april-13 - Lochwinnoch Online

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LPIGMany of you are aware of the LochwinnochPlayground Improvement group, have seen ourcharity boxes dotted around the village, read a letter in yourchild’s school bag or even perhaps attended our sell outceilidh. It has come to our attention though that some in thelocal community do not know what we are working towardsachieving so let me explain.The group, better known as LPIG, is made up of a group ofcommunity minded parents with a strong belief in the benefitsof stimulating outdoor play for children. Our aim is to improvethe playground to create an interesting and stimulating playand meeting area that will benefit the community, young andold. We can revive the playground as a focal point for thewhole community by using a mix of natural and recycledmaterials and features, alongside modern, accessible playequipment and adult gym equipment. Local groups andorganisations will also gain an outdoor resource to which theycan bring their members. We wish to create a place within thecommunity of which the residents can be proud.The existing public playground is more than 15 years old, andalthough it has served its purpose well has been well used andloved by the children of the community and surroundingareas, it is now looking tired and past its best. The facilities arevery limited, with nothing to stimulate older children, noprovision for those with disabilities and little adequate seatingfor carers and the elderly.We have been raising awareness of our project and assessingthe needs of the community through surveys, fundraisingevents and articles in the local press. Our logo was designed bythe winner of a competition that we organised with the pupilsof our village school and we have garnered the support andwill be working in partnership with local organisations,businesses and community groups. Our ceilidh was aresounding success and we have a full calendar of events tocome.Examples of what has been said about our plans are“We very much endorse and fully support the improvementsbeing proposed by LPIG. The village as a whole would greatlybenefit from having a pleasant, safe and central outdoorspace…….the playground would become a fantastic resourcewhich Lochwinnoch Playgroup could access and benefit fromon a regular basis”Lochwinnoch Playgroup“The LPIG proposals are not in competition with the park’sservices and facilities. On the contrary, we view the proposeddevelopment of the playground as part of the enhancement offacilities for local people with the additional benefit ofimproving the total 'destination package' offered by village4services and ourselves”Charles Woodward, Clyde Muirshiel Country ParkAlthough we have the full support of all of our localcouncillors, and have been working closely with theDepartment of Environmental Services, Renfrewshire Councildoes not have the financial resources to fund the project. Thecouncil have agreed to undertake the tendering, contractingand construction phases of the park redevelopment process aswell as the maintenance once completed. Therefore, LPIGhave to raise the funds themselves, through fundraising as wellas applying for funding. This will be no mean feat as estimatedcosts for the project are in excess of £200, 000. This is adaunting amount but we are committed to raising these fundsfor the benefit of the community as a whole.If you would like to find out more about LPIG, or get involvedin anyway please email Laura the Chairprettycuckoo@hotmail.co.uk, or Jean the Secretarybrianandjean@hotmail.co.uk.Or check out our Facebook page for updates and meeting info.w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /LochwinnochPlaygroundImprovementGroupOr our Website is www.lochwinnochplayground.org.uk/You can make a much needed donation to LPIG by emailing toreceive details on how to donate online or pop something inone of our charity boxes.Thank You!Fiddlers ConcertThe ‘Adams House Friends Group’ is presenting a Fiddlers’Concert with the Bearsden Fiddlers inKilbarchan West Churchon Saturday 13 April at 7 pm.There will be tea, coffee and home-baking after the concert.Tickets £6 available fromBobbins Coffee and Craft Shop, Kilbarchan, Sandra Neillands -01505 321908 or at the doorAll proceeds to Adams House Care Home, Elderslie whichprovides a specialist service for people with dementia, pleasecome along and support us.Thank you.House to House for Hospice CareWill you help us make a difference?Can you spare 2 hours to help someone living with a lifelimiting illness?Be part of our very special anniversary year with this fantasticlocal fundraising activity!Your help would mean that St Vincent’s Hospice can continueto provide vital care, totally free of charge, to patients andfamilies in your local community.Door to door collections are something that most peoplewouldn’t think would help raise vital funds for charity, but itreally does make a difference. It is an easy fundraising activity
