259 April 2016 - Gryffe Advertizer

April 2016 No.259 Distributed to: • Bishopton • Bridge of Weir • Brookfield • Elderslie • Houston • Howwood • Kilbarchan • Kilmacolm • Langbank • Lochwinnoch • Quarriers

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Sunset at Barr Loch by John McNeil

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EXPERT JET-WASHING With Spring now here this is the time of year we are busiest cleaning driveways, patios etc’ ready for Summer. If you are thinking of having your driveway cleaned then it is crucial it’s done correctly to prevent problems in future. If there are a lot of weeds these should be treated before jet-washing and after a high-pressure industrial clean that removes dirt, moss and a little sand it is critical to re-sand with kiln-dried sand, a Biocidal treatment will then resist future growths. Give us a call for free friendly information on this service or for a free quotation.

01505 863 863 www.nutechcleaning.co.uk

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Spring Cleaning: Howwood villagers are organising their annual Spring Clean on 16/17 April - details on p43. And Brighter Bridge of Weir will be doing the same on 14/15 May - details on p51. Houston Community Council plan to hold regular clear-ups around the village and details are available on their Facebook page. Or, if you haven’t time to help out in a group, why not just keep around your own home clear, imagine if everybody did that! And to save your hands getting too dirty, Gibb Stuart’s sell litter-pickers, gloves and bin bags.

These litter picks are hugely successful, with Brighter Bridge of Weir volunteers telling me they collected 16 large bags of litter in one afternoon, and that’s just along one stretch of road in Bridge of Weir. Similarly, Houston CC organised a general litter-pick day recently and picked up a similar quantity from a relatively small area. A great achievement, but it’s sad that it has to be done at all; there seems to be an attitude prevailing nowadays that someone else will attend to it. And to continue the rant, it’s great to see dog owners now bagging it, but if that bag doesn’t make it to a bin, there seems little point in the exercise (excuse the pun!).

Bull’s Garage: There has recently been some ground work investigations at the former Bull’s Garage site. Apparently a potential purchaser had requested a ground contamination report, and the sellers have decided to have this carried out as it’s likely that any purchaser will require such a report.

Kilmacolm Co-op: There is now lots of activity at the former Institute site in the centre of Kilmacolm. The hold-up was due to the fact that the building plot has no other land associated with it and therefore the developer had nowhere to site their utility cabin and equipment. This has now been resolved utilising some land, for the duration of the build, slightly further down Smithy Brae.

Hopefully progress will now accelerate.

contact us The Gryffe Advertizer

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: No.260 May 2016

Deadline: Friday 15th April 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 local news..........................8-13 dental blog.............................11 what’s on.............................14-23 business news...................25-30 financial blog.........................25 it blog..................................25 local history...........................35 on the road...........................24 village news....................36-45 opticians blog .........................41 pets...............................46-47 pet blog ............................46

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outdoors..........................48-53 photography hints & tips ............53 schools news.....................54-58 sports & clubs news.............59-63 sporting blog..........................60 advertiser directory................67 business classified...........64-65 church listings....................65 deadlines dates...................65 property classified.................65 sales & wants......................66

Brookfield 30mph: A few weeks ago the Traffic Police had a field-day in Brookfield, with a speed trap at the Merchiston entrance, catching motorists as they came into Brookfield from the roundabout. The trouble with this stretch of road is that it had been 40mph for such a long time. Even though it changed to 30mph a couple of years ago, the speed limit signs are sparse.

Perhaps a few more signs and the speed painted on the road would help?

Plant Theft: Margaret, of the BoW Brighters, told me that the group had spent a great deal of time tidying up the embankment opposite the Gibb Stuart car park in Bridge of Weir, laying boulders and red stone chips, and putting in a number of plants. Only to find a day or so later that some devious scoundrel (I’m being polite here!) had decided to help themselves to a large quantity of said stones and plants. Shocking!

Save a hedgehog: And finally, elastic bands. Now I know with so many letters and parcels to carry our Posties, who do a sterling job, find it difficult to keep track of flying lackybands. What I hadn’t realised was that hedgehogs are picking these up and eating them, thinking they are worms. They then get stuck in their gut causing a painful death. So, finishing as I started, please pick it up and pop it in the bin.

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Cloudy2Clear Announce Trusted Trader Partnership Which? have now added themselves to the thousands of customers who recognise that, in Cloudy2Clear you are dealing with a business that you can really trust. Cloudy2Clear, who recently celebrated their 10th Birthday, replace misty glass at a fraction of the cost of a new window.

Glasgow manager Peter Brummitt believes that Which? have endorsed Cloudy2Clear’s long standing company policy of delivering a trustworthy and credible service at all times. “Our service is simple - if your double glazing has steamed up we can replace the glass at a fraction of the cost of a new window, in any type of frame, and with a new 5 year guarantee.” Peter continues “We also GUARANTEE that an average quotation will take no longer than 20 mins, with little or no disruption to your home. These things seem simple, but not enough companies do it and it’s great that someone like Which? has endorsed our philosophy.”

Locally Cloudy2Clear service the Wider Gryffe area.

So, if your windows are steamed up, broken or damaged give Peter a call for a free quotation on 0800 61 21 118 and he’ll be happy to help!

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Daffodil Day Sunday 17 April Come and see the exhibition of Daffodils from the 600 varieties growing at Greenbank Garden!

11am - 4.30pm - Greenbank House and Garden, Flenders Road, Clarkston G76 8RB - Ticket price is included in admission cost.

Call 08444 932201.

After seeing the display why not go out around the garden and see them growing naturally in the garden and woodland.

Change lives in 2016 by Volunteering with Quarriers Would you like to volunteer and be a part of an organisation that makes a real difference to people’s lives? Quarriers is a social care charity providing practical care and support for vulnerable children, adults and families who face extremely challenging circumstances.

We welcome volunteers to our organisation because of the unique qualities they bring. Volunteers enrich the lives of the people we support by bringing specialist skills and knowledge, new ideas and flexibility. We have various opportunities, befriending, swimming/support hobbies, gardening, driving, IT, fundraising and many more Volunteering is a worthwhile activity that will enhance your life and aid personal development. By volunteering with Quarriers you can gain new experiences, learn new skills, do something of special or personal interest, make a difference in the community, try something new and meet new people and have fun!

A few hours a week will make a difference not only to the lives of the people we support, but in your life too.

Quarriers is a unique organisation and can provide something for everyone, even you. If you want to be part of something amazing and volunteer with Quarriers, get in touch and make it happen.

Tel: 01505 616109 or email volunteer.centre@quarriers.org.uk For more information on Quarriers work visit our website www.quarriers.org.uk

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Rainbow Turtle The Fairtrade Foundation asked people to ‘make their breakfasts count’ for this year’s Fairtrade Fortnight which finished on Sunday 13th March. Supporters all over the UK ‘Sat down for breakfast and Stood up for farmers’ as they ate in their own homes or at organised community events and registered their meal or event to ‘make it count’ with the Fairtrade Foundation.

As Martin Luther King famously said, ‘before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world’. Despite our dependence on farmers and workers for the foods, drinks and products that we love, about 795 million people are undernourished globally.

The people who grow the food we take for granted can’t always feed their own families.

When people are paid a fairer price, they can have more control over their lives when times are hard, and worry less about how they will feed their families. Whether it’s the extra cash in their pockets or being able to expand their farms to grow more food to eat, Fairtrade means many farmers and workers are able to fulfil a basic human need – to put enough food on the table for the people they care about, all year round.

Individuals, schools and community groups around Renfrewshire have been organising breakfasts to help raise awareness and support farmers and workers to put food on the table for their families by harnessing the power of a Fairtrade breakfast.

Rainbow Turtle, Renfrewshire’s only dedicated Fair Trade charity and retail outlet came up with a novel idea of creating a ‘living window display’ with supporters of Fair Trade taking turns to eat breakfast in the window of the shop on the two Saturdays of Fairtrade Fortnight. Mhairi Black MP kicked off the proceedings eating a delicious array of goodies provided by Redss Catering. She was followed by representatives from schools, churches, Fairtrade towns and villages, the local council, Rainbow Turtle staff and volunteers and other community groups.

It was a fun way of getting the serious message across to people about how simple it is to change lives just by changing your shopping habits.

For more information on supporting Fair Trade in Renfrewshire contact info@ rainbowturtle.org.uk

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Diaporama It was ‘Les Girls risqué reprise’ in March. It was not quite as risqué as last year but was still a fun night enjoyed by all including our visitors.

We divided the evening into two. In the first part we saw the sequences. Liz showed ‘Cunard Salute in Liverpool’ a celebration of the 175th anniversary of the three ships - Victoria, Queen Elizabeth and QE 2, in May 2015 at Liverpool. We had a good look at the ships themselves, how the docks had been decorated, the Red Arrows fly over and the people celebrating this great landmark.

For Val’s sequence ‘Postcards from Paraguay’ she had chosen the music and then selected suitable images to compliment it. She had very cleverly made the images change to match the beat of the music to make it even more effective. Sue showed a sequence that was quite old but appropriate for the evening.

It was pre-digital so the slides had been scanned so they could be used in a modern digital format. It was called ‘Suzie’s Dream’ where she daydreamed about her husband doing the household chores - washing, ironing, vacuuming etc. but ended with her coming back to reality!

Kate took the traditional song ‘Ten Green Bottles’ and took images to match each part of the song including the broken bottles! She found lots of different walls, decorated the bottles with grasses, flowers etc. - a simple idea with great results.

Fiona’s was called ‘Woodville Grand Priz 2015’ and covered her nephew’s interest in motor bike racing. She used AC/DC music to get the rhythm and the sounds associated with motor bikes (also her nephew featured likes AC/DC!) After the tea break, we had a ‘technical session’ with the software used for making audio-visual shows. We looked at ‘collating the images’ as part of a sequence (Proshow Gold) and ways to build a sound track adding sound effects (Audacity) rather than just using a simple music track.

Our next meeting, ‘Baker and Crookston Return’, is on Monday 11th April at 7.30pm in the Carrick Centre, Houston. Visitors always made welcome.

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‘Sit down for breakfast, stand up for farmers!’

This year during Fairtrade Fortnight (29 Feb-13 Mar) people and groups were being asked to sit down for breakfast and stand up for farmers, choosing Fairtrade to make their breakfast count and using the power of their shopping baskets to support a fairer deal for farmers and workers.

Millions of farmers and workers in developing countries work hard to grow the food we eat every day. Yet many don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

As Martin Luther King famously said, ‘before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you’ve depended on more than half the world’.

LEAP was invited to take part in the ‘sit down for breakfast, stand up for farmers’ at the Rainbow Turtle shop in Paisley as part of the events held across communities and schools in Renfrewshire.

Photo of LEAP and Rainbow Turtle’s Director

LEAP Electric Bike hire kickstarts residents’ cycling experience There are many different reasons why residents opted to hire a LEAP electric bike or E-Bike in the last year. Some hirers wished simply to start cycling again or to embrace a healthier lifestyle, others wanted to start cycling to work or to replace a car drive. While all these factors differed, opting to trial their cycling experience on an e-bike helped to kick-start a new cycling experience. Half of the residents who hired out LEAP e-bikes replaced car journeys, or tested out the distance of their commute to the main train stations in the villages before they looked into getting their own bicycle. Others hired an e-bike to kick-start or re-kindle their interest in and experience of cycling. If you would like to find out more about LEAP E-bike hire, call LEAP on 01505 842530 or 612034 or at www.myleaproject.org/contact.

Community Centre, Greenock Road, Bishopton PA7 5AU Friday 1 April - 4pm - 7.30pm

photos: bike rider - Fiona, Crowds beach - Liz, Queen Mary & Lizzie - Liz, postcards - Val

Do you want the skills to help save a life??

Lead by Lochwinnoch and Howwood Heart Start. We have more dates available for the FREE two hour course in 2016.

Wednesday 27th April from 7-9pm in the Masonic Lodge Lochwinnoch If you are interested in attending contact Morag on morag.Thow@gcu.ac.uk or 01505843183 The course is practical and deals with; • An unconscious casualty • Cardiac arrest • How to use a AED • Suspected heart attack Dr Morag Thow • Choking • Serious bleeding

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Donating blood is safe, simple and takes only an hour.

Every minute of every day someone in Scotland is receiving blood as part of a life-saving or life-enhancing treatment. Yet, only 5% of the population are active blood donors.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) must welcome 5000 blood donors every week to meet the needs of patients in Scotland.

Come along to one of our donating sessions if you can - the only thing you will feel is good about yourself!

The Town Hall, Clyde Square, Greenock PA15 1LY Sunday 3 April - 12pm - 3.30pm Monday 4 April - 2pm - 3.45pm & 5.15pm 7.30pm Linwood Sports Centre, Brediland Road, PA3 3RA Monday 25 April - 4pm - 7.30pm Glasgow Blood Donor Centre 8 Nelson Mandela Place, Glasgow G2 1BT Open 6 days a week Mon, Fri, Sat: 9am - 3.30pm Tues, Wed, Thurs: 12.30pm - 7pm Sun: Closed

To ensure you are not faced with unnecessary waiting, you can make an appointment by calling 03453 017270 or online.

If you prefer, you will always be welcome to drop in to give blood during the following opening times.

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Calling all Artists!

Local artists and designers are invited to take part in Paisley’s BIGGEST ever, public participation art event and enjoy a chance to create something special for The Pride of Paisley.

Wild in Art events provide a unique and high-profile platform for the talents of artists and local creative communities. For The Pride of Paisley, 3D fibreglass lion sculptures provide the quirky canvas for artistic expression. The sculptures, which will be sponsored by local businesses, lend themselves to a raft of multimedia approaches.

Paisley Abbey Recitals Saturday 23 April at 12.30pm - Abbey Strings. Tickets £5 at the door. Cloister Café with baking from 10am.

Paisley Abbey (Church of Scotland) – Registered Charity No. SC007633

What makes the WIA experience special for the artistic community is the opportunity to be part of an event that celebrates the mass appeal of public art – made accessible and fun.

Taking art out of traditional arts venues and onto the streets, for everybody to enjoy interacting with, can popularise art and encourage a wider appreciation of artistic techniques.

It is anticipated that The Pride of Paisley will attract thousands of visitors and generate an incredible amount of media attention during its ten-week run in the summer of 2016.

If you feel inspired to create a design for a Pride of Paisley ‘big cat’, download the artist pack from www.prideofpaisley.co.uk/artist. The closing date for submissions is by 5pm on the 15th April.

LEAP Community Survey Thank you to all the local residents, charities, community organisations, groups and schools who completed LEAP’s feedback surveys in February. We received a tremendous response and are truly grateful to get your feedback about the benefits LEAP’s work and services have brought to our villages, residents, families, school pupils, and partner organisations over the last year.

We are delighted to learn that a resounding 99% of survey respondents support the continuation of LEAP and would recommend LEAP to friends, family, colleagues, groups and other organisations! While we are working on collating the survey reports, we have presented a snapshot of quotes.

‘LEAP’s visits helped to bring class topics to life and engaged pupils in practical demonstrations, creating opportunities to ask questions from experts and make links between school based learning and the practical applications of this.’

‘I’ve got greater awareness of how I can reduce my carbon footprint (and save money) by taking practical steps to reduce energy consumption in the home.’

‘LEAP events like the Bikeswap and Clothing swap have made me more aware about the products I buy and what I can re-use instead.’

‘LEAP has made a significant contribution to reducing the carbon footprint of residents through awareness raising, advice, and the provision of services and physical works to properties and homes.’

‘LEAP has become a fixture in our villages. The car club, its cars and the shop-fronts are the most noticeable features, as LEAP has become part of the local fabric.’

For details of all our services, please get in touch with LEAP by phoning 01505 842530 or 612034, or visit our website at www.myleapproject.org.

‘Musical’ The Musical Wing & A Prayer presents the musical theatre comedy, ‘Musical’ The Musical, at Paisley Arts Centre from Thursday 12th to Saturday 14th May at 7.30pm. Price: £12 and £10 (concessions) When there’s nothing left in life......there is always the theatre.

The owner of a small broken-down theatre in New York became the owner of a small broken-down theatre in New York through a gambling debt......She now wishes she’d let the debt go.

“Musical” The Musical is an original musical theatre comedy written and directed by Charlie Marx and produced by Alma Mearns.

(Parental Guidance is required as this performance contains adult humour that may not be suitable for young children)

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Energy Bill Surgeries get the Green Light How much is your home energy costing you per year and could you make savings? LEAP has held a number of Energy Bill Surgeries to help residents to find out more about how to reduce their energy bills across the year. We also recently invited along Citrus Energy, a registered charity that offers tenants and home owners who are considering switching energy suppliers, more information about the availability of different energy suppliers. There will be more surgeries organised this spring. Get the green light from LEAP’s Energy Bill Surgeries and lower your energy bills! Watch this space for the upcoming dates across our villages, or get in touch with LEAP at our website www.myleapproject.org/contact, or on 01505 612034 or 842530.

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Dental Blog

by Sheila Macintyre, Practice Owner, Kilbarchan Dental Practice

Baby Dental Care Becoming a mother for the first time is amazing and it will naturally be a time when you have questions about your own and your baby’s wellbeing. It is really important that you make your dentist aware of your pregnancy so they can help you prepare and ensure the best possible dental care for you and baby.

It is a good idea to take your baby with you to your own routine check up to get them used to the surroundings – you’ll find some practices like ours have dedicated play rooms and activities to make your baby’s visit a fun experience too. Your baby’s own check-ups can start any time from about 6 months to when the first tooth comes through. As soon the baby teeth do start to come through you will need to begin your baby’s oral health regime. Initially you might find it easier to use a piece of gauze or cloth wrapped around your finger to clean your wee one’s teeth but, as more appear, a baby toothbrush will be needed. A smear of toothpaste is enough but make sure it contains at least 1,000ppm fluoride.

It is normal for most babies to experience teething pains and they may also get a temperature and flushed cheeks. Your dentist will be able to advise you about teething gels (some containing mild painkillers) and teething rings that can be cooled to provide relief. If possible, try and avoid dummies and discourage thumb sucking as these can affect how your child’s teeth develop.

Prolonged bottle feeding can also lead to dental problems later so try and teach your baby to drink from a baby cup by the time they are 6 months old. When your baby is weaned avoid food and drink that contains sugar – savoury foods such as cheese, pasta and veg are a much healthier option as are water and milk to drink.

If you have any queries visit us at Kilbarchan Dental Practice, call 01505 704969 or click www.kilbarchandental.co.uk where you’ll find lots more free tips and advice.

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SOUTH AFRICA TO SCOTLAND: Glasgow Property duo take on Cape Town Challenge for charity. Two Glasgow property moguls have joined forces in a pledge to raise more than £10,000 for charity, by signing up to two of the world’s most testing cycling challenges.

Scott Campbell, director of Glasgow based commercial developer Standard Real Estate Ltd, and Davy Hutton, the larger than life principal of Quicksale Property Auctions, recently teamed up to lead a group of 15 riders on the Cape Town Cycle Tour in a bid to raise funds for Glasgowbased amputee charity, Finding Your Feet. And just eight weeks later, the duo will face far cooler climes when they take on the Caledonia Etape to raise further essential funds for the charity. For the Cape Town Cycle Tour, the duo will be joined by a team of nine budding cyclists from the Glasgow office of international law firm Ashurst and four other Glasgow based businessmen when they jet out from Glasgow to South Africa.

Scott (41) and Davy (48) are both Trustees of Finding Your Feet, a charity set up by Davy’s sister Corinne Hutton, a single mum who lost her hands and feet to septicaemia in 2013.

The Cape Town Cycle Tour is the largest timed cycle race in the world with around 35,000 participants expected to take part. The challenging

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course sees riders tackle a 109km route which sets off from the city and takes them around Table Mountain and the national park. At the other extreme, the Etape Caledonia sees more than 5,000 riders loop up into the hills from Pitlochry, Scotland over an 81-mile course taking in some of the most breath-taking views of the Scottish Highlands.

Scott commented: “I’m really looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead. I’m proud to be a part of the amazing work that Finding Your Feet are involved in. Corinne is a truly inspirational figurehead for the charity and it was a privilege to be asked to become a trustee of the charity when she set it up.”

Corinne commented: “Before my

illness, I loved taking on challenges for charity and completed numerous marathons. I am so grateful to all the fundraisers and challengers out there and wish Scott, Davy and the rest of the lads all the best in South Africa and look forward to welcoming

them home.”

Anyone wishing to support the team can do so at www. justgiving.com/ ScottCampbellCycle

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Mhairi Black MP visits St Vincent’s Hospice Staff and patients were delighted to welcome a local MP to St Vincent’s Hospice in Howwood.

Mhairi Black MP was visiting the Hospice for the first time and during her visit spent time talking with patients and staff in St Vincent’s In-Patient Unit.

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(l-r) Brona McGee, Director of Care; Kate Lennon, Chief Executive; Mhairi Black MP; Elaine Rae, Family Support Services Team Lead; Mags McLaren

Mhairi Black (centre) was shown around the In-Patient Unit by Brona McGee, Director of Care (left) and Kate Lennon, Chief Executive (right)

Carers Centre Day at the Pirie The Pirie Information Centre at Freeland Church in Bridge of Weir is delighted that Christine Melville from Paisley Carers’ Centre will be at the Pirie on the morning of Monday 25th April starting at 10am.

Christine will give a presentation on services and rights for Carers. This will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions and speak individually to Christine, who is development manager at the centre.

We hope this event will be of interest to local families who either have caring responsibilities, or who feel it could be useful for friends or neighbours. We will be serving refreshments on the morning and our usual Pirie information on local events, bus timetables, passport forms etc will also be available.

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Aprilevents Until Sun 10 April International Science Festival Edinburgh (various)

A mix of world-leading scientists, artists, authors and innovators that will join audiences at venues including Summerhall, the National Museum of Scotland and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The 2016 event will focus on “the fertile space where science meets the arts”. For more visit www.sciencefestival.co.uk

Fri 1 April Renfrewshire RSPB

McMaster Centre, Donaldson Drive, Renfrew 7.30pm

At the next meeting of your Local Group there will be an illustrated talk entitled Clyde Area Birds - a 30 year update by Iain Gibson.

Sat 2 April Summer’s Here!

Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park, Calder Glen Road, Lochwinnoch 10am to 5pm

Mon 4 April Make Your Own Mondays: Bird Food Feast!

RSPB, Largs Rd, Lochwinnoch

11am - 1pm or 2pm - 4pm. We will learn about how hard birds work to feed their chicks – and get out some binoculars to see what species we can spot! Booking essential. Cost: £5 (RSPB members £3) - Adults go free! Email: lochwinnoch@rspb.org. uk Tel. 01505 842 663

Tue 5 April Innocence

Johnstone Town Hall 2pm Innocence is a magical theatrical journey for ages 0 - 7 led by the talented Scottish Dance Theatre dancers! Price: £3 + booking fee - 0300 300 1210 - Suitable for ages 0 - 7

Bug Box making

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm Join our Rangers and make fun bug boxes for your garden. £1.50 for materials

Wed 6 April Open Day - Equine Assisted Therapy

Equine Assisted Therapy Centre, Burnhouse 1pm to 5pm

Sat 2 - Mon 11 April

Come and meet the ponies and staff - information on methods used - barbeque - facepainting bouncy castle - raffle - sweets, cakes and craft stalls. Groups are welcome in the morning, we have specific slots available - give us a call on 07415 767746, email AmyMcintyre@ dontstopmenowscotlandcic.co.uk

Wild Challenge: We’re going on a bear hunt!

Thu 7 April

Castle Semple 10am - 5pm daily. Muirshiel and Greenock Cut 11am - 4pm at weekends.

RSPB, Largs Rd, Lochwinnoch 10am to 4pm

Visit different stations along our main trail to go on a bear hunt! When you’ve finished, come back to the centre to complete the challenge and tell us all about it! Cost: £3 per child (RSPB members £1). Email: lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk Tel: 01505 842 663.

Sun 3 April Fitness Fun Day

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm Join our fitness Ranger Kirsty for fun fitness and games

Wedding Fayre

Ingliston Country Club, Old Greenock Road, Bishopton

Free admission with complimentary canapés and sparkling wine on arrival. Email general@ ingliston.com or tel: 0845 301 1010 for further information.

Mon 4 - Fri 8 April Junior Multi Activity Week

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch

A full week of activities for 8-15 yr olds to get active, learn new skills and make new friends, on land and water! Get 6 or more children together and book your own course. Cost for 5 full days £160. Tel 01505 842882 Ex 20

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Woodland Art

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm Make your very own “Art Attack” out of materials you find in our wonderful forest.

