269 February 2017 - Gryffe Advertizer

No.269 Distributed to: • Bishopton • Bridge of Weir • Brookfield • Elderslie • Houston • Howwood • Kilbarchan • Kilmacolm • Langbank • Lochwinnoch • Quarriers

Water fall Lochwinnoch by David Reid Muirshiel Country Park by Diaporama

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No. 269

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February 2017

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your LOCAL community magazine

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February 2017

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EXPERT JET-WASHING With Spring fast approaching, this is the time of year for cleaning driveways, patios etc., ready for the 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.

Before

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01505 863 863 www.nutechcleaning.co.uk

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ThisMonth It’s good to give

Like many other people nowadays I have opted not to send Christmas cards to our friend and family group, but instead use social media etc to keep in touch. And like everyone else, this is not a money-saving exercise as I make a Christmas donation to a charity. Because of my family’s connection to sailing on the Clyde, my chosen cause this year was the RNLI Lifeboats. Nonetheless, many thanks to those who did send cards to us at home and the office.

Parking Mad

Well, it seems like people power really can pay off! I talked about the parking problems in Kilmacolm last month - this month I’m reporting that there have been discussions at Inverclyde Council with proposals for a public consultation on the removal of parking discs. Well done to the Kilmacolm shop keepers who have lobbied long and hard over this. Here’s hoping for a positive result!

Planning Ahead

There is a planning proposal for up to 100 houses to be built in designated greenbelt land at the top of Johnshill, Lochwinnoch, directly adjoining Parkhill Woods and the Semple Trail.

If you want to object to this development, now is the time to do so as formal written objections need to be registered with Renfrewshire Council by 20th February. You can also object online at the Renfrewshire.gov.uk website, Ref. 16/0806/PP. Please contact savetheviewpoint@gmail.com if you want more information now.

Just before we went to press we saw signs at the Deafhillock Roundabout that roadworks would be starting on Monday 20th February for 14 weeks. We have no more detail just now, but please follow our Gryffe Roadwatch on Facebook where we will post details when we get them. It might be worth re-thinking your journey during that period to avoid long queues.

Needing to mooooove

contact us The Gryffe Advertizer, 1st floor, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir PA11 3PN t: 01505 613340 e: info@advertizer.co.uk w: www.advertizer.co.uk 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 optical blog .......................9 dental blog.........................11 nutrition blog ......................13 what’s on........................14-20 business news.................22-28 financial blog.........................22 legal blog .......................27 it blog .......................22 on the road......................31 local history.....................28 village news....................32-41

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pet news.....................42-43 pet blog ............................42 outdoors........................44-47 school news.................48-53 photography blog..............50 sport news....................54-55 sporting blog.....................55 business classified..............56 church listings....................57 deadlines dates...................57 property classified.................56 sales & wants......................58 advertizer directory................59

I often think I’ve seen and heard pretty much everything, but last month I got a request on facebook to help find a field for a real “lucky cow” who was saved from the abbatoir! Local Lynn Jolly, creator of the UK’s only fully independent and inclusive networking site for vegans, saved “Prince the cow” and found him a safe place at an animal sanctuary in Ayrshire. Prince now has his own social media feeds which are proving a big hit with animal lovers from across the globe! However, Lynn is keen to get him closer to home and is currently fundraising to open central Scotland’s first ever fully vegan animal sanctuary.

Meantime, if you have a spare field and need your grass cut, please get in touch with her! Details on page 37.

Rethinking recycling

It’s only taken me 2 years, but I’ve just worked out you’re supposed to tie the blue cover to your black bottle recycling bucket. I’ve seen so many of these blue bags flying off in high winds, so glad I’ve now worked out how to keep mine. https://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/environment/recycling-and-waste-services/ kerbside-glass-recycling-collection-service

Next Issue: No.270 March 2017

Deadline: Friday 10 February 2017

Call or email in your news!

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Has Your Double Glazing Steamed Up? Established for over a decade Cloudy2Clear windows have become a leading company for glass replacement. Issues with double glazing can often be gradual and may only be noticed during a clear sunny day or during the winter. Why not spend a few minutes checking your home to see if you have any failed double glazing?

Now, you may think you need to replace the whole window including the frames and all the hardware, however Cloudy2Clear have come up with a simple and cost saving solution ‌ Just replace the glass!!

We will send out our highly experienced engineers for a free no obligation quote. Once the quote is completed, we will sit down with you and explain the problem and tell you how we can ďŹ x it.

Cloudy2Clear have a wealth of knowledge and are recognised as a Which Trusted Trader, plus our work is backed by an industry leading 25 year guarantee. Cloudy2Clear also replace faulty locks handles and hinges on all windows and doors.

Your friendly local Cloudy2Clear specialist is Peter Brummitt and he services 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.

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Consultation Deadline Looms for Children’s Ward Proposals NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is consulting on their proposal to move the paediatric Ward 15 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley to the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow. This move would mean that children requiring inpatient care, day surgery, and short stay medical assessment would be treated in the new Royal Hospital for Children instead of the RAH in Paisley.

The formal consultation on this proposal is currently taking place and will continue until Monday 6th February 2017.

To have your say on these proposals or for more information on the proposal itself, please visit the website: www.nhsggc.org.uk/get-in-touch-getinvolved/inform-engage-and-consult/ r ev i ew - o f - p a e d i a t r i c - i n p a t i e n t services-at-royal-alexandra-hospital This website has more information about what is being proposed and why, and how you can have your say on the proposal.

PUBLIC MEETING THURS 2 FEBRUARY 2016 Local group, Kids Need Our Ward, will be holding a public meeting on 2 February at 7.30pm at the Central Baptist Church, Lady Lane, Paisley, PA1 2LJ. The group are keen for anyone concerned to attend as the ďŹ nal date for objections is Monday 6 February.

The group can be contacted at kidsneedourward@yahoo.co.uk.

The engagement has built on earlier extensive engagement about the future of these services, including an option appraisal, which concluded that the preferred option was to transfer Ward 15 when the new Royal Hospital for Children opened on the new Queen Elizabeth University Hospitals Campus.

The Board considered the outcome of the pre consultation, and decided in October 2016 that they should proceed to formal public consultation on the proposed move of these services from Ward 15 in the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, to the new Royal Hospital for Children in Govan. Outpatient services, the specialist Community Paediatric service (PANDA), and emergency care for those who self-refer at the Royal Alexandra Hospital, would not change.

To submit a response to the consultation please contact Rachel Killick, Patient Experience Public Involvement Manager, by: T: 0300 123 9987 (Free phone) E: Public.Involvement@ggc.scot.nhs.uk Write: Patient Experience Public Involvement and Quality, 4th Floor, West Glasgow ACH, Dalnair Street, Glasgow, G3 8SJ

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Linwood Farm Pledges Support for Hospice Care Why not make your 2017 resolution to become a volunteer with us here at St Vincent’s Hospice?

The Barn Tea Room at St Vincent’s Hospice offers valuable space for our visitors and families, providing members of the public and patient visitors with refreshments, snacks and delicious home baking. The Tea Room is supported by our wonderful volunteer team, of which Julie is a part of.

We are looking for help in the Barn Tea Room, driving volunteers and support in our charity shops in Lochwinnoch and Bridge of Weir.

If you would like more information, please call Christine or Elaine on 01505 705635 or email volunteering@svh.co.uk – we’d love to hear from you.

‘Step Up for St Vincent’s’ Sponsored Walk Join us on Sunday 19th March at 11am, for our first ever sponsored walk at Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch.

Bring your friends and family and join fellow supporters on this leisurely 10k walk or our shorter family friendly 5k route which is suitable for all abilities.

The walk will start at 11am after a fun warmup and will be a great chance to catch up with friends, spend the day with the family or even just get out for a bit of exercise … all while supporting a great cause!

St Vincent’s Hospice is a charitable organisation at the heart of the community, offering specialist care and services to all those affected by life-limiting illness.

There is no minimum sponsorship for this event so we would encourage you to set a personal target and do your best to raise as much as you can to support the work of St Vincent’s Hospice.

Kind hearted staff at Linwood Farm Restaurant 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 this popular eatery 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 popular family restaurant will endeavour to raise as much as possible by organising family fun days, afternoon teas and staff will also be braving new heights in our zip slide challenge.

Linwood Farm General Manager, Pamela McLachlan “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 support this deserving charity”.

The partnership will run from Friday 16th December and customers can find out more in-store or from St Vincent’s Hospice facebook page.

Photo: Louise Strachan St Vincent’s Hospice, Paula McGee Linwood Farm, Jacqueline Steele Linwood Farm, Lauren Purdie Linwood Farm.

Connections for Life is looking for new board members!

To register please follow the link below to complete a registration form http:// bit.ly/2izZvuC or go to www.svh.co.uk

Roar is an award winning innovative social enterprise which is providing services to hundreds of older people across Renfrewshire. We run Otago classes, Befriending, “Come dine with me” cooking clubs, Film screenings, Craft sessions, Tablet classes, Men’s groups and lots more ... And we need new Board Members to help us develop and grow.

If you have skills in finance, retail or business and want to be part of this award winning charity we would be delighted to arrange an informal introduction to our work. For more information please visit our website www.roarforlife.org, email nicola@roarforlife.org or call us on 0141 889 7481.

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Marie Curie Daffodil Appeal Every March, thousands of people across the country join together and pull out all the stops to get behind the Great Daffodil Appeal.

Why not join us for just two hours to collect donations and give out daffodil pins? Every £20 pays for an hour of nursing care – giving peace of mind to people living with terminal illness and a chance for their family to rest.

You’ll see daffodils everywhere in March – from your local high street to national TV – and we want you to be part of it.

Sign up with a friend if you like at https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/ get-involved/daffodil-appeal and get involved!

Optical Blog

by Kerry Taher, New Vision Opticians

Driving in the Dark Struggling when driving in the dark is one of the more common problems experienced by drivers.

Glare and reflections from streetlights and car headlights, especially the ultra-bright xenon bulbs, can reduce your ability to see the road markings and this (as well as being dangerous) can result in quite a significant loss of confidence. The problem is that our eyes are designed to work in brighter conditions, so when it gets dark our pupils become larger to let more light into the eyes, making it easier for us to see. This works well until a light suddenly shines out of the darkness (e.g., oncoming headlights). The eyes are in “dark mode” and the enlarged pupils scatter the light, making it seem extra-bright and dazzling - this is what we call glare. Added to this, as we get older the lenses inside our eyes gradually become less clear, also scattering the light and making the glare worse. Dirt and scratches on your windscreen (or spectacles) exaggerate the glare even more. Good advice is to keep your windscreen clean. Ensure your spectacles are in good condition, up to date (sometimes a small change can make quite a difference in the dark) and clean. Anti-glare coatings on your glasses are recommended because they allow more light into the eye and minimise reflections. Finally, try not to look directly at the lights! The DVLA instructor checks your eyesight when you first sit your driving test and then never again! Even the self-certification renewal forms at age 70 don’t ask for a vision report. Cars are lethal weapons in the wrong hands, so we must all take responsibility every time we get behind the wheel. This obviously means meeting the minimum requirements, but also a genuine self-assessment as to how safe we are as drivers.

If you have any questions or want to book an eye-MOT, please contact us at the practice: 01505 614700.

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Beat the Freeze Renfrewshire Council has a web page with information on how to protect your home from the cold and minimise any damage during the winter months. Their Beat the Freeze advice leaflet can be downloaded from the link at the foot of the article.

If you would like more information about how to protect your home from winter weather, or to report a repair, including an emergency repair, please contact your Neighbourhood Housing Services noted below.

Neighbourhood Services Contacts: Johnstone - t: 0300 300 0222 e: johnstone.hps@renfrewshire.gov.uk Paisley -

t: 0300 300 0222 e: paisley.hps@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Renfrew -

t: 0300 300 0222 e: renfrew.hps@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Housing repairs - t: 0300 300 0300 e: repairs@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Renfrewshire Slimming World Consultants A group of Slimming World Consultants from Renfrewshire have got the magic touch when it comes to weight loss this New Year, according to TV presenter Stephen Mulhern.

The team, who run Slimming World groups in Renfrewshire, were delighted to get a chance to cuddle up to Stephen when he presented the annual Slimming World Awards. He co-hosted the event with the organisation’s founder and chair Margaret Miles-Bramwell OBE.

http://www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/media/1338/Beat-the-Freeze/pdf/Beat_the_ Freeze_2014.pdf You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this document. This is available as a free download from the Adobe website.

Projects in Argyll and Clyde

Would you know what to do in an Emergency?

Every week in Scotland, 70 people suffer cardiac arrest.

More than 3500 people per year in Scotland are treated by the Ambulance Service following a cardiac arrest.

Only one in 20 people will survive.

Without resuscitation, cardiac arrest is always fatal But, performing CPR could double that person’s chance of survival

Heartstart courses are free of charge and it only takes two hours to learn the skills which may someday save a life: Recovery position CPR and using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Heart Attack Choking Serious bleeding To learn the simple skills that save lives, contact Morag Thow on 07868 752814 to book onto one of our courses:

Tues January 17th 2017

7- 9 pm

Railway Inn

Howwood

7- 9 pm

Masonic Hall

Lochwinnoch

7- 9 pm

Railway Inn

Howwood

7- 9 pm

Masonic Hall

Lochwinnoch

Tues May 9 2017

7- 9 pm

Railway Inn

Howwood

Weds June 14th 2017

7- 9 pm

Masonic Hall

Lochwinnoch

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Weds February 15 2017 th

Tues March 14 2017 th

Weds April 12 2017 th

Slimming World Consultants meet TV presenter Stephen Mulhern: L-R Kirsty Horne, Louise O’Neill, Carolyn Brown, Stephanie Caira

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Dental Blog

by Sheila Macintyre, Practice Owner, Kilbarchan Dental Practice

Love Your Smile Love is always in the air on Valentine’s Day, so I thought it would be a good time to remind you to show how much you care about your teeth too!

The best way to love your smile is to brush your teeth properly twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and a good quality toothbrush. We always recommend electric toothbrushes, so if you haven’t got one (or have one that is a bit out of date) why not consider treating yourself to a wee gift – and remember brush heads and manual toothbrushes need replacing every 3 - 4 months!

The bacteria in your mouth works most efficiently while you sleep, so it is best to clean it all away before you go to bed. Overnight a film of plaque will develop so a good clean in the morning is key to having a healthy mouth and teeth for the rest of the day. Remember to leave an hour after meals or snacks before brushing your teeth as the enamel is soft for a while after eating. Also “spit don’t rinse” as rinsing washes away the protective fluoride left by brushing.

A tongue scraper is a great way to fight bad breath and make sure that there is no hiding place for germs and bacteria. Brushing your tongue with your toothbrush can also help, but a tongue scraper does a much better job.

Watching what you eat also shows that you care. Try and stay away from high sugar and acidic foods and drinks as well as those that stain your teeth. Fibrous raw veg (especially carrots and celery) and fruit (apples of course!) and plain popcorn are matches made in heaven as they act as natural toothbrushes. Avoid sugary drinks, sweets, dried fruit, coffee and red wine and try not to snack between meals – drink lots of water instead.

If you would like any more advice on how to care for, or improve the look of your teeth visit us at Kilbarchan Dental Practice, call 01505 704969 or click www.kilbarchandental.co.uk where you’ll find lots more free tips.

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Having recently relocated to Kilmacolm I’d like to introduce Craniosacral Therapy Wellcentred, offering a Remedial & holistic approach towards Sports Massage health and wellbeing through complementary therapies: Reflexology Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy supports the existing health and vitality within the body to encourage natural healing and self-repair, effectively treating pain and symptoms arising from physical and emotional injuries, stress or trauma.

Remedial and Sports Massage is proven for treatment of musculoskeletal conditions by restoring structural alignment and increasing range of movement.

Reflexology stimulates energy flow through pressure points on the feet, targeting areas of tension and pain, inducing relaxation and rebalancing the whole system.

For appointments please contact:

Nicki King 07958 566596 wellcentred@gmail.com @nickiking18 WellcentredUK

Local Home-Start celebrates 15 years of supporting families Home-Start in Renfrewshire enters it’s 16th year & Happy 1st Birthday to the Inverclyde section. Looking for a new challenge … we are a local charity that trains volunteers to work alongside parents in their own homes, to help them cope with the stresses and strains of life and make sure they have the skills, confidence and strength they need to nurture children.

Families are mostly referred by healthcare professionals for various reasons including isolation, addiction, domestic abuse, mental health issues, disability, illness and postnatal depression.

Feedback received from one of the families: “When you are so low, you don’t even know you are broken. I had a serious operation and if I didn’t have my volunteer then it would have been my breaking point.”

Whilst the benefits to the family are clear and well documented, we should not underestimate the benefits to the volunteers too.

“Volunteering with HomeStart Renfrewshire has given me the opportunity to help families who, for whatever reason, don’t have the support network that I was fortunate enough to have when my children were small.

Developing a relationship with a family, seeing them progress and knowing that I have played a part in that is incredibly rewarding” Home-Start Renfrewshire and Inverclyde is always looking for new volunteers and trustees. More information about how to become involved can be found at www.home-start-renfrewshire.org.uk, by telephone on 0141 889 5272 or 01475 603441 or email theteam@home-start-renfrewshire.org.uk

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e: info@advertizer.co.uk Are you ready to take on a challenge in 2017 for RAMH?

Push those comfort zone boundaries, achieve something you never expected you could, meet a great bunch of new people, all while supporting local mental health services.

Join us for the 2017 Canyoning Challenge on the River Tay! You’ll be jumping, swimming, and even abseiling through a beautiful gorge, and seeing sights you can only see from the river. It’s on Saturday 26th August and includes return transport from Paisley or Barrhead, half day’s canyoning, pub dinner to finish and home before sunset.

A fantastic, unique experience for only £15 registration fee + £75 sponsorship, all going directly to local mental health services. Book now! enquiries@ramh. org or 0141 847 8900.

Extraordinary mental health supporters have literally walked over hot coals to support local wellbeing charity RAMH. Almost 40 people have raised an astonishing £9,500 by completing a Firewalk over coals exceeding temperatures of over 800oC. The Firewalk took place at ProLife Fitness Centre in Paisley in partnership with Renfrewshire Sports Charity and Active Communities, and was hosted by Headstrong’s Brian Costello.

During the afternoon people heard about overcoming fear and channelling confidence into every part of their lives. In an incredible display of bravery, participants even snapped an arrow using their throats. And then as darkness fell, the walkers began their preparation for walking 15 feet over glowing coals, all in aid of local mental health services.

RAMH would like to thank all the inspirational walkers who demonstrated the utmost courage and commitment to supporting mental health by completing the firewalk. They have raised, including Gift Aid, an incredible £9,500 for RAMH services, supporting local people recovering from mental ill health.

For information about forthcoming events, or RAMH services, please visit ramh. org or call 0141 847 8900.

Cllr Iain McMillan officially opened RAMH’s new town centre premises RAMH Renfrewshire Community Service incorporates counselling, employability, financial literacy, and a range of therapeutic, social, educational and creative groups.

Community Service Team Manager Paul B Henderson said “being based in St James Street means RAMH services are even more visible and accessible to local people. It’s such a pleasant environment to welcome people into, plus we hope that having a town centre presence will help us overcome some of the misconceptions around.”

RAMH provides 250,000 hours of face to face support, helping over 4,000 people every year. Since 1990 the charity has provided professional care and services to those experiencing conditions such as depression, self harm, bipolar disorder and anxiety, as well as promoting community wide mental and physical wellbeing.

For more information visit www.ramh.org and to contact Renfrewshire Community Services call 0141 404 7788 or email enquiries@ramh.org.

If you wish to donate £2 per month to help RAMH maintain and develop services in 2017 please visit www.ramh.org/fundraising and use the link provided to set up a direct debit.

Photo shows Cllr McMillan opening the new Renfrewshire Day Service in St James Street, Paisley.

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Nutrition Blog

by Christy Hyslop, Lose it & Love it

Cutting Sugar Sugar has become a staple in most UK households over the last 20 - 30 years.

This has played a huge factor in the UK’s enormous rise in obesity. A diet containing large amounts of sugar has been linked with raised levels of insulin, which increases the risk of diabetes. Surplus sugar in our bodies is turned to fat and stored around our vital organs, placing us at a greater risk of liver and heart disease.

Eating a sugar free diet will allow you to lose weight more easily. Sugar is rapidly metabolised into blood sugar, which releases insulin, insulin promotes the storage of fat. Limiting sugar intake can improve our physical health as well as reduce the risk of diabetes. Being overweight greatly increases your risk of diabetes. A low sugar diet may significantly improve your mood, too much sugar can increase anxiety levels, cause poor concentration, cause irritability and emotional outbursts. Sugar is like a drug, the more you have the more you want but it works both ways the less sugars you consume the less you want it.

Simple changes in diet can help you eliminate sugar: ● Try introducing wholegrains and eating more lean meat and fish. Protein will help you feel fuller for longer. ● Regular meals will help stabilise your blood sugar levels, this will stop sugar slumps in the afternoon. ● Keep a food diary, being accountable to what you are consuming will help you to see exactly what you are eating. ● Reading labels will help you see foods with hidden sugars, some foods that are deemed healthy can be full of sugar and be very misleading.

Cutting sugar from your diet is the best thing you can do for your overall health and wellbeing.

Go on, give it a go!!

Winner of Bookbug Picture Book Prize 2017 revealed Author Nick Sharratt (pictured right) has been announced as the winner of the very first Bookbug Picture Book Prize for his picture book Shark in the Park on a Windy Day, published

by Picture Corgi.

Sharratt beat off stiff competition from the other two shortlisted authors, Ross Collins and Alison Murray, to win £3,000 and the coveted Bookbug Picture Book Prize Trophy, which this year has been produced by Scottish paper artist Emily Hogarth.

The prize, voted for exclusively by 19,000 Scottish children aged 3 - 7, was set up in 2016 to celebrate the most popular picture books by Scottish authors or illustrators, and is run by Scottish Book Trust with support from Creative Scotland. www.scottishbooktrust.com

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February

events

Until Sat 28 January Art in the Park

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

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Thu 2 February Outlook

Kidston Hall, High Street, Kilmacolm 2pm to 4pm An afternoon of personal poetry with Marlene, plus music at the piano with the highly talented David Leigh.

Fri 3 February Fundraising Scottish Country Dance

The annual exhibition by the Lochwinnoch Art Group, works to view and purchase. Call for further information: 01505 842882.

Sat 28 January Birds for Beginners

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

After this, we’ll head out onto the reserve to put these new skills into practise and then top it all off with a hot drink back at the centre. Please book, as places are limited. Cost: Adults: £5; Children: £3 (RSPB members: £3/£2).

Kilbarchan Guide Centre, Barn Green, Kilbarchan 7.30pm to 10.30pm

Music by Ian Muir for Gryffe High School’s project which aims to give pupils overseas experience in developing countries. Information, programme details, or tickets @ £8 available from Ann Harper 01505 613753 or Les Lambert 01505 704398 or any member of our club.

Kilbarchan Agricultural Show Whist Drive

Carrick Centre, Main Street, Houston 7.30pm

Price £3, includes refreshments. Contact Aileen on 07766 221369 for further information.

Everyone welcome.

Peter’s Railway Picnic

RSPB - Birding in the Three Towns

Join author Chris Vine in reliving the journey in one of his most loved stories, Peter’s Railway, The Picnic. You will get to build and operate your own model railway. A light snack will be provided. Ages 4 - 9. To reserve a free place please email Victoria Finnigan: vfinnigan@st-columbas.org Creative Communities is a charitable outreach programme of St Columba’s School, Kilmacolm.

McMaster Centre, Donaldson Drive, Renfrew 7.30 pm

Kilmacolm Community Centre, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm 1pm to 3pm

Sun 29 January Come and Sing Haydn’s Creation

The next meeting will be an illustrated talk by Tom Byars. All welcome.

