Konect Linlithgow March 2016

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Launch issue march 2016

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FEATUREs

Linlithgow Community First Responders - Local heroes Further From Festival - what was that all about?

s& Offer ers h c u o v cal from lo ses s e busin

Local People Nicola Welsh - “There are no rules for grieving Local walk Check out the view from Cockleroy Hill plus local businesses, community information and more!

A new community magazine for the Linlithgow area

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LOC AL WALK

M ess ag e fro m the e d ito r

W

elcome to the first issue of a new community magazine, the Konect magazine for Linlithgow, Linlithgow Bridge and surrounding area.

We’ve been producing this magazine for other areas of West Lothian for some years and it has become an indispensable handbook in local households – an entertaining read with specially-written articles on local people, local history, local businesses and more.

We’re now bringing it to the Linlithgow area too. The aim is to put local people in touch with the great range of businesses and facilities that we have on our doorsteps.

We’ve also put together a page of useful information, what’s on and a list of clubs and classes in the area. I’m sure there’s more going on than we have listed on the What’s On page for this month, so if you have an event on this spring that you would like to promote or you’re involved in a community club that’s not listed, please let me know and we’ll make sure it’s included next month.

Konect will be delivered to you free of charge every month. We hope you find the magazine informative and entertaining. If you’ve got something interesting and different going on that you’d like to share with the local community, do get in touch and we may be able to feature your story in an upcoming issue. Thanks for reading!

Helen-Jane, Editor hj@konectdirectory.co.uk

Front cover photography by Alan Potter, “Ah’m Watchin’You, Pal”, early spring at Linlithgow Loch.

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FEATUREs Linlithgow Community Fir st Responder s 06 Fur ther From Festival 12 Spotlight on Tr uly Scr umptious 25 Spotlight on Hopetoun Coffee Bar 29 REGULARS Local People: Nicola Welsh Local Walk Parenting in West Lothian Recipe and Food Notes Proper ty Matter s

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COMPETITIONS & PUZZLES Brodies of Linlithgow dr aw Crossword & Sudoku

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COMMUNITY What’s on Useful Infor mation Clubs & Classes

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

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Advertising Enquiries CHARLENE GAFFNEY 07772 941899 charlene@konectdirectory.co.uk JENNY THOMSON 07824 469266 jenny@konectdirectory.co.uk Advert booking deadline: 10th of the month prior to print.

Artwork/copy deadline: 13th of the month prior to print.

The Konect magazine is delivered to 7500 homes and businesses in Linlithgow, Linlithgow Bridge and the surrounding area. Copies are also left at the library, post offices and other locations.

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FEATURE

Linlithgow Community First Responders

The real race for lives

When you dial 999 for an ambulance, did you know that as well as dispatching an ambulance, in some circumstances the service calls a volunteer in your community to attend the emergency if they are likely to get there before the paramedics?

These life-saving volunteers are called Community First Responders. Not every community is fortunate enough to have them, but the Linlithgow group was set up five years ago by an enthusiastic group of volunteers who had heard about the Scottish Ambulance First Responders Scheme, and fund-raised locally to set up three groups – Linlithgow, Bo’ness and South Queensferry.

It’s a very specific service, focused on emergencies related to cardiac arrests and suspected heart attack. Situations where getting the right help to someone in those vital first few minutes can make all the difference to the outcome. As Community First Responders living nearby they can often get to someone quicker and that time before the arrival of the ambulance can make all the difference and even save someone’s life.

The Linlithgow group is co-ordinated by David Booth, whom I met with last month at Kingsfield Golf Club to learn more. David works as a Chef Manager for a large chain of pubs and restaurants.

His work involves a lot of travel, and he has been responsible for health and safety and first aid in his employment. So it seemed a natural thing for him to get the training required to be a Community First Responder. “The sense of achievement when you’ve helped someone and made a difference to their life is just wonderful,” he says of why he does this.

The local team of volunteers take turns at being on call, having the dedicated phone and kit bag with them, and they scramble to the emergency - just like firemen and paramedics - when a call comes

in at any time of the day or night. They put in as many or as few hours on call as they can spare depending on their own circumstances.

Community First Responders come from all walks of life; they have in common the desire to save lives, and the scheme means that just about anyone can do that. They receive intense initial training and monthly refresher courses in the specific situations they are called out for - emergencies where someone has become unresponsive, anything to do with chest and heart, injuries sustained when someone falls when they become unconscious, heart attacks, epilepsy. They are trained in CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation] and administering oxygen. “It has a huge impact on survival rates if someone can get there in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest. Once the Ambulance Control Centre has dispatched the ambulance they then dispatch the Community First Responder to get there ideally within those crucial first few minutes.” They are trained to deal with the whole emergency situation, which could include family members panicking, and keeping everyone calm until an ambulance arrives. “There is not always an ambulance on site at St Michael’s as it gets called out over a fairly wide area,” explains David, “so we can often get to an incident in Linlithgow quicker than an ambulance from elsewhere.” With their bright jackets, they are often mistaken for paramedics when they arrive at the incident, and just their presence can take some of the panic out of a situation.