Fri 8 April Ladies Night

Bernie’s Cafe Deli, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir 6pm to 8pm

Fun, Food and Games 6pm-8pm with Friday Night “Slouch” ‘til 11pm. Free Glass of Prosecco!, Grand National Ladies Day Hat Competition, Naughty Party Games, Free Raffle Ticket, Free Fun-filled Goody Bag, Charcuterie / Cheese / Fruit Platter, Fabulous Wines and Spirits. Tickets £15pp

Sat 9 April Scottish Model Yacht Championships

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

Watch the International One Metre Yachting elite racing at the lochshore. MORE INFO: tel 01505 842 882 Ex 20

Sat 9 - Sun 10 April Habbies’ Annual Art Exhibition Kilbarchan Guide Centre, Barn Green

Saturday 10am - 5pm and Sunday 10am - 4pm.

There will be our usual display of over 100 paintings in various mediums.

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Sun 10 April

Wed 13 - Thu 14 Apr

Pirate Day

Sticks ‘n’ Scones & Fishy Moans

Dress as a scurvy buccaneer and practice your best Arrg! Drama and shouting a plenty. Prize for best dressed pirate.

The new hospital has finally opened, but who makes it run smoothly? Join the team for an evening of nonsense, laughs, and a peek at their unbelievable lives. Tickets £13 (incl booking fee) from www.punch-productions.com

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm

Mon 11 April Make Your Own Mondays: Clay Creatures RSPB, Largs Rd, Lochwinnoch

11am - 1pm or 2pm - 4pm. We will make clay creatures and green man tree faces, then create and decorate stick mobiles to entice woodland sprites! Booking essential. Cost: £5 (RSPB members £3) - Adults go free! Email: lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk Tel. 01505 842 663

Mon 11 - Fri 15 April

Thu 14 April Bird Box making

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm Join the Rangers making bird boxes. £2.50 to make one for the forest, £4 to take it home for your garden. Pre booking essential.

Open Day

Kilmacolm Bowling Club, Castle Hill Road, Kilmacolm 2pm

For details call Diane on 01505 874265 or Morag on 01505 872218, or just come along and have some fun - all welcome.

A full week of activities for 8-15 yr olds to get active, learn new skills and make new friends, on land and water! Get 6 or more children together and book your own course. 5 full days £160. Tel 01505 842 882 Ex 20

Fri 15 April

Tue 12 April

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!

Mini Beast Hunt

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm Six legs, eight legs, 100’s of eyes, a tube to sip nectar or mandibles to rip prey. Forget Pokémon, let’s catch some real mini monsters.

Tue 12 - Sun 17 April Wild Challenge: Let’s go hunting...for food!

RSPB, Largs Rd, Lochwinnoch 10am to 4pm Visit different stations along our main tail to go on a bear hunt! Then, come back to the centre to complete the challenge and tell us all about it!

Cost: £3 per child (RSPB members £1). Email: lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk Tel. 01505 842 663

Wed 13 April Gryffe SCD Club Charity Dance

Kilbarchan Guide Centre, Barn Green, Kilbarchan 7.30pm to 11pm

We will be holding a Scottish Country Dance with music by Marian Anderson. Dancing, lovely music, good company, a supper and a raffle - all for £7.

Proceeds from the dance will go this year to the RNLI. Contact Les Lambert for details, tickets etc at 01505 704398.

15 15

Wynd Theatre, 6 School Wynd, Paisley, PA1 2DB 7.30pm

Junior Multi Activity Week

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch

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april 2016

Advertizer Deadline

The Advertizer - Neva Pl, Bridge of Weir

Weir Networking with Gerry McDade

Amaretto Ristorante and Pizzeria, 60 Main Street, Bridge of Weir 9.30am

Speaker Gerry McDade - broadcaster, writer, afterdinner speaker. Come along to find out more and see what we can do to help you and your business.

Breakfast and a chat - only £5 per person.

Closing date - Paisley Artists Paisley - various venues 5pm deadline Local artists and designers are invited to take part in Paisley’s BIGGEST ever, public participation art event and enjoy a chance to create a design for a Pride of Paisley ‘big cat’.

Sat 16 April Former Pupils School Hockey/ Rugby Matches Birkmyre Park, Broomknowe Rd, Kilmacolm

Hockey 9.15am Astroturf. Rugby 10.30am Birkmyre Park (both School match and FP match kicks off 10.30am). Refreshments and prize giving at Junior School following the matches. For further information please contact: Sylvia Lavizani, Marketing Officer Tel: 01505 874772.

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Sat 16 April The Masqueraders

St Machar’s Church, Kilbarchan Rd, Bridge of Weir 7.30pm

Light Entertainment followed by tea and cakes.

We are raising funds for St Vincent’s Hospice.

Tickets £5 more info phone 612472. Come along and have a laugh.

Sun 17 April Cowboys and Indians

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm Join in the games with our Rangers and see if we can break Jesse James out of the jail. Prize for best dressed.

Daffodil Day

Greenbank Gardens, Flenders Road, Clarkston G76 8RB 11am - 4.30pm

Come and see the exhibition of Daffodils from the 600 varieties growing at Greenbank Garden!

Ticket price is included in admission cost. Call 08444 932201.

Westies Walk

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 11am

West Highland White Terrier Owners meet for a walk. Donations to West of Scotland Guide Dogs.

t: 01505 613340

Sat 23 April

Mon 25 April

Twist & Hit Cheerleaders: Dream.

Believe. Achieve!

Carers Centre Day at the Pirie

Watch them flip, throw basket tosses and build pyramids as they debut their routines for the 2016 competition season! Price: £10 pp (under 2’s go FREE) - Call 07912 228276

Christine Melville from Paisley Carers’ Centre will give a presentation on services and rights for Carers followed by a q&a session.

Park Mains High School 7pm to 9pm

Kilmacolm Plant Sale

Kilmacolm Library, Lochwinnoch Rd 10am to 12noon

Free entry, donations welcome. Beneficiaries Parklea “Branching Out” receives 40%, the net remaining to SG Beneficiaries.

Houston Toddler Group Coffee Morning & Craft Fair Houston Kirk West Halls, Main St 10am to 12noon

Kidston Hall, High St, Kilmacolm 7.30pm A double bill featuring two plays: ‘Slim Chance’

by Peter Gordon and ‘The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley’ by David Tristram. For tickets please visit the Cross Cafe in Kilmacolm or contact Rosie on 01505 873088.

Ages: 5 to 14 years. Please note that all children aged 8 and under must be accompanied by an adult. Booking essential. Cost: £5 (£3 RSPB members) (adults go free). Email: lochwinnoch@ rspb.org.uk Tel. 01505 842 663

Afternoon Tea

Salvation Army, Mill Street, Paisley 2pm See main poster on page 21 of this issue.

Clyde Marina, Ardrossan 9.30am This event is OPEN to all members of RYA affiliated clubs. Up to 5 races per day, on the water coaching and sail trim/rig advice. Free event berthing and sportsboat cranage. For info call Clyde Marina on 01294 607077 or contact secretary@ fairlieyachtclub.org.uk

Sun 24 April Finlaystone Games

Finlaystone Country Estate - Langbank 1pm to 3pm Join in all our favourite Finlaystone Games. Sack Race, Space Hopper Race. Fun for all the family.

Golf Open Day

Kilmacolm Golf Club, PA13 4PD See main advert in ‘Sports’ section of this issue.

New members welcome. Tour of clubhouse and facilities. Call 01505 872139 for details.

Bridge of Weir Choral Soc Concert St Columba’s Church, Duchal Rd, Kilmacolm 7.30pm

Conductor Christopher Barr; Soloist: Maria Jenkins - Mezzo Soprano; Accompanist: Gabriella Molnar; Narrator: Robbie Menzies. Tickets £8 available from choir members or at the door on the night.

Pedal the Park

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 8am

The Park host Ride 63 Community Cycle Club for two Sportive rides and a hand bike time trial raising funds for CLIC Sargent. Helpers needed to Marshall rides please. MORE INFO: www. clydemuirshiel.co.uk/things-to-do/cycling/pedalthe-park/ tel 01505 842 882 Ex 21

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Johnstone Town Hall See main poster on page 21 of this issue.

Sat 30 April Open Mic Night

Bernie’s Cafe Deli, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir

Birds for Beginners

RSPB, Largs Rd, Lochwinnoch 10am to 12noon

Icebreaker Sprints 2016

KDS Presents ‘Kidston Nights’

Guys and Dolls

Lochwinnoch Explorer Group: Reintroductions...

Early Years Assessments for Session 2016-2017

Thu 21 - Sat 23 April

Wed 27 - Sat 30 Apr

Tickets £5. Backing music will be provided or you can bring your own instrument.

Sat 23 - Sun 24 April

Early Years Assessments for Session 2016-2017 by arrangement. Call 01505 872768 to find out more.

Freeland Church, Main Street, Bridge of Weir 10am

Tickets £2 / £1 Child. All welcome.

Thu 21 - Fri 22 April St Columba’s School, Duchal Rd, Kilmacolm

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

RSPB, Largs Rd, Lochwinnoch 11am to 1.30pm Learn more about common garden birds and pick up tips and advice on wildlife watching techniques.

Please book, as places are limited. Cost: Adults: £5; Children: £3 (RSPB members: £3/£2). Email: lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk Tel. 01505 842 663

Family volunteering

RSPB, Largs Rd, Lochwinnoch 1pm to 3.30pm Here’s an opportunity for grown-ups and children to do something practical together in the great outdoors, and to help us Give Nature a Home.

It’s a chance to spend some quality time with the children in your life, and it’s free. Please book.

Cost: FREE. Email: lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk Tel. 01505 842 663

Otterspotter Walk

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 5.30am to 7.30am

Join a Countryside Ranger on an early start to look for otters. £5 per person MORE INFO: tel 01505 842 882 Ex 20 & bookings

Sat 30 Apr/ Sun 1 May Paisley Citadel - 134th Corps Anniversary Festival of Music Salvation Army, Mill Street, Paisley

Sat 6pm and Sun 10.30am.

Price: £3/person. Tickets can be booked by contacting: Corps Secretary Jim Ballantyne 01475 528844.

Sun 1 May Habbie Tat

Performing Arts Centre in Steeple Square, Kilbarchan 12noon

Lots for sale - you’re sure to find something. Doors open at 12noon and all of the admission money collected (tickets are 50p) go to Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Centre.

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Meet the Team that goes the extra Style for you When you are shopping for a new bathroom or kitchen you want incredible customer service and the personal touch, and there is only one place to get it – Paisley’s Instyle Kitchens and Bathrooms.

Behind this fantastic, family run business is a husband and wife team, Craig and Lesley Douglas whose focus on customer service is simply second to none.

The company provides a free design service in the comfort of your own home, where they can bring along samples and brochures at a time that suits you. Forget the big national companies, this Paisley based company will beat any like-for-like quotes, and has prices starting from as little as £1,495.

So with Instyle, it is great prices, great service, all with the personal touch. Craig Douglas, Instyle’s owner, said: “We are really focussed on the personal touch. We want our customers to feel like we care about what we do and we provide them with the highest level of service possible. “We take care of everything, from design to installation and we even up lift the rubbish after we have finished.”

This family company provides great face-to-face service – and it’s growing fast. They have a fleet of 16 vans on the road, all manned by expert local installers. They have a team of 39 staff, so are ready, willing and able to take on your home renovation dreams.

Instyle undertake all the work required to transform your bathroom or kitchen into a stunning part of your home. They will tackle all aspects of the work including, electrics, gas, tiling, plastering, joinery, windows, doors – you just have to sit back and let them take care of everything. And when all the work is complete, they will even dispose of all the rubbish so you don’t have to.

The company has also recently announced it will be offering installation of new UPVC windows and doors at great prices.

With a new showroom and revamped office space opening soon, this company is clearly going places and the staff can’t wait to get into their new premises.

Craig said: “We are delighted to be opening our new space soon and the staff can’t wait too, customers will really enjoy the new showroom and people should definitely come and visit us for a great shopping experience.”

Instyle also has a new warehouse as they have outgrown their stockroom, so they can now look after even more customers.

Contact the showroom direct on 0141 889 3221 to arrange a free home design service.

Phone lines are open Monday – Saturday 10am – 7pm, or pop into the showroom at 1B Greenock Road Paisley which is open Mon – Sat 10am – 5pm. Check out the website on www. instylehome.co.uk “People should come and visit us for a great shopping experience” Craig Douglas

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A Vision of Elvis

the Easter crafting sessions Informal crafting session in the Beacon’s bistro, why not make some Spring themed bunting or an Easter card. Suitable 5yrs + and children must be accompanied by a grown up.

Until Saturday 9 April - 11am - Free entry.

Annie Unlike most of the other children at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage, feisty Annie believes that her parents are still alive and will one day return to claim her. So when Mr. Warbucks offers to adopt her, she asks the most powerful man in America to help find her real Mum and Dad instead, and he agrees?

Friday 1 - Saturday 2 April - 7.30pm (matinee Sat) - £13 to £18

One Man Shoe When a headline act fails to show up, Jango, a bumbling theatre caretaker, is suddenly thrust into the limelight and embarks on a hilarious journey of highly crafted and heart-felt silent comedy, magically realizing his dreams of transforming into a star! A show for ages 5-11 and families.

Thursday 7 April - 2.30pm - £5 to £6

An Evening with Phil Differ Comedy writer, producer, director and comedian Phil Differ presents an evening of two halves. In the first, stand up comedy and in the second, showbiz tales from a career spanning thirty five years.

Friday 8 April - 7.30pm - £10 to £12

All Our Yesterdays The ultimate feel good show! Another sensational show from the producers of ‘Memory Lane’, ‘Rolling back the Years’, and ‘Memories are made of This’. Based on the original show from 2012, with a host of new songs and costumes for 2016 Friday 15 April - 2.30pm & 7pm - £13 to £15

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On stage, the award winning, Rob Kingsley has the total package - the look... The sound...the charisma, and together with his spectacular live 10 piece band this show leaves the audience in no doubt that they are witnessing a truly authentic Elvis show.

Saturday 16 April - 7.30pm - £18.50 to £20

Song (The Ballad Book) Courtney Pine and Zoe Rahman In the 80’s he was one of the first black British jazz artists to make a serious mark on the jazz scene when his first album charted and some 20 plus years on (now with an OBE and CBE for services to music) Courtney Pine continues to break new ground with a string of highly acclaimed recordings and numerous prestigious Industry awards.

Sunday 17 April - 7.30pm - £17.50

Dreamers/Process day (Double bill) Dreamers are people who dare to dream while not asleep. Lachky takes pleasure in making sense from nonsense and exploring links between reality and surrealism.

Process Day - Award-winning Eyal, and music producer/artist Behar have created a stream of critically acclaimed, original works for some of the world’s leading dance companies, including Batsheva Dance Company.

Tuesday 19 April - 7.30pm - £10 to £12

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat The newly-formed Inverclyde Musical Youth Theatre present this Andrew Lloyd Webber classic. As his father’s golden child, Joseph is gifted with the famous multicolour dream coat. His twelve jealous brothers sell him on to a group of Israelites who then enslave him to Potiphar; a rich and successful businessman. Jealous of his wife’s interest in the slave, Potiphar sends Joseph to the cells.

Thursday 21 - Saturday 23 April - 7.30pm (matinee Sat) - £14 to £16

Feral An innovative performance combining puppetry, object manipulation, immersive soundscapes and multimedia technology, Feral holds a community under the microscope and dissects it in front of its audience’s eyes.

Monday 25 April - 7pm - £5 to £7

Staging Stories Children, families and schools from across Inverclyde were invited to write imaginative and daring tales which Beacon Youth Theatre participants have adapted for the stage.

Friday 29 - Saturday 30 April - 7pm - £8 - £10 BEACON ARTS CENTRE, CUSTOM HOUSE QUAY, GREENOCK, PA15 1HJ INFO@BEACONARTSCENTRE.CO.UK TELEPHONE: 01475 723723

SAY to Stay in Paisley The Scottish Album of the Year Awards (SAY) announced it will hold its prestigious 2016 & 17 award ceremony in Paisley, a town synonymous with musical talent.

Would you wish to send your 8 year old daughter on an 8 mile hazardous journey for water before school?

A hazardous journey every day for water, often dirty and contaminated which you have to drink and which could make you sick.

How many times have you turned the tap on today?

We will be asking for your support for this event.

Please put the date in your diary.

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Paisley will be drawing on its broad musical roots, with internationally acclaimed musicians hailing from the town including; Gerry Rafferty, Paolo Nutini, Joe Egan, Nicholas Currie aka Momus, David Sneddon (Fame Academy), Kelly Marie (Feels Like I’m in Love), Stealers Wheel, and Chris Glen to name a few.

The SAY Award ceremony is coming to Paisley Town Hall on Wednesday 29 June 2016 as part of the build-up to Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021.

Jean Cameron, director of Paisley’s bid for UK City of Culture 2021, said: “We are all very excited that Paisley will be home to one of the most prestigious events in the Scottish musical calendar. The SAY Award and Paisley are a great fit - the town has a wonderful musical heritage and continues to be a cultural hotspot for creative talent to this day.

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KDS - ‘Kidston Nights’ Noel Coward once sent Winston Churchill two tickets to the opening of his new play with a letter saying “Bring a friend.... if you have one.” Churchill sent the tickets back with the note: “Can’t attend first night, please send tickets for second night....if you have one.”

Kilmacolm Dramatic Society will be performing two One Act Plays under the title of ‘Kidston Nights’ starting on Thursday 21 April at 7.30pm. For not one, not two, but three nights - so please come along and enjoy an evening of theatre.

‘Slim Chance’ by Peter Gordon is a very funny play about a Slimming Club with a motley collection of members. Slimming seems to be the last thing on their minds, much to the frustration of the branch organiser! I am sure our local Slimming World organiser will empathise!!

‘The Fat Lady Sings in Little Grimley’ is an enjoyable tale about amateur dramatics and the rivalry that can exist between two rival societies with very amusing consequences.

We are always looking for help behind the scenes, with set building, lighting and many other areas, so please contact us if you are interested in any aspect of KDS via our Facebook page or by contacting any member. We hope to do a Pantomime again this year and we need plenty support on stage and off to make it a success and a great night out for all. Please get in touch if you are interested in any way.

3 nights to choose from, bring a friend and support your village theatre group.... because you have one!

Kate x

Curious About Glasgow Are you curious about Glasgow? Looking for an unusual and quirky activity which gets you out in the fresh air whatever the weather?

Take one of our selfguided walks with a treasure hunt theme – looping around the better-known sights, as well as some of the more unusual and quirky ones, which combined make Glasgow a fabulous place to explore!

You’ll get everything – detailed directions, maps, clues (with answers in the back!), and fascinating snippets about the history of Glasgow and the people that have shaped it.

Until 31 December 2017 - Daily, daylight hours Various Locations Glasgow - Price: £4.99 - £7. www. curiousabout.co.uk/glasgow/

Slimming World, Kilmacolm Crowns Greatest Loser 2016!

The winner, Johanna Jannetta, who owns the Cross cafe, has lost 3st 7lbs in only 6 months and is enjoying many related health benefits. If you would like to lose weight without ever feeling hungry while continuing to eat your favourite foods, contact Kirsty on 07444 066462.

Blue Peter Book Awards Scottish children’s writer Ross MacKenzie, who is also a graphic designer for a national newspaper, has won Best Story with his latest title, The Nowhere Emporium, chosen by schoolchildren across the UK. Ross, who grew up watching Blue Peter, said: “It’s always a great moment to receive any sort of award, but to win The Blue Peter Book Awards for Best Story is extra special. Firstly, because it’s an award chosen by the readers. It’s fantastic and important that children have a voice, and I’m so glad they liked The Nowhere Emporium enough to give it their vote. And secondly, it’s special because Blue Peter was such a huge part of my childhood. I’m delighted and stunned to become a tiny part of the show’s history and I shall be humming that famous theme tune for the foreseeable future! And of course I always wanted a badge.”

The Nowhere Emporium tells the story of orphan Daniel Holmes who stumbles upon a mysterious shop that suddenly arrives in Glasgow. Before long, the ‘shop from nowhere’ and its owner, Mr Silver – draw Daniel into a world of magic and enchantment. When judging the Awards, children described the story as giving them a ‘wonderful feeling’ and the plot was like ‘putting pieces into a jigsaw’.

Keep up-to-date with the Awards at www.booktrust.org.uk/bluepeter and on Twitter by following @Booktrust and #BPBA.

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Paisley Entertainment FROM 22 Pages - Scenes from SAT Scottish History

FRI Craig Campbell: Don’t Look Down

Inspired by this APR Internationally tradition, this exhibition acclaimed stand-up APR features 22 scenes Craig Campbell brings from Scottish history, his highly anticipated presented in graphic new live show to Paisley novel style, connecting Arts Centre! Don’t miss popular culture to traditional heritage in this brand new show from Canada’s fun and vibrant ways which will appeal to funniest export! audiences of all ages. The exhibition will 7.30pm - Paisley Arts Centre also give visitors the chance to try their Price: £15 (£13 conc) + booking fee hand at creating their own comic book page or character.

SAT The Wedding Union Paisley Museum - Free Entry Wedding Show

WED Anonymouse

APR

Anonymouse is a lyrical story for under fives APR told by a very shy and furry little poet! In a hole in the wall of a timber house, on the edge of a wood there lives a mouse...This is a lyrical story for under 5s and their adults to cosy in and enjoy together.

10.30am & 2pm - Paisley Arts Centre Price: £3 + booking fee Suitable for ages 0-5

FRI The Elves and The Shoemaker

APR

Scotland’s newest and most exciting wedding show, The Wedding Union, will take place in the beautiful and historic Paisley Abbey on Saturday 16th April 2016. The show is the first of it’s kind to be held in the magnificent Abbey and promises to be a great event for both exhibitors and visitors alike.

9.30am - 5pm - Paisley Abbey - Free entry

FROM Iranian Ancient TUES

Clydebuilt Puppet Theatre presents this APR fun adaptation of the famous Grimm’s tale at Paisley Arts Centre!

A poor shoemaker has only one pair of shoes left and not enough money to pay his rent! With the help of two mischievous Elves, he starts to make some unusual shoes that are very much appreciated and rewards the Elves in return.

FROM WED 2pm - Paisley Arts Centre Price: £4 + booking fee Suitable ages 3+

An exhibition of seven batik textile works. Each art work incorporates an ancient Iranian symbol, simplified and condensed to reflect the constraints imposed during certain periods in Iran, married with the artist’s own personal experiences and cultural influences.

Paisley Museum, Paisley - Free event

Paisley Beer & Food Festival

The ever-popular Paisley Beer Festival APR SAT Song of the Sea is brought to you by CAMRA. Expect a wide Catch a screening selection of beers, ales, of Song of the Sea, APR ciders and much more a wonderful family from across the UK and beyond! 4 bars animation, rich in Irish will be filled with the best beer selection folklore, at Paisley Arts in the country accompanied by a cider Centre! Based on the bar, wine bar and 2 food stalls spread Irish legend of the Selkies, Song of the out over 3 halls.

Sea tells the story of the last seal-child, Saoirse, and her brother Ben who go Paisley Town Hall on an epic journey to save the world of magic and discover the secrets of their FROM Nijinsky’s Last Jump past.

SAT As the passionate 2pm - Paisley Arts Centre obsession of a young Price: £4 + booking fee Nijinsky comes face to APR face with the searching TUES Kris Drever inner life of the older Nijinsky, this sharp and Kris Drever celebrates tender show portrays a poignant intimacy his first decade as an APR of genius and madness, youth and age. acclaimed solo artist Created, directed and choreographed and songwriter with

by Kally Lloyd-Jones and starring James a new studio album Bryce and Darren Brownlie. and tour If Wishes 7.30pm - Paisley Arts Centre Were Horses. The album is his first for six years (during which time his band Price: £10 (£6 conc) + booking fee Lau have established themselves as the Suitable for ages 12+ most widely acclaimed and musically progressive trio in British folk music).

As well as material from his If Wishes Were Horses, Kris will revisit older songs from across his catalogue playing many live for the first time.

7.30pm - Paisley Arts Centre Price: £10 (£8 conc) + booking fee

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every Monday Lochwinnoch Community Walk The Cross, Lochwinnoch 10.30am

This event will not take place on public holidays.

every Tuesday Bishopton Belles Line Dancing Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Hall 6.30 - 8.30pm

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

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

1st Saturday Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm 10am-2pm (“The Square”)

1st & 3rd Sunday Loch Lomond Shores

10am-3pm Tel: 07977 179 861

Knitters of all levels welcome!

2nd Thur & last Sat

Skinny Minnies

Paisley Cross

Cargill Hall, Bridge of Weir 7pm-8pm

For a healthier, slimmer, more energetic you!

every Thursday Weekly Volunteer Group Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch 12.30pm - 3.30pm

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.

10am-2pm Tel: 01655 770217

3rd Saturday Erskine Garden Centre

10am - 2pm Tel: 0141 814 4626

Glasgow Restaurant Festival

every Sunday 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.