Sat 4 February BB & LEAP Bike Swap

Paisley Abbey, Abbey Close, Paisley 6.30pm

Directed by George McPhee, with Orchestra.

Performance: 6.30pm – Tickets £5. All singer applications are welcomed but places will be allocated on a first come basis to enable the conductor to achieve as balanced a choir as possible. No formal dress code. Call 0141 848 1392 or email proutley@talktalk.net for further information.

Healing Service

Kilbarchan Parish Church Hall, Steeple Street 12noon to 2pm

Swap unused or outgrown bikes for another, or donate, so someone else can start cycling this spring.

Sun 5 February Night Kirk

Kilmacolm Old Kirk, High Street, Kilmacolm 6pm Freeland Church, Main Street, Bridge of Weir 7pm

Those suffering from illness, sadness, worry and/ or depression can appreciate the opportunity for supportive prayer. After the service, for those wishing more confidential support, provision will be made for written requests for a home visit.

Alternatively just phone our minister Rev Kenneth Gray (01505 690918), who will be delighted to arrange a visit.

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A reflective service.

Lochwinnoch Cultural Heritage and Art Event Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 1pm to 3pm

Join the Lochwinnoch Art’s Festival crew for an event at Castle Semple to celebrate the village history. For further information call 01505 842882.

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Mon 6 February

Wed 15 February

Stargazing Evening

Kilmacolm Horticultural Society Winter Lecture

Muirshiel Visitor Centre, Calder Glen Road near Lochwinnoch 7pm to 9pm

Join us for an evening of galactic exploration at Renfrewshire’s darkest sky. Special deal £2.50 drink & cake! Call 01505 842882 for further information or to book.

Thu 9 February Sòlas Bereavement Group

Kidston Hall, High Street, Kilmacolm 6.30pm to 8.30pm Sòlas Bereavement Group.

Thu 9 - Sat 11 Feb Hunting For The Road To Rio

Port Glasgow Town Hall, Scarlow Street, Port Glasgow - Curtains at 7.30pm

Presented by West Renfrewshire Young Farmers.

Thursday - £6 adults, £5 children, FREE OAP; Friday & Saturday - £7 adult, £7 child, £7 OAP; Friday night family ticket - 2 adults and 2 children for only £20! To book your tickets contact Roderick Danabie on 07749 928033.

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Kilmacolm Community Centre, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm 7.30pm

We are privileged to welcome Mrs Sue Thornley, owner of the Glenarn Estate at Rhu. ‘Re-inventing the Rock Garden at Glenarn’. Over the years Sue and Mike have transformed the gardens, filled with original species of rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias etc. Telling the story of the Rock Garden will be Sue’s final lecture to the public, as she celebrates her 70th birthday this month. Refreshments at end of the lecture, everyone welcome.

Thu 16 February Outlook

Kidston Hall, High Street, Kilmacolm 2pm to 4pm Travels through Ethiopia, seen through the award winning camera of Janice. 7.30pm Kirk Session in the Session House.

Fri 17 February Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow Agricultural Society Whist Drive

Burns Supper

Kidston Hall, High Street, Kilmacolm 6.45pm Tickets £15 per person, bring your own drinks.

Advertizer March Issue Deadline

Kilmacolm Community Centre, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm 7.30pm Includes a light supper £3.

The Advertizer, Neva Pl, Bridge of Weir If you would like anything published in our March issue, please email info@advertizer.co.uk or call 01505 613340.

Sat 18 February Swan Chat

Coffee Morning

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 1pm to 2pm drop in

Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm 10 - 11.30am

Swans are fascinating when they’re not stealing your chips and pinching bread! Come and find out why. Call 01505 842882 for further information.

Come for a chat and a free 45 minute talk every Scot over 50 should attend. Call Kingsley Wood & Co for further details on 01505 874114.

A Sketch, A Sandwich & A Swally

Fri 10 - Wed 15 Feb Explorer Challenge: Adventure!

RSPB, Largs Road, Lochwinnoch 10am to 4pm drop in

You do this event with your own family in your own time!! (Allow approx. 1hr) Visit different stations along our main trail to go on an adventure! Cost: £3 per child (RSPB members £1) [Normal trail fees apply] Tel: 01505 842 663.

Sat 11 February Valentine’s Bistro Night

Bernie’s Cafe Deli, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir 6pm to 11pm

3 courses £19.95, 2 courses £15.95. Free glass of Prosecco on arrival. Call 01505 614333 to book.

Sun 12 February Woodland Crafts - Valentine Willow Work

The Cut Visitor Centre, Cornalees Bridge, Greenock 1pm to 3pm

Love is in the air - use willow to create your very own heart wreaths. Call 01475 521458 to book.

Kilbarchan Gateway Garden Dropin Session

Kilbarchan Performing Arts Centre, 8 Steeple Square, Kilbarchan 1pm

The Carrick Players invite you to a performance of ‘Waste Management’ by Nancy McPherson.

Tickets £10 includes a drink and a sandwich and a drink - available from Bobbins or search Carrick Players on Facebook.

Kilbarchan Parish Church Messy Church Kilbarchan Parish Church Hall, Steeple Street 4pm to 6pm Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Build a Bird a Home

RSPB, Largs Road, Lochwinnoch 11am to 4pm Help us celebrate National Nest Box Week and give birds a home this Spring! Build and decorate your very own nest box to help provide a pair of love birds with a home in time for the breeding season. Who knows, if you put it up in your garden, you may even see some baby birds in a few months time ... Cost: £10 (RSPB members £6) per box made. Tel: 01505 842 663.

Sun 19 February

Cartside Terrace, Kilbarchan 1pm - 3pm

Bird Ringing

Meet volunteers and find out how you can get involved in the community garden. Bring the family and help with dead heading, weeding or make a bird feeder, plant bulbs or create your very own vegetable patch. Please note all children must be accompanied and there are no toilet facilities.

Get up close with blue tits, chaffinches, great tits and occasionally woodpeckers, as they are given their identifying ‘bling’! Call 01505 842882 for further information.

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Muirshiel Visitor Centre, Calder Glen Road near Lochwinnoch PA12 4LB 10am to 3.30pm drop in

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Sun 19 February

Sat 25 February

The Clydebank Citadel Band

Swishing Event/Ladies Night

St Machar’s Church, Kilbarchan Road, Bridge of Weir 3pm

Bring along your new or nearly new items you no longer wear and exchange them for something new-to-you! Make the most of what you’ve got hanging in your wardrobe, drawers or in boxes.

You can sample beauty treatments, a raffle, bar and refreshments. Tickets available by e-mailing brookfieldvpa@gmail.com Come along and join in the fun! In conjunction with LEAP Bridge of Weir. £5.

Music for all tastes. Tickets available at church or from Morven 612286. £5 Incl. Refreshments.

Tue 21 February Strathgryffe Medical Practice Carers Meeting

Cargill Hall, Lintwhite Crescent, Bridge of Weir 10am

All carers who are patients at the practice are invited to this meeting - come along and meet other carers who may have similar experiences to your own. A member of the team from Renfrewshire Carers Centre will be there, as well as a speaker who will discuss power of attorney.

Please contact Anne Findlay, practice manager, on 01505 613240, for further information and to advise if you wish to attend.

Wed 22 February Tartan Walk

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 11am (2 hours)

Brookfield Village Hall, Woodside Road, Brookfield 7.30pm

Sun 26 February Wetland Guided Walk

RSPB, Largs Road, Lochwinnoch 12noon to 2pm Whether you have a general interest in wildlife, or would like to hone your bird watching skills, then this is the walk for you! At the end, come back to the centre for a warm drink and a biccie!

Stout footwear and clothing suitable for the Scottish outdoors are strongly recommended.

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

Wed 1 March

The Cross, Lochwinnoch 10.30am

Cargill Hall 7 - 9pm

This event will not take place on public holidays.

Tea, biscuits & a raffle each meeting along with entertainment. Contact Sheila Patterson for further information on 01505 690521.

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.

Crèche facilities available along with access to free counselling services if required.

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

Knitters of all levels welcome!

Skinny Minnies 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

Sat 25 - Sun 26 Feb

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

RSPB, Largs Road, Lochwinnoch 7.30pm to 9pm

This course teaches you to drive a powerboat safely in any environment. Call 01505 842882 for further information and to book. £150.

As a frequent traveller to the continent, Joe has much experience of Africa’s wildlife, from Ethiopia and Kenya in the east to South Africa and Namibia in the south. Along with tales of his exciting travels, he will also showcase some of his fantastic photographs of Africa’s varied and spectacular wildlife. Please pay when booking as places are limited (refunds available if cancelled over 48hrs before). Cost: Adults: £5; Children: £3 (RSPB members: £3/£2). Tel: 01505 842 663.

Sat 25 February

Thu 2 March

Lochwinnoch Explorers: Madagascar!

St Columba’s Creative Communities Event

RSPB, Largs Road, Lochwinnoch 10am to 12noon

2nd & 4th Wednesday BoW Senior Citizens Club

Paisley Abbey 10.30am - 12noon

Don some tartan and gather for a walk and a traditional singsong!. Call 01505 842882 for further information.

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 9.30am to 4pm both days

every Monday Lochwinnoch Community Walk

Postnatal Support Group

Evening Talk: The African Experience by Joe Knapman

RYA Powerboat Level 2 Course

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

Conservation Volunteers, adult group. Newcomers always welcome.

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 Sòlas Bereavement Support Group The group meets in the Kidston Hall. 6.30pm 8.30pm. Everyone welcome.

3rd Friday monthly 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.

Houston Litter Crew

last Friday monthly

Co-op car park 10am – 11.45am

TheTerrace

All volunteers welcome and all equipment supplied.

St Machar’s Ranfurly Church Hall

Homemade soups, sandwiches, tea/coffee, biscuits. £4. Good food and company.

Thu 2 March

last Saturday monthly

An Evening of Acoustic Music and Blues

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

This is a free event. Call 01505 328802 for details. regular updates @GryffeAds

Calling all children! Come along and learn about nature, but most importantly, get dirty and have fun doing it! We’ll be learning all about Madagascar – need we say more?! Please wear suitable clothing for being outdoors. 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). Tel: 01505 842 663.

St Columba’s School, Duchal Road, Kilmacolm 7.30pm to 8.30pm

Glasgow: Mapping the City Venue: The Library, The Girdwood Building, St Columba’s School, Gryffe Road, Kilmacolm (please use Gryffe Road entrance). Cost: Free. Join author John Moore as he takes us on a unique and fascinating tour of Glasgow from its pre-industrial beginnings to the modern day via its old maps. He will also talk about the maps of old Renfrewshire. Email vfinnigan@st-columbas.org to reserve a place.

Kilbarchan Old Library, 9 High Barholm, Kilbarchan, Johnstone 7.30 pm

Port Glasgow singer/songwriter John Morgan and local acoustic band Tin Biscuit perform a selection of acoustic & blues. To book phone the Old Library on 01505 706070 or Robert Wilson, Tin Biscuit Band - 07415 119754. £5.

Sat 4 March MND Coffee Morning

1st SAT Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm 10am - 2pm

1st & 3rd SUN Loch Lomond Shores

10am - 3pm Tel: 07977 179 861

2nd THU & last SAT Paisley Cross

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10am - 2pm Tel: 01655 770217

Kilmacolm Community Centre, Lochwinnoch Road, Kilmacolm 10am to 12noon

2nd SUN

Please come to our coffee morning to raise funds for MND (Motor Neurone Disease). Ticket £3.

11am - 4pm www.kipmarina.co.uk

Kip Marina, Inverkip

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The History Mystery

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Tickets: £5 + bkg fee*

All aboard the magical time-travelling garden shed, with their friends Morag the Rabbit and Wee Shug from next door, as they whizz through time to solve the puzzle.

Paisley Arts Centre Tickets: £3 + bkg fee* (nur) £5 + bkg fee* (pub) 10.30am and 1.30pm (nurseries only) and Saturday 25th February 11am Suitable for ages 2-4

Two friends look after the birds and make sure the eggs stay safe. We watch, we help. The world is bright, ordered and white. But high up in the trees, all is not white. Colour appears.

Dinner & Dance Every Saturday night from 8pm - 11pm at Willow Bank Hotel, 96 Greenock Road, Largs. Booking essential.

Call 01475 675435 for further information.

YOUR TICKET TO LOCAL EVENTS

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Please Support Our Event

Art Exhibition In Aid of St. Vincent's Hospice Monday 16th January for 2 weeks The Bridge — Bridge of Weir Affordable Art for All Tastes Raising Funds In Aid Of Helping to provide vital patient care, totally free, for all those living with cancer and other life limiting illnesses in your local area

St Vincent's Hospice Ltd is a company limited by guarantee. Scottish charity number SC006888. Company number 150148.

Registered address: Midton Road, Howwood , PA9 1AF.

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15th - 26th

March **************************

Pre Festival Events 2017

Sunday 5th February Mapping Lochwinnoch Castle Semple Visitor Centre 1pm to 3pm - Free entry Sponsor Renfrewshire Council Events and Heritage Fund

Culture,

Glasgow University’s map historian John Moore and geographer, writer and TV presenter Vanessa Collingridge will present the social history of the Lochwinnoch area through maps and help you make one of your own. (This relates to the theme of the Betty McKellar Poetry Competition 2017)

Sunday 19th February Crafts from the Past McKillop Hall 1pm to 3pm - Free entry Sponsor Renfrewshire Council Events and Heritage Fund

Culture,

This hands-on afternoon will reflect on the trades, crafts and many industries that were part of Lochwinnoch’s heritage including; Weaving, ‘Museums in a box’, Making a cask/barrel, Furniture making, Rail transport and a Film and picture show.

(This is related to the theme of the Betty McKellar poetry competition 2017).

Wednesday 1st till Friday 10th March Willie Owens and Corseford School Art Exhibition Library hours - Free entry.

Sunday 5th March Betty McKellar Family Poetry Workshop Spirit of Lochwinnoch Lochbarr Leisure Centre 1pm to 3pm - Free entry Sponsor Renfrewshire Council

This year’s theme is a chance to reflect on our rich industrial and cultural heritage.

The competition is for families, with two age groups - 5 to 7 and 8 to 11.

************************** Come and Try No previous experience required - go on come and have a go!!

Sunday 12th March Lindy Hopping, Dancing with the family, Drawing and Poetry Saturday 18th March Mono printing and Crafts Sunday 19th March Great Lochwinnoch Pottery Throwdown and Felting Sunday 26th March Penny Whistle Exhibitions in Lochwinnoch Library open Library hours.

Wednesday 1st March till Friday 10th March Willie Owens and Corseford School Art Wednesday 15th March till 25th March Art Exhibition Wednesday 29th March till 22nd April Photography Pub Nights - free music by local musicians Brown Bull - Friday 17th March Corner Bar - Saturday 18th March Corner Bar - Sunday 19th March Three Churches - Friday 24th March

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Saturday 11th March A Buddy A Good Laugh Comedy Night (a collaboration with Paisley Arts Centre)

This is a first for the festival.

McKillop Hall 7.30pm £10/£8 https://boxoffice. renfrewshire.gov.uk/ (and in Lochwinnoch outlets) (Bar) Sponsor Renfrewshire Council

MC: Jamie Dalgleish Opening Act: Neil Dougan is one of the strongest established acts on the Irish comedy circuit today.

A finalist of Channel 4’s So You Think You’re Funny at The Edinburgh Festival.

Second Act: Martin James Walmsley, writer and comedian from Glasgow.

Third Act: David Callan Headline Act: Chris Forbes Star of BBC Scotland’s hit comedy ‘Scot Squad’ and award winning stand up comedian. Chris Forbes has gigged all over the world and supported Kevin Bridges on tour.

Sunday 12th March Four Come and Try Events!

1 Lindy Hopping Come and practice lindy hopping (Practice to dance with the Rose Room on Friday 17th) 10am to 12noon Lochbarr Leisure Centre £3.

This is a favourite event and the third visit.

2 Dancing with the family with JOIMOVE 1pm to 1.40pm Lochbarr Leisure Centre £3 (per person).

JOIMOVE is an award winning family class that helps mothers, fathers, grandparents and children socialise by dancing together. No dance or fitness experience required. www. joimove.com 3 Drawing Get back to your art! We all can draw!

Tutor Christine Brown. 2pm to 4pm Parish Church £3.

4 Poetry There is poetry in all of us!! Tutor George Walker. 2pm to 4pm Parish Church £3.

************************** Tickets available from The Junction Café Now and Then www.lochwinnochartsfestival.co.uk ************************** Workshops Sunday 19th March Singing, Fiddle and Accordion Sunday 26th March Mixed instruments and Bodran

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All 5 Workshops and 9 Come and Try events should be booked in advance via the website or by telephone - 07868 752814

************************** Music and Food Thursday 23rd March Jamming at the Junction

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Wednesday 15th March Arts Festival Art Exhibition Official Opening by Rev Archie Ford 7pm Library (invite only) Wednesday 15th till 25th March Art Exhibition Library hours - Free entry Thursday 16th March Tannahill International Poetry Competition Music by Witches Brew 7.30pm McKillop £5.50/£3 Friday 17th March Rose Room and Factory Street Quartet (Jazz) 7.30pm McKillop £10/£8 Bar

Tuesday 21st March Drop in Tea Bar Witches’ Brew - All welcome McKillop Hall 11am - Free Glasgow Theatre Guild 7.30pm Parish Church £5.50 /£3 Wednesday 22nd March Songs and Music

Festival Starts

Performance of ‘Pilgrims Progress’ 7.30pm Calder Church Donation to charity Clamjamfrie in Brown Bull 9pm - Free Saturday 18th March Author Event With Sir Kenneth Calman Chaired by Prof Rowena Murray 10.30am McKillop Hall £5.50/£3 Craft Fair McKillop Hall 1pm to 4pm. Free entry. Free teas and coffees Come and Try Trace mono printing 1pm to 3pm McKillop £3 Crafts 1pm to 3pm McKillop £3 Susie Lamonts Pupil Concert 4pm to 6pm Parish Church Donation to charity Karine Polwart and Fara McKillop Hall 7.30pm £10 Sean Middleton Hosts Fiddle and Accordion session 8pm Corner Bar - Free Sunday 19th March Come and Try The Great Lochwinnoch Pottery Throwdown 10am to 4pm McKillop £3 Singing Workshop Karine Polwart 10.30am to 11.30am McKillop £5 Felting 10am to 12noon McKillop £3 Fiddle Workshop Alastair McCulloch 12noon to 2pm McKillop £5 Accordion Workshop Iain Muir 12noon to 2pm McKillop Hall £5 Classical Celtic 7.30pm Parish Church £5.50 /£3 Billy Hamson Bluegrass Session 8pm Corner Bar - Free Monday 20th March Author Event Lochwinnoch writers and Louise Turner Chaired by Prof Rowena Murray 7.30pm McKillop Hall £5.50/ £3

From Scottish Islands Alastair McCulloch, Fara and Witches Brew

7.30pm Parish Church £5.50/£3 Thursday 23rd March Calder Drama Society Production 7.30pm McKillop Hall £6 / £4 Jamming at The Junction Claude Bourbon 7.30pm - £20.95 for 2 courses, £24.95 for 3 courses, BYOB Friday 24th March Calder Drama Society Production 7.30pm McKillop Hall £6 / £4 “Rewired” Visual Artist Dominic Snyder and Contact Improviser Nina Ravnholdt Enemark 7.30pm Masonic Hall £5.50 / £3 Willie Gamble and Friends Three Churches Inn 9pm - Free Saturday 25th March Author Event With Tony Roper Chaired by Prof Rowena Murray 10.30am McKillop Hall £5.50/£3 Krafty Kids LEAP

1pm to 4pm McKillop £2 McKillop 1pm to 4pm

Craft Fair McKillop 1pm to 4pm - Free entry and teas and coffees The Caledonian Strathspey and Reel Orchestra and Govan Gaelic Choir 7.30pm McKillop £5.50/£3 Sunday 26th March Come and Try Penny Whistle 10am to 12noon McKillop £3 Mixed Instrument Workshop Nigel Gatherer 1pm to 3pm McKillop £5 Bodran Workshop Chris Wait 1pm to 3pm McKillop £5 Festival Finale Concert Betty McKellar Family Poetry Competition results and Lochwinnoch Choral Society, Fran Shoppler, ‘Folk it’, and ‘Heritage Soundz’ 7.30pm Parish Church £6/£4 29th March till 22nd April Photography Exhibition Official opening Wed 29th March 7pm (invite only) Library hours - Free

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arts centre

the The End Of Things

Infused with joy, pain and breathtaking beauty, this is a journey to the heart of letting go.

Thursday 2nd February - 7.30 pm From £8 to £10

Black Beauty

From the cosy horsebox they call home, Andy and Andy take the bit firmly between their teeth and tell the classic tale of Black Beauty as you’ve never seen it before.

Saturday 4th February - 2.30pm From £10 to £12

Circus of Horrors This spectacular show features an amazing amalgamation of bizarre, brave and beautiful acts all woven into an Alice in Horrorland type story driven by a mainly original soundscape and performed with a forked tongue firmly in each cheek!

Wednesday 8th February - 7.30pm £20

Glasgow Girls A potent political drama about children of asylum-seekers uses uplifting songs, music, dance and humour to tell the Glasgow Girls’ tale.

Saturday 11th February - 7.30pm From £18 to £20

Swan Lake Ballet West tell the story of the love of a young man for the cursed Odette, who is destined to spend her life as a swan, unless true love can release her from the spell of the evil Von Rothbart.

Sunday 12th February - 7.30pm From £14 to £17.50

A Night of Broadway This 2-hour cabaret performance features all the favourite musical theatre songs from Les Miserables, Grease, Wicked and much more.

Friday 17th February - 7.30pm £15

Polar Bears Go Up! They’ve lost their balloon and they need to get it back. It’s time to get up, step up, climb up, jump up. One thing’s for sure, the only way is up! These two lovable Polar Bears are intrepid explorers, famous for their wild expeditions.

West Renfrewshire Young Farmers present: Hunting For The Road To Rio Thursday 9th - Saturday 11th February at Port Glasgow Town Hall - 7pm for curtains up at 7.30pm. TICKETS NOW ON SALE - Thursday - £6 adults, £5 children, FREE OAP; Friday & Saturday - £7 adult, £7 child, £7 OAP; FRIDAY NIGHT FAMILY TICKET - 2 adults and 2 children for only £20!

Saturday 18th February - 2pm £5

Menopause: The Musical Packed full of one-liners about night sweats, hot flushes and memory loss and backed by an instantly recognisable soundtrack of innuendo laden versions of 60s, 70s and 80s pop classics.

Saturday 18th February - 5pm & 8pm £23

Siobhan Miller Twice winner of the prestigious Scots ‘Singer of the Year’ title at the Scots Trad Music Awards, Siobhan Miller has carved out a reputation as ‘one of the finest voices on the Scottish folk scene’ Saturday 25th February - 7.30pm From £10 to £12

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To book your tickets contact Roderick Danabie on 07749 928033.

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Quarriers Ladies Lunch

Kilmacolm Dramatic Society

Sunday 23rd April, 12noon - 4.30pm The Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow - £40pp If you are a lady who lunches, then we’d love you to join us for a sparkling Champagne Reception in the Grand Central Hotel’s stunning Grand Ballroom.

Great food, shopping, goody bags, special guest speaker and live music from The Jerseytones. It really is an event not to be missed.

You can purchase tickets at https://quarriers.org.uk/get-involved/ladies-lunch2017-payment/ or for more information please contact events@quarriers.org.uk or call 01505 616054.

We are thrilled to announce our Spring Production 2017 will be ‘QUARTET’ by Ronald Harwood.

This play is about three ageing opera singers Cissy, Reginald and Wilfred who often worked together during their active careers, but are now in a retirement home for musicians. Their peace is soon to be shattered by the arrival of Jean. Jean was a huge star in her time and was once unhappily married to Reginald. Is there any chance that the four will ever sing together again? Do they even want to? Can they do it?

