than being specific I thought it worthwhile to recap on some of the key 2015 messages regards diets.

Johnstone High School 6pm-9pm

3. Don’t overly restrict calories. The body is smart and needs a given number of calories on a daily basis. It can cope with small deficits but not large ones. The more restrictive you are, e.g. going from 2500 to 1500 calories, the less weight you will lose long-term and the more likely you are to binge eat.

Call Ali on 07775 578795 for details

every

Friday

Callanetics

Brookfield Village Hall, 9.15am & 10.30am

18 Movement (Tai Chi) Chi Kung

St Fillans Church Hall, Moss Rd, Kilmacolm 10.15am-11.15am Gentle, relaxing exercise class. 0141 954 2456.

every

Saturday

Adult Tap Lessons

Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm. lunchtime. Call Gail Ashley on 01475 531336 for details

every

Sunday

Birkmyre Rugby Club, Kilmacolm Youth Rugby Section 11am-1pm www.pitchero.com/clubs/birkmyre

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2. Excluding foods unless for a medical reason is the wrong thing to do, you end up changing the relationship with those foods. Telling yourself that you are not allowed something makes it much more present in your thoughts and you simply end up craving it more – often resulting in binge eating.

1. Often you can see certain foods as rewards and they tend to be the ones you can’t inhibit a lot of control over, therefore those foods will have an incentive value alongside a caloric value. This is personal and individual and can often cause problems when trying to control intake. Excluding foods that have high incentive values should be replaced with an alternative that has similar values to you but with a lower caloric value.

4. If someone gives you a ‘diet plan’ to follow and your initial thought is ‘when can I stop this?’ you have just confirmed that it is unsustainable and unrealistic. Nutritional changes in your diet should be a lifestyle change with no time limit, meaning it can be sustained long-term. I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and you are looking forward to 2016. I want to wish you all a happy and healthy New Year.

Lesley For more information on Personal Training or any aspect of nutrition contact me on 0773 627 4925 or e-mail Lesley@ fitsmartfitness.co.uk.

16/12/2015 22:31:17

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t: 01505 613340

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

‘Holly’ having fun in the snow - sent in by ‘Barking Mad’

Pet Blog

by PetVets

Does My Pet Love Me? This is a common question for pet owners. While it isn’t easy to say for sure whether our pets feel the emotion we would call love, our furry friends certainly do have their own ways of showing affection, and asking for attention and affection in return. How our pets display this affection depends on what species they are. Dogs Dogs can show pleasure to see you with exuberant, happy jumping or sometimes in a more restrained fashion by sitting down and thumping their tail. Greeting you with an open mouthed, “smiling” face and a sweeping tail is an open invitation for you to provide strokes and cuddles.

Another show of affection can be the classic doggy licks. Although this can also mean begging for food, grooming behaviour or acknowledging dominance so can be tricky to interpret! Cats A gentle headbutt accompanied by an extended, upright tail is a friendly gesture. Cats tend to do this more when you have been out and collected some new smells, as it is their way of scent marking you to show ownership! Rolling over to show you their tummy is your cats’ way of showing trust, as it places the cat in a vulnerable position. If your cat does this it is best to stroke their head as most cats don’t like their tummy to be touched. Rabbits Rabbits can seek attention by bumping you with their nose or stretching up to get in your way. They may even like to give you a little lick to show affection. So while they may not say “I love you”, next time you’re playing with your pet look out for these signs of affection.

Sponsor a Guide Dog Puppy Sponsor a guide dog puppy like Goldie or Felix for just £1 a week and you’ll help Guide Dogs train a life-changing companion for a blind or partially sighted person. When you have signed up we will send you: A Pup Pack, Cuddly toy guide dog puppy, Regular Pupdates, Photo album and photos of your pup, Personalised certificate, Exclusive calendar. Why we need your support .... Every hour another person goes blind. There are currently 180,000 blind or partially sighted people in the UK who rarely leave home alone. We’re training around 780 guide dogs each year, but to help meet the demand for new guide dogs we desperately need to create a third more guide dog partnerships by 2020. Half of the dogs we train are needed to replace dogs who have retired. Training a guide dog costs around £34,000 and takes around 24 months. The guide dog service receives no government funding and we rely solely on donations. For further information how to sponsor a guide dog puppy, please visit the website at www.guidedogsgiving.org.uk. If you have any problems using this form or have special requirements please contact our Supporter Care Team on 0800 953 0113 (we’re here 9am-5pm Monday to Friday).

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16/12/2015 12:00:37

www.advertizer.co.uk

january 2016

59 59 59

Re-homing Pets Can you offer a home to any of our featured pets? Simon - a 2 year old male INDOOR cat Simon is back at the centre for the second time as my owner felt they didnâ€™t have enough time to spend with him. He would love a home where he can get spoiled and enjoy a cosy indoor life. He has to be homed as indoor as he is FIV+. He would be ok in a home with older children and possibly other pets.