Crafty Hobbies Carrick Centre, Main Street, Houston 7.30pm

No previous craft experience necessary. Call Lorna on 01505 612844 for further details.

2nd Wednesday monthly Inverclyde Carers Outreach Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm 11am-2pm

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.

3rd Friday monthly

The best chefs will takeover a vintage Spiegeltent this Easter at Candleriggs for the Glasgow Restaurant Festival!

Glasgow’s first city-wide Restaurant Festival will take place 1–17 April, with top restaurants and chefs across the city lined up to takeover a vintage Spiegeltent in the Merchant City at Candleriggs Square. Open from 12 noon-10pm daily, live entertainment will complement your dining experience. This is a free event. www. glasgowrestaurantfestival.co.uk

Twist & Hit Cheerleaders

Hearing Aid Clinic The Bridge, Bridge of Weir 1-2pm

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

2nd Saturday monthly ‘Brunch & Browse’ St Fillan’s Hall, Kilmacolm 10am-2pm

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

last Saturday monthly Table Top Sale Linwood Parish Church, Blackwood Ave 11am-1pm

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

Watch them flip, throw basket tosses and build pyramids as they debut their routines for the 2016 competition season!

Saturday 23 April - 7pm - 9pm - Park Mains High School, Erskine. Price: £10 pp (under 2’s go FREE) - Call 07912 228276.

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Innocence - Johnstone Town Hall Innocence is a magical theatrical journey for ages 0 - 7 led by the talented Scottish Dance Theatre dancers!

Tuesday 5 April - 2pm - Johnstone Town Hall, Johnstone - Price: £3 + booking fee - 0300 300 1210 - Suitable for ages 0 - 7 A unique playroom performance, Innocence invites little ones (and their adults), to explore William Blake’s imagination and enter a realm of mystery, fun and adventure. Innocence is a magical, theatrical journey led by Scottish Dance Theatre’s captivating dancers, with live music, songs, giggles and animal noises by Paul Bradley. A beautiful and engaging dance experience for young ones, their families and friends.

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Johnstone Town Hall recognised among international projects Johnstone’s £14.5m town hall has had international recognition at a prestigious architectural awards ceremony featuring projects from across the globe.

The building – which was officially opened in May last year – was Commended at the Civic Trust Awards in London, which aim to showcase the very best in architecture, design, planning, landscape and public art.

Projects also honoured at the ceremony - the longest-standing built environment awards scheme in Europe – included buildings from the across the UK as well as USA, Canada, Spain, Italy and Belgium.

Johnstone Town Hall was one of only seven Scottish entries among the 58 which were honoured on the night.

The striking glass-fronted building has changed the face of Johnstone, and was taken forward as part of Renfrewshire Council’s commitment to the regeneration of the town.

It was designed around an internal ‘high street’ theme and is home to modern community facilities including a library, theatre/conference space, ceremony suite, coffee shop, meeting spaces and a dance studio.

The town hall also offers many council services under one roof, including a customer service centre, offices for housing and social work staff, and AdviceWorks. Police Scotland and Macmillan Cancer Support are also based in the building.

The building was designed to reflect Johnstone’s industrial heritage and contains specially-commissioned artwork. The design was informed by consultation with local resident groups.

The town hall was designed by Renfrewshire Council and Holmes Miller and built by BAM Construction for clients Hub West Scotland and the council.

Johnstone Town Hall is available for hire for a wide range of events and activities including weddings, meetings and conferencing, social events and performances.

Further information can be found at www.renfrewshireleisure.com or by calling 0300 300 1210.

More information about the awards can be found at www.civictrustawards.org. uk

RAMH Fresh New Look Charity’s new look will bring fresh support for local mental health Local mental health charity RAMH is scheduled to unveil their refreshed branding and website, along with the opening of their social enterprise in Johnstone, on Saturday 2nd April.

The refreshed branding incorporates the celtic symbol of inner strength, showing the importance of self-belief and self-worth in the recovery journey.

RAMH Chief Executive, Stephen McLellan, said “We’re delighted with the refresh and hope it will encourage more people to talk openly about mental health.”

“We know that positive relationships and connectedness are key to recovery and sustained good mental health. With RAMH becoming more visible, more accessible and clearer about who we are and what we do, we can help more people more effectively.”

RAMH supports over 5,000 local people every year by providing support for all mental health diagnosis from depression to self-harm, bipolar disorder to anxiety issues. Visit the new look website for more information ramh.org Visit the new store opposite Johnstone Town Hall from Saturday 2nd April onwards for plenty bargains on preloved furniture, white goods, electrical, textiles, vintage and collectibles. If you have furniture you would like to donate to RAMH please call 0141 847 8900 for a FREE pick up.

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Coffee chain to raise “bucks” for local Hospice Big hearted barristas at Starbucks, Linwood have pledged their support for local hospice care by announcing a year-long partnership with St Vincent’s Hospice in Howwood.

Over the next 12 months the coffee shop plans a series of fundraising events that will tantalise the taste buds and lighten the wallets of their customers - all in aid of St Vincent’s Hospice.

The partnership will also help to improve the hospice environment as the company will donate their used coffee grounds as a soil improver for the hospice’s new community garden.

april 2016 Feet Up and Out for April at The Lounge OPI Gel Toes £18 (saving £5) Nails shaped, cuticles prepared, your choice of OPI Gel polish is applied and finished with cuticles oil and a foot massage.

Treat Your Feet pedicure £30 (saving £8) Sit with your feet up whilst we remove hard skin and cuticles, shape your nails and an exfoliation and moisture pack is applied. Your feet are slipped into heated booties and exfoliation is removed with hot towels before OPI Gel polish is applied.

In the course of the year Starbucks staff hope to raise enough to purchase a Stair climber for hospice patients. This is a special piece of equipment costing over £5000 which enables wheelchair users to access stairs and steps safely. The Stair climber will play a vital role in helping the hospice achieve its aim to increase access to day hospice services by 30% by 2019.

Gift Vouchers are a great solution to show someone you care. Pop into the Lounge to collect or simply phone 01505 690090 and we will post one to you.

Sarah Mitchell, Day Services Manager at St Vincent’s said “Our patients and their families are very excited about this partnership. Stairs and steps can make the transition from home to hospice and other medical appointments a struggle, and sometimes even impossible. We wish the staff and customers of Starbucks in Linwood much success and lots of fun with their fundraising over the coming year”.

37 Main Street Bridge of Weir

Starbucks Store Manager, Louise MacKenzie said “We are delighted to have this opportunity to get involved in the community and to support St Vincent’s Hospice. We hope our customers will give generously and help us achieve this ambitious and worthwhile goal”.

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01505-690090 07872-929798 Manicures ~ Pedicures ~ Waxing ~ Tinting ~ Massage Facials ~ LVL Lashes ~ Spray Tanning

The partnership commenced on Monday 29th February 2016 and customers can find out more in-store or from St Vincent’s Hospice facebook page.

Could you spare a few hours a week to support your local Hospice?

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Retail Assistants – Our busy charity shops in Lochwinnoch and Bridge of Weir are looking for additional volunteers.

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Furniture Transport - Volunteers needed to assist the Hospice driver with furniture pick-ups around the local area.

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Hospice Kitchen – Helped needed in our busy Hospice Kitchen.

Other volunteer roles available, please call 01505 705 635 or email info@svh. co.uk for more information.

St James Orchestra’s Spring Concert Johnstone Town hall will host St James Orchestra for their annual spring concert.

This year’s programme is a crowd-pleaser of classical favourites: Mussorgsky’s Night on Bare Mountain, Mendelssohn’s Hebrides Overture (Fingal’s Cave), Mozart’s Horn Concerto No.4 in E flat major, and Dvorák’s Symphony No. 8 in G major.

The concert will feature soloist Hayley Tonner (French Horn).

The orchestra will be conducted

by Adrian Sit and lead by Fiona Butcher.

Tickets are available at the door and at the Paisley Arts Centre. For more information please visit the St. James Orchestra website at www.stjamesorchestra.org.uk Saturday 23rd April - 7.30pm in Johnstone Town Hall, Ludociv Square. Tickets: £10 / Under 26: £5.

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New city centre speed limit A new speed limit of 20mph is now in effect in Glasgow city centre. New signage and road markings are in place advising motorists that they are entering a 20mph zone. The zone is bounded by the south bank of the River Clyde, Newton Street, West Graham Street, Cowcaddens Road, North Hanover Street, Cathedral Street and High Street.

The city council launched a six week public consultation on the proposed speed limit last year, with 69% of the responses supportive of the plans.

Andy Waddell, Glasgow City Council’s Head of Infrastructure Services, said: “The introduction of a 20mph zone in the city centre is a key element of the city centre transport strategy. The primary motivation is to improve safety and make the city centre a better place to be.

“The number of people entering the city centre has risen significantly and by reducing the speed of vehicles we reduce the risk and severity of accidents.

It will also contribute to a better city centre environment, smoother traffic flows and improved air quality. It also makes it a more encouraging environment for cyclists and pedestrians.”

Last year, a speed survey carried out in the proposed city centre zone recorded an average speed of 22.6mph - which is considered acceptable for the implementation of a 20mph limit without the introduction of further traffic calming measures (road humps etc).

In 2009, Glasgow’s Health Commission reported that the introduction of 20mph zones, particularly near schools, would save young lives and reduce the seriousness of road casualties within local communities.

Following this, the council prioritised the first phase of mandatory 20mph zones which were implemented in 2011. Since then, a total of 65 residential areas have had 20mph mandatory zones implemented. These 65 zones cover 163km, or approximately 12% of unclassified roads in Glasgow.

Enforcement of the 20mph zone will be carried out by Police Scotland.

SEE A POTHOLE REPORT IT!

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Call 01475 717171

Call 0300 3000 300

Report online at www.inverclyde.gov.uk/form s/ShowForm.asp?fm_fid=375

Online fault report at www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/roa dfault

You can also write to: Inverclyde Council Municipal Buildings Clyde Square GREENOCK PA15 1LY

You can also write to: Community Resources Renfrewshire House Cotton Street Paisley PA1 1BR

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Financial Blog with Colin Fyfe of Colcom When faced with a technical problem on your computer a lot of us turn to Google to find repair instructions or perhaps to find the correct support team for the product. I have heard from numerous people who, in following the most prominent search results, are landed into further bother.

For example I had a customer last month who had issues with an Epson printer. A quick search online to find the number of the technical helpdesk resulted in a phone call to an otherwise professional sounding outfit, purporting to be Epson technical support but offering little or no expertise on the issue to hand. Furthermore, as the phone call continued with the obligatory remote support session, my customer paid more than £100 for a useless antivirus package and furthermore the printer was still faulty.

Another call I took regarding a ‘Tech Guru’ session resulted in the machine being further damaged and the client paying £130 for nothing.

The client was left with the uneasy feeling that the machine was still available to these people via remote support software.

If you ever require information for your product I would recommend a Google search ending ‘Support’ for example ‘Epson Support’. Often Google will come up with a box containing the correct and corroborated number to call. I frequently hear stories of people paying needlessly for services that should not exist. The nature of internet search and the increasingly accessible market for this illicit foreign trade is something I think us in Britain must get our heads around. Sad as it seems, there are clever people around the world only too delighted to make a fast buck on the back of our naivety online. I don’t mean to preach, naivety online is something we are probably all guilty of.

Please do not hesitate to contact me on 0800 145 5915 or 07748 944622, or email: colin@colcom

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by Carl Melvin, Affluent Financial Planning Ltd

April 2016: New Tax year - New Opportunities As one door closes...another opens. The new tax year starts on 06/04/2016 and offers a number of opportunities as well as some traps for the unwary.

So, how can you make sure you take advantage of the new tax year opportunities?

1. Invest tax free in ISA accounts – maximum of £15,240 per person can be tax sheltered each tax year in Cash ISA or Investment ISA. You can use either cash or assets (such as investment funds) to make your ISA subscription.

2. Reduce your Income Tax – by investing in a pension fund. You receive income tax relief on your contributions up to your highest rate of income tax equal to a 25% or 67% return on your net investment for basic and higher rate taxpayers, before you even invest the money!

3. Beware Limits – be careful not to fall foul of pension limits as big penalties can arise. There are limits on the total value of your pension benefits, the amount you can invest to pension each year and the amount of income tax relief you can claim.

4. High Earners & Pension Contributions - new rules limiting the amount that high earners can invest each year into pensions (annual allowance) comes into force. If your “adjusted income” (which includes all pension contributions) is more than £150,000 your annual allowance will start to reduce. However, if your “threshold income” (excludes pension contributions) is £110,000 or less then the reduction in the annual amount you can invest to pension will not apply.

5. Pension Lifetime Allowance – the limit on the value of your total pension benefits (known as the Lifetime Allowance or LTA) is due to reduce, resulting in more tax for those above the new limit of £1M. Transitional protection is available for those who are eligible.

This information is not financial advice. If you require advice, you should consult a professional adviser. 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 0141 280 0490 or 871 702 9490 or email us at info@affluentfp. co.uk. Alternatively, pop into the Affluent office opposite Amaretto restaurant on Main Street, Bridge of Weir. www.affluentfp.co.uk

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Awash with Beatons!

Langbank Camera Club

Well done to Team Beaton – the whole family was mobilised for a busy Saturday washing cars at their premises in Station Road, Bridge of Weir, to raise funds for Gryffe Valley Rotary’s Therapeutic Toy Library project at Corseford school.

February’s print competition proved to be a bit of a challenge for members as the topic this month was “Green with Envy”. As one can imagine most images had a hint of green in them!

First place was awarded to Derrick McPherson for his quirky image of an elderly couple sitting on the beach at Juno Beach, Florida. By the way, each chair had a caption on the back - “Time to Chill” and “The Coolest Spot in Paradise”.

Thanks to their hard work, and to all those who brought their cars along and made a donation to the project, the grand total of £650 was raised over the day.

The world is a brighter and shinier place as a result!

Weir Networking Business Group Friday 15 April - Amaretto, Bridge of Weir We are delighted to have Gerry McDade as the main Speaker for the meeting. As a broadcaster, Gerry has appeared on the BBC Radio Scotland programmes The Fred McAuley Show, Take It From The Top, Sportsound and Off The Ball. For three years he was the weekly partner of Gordon Dallas on TALK107’s Kickabout show. He has produced voice-over material for a range of business interests including Dunfermline Building Society, Prostate Cancer Scotland, Setanta Sports and ESPN. Gerry’s writing career kicked off a few years ago when he wrote prolifically for Radio Scotland’s Saturday lunchtime football programme, Off The Ball.

Since then has penned sketches for various radio productions and shows such as Sabotage and The Why Front.

2009 saw Gerry’s work go into book form for the first time when his essay And They Gave Us James McGrory was featured in the Argyll Publications collection, Gerry also co-wrote the 2011 stage play “The Prince - The Johnny Thomson Story’ that enjoyed a very successful run in The King’s Theatre, Glasgow, and in 2015, ghostwrote ‘The Last Line’ - the autobiography of former Celtic & Rep. Of Ireland footballer, Packie Bonner and it was shortlisted in the Irish Book Awards for that year. Gerry is available for afterdinner events, great fun, great Speaker.

Come along on Friday morning, at 9.30am, to find out more and see what we can do to help you and your business. We meet for breakfast and a chat in Amaretto Ristorante, 60 Main Street, Bridge of Weir.

All businesses welcome - just £5 per person!

Brown Bin Collections return

Joint second place was awarded to Gary Ramanathan for his image of a pair of crystal embellished satin pumps and an image of an envious cat’s eye.

This month’s educational topic featured a lecture on how best to create a photo essay, focusing on telling a story via your photographs - a lesson learned was not to bore people with photographs that have nothing to say. The lecture provoked discussion among members with lots to say.

The PDI (Projected Digital Image) evenings continue to be well supported and showcase members’ images which are best seen on the big screen.

It is also a forum for members to discuss and share many hints and tips on taking good photographs, as well as discussing the more specialised topics of photo editing and all things associated with digital photography, including equipment and software etc.

The main April meeting will be held as usual on the second Monday of the month, 11th April at 7.30pm. At this meeting, we will be featuring a lecture on high dynamic range (HDR) photography. The print competition topic for April is “Scottish Architecture”.

The next PDI meeting will be held on Monday 25th April at 7.30pm.

Club meetings are held in Langbank Church Halls, Langbank. Visitors are always welcome at any of our evenings.

Club membership is only £10 for the first year. If you wish to find out more about Langbank Camera Club please visit our website: www. langbankcameraclub.weebly.com or contact Derrick McPherson at langbankcc1@gmail.com with your enquiries.

Garden waste:

Yes Please

No Thanks

Spring has officially ‘sprung’ with the resumption of Inverclyde and Renfrewshire Council’s fortnightly garden waste collections.

Flowers and plants

Plastic bags

The brown bin service operates from March to November every year.

Householders are requested to place their brown bins beside their blue bins by 7am on their regular recycling collection day.

Grass cuttings

Soil or turf

Hedge clippings

Plant pots

Leaves

Garden furniture

In Renfrewshire, if your bin has been missed in error, please call the Council on 0300 300 0300 or fill out the online form.

Shrub prunings

Large branches

Twigs

Animal waste

If you put something that cannot be recycled using your brown garden waste bin, the Council will not be able to empty it. Non-recyclable’s can ruin a whole truckload of recycling.

Small branches

Food waste

Weeds

General waste

The following materials can be recycled in your brown bin:

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Garden waste is turned into compost, which can be used for land restoration, agricultural and horticultural purposes.

Please use your brown bin to recycle as many of these materials as you can. If you have more garden waste than your brown bin can take, please take it to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre.

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Kilmacolm Camera Club Last month, we held another internal league competition, with “Landscapes” being the theme. Our judge was George Monaghan, of Drumchapel Camera Club.

Gryfffe Valley Rotary - Young People update This is always a busy time of year for Gryffe Valley Rotary projects with young people.

The Primary School Quiz was held again in the British Legion Club in Bridge of Weir. Teams from Houston, Bridge of Weir, St Fillans and St Columba’s tackled a challenging set of questions set by masochist John Douglas. St Columba’s Junior School just came out on top after a high scoring contest, and they now go forward to the District Finals. Thanks again to Gibb Stuart for their generous support.

Our Intermediate Youth Speaks champions from Gryffe High School were runners up in the recent District Finals and they go through to the Regional Finals in Northumberland. Unfortunately our Senior champions from St Columba’s had to withdraw.

Our Young Chef champion, Emily Svensson from Gryffe High School performed really well in the District finals but just missed out on qualification for the Regional Finals.

Our Euroscola representatives have just been on their visit to the European Parliament in Strasbourg and we look forward to hearing about their experiences. And finally, our Young Writer entries have been received and the scripts are under scrutiny by the Judges.

Well done to Andrew Macleman and his team for all their hard work on these Young People projects.

In the Print section, Bill Ham took first and second places, with “Lakeside Hut at Buttermere” (shown right) and “Boat and Boathouse, Loch Ard.” Billy Blair completed yet another Bill/Billy clean sweep, with “Misty” (shown below), in third place.

In the Digital Section, Jane Robertson emulated Bill Ham, with a first and second. Her winning image was “Paradise Harbour”, and her second-placed image was “Crystal Sound” (shown below).

Gordon McGibbon came third, with “Ahoy.”

We also enjoyed a fascinating evening of

old Glasgow images, taken by Eric Watt, and presented to us by Tom Doherty, of Queen’s Park Camera Club. Eric Watt was an enthusiastic photographer who, over a period of over 40 years from the 1960s, captured images showing the life, people and sights of Glasgow.

On his death, he donated these to the City Of Glasgow and, since 2012, Tom Docherty has been working as a volunteer to organise and catalogue the collection. This was a wonderful glimpse of times gone by, in many recognisable areas of the City.

I’m sure some of you (or one of your relatives) must have a collection of old slides taken in Glasgow (or even Kilmacolm). Why not come along and share them with us?

Venue: Kilmacolm New Community Centre, Room 1.01; Tuesday evening, time 7.30pm. Contacts: Billy Blair, Tel: 873383; Janice Stevenson, Tel 873595. Website: clikpic.com/kilcamclub/

you can contact us @GryffeAds using #Advertizer

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www.advertizer.co.uk FEATURE:

april 2016

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John Morgan Decorators

For almost 30 years John Morgan Decorators have been providing their services to the residents of Kilmacolm, Bridge of Weir, Houston and the surrounding areas.

After learning his trade in a local decorator’s jobbing shop, John set up his own business in 1988 and is now well established in the area.

With over 40 years’ experience, John Morgan Decorators has carried out work in private residences, offices, bars, restaurants, churches and many other types of premises. They also regularly carry out work for housing associations and letting agencies.

John works in tandem with his son, John Jnr, who won the Crown Young Decorator of the Year Award two years running and is now an experienced decorator.

We only use Dulux paints or paint of a similar quality. So if you are thinking of freshening up a tired looking room, to completely transform your home, or needing to carry out external painting to your property to keep it in shape and looking good, contact John Morgan Decorators for a free estimate. Call us on 01475 743487 or email johnmorgan52@hotmail. co.uk

coming soon! enhanced listings will be available soon on our website. Please contact The Advertizer for more details on 01505 613340 or info@advertizer.co.uk

LOCAL

history

Johnstone History Society YOUR LOGO 01505 613340 info@advertizer.co.uk

Having had our AGM and Old Johnstone Picture show our April meeting takes place on the 12th of the month in the Masonic Hall in Collier Street at 7.30pm.

This month our speaker is Drew McKenzie, who will be speaking about “Birdie Bowers” who came from Greenock and died with Scott on his expedition to the South Pole.

The Museum situated in Morrison’s continues to open Wednesday Friday and Saturday from 10.30am till 4pm. The Daily Express Paisley are again running their Wish Campaign and we have a collection box for the tokens at the Museum.

Design your dream floor At Orchard Flooring we believe that the floor is the base of your home life.

Karndean flooring is inspired by nature and looks and feels spectacular. This luxury flooring comes in wood and stone effect but unlike natural wood or ceramics it doesn’t crack, chip or fade so easily.

Whether your old floor is water damaged, fitted badly or simply needing a breath of fresh air, Karndean is the ideal choice for your busy homes and businesses.

With a huge collection of styles, colours and textures available, from the classic Van Gogh range, to something a little more unique like Ships Decking effect, you are bound to find the perfect fit for your home.

Orchard Flooring has over 15 years experience in fitting Karndean and Amtico and we pride ourselves on excellent customer service and clear communications. We want to walk out that door knowing that, not only do you have a floor that looks and feels spectacular, but that will continue to do so for many years to come.

With a home sampling service why not give us a call and be on your way to a stunning 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

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bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir .....................................................

BoW Festival Committee Gala Queen 2016 selection night

On Saturday the 5th March in the Cargill Hall the selection of this year’s Gala Queen and her Attendants was made. Thirteen girls took part in the selection process before three neutral judges, all of whom live outside of the village.

The committee have provisionally secured accommodation at Tiffany’s Hotel for 4 days and three nights. This will include Dinner, Bed and Breakfast.

The coach departs from Bridge of Weir at 9.30am on Friday 28th October and departs from Blackpool at 10.30am on Monday 31st October, stopping off at the Outlets at Gretna on the way home.

The cost of the trip is £140 all inclusive, per adult. The trip is restricted to over 21’s only. A non-refundable deposit of £20 per adult is required when booking {to cover the cost of the coach}, the balance may be paid up, but all monies must be paid by the 1st 0ctober 2016.

Please book early as places are limited. For more information please contact Gordon on 07816 354854.

Santa Sleigh Update Despite the less than ideal weather, the Santa Sleigh followed its usual routes around Bridge of Weir, Brookfield, Houston, Kilmacolm, and Quarriers in the lead up to Christmas. Over the period, 1302 children got to meet Santa and each received sweets from him. £5,825.51 was collected in donations with half going to the following local organisations who all helped on the Santa Sleigh nights: Bridge of Weir 1st & 2nd Guides, Bridge of Weir Scouts Group, Brighter Bridge of Weir, Gryffe High Team 2, Hope Hall, Houston Guides, Kilmacolm Guides and the Rotary Club of Gryffe Valley.

The remainder going towards the cost of truck hire, fuel, sweets, etc.

In addition to the Santa Sleigh routes, Santa and collectors from the Festival Committee also held collections at the Co-op in Bridge of Weir and at Morrison’s in Johnstone, which raised £200 for the Red Cross and £520 for the Beatson Cancer Charity respectfully. Our thanks goes to these two companies for their continued support.

The girl chosen to be Gala Queen 2016 was Paige Galbraith, with Milla Gibson and Aimee McGrane chosen to be her Attendants. Paige will be officially crowned at Bridge of Weir Gala Day on the 11th June. The Festival Committee wish to pass on their congratulations to the three girls chosen, and their thanks to all the girls who took part on the night.

