Beauly News Winter 2019

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F Ple RE as E A C e Tak opy e

Winter 2019

Mo Chri re s tm Pho as to Insid s e

Christmas Lights Switch on 2019 Thanks to those of you who joined us to give Christmas a kick start last Thursday. The countdown began with the Switch- On of the Christmas lights by Alicia Forbes the Beauly Gala Queen who was led to Beauly Square from Braeview by a sparkling lantern parade so ably organised by our Beauly Gala friends.

It was great to see Santa fi�ng Beauly into his busy schedule arriving in the village square courtesy of our local fire engine where he received a warm welcome from the excited crowd. He handed out selec�on packs to the children some of whom had taken part in our now infamous annual lantern parade.

The pupils from Beauly Primary School entertained the Christmas crowd with a selec�on of carols, all sung with great gusto!

To close we must thank the local businesses for suppor�ng the event and filling the funding void le� by The Highland Council.

Coordina�on, Kenny Palmer. Christmas tree, Scotmid Beauly. Erec�on of Christmas lights & tree, Simpson & Moir. Plant Hire, Ord Storage. Storage of Christmas lights, Coop Beauly. Lights Switch-on, John Allan THC. Photographs, Jim Chris�e.

Organisa�on of event, Beauly Community Council.

Campbell’s of Beauly

by Anne-Mary Paterson Thomas Fraser, 12th Lord Lovat (1815 – 1876) was keen on developing his estate including the village of Beauly making it more as we know it today with the Square. His idea was to encourage shops to come to the village. Beauly was always an important staging post in the North especially after the Lovat Bridge was constructed earlier in the 19th century.

The railway arrived in Inverness in 1855 but it took until August 1858 for it to get to Keith to join North of Scotland Railway from Aberdeen. This meant that people and goods could reach Inverness by rail from the south. No doubt taking advantage of better communications, Robert Hepburn opened what was described as a drapery. We know this shop nowadays as Campbell’s of Beauly. It is the only concern left in the village from these early days.

Earlier in the century Sir Walter Scott published the Waverley Novels and organised a visit by George IV to Edinburgh in 1822. He is portrayed dressed in tartan in a portrait by Sir David Wilkie. All things Scottish became the rage. Then Queen Victoria and Prince Albert purchased Balmoral. Very quickly Prince Albert designed the Balmoral tartan and a tweed to be worn by their gillies and stalkers. The dark blue material with white and red speckles was excellent camouflage blending with the countryside.

However, there was an earlier estate tweed – that of Lovat. This was woven at Elgin by Johnstons in September 1845. Before the arrival of Robert Hepburn in Beauly, Macdougalls of Inverness supplied the necessary lengths. The third edition of Estate Tweeds published by Johnstons of Elgin, says that there were discussions with Mr Hepburn and samples were tried out in Strathfarrar.

Before department stores and easier transport with the arrival of the railway, goods were purchased from nearby so if a bit of cloth was needed for a garment, it was ordered from a local tweed mill. I haven’t found any record of tweed mills in Beauly or Strathglass but there certainly was one, as the name suggests, at Milton near Drumnadrochit and several others there doing different jobs. It was here that Glenurquhart Check was created. Knockando Wool Mill in the Spey Valley is a survivor from the days of local mills and until the end of the twentieth century, Hunters of Brora.

There is an advertisement in the back cover of John R Pollock’s Guide to Beauly & District for Hepburn & Co. It says The Highland Tweed House is patronised by Royalty and the Courts of Gt. Britain, France, Russia & Austria. They had a large and most select stock of Tweeds, Homespuns, Hopsack Covert Cloth and Serges. As well, they provided high class tailoring and dressmaking.

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In 1902, Robert Hepburn’s daughter Margaret married James Campbell who entered the business. In 1922 he took it over and it was renamed Campbell & Co. In 1933 the Prince of Wales (later Edward Vlll) ordered a pair of the baggy plusfours which he had made fashionable.

The Prince was staying at Beaufort Castle and chose the check design Sutherland Homespun himself. From this purchase Campbells later received their first Royal Warrant. By this time Robert “Bobby” Campbell was running the business.

In the 1960s James and Catriona joined their Father and later Miriam. In 1968, after the head tailor, Mr Marr died suddenly, Mr Neil Owen took over and on his retirement in 1986 was followed by his son, Tom. He had worked with his Father since 1970 and he retired in 2019.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother awarded the second Royal Warrant in 1975 for the supply of tweed and this continued until after her death. In 2015 the Campbell family retired by selling the business which is now in the capable hands of John and Nicola Sugden. Campbell’s have their third Royal Warrant to Her Majesty, The Queen as tailors. They make garments for the field staff at Balmoral with tweed first designed by Prince Albert and for many other estates in their own pattern.

In August 2019 His Royal Highness Prince Charles visited to open the new tailoring workshop and so the Royal connections go on.

Councillors’ Corner I was privileged to lay a poppy wreath on behalf of The Highland Council during the Armistice Day service at the Toll Memorial.

The service was very well attended, and it was lovely to see the memorial so tidy and well-tended. Enormous thanks to Royal British Legion Scotland and all the volunteers who keep our memorials so well cared for. (It must be a Sisyphean task trying to keep the ground clear of leaves at this time of year).