for any volunteer to get involved in, anddoes not take up a lot of your time. It issimply putting donation envelopesthrough the doors in your street orsurrounding streets, whatever you feelcomfortable doing, then returning at theend of the week to collect them andreturn to the hospice.One of our current door to doorvolunteers Margaret from Elderslie said;“This is a great way for me to beinvolved and help the hospice, I covermy street and the couple of adjoiningstreets which takes no time at all. It alsogives me a chance to catch up with myneighbours and have a good chat.“It is a couple of hours out of my weekto help with some easy fundraising, andin my own way helping to make a realdifference to the patients and familiescared for, it’s a great feeling to be partof it.”Would you be able to help us inLochwinnoch Monday 29th April toSaturday 4th May? Be part of it! Tell uswhat you’d most like to do, on whichdate and at what time. Thank you foryour invaluable support.Ashley MoranTel: 01505 705635Email: ashley.moran@svh.co.ukCastle Semple MemoriesAlthough he was always good withdates, my Father could never rememberwhen he and his Mother moved toCastle Semple. It was after 1934 whenhis Grandfather died that they’d had toleave the Cottage at Blairland, nearDalry. As a 16 year old raised by a singleParent at a time when it was sociallyunacceptable (and financiallyprecarious) he was the sole breadwinnerand recalled my Gran’s Brother (myGreat Uncle Tommy) suggesting thatthey apply for the tenancy of aSmallholding called 2 Low Semple. Atthe time Uncle Tommy had the tenancyof the Shields (or Shiels, depending onhow you want to spell it) just up the hill.We always wondered why it got thisname but I recently read that in thenineteenth century a ‘Sheil’ was a stonehut used by Gillies on Highland Estatesso it’s possible that Great UncleTommy’s Smallholding was built on thesite of buildings once used by employeeswhen the Sempils owned the estate.The Smallholding at 2 Low Semplecomprised a wooden bungalow with twosmall fields attached to it. It was literallya few yards from the old Dalry/Kilbirnie/Lochwinnoch railway line(now long gone) and the only barrierbetween our garden and the railway wasa four wire fence on steel posts. I waswarned by my Mother that I wasn’t to goclose to the fence but could wave to theGuards on the trains that regularlypassed the house. The house wasreached by a road that ran past LowSemple house (then a ruin), pastanother Smallholding occupied by theWilson family then under the railwaybridge. The bungalow didn’t haveelectric light until after my parentsmarried in 1947. It certainly had aflush toilet but I think the sewagewould go into a septic tank. The accessroad carried on past the bungalow,past the Collegiate Church andtapered off at the entrance to what wecalled ‘The Glen’, but today appears onGoogle’s maps as ‘Courtshaw Wood’.My Father had a key to the Churchand would amaze and delight myMother’s cousins (who’d emigrated tothe USA after WW1) with its antiquitywhen they visited us.By the time I was born, my Father wasworking for the Department ofAgriculture who had a Depot justopposite the entrance to the Shields.It’s now a housing development calledSt Brydes Cottages, but then theGovernment used it as a base for allsorts of agricultural equipment thatwas hired out (with operators) to localfarmers to help in the post-war drivefor self-sufficiency. It was a hive ofactivity with tractors and implementscoming and going. One of my jobs wasto hose down the dungspreaders aftercoming off site!I had been born in ThornhillMaternity in Johnstone but my weesister was born at 2 Low Semple. I’mtold that Father took me for a walkdown the Glen during theproceedings.I started school at LochwinnochPrimary in 1954. I’d walk up to theShields each morning and meet mycousin Sandy and often have a cheeryword with Uncle Tommy (Sandy’sGrandfather) who’d be placing themilk churns on the platform ready forcollection by the lorry. We’d walkdown and meet up with DavidDingwall who lived further down thenwait for the school bus at the mainroad. The bus would pick up otherchildren on route including MaryUnwin, and Tommy Anderson atWarlock Gates.5Pre-Marketing AnnouncementLooking for a new house nearLochwinnoch?Luxury 5 Bedroom Farmhouse.Private with Gardens and Views overLoch.Mid Lochhead is currently beingprepared for sale.At the moment the garden (with thepotential for a paddock) is beingorganised.If you would like to chat to the seller,please call David on 07767 755 263He will be happy to chat about aprivate sale & shaping the garden tomeet a new owner’s needs.For me Lochwinnoch Primary was anidyllic place to start school. I don’t haveany bad memories about the place and itwas a shock to my system when myparents flitted on Christmas Eve 1955 toDalry and I had to transfer to DalryPrimary. It would be years later that I rejoinedsome of my Lochwinnochschoolmates such as Peter Dunlop,Norman McGinigle and TommyAnderson when we all went into 1st yearat Dalry High in 1961, but I never forgotmy happy days at Castle Semple. Anadded bonus was when Sandytransferred to Dalry High a few yearslater.A few years ago through work, I metProvost Sloan of South Ayrshire Councilwho told me she’d also been atLochwinnoch Primary (although manyyears after I was there) and she recalledthe same happy memories I had of theplace.I now live hundreds of miles from CastleSemple but the magic of Google allowsme to wander round the place wheneverI want, in and around the Shields whereanother Grandson of Great UncleTommy is now the Farmer.J F Crawford.Lytham St Annes, Lancashire
Page 7 and 8: artist Karen James. Return next Sun
Page 10 and 11: What’s OnRegular clubs, classes a
Page 12 and 13: EventsSat 06 Apr—Otter SpotterOtt
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Page 16 and 17: LEAP isRecruitingLEAP is currentlyr
Page 18 and 19: New TitlesLochwinnoch LibraryNORMAL
Page 20: From The Editor’s ChairWell the d

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