Gala Day Parade and Programme Front Cover Theme The Festival Committee have chosen “Rio 2016” as the theme for this year Gala Day Parade and Programme front cover. With the Olympics being held in Rio this year it has bought the city to the fore, however we do not want to restrict the choice for participants to just the Olympics, but rather we wish to make it a celebration of what Rio is famous for, it’s Carnival, Beach Football, Christ the Redeemer statue, etc.

Festival Blackpool Trip 2016 Bridge of Weir Festival Committee successfully ran their third weekend trip to Blackpool last October 2015. Nearly forty people took the opportunity to have a terrific weekend away, sightseeing, shopping and letting their hair down.

The Festival Committee would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteer Santa’s, Drivers and Collectors for their time and effort, without whom we would not be able to run this venture. A big thank you also to everyone who kindly supported us with donations, they are all very much appreciated.

Messy Church There will be no Messy Church in April and we have decided to move May Messy Church from 1st to 8th May to avoid the May bank holiday weekend. Hopefully, more people will be able to come. As usual anyone of any age is welcome - just turn up on the day and join in the fun!

BoW Senior Citizens’ Association Outing The Senior Citizens Summer Outing is going for a sail on Loch Lomond with High Tea at The Commodore Hotel, Helensburgh. The date of the outing has been changed to Wednesday 8th June. Names will be taken at the next meeting. The cost is £28 for members. There will be an extra charge for non members.

LANGBANK SWI For the final meeting of this years session we will be holding our Annual Dinner and Prize Giving in the Lomond Suite at Gleddoch House Hotel on Thursday 21st April at 7pm for 7.30pm.

ADDITIONALLY….. A walking tour of Glasgow (with June Lockhart) has been arranged for Thursday 19th May, meeting at Glasgow Central Station at 10.30am.

More details at the dinner.

Bridge of Weir Elderly Forum Outing The Forum Summer Outing is going for a sail to Blairmore, Loch Goil and Loch Long. The date of the outing is 1st June and will cost £25 for members including Fish and Chips at the Beacon after the sail. There will be an extra charge for non members. Members are asked to bring their money to the next meeting on Tuesday 12th April or give to Margaret Mills at the Senior Citizens meeting.

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BoW Community Council

BoW Tenants and Residents Association

The Community Council fund raising Committee is considering ideas and potential projects which should enhance the village and come in at a reasonable cost.

The latest meeting of TARA was very well attended, and or thanks go to Cllr. Maria Brown, Andy Summers - Amenity services manager with Renfrewshire Council, the Police and Renfrewshire Wardens Service for their attendance.

Projects put forward include continuing to enhance the village Christmas Lights, upgrading the riverside lade walk to include an historical heritage project based on the lade and the old mill, outdoor exercise facilities and a farmers market.

We would like to hear the thoughts of residents on these and this can be done through our Facebook page or our website www.bridgeofweir.org At our recent meeting Councillor Holmes reported that there is a larger number than normal of street lights out and waiting for repair. This has been caused by difficulties with a contractor. The contract has now been brought in house and four other contractors have been engaged to catch up on the back log.

The Secretary reported that she had sent correspondence to Renfrewshire’s Council’s roads department after the previous meeting and has neither received a response or an acknowledgment Councillor Holmes agreed to look into this matter.

Councillor MacLaren reported that several years ago Community Resources had been asked to carry out a survey with the aim of ascertaining the cost and the practicality of bringing Mill O Gryffe Road, and other roads and footways up to an adoptable standard. Renfrewshire Council would require to spend a minimum of £250,000 on the road to bring it up to an adoptable standard. He has asked what the cost would be to do the top part only; however, Community Services are reluctant to carry out a further survey.

The Police informed the meeting of a number of reported crimes over the previous month, one common assault, one theft and house breaking, one house breaking with intent, two theft attempts, one breach of the peace, eight vandalisms. There was also low detection rate leading to members of the Community Council asking about detection rates of historic burglaries, the Police had no specific details at hand but would report back at the next meeting.

Our Facebook page has received a number of posts recently resulting in the Community Council taking issue on a number of matters including resurface works to Kilgraston Road, Carruth Road and Lochwinnoch / Kilmacolm Road, and reported potholes throughout the village.

Your Community Councillors are going to be busy in the next few months attending Renfrewshire Councils training for Community Councillors. Dropping in to the Local Housing Strategy consultation sessions and attending the Community Planning Conferences as well as keeping abreast of village issues.

LEAP will give a presentation to the next meeting of the Community Council which will be held Tuesday 5th April at 7pm in the Cargill Hall.

The Bridge

The Police report showed that there were only five reported crimes over the past month. These encompassed a couple of vandalisms, one of which resulted in a cracked window at a house, there was also the theft of clothes from a dry cleaners van. A driver at Bridge of Weir Primary School in Warlock Road received a £100 fine for obstruction, as her car was parked with all four wheels on a pavement. This is an ongoing problem within the vicinity of the school and the Police are going to continue to monitor vehicles around this area.

The Wardens highlighted the problem with litter thrown from vehicles, especially at the road entrances to the village where the grass verges are festooned with paper and bottles. It was pointed out by the Wardens that if they witness the throwing of litter from a motor vehicle they have the authority to access the DVLA database to find out who the registered owner of the car is, and to issue that person with a fixed penalty notice for littering. It is then up to that person to either pay the fine or inform the authorities of the name of the person who threw the litter.

We’d like to remind villagers that from the 1st April the fine for not cleaning up after your dog rises to £80, which then rises to £100 if the fine is not paid within 28 days, so please “Bag It and Bin It”! Also from the 6th April all dogs require to be micro-chipped, with a possible £200 fine awaiting any owner who fails to do so. However a dog may be given dispensation if it has a medical condition that would prevent it from being safely micro-chipped and this would require a covering letter from a vet.

The Council hope to complete the required drainage works in Houston Road Park in early April when parts of the drainage system which have collapsed will be replaced and other parts of the system will be cleared of silt.

The next meeting of Bridge of Weir Tenants and Residents Association, which is also the AGM, will be held on Tuesday 19th April in the Pirie Centre, Freeland Church at 7.30pm. All are welcome.

Bridge of Weir SWI Our April 7th meeting rounds off the Thursday evening programme with a mini show.

We will also use some of the evening to finalise plans for the auction and tea party on behalf of ACWW on Saturday 7th May (see page 18 for details).

We meet at 7.30pm in the British Legion and visitors will be welcome.

Survey - the Trustees of The Bridge are due to meet at the end of March to discuss the results of the recent Survey undertaken by 229 of our customers.

We appreciate all the comments and suggestions made and look forward to enabling The Bridge to serve the needs and aspirations of our community.

Shop News – an extensive variety of Greeting Cards are on sale to cover most special occasions. Our usual stationery items are always in stock along with some new ranges.

Post Office - going on holiday soon? Ask Donald, Pat or Anne for leaflets on Travel Insurance and Travel Moneycard and to order Currency.

Community Centre – Do you have any issues to resolve? An appointment with one of your local MSP’s, MP or Citizens Advice Bureau staff is the answer. Please call in to find out the times of their surgeries.

An evening out at The Bridge – twice monthly, you can enjoy a film along with complimentary refreshments in The Bridge. Please collect a Programme.

The Garden –we are again appreciative of the work The Allotments and Garden Society undertake in the garden at the rear of The Bridge, ensuring we can enjoy seasonal changes.

As always we wish to thank our dedicated team of volunteers who, through their commitment, enable The Bridge Community Centre, Shop and more importantly Post Office to serve the village.

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Knitting for the RBLS Could you help us to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in WW1?

The Bridge of Weir Branch of The Royal British Legion Scotland is supporting the Somme Observed Community Knitting Project (Glasgow), which will honour the sacrifice made by the men who were killed at the Battle of the Somme by knitting or crocheting squares that will be joined together to make panels. The panels will be displayed in the Winter Gardens at the People’s Palace in Glasgow from 1st July to 31st August 2016. They will then be taken down, cleaned and re-made into blankets for veterans’ homes.

We would like to donate as many squares as possible and would welcome contributions from our local community. Could you make a square to help us commemorate this anniversary?

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

Squares can be any design, or you might like to use the patterns below as a guide to make the basic squares. Squares may be knitted or crocheted. Choose any yarn, any colour and any stitch you like. Please feel free to add stripes, cables, Fair Isle, intarsia patterns (doves and poppies would be very suitable) or you could crochet/knit a poppy or dove to stitch to your square when finished. The massively important thing is that the finished square must be 16cm x 16cm in size.

RECYCLING: Many of you will have heard about the changes to the amenity sites or recycling centres as they tend to be called these days. Starting in June, Linwood, Johnstone and Erskine sites are being converted to self-service community “bring sites”. Here, you will only be able to recycle; Paper & Cardboard, Metal, cartons, Glass – bottles & jars, mixed plastic, and Textiles. The Underwood Road Paisley depot has been expanded and the site offers full recycling facilities for the disposal of waste electronic electrical equipment, including white goods, large appliances, monitors and florescent tubes.

You can also dispose of Asbestos, car batteries, green waste, wood, rubble and oil. Renfrewshire Council offer a special uplift service to all householders by calling 0300 300 0300.

A number of charities and charity shops will accept unwanted items for re-use or you can contact me and I can direct items to a good cause. A number of people have expressed the fear that there will be an increase in fly-tipping and I can’t say that I would be surprised if this occurred.

To make a Knitted 16cm square:

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FLOODING: I submitted a motion to the recent Full Council meeting, but unfortunately it was defeated but I hope it raised the profile and highlighted the issue of flooding in Langbank. I forwarded a copy of the Langbank Community Council’s report to the council. Mr Mike Dewar is calling a multi-agency meeting, including Network Rail and Transport Scotland, to discuss potential solutions to Langbank’s flooding issues.

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.

4mm needles and double knitting yarn • • • • • • •

Cast on 3 stitches.

Row 1: Slip 1st stitch, increase in the next stitch, knit remaining stitch Row 2: Slip 1st stitch, increase in the next stitch, knit remaining stitches Repeat Row 2 until work measures 16cms along the side Next Row: Slip 1st stitch, knit 2 together, knit to end Repeat this row until there are 3 stitches left.

Cast off. Sew in all yarn ends

To make a Crocheted 16cm ‘Granny’ square: 4mm crochet hook and double knitting yarn •

To Start: Chain 4; slip stitch into first chain to form a circle.

Round 1 • Chain 3 (counts as the first treble), 2 trebles into the circle; chain 2.

• Repeat (3 trebles into the circle; chain 2) 3 times.

• This will give a central circle into which there are four groups of three trebles each separated by a 2-chain space.

The trebles groups are the sides and the 2-chain spaces are the corners.

Round 2 • Slip stitch along to the first 2-chain space. Chain 3 (counts as first treble); 2 trebles into the 2-chain space; chain 2.

• 3 trebles into the same 2-chain space; chain 1.

• Repeat the following into the other three corners; slip stitch into the third stitch of the3chain you started the round with.

• There will still be four corners, each made of a 2-chain space but the sides now consist of two groups of three trebles separated by a single chain.

Round 3 and subsequent rounds • Each round starts by slip stitching along to the next 2-chain space. Chain 3 (to act as the first treble on the first corner) • In each 2-chain space corner, crochet a 3-treble group, 2 chains and another 3-treble group. Along the sides you will have a 3-treble group into each single chain space of the previous round, each separated by a single chain.

• With each round, the sides will grow by one treble group. At the end of the round, make one chain before slip stitching into the third stitch of the initial 3-stitch chain that acts as the first treble.

• Continue until the side of the square measures 16cms.

• Sew in all yarn ends.

Completed squares will be welcomed by 30th April at any of the following: The Royal British Legion, Livery Walk, Bridge of Weir Mon: 3pm – 7pm Tue – Thurs: 3pm – 11pm Fri – Sat: 1pm – 11pm Sun: 1pm – 7pm

Laura’s Nail and Beauty Lounge, Main Street, Bridge of Weir Tuesday: 9.30am-2pm Thursday: 9.30am-8pm Wednesday, Friday, Saturday: 9.30am-5pm

Beaton Brothers Funeral Directors, Station Road, Bridge of Weir Mon – Fri: 9am – 5pm

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houston, crosslee & brookfield

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Houston & Crosslee SWI

The penultimate meeting of Houston & Crosslee SWI will be our AGM and Spring Show on 13th April. Our last meeting of the year on the 11th May will be a Macmillan Tea and Chat night.

All our meetings are held in The Compass Centre, South Street, Houston at 7.30pm. Come along and join us, you will be made very welcome. For further information please contact, Arlene McKay on 0141 884 6210.

It’s that time of year again – volunteers are required to help with our door-to-door collection from 15th to 21st of May (immediately after the Carnival).

We raise over £5000 each year, so if you can help, please phone 690636 or email: c.e.morrison@btinternet.com.

I look forward to hearing from you – it’s a great cause.

The Senior Citizen’s Group AGM will take place on Wednesday 6th April in the West Hall after music and song with Pauline Vallance – Harpist and Singer.

We meet at 2pm and the AGM should commence at 3pm after coffee and tea.

We would be delighted to see friends come along for the musical interlude and/ or the AGM.

Houston Toddler Group Coffee Morning & Craft Fair

Lorraine is delighted to introduce BEAUTY by STORM at Laserlight Clinic Storm is a fully trained Beauty Therapist offering lots of lovely treatments including a variety of Massage therapies, Facials, Make Up, Waxing, Gel nails.

As a welcome to her new beauty room at Laserlight Clinic Storm is offering Gelcolour nails for £15 and Swedish full body Massage at just £32 until 30 April.

So whether you are an existing client or would like to try Storm’s treatments for the first time, why not book today!?

Call 07581 866326 or book online at www.laserlightclinic.co.uk

Saturday 23rd April - Houston Kirk West Halls, Main Street, Houston. 10am - 12pm. Tickets £2 / £1 Child.

H.O.S.T. (Houston Old School Trust) The Carrick Centre, Houston What’s on April 2016

£7.5 million of Council funding has been put aside to support the provision of a recreational town park (St James Playing Fields) in conjunction with an outdoor Regional Sports Facility in Ferguslie. Total cost of this project is estimated at £15 million with funding from a range of key partners.

Monday to Friday, Woodlands Out of School 01505 615438

MONDAY Embroiderers Guild (Weekly) 10am – 12noon.

Yoga (Weekly) 1pm. Mary Laidlaw 01505 229112

THURSDAY

Rockstar Tumbling Class (18th, 25th) 4.15pm. Roz Hart 07734 714 131

Burlex Fitness (Weekly) 9.15am – 10am 07944 815 298

Diaporama 11th 7:30pm

Gryffe Quilting Group (7th, 21st, 28th) 1.15 - 3.15pm. 21st 10am -3pm

TUESDAY Musical Theatre (19, 26th) 3.30pm 5.45pm Yoga (weekly) 7pm. M/s Lawson 01505 613690

WEDNESDAY Paint Pot Tots (20th, 27th) 10am Dawn Campbell 07789 262 350 Galaxy Dance (20th, 27th) 4pm Lauren 07974 285 102 Councillors Surgeries 20th 6.30pm Gryffe Melody Makers 13th & 27th 7pm Camera Club (weekly) 7.30pm

BUDGET: Renfrewshire’s Budget for financial year 2016/17 was passed by the current Administration at a meeting on 3rd March. Council Tax will again remain frozen at 2015/16 levels, £1 million will be used to support investment in parks outwith Paisley and Renfrew and there will be a 2.5% increase on charges for services.

The main opposition unsuccessfully proposed a £1.5 million investment in 2016/17 for environmental improvement programmes across Renfrewshire, while a further proposal to allocate finance necessary to keep the civic amenity sites in Linwood, Renfrew, Johnstone and Erskine fully manned was not accepted by Renfrewshire’s Provost.

Crafty Friends 7th & 21st 7:30pm

Instead of £7.5 million being spent in Paisley the opposition proposed that £2.3 million be invested in public parks, play facilities and open spaces and an additional investment of £5million for roads infrastructure to improve road conditions throughout Renfrewshire.

Folk Club (weekly) 8pm. Paddybullen@ live.co.uk

At an earlier Council meeting the Administration passed an average weekly rent increase of 2% and approved the Housing Revenue Account for 2016/17.

FRIDAY Yoga (Weekly) 10.30am M/s Lawson 01505 613690 Galaxy Dancing (1st, 22nd, 29th) 4pm Lauren MP Surgery (8th) 12.30 – 1.30pm

SATURDAY Galaxy Dancing (2nd, 23rd, 30th) 9.30am Lauren

SUNDAY

PLANNING: An application of planning permission in principle has been received

by Renfrewshire Council for a residential development on green belt adjacent to Sandholes Road in Brookfield. This development of 93 houses, the approved Merchiston site for 267 properties along with the other proposed developments in Kilbarchan and Bridge of Weir will undoubtable cause further traffic problems at the Deafhillock roundabout. It is hoped that Renfrewshire’s Planning Department listens to the comments from the many commuters who currently experience problems at this location.

GRANTS: Houston United Football Club were granted £1500 for the purchase of collapsible vandal proof senior football goals at the recent Local Area Committee meeting.

Baptist Church (weekly) 11am and 6pm

Please note there will no Surgeries in April with surgeries resuming on Tuesday 10th May in the Brookfield Village Hall from 6pm to 6.30pm then in the Houston Village Hall from 7pm to 7.45pm.

Booking enquiries to Ian Simpson, 01505 612203 Sandy Young 01505 331488 Bill Haddow 01505 690693

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

Houston Community Council 20th 7.30pm

hostbooking@outlook.com or The Coffee Shop

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Ardgryffe Park: Residents of Ardgryffe estate have been in touch with me hoping to improve the recreational use of Ardgryffe Park, including the potential for improved play equipment. Houston United Football Club are also interested in improving the amenity of the park for use by our village football club. I have held initial discussions with some interested residents and it is clear there is fantastic potential for an upgrade to the play equipment alongside improved use of the park for ‘home games’ by Houston United. There is a desire on the part of those involved to engage more interested residents, and also consult more widely on the improvements that could be made. As such, it has been agreed to organise a meeting for any interested local residents in the first week of April. The exact details are still to be confirmed so please email me if you are interested in attending this and I will send you the details: cllr.stuart.clark@ renfrewshire.gov.uk Manse Field Fence: The eyesore state of Manse Field Fence has been of concern to many local residents. This is one of the most visible junctions in the village and it is unacceptable that it is left in such a mess, both as a result of the disrepair of the fence and also the discarded signs that are left by a minority of local residents. I have requested that the fence be repaired and this will happen in mid-April. Furthermore, I have discussed the potential for a small improvement project to improve the presentation of this area which could be undertaken by the Community Council and I will support them in taking this forward.

Surgeries: I will hold surgeries on 7th April (Linwood High at 7pm), 19th April (Tweedie Hall at 7pm), 20th April (Carrick Centre at 6.30pm). No appointment necessary.

Keep up to date!

To keep up to date with my work for the local area, please feel free to ‘like’ my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CouncillorStuartClark

Houston and Killellan Agricultural Show Houston and Killellan Agricultural Show will be held on Saturday 4th June.

Hopefully this year the weather will be kinder to us and the show will go ahead.

As usual there will be a wide variety of stalls and the big event Houston’s Got Talent which is hugely popular with everyone.

Schedules for the Craft and Baking Section are available from the Post Office and the Paper Shop, North Street, Houston. They are also available from Isabelle Stuart 01505 613479 or issistuart@fsmail.net The craft and baking classes are open to all of Renfrewshire.

Houston Community Council Residents concerns.

1. Update on Local Boundaries Commission proposals: Available April / May. 2. Poor Fibre / Broadband connectivity speed in Leeburn Avenue. John McEvoy will investigate and respond

3. Trees from private gardens impeding public pathway behind shops. We shall write to the Council asking for their stance.

4. Poor Christmas Lights – HCC confirmed this matter is in hand.

Police Report 5 crimes, 1 detected Police Rural Surveillance Team to monitor bus shelters following recent vandalism.

Councillor Noon reported litter problems, particularly near shops. A date for Annual Litter Clean up will be set at March meeting Blocked drains. John McEvoy will produce a list at March meeting.

Stone Bridge Across the River Gryffe: Works will be completed next week.

Reminder that to vote in Scottish Parliamentary Election you must register by 18th April.

Renfrewshire Council annual budget must be concluded by 10th March 2016.

Chairman’s Report Taylor Woodrow discussing upkeep of wooden bridge across Gryffe with Renfrewshire Council Pothole reporting forms will be available at Village Post Office, Carrick Centre, Village Paper Shop, Coop

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Houston and Killellan Kirk Carnival The days are getting longer, the weather is not improving - it must be Spring and Kirk Carnival preparation time! Attention is now fully on recruiting helpers and seeking donations to cover all aspects of the event. As everyone knows, the Carnival has become a real highlight in the village over many years but can only be successful if the community supports it. If you haven’t been approached to help by one of our Conveners (arm twisters!) then give one of us a call. There are plenty of jobs to suit your talents.

Our Plant stall is always a good attraction at the Carnival and the team is looking for donations of plants and cuttings. So when you are tidying up the garden after winter, remember the plant stall. Norma McBeath (613763) or Peter McKerrell (872448) is waiting for your call.

The White Elephant stall team is looking for donations which can be uplifted if necessary (no large items of furniture or electrical goods please). Please contact Mary Reid (613770) or Kathryn McCartney (613741) who will be happy to help.

Your once a year chance to get freshly baked pancakes and scones (sometimes still hot) will, as usual, be available although this year you cannot watch the ladies at work. However, the team involved have agreed to work their little socks off on the morning of the Carnival and, fortunately, you will still get to buy their wonderful baking at the Freshly Baked? stall in the Carrick Centre.

In addition to all that lovely baking to take home, the Carnival tea room is a very special place where you can catch up with old friends or make new ones while enjoying the highest standard of home baking Houston Kirk has to offer. And remember your tea and coffee with home baking.

Of course there are loads of other stalls needing filled: - Books, DVD's, Soft Toys (lots of good condition cuddly toys needed), Tombola prizes, Bottle Stall, Toiletries, Jewellery, Scottish Stall items (contributions of all Scottish foodstuffs wanted - preserves, tablet, rhubarb etc.), Home Baking (Houston is famous for its baking! If you can help once again we would be most grateful.), etc., etc.

If you can help with any of the above then please phone any of the Committee below. Join the fun at the Kirk Carnival and if you have never been to one then come along, you may just be surprised. All proceeds for the 2016 Kirk Carnival will go towards the new Church extension.

Help Required For Carnival Face Painting Stall: We are desperately looking for people to help at the face painting stall. At the moment we only have 2 volunteers and, ideally, we need at least 8, so that helpers only need to be on duty for approximately 1 hour. No great painting skills are required and we shall have a “training session” beforehand to familiarise helpers with the paints and have a practise on “volunteer” children. It is good fun and generates a lot of business. We have a set number of easy designs to copy, so please come along and give us a hand. You ‘ll enjoy it! Further information from Jackie Taylor 01505 690751, Ina Jefferson 01505 612962 or Jim McLaughlin 01505 690070.

Carnival Queen And Attendants This year the Carnival Queen will be Megan Finn and her attendants will be Emily Fallon and Rachel Hill.

Stall Conveners Food Stalls Kate Jackson (613676), Ina Jefferson (612962) & Lorna Kinloch (614159) Non Food Stalls Heather Hughes (612962) Tearoom Moira Dunlop (331309) & Jean Mills (614326) Sideshows Charles Green (690107) Coordinators Jim McLaughlin (690070) or mclaughlin_jim@hotmail.com Kate Jackson (613676) or grannykate284@gmail.com Merchiston Residential Development: Will respond to local community councils stating we shall monitor traffic flow and support them if this becomes an issue.

Treasurer’s Report Current Balance £2,341.00. Audited accounts submitted to Renfrewshire Council, allowing release of £805 Administration Grant Agreed Actions: To write to Renfrewshire Council expressing our concerns about upkeep of footpaths in Craigends To submit a Freedom of Information request to Renfrewshire Council re number of fly-tipping incidents over last 12 months.

To submit funding requests to Renfrewshire Council for i) flower displays and benches throughout Houston ii) Christmas trees and lights iii) replace fence at roundabout with hedge.

To discuss marking entrances to Houston Village at March meeting To respond to Renfrewshire Council’s “Outdoors for You” questionnaire with emphasis on extending cycle path to Houston To establish sub-committee to discuss traffic issues and report back in March To establish a yearly calendar to capture important matters at the correct time. Discuss further at next meeting.

To try to locate existing large planters To submit a monthly bulletin/newsletter to the Gazette. To discuss at March meeting We await a response from the Forestry Commission regarding upkeep of Craigends Yew. Next meeting Wednesday 16th March 2016 7.30 pm Carrick Centre, Main Street, Houston

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BUDGET: The Council has set its budget for financial year 2016/17 with savings of £6.5m needed to offset our reduction in funding from the Scottish Government.