This is a lovely play, warm, witty, very funny and not without some “tough” moments as it looks at the ageing process in general. It was made into a film starring Pauline Collins, Billy Connolly, Maggie Smith and Tom Courtenay which you may be familiar with and we are sure you will all enjoy the KDS production starring John Gilchrist, Jean Simpson, John Watson, Claire McClatchie and directed by Alison Holliman.

‘Quartet’ will be performed on 27th, 28th & 29th April in the Kidston Hall, Kilmacolm. Please put the dates in your diary.

Growing Old is Compulsory, but Growing Up is Optional. Perhaps this might give us an insight as to what really goes in those lounges in our local Retirement Homes!

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IT Blog

with Colin Fyfe of Colcom

It is the time of year that I look at my email and see what I can unsubscribe from. We all know that every online purchase these days comes with a recurring charge – junk mail, but it is no less annoying when we are left to pick through our inbox for the emails that matter. I know Gmail has a handy ‘promotions’ filter but even so, unwanted junk is a nuisance.

On the back of the massive Yahoo! Security leak that was revealed recently I have gone a step further than my usual new year routine.

Usually, I will pick an email from last year and diligently follow through with the ‘Unsubscribe’ instructions but now I am actively closing my accounts with suppliers and services that I no longer use, furthermore I am stopping my usual action of opting to ‘create account’ whenever I buy something from a new online supplier. I am doing this to prevent my details getting leaked at some point in the future.

Corporate level Internet hacking has gotten to the point in the last few years that I question the safety of any password I create – no matter how convoluted and awkward to type that password may be. All our efforts to make our passwords super secure have been completely undermined by the security of the companies telling us to ‘create a secure account password’, prompting us to insert an upper-case letter and a number or whatever else.

Financial Blog

by Carl Melvin, Affluent Financial Planning Ltd

Final salary pensions – should you transfer?

The recent collapse of BHS and the implications for its pension scheme members has focussed attention on final salary pension schemes. The introduction of Pension Freedoms and low interest rates have created an opportunity to consider whether a transfer from a final salary pension scheme may be a good financial decision. While retaining final salary benefits is likely to be suitable for the majority of people, an increasing number are looking to transfer to a personal pension plan. Now could be a great time to consider your transfer options.

It is the companies we deal with online that have become the target for hackers. From these sources, they can harvest our user data in quantities that people will pay big money for. 1 billion Yahoo accounts were hacked three years ago, they told us about it a couple of months ago, in that time there is every chance there has been a politician, movie star or sports star or two exploited on the back of the leak. More importantly, as the hacked content goes through the mill, once the cream has been skimmed off the top, ultimately, we will all be het for more bloody spam!

5. More tax-free cash - A transfer may offer a bigger tax free lump sum.

6. Retire early – A transfer can allow you to retire early from age 55, rather than wait until the scheme retirement age.

This type of advice is complex and you should take advice from an authorised specialist, before making a decision on whether to transfer your final salary pension benefits (Carl Melvin is an authorised Pension Transfer Specialist) This information is not financial advice. If you require advice you should consult a professional adviser. The first meeting is normally free and there is no obligation.

Call us for a FREE financial review on 01505 59 50 60 or info@affluentfp. co.uk. Alternatively, pop into the Affluent office opposite Amaretto restaurant on Main Street, Bridge of Weir. www.affluentfp.co.uk

The following issues are relevant; 1. Financial Advice is essential – if your benefits are valued at more than £30,000 you must obtain advice from an authorised Pension Transfer Specialist (PTS) as the issues are complex.

2. Transfer Values are Huge – currently the transfer values offered are big and now could be a great time to capitalise on this, as values may decline if interest rates rise.

3. Improved death benefits – compared to scheme pension, the death benefits from a transfer can be much better. This is especially appealing if you are unmarried or in poor health. Your family can inherit all your pension fund.

4. Control your income – You can choose how much income you take from a transfer pension to prevent you from paying more income tax than is necessary.

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Paisley Colour Photographic Club The Borbasket Trophy 2016/17 Last month at the McMaster Centre in Renfrew, Paisley Colour Photographic Club held its annual competition for the Borbasket Memorial Trophy.

In this competition entry consists of three digital images judged as a set with the first image in each set either a table top, a portrait or a still life photograph.

Judging the competition were last year’s winner of the trophy, Ken McArthur and the winner of last season’s Henderson Trophy, Richard Bennett.

The judges in turn gave a very clear and considered critique of each of the eighty one images entered. They pointed out what they enjoyed about each image and also gave ideas as to how improvements could be made to some images.

This year the award for the top set of images by a non-advanced member was made to Leonard Esacowitz for his set including “Misty Vinius at Dawn”.

Kilmacolm Camera Club Our last night before the Christmas break was another internal league competition, the topic being “Bridges.”

The judge on this occasion was Duncan MacDonald.

In true, preChristmas Camera Club tradition, the images looked even better, when accompanied with wine and mince pies!

In the Print class, John Watson was first, with “The 19th and 20th Century,” Bill Ham came second, with “Bell’s Bridge” ( s h o w n above) and Bill and Janice Stevenson were third equal, with

The top still life image was “Japanese Style” by Norma McDowall.

For the Borbasket Trophy, Ken and Richard awarded fourth place to Jim Black for his set which included the image they judged to be the best overall image in the competition “Southern White Admiral”.

“Forth Rail Bridge” and “Packhorse Bridge,” respectively.

In the Digital class, Janice came first, with “Rannoch Woods Bridge,” (shown above) David Addison was second, with “Falls of Bruar” (shown right) and Bill Ham came third, with “Bridge at Dumbarton.”

Our first evening of 2017 was a slide show by David Walker.

This was a series of photo slides (none of your new-fangled digital gizmos!) of “Glasgow’s Hidden Treasures,” showing images of Glasgow’s wonderful architecture.

He admitted that some of the slides were over 25 years old, but his audience were fairly sure that some of his jokes were at least twice that age!

Please come along and see what our Syllabus has to offer.

Venue: Kilmacolm New Community Centre, Room 1.01; Tuesday evening, time 7.30. Contacts: Billy Blair, Tel: 873383; Janice Stevenson, Tel 873595.

Website: clikpic.com/kilcamclub/

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In joint second place were Alison Smart and Mike Cruise. Alison’s set of images included “Morning Light, Plockton”, “Evening Sail on the Clyde” and the image judged to be the best portrait in the competition “Tobacco Farmer”. Mike’s set included “Old Gypsy Lady”, “Hitting the Bend” and “Morning Mist”.

This year the Borbasket Trophy was awarded to Charles Hamilton for his set of three street portraits “July, Glasgow Cross”, “Romanian Accordion Lady” and “Colour Me Happy”.

For further details about PCPC and updated members galleries please view: www.paisleycolour.co.uk

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Diaporama

Langbank Camera Club January’s print competition, “Rain”, proved to be a bit of a challenge for members this month. First place was awarded to James Goodall for his image, “Bird Bath”, capturing a single rain drop in a moment of time. John Davis was awarded second place with his festive image “Christmas Day Window Rain Drops”. Third place was also awarded to James Goodall for his “Duck Pond” image, on a day that was most suitable for the birds.

This month’s educational topic featured a lecture on High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography given by Derrick McPherson. We were taken through the various techniques and tools available to achieve the desired effects of this process. Photo HDR can create images that cannot be captured with a single image taken on most modern camera sensors. The final images can look very cool or very unnatural depending on the photographer’s fancy. Do a search on-line and you will see many examples of both.

The Projected Digital Image evenings continue to showcase members’ images on the big screen.

The informal nature of these meetings enables members to discuss their selected images and share hints and tips, as well as to discuss what’s new in photography.

The main February meeting will be held as usual on the second Monday of the month, 13th February at 7.30pm. At this meeting we will be featuring a slide show by Phil O’Brien of her travels in Ethiopia. The print competition topic for February is “Shadows”.

The next PDI meeting will be held on Monday 27th February at 7.30pm, where the theme of the evening is “Lines”.

Club meetings are held in Langbank Church Halls, Langbank.

Visitors are always very welcome at any of our evenings.

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

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January’s meeting was to be hosted by the ‘Three Yorkshire Amigos’ Colin, Adrian and Sue but, unfortunately, Colin was not well. To make sure it would be a full evening Adrian and Sue looked back at their collection of shows and took us on a journey from the first ones they made, through early digital into the latest one finished at the end of 2016.

They started with an image of their logo where the background subtly changes colour. This ran during the introductions etc. - much better to look at than a busy desktop. We visited Ben Laws for ‘Flowers of the Mountain’ - this was one of the first AV shows made and used slides which had to be scanned and a new sound track made from a tape recording.

It was followed by a sequence about rain called ‘April Showers’ that was made by a small AV group from Gryffe Camera Club.

We went down to England for ‘Bressingham Gardens’ which was made in 2009 and was one of the early digital shows. It is a garden attached to a nursery in Suffolk and gives ideas of how to plan/plant up a garden. As Yorkshire came into the title we went ‘Up North’ to Huddersfield. All the images were taken looking up at the beautiful carvings and engravings on the buildings. We had our tea/coffee break at this point but we had lots of different sweeties to eat - Liquorice from Pontefract, Yorkshire mixture and Liquorice all sorts. After the break we had a sequence about the ‘Kibble Palace’ in Glasgow Botanical Gardens after its refurbishment with all its beautiful colours and shapes. We travelled to Greenland for the next show ‘Greenland’s National Dress’. This is a show in the making and it looked at all the beautiful embroidery and beading that goes into the costumes (each design being unique to each family).

It also included some personal pieces of embroidery made by the family Sue visited. The evening finished with a visit to ‘Bois des Moutiers’ in Normandy, France. It started with the Viking invasion of Normandy, made the connection between Normandy and England. This was then reinforced by the building of the house by Lutyens and gardens by Jekyll. We looked at the ethos behind the designs and ended with its position in todays world.

It is one of the top gardens to be visited in France.

Next month we meet on Monday 13th February, 7.30pm at the Carrick Centre, Houston for ‘Bill’s Night’. Visitors are always welcome.

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Legal Blog

by Isabella McKerrow, Affinity Family Law

Powers of Attorneys and The Role of The Public Guardian Having a Power of Attorney “POA” in place lets you plan what you want another person to do for you in the future should you become incapable of making decisions about your own affairs. I have previously explained the benefits of having a “POA” in place, no matter what age you are, and the different types of POA’s that are available.

The Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 gives the Public Guardian “OPG” the following duties and responsibilities relating to Powers of Attorney:

• Certain powers to investigate concerns and take steps to safeguard financial matters of the adult where it appears they are at risk.

the POA is registered straight away. Some people may take the view not to register straight away as they may never need to use it, thereby saving £74. Before the OPG will register the POA, they carefully scrutinise it to ensure it complies with the criteria of the 2000 Act. If they reject it and the adult has already lost capacity it may not thereafter be possible to correct the error. Consequently the POA is ineffective and resort will have to be made to the lengthy and expensive process of applying to the court for a Guardianship Order.

For a POA to become effective it must be registered with the OPG. The fee for registration is currently £74. If you are in receipt of certain benefits you may qualify for a fee exemption. Most solicitors will recommend that

For more information on the role of the Public Guardian and about Powers of Attorneys visit the website: www.publicguardian-scotland.gov. uk- Telephone: 01324 678300.

• To register POA’s that meet the registration criteria.

• To maintain a public register of continuing and welfare POA’s.

• To provide advice and guidance to continuing attorneys on the exercise of their powers.

LEAP LEAP - MAKING IT Happen – FREE PRACTICAL HELP FOR Households LEAP has launched ‘Making It Happen’ – a programme of free practical assistance for those struggling with fuel bills and comfort at home this winter. Supported through Renfrewshire Council’s Tackling Poverty Programme, the service aims to reach a minimum of 80 fuel poor and vulnerable persons, who are struggling with fuel bills, health conditions, or living in cold, damp, or draughty homes, across urban and rural Renfrewshire by 31st March 2017. LEAP’s Energy team will carry out practical actions to help to improve warmth and save money in the long term.

The types of FREE practical energy efficiency actions LEAP can provide may include fitting draught strips, letterbox / keyhole seals, chimney balloons, minor repairs (structural draught proofing), pipe lagging, tank jackets, window seals, secondary glazing, loft insulation including coombed ceilings or tricky areas, loft hatches, and introducing the use of low energy/ LED light bulbs, power down plugs, energy monitors and radiator panels to reduce the energy used for heating and lighting in the home.

COFFEE MORNING SIX MUST DO’s FOR THE OVER 50’s

Friday 10th February 10am-11.30am The Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm Come for a chat and a free 45 minute talk every Scot over 50 should attend

• • •

Wills Power of Attorney Advance Directive

Please call Kingsley Wood and Company, Solicitors on 01505 874114 to book a place or for further information.

If you think you or someone you know could benefit from this programme, please contact LEAP in confidence by email to energy@myleapproject.org, via our website http://www.myleapproject.org/contact-leap-staff-team/ or call 01505 612 034. We will consider and assess everyone who contacts us and if anyone is ineligible for this programme we may be able to provide other help, advice or referrals. We anticipate being oversubscribed, so don’t delay, get in touch.

Free Lampshade Making and Recovering Workshops Left over fabric you don’t know what to do with? Lampshades in need of sprucing up? Come to our free workshop and learn how to make custom lampshades from left over materials. LEAP will be holding workshops in Lochwinnoch in February. If you are interested, get in touch by emailing susie@myleapproject.org to find out more and to let us know whether and afternoon or evening workshop would suit you best.

LEAP Energy help Local Charities Save Money on Gas and Electricity Bills Recently we managed to help local charities to make substantial savings on their electricity bills, which amount to hundreds of pounds per year less than what they would have paid if they had used the commercial broker they used until now. You could help us save more local charities, organisations and businesses money on their gas and electricity bills while also helping tackle poverty in Renfrewshire as our surplus income goes back into local projects…

Please help us share the work we are doing and make a bigger impact in Renfrewshire: Facebook @leap.energy Twitter @energy_leap Or Call: 0300 20 10 213

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Orchard Flooring Stylish, Durable: A Floor for Life When choosing a new floor for your home, there are a few things to take into consideration.

For a lot of our clients, having a floor that isn’t going to be ruined by mucky feet, paw prints or spills is a top priority. For this reason, light cream carpets can be problematic for many busy households.

Karndean and Amtico flooring are perfect for any room or situation in the home. They are both waterproof, slip resistant and warm underfoot, as well as being a beautiful and luxurious floor to be proud of.

Both are easy to clean and without the porous qualities of wood and some stone. They bring the ageless beauty of natural flooring to your home without the hassle.

Be it a rustic wood effect in the living room or a sleek and modern stone effect in the kitchen, Orchard Flooring can provide expert advice to find the perfect floor for a room.

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 websitewww.orchard-flooring.com

LOCAL

history

Johnstone History Society Our February meeting will be held Tuesday 14th in the Masonic Hall Collier Street at 7.30 pm. Our speaker this month will be our own secretary Valerie Reilly and appropriately her talk will be “For This Was Seynt Volantynys Day - Valentine Traditions” this should be a very interesting evening. Visitors and new members will always be made welcome. We had an excellent attendance at our first meeting of 2017 and everyone enjoyed Sheina’s informative and entertaining talk on “Six Cord Thread”.

The Museum has reopened after our festive break and continues to open on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10.30am till 4pm. We still have a few Calendars available which are now £3.50 with an envelope £4 . Our usual books and publications are also on sale.

Kilbarchan - 4th February 1917 George Anderson was born in Kilbarchan in 1884. The 1901 census records that he lived with his father, George 56, a self-employed dairyman, Mary aged 29, Julia 20, an assistant draper: George was then 17 and an apprentice bank clerk with the Clydesdale Bank in Kilbarchan. The family home was at 16 New Street.

In 1911 he was a lodger at 42 Priory Road, Bedford Park, Chiswick. On the 2nd October 1912 he married Margaret Knott at the Parish Church in Barnes: they set up home at Boileau Road, Ealing. He was a month short of his 32nd birthday when he volunteered for the Royal Field Artillery on 10th December 1915. In December 1916 he was recommended for officer training but he was soon after transferred to the infantry, the 1st Battalion Border Regiment, 87th Brigade, 29th Division. His record with the battalion lasts from 7th January 1917 to 4th February 1917, when he died of gun shot wounds to the back and left arm.

George had moved to the National Bank of India in Bishopgate, London in 1903 and had eventually become a manager. He left a widow and one son.

He is buried at Grove Town Cemetery, Meaulte, near Albert, Somme.

Black Cart Mills 6: Kilbarchan Burn Continuing our journey down the Black Cart Opposite the site of Johnstone Old Cotton Mill, is an arch in the high stone retaining wall supporting the former railway (now the cycle path). This marks the entry of the Kilbarchan Burn into the Cart.

The burn rises in bogland on Marshall Moor.

Above the village, it passes through Glentyan Estate, where it has been dammed to create a large pond and high level lade, passing over ornamental cascades. This pond was party to store water to drive Glentyan Mill. However it also seems to have been diverted south of Bank Brae to the bleachfields in the centre of the village (see below). Glentyan Mill was a traditional grain mill of which ruins survive.

Although famed for its weaving industry, Kilbarchan is one of the only Renfrewshire villages not to have a big cotton mill. The nearest cotton mill to the village was at Cartside. A relatively late proposal to erect a large steam powered cotton mill nearer the village in 1825 never emerged.

However Kilbarchan did make innovative use of its water resources. Just downstream from Glentyan Mill was a water powered thread mill in a converted house built over the burn by James Alexander in 1756. The previous year Alexander had invented a machine ‘to go by water for twining thread’ and received a grant of twenty pounds from The Board of Trustees for Manufacture. Alexander’s house is shown on Roy’s map of 1755, situated west of the kirkyard directly on the Kilbarchan Burn. This linen thread mill can lay claim to being the first water-powered thread mill in Scotland.

In the heart of the village in the 1780s were at least six bleachfields which bleached the fine textiles which had been hand woven in the village. These bleachfields were located in the Bog Park, although only scant evidence remains today.

Downstream of the village there is a tradition of another mill in the Victorian period. Beyond this, the lower parts of the burn pass through Milliken Estate, where the burn was straightened and passed over cascades supplying ponds, before entering the Black Cart at Johnstone.

2017, Stuart Nisbet, Renfrewshire Local History Forum ©RLHF next archaeology lecture will be held in the Shawl Gallery in Paisley Museum on 9th February, 2017, when Colin Sparrow will speak on Excavation of a Viking Trading site in Gottland. Visitors are welcome at all our lecture meetings.

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Support for Small Business Small Business Bonus Scheme exempts 100,000 properties from business rates this year.

More than half of all commercial properties will pay no business rates in 2017-18, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay has announced.

As a result of the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS) an estimated 100,000 small business premises in Scotland will pay no business rates in 2017-18. The SBBS has already saved small businesses over £1.2 billion since the scheme was introduced in 2008.

In the Draft Budget Mr Mackay announced that the SBBS will be expanded, raising the eligibility threshold for 100% relief to a rateable value of £15,000 – lifting 100,000 properties out of rates altogether, and generating a saving of up to £6,990 per property.

Visiting Mad Hatter’s Coffee House in Paisley, which will now qualify for 100% relief through the SBBS, Mr Mackay said: “I was pleased to set out a range of further measures in the Draft Budget to confirm a highly competitive business rates regime for Scotland in 2017-18, including expanding the Small Business Bonus Scheme.

“Scotland’s small businesses are fundamental drivers in securing sustainable economic growth, which is why we are doing everything we can to support them. Scotland already offers the most competitive reliefs package for small businesses in the UK, and we intend to keep our promise that Scotland will be the best place to do business anywhere in the UK.”

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Support for Innovation Projects Three pilot projects in Scotland will receive a total of £1 million to drive forward new approaches to innovation.

Toshiba Medical Visualisations Systems, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the NHS Innovation Partnership Board, will receive £400,000 to develop a health and wellbeing pilot that will focus on the rapid prototyping and adoption of solutions to inflammatory bowel disease.

CivTech, a digital accelerator which aims to harness innovation in Scotland’s small business and start up technology sector to create new and/or more efficient public services, will receive £200,000. £400,000 will be used to support work with Codebase on the development of a digital pilot in Edinburgh that will focus on scaling up digital entrepreneurs.

Minister for Business, Innovation and Energy Paul Wheelhouse said: “We want to support business innovation and to help companies thrive. The £1 million will make a real difference, such as the use of the public sector to catalyse innovation in projects such as CivTech, the world’s first cross public sector technology accelerator.”

Mr Wheelhouse announced the funding alongside a new Innovation Action Plan for Scotland, aimed at boosting Scotland’s innovation performance to match the levels of the best performing countries in the OECD. Early priorities will be to directly encourage more business innovation, use public sector needs and spend to catalyse innovation, to support innovation across different sectors, and to make best use of university research knowledge and talent to drive growth and equip Scotland’s people with the tools and skills needed to innovate.

He added: “We want to create a culture in Scotland that supports ambitious businesses to use innovation to grow. Our long term ambition is to be in the top quartile of nations in the OECD for innovation active businesses."

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Rotary Club of Gryffe Valley A TIME FOR NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS AND NEW PLANS The new year started promptly with our weekly meeting on 4th January which was a “business” meeting devoted to planning events and activities for the next six months, the second half of the 2016/17 Rotary year.

The immediate priorities were to finalise the annual Burns Supper being held on 14th January at the River Inn. This is an important fund-raiser as well as a great social occasion and this year the funds raised from the raffle will be used to support our evenings out for Young Carers at The Experience at Hillington, 23rd to 31st of January. Approaching 100 deserving young people will get the chance to enjoy go-karts, laser shooting, slot racing and a good meal. Next in the calendar is our Valentine’s Dinner and then a celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Rotary Foundation, the movement’s own charity.

In addition we have speakers ranging from Gillian Craig on “My year in Cambodia”, Ahmad Mourhad with “Tales of a Syrian Weegie” to Rev Donald Campbell, the recently retired minister of Houston and Killellan Kirk.

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION – 1 If you are aiming to get fitter, lose weight or get out more why not include the Gryffe Valley 10K Run in your plans. A little later this year, the event will be on Sunday 7th May. It is suitable for serious runners and for novices and joggers. The funds raised will go to the DEBRA charity which supports children and young people with the skin disease Epidermolysis Bullosa.

The club were motivated to give to this charity by a speaker from DEBRA last summer who demonstrated the important work of the charity including essential research being carried out in Scottish universities into the causes and possible cures. You can enter as an individual or form a team with your friends, school, club or company and seek sponsorship in aid of DEBRA or your own charity. There is more information about DEBRA on the charity’s website www.debra.org.uk .

NEW YEAR RESOLUTION – 2 If, like some of our recent recruits to membership, you are recently retired or are coming up to retirement why not include Rotary in your plans? We need people who have recent business or professional experience, who want to “give something back to the community” and who will enjoy dinner/speaker meetings with Rotary colleagues and friends. Our membership comes from

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the whole Gryffe Valley and adjacent villages, including Lochwinnoch and Kilbarchan. Meetings are weekly on Wednesday night at the River Inn with a meal at 7.30pm. There is no obligation to attend every week, though many of the members enjoy doing so. If you are interested please speak to a member or get in touch via the contact facility on the website www.gryffevalley-rotary. org.uk/ where you can also find out more about our activities and future speakers.

SPEAKER The speaker at the meeting on 11th January was Mark Robertson of Kibble School. In September, last year, he led an expedition of staff and school students to Chilingola in Malawi to construct two classrooms to extend a greatly overcrowded school. Working with local people they overcame many issues on the project and, in addition, renovated three existing classrooms.

The school has classes of 90-100 very poor children, and minimal facilities and resources. The roll has grown partly through the Mary’s Meals project which encourages attendance. President Peter Dickie gave a vote-of-thanks and recognised the importance of the project. As an aside Mark told us that Kibble has an ongoing project to collect bicycles from the Recycling Centres around Renfrewshire, renovate them and ship them to Africa. He encouraged the club to continue our support for Mary’s Meals, Bagpacks for Africa, etc., having seen the value of such projects first hand whilst in Africa.