Our hard-working roads team have been busy in and around Beauly. They have recently finished resurfacing work through the village and all the road markings and double yellow lines have been repainted. I am glad to see that the Speed Indication Device I requested has been installed near the Coop to remind drivers of the 30mph speed limit as they come into the village over the brow of the hill.

I am conscious that the maintenance of our cemeteries is an ongoing issue, causing distress to people visiting their loved ones’ graves. In particular, grass cuttings are being left in clumps around the graves and sunken lairs aren’t being attended to in good time. I and my fellow ward Councillors have been working with the Ward Manager and Council Officers see if there is a more effective way of maintaining our cemeteries.

It is heartening to see that enough people are willing to give their time as community councillors to ensure the survival of Beauly Community Council after the recent elections. I say it at every available opportunity, but the work that our community councillors do for the village and the surrounding area is invaluable and should be commended.

Community Council meetings are open to the public so come along and see what it’s all about!

After months of discussions and written questions to the Full Council, parents were advised this term that The Highland Council has terminated its contract with Stagecoach for the Beauly to Charleston Academy school bus service. D&E Coaches are now running the school service and it is hoped that the new contract will run smoothly.

Pease don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments about the school bus service.

I don’t suppose I can end my contribution to Councillor’s Corner without mentioning the General Election. Whatever your party politics, I urge you to take this opportunity to cast your vote. Please vote on 12 December and celebrate your right to do so – a right that was so hard won by our brave service personnel during the conflicts that we remember on Armistice Day (and spare a thought for all the Council Officers who will be working late nights and weekends in the run up to Christmas to get all the election arrangements in place).

As always, please feel free to contact me about any Council-related issue at emma.knox.cllr@Highland.gov.uk or phone or text me at 07787 007741.

I think this is going out in December, so I won’t break my “keep Christmas in December” rule by wishing you all a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Cllr. Emma Knox

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Memories of Beauly and Kilmorack – Coffee Morning We are a Non Political/Non-Religious Facebook Group which was started in October 2013. Today our Group consists of 1,684 members living locally and in countries all over the world. Most members have Beauly connections – they were born here or their parents, grandparents or ancestors were.

We pride ourselves in being a very friendly Group – a place where folk can keep in touch with their friends and relations.

There are several Photo Albums to browse - a wonderful selection of old postcards showing Beauly and surrounding area in days long ago. There is also a great selection of school photos, wedding pictures and many more items of local interest.

Twice a year we have a Coffee Morning in The Priory Hotel.

This event is always well attended by both young and old.

New friendships are made and old friendships are rekindled.

New members are always welcome. Come and join us and if you wish you could share your pictures and memories – or you could just enjoy being part of our Group.

Beauly Open Gardens Date to be decided Beauly Open Gardens invites people to explore some of the lovely and varied gardens throughout Beauly and the surrounding area.

Come and meet the people that own, work and more importantly love the gardens of Beauly.

Open to everyone for one day. See the map of where each garden is and what to expect when you get there.

This is what we would like to plan and arrange. What we need are people that are enthusiastic about their gardens and would love to show likeminded people around their project.

Whilst it would be lovely to have some show gardens we also want gardens that specialise.

Maybe vegetable gardens, orchards or gardens specialising in individual plant species. We don’t want just finished gardens (Although I’ve never found a finished garden.) If you have just started a project or are a few months down the line and would be happy to talk to people about your plans you are what we are looking for to make Beauly Open Gardens a success.

If interested in becoming a part of Beauly Open Gardens please contact Michael. email thesteadingrheindown@btinternet.com

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Aird Branch Fundraising Aird Branch Fundraising for Highland Hospice has had another very successful, as well as enjoyable fundraising year. At our AGM in April we reported total profits of £14,451 raised for Highland Hospice from mid-March 2018 to mid-March 2019.

After the enormous high of the Ladies Lunch in February we wondered how we could keep up the momentum. Well, we did!

We had 2 lovely Afternoon Tea dates at House of Aigas at the Garden Open Days (although the weather wasn’t as kind as in 2018). Another Garden Open Day at Highland Liliums, Aird View and Foinavon, Kiltarlity, brought lots of people out to stock up their gardens, get gardening advice and have some afternoon tea with us.

We were at Beauly Gala for the first time with some games for children (but some adults joined in too!) and items for sale. It was fun to be part of this annual event.

Our biennial Art Exhibition and Sale over the weekend of 6/7/8 September, drew a host of artists and we had over 400 works of art for sale. What talent there is on our doorstep and people came from far and wide to view and buy.

We raised a staggering £5,839.

We finished the year on another high, with a ‘Treasures from our Attics’ evening at House of Aigas on 1 November, superbly hosted by Lady Lister-Kaye. We had so many beautiful pieces for sale and spent a cosy evening by the roaring fires; a welcome haven from a pretty foul evening of wind and rain. At the end of the evening, we had boosted our coffers by around £2,000.

So, thank you to everyone who came to our events. We say it year on year: we just couldn’t do it without you. Have a very Happy Christmas and Best Wishes for 2020.

