299 AUGUST 19 - Gryffe Advertizer

Delivered FREE to homes in the Gryffe area ... take a peek inside! 

No.299 

August 2019 

FREE 

COPY 

GRYFFE 

ADVERTIZER 

Photo © Neil Robertson 

On The Breeze at Castle Semple 

GryffeAds GryffeAds insight__magazine 

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Advertizer distributed to: • Bishopton • Bridge of Weir • Brookfield • Elderslie • Houston • Howwood• Kilbarchan • Kilmacolm • Langbank• Lochwinnoch • Quarriers

Next deadline - Friday 16th August 

Gryffe Advertizer | www.advertizer.co.uk 

Advertising Feature 

With over 20 years experience of exterior cleaning systems, we are your 

local qualified and experienced cleaning company with the state of the 

art equipment, knowledge and experience to achieve the best results. 

Whether it is soft-washing moss on roofs, algae from render, pressure 

washing decking, patios, monobloc drives or anything in between, 

please give us a call for free, friendly information on our services or for 

a free quotation. 

this month 

2 

01505 863 863 www.nutechcleaning.co.uk The new boutique charity store in Kilmacolm has now opened, in the former 

Gibb Stuart shop, and it is very smart! They are looking for volunteers to 

work in the shop, so if you’re interested please pop in to see them. 

However, sadly, as one shop opens, another one closes. We are very sad 

to hear that Baytree Interiors in Bridge of Weir has closed its doors after 16 

years of trading. Janet and Peter would like to thank all their customers for 

their support over the years. We wish them well in their next venture. 

Nominations open on 12th August for candidates for Bridge of Weir 

community council. Villagers are encouraged to come forward and take part 

in discussions regarding the village. A broad range of skills and experience 

are required, so please get in touch - details on page 19. 

A couple of planning applications have been brought to our attention. An 

application has been submitted for the erection of 39 dwelling houses at 

the Station Yard in Bridge of Weir. And a Proposal of Application notice has 

been submitted to build residential houses on green belt land south east of 

Woodend House in Houston. More details on both of these is on page 30. 

A Pre-Determination meeting on the Application to Build at Planetreeyetts, 

Kilmacolm was due to take place on 21st August, however this has now 

been postponed until September or October - date to be confirmed. 

This is our 299th issue of The Advertizer. Next month will be our big 300! 

We started way back in February 1995 with just a few articles and a handful 

of supporting advertisers, some of which are still with us 24 years later. 

Kingsley Wood was the first one to say “yes” and he has held the same 

spot on the front page ever since. Also on our first front page was Jaquie 

McBride of Decorus and Podiatrist Charlotte McNicol, who had just started 

her own business at the same time as me. The fact we are also ‘besties’ 

makes it rather nice! 

Other local business supporting our first issue were, James Blackwood 

Butchers, Gibb Stuart Home Hardware, Houston Quality Menswear (now 

Houston Kiltmakers), Gordon Blyth (Insurance) Ltd, WW&J McClure, 

Christine’s Dressmaking (now Wilma’s), Auchenbothie Building, Jack 

Cumming Driving Instructor, Combs Hairstylist (Lynda now operating as a 

mobile business), FAC Gardeners, and Leisurewatch. 

With a delivery team made up of myself, Colin (hubby), Kilmacolm lads 

Iain Crawford and Colin MacNeil (both now grown up with families of their 

own!), we managed to get the first issue out to the whole of Kilmacolm over 

a long weekend. 

The first year was fairly frantic with fortnightly issues of the 4 page, black & 

white flyer. Very quickly we expanded our distribution to include a separate 

issue for Bridge of Weir, followed by Houston & Crosslee. Fortnightly 

became too much for a small business, so the decision was made to go to 

monthly and, with only a couple of short breaks due to maternity leave, The 

Advertizer has been delivered every month since. 

A huge thank you to all our advertising clients, contributors and readers for 

their support over the last 24 years. As we head into our 25th, there is much 

uncertainty in general, but we hope to bring you a stable platform to get 

your information out to the local community for many years to come. 

And finally, many thanks to Mr Macaffer who dropped in with an item for 

the magazine and brought some lovely goodies for our coffee break! Thank 

you - very much appreciated! 

Rona

e: info@advertizer.co.uk | t: 01505 613340 


in this issue 

local news....................4-13 outdoors .................. 36-38 

local history...............10-11 pet news.......................... 39 

what’s on ................. 14-17 

village news............. 18-27 business classified.......40 

school news............28-30 sales & wants..................41 

planning ........................ 30 advertizer directory....42 

sport news................ 31-33 pick up a copy..............42 

finance & tech........ 34-35 

GryffeAds 


CONTACT US 

InsightGryffe 

|Gryffe 

insight_magazine 

t: 01505 613340 

e: info@advertizer.co.uk 

www.advertizer.co.uk 

www.advertizer.co.uk/insight 

3


LOCAL 

news 


Stylish New Charity Shop Opens In 

Kilmacolm 

Fashionistas in Kilmacolm are in for a treat as Chest Heart & Stroke 

Scotland has opened their brand new shop in the town filled with designer 

labels and one-of-a-kind finds. 

The boutique, 

which opened 

at 1-2 St James 

Terrace on 

Thursday 4th 

July, features a 

stunning interior, 

big name brands 

and a selection 

of top-quality, 

ladieswear, 

menswear, 

accessories and collectibles at affordable prices. Proceeds from the shop 

will go to help people with chest, heart and stroke conditions live their lives 

to the full. 

Elizabeth Ramsay, 87, cut the ribbon and officially opened 

the store. She has been attending Chest Heart & Stroke 

Scotland’s Lochwinnoch Hearties Keep Fit Group for 18 

years since having an angina attack. She says that the 

group helps her stay active and live life to the full. 

Elizabeth (pictured right) said: “It’s great that Chest Heart 

& Stroke Scotland’s shop is now in Kilmacolm. They do 

so much important work to help people live life to the full. 

“I’ve been going to their exercise group for 18 years and I love it. When 

I had my angina attack the doctors told me that I needed to get out and 

be active. The group’s really helped me do that. Having a heart problem 

is scary. But I feel lucky to be surrounded by wonderful family and great 

people in the group who help keep me feeling happy and healthy.” 

Summer Gathering of Thanksgiving and 

Remembrance 

On Sunday 18th August, St. Vincent’s Hospice warmly invites you to attend 

their Summer Gathering of Thanksgiving and Remembrance. 

Starting at 2pm, the annual event features an afternoon of songs, readings 

and activities designed to help fondly remember the past, those who we 

have lost and look to the future. 

Spiritual Care Co-ordinator for St. Vincent’s Hospice, Catherine McGrath, 

said: “For more than 30 years, St. Vincent’s has provided care and support 

for people all across the community who have been affected by a range of 

life-limiting conditions, helping them through some of the most difficult times 

of their lives. 

“This is why we believe it is so important that every year we take the chance 

to not only remember the past, but look forward with hope, and share our 

memories at our Summer Gathering. We all have ways of coping during 

difficult times, and would love if you could come along, meet some of the 

people who have gone through similar experiences in the last 12 months, 

and maybe share a few things which have helped you in the past.” 

St. Vincent’s Hospice is a specialist provider of palliative and Hospice Care 

for people and families all across Renfrewshire. The Summer Gathering is 

open to all, and if you would like more information, please visit: www.SVH. 

co.uk. 

4



5


Cheque Handover To St 

Vincent’s Hospice 


Ronnie Mercer, Community Services convenor introduced 

Ian MacMillan from St Vincent’s Hospice at the club meeting 

on 26th June and invited him to accept a cheque for £6,600 

representing funds raised at the recent 10K Run. This sum 

included support from Arnold Clark and approximately £2,000 

raised by Ryan Waldron who had run in memory of his wife 

who had been cared for by the Hospice and had recently 

passed away. Ryan and his daughters Alice and Sophia were 

invited to join the presentation and he explained how much he 

appreciated the care and support the Hospice had provided 

both to his wife and family. Ronnie reported that the 10K had also provided the means for other 

charities to benefit from runner sponsorships. 

Entrepreneurs’ Dreams 

Are Made Of This 

InCube Creative, run by Renfrewshire Council 

and developed by Invest in Renfrewshire, 

supports creative businesses by providing 

free practical advice across areas including 

ecommerce, social media, website set-up, and 

self-development. Over the last four years, the 

business development programme has supported 

50 talented entrepreneurs working across retail, 

fashion, textiles, jewellery and crafting. 

One such entrepreneur is local knitter Rosie Little, 

who has received help to develop her business, 

Knitting on Cloud Nine. 

Inspired by her aunts, Rosie started knitting as a 

child – and now runs her own business introducing 

children and adults to the therapeutic benefits of 

mindful knitting and crochet. 

Rosie’s classes develop knitting and textile 

skills, and workshops include giant arm knitting, 

upcycling, and eco knitting. She also runs oneto-one 

sessions and produces her own range of 

knitted necklaces. 

Currently Rosie is developing a programme of 

retreat days where people can relax and unwind, 

while learning new skills. 

Rosie believes that InCube’s holistic approach 

to developing a business has really helped her 

develop ideas. 

She said: “I can reach cloud nine through knitting. 

I’m passionate about sharing my skills and 

introducing people to the therapeutic benefits of 

the craft. 

“The sessions equipped me with so much more 

knowledge of the technical aspects of running 

my own business, and that has really helped my 

confidence. 

Entrepreneurs who gain a place on the 

programme receive a package of free business 

advice, free office space, and up to nine months 

free IT support. They also receive specialist 

support to develop ecommerce and online trading 

facilities, training to enhance their business 

and entrepreneurship skills, space to sell their 

creations, and on completion of the programme, 

a grant to help boost their business. 

Find out how to apply and for more info go to 

www.incube.ren/incube-competition -2019 

Candidates will be invited to pitch on Friday 

23rd August and the successful individuals 

will be notified from Monday 26th August. The 

induction programme begins on 9th September. 