THANK YOU Many thanks to the residents of Houston (Locher, Gryffebank, Cunningham Gardens and Crawford Rd) and Brookfield who contributed very generously to our Santa’s Sleigh collections in December, in aid of the Young Carers project. Thanks also to Santa and other club members for their time and the Bridge of Weir Gala Committee.

ANNUAL BURNS SUPPER The 2017 Gryffe Valley Rotary celebration of Robert Burns was held on Saturday 14th January at the River Inn with 185 guests present, despite the weather forecasts.

There was a welcome drink and a traditional meal, including haggis, neeps and tatties, excellently served, after the haggis had been piped in by club member Ron Aitchison and addressed in fine style by Past President Ian Jackson.

The headline speech at a Burns Supper is the Immortal Memory and this year the audience was treated to a superb debut performance by Geoff Urie, Headmaster of the Hermitage School at Helensburgh and a lifelong supporter of St Mirren. We had a surprise intervention by Holy Willie (aka Jim Ferguson). Another Past President, Alan Bowie, Proposed the Toast to the Lassies in his very amusing way and Jean Irvine replied on behalf of the fairer sex, matching Alan’s humorous jibes in fine style. All three speakers had impressive CVs, but none mentioned their prowess at Burns Suppers. They should! Between speeches Alan Macdougall and Amy Lewis entertained the company with their music.

The Interval raffle raised an impressive sum towards the cost of the Young Carers project. President Peter Dickie chaired the event in his inimitable and efficient style and Past President Angus Mathieson thanked - in rhyme - the speakers, entertainers, the River Inn, his organising committee and all present for their generosity.

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Pothole Alert!

Progress in A737 improvements

With the frost comes the potholes and we’ve been sent a few photos by readers of the worst offenders in a couple of the villages.

Councillors have been lobbying the Scottish Government to make funds available to improve the A737, particularly dualling the route between Kilbarchan and Dalry, as well as the creation of an additional slip road lane at the Johnstone exit and a new slip road at the Howwood exit.

Jennifer Cowan sent in photos of the potholes at the Co-op car park in Houston, right on the roundabout, so very difficult to avoid. She has reported these to the Council.

And many thanks to Nova Mercan who sent us images of pot holes at the entrance to Bridge of Weir Primary School. Pretty rough I think you’ll agree watch out there!

To report a pothole, please call 0300 300 0300 or visit the website to report online at www.renfrewshire. gov.uk/article/3134/Road-and-street-lighting

The A737 is one of the busiest stretches of road in Scotland and has also suffered from many accidents, including fatalities, in its 25 year history.

• Bridge of Weir Primary School

• Houston car park

Renfrewshire Council Leader Mark Macmillan said: “The A737 is a key route for west Renfrewshire and it is time the Scottish Government finally stepped-up to deliver these much-needed improvements. People using this road face heavy congestion so extending the dual carriageway would make a real difference by reducing journey times. This and the other upgrades we have called for would strengthen links between communities in Renfrewshire and Ayrshire, making travelling much easier for residents and supporting the local economy by giving businesses better access to their customers.”

He added: “Renfrewshire Council’s commitment to delivering major infrastructure projects is clear, but we need the Scottish Government to play its part. Under the City Deal we have taken forward infrastructure projects that better connect Renfrewshire with the rest of the Glasgow City Region, but as the A737 primarily links to Ayrshire it falls to the Scottish Government to deliver theses upgrades. It is high-time they followed our lead and delivered the transport improvements the people of Renfrewshire deserve.”

Transport Minister, Humza Yousaf said: “The Scottish Government is working hard to improve the trunk road network in North Ayrshire and also right across the country. This road improvement scheme at Beith, underlines our commitment to communities in North Ayrshire and the surrounding areas.”

Parking in Kilmacolm Kilmacolm shop keepers have been campaigning to abolish the regulations demanding the display of parking discs in the village. Now following a heated meeting of the Council’s environment and regeneration committee, Inverclyde Council has announced that a formal report will now be drawn up for councillors to be asked to approve a full public consultation on the matter.

Councillor David Wilson told The Advertizer, “Parking tickets have increased by 1200% since their introduction. This is not acceptable.”

He added, “With the support of Councillors McCabe and McLeod who sit on the committee a decision was made to commence the process of disbanding parking discs. The traders petition organised by James Kelly of Bin 13 was great ammunition.”

“At the same time, we are currently progressing the nearby Dalry Bypass scheme with works expected to begin by the end of March 2017.

“When completed, the A737 Improvements at Beith scheme will provide new junctions at Beith to help improve the road system around the town, will also improve traffic flow and bring additional road safety benefits.”

A public exhibition was held in Beith Community Centre in November to let local residents and road users view and comment on the plans for the route. The exhibition material is available to view at: www.transport.gov.scot/project/a737-improvements-beith

Roadworks at Brookfield Roadworks are planned to start on 20th February 2017, possibly for a period of 14 weeks, to accommodate services and infrastructure associated with housing development, “Weirs Wynd”, at Deafhillock roundabout at Brookfield. We don’t have any further details at this time but will keep you posted as and when we know anything further.

It is proposed that the two-hour time limit would remain but drivers would no longer need to display a disc. This rule is already in place in some other areas of Inverclyde including the car park in Princes Street, Port Glasgow.

Traders in the village have reported that there has been a significant impact on footfall since the disc system was brought in.

Illuminating? Maybe not....

Throughout Inverclyde and Renfrewshire, street lighting is being converted over to new LED lighting and not everyone is impressed.

Councillor James MacLaren reports in his article that so far he has received a mixed response and sheds some light (forgive the pun) on the thinking behind the changeover.

The need for change has been brought about by the introduction of legislation which will make it impossible for council’s to maintain the old orange lighting. The LED technology claims to reduce energy consumption, reducing bills by around 60%, and helping councils achieve their carbon reduction targets.

However, for the person on the street there has been a marked difference in the spread of light from the new bulbs. While the light is very bright, it is a very direct beam to the ground, where the old orange bulbs gave off a more subtle but broader beam.

It is claimed that the new white light improves nighttime visibility, and with a longer life of more than 20 years, there should be fewer incidences of dark streets when the lights go out.

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LEAP Car Club Join LEAP Car Club Now and receive £25 worth of free driving.

LEAP Car Club offers convenient, 24/7, not-forprofit community car hire and can help you cut the costs of driving. Cars can be hired for as little as an hour or for as long as you want. The Car Club has helped members by allowing them to sell additional cars or to not have to buy one.

What our members say: - “Reliable cars there when I need them.”

- “For someone who does not own a car it is very useful to have access to a car at any time for short periods.”

- “It is so easy to book online. Great value for money too.”

To find out more contact Car Club Coordinator Mike Callaghan T: 01505 842530 E: mike@myleapproject.org

Roadworks are due to start on Barochan Road at Deafhillock roundabout on Monday 20th February for 14 weeks.

Please check @gryfferoadwatch updates

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Call 01475 717171 Report online at https://www.inverclyde.gov.uk/ environment/roads-lighting/rep ort-a-fault

SEE A POTHOLE REPORT IT!

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

Call 0300 3000 300 Online fault report at https://selfservice.renfrewshir e.gov.uk/Ef3/General.jsp?for m=SS_RoadAndLightFault&p age=pg_locatestreet You can also write to: Community Resources Renfrewshire House Cotton Street Paisley, PA1 1BR

for

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THE CLYDEBANK CITADEL BAND St Machar’s Ranfurly Church on Sunday 19th February at 3pm Tickets £5 including refreshments Music for all tastes Tickets available at church or from Morven 612286

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

Strathgryffe Medical Practice Carers Meeting Tuesday 21st February, 10am - Cargill Hall, Bridge of Weir All carers who are patients at the practice are invited to a meeting on Tuesday 21st February at 10am at Cargill Hall, Bridge of Weir. Come along and meet other carers who may have similar experiences to your own. A member of the team from Renfrewshire Carers Centre will be there, as well as a speaker who will discuss power of attorney. Please contact Anne Findlay, practice manager, on 01505 613240, for further information and to advise if you wish to attend. bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

Thursday 16th February The Village Centre, Middlepenny Road Glickman’s Sweets Competitions will be:  Lemon Drizzle Cake  Knitted Baby Jacket (pattern provided)  Bon Bon dish

Bridge of Weir Lace Group meets fortnightly on Tuesday mornings (10am - 12noon) during the winter months. If you’d like to try lacemaking we can provide materials & tuition.

For further details phone (01505) 613967.

Langbank SWI

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

Bridge of Weir Festival Committee – Santa Sleigh Update The Santa Sleigh 2016 proved to be highly popular with 1,592 kids over 15 nights coming out to meet Santa and receive sweets from him, as it followed its normal routes around Bridge of Weir, Brookfield, Houston, Kilmacolm and Quarriers. £6,931.63 was collected in donations with half going to the local organisations who helped out on the Santa Sleigh nights, with the remainder going towards the cost of vehicle hire, fuel, sweets, etc.

The Festival Committee would like to thank all the local organisations who took part over the various nights, Houston United Football Club, Hope Hall, Houston Explorers, Rotary Club of Gryffe Valley, 2nd Houston Guides, Kilmacolm Guides, Riverview Quarriers, B.o.W. Tenants and Residents Association, 1st B.o.W. Guides, Brighter Bridge of Weir and B.o.W. Scouts for their help and support.

Santa also made two collections at the Co-op Bridge of Weir which made £195.01 for their chosen charity Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Scotland.

The Festival Committee would like to say a big thank you to all the volunteer Santas, Drivers and Collectors, and Linda the Elf, who had all the kids hyper! 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. Special thanks to the ‘Lego Man’ in Brierie Hill for his generous donation and to the kind gentleman who came to Brenda Lethorn’s rescue in the Co-op Houston on the night of the 3rd December. The Santa Sleigh had run out of sweets and the gentleman in question donated £20 so that Brenda could buy sweets to fulfil that night’s run.

FOOTNOTES: The Festival Committee are currently finalising details for this year’s Blackpool Trip which will be from Friday 20th October to Monday 23rd October at Tiffany’s Hotel.

The Festival Committee AGM will be held in the Cargill Hall on Tuesday 14th February at 7.30pm. bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

A BIG Thank You to Our Nameless Rescuers!

On Saturday 14th January we managed to end up in a ditch near Lawmarnock Farm and Firehouse Road at the back of Bridge of Weir around late afternoon.

Sheet ice didn’t help my pretty poor reversing! I would like to thank the brave Father and Son rescuers and also the Lady rescuer who came to our aid. Alas after much huffing and puffing we were well and truly stuck. Then along came the Knight in Shining Tractor and managed to get us out of the ditch and back on the road. A big well deserved thank you is due to our nameless rescuers!

Graeme & Jenny Curtis, Houston

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Bridge of Weir Lace Group

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

Bridge of Weir Tenants and Residents Association The first meeting of 2017 was well attended and our thanks go to Councillors Maria Brown and James MacLaren, Police Sergeant Frank Williams, Community Wardens Aideen Dempsey and Alan Robb, and Housing Officer Joanne Devan for their attendance.

The Police report for the last month showed a total of five crimes committed around the village over the past month, these ranged from theft to vandalism.

The Community Wardens have been busy once again around the village dealing with dog fouling and fly tipping issues. The recycling bins at Livery walk car park are still being used incorrectly, these bins are not for building materials or household goods. The wardens recently recovered boxed toys from one of the bins that they handed into the charity shop. There have also been a number of complaints regarding dog fouling at the shops at Livery Walk and the wardens will be monitoring this area closely.

There were a number of issues discussed with Councillors Brown and MacLaren and they will be looking into these issues raised. Amongst those issues raised was the lack of street cleaning in the village, especially along the Main Street opposite Windsor Place where the drains are covered over with leaves. Another issue was the new LED street lighting being installed in the village by Renfrewshire Council. The council are projecting that the installation of this type of lighting will cut their lighting bill by about 60%, however the lack of coverage, with dark areas between light posts and the poor strength of the lighting are causing a concern in residential areas in particular.

The next meeting of Bridge of Weir TARA will be held in the Pirie Centre, Freeland Church on Tuesday 21st February at 7.30pm. All are welcome, so why not come along and air any views you have regarding the village. bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

RagBag Recycle Bin Langbank There is a RagBag Recycle bin sited in the school car park of Langbank Primary School for any of your unwanted textiles (no duvets or pillows). Any money raised from this will go to Langbank Playgroup. If anyone has any items and is unable to get to the recycle bin please call Jacqueline on 01475 540728.

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Spring is awakening. Get ahead - renew your stocks of stationery and prepare for all the birthdays and celebrations expected in 2017.

Appeals have been lodged by the developers against the refusal by Renfrewshire Council for planning permission at Kilmacolm Road for the erection of a residential development (in principle) on land lying to the North East of Strathgryffe Crescent, Bridge of Weir and for the erection of a residential development (in principle) at Whitelint Gate, Johnstone Road, Bridge of Weir. Both these applications were subject to a large number of objections from the Community Council and Village residents. The appeals will be considered by the Scottish Government’s Planning and Environmental Appeals Division.

The Bridge, 63 Main Street, Bridge of Weir POST OFFICE STAFF - Best Wishes to Pat who has left us. Welcome to Margaret our new Post Office assistant.

POST OFFICE – all types of Insurance, Savings products and Mortgages are available through the Post Office. Please ask Donald, Anne or Margaret for an information leaflet. Our unique identification code is provided on all leaflets. Use of this code allows The Bridge to earn income on all completed transactions.

STATIONERY–we stock a comprehensive range of stationery items. We are delighted customers are using The Bridge as a “one stop shop” bringing items for posting, purchasing the necessary packaging, wrapping on site and posting all in one go.

COMMUNITY CENTRE - please remember The Bridge is a central point in the village where you can meet others or enjoy a chat with our volunteers. It is a bright, warm, welcoming place where hopefully you will feel at home. We look forward to catching up soon.

(Opening Hours: Mon – 9am to 5pm (PO closed 12 noon to 12.30pm); Tues & Fri – 1pm to 5pm; Wed & Thu – 10am to 2pm; Sat – 9am to 1pm) bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

Exercise Class The Wednesday afternoon exercise class held in Freeland Church Hall at 1.30pm consists of a mixture of dance/exercise routines and some of these can be done by the less mobile while sitting on a chair. It is a pay on the day system so feel free to come along and give it a try - the regulars enjoy it tremendously. If you require any further information, please contact either Janet Birch on 613506 or Irene Macfarlane on 614443. bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

As I write this note we are going through a wee cold snap with ice and snow. I hope none of you come a cropper because of it. I have helped push a car out of the ditch today on the narrow road up to Muirshiel Country Park. One of my favourite walking haunts.

The villages are seeing a change to the street lighting and it is not meeting everyone’s approval. Renfrewshire Council is looking to convert all of our conventional street lighting lanterns to LED lanterns. Legislation will be introduced this year that will make the maintenance of the old style orange lighting untenable.

LED technology will reduce energy bills by around 60% and make a substantial contribution towards the Council’s carbon reduction targets.

The new White lighting enables colours to be identified and many people find this improves visibility at night. A further benefit is that LEDs have a very long life, potentially in excess of 20 years and this will reduce incidences of dark lamps.

Bridge of Weir Community Council

Our request to have the 30mph speed limit extended at St. Mary’s Church, Johnstone Road has been rejected by Renfrewshire Council and in a letter received from their Community Resources Development Manager he states, ‘this road is an A Class rural road which like all the others in Renfrewshire and Scotland, is governed by the national speed limit of 60 mph. To deviate from this national approach of assigning speed limits to rural roads there must be sufficient justification in the form of the number of recorded injury accidents on the road in the last three years. In this case there have been no recorded injury accidents on the road in this period, and therefore there is no justification for changing the speed limit. However, drivers are of course expected to drive safely to the prevailing road conditions whatever the speed limit’. The Community Council is of the opinion that introducing an extended limit will prevent accidents occurring and will continue to pursue this matter.

The Community Council were extremely disappointed that Renfrewshire Council could not keep the Festive Lights on at Livery Walk during the Festive period.

Numerous hours have been spent on obtaining funding for new features and providing the switch on celebration. We will speak to Renfrewshire Council officials to have this issue rectified for the 2017 festive season or find other options for the display.

Over the festive period the recycle bin area at Livery Walk was often in a disgraceful condition with bins overflowing and rubbish dumped in the surrounding area and even thrown over the fence. The Community Council will once again raise bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir the matter with Council Officials.

The next meeting of the Community Council will be on Tuesday 7th February at 7pm in the Cargill Hall.

Keep up to date with developments by following us on facebook: www.facebook. com/Bridge-of-Weir-community-council1611282405760032 or on our website: www.bridgeofweir.org

Bridge of Weir SWI

The next meeting of the SWI will take the form of a beauty evening with “About You” from Paisley.

We will meet at 7.15pm for 7.30pm on Thursday 2nd February in the British Legion. Visitors as well as members will be made very welcome.

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

BoW Senior Citizens Club We meet at Cargill Hall every 2nd and 4th Wednesday 7 - 9pm. Subscriptions are only £6 per year and £1 each week pays for your tea and biscuits. Entertainment provided. Previous entertainers include a male voice choir & live music. Contact Sheila Patterson for further information on 01505 690521.

bishopton, langbank & bridge of weir

GREETING CARDS – we are continually replenishing our stock to cover life’s events. For those with milestone birthdays the range of cards covers from ages 1 to 10 and 18 to 100. A small stock of Valentine cards are on sale – send your love in 2017!

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The new lighting units produce less lighting “backwash” than conventional units and, in consequence, although there is less light spill from the street onto gardens and the frontages of houses, missing lamps or faulty lamps are far more obvious. The lighting scheme is designed for the relevant road class (residential, distributor road, etc.). It is then a case of selecting a lantern type and wattage that gives the required lighting level for the particular class of road. Therefore, there is no set wattage for lanterns as road class, geometry and existing column positions will have an effect on the design and ultimately the lantern choice.

Accordingly every street in Renfrewshire has been designed individually and we have a number of lantern types and wattages throughout our road network.

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.

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Fundraising for Macmillan Nurses Local artist Phyllis Mulligan (Bridge of Weir) raffled her painting ‘Cottages by the Sea’ and raised £675 (locally) in aid of Macmillan nurses. The lucky winner, pictured here is Elaine Dickie (pictured), who won the prize while on holiday from London. Not only was she delighted with the painting but the colours were perfect for her home design.

kilmacolm & quarriers

kilmacolm & quarriers

St Columba Church

kilmacolm & quarriers

Kilmacolm Old Kirk Dates for your diary Thursday 9th February Sòlas Bereavement Group meets in the Kidston Hall from 6.30pm – 8.30pm.

Our Annual Burns Supper will be held on Friday 10th February in the Kidston Hall at 6.45pm for 7pm. Tickets £15 per person and bring your own drinks.

Following Morning Worship on Sunday 18th December 2016, seventy-two members and friends of the congregation gathered in the large hall for a PreChristmas Fellowship Lunch. Mrs Agnes McGarva and members of her family were largely responsible for organising and hosting this event. They provided the main course of turkey, ham and all the trimmings, while other members provided a variety of soups and desserts. Tea, coffee and confectioneries concluded a splendid meal. The whole event was rounded off with some carol singing.

Jim Holmes, our Session Clerk, together with three young people, produced some Christmas-related artwork to adorn the main wall of the hall. (Jim would like to develop a Bible-inspired art group in St Columba: if this idea appeals to you please get in touch.)

Our Sunday morning Service, conducted

by Rev Bill Armstrong, is from 11.00am to noon. The atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. You will find the service has a variety of ingredients, from the traditional to the unexpected, from the light-hearted to the serious and challenging, but with our focus consistently on Worship. So if you are new to the village and looking for a place to worship, please come along to St Columba Church.

Don’t forget our regular Outlook group which reaches out to the whole community in fellowship. The format is the same for most weeks – invited speakers offering topics of interest, community issues for discussion, shared activities, music films etc. Afternoon tea gives us all the chance to enjoy time with friends and to make new friends too. The team provide a wonderful variety of home baking. A voluntary donation is collected, to be sent to the OUTLOOK monthly nominated charity. The spring programme is: Thursday 2nd February – An afternoon of personal poetry with Marlene, plus music at the piano with highly talented David Leigh.

Thursday 16th February – Travels through Ethiopia, seen through the award winning camera of Janice.

Thursday 2nd March – Keep fit with David, plus popular songs at the piano.

Every afternoon: Community Issues, Dates for your Diary and Afternoon Tea. OUTLOOK is for the whole community; it’s an open invitation to everyone. Please come along and you can be sure of a warm welcome from the Old Kirk Community Issues Team. kilmacolm & quarriers

World Day of Prayer Written by the Christian Women of the Philippines

kilmacolm & quarriers

Save the Children: Kilmacolm Collecting Cans

Theme: Jesus said ‘Am I being fair to you?’

As a member of Community Fundraising, West of Scotland, I am responsible for the collecting cans in Kilmacolm village shops.

When I called at one of the shops in Kilmacolm on December 8th to collect a Save the Children can, I was told that an ‘Older Man‘ had collected it recently. I am the sole authorised collector in Kilmacolm, so it appears that an unauthorised person has taken the can.

This is not the fault or responsibility of the staff in the shop concerned. However this alerts me to the fact that more vigilance is required regarding these cans.

Accordingly, I now show my ID whenever I collect a can and have highlighted this incident to all other shops concerned in the village. The incident has been reported to the Police, who are investigating.

Charities in your area are a potential risk.

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OUTLOOK

Local Service in St Columba Church Hall, Bridge of Weir Road, Kilmacolm at 1.30pm on Friday 3rd March.

The local WDP group of representatives from the local Churches warmly invites you to share worship and fellowship with people around the world who will be participating in the World Day of Prayer. We are delighted that the children from Kilmacolm Primary School will be able to join us with their singing and music. There will be refreshments after the Service.

Everyone welcome! If you want to know more about the event, please give me a call. Maureen Russell, Convenor (telephone 872905).

kilmacolm & quarriers

Coffee Morning on Saturday 4th March in New Community Centre Kilmacolm from 10am - 12noon. Ticket £3.

Kilmacolm and Port Glasgow Agricultural Society

Whist Drive

on Friday 17th February 2017 at 7.30pm in the New Community Centre Tickets £3

including light supper

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kilmacolm & quarriers

Kilmacolm Heritage Centre Company Secures Charitable Status The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) is satisfied that Kilmacolm Heritage Centre Company meets the Charity Test and have now registered the Company in the Scottish Charity Register No. SCO47027.

This means the Company now has charitable status under the Charities Trustees Investments (Scotland ACT) 2005.

The Company is at present in the course of securing premises for the Centre and hopes to make an announcement in the near future. kilmacolm & quarriers

Councillor McCabe was delighted to perform the official opening of Kilmacolm Primary School and Nursery Class on 13th January. The invited guests were all very impressed by the quality of the refurbishment and by the warm welcome they received from the school community.

The pupils in particular were a credit to Kilmacolm and Quarriers Village.

kilmacolm & quarriers

Christmas was a busy and happy time. I attended in my official roles twelve services including KPS Nursery and Primary Nativities and the school carol concert in St Columba's Church. St Columba's Junior and Senior Schools had their services on the same day with the latter’s presentation being a most professional Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols, which displayed the musical breadth of the school. The similar service at St Fillan's draws together contributors from a wide range of village activities and again we were cheerily entertained by the ever growing Angel Voices.

The Council will meet on 16th February to agree our budget for next financial year, 2017/18. This has been made more challenging by the £6.8m cut to our funding announced by local MSP and Finance Secretary Derek Mackay in December.

