2018 June Newsletter

Balmullo Community Council Newsletter 2018 [issue three]

Online newsletter www.issuu.com/balmullo

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LINNET AND PIED WAGTAIL

ANDREW FALCONER

No connection between the two species featured nearby. this month, except that both are fairly common around Balmullo and have not appeared in any The Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarelli) is actually a subspecies of the White Wagtail, but is a resident breeder in the UK. It is 16.5-19 cm in length and is very easy to identify with its striking black and white plumage. The female is greyer on the head and back than the male shown here. It also has a very di stin ct ive hab it of constantly “wagging� its tail up and down. It walks with a jerky motion, breaking into a run if it spots an insect prey.

While not a common sight in Balmullo, there are always a few around, previous issue. particularly in summer, when much paler grey and The Linnet (Carduelis cannabina) is 12.5-14 cm in white juveniles are also seen. It is often found near length, very similar in size to the closely related water e.g. on beaches and pond edges and also on Goldfinch. It has a brown mantle and back and bare, flat areas like lawns and golf courses. buffy throat, with a stubby grey bill. The side of the head is pale above and below the eye, with a pale spot in the centre of dusky cheeks. In spring and summer, the male has a reddish forehead and breast.

They breed in areas with thick bushes, especially coastal heathland with gorse. The scrubby area between Balmullo Quarry and Lucklaw Wood is a good place to look for them. In winter, large flocks form, sometimes with other finches such as Goldfinch and Chaffinch, feeding on stubble fields, These flocks can be very mobile and easily disturbed, often flying up onto any telephone wires Photos courtesy of John Anderson, Crail

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Balmullo Chairman Colin Finlay 870578 colinfinlay52@gmail.com Treasurer & Newsletter Andrew Falconer 870496 anfalconer@tiscali.co.uk Vice-Chairman: Alison Jeffrey 870674 alison@balmullo.net Secretary: Sue Smith 870221 secretary@balmullo.net Minute-Secretary: Councillors: Ina Cameron 870253 twaauldgoats@btinternet.com John Normand janormand1@gmail.com Gwenyth Mitchell 870010 gwenyth@balmullo.net

Peter Lomas 870848 pil77@btinternet.com

fife

councillors

Jonny Tepp Phone 078 4091 9734 Email cllr.jonny.tepp@fife.gov.uk Tim Brett 01382 330905 cllr.tim.brett@fife.gov.uk Bill Connor 077 1866 8792 cllr.bill.connor@fife.gov.uk

WHAT’S ON?

AUGUST 1ST

BURNSIDE HALL COMMITTEE MEETING. 7.30 PM. LEUCHARS & DISTRICT GARDENING CLUB SUMMER SHOW. BURNSIDE HALL FROM 1.30 PM.

4TH

SEPTEMBER 6TH

10TH

SWI MEETING. TALK BY MEALMAKERS AND BRING & BUY SALE. BURNSIDE HALL. 7.15 PM. COMMUNITY COUNCIL AGM. BURNSIDE HALL 7.30 PM. ALL WELCOME.

COMMUNITY COUNCIL

CONTACTS

Useful Contacts Burnside Hall Keeper Lynn Murphy 870466 GALA Committee 07780335250 http://balmullogala.weebly.com Community Police Officers 101 Peter Holmes & Ewan McIntosh Non Emergency Police 101 Dog Warden 01592 583642 NHS24 111 Rev. John Duncan 870038 jduncan@churchofscotland.org.uk

M.P. Stephen Gethins 657765 M.S.P. Willie Rennie 656361 Doctors @ Balmullo 871164 WHAT INFORMATION WOULD YOU Balmullo Primary 659451 LIKE TO SEE HERE? Bell Baxter High School 659459 Madras College 659402 LET US KNOW. EMAIL MIKE@BALMULLO.NET

Advert Prices Small £5, Half Page £10, Full Page £20. You can rent advertising space on a month by month basis or on a longer term basis. The Balmullo Newsletter has a circulation of 700 and is hand delivered FREE of charge. TO ALL ADVERTISERS – Please check your advert. If you would like to remove it or change it in any way, please let us know.

Statements made or opinions expressed in this Newsletter do not necessarily reflect the views of the Balmullo Community Council or any of its officers.

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MONTEATHS Accountants & Tax Consultants APPOINTMENTS: MORNING, AFTERNOON or EVENING OUR OFFICE, YOUR HOME or PREMISES

VAT points A vat registered business can claim some vat back on the running costs even when they are part of the home; I.e. heating & lighting costs for the office.

Business telephone calls.

An appropriate proportion of house repairs or renovations, this could include a proportion of a loft conversion including architects fees etc.