Photo: Mary is bottom left. 

Aileen Chalmers Is a bit Tied Up! 

If anyone has a few ties they want to 

donate, Aileen Chalmers would love to 

have them for her annual fundraising 

venture. Silk or synthetic, any design. 

She will be using these for craftwork 

and art projects. This year her chosen 

charity is MND (Motor Neurone 

Disease). Please call Aileen on 07941 

214589 for more info. 

6



Plaster in Purple 

Due to the success of Bridge of Weir 

Primary pupils, Freya and Niamh Scally, 

Kate-Lynn Morrison and Daisy Adams’ 

“Plaster it Purple” fundraising day, I was 

contacted by Glasgow Children’s Hospital 

Charity to say that they had nominated 

Freya for a mini Oor Wullie statue, and she 

had been successful! 

Freya and the rest of P6a participated in the 

design of the Oor Wullie with help of their 

Art teacher - Miss Devine. 

The completed statue is to be placed on 

the ground floor of the Glasgow Science 

Centre, allowing it to be viewed by visitors and those on the the Oor Wullie 

statue trail. 

Freya has recently become a mini brand ambassador for Glasgow Children’s 

Hospital Charity and attended the launch of the Oor Wullie Big Bucket Trail. 

Here she had the privilege of meeting DC Thomson author Ed Vine and 

Princess Beatrice, who she was delighted to spend the day with, collecting 

some of the fantastic Oor Wullie statues. 

The Oor Wullie trail is running until the 30th August, and afterwards the 

lifesize statues will be auctioned off with the miniature ones being returned 

to the designer to keep. Freya’s statue will be returned and placed within 

Bridge of Weir Primary School. 

There are 308 miniature statues and 200 life size statues on display in 

stores and shopping centres in 5 major Scottish cities - Glasgow, Edinburgh, 

Aberdeen, Dundee and Inverness. 

With the trail, they are aiming to raise awareness and vital funds for Glasgow 

Children’s Hospital Charity, Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity and The 

Archie Foundation. 

There are rewards and gifts to discover along the trail, available with some 

of the statues. For more information you can check out Oor Wullie.com 

Freya has big plans for the future for her fundraising - already being 

discussed with her sister Niamh, cousin Kate-Lynn and their friends. 

The hospital holds a special place in her heart. This is her way of saying 

thank you! 

by Nicola Scally 

150 

life-sized sculptures 

5 

scottish cities 

Scotland’s first ever nationwide 

public art trail will unite the country 

as it raises awareness and vital 

funds for Scotland’s children’s 

hospital charities. 

17th June – 30th August 

Across Glasgow, Edinburgh, 

Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. 

www.oorwullie.com/the-big-bucket-trail 

Supported by 

7



COMMUNITY events 

One small step for man, one giant leap for Paisley! We are promising a 

day out of this world in Paisley town centre this summer with our Bricks in 

Space Summer Trail! 

The town centre will be divided up into different galaxies with special hidden 

items which will orbit different businesses within each galaxy on a weekly 

basis. Armed with their space passports, travel through the four galaxies 

to find all the Space models, plus there will be stickers, activity sheets and 

goodies to collect as families make their way around the town. 

Alongside our large LEGO® brick models, there will be other Space items 

included as part of the trail. Local schools have been joining in the fun… 

making space items made out of recycled items! 

The schools’ models will also be on display throughout the town during 

Bricks in Space! You will be able to collect your Space Passport from shops 

throughout Paisley plus both the Piazza Shopping Centre and The Paisley 

Centre nearer the time, plus keep checking our website for a sneak preview 

of our Trail Map...watch this Space! 

Paisley First will also be running the Golden Ticket Competition once again 

this summer with a weekly draw offering visitors the chance to win £250 of 

Paisley town centre gift vouchers! 

Come to Paisley for a great family day out this summer! 

www.paisleyfirst.com 

e v e r y Mo n d a y 

Lochwinnoch Community 

Walk 

The Cross, Lochwinnoch 10.30am 

This event will not take place on public holidays. 

Gryffe Voices Community 

Choir 

Freeland Church, Bridge of Weir 8pm to 9.45pm 

Join us to sing pop, rock, folk, show tunes, gospel. 

Contact gryffevoices@gmail.com 

Strathgryffe Motorcycle Club 

The Trust Inn, Kilbarchan, 9pm - 10.30pm 

Visit www.strathgryffe.org for details. 

e v e r y Tu e s d a y 

Singing for Wellbeing 

Bishopton Community Centre 6pm - 7.15pm 

A fun, no pressure choir singing feel good 

songs. 

Bridge of Weir Walking Group 

Outside the Co-op, BoW, 10.30am 

1 hour walks. Call Senga on 0141 842 3000. 

Bridge of Weir Choral Society 

Small Hall St Columba Church, Kilmacolm 

7.30pm - 9.30pm 

All welcome. 

Crafty Play Café 

Quarriers Village Café, Faith Avenue, Quarriers 

Booking slots available 10am-12noon; 12noon 

-2pm; 2pm - 4pm 

Relax and have a coffee while your children or 

grandchildren play! Free entry; £2 for kids craft 

materials (optional) 

e v e r y We d n e s d a y 

Knitting Group 

Three Sisters Bake, Quarriers 10am - 12noon 

Knitters of all levels welcome! 

1st We d n e s d a y m o n t h l y 

Babies, Bumps and Boobs 

St. Columba’s Church Lesser Hall, Duchal 

Road, Kilmacolm. (term-time) 

Offers the chance for a chat in a welcoming 

environment, whilst relaxing with a cup of tea and 

cake. Pregnant women and those with babies 

under 6m go free. For more information please 

contact playgroupmembership@gmail.com 

2n d We d n e s d a y m o n t h l y 

Inverclyde Carers Outreach 

Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm 11am - 2pm 

Email enquiries@inverclydecarerscentre.org.uk 

or call: 01475 735180. 

2n d & 4th We d n e s d a y 

BoW Senior Citizens Club 

Cargill Hall 7pm - 9.15pm 

Tea, biscuits & a raffle each meeting along with 

entertainment. Contact Sheila Patterson for 

further information on 01505 690521. 

e v e r y Th u r s d a y 

Weekly Volunteer Group 

Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch 12.30pm - 3.30pm 

Conservation Volunteers - adult group. Newcomers 

always welcome. 

Kilmacolm Walkers 

Birkmyre Park Pavilion, Kilmacolm, 10am 

David 01505 874192 kilmacolmwalkers@ 

talktalk.net 

Weekly Memory Café 

Active Communities Hub, 16 Quarry Street, 

Johnstone, 1pm - 3pm 

For individuals living with Alzheimer’s, or any 

type of dementia, their families, friends & carers. 

Drop by to find out about Community Activities, 

Community Support, and professional advice. 




1st & 3r d Th u r s m o n t h l y 

‘Outlook’ 

Kidston Hall, Kilmacolm 2pm - 4pm 

Social activities group for the community in 

Kilmacolm. Guest speakers, afternoon tea, local 

issues of interest. Everyone welcome. 

Crafty Hobbies 

Carrick Centre, Main Street, Houston 7.30pm 

No previous craft experience necessary. Call 

Lorna on 01505 612844 for further details. 

2n d Th u r s d a y m o n t h l y 

Sòlas Bereavement Support 

Group 

Kidston Hall, Kilmacolm. 2pm - 4pm. 

l a s t Th u r s d a y m o n t h l y 

Movie Night 

Old Kirk, 7pm for 7.30pm 

e v e r y Fr i d a y 

Singing for Wellbeing 

Bishopton Community Centre 2pm - 3.15pm 

A fun, no pressure choir singing feel good 

songs. 

3r d Fr i d a y m o n t h l y 

Hearing Aid Clinic 

The Bridge, Bridge of Weir 1pm - 2pm 

Hearing aid batteries and hearing aid checks. 

l a s t Fr i d a y m o n t h l y 

TheTerrace 

St Machar’s Ranfurly Church Hall 

Soups, sandwiches, tea/coffee, biscuits. £4. 

e v e r y Sa t u r d a y 


Greenock Cut Visitor Centre 10.30am - 2.30pm 

Conservation Volunteers, adult group. Newcomers 

always welcome. 

l a s t Sa t u r d a y m o n t h l y 

Table Top Sale 

Linwood Parish Church, Blackwood Ave 11am - 1pm 

This is a free event. Call 01505 328802 for 

details. 

e v e r y Su n d a y 


Castle Semple, Lochwinnoch 10am - 12noon 

Youth Volunteer Group - age 14 - 18 years. 

Newcomers always welcome. 

Houston Litter Crew 

Co-op Car Park 10am – 11.45am 

All volunteers welcome and all equipment 

supplied. 

FARMERS 

MARKETS 

1st SAT 

Cargill Centre, Kilmacolm 

10am - 2pm 

1st & 3r d SUN 

Loch Lomond Shores 

10am - 3pm Tel: 07977 179 861 

2n d THU & l a s t SAT 

Paisley Cross 

10am - 2pm Tel: 01655 770217 

2n d SUN 

Kip Marina, Inverkip 

11am - 4pm www.kipmarina.co.uk 

8


What’s so special about OCT? 


by Kerry Taher, New Vision Opticians 

Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive, 

highly sophisticated, quick and painless way of assessing 

the eye in incredible detail using specialised waves of light. 

It allows us to see parts of the eye in a way that would 

otherwise not be possible (apart from hospital clinics), and has helped to 

save the sight of many people. 

OCT isn’t part of an NHS-funded eye examination and currently only about 

20% of opticians in the UK have invested in this technology. However, 

these numbers are increasing due to the significant clinical benefits that 

it provides. Compared with retinal photography that shows us the 2D 

surface of the retina, OCT clearly shows us all of the retinal layers in 3D, 

as well as parts of the structures in front of and behind the retina. These 

can be measured and any changes can be accurately tracked over time. 