Madâ€™

Ice & Sansa - less than 1 year old male cats Ice & Sansa came into the centre as strays. They are very scared little kittens who have had no human interaction before coming into the centre. For this reason they are needing someone who has lots of time to spend with them and help us build their trust. They are very close to one another so would need rehomed together. They would need access to a garden once they are old enough and trusting enough to get out. They would be best suited to a home with no young children and would prefer a quiet house. As they are young they could probably adapt to living with other cats and dogs. Cardyke Farm, Langmuirhead Road, Auchinloch, Glasgow G66 5LD - Telephone 0141 779 3341

Aristotle - a 3-4 month old male Rabbit Aristotle is a lovely youngster who arrived in our care as his owner could no longer care for him and is now looking for his forever home. He would be suited to owners who can devote lots of time to his handling and care so he can grow up and become a fantastic companion.

Solo, Apollo, Delta and Kosmos Finches Finches are popular birds as they are companion pets due to their pleasant sounds and social interactions with their flock mates. They are mostly hands-off pet birds and prefer to enjoy the company of others of their kind. Our centre is currently caring for 9 finches at the moment, who are ready to be homed in pairs or groups. To contact the centre about any animals, please call 03000 999 999 or visit www.scottishspca.org/rehoming

Alfie - a 6-12 month old Male Crossbreed

Johnstone Cat Rescue If you can help us with any fundraising or donations of either food or bedding, please call Sheena on 01505 337321. Thank you in anticipation.

Wildlife Crime Strathclyde Police has a team of Wildlife Crime Officers who specialise in investigating wildlife-related crimes. To report a suspected wildlife crime or speak to an Officer, please call: Your local Police Office or Strathclyde Police HQ, 173 Pitt Street, G2 4JS or call 101 or 999.

LOST PETS

Alfie is a handsome chap who is full of fun and energy! He is always on the go & loves treats like kongs and playing fetch! Alfie can live with children who are 16 years old and needs his own secure garden to practice his training in. Alfie needs someone who is at home all day who has owned dogs like him before to help him settle. Someone who has a calm, quiet home would also help him settle and build confidence.

If your pet has gone missing and you would like to place a notice in The Advertizer, please call 01505 613340 or email info@advertizer. co.uk.

Bronagh - a 1-2 Year Old Female Lurcher

This is no charge for this service!

Bronagh is the sweetest big girl who does not know her own size! She loves to put her paws on your shoulders for cuddle! She is full of fun and energy and loves to play games. Bronagh can live with children who are 12 years old or over and needs her own secure garden with a high fence to practice training and have a play in. Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre, 315 Hamilton Road, Uddingston, Glasgow, G71 7SL. Open: 12noon - 4pm (inc weekends); 12noon- 7.30pm on Tuesdays; closed: Wednesdays

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We can also put updates on our website & Facebook.

Rescue Centres Dogs Trust Glasgow: 0141-773-5130 - www.dogstrust.org.uk Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue: 01505-502415 - www.hessilhead.org.uk Johnstone Cat Rescue: 01505 337321 Cat Protection: 0141-779-3341 -www.cats.org.uk/glasgowac/adopt-a-cat Scottish SPCA: 0141-882-1688 - www.scottishspca.org These centres are always on the lookout for donations and fundraising. If you can help, please get in touch with any of the centres above.

16/12/2015 12:00:44

the advertizer

t: 01505 613340

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

ADVERTISING business ad rates:

Trades and Services

TRADES & SERVICES Black & White ads only Lineage: up to 20 words £12.50* Boxed ad: £7.00* per column cm PROPERTY & HOLIDAY HOMES CARS FOR SALE Lineage: up to 20 words £12.50* Boxed ad: £7.00* per column cm Photo: add £7.00* (colour) *all prices subject to VAT

MISCELLANEOUS

SITUATIONs vacant

Car for sale

HEALTHCARE/BEAUTY

Business

MUSIC TUITION

CHILDCARE Kilmacolm/Quarriers area registered childminders. P/time or F/time vacancies for u-5’s and after school. T: 873839.