As reported previously, Scottish Government reforms to Council Tax band multipliers will see households in bands E, F, G and H across Scotland face increases of 7.5%, 12.5%, 17.5% and 22.5% respectively from 1st April 2017. In addition Councils are being ‘encouraged’ by the Government to increase Council Tax across the board by a further 3%, which means some households could face a 25.5% increase in one year. Inverclyde Council will decide on 16th February if we will implement the additional 3% increase.

The Council’s Environment and Regeneration Committee agreed on 12th January to Councillor McCabe’s request for a report on the implications of retaining the two hour on-street parking restriction in Kilmacolm but removing the need for motorists to display a parking disc. The majority of the Committee were sympathetic to this request, which originated from representations made by local traders. However the Leader of the SNP Group Councillor McEleny voiced strong objections to the proposal, so there is no guarantee that it will ultimately be approved.

We have received representations from a number of constituents about the future of Birkmyre Cafe. After contacting Inverclyde Leisure we have been advised that future opportunities at the gym are being considered. The cafe is a well-used and important part of the village and we would be very concerned about any proposal leading to its closure. Before a decision is taken about its future we will be asking Kilmacolm Community Council to place this issue on the agenda for its meeting and invite a representative from Inverclyde Leisure along to ensure that the views of the village are heard.

Councillor McCabe has been selected as Labour’s candidate for the new Ward 1, which incorporates Kilmacolm and Quarriers, for May’s Council elections. Due to work commitments Councillor McColgan has decided not to seek re-election.

Councillor McColgan - My surgeries this month are on Tuesday 7th February, 6.30 – 7.30pm in Boglestone Community Centre and Tuesday 21st February, 6.30 – 7.30pm in Kilmacolm Community Centre.

You can reach me on 01475 712727 (during office hours) and 07881 280016 (anytime) or by emailing me at james. mccolgan@inverclyde.gov.uk. Alternatively you can write to me at Inverclyde Council, Municipal Buildings, Greenock PA15 1LY. You can keep up to date with my work as a Councillor by visiting my website: http:// jamesmccolgan.com. You can also follow me on Twitter @jamesmccolgan.

Councillor McCabe - My surgeries this month are on Tuesday 14th February, 6.30 - 7.30pm in Boglestone Community Centre and Tuesday 28th February, 6.30 – 7.30pm, in Kilmacolm Community Centre.

You can also contact me directly to discuss any matters that are of concern to you by telephone on 01475 712020 (during office hours) and 871368 (home) or by email to Stephen.McCabe@inverclyde.gov. uk. Alternatively you can write to me at 10 Victoria Gardens, Kilmacolm PA13 4HL. You can keep up to date with my work as a Councillor by visiting my blog: http:// councillorstephenmccabe.blogspot.com/ and follow me on Twitter @CllrSMcCabe.

I had the pleasure at the Golf Club AGM of seconding Mrs Jane McDonald as Vice- Captain. Jane will be the first Lady as Captain in our 127 year history. In my speech at the celebration dinner in 1998 for the Centenary of the Ladies section of the club, I did predict a female Club Captain at some stage, and I congratulate Jane on taking on what is a busy but very rewarding year. Colin McGinn has seen us through our 125th anniversary year as Captain, and he was quite rightly congratulated on his handling of matters in general.

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I addressed the relevant committee with regard to the use of parking discs in the village. Parking tickets have increased by 1200% since their introduction. This is not acceptable. With the support of Councillors McCabe and McLeod who sit on the committee a decision was made to commence the process of disbanding parking discs. The traders petition organised by James Kelly of VINo13 was great ammunition.

Further work on carriageways and pavements have been finished. The pavement in Port Glasgow Road has been completed, but I am afraid the Scottish gas works in Bridge of Weir Road have left problems. It is really frustrating when the Council does a good job for it to be undone by Utilities.

I continue to receive complaints about the housebuilding in Leperstone Avenue.

Everybody knew this was a quarry, except it seems from the developers, the continued noise of rock breaking is very disruptive.

The X7A service from Kilmacolm via Quarriers Village to Johnstone Station and the Kilmacolm to Greenock 530 service are being renewed from the 17th July 2017 for 5 years until the 16th July 2022. The 530 provides an hourly, Monday to Saturday evening service and Sunday service from Kilmacolm to Greenock. Both these services have no alternative public transport and are important for the villages of Kilmacolm and Quarriers. The subsidy over the 5 years is £205,175, the contract being awarded to McGills Buses, and having lobbied for these services 5 years ago am delighted that they will be extended.

I am Inverclyde’s representative on the Board of SPT and Chair the Audit and Standards Committee.

My surgery is February 18th 10 - 11am at the Cargill. I can be contacted on david.wilson@ inverclyde.gov.uk and 01475 712727 and 741969 and 07766 992294 kilmacolm & quarriers

Hall to Hire - Kilmacolm Guide Hut

A great venue with easy access near to the village centre. Newly refurbished main hall, with additional kitchen facilities and outdoor area. Perfect for children’s parties, weekly classes and one off special occasions. Anyone wanting to hire the Guide Hut please contact Roz on 07584 359007.

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ouston, crosslee & brookfield

Last month I was delighted to attend the official opening of Kilmacolm Primary School and Nursery. It is hard to believe that KPS and Nursery underwent a refurbishment. It looks and feels like a brand new school and nursery. The refurbished building has a great teaching environment. At the opening the children put on three fantastic performances for the invited guests. The pupils are a great credit to their parents, Head Teacher Mrs McCredie and her staff.

At the recent council Environment & Regeneration Committee we considered an appeal from Kilmacolm traders to scrap the use of parking discs in the village. Since the new Inverclyde parking scheme was introduced I have received a number of complaints from Kilmacolm residents about the system, the latest issues regarding the signage and the need for parking discs. Many drivers from outwith Kilmacolm are unaware of the need for discs and have been fined for not having them displayed. Thankfully, the committee have agreed to progress the traders request to remove the discs for Kilmacolm, though the two hour parking restriction will still remain. A report will be brought before the next committee.

As I have said in the past a one hat fits all parking policy was not going to work for all of Inverclyde.

I was pleased to see more work has recently been carried out by council roads services on pavements on Port Glasgow Road in Kilmacolm. Over the last few years we have seen millions of pounds invested on our roads, pavements and street lighting in Kilmacolm, Quarriers Village and other parts of Inverclyde. The work had been badly needed. Thankfully, a lot of work has now been carried out but much more still requires to be done in the future.

My surgeries in February will be advertised in the local newspaper, on the Inverclyde Council website and on my surgery posters. Anyone wanting to contact me in between surgeries 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.

Houston & Crosslee SWI We continue our very enjoyable year with a meal at the River Inn on Wednesday 8th February, 7pm for 7.30pm. On March 8th we welcome Louise Bustard to talk to us about The Botanic Gardens.

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 MacKay on 07932 459994. houston, crosslee & brookfield

Brookfield Country Dancing club Thursday evenings from 7.30pm - 9.30pm run

by Aileen Craig (01505322684). New members are most welcome and as an introduction, the first class is free. houston, crosslee & brookfield

Houston and Killellan Kirk Carnival

houston, crosslee & brookfield

houston, crosslee & brookfield

Brookfield Residents Reminder

Hollywood here we come! The date for this years Carnival is Saturday 13th May and the theme is Hollywood. Glitzy, glamorous, humorous, villainous ... the choice is yours, time for the thinking caps to go on ... More details next month.

Grit Bins: Residents are reminded that during the icy weather, there are grit bins at various locations around the village: Victoria Road (near No 17), Albert Road (near No 4) and Sandholes Road at the top of Chuckie Lane.

Facebook: brookfieldvillage.org

Twitter: @BrookfieldVPA

houston, crosslee & brookfield

H.O.S.T. The Carrick Centre, Houston (Houston Old School Trust) Monday to Friday, Woodlands Out of School 01505 615438 MONDAY Sewing Group (Weekly) ~ 10am 12noon Yoga (Weekly) ~ 1pm - Mary Laidlaw 01505 229112 Diaporama 13th ~ 7.30pm Young Farmers 20th ~ 7.30pm Houston Show A.G.M. 6th ~ 7.30pm Handiwives 20th ~ 7.30pm TUESDAY Paint Pot Tots (Weekly) ~ 10am - Dawn Campbell 07789 262350 Musical Theatre (Weekly) ~ 4pm - 5pm Yoga (Weekly) ~ 7pm - M/s Lawson 01505 613690 Agric Discussion Society 7th ~ 7.30pm WEDNESDAY Big Kids Little Learners ~ 10am – 11am Janine Neil 07870 697010 Councillors Surgeries 15th ~ 6.30pm Gryffe Melody Makers 1st & 15th ~ 7pm Camera Club (Weekly) ~ 7.30pm Community Council 15th ~ 7.30pm Cricketfield Residents 15th ~ 7.30pm

Carrick Nights - Winter Concert Series Promoted by HOUSTON OLD SCHOOL TRUST

THURSDAY Gryffe Quilting Group (2nd, 9th, 16th, 21st) ~ 1.15pm - 3.15pm (16th 10am) Primary Colours (Weekly) ~ 3.30pm Dawn Campbell 07789 262350 Crafty Friends 2nd, 16th ~ 7.30pm Folk Club (Weekly) 8pm - iaintdawson@ gmail.com 07786 078952 BurleX Fitness (Weekly) ~ 9.15 10.15am. Kelly, 07944 815298 FRIDAY Yoga (Weekly) ~ 10.30am - M/s Lawson 01505 613690 Big Kids Little Learners ~ 1pm – 2pm Janine Neil 07870 697010 Galaxy Dancing (Weekly) ~ 3.30pm 5.30pm MP Surgery 9th ~ 12.30pm – 1.30pm SATURDAY Galaxy Dancing (Weekly) ~ 9.30am 12noon Carrick Concert (Opera Alba) ~ 8pm SUNDAY Baptist Church (Weekly) ~ 11am and 6pm

Booking enquiries to Ian Simpson, 01505 612203 Sandy Young 01505 331488 Bill Haddow 01505 690693 hostbooking@outlook.com or The Coffee Shop

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houston, crosslee & brookfield

All concerts will be held in the Carrick Centre, Main Street, Houston commencing at 8pm.

After a successful opening concert in November the remaining concerts in the series are :Saturday 25th February - OPERA ALBA Formed in 2004, with a view to presenting an entertaining programme of Opera by experienced professional singers. Current members are soprano Daisy Henderson, mezzo Julie Martin-Carter, tenor Adam Magee, baritone Steven Faughey and accompanied by Derek Clark. They have performed at a variety of venues throughout Scotland presenting an extensive repertoire from the fields of opera, operetta, Gilbert and Sullivan, songs from the shows and well loved songs from around the World.

Saturday 25th March - PAUL LIVINGSTON (violin/viola) & IAN WATT (guitar).

A well respected duo, they perform a wide ranging repertoire from Baroque to Modern, German to Argentinean including works by Bach, Corelli, Schubert, Paganini and Piazzola.

Friday 28th April - BAROCHAN QUARTET + PAULA BARRON A welcome return after performing at our pilot concert in March 2016. [BQ] A string quartet of local talent, all professional musicians and members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra. [PB] A semi-professional mezzo soprano who hails from Paisley and her accompanist Jim Drennan with a programme of light classical repertoire/songs from the shows.

Ticket prices:

Adults - £12

Children/Students - £5

Have a meal in our Café at 6pm prior to the concert. Early booking a must as space is limited.

(2 courses £15 - BYOB ) Call 01505 229597 or e mail thecarrickcentre@gmail.com for further information.

We are grateful to Enterprise Music Scotland, through funding provided by Creative Scotland, for their award of a grant to help make these Concerts a reality.

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houston, crosslee & brookfield

If there is one thing which is unpredictable it is the Scottish weather, and the early months of the year can be the most unpredictable of all. At times of heavy snow and sleet my thoughts always go out to the most vulnerable members of our communities, many of whom may be isolated and if elderly and without private transport, may be afraid to venture out. Yes, we all lead busy lives but I know that Houston and Brookfield residents are very community minded, so please do all you can to help housebound neighbours in the event of inclement weather.

My advice surgery in Linwood is on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month, at 6pm, in Linwood High School. I am also always available to constituents who can call me on 07768 130935, or e-mail me at cllr.audrey.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk. houston, crosslee & brookfield

Houston and Killellan Church This year was a first for our Kirk calendar and what a success it was. The amount raised was £575 from this first time venture, we hope to repeat this year and are already looking at different ideas. Thank you to all who purchased the calendar.

The Kirk Postie also excelled realizing the fantastic amount of £965 which has gone to Quarriers Countryview Service again a massive thank you to all who used the service.

CAMEO CLUB The Cameo Club are back into the swing of things getting organized for their Bring and Buy Sale on Wednesday 8th February which is an all important fundraiser for the club. The 22nd of February welcomes Robert Nimmo who will give a talk on the Great Wall of China. All meetings begin at 2pm in the West Halls.

THE GUILD On February the 14th we welcome the Rev. Ian Miller from HABBIE TO JEALY EARS, who will entertain us with a talk on the Life of a Parish Minister, this is not to be missed. The Daffodil Tea will be held on Saturday 25th February in the West Halls - this is a fundraiser for the Guild so please support us. There will be a variety of stalls and tea, coffee etc. tickets available from committee members or pay at the door. There will be a guest evening on Tuesday 28th February when Mr Donaldson and the Comrie Singers will be entertaining us. houston, crosslee & brookfield

Swishing Event/Ladies Night A Swishing Event/Ladies Night in conjunction with LEAP from Bridge of Weir will take place in Brookfield Village Hall on Saturday 25th February at 7.30pm.

Admission £5.

What is Swishing? Swishing works like a giant clothes swap: you bring items you no longer wear and exchange them for something new-to-you! It’s a fun and social way of encouraging people to make the most of what they’ve got hanging in their wardrobe, sitting in a drawer or packed away in a box – and it’s good for the environment. The items to be swapped should be of good quality and new or nearly new. Even if you don’t have any items to swap, you can still enjoy sampling some beauty treatments and there will also be a raffle, bar and refreshments.

Tickets available by e-mailing brookfieldvpa@gmail.com houston, crosslee & brookfield

Crafty Friends We meet the 1st and 3rd Thursdays in the month at 7.30pm in the Carrick Centre, Houston. No craft experience necessary. Telephone - Lorna Cairns 612844 or Shirley White 610721.

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Road and pavement repairs have been, and will continue to be a priority for me in my dealings with the council.

Based on recommendations from constituents over recent weeks, I have been compiling a list of roads and pavements in Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch, and I will be submitting this for inclusion in the new resurfacing programme commencing in April. My timescale for this is mid February, and so there is time to give me any suggestions on areas and locations that should be included; please get in touch.

It is to be hoped that the SNP Government, and Transport Scotland will respond positively to the call from local folk for improvements on the stretch of the A737 through Kilbarchan, Howwood, and Lochwinnoch.

A meeting of representatives from Transport Scotland, attended by councillors and representations from village community councils, took place in December where safety concerns and the need for improvements on one of the busiest stretches of roads in Scotland were raised and discussed. There is no doubt that financial investment to improve the road is necessary and I await with interest the response to these representations.

At the last meeting of Renfrewshire Council, I asked for a report to be provided to a future council meeting regarding the installation of the new LED street lighting.

The new lighting saves both money and energy, and while I have received some positive feedback, there have also been some concerns raised with me, and I want all the comments and feedback considered. The council agreed to this request.

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

In what seems like another era, my late grandfather had a coal business which my father also worked in, and from them both I learned the importance of a strong work ethic, and of serving the public. Small businesses are the very rock-bed of communities like Houston and Brookfield, so I am pleased that the Scottish Government has, at the end of 2016, announced a review of the Business Rates structure in Scotland. The Small Business Bonus Scheme, which provides rates relief for small businesses, has been a great success and I am sure this will be retained. I also hope that a new structure of business rates is agreed which will encourage more new businesses to be created. In Houston village the restaurant and licensed sector is particularly vibrant and I would like to see a climate where more entrepreneurs emerge.

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

As well as working on crucial matters such as road repairs and street lighting, I continue to be committed to other improvements to our villages and am keen to hear suggestions, ideas or proposals from residents of Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch. To this end I intend to hold councillor coffee mornings in both Kilbarchan and Lochwinnoch over the coming weeks. The first will be on Saturday 11th February at 10am in the Old Library Kilbarchan, so if you have a few minutes to spare please come along.

Meantime please contact me on any matter at cllr.derek.bibby@renfrewshire.gov.uk or phone 0300 300 1274 or 07534 156007.

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

Old Library Centre Kilbarchan The folks at the Old Library Centre hope you have had a good holiday and are now thinking about an interesting activity for your spare time. You may wish to take part in one or more of the list below. In the Centre you can sit and talk, read a magazine or book, have a cup of tea or coffee or you can take part in one of the classes listed below. The Centre is open Monday to Friday from 10am till 12 noon and from 2pm till 4pm. You pay nothing unless you use a computer, get printing done or have a cup of coffee or tea. All our prices are very keen. A cuppa will cost you 70p with which you will be given a biscuit. Our classes for Yoga and Pilates cost £40 for 8 weeks or £6.50 per class. Groups set their own fees.

Our classes and interest groups are as follows.

Mondays:

Pilates 10am - 11.15am - Tutor: Sheena Gallagher

Tuesdays:

Craft Group 2pm – 4pm (Every 2nd Tuesday) Book Group 7.15pm - Leader: Brian Berry (monthly)

Wednesdays: Yoga 10am - 11.15 am - Tutor: Janis Green (cost as above) Pilates 2pm – 3.15 pm - Tutor: Sheen Gallagher Yoga 7.30 pm - 9pm - Tutor: Elizabeth Hughes Thursday:

First Love Music 10.45am - 11.30am - A class for toddlers (age 1 to 3) Teacher: Fiona

Friday:

Bridge Group 2pm – 4om - Leader: Hamish Thomson

MP’ Surgeries: Mhairi Black MP has a surgery here on the 2nd Friday of the month from 10.30am – 11.15am Tom Arthur MSP has a surgery on the 3rd Friday of the month from 10am

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kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

Fundraising Scottish Country Dance A fundraising dance will be held in Kilbarchan Guide Centre, Friday 3rd February 7.30pm to 10.30pm. Music by Ian Muir. Tickets £8.00 Programme:Machine Without Horses Westminster Reel Tribute to the Borders 



Braes of Tullieme Knotwork Pollharrow Burn Mairi’s Wedding 





Scott Meikle St Columba’s Strathspey Miss Gibson’s Strathspey 

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Joie de Vivre Piper & The Penguin Jennifer’s Jig 



Joe MacDiarmid’s Jig Lochalsh Reel Mrs Milne of Kineff 



kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

Contact Ann Harper 01505 613753 or Les Lambert 01505 704398

Lochwinnoch & Howwood BHF Heart Start

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

The last full meeting of Renfrewshire Council discussed the upgrade of the A737, following a series of meetings with Transport Scotland, Lochwinnoch, Kilbarchan, and Howwood Community Councils, and all seven Councillors who represent Johnstone and the Villages were involved. A consensus was reached that action was required particularly on dualling the single carriageway section, and on making the notorious Howwood junction safer.

Do you want the skills to help save a life?

We have the dates for the next two FREE two hour courses in 2017.

Wednesday 15th February Masonic Lodge Lochwinnoch 7-9pm If you are interested in attending contact Morag on morag.Thow@gcu.ac.uk or 01505 843183. The course is practical and deals with: • An unconscious casualty

• Cardiac arrest

• How to use an AED

• Suspected heart attack

• Choking

• Serious bleeding

Morag and Liz kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

The February meeting is on Wednesday, 15th, in the McKillop Hall at 7.30pm.

This month Denise Winton from House of Colour will be showing us just how to colour co-ordinate our wardrobes to suit our skin tones! We might just have to spring clean our wardrobes, Ladies !

During the month of February, the group will have a speaker from Glasgow Museums Resource Centre and enjoy an evening discussing “-isms” e.g., Favouritism. The group would welcome new members, we meet on Wednesday evenings in each other’s homes and enjoy speakers and discussions on a wide variety of topics.

If you are interested in finding out more about NWR and the Kilbarchan group, please phone 703786 or see the website: www.nwr.org.uk.

Lochwinnoch SWI

We look forward to welcoming members and do bring along a friend.

For more info contact Elma Richmond 843193 or richmond32@tiscali.co.uk

Kilbarchan

The A737 is a vital economic spine that straddles Renfrewshire, and it is on economic and regeneration grounds as well as on public safety grounds that action should be taken. I deeply regret the fact that, unlike Paisley and Renfrew, who both have dedicated City Deal projects, Johnstone and the Villages did not get the upgrade of the A737 that is required. Despite the fact that Renfrewshire Council did propose this to the City Deal Cabinet on 3rd July 2013, but the Glasgowdominated City Deal Cabinet vetoed it.

The City Deal Projects have the financial support from both the Scottish and UK Governments, each contributing £500 million for local projects. Transport Scotland has confirmed that “It is for relevant local authorities to propose projects to be included in their City Deals, however, we are working hard to improve the A737”. Only the City Deal framework offers village residents guarantees on timescale for delivery and value for money, it is time for the City Deal Cabinet to listen to the voice of the Villages and act now.

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 e-mail me at cllr.andy.doig@ renfrewshire.gov.uk.

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

Our next Messy Church takes place on Saturday 18th February from 4pm – 6pm in the church halls.

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

Kilbarchan Parish Church Midweek Fellowship From 10.30am for coffee, followed by a short service of worship, on Wednesdays in the small hall.

Kilbarchan Parish Church Messy Church

All children, accompanied by an adult, will be made most welcome. So come along and join us for a couple of hours of crafts, stories and song. We end by sitting down to eat together and enjoying the fellowship of other families.

kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

Killin’ in The Glen Calder Drama’s Lochwinnoch Arts Festival Production.

The Laird’s Glendower Estate is in a poor state of repair and much needed money is needed to infuse life back into it.

To this remote and desolate area come a number of guests who turn out to be not what they first appear to be. A Comedy thriller written by Felix Lando that incorporates mystery and murder with its many twists and turns until its violent and bloody conclusion. A pair of decrepit housekeepers, an Estate Manager, An Ex-Governess, a French Student, an American and a Business Tycoon complete with private secretary make up the cast. Added to the action is the Annual Shoot on the Moors and a Burns Supper with its Fu-As-A-Wulk Quaich competition. The pace never slackens and we would especially advise asthma suffers to remember to bring along their inhalers as a precaution.

Staged in the McKillop Hall on Thursday 23rd & Friday 24th March. Doors Open 7pm.

Curtain Up 7.30 pm. Bar & Refreshments Available. (£6/£4 Arts festival outlets)

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february 2017

41

howwood & elderslie

A737 TRANSPORT SCOTLAND kilbarchan & lochwinnoch

Looking Forward to Lilias Day 2017 Preparations are well underway for this years Lilias Day which takes place on Saturday 3rd June. After such a fantastic day last year we are keen to capture the enthusiasm and commitment of the local community. Getting involved is easy and a great way to raise funds or just have some fun.

The first date on the Lilias Day calendar is the Stall Holders Evening on Tuesday 14th March, 7pm, at The Old Library Centre, Kilbarchan. If you wish to have a stall to raise funds for your local organisation or charity appeal come along and secure a pitch. A 10% discount on stall prices is given to those who book on the night.

The historic parade lies is at the heart of Lilias Day, celebrating the history of the village and bringing together the ‘collective creativeness’ of our community. Local organisations and individual streets can get involved by theming and decorating a float and individuals can volunteer for a role in the historic parade. Demand for floats and costumes is always high so get in touch by emailing the committee on info@liliasday.co.uk.

We are also looking for this years Miss Lilias. If you would like to play a key role in the Lilias Day celebrations or know of someone who would be perfect for the role please send us an email with your contact details, name of nominated person and the reasons why you/they would be ideal. Candidates should be 16 years or older and live or work in the village.

After the success of last years Lilifest we will once again be putting together a programme of events / entertainment in the lead up to Lilias Day. Details will be announced on the Lilias Day website liliasday.co.uk and in the local press. If you would like to put on an event during this week please contact us to ensure that it is included in the programme.