A loft conversion turning 2 floors into 3 floors then a claim for 1/3rd would be acceptable. A garage converted into a workshop or office.

BUT the new space would need to be for the business where the premises are used as an office, production processes or storage. Not as a partial second home.

Farmers use farmhouses for numerous business activities so 70% business usage is accepted.

FINANCIAL ADVICE

WE HELP - WE SAVE YOU MONEY FULL ACCOUNTANCY AND COMPLETE TAXATION SERVICES WWW.MONTEATHS.COM Cairnfield, 14 School Road, Balmullo, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 0BD Tel 01334 870343 - Fax 01334 871004 E mail : mark@monteaths.com

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

BALMULLO COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Dog Fouling – Further to the comments in the last issue, we have learnt that a resident of Balmullo has been fined £80 for not “picking up” – you have been warned! All aspects of dogs behaviour – dangerous dogs, noisy dogs, dog fouling etc. is now covered by the “Safer Communities Team” at Fife Council. Their number is listed under “Dog Warden” on page 3, or follow the links from “Safer Communities” on the Fife Direct home page, if you witness dog fouling and wish to report the incident.

Balmullo Primary School – The school was officially labelled as being in “poor” condition last year. We have received assurance that £190k will be spent on the

roof and solar panels this financial year which should bring the school up to a “good” condition using the Government approved methodology for rating schools.

Community Council AGM – At the forthcoming AGM we will be seeking a new Treasurer, a new Newsletter Editor and are still looking for a Minute Secretary. For the past year, “minutes” have been taken by 5 councillors on a rota – not very satisfactory.

Andrew is standing down after almost 10 years as Treasurer and 5 years as Editor.

The next meeting is our AGM in the Burnside Hall at 7.30pm on Monday 10th September.

APRIL WINNERS

MAY WINNERS

JUNE WINNERS

£50 £20 £20 £20 £20 £20 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10

£50 £20 £20 Drive £20 £20 £20 £10 £10 £10 £10 £10

£50 £20 £20 £20 £20 £20 £10 £10 £10 £10

Mrs Duncan, Park View Mr Sturrock, Pitcairn Drive Mr McKenzie, Pitcairn Drive Mr Dobie, Smithy Road Mr Erskine, School Road Mr Morrison, Greenacre Mrs Taylor, Pitcairn Drive Mr Auld, Park View Mrs Walker, School Road Mr Mathers, School Road Ms Herrington, School Road

Mrs Lorimer, Smithy Road Mrs Watson, Smithy Road Mr & Mrs Reid, Pitcairn Mrs Colford, Clay Road Mrs Tolley, The Mount Ms Barr, The Mount Mr Cook, Park View Mr Angus, Mansfield Road Mrs Young, Park View Mrs Finnie, Smithy Road Ms Angus, Mansfield Road

Mrs Fairlie, Straiton Terrace Mr Wood, Summerhill Mr Smith, Anderson Drive Mr Prophet, Park View Mrs Kerr, School Road Mrs Smillie, Park View Mrs Calder, Lomond Place Mr Tully, School Road Mr Crush McWalters Fields Mrs Johnston, Anderson Drive £10 Mrs Thoms, Burnside

200 CLUB - HOW TO JOIN? It's easy to join the 200 Club. Call or email Ina at twaauldgoats@btinternet.com or call 870253. It only costs £1 per entry per month, and you can enter as many times as you like. We are currently trying to raise money for various Balmullo community activities and projects. - GOOD LUCK!

15 Main Street Leuchars 01334 848625 Mon Closed Tues 9-3 Wed 9-5 Thur 9-8 Fri 9-6 Sat 8-3 Sun Closed

Appointments not always necessary

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POINTS FROM THE SECRETARY’S EMAIL Police update Just in relation to the recent house break-in’s in the Taybridge area we have to report. A 23 year old male has been charged with seventy crimes. (That is every one of the crimes we suffered in that series). He is appearing at Dundee Sheriff Court today. A 24 year old male has also been identified as responsible and efforts to trace him remain on going. He too will be charged with the seventy crimes.

On your doorstep website www.onyourdoorstepfife.org provides sources of help and leisure locally. It is produced by Fife Health and Social Care Partnership.

We have received the Emergency Resilience Newsletter.

Bus changes took place on Monday 14th May and whilst the services to Dundee and Ninewells leave Balmullo twice an hour there have been changes in numbers of service, routes beyond Cupar and type of bus. The 53 which is accessible for people with movement difficulties and buggies has been replaced

by X54 which has steep steps. This will be of concern for some users.

Paths for All have grants available for path maintenance and for the development of new paths.

Community Council Elections will take place on

DOMINOES ANYONE? We are looking for anyone who is free on a Thursday evening for about half of the year – is that you?

