CHATTERBOX - Lochwinnoch Online

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The Ring of Pines BACK in the 1960s American singer Pat Boone popularised a gospel song entitled 'Will the Circle Be Unbroken.' This poignant paen of praise enshrines the belief that bright memories of our departed loved ones shine on undimmed. I remembered the inspirational melody during a recent visit to Muirshiel Country Park in the hills above Lochwinnoch. My destination was the lonely landmark known as the Ring of Scots Pines. This solitary circle of conifer saplings crests a hillock mantled with heather and blaeberry shrubs at one of the highest points in the park. Several yards in circumference, the arboreal attraction commemorates the late Don Skelley (1931-2008), who was the first director at Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park which includes Muirshiel and Castle Semple Country Parks. The trees, protected in plastic tubes from browsing deer, rabbits and squirrels, were planted by park rangers, including wellknown Lochwinnoch man Len Howcutt who worked at both parks for nearly 30 years until his recent retirement. The moorland memorial includes a plaque attached to a pine stump and engraved with the name of Mr Skelley who lived in Lochwinnoch until he passed away two years ago. It was he who interviewed me when I applied successfully for a countryside ranger post at Muirshiel quarter-of-a-century ago. So my visit to the Ring of Scots Pines was a personal tribute to the director of the park where I worked for 14 happy years. The sylvan sanctuary incarnates sacred symbols. Circles represent eternity because they have no beginning nor end. This is just like friendships which remain inviolate and eternal, transcending the darkness of death. Evergreen trees like Scots Pines symbolise immortality because their foliage illuminates barren winter wastelands when deciduous species become dormant and die. This is like the flame of joyful memories gleaming on through the darkness experienced by human souls grief-stricken by the separation through death of their loved ones. Last month was November. That's when people past and present from many cultures remember their venerable deceased ancestors. In Celtic times, prehistoric people who lived in the countryside around Lochwinnoch believed they were visited at this time of year by the Sluath - the Heavenly Host of the Dead. These ghostly visitants were said to wear grey sepulchral shrouds and take the frightful form of wailing phantoms returning to their earthly haunts. This old ancestor remembrance tradition was later Christianised. Today, it appears on Christian calendars in the form of All Saints' day (November 1) and All Souls' Day (November 2). So this belief that old friendships survive death is immortalised in the Ring of Scots Pines landmark at Muirshiel Country Park. It's a vegetational vestige of that unbroken circle proclaiming that those whom we love and honour never die. They live on forever in our hearts. Derek Parker Derek Parker worked as a countryside ranger at Muirshiel and Castle Semple Country Parks from 1985 till 1999. ___________________ Bowfield Christmas Wonderland & Wassail Party Sunday 12th December 12 - 5pm Join us at Bowfield Hotel for a perfect family day out! See Santa in our Grotto at the hotel and help fundraise for Howwood Primary School and St Vincents Hospice. You will be able to buy lots of Festive Goodies and support a good cause at the same time. There will be everything from handmade chocolates, candles to fantastic ESPA Health & Beauty Gift Sets. And of course a raffle with some fantastic prizes! Then its time to welcome the Howwood Primary School as they sing some Christmas Carols alongside the log fire, our mulled wine and mince pies will help you get into the spirit of things. Sample some of our festive bites and delights and then wave goodbye to Santa. For more information call us on 01505 705225 Entry is free but Santa‘s Grotto will be charged on the day. CONTACTS Bowfield Hotel – Sharon Kerr, Sales Manager Sharon@bowfieldhotel.co.uk 01505 705225 Howwood Primary School – Christine Greig christine.greig@renfrewshire.gov.uk St Vincents Hospice– Lorraine Valentine Lorraine.Valentine@svh.co.uk Renfrewshire Libraries Consultation Meeting There will be a public meeting in Renfrew library on Wednesday 8th December to consult with library and n o n - l i b r a r y m e m b e r s a b o u t improvements to all Renfrewshire Libraries and services currently on offer. Renfrewshire Council Libraries Management welcome your views on how they can shape their service to you in the coming years. Renfrewshire Libraries will be represented by senior 12 members of the library management team Topics to be discussed: improvements to facilities and services you would like to see in your library the most convenient ways to contact you library opening hours learning more about the online catalogue There will be a bus to this event on Wednesday 8th December leaving outside OUR library at 1.30pm. The cost is £3.00 a head. We will be going to hear what they have to say and vice versa! Book your place now. contact Dave Mellor 843 099 or d g m e l l o r @ t i s c a l i . c o . u k . If you can't go then how about paying for someone else's ticket to spread the load. Lochwinnoch SWRI John Webster gave a beautifully illustrated and very interesting talk about Clyde Muirshiel Country Park. John described opportunities and activities as well as the job of a Park Ranger. The competition winners were: 4 Squares of Tablet 1 st K. Brunton 2 nd M. McFadyen 3 rd L. Benzie Special Occasion Card (any craft) 1 st R. Gould 2 nd L. Benzie 3 rd E. Richmond Help for Heroes Charity The disco held in the Garthland Arms on 2 nd October raised a generous £700 for Help for Heroes charity. A great time was had by everyone - thanks again from Pamela Galbraith. St Vincent’s Hospice Charity Shop Since the revival of interest in knitting we are asked regularly if we have wool for sale. A big thank you to those who have already donated however we will always sell as much as we can get.