Besides being on call themselves, the group is committed to raising awareness of cardiac issues, providing training for the public to help people survive. “It’s about changing the culture.

We want to get to a stage where it’s normal for pretty much everyone in society to know what to do when someone loses consciousness or has a heart attack. Scottish Ambulance has a vision to have 500,000 more people trained in Scotland in CPR by 2020.” With this goal in mind the Linlithgow Community First Responders run free training sessions, delivering the British Heart Foundation’s emergency life support

Community First Responders get to the scene before the ambulance , and provide vital care

A major project for the Community First Responders and the ambulance service is the mapping of publicly accessible defibrillators. Many businesses and organisations have defibrillators on-site, and when a emergency happens, the chances are that the patient is only minutes away from a life-saving defibrillator in an office or shop somewhere nearby.

But if no-one on the scene knows it’s there, or are not able to access it, a life may be lost that could so easily have been saved. There are twelve in Linlithgow that the Community First Responders have installed: both golf courses (where all the staff are HeartStart trained), Linlithgow Academy has two (the students fundraised for this themselves, one at the main entrance and one in the sports reception); Springfield Primary; the Bowling Club; Lowport Centre; Rose Sports & Social Club, Linlithgow Canal Centre – one in the tea room and one on their boat travelling the canal; Cross House and St Michel’s Church.

programme called “Heartstart” - two hour course covering simple skills that can help save someone’s life. And there is no minimum age for learning this. Unlike a full first aid course which covers a lot of situations Heartstart is just a couple of hours of basic skills that anyone can learn. “One of the frustrations I experience is that people don’t take advantage of this training until they have been personally involved – witnessed a friend or family member suffer an attack in front of their eyes,” says David. And it’s not just older people who are susceptible – the Community First Responders are called out to incidents involving younger people too, for example a choking incident which can lead to cardiac arrest. Mags Black of the Broxburn group says, “I do training sessions for children from P1 upwards; even if they are physically not able to turn an adult over into recovery position at that stage, it’s a matter of normalising it in our society so that children grow up with that knowledge. A defining moment for me a couple of years ago was when an 11 year old child, who had had the training, was present when his dad had a heart attack. The boy knew who to call, what to do whilst waiting for the ambulance and took control of the situation.”

A kit bag for one area of Community First Responders costs around £3000, besides running costs. All fundraising for this is done by the group themselves. These are volunteers who set the groups up, got the training, raised the money and bought the equipment … then placed themselves on call in order to save the lives of their neighbours. If you’re looking for a worthy cause to support you’d be hard pressed to find a better one locally.

Please contact them: * if you’re interested in joining this team of local heroes. (You don’t have to have a first aid or medical background, as you are given all training required)

* if you run a club of any sort and would like your group to receive the 2.5 hour life-saving “Heartstart” training session. Suitable for ages 5 – 105! * if your organisation has a defibrillator which can be added to the database of publiclyaccessible defibrillators. nders@hotmail.co.uk. please email firstrespo up, gro gow lith Lin the rs.com To contact w.linlithgowfirstresponde See also the website ww

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FOCUS

The Further From Festival

what’s the story behind Linlithgow’s newest festival?

Last month I attended the first night of Linlithgow’s brand new “Further From” festival.

On a dreich night in early February Queen Margaret Hall was abuzz in anticipation of the first event, Tam Dalyell in conversation with local historian Bruce Jamieson. Local band Holm serenaded us, there was a bar set up, and a delicious selection of books laid out for purchase…

A spirited conversation between Tam and Bruce kicked off the festival (and it wasn’t too politically charged, Bruce kept it nice and personal!) followed by a complete change of gear for a poetry slam where four very diverse poets recited a selection of their works – including local up and coming young poet from Linlithgow Ian Macartney, who shared the stage with established names such as Michael Pendersen (having heard his recitals at the festival I can’t do better than repeat Stephen Fry’s assessment “Michael’s poems are so physical you can almost touch the images in them.

Fabulously sensual and alive”) and big name of the evening Liz Lochead. The second day of the festival was an enticing mix of art, music and literary panel events and readings.

So who’s behind the festival and what’s it all about? I caught up with Sally Pattle who runs the bookshop Far from the Madding Crowd on the main street to find out more.

Konect: What was your motivation behind setting up the Further From Festival?

Sally: We’ve been planning the Further From Festival for a while. We felt Linlithgow could do with some cheering up in the depths of winter so February seemed like a good month, and we feel like we have something a bit different to offer the cultural diary of the town. We put together an eclectic programme with adults, children, poetry, fiction and non-fiction events - hopefully something for everyone. We were also really lucky as some HNC Events students at West Lothian College helped out as volunteers which lifted a bit of stress!

Konect: How did you manage to snag the likes of Tam Dalyell and Liz Lochead to attend the festival?

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Sally: I worked in publishing at Birlinn Ltd before coming to work in the bookshop full time, so luckily I made a few contacts while I was there. I have to say we didn’t expect to be able to offer such a full programme for our first ever festival, but it just shows there’s an appetite out there for events such as this. It’s been a lot of hard work to pull Further From together, but we’ve had a great team and a lot of local support and we’re now looking forward to future years!