For those thinking ahead, the dates for the 2020 Garden Open Days are: Aigas: Sunday 28 June and Sunday 26 July 2020 Highland Liliums/Kiltarlity: Sunday 9 August 2020 We are having a break over the winter, but as well as the Garden Open Days, we have a few exciting projects in the pipeline for 2020, so watch the billboards around Beauly for details. Thank you.

Highland Hospice thank George and Pat. Local couple, George and Pat Borland have been raising money for Highland Hospice by putting on Organ Recitals and providing Afternoon Teas in their home in the last few months.

After purchasing a 3 manual and full pedalboard classical organ (with some 42 speaking stops) for their home, friends suggested that others should hear the magnificent sound of the organ. This resulted in George and Pat deciding to raise money for charity. They set themselves a target to raise £1,000 over 4 events. George provides an organ recital of classical pieces and Pat provides the splendid afternoon tea. The Priory Hotel, via Stuart Hutton, has provided a glass of Prosecco for each guest on arrival.

These events, which take a lot of planning and hard work, have proved to be very popular and a fifth event has had to be organised. To date, after 4 events, a total of £1,295 has been raised. It is hoped that after the fifth event, the total will exceed £1,500. To keep this local, George and Pat have asked that the monies be put through Aird Branch Fundraising for Highland Hospice, for which the Aird Committee are hugely grateful.

STOP PRESS Last recital in November raised £355 brining total over 5 events to £1,650.

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Open Meetings The second open meeting of 2019 took place in October and we were delighted to welcome Clifford Scott who volunteers with AbilityNet, a charity which provides free IT support to help older people and those with disabilities to use technology to achieve their goals. They have a network of friendly volunteers who can help with most major computer systems, laptops, tablet devices and smartphones.

A home visit arranged by calling the free helpline 0800 269 545 Our second speaker was Ann McDonald, Age Scotland who has just taken up a new post in Inverness. She will be working to ensure members can access to a broad range of information and help around care and support, legal and family issues, health and wellbeing, money matters plus housing and energy.

We hope to invite Anne back in 2020.

Web address: www.ageuk.org.uk/scotland/contactus / Postal Address: Age Scotland, Causewayside House, 160 Causewayside, Edinburgh EH9 1PR

The Men’s Shed We meet on a Friday morning 10 - 12 (the Shed is directly behind the Shinty Clubhouse in Beauly.

New members always welcome.)

Members looked forward to their Christmas Open Day scheduled for Saturday 7th December. We 6

have been busy making g a r d e n planters, bird tables, clocks, and table decorations.

We also had a raffle and the Star Prize was a large w o o d e n wheelbarrow to decorate the garden.

The workshop has been re-vamped to include new cupboards and work tops generously donated by Howdens Joinery, Inverness.

We have been fundraising to replace the roof of the Men’s Shed as it has been leaking badly for the past couple of years. We have been given a very kind donation from the charity ''Caring and Sharing" of Church Street Inverness. This has given us the final push and work on the roof should commence in December.

Beauly Men’s Shed is now a full member of the Scottish Men's Shed Association and able to benefit from many goods and services offered by this association.

On a sadder note we have lost one member namely David Lyall who will be sadly missed.

Beauly Cares Monday Lunch Club It’s been a busy year at the Lunch Club and we have seen numbers grow to more than 40 joining us for a hot meal, chat and entertainment. Decorating the tables has become a regular feature and Halloween was no exception (see photo).

A message from Beauly Cares Trustees.

Beauly Cares was delighted to receive a generous donation of £300 from the Beauly Theatre Club and this was presented by Liz Robertson at the Monday Lunch Club.

The Lunch Club meets on Mondays 1pm – 2.30pm in the Church of Scotland Hall, Croyard Drive.

Community Garden It’s been a busy few months at the garden and we’ve achieved a great deal with the help of some new growers who have joined the group. Additional composing bays have been built and the raspberry framework completed. Work has started on new outdoor beds and we should be ready for spring planting.

We would like to wish all the many supporters of Beauly Cares a Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy 2020.

We toast you all for your commitment and hard work – it wouldn’t be possible without you.

George, Audrey, Colleen, Frances, James, Jim, and Zane.

A new feature in the garden is a small wildlife pond.

In association with Grow North a workshop was run at our site and by the end of the day we had a pond and the 10+ attendees had learnt the ins and outs of setting up their own ponds.

The Wednesday afternoon sessions are now suspended until the spring with an occasional work day to keep things ticking over. If you would like to get involved in 2020 please contact Frances Mackenzie 01463 783243. We have so much fun!

Walking Group The group meets weekly on Thursdays at 10.30 in Braeview Park. It’s a friendly group and new walkers are always welcome.

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Beauly Primary School tell us about their term House Captains In August all the new P7’s that wanted to be House Captains made speeches to try and win votes from pupils in the same house teams.

We would like to introduce the house captains and deputies for 2019-2020…

Glass - Cerys & Alicia, Kilmorack - Jamie & Gabriella, Affric - Kaidi & Mairi, Aird - Ava & Savannah.

Fairburn Trip P7’s were very lucky to get the opportunity to go to Fairburn Outdoor Activity Centre. At Fairburn we did lots of really fun activities including raft building, Bushcraft, bubble football mini highland games.