60-63 CLASSIFIED_256_JAN16.ind.indd 60

Houston registered childminders. For an informal chat to find your best childcare, call Elizabeth Waddell T: 614925

16/12/2015 18:23:58

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DEADLINES

If you want something placed in the next issue either send an email to:

info@advertizer.co.uk

or call the office: 01505 613340 (24hr ans)

PROPERTY HOLIDAY HOMES

HOUSE TO RENT

L O CA L INF O R M A T I O N community council

Definitions: “Standards” means the British Code of Advertising Practice and the provisions of any law applicable to advertising including, but not limited to, the Trade Descriptions Act, 1968, the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 1988, the Financial Services Act 1986, the Business Advertisement (Disclosure) Order 1977 and all amendments and replacements. It is hereby agreed that: • The placing by the Advertising Client of an Advertisement is deemed to be acceptance of these Conditions of Acceptance of Advertising. • All Advertisements in this Publication must not contravene the Standards.

follow The Advertizer on twitter and facebook for regular updates t: @GryffeAds f: www.facebook. com/GryffeAds

BRIDGE OF WEIR: Cargill Hall: 1st Tues at 7pm. www.bridgeofweir.org

KILMACOLM & QUARRIERS: Last Tues at 7.30pm, Kilmacolm Cargill Centre (NB: No meetings: July or Dec) www.kilmacolmcc.co.uk LANGBANK: Church Hall: 2nd Wed at 7.30pm LOCHWINNOCH: Parish Church: 1st Tues at 7.30pm

community halls to let Bridge of Weir, Freeland Church. Tel: 612245 Brookfield, Village Hall. Tel: 335562. Houston, Carrick Centre. Tel: 612203 / 331488 Houston, Compass Centre. Tel: 615441 / 612617 Kilbarchan, Guide Centre. Tel: 702758. Kilbarchan, Old Library Centre. Tel: 706070 Kilmacolm, Cargill Centre. Tel: 873994 Kilmacolm, Brownie/Guide Hut. Tel: 874428 Kilmacolm, Masonic Hall. Tel: 873059 Linwood Masonic Hall. Tel: 07825 222944

Please add your community hall details to our list email to info@advertizer.co.uk

local

councillors

RENFREWSHIRE COUNCIL: www.renfrewshire.gov.uk

Ward 7 - Johnstone South, Elderslie & Howwood: Cllrs John Caldwell, John Hood, Stephen McGee and Iain McMillan Ward 8 - Johnstone (North), Kilbarchan & Lochwinnoch: Councillors Derek Bibby, Andy Doig and Christopher Gilmour Ward 9 - Houston, Crosslee, Brookfield & Linwood: Councillors Stuart Clark, Audrey Doig, Anne Hall and Allan Noon Ward 10 - Bishopton, Bridge of Weir & Langbank: Councillors Maria Brown, Mike Holmes and James Maclaren INVERCLYDE COUNCIL: www.inverclyde.gov.uk Ward 1 - Inverclyde East (P.Glasgow, Kilmacolm and Quarriers Village): Cllrs David Wilson, Jim MacLeod, Stephen McCabe and James McColgan

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• The Publisher shall not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by the Advertising Client as a result of any failure, negligence or omission by any party in the course of the distribution or circulation of the Publication in which the Advertisement is scheduled to appear. • In the event of any error, misprint or omission by the Publisher in the printing of an Advertisement, the Publisher will either re-insert the advertisement, adjust the cost or provide a refund. This does not apply if the Advertisement has been approved by the Advertising Client prior to publication. The total liability of the Publisher for such an occurrence shall not exceed the amount of a full refund for that particular Advertisement.

• Readers are reminded that when purchasing items or services advertised in the Publication that the Publisher cannot be held in any way responsible for the quality or correctness of the items or services included in the Advertisement.

BROOKFIELD: Brookfield Village Hall: 7.30pm in February, April, June, August, October and December on 2nd Thursday of the month.

KILBARCHAN: Steeple Hall: monthly at 7.30pm. www.kilbarchan.info/community_council.html

• Insertion of Advertisements and/or Editorial is strictly at the discretion of the Publisher.

• The Advertising Client agrees to indemnify the Publisher in respect of all costs, damages or other charges falling upon the Publisher as the result of legal actions or threatened legal actions arising from the publication of the Advertisement, or any one or more of the series of Advertisements, published in accordance with the copy instructions supplied to the Publisher.

BISHOPTON: Primary School: 1st Thurs at 7.30pm www.bishoptoncouncil.com

HOWWOOD: Village Hall: 2nd Tues at 7.30pm. www.howwood.com/community-council.php

CONTENT OF THE GRYFFE ADVERTIZER CANNOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT FROM THE PUBLISHER

Advertising throughout The Gryffe Advertizer:

Visitors are welcome at these monthly meetings.