Konect: How long has Far from the Madding Crowd been in business?

Sally: It’s been open in its current location for five years, though before that it was The Linlithgow Bookshop and Little Owl’s Bookshop, both of which were open further along the High Street - when this property became available it made sense to move both shops into one place!

Konect: And what’s with the shop name?

Sally: Both my mum Gillian, who owns the shop, and myself are big Thomas Hardy fans. And we like to think that the name sums up what you get at the bookshop – it’s not Edinburgh, it’s away from the rush of the city, and you’ll find a different selection of books to what you would find if we were located in the city.

Konect: So how do you select which books to stock?

Sally: You have to know your audience. I grew up in Linlithgow and know it really well. To an extent, the selection of books we stock is also influenced by our own tastes - mum and I both love cooking so there is a large cookery section.

Konect: What’s your favourite thing about working in Linlithgow?

Sally: The best thing is the great community feeling you get - it’s a busy high street with lots of different and useful shops and cafes, but there’s also so much going on in the town with different clubs, societies and sporting events. Everyone living here from young to old can get involved in something which just gives the town a lovely k atmosphere.

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1. Tam Dalyell 2. Nick Sharratt 3. Jim Hutcheson 4. Liz Lochhead 5. Ian Macar tney 6. Jenni Fagan

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LOCAL people

“There are no rules for grieving”

“I want to break the taboo around discussing stillbirth and neonatal death, and make it normal to talk about it,” says Nicola Welsh.

I’m chatting to Nicola in her kitchen at home in Threemiletown, surrounded by all the usual family trappings - photos of her boys, birthday balloons, toys and the family dog. But Nicola carries the invisible scars of neonatal bereavement, and she is dedicated to helping other families who have suffered in the same way. Setting out initially to create a support group for her local Linlithgow community, it snowballed and she now finds herself Chief Executive of SANDS Lothians (Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Society), a charity providing support and services for bereaved families across Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Nicola and her husband Gary discovered during her second pregnancy that their baby had a serious condition called exomphalos. Theo was born and battled through three weeks and four operations. For three weeks they believed he would pull through. But when he passed away, they were left not only obviously bereft but with no support to help them deal with it. “The hospital [Sick Kids in Edinburgh] was phenomenal in what they did to help Theo,” recalls Nicola, “but once you’ve lost your baby, there is no counselling

Album, candle and memories gift bag provided by SANDS Lothians

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or obvious supports available via the NHS*. We were left totally alone.”

While her peers were going to new mums and babies groups, Nicola was alone with her toddler and what she describes as feelings of “intense, scary and overwhelming grief” and was desperate for professional help. The community midwife had visited for post natal care, and she was lucky to have some good friends, but Nicola was desperate to meet someone who had had the same experience. “Meeting other bereaved parents helps to validate your feelings,” she says. “It’s particularly difficult for parents of stillborn babies as there are no photographs or memories to draw on.” It was nine months until Nicola met someone else who had lost a baby, and she finally started to find some validation of her feelings. “You never heal completely,” she says. “That particular train has gone, and it leaves you standing on the platform waiting for the next train which is one of deep sadness. But you can shape where you want it to go by talking about it.”

After the birth of her third boy, Oscar, Nicola set about in earnest to create a support group for the Linlithgow area. She found out about SANDS Lothians (separate from the UK-wide SANDS charity) which was in existence, but no-one had told Nicola about it and there was no local group. It’s been hard work, but today SANDS Lothians is a stand-alone charity employing five people, including two counsellors, and a team of volunteers. Nicola is the Chief Executive. It has a premises at Craigsfarm community centre in Craigshill**, where they have a counselling room and a befriending room, and a family support group meets every month. They provide photo albums for parents to record their brief time with their baby. They can help talk through funeral arrangements with parents. And they work constantly to raise the profile of the charity so that midwives and doctors know to refer people to them.

What advice does Nicola offer for society? “If you know someone who has had a stillborn baby or lost a newborn, don’t be afraid to talk about their

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baby. Always acknowledge the baby, name them and remember them. When you talk to a bereaved parent they may get upset ...but that’s because you were brave enough to let them know that you remember. I’ve been fortunate in having good friends who still drop me a wee card or a text on Theo’s birthday every year.” She recognises that in our society people find it difficult to talk about babies who have passed away, but believes this needs to change. “I found a fantastic quote the other day: ‘When you say my child’s name you are not reminding me that they died. I know they died. What you are reminding me is that they lived, and that is the greatest gift.’”

SANDS Lothians also runs a pregnancy support group for women who become pregnant again after losing a baby. “Another pregnancy is never the same – you never recapture the joyful, hopeful experience. Many women suffer anxiety and need a lot of support such as extra scans and appointments and speaking to other women who have the same anxiety.”

And what about the dads? “It’s harder to get them to talk,” says Nicola. “The whole bereavement process impacts them enormously of course, and

relationships can suffer too. Couples do come to the counselling together, but the on-going groups are predominantly mums. We’re looking at starting a group just for dads.”