Cnoc Group A group of pupils from P6 and P7 in the school with the help from Simon Harry, all come together every Friday to clear up Cnoc and learn about surviving outdoors. They are hoping to work together to improve the Cnoc to make it better for the whole community.

Remembrance Day On Friday 8th November P5/6 completed an assembly on remembrance day and wars in general. Michael’s great, great uncle fought in WW2 and died in WW2, he worked on a navy ship. P5/6 presented a poem on Rosemary Poul and the colours of poppies.

Children in Need On the 15th of November all the house and deputy captains organised and run activities to raise money for Children in Need so we could help children less fortunate than ourselves. They ran the activities for all pupils in school from Nursery to P7.

The activities were Affric- making Pudsey bandanas, Glass- making Pudsey masks, Aird- cookie decorating, Kilmorack- Pudsey hunt.

Bike Crew Iain is kindly working with our school and teaching us about scooter and bike safety.

Iain comes from an organisation called Sustrans and in the school he set up the Bike Crew partnered by Mrs Fraser-Lee. Everyone in the Bike Crew had to have an interview to be part of the group and they found out by letter if they had been successful. They have decided to call themselves the Beauly Bikers and will be helping Iain to promote sustainable travel as well as help him run activities like the Scoot-a-thon we had recently in school.

Outdoor Learning Chris Mackie, a PhD student, has been working alongside the P1/3 class studying outdoor learning. He is looking into the benefits and how pupils learn from and in the outdoors. The P1/2 children are really enjoying working with him. Thank you Chris!

Pantomime The whole school is very excited for this year's panto, which is Beauty and the Beast… Oh no it isn't! The Parent Council have very kindly paid for us all to go at the end of term and we are receiving Ward Funding for our buses too! Culloden House Hotel have very kindly given us money to pay for our snacks at the interval too! We are all very grateful for this opportunity. It will be such a nice way to end a very busy term.

Written by Cerys Evans, Jamie Macgruer and Kaidi Robertson P7 8

1st Beauly Rainbows The success of our pack continues with 6 new girls joining in the last few months. We have been working very hard on the Rainbow programme focusing on the “Have Adventures” theme award. This involved learning about the secrets of survival, how to build a bird’s nest, how to keep hot and cold and how camouflage works. All great fun!

The session continued with a joint Halloween Party with the Brownies which the Rainbows loved. A big thank you to Roddy and his staff at the Coop, our fundraising day raised a fantastic sum of £160.04 for the pack. We also joined the Brownies on a trip to Inverness Fire Station where we learnt about Firework safety.

We have a County Christmas craft day coming up where we will work with lots of other Rainbows, sharing stories and enjoying lots of crafts.

Finally I would like to thank Rhona and Helen for their continuous support in volunteering to run our Rainbow pack. Lastly we would like to wish Helen a speedy recovery after her hip operation.

Karen Spence.

1st Beauly Brownies Our session started with a County badge day “girlsgetsporty, with over 300 Rainbows, Brownies and Guides trying different sporting activities. We completed a few more Unit Meeting Activities and Skill Builders, including the stepping stone Need versus Want with some very interesting outcomes. Other activities included; Rope Challenger, Change the Rules, A New Route and our favourite, Soapy Solutions.

Thanks to an award from the Coop, in October we headed to York.

As well as visits to Flamingo Land and the Railway Museum, the girls enjoyed visiting the chocolate factory, learning about chocolate including making lollypops to take home. A highlight was meeting a local Brownie pack and all going on a river cruise ending the day in MacDonald’s. Meeting new Brownies was so much fun we agreed to keep in touch. To close we visited Whitby Abbey following which we walked the 199 steps into Whitby. Before heading home we treated ourselves at the renowned Chippy, it certainly got our vote!

We can’t thank everybody enough, supporting our fundraising and assistance from leaders and adult helpers allowed the trip to be unforgettable.

We had a fantastic Halloween Party with the Rainbows, lots of fun, mess and noise! As part of our broader educational programme, we were invited to Inverness Fire Station to learn about firework safety. Before leaving we were shown round and for the girls, the best bit was getting a shot at firing water from a very long hose. Thank you to Ciaran and his colleagues for organising the visit.

November saw us fulfil our civic duty, attending the Remembrance Service at the Toll where some of the Brownies were pleased to be asked to read a poem and lay a wreath. During the rest of the month we made Christmas crafts, finishing the session in December with a joint Christmas party.

I can’t thank my leaders enough; Samantha, Lesley, Angela, Mary and Karen from the Rainbows, without their dedication I would not be able to run such a successful pack and of course not forgetting the parents who help out. Also a huge thank you to Roddy and his staff at the Coop.

We wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

Rhona 9

Christmas Lights Switch on 2019 photos

Merry Ch 10

Christmas 11

Royal Visit to Beauly On 6th August, HRH Prince Charles, The Duke of Rothesay, opened a new state of the art tailoring workshop for Campbell’s of Beauly.

John and Nicola Sugden, joint owners said they were honoured to meet the Duke of Rothesay.

programme, which was initiated in 2015, is designed to breathe new life into Scotland’s renowned textiles industry by providing expert tuition in traditional skills such as sewing, weaving and cutting to school pupils and adults looking to gain employment in the industry.