Invaluable for unexplained changes in vision, glaucoma/family history of 

glaucoma, diabetes and in the diagnosis and treatment of Age-related 

Macular Degeneration. 

Research has shown that “structure changes before function”. In most 

types of glaucoma, by the time you notice a problem yourself, a lot of your 

visual field (side vision) will already be lost because the brain fills in the 

extra blind spots in your vision until they become too large. Similarly, if the 

“flashing light test” that measures your visual field shows some changes, 

the damage has already been done. OCT allows us to see the changes in 

retinal structure BEFORE the visual field is affected, and this means much 

earlier disease detection, treatment can be started sooner, and damage will 

be minimised/prevented. 

Regular eye examinations are essential for maintaining healthy eyes and 

reducing the amount of preventable sight loss. With OCT, we can see and 

prevent so much more. 

Got any local news? Please send your news in to info@ 

advertizer.co.uk. Pictures are welcome too but we do ask that 

they be at least 1MB in size, .jpg files, and no smaller than 5cm 

in width or height. If you have group images we like them to be 

even bigger so that faces are visible! This is all to ensure that 

pictures are printed clearly and not blurry or pixelated! 

9


LOCAL 

history 

William Quarrier 

1829 — 1903 

William Quarrier was the founder of one of the 

greatest philanthropic ventures in Scotland – 

Quarrier’s Homes – the construction of an entire 

village for orphans and needy children complete with 

its own post office, general store, laundry, hospital, 

school, church and farm. So began a revolution in 

social attitudes towards the underprivileged, which 

continues to this day. In addition, he pioneered 

free sanatoria at Quarriers for the treatment of 

tuberculosis, the scourge of yesteryear and built a 

colony for the treatment of epileptics offering sanctuary to the victims of the 

disease long before it was properly understood. All these achievements 

were milestones in the growth of public acceptance of the need for 

communal social responsibility for the needy in our society. 

His achievements were a progression from his early difficult yet formative 

life. He was born in Greenock in 1829; his father had died in Quebec of 

cholera leaving his widow to bring up William and his two sisters. The 

family moved to Glasgow where at the age of seven, Quarrier entered a 

pin factory. For ten hours a day, he earned one shilling a week for working 

a hand machine. He then became apprenticed to a boot and shoemaker. 

By the age of 12, he had progressed to the position of journeyman and 

obtained work in a shop in Argyle Street, Glasgow. Four years later, he set 

up his own boot shop and soon opened a further two shops resolving to use 

his profits to help needy children. 

In 1864, the distress of a boy whose stock of matches had been stolen from 

him, led Quarrier to fulfil a consuming desire to do something for the poor 

children of the city streets. He began his first public work by organising 

a shoeblack and a news and parcel brigade putting children into paid 

employment. 

Having formed the Orphan Homes of Scotland in 1871 in Glasgow, he then 

in 1872, came up with a plan for the construction of an entire village for 

children to give them more permanent homes where they could live and 

play. Complete with houses, shops, schools, laundry and a church, the 

village would be the natural progression and development of his work in 

Glasgow. 

Four years later, in 1876, when the forty-acre farm of Nittingshill in the parish 

of Kilmacolm came up for sale, he purchased the ground for Scotland’s first 

cottage homes for children. 

Two years later, in 1878, the official opening of Quarrier’s Homes Scotland 

took place and by 1882, Quarrier had built a total of ten cottages on the site. 

His final target of thirty-four cottages was met by the 1890’s. To achieve 

his objective Quarrier never made any public appeal for funds but relied 

on his strong Christian faith. Quarrier Homes was entirely dependent on 

freewill gifts. This was a fund raising policy, which he strictly adhered to 

throughout his life. 

William Quarrier died in 1903 but his wife Isabella and family continued to 

run Quarrier Homes until a Board of Management was appointed. 


The Maxwells of Pollok 

The McDowalls of Castle Semple and 

Millikens returned from the Caribbean in the 

1720s and showed the vast income possible from sugar plantations. Thanks 

to their experience, they became ‘fixers’ among Renfrewshire’s main landed 

families, arranging positions for sons as overseers, and marrying daughters 

to sugar planters. 

The Maxwells of Nether Pollok (now Glasgow’s Pollok Country Park) were 

one of the biggest landowning families in Renfrewshire. They are not often 

linked to mercantile pursuits, but have a long slave owning heritage. 

The connection started with Robert Colhoun, grandson of one of Glasgow’s 

original merchants or ‘Sea Adventurers’ who was a St Kitts planter in the 

1660s. Robert sailed to St Kitts in 1724 as the McDowall’s slave overseer. 

By the 1750s he owned two sugar plantations next to the McDowalls. A 

training position was arranged on Robert’s plantation for James Maxwell, a 

younger son of Nether Pollok. In 1762, due to the death of the heir, James 

suddenly became Sir James Maxwell the new heir to Nether Pollok. While 

on St. Kitts, Sir James had courted Robert’s daughter, Fanny. Sir James 

came home and married Fanny Colhoun, the daughter of McDowall’s slave 

overseer. Large sums poured into Nether Pollok from Fanny’s dowry from 

her late father’s sugar plantations on St. Kitts, and the Dutch sugar island 

of St. Croix. 

The family’s slave-owning heritage continued. In 1815, Elizabeth, the 

granddaughter of Sir James and Fanny Colhoun married Archibald Stirling. 

Thanks to the family’s Jamaica sugar plantations, where Stirling had spent 

most of his life, he was reputedly the richest commoner in Scotland. At the 

abolition of slave ownership in 1834, Stirling was awarded £12,517 for the 

loss of 690 enslaved Africans on his plantations. When the Maxwell male 

line died out, Archibald and Elizabeth’s son, William, became heir to Nether 

Pollok. Despite the slaving heritage of the Stirlings, the family adopted the 

double-barrelled ‘Stirling-Maxwell’ surname, to save losing the ‘Maxwell’ 

title. 

Sir William Stirling-Maxwell purchased much of the art which now graces 

Pollok House. Their grandson, Sir John Stirling Maxwell, founded the 

National Trust for Scotland at Pollok in 1931. The Stirling-Maxwells were 

one of Renfrewshire’s biggest landowners. Like many of Renfrewshire’s 

landed elite, they were also slave owners. Each acre of land in the family’s 

ownership was improved through the labour of one of their enslaved 

Africans. 

© 2019 Stuart Nisbet, Renfrewshire Local History Forum 

Urban Historian Activities Press Release 

The Urban Historian’s heritage activities in Paisley and surrounding areas 

continue with a range of History Café’s, Heritage Walking Tours, daytime 

talks and a monthly evening lecture series. Go along, have a coffee and talk 

history! There is a suggested donation of £5 per History Café in addition to 

the cost of your coffee. 

Tuesday afternoon lectures each week have a different topic and are 

held in a meeting room in the Sir James Clark Building between 1.30pm 

and 3.30pm. Tuesday afternoon lectures cost £5 per session and can be 

booked online. 

Talk Series 8 6th August The Glasgow, Paisley, Ardrossan Canal 

Talk Series 9 13th August Kilbarchan : A Weavers Village 

Talk Series 10 20th August Renfrewshire Weavers 

Talk Series 11 27th August Paisley in the Papers: Textile Industry 

Lecture Series in August - Witchcraft in Scotland 

Wednesday 7th to Wednesday 28th August 7pm - 9pm 

The cost of the 4 weekly classes is £40 per topic. You can also go along 

to individual lectures for £10 per session. Booking is recommended via 

www.theurbanhistorian.co.uk Wednesday evening lectures will be held in 

the reception meeting room of the Mile End Mill on Seedhill Road, Paisley 

PA1 1JS. 

Check out our website for full details on each talk and lecture series - Book 

online. 

10 

Contact: 

mike@myleapproject.org 

T: 0300 020 0639 

Your car cost over £100 a week on 

average. 

• Join LEAP Car Club from £5 a 

month. 

• Hire by the hour 24/7 

• Pay-As-You-Go 

• Cut your car costs.



Johnstone History Society 

Our new session starts on Tuesday September 10th and as usual we are 

meeting in the Masonic Hall in Collier Street at 7.30pm. Our first speaker 

of this session is Iain Mc Gillivery and his subject is Alexander “Greek” 

Thomson who designed many Glasgow buildings so this should be a very 

interesting talk. It is hoped we will have a good attendance of members old 

and new and all will be made very welcome. Doors Open Day this year will 

be on 7th and 8th September and the Museum will be open both days from 

10.30am till 4pm. The Museum has been open throughout the summer 

Wednesday Friday and Saturday and we still have a few books left which 

can be had for a small donation so please come in and have a browse. 

11



Get Your Dancing 

Shoes On 

The OIR Dance Group meet on 

a Monday at 1.30pm in the Clark 

Memorial Hall, Largs. Dancing 

consists of Ballroom, Sequence, 

Old Time and Scottish. 

All new members are made 

welcome, so dust off your old dance 

shoes and come along and join us, 

come alone or bring a partner. 

Contact: Bill Alexander 01475 

522043 or Archie Adams 01475 

649008. 

Move it or Lose it! 

Move it or Lose it! classes will 

continue throughout the summer 

except for the Kilbarchan class 

which will re-start on Thursday 15th 

August. 

We would love to meet you! Please 

check under, Regular Meets section 

for more information. 

Memories Café 

Drop-in for a Chat, Tea and Homemade 

Cake. 

We provide a fun, relaxed and 

helpful café providing advice on 

support services available locally 

and suggestions around ways to 

stay active. 

Our aim is to create a dementia 

friendly environment. 

Thursdays 1pm - 3pm 

Active Communities Hub 

Quarry Street, Johnstone 

Educate ~ Support ~ Engage 

Walk of Hope for Scottish Huntington’s Association 

Margaret Moncrieff and friends will do a sponsored 

Walk of Hope along the banks of the Clyde in Erskine to 

raise funds for Scottish Huntington’s Association (SHA). 