HOUSTON: Carrick Centre: 3rd Wed at 7.30pm www.houstoncommcouncil@yahoo.co.uk

61 61

The Gryffe Advertizer is a magazine published by The Gryffe Advertizer Ltd

Fri 15 Jan

February ‘16 ISSUE: • Deadline: 15 January • Delivery: 29 January March ‘16 ISSUE: • Deadline: 12 February • Delivery: 26 February

january 2016

churches

BRIDGE OF WEIR

Freeland Church: Rev KN Gray BA BD. Morning Ser vice 10.30am. Crèche, Sunday School, Lynx and Cornerstone. Eveing Service 7pm www.freeland.org.uk St Mary’s Church Scottish Episcopal Church: Delighting to praise God; Showing Christ’s love; Growing in faith. Services Sundays at 10am. we have a regular cycle of prayer for those who live and work in Bridge of Weir. For further information, to ask for special prayers, or in pastoral emergency, please call the Rector on 01475 705378 St Machar’s Ranfurly Church: Rev Suzanne Dunleavy BD DipEd. Sunday ser vices 10 . 3 0 a m . H e a r i n g a i d loop system. www. stmacharsranfurlychurch. org.uk All welcome. Hope Hall: Sun 1pm Sunday School, 4.30pm Gospel Service; Mon 6.30pm Investigators for Kids, 8pm Bible Study and Prayer.

ELDERSLIE

Elderslie Kirk: Sunday service every week at 11am. Minister Rev Robin Allison. All welcome. Weekly meetings:- Monday Club every week from 12noon - 2.30pm. Light lunch and a varied activity programme. Midweek Fellowship will meet every Wed from 10.30am for Tea/Coffee followed by a short Service of Worship at 11am.

HOUSTON

Houston Baptist Church at Carrick Centre: 11am Family services with SS for children age 5-12; 6pm Eve Service; Mid-week Home Bible Study; For more information contact; R e v D S n e l s o n 01 5 0 5 612722.

Houston and Killellan Kirk: Church of Scotland, Scottish Charity no SC 012822. www. houstonkirk.org. 2016 - 3rd January 11am First Service of the New Year. 10th January 11am Morning Worship. 17th January 11am Morning Worship. 24th January 11am Morning Worship. 31st January 9.45am Early Service. 11am Morning Worship. St Fillan’s, Main St, Houston: Sun Masses: Vigil (Sat) 5 p m , 9 . 3 0 a m & 11 a m . Weekday Mass: Tues-Sat 9.30am except Thurs, 7pm. Re c o n c i l i a t i o n : S a t 10 10.30am and after Vigil Mass; Thurs 7.30-8pm. Exposition: As announced. Baptisms: 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month by arrangement. Parish Priest: Rev Daniel J McLoughlin, Dip. Th.,MA Pastoral Assistant: Sr Mar y Frances Collett, RNDM (Tel 01505 613514). “Abbotsfield”, St Fillan’s, Main St, Houston, PA6 7EL. T: 01505 612046, F: 01505 610556. E: parish@stfillan. org.uk. www.stfillan.org.uk Church of the Nazarene: Village Hall, Main St, Houston PA6 7EL. Rev Benito S Coetzee. Family services at 10.30am with full toddler, children & youth activities running concurrently with the service. Youth meets at 6.30pm-8pm on Sundays. Word and Table Quiet Service held from 9am9.30am every 3rd Sunday. www.houston.nazarene.org.uk

HOWWOOD

Howwood Parish Churc h: Sunday Service will start at 10am and there will be a prayer meeting at 3 Bowfield Way on Fridays at 7.30pm.

Editorial throughout The Gryffe Advertizer: The opinions of the Contributors to this Publication are not necessarily the official views of the Publisher. The Publisher reserves the right to edit or refuse any material submitted for publication.

KILBARCHAN

Kilbarchan Parish Church Minister: - Rev Stephen Smith. All services in the church buildings off Steeple Square. Morning worship on Sundays at 11am. Midweek Fellowship on Wednesdays from 10.30am in the small hall. Crèche, Junior Church and FEWsion meet at 10.45am. All will be made most welcome. KILMACOLM Kilmacolm Old Kirk: Church of Scotland (Charity n o . S C 0 0 9 2 91 ) . w w w. kilmacolmoldkirk.org.uk. Minister Rev Dr Peter McEnhill (01505 873174). Morning Worship - Sundays 11am, all welcome Sunday School & Crèche available. St Columba Church of Scotland: ( c h a r i t y n o S C 0 07 9 9 2 ) Morning Worship Sundays at 11am. St Colm’s Catholic Church, Smithy Brae Kilmacolm. The Ver y Rev Canon William McDade. Family mass Sundays 10am with children’s liturgy followed by tea and coffee. Weekly rosary Tuesdays 6.30pm, prayer group Thur sdays 7.30pm. Eucharistic service Thursdays 10.30am. Mass on Holy Days 7.30pm. All welcome. Information about parish events/contact details at www.stcolmsparish.co.uk Grace Church Kilmacolm: in association with the Free Church of Scotland - Sunday S e r v i c e a t 10 . 3 0 a m i n Kilmacolm Scout Hut - all welcome. Buddhist meetings: Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. Phone Margaret on 01505 871343

St Fillan’s Episcopal Church (in Anglican Communion): Everyone welcome at our Church in Moss Road. The Rector is the Revd David Gifford and the Associate P r i e s t t h e Rev d H e l l e r Gonzalez (resident in Kilmacolm Rectory). Regular Sunday Service 11.30am with monthly Evensong on last Sundays at 6pm. Family Service 11.30am on the last Sunday of the month. Contact Maureen Russell (Pastoral Assistant) 01505 872905.