We are looking for anyone who would like to play dominoes. We need around 6 or 7 people to try and make two teams. You don’t have to have had any experience, just come and have a fun night out every Thursday evening from around 8pm – 10.30pm (some nights times may vary). Any age group over 18 are welcome. The season starts around September till mid-December and then again from mid-January till

SUE SMITH 4th October, if required.

A new report on Fife Council has been published by the Accounts Commission. This is the only report that provides an independent view across all aspects of your local council.

The Scottish Government has grants to improve public access as part of the Agri Environment and Climate Scheme programme. Stephen Melville, Cuplahills Farm, has applied for a grant to upgrade the path along Burnside to the pond in Willie’s Woods.

After online consultation with the community councillors Andrew submitted a letter of support of our behalf.

We have received the Equalities Monthly Newsletter for June.

The consultation on the future of Scotland’s water is open until 31st August - see www.yourwater.scot The Fairer Scotland Duty came into force on 1 April 2018. Now public sector bodies have a duty to consider what more they can do to reduce poverty and inequality when making key decisions.

I have displayed a poster about summer activities at Waterstone Crook in the Spar. I will display any further posters about summer activities if I receive them.

MOIRA CHRISTIE April. Games are played half at home (Balmullo Inn) and half away. The furthest venue is Crail. Food is provided halfway through the night. If you do not drive this does not matter but if you do it is usual for people to take their turn as driver when playing away.

If you think you would like to join us you can contact Moira Christie 870341 or come along to Balmullo Inn on a Thursday night around 8pm as we play friendly games amongst ourselves out of season.

MIKE’S TECH TIPS If your Windows PC is running a wee bitty bit slow, why don’t you try some or all of the following self fixes?

Malwarebytes is a free program that clears out unwanted bugs. Www.malwarebytes.com Ccleaner is brilliant at cleaning out extraneous files and rubbish that clogs up your PC. https://filehippo.com/ download_ccleaner/. Windows own utility, disk cleanup, will gain you, in some cases, 30Gb of free space.

Click on Start then type in Disk Cleanup, then click on clean up system files. Check all of the boxes and click OK. If you are running Windows Vista or XP then you need to update to Windows 10. The reason to move to W10 is to ensure that you get all of the latest bug fixes and patches. If you remain on Vista or XP then you are exposed, as these operating systems are not updated anymore. Also Office 2007 or earlier needs to be uninstalled as security patches have ceased to be updated. Head to www.libreoffice.org for a free alternative.

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EX-FORCES SPORTS DISCOUNT Fife Sports and Leisure Trust will now provide a 30% discount on all charges at their facilities for all exForces personnel resident in Fife. The agreement has immediate effect from 1 June 2018. Those wishing to take up this offer should go to the relevant facility reception and complete the ‘Active concessions’ form (available at all facilities), previous military service

authenticated must also be provided, this can be in the form of a Service Certificate or endorsement from a recognised body, e.g. Veterans First Point (V1P). If you would like more information about this initiative, please contact Cllr Rod Cavanagh, Fife C o u n c i l A r m e d F or c e s C h a m p ion a t cllr.rod.cavanagh@fife.gov.uk.

CAN YOU HELP! I am looking for some help . . .following some information received in mid April, I have decided to do a wee history on our house, Schoolhouse, which has been occupied by Schoolmasters since it was purpose built around 1874. We are all getting older, and I think it would be good to collect this information, before it disappears forever!

JAN REDPATH around the mid 1960's, before Hillview Road was built, as well as various copies of paintings done and photographs, sent by the late son of Mr John Millar.

I think I have found out who most of the Schoolmasters were from mid 1880's and already have a few rather sad stories about some of the occupants. I have already been given some copies of photos of a couple of the school classes, but wondering of anyone has any photographs of the old school itself, before the new one was built 1976 and opened in 1977? Anyone got any stories to share?

I guess there's probably nobody left in the village who would remember the Schoolmasters before Mr Millar 1920's - 30's, but I believe he was succeeded by Mr Mainland, then Mr McDonald and finally Mr Wilkie, in the 1950's.

Thanking anyone who may be able to help. I can be contacted on 870026, emailed on jan.redpath@btopenworld.com, or pop a note through the door.

I have a photo of the house from about 1934, where School Road looks very different, and an aerial photo

CHOCOLATE BROWNIES Ingredients

3.

Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix with a hand-held mixer until evenly blended.

4.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, spread evenly into the corners and level the top with a spatula.

5.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until the mixture has a crusty top and a skewer inserted into Grease a 12” x 9” traybake tin the centre comes out clean. and line it with baking 6.