A bereavement committee now operates at St John’s Hospital in Livingston which Nicola was instrumental in setting up. It has a dedicated family support room on site with bedding, TV, toiletries and everything a family needs as they are going through the most traumatic time.

When I visited Nicola at the end of January the family had just had Theo’s 7th birthday. I was affected by the very deep impact that his brief life still has on the family. Nicola is always happy to talk about him and passionate about helping others on this journey. It was a pleasure to learn their story and if this article reaches just one family who need help it will have been well worth it. *There is an NHS counselling service but there is a very long waiting list. ** May be moving premises later this year, please check with them before attending.

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For more information on the support groups or to get in touch, please contact: info@sands-lothians.org.uk or call 0131 622 6263 website http://sands-lothians.org.uk For more of Theo’s story see http://babywelshupdate.blogspot.co.uk/

SANDS Lothians has to fundraise constantly to ensure that the professional counsellors are available, that they keep the premises and keep the groups running. They rely on individuals, local businesses and organisations. Their ver y first donor was the Linlithgow Round Table who donated generously to get them started. If you can help, they will be delighted to hear from you!

Nicola Welsh

WALK

Check out the view from Cockleroy Hill

by Karen Murray

There are many wonderful walks you can take that are not all that far from home. So where better than Beecraigs Country Park, where there are plenty of paths to explore plus a great children’s play park and a fishery?

The park is criss-crossed with paths and tracks so you can find a new route every time you go and just to keep you on the straight and narrow, there are way-marked trails too.

Public transport to Beecraigs is not easy, so you’ll probably need to take the car. From Linlithgow town centre follow the brown tourist signs to Beecraigs Country Park and park in the visitor centre car park.

At the park visitor centre you can pick up leaflets with walks, or you can simply choose a colour and head off on a way-marked path.

Perhaps the most interesting route for a general look at what the park has to offer is the walk up Cockleroy Hill. The peak is only 278 metres but you get great views - on a good day of course!

From the visitor centre, take the walkway through the deer farm to Beecraigs Loch. It‘s rather peaceful for a lone walker or couple and if you have kids, you can try some pond dipping. Next take a left via the trout farm another great attraction for the children. Mine always insist on a bag of fish food so they can entice the trout out and watch them jumping up.

The walk continues along the far side of the loch until you see a burn pass beneath the

road where you will turn left on to a path through woodlands to the main road.

There are then lots of different options, but if you haven’t a lot of time, the easiest route is to walk up the road back to the visitor centre and then take the path through the woods signed for Balvormie. This is suitable for buggies or bikes or for simply strolling and you can entice the little ones with the reward of a play park and sometimes there is even an ice-cream van!

Once enough fun has been had on the swings, cross over the road and head through the woods again following the path until it comes to a crossroads. Turn right following the ‘light blue trail’. It will take you over another road and onto a dirt track. At the end, climb over a stile on the right and then climb up onto Cockleroy Hill where you will find a triangulation pillar, viewfinder and a superb view. It is fairly short and not too steep so it is good for families with young kids. The view takes in everything from Goat Fell on Arran - some 66 miles distant in the west - to the Bass Rock at North Berwick, and equally

spectacular views north and south too. The cairn at the summit has a compass indicating the peaks and landmarks visible. You get a great view of progress on the new bridge.

But as well as admiring the view, look down at what’s below your feet too. This is the site of an iron age fort. The path you took to the summit passes through the original entrance of the fort, so you’re literally walking in the footsteps of the people who lived here up to 2500 years ago. It’s easy to imagine why they picked this site for a defensive settlement.

Incredibly, besides the earth works, bits of the stone ramparts are still there.

From the visitor centre to the top of Cockleroy Hill will probably take a couple of hours with kids, but if you fancy just a brief walk you can park at the Balvormie car park (where the road from Torphichen will take you) and just walk up Cockleroy Hill.

Visitor Centre opening hours Winter: daily 10am – 4pm.

Summer hours from 28th March 2016: daily 9am - 8pm

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Linlithgow from Cockleroy Hill.

Photo by Jenny Thomson.

Parents in West Lothian

HOW TO KEEP YOUR MONKEYS ACTIVE IN THE EVENING EVEN WHEN BUNTY IS BLOWING RAIN SIDEWAYS So the year of the Monkey has dawned in the Chinese Lunar Calendar – Xin Nian Kwei Le! I lived in China for years and the culture of evening exercise, outdoors activities, and the general convention of not being in your house in the evenings is common to everyone there – this counts for kids too from as young as you can imagine.

That might be alright if you live in China, however, a West Lothian February is not to be trifled with; especially with storm after innocently-named storm (“Storm Bunty just blew away my cat!”) making conditions outside unbearable for even the hardiest souls among us. So what do you do when you have a little naughty primate who needs to burn off energy but you also don’t want to have to pluck him out of a tree in the middle of a hurricane?

Recently soft-play venues have been a life-saver for us – when I finish work at 5:30pm and it falls

Our column is West Lothia t: Nicola Jengaenga li ves in n with Quin months an d her hubby n 2, Penny 10 Channa , 2 2 1/4.