After visiting Campbell’s the Prince was escorted across the road to visit Iain Marr Antiques. Iain and Avril established their shop in 1975. Iain can boast he is the only Highland member of the London & Provincial Antique Dealers Association, The Silver Society and is a founder member of Sotheby’s.com. Iain frequently gives talks and lectures on antique silver around the Highlands to NADFAS and recently to St James Place Wealth management. Over the years they have developed the business to its present standing having royalty, film stars and the nobility among their frequent customers.

Iain’s particular interest is antique silver, especially Scottish provincial silver and he loves to share his knowledge and enthusiasm with the beginner and the serious collector alike.

This love was passed on to his daughters, who have always been a part of the family business and grown up surrounded by antiques. The business is now in its second generation as Sarah started working in the shop full time in 2013 and became a partner in the business in 2019, ensuring the business remains independent and family owned.

John said: “We are thrilled that HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay, accepted the invitation to come and open our new workshop - this has been a wonderful day for the whole team here at Campbell’s, but moreover for the wider community of Beauly and the surrounding area.

We are grateful for The Prince’s support and we are extremely fortunate to have enjoyed royal patronage for a number of years, including our most recent Royal Warrant from Her Majesty the Queen.

“Here at Campbell’s, we are committed to maintaining our craft and making it here in the Highlands. We employ a team of eight in our tailoring department and hope that the new expansion allows for us to take on two more staff in the short-medium terms and potentially four more in the long term.”

John’s late father James Sugden OBE was instrumental in setting up The Prince’s Foundation’s Future Textiles training initiative at Dumfries House in East Ayrshire. The

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Sarah said of the Royal visit “The Duke of Rothesay was truly a prince charming. He enjoyed a Laphroig in one of our silver tumblers and perused the shop and all its contents. We showed him our Jacobite pieces, a diamond tiara from 1895 and many other Georgian silver and provincial items. He was very interested and interesting. He instantly made you feel at ease and has a great sense of humour, there were lots of giggles”.

Before setting off to complete his Highland tour, His Royal Highness did what we’ve all done… popped in to the Deli on the Corner to sample the coffees and eclectic range of fine foods and wines that Jacqui and Gary have on offer.

The visit was a coup for Beauly with the community turning out in force to greet our Royal visitor. It truly was an honour to have him visit us and for Beauly it was just fantastic that this gem of a place is recognised and put on the map and in the news.

Community Council Elections 2019 Hopefully most of you will be aware elections were held through the autumn and we now have a new Community Council in place for the next 5 years. For your information members are listed below. Our inaugural meeting was held on 25th November when the various appointments were made. We would also like to bring to your attention the fact that after some lobbying, the Community Council boundary changed in the North West corner to include areas around Rheindown. The whole boundary is set out on the map.

Muir of Ord

Remember the Community Council is for everyone. We usually meet on the last Monday of the month, come along and see what it’s all about.

Beauly

Ivar Campbell (Chair) West Lodge, Bridgend, Beauly.

James Anthony Campbell Tigh Grianach, 24 Viewfield Avenue, Beauly.

Seona May Fraser (Treasurer) 3 Braeview Park, Beauly.

Roy Harrison (Vice-Chair) 8 Fraser Street, Beauly.

Rosemary Campbell MacDonald 5 Priory Court, The Square, Beauly.

Mark Peter John Simmons Casa Cardhu, Fraser Street, Beauly.

Michael Griffiths Smith The Steading, Rheindown, Beauly.

David Charles Taylor (Secretary) Westwood, Croyard Braes, Beauly.

Kilmorack

Kirkhill and Bunchrew

Kiltarlity

Reproduced by permission of Ordnance Survey on behalf of HMSO © Crown copyright and database right 2019. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey licence 100023369.

Ref: gis2077 Date: Sept 2019

Beauly Community Council Boundary

Beauly Drama Club Once again the local drama group, the Beauly Theatre Club, has put on a day of entertainment reliving memories of the past clearances. It was performed at the Phipps Hall, Beauly and the group even went 'on tour' to perform in Kirkhill.

During the past year Jack Jenkins, one of the founder members of the group, put together a script retelling of a week, in May 1845 in which 88 crofters were cleared from their houses in Glencalvie, near Ardgay. These hard working folk took refuge in the cemetery at Croik Church because they 'felt it would be sacrilege to take shelter in the church because they weren't at worship'. Helped by Cathie and other cast members songs interspersed the play.

In December our performance was a seasonal one held in the Lovat Arms Hotel on Saturday, 7 December at 2.00 pm. Tickets were £6.00 (£5.00 concession) for tea/coffee and mince pies. If you missed these performances, look out for posters around the village for our next one which will hopefully be around Spring 2020.

As usual the group are always looking for budding and enthusiastic thespians, or helpers to organise the goings-on behind the curtains. If you would like to contact Cathie on 01463 782 634 to find out want we are planning next or to come and join us, you will be made more than welcome. As always we really do appreciate your valuable attendance at these performances and on-going support.

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Shinty News Xmas 2019 As 2019 draws to a close we can reflect on a season which rarely if ever had a dull moment.

Once again the junior section/Beauly Shinty Academy brought nothing but credit to the club. The enthusiasm of the children for the sport is heart-warming and the club continues to participate at all age groups. Our gratitude is due to all the coaches who have shown terrific dedication and commitment throughout the year and also to the school and the parents for their support.