LANGBANK

Langbank Parish Church: Rev Dr Ken Forrest. Sunday Services 10am with Sunday School, Creche and young people’s group, the Welcomers. Tea/ coffee af ter the service. Church ser vice star ts at 10am. Come along and meet in the Hall from 9.50am. Charity No SC015085.

LOCHWINNOCH

Parish Church: Rev May Bell. 11.30am Morning Service Sunday School and Crèche. Calder United Free Church: (Church St Lochwinnoch) S u n d ay : 11 a m M o r n i n g worship with Sunday School and Crèche. 6.30pm Evening Fellowship group, 7.30pm ABC’s Teen group. Wed 6.30pm-7.30pm. Spiritualist Church,Lochlip Rd: All services commence 7.30pm.

QUARRIERS

Mount Zion Church: Law View Road, Quarriers Village. Rev Andy Lunn BSc, 10.30am with Junior Church and Bible Class. Wednesdays prayer and bible study at 7pm. Fridays prayer and bible study at 10am. Why not come and discover the heart of Christianity with us?

16/12/2015 18:24:01

the advertizer

Items For Sale Baby Equipment Bright Starts Lion in the Park Mobile in original box. Used only one week so as new. £15. Brookfield. Tel: 01505 329049. Britax Car Seat, Black forward facing, 15-36 kg, good condition. £20. Tel: 01505 874870. Baby cradle on rockers suit 0-3months +. As new £20. Tel: 07765 111618. Britax First Class Car Seat. As new (Grandparents car) Backwards facing for safest and rotates to forward facing when child is older. Very safe seat, suitable from birth to 24months approx. New baby insert (never used). £45. Tel: 07936 386806. Clothes & Shoes Tap shoes pink junior size 10 £10. Tel 01505 874870. Ballet shoes pink junior size 9 £5. Tel 01505 874870. Kilts, Various sizes and tartans available for £35 each. Exc Cond. Tel: 01505 843865 after 7pm. Warm Arran Wool Sweaters. Adults £39.00 Children £25. All handmade Brand New. Tel: 01505 843865 after 7pm. Socks for Kilt/Country wear Black/Cream/Brown fit shoe sizes 8-11. Wool or acrylic. Brand New. £25. Tel: 01505 843865 after 7pm. 4-6yrs Aprons, girls (Hearts/ birds & feather patterns) and boys (spacemen/rocket; animal prints).100% cotton £5.99 each. Individually made Brand New. Tel: 01505 843865 after 7pm. Household & Garden Coffee table, eight sided, in teak. £35ono. Tel: 01505 702316. 5 light ceiling light and 2 wall lights, chrome satin finish. VGC. Cost £180. Sell £50. Tel: Houston 07557 261444. Bed King Size Ikea Mattress and Slatted Base excellent condition £100. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@ hotmail.com Computer PC Desk Top DELL good working order. £50. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@hotmail.com

Bed Super King Size Brand new mattress and Slatted frame unopened unused brand new £180. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@hotmail. com Logik Electric Ceramic Cooker LFTC60A12, Anthracite (Black), single fan oven & grill, VGC. £90 ono. Tel. 01505 690061. Electrical & Gas Stove Cast Iron Baxi Windermere gas fired, glass door. brand new, yes unused £180. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@hotmail.com Beko fridge freezer, frost free, silver. Excellent condition. 4 years old. £120 ono. Tel: 07933 342140. Pets Metal Dog Guard for Renault Laguna Estate car. Renault factory product costing £85. New condition £15. Brookfield. Tel: 01505 329049. Sports Rear Low Mount 3 Cycle Carrier for car. Good condition. £15. Brookfield. Tel: 01505 329049. Full set of men’s Golf Clubs and Bag. Alloy GP Driver, 3 and 5 T1 Alloy Memphis woods (with covers), S3T set of irons (3-W), Bronty Chipmaster and Spotline Putter. Full size Adams Golf Bag with cover. Clubs all in good condition. Highest reasonable offer accepted. Brookfield. Tel: 01505 329049. Girls Mountain Type Street Bike as new 17” frame gears lovely bike £50. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@ hotmail.com Bike Collectors Vintage Raleigh Superbe 23” Green Rod Brakes. For collectors only genuine callers only please. £180. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@hotmail. com Toddler Bicycle helmets (44-48 cm) pink x 2, suits appr. 1-5 yrs old, good condition £5 each. Tel 01505 874870. Ping G25 12 degree Driver with super soft shaft and a Pink G25 23 degree Rescue Club also with a super soft shaft. Both superb condition. Fixed price £140 for both. Tel: 01505 842950.