Allow the brownies to parchment. cool in the tin and then cut into 2.

Preheat your oven to 24 squares. Store in an airtight 180°C/Gas Mark 4. tin.

Love Cake.

Love Balmullo.

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BALMULLO SWI

JAN REDPATH

President Ann Falconer welcomed members and Guest Speaker, Lisa Hainey, to our meeting on Thursday, 5th April, 2018.

Lisa has been a Solicitor for about 10 years and is currently Senior Solicitor with Thorntons Law, in Cupar. Lisa gave a most interesting and informative talk about Six Legal ‘Must Do's', explaining the need for people to make Wills, arrange Power of Attorney etc. Some literature from ‘Solicitors for Older People, Scotland’, was also distributed to members. A vote of thanks was given.

We were then joined by Lesley Moffat from Down's Syndrome Scotland, who was presented with a cheque for £307.20, which was raised at our Coffee Afternoon on 14th March, 2018. Lesley thanked the members for their efforts, and was delighted with the amount raised. She explained where the money would be spent, and how it would help.

INDIVIDUAL QUICHE Grace Steven Sandy Rolfe Cathy McVey

DECORATED EGG Jill Dhanjal Penny Wiles Sandy Rolfe

FLOWER OF THE MONTH Grace Steven Vera Finlayson Mary Campbell

Members and Guests thereafter enjoyed a light supper. The raffle was drawn and Competition Winners announced: President Ann Falconer welcomed members, villagers and friends to our Open Meeting on Thursday, 3rd May, 2018.

Balmullo SWI Vice President, Mary Reilly gave a most interesting illustrated talk about some of the Best Kept Secrets in Fife. Mary led us from President Grant Place in Tayport, where US President Ulysses S Grant had visited in 1877, where he set sail from the harbour to view the first Tay Bridge. From there, we were taken via Tentsmuir Forest through Kincaple and into St Andrews where we visited the memorials to famous golfers, Tom Morris and Allan Robertson.

After leaving St Andrews, we travelled through Dairsie, also called Osnaburgh, a famous weaving village. Our journey was terminated at Carden Barns Farm, Cardenden, which saw the last duel in Scotland in 1817. Along the roads, we saw various ‘Mile Posts,

which are a common site, but unique to Fife. These posts were used by Stagecoaches travelling between FIFE BANNOCK Grace Steven Gina Baird Sandy Rolfe

PHOTO OF FIFE FLOWER OF THE Jan Redpath MONTH M a r g a r e t Julie Campbell Williamson Sandy Rolfe Sandy Rolfe Jan Redpath

towns and villages, and were made in Kirkcaldy.

A vote of thanks was given. Members and Guests thereafter enjoyed a light supper. The raffle was drawn and Competition Winners announced: President Ann Falconer welcomed members, including two new members, and Guest Speaker Colin Barrie, to our meeting on Thursday, 7th June, 2018.

Colin is a horticulturalist, and the owner of the Garden Centre Group, Caulders, a family business since 1999 of which there are 5 centres, 4 in the Glasgow area and one at Cupar.

Colin brought along a selection of plants, and gave a most informative talk, describing their use in the garden, as well as giving many useful hints and tips on gardening. After his talk, members were invited to ask questions and seek advice on some gardening problems, which Colin ably answered. Members were then afforded the opportunity to purchase the plants brought in.

A vote of thanks was given. Members thereafter enjoyed a light supper. The raffle was drawn and Competition Winners announced.

FRESH FLOWER ARRANGEMENT Grace Stevens Penny Wiles Jan Redpath

BORDER TART Penny Wiles Grace Stevens Gina Baird

FLOWER OF THE MONTH Grace Stevens Elizabeth Hughes M a r g a r e t Williamson

Our next meeting will be our summer lunch at Elmwood Fairways in July.

Our next meeting will be Thursday, 6th September, 2018, when there will be a talk from Mealmakers and also a Bring and Buy sale. Further details to follow.

As ever, new members will be made very welcome.

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OUT OF HOURS SERVICE FROM ST ANDREWS COMMUNITY HOSPITAL

This service is accessed when you dial 111 (NHS 24) and not 999.

This report is my personal understanding of how this service will disappear due to the decisions being made by the Integrated Joint Board (IJB) whose membership is comprised of Health Service Joint Board and Fife Council.

Information on the IJB can be accessed via Fife Council web site. Voting members consist of eight Councillors, seven members representing the NHS and others, I would imagine.

Background: I read around April time that a decision had been taken to immediately suspend the out of hours service from St Andrews Community Hospital from midnight to 8am due to lack of GPs. The lack of GPs was not in our area but further down in Fife.