The under14 and under 17 sides continue their rise to the top of the sport with the under 14 side battling to the semi-final of the MacMaster Cup before losing to eventual winners Kinlochshiel. At under seventeen level a team at the younger end of the age group spectrum did the club proud winning through to the semifinal of the London Shield before losing in a home and away encounter to Skye. Again great credit to the coaches Niall MacLennan and Gregor MacCormick.

Quite a number of the older boys in the under - 17 squad have become key members of our reserve side which operates in North Division Two. Together with a number of experienced players the lads have truly excelled finishing second in the table losing out to eventual winners Lochcarron.

Alan Bruce and Gregor deserve huge praise for their excellent coaching and support.

The senior side regrouped after a poor start to the season and finished the league in sixth place well clear of the relegation zone. Throughout the season there were glimpses of the side’s potential and the challenge for season 2020 is to produce that form on a consistent basis. Much of the credit for the recovery should go to Iain Morrison and team captain Sean Stewart.

Congratulations to our fullback Andrew Morrison who was chosen to represent Scotland at under 21 level in the annual Shinty - Hurling international, held this year at Abbotstown near Dublin.

At the end of season the golf tournament at Aigas was won by Cameron Tillman. The event preceded an awards dinner in the Priory with the main winners as follows: Colin MacDonald won both senior Player of the Year award (DJ Fraser Trophy) and the Lymburn Family trophy. James Morrison picked up the 2nd team Player of the Year and Finlay MacLennan under 17 Player of the Year. Euan MacCormick won the vote for the under 17 Player’s POYT and the Joe MacLean trophy for the young POYT. John Munro butchers were chosen to receive the John MacKenzie Memorial trophy for the unsung hero for their sterling work in selling Lottery tickets.

The club continues its involvement in the Shinty Memories Project and in September we hosted a well-attended event at the clubhouse. Former players and current committee people were in attendance from Beauly, Caberfeidh and Lovat and the event was hailed as very successful. The initiative is intended to help people who may be suffering from dementia but is also a relaxed forum in which to meet old friends and recall incidents and matches from the past. One of the highlights was an impressive collection of memorabilia from Mina MacKay highlighting her late husband Sandy’s stellar shinty career. Many thanks to all the others who also brought in memorabilia, pictures and newspaper cuttings.

At the recent AGM the full working committee was elected with the following office bearers in place.

President David Calder, Vice President Iain Petrie, Secretary Steven MacKenzie and Treasurer Iain MacKenzie. Rhona Morrison continues as Child Protection Officer and Don Fraser as Club Chieftain.

As always the club is indebted to all our sponsors and also to everyone who regularly support our lottery.

The club takes this opportunity to extend a Happy Xmas and a prosperous New Year to all our supporters.

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Beauly Sports Association Re-establishment By the time you are reading this the first AGM of the re-established Sports Association will have taken place and a Board of Trustees and Management Committee will be establishing itself to take on the management and development of the site. This is an exciting opportunity. All groups and age profiles in the village could benefit so we should all take an interest and support the venture.

By way of some history.

“In 1965 an Amenities sub-committee of Beauly Village Council was formed, with co-opted representatives of the tennis, curling and rifle clubs, with the object of developing the now derelict area of the old tennis courts into a combined recreational centre incorporating a roller-skating rink and for the three clubs mentioned above.” [from The Third Statistical Account of Scotland, Volume XVI: The County of Inverness (revised June 1966, published 1985)] In 1966 a registered Deed of Trust named the Trustees of the ‘proposed’ sports and recreation centre for the use of the inhabitants of the Village and District of Beauly.

About that time, Lord Lovat granted a Feu Charter to these Trustees and transferred to them ownership of the property extending to 0.466 acre or thereby.

The1966 Deed of Trust does more than state the objects of the Association and appoint Trustees. It allows for the appointment of a Committee of Management and requires there to be an Annual General Meeting to be convened by in November each year.

The requirement for management.

The buildings and surrounds have fallen derelict again. Before the present condition of the buildings and others on the site can be properly assessed, and ideas for development of the site put forward, the situation regarding the Trustees and management of the property needed to be regularised.

The Future, Ideas - Development.

The AGM has taken place and we are ready to go. An inaugural meeting will take place on 16th January, following this the team will make themselves known.. Thereafter we will be able to share our thoughts with you. Thank you to Jim Stewart and Derek Flyn for pushing forward with this initiative.

To Close.

We would love to see old photographs of any of the activities listed above; there don’t seem to be any! In preparing this article the usual Google search was undertaken and bingo….. something came up. It made us smile so thought it was worth sharing.

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The Hedgehog - Our garden friend is in decline The Hedgehog is one of Britain’s most familiar wild mammals, most commonly spotted in parks and gardens, where they eat all kinds of invertebrates, as well as amphibians, birds eggs and anything else they can catch; they particularly like big, crunchy beetles, earthworms and slugs. It is estimated that there were over 30 million hedgehogs in the UK in the 1950s, however recent estimates suggest there are less than one million left - a tragedy, especially given that they’re the gardener’s friend, munching their way through pesky slugs.