Officers estimate that over the next three years additional savings of £22.5m are required to further Government cuts, inflation, legislative changes and demographic pressures. This is around 11-12% of the Council’s revenue budget.

Savings of this order will pose a major challenge to the Councillors elected in May 2017.

Despite these pressures the Council was able to approve a further £10.5m of capital investment in our roads infrastructure. Kilmacolm and Quarrier’s Village will share in the benefits of this investment through improvements to carriageways, footways and street lighting. Among the projects planned for this financial year are carriageway resurfacing of West Glen Road (from The Lodge to Kilmory) and Lochwinnoch Road (Milton Road for 300m) and footway reconstruction on Knockbuckle Road (Lochwinnoch Road to Broomknowe Road) and Port Glasgow Road (Auchenbothie to Woodrow Avenue). The detailed programme for street

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lighting upgrades is not yet available.

The budget also approved £440,000 of investment in Birkmyre Park in Kilmacolm, with £400,000 for drainage improvements to the rugby pitches and £40,000 for general environmental improvements.

COUNCIL TAX: The First Minister Nicola Sturgeon recently announced changes to how Council Tax charges are calculated. This will mean that from April 2017 6,000 households in Inverclyde - many of them in Kilmacolm and Quarrier’s Village - in property bands E to H will pay more in tax prior to any across the board increase that may be agreed by the Council. The First Minister has decided that the additional revenue raised from this change – around £1m a year – must be spent on education rather than on addressing the Council’s funding gap. She has also decided that from April 2017 Councils can increase Council Tax by up to 3% a year, bringing to an end the nine-year Council Tax freeze.

Councillor McColgan: surgeries on Tuesday 12 April, 6pm - 7pm, in St Francis Primary School, Port Glasgow and Thursday 28 April, 6pm - 7pm, in Kilmacolm Community Centre. Contact me on 01475 712727 (during office hours) and 07881280016 (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. 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: surgeries on Tuesday 5 April, 6pm - 7pm, in Boglestone Community Centre, Port Glasgow and Tuesday 26 April, 5.30pm - 6.30pm, in Kilmacolm Community Centre. 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. Keep up to date with my work as a Councillor by visiting my blog: http://councillorstephenmccabe.blogspot.com/ and follow me on Twitter @CllrSMcCabe.

Optical Blog

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Le Twinning: Spring Update!

It’s full-steam ahead for the Kilmacolm-Mérignies Twinning! Over the weekend of 14th May we have the visit of members of Mérignies Golf Club who will participate in a challenge match against Kilmacolm. This marks the first official event of the reciprocal agreement signed last November between the two clubs.

Among the Mérignies golfers will be representatives of the local village council.

To mark the 2nd anniversary of the Twinning, we have decided to gift 4 slates to Mérignies from the “Our Village” heritage project which was done last year by the Kilmacolm Civic Trust in conjunction with pupils from the local primary schools in the village. These were drawings done by the children of buildings and other landmarks in Kilmacolm. They were then put onto beautiful slates by the Newark social enterprise in Port Glasgow. We have commissioned Newark to produce 4 slates for us. The slates will be presented to the Mérignies delegation either in May at the Agricultural Show or in June to correspond with the visit of the Mérignies school pupils exchange with St Columba’s.

The Village Art Class, Kilmacolm We’ve come to the end of another year of The Village Art Class. Another very successful year. All 18 members have enjoyed twenty-two Friday mornings throughout the winter months when we have greatly benefitted from the short talks/lessons by our talented tutor.

In October’15 some fellow local enthusiasts joined us for a Demonstration by celebrated Paisley artist, Robert Kelsey. Encouraged by him, plans were laid to hold our first public Exhibition towards the end of 2016. (More of that later.)

Class meets for 2 hours on Friday mornings in the Village Centre (Cargill centre), September to March, breaking for a month over the festive season. Space allows only 18 members and places are at a premium, but a waiting-list is held, and places do occur occasionally, from year to year. The atmosphere is a very pleasant one, especially around the 11am coffee break.

The coming Sept/Dec’16 session will see another well known artist visiting us, followed by our first EXHIBITION, in the Cargill Centre on 2nd December. Make a note in your diary, might be nice to pick up a painting for Christmas. Prices will be modest, but quality will be good! Do come and browse while enjoying a refreshment. A reminder will come later in the year. Contact: Ruth Lamont, Secretary. Tel. 01505 872368

BUDGET: Last month the cross party budget working group agreed the annual council budget. The budget for 2016/17 was set and a provisional budget for the following 2017/18 year was also agreed. The revenue budget for 2016/17 is £190 million of which £70m will be spent on education and £49m on health and social care. As part of the Scottish Government’s £250 million of grants for health and social care to Scotland’s councils, Inverclyde is receiving over £4 million. The council also approved the capital budget for the coming financial year of £29m and in 2017/18 this will rise to £48m. Last month the Scottish Government granted funding to Inverclyde Council for a share of the refurbishment of Kilmacolm Primary School and I have found out since then that this funding amounted to £2.1 million.

REPAIRS: At a council committee meeting last month it was reported that the repairs to sort the drainage on the Birkmyre rugby pitch will commence soon.

It was also announced that St Columba’s School are generously contributing towards the drainage work. Thank goodness the council will start the work soon as it has been a long time coming.

ROADWORKS: Just at a time when Scottish Water complete very lengthy works throughout Kilmacolm, for the second time, and many repairs and resurfacing work has been completed and are still ongoing by the council roads services, last month Ward 1 councillors were contacted by Scottish Gas Networks to let us know that in April for an approximate six month period they will be undertaking gas mains replacement in areas throughout the village. Their project involves replacing 2.7km of old cast iron gas mains with new polyethylene pipe and approximately 120 gas services supplying domestic customers will need to be replaced. There is no denying this work is likely needing to be carried out but surely to goodness if there had been better communication rather than digging a lot of areas up yet again this could have perhaps been linked in together with council and Scottish Water works. In the past when I have raised this issue I have been informed by council officials that they contact utility companies in advance of any works starting to see if they want to link in and so preventing roads and/or pavements having to be dug up several times. When I learned about this I thought “oh no, not again”.

GARDEN WASTE: I would remind Kilmacolm and Quarrier’s Village householders that the council’s fortnightly garden waste has started as of the end of March. So please remember to put your brown bin out for collection with your blue one.

Kilmacolm Spiritualist Church

My next surgeries will be advertised in the local newspaper, on the Inverclyde Council website and my surgery posters. Anyone wanting to contact me can do so by phoning me through my office on 01475 712727 or my mobile number 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.

Kilmacolm Community Centre, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm.

Do you suffer from COPD?

Help every Tuesday @ 7.30pm (doors open 6.45pm)

COPD is Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. I am a sufferer, and I was amazed to find out that there are over 50 people in Kilmacolm and surrounding districts who also suffer from COPD. Outwith Kilmacolm, most areas have Support Groups, and since I would very much like to be in such a group I decided to post this notice in The Advertizer to find out if there are sufficient numbers of us here in Kilmacolm willing to get together and start up a COPD Support Group. If you are interested please contact me, Bob McDonald on 01505 872978.

Kilmacolm Heritage Centre – Board Appointments Acceptances for Board appointments have now been received. These include Professor Frank Walker, Graham Roxburgh, Lesley AM Patrick (Quarriers), Mike Jefferis – (Chairman Community Council), David Wilson (Inverclyde Council), Edwin Fisher, Jim Wood. The inaugural Board meeting took place on 30th March.

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howwood

& elderslie .....................................................

SPRING CLEAN: A reminder that on the 16th and 17th April, the Howwood Community Council are carrying out their annual spring clean. Any help from the local community would be greatly appreciated.

BROADBAND: The council at its recent budget meeting put monies aside for improvements in broadband. A lot of work has been done in the village but much has still to be done and this extra money from the council will help.

BUDGET: As a result of the recent budget both Social Work and Education services have been protected and as we approach the last year of this administration of this council, I am proud we have our priorities right whilst council finances are under severe pressure.

ST VINCENT: I took part in this years Strictly Come Prancing to help raise funds for our local hospice St Vincent’s. They do a magnificent job and we are lucky to have them on our doorstep. They rely heavily on donations and if local people can support them in any way they can I am sure it would be welcomed by the hospice.

As I write this, the weather has been great and with the clocks going forward let's hope its a great spring and summer. This summer will see the return of the village fete. I know from personal experience that these events involve a lot of work so good luck to everyone involved. Nearer the time I will give you Tuesday 19th April more details of the days events.

Let’s Be Entertained This is my last year as a councillor but by Mr John Campbell.

I will continue to do my very best for Hostesses Irene the village working with the community MacTaggart & Elizabeth council and local people to make sure Lawson. Vote of Thanks - Cath Love.

Howwood remains a great place to live. Mini Show - Schedule enclosed with I continue to hold my surgeries in the syllabus. AGM & Trophy Presentations village hall on the fourth Thursday of Meetings in Howwood Village Hall at the month between 6pm and 7pm.

7.30pm. Subscription £18 per annum

Howwood SWI

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

.....................................................

Old Library Centre, Kilbarchan At the time of going to print there are two places left in our new Thursday afternoon Computer Class. There are spaces in the Wednesday afternoon Pilates class. If you are interested, please contact the Centre. Our printer has been very busy producing the letters for the Community Council’s distribution of the warning about the possible breach of the Green Belt.

The KIPCO Board wish to thank the Centre’s volunteer team who so willingly give of their time to help with the running of the Centre. Go on to our web page to see what the Centre offers. We wish to thank our supporters who have kindly included us on their Facebook pages.

Contact 01505 706070 www.kipcokil.com or visit 9 High Barholm, Kilbarchan The Centre will be closed on Monday, 2nd May.

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Doig thanks RBS for repairing ATM and listening to Lochwinnoch views Councillor for Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, and Lochwinnoch Ward, Andy Doig, has thanked Royal Bank of Scotland regional management on behalf of his Lochwinnoch residents for repairing the RBS ATM in the village and making it operational again. The ATM had been out of order for at least the last month, due to a particular technical issue.

A jubilant Cllr Doig said: “I have always been of the view that jaw jaw often beats war war, and it is due to the direct relationships I have forged with RBS regional management, and their local CEO, over the many discussions relating to Lochwinnoch lobbying them to keep their former branch open, that I was able to lobby RBS so effectively with a happy conclusion for Lochwinnoch, so well done RBS”.

“RBS have been clear that over the last year the ATM in the village has been working for over 90% of the time, and that is good, but my viewpoint was that for the elderly, single parents, for people on low incomes who probably do have a car, and indeed, for local businesses too, the RBS ATM in Lochwinnoch was a vital service which had to be up and running as soon as possible”.

Kilbarchan Smile Make A Difference Work has now started on the new community garden project, recently christened “The Gateway Garden”, in Kilbarchan. Kilbarchan Smile, the group behind the project, recently secured some “Stalled Spaces” funding to put in place some initial raised beds and other planters and purchase plants and shrubs to bring the site of the old petrol station back into use. The area, which is located at the entrance to the village, has been cut back and cleared with the support of Renfrewshire Council’s Community Payback team.

As the work of the volunteers continues planting will take place, a bench located within the garden and use of recycled materials will be explored to create a vibrant growing space and kids’ area accessible to the whole community. An open day is planned for May to launch the completion of the first stage of this exciting new project.

Stalled Spaces is a Renfrewshire Council, in partnership with Engage Renfrewshire, initiative to support community organisations in Renfrewshire that are interested in running small projects in local spaces of unused or underused land.

THE KILBARCHAN SMILE BIG SPRING CLEAN Kilbarchan Smile was set up to help make improvements to the village with the support and involvement of the community. To this end the group is organising the “Kilbarchan Smile Big Spring Clean”, the 2nd village tidy up on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th May. On the Saturday volunteers will support the efforts of the Kilbarchan Scouts who will have a litter pick organised from 10am-12noon whilst on the Sunday the clean up will take place from 2pm-4pm. Volunteers (Smilers) are being asked to meet at the Ewing Street car parking area opposite Bog Park (Scouts meet at the Scout Hut). Greener Renfrewshire Do You Bit will once again provide equipment including litter pickers, hi viz vests, bags, bag hoops and gloves. If you want to make a difference to the village please come along and “Do Your Bit” if you can – as they say many hands make light work!

For more information and to get involved contact Gail Scoular on 07985749220, email gailscoular@gmail.com or join the group Kilbarchan Smile on Facebook.

Kilbarchan Kilbarchan NWR During the month of April, there are 2 meetings:-“My favourite or least favourite radio/ television programme, and a speaker from the Kibble school in Paisley. For further info, please visit the website: www.nwr.org.uk

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BUDGET: Since the last Gryffe Advertizer was published Renfrewshire Council has had its annual Budget meeting at which the decision was made that Paisley is to get a new £15 million Sports Village, and town centres like Paisley and Renfrew are to get free Wi Fi. These are positive developments for the leading town in Renfrewshire but Paisley is only 75,000 residents whereas 100,000 people live outwith Paisley, and there was little in this budget for them. There were some new monies for community halls so I have written to the Chief Executive of Renfrewshire Leisure asking for an upgrade to the fabric of the Steeple Hall, Kilbarchan, and the McKillop Institute, Lochwinnoch. I am also continuing to work with Mhairi Black MP to improve the Broadband service in both Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch.

kilbarchan ..................................................... & lochwinnoch PLANNING: Renfrewshire Council has received a planning application proposing a housing development in the area north west of Kilbarchan quarry - Branscroft.

This was the subject of a public event in the Old Library in October last year hosted by the applicant. The application falls into the category of a major development. The formal consideration of the application within the planning process will now take effect, which in all probability will be referred to the full council rather than the Planning and Property Board.

There is now the opportunity for residents, near neighbours, the community council and other parties to make representations to Renfrewshire Council as the responsible planning authority. Following a plea, and to take account of the Easter holidays, the deadline for representations has been extended to the 14th April. Whatever your views on the application, I would strongly recommend that having considered the proposals, you make those views known to the planning authority in order that it has an appreciation of the issues raised by villagers.

A final point of clarification is that this application is separate from the public exhibition which took place in the Old Library on 15 March, which was in regard to a possible future application to develop land adjacent to Barrhill Crescent. I will let you know of any news on this front.

TRANSPORT: I sincerely hope, that the genuine frustration felt by rail passengers in Lochwinnoch, arising from recent severe flooding of the access road to the station will be a one off. Following approaches to Scotrail and Network Rail regarding what was an unacceptable situation, work has been undertaken to clear the surface water, and do remedial work on the roadway, I hope that this will help prevent further problems.

GRANTS: Kilbarchan is set to benefit from decisions made at the March meeting of the Finance board of Renfrewshire Council. As a board member, I was delighted to approve, respectively grants to the Community Council and Kipco for additional Christmas lights on the cherry trees at the scout hall, and a replacement boiler in the Old Library.

My surgeries are on the first Saturday of every month except January and July at 9am in the Mckillop Institute and 10am in the Steeple Hall.

Meantime please contact me on any matter at cllr.derek.bibby@renfrewshire.gov. uk or, phone 0300 300 1274 or 07534156007

Scottish 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.

EVENTS: Over the last month my wife, Audrey, and I have enjoyed many of the events at the Lochwinnoch Arts Festival, which is a magnificent event for a small village in Renfrewshire. Managing to attract the folk singer, Dougie McLean, author of the seminal song Caledonia, was a credit to the organisers, Morag Thow, and her team. A key problem for Lochwinnoch has been the flooding of the slip road into Lochwinnoch railway station, and my colleague, Stewart Maxwell MSP, and I, have approached Abellio/Scotrail who have drained the slip road and pledged to resolve the issue for good.

SURGERIES: My advice surgery in Kilbarchan is on the 2nd Wednesday of the month in the Steeple Hall at 7.45pm, and my advice surgery in Lochwinnoch is on the 4th 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 me at cllr.andy.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Kilbarchan Parish Church During the month of April, services continue on Sunday mornings at 11am, conducted by Rev. Stephen Smith. The Sacrament of Holy Communion will be observed on Sunday 24th April at 11am and 6.30pm. All are welcome to any or all of these services. Sunday School and the crèche meet from 10.45am in the hall.

All details about the church, worship and the many organisations can be seen by visiting the website: www.kilbarchan-kirk.btck.co.uk After worship on Sunday 3rd April, there will be a produce stall in the hall and it is hoped that many people will come along to donate and buy fresh produce-baking, preserves, fruit, vegetables, flowers. Looking ahead to May, the Plant Sale will take place on Saturday 21st and forms are available from any church member or by phoning 704502.

Gryffe Scottish Country Dance Club Wednesday 13 April - We will be holding a Scottish Country Dance in the

Kilbarchan Guide Centre from 7.30pm - 11pm. Music by Marian Anderson.

Come along for a great evenings dancing, lovely music, good company, a supper and a raffle - all for £7. Proceeds from the dance will go this year to the R.N.L.I. Contact Les Lambert for details, tickets etc at 01505 704398.

Habbie Tat Kilbarchan’s popular Habbie Tat event resumes with a fresh sale of clear-out goods, including bric-a-brac and many collectables at the Performing Arts Centre in Steeple Square, on Sunday 1st May. “We have some new stallholders participating and there is guaranteed to be a very interesting selection of items offered,” said organiser Brenda Temple.

The Habbie tat events began after several friends spoke about wanting to clear the attic or tidy out the garage and generally de-clutter.

Each time, there is a different selection presented and there will be several new stallholders bringing along items for sale in May. “We have some paintings and prints this time, and even some smaller items of furniture, and a local picture framer is clearing out his workshop too, with many really beautiful frames for sale at a fraction of the usual price,” added Brenda.

Doors open at 12noon and all of the admission money collected (tickets are 50p) go to Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue Centre.

Kilbarchan Parish Church Tots’ Club The club recommences after the break for Easter, on Monday 11th April from 9.15-11.30am in the hall, where tots with their parents, grandparents etc will be made welcome. There are many toys to play with and a bouncy castle. The cost remains at £1 for adults, which includes tea/coffee. The group is once again participating in the Paisley Express Wish campaign and will be happy to receive vouchers collected from the paper-there is a box in the hall kitchen for the vouchers.

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Coffee Morning Guide Centre, Kilbarchan Saturday 2 April - 10am-12 Noon Hosted by OES Glentyan Chapter -Tickets £2.50 - adults, Under 12s Free (Children must be accompanied by an adult).

Crafts, Home Baking, Raffles and more. Come and enjoy a coffee, home baked cakes and a browse round our craft/sales tables.

With only 2 months to go, the Lilias Day committee are busy finalising plans for the day.

The event which takes place on Saturday 4th June is already set to be one of the best yet. £1000 LILIAS DAY RAFFLE The Lilias Day raffle will once again top the bill with a £1000 raffle prize given on the day. Tickets are now on sale from committee members and businesses around the village. Look out for the pink posters.

Kilbarchan Fairtrade Group

Weaver’s Cottage (NTS), Kilbarchan

In Fairtrade Fortnight the group ran a stall at Kilbarchan Parish Church which featured an array of products which were for sale and a display of Fairtrade products that can be obtained from Kilbarchan Co-op (photo).

The Weaver’s Cottage recently hosted a photo shoot for a forthcoming CD which, amongst other Scottish composers, will feature the work of famous fiddler Neil Gow. The CD’s title is ‘Alone in History’.

Last year’s winners, the Gallacher family (pictured), were delighted to be able to put their winnings towards their upcoming wedding. Mr Gallacher said: “It

was wonderful to win such a fantastic prize to put towards the cost of our wedding.

We were happy to buy our tickets to make a contribution to such a good cause and it was an amazing surprise to actually win”

TUG OF WAR TOURNAMENT – TEAMS WANTED After its previous success we are looking for teams to take part in the tug of war tournament. Can you beat the reigning champions, The Trust Inn? Or can the ‘top of the village’ take on the ‘bottom of the village’? Contact the Lilias Day Committee to register your team of 6 (see details below).

FUNDRAISING QUIZ NIGHT SUCCESS Support for Lilias Day outside of the day itself has continued with a sell-out quiz night organised by Seona Hart that raised more than £500!

Joint Chair, Graeme Stockton, is delighted with the support for this years’ event: “The response as ever has been really encouraging. The fundraising quiz night has been a real boost for us. We are so thankful for support we get from local businesses, organisations and individuals to help make Lilias Day happen.”

Fellow Chair, Susan Calcluth adds: “Having the community involved is really important and we’ve already had lots of new interest from people wanting to take part in the parade or be involved in the event. It’s also great way for local organisations to raise funds to support their work and to have fun at the same time”

Over two hundred pounds worth of goods were sold. The group simultaneously ran a ‘Sit Down for Breakfast, Stand up for Farmers’ event, at which around fifty people enjoyed pancakes with their Fairtrade tea or coffee.

Thank you to the team behind the counter, in the kitchen and to all who supported the events.

Ardrossan born fiddler and composer Alastair Savage (left), studied classical violin in Glasgow and London and heads the Alastair Savage Trio. He has performed at Celtic Connections, the Scottish Fiddle Festival and the St Magnus Festival. Photographer Simon Butterworth (right) was shortlisted for the Sony World Professional awards in 2015 and won top three places in the 2014 International Photography Awards.

GET INVOLVED There are still lots of ways groups and individuals can get involved. You can help to transform the village by decorating your home or business (there are great prizes to be won), take one of the few remaining stalls or get involved in our arena events.

NEW WEBSITE LAUNCHED You can keep up to date on all the latest news on our brand new Lilias Day website www.liliasday. co.uk We are delighted to announce that our website is now live thanks to sponsorship from committee member Damon Scott and titanwebsites.co.uk.

GET IN TOUCH To get in touch or for more information: Email: info@liliasday.co.uk Phone Graeme: 07768 433 183.

Visit the new website at www.liliasday.co.uk Find Kilbarchan Lilias Day on facebook Follow Lilias Day on Twitter: @LiliasDay

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Livestock Worrying A three month Police Scotland campaign was launched on Tuesday 1st March to raise awareness amongst dog owners about the devastating effects of livestock worrying.

The campaign seeks to highlight the impact of livestock worrying which can have devastating consequences for farm animals and for farmers and their businesses and this campaign is being launched to coincide with the spring lambing period because this is when sheep are at greatest risk.

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.

Pet Blog Arthritis

by PetVets

Arthritis is a painful degenerative condition of the joints caused by erosion of the cartilage in the joint leading to chronic pain and reduced mobility. It is very common in our pets, affecting 20% of adult dogs and 50% of cats over 10 years old.

Arthritis is most commonly seen in older animals but is also more common in certain breeds, in cases of previous joint injury and in overweight animals.

Signs of arthritis can include: • Limping • Reduced activity • Resenting being stroked in certain areas • Sleeping more • Increased grumpiness • Withdrawing from interaction with owners/other animals • Increased clinginess • Chewing or licking joints Treatment of arthritis is normally with a combination of medication and lifestyle changes.

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A dog attacking, chasing or even being at large in a field where sheep are kept can lead to significant injury and often leads to the sheep being killed or destroyed. Such attacks have a financial and emotional impact on the farmer and are avoidable if dog owners follow some simple steps.

The partners involved in this initiative are encouraging farmers to help educate dog walkers and prevent incidents occurring.

Farmers and those who use the countryside are urged to report all incidents of livestock worrying to police on 101 or 999 in an emergency.

Preventative measures can be also be taken using Dog Control Notices issued by the local authority. These written Notices can be served on owners who do not keep their dogs under proper control and place control measures such as keeping the dog on a lead or being muzzled in a public place.

Joint supplements are used to aid flexibility, protect remaining cartilage and may help reduce inflammation. Anti-inflammatory medications are used to reduce inflammation and pain. Additional pain relief can be provided in cases of severe arthritis using opioid medications.

Control of exercise routine to provide regular, gentle exercise helps prevent joints stiffening up.

Hydrotherapy (controlled swimming exercise) is a good option for some patients.

Weight management to maintain an ideal body weight is an important factor in control of arthritis as being overweight increases the strain on joints.

Ensuring your pet keeps warm and dry and has a comfortable bed to sleep on can also help reduce joint pain. Orthopaedic foam beds, car ramps, etc can also help your pet keep comfortable.

Complimentary therapies such as physiotherapy and acupuncture can be used in addition to medication and lifestyle.

In severe cases of arthritis where good pain control is not possible surgery such as joint replacement can be an option.

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Re-homing Pets Can you offer a home to any of our featured pets?

Steve & Benny - 2 year old male black domestic cats Steve & Benny need a new home together.

They are adorable wee boys who love being brushed and made a fuss of and are so lovely natured. They need access to a garden and can be homed with older children and other pets.

Ruby - 5 year old female ginger domestic cat Ruby would prefer not to live with young kids in her new home, but would be ok with older teenage children. She doesn’t like other cats or dogs. Her new home would need access to a garden as she is used to getting out and about to play.