Willie Rennie MSP held a public meeting last month to highlight the situation. Members of the IJB were present as well as local GPs and other health professionals. Concern was raised by GPs and many others from the health service as well as members of the public at this sudden decision. St Andrews Citizen published a report of the meeting. It was announced at this meeting that the IJB were undertaking a review of all out of hours care in Fife and a public consultation period, over the summer months, would allow residents in Fife to make their views known etc. I came away from that meeting concerned that residents in NE Fife were going to lose this service completely.

When you call 111, you can obtain a consultation at the hospital with a medical professional. There are also GPs, based in St Andrews, who undertake out of hour visits to those who are too ill to leave home. With our ageing population and rural communities, this is an extremely important service. Even based at St Andrews the doctors have a wide area to cover which means, that you can wait quite a few hours before the doctor can visit your home. Therefore, how much longer will the

IRENE MCNAIR

wait be if the doctors are based in Kirkcaldy?

Presently between midnight and 8am, people in our area are being sent to the hospital in Kirkcaldy. As we are near Dundee, I believe, we can use the out of hours service at Kings Cross hospital as well.

Present: With these concerns in mind, I went along to Cllr Bill Connor’s surgery and the Balmullo Community Council meeting on the 11th June. My aim was to highlight the potential total loss of the service, as well as, encourage our Community Council and local Councillors to engage with others in the area to host a public meeting asap. We need to fight any decision the IJB have made to shut/ cut this service. Those outwith the IJB and Fife Council need to attend – is this the Health Secretary, Shona Robison?

The report presented at the Community Council meeting by Cllr Tim Brett/ Jonny Tepp discusses this service. Report notes that “a consultation on the future of this service has been agreed but the Council/ Health Service Joint Board has ruled out even consulting the public on the option of keeping St Andrews open.” Cllr Brett and two other Cllrs voted to include keeping St Andrews as an option in any consultation exercise. I wonder why the other five Cllrs did not vote in a similar manner. Cllr Brett mentioned at the meeting that it was his understanding that “there would be nothing after 6pm.”

Future: How can such a decision to exclude Fife residents from accessible out of hours care be made without even a consultation? Is it discrimination? Is it legal? Is it democratic? Is the consultation exercise merely a public relations exercise with no relevance whatsoever? What can we do to fight back?

I wonder if anyone can see a way forward on this issue. Hope So!

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BALMULLO GALA 2018

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BALMULLO GALA 2018

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BALMULLO GALA 2018

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LEUCHARS AND DISTRICT GARDENING AND CRAFTS CLUB The sun is shining and it's getting warmer at last.

Winter seemed to go on forever, between December's rain and January's flu like illness I didn't get any winter digging or other preperations done.

We then decided to celebrate our Golden Wedding anniversary in Italy in March where we go to ski annually in February so I was about a month late in getting started this year.

The sweetpea and tomato plants are looking healthy in the greenhouse so perhaps I am catching up a bit but the veg in the garden are going to be late this year for showing as some seeds are still in their packets.

12 April saw the Club hold the last of their winter programme with our annual Quiz Night.

It was again a very successful evening with 11 teams competing and subjects ranging from So Good They Named It Twice from Musicals to Year 2017. It's amazing how little you do remember of what happened last year. This year's winners were Lucklawless, with Lost Cause and The Dishes joint runners up and All Sorts getting the booby prize. Our thanks to Jenny and Gordon Muir for again setting a varied and interesting quiz.

BILL DUFF

Flower Garden.

Landscaped Gardens, large and small.

Foliage or Floral Display utilising Containers.

These all being open to everyone.

The judge is taken for lunch, so lets have lots of local entries and make him work for his lunch!

The Summer Show is as usual in the Burnside Hall and is on Saturday 4 August.with staging of exhibits from Friday 3 August 6 to 9 pm. and Saturday 7.30 to 9.45 am. when entries can also be taken.

Along with the usual Flower Show classes there is an extensive Novice Section for beginners to try before entering the open classes. So if you would like to try showing but are a bit apprehensive come along with your produce and someone will be on hand to help you stage them, or have a chat with me before the show.

The Childrens Section has 3 grades, which have been changed this year to 6 years and under, 7 to 9 years, and 10 to 12 years. The classes are:

Under 6 years old: Miniature Garden in a seed tray.

Preparations are now well underway for the Painted shell.

Summer Show.

A Jar with posy of garden flowers.

A Character made with vegetables/fruit.

Entries for the Gardens Competition and for the 2 Pieces Rocky Road.

Flower Show prior to the show ( entries for the Photograph of your choice – unframed – 7" by 5" show can be taken in the hall up to 9.30 am. on show day ) should be given to me.-. Bill Duff, 7 to 9 years and 10 to 12 years: Secretary, 1b Smithy Road Balmullo Tel. 870787. Miniature Garden in a seed tray.