Hedgehogs are in decline, particularly in rural areas: •

Hedgehogs struggle to climb out of cattle grids without ramps

•

Barbed wire at fence bases can impale hedgehogs

•

Enclosed garden fences can make travelling difficult

•

Intensely farmed land has reduced habitats and feeding sites

•

There is a rising predator badger population

•

Hedgehogs are also at risk from: fireworks, dogs, human abuse, traffic, plastic materials and bonfires

Hibernation - for most hedgehogs begins in October or November, however right up until Christmas or even after you may see them about. Hedgehogs do not hibernate continuously; they get up for a few days at a time to feed throughout the winter, but more and more are struggling to reach a satisfactory weight to survive.

Look out for underweight youngsters - Hedgehogs all need to reach a nice fat weight of 500-700g if they are going to survive winter hibernation. Young hedgehogs can and will hibernate at 450gms or less, but are more likely to survive hibernation at 600gms. If you find a hedgehog weighing less than this in the period between late October and early March, then it needs help - contact a vet or sanctuary for advice.

Provide plenty of clean water and food - Cat or kitten biscuits or pet shop bought hedgehog mix are great. Tinned food will freeze and definitely no bread or milk – hedgehogs can’t digest bread and are lactose intolerant.

Build a cosy hedgehog home - and by putting it in place during spring or summer means it will be ready when they're house-hunting in autumn. Place the box in a quiet, sheltered position under a bush or small tree, or against a sheltered wall, fence, shed etc, so that the Hedgehog feels protected. Cover the box with a waterproof material, such as tarpaulin or roofing felt. Don’t forget to continue to put food and water close by throughout the winter. Check out the Wildlife Trust How to build a hedgehog home Link your garden to the hedgehog highway - Hedgehogs can travel huge distances and thrive in garden and suburban habitats, but they can’t visit your garden if you don’t let them in. Try making a hedgehog sized hole in the fence (make sure you ask first if it’s not your fence!). Holes can be as small as 13cm by 13cm – small enough to prevent dogs and cats coming through.

Create a hedgehog larder - Increase the amount of natural food in your garden by creating good habitats for the insects they like to eat. Simply add a log pile, and keep some areas of the garden untidy. Hedgehogs with a rumbling tummy won’t be able to resist, and remember not to use chemicals or slug pellets.

Oh, and when you are having YOUR Christmas Dinner, please remember the hedgehog in YOUR garden who needs his or hers as well.

If you are passionate about the environment and want to make a difference please get in touch on 07510 973 267 16

Congratulations Congratulations to Rosemary Macdonald who received the Inverness City Medal at the Civic Community Dinner in the Town House in October in recognition of her work in the community as Chair of Beauly Community Council, Chair of Beauly Senior Citizen's Club, a stalwart of the Women’s Guild in the Church of Scotland and too many other organisations in the village to mention.

Our Congratulations and thanks for all the work Rosemary has done on a volunteering basis all her life, her award is well deserved.

Helen Carmichael

Co-op Local Community Fund Many of you commented on what a great job the Men’s Shed did tidying up the area behind the Shinty Pavilion and asked what was next. Also you may remember an article in Beauly News last Christmas where we asked you to sign on to your Coop membership account and choose to support our local good cause. Well this paid off big-time!

Thanks to the efforts of you shopping in our local Coop we can report that £9,362.02 was raised allowing the Community Council to collect a cheque from Roddy and his team on 23rd November. Fantastic!

Thank you shoppers and thank you Coop.

This is a big sum and we now need to focus our thoughts on how best to use it to improve that wider area for the benefit of the whole community.

A thank you from Beauly and Ord Junior Shinty Club Beauly and Ord Junior Club would like to pass on a huge thank you to Glen Ord Distillery for the very kind donation which they gave to the club. It is very much appreciated and will be put to good use in the coming session.

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Production Team If you would like an article included in the next edition of Beauly News please contact a member of the production team listed below.

Seona Fraser, Maureen MacKenzie, David Taylor, Zane Wright.

Or join us on Facebook “Beauly Online” or via our web site http://www.beaulycc.org/feedback.asp Thank you to our contributors and the support team for all your continued support.

Beauly Senior Citizens - A summer of Afternoon Teas Beauly Senior Citizens have enjoyed the summer season with several trips to an array of different places….... spot the common theme.

We began the season with a trip to Howdens Garden Centre, Nairn beach and tea in the Sundancer restaurant. A trip to Ullapool was followed by a shopping spree in Alness, yes followed by tea in the Storehouse. In mid-season we visited The Range and enjoyed a cuppa, lastly a visit to Holm Mills and more tea! Attendance at all of these trips was extended by the very welcome provision of the Beauly Cares mini-bus. Thank you to them and the volunteer drivers. The less able managed to come along, therefore keeping the group together.

To close the session we went to Cnoc Hotel and Cromarty plus two afternoons at the Priory Hotel where yes you’ve guessed, we enjoyed afternoon tea.

THANK YOU On 5 March this year our son Struan Cairns was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He was 15 years old at the time.

Struan was treated at the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital. As he was stage 4 he received the maximum amount of chemotherapy. We spent a lot of time away from home.

An enormous amount of kindness was shown to Struan and our family from many, many people in the village. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the village for its warm support and care at our time of need. It was much appreciated and made a huge difference.