Chair Graeme Stockton said “after such a brilliant day last year we are really looking forward to this years event. We always try to bring something new to the day and make sure we have plenty of entertainment that everyone can enjoy.

Community support and involvement is key to the success of the event and we would like to thank the organisations and groups, businesses, volunteers and individuals who all help make it happen.”

For more information visit our website at www.liliasday.co.uk or email info@ liliasday.co.uk . We are also on Facebook at “Kilbarchan Lilias Day” or follow us @LiliasDay on Twitter. howwood & elderslie

Theft of Thwaites Dumper Truck in Howwood Between Sunday 8th January and Tuesday 10th January 2017 a Thwaites Dumper Truck was stolen from Auchengreoch Road, Howwood.

Renfrewshire & Inverclyde Police Division have advised that if any member of the public has any information in relation to this theft and/or the whereabouts of the truck please call Johnstone Police on 101.

Bill David, Millar Leon and Bill Binks represented Howwood Community Council at a meeting arranged by Renfrewshire Council and Transport Scotland, to discuss accident and safety issues on the A737. Other Local Community Councils were represented that have also raised similar concerns. Bill David advised that the statistics recorded by Transport Scotland are not giving the full picture of the number of accidents that occur along this stretch of road. Renfrewshire Council have now moved a motion calling for action on the A737 and they will now progress this with the Scottish Government.

HOWWOOD WOODLANDS AND WILDLIFE: We are in desperate need of help in the form of assistance to clear the Rhombus Garden of weeds (the garden just opposite The Boarding House). If you have any spare time at all and would be willing to help with the clearance and development of this area, we would be most grateful. Please contact Bill David on 07802 57590 or email at bill@billdavid.co.uk or contact any member of HWW who will be able to give you more information – thank you!

howwood & elderslie

Howwood Village News

HOWWOOD PARISH CHURCH GUILD: The Guild meets in the church hall every second Monday at 7.30pm. The meetings are open to all and anyone can come along, on any evening and be assured of a warm welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

HOWWOOD WOMENS INSTITUTE: Meetings are held on the third Tuesday of the month from September to April.

A warm welcome awaits all our members, especially new ones. The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 21st February. There will be a Sales Table each month except November, December and April, proceeds will be donated to St. Vincents Hospice and members are reminded to please bring their own cup for tea. For more information please contact Mrs Irene MacTaggart on 01505 704800.

HOWWOOD COMMUNITY COUNCIL: Meetings of the Community Council are held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7.30pm in Howwood Village Hall. The next meeting will be on Tuesday 14th February. Please feel free to come along - all welcome. howwood & elderslie

Hi there - I missed the New Year issue so all the best to you and your family for 2017.

The issue of local peoples concerns about the A737 still continue. The council in December passed a motion calling on the Scottish government to listen and take action on what are safety issues on a road which is carrying more and more traffic on it. So along with meetings with the Local Community Councils to discuss the issue pressure is starting to mount on the decision makers to take appropriate action .

On the 19th January the Education Policy Board of the Council will hopefully agree to a major investment in St Anthony's School. I will update you on this issue.

The Scottish government announced their budget in December and as I write this it is still to be agreed. In their proposals some monies were allocated howwood & elderslie to increasing Broadband speeds in areas where the service is not great. Although there has been some Tuesday 21st February improvements in Howwood more needs "The day I met the Queen" to be done and again I will update you

by Nan Robertson. on any progress .

Competition - Royal Souvenir.

My surgeries are held on the fourth Hostesses - Nana Glen & Agnes McKay. Thursday of every month between 6pm Meetings in Howwood Village Hall and 7pm. at 7.30pm. A warm welcome to all. Until next month .. all the best!

Contact Irene on 01505 704800 for further details.

Howwood SWI

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LOST PETS?

A vibrant community and animal welfare project located in Erskine, Renfrewshire. You can meet a wide variety of animals, including ducks, hens, horses and goats. We also have a reptile room with some special reptiles for you to come and meet! We try our best to rescue and rehome as many animals as we can. If we cannot find a suitable forever home for our furry friends they will continue to live with us, therefore there’s always new furries for you to meet. We actively promote animal welfare and advise and educate people, where we can, in animal care and husbandry.

Visit our website lamontfarm.org.uk/

at

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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.

ℓ𧥇þÐœ

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

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We can also put updates on our website & Facebook.

There is no charge for this service!

Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue

Newspapers Wanted With so many hedgehogs in care, and other patients, our newspaper stock is running low.

We’d be grateful if you could start saving them up and drop them off at the centre.

Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue has facilities and experience to treat all species of Scottish wildlife.

Facilities at the Centre include an intensive care unit, a swan/ seal hospital with indoor pool, a hedgehog unit, a surgery with x-ray equipment and more than 60 outdoor aviaries, enclosures and release pens.

Situated near Beith in North Ayrshire - We occupy a 20 acre site, including woodland, marsh and open water. This gives a variety of release sites for our patients. We aim to rescue, treat, rehabilitate and release birds and animals back to the wild, and we have the facilities and experience to treat all species of Scottish wildlife.

Resources at the Centre include an intensive care unit, a swan/seal hospital with indoor pool, a hedgehog unit, a surgery and more than 60 outdoor aviaries, enclosures and release pens. The centre has a 24hr emergency service, and is available to give advice on wildlife problems throughout the day.

JOIN US! - Support Hessilhead by becoming a member and get 2 newsletters a year. Ordinary membership: £12 a year; Family membership: £16 a year. Visit www.hesilhead.org.uk for further information.

Pet Blog

by PetVets

Pet Insurance Pet insurance helps to cover the cost of veterinary fees for any injury or illness suffered by your pet. Insurance is available through multiple companies for cats, dogs and rabbits and can increase treatment options and reduce stress for owners by removing or reducing financial pressures.

There are a wide range of policies available and not all provide the same cover. There are three main types of pet insurance policy: Lifetime/Covered for Life Policies • Cover is provided up to a set amount for veterinary fees • The set amount renews each year • There is no time limit on how long you can claim for each illness or injury • Provides cover for ongoing conditions e.g. Diabetes or allergies Time Limited Policies • Cover is provided up to a set amount for veterinary fees • There is a 12 month limit meaning each condition is only covered for the first 12 months, after which it is excluded from the policy

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Contact us on 01505 502415 or Email: info@hessilhead.org.uk Website: www.hessilhead.org.uk

Maximum benefit policies • Cover is provided up to a maximum amount per condition • This amount does not renew when the policy is renewed • Once the maximum amount is reached the condition is excluded from the policy The best cover is provided by lifetime/covered for life policies.

Other important things to consider when choosing a policy are whether cover is provided for congenital or hereditary problems, dental procedures and behavioural conditions. It is also important to check if your premium will increase if you make a claim.

Pet insurance does not cover preexisting conditions (conditions that existed before the start of the policy).

Changing your policy means that any condition that has been suffered by the pet, whether it was claimed for or not, will be excluded from the new policy. Therefore it is important to spend some time choosing the right policy and to stick with this policy for the lifetime of the pet.

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

Twix - Male 6 year old domestic cat Twix is a lovely, friendly boy who would prefer a home with no young children, but might be ok with other cats & dogs. He would like a garden please, not near a busy road, so that he can go out & stretch his paws.

Scootaloo - 6 mnth old male domestic cat Scootaloo needs a home with older, teenage children only. It’s very important that you don’t allow him to play with your hands so please stock up on lots of toys for him. He’s never lived with other pets before so we not sure how he would find them.

He would like a garden please, not near a busy road, so that he can go out & burn off some energy once he’s old enough which probably won’t be until springtime.

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

Billy - a 1-2 year old male Budgerigar B i l l y ’ s personality is as colourful as his markings. He is a lively boy who would thrive in a home with someone who has experience with birds or is willing to research the breed. Billy would benefit being in a home where he can see and/ or socialise with other birds.

Millie - 5 yrs - Female domestic cat Millie is a nervous girl who arrived in our care through no fault of her own and is now desperately looking for a new home to call her own. She would suit a home without young children. Millie is a house cat and she enjoys time to herself to potter around and will need to time to adjust and settle in a new home.

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

Rescue Centres Dogs Trust Glasgow: 0141 773 5130 www.dogstrust.org.uk

Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue: 01505 502415 www.hessilhead.org.uk

Johnstone Cat Rescue: 01505 337321

Cat Protection: 0141 779 3341 www.cats.org.uk/glasgowac/adopta-cat

Scottish SPCA: 0141 882 1688 www.scottishspca.org These centres are always on the lookout for donations and fundraising. If you can help, please get in touch with any of the centres above.

Tara - Female Lab Cross Age: 8+ Years Tara is the most adorable older lady. She is just so sweet and loves the quiet life. She would just love a wee retirement home to snooze in front of a fire! Tara can live with children who are 12 years old or over and needs a secure garden to potter in and chill out in. She needs a calm, quiet home that has the time to give her the TLC she needs and loves.

Heidi - Female Staffordshire Cross Age: 2 to 5 Years Heidi is a super wee girl who loves to be on the go learning new things!

Heidi can live with children who are 14 years old or over and needs her own secure garden to practice her training in. A calm, quiet home with someone who is around all day would benefit her as she struggles to be left on her own.

Someone who has owned dogs like her before would also help her come out her shell.

Dogs Trust Rehoming Centre, 315 Hamilton Road, Uddingston, Glasgow, G71 7SL. Open: 12noon - 4pm (inc weekends); 12noon7.30pm on Tuesdays; closed: Wednesdays

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- Year Stane Project Eadha are excited to announce the launch of our Yearn Stane Project with the completion of our first tree planting event held at the Barytes Mine at Muirshiel on Saturday 7th January. We would like to thank the volunteers who came along to help us plant 100 native trees and shrubs including aspen, juniper, birch, oak and gorse, all propagated by Eadha in our wee tree nursery. We also employed the novel “Greenlees Method” of seed dispersal by throwing ice-cubes containing birch and juniper seed into inaccessible areas of the mine. Special thanks also goes to Liz Parsons for on-site catering and Graham McIver who brought his drone and has created a fantastic promotional film (see link below). We are also grateful for the help of Alan Brown from the Regional Park and the permission of Mr Lamont, tenant farmer.

On our way to the mine, we were treated to the rare sight of a beautiful Fog Bow over the hills, perhaps a good omen for the project.

Many local people with an interest in natural history may be unaware of the Yearn Stane, a feature to be found near Irish Law which derives its name from the old word for Golden Eagle “earn”. This was a perch for golden eagles and hints at our ambition to improve the ecology of the Renfrewshire Hills.

As with large tracts of upland Scotland, the ecology of our local hills has been impacted from intensive land uses since historical times. The Duchal Moor for example was one of the most productive grouse moors in the country. Black grouse have become extinct in the park in recent times along with Mountain Hare, Adder, Red Squirrel, Water Vole, and Bog Myrtle, to name a few. Hen Harriers have not bred successfully for a number of years now. In terms of trees there were less than 10 juniper and aspen left. The regional park have been successful in bringing the juniper back from the brink and Eadha have focused on the aspen.

We now think its time to step up a gear. We are concerned that the Regional Park has lost its IUCN designation which provided some protection against inappropriate/industrial developments such as windfarms. This is partly due to the low priority of ecological issues.

The management of the land has a bearing on the wider communities. The flash flooding in Lochwinnoch and the silting of Castle Semple Loch, threatening the sustainability of watersports can be linked to the intensive drainage ditches across the moorland. These fragile peatland areas are therefore losing carbon rather than locking it up.

Eadha is seeking to work with the Regional Park and local landowners to expand native woodland, work with farmers to establish wood pasture in grazed areas, create areas of scrub and implement peatland restoration.

The potential social and economic as well as environmental benefits could be enormous in terms of eco-tourism, environmental education, volunteering and employment training etc.

We are looking for local people to come forward to help make our ambitions a reality. We invite you to watch our promotional video at: https://youtu.be/Vg5jnWdesXs Contact: Peter Livingstone peter@eadha.co.uk or 07968 745197

www.eadha.co.uk facebook: Eadha Enterprises twitter: eadhaaspen

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The humble house sparrow is one of the best known British birds. You may spot them in fields in the countryside, at your garden feeders, or even in the centre of cities - they can sometimes even be seen hopping along the platforms in Glasgow Central train station! Sparrows are very social birds and flocks can often be heard chattering loudly in garden hedges. Although they are well-known, did you know that house sparrows are now red-listed because of declines in their populations over the past few decades? Studies have shown that their numbers have fallen by over 70% since the 1970s! If you would like to give house sparrows a helping hand then why not put up a nest box in your garden, or on the side of your house, to give them a cosy place to build their nest. Sparrows often build nests very close to each other, so why not get your neighbours involved too and set up a “sparrow street”?

With lots of nest boxes set up on neighbouring houses, you could provide a perfect place for a friendly flock of sparrows to set up home.

If you’d like to learn how to make and decorate your very own nest box, why not come along to our Build a Bird a Home day on Saturday 18th February? Staff will be on hand to give advice about how and where to put up your box, and what sort of species you may attract to it. Who knows – when summer arrives, you may even see young sparrows fly the nest, knowing that you helped them along the way! Lots of other birds, such as blue tits, might be looking for a home near you too, so providing a nesting box is a great way to help give nature a home!

For more information about RSPB Lochwinnoch reserve or any of our events, please call 01505 842663 or email lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk.

Brighter BoW SOMETHING IN THE AIR It must be something in the air or in the water, but barely two weeks in to the new year we saw these daffodils poking through the snow in the barrier baskets. Otherwise, it was fairly quiet for our volunteers last month, but things will definitely be picking up very soon. We’ve got an AGM coming up, then planning for the coming seasons.

As regular readers will have seen in the last issue, we’ve been short-listed in the Scottish Rural Awards this year, which is very nice. Having discovered how much it would cost us to attend the ceremony in March, we’ve decided that we’ll have to give it a miss. If we win, maybe they’ll let us do a video link like Sports Personality or the Oscars!

Meantime, we’re away to sharpen our secateurs.

Kilmacolm Horticultural Society Our winter lecture for February will be held on Wednesday 15th at 7.30pm in the New Community Centre, Kilmacolm. We are privileged to welcome Mrs Sue Thornley, owner of the Glenarn Estate at Rhu. ‘Re-inventing the Rock Garden at Glenarn’.

Over the years Sue and Mike have transformed the gardens, filled with original species of rhododendrons, magnolias, camellias etc. Telling the story of the Rock Garden will be Sue’s final lecture to the public, as she celebrates her 70th birthday this month.

Refreshments at end of the lecture everyone welcome.

The Spring Outing for the Society will be a visit to the lovely gardens of Glenarn on Wednesday 17th May. Come along to the lecture - book your seat for the Outings.

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BoW Horticultural Society

Kilbarchan & District Beekeepers

Trish Telfer’s January presentation took place on the coldest night of the winter, so far. She took us around several Scottish Gardens. The first were Geilston and Greenbank - both NTS gardens near Glasgow. Geilston, outside Cardross, has a sheltered, spring woodland area filled with mature Rhododendrons, Bluebells, Azaleas and Irises. Greenbank, on the South Side, has a large walled garden divided into 12 tree-lined “rooms”.

The July Garden was full of colourful herbaceous plants, Campanulas, Hemerocallis, Montbretia and Sidalcia and the greenhouse exhibited Begonias, Streptocarpus and an unusual Brazilian Plume Flower.

January and February are the least ‘hands-on’ for time in the hive and for the beekeeper and most time is spent on planning for the year ahead, cleaning, maintaining and replenishing equipment.

The honeybee does not hibernate, the colony is reduced to minimal numbers that are able to keep the small cluster of bees warm enough to survive the low temperatures, with the Queen kept at the centre of the cluster at all times. Weather permitting they will still venture out of the hive for water and to do other essential ‘business’, called cleansing flights. Snow does not cause issues for the Honeybee colony, as long as the entrance is not blocked, and it can actually help insulate the hive. It can be an anxious time for the beekeeper, waiting to see if the colony has survived the dark cold winter months and resisting the temptation to take a peek, as this can lower the hives sorely maintained temperature, to a dangerous level.

There are ways of checking that the colony is active and has access to stores or food provided by the beekeeper, such as hefting the hives to check the weight or by quickly looking under the roof to see if the fondant most beekeepers use, is accessible and that there is enough left.

Moving to Galloway, we visited Glenwhan; a 12 acre garden hewn and tilled out of marshy, rocky ground into lochans surrounded by trees and shrubs. In April the Rhododendrons, Azaleas and Magnolias were in full bloom. Here, a dark turquoise peacock emerged to give us (and the dog) the once over.

Trish then took us to Logan Botanic Gardens in autumn; a garden renowned for its Southern Hemisphere plants. In addition to Eucalyptus, Palm and Tree Ferns we saw many colourful sun-loving plants; some of which we put into our hanging baskets.

Homeward bound, Trish stopped off at the new Queen Elizabeth Walled Garden at Dumfries House. Here, late summer herbaceous - Phlox, Helenium, Kniphofia and Agapanthus - were in flower. This and the new arboretum are a must for gardeners. For comparison Trish showed ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots of her own new garden; an empty expanse of gravel a n d lacklustre Pieris, transformed by a framework of trellis, patios and raised borders.

Pictures above show a couple of members receiving Scottish Beekeeping Association certificates. The first picture is of Susie Kennedy who passed her Basic Beemaster practical exam with Distinction. Also pictured, Helena Jackson who passed a practical and written Microscopy exam last year.

Interested?

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

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

Evening Programme 14th February - Honey Show - Judge Enid Brown 14th March - Swarm Control & Queen Rearing - Ian Craig

There will be more Arctic conditions for us this month when Sue and Adrian Whitaker take us on an Arctic Odyssey on Thursday 9th February at 8pm at The Legion. As ever, all welcome!

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Welcome to Scotland’s largest Regional Park Tag-n-Track Wildlife Technology Arrives at CMRP A New Wildlife Project It’s a New Year and it’s time to introduce you all to the exciting new project starting in Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park. Tag-n-Track (TnT) is using the latest technology to track birds locally and globally. This project is funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, Greater Renfrewshire LEADER and Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park and started on 9th January. It will run for the next two years.

Lochwinnoch Arts Festival: We are hosting 2 events at Castle Semple for the festival, both run by local historians celebrating village culture.

The first event is poetry themed and on 5th February see – www. lochwinnochartsfestival.co.uk.

Volunteer for the local environment: Give back to your Park in 2017 and get fit in a laid back social atmosphere by joining the Park’s volunteer groups. Castle Semple’s group meets every week on Thursdays 12.30pm – 3.30pm. Greenock Cut is weekly on a Saturday 10.30am - 2.30pm.

Programme of tasks online.

One of the species we will be tagging and tracking is the lesser black-backed gull (below). They are a much maligned species, most people viewing them as chip-stealing pests. However, are you aware that some of these UK amber listed birds (due to fewer individuals over a limited range) actually migrate to Europe and Africa in the winter time and then back to the UK in the summer.

The project will also be tagging juvenile barn owls (above) to investigate their dispersal after they leave the nest. The data collected will be used to gain a better understanding of how the birds use the Regional Park. It will also allow us to develop and deliver an extensive school project across the Park encompassing the three council areas. We will be offering numerous events, workshops and talks to various groups and other interested parties. We will start deploying tags this summer and there will be plenty of opportunities for people to get involved in volunteering with the project.

Event News One of the first events for T-n-T will take place at Muirshiel Country Park on Sunday the 19th February.

We will be running a Bird Ringing Demonstration from 10.30am to 3pm so feel free to pop up at any time to discover why we ring birds and find out more about the project.

More Info…

Details can be found on the Park’s website www.clydemuirshiel.co.uk/tagn-track or by emailing TnT@clydemuirshiel.co.uk. Talks to groups can be arranged if you are interested in finding out more about the project and its findings as the project progresses.

Resolve not to fail: Well done to you if you’re still keeping up any healthy lifestyle changes from New Year resolutions. If you’re not then it’s not too late to pick it up again - you only fall off the wagon if you don’t get back on.

Use our trails and tracks to walk, run or cycle and just get outside more!

Stargazing Returns for 2017: These popular evenings are back at Renfrewshire’s darkest sky location – Muirshiel Country Park. Next date is Monday 6th February, 7pm-9pm - book now by calling 01505 842882.

Special deal £2.50 for a hot drink & cake!

Weave Willow for your Valentine! Always get your other half stereotypical valentines flowers/chocolates/perfumes?! Our Rangers will help you weave a heart wreath or make something to take home with you.

It means more to spend your time together. Event at Greenock Cut Visitor Centre on Feb 14th, 1-3pm, book your place now, £5 per person.

Easter & Summer Courses Online now: Planning ahead? We’ve just taken our first bookings for Spring and Summer courses through our new online booking system. Check the dates and learn a new skill for 2017.

Pedal the Park Road Sportive Sunday 23rd April: Online entry is now LIVE for this 100km sportive! Sign up now for just £15, this includes a £5 donation to local charity CLIC Sargent in Scotland supporting their work with young people with cancer and their families.

Ride 63 Community Cycle Club: The 2017 Ride Calendar will be out soon.

Join our new ‘group style facebook page’ contact the secretary by email ridesixtythree@gmail.com for a membership form and ride info.

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

Weekly Volunteer Groups Newcomers always welcome!

-

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

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

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

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

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Kilmacolm Playgroup & Toddlers Playgroup continues to be as busy as ever, with the children making new friends with all our new starts this term. We have explored the story of ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ and ‘Valentine’s Day’, as well as beginning to learn the days of the week, seasons, weather and months through our registration time at the beginning of each session.

The children are also involved in following a simple recipe to make our play dough while at playgroup and love getting messy helping to add the ingredients and mix it all together. We are also looking forward to booking some sessions of gymnastics or football with Morton to help keep us healthy and active!

Playgroup runs on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings. For more information contact Playgroup Secretary Claire at kilmacolmplaygroupandtoddlers@gmail.com. Our Toddlers group is on Wednesday mornings from 10am - 11.30am and gives 0-3 year olds a chance to play with lots of different toys, make friends, and share a snack, while the grown-ups catch up over a cup of tea. Drop in to find out more, or contact Frances at kilmacolmtoddlers@ outlook.com. Our website is http://kilmacolmplaygroupandtoddlers@jimdo.com.

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 Parish Church Tots’ Club Kilbarchan Parish 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. 11 am Meet mums, drink coffee, eat cake.

Kilmacolm Playgroup

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

St Fillan’s Primary School

Howwood Playgroup

At the beginning of January the Primary 4 and Primary 5 children took part in a Digital Scotland mobile showcase event. They learned about broadband and its importance in our lives and discussed possible digital plans for the future.

Kilmacolm Toddlers

Our Primary 6 pupils are looking forward to taking part in a STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Maths) workshop at Paisley University at the end of January. This will allow them to take forward the STEM skills they have been developing in school.

McKillop Hall. 9.30am - 11.30am

This term Primary 3 are going to be learning about life during the reign of Queen Victoria while our Primary 7 are studying what it means to be a refugee.

In Primary 1 and Primary 2 our pupils are learning about Scotland.

In the picture you can see Primary 1 enjoying some fresh air and exercise whilst taking part in their ‘Daily Mile’.

We are all looking forward to a visit from Zoolab later in January.

Howwood Church Hall, 9.45am - 11.35am

every

Wednesday

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

Lochwinnoch Baby & Toddlers £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

Houston Baby & Toddlers

Howwood Church Hall 9.45am - 11.35am

We’ve had a lovely start to our new term at Baby & Toddlers with pupils from Houston Primary leading us in song. A number of us have attended a British Red Cross First Aid Course for Baby and Child - hugely relevant and very engaging, and hoping to organise another one soon. We have Spring crafts and a grown-ups night out planned.