This has become an annual event and will take place 

this year on Saturday 14th September. Please join us. 

The walk is at the most 5 miles, but you can walk as 

little or as much as you like. We meet at the small car 

park near the river opposite the Erskine swimming pool 

at 10.45am to start at 11am. Thereafter we will have 

lunch at Morrison’s Erskine. 

HD is a devastating neurological condition which 

renders the sufferer increasingly dependent on care 

over the course of 15 to 25 years. In layman’s terms 

it is like having motor neuron disease, Parkinson’s and 

elements of Alzheimer’s – all at the same time. Sadly, it 

is genetic and every child of a person with the condition 

has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. There are 

now real hopes of a treatment but it will be many years 

before these drugs are available. In the meantime, 

families affected by HD will continue to need the support 

of SHA. SHA is the only Scottish charity dedicated to 

helping people affected by Huntington’s disease (HD). 

Please help me to raise funds for SHA to enable them to 

provide a comprehensive support and advisory service 

to families in Scotland who are affected by HD. 

Donations will be welcomed directly or at the following 

JustGiving page http://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ 

margaret-moncrieff9. 

Centuries-old mystery of Paisley Abbey medieval tunnel revealed 

We already knew Scotland’s finest and best-preserved 

medieval tunnel lies buried beneath Paisley town centre 

– but the centuries-old mystery of where it ended had 

never been solved … until now. 

A team of experts spent the summer excavating at 

Paisley’s Abbey Drain – and painstakingly uncovered 

a well-preserved 14th-century stone archway marking 

the exact point the drain and its contents once flowed 

into the River Cart. 

They found the tunnel – believed to be around 100m 

long – ends around 3m from the banks of the presentday 

river, which would have been wider and shallower 

at the time the drain was built. 

And while the find is now being covered up again, the 

discovery could help lead to a more permanent visitor 

attraction opening up access to the drain in the future. 

The eight-week Abbey Drain Big Dig was co-ordinated 

by Renfrewshire Council and led by Guard Archaeology 

Ltd, funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic 

Environment Scotland and Renfrewshire Local History 

Forum. 

More than 6,500 people visited the dig over the eight 

weeks, which also saw a strong community element, 

with volunteers from the local history forum taking part, 

and a series of events and seminars for residents and 

visitors. 

The Abbey Drain has lain hidden for centuries until it 

was unexpectedly rediscovered in the 19th century, and 

in recent years, it has been periodically opened up for 

visitors. 

There will be an opportunity for the public to put their 

names forward for a ballot to go inside it during this 

year’s Doors Open Day in September. 

And Bob believes the finds of the past few weeks could 

help the development of a more permanent attraction 

opening up a greater degree of public access to the 

drain. 

Over the course of the Big Dig, the following community 

benefits were delivered: 

- 120 Primary school children from across Renfrewshire 

visited the Big Dig to learn about their local heritage and 

archaeology; 

- 1,200 hours of volunteer time, and 18 new members for 

Renfrewshire Local History Forum 

- 12 archaeology students gained vocational training as 

part of their degree, and four Masters students from UWS 

produced video content; 

12


Electric Toothbrushes 


by Sheila Macintyre, Practice Owner at Kilbarchan Dental 

Practice 

I am a big fan of electric toothbrushes so I was delighted 

that, according to the findings of a major new study, they 

are proven to clean teeth and gums far more effectively 

than traditional manual toothbrushes. 

Scientists found that use of electric toothbrushes resulted in 22% less gum 

recession and 18% less tooth decay over an 11-year period. They also 

found that people who used electric toothbrushes kept their teeth for longer, 

compared with those who just use a manual toothbrush. 

The research provides the strongest and clearest evidence yet of the 

effectiveness of electric over manual brushing – something health experts 

have been saying for many years. 

Advancements in the design and technology of electric toothbrushes have 

resulted in speeds of more than 8,000 rotations a minute and heads that 

rotate in both directions. Leading brands now claim to remove 100% more 

plaque than manual toothbrushes to keep tooth decay and gum disease 

at bay. 

Not all electric toothbrushes are the same and offer a variety of different 

benefits and features. Built in timers are a common and really useful 

function to ensure that you and your family brush for the recommended 

2 minutes. We recommend and stock Oral B Professional Care 2000 or 

above as the combined pulsing and oscillating makes them some of the 

most effective. 

With rechargeable mains brushes available from around £20 electric 

toothbrushes don’t need to be an expensive investment and are shown to 

improve oral health. 

You can find more information and advice including reviews 

of some of the electric toothbrushes and how to use them 

properly at www.kilbarchandental.co.uk. Alternatively 

you can call us on 01505 704969 or come and see us at 

Kilbarchan Dental Practice and have a look at some of the 

toothbrushes we have in stock which are often not 

available in supermarkets. 

Marie Curie Fashion Show 

• Did you know in Inverclyde 950 people die each year? 

750 of these people need palliative care. 

• In Scotland 1 in 4 people miss out on the palliative 

care they need. 

• In the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Area there are 4 Marie Curie 

Nurses. 

• 93% of patients are supported by Marie Curie to die in their place of 

choice. Help us make it 100% 

Kilmacolm Marie Curie Group are holding a Fashion Show and Pop up 

Shop in St Columba Church Hall on Thursday 5th September at 7pm. This 

is to raise money for Marie Curie and Church funds. 

As there are only 2 Volunteers in Kilmacolm Marie Curie Group, the Church 

Fundraising Team are willing to help us with this project. 

This should be a great evening, and an opportunity to buy High Street 

Clothes, Bags and Shoes - at 50% or less. So come along and help us 

raise lots for Marie Curie and have fun. 

If you would like to help Marie Curie in raising Funds please get in touch 

with either Maggie or Charlotte. Tickets available from Maggie MacKean 

01505 872324 or Charlotte Williams 07716 394938, £6 each or 3 for £15, 

and bring your friends! 

13



WHAT’s 

on AUGUST 

Gryffe HS Hairspray cast 

Un t i l Mo n 19 Au g 

Sa t 3 Au g u s t 

Mo n 5 - Fr i 9 Au g u s t 

14 

Paddlesport Taster Evenings 

Castle Semple Visitor Centre, 

Lochlip Road, Lochwinnoch 

5.30pm to 7.30pm 

Join us for an easy introduction to kayaks and 

canoes. Check online for exact dates & book 

today - very popular!!! Cost £25pp, details & 

bookings online or tel: 01505 842882. 

Sa t 29 Ju n - Tu e 13 Au g 

Bricks in Space Summer Trail 

Paisley - various venues 

With 17 fantastic LEGO® Brick models spread 

throughout town centre businesses as well as an 

interactive play zone and a selfie zone. Armed 

with their space passports, the mission will be 

to travel through the four galaxies to find all the 

Space models, plus there will be stickers, activity 

sheets and goodies to collect as families make 

their way around the town. More details at www. 

paisleyfirst.com 

Mo n 8 Ju l - Mo n 12 Au g 

Art Exhibition 

The Bridge, Main Street, Bridge of 

Weir 

The exhibition will showcase a group of local 

artists, featuring stunning scenic paintings in 

both oil and acrylics. All paintings on show will 

be for sale. 

Fr i 26 Ju l - Th u 1 Au g 

Explorer Trail: Bee Amazed! 

RSPB, Largs Road, Lochwinnoch 

10am to 4pm 

Spend some quality family time together at 

RSPB Lochwinnoch. Simply pop into the 

Visitor Centre where the friendly staff will get 

you started. Then explore our woodland trail 

and BEE AMAZED by these fabulous creatures. 

Cost: £4 per child / RSPB members £2.50 

[Normal trail fees apply for adults] 

Th u 1 Au g u s t 

A Friends of St Francis Day 

Finlaystone Country Estate - 

Langbank 10am to 3pm 

Inviting Children (5 years to 11years) to join us 

for a day of fun, nature, art and storytelling ~ on 

the themes of caring for the natural world and 

looking after its creatures ~ and finding wonder 

and joy in it all! Cost £5. To register contact 

Maureen Russell on 07905-950028 or email 

maureenmrussell@hotmail.com If you can’t 

make this day do get in touch to find out about 

future events we are planning. 

Plant Identification 


Langbank 1pm to 3pm 

Ranger-led walk to identify plants. 


Garden Fete 

Campbell Snowdon House, 

Quarriers Village, Bridge of Weir, 

PA11 3SX 2pm to 4pm 

Come along, everyone’s welcome and entry is 

absolutely free! There will be fun for the whole 

family with a sunshine stall, cake and candy, 

tea and coffee, and much, much more! 

Lochwinnoch International Aid 

Annual Yard Sale 

79 High St Lochwinnoch PA12 4AB 

We’ll have household items, clothes, books, 

surprises. Tea, coffee and cakes will be available 

so you can have a wee seat and relax after 

shopping with us. All monies raised will go 

to the good causes that LIA supports. If you 

would like to donate an item(s) please call by 

the house on the evening of 2nd August. But 

no large items please. 

Sa t 3 - Su n 4 Au g u s t 

Binocular & Telescope Open Day 


10am to 4pm 

Purchasing your first pair of binoculars, looking 

to upgrade or simply just wanting to buy as a 

gift? We have the knowledge on hand to assist 

you in making the right decision. Our friendly 

impartial team will be demonstrating and offering 

assistance on a wide range of competitively 

priced binoculars and telescopes. We stock a 

massive range of RSPB binoculars along with 

some well-known names! Cost: FREE. 

Pirate Weekend 



So popular we made it for the weekend! Dress 

as a scurvy buccaneer and practise your best 

“Arrgh!” Drama and shouting a-plenty; prize for 

best-dressed pirate. 

Art on the Shore 

Loch Lomond 10am to 4pm 

Join us for all things art and the food village. 

The festival will feature live graffiti, art demos, 

landscape and photography workshops, 

caricature artists, Kids on the Shore entertainment 

area and activities for all the family. Perfect 

summer holiday activity. 