LOST PETS 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.

Wildlife Crime

Cardyke Farm, Langmuirhead Road, Auchinloch, Glasgow G66 5LD - Telephone 0141 779 3341

Axl - Age 1-2 years Male Springer Spaniel Reference 303025 Axl is a nervous boy who arrived in our care as his owner could no longer look after him. He would suit an adult only home and would like an experienced owner. Axl is a young boy who would thrive on plenty of exercise and further training.

This clever boy is eager to learn, however, he needs a confident and experienced owner who can help him reach his full potential.

Maximus - Age 3-5 years, Male Crossbreed Reference 279236 Maximus can be wary around strangers so would benefit from a quiet home with an experienced owner who can provide the further training and socialisation he requires to help him reach his full potential. Maximus would prefer a home without children and with a fully enclosed garden for training purposes.

To contact the centre about any animals, please call 03000 999 999 or visit www.scottishspca.org/ rehoming

Pluto - 1-2 year old male Fox Hound Pluto is a big goofy ball of fun!He loves a good scratch and he gives you two paws up for a cuddle! He has an amazing nature and his favourite toy is a squeaky ball! Pluto can live with children who are 12 years old or over and needs his own secure garden to practice training in and play. Someone who is around for most of the day would benefit him and help him with his basic training. Pluto does need a lot of training as he can be OTT and worried when he is left.

Gem - an 8+ year old German Shepherd Dog Gem is a handsome big chap who loves the quiet life. He loves to go on walks and get nice treats. He loves his grub! Gem is looking for an adult only home with someone who has experience of owning dogs like him before. He needs to be the only dog in the home and would benefit from a calm, quiet home with few visitors.

He needs his own secure garden and must be kept on lead on walks.

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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Strathclyde Police has a team of Wildlife Crime Officers.

We can also put updates on our website & Facebook. There is no charge for this service!

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.

Wizzi Has Been Found!

We are pleased to say that Wizzi has been found safe and well and is back at home. His owners would like to thank Missing Cats and Johnstone Cat rescue, because it was thanks to them they got him back. We love a happy ending!

Calling Scottish Knitters Scottish cat lovers are being asked to help unwanted cats and kittens this spring by making fun mouse toys and cosy blankets for Cats Protection.

The UK’s largest cat charity has been running its popular knitting bee for two years. Now the charity will be bringing the knitting bee to Scotland by attending the inaugural Knitting and Stitching Show at the Royal Highland Centre in Edinburgh from 28 April to 1 May. More information can be found at www.theknittingandstitchingshow. com/edinburgh/ The pattern - originally designed by Lauren O’ Farrell (www.whodunnknit.com) - and details of local branches, adoption centres or shops where knitted mice or blankets can be donated can be obtained by ringing Cats Protection’s Helpline on 03000 12 12 12 or emailing helpline@cats.org.uk Cats Protection advises that when knitting a toy or blanket, it’s best to avoid the use of stretchy yarns or small plastic items – such as those that can be used for mouse eyes – to reduce the risk of injury to cats and kittens.

Loose weave blanket patterns involving the use of large needles are best avoided too.

Cats Protection is the UK’s leading feline welfare charity and helps over 205,000 cats each year through its national network of over 250 volunteerrun branches and 32 centres. To find out more about the work of Cats Protection, please visit www.cats.org.uk http://www.cats.org.uk/news/feline-like-knitting-for-a-good-cause

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BoW Horticultural Society

The 181st running of Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow Agricultural Show will take place in the familiar & spectacular setting of the Knapps Loch, Kilmacolm on Saturday 14th May, by kind permission of Lord Maclay, Mrs Smith and Robert Baxter.

There will be hundreds of entries across dozens of classes, including sheep, cows, horses (light and heavy), and other livestock. The Industrial tent will showcase the domestic arts and, of course, there will be a Dog Show. All classes can be entered on the day apart from Industrial Classes, entries for which close on Friday 6th. Light Horse class entries can be made via the website but note that entry fees double after Saturday 7th May. Schedules and Entry Forms are available from the website - www.kilmacolmshow.co.uk.

One of the many highlights is the children’s pet show. Bring your wee pet along — everyone gets a prize! Pets must be entered by 11am on the day of the show, but no cats or dogs are allowed.

Lorna Campbell was our March guest speaker and she shared with us memories of holidays around the world.

Describing Bermuda’s bright yellow lined streets and high multi-coloured hedges, she described how the gardens were now recovering from the last major hurricane. In Vancouver, Lorna visited Stanley Park where she found a statue of Rabbie Burns, erected by the members of the Burns Club of Vancouver in 1925 and unveiled by The Rt Hon Ramsay Macdonald.

Moving on to Alberta, Lorna was impressed by the array of huge hanging baskets she found in Jasper. In Ontario, at Niagara Falls, she was lucky to stop and photo magnificent hanging baskets which, when she returned later had been taken in for the night.

One of Lorna’s personal favourite visits was to Indonesia and Borneo when she visited a treetop lodge overlooking a massive green canopy of trees. The land stretching below had been decimated by de-forestation but within 20 years, and with diligent replanting by volunteers, the forest had re-grown to provide shelter and a natural environment for Orangutans. At the lodge, many abandoned or mistreated Orangutans are being nurtured in preparation for release into these forests.

This happens in gentle stages so the animals can be re-acclimatised and ready to return to a more natural lifestyle.

Lorna’s presentation was very interesting and varied and included colourful views of native birds amongst local flora and fauna from these far away countries. The next meeting will take place on Thursday 14th April when Peter McDonald will explain and demonstrate how to succeed at Plant & Houseplant Propagation.

As usual, the venue will be The Legion at 8pm and guests are welcome.

Discounted entry tickets are available to buy from the website until Sunday 8th May. The Show welcomes back the Dry Stane Dykers who will be giving a demonstration throughout the day, along with St Columba School Pipe Band, KG Hawks and the May Hughes Dancers.

Our annual comedy obstacle course, Country Capers, will take place in the main ring during the afternoon. If you are brave enough to compete in this hilarious team event, let us know by sending an email to advertising@kilmacolmshow.co.uk.

There will be exhibitions and stalls, along with a range of food outlets, trade and refreshment stands, a bar, and a Prize draw with a spectacular first prize.

There is something for everyone to enjoy at this fabulous event in beautiful surroundings. Hopefully the sun will be splitting the sky and we look forward to seeing you all there for a wonderful day out!!

Full information is available on our website www. kilmacolmshow.co.uk /KilmacolmAndPortGlasgowShow Photo credits: Arthur Boyle, Bill Crookston, Elizabeth Foster, Paul Tipping, Dawn Scott, Lulu Kerr, Giulia Canata.

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Colourful Kilmacolm Spring is in the air, or at least we are all talking about it, the weather having suddenly turned quite mild. As there are two weeks to go before this is published, however, anything could have happened by the time you read this, even two weeks of Arctic cold as was forecast fairly recently.

Nevertheless, it is so encouraging to see some colour in our local gardens and the members and committee of Colourful Kilmacolm have been doing their best to contribute to the colour in the village.

In autumn, we added more crocus bulbs to those already planted at the lay-bys at either end of the village. Last spring you had to be in the know to notice them, but we hope you will agree that this year they have been more eye-catching. Keep watching for further developments here.

Daffodils are now appearing in our planters and tulips will soon follow.

We are also eagerly looking forward to seeing the plants at the Pullman fill out and become established.

Thank you to all who have commented favourably on what we have achieved there, and of course to all who donated plants.

If you like what we are doing and are not yet a member, do consider joining us. The very modest annual membership subscription (£5) along with money received from Inverclyde Council and other sources will enable us to keep enhancing Kilmacolm.

Membership forms can be downloaded from our website www. colourfulkilmacolm.org.uk or you can phone Peter (01505 872448) or Diane (01505 872611).

There have been a few glimpses of Spring over the past month, with even the odd day of warmth and sunshine.

Having recently returned our wildlife cameras back to the wild, it hasn’t taken long to capture some great footage. In just one week, we’ve seen a roe deer, a frog and a teensy weensy spider climbing up the side of a tree stump, which you need to be eagle-eyed to spot! We know there are badgers in the area, and it hopefully won’t be too long before we get some clips.

Although badgers rely on a variety of habitat types for food and shelter, 80% of setts (their underground homes) are found in woodland. A typical badger habitat is a patchwork of pasture and woodland, providing good areas for earthworms and foraging as well as good areas for their setts.

The latter however, can be also often be found in unusual areas such as the embankments along railways and roads, in open fields or even under buildings.

As we enjoy the Easter holiday, there is no shortage of events to keep the kids entertained.

There will be various things to wear out the wee ones! Pond dipping is now back for the season.

Our Make Your Own Mondays will get the smaller members of your family inspired to be creative, using the natural world around them!

Our self led Wild Challenge events will also return for the duration of the holidays.

There’ll be a different theme each week. Just pop into the centre, get your pack and off you go out onto the reserve to have some fun!

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Kilmacolm Horticultural Society The March lecture for Kilmacolm Horticultural Society was presented by the ever popular Louise Bustard, senior curator at Glasgow Botanic Gardens, giving a fascinating insight into the origins of Horticulture in Holland and the massive growth industry of the Dutch bulbfields. Plus the Spring Bulb competition was held, and the Jimmy Whittet Trophy was won by Diane Harrison.

We now look forward to two Outings for our members - on Wednesday 25th May we visit the Geilston Gardens (NTS) at Cardross, leaving at 1pm. To be followed by a visit to Ardardan Nurseries and Farm Shop, with tea in the lovely TeaRooms. On Wednesday 6th July we take our all day summer outing to Abbotsford at Melrose, with lunch included. The landscape gardening is set in distinctive garden compartments and walled gardens, looking their best in July. The historic house includes the Chinese drawing room, the Armoury, Library and Chapel. There are still a few seats left on the coach for both Outings, - please contact Jill Russell on 01505 872393 if you would like to join the trips, you would be most welcome.

Finally, make a note of our Coffee Morning in the New Community Centre on Saturday 21st May when a fine range of summer plants will be on sale, plus a homebaking stall, and tombola stall. We look forward to seeing you.

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Garden Report As the famous Finlaystone snowdrop displays come to an end, we will be undertaking the tasks of lifting, dividing and replanting them in other locations; this is done to prevent the clumps becoming too congested and also increases the amount of snowdrops that we have on display. This job is very rewarding but time consuming and if you would like to come along as a snowdrop volunteer, or volunteer to help in all parts of the garden, please give us a call, you will be made most welcome. As snowdrops transplant better when in ‘greenleaf’, now is the perfect time to do it; if you would like some for your own garden, please phone your order into reception, these will give you pleasure year after year, and will increase in numbers as they mature.

Plants of interest in the garden this month are Helleborous (Lenten rose) Viburnum bodnantense, with its bright pink blossom, and the gorgeous scent of the tiny flowered Lonicera purpusii (the winter honeysuckle), these can all be seen in the winter border. In our knot garden, the Camelia japonica ‘hedge’, is a riot of colour with masses of rose-like blooms, and is well worth a visit.

Volunteer news If you would like to come down and see what the rangers do, when we aren’t leading walks or playing on pirate ships, or if you are interested in volunteering, either doing ranger work, helping with snowdrop preparations, restaking windblown trees, gardening or surveys please contact Fraser Lang on 01475 540505.

Brighter Bridge of Weir SPRING HAS SPRUNG! We may be chancing our luck here, but since it is officially Spring a couple of days after the Advertizer’s April issue deadline, we’re going to risk giving it a fanfare. The problem is that there are not too many signs of it at the time of writing. Though the weather did pick up a bit recently, many of the usual spring flowers are late. It’s not just those that Brighter Bridge of Weir planted last autumn, expecting them to bloom about now many places up and down the country are experiencing the same.

That said, some of our early-flowering daffodils are already out in the planters and baskets throughout the village and many others, though not yet in blossom, are looking strong and healthy enough. When the sun did show itself last month, some of our volunteers wasted no time in getting out among the greenery, making sure that what was blooming, or about bloom, was given the best chance to flourish and brighten things up.

So with a bit of luck, by the time you read this Spring will indeed have sprung out all over the village. If not, well, wouldn’t life be dull if everything was unfailingly predictable?

Incidentally, you’ll have your chance to help us brighten Bridge of Weir next month, when we’re planning our annual Clean Up Weekend. If you are able to set aside an hour or so on Saturday 14 and/or Sunday 15 May, we’d love to see you. More detail in next month’s Advertizer - and don’t forget you can follow us on Facebook and at www.brighterbridgeofweir.org for more information about us and our plans.

Kilmacolm Plant Sale Kilmacolm Library, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm.

Saturday 23 April - 10am - 12pm Kilmacolm (outside the Library and Cargill Centre). Free entry, donations welcome Beneficiaries - Parklea “Branching Out” receives 40%, the net remaining to SG Beneficiaries.

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Welcome to Scotland’s largest Regional Park Pedal the Park 2016 is here!

See our Pictures on Instagram!

On Sunday 24th April Pedal the Park will happen at Castle Semple Visitor Centre! If you’re there early, from 8.30am you will see both sportives leaving in waves. Riders who have successfully completed the sportive will be back at Castle Semple from 11.30am onwards! Cheer them over the line and support the Paralympic and special olympics stars of the future on the hand cycle time trial.

Clyde Muirshiel is now on the image sharing app Instagram. See beautiful images on your feed by following us - search Clyde Muirshiel and find us by our logo. Tag your Instagram photos ClydeMuirshiel too so we can see them!

See the NEW Semple Trail Benches!

Pick up your new spring/summer What’s On guide in Centres.

Take a walk along the Castle Semple Lochshore path to Blackditch Bay and enjoy the new beautiful carved benches! There’s a water life bench, bird and mammal bench and an invertebrate bench. Well worth a visit or see the album of pictures on our facebook!

New Look What’s On Out NOW!

Duke of Edinburgh Programmes at Clyde Muirshiel The Park has expanded our range of expeditions and skills to suit Duke of Edinburgh participants 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 We now have a list of main ride for 2016 the season, from Applecross to Arran and everything inbetween!. Email the Secretary at ridesixtythree@ gmail.com to become a member, we can send you a form – it’s FREE.

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

Regular Events

Castle Semple Conservation Volunteers Shortlisted for Tesco Award The group’s Muirshiel Pond Project was shortlisted for an award of either 8, 10 or 12k depending on how many tokens received in Tesco’s Bags of Help campaign. The money will be used to create a new pond with new education, easier access opportunities and increased biodiversity. The winning project will be announced soon!

Mondays (but not public holidays) Lochwinnoch Community Walks meet 10.30am at The Cross, Lochwinnoch.

Saturdays

Weekly Volunteer Groups Newcomers always welcome!

Sundays

-

Thursdays

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

Castle Semple Young Volunteers, 12-18 yr olds, 10am – 12noon

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

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

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PCPC - The Blackwood Trophy Recently at the McMaster Centre in Renfrew Paisley Colour Photographic Club were very pleased to welcome Gaie Brown from Greenock to judge the Blackwood Trophy. This competition was open to all club members to compete on equal terms with entry consisting of a single image taken during 2015.

It was clear that Gaie had put a lot of hard work into judging the twenty five entries. She gave a thorough critique of each image and emphasized as she talked during the evening the high photographic standard of each entry.

The image judged in fourth place was Andy Kerr’s clever New York monochrome composition (pictured top right) entitled “Museum Fatigue”.

In third place was Pat Cook’s dramatic harness racing action image “Racing in the Rain” (pictured below left).

Richard Bennett’s beautifully composed and atmospheric winter scene “Stags in Snow” (pictured below right) was judged in second place.

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PHOTOGRAPHY HINTS & TIPS

With The Studio Bridge Of Weir

Landscape Photography – TOP TIPS 1 – Go WIDE Use as wide a focal length setting as you can 18- 24mm are good, wider if you have it. These create stunning vistas and also give you more depth of field at any given aperture.

18mm Focal length – F11

17mm Focal Length – F16

2 – Use a UV filter A UV filter not only protects your lens from scratches and accidental knocks, but it cuts through haze which can be present in the distance when taking landscapes.

3 – Choose the right time of day Any given view will have an “ideal” time to be photographed. It may be sunrise, sunset or just late afternoon when the low sun creates dramatic shadows and a warm light. Some hills are in shadow at sunrise, but perfectly lit at sunset.

4 – Pick the best viewpoint

The top image was judged to be “Above the Crowd” (pictured bottom left) and the photographer, Duncan McEwan, was awarded the Blackwood Trophy

for this stunning gymnastics image.

Not only did she judge the Blackwood Trophy that evening but Gaie also treated the club to a personal view of Muirshiel, the largest regional park in Scotland. Her photographs gave a welcome reminder of the jewel on our doorstep. For further details about PCPC and updated members galleries please view: www.paisleycolour.

Gryffe Camera Club We held our 4th round of competitions, with the combined titles of “Rural, Abandoned Buildings and Transport”.

This brought some interesting images. The winners were Hugh Kerr (A Prints), Malcolm Martin (B Prints), Andy Stark (Mono Prints), Bill Crookston (A Digital) with Train and Tracks and Malcolm Martin (B Digital) with 5 O’clock Commute.

Bill Crookston gave us an evening of presentations in early February, including an amazing collection of Stereo photographs (3D to most of us) he has taken over many years, projected on the screen and seen with 3D Glasses.

This was followed with our 5th Competition “Open”. The winners were Rick Bolton (A Prints), Yvonne Goldie (B Prints), Andy Stark (Mono Prints), George Kennedy (A Digital) with Fieldfare on Cottoneaster and Malcolm Martin (B Digital) with Henry comes to Ardrossan.

You are welcome to come along at 7.30pm on Wednesdays at the Carrick Centre, Houston.

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Move around the scene and take test shots at different focal lengths, different positions, and use different points of view – include a tree in the foreground, go very low to get a unique point of view, climb a nearby hill or stand on a wall or picnic table.

5 – Use a small aperture Set your camera to Aperture Priority and set the F-Number as high as possible (f22) to ensure your scene is sharp from foreground to background.

6 – Use a Tripod For landscape shots you want to get everything pin sharp. If you are using a very small aperture (high F Number) you may end up with long shutter speeds in excess of 1/60th sec. So a tripod is essential to ensure you have no camera shake.

Even with the camera secure on your tripod go a step further and use either a remote release or a 5 sec timer to ensure that you don’t shake the camera just by firing the shutter.

7 – Bracket your shots Your camera might not get the exposure spot on so take some shots that are deliberately over and under exposed as well as what the camera suggests.

Sunsets are notorious for being difficult for your cameras meter.

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 http://www.advertizer.co.uk/blog

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Langbank Playgroup

Kilmacolm Playgroup

Langbank playgroup offers children the opportunity to explore messy and malleable play through a variety of experiences such as playdough, plasticine, paint and slime. Children are also encouraged to develop their problem solving, independence and self help skills through play.

We also have regular visits from Lisa at Graffiti Dance Troupe.

The last dance visit coincided with a transition session with the local Primary School and the p6’s enjoyed it as much as the preschoolers.

During a busy morning at Playgroup, we all enjoy stopping to recharge our batteries with a snack and there’s always something healthy and tasty to try, maybe a new fruit as well as the old favourites of banana and strawberries.

It’s a lovely time to stop and chat too about what we’re doing today, or we might be celebrating someone’s birthday. We also learn how to serve ourselves and tidy up afterwards.

Thanks to all those who came along to our very busy event, in conjunction with Creative Communities, a project of St Columba’s School, on Sat 12th March to celebrate the launch of our group’s new name.

Maria Cairney gave a very lively performance with songs and dance, based on her Blitzy Boy books for children. The little ones had a great time joining in with the singing and actions - thanks Maria!

Playgroup is held on a Friday morning in Langbank Village hall and we currently have spaces available for children aged 2.5yrs to 5yrs. If you would like to join us on a Friday morning or for any further information please contact Jen Burrows on 07947 983025.

Lochwinnoch Primary School House Event Friday 4th March was our Semple House Event and it was a resounding success for all involved! Pupils from P1 to P7 were organised into house groupings and were given three story books to choose from (Room on the Broom, The Enormous Turnip, and Monkey Puzzle). The children were then given the task of re-telling the story in whatever way they wished and then recording this onto an I-pad turning it into a mini movie/play. The day then finished with the all children in our Assembly Hall watching their productions, and celebrating their fantastic, creative successes. Renfrewshire Schools Cross Country We were delighted with our pupils’ success in the recent Renfrewshire Schools Cross Country event. There was very strong competition on the day with around 33 schools competing, however, our wonderful team of runners brought home three team trophies and three individual medals.

Team Trophies Individual Medals:- P6 Boys Team Evie 1st; P6 Girls Team Freya 3rd; P7 Boys Team Ben 1st We were extremely proud of all who took part, and would like to congratulate our fantastic pupils.

Target Planning Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th March were very exciting days for us as we experienced our second Target Planning Meetings (formerly Parents’ Night). A number of displays were created for the evening providing parents with information about various aspects of school life. We are committed to making Target Planning Meetings a positive and beneficial experience for all pupils and parents / carers here in Lochwinnoch Primary and Miss Park was delighted to meet with many parents and carers and was delighted to receive such positive feedback from so many regarding how the evening had gone.

World of Work Week We will be holding a World of Work week from 28th March. Education Scotland states that children are entitled to a learning environment that recognises and promotes diversity and supports them to understand that it is everyone’s responsibility to challenge discrimination. We have many fun and educational activities planned and would like to thank all of our parents and volunteers who have so willingly agreed to give their time in order to make this event a success.

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For anyone who didn’t make it to the event and would like more information on Playgroup, please contact Elaine at ela1nel@hotmail.com, or for information on our Toddler & Baby group contact Claire at clairedean1@ btconnect.com.

St Fillans Primary School The pupils in St Fillans Primary have been learning about Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths and how these areas of the curriculum combine to be known as STEM. Every class is studying a STEM topic as part of this work. Our P5 and P6 children were invited, by one of our parents to visit the Glasgow Science Centre. This was a really fun way of putting STEM into practice.

They saw a full size replica of ‘The Bloodhound’, the fastest car in the world.

The children then worked in pairs to build their own sponge type cars and took them outside to race. Olivia and Chloe’s car was the fastest and they will now have their names put onto the tail fin of the actual Bloodhound.

In P1 the children are investigating how sound is made and are designing and making their own instruments. The pupils in P2 are designing and creating their own racing cars and are looking forward to testing them out in the Gym Hall. P3/4 are learning about travelling in water and designing boats which can carry cargo. P7 are investigating Bridges and will be making bridges out of various materials.

We all enjoyed our celebration for world book day and every teacher led a story telling session. The children in P7 had a fantastic afternoon at St Columba’s in Kilmacolm where they had the chance to meet local author Paul Murdoch.

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Duchal Nursery School We’ve had a very busy 2nd half to the Spring Term with our visit to the local dance studio, a pyjama day for World Book Day, a visit from Yorkhill and our Sport Relief Danceathon!! All this in addition to our usual French and PE Lessons!!!

We had great fun with our very own ambulance in the nursery – giving all of us so much enjoyment through role play. We’ve had doctors, nurses and paramedic with bandages and ‘blood’. The children have attended emergencies, fixed broken bones, dialled 999, set sirens off and carried teddies on stretchers!

After a week of reading lots of new and interesting books from our in house library we celebrated World Book Day with a day in pyjamas reading books under our duvets!

It has really inspired us to keep on reading.

every

Monday

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

£2/family fee incl 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

East Church Hall. 9.15am-11.30am

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 Meet mums, drink coffee, eat cake.

Kilmacolm Playgroup

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

Howwood 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

With a change in the weather we are finally spending more time in the Duchal garden and have had some lovely walks around Birkmyre Park, making the most of our great surroundings.

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 and find us on Facebook to keep up to date with all the latest news We are now taking registrations for the summer and the new academic year, so if you have a child that is coming up to nursery age please get in touch to arrange a visit and find out more about us.

Five stars for Abbey Nursery Before we mention some of the activities taking place at the nursery just now we wanted to share the news from our latest Care Inspection and are celebrating achieving Very Good/ 5’s across all areas from Care and Support, Environment, Staffing and Management and Leadership. The Practitioners at Abbey are a very experienced and caring team and it is great that this was reflected in the comments from the Inspector at her visit and reflects the consistently high grades we have received for many years now. Thank you to parents who provided their feedback which was all very positive; we will continue to strive hard to meet your high standards.

Houston baby and toddler group

We will be having a fundraising coffee morning, 10am-12noon, Saturday 23 April, West Church Hall, Main St, Houston.

Please come along and join in the fun and cakes!

McKillop Hall. 9.30am-11.30am

£2/family fee incl 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 Playgroup

Langbank Village Hall 9.45-11.45am For 2.5 - 5yr olds.