Painted plant pot.

A small number of the classes and trophies are Display of dried leaves on a card ( named ). confined, that is the people who donated the A Character made with vegetable/fruit. trophies to the club wished them to be for locals 2 Pieces tray bake. to win. The confined area is within a radius of 4 Photograph of your choice – unframed – 7" by 5" miles from the centre of Leuchars, so Balmullo is within the area.

If there is anything you are interested in showing schedules are now available, give me a call, The Gardens Competition is on Saturday 21 July 870787, or Gwenyth 870010. and has classes for: Vegetable Gardens, both confined and open.

Hanging Basket or Pot.

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BURNSIDE HALL AGM The Burnside H a l l Committee held its 2018 AGM on 6th June with 14 attendees. The minutes of the 2017 AGM were approved and the Chairman, Kim Carr, then gave her report for the year. The groups who use the Hall regularly were very satisfied by the service provided, particularly in the hard work of the Hallkeeper, Lynn Murphy, who has been responsible for maintaining the Hall in excellent condition since it opened in 1999. The Treasurer, Richard Hynd, presented the Annual Accounts which showed a significant deficit of £5356 for 2017-18. The Hall’s income comes principally from Bookings which were down by about £1700 from the previous year. The only other sources of Income are the Feed-in Tariff from the solar panels (up £600 from 2017 but obviously variable) and a small grant from Fife Council. The main items of expenditure are always the Hallkeeper’s wages and the Electricity for heating and lighting, which averages at about £3000 yearly. We also have Insurance and Fife Council Rates every year, which together cost almost £2200. In the last year, we had extra one-off items, such as electrical repairs and a new lawn mower. After April, we had some payments due, which effectively put our bank balance “into the red”, so

BURNSIDE HALL COMMITTEE we have had to draw down part of our reserve which is kept for any large items of expenditure, such as roof repairs (which will be needed in the near future). This is obviously an unsustainable situation.

It is imperative that we either increase our income or reduce our expenditure to keep the Hall accounts solvent. Burnside Hall is an excellent facility for Balmullo, with the Large Hall, Small Hall and Committee Room available for hire at very reasonable rates. Good use is made on many evenings, but additional use of the Hall is our main option for increasing income, apart from one-off fund-raising efforts. We will also consider ways to reduce expenditure, such as not mowing the grassy area and allowing it to “go wild”, and looking at how we use electricity for possible savings in that cost.

These will be discussed further at our next Committee Meeting in August.

There were only 6 nominees for the new Committee, so an election was unnecessary and the Committee remains unchanged. The members are Kim Carr – Chair (870914), Alison Jeffrey – Vice-Chair (870674), Richard Hynd – Treasurer (870214), Julie Carr – Secretary, George Cook and Andrew Falconer (870496). If you have any questions or concerns about use of the Hall and the grounds, these should be raised with a Committee member. If this merits further discussion you may be invited to the Committee meeting. The Hallkeeper should be contacted only for possible bookings.

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Colin Finlay

Any jobs Large or small Discounts for OAPs

Balmullo 870578 Mobile 07828 547395

Qualified Electrician

I am now available full-time.

CHIC O’HARE DOMESTIC APPLIANCE REPAIRS

Over 40 years experience Prompt reliable service NEWPORT-ON-TAY TEL 01382 541702 MOBILE 07802 538284

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THE OLD RED LONDON BUS Did you know that the earliest red London double-decker bus was horse driven. It had steps at the back so passengers could climb onto the roof. There was no protection from the rain although they could pull out a sort of oil skinned canvas from the back of the seat in front to put over them, but they still got soaked. The only open-topped buses you see today are the tourist buses. Overseas visitors love to come on board the vintage open topped double deckers for guided sight seeing tours.

It was in the 1930's that all double-decker buses came equipped with roofs over the top deck.

Now with motorised engines the buses were bigger and heavier. The most famous London double-decker was the 'Routemaster' originated in the 1950's/60's. This popular bus had an open platform at the back with a vertical grab pole, where passengers could climb on and off even when the bus was moving! The platform led to the stairs leading up to the upper deck and to the seats on the lower deck. Smoking was allowed on the upper deck so nearly everyone had a cigarette and you could barely see from the front to the back through the thick fog of cigarette smoke. The smell of the smoke and exhaust fumes would meet you on the stairs.

Under the stairs there was a space for luggage and a lockable compartment for the bus conductor. The bus conductor's job was to sell the tickets. Once the passengers were seated he/ she would move up and down the aisle between the passenger seats while the bus was moving.