Langbank Village Hall 9.45 - 11.45am

Why not come along and join us at Houston Baby & Toddler group? Children from 0-4 years old, together with their parents/grandparent/ carer, will receive a warm welcome. The children can have fun playing with our many toys while the adults chat over a cuppa! We meet every Thursday 9.30am - 11.30am (term time only) in the West Hall, Main Street, Houston, PA6 7EL (next door to the Carrick Centre) – welcome anytime.

every

Friday

Langbank Playgroup

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

1st & 3rd Friday

Renfrewshire Inverclyde Twins Club McKillop Hall, Lochwinnoch 1pm-2.30pm

£3. Bring a mug along for a cuppa.

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

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Gryffe High School History Trip to the Mitchell Library Higher History pupils attended an exclusive event, held at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow, commemorating the role of woman in industry during the First World War. It was a fantastic opportunity to expand our knowledge and understanding of something so important to society, as well as something linked to our course.

Houston Primary School Scotland Street School

The day involved four workshops which we rotated round. The first workshop was a radical learning experience, transporting us back to 1915 – when Britain was forced to find alternative timber sources at home, after U-boats began to sink imports of timber. We were able to experience cutting a log for ourselves, which left some of us with sore arms. Some of us even tried on safety equipment from then and now ... It was incredible to think the average age of one of these woman was 53!

The pupils of Primary 6 have been learning about the Victorians and to enhance their learning, Mrs Conaghan and Mrs Campbell arranged a trip to Scotland Street School. The pupils made comparisons with the classrooms and the teachers, and are very glad to be attending Houston Primary in the present day. On return to school they continued with the Victorian theme and carried out experiments linked to Victorian medicine.

In the next workshop, we were given artefacts to examine and study, before presenting them to a room full of mostly strangers with a prize for the best one. I am pleased to say that out of the four competitions held, Gryffe took home the gold for three!

The other workshops, involved a presentation on the Gretna Girls. A group of women who moved to the New Town of Gretna to work at a munitions factory, which helped to turn the tides of the War. Finally, we were given a glimpse of the role of women in the Govan rent strikes. At this workshop were also given the opportunity to be do a source work question with an SQA verifier.

Overall, it was an amazing opportunity and a great day out. Everyone certainly left with a more profound understanding and appreciation of the role of women in the First World War. Euan Huey S5 Nursery Ambassadors Primary 6 pupils applied for the position of Nursery Ambassadors and the successful candidates will be taking up their posts in January. The nursery pupils look forward to getting to know Sarah Smillie, Abigail Nelson, Calum Johnson, Adam Gilmour, Murray Gray, Rory McAllister, Rachel Frew, Ellie Nayar, Adam Foy, Max Donaghey and Skye Mills. These pupil will follow the nursery pupils when they join Primary 1 in August as Primary 1 Playleaders.

Netball News Mrs Irvine’s netball team took part in a local tournament and finished with excellent scores. Five wins and two draws. Well done to the team.

Houston or Hogwarts?

Gryffe achieve a sportsscotland GOLD School Sport Award Following our application for a sportscotland School Sport Award at the end of last session, we were delighted to receive a GOLD School Sport Award.

The application process involved pupils and staff forming a School Sport Committee and completing an evaluation and development process of various areas including: • Physical Education

• School Sport

• Pathways

• Compete and Perform

• Celebrating Sport

• Leadership

• Career Long Professional Learning

Primary 5 pupils have transformed their class into Hogwarts, and have created a magical mood with their amazing artwork. They have also been busy designing a new broomstick for Harry Potter. Mrs Murray will have the very difficult job of choosing one winner, which will then be made into a 3D broomstick.

Scottish Culture This month all pupils will be participating in a day of Scottish themed vertical learning sessions. There will be Scottish country dancing, food tasting, music making, poetry recitals and lots of ‘teuchter’ fun!

• Recognition and Awards

• Access to school facilities Following this process, sportscotland awarded the highest level of this award based on the programmes we have at the school. Following this award, we will be continuing to evaluate and develop our programmes further through discussions with pupils, parents, staff and external bodies.

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Photography Blog

by Lauren Russell, Owner, Little Studio Kilmacolm

Are you in the picture?

All too often parents will be the ones snapping pictures of their children but fail to put themselves in the shot, this could be for many reasons hair is a mess, I look tired, not in shape yet. As we enter 2017 and are making a new year of memories make the resolution to get in the picture yourself.

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Kilbarchan Community Nursery We are delighted to announce that we have recently received our third Green Flag Award for our continued work on eco school projects.

This year the nursery is focusing on saving water, reducing food waste and recycling litter. The children on the eco committee enjoy taking on leadership roles as monitors to raise awareness within the nursery.

When your kids are all grown they will never say ‘I love this photo of our family, but I wish Mum had waited until she’d lost the baby weight’.

So please embrace the camera and get in the photos with your babies and little ones. You’ll be grateful you were in the photos in the future and so will your kids!

And once you’ve taken all these lovely photos, please make sure you print them! Digital cameras and iPhones make it much easier for us to take more photos, but it doesn’t assist in their long-time survival.

Think about your great-great-grandchildren in the year 2100. They may all be darting about on hoverboards like in Back to the Future II, but they probably won’t even know what a CD is, your old PC will be in the loft and Facebook & Instagram will be soo last century!

And even if they can access your photos archive will the really they will want to sift through thousands of images including the out of focus ones! Please give your great-great-grandchildren a huge gift and spend a day organising, editing and printing your photos. It’s a big job, but really worthwhile, to know that our precious family memories will be passed down through the generations.

I hope this has inspired you to get in the photos with your children and also to get them printed!

The children and their families are also doing their bit for the local community by bringing in donations for the local foodbank. The children were made very welcome when they visited the Johnstone foodbank with their donations before Christmas, that we have decided to continue with this support throughout the year and will be organising monthly visits.

If your child is 2 by the end of February please ensure you submit an application form for their funded nursery place which they will be entitled to when they reach their 3rd birthday.

St Columba’s School Entrance Assessments and Joining St Columba’s It’s been a busy start to the New Year with entrance assessments for next session well underway. However, you are welcome to visit St Columba’s at any time and if spaces are available your child may be able to join a year group part way through the year.

We welcome children from 3-18 years of age and offer wrap-around care from age 3. Our staff and pupils would love to show you what we can offer your child - please make an appointment to pop in and see our Early Years, Junior School and Senior School at work and play.

Langbank Playgroup What an amazing and fun filled place to be! At playgroup, children have the opportunity to develop their social skills, independence, creativity, numeracy, literacy skills and many, many more….. What’s not to like, when all of this can be done through play!

In playgroup, we have lots of activities on offer for the children such as imaginative house corner, painting and creating, storytelling and even some messy play too.

We also have use of the local park which is right on our doorstep.

Community Bookbug Sessions We are delighted that Miss Victoria Jones, from our Early Years department, is in the throes of Scottish Book Trust training to become a Bookbug Session Leader. Bookbug sessions are free, fun and friendly events for babies, toddlers, pre-schoolers and their families to enjoy together.

Each session lasts around 30 minutes and includes songs, stories and rhymes. We hope to be able to offer community Bookbug sessions in our Junior School from March, so look out for updates on our website and facebook page.

Wild Woodies Our Early Years children, aged 3-5 years, enjoy lots of outdoor learning and play on a daily basis in their very own private garden. Twice a week they venture out to our Wild Woods come rain or shine! The children play in the woods and experience nature and the turning seasons first hand.

We recently had a family day out to The Beacon Arts Centre, where we watched and took part in the Christmas Pantomime “Flora’s Fairy Challenge”. The day was finished off with a lovely lunch on the premises.

Do you have a child aged between 2.5yrs to 5yrs old?

Then why not let them come along and experience the fun! Everyone welcome from Langbank and surrounding areas.

Playgroup is held on a Friday morning (term time) in Langbank Village Hall and we currently have spaces for children aged 2.5yrs to 5yrs. If you would like to join us on a Friday morning or for more information, please contact Jen Burrows on 07947 983025.

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Ski Trip to Austria In January a group of 27 pupils from Transitus to Senior II and four members of staff departed for Austria. During their five days in Alpendorf pupils enjoyed the wonderful skiing conditions on the slopes and the various evening entertainments such as swimming, bowling, karaoke,

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quizzes, games and sightseeing in Salzburg.

The blue skies, ideal skiing conditions and hospitality of everyone at the resort combined to make this a truly memorable trip.

Senior VI Pupils Get Motivated The annual Senior VI trip to Drymen for a motivational weekend was a huge success. In a workshop Tree of Knowledge inspired pupils to embrace opportunities with a positive mindset through a series of practical challenges. A session called ‘Preparing for the Future’ was led by recent former pupils who shared their experiences of university, summer employment and applying for and starting work.

Hilary Roberts of HR Consultancy also challenged the students with a practice Assessment Centre task. A Murder Mystery Dinner on the Saturday evening ended with karaoke and yet again the staff took their turn at the microphone!

Successful Music Auditions Music plays an important role in life at St Columba’s and several of our pupils have been chosen to represent the various National Youth Choirs of Scotland. After successful auditions, Gavin Findlay (pictured right) was selected to be part Main Choir (for singers aged 16-25 years old). This is an amazing achievement for a Senior V pupil. Gavin will sing 2nd Bass. Lucy Blair, Emily Capell and Stephanie Bell were selected for the Training Choir (16-19 years old). Stephanie was

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also chosen alongside Emily Phillips and Sarah Sandground for the National Youth Girls’ Choir of Scotland (10-16 years old), whilst Jonathan Blair and Archie Sandground were selected for the National Youth Boys’ Choir of Scotland (12-16 years old).

The School is represented in the National Youth Orchestra of Scotland Senior Orchestra, which brings together the best young musicians in Scotland over 13 year of age. Rory McLean (cello) has successfully auditioned and Lauren Baker (trumpet) has been selected as a reserve.

Again, the School is represented in the NYOS Junior Orchestra for pupils aged 8 and over by Poppy Pitts (cello).

West of Scotland Schools’ Orchestra and Concert Band have selected Lauren Baker (trumpet), Hannah Findlater (saxophone), Rory McLean (cello) and Poppy Pitts (cello).

Creative Communities Event - Glasgow: Mapping the City Join author John Moore as he takes us on a unique and fascinating tour of Glasgow from its pre-industrial beginnings to the modern day via its old maps. He will also talk about the maps of old Renfrewshire.

This is a FREE event, open to all, and will be held on Thursday 2nd March from 7.30pm-8.30pm at The Library, The Girdwood Building, St Columba’s School, Gryffe Road, Kilmacolm (please use Gryffe Road entrance). Email vfinnigan@st-columbas.org to reserve a place.

To find out more or to arrange a visit to St Columba’s please contact Junior School on 01505 872768, Senior School on 01505 872238 or visit www.st-columbas.org.

19/01/2017 12:54:08

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Duchal Nursery School

There is something exciting about starting a new year and our practitioners are full of wonderful ideas for activities and new experiences they want to organise for 2017 for the children to enjoy.

We are also delighted to welcome back Sherie following her recent teaching role in Dubai.

We’ve had a great start to the year beginning our Winter and Winter Sports project – especially as we’ve experienced rather a lot of winter weather in the last few weeks – snow, rain, and wind!!! We’ve created a fantastic frieze that is on the wall depicting all that Winter entails!

To celebrate the wonderful world we live in the Grasshoppers early years playroom will be exploring Our Planet as their chosen topic and along with looking at space and the planets we will see where the children lead this learning - That is always the exciting part and they never disappoint!

New term plans for the Busy Bunnies has a big focus on Science and our Eco Schools project.

Within science we will be looking at the weather, and making a rain gauge to measure how much rain falls over time (never a lot in Scotland of course!). The children will also be talking about the wind, adding wind chimes to our outdoor area and listening to the different sounds they make. Light and shadows will be explored with our lightbox and we will attempt to build a volcano and make it erupt (fingers crossed). We will also be creating a herb garden in our outdoor area over the coming months.

Chinese New Year will be celebrated across the nursery – the year of the Rooster – and this will bring in opportunities for lots of creative activities; Dragons, new food experiences and lots of fireworks.

Activities for the Little Ladybirds will continue with lots of singing, rhyme and stories, interspersed with cuddles and laughter. However we appreciate that our Rising 2’s are looking for more challenges and we will be following their interests in animals and working on colours and extended language. We will also be continuing with our regular visits to the Scout Hall where the children will further develop their physical and listening skills during games and activities.

Kilbarchan Parish Church Tots’ Club The club takes place on Monday mornings from 9.15am - 11.30am in the church hall, where there is a large variety of toys and a bouncy castle for the tots - from birth - 3 years - and coffee and friendly chat for the accompanying adults, cost £1 for each adult. The club will be on holiday on Monday 13th February and continues until 3rd April.

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07731 923970

New Entries to Duchal: We are now beginning to offer places for the new intake for August 2017. If your child will be of nursery age after the summer and you are looking at your pre school options, please do get in touch to have an informal look around. With our new extended hours offering greater flexibility of care and our purpose built facilities, Duchal nursery, now in it’s 50th year, is a fantastic place to begin your child’s preschool education. Please take a look at our website for more information – www. duchal.com and find us on Facebook. If you would like to come and visit the Nursery and meet the teachers please contact Head Teacher Jean McCarthy on: Tel: 874358.

We are looking forward to celebrating Chinese New Year at the beginning of the month – which usually involves lots of messy fun with chopsticks – wish us luck!!

Bridge of Weir Primary Our 2017 term got off to a great start when local author Lindsay Littleson came to visit P4-7 on our first day back in January. Lindsay spoke about writing her children’s novel ‘The Mixed Up Summer of Lily McLean’ and how exciting it was to see her work published. She spoke about the importance of perseverance and hard work if you want to achieve something worthwhile, whatever that may be.

You have to be resilient and keep going even when things don’t go your way. Never give up, instead ask yourself what did I learn and what could I do better? Pupils thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity to learn more about what’s involved in the writing process and had lots of questions to ask Lindsay at the end of her presentation. Perhaps some of those listening might be our authors of the future?

This month our P7 pupils are organising their annual ‘Bring and Buy’ sale. Children will be encouraged to bring in unwanted toys and will be able to purchase different toys on 3rd February. All funds will be donated to our school charity Phantasanja, which supports underprivileged, abused and neglected children in Thailand.

16 of our P5 pupils who took part in a squash tournament last term at Strathgryffe Tennis & Squash Club did tremendously well when they managed to win the competition. The run of good luck continued with P5 pupil Abigail Fleming coming first in the Paisley Arts Competition and winning £50 for herself and also £50 for the school. Great achievements!

Once again the audience at our Christmas Celebrations were blown away by the quality of the children’s performances. Nursery pupils entranced everyone with their seasonal poem and songs, and everyone in Primary 1-3 shared the story of the first Christmas in this year’s nativity play “It’s A Baby!”. The theme for Primary 4-7 was “A Christmas Carol” which was dedicated to our Head Teacher Mrs (Carol) Vallance and included all of her favourite Christmas songs. Keeping this a secret from her during the weeks of practice prior to the concert was no mean feat, but we managed it and “surprised” is perhaps an understatement for how Mrs V felt when she realised what had been going on!

Now that the tinsel is packed away we are preparing for our annual Scottish Concert which will take place on Thursday 9th February. This is a special event which is free for grandparents and senior citizens of the village. In addition to singing, dancing and recitations there is the promise of Janice in the Kitchen’s famous shortbread and a cup of tea for all attendees.

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Port Glasgow High School Zombie Apocalypse

Monday

S3 and S4 pupils had lots of fun taking part in a spoof lecture on the real science behind the Zombie Brain. Delivered by the enthusiastic Dr Howe from the University of Glasgow, pupils learned about probable causes of a zombie outbreak and how to survive a “Zombie Apocalypse”. Pupils were entertained and educated about the science of the human brain during the highly interactive and hilarious experience.

every

Lessons from Auschwitz

Kilbarchan Athletic Club

S6 Pupils, Connor Hair and Jessica McKechnie travelled to Poland as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz Programme. Both pupils visited Auschwitz 1 and Auschwitz-Birkenau camps and were deeply moved and humbled by the experience. Connor and Jessica plan to share their experience of the trip by writing a drama performance to coincide with Holocaust Memorial Week.

Adult Jazz Class

Bridge of Weir 10am Tel: 01505 690757 for further information.

Adult Beginners Ballet Class Bridge of Weir 11.30am

Tel: 01505 690757 for further information.

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, Linwood, 7-8pm/8-9pm 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

Sports Leaders deliver Heartstart programme Fresh from their training as Heartstart Instructors, S5 and S6 Sports Leaders attended an all-day CPR event at Hampden Park. After participating in a 300-strong conga, PGHS pupils helped to train over 300 primary school pupils in the lifesaving skills of recognising cardiac arrest, performing CPR and dealing with serious bleeding and choking.

Reading Champions Author Cathy McPhail joined S1 pupils to share her experiences on writing her recent novel ‘Another me’.

The inspiring author shared advice and strategies with pupils on how to find inspiration for their stories.

Pupils responded well to the challenge and used the inspirational setting of the assembly hall to create a story there and then! Ms McPhail let the pupils into a little secret – the setting for her next book was inspired by the Port Glasgow Community Campus, her many visits to the school provided a spark for her story!

Higher Human Biology Trip Students attended West College Scotland to carry out an investigation in which they had to amplify and then identify lengths of DNA. During these activities, they used both Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Gel Electrophoresis.

They were then given a brief lecture on these techniques and their impact on the modern world. Students also had a question and answer session with college students and staff regarding further education and careers.

Follow us on Twitter @ PortGlasgowHS and @ PGHS_PE_

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Call Ali on 07775 578795 for details.

every

Wednesday

Greenock Hockey Club Inverclyde Academy, Greenock, 6.30 - 8pm 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

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 Youth Rugby Section 11am - 1pm www.pitchero.com/clubs/birkmyre

19/01/2017 12:54:16

54

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Howwood Curling Club - Boglestone Judo Club Come & Try on 8th March Taking part in their first competitions the Howwood Curling Club are always looking for new members to join our friendly curling club which meets at Greenacres, near Howwood.

It is a great way to keep fit and socialise with people in a friendly atmosphere. Current club members come from Renfrewshire, Glasgow and North Ayrshire. We are now looking for new players to play for the 2017/18 season.

We have organised a Come & Try session on Wednesday 8th March at 8.30pm at Greenacres Curling Club. Anyone who is interested is welcome to come along and try out curling. No experience is necessary. Everyone is welcome, whatever your age or ability. We will provide a qualified coach to give you the tuition you need to try out curling. You will also meet with our club members and get to play. We will invite you to our closing bonspiel for the 2016/17 season on the 29th March if you continue to be interested following the Come & Try. All the equipment you need will be provided. The cost on the night for ice is ÂŁ6. Please contact Lachie Carmichael (see below) if you wish to attend - lachiedcarmichael@hotmail.com or 01294 823643.

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Junior section of Boglestone Judo Club came away with fantastic results. This group of junior players have been training hard for the past year under the watchful eye of coaches Robert Sharp, James Turner and Jorge Cruz. The Junior players entered the red belt competitions at the Tryst sports Centre in Cumbernauld and did themselves and the club proud.

The competitions are different from the club scene, the red belt rumbles are the first entry level competitions for 8 to 13 year olds who have just been recently graded, entering these competitions allows them to show the skills they have learned in the club training sessions and put them to practice in a competitive environment. The Boglestone juniors did well with medals for Luke Wolfend Bronze, Gary Thomas Bronze, Ben Tidswell Bronze and a Silver for Dylan Tolan.

The best result was still to come with Harry Vine winning 2 Silver medals at the Saltire Judo Competition, winning silver in his own group he was then invited to fight in an open category where he won another silver medal.

Boglestone junior players train on a Wednesday night from 7pm to 8pm at Boglestone Community Centre. A few places are still available if you are interested in coming along on a Wednesday, first taster session is free.

19/01/2017 12:54:20

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february 2017

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Linwood Rangers 2007 We are looking for goalkeepers and outfield players interested in joining our 2007s football squad for the forthcoming season. Our squad currently comprises boys from the Houston, Bridge of Weir, Linwood and Bishopton villages.

We operate two teams at the 2007 age group level in the Paisley, Johnstone & District Youth Football League with our focus at training and matches fully on player development. Our coaching is aimed at ensuring that all players in our squad can enjoy playing football and learn new skills and positions in a fun and well coached team environment. We currently train on Tuesday evenings between 7-8pm at On-X in Linwood and on a Friday night between 6.30-7.30pm at Ferguslie Astroturf. Matches during 2017 will take place on Saturday mornings. If you are interested in joining our squad, please contact Paul Connolly on 07870 651829.

Kilmacolm Golf Club Ladies On 13th December, 50 ladies enjoyed golf & festive fun at the final golfing event of 2016. 36 played in a 10 hole competition & everyone enjoyed mulled wine & home baked delicacies in a beautifully festive clubhouse.

The Club ran a successful Hogmanay party for 70 members & guests to ring in the New Year.

A Scottish Night is planned for Saturday 4th February.

The Ladies Bridge afternoon, in aid of Erskine Hospital, is on Tuesday 7th Feb at 1.30pm. To book a table for this Bridge afternoon, please phone Norah Adams on 872691.

Lois Brown, Lady Captain PHOTOS: Prizewinners at Christmas Cracker Competition

the

Sporting Blog

by Lesley Handley

“Quitting when progress stalls is like slashing the other 3 tyres when 1 tyre gets a puncture” New Year’s Resolutions were set; a lot of you (including me!!) probably woke up on the 1st January with new goals in mind and focused on a new mindset for 2017 ... you might have got up and made a healthier breakfast, you may have went out for a walk that you don’t normally do and you may have had extra vegetables on your plate at dinner time ... are you still waking up with those goals in mind?

Everything generally goes great for the first few weeks and then towards the end of the month things start to slow down or even come to a halt. Hectic life may have resumed with work or kids and time restraints start affecting the earlier choices you were making, or you haven’t seen any results and get dis-heartened, or, as a lot of people do, the goals you set weren’t sustainable and you just couldn’t keep up with it.

So what do you do?

At this point, A LOT of people quit and give up ... but don’t!!

Progress, whether it is weight loss, building strength, improving an aspect of fitness, whatever it may be, is never going to be linear. It will be an up and down journey before you finally get to where you had intended on reaching.

It’s a slow and steady journey that you need to continue on and accept the knocks and set back’s as well as the highs and achievements.

Instead of giving up and throwing your plans out of the window, assess what is causing the issues and try and make some changes, however big or small they may be, and get back on the path towards your goal. Ask for help, seek some guidance, find a solution and get on with your journey.

Lets wake up on the 1st February as though it’s the 1st January and keep pushing on to achieve what you wanted in 2017!

Lesley For details on Personal Training, fitness or nutrition contact me on 0773 627 4925 or e-mail Lesley@fitsmartfitness.co.uk.

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PROPERTY

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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

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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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BRIDGE OF WEIR

Freeland Church: Rev KN Gray BA BD. Morning Service 10.30am.

Crèche, Sunday School, Lynx and Cornerstone. Evening Service 7pm www.freeland. org.uk St Mary’s Episcopal Church, Johnston Rd, Bridge of Weir, PA11 3EE. Our Services are held every Sunday at 10am.

On the first Sunday each month at 6pm we welcome all who enjoy the beauty of quietness and peace at “Sanctuary” our Contemplative Service. All who seek God in mindful enquiry, in beauty, in quietness and service to others, all who are tired of life or full of it, all who are confident or all who are afraid - indeed whoever you are - you are welcome here! http://www.heartlandsec.org/ BoW/index.html Contact: Revd.

Heller G.P 01505 872961.

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

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.

HOWWOOD

HOUSTON

Houston and Killellan Kirk, Church of Scotland Scottish Charity no SC 012822.

During the current Ministerial vacancy, the Rev. Ian Bell will conduct our services. Early Service (Holy Communion) 5th February - 9.45am Early Service (Holy Communion) - 11am Morning Worship 12th, 19th, 26th - 11am Morning Worship.