Nicola & Ch anna both w ork, jugglin schedules w ith g their two tin the ever-evolving dem hectic y overlords, ands of in some tim and also sq ueezing e for each ot her!

In this new bl the adventu og for Konect she chro nicles res (and m isad Mummy an d Daddy wh ventures) of a the happy ti o aim to wri m ng all babies in w es they can from life w onderful W est Lothian ith their ! to me to look after the babies I take them to our nearest one which is at Xcite, across from the Designer Outlet in Livingston – and Quinn gets to run wild for as long as he can. I am constantly amazed at his gross motor skills; climbing, jumping, ducking under things, balancing etc.

Yesterday, I decided to head to the Xcite venue in Bathgate – I’d heard their soft-play was a bit bigger and more challenging – just what we need!

When we arrived, a birthday party was just winding up so the soft-play was packed with assorted cake-stuffed offspring on sugar-highs – all the better for Quinn as he loves to get jostled about with the older kids and I’m sure he imagines in his head that he is about 7 years old. I sat at the side and fed Penny, waving and cheering dutifully as Quinn summited various stages of the apparatus, and ‘wheeeeee’-ing with delight as he came down the slides in ever more ill-advised positions (backwards on his knees is the current favourite).

Dinner at home was a peaceful affair – Tang Cu Li Ji (sweet and sour chicken) with white rice in honour of the occasion. Quinn is going through a phase where any rice-based dish will meet with approval – maybe he has heard the old Chinese wives-tale used to chastise picky kids – “Every grain of rice left in your bowl becomes a maggot to eat you when you’re dead!” (Chinese sayings can be a bit blunt when translated!)

By 7:30pm Quinn was puffed out and ready to sleep – mission accomplished!

Soft play at Xcite 22

So maybe it wasn’t tai-chi in the square, or ping pong on a roundabout island, but my little Monkey had found a way to have fun and be active on a winter’s night! Jia you xiao hai! (Go for it wee man!)

k

KONECT

WITH

FOSTER

EDINBURGH

Interested in fostering? Find out more at our monthly drop in events – every first Thursday 5-7pm at the City of Edinburgh Council EH8 8BG.

0800 174 833

www.edinburgh.gov.uk/fostering

Have an Egg-cellent Easter in West Lothian The winter months are almost over, the temperatures are rising and with Easter fast approaching, on the 27th of March, it’s time to explore the outdoors again and take part in Easter fun. West Lothian’s top attractions are now opening their doors to the refreshing Spring season, with a number of new and exciting events for all ages to enjoy.

If the change in season is encouraging you to get active this Spring, then West Lothian is home to a number of fantastic walking and cycling routes across many areas including Linlithgow, Bathgate, Livingston and many more.

Family attractions such as Almond Valley Heritage Centre are re-opening their fantastic railway, alongside a number of family fun events which are taking place as part of their ‘Easter Eggcitement’ Spring campaign.

Get down to Five Sisters Zoo to visit the spectacular lions in their new habitat, or take a stroll around the Linlithgow Peel and enjoy the beautiful views of the loch and palace.

With so much on offer at these fantastic attractions and scenic routes, it’s no secret that West Lothian is the place to go for some fun this Easter. So get involved, get outdoors and enjoy some Scottish Spring sunshine!

For the latest on all the great things to see and do in West Lothian please visit www.visitwestlothian.co.uk, Facebook. com: VisitWestLothian and Twitter.com: @teamwestlothian

Recipe & Food Notes

by Anne Pinkerton

Easter cakes White chocolate brownie

Easter marks the beginning of spring; longer days, new crops, and dull winter food relived with some treats. This was the origin of many ancient special seasonal foodstuffs. Eggs, in particular, are part of the rituals; painted red and baked in a bread plat in Greece, painted and rolled down hills in Britain, made into a special eggnog drink in Norway and Shetland and used to enrich sauces in France and Spain. Nowadays the chocolate industry has a bonanza offering chocolate eggs of every colour, size and extravagance.

Make your own Easter cake and indulge in the pleasure of chocolate. Here are two ideas - one from Sicily, the other from a friend who is an enthusiastic baker with an eye for decoration.

Sicilian Cassata

A traditional cake for Easter with origins in North African sweetmeats; the Sicilians decorate it with elaborate style. You need a round 8” or 9” cake tin Ingredients • Plain sponge cake- Either bought madeira or fatless sponge made with the weight of 3 eggs, plain flour and sugar.

• 150g marzipan • 500g ricotta cream cheese, sieved • Juice and zest 1 orange • Wine glass of sweet wine e.g. Marsala or sherry • 250g mixed candied fruit (cherries, mango, citron, cranberries, raisins, angelica)

• 5 0g chocolate drops or your favourite chocolate chopped roughly • 25g natural pistachio nuts or walnut pieces • 50g sugar • 100g good dark chocolate Method Warm the orange juice and wine in a pan. Add fruit mixture and let it steep till cold.