t: 01505 613340

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Other Items Filing Cabinets £20 each. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@hotmail.com Blackberry PASSPORT Super Smart Phone takes every sim as new in red leather folder £180. Tel: 07791 688240 or email roganex@aol.com. Bridge of Weir. Tablet Android good working order. £30. Tel: 07791 688240 or email bensloch@hotmail. com Set of Mini Countryman R60 steel wheels with Bridgestone Blizzak winter tyres/caps £150. Tel: 01505 613091. BMW Mini Countryman new pair of Front wiper blades unused £10. Tel: 01505 613091. Genuine BMW Mini Countryman roof rack used once complete with instructions & tools £60. Tel: 01505 613091. Smart phone mobile: Samsung Galaxy S III GT-I9300 - 16GB - Pebble Blue (Unlocked) Android Smartphone. 8MP camera, 16GB internal mem, SD card slot, Bluetooth, GPRS, comes with battery, charger, original box & manual. Almost as new. Kept in case with screen protector. Upgrade forces sale! £100. Tel: 0787 656 3769. Quality secondary glazing unit, 3 panel horizontal slider, style is Protec SS3 Reveal Fix with 6mm glass. Colour Light Oak. Unit size is 115cm x 173cm. £50 Ono. Tel: 01475 540110.

Wanted Items

Old records Wanted 45`s & LP`s CASH Paid. Tel: 07710 777571. Cash paid for Music CDs ( a few or a lot ). Tel: 0141 882 5594 or 07765 115347. Yamaha DT 175 MX & DT 125 MX. Yamaha RD 250, 350 & 500 - running or not. Cash waiting. Free collection. Tel: 07951 227767. Cash paid for Copy of book Castles and mansions of Renfrewshire and Buteshire by AH Millar. Tel 01505 331094. Black dining room table. Tel: 01505 506385.

East Renfrewshire’s Clean Sweep

The Grand Final of the Inter Schools Youth Speech Competition between S3 pupils in schools from East Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde which was held recently in the Normandy Hotel saw the teams from East Renfrewshire speak their way to be both competition winners and runners up. The six teams that took part were the winners and runners up from their local authority area competition heats that included teams from St Andrews Academy in Renfrewshire and St Columba’s High School in Inverclyde. The winning team from Mearns Castle High School and the runners up team from St Luke’s High School both spoke on the Topic of: Is the UK’s ‘first past the post’ electoral system fundamentally undemocratic? The other teams opted to speak on the Topic of: Should all school leavers be engaged for six months in non-military national service? The winning team is shown in the photograph below right, proudly holding John Richardson Quaich Trophy, consisting of Iona Gibson, Chairperson, Main Speaker Kirsten West and the Vote of Thanks was carried out by Emma Stewart. The runners up team are also shown in a photograph below left consisting of Oria McEntee Chairperson, Main Speaker Rhiannon Rowley and the Vote of Thanks was carried out by Angela Carswell. All of the participants were presented with a gift voucher. The prize giving was undertaken by Sheina Ross, Secretary of Renfrew Ladies Speakers Club, who complimented them all on their efforts. What is remarkable about this Annual Competition is that last year the winners were a team from Renfrewshire and the year before that St Stephen’s High School team from Inverclyde were the winners. Gryffe High School in Houston who won the John Richardson Quaich Trophy last year was presented with an engraved roundel trophy to mark this achievement. The panel of judges was made up of the chief judge Hunter Wilson and Bernard McNelis, both from Renfrew Speakers Club and Mattie Hynds from Greenock Ladies Speakers Club. In summing up the participants efforts the chief judge described them as the best of the best from their previous area heats, they had raised the bar higher this time and were showing maturity beyond their years. The importance of working as a team gained marks including good attributes of public speaking whilst he gave sound advice for improvements such as avoiding the tendency to talk too quickly, to give the audience time to absorb their speech, being too tied to their notes which meant their heads were down and avoiding the voice dropping off. A common fault was not starting their speech by addressing ‘Mr. Chairman.’

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The Competition Final Chairman was Graham McLachlan, Past National President of the Association of Speakers Clubs who gave a vote of thanks to all who had assisted in making the competition such a success, particularly thanking Bill Leeming from Renfrew Speakers Club for once again his superb organisation of the competitions. Thanks were accorded to the competition sponsors: The Royal Bank of Scotland plc, Renfrewshire Chamber of Commerce and the three local authorities as without their financial donations it would not be possible to run these competitions which fitted in well with the current school’s Curriculum for Excellence. Photographs of the winners-Mearns Castle High School and the runners up St Luke’s High School.