St Fillan’s, Main St, Houston: Sun Masses: Vigil (Sat) 5pm, 9.30am & 11am. Weekday Mass: Tues Sat 9.30am except Thurs, 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 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.

Church of the Nazarene: Village Hall, Main St, Houston PA6 7EL. Rev. Benito S Coetzee.

Family services at 10.30am with full toddler, children & youth activities running concurrently with the service. Youth meets at 6.30pm - 8pm on Sundays.

Word and Table Quiet Service held from 9am - 9.30am every 3rd Sunday. www.houston. nazarene.org.uk

Howwood Parish Church. Minister Rev May Bell. Sunday Service and Sunday School. 10am each Sunday. Prayer meeting held at 3 Bowfield Way, Howwood, 7.30pm on Tuesdays.

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

info@advertizer.co.uk

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

Fri 10 February March ‘17 Issue: • Deadline: 10 Feb • Delivery: 24 Feb • April ‘17 Issue: • Deadline: 17 Mar • Delivery: 31 Mar

churches

KILBARCHAN

Services continue at 11am each Sunday throughout February, conducted by Rev. Stephen Smith. The Sacrament of Holy Communion will be celebrated on Sunday 26th February at 11am and 2pm.

Sunday School and the crèche meet in the large hall from 10.45am each week and refreshments will be served after the service as usual. All welcome to any or all of these services.

Kilbarchan Parish Church Midweek Fellowship continues from 10.30am for coffee, followed by a short service of worship, on Wednesdays in the small hall.

KILMACOLM

St Columba Church of Scotland: (charity no. SC007992) Morning Worship Sundays at 11am. All welcome. Coffee/tea served in the hall after the service.

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.

Kilmacolm Old Kirk: Church of Scotland (Charity no. SC009291). www.kilmacolmoldkirk.org.uk.

Minister Rev. Dr Peter McEnhill (01505 873174). Morning Worship – Sundays 11am, all welcome Sunday School and Crèche available. Night Kirk, a short reflective service 1st Sunday each month at 6pm.

Sòlas Bereavement Group, 2nd Thursday each month at 6:30pm in Kidston Hall.

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 11 a m . Ro s a r y Tu e s d ay s 6.30pm. Prayer group meets Thursdays 7.30pm. Further information and contact details www.stcolmsparish.co.uk. All welcome.

Buddhist meetings: Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. Phone Margaret on 01505 871343.

St Fillan’s Episcopal Church, Moss Road, Kilmacolm, PA13 4DL. Services on Sunday at 11.30am.

Wednesday: 10.30am Holy Communion. On the last Sunday of the month at 11:30am we welcome families to come and join us for our monthly Family Service. We are united by our belief in Jesus, who sustains and encourages us in all the ups and downs of life. Everyone is welcome to join us ! http://www. heartlandsec.org/KLM/index. html Contacts: Revd. Heller G.P 01505 872961 / Maureen Russell (Pastoral Assistant) 01505 872905.

LANGBANK

Langbank Parish Church: Rev. Dr. Ken Forrest. Sunday Services 10am with Sunday School, Crèche 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 Ser vice Sunday School and Crèche.

Calder United Free Church: (Church Street, 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: Rev. Andy Lunn BSc, (01475 791282) Mount Zion Church, Law View Road, Quarriers Village, PA11 3FD. Sunday Worship: 10:30am, Bible Study and Prayer Meetings: Wednesday at 7pm and Friday at 10 am. “Mozzy” Youth Club Thursdays at 6:30 for young people of high school age. Half night of prayer: 7pm – midnight, 4th Friday of each month. Feel free to come along at any of these times.

‘The Gatherin’ is at 7pm on the fourth Sunday of each month, at Mount Zion Church in Quarriers Village. The Gatherin’ for people to come together who hunger for more of the presence of the Lord and to be fed from His word.

Please come and invite others: all welcome!

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 Tuesday 7pm.

(NB: no meetings July, August and January) 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

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Items For Sale Baby Equipment Britax Car Seat black forward facing, 15-36 kg, good condition. £15. Tel: 01505 874870.

White rocking cradle with new mattress VGC. £40. Tel: 07985 482211.

Fisher price jumperoo. Good condition. £25. Tel: 07985 482211.

Fisher price baby and toddler chair (rainforest colour).

Good condition. £8. Tel: 07985 482211.

Mamas and papas musical rocking baby swing. Good condition. £15. Tel: 07985 482211.

Toilet trainer seat, white. VGC. £5 (have two). Tel: 01505 874870.

Potty Chair Mothercare red/ pink. VGC. £5. Tel: 01505 874870.

Clothes & Shoes George wool blend coat black with faux fur collar ladies size M. £25. Tel: 07856 610671.

Tap shoes pink junior size 10 and 11. £10 per pair. VGC. Tel: 01505 874870.

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Tel: 01505 337675.

Household & Garden 3 bales of Liberty fabric. Approx £20 per metre. Tel: 07814 820684.

JC & MP Smith Lambourne 2 seater settee & chair. Excellent condition. £200. Tel: 07440 063999.

Edinburgh Crystal Decanter and four Whisky Glasses. £50.

Bargain - never used. Tel: 01505 702903.

Dining Table with 4 Chairs and Dresser. Limed pine. 20 year old quality furniture. Perfect ‘Shabby Chic’. £200 ono.

Colin on 07748 944622.

t: 01505 613340

Brass Framed Mirror. Small ‘dimpled’ pattern brass framed mirror. £25. House move forces sale. Tel: 07759 024988.

Pair M&S fully lined brand new (still in packed) curtains (90” drop x 53” width). Stone colour with red leaf pattern. £50 ono. Tel: 07814 820684.

2 seater bed-settee (bed never been used) in chintz fabric.

All bedding included if desired. £100 ono. Tel: 07814 820684.

Rich red patterned Axminster stair or hall carpet. As new.

27” wide. £50 ono. Tel: 07814 820684.

Heavy quality carpet roll 6’ wide.

Natural colour. Would cover stairs or hall. Brand new. £50 ono. Tel: 07814 820684.

Yew Dining Table, 4 Chairs & 2 Carvers with 2 tripod end legs with pull out centre. Beautiful condition with stunning teardrop markings. £200 ono.

Tel: 01505 612881.

Solid pine single guest beds and good quality mattresses (Kozee Sleep). Bought new £500, accept £100. Tel: 01505 613110.

Quality reproduction mahogany circular dining table (46 Inches diameter plus extending leaf) and 6 chairs. Excellent condition. House move forces sale. £350. Buyer collects.

Tel: 07775 913334.

Victorian chaise longue. Finished in dark green velvet.

Offers considered. Tel: 01505 872615.

John Lewis butterfly folding dining table and four chairs. £50.

Tel: 07748 587489.

Dark wood Sideboard 4 door, 2 internal drawers as new. L171 x H82 x W45cms. Smoke Free House. Must uplift. £75 ono Tel: 01475 54031.

Beautiful 6’2” table & 6 chairs.

Light oak. £125. Tel: 01505 337675.

07731 923970

Three Interior White Glass Panel (15) Doors - 197cm x 76cm with chrome handles. £15 each (£40 for all three) - Good condition, would require collection. Tel: 01505 391026.

Adjustable electric bed. Electric handset, support mattress & headboard. New cost £695, selling for £175. Tel: 07986 812483.

Dark Wooden Dresser (small).

Matches dining room suite.

Width: 940 Height: 810 Depth: 440mm. House move forces sale. £50. Tel: 07759 024988.

Hall Table. Half Octagonal dark wood, carved legs and side with glass top. Width: 710, Height: 740, Depth: 380mm, VGC. £30. House move forces sale. Tel: 07759 024988 2 x 2 seater sofas. Brand new, still with labels on. Chocolate brown leather from Oak Furnitureland. Genuine reason for sale. Cost £1,600 selling for £800. Tel. 07876 644426.

Cintique 3 seater settee. Wooden sides and back, cream floral ‘tapestry.’ Good condition, cushions very firm, hardly sat on! Dimensions 1780mm long x 860mm wide x 950mm high (to top of cushion) seat height is 470mm. House move hence sale. £65. Tel: 07759 024988.

Bullnose smooth laminate kitchen worktop - Quartzstone white with light grey flecks.

Cost £150, will sell for £50 or nearest offer. Dalry. Tel: 01294 834423.

Pine table & 2 high back chairs.

Brand new. £35. Tel: 01505 612726.

Modern standard lamp and matching table lamp. Brand new (still boxed). £20 for both. Tel: 01505 612726.

Honda Izy HRG465C SDE petrol lawnmower, recently serviced, plus service kit plus spare blade. £195. Tel: 07748 587489.

Electrical & Gas DC Animal C50 Upright Vacuum. Excellent condition with accessories. £100 with warranty. Tel: 07882 984824.

Remington Ceramic Hair Straighteners. New, unwanted gift. £25. Tel: 07759 024988.

Kenwood double oven/grill dual fuel stainless steel range cooker in excellent order.

Selling due to new kitchen.

New main oven element and fan fitted a year ago. 90cm wide. Must uplift. £295 Ono Tel: 07860 654418.

Under counter Hotpoint Super Plus Dishwasher (seldom used). £60. Tel: 01505 612042.

Sports Figure skates white junior size 10, good condition. £10. Tel: 01505 874870.

King Cobra II Oversize Iron Set plus Taylor Made driver & 3 wood, two putters (Wilson & Fazer). Men’s right hand.

Plus King Cobra golf bag and Turfglider trolley. £75. Tel: 07748 587489.

Almost new indoor bowling carpet and bowls. £175ono.

Can be seen Tues or Thur from 12.30pm - 1.30pm at the Lunch Club, Elderslie Village Hall or email Margaret Fairley at marjohnfairley@aol.com.

Boys bike, Apollo Outrage. Suit Age 5-7. Good condition. £60. Tel: 01505 690806.

P o w a k a d d y p l u s b a t t e r y. £80ono. Tel: 01505 872691.

Toys/Games/DVD BMW S1000RR Motorcycle (battery power) for 3-8 year olds, brand new in packaging £110 (online £150). Tel: 07856 610671.

BMW i8 Ride-on Car (battery power) for 3-8 year olds, 1.6 mph - New in packaging. £110 (online £150). Tel: 07856 610671.

Monsters Inc in box - Mike and sully talk, but maybe have loose wire. £10. Tel: 07932 021183.

Andrew Robson’s Bridge Flipper Guide - unused £5. Tel: 01505 331982.

Tomb Raider (Lara Croft). £10.

Tel: 07932 021183.

Little Tikes Evergreen Country Cottage with pretend sink and stove, age 2-6 yrs, 127(l) x 104(w) x 131(h) cm, good condition. Cost new £300, sell for £55. Tel: 01505 874870.

Toddler Bicycle helmets (44-48 cm) pink x 2, suits appr. 1-5 yrs old, VGC. £5 each. Tel: 01505 874870.

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.

56-59 CLASSIFIED_269_FEB17.indd 58

e: info@advertizer.co.uk

Various girls toddler bikes, balance bikes, with and without stabilisers & girls scooters from £0 - £10. Tel: 01505 874870.

Other Items Bench Morticer, Axminster AW16BMST plus three mortice chisels. Unused items, in full working order. £125. Tel: 01475 540714.

Royal amber bracelet. £18. Tel: 07856 610671.

RT-AC 88U Wireless - AC 3100 Dual - band gigabit Router PC - Pro excellence awards 2014. 3 year warranty, best for gaming. Brand new in Package. £260 (online £290).

Tel: 07856 610671.

Mobility Scooter - range of 10 miles. Folds into car boot.

Excellent Condition. £350.

Tel: 01505 862323.

Noris Slide Projector. Good working order (bulb works) in leather case. £35. Tel: 07759 024988.

Yamaha 5 Octave Keyboard.

Offers when seen. Tel: 07763 665496.

Trumpet. Beginners Jupiter trumpet with case. Both in excellent condition. (Requires own mouth piece for hygiene). £50. Tel: 01505 614377.

36 Marvel comics pre 1998 £40. 103 DC comics - £55.

Tel: 07932 021183.

‘You are what you eat’ Dr Gillian McKeith guide. Good condition. £7. Tel: 01505 331982.

Eumig P8 Novo Automatic in original box. Made in Austria 1960’s cine projector in good working order, no scratches etc. Needs new bulb (available on Ebay from £6). Includes empty spool. £130.

Tel: 07759 024988.

Vintage amber necklace 80g cognac colour. £46. Tel: 07856 610671.

Vintage binoculars Telstar coated lenses in a black leather case. £25. Tel: 07856 610671.

Brand new steel car wheel 6JX15H2 and new Jinyu tyre 185/60 R15. Stored as spare wheel only. £80. Tel: 07736 067169.

Wanted Items

Local lily grower requires the use of a greenhouse/polytunnel in Kilmacolm area in return for light gardening duties. Tel: Vince 01505 872082.

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.

CONTENT OF THE GRYFFE ADVERTIZER CANNOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT FROM THE PUBLISHER The Gryffe Advertizer is a magazine published by The Gryffe Advertizer Ltd

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: • 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Editorial throughout The Gryffe Advertizer:

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

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.

19/01/2017 14:20:50

@GryffeAds

www.advertizer.co.uk

february 2017

59 59

Advertizers - A to Z Accountants & Financial Affluent Financial Planning . . 22 Cheetham & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 CLA Accountancy Services Ltd . . 14 Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Fiona Christie Accounting Serv . . 15 Stewart Independent Financial . . 1

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

Automotive Services AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 ARC Fleet Services . . . . . . . . . Bk Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Gryffe Garage Motor Engineers . . 33

Bathrooms Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 Instyle Kitchens & Bathrooms . . 17

Bedrooms Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 4

Blacksmith & Metalwork McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 20

Building Services A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 B Hughes Builders - Houston . . 2 Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 Clippens Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 3 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 41 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 KC Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 14 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 30 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41 RPH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 Stewart Milne Homes . . . . . . . . 25 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 40 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 49

Business Services Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 26

Care Services & Homes Confident Care Ltd . . . . . . . . . 10

Catering Karen Rankin Catering . . . . . . 15

Cleaning & PowerWash CleanDryCarpets . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 20 Eclipse deep clean . . . . . . . . . 14 Fastclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 6 KC Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 MattVac Carpet & Upholstery Cl . . Bk Nutech Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Platinum Cleaning Services . . 5

Coffee Shops Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 35

Computer, IT & Web ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Computer Repairs . . . . . . . . . . 1 Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 26

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

Driving Instructors AL Stewart - Driving Instruct . . 15 Paul Ferguson - Confidence . . 7

by category

Plumbers

Education

Home Hardware

Rugby Tots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 51

Gibb Stuart Ironmongers . . . . 14,15,16

Electricians

Alvic Sliding Wardrobes Ltd . . 2 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Ideal Flooring Service . . . . . 30 Orchard Flooring . . . . . . . . . . 28 Rent A Bloke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Delta Electrical Services . . 37 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Lamont Electricians . . . . . . . . 3 MAS Electrical & Security . . 2

Fencing Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 20

Firewood & Logs Auldton Stoves . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Miller BioFuels Ltd . . . . . . . . 7 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Funeral Services Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 29 John Roach Funeral Directors . . 13

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

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

Gas & Heating Services

Home Improvements

Home Interiors Baytree Interiors . . . . . . . . . 5 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 4 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 3

Home Security Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 2

Joiners A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 CM Carpentry & Flooring . . . . 31 DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 3 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 41 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 14 RPH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 40 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Woodburn & Beattie Joiners . . 15

Kitchens Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 4 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 Instyle Kitchens & Bathrooms . . 17 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 40

Laundry & Ironing Harrods DryCleaners . . . . . . . . 5

A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 14 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 20 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 4 JBM Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 3 Phoenix Gas Services . . . . . . . 1

Leisure & Recreation

Glazier

Painters & Decorators

1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 Cloudy2Clear Windows Glasgow . . 5 JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 6 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Ranfurly Castle Golf Club . . 54 Strathgryffe Tennis & Squash . . 55

Locksmiths Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 36 Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 37 Vanda’s Mobile Hairdressing . . 30

A Gallagher Painter&Decorator . . 20 David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 Ian Livingston Decorating . . 15 James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 John H Barney . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Ranfurly Decor . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Health, Beauty & Fitness

Pest Control

Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 36 Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 20 Decorus Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 28 Healing Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Kilbarchan Chiropodists . . . . 40 Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 11 LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Lose It and Love It . . . . . . . . 13 New Vision Opticians . . . . . . . 9 NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 19 Rugby Tots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Sole Solutions Podiatry . . . . 37 Wellcentred UK . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

RED Pest Control . . . . . . . . . . 30

Hairdressers & Barbers

pick up a copy

Bishopton: Post Office, Woodrow’s Store, Keystore, Library, Ingliston Country Club Bridge of Weir: Gibb Stuart, Bernie’s Cafe, Lochnagar, The Bridge, Library (Cargill Centre) Erskine: Garden Centre, Library, Sports Centre, Swimming pool Houston: Co-op, Carrick Centre, Post Office, Newsagent Howwood: Village Store, St Vincent’s Hospice Johnstone: Henderson Kilts, Papa Mac’s, Library Kilbarchan: Sheridan’s Store, Campbell’s, Newsagents, Bobbins, Old Library Centre Kilmacolm: Newsagent, Pieri’s, Cross Café, Gibb Stuart, Cargill Centre, Library Langbank: Finlaystone Visitor Centre Lochwinnoch: Keystore, McKillop Centre, Library, Castle Semple Centre, Newsagent

56-59 CLASSIFIED_269_FEB17.indd 59

Pet Services & Training Bridge of Weir Dog Walking . . 43 Husse Pet Food . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,42 Smart Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . . 43 Suzanne’s Grooming Pad . . . . . 43 Walkies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Photographers Little Studio Kilmacolm . . . . 50

Plasterers Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . .

Charlie Orr Plasterer . . . . . .

James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . .

Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . .

11 13 41 14

A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 14 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 20 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 4 JBM Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 3 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Shower Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Property, Sales & Let CKD Galbraith . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Cochran Dickie Estate Agents . . 23 Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1,27 Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Stewart Milne Homes . . . . . . . . 25

Removals @ease Removals & Transport . . 6 The Right Move . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Restaurant & Bars Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 35

Retail Alexander Barr Coal Merchant . . 8 Baytree Interiors . . . . . . . . . 5 Gibb Stuart Ironmongers . . . . 14,15,16 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 3

Roofing Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 11 Clippens Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 3 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 6 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 KC Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 14 MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 30 RPH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 49

Solicitors Affinity Family Law Experts . . 27 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1,27

Special Occasions ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Sports Clubs & Events Ranfurly Castle Golf Club . . 54

Stoves Auldton Stoves . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Iron House Stoves Limited . . 5 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41

Taxis & Minicoach hire ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Johnstone TOA Taxi Co . . . . . . 33 Minicoach Tours Scotland Ltd . . 31

Tiling Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 15 Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

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

Tree Surgeon Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 46 LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 47

TV & Satellite Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 31 Kieran Turner Aerial&Satellite . . 3

Upholstery Services Baytree Interiors . . . . . . . . . 5 Eclipse deep clean . . . . . . . . . 14 Fastclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 P Thomson Upholstery . . . . . . . 39

Window Cleaners DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 20 Fastclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 6 Matthews Cleaning Services . . 15

Window, Consv & Repair 1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 Art Window & Doors . . . . . . . . . Bk JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 6 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

@ease Removals & Transport . . 6 1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 3D Garden Design . . . . . . . . . . 46 A Gallagher Painter&Decorator . . 20 A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 A Peebles Landscape Contractor . . 46 A&G Driveways . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk A&J Plumbing Heating & Gas . . 14 ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Affinity Family Law Experts . . 27 Affluent Financial Planning . . 22 Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 AL Stewart - Driving Instruct . . 15 Alexander Barr Coal Merchant . . 8 Alvic Sliding Wardrobes Ltd . . 2 Apple Tree Garden Design . . . 46 ARC Fleet Services . . . . . . . . . Bk Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 36 Art Window & Doors . . . . . . . . . Bk Auldton Stoves . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 B Hughes Builders - Houston . . 2 Baytree Interiors . . . . . . . . . 5 Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Bernie’s Cafe Deli . . . . . . . . . 35 Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 20 Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Bridge of Weir Dog Walking . . 43 Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 2 Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 11 Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 4 C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 20 Casa Homes & Gardens Architect . . 7 Charlie Orr Plasterer . . . . . . 13 Cheetham & Co . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 CKD Galbraith . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 CLA Accountancy Services Ltd . . 14 CleanDryCarpets . . . . . . . . . . . 30 CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Clippens Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 3 Cloudy2Clear Windows Glasgow . . 5 CM Carpentry & Flooring . . . . 31 Cochran Dickie Estate Agents . . 23 ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Computer Repairs . . . . . . . . . . 1 Confident Care Ltd . . . . . . . . . 10 Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Craig Kennedy Gardening . . . . 44 David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 Decorus Beauty . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Delta Electrical Services . . 37 Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 31 DJD Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 3 DMG Garden Services . . . . . . . . 46 DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 20 Eclipse deep clean . . . . . . . . . 14 Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Fastclean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 28 Fiona Christie Accounting Serv . . 15 G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . . 44 GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Gibb Stuart Ironmongers . . . . 14,15,16 Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 46 Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 15 Grid Design Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Gryffe Garage Motor Engineers . . 33 Gryffe Roofing Services . . . . 6 Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Harrods DryCleaners . . . . . . . . 5 Healing Rooms . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Husse Pet Food . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 I & J Building & Roofing Serv . . 2 I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 4

Ian Livingston Decorating . . 15 Ideal Flooring Service . . . . . 30 Instyle Kitchens & Bathrooms . . 17 Iron House Stoves Limited . . 5 James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 41 James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 JayBee Double Glazing Repairs . . 6 JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 6 JBM Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 3 JDPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 John H Barney . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 John Roach Funeral Directors . . 13 Johnstone TOA Taxi Co . . . . . . 33 Karen Rankin Catering . . . . . . 15 KC Enterprises . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Kieran Turner Aerial&Satellite . . 3 Kilbarchan Chiropodists . . . . 40 Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 11 Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 14 Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1,27 Lamont Electricians . . . . . . . . 3 Laptop and PC Repairs . . . . . . 26 LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk Little Studio Kilmacolm . . . . 50 LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Lose It and Love It . . . . . . . . 13 M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 M&M Garden Services . . . . . . . . 47 MAS Electrical & Security . . 2 Matthews Cleaning Services . . 15 MattVac Carpet & Upholstery Cl . . Bk MBS Roofing & Building Contrac . . 30 McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 14 McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 20 Miller BioFuels Ltd . . . . . . . . 7 Minicoach Tours Scotland Ltd . . 31 MJ Lawnmowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 New Vision Opticians . . . . . . . 9 Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 37 NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 19 Nutech Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 41 Orchard Flooring . . . . . . . . . . 28 P Thomson Upholstery . . . . . . . 39 Paul Ferguson - Confidence . . 7 PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,42 Phoenix Gas Services . . . . . . . 1 Platinum Cleaning Services . . 5 Powerdoors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk R Williams Tree Surgeon & Grou . . 44 Ranfurly Castle Golf Club . . 54 Ranfurly Decor . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 RED Pest Control . . . . . . . . . . 30 Rent A Bloke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 RPH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Rugby Tots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Shower Expert . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Smart Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . . 43 SMG Roofing & Building Contrac . . 2 Sole Solutions Podiatry . . . . 37 St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 51 Stewart Independent Financial . . 1 Stewart Milne Homes . . . . . . . . 25 Strathgryffe Tennis & Squash . . 55 Suzanne’s Grooming Pad . . . . . 43 SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 Taylor Made Joinery . . . . . . . . 40 TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Furniture Barn . . . . . . . . . 3 The Right Move . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 49 Travel Actually . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Vanda’s Mobile Hairdressing . . 30 W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Walkies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Wellcentred UK . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 West of Scotland Landscape . . 46 Woodburn & Beattie Joiners . . 15

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Next Issue: (#270) March ‘17 Deadline: Friday 10 February

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February 2017 No.269

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