Sa t 3 - Sa t 31 Au g u s t 

Bishopton Art Group Exhibition 

The Tearoom At Glasgow Botanic 

Gardens, 730b Great Western Road, 

Glasgow G12 0UE 10am to 4.15pm 

Members of Bishopton Art Group are all amateur 

artists and use a variety of mediums and styles. 

Why not come along and support some local 

artists in one of Glasgow’s most iconic areas. 

Paintings will be available for sale. Free. 

Su n 4 Au g u s t 

Vintage Tractor Rally 

Ardardan Estate - Cardross 

11am to 3pm 

Brilliantly restored tractors will be on show along 

with their owners to tell you all about them. Have 

a sit on the tractors, enjoy a tractor & trailer ride 

(£5 per person) and children can blow off steam 

on the inflatables (£3 per child). 

Mo n 5 - We d 7 Au g u s t 

Going Bananas Holiday Club 

St Fillan’s Church Hall, Moss Road, 

Kilmacolm 10am to 12.30pm 

The Holiday Club will be packed full of games, 

activities, puppets and lots of fun things to do 

for children in Primary 1 to Primary 7. Contact 

Angela by email: ang_blair@yahoo.co.uk 

Welcome to the Wild West Kids Club 

Hope Hall, Maxwell Place, Bridge of 

Weir PA11 3NT 10.30am to 12.30pm 

With crafts, singing, fantastic games, bible 

stories, Quizzes. For more info please call 

07828 267073. Admission is free. www. 

bridgeofweirchurch.co.uk 

We d 7 Au g u s t 

Talk with a solicitor for free! 

St Vincent’s Hospice, Midton Road, 

Howwood 

This friendly, confidential service is open to 

any adult in Renfrewshire. It provides an 

informal introduction to professional advice and 

information to help with planning for the future 

– such as making Wills, or arranging powers 

of attorney. To book your appointment, please 

contact June Burgess at St. Vincent’s Hospice 

01505 705635 june.burgess@svh.co.uk 

Give Blood - Bishopton 

Bishopton Community Centre, 

Gledstane Road, Bishopton 

4pm to 7.30pm 


Forest Explorers 



Explore the forest and what lives here. 

Sòlas Bereavement Group 

Kidston Hall, High Street, Kilmacolm 

2pm to 4pm 


Johnstone Fire Engine Rally 

Johnstone Town Centre 11am to 4pm 

Nee-naw, nee-naw! The hugely popular fire 

engine rally is coming back to Johnstone! 16 

Fire Engines from past and present will kick 

start the fun with a parade from Johnstone 

Fire Station down Thorn Brae to Houston 

Square. Free family fun and entertainment all 

afternoon. Dramatic fire demos from the SFRS, 

fun fair rides, tasty food courtesy of Papamacs 

Gourmet Kitchen, a craft market, kids go-karts 

as well as a chance to see some vintage fire 

engines up close! 


Wildlife Photography Workshop: 

Beginner Level 


10am to 1.30pm 

Learn how to take great outdoor and wildlife 

photographs with your own camera, then see 

your results on screen. Workshop led by wildlife 

photographer David Palmar (www.photoscot. 

co.uk), with over 30 years of experience and 

is a volunteer photographer with the RSPB at 

their Loch Lomond & Inner Forth reserves - an 

excellent opportunity for beginners to learn the 

basics. Advice, encouragement and ideas will 

be freely given! Cost: £25 – 20% discount for 

RSPB members 

Falconry Day 



Join the Falconers, meet the many birds and 

learn some great facts with the birds of prey.



Tu e 13 Au g u s t 

Ranger Hike 



Join us for a hike and learn about Finlaystone’s 

history, natural history and some wonderful 

Clydeside views. 

Fr i 16 Au g u s t 

St. Vincent’s Hospice Golf Day 

Ralston Golf Club, Strathmore 

Avenue, Paisley PA1 3DT 9am 

Teams of four will enjoy a breakfast roll with 

tea or coffee in the Club House before the 9am 

shotgun start. Plenty of prizes to win, including 

“Nearest the Pin”, Longest Drive, Straightest 

Drive and many more. To be part of this exciting 

day and help support St. Vincent’s Hospice 

contact our fundraising team on 01505 705 635 

or email info@svh.co.uk 


Brookfield Gala Day 

Brookfield Village Hall, Woodside 

Road, Brookfield 2pm 

Variety of stalls and activities for all the family 

including Tombola, Inflatable fun, Face painting, 

CD/DVD’s, Cake & Candy, Pig Racing, Prize 

Raffle, Hook-a-Duck, Coconut Shy, Beer 

Tent/Bar - and plenty more! Entertainment 

throughout the afternoon featuring performances 

from local groups/organisations, including our 

very own Brookfield Brass Necks. Afternoon 

Tea with delicious home baking will be available 

in the Village Hall from 2.30pm. 

Clyde Judo Clubs 10th Birthday 

Celebration 

Bishopton Community Centre, 

Gledstane Road, Bishopton 

If you or your family have been part of the club at 

any time over the 10 years, you are invited along 

to help celebrate our success. Please email 

sensei@clydejudo.org.uk for more information. 

(www.clydejudo.org.uk) 


Summer Gathering of 

Thanksgiving and Remembrance 

St Vincent’s Hospice, Midton Road, 

Howwood 2pm to 3pm 

Join us for an afternoon of songs, readings 

and activities as we help one another fondly 

remember the past, those we have lost and 

look to the future. 

Falconry Day 



Join the Falconers for a great afternoon with 

our birds of prey! 

Kilbarchan Smile Garden Open Day 

Cartside Terrace, Kilbarchan 

12noon to 3pm 

Stalls, plants and refreshments. All welcome . 

Contact: hello@kilbarchansmile.co.uk or www. 

kilbarchansmile.co.uk Free entry. 

Th u 22 - Sa t 24 Au g 

Art Off the Square 

Kilbarchan Parish Church Hall, 

Steeple Street 

An exhibition of paintings, jewellery, glassware 

and ceramics. Thursday and Friday from 2pm - 

9pm and Saturday from 10am - 4pm. Entrance is 

£3, children free and this includes refreshments 

and home-baking. Come along and enjoy the 

beautiful show. 


Bat Night 


7.30pm - late 

(Bring a torch) Come and learn about bats, listen 

to our presentation on these amazing creatures, 

followed by a walk out onto the reserve, with bat 

experts and bat detectors to listen to the bats 

chattering with each other. Please book, limited 

places due to the popularity of this event, please 

pay at time of booking. Adults: £6; Children: 

£4.80 (RSPB members: £4.80/£3.80) 


St. Colm’s RC Church Coffee 

Morning 

St Columba Church Hall, Kilmacolm 

10am to 12noon 

Please join us for tea and cakes, live music, 

home baking, face painting, stalls, raffle and 

fun! Tickets available on the door. £3 adults, 

50p kids. 

Family volunteering 


1pm to 3.30pm 

Who says that volunteering is only for grownups! 

Kids bring the grownup in your life to our reserve. 

Come and do a day’s practical volunteering at 

our beautiful reserve and help us to give nature 

a home. Please book. Cost: FREE. 

50s/60s Night 

St Columba’s Senior School, Duchal 

Road, Kilmacolm 7.30pm 

St Fillans Church, Kilmacolm are having a 

fundraising 50s/60s night with The Dynaglides, 

a nine piece band including Mo from Kilmacolm 

and Dion from Kilbarchan. Tickets are £10 - 

there will be a donation bar available, nibbles 

and a raffle. Come and join us for an evening 

of music and dancing. Tickets only available in 

advance for catering numbers. Please contact 

Mo on 07789 077749 or David on 872736 for 

tickets. Tickets are limited so book early! 


Tracks and Trails 



Discover what wildlife lives here from their 

tracks and trails. 

Johnstone Gala Day 

Thomas Shanks Park, Johnstone 

12.30pm to 4.30pm 

With lots of Stalls, Raffles – and much much 

more. Please come along and support this 

fantastic fun filled day! 

Tu e 27 Au g u s t 

Public Consultation: Houston 

Planning 

Carrick Centre, Main Street, 

Houston 1pm to 8pm 

A Public Consultation on the Proposal of 

Application Notice to build residential houses on 

the green belt land south east of Woodend House. 

Renfrewshire Council’s Planning reference 

19/0399/NO for a Residential development with 

associated access earthworks, infrastructure 

and landscaping. Site on Southern boundary 

of Woodend, Houston Road, Houston. 


Movie Night - Summer Holiday 

The Old Kirk, 40 High Street, 

Kilmacolm 7pm 

Movie Night starts 7pm for 7.30pm 


Annual Charity BBQ and Disco 

Brookfield Village Hall, Woodside 

Road, Brookfield 7pm 

BBQ’d steak, sausages and salmon with a 

huge variety of salads, followed by deserts, 

strawberries and cream with a bar run by Rotary. 

Afterwards a disco with great music and a 

charity raffle with dozens of prizes. Tickets can 

be arranged from any member or by email via 

gryffevalleyrotary@gmail.com. 


Johnstone Phoenix Theatre 

Group Fundraiser Coffee Morning 

Johnstone Castle Community 

Centre 12noon to 3pm 

What better way to catch up with family and 

friends than to have a coffee and cake. Everyone 

loves cake! At the same time you can help your 

local theatre group. Cakes, Coffee, Tea, Stalls 

and Raffle. £3 

BoW Horticultural Society Flower 

Show 

Bridge of Weir Primary School, 

Warlock Rd, Bridge of Weir 12.15pm 

All classes are open to everyone, not just 

members. You can still get a Show Schedule 

from Show Secretary, Anne on 01505 228625. 

The Show has been updated to reflect current 

trends so, if you are growing something new or 

are just pleased with your plants or produce, 

why not share and enter these in the Show? 