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january 2016

63 63

Advertizers - A to Z

by category Accountants & Financial

Fencing

Affluent Financial Planning . . 25 Cheetham & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Fiona Christie Accounting Serv . . 27 Stewart Independent Financial . . Bk

Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 18

Architectural Services Architectural Drawings . . . . . 27 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Grid Design Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Art, Gifts & Flowers Crafts of Calder Gallery . . . 14

Automotive Services AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 Chips Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Gryffe Garage Motor Engineers . . 30

Bathrooms Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 Bathroom Solutions by MPH . . 11 CRW Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6

Bedrooms Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 9

Blacksmith & Metalwork Iron House Stoves Limited . . 24 McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 18

Building Services A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,47 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 12 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 15 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 39 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 15 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 36 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 51

Business Services Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 25

Care Services & Homes Confident Care Ltd . . . . . . . . . 60

Cleaning & PowerWash CleanDryCarpets . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 15 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15 MattVac Carpet & Upholstery Cl . . Bk Nutech Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 37 Platinum Cleaning Services . . 5 Quick Drain Clear . . . . . . . . . 5

Coffee Shops Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 35 The Village Tea Rooms . . . . . . 41

Computer, IT & Web ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Computer Repairs . . . . . . . . . . 1 Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 25

Driveways A&G Driveways . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk

Driving Instructors Alistair Stewart - Driving Ins . . 39

Education

Firewood & Logs LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Miller BioFuels Ltd . . . . . . . . 6 The Firewood Barn . . . . . . . . . 42 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Framing Crafts of Calder Gallery . . . 14

Funeral Services Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 20 John Roach Funeral Directors . . 9

Garage Doors & Gates Powerdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk

Garden Service & Design 3D Garden Design . . . . . . . . . . 46 A Peebles Landscape Contractor . . 45 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Craig Kennedy Gardening . . . . 48 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,47 DMG Garden Services . . . . . . . . 46 Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 44 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 MJ Lawnmowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 R Williams Tree Surgeon & Grou . . 44 SP Groundcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 46 West of Scotland Landscape . . 45

Gas & Heating Services A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 15 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 12 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 10 JBM Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 36 Mackie Plumbing & Heating . . 15 Phoenix Gas Services . . . . . . . 1

Glazier 1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 Cloudy2Clear Windows Glasgow . . 5 JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 14 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Hairdressers & Barbers Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 37 Ashes Hair & Beauty . . . . . . . . 38 BeardyBeardy Grooming Co . . . 39 JR’s Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . 34 Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 38 Vanda’s Mobile Hairdressing . . 35

Health, Beauty & Fitness Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 37 Ashes Hair & Beauty . . . . . . . . 38 Beginners Yoga - Sara Marijuan . . 55 Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 9 Clyde Physiotherapy and Pilate . . 55 Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 2 Healing Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Herbalife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Kilbarchan Chiropodists . . . . 43 Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 13 LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 8 Slimming World . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Sole Solutions Podiatry . . . . 37 The Osteopaths . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Home Interiors

Property, Sales & Let

Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 9 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 37 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 42

Baillie & Baillie Estate Agent . . 25 Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,29 Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1 Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Home Security Bell Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 8

Joiners CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 11 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 12 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 14 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 15 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 36 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Woodburn & Beattie Joiners . . 14

Kilt & Dress Hire Iain’s Gentswear . . . . . . . . . . 34

Kitchens Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 9 CRW Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 36

Leisure & Recreation Strathgryffe Tennis & Squash . . 57

Locksmiths

Removals @ease Removals & Transport . . 37 The Right Move . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Restaurant & Bars Amaretto Ristorante & Pizzeria . . 17 Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 35

Retail Alexander Barr Coal Merchant . . 2 Gibb Stuart Ironmongers . . . . 32,33 Iain’s Gentswear . . . . . . . . . . 34 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 42

Roofing Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 7 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 15 MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 39 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 15 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 51

Solicitors Affinity Family Law Experts . . 3 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1

Special Occasions ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk

Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Houston Locksmiths . . . . . . . . . 3

Taxis & Minicoach hire

Painters & Decorators

Tiling

David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 Ian Livingston Decorating . . 14 James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 John A Kilburn . . . . . . . . . . . 7 John H Barney . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 McDonald Decorators . . . . . . . . 38

Pet Services & Training Barking Mad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Happy Rambles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Smart Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . . 58

Plasterers Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 7 Charlie Orr Plasterer . . . . . . 12 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 12 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 15

Plumbers A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 15 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 12 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 10 JBM Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 36 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Mackie Plumbing & Heating . . 15 Shower Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Johnstone TOA Taxi Co . . . . . . 2 G J Tiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 3 Kerr McAuley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Travel Agents Travel Actually . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Tree Surgeon Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 44 LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 46

TV & Satellite Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 7 Kieran Turner Aerial&Satellite . . 3

Upholstery Services P Thomson Upholstery . . . . . . . 7

Window Cleaners DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 15 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15

Window, Consv & Repair 1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 Art Windows and Doors . . . . . . Bk JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 14 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Home Hardware

St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 53

First Domestics . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Gibb Stuart Ironmongers . . . . 32,33

Electricians

Home Improvements

Bell Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lamont Electricians . . . . . . . . 3 MAS Electrical & Security . . 2

Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 CRW Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Ideal Flooring Service . . . . . 7 Orchard Flooring . . . . . . . . . . 19

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All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is strictly prohibited. The Gryffe Advertizer cannot be held responsible for unsolicited materials. The views and opinions by contributors in this magazine may not represent the views of the publishers. The Gryffe Advertizer takes no responsibility for claims made by advertisements in this publication.