Contact Jen Burrows 07947 983025.

Langbank Under 3’s

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

We meet every Thursday (term time only closed on 07 & 14 April)

Renfrewshire Inverclyde Twins Club

We look forward to meeting you. Lesley, Sharon & Fiona. (lesleyannjackson@outlook. com)

1st & 3rd Friday

McKillop Hall, Lochwinnoch 1011.30am £3. Bring a mug along for a cuppa.

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Well Spring is definitely here now and it’s been wonderfully warm weather, with lots of opportunities for the children to get outside. The babies have been out around the village in their buggies whilst the older children have been up in the park and in the woods for forest schools activities.

Trips are now planned to Glasgow for our pre schoolers to the RSNO Magical Toy Shop which promises magic, music and mystery, whilst the toddlers are off to Lamont Farm to greet the baby lambs as they enter this world. Easter provided a great opportunity for lots of artwork created lovingly by the children and there were Easter egg hunts and Easter Bonnet parades – including the staff who love the chance to get involved.

Children also dressed up for World Book Day and shared their favourite books with friends.

Now that the raised flower beds have been dug over the children will be sowing seeds and planning their herb and vegetables garden which is always a fun activity as well as providing fresh food for snack time.

Also this month the Grasshoppers will be hosting an Enterprise Week, making cakes and biscuits to sell along with healthy fresh fruit and veg options and provide an opportunity to understand coin values, adding and subtracting.

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Kilmacolm Primary School

Houston Primary School

Isn’t it great to see lighter nights and spring flowers appearing in our gardens. We have been busy since our last news. You may remember that P4 were fundraising for their Micro Tyco Challenge, which is an enterprise topic, where the children plan, organise and carry out a series of fundraising activities to raise money for third world countries, to allow them to start up new businesses.

P4 raised a massive £825.71 and were delighted with their efforts.

P7 pupils from Houston Primary School and St Fillan’s Primary School took part in a joint drama project this term. Staff from the Citizens Theatre worked on a weekly basis with P7 pupils to perform DIVIDED CITY, a story of two boys who become good friends. One boy Joe is Catholic and the other boy Graham is Protestant. They become involved in helping a young Asylum Seeker after he is assaulted. The play has been adapted from the award-winning children’s book written by Theresa Breslin, which is studied widely in primary schools. A total of 24 Renfrewshire primary schools are taking part in this ambitious project over the next year. The amazing performances from our pupils were held on 8th March, at Houston Kirk West Halls and we thank Rev Donald Campbell for his generosity in providing a stage for our performers.

The children were absolutely wonderful and it is hoped that strong, lasting friendships will have formed during their time working on DIVIDED CITY together.

We held our annual Burns Competition last month and are pleased to announce that Samantha Todd, P7 was our overall winner. Samantha recited Red, Red Rose and certainly impressed our judges, Sam Hannah, Peter Blair, Andy McAlees & Fraser Donaldson. Thank you for giving up your time gentlemen.

P7 has recently returned from their residential visit to Winmarleigh Hall near Preston. The week included, abseiling, wall climbing, archery, quad biking, giant swing and trapeze, to name but a few. We returned 17 tired, happy and very muddy children to their parents, who I know were glad to have them home safe and sound.

O u r school refurbishment continues to make progress and earlier this month our Refurbishment Core Group visited the site to check on what’s been done. The eight pupils in the group were a m a z e d to see inside their building as there were no internal walls and it was difficult to get our bearings. Next month we will return to see if any new walls have been built and to report back to the rest of the pupils and staff.

The nursery pupils enjoyed a visit to Erskine Library and also celebrated World Book Day along with the school pupils by bringing in their favourite books to share. Parents and grandparents also joined in the fun by reading stories to the children in the nursery and school.

The pupils from P1 and P7 worked collaboratively to design and make an Easter fascinator and boater style hat for their Easter Parade. They look amazing! The P1 pupils have also been learning Easter songs in English and in French, however their particular favourite is, ‘Spring Chicken’.

The school playground has had an overwhelming amount of litter blown into the school grounds. The pupils from all stages have been out on a weekly basis taking their turn to keep our school tidy.

What a difference! Let’s keep Houston tidy.

P5 have been busy learning about the Rainforest. They have looked at the effect de-forestation is having on our environment.

The wonderful plants and animals of the Rainforest have provided stimuli for creative artwork.

P7 pupils, Cate Meiklejohn, Harry Manley, Katie Workman, Sophie Spence and Sophie Alexander represented Houston Primary School at the annual Rotary Quiz. The questions were challenging and we were delighted to gain 3rd place. Gibb Stuarts also provided the children with a very generous pack of goodies.

The whole school celebrated Fairtrade, by wearing their pyjamas to school and learning about the importance of a healthy Fairtrade breakfast. The Enterprise Team had a wonderful Fairtrade stall which proved to be very popular too.

Johnstone High School The Language Challenge

Sporting Success

Recently S1 Modern Languages pupils raised £540 for Cancer Research UK. The first years raised this money by taking part in The Language Challenge where they were sponsored to learn 10 words in a completely unfamiliar language. Cancer Research plan to use the donations to find out how cancer spreads, why it starts and ways to prevent cancer.

7 pupils from S1/2 competed in a badminton tournament at the ON-X sports centre on 29th February.

All of them played and exceptionally well and represented the school with distinction. Dan Auld, Josh Gray, Amber Dickie and Emma Kinnear all qualified for the end of year finals - the Renfrewshire Secondary Games. Well done to them and we wish them all the best in the finals!

Spork World Book Day On the 22nd of February, pupils from JHS took part in a nationwide attempt to break the world record for the most people taking part in a literary quiz.

100 pupils from S4 officially took part in the quiz, organized by the World Book Day organisation, with some English classes from S1 and 2 unofficially taking part just for fun. The attempt was successful and the record was broken with 6,388 people taking part at 62 worldwide locations. Well done to all our record breakers!

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Spork is Johnstone High’s band taking part in the ‘Behind The Noise’ music industry project this year. Every school participating in the ‘Behind The Noise’ project records one track in a professional recording studio. The track has been uploaded to Sound Cloud and is definitely worth a listen.

The band will play Classic Grand on the 18th April.

Annie The school show this year is Annie and rehearsals are well underway. Show nights are 14th, 15th and 16th June. Tickets on sale soon.

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St Columba’s School Pipe Band win at Championships We are delighted to be able to congratulate our Pipe Band again on winning the Junior A category at the Scottish Schools’ Pipe Band Championships this year. They were presented with a shield and a £500 prize.

The Championships are the world’s biggest schools piping competition; to find out more about this event please go to thechampionships.org.uk/#winners.

Transitus team wins Inter-Primary School Quiz Transitus pupils Ciaran, Adam, Jacob and Alistair won the Gryffe Valley Rotary Club Inter-Primary School Quiz, held at the British Legion in Bridge of Weir. Primary 7 classes from local primary schools competed in the 10-round quiz, which covered subjects such as general knowledge, signs & symbols, nature and science. The St Columba’s team received a shield along with a £15 voucher and a gift bag from the sponsors, Gibb-Stuart, and will now take part in the regional finals in Glasgow on 6th June.

Kilbarchan Parish Church Tots’ Club The club recommences after the break for Easter, on Monday 11th April from 9.15-11.30am in the hall, where tots with their parents, grandparents etc will be made welcome. There are many toys to play with and a bouncy castle. The cost remains at £1 for adults, which includes tea/ coffee. The group is once again participating in the Paisley Express Wish campaign and will be happy to receive vouchers collected from the paper-there is a box in the hall kitchen for the vouchers.

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Book Fair A huge thank you to everyone who has supported our Book Fair at Junior School. Thank you also to the parents who kindly gave up their time to help. We are delighted that the commission earned on book sales amounts to £1,421.95, all of which will be spent on books for the library and for classrooms. Hopefully the children will enjoy reading their new books, too.

Applying to St Columba’s Parents can request an appointment to visit the School and apply for a place throughout the year. The main points of entry to the School are Junior 1 and Transitus (Junior 7), however due to the wide range of Advanced Highers that the School offers, entry at SIV, SV and SVI is not uncommon. Arrangements can be made for a pupil to enter the School at other stages if places become available, and means-tested bursaries are available. For more information on how to apply please visit www.st-columbas.org/page/ Admissions.aspx. You can read more news at www.st-columbas.org

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Gryffe High School Youth Philanthropy Initiative Finals Presentation Winners Huge congratulations to the Gryffe High YPI Presentation winners of £3000 which goes to their chosen charity ‘Lisa’s Gift’.

All 8 groups gave fantastic presentations in the school theatre and the panel of judges had a very difficult decision to make.

Well done to ALL of our finalists.

The groups have been working very hard with their mentors to reach the Final stage. The other charities that the groups represented were Loom Walk, Finding your Feet, Home Start, St. Vincent’s Hospice and Cancer Support Scotland.

‘Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) is an active citizenship programme that raises awareness amongst young people about philanthropy and their local community. Each participating school is responsible for directing a £3000 YPI Grant to a local charity through a unique programme of team work, research and competition. YPI Scotland is all about creativity and passion, leaving the four walls of the classroom behind, and supporting the issues young people care most about.’

Miss Gill Brand who is PT Pupil Support for Burns House and who was responsible for the smooth running of Finals day, thanked all of the pupils for their hard work, the panel of judges and the group mentors who had supported the groups so much and had also taken the time to come along and watch the pupils presentation.

Pila Ski Trip 2016 A group of pupils left Gryffe along with Mr Hannah and Mrs O’Neill for what would be yet another amazing ski trip to Pila.

Once again, the pupils would enjoy five days of incredible skiing in the beautiful Alps with the local Italian Ski School.

Beginners a n d experienced skiers all enjoyed the incredible runs Pila had to offer, not at all hindered by the very heavy snow at the beginning of the trip!

There were even a few tears shed when it came to the end of the last day, as for many pupils this would be their last time returning to Pila as part of Gryffe. We all thoroughly enjoyed the nightly activities such as bowling and a pizza night, organised by everyone’s favourite ski rep, Bob. From all the pupils, a huge thank you to the teachers Mr Hannah and Mrs O’Neill, for all the hard work and effort they put into making this the best trip that the school offers (especially from Nuala and myself for continuing to put up with us on our 4th ski trip!) We will all treasure the amazing memories from both this and previous ski trips to Pila.

Ski trip report by Sophie Cairns S6

Gryffe High Theatre Improvement Group

Why not 614080.

Gryffe High School PTA and the Parent Council are joining forces to tackle the refurbishment of the school theatre. The theatre is a well used and very valuable resource which has been the venue for Xmas & Spring concerts, fashion show, the MAD show and even a “film club” way back in the early 1980s.

The PTA and Parent Council have formed the Gryffe High Theatre Improvement Group and aim to fundraise £40,000 to restore and improve the venue. We will be organising events and opportunities for parents, pupils (past & present) and local businesses to support us in this venture. We are also pursuing funding from various sources including local grants and lottery funding.Information about how you can participate in this venture can be found on the school website and on our facebook page at Gryffe High School Theatre Improvement Group. Links can be found below.

Our first venture invites you to make a donation to the fund in exchange for entry into a raffle for a star prize. Details and an entry form can be found on the website, from the school office and also at the forthcoming awards ceremony in the school on 21st of April. Donors of £40 or more will have the option to have their name included in a visual form within the refurbished theatre.

We hope that many of the readers will have fond memories of the theatre and will support us in this challenge which will ensure that pupils, parents and the wider community will benefit from being able to access this space. https://www.facebook.com/groups/182401165463963/ http://www. gryffehigh.com/

Bridge of Weir Primary Spring has sprung at last at Bridge of Weir Primary and the pupils have been very busy! Six of our P1 children were lucky enough to attend the Scottish Book Trust Children’s Book Awards at Glasgow Central Hotel and as well as meeting winning author Simon Puttock they had great fun travelling by train to the venue. All of our P1 pupils had received copies of the three nominated books earlier in the year as part of the SBT’s Bookbug project and so it was very exciting to be there when the winner was announced.

The whole school celebrated World Book Day on the 3rd March with various events taking place in the school including a visit from the wonderful author and storyteller Tony Bonning who had children from nursery to upper school spellbound with his stories, songs, rhymes and fun. P5 held a book and origami sale to raise money for Alzheimer Scotland and P1 organised a very successful cake sale for the same charity. The total raised was £327 which was just fantastic!

Quarriers Scouts 45th Greenock and District Scouts (Quarriers) urgently require additional leaders and helpers. Beavers, Cubs and Scouts all have a packed schedule for this year and they cannot be achieved without more leaders. However much - or little - time you can spare, you will be most welcome. Training will be given.

All section meet on a Wednesday night. For more information, call Julie Noble on 01505 612577 or qvscouts@gmail.com

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e: info@advertizer.co.uk

The spring discos organised by our Parent Council were also a huge success with a great turnout and some impressive moves on the dance floor. Thank you so much to all the volunteers who gave up their time to sell tickets, man the doors and supervise on the night. Events like this don’t just happen and we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and hard working group of parents. Next big fundraising event on the school calendar is our May Fair on 21st May – mark it in your diary!

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Brookfield Curling Club www.advertizer.co.uk

april 2016

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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.

Football Training Tuesday & Thursday nights at Johnstone High School astro between 6pm and 9pm - football training for players of all age groups & abilities. For further details please call Ali McMaster on 07775 578795, e: Glentyanthistlefc@gmail.com or visit our website: www.glentyanthistle.co.uk

Kilmacolm Bowling Club opens for the new season on Saturday 9th April.

New members of all ages are most welcome. We will be taking part in the Bowls Scotland national come and try days between 2pm - 4pm on Sat 30th June & Sun 1st June. Sessions are free and bowls will be made available, all we ask is that you bring a pair of flat soled shoes.

For further details please contact the Secretary on 01505 874239 or email kilmacolmbowlingclub@ gmail.com

Gryffe Girls Selected for Scotland U20 Rugby Team Former Gryffe HS pupils Louise and Siobhan McMillan have been selected for the squad to travel to Belgium and play the full Belgium women’s team.

Both players have been attending a series of training camps over the last six months which have been designed to develop the player’s skills and to aid talent identification for future Scotland players.

The game was played in Belgium on the 27 March and was streamed online.

Adult Tap Lessons Learn a new skill and have fun exercising. Suitable for beginners upwards. Saturday lunchtime: The Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm. PA13 4LE. For more information please contact, Gail Ashley (MBATD) on 01475 531336. www.gailashleyschoolofdance.co.uk gailashleyschoolofdance.co.uk

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Email: contact@

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Lose It And Love It!

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

My name is Christy Hyslop, a resident of Kilmacolm.

I am a Sports and Exercise Nutrition and Advanced Weight Loss Practitioner.

I am here to help anyone who is struggling with a history of failed diets. Since my twenties I have always been on some kind of diet, they all work to some degree, however for long term lasting change you have to be realistic and find a plan that fits with your life.

Tai - chi comes to Solas Solas is a Bereavement Drop-in Group which meets in Kilmacolm’s Kidston Hall on the second Thursday of the month from 6.30 to 8.30pm.

If you are living with loss, you will know it can be lonely, hard to find people who really understand and you often don’t talk about how you feel for fear of upsetting those who share your loss.

Solas is open to anyone who is bereaved and who would like to meet others in a safe friendly environment.

Come along on your own or bring a friend or family member for a welcome and support over tea and coffee.

I felt amazing almost instantly, more energy, alert, I was losing pounds every week, my hair and skin started to glow. It truly did change my life and relationship with food for ever.

There are opportunities to view helpful DVDs on aspects of grief, to experience a guided relaxation, to participate in a short Tai-chi session or enjoy a relaxing hand massage.

The next meeting is on Thursday 14th April from 6.30 to 8.30pm. Feel free to come along or contact us by email if you need more information on; SolasKilmacolm@yahoo.com

Table Tennis

After having my three children (and having a wardrobe with every jean size from an 8 to a 14), I decided to make the change. I wanted to be healthy and fit for my children and set an example to them. I started my journey by eating clean, cutting all processed food from my diet, including flour, sugar, bread, pasta and avoiding preservatives, colour additives and fat replacers. The idea of clean eating is to consume food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible. I do not view this type of eating as a diet, but as a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to an improved life.

I was so pleased with my results and keen to learn more I went onto study Nutrition and gained a Diploma in both Sports and Exercise Nutrition and Advanced Weight Loss.

My innovative approach to weight loss and nutrition will help you make lasting changes to your diet and lifestyle.

I will coach and support you 100% of the way and you will be encouraged to stay focused on your end goal. I will also teach you how to make the right food choices by consuming the correct calories, macronutrients and micronutrients tailored specifically for you.

Call Christy: 07738 552631

Houston Village Hall on Monday nights from 7.30pm - 9.30pm.

christy@loseitandloveit.co.uk www.loseitandloveit.co.uk

All welcome. Donation £2. Call Mark on 07968 052538.

Sporting Blog What’s your excuse?

I don’t have time: You work all day, school runs, cook, shopping, housework — there’s simply no time for exercise.

Really?

If you don’t exercise, you may experience an illness that comes from an inactive lifestyle. When you begin experiencing symptoms, you will make a Doctors’ appointment and wait for treatment/prescriptions.

You will adjust your schedule to accommodate your illness. So why not adjust it now to accommodate exercise; the possible prevention of illness?

I don’t like to: Lots of people do not like to exercise, but they make themselves do it. Without exercise, you could feel tired, be overweight and become sick, so it comes down to choosing your ‘dislike.’

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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

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, 6.30pm8pm Contact Liz Baldwin, mobile 07944 607005

Callanetics

Brookfield Village Hall, 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

by Lesley Handley

Spring Cleaning . . . . .

It seems natural to clean out the old as Spring approaches; so it’s a great time to look at excuses for not getting fit/healthy. Excuses pile up just like the clutter we accumulate, but it’s time to come clean.

every

I don’t have the energy: If you are unfit, you likely have low energy. When you don’t have much energy, the last thing you can imagine is exercising. But until you become more active, you will not have the energy you long for. As you begin exercising, you will start having more energy.

You won’t start feeling better until you start moving.

It’s not the right time: “I’ll start exercising when…

• Summer comes • The kids go back to school • I get my house organized • Life calms down…

There’s never a perfect time to start a fitness routine. You just have to start.

Stop hiding behind excuses. Everybody has excuses for not exercising. The fit and healthy people around you choose to give up the excuses; this doesn’t mean it is easy for them, it’s all about choices.

Lesley

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

Johnstone High School 6pm-9pm 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

For information on any aspect of nutrition, fitness or Personal Training contact

Youth Rugby Section 11am-1pm

me on 0773 627 4925 or email Lesley@fitsmartfitness.co.uk

www.pitchero.com/clubs/birkmyre

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The Curtis Cup comes to Kilmacolm Golf Club Lady Captain, Susan Reid, compered a wonderful evening on Tuesday 22nd March, when the Ladies of The Kilmacolm Golf Club were warmly entertained by a talk from three generations of prestigious golfers, whom between them amass 20 Curtis Cup appearances, from 1956 to 2014. At their best, their playing handicaps ranged from 1 to +4, but more remarkably they now play off handicaps ranging from 7 to +3.

The Kilmacolm Ladies were offered the opportunity to ask a variety of questions which resulted in the guests narrating a few memorable events, some quite humorous, from their competitive days. Then each reflected on how the game had changed over the years, from a truly amateur status when they were supplied with just a team uniform - a twin-set and tie – and had to provide all their own equipment, even their own golf balls; to the modern times when presented with fifty Pro-V’s for just four rounds of golf which seemed a little excessive.

They talked light-heartedly about their superstitions and pre-match routines, which ranged from playing with the same numbered ball, always!; starting and finishing a round in the same attire, regardless of how the weather might have changed during the round; believing that you can only “play smart, if you look smart”, to the extent that golf shoe laces had to be removed and washed after each day’s play!

They then disclosed their innermost secrets when they divulged their swing thoughts to an eager audience. Belle, “smooth” - keep an even tempo during the swing; Maureen, “slow” - under pressure the swing may speed up slightly; Julie, “balance” - any swing speed is OK if you retain good balance; Eilidh, “width” - avoid the tendency to get too steep in the backswing; Eilidh, “o..n..e.., t..w..o..” - the key to a good putting tempo; Lady Angela, “timing” smooth is timing; and unanimously agreed, “keep your eye on the ball”.

It was a special evening for the Ladies Section at the start of Kilmacolm Golf Club’s 125th Anniversary Year, closing with a jovial vote of thanks from Sara Bishop, thereafter followed by a light buffet supper provided by resident chef, Jo Stewart.

From left to right: Lady Angela Bonallack, Eilidh Briggs, Susan Reid, Belle Robertson O.B.E., Julie Otto and Maureen Richmond

2016 P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea Sat 18/Sun 19 June

P1 SuperStock and P1 AquaX hit Greenock for the 2016 P1 Scottish Grand Prix of the Sea, on 18-19 June.

For the first time ever, the world’s largest marine motorsport heads to Scotland, for a one-two punch of powerboat and jetski racing. We’re talking about a weekend of nonstop speed and action!

Plus, the defending world champion jet-ski freestyler Lee Stone will be entertaining the crowds, alongside national champion Jason Bleasdale!

Add to that, live commentary, concessions, a champagne podium and you have yourself one great race weekend. Tell all your friends about it! It’s going to be a cracking weekend!

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Time to Play Fair Every school in Renfrewshire is to receive a Fairtrade football as part of Renfrewshire’s Fairtrade Fortnight.

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

Castle Semple Sailing Club Winter Series The 2016 winter series must be the quietest winter series we have ever had weather wise. The first week was a little gusty, the second week there was no wind and racing was abandoned, the third week saw a small amount of wind and several boats retired. The final Sunday in the series turned into a glorious sunny afternoon with just enough wind. 11 boats took part in the series.

Scottish co-operative Bala Sport aims to improve the lives of often exploited factory workers and imports footballs from Sialkot in Pakistan where around 70% of the world’s hand stitched footballs are made. They aim to challenge the multinational companies who control the market and alter the perception that fair trade means a lack of quality- the balls are manufactured and tested to Fifa professional standards.

The Renfrewshire Fairtrade Steering Group will provide the footballs to support its remit to provide support for schools to encourage a wider understanding about fair trade.

Chair of the Renfrewshire Fairtrade Steering Group, Councillor Jim Sharkey said: “It is particularly important to educate the next generation of fair traders as they are the ones who will take this issue forward in the future.” Angus Coull, Bala Sport Joint Managing Director, said: “This is a great initiative from the Council and we are delighted that every school in Renfrewshire can now play fair with a Bala Fairtrade ball.”

To find out more about Bala Sport and Fairtrade sports balls at www. balasport.co.uk. For information on fairtrade in Renfrewshire visit www. renfrewshire.gov.uk/fairtrade or fairtrade@renfrewshire.gov.uk.

Kilbarchan Bowling Club requires new members

The first Sunday of the series ended in catastrophe for the hobie 405 when prior to the race starting the pin shot out of the port side shroud and a worrying creaking noise was heard from the deck and the boat rocked from side to side - the helm had fallen out of the back of the boat - once hauled back in a capsize was necessary to avoid damage to the boat, so much for Crawford wanting to stay dry! Racing was delayed whilst the boat was rescued. However once racing was underway one crew was heard to say that it was survival out on the water rather than enjoyable - such were the gusts. The Xenon had been borrowed and at one point the crew, Mark Simmonds, was seen to disappear over and underneath the boat whilst Ross McGlennon helming the boat was busy laughing at his friend’s mishap - so much for a caring helm!

Racing was cancelled on the second Sunday due to lack of wind and week 3 saw barely enough wind for 2 races and several competitors retired. Week 4 as mentioned above was a lovely spring afternoon with 6 boats racing.

The final results were: Joint first: Douglas McQuilken and Pamela Hunter (Enterprise), Angus Winchester (Vortex); 3rd Brian Young and Alan Falconer (MV2); 4th Crawford Johnstone and Ross McGlennon/Dawn Kyne (N12)

The young seem to think it is for older people, the ladies may consider it not for them, but talk to our members and they will describe something entirely the opposite, it’s open to families too. It is a friendly, sociable pastime with opportunities at all levels of the sport. Come on gents get the kids away from their computer games take the attitude; ach I’ll give it a try, you’ll not regret it!

Many thanks to Angus for organising the racing and managing the results.

Kilbarchan Bowling Club was inaugurated in 1860 by a group of locals, who due to a developing trend at that time, were attracted to participating in a sport which was not generally available to the common man.

See website for further info on the club. www.castlesemplesc.co.uk

The club moved to its site in Ladysmith Avenue over 100 years ago.

In 2010 KBC celebrated our 150th anniversary and is now recognised by many as the place to celebrate their weddings, birthdays, retirements, christenings and to have fund raising events etc KBC is an integral part of the local community not just Kilbarchan, but the surrounding area, with countless people, sporting clubs, local community organisations, etc, benefiting from its existence!