15



16 

Celebrate our 30th anniversary this September, and 

explore hundreds of fascinating buildings across 

Scotland for Free! 

Inverclyde - 31st August & 1st September 

Renfrewshire & Ayrshire - 7th & 8th September 

Glasgow (Monday to Sunday) - 16th to 22nd 

September 

For full details visit www.doorsopendays.org.uk 

Govan Ferry Is Back 

It’s Summer time again, the free Govan Ferry is back and this year the ferry 

season is going to be extended and will be running until the 20th of October 

thanks to the generosity of our funders. 

Get back on the Clyde and visit some of Glasgow’s best museums for free 

like The Govan Stones Project, Fairfield Heritage - the Story of Glasgow’s 

Greatest Shipyard, the award winning Riverside Museum and The Tall Ship 

at Riverside. 

The ferry will depart Govan at 8am Mon - Fri and Riverside Museum until 

6pm or 10am Sat & Sun until 5.30pm from the RiverSide Museum. See 

www.facebook.com/GovanFerry for more 

Angel Voices Community Children’s 

Choir 

Starts Friday 30th August 2019 

Now in our 7th Year! The Autumn 

Term begins on Friday 30th August 

at 6pm in St Fillan’s Church Hall, 

Moss Road, Kilmacolm. Our Music 

Director is Anne Lawrence and the 

Choir Team welcomes all children 

who enjoy singing ~ For further 

details please contact: Maureen 

Russell on 07905 950028 or email: maureenmrussell@hotmail.com 

Annual Charity BBQ and Disco 

Friday 30th August at the Brookfield Village Hall at 

7pm rain or shine. 

Planning is well ahead for this wonderful event. There will 

be a bar run by Rotary, BBQ’d steak, sausages and salmon 

with a huge variety of salads, followed by deserts, strawberries 

and cream. Afterwards a disco with great music and a charity raffle with 

dozens of prizes. Tickets can be arranged from any member or by email 

via gryffevalleyrotary@gmail.com. 

End Polio Curry Night - October 

At Shafiq’s Shimla Cottage, Bridge of Weir, Rotary will hold a Curry Night 

on Thursday 23rd October with the proceeds to be donated to the Rotary 

International End Polio campaign which is successfully spearheading the 

elimination of this disease. Tickets (£20) can be arranged from any member 

or by email via gryffevalleyrotary@gmail.com. 

Gryffe Valley Rotary has many requests for help but is still always interested 

to hear from individuals or groups of opportunities to support local projects 

financially or through member’s efforts. Please contact the club via the 

website www.gryffevalley.rotary1230.org or by speaking to a member. 

Johnstone Fire Engine Rally 

Classics at Castle 

Semple Returns in 

October 2019 

Saturday 10th August 2019 

Nee-naw, nee-naw! Sound the 

alarm ... the hugely popular fire 

engine rally is coming back to 

Johnstone! 

16 Fire Engines from days past 

and present will kick start the 

fun at 11am by parading from 

Johnstone Fire Station down 

Thorn Brae to Houston Square, 

where an afternoon-long party of 

free family fun and entertainment 

will take place. 

This includes dramatic fire demonstrations from the Scottish Fire and 

Rescue Service, fun fair rides, tasty food courtesy of Papamacs Gourmet 

Kitchen, a craft market, kids go-karts as well as a chance to see some 

vintage fire engines up close! 

‘Classics at Castle Semple’ Car 

show will return to the shores of 

Lochwinnoch for its 9th year this 

Sunday 20th October, with proceeds 

going towards supporting St. Vincent’s 

Hospice. 

An essential for any car lover and a fun day out for the whole family, the 

event will run from 11am until 3pm, with special attractions, extremely rare 

models and prizes to be won. 

Chosen charity for the event, St. Vincent’s Hospice, is a specialist provider 

of palliative and hospice care for people and families affected by life limiting 

conditions from all across Renfrewshire. 

Event Organiser and Visitor Centre Assistant at Castle Semple, Jane 

Fawcett, said: “It’s not all about Jags and Mercs – it’s the less obvious 

classics which people think fondly of. The one their Granddad had, their 

first car, the factory they worked in or the first car they ever saw. Last year, 

we had some superb entries – a stunning Mark 1 Granada, a beautiful 

Austin Devon, a Morris 1000 that has been in the same family from new and 

an incredibly rare Fordson 1946 van.” 

“It’s a very friendly show with a relaxed feel for seasoned car rally attendees. 

I think that’s what makes it special – oh, and the view, of course. The 

visitors love it!” 

Last year, the show raised over £1,600 for the Hospice in Howwood, a 

charity very close to Jane’s heart. Her dad is currently under their care 

and the hospice team are helping her family with the many situations a life 

changing illness brings. 

“By donating to enter the show, throwing some money in the buckets and 

spending some time at the St. Vincent’s volunteer’s stalls, we can help 

raise funds for this incredible charity. They need to raise nearly £1.5 million 

every year through voluntary donations and fundraising events to support 

families like mine. St. Vincent’s aren’t all about end of life, they help people 

live with difficult conditions. Quite simply, they are incredible and we are so 

lucky to have them in our locality.” 

Jane is inviting local classic car owners or unusual vehicles to apply 

and as the show fills up very quickly email classicsatcastlesemple@ 

gmail.com or pop down and see her at the loch cafe ASAP to book 

in.



in Kilmacolm Holiday Club 

August 5th to 7th (10am - 12.30pm) 

The Holiday Club will be 

packed full of games, 

activities, puppets and 

lots of fun things to do for children in Primary 1 to 7 

at St Fillan’s Church Hall, Moss Rd, Kilmacolm 

Contact: Angela Email: ang_blair@yahoo.co.uk 

07541 315843 

Johnstone Phoenix Theatre Group 

Fundraiser Coffee Morning 

Saturday 31st August 12noon - 3pm 

£3 entry and includes Coffee, Tea, Biscuits & Cake 

Johnstone Castle Community Centre, Pine Crescent, Johnstone PA5 0BX 

Bishopton Art Group 

Exhibit at the Botanics 

Paisley 

Philharmonic Choir 

Under its new Musical Director, 

Sarah Skerritt, practices will resume 

on Tuesday 20th August at 7.30pm 

in St Charles’ Primary School, 

Rowan Street, Paisley. The choir 

sings an extensive range of sacred 

and secular music, holding three 

major concerts each year and giving 

concerts in support of local charities. 

Ability to read music is not essential. 

If you enjoy singing come along 

and give it a try. A warm welcome 

awaits you. More information about 

the choir can be found at www. 

paisleyphilharmonicchoir.co.uk 

Between Saturday 3rd and Saturday 31st 

August at The Tearoom, Botanic Gardens, Great 

Western Road, Glasgow, members of Bishopton 

Art Group will be exhibiting a selection of their 

paintings. The paintings will also be available 

for sale. Access to the exhibition is free and will 

take place during The Tearoom’s opening hours. 

Members of Bishopton Art Group are all amateur 

artists and use a variety of mediums and styles. Why not come along and 

support some local artists in one of Glasgow’s most iconic areas. 

The largest celebration of its kind in Scotland on 

17th - 18th August. The new programme of 17 

Pride Glasgow events, primarily collaborations 

with venues across the city, offers greater 

accessibility to the LGBT community and 

includes events for under 18s. In addition, the pilot programme of events 

means businesses serving the community can participate and the concept 

of Pride Glasgow itself is more flexible and can cater to the different 

audiences within the community. Visit prideglasgow.com/eventprogramme 

for full details. 

KDS Celebrates 75 Years 

In June 1944 the small group that developed into Kilmacolm Dramatic 

Society performed their first show, three short plays, in the Kidston Hall. 

This was the start of theatre in Kilmacolm and the Society is delighted to 

have continued providing the village with live entertainment ever since. 

To mark such a splendid achievement KDS will be holding some special 

celebrations over the next year, starting with a barbeque this month. Details 

of other celebratory events will follow, so watch this space. 

Meanwhile, the cast has been chosen for the Society’s next production, The 

Wizard of Oz, and are looking forward to rehearsals commencing soon. 

This show, which promises to please people of all ages, will be performed 

on 21st, 22nd & 23rd November 2019 in our usual venue of the Kidston 

Hall, Kilmacolm, and will include a matinee on the Saturday afternoon. 

KDS are always delighted to welcome new members, whether they want to 

act, or help out in one of the many essential backstage roles. No previous 

experience is necessary, so if you’re interested please visit our website 

kilmacolmdramaticsociety.co.uk or contact President, Claire Fraser, on 

07803 268163. 

17



VILLAGE 

news 

Bridge of Weir Hillwalkers - Pap of Glen Coe 

Bishopton Art Group - Winner of 

Summer Competition 

. . . BISHOPTON, BRIDGE OF WEIR, LANGBANK . . . 

18 

Between Saturday 8th and Thursday 27th June at Bishopton Library, 11 

Greenock Road, Bishopton, PA7 5JW, Bishopton Art Group held their 

summer art exhibition. There was a variety of styles of paintings on display 

by members of the Art Group. As part of the Bishopton Week festivities, 

the local village fete, visitors had the opportunity to take part in a free 

competition that tested their powers of observation. 

After viewing the paintings, visitors tested their powers of observation along 

with their local knowledge and completed the answers to 10 questions. 

All correct entries were entered in a draw. The prize, a £10 Braehead gift 

voucher, was won by Finlay Eastwood-Bloom. Finlay’s entry was the first 

all correct answer drawn after the closing date. Arrangements have been 

made for Finlay to receive his prize. 

Jack Watson, chairman of Bishopton Art Group said, “Bishopton Art Group 

are grateful to the staff of Bishopton Library and to everyone who attended 

our Summer Art Exhibition that was held there”. 

Our next exhibition is at The Tearoom, Botanic Gardens, Glasgow between 

3rd and 31st August. The encouragement we receive near and far is 

appreciated. 