@ease Removals & Transport . . 37 1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 3D Garden Design . . . . . . . . . . 46 A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 A Peebles Landscape Contractor . . 45 A&G Driveways . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 15 ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Affinity Family Law Experts . . 3 Affluent Financial Planning . . 25 Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 Alexander Barr Coal Merchant . . 2 Alistair Stewart - Driving Ins . . 39 Amaretto Ristorante & Pizzeria . . 17 Architectural Drawings . . . . . 27 Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 37 Art Windows and Doors . . . . . . Bk Ashes Hair & Beauty . . . . . . . . 38 Baillie & Baillie Estate Agent . . 25 Barking Mad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Bathroom Solutions by MPH . . 11 BeardyBeardy Grooming Co . . . 39 Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Beginners Yoga - Sara Marijuan . . 55 Bell Alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 35 Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 9 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 8 Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 7 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 9 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 12 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Charlie Orr Plasterer . . . . . . 12 Cheetham & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Chips Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 CleanDryCarpets . . . . . . . . . . . 36 CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Cloudy2Clear Windows Glasgow . . 5 Clyde Physiotherapy and Pilate . . 55 ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Computer Repairs . . . . . . . . . . 1 Confident Care Ltd . . . . . . . . . 60 Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,29 Crafts of Calder Gallery . . . 14 Craig Kennedy Gardening . . . . 48 CRW Interiors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 7 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,47 DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 11 DMG Garden Services . . . . . . . . 46 DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 15 Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 2 Fiona Christie Accounting Serv . . 27 First Domestics . . . . . . . . . . . 14 G J Tiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . . 44 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Gibb Stuart Ironmongers . . . . 32,33 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 44 Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 3 Grid Design Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Gryffe Garage Motor Engineers . . 30 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15 Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Happy Rambles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Healing Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Herbalife . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Houston Locksmiths . . . . . . . . . 3 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 10 Iain’s Gentswear . . . . . . . . . . 34 Ian Livingston Decorating . . 14 Ideal Flooring Service . . . . . 7 Iron House Stoves Limited . . 24 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 12 James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 14 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 JBM Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 36 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 John A Kilburn . . . . . . . . . . . 7 John H Barney . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 John Roach Funeral Directors . . 9 Johnstone TOA Taxi Co . . . . . . 2 JR’s Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . 34 Kerr McAuley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Kieran Turner Aerial&Satellite . . 3 Kilbarchan Chiropodists . . . . 43 Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 13 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 15 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1 Lamont Electricians . . . . . . . . 3 Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 25 LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Mackie Plumbing & Heating . . 15 MAS Electrical & Security . . 2 MattVac Carpet & Upholstery Cl . . Bk MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 39 McDonald Decorators . . . . . . . . 38 McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 14 McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 18 Miller BioFuels Ltd . . . . . . . . 6 MJ Lawnmowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 38 NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 8 Nutech Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 37 Orchard Flooring . . . . . . . . . . 19 P Thomson Upholstery . . . . . . . 7 PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Phoenix Gas Services . . . . . . . 1 Platinum Cleaning Services . . 5 Powerdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Quick Drain Clear . . . . . . . . . 5 R Williams Tree Surgeon & Grou . . 44 Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Shower Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Slimming World . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Smart Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . . 58 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 Sole Solutions Podiatry . . . . 37 SP Groundcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 53 Stewart Independent Financial . . Bk Strathgryffe Tennis & Squash . . 57 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 15 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 36 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Firewood Barn . . . . . . . . . 42 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 42 The Osteopaths . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 The Right Move . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 The Village Tea Rooms . . . . . . 41 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 51 Travel Actually . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vanda’s Mobile Hairdressing . . 35 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 46 West of Scotland Landscape . . 45 Woodburn & Beattie Joiners . . 14

Neva Place, Bridge of Weir PA11 3PN t: 01505 613340 or e: info@advertizer.co.uk For more information please call us on 01505 613340 or check our website at www.advertizer.co.uk

Next Issue: (#257) February ‘16 Deadline: Friday 15th January

16/12/2015 18:24:07

t: 01505 613340

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

january 2016 No.256

Distribu

• Bishop • Bridge • Brookfi • Eldersl • Housto • Howwo • Kilbarc • Kilmac • Langb • Lochw • Quarri

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

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