Cut a circle of silicon paper and place it at the bottom of the cake tin. Roll out the marzipan into a circle and put on top of the paper. Carefully melt the chocolate and paint it on the marzipan.

Line the top and sides of the tin with thin slices of sponge cake, leaving enough to make a base for the cake.

When the fruit is cold mix it with the ricotta, nuts, chocolate pieces and sugar. Pile all the filling into the tin and cover with the rest of the cake. Press it down till firm and there are no air bubbles.

Refrigerate in the tin overnight.

Un-mould the cake and decorate with sieved icing sugar, spring flowers, more cherries, angelica, grated chocolate or anything you fancy.

White Chocolate “Brownie”

Less complicated, it can be eaten as a cake or with fruit salad for dessert.

Ingredients • 125g white chocolate • 100g unsalted butter • 3 large eggs • 150 sugar • 100g chopped walnuts • 100g white chocolate roughly chopped • 125 plain flour sifted twice • 9” square or rectangle shallow baking tin lined with baking paper Method Heat oven to 180 C. Gently melt the butter and 100g chocolate in a bowl over hot (not boiling) water.

In a large bowl with a hand whisk beat the eggs and sugar till pale and bulked up. Continue whipping the mixture over hot water till it is the consistency of thick cream. With care not to lose the air in the eggs, fold in the butter and chocolate then the nuts and chopped chocolate and finally fold in the flour. Pour into the lined tin and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, till just firm to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin and then turn out and dust with a little icing sugar. Decorate with flowers, mini eggs or finely chopped nuts.

SPOTLIGHT ON...

It’s hard to walk past the Cross without pausing to admire the glorious cake creations in the window of Truly Scrumptious Designer Cakes shop who occupy the corner premises at No.1.

You don’t have to be getting married or celebrating some other major life event to come in and buy some of their amazing cake. You can walk in and buy cupcakes off the shelf, just because.....or to try them out for your big occasion.

The business is run by Susan Archibald, who got involved with helping the then business owners five years ago when it was based further along the town at Braehead. Having got passionately involved in the business, the opportunity came up within a few months to buy it. “That was in August 2011, and I’ve hardly had a day off since!” she says looking thoroughly pleased.

Susan has every reason to be pleased. Truly Scrumptious Designer Cakes has just won the Confetti Award in Cake Designer & Retailer of the Year category, a competition to find the best companies in the Scottish Wedding Industry.

It’s testimony to the creativeness of the team and the quality of their cakes in an industry where you can’t get away with doing a shoddy job - a designer cake is the centre-piece of any celebration meal.

“Customers come with an idea of what they want. We’ve had some tricky commissions from both commercial and wedding customers. We discuss their ideas in terms of what might be feasible, then our design team turn the idea into a workable cake.” explains Susan. “Sometimes this involves making a trial cake to work out the finer details prior to the event, allowing for testing all aspects to ensure its perfection.” Truly Scrumptious are expert at pulling off those tricky commissions spectacularly. One of their recent KONECT

projects was a pair of cakes modelled on the Kelpies.

The award-winning design team come from a variety of backgrounds within cake design and decorating and each has their own style and speciality. “This mix of styles helps us to keep up with trends and create some fantastic new designs.” Peek through the High Street facing window to see them creating!

The business counts various local celebrities amongst their customers, along with businesses who order personalised logo cakes, and of course their wedding couples. Besides running the business, Susan loves to have some creative input into the designs herself. What does she so when she’s not working? “I love cooking and I’m happiest when I’m in the kitchen experimenting with new recipes and having a chance to try them out on friends and family.”

Pop into Truly Scrumptious and indulge in a cupcake or two. Meander around all the cakes on display and remember to give them a call for your next celebration cake.

No 1 The Cross, High Street, Linlithgow, EH49 7EY t: 01506 671133 e: office@trulydesignercakes.co.uk www.trulydesignercakes.co.uk

Let us turn your ideas into cake heaven your smallest detail is our greatest pleasure.

Celebration Cakes, Corporate Events, Wedding Cakes, Cupcakes and Treats

25

Premier Letting

by Turpie & Co

• 100% accompanied viewings • Professional photographs • Floor plans • Landlord online login • Online maintenance reporting • Professional Lettings team • Prominent Offices with Multimedia Window Display

Premier Letting

• Dedicated Property Manager • 8 week property check-up, quarterly inspections thereafter • Reputable tradesmen/transparent prices

01506 668448 turpies.com

ProPerty Matters

“Manage Your Investment”

BY CraIg TurpIe Some landlords, especially those who are new to the experience, understandably wish to use a letting agent simply as a route to market in order to find a tenant. However, whilst a return on investment is one thing, sleeping well at night is quite another! A managed service is not just about chasing late rent, resolving disputes and inventory control.

had a “problem landlord” in the past so they tend to stay longer.

When your property is professionally managed, it’s all about accountability.

This means regular inspections to check that your tenant is treating your investment with the respect it deserves.

During these inspections, well-trained staff are able to identify any areas that should be investigated in order to avoid or reduce costs later. An example would be a blocked gutter. Normally, you would only hear about this when the tenant calls you to tell you that water is coming in, plaster has come away from the wall and there is mould on the ceiling.