Singing for 

Wellbeing 

A fun, no-pressure choir singing feelgood 

songs every Tuesday from 6pm 

- 7.15pm and Fridays at 2pm - 3.15pm 

in the Bishopton Community Centre. 

Your Ward 11 Councillors 

James MacLaren, Natalie Don, 

Colin McCulloch | Advice 

Surgeries: http://www. 

renfrewshire.gov.uk/councillors 

Community Council 

Visitors are welcome at these 

monthly meetings. 

BISHOPTON: Primary School: 1st 

Thurs at 7.30pm | 

www.bishoptoncouncil.com 

BRIDGE OF WEIR: 1st Tuesday 

of the month, Cargill Hall: 7pm | 

www.bridgeofweir.org 

February - June & September - 

December (October AGM). (No 

meetings July and August) 

LANGBANK: Church Hall: 2nd Wed 

at 7.30pm 

Community Halls to Let 

Bridge of Weir: Freeland Church. 

Tel: 612245 

The Bridge 

Important Notice - The Bridge (Post Office, Shop and Community 

Centre) will be closed on Thursday 22nd August to enable the 

installation of new lighting. 

Post Office 

It is our great pleasure to welcome Alison, who has recently joined Donald 

and Stuart to become a member of our Post Office team. 

Stationery 

The new school term is about to begin. The Bridge has a range of 

stationery to equip you for the year to come. 

Coming soon to The Bridge - this is the time of year we start to order 

our goods for Christmas and New Year! Once more, we are indebted to 

the invaluable assistance of Paisley Colour Photographic Club as we 

await the first draft from the printer of our 2020 Local Calendar. The A4 

sized calendar incorporates twelve colourful photographs of scenes and 

landmarks around Bridge of Weir and district with a diary section below to 

note all your important dates. The calendar will be available for sale in 

The Bridge from mid-September. 

Similarly, The Bridge’s very own packs of Christmas cards designed 

by local artist, Alison Bannerman, are at the printing stage. These will be 

available for purchase in October. We shall also have a selection of other 

Christmas cards on sale, including the popular ‘Greetings from Bridge of 

Weir’ cards. 

Film Nights restart on Thursday 1st August. Please collect your programme 

detailing films and dates from The Bridge. 

As always we wish to thank our dedicated team of staff and volunteers who, 

through their commitment, enable The Post Office and Bridge Community 

Centre to serve the village. 

Churches in Bishopton, Langbank 

& Bridge of Weir 

LANGBANK PARISH CHURCH: Sunday 

Services 10am with Sunday School, Crèche 

and young people’s group, the Welcomers. 

Tea/coffee after the service. Church service 

starts at 10am. Come along and meet in the 

Hall from 9.50am. Charity No. SC015085. 

FREELAND CHURCH - For details please 

check website: www.freelandchurch.org.uk 

ST MARY’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Johnstone 

Rd, Bridge of Weir, PA11 3EE. St Mary’s 

Episcopal Church is a small, lively and 

mature Christian community. We are united 

by our belief in Jesus, the One in whom God 

fully revealed Himself and through whom 

we have life in all it’s fullness. Come and 

worship with us. Our main Service is held on 

Sundays at 10am. A warm welcome awaits 

you. Contact: Rev. Heller G. 01505 872961 

www.heartlandsec.org/BoW 

ST MACHAR’S RANFURLY CHURCH: 

For details please check website: 

stmacharsranfurlychurch.org.uk 

HOPE HALL: Sun 1.15pm Sunday School, 

4.30pm Gospel Service; Mon 6pm 

Investigators for Kids, 7.30pm Bible Study 

and Prayer. www.bridgeofweirchurch. 

co.uk 

BISHOPTON PARISH CHURCH: Sunday 

Services: 9.45am Early Bird Service @ 

The Cornerstone - Tea/Coffee followed by 

45 minute service commencing at 10am. 

Sunday School for children and easy access 

for those with mobility issues. 11.30am 

Morning Worship at The Church (Erskine 

Ferry Road) Tea & Coffee following service. 

Please see our website Bishoptonkirk.org. 

uk or Facebook page for further details as 

we have Family Services at the beginning 

of each month which alternate between 

Church and Cornerstone. A warm welcome 

awaits you and your family.


in the Hope Hall, Bridge of Weir on 

Monday 5th - Friday 9th August from 

10.30am - 12.30pm For more info 

please call 07828 267073. Admission: 

Free www.bridgeofweirchurch.co.uk 

Crafts | Singing | Fantastic Games | Bible Stories | Quizzes 

Bridge of Weir Community Council 

New Members: The current Community Council has completed its four 

year term and elections for the new Council will be held in September. 

Nominations open on 12th August and Candidates must submit nomination 

forms by no later than 13th September 2019. 

This is an opportunity for villagers to step forward and get involved in an 

increasingly important function for Bridge of Weir. The Community Council 

needs a broad range of skills and experience to make it effective including 

chairing, planning, events management, legal and project management so 

please consider putting yourself forward for a post! 

Nomination papers are available from the current Chair by emailing 

sandyclark01@live.co.uk They are also available by forwarding your 

contact to our Facebook page Bridge of Weir Community Council and can 

be uplifted from the Bridge, the Pirie Centre and the Library. 

Grant Funding: The Community Council were delighted to receive grant 

funding from Renfrewshire Councils Local Partnership, for the village 

Christmas Lights Switch on Event. The grant monies reached 40 percent 

of our projected costs. The events Sub-group are currently looking into 

other funding sources so the occasion will continue to be a highlight in the 

village calendar. 

Sponsorship: One new project this year will be a competition to design 

a new pole feature, with the winner getting to switch on the lights. The 

Community Council are seeking sponsors for this, costings between 

£400/600. If you or your company are interested in supporting this 

worthwhile venture please email Chair sandyclark01@live.co.uk or Events 

Convener nicola.redman1@gmail.com or by leaving your contact details on 

the Community Councils Facebook Page. Your name and logo will appear 

on our advertising and communications for the event. 

Grounds-keeping: Our friends at Brighter Bridge of Weir have informed 

the Community Council that the Council grass cutting team who cut the 

vastly overgrown grass at Gryffe Grove Bridge of Weir did so without taking 

due care and attention resulting in damage caused by strimmer’s to the 

newly planted trees. The trees were planted by school children as part of 

a tree planting project carried out by Brighter Bridge of Weir. The children 

were extremely proud of their work taking time and patience unlike the 

grass cutting squad. The Community Council have written to Renfrewshire 

Council demanding to have the tree surgeon inspect the trees onsite and if 

there is any lasting damage repair at Councils expense and to advise the 

works supervisor to take more care whilst carrying out future works. 

Repairs: By now the work should be completed to the damaged wall at 

Gryffe Grove as the Community Council were informed late June that 

instructions to repair the wall had been issued to building services. Likewise 

the new play equipment at Houston Road Park should be in place as work 

was scheduled to start second week in July. 

Roads: Hopefully over the summer period work will commence on the 

Johnstone Road for the long awaited extension of the 30mph speed limit. 

The double yellows have now been extended past the dropped kerb on 

Lintwhite. Some of the other lining in the area that was painted over gravel 

a few months back has also been refreshed and is looking much better and 

clearer. 

Donation: Community Council were delighted to give a small donation £25 

to assist the Community Police with the purchase of trophies and medals for 

the Primary Schools football tournament held in September at the ON-X. 

St Machar’s Ranfurly Guild 

Guild Week has been changed this year from November to 8th - 15th 

September. This is to allow Guilds who meet in the summer to take part. 

Our Guild is taking part in the Church Service on Sunday 8th September 

and in the afternoon we are having an Afternoon Tea in the Church Hall 

in aid of one of the six Guild Projects – Crossreach – Join up the Dots. 

Crossreach is the social care arm of the Church of Scotland and Join Up The 

Dots is a partnership between them and The Guild to tackle the problems 

of loneliness and social isolation in Scotland. Tickets are £5 and can be 

obtained from any of the Committee. Please come along and support this 

very worthy cause. 


Playpark improvements: In Bridge of Weir, work has now 

started on the play equipment in Houston Road Park to 

install accessible and inclusive play equipment and once 

this is all complete, work will begin to repair the surrounding 

paths. 

Parking & Repairs: I recently requested an update on the 

Traffic Regulation Orders for the Livery Walk/Co-op Car 

Park, which are required before the proposed maximum 

stay changes can be implemented. Officers are currently 

preparing the documents for the consultation associated with this and I 

will keep residents updated on this as it progresses. In the Glen park, some 

temporary repairs have been made to the small bridge as concerns were 

raised with me about damage that had been caused. A lot of children play in 

this area so this should alleviate immediate safety concerns however please 

rest assured that permanent repairs are being scheduled. 

Roads: In Bishopton, the section of Greenock Road between Kingston Road 

and Barrangary roundabout is currently being resurfaced and will be open in 

time for the schools returning. Following this, we will also soon see further 

improvements to road infrastructure made to Greenock Road. Following a 

request, which was recently raised with me concerning right fi lter lanes at 

the traffic lights on Greenock Road, I have made contact with Renfrewshire 

Council and BAE about the possibility. It has been confi rmed with me that 

a right fi lter lane will be implemented at the Greenock/Ferry Road junction 

later in the year. This will begin with a right fi lter light and will progress 

to a full fi lter lane, at a later date. This has been something which many 

residents have enquired about in the past so I trust this will be positive news 

and once implemented will massively reduce congestion. On one last note 

for Bishopton, I recently met with Ingliston for an update on the proposed 

path along Old Greenock Road. The path, planned to create a link between 

Ingliston and Slateford Road, will greatly improve safety for pedestrians 

walking along this route and it is great that Ingliston have recognised this 

problem and, working with the community, are taking the lead in creating this 

link. I will keep residents updated on this as it progresses. 

Contact: If you have a question on any of the above, or would like to discuss 

another matter, please don’t hesitate to contact me via email at: cllr.natalie. 

don@renfrewshire.gov.uk, phone: 0300 300 1426 or via social media. 