You will require a pair of flat soled shoes which can, in the short term, be provided, everything else you require to enjoy the game, can be provided.

There is an introductory membership for anyone new to bowls of £60 for the first year ( normal full price £120).

Sunday 29 May It is the Club’s 50th Anniversary this year and we are planning a fun day of events followed by a barbecue. If you have been a member of the club in the past and would like to see what we are up to now please do come a long and join us on Sunday 29 May.

10K Charity Run The next fund raising event for the Therapeutic Toy project is the 10K run, starting at 1pm in Houston on Sunday 24th April. Full details are available on the Gryffe Valley website and on the Gryffe Valley 10K Run facebook page.

There’s still plenty of time to enter, perhaps with others as a team, and to organise some personal sponsorship.

Remember all ages and abilities are welcome on the day to run and to join in the après run fare in the Church hall in Houston.

If you are interested in having a go: - come to the club house, talk to a member or by contacting secretary: James Wallace on: 07913 779276.

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As the days grow longer, with snowdrops and daffodils starting to appear, there is a definite hint of spring in the air and for all us golfers this means the start of the golf season is just around the corner.

In preparation for this, the Green-keeping team at the Castle have been extremely busy with work on the course, installing new drains, reshaping bunkers, tree felling and trimming to improve air flow and sunshine around the greens. All of which means the course is already in great condition for the coming season. The new catering team are now fully in place and (at the time of writing) preparing for the first big social event on March 19th, which is completely sold out.

Other clubhouse news is the introduction of the new “House Membership” which for a nominal fee allows access to all the clubhouse facilities and social events, for non golfers. (See adjacent advert)

123 / 123 / 123 - Ballroom dancing lessons

Weekly Ballroom dancing lessons have started for aspiring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which is both challenging and great fun.

Ranfurly Castle Ladies The Ladies of Ranfurly Castle held their Annual fund raising Bridge night at the Club on Wednesday 16th March. The evening was well attended with 15 tables taking part. An impressive supper was enjoyed half way through the evening with a lot of chat and laughter.

The small Slam Prize was won

by Mrs Pamela Wilson and the main Bridge prize was won by Mrs Vicky Rennie. The Raffle on the night raised a fantastic £262.00 for Transplant Sport. Thank you to all who were kind enough to support the evening.

Strathgryffe - Four in a row for Houston Primary The annual Inter-School Mini Tennis Doubles Tournament was won by Houston Primary for the fourth year in a row.

The competition, which was launched for the first time in 2003, was a joint venture by Strathgryffe Tennis & Squash Club and Active Schools Renfrewshire and has firmly been in the local schools’ calendar ever since.

A team of tennis coaches from Strathgryffe delivered a four week block of coaching sessions, free of charge to all P6 pupils at Bridge of Weir, Houston and St Fillan’s Primary Schools.

A team of 8 boys and 8 girls were then selected to represent their school and participate in a round robin doubles league with points being awarded

Houston Primary School - Tournament Winners at the end of each round to each winning couple. The competition was held in the indoor courts at Strathgryffe on Thursday 17th March.

Susan Weanie, Tennis Development Manager commented: “We have a great relationship with the local schools.

Strathgryffe visits them regularly to deliver taster sessions, which has resulted in many of the pupils now attending our coaching programme.”

Details for the new summer tennis programme is now available and has classes for both children and adults. For more information please visit our website www.strathgryffe.net or contact Head Tennis Coach, Derek Brown on 01505 615301 or email derekbrown@strathgryffe.net

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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 £13.00* Boxed ad: £7.50* per column cm Photo: add £7.50* (colour) *all prices subject to VAT

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DEADLINES

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

info@advertizer.co.uk

PROPERTY HOLIDAY HOMES

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

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

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

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

Advertising throughout The Gryffe Advertizer:

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:

15 April 29 April 13 May 27 May

65 65

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

Fri 15 April May‘16 ISSUE: • Deadline: • Delivery: June‘16 ISSUE: • Deadline: • Delivery:

april 2016

• 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.

PROPERTY WANTED ADVERTISE HERE FOR ONLY

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

• 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.

18

£ .00 per MONTH (incl. VAT)

• 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.

• 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.

MUSIC TUITION

Editorial throughout The Gryffe Advertizer:

churches

BRIDGE OF WEIR

Freeland Church: Rev KN Gray BA BD. Morning Service 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: Sunday services 10.30am, Junior Church & Youth Church, hearing aid loop system. For more information on activities and events find us online – stmacharsranfurlychurch. org.uk or Facebook. Come along – all welcome.

Hope Hall: Sun 1pm Sunday School, 4.30pm Gospel Service; Mon 6.30pm Investigators for Kids, 8pm Bible Study and Prayer.

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

http://free.yudu.com/library/18833/Gryffe-Advertizer-issues

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.

http://issuu.com/gryffeadvertizer/docs

64-67 CLASSIFIED_259_APR16.ind.indd 65

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; Rev D Snelson 01505 612722.

Houston and Killellan Kirk: Church of Scotland, Scottish Charity no SC 012822. www.houstonkirk.org. 3rd Apr. 9.45am Early Service: The Sacrament of Holy Communion. 11am Morning Worship: The Sacrament of Baptism 10th Apr. 11am Morning Worship 17th Apr. 11am Morning Worship: The Sacrament of Baptism 24th Apr. 9.45am Early Ser vice 11am Morning Worship 1st May 9.45am Early Service: The Sacrament of Holy Communion. 11am Morning Worship 8th May 11am Morning Worship: The Sacrament of Baptism 15th May 11am Morning worship 22nd May 11am Morning Worship St Fillan’s, Main St, Houston: Sun Masses: Vigil (Sat) 5pm, 9.30am & 11am.

Weekday Mass: Tues-Sat 9 . 3 0 a m exc e p t T h u r s , 7pm. Reconciliation: Sat 10-10.30am and after Vigil Mass; Thurs 7.30-8pm.

Exposition: As announced. All are welcome. Baptisms: 1st & 3rd Sunday of the month by arrangement. Parish Priest: Rev Daniel J McLoughlin, Dip. Th.,MA Pastoral Assistant: Sr Mary 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

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.

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 6.30pm8pm on Sundays. Word and Table Quiet Service held from 9am-9.30am 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.

KILBARCHAN

Kilbarchan Parish Church Minister: - Rev Stephen Smith. During the month of April, services continue on Sunday mornings at 11am, conducted by Rev. Stephen Smith. The Sacrament of Holy Communion will be observed on Sunday 24th April at 11am and 6.30pm.

All are welcome to any or all of these services. Sunday School and the crèche meet from 10.45am in the hall.

All details about the church, wo r s h i p a n d t h e m a ny organisations can be seen by visiting the website: www. kilbarchan-kirk.btck.co.uk

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: (charity no SC007992) Morning Worship Sundays at 11am.

St Colm’s Catholic Church, Smithy Brae Kilmacolm.

Rev Vincent Byrne. Family mass Sundays 10am with children’s liturgy, followed by tea and coffee. Eucharistic service Thursdays 10.30am.

Rosary Tuesdays 6.30pm.

Prayer group meets Thursdays 7.30pm. Further information and contact details www.stcolmsparish. co.uk. All welcome.

Grace Church Kilmacolm: in association with Downavale Free Church of Scotland (Charity No: SCO38274) Sunday Service at 10.30am in Kilmacolm Guide Hut, Woodrow Avenue, PA13 4QF - all welcome.

Buddhist meetings: Buddhism o f N i c h i ren D a i s h o n i n .

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 after the service.

Church service starts 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) Sunday: 11am Morning 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, Please join with us.

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66

the advertizer

Items For Sale Baby Equipment Graco travel system (black).

Excellent condition. Baby carrier with hood, easily detachable from chassis. Pushchair folds easily, has hood and net below for carrying essentials and light shopping. All coverings detachable and washable. Lie flat and adjustable backrest functions. Comes with full rain cover. £70.

Tel: 01505 690636.

Baby car seat £25, high chair £15 and travel cot £15.

Excellent condition. Items sold together or individually.

Tel: 07970 683678.

Mamas and Papas Pilko Pramette in ‘Peace Camp’ Fabric. In very good, used condition, the pram is a khaki fabric with black handles and also has matching cosy toes.

The pram also converts into a pushchair. £30. Tel: 07966 623395.

Lindam safe and sere playpen with mat. £10. Tel: 07791 072282.

Lindam Stair Gate White fits 82-138cms £15. Tel: 07528 581161.

Britax Black Car Seat 9months onwards excellent condition £25. Tel: 07528 581161.

CLOTHES & SHOES Regatta long line waterproof rain jacket with lining ,turquoise £10. Tel: 07517 065917.

Household & Garden Thermostat. Electronic programmable room stat. New £80 sell for £30 ono Tel: 0787 656 3768.

20 stainless steel kitchen unit handles. Straight D shaped 160mm. £40. Tel: 01505 613033.

Bath Shower Screen with towel rail plus Triton electric shower.

Both in excellent condition. £60ono. Tel: 01505 704773.

Double Bed Wrought Iron Headboard & Footer. £65 ono. Tel: 01505 321028.

2 x modern M&S chenille striped snuggle chairs. Good condition. £45 each. Tel: 01505 227431.

1 box Bridwood “Indian Tree” China, mainly plates, £10.

Tel: 01505 614019.

Propogation tent. Ideal for a keen gardener. 3m x 2m x 2m (L,W,H) As new. £100. Tel 0787 656 3768.

New Scandinavian wood table & 2 matching high back stools. £35. Tel: 01505 612726.

Large gilt edged mirror. £25.

Tel: 01505 612726.

‘Next’ beige fabric two seater couch. Only two years old.

Good condition. Cost £400, accept £100. Tel: 01505 862609.

Dining room chairs. Six IKEA chairs with covers. Reasonable condition. All six for £150 ono.Tel: 0787 656 3768.

Bed Brand New Super King Size Silent Night Ortho Brand New Mattress Slatted Bed Frame £200 complete. Tel: 07791 688240.

Electric Lawn Raker (scarifier). £15. Tel: 01505 614503.

Electric Lawn mower (Concorde) £15. Tel: 01505 614503.

Flymo (Electrolux) Hover Compact 300, hardly used, with all cables and accessories, £10.

Tel: 01505 614019.

Black and Decker GL701 electric trimmer, hardly used, £10. Tel: 01505 614019.

Electrical & Gas Panasonic 32” Flatscreen, F r e e v i e w T V. 4 m o n t h s old. £100 ono. Tel: 07814 096173.

Chrome LED Floor Lamp. Adjustable Height, Swivel Head, Brand New, still Boxed. £10.

Tel: 07814 096173.

Phillips Hostess Trolley, Dark mahogany. £45. Tel: 07912 857545.

Sports Mini micro scooter blue with bag. £25. Tel: 07791 072282.

Almost new XWave Flex 90 Ski Boots, Size 10 (US27). Suitable for more advanced skier wishing to upgrade. Space frame, front entry. Excellent condition. £50. Tel: 01505 347719.

Toys/Games/DVD Box Set Top gear Great Adventures, 4 DVDs, new, still wrapped; Vietnam Special, Botswana Special, US Special, Polar Special; plus Best of Stig and Clarkston Thriller (Used). £10. Tel: 01505 347719.

t: 01505 613340

Selection of 10 PC Games, suitable for teenage boy. 3 Warhammer, Command and Conquer, Supreme Commander, Age of Empires, The Settlers, 2 Rome, FIFA10. £10. Tel: 01505 347719.

Other Items 4 x Lladro Angel figurines.

Exc Cond. £80. Tel: 01505 614503.

Drum Kit. Great condition.

5 drums, 2 cymbals, stool, music stand and sticks £150.

Tel: 07528 481286.

Thule Clip On Cycle Rack fits most small/medium Hatchbacks £30. Tel: 07528 581161.

Lightweight Wheelchair small wheels as new £30. Tel: 07528 581161.

Drum Kit - 5piece. Good condition. Black. £60. Tel: 07941 773743.

Many DVD’s and CD £3 each.

Tel: 07517 065917.

Vintage silver plated spoons 12 set ,70’s ,foreign £24. Tel: 07517 065917.

Meercat Alexander. £10. new with certificate. Tel: 07517 065917.

Silver chain 45cm length, new foreign. £20. Tel: 07517 065917.

Amber vintage necklace cognac colour, 64cm, £36. Tel: 07517 065917.

Broken HP laptop - for spare parts. £20. Offers welcome.

Tel: 07517 065917.

Brand new jigsaw, orbital sander, hammer drill. B&Q own brand with Instruction booklets. £15 each or £40 for all three. Tel: 07905 259384.

Apple I Phone 5 black 32gb in protective leather case with extras £130. Tel: 07791 688240.

1+1 Cyanogen Android big screen phone as good as Samsung s6 £100. Tel: 07791 688240.

Thermostat. Electronic programmable room stat. New £80 sell for £30 ono Tel: 0787 656 3768.

Jaguar spare parts 1980s exhaust bumper chrome instruments offers. Tel: 07791 688240.

Bike Alloy 21” very high spec bike black frame ATB city tyres £80. Tel: 07791 688240.

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

Girls ATB 17” frame nice clean bike Raleigh £40. Tel: 07791 688240.

Vintage Collectors Raleigh Superb Green SA gears.

Enclosed chain guard 23” frame £180. Tel: 07791 688240.

Baxi Windermere Cast Iron Stove gas fired Coal Brand N e w £ 1 0 0 . Te l : 0 7 7 9 1 688240.

Folding Bike with Gears and Lights 20” wheels traditional European made not Chinese heavy and strong £50. Tel: 07791 688240.

Garage door VGC. Metal up and over, 13’ x 7’ complete with all fittings. £100ono. Tel: 07973 938034.

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.

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.

Garden seat in any condition.

Tel: 01505 872813 Pram not required for baby.

Wheels must be good condition. Cheap or free. Tel: 01505 873163.

Local lily grower requires the use of a greenhouse/polytunnel in Kilmacolm area in return for light gardening duties. Tel: Vince 01505 872082.

Free

Cy c l e

Large metal cold frame - no glass. Tel: 01475 540218.

For F1 enthusiast - Past 3 years official F1 Magazine and Yearbooks for collection. Tel: 07803 317585.

Caravan Awning. Good condition. Originally Sunstar Award, but can be altered.

Groundsheet. Tel: 01475 540559.

ADVERTISING sales & wants ad rates:

UP TO £200 ....... FREE £201 to £500 ..... £5.00 £501 to £1000 ... £10.00 OVER £1000 ..... Call for details.

Use our Sales & Wants form and post to The Gryffe Advertizer, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir, PA11 3PN. or email your items to info@advertizer.co.uk The Business Advertisements (Disclosure) Order 1977

NOTICE TO ADVERTISERS The Law requires that Advertisers selling goods in the course of a business MUST include the word Trader, Dealer, Agent, Breeder or appropriate wording in the Advertisement to distinguish from private advertisers.

64-67 CLASSIFIED_259_APR16.ind.indd 66

L O CA L IN F O R M A T I O N community council Visitors are welcome at these monthly meetings.

BISHOPTON: Primary School: 1st Thurs at 7.30pm www.bishoptoncouncil.com BRIDGE OF WEIR: Cargill Hall: 1st Tues at 7pm. www.bridgeofweir.org BROOKFIELD: Brookfield Village Hall: 7.30pm in February, April, June, August, October and December on 2nd Thursday of the month.

HOUSTON: Carrick Centre: 3rd Wed at 7.30pm www.houstoncommcouncil@yahoo.co.uk HOWWOOD: Village Hall: 2nd Tues at 7.30pm. www.howwood.com/community-council.php KILBARCHAN: Steeple Hall: monthly at 7.30pm. www.kilbarchan.info/community_council.html 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: Bowling Club: 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

24/03/2016 17:40:05

www.advertizer.co.uk

april 2016

67 67

Advertizers - A to Z

by category Accountants & Financial

Equestrian

Affluent Financial Planning . . 25 Cheetham & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 CLA Accountancy Services Ltd . . 26 Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Fiona Christie Accounting Serv . . 15 Stewart Independent Financial . . 1

Ingliston Equestrian Centre . . 9

Architectural Services Architectural Drawings . . . . . 15 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Grid Design Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Art, Gifts & Flowers Crafts of Calder Gallery . . . 15

Automotive Services AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 Chips Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Gryffe Garage Motor Engineers . . 24

Bathrooms Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 Instyle Kitchens & Bathrooms . . 17

Bedrooms Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 5

Blacksmith & Metalwork McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 2

Building Services A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 B Hughes Builders - Houston . . 3 BOW Stone Works . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 4 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 11 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 16 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 42 Rukeri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 3 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 55

Business Services Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 30

Catering Karen Rankin Catering . . . . . . 14

Cleaning & PowerWash CleanDryCarpets . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 15 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15 MattVac Carpet & Upholstery Cl . . Bk Nutech Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41 Platinum Cleaning Services . . 5

Coffee Shops Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 36 JoJo’s Cakery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Computer, IT & Web ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Computer Repairs . . . . . . . . . . 1 Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 30

Driveways A&G Driveways . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Victoria Driveways Landscapes . . 51

Driving Instructors Alistair Stewart - Driving Ins . . 16 Paul Ferguson - Confidence . . 7

Education St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 57

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

Fencing Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 2

Firewood & Logs LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Framing Crafts of Calder Gallery . . . 15

Funeral Services Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 12,27 John Roach Funeral Directors . . 2

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

Garden Service & Design 3D Garden Design . . . . . . . . . . 51 A Peebles Landscape Contractor . . 52 Apple Tree Garden Design . . . 50 Care & Repair Gardening Servci . . 49 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Craig Kennedy Gardening . . . . 52 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 DMG Garden Services . . . . . . . . 49 Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 52 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 M&M Garden Services . . . . . . . . 50 MJ Lawnmowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 R Williams Tree Surgeon & Grou . . 53 SP Groundcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Victoria Driveways Landscapes . . 51 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 50 West of Scotland Landscape . . 51

Gas & Heating Services A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 14 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 41 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 6 Mackie Plumbing & Heating . . 16 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 . . 42 Ashes Hair & Beauty . . . . . . . . 45 Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 44 Vanda’s Mobile Hairdressing . . 5

Health & Beauty Ingliston Equestrian Centre . . 9

Health, Beauty & Fitness Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 42 Ashes Hair & Beauty . . . . . . . . 45 Beginners Yoga - Sara Marijuan . . 60 Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 13 Clyde Physiotherapy and Pilate . . 59 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy . . 42 Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 11 Healing Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Kilbarchan Chiropodists . . . . 45 Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 11 LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Lauras Nail & Beauty Lounge . . 23 Margaret Lyons Hypnotherapy . . 12 New Vision Opticians . . . . . . . 41 NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 7 Slimming World . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Sole Solutions Podiatry . . . . 42 Tranquillity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Rent A Bloke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Shower Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Home Interiors

Property, Sales & Let

Baytree Interiors . . . . . . . . . 5 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 5 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 4

Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,29 Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1 Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk

Home Security

Removals

Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 43

@ease Removals & Transport . . 43 The Right Move . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Joiners CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 6 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 4 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 11 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 15 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 3 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Woodburn & Beattie Joiners . . 14

Kilt & Dress Hire Henderson’s Kilts . . . . . . . . . 37

Kitchens Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 5 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 Instyle Kitchens & Bathrooms . . 17 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 11 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 3

Leisure & Recreation Kilmacolm Show . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Ranfurly Castle Golf Club . . 63

Locksmiths Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Houston Locksmiths . . . . . . . . . 3

Painters & Decorators A Gallagher Painter&Decorator . . 14 David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 Ian Livingston Decorating . . 15 James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 John H Barney . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 McDonald Decorators . . . . . . . . 45 Ranfurly Decor . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Pet Services & Training Happy Rambles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Husse Pet Food . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Smart Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . . 46 Walkies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Restaurant & Bars Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 36 Ingliston Equestrian Centre . . 9 River Inn . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,32,33,34

Retail Fairlie Furniture Works . . . . 13 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 4

Roofing Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 3 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 16 MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 42 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 55

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

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

Sports Clubs & Events Ranfurly Castle Golf Club . . 63

Taxis & Minicoach hire ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Johnstone TOA Taxi Co . . . . . . 10

Tiling Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 15 Kerr McAuley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

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

Tree Surgeon Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 52 LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 50

TV & Satellite Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 44 Kieran Turner Aerial&Satellite . . 3

Upholstery Services P Thomson Upholstery . . . . . . . 2

Plasterers

Window Cleaners

Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 3 Charlie Orr Plasterer . . . . . . 2 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 4 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 16

DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 15 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15 Matthews Cleaning Services . . 15

Plumbers

1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 Art Window & Doors . . . . . . . . . Bk JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 14 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 14 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 41 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 6 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Mackie Plumbing & Heating . . 16

Window, Consv & Repair

Home Hardware

@ease Removals & Transport . . 43 1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 3D Garden Design . . . . . . . . . . 51 A Gallagher Painter&Decorator . . 14 A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 A Peebles Landscape Contractor . . 52 A&G Driveways . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 14 ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Affinity Family Law Experts . . 3 Affluent Financial Planning . . 25 Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 Alistair Stewart - Driving Ins . . 16 Apple Tree Garden Design . . . 50 Architectural Drawings . . . . . 15 Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 42 Art Window & Doors . . . . . . . . . Bk Ashes Hair & Beauty . . . . . . . . 45 B Hughes Builders - Houston . . 3 Baytree Interiors . . . . . . . . . 5 Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 12,27 Beginners Yoga - Sara Marijuan . . 60 Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 36 Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 13 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 BOW Stone Works . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 43 Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 3 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 5 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 41 Care & Repair Gardening Servci . . 49 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Charlie Orr Plasterer . . . . . . 2 Cheetham & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Chips Away . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 CLA Accountancy Services Ltd . . 26 CleanDryCarpets . . . . . . . . . . . 6 CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Cloudy2Clear Windows Glasgow . . 5 Clyde Physiotherapy and Pilate . . 59 Cognitive Behavioural Therapy . . 42 ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Computer Repairs . . . . . . . . . . 1 Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,29 Crafts of Calder Gallery . . . 15 Craig Kennedy Gardening . . . . 52 David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 44 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 6 DMG Garden Services . . . . . . . . 49 DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 15 Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Fairlie Furniture Works . . . . 13 Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 11 Fiona Christie Accounting Serv . . 15 First Domestics . . . . . . . . . . . 16 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . . 52 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 52 Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 15 Grid Design Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Gryffe Garage Motor Engineers . . 24 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 15 Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Happy Rambles . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Healing Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Henderson’s Kilts . . . . . . . . . 37 Houston Locksmiths . . . . . . . . . 3 Husse Pet Food . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 6 Ian Livingston Decorating . . 15

Ideal Flooring Service . . . . . 11 Ingliston Equestrian Centre . . 9 Instyle Kitchens & Bathrooms . . 17 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 4 James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 14 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 11 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 John H Barney . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 John Roach Funeral Directors . . 2 Johnstone TOA Taxi Co . . . . . . 10 JoJo’s Cakery . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Karen Rankin Catering . . . . . . 14 Kerr McAuley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Kieran Turner Aerial&Satellite . . 3 Kilbarchan Chiropodists . . . . 45 Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 11 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 16 Kilmacolm Show . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1 Lamont Electricians . . . . . . . . 3 Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 30 LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Lauras Nail & Beauty Lounge . . 23 Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 M&M Garden Services . . . . . . . . 50 Mackie Plumbing & Heating . . 16 Margaret Lyons Hypnotherapy . . 12 MAS Electrical & Security . . 2 Matthews Cleaning Services . . 15 MattVac Carpet & Upholstery Cl . . Bk MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 42 McDonald Decorators . . . . . . . . 45 McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 15 McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 2 MJ Lawnmowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 New Vision Opticians . . . . . . . 41 Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 44 NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 7 Nutech Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41 Orchard Flooring . . . . . . . . . . 35 P Thomson Upholstery . . . . . . . 2 Paul Ferguson - Confidence . . 7 PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Phoenix Gas Services . . . . . . . 1 Platinum Cleaning Services . . 5 Powerdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk R Williams Tree Surgeon & Grou . . 53 Ranfurly Castle Golf Club . . 63 Ranfurly Decor . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Rent A Bloke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 River Inn . . . . . . . . . . . 31,32,33,34 Rukeri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Shower Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Slimming World . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Smart Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . . 46 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 Sole Solutions Podiatry . . . . 42 SP Groundcare . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 57 Stewart Independent Financial . . 1 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 3 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 4 The Right Move . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 55 Tranquillity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Travel Actually . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vanda’s Mobile Hairdressing . . 5 Victoria Driveways Landscapes . . 51 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Walkies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 West of Scotland Landscape . . 51 Woodburn & Beattie Joiners . . 14

First Domestics . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Home Improvements Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Ideal Flooring Service . . . . . 11 Orchard Flooring . . . . . . . . . . 35

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