Call in the dehumidifier, plasterer, and painter – and you have a large bill and an unhappy tenant.

One of the most important considerations is that as property managers, we get to know our clients’ tenants, and have a good understanding of their plans, often pre-empting a premature departure, so we can prepare and let the property in time to avoid it being empty – even for a day!

Many tenants also prefer to rent a property that is managed through a letting agent, possibly because they have

Additionally, no matter how compliant a tenant may seem at the outset, the last thing a landlord needs is someone phoning him/her at all hours with the same minor issue over a draft, dripping tap, clanking pipes, noisy neighbours, etc.

All of these are part of a day’s work for a dedicated managing agent!

Most of our landlords derive great value from our managed service and we invite you to experience the difference yourself!

PUZZLES

CROSSWORD

Solution in the April edition of konect

Across 1 Tidy (4) 3 Uneducated (8) 9 Not man-made (7) 10 Tummy button (5) 11 Premature (5) 12 Pacific and Atlantic (6) 14 Stitching (6) 16 Not present (6) 19 Vegetable (6) 21 Big cat (5) 24 Heartbeat (5) 25 Frightened (7) 26 Less than twenty (8) 27 Second-hand (4) Down 1 Rubbish (8) 2 Performer (5) 4 Faster than canter (6) 5 28grams approx. (5) 6 Move forwards (7) 7 Cash register (4) 8 Used for drawing (6) 13 Surprised (8) 15 Made from fleece (7) 17 Double-cross (6) 18 Hot beverage (6) 20 Representative (5) 22 Presents (5) 23 Unlocked (4)

SUDOKU

Sudoku solution on page 31

28

KONECT

SPOTLIGHT ON...

Hopetoun Coffee Bar Hopetoun Coffee Bar opened in Linlithgow in early December last year – adding to the already-rich choice of takeaways on the High Street.

It’s a small premises with some breakfast-bar style space but is primarily for takeaway, not sitin. They offer breakfasts (open from 8am Monday to Saturday), sandwiches, paninis, burgers, pastas, jacket potatoes, pies and salads (they don’t do any fried food) for takeaway. They serve Italian Aroma coffee, a selection of teas and there are monthly meal deals. There tends to be a “rushhour” at school lunchtime as some students from Linlithgow Academy have discovered it.

Corinna and the team are also very busy behind the scenes making food for the catering side of the business - they offer a free delivery service to local businesses and already have some Linlithgow-based business customers on their books for sandwich platters, baguette platters, cakes and traybakes.

They make as much of their food as possible on site, buying in ingredients fresh from Edinburghbased suppliers. This means that there is often a bit of a wait as your food is prepared as it will be done to order, however you can text your order ahead so that they can get your food prepared ready to takeaway when you arrive.

Call or text your order ahead on 07562 391984.211 High Street, Linlithgow, EH49 7EN. Email: hopetouncoffeebar@gmail.com

211 High Street, Linlithgow EH49 7EN

Great food & drink Take Away 6 days a week

Outside Catering

For Any Occasion. Free local delivery t: 07562 391 984 e: hopetouncoffeebar@gmail.com

OFFER Soup of the day + filled roll £3.00

Valid in March 2016

tes, half baguettes, paninis, bakedyo,potchiatockes,en uet bag ge lar es, sti toa es, ich dw san , aps wr a ma Filled rolls, sps and cakes. Fillings includene: tun cri s, ink dr d col d an hot s, pie d col d ma an hot salad, cheese, chick yo. & bacon, bacon, lettuce and tomato, ham

WHAT’S ON

clubs & classes

and Useful Information

Sports, Hobbies, Learning, Support Groups & more...

Saturday 5th March Linlithgow Jazz presents The Sound of Seventeen: 17 piece big band with Jimmy Leslie on vocals.

7:30pm Queen Margaret Hall, Linlithgow. Tickets £8 available on the door. For more information, email linlithgowjazz@aol.com or phone 07517 873185 Saturday 19th March Planting at the new ramp To enhance the route from the canal towpath to the leisure centre in Linlithgow, Burgh Beautiful and Transition Linlithgow are planting low maintenance plants indigenous to Scotland.

Money was granted to Burgh Beautiful Linlithgow and Transition Linlithgow from Foundation Scotland’s Red Nose Day Community Cash Fund.

Volunteers needed. Please come along to help and bring small spades or trowels, gardening gloves and kneeling pad, if you like to use one.

Suitable for all, but a degree of fitness is required.

Meet: Ramp between Union Canal towpath and Linlithgow Leisure Centre Time: 10am Cost: free.

Saturday 26th March Linlithgow Farmers Market The Cross, High Street, Linlithgow.

Sunday 2nd April Easter Fun Run in Beecraigs Country Park Annual run organised by West Lothian Run. 2k, 5k & 10k fun runs. Registration opens 9.30am, 2k run starts at 10.20am. Or register online at www. westlothianrun.org

To include your event here, please email editor@konectdirectory.co.uk or call 07854 492638.

library information

LINLITHGOW 2nd West Lothian Scouts The Scout Hall, 6 Dog Well Wynd, Linlithgow.