Often when the bus was crowded, the conductor had to squeeze past the standing passengers on the lower deck. Officially only five Standing passengers were allowed but the conductor would allow a few more if the weather was bad. The conductor collected the passengers' money and kept the coins in a leather pouched bag which hung over their neck and shoulder. Paper notes would be tucked away in their pocket. Passengers told the conductor their destination and the conductor seemed to remember where they got on, who had paid and not paid, knew the cost of the fare and the ticket

CHRISTINA JACK would be printed out from their silver coloured ticket machine operated by a handle, which also hung around their neck. Then a hole would be punched over the ticket's destination to indicate the fare had been paid. Passengers had to keep their ticket until the end of the journey in case a ticket inspector would come on board to inspect e v e r y o n e ' s t i c k e t s .

At very busy times people would have queued in a single line for ages waiting on a bus then to be told by the conductor the bus was too full only stopping to let someone off an overcrowded bus.

This meant you were late for work again having to wait 20 minutes on the next bus. Sometimes you would just reach the bus stop when the bus would be moving off. You'd run after the bus hopping on grabbing the pole at the back to step aboard the platform. Having no closing doors and unheated the buses were cold and in the extreme winter of 1963 the condensation from the winter chills had iced up the windows and icicles grew from the ceiling, some 6-8 inches long dangerous to anyone sitting underneath or tall passengers having to duck as they found a seat. I remember those winter chilled journeys as a child sitting on the cold leather seats and with the temperature so low I would cower inside my duffle coat. Of course, jumping on and off the bus while moving was recognised as unsafe so, in the late sixties the Ministry of Transport decided that they would only give financial help to bus companies that bought new buses with doors!

Vintage routemasters are still available to hire in this modern day, popular for weddings they are adorned with fresh flowers and ribbons on both decks and uniformed driver and conductor with the original ticket machine.

The advanced buses of today are established for the safety of passengers and have more comfortable seats but if they can afford it, people prefer to drive long distances by car.

I still remember that click of the Conductors ticket machine and hoping I would be invisible instead of exempt!

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A J INNES Painter & Decorator

Pains Of Labour No Time? Too Busy?

FREE ESTIMATES INTERNAL & EXTERNAL VERY HIGH STANDARD EVERYTIME

Help Is At Hand.

Gardens, Garages, Maintenance Clearing, Removal Anything Considered.

Call Andy on 079 2040 3412 or 01382 782684

Reasonable Rates

andyinnes1986@gmail.com

Call Jake On 079 6978 0956

JOHN STEVEN

WILLISON MOTORS

Plumbing and heating CORGI REGISTERED

QUEEN STREET - TAYPORT Free collection & delivery service from local and surrounding areas MOT Car Sales Servicing & Repairs

MONDAY – FRIDAY 8am to 5.30pm

3 Tarvit Court - Cupar - Fife

Saturday 9am – 3pm Sales MOT’s until 1pm

Phone 01334 653922

www.willisonmotors.co.uk

Hate Ironing?

Problem Solved

No Time To Do It?

Call Me Aileen on 07814 618402

Don't Get Steamed Up

Tel: 01382 552720

£10 per hour WILLIAMSONS TAXIS Freephone 08000 858181 Airports ~ Contracts Full / Half Day Tours Distance No Object 4 ~ 6 ~ 7 ~ 8 Seaters 01334 476787 01334 839279 www.williamsonstaxi.co.uk

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THE OLD RED TELEPHONE BOX The old bright red soundproofed telephone box with it's heavy door and narrow glass window panes was once a common sight in our town or city and played an important part of life back in our day. Why the colour red? Was it because they were easy to spot? The choice of colour was an obvious decision as the General Post Boxes were already painted red.

Since the first which was introduced in 1921 there have been many redesigns, the most popular redesigned In 1935 by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott to mark the Silver Jubilee of King George V. Thousands of them appeared throughout the U.K. The network was developed by the GPO (General Post Office) and the phone itself was black in colour attached to the coin box.

My memory of using them was a walk up to the telephone box on a dark stormy night, with a pocket full of 2d (twopenny) coins, mostly collected from my profits in returning two or three empty, glass Coca Cola bottles to the corner shop. In the hope that there wouldn't be a queue, sometimes you would find people using them as a shelter if they got caught in the rain or a Sales Rep who would hog the phone for ages. You could walk past a phone box and hear it ring. Each box carried its own unique number and people who didn't have a house phone would give out the number to friends and family and have an arranged time so to keep in touch. Most of the phone boxes had a stale smell of cigarette smoke and equipped with a local set of phone directories stored on the shelves. You inserted your coin, dialled the number and when someone answered you heard the pips. To be connected you then pressed button A or when you didn't get through, pressed button B to refund your money. Sometimes as you dialled each digit, you heard the engaged tone and if you heard this before you had finished dialling, the phone itself wasn't engaged, it meant there was a fault with the line, probably n e t w o r k c o n g e s t i o n .