Report from Councillor Neil Bibby The decision to sell off the Library Building and close the Annexe in Lochwinnoch has angered many residents in the village. The night before the Council meeting I along with over 200 hundred local residents attended a public meeting in Lochwinnoch Parish Church. The message from the meeting was loud and clear - local people did not want these proposals to go ahead. The library building was left to the people of Lochwinnoch and it is completely wrong for the Council administration to put it on the market without any consultation with the local community. Lochwinnoch is one of the most isolated areas in Renfrewshire and it is important that it has its own community facilities. The Annexe is used regularly by a number of sports and community groups and the Library is very well used. I promised at a public meeting to vote against the proposals and I kept that promise. These proposals are not only wrong but do not make sense. It has been suggested that Lochwinnoch Library is not well used yet last year there were over 22,000 user visits to Lochwinnoch Library. In 2008/2009 - out of 12 libraries in Renfrewshire, Lochwinnoch was the 7th busiest in real terms yet only one other library i.e. Bridge of Weir is b e i n g d o w n s i z e d a n d relocated. W hen co nsi de ri ng Lochwinnoch's population is only 2,500 it is clear that the library in the village is very popular and very well used. Part of the proposal would mean the Library service would be moved to a smaller area in the McKillop Hall. This will undoubtedly mean less space for PC's, fiction and non-fiction books. The Out of School club will be moved to the Primary School where there will be additional costs to pay. It is not clear whether the Council or parents would pick up this cost but this is another reason why the proposals should not go ahead. The Council's administration has said these decisions are being made to save money. Closing the Annexe will save just £29,000 a year and moving the Library will save around £15,000 a year. Not only are these small amounts of money for a Council with a budget of over £420 million, it is incredible that the Council are actually spending £80,000 to move the Library to the McKillop. Therefore there will be no savings for over five years. I have also given examples of where I think the Council can save money in other areas. I am campaigning hard against these decisions. These are issues of massive importance to the local community and its important that these are reversed. I have been asking a number of legal questions about the ownership of library building and land and about it being left for educational purposes. I am pleased that this seems so far to have delayed the library building being put on the market as the Council have indicated they have further research to do regarding these points. I have also been trying to get in contact with descendants of the McDowall family who left the building to the community. I understand they are in Canada, any information on getting in touch with them would be appreciated. There has also been an action group set up in the village to fight the proposals. If you would like more details on this please get in touch using the details below. I am determined to save these vital services please get in touch if you are able to help. My next surgery will be on Saturday 4th December at 9am in the McKillop Hall. Please get in touch at any other t i m e b y c al l in g 0141 840 3 6 5 3 , e m a i l i n g cllr.neil.bibby@renfrewshire.gov.uk or visiting www.NeilBibby.com 13 Our Tardis Box She came gift-packaged to our village in a box Of sturdy walls and good looks. She‘s settled in from a century of maturing to being well-loved as a grey old grandmother. Yet she‘s a tardis. Inside a thousand people sit upon her shelves each with a tale fit for Scheherezade to tell - want to meet Shakespeare or Mata Hari Beatrix Potter Mohammed Ali? - Just take down the books to be introduced. Open the books on another shelf and she‘d beam you away to lands where the Bong Tree grows and seas where the dolphins play to Bali Hai and Shanghai Moscow and Mandalay. You‘ll walk the soft silk road to Samarkand and fly over the Grand Canyon eastwards to Maryland. She‘s a time machine. Dip into her history book, and she‘ll whizz you to the land of what has been. Turn a page to another age where the Semple Castle stands in command of our Loch and the great Lord Semple holds his sway and monks say their beads and singing boys of the Collegiate Church sing roundelays of praise to God... The Library - our tardis box. Could they open her lid like up-to-date Pandoras, let out the treasures see them fly away? - all the magic beings the enchanted places the forebear ghosts - can our library be lost to us? Dare hope remain in an empty box? Betty McKellar
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