Beavers (age 6-8) meet Wednesdays; Cubs (age 8 - 10.5) meet Mondays; Two Scouts troups (age 10.5 -14) meet Thursdays. Contact Group Scout Leader Nick Moody at scouts2wl@hotmail.co.uk The Caring Cafe Low Port Centre, 1 Blackness Road, Linlithgow, EH49 7HZ The Caring Cafe is a meeting place where people with dementia and their carers have a chance to meet others in a similar situation. Meets monthly on the 3rd Wednesday of every month 10am - 12noon (Lunch available after the café in the Lowport Centre cafeteria). For people who are able to attend safely on their own or who are accompanied by someone to support them. Contact Margaret or May from Linlithgow Link on 01506 845137 or email Co-ordinator@ linlithgowlink.org.uk Linlithgow Bridge Playgroup Chalmers Hall, Main Street, Linlithgow Bridge Tue-Thu: 9:15 am - 11:45 am during term time. No minimum number of sessions. £7 per session. For more information contact lbplaygroup@gmail.com

To include your club or class, email details to editor@ konectdirectory.co.uk. Charity and not-for-profit groups are free, there is a small charge for other listings. See our website for details. www.konectdirectory.co.uk

Linlithgow Library The Vennel, High Street, Linlithgow, EH49 7EH Tel: 01506 775490 Email: linlithgow.lib@westlothian.gov.uk Opening hours: Mon & Fri: 9.00am - 5.00pm Tue & Thur: 9.00am - 7.00pm Wed: 9.00am - 3.00pm Sat: 9.00am - 1.00p Storytime: Stories and art activities for children 3-4 years during term time - every Monday and Friday 10.30am. Linlithgow Book Group meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 6pm to discuss their chosen novel. Bookbug sessions: Stories, songs & rhymes suitable for all under 3’s and their grown-ups.

30

KONECT

INDEX OF ADVERTISERS

Bathrooms

Bathgate Bathroom Studio 4 Duffy McLean 11 S and S 17

Builder

DB General Builders

Cafe/Tearoom

Hopetoun Coffee Bar

10 29

Cake Maker

Truly Scrumptious Designer Cakes 25

Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning Hydro Kleen

Catering

Food Creations

Electrician

Simply Electrical

Estate Agent Turpie

Food & Groceries

Hopetoun Farm Shop

Fostering

Edinburgh Council

Garden & Landscaping Gardens Galore The Garden Studio

Garden Buildings Garden Buildings

Heating Services Duffy McLean

Joiner 15 5 9 26

Geoff Vinter Joinery GR Construction

Kitchens

Duffy McLean S and S

Locksmith

Linlithgow Locksmith Saltire Lock & Security

32

Mobility

Ableworld Med Ecosse

23

Plumbing Services

4 5

Security Services

14 10 15 9

2 16

Forth Plumbing or Heating 9 Saltire Lock & Security

11

Trusted Trader Scheme

West Lothian Trusted Trader 10

Vet

Mackie and Brechin 14 West Port Veterinary Clinic 14

Windows

1st Choice Living

11

11 17 5 11

Solution to Sudoku Page 28

Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss, damage or omission caused by error in the printing of an advertisement.The Konect Directory does not endorse any advertising material that appears in this publication. Adverts are accepted on the understanding that descriptions of goods and services are fair and accurate. All material is accepted for publication on the understanding that it is copyright free.The Konect Directory accepts no liability for any subsequent copyright issues. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior consent of the publisher.

Publisher: Lothian Publications Ltd, Overton Farmhouse, Kirknewton, EH27 8DD. Editor: Helen-Jane Shearer 07854 492638 hj@konectdirectory.co.uk KONECT

31

SPRINGTIME FUN 6TH March: MOTHERING SUNDAY With new lambs, chicks and calves on the farm we’re always celebrating motherhood at Hopetoun! Why not make your mum feel special with a foodie hamper, gift card or even just a yummy cake from our farm shop

12TH & 13TH March: PIE TASTINGS It’s British Pie Week from Monday 7th March and the 2nd birthday of our award winning steak pies. To celebrate please join us for some free pie tastings 12pm - 4pm including our delicious new lamb curry pie

14th - 20th March: NATIONAL BUTCHERS’ WEEK This week we are recognising the skill involved in butchery and our brilliant team of butchers at Hopetoun. Watch our ‘How To’ butchery tips on our Facebook page and look out for special offers in the butchery all week

25th - 28th March: EASTER FUN Pop in to Hopetoun Farm Shop over Easter weekend and meet some special guests from our farm including some cute Hopetoun lambs and baby chicks. We’ll also have egg decorating competitions, special offers and a wonderful range of eggs for sale – both real and chocolate!

Open daily 10am - 5pm

Hopetoun Farm Shop is located next door to New Hopetoun Gardens on the A904 near Newton.

Tel: 01506 830 716 www.hopetounfarmshop.co.uk