How did we manage without a mobile in these days?

Nowadays sending and receiving text messages, emails and the internet have all overtaken making calls. Do you remember we used to even ring up to get the weather forecast, the speaking clock, dial a disc or recipe of the day? Children would go in the telephone boxes to press button B hoping to drop the unused coins so they could buy sweets. Sometimes the coin box would be choked up with coins that you couldn't insert your money in the slot or the slots would be sticky or stuck with bent pennies so you had to go looking for an alternative phone box.

CHRISTINA JACK The first telephone installed for £10 in our home back in 1966 was cream in colour, the cable was plastic coated and spiral coiled. The line rental was £14 per year. Local calls were 2d for 6 minutes in the peak time and 2d for 12 minutes in the evenings and weekends.

Long distance calls known as trunk calls, varied from a shilling to 4 shillings depending on the distance.

Telegraph poles and wires were put up throughout the land and some telephone lines were shared between neighbours if there were no cable pairs free to the exchange and this would be called the party line. If the other party was using the line then you couldn't but sometimes you could listen in to their conversation. In the mid 70's we moved onto the trimphone, a much neater style of phone which was lightweight and gave a different ring. Then there was the cordless phone which meant you could move around with it from room to room.

Nowadays we walk around with a phone in our pocket which can take photos along with a multitude of other things. You could even see the people you are talking to. If you need to find something out you can google it on your phone and find out instantly. We can purchase a whole range of goods from our mobiles including advanced rail and plane tickets. How amazing is all that?

Did you know that the first U.K. Telephone Directory also known as the white pages for residential listings and yellow pages for business listings were published in January 1880 and listed only 248 names and addresses of the subscribers but didn't actually list any telephone numbers. You had to call the operator and ask for the person by name. The very first entry was John Adam & Co, 11 Pudding Lane, City of London and of course another entry included the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Bell. Later the directory changed and everyone listed was given their own number.

Nowadays people look to the internet for their telephone directory, the paper phone book is now in decline.

The origin of the phrase 'to put someone on hold' was Alexander Graham Bell handing over his telephone instrument to his partner Mr Watson and saying, “here, hold this”. Wouldn't Alexander Graham Bell be proud of our modern technology of today.

At the height of popularity there were once 92,000 red phone boxes throughout the UK but after ringing up 80 years the days of the old-fashioned rarely used red phone boxes may be numbered and faces an uncertain future. Is it now time to take your Selfie with this iconic landmark?

28

W&J HORSBURGH FRESH Pittenweem Fish In Balmullo every

WEDNESDAY

From 10am to 4pm Or place your orders by telephone 01333 310567 07751 974615 07528 301092

DEREK B CAMPBELL Motor Engineer

KEVIN MALONEY FOR ALL YOUR DECORATION NEEDS 01334 870241 OR 07941 545052

SERVICING & M.O.T. REPAIRS Tel 870328 ‘Loanhead’ Balmullo St. Andrews KY16 0BQ

Balmullo Bowling Club Play outdoors in summer Indoors in winter

Variety of competitions and friendly matches every week No experience required.

All welcome to join.

Call John on 870196

Chimney Sweeping Services: Open Fire - £30; Stove - £35 Grass and hedge cutting, fencing and slabbing and much more Contact Andrew Giel on 07594 088922 or e-mail: andrew@gardenschimneysstoves.co.uk

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LEUCHARS QUALITY MEATS 24 Main Street, Leuchars Quality Scotch Beef Pork : Chicken : Lamb Also a selection of Steak Pies Individual Pies : Cold Meats : Eggs & Bacon Orders will be made up on request for collection: at 24 Main Street Leuchars KY16 0HN Tel: 01334 839213 Email: lqm24@icloud.com

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CLUB CARS Taxis

01334

838555

479900

info@clubcars-standrews.com www.clubcars-standrews.com

JOHNSTONE PLUMBING, HEATING & GAS SERVICES www.johnstoneplumbers.co.uk

Fast and reliable service Emergency Call-Outs 207782

MILLBANK, 28 SCHOOL ROAD, BALMULLO TEL/FAX: 01334 870691

MOB: 07966 937842

EMAIL: info@johnstoneplumbers.co.uk

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Pitcairn Plumbing Services Plumbing, Installations. Maintenance and Repairs Bathrooms and Kitchens etc.

No job too small Competitive prices and Free Estimates

Tel: 01334 870619 Mob: 07917 701411

E-mail: pitcairnplumbing@tiscali.co.uk