On a more personal note we could not have made it throughout the year with the help of my mother Mina Mackay and my sister and brother-in-law Hazel and Jeff Stewart.

Alison & Derek Cairns

Christmas is Coming…

Church Services 2019 The Beauly Churches have a variety of Christmas experiences this year, with something for everyone who wants a much-needed dose of togetherness and hope.

St Mary’s Beauly

All in all a successful summer.

CHRISTMAS EVE – Tuesday 24 December

A very enjoyable Christmas Lunch took place on Thursday 12th December in the Priory Hotel. All Senior Citizen members were made welcome.

CHRISTMAS DAY – Wednesday 25 December – only service

To close, we wish you all a merry Christmas and look forward to the start of our next session……. put the kettle on!

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St Maelrubha, Poolewe - Carols 2pm and Vigil Mass 2.30pm.

St Martin’s, Ullapool - Carols 2pm and Vigil Mass 2.30pm.

Our Lady & St Bean, Marydale - Carols 6pm and Vigil Mass 6.30pm.

St Mary’s, Beauly – Carols 8.30pm and Vigil Mass 9pm.

St Mary’s Beauly – Mass 11 am.

Church of Scotland Beauly Saturday 14th Carols and Crafts – a fun family event of singing and child friendly activities, in the Beauly church hall from 3.00 pm.

Tuesday 17th Carol Service organised jointly with St Mary’s and Beauly Primary School, in Beauly church at 7.00 pm.

Friday 20th Christingle Service in Struy church, starting at 6.30 pm.

Sunday 22nd Sunday Services in Struy (10.00) and Beauly (11.30) with carols and traditional readings.

Tuesday 24th Midnight Service to take into Christmas morning, in Beauly church from 11.30 pm.

Beauly Community Council - Village Gateway The Community Council has several set duties but every so often somebody will ask us to push forward with something different. We are considering refreshing the two village gateway signs, entering the village from the east and west. They are tired, the wording needs to be reviewed and the planters at the bottom are in need of some tlc.

We are in the process of securing funding and have been in discussion with our colleagues at the Highland Council over various aspects.

We have reviewed the signage our neighbours have, looked at what is commercially available and considered a few abstract ideas. We would like to know what you think and intend to do this, in the main via Facebook posts. The outline brief would be: •

Foot print no bigger than what is there.

•

Virtually maintenance free.

•

Design life 15+ years.

•

Flower planter at the bottom.

•

Able to be read at 30mph.

•

Ability to take additional banner, (initial banner: Britain in Bloom Village).

•

Cost effective.

•

Any sign to sit on concrete/gravel base.

Style: Existing sign, modelled on traffic sign. Option to adapt/update existing. Reconstruct planter.

Pro’s: Probably cheapest. Foundations/Posts in place. Re-use main plate.

Con’s: Not particularly welcoming/exciting. Dated solution.

Style: Masonry and stone carved sign. Could be higher with planting added.

Pro’s: Made by local craftsmen. Maintenance free.

Con’s: Probably too big and bulky footprint particularly at east end where verge is narrower.

Built in-situ, traffic management?

Style: Timber handmade sign. Could show silhouette of Priory. Also could be made in weathered steel. Planter could be added.

Pro’s: Would be unique. Made by local craftsmen.

Con’s: High maintenance in timber. Writing not as easy to read.

Style: Cast aluminium bespoke sign. Dornoch, Dingwall have something similar (in black) without planter.

Pro’s: Made to order, No hassle. Low maintenance. To village colours. Existing posts/base may be modified/ incorporated.

Con’s: Looks dated.

Style: Timber carved sign (similar to Beauly in Bloom sign at Coop). Banners/Planter could be added as needs.

Pro’s: Flexibility on banners and planter.

Con’s: Will require maintenance.

Style: Modern wacky sign. Example in stainless steel and timber made to our unique design.

Could be mirrored each side of road to form gateway.

Pro’s: Would be unique. Modern and sleek. Memorable.

Con’s: Might be expensive. Design costs? Would planter work?

Keep an eye out on our Facebook page and give us your thoughts. In parallel we will be obtaining outline costings and finalising a budget 19

Beauly Bowling Club.

In September our 151st season closed but again proved to be another successful period in the Club’s records. Our green is proving to be the best in the north and envy of all other Clubs who come to Beauly to play in friendlies or competitions.

In Scotland there are 56,000 registered members playing Scotland’s local sport of choice at the heart of all communities. Lawn bowls is played for the challenge, outdoor enjoyment and social interaction. It is also a low impact & therapeutic form of exercise.

Our 2020 season will start in mid-April and anyone is most welcome to turn up on our Club Nights – Wednesdays and Fridays – at 7pm for 7:15pm start.

We can teach you to play very quickly and the Club

have spare bowls, including 2 sets of junior sized bowls, which are available to use. The only equipment you need is a pair of flat soled shoes to walk on the green without damaging it.

Further details can be found on our Beauly Bowling Club Facebook pages.

Beauly Bowling Club members hope this Christmas season ends on a joyful note and continues into a safe and prosperous New Year for you and your families.

Cups awarded to winning Beauly Teams & Members at our AGM on 14 Dec. More details on our Facebook Pages.