Exciting New Services at Laserlight! 

Laserlight is now an 

Advanced Electrolysis 

Clinic! 

We will of course continue 

to offer a full range of Laser 

Treatments but Electrolysis 

will complement this for a 

variety of troublesome issues: 

• Skin Tags • Thread Veins 

• Milia • Blood Spots 

• Seborrheic keratosis 

• Warts • Verrucae 

• Hair removal (where Laser 

is unsuitable) 

Advanced Electrolysis starts at £35 for 15 minutes and many issues, 

such as Skin Tags, can be completely dealt with in one treatment. Hair 

removal by Electrolysis starts at £20 for 15 minutes. 

Call or book online 


19


Langbank Gala Day 


Langbank’s 2019 Gala Day was a roaring success, with more than 200 

visitors fl ocking to the village’s playing field on June 22nd to enjoy a host of 

family-focused activities. 


20 

The annual fun run was held closer to home this year, with competitors 

pounding out laps around the village’s football pitch. 

A dog show sponsored by Happy Hounds Dog Hotel, brought out furry 

friends, with spaniel Busby bagging the winning spot as prettiest dog. 

Meanwhile the village event’s largest-ever bouncy castle, alongside a candy 

floss stall, entertained younger visitors on a day of sunshine and smiles. 

Organising committee member Julie Gilmour said: “This year’s Gala Day 

was one of the best we’ve held in recent years, and we were delighted that 

so many families turned out to enjoy the entertainment. 

“We’re all about building and maintaining a sense of community in 

Langbank and making sure that the organisations at the heart of village life 

can continue their valuable work.” 

Food and drink were provided by a BBQ and bar, with fresh strawberries 

and cream also on offer to tantalise taste buds. 

Proceeds from the day - which totalled around £800 - go to support 

Langbank Primary School and playgroup, as well as the village’s church 

and community council. 

The day’s surprise money-spinner came from a traditional Langbank 

favourite: Beat the Goalie. Contestants paid a pound to try and get a 

penalty past the willing stopper. 

Carly Deheer also added: “While the weather played a big part in the Gala 

Day’s success there’s nothing more valuable than the enthusiasm of the 

small team who helped out on the day, as well as those from further afield, 

including Robert from Ally Bally’s Bouncy Castles, John Reid who provided 

the loos and everyone who helped make the day a success.” 

Anyone wanting to get involved with Langbank’s community activities 

should see facebook.com/groups/Langbank.Matters/. 

Bridge of Weir Choral Society 

Our new season begins on Tuesday 3rd September. We meet from 7.30pm 

- 9.30pm in the small hall of St Columba Church, Kilmacolm. We sing a 

variety of music from classical to modern and hold a concert at Christmas 

and in the Spring. Our conductor Christopher Barr also conducts Strathaven 

Choral Society. This year sees us join forces with Strathaven for our Spring 

Concert to perform Brahms’ Requiem (sung in German) and Vaughan 

William’s Five Mystical Songs. 

We would welcome new members in the choir. If you enjoy singing and 

would like to give it a try please come along. There are no auditions for our 

choir but is does help if you can hold a note! Tuesday 10th September will 

be an OPEN NIGHT and all are welcome. 

Old Kirk News 

Brunch & Browse 

We are sorry to announce that after 

nearly 15 years the Brunch and 

Browse has come to an end. It was 

becoming more of a struggle for 

our volunteers and as the saying 

goes “all good things must come 

to an end”. A big THANK YOU 

to everyone in the community for 

their support over the years - much 

appreciated - it was always a lovely 

gathering of old and new friends. 

A big THANK YOU too to all the 

volunteers (some of whom are no 

longer with us) without whom we 

could not have done it. We hope to 

have other events in the future so 

look out for notices. Thank you to 

everyone once again. 

OUTLOOK 

There is no Outlook programme until September 5th when there is a coach 

outing to Paisley Abbey. 

MOVIE NIGHT 

29th August SUMMER HOLIDAY with Cliff Richard at the Old Kirk, 7pm for 

7.30pm. Free entry and the offer of a glass of wine. Donation if desired to 

support the creation of a Pilgrim Pathway in Kilmacolm. 

SOCIAL MEDIA 

In addition to the website - kilmacolmoldkirk.org.uk, you can follow the Old 

Kirk on Facebook at Kilmacolm Old Kirk@kilmacolmold, and Twitter and 

Instagram @kilmacolmold 

Funds available for Playparks: On a recent walk about 

in Bishopton I met a number of residents and received 

a number of complaints which I will attend to. Some of 

the issues centred around the sorry looking playparks for 

children and Matey’s Field is looking very tired. Thankfully 

Renfrewshire Council is offering a pot of money to local 

groups called Play Parks and Villages Investment Fund 

and I would urge local groups to organise themselves and 

apply for this money for the local play areas in my ward. 

Please contact me and I will put you in touch with the right 

person. 

Grant applications: Still on the matter of grants, the new Local Partnerships 

had their meetings recently to decide on all the grant applications. Most 

were issued less than half of what they had applied for, which at fi rst you 

might think was a fair way of spreading the grant money. That is until you 

consider that some organisations had applied for the full spend while others 

were putting some of their own money to the project cost. 

Pathways: Scottish summers bring lots of nice hot and wet weather which 

is ideal growing conditions, and this year is no exception. There are plenty 

of overgrown paths and pavements which I am chasing up. Let me know if 

one near you is needing attention. 

Surgeries: 

• Langbank Parish Church Hall - 1st Monday of every month (6.30pm) 

• Bridge of Weir Cargill Hall - 2nd Monday (sorry, not in May) (6.30pm) 

• Bishopton Community Library - 3rd Monday of every month (6.30pm) 

For further information on any of the above, please contact me by phone 

on 0300-300-1291 or by email to cllr.james.maclaren@renfrewshire.gov. 

uk Check out my Facebook page for more information and copies of my 

community council reports etc. www.facebook.com/councillormaclaren 

50s/60s night 

Saturday 24th August, 7.30pm 

St Fillans Church, Kilmacolm are 

having a fundraising 50s/60s night 

at St. Columba’s Senior School 

Hall, Duchal Road, Kilmacolm 

on 24th August 7.30pm with The 

Dynaglides, a nine piece band 

including Mo from Kilmacolm and 

Dion from Kilbarchan. 

Tickets are £10 - there will be a 

donation bar available, nibbles 

and a raffle. Come and join us for 

an evening of music and dancing. 

Tickets only available in advance for 

catering numbers. Please contact 

Mo on 07789 077749 or David on 

872736 for tickets. Tickets are 

limited so book early! 

Guide Hut to Hire 

A great venue with easy access 

near to the village centre. Main 

hall, additional reburbished kitchen 

facilities and outdoor area... Perfect 

for children’s parties, weekly classes 

and one off special occasions. 

Anyone wanting to hire the Guide 

Hut please contact Julie on 07967 

371595 or e: guidehutbooking@ 

gmail.com.



The Kilmacolm Civic Trust 50th Anniversary Celebration 

The Kilmacolm Civic Trust (KCT) celebrated its 50th anniversary with a reception at Windyhill in Kilmacolm on 21st June 2019 attended by 150 guests. 

Baroness Annabel Goldie gave an address celebrating the achievements of the KCT. The objectives of the KCT include preserving the architectural heritage 

of the area and it was fi tting that the reception was held at Windyhill, a Charles Rennie Mackintosh building, courtesy of the owner David Cairns. 

Photographs below by David Walker 

Guests are welcomed by Pipe Sergeants Jessie 

Cuthbertson and Tommy Scott, courtesy of St. 

Columba’s School 

Baroness Annabel Goldie and Nicol Cameron 

Chairman of the KCT 

Sir Donald Miller (centre) with (left to right) Peter 

Eadie, John Hunter and Jim Hood 

David Cairns, owner of Windyhill addresses the 

guests with Louise Eadie the reception principal 

organiser 

Susan Harvey, Graeme Andrew with Ronnie 

Cowan MP and Hazel Andrew 

Baroness Goldie addresses the guests against 

the stunning backdrop of Windyhill 

Kilmacolm Civic Trust 

Inverclyde Council Pre-Determination Meeting on Application to 

Build at Planetreeyetts, Kilmacolm 

Inverclyde Council have given provisional notice for a Pre-determination 

Planning Meeting on an application to build one hundred houses at 

Planetreeyetts in Kilmacolm. The meeting was scheduled to take place 

in St. Columba’s Hall, Kilmacolm on 21st August, but this has now been 

rescheduled for either September or October - dates to be confirmed. 

The Kilmacolm Civic Trust will attend and encourages as many residents 

as possible from the Kilmacolm and surrounding areas to be present to 

demonstrate democracy in action in their opposition to another opportunistic 

application to build in the green belt. 

The reason that the date is currently provisional is that the applicant – Taylor 

Wimpey has yet to provide its full documentation. The KCT will update 

people by website and digital media on any confirmation or change to the 

date. 

Campbell Snowdon Garden Fete 

Saturday 3rd August from 2pm to 4pm 

There will be a garden fete at Campbell Snowdon House in Quarriers 

Village on Saturday 3rd August from 2pm to 4pm. Everyone’s welcome 

and entry is absolutely free! There will be fun for the whole family with cake 

and candy, tea and coffee, a sunshine stall, and much, much more! 

. . . KILMACOLM & QUARRIERS . . . 

21

. . . KILMACOLM & QUARRIERS . . . 

22 


Summer Break is Over 

The Exercise Class in St Columba Church Hall, Kilmacolm, will resume 

after the summer break on Monday 19th August at 2pm. We look forward 

to welcoming back all our regulars but new members will also be made 

most welcome. Kay will continue to put us through our paces and help us 

to work off the extra pounds gained during our holidays. Cost of the class 

is £4 per session and you pay on a weekly basis. If you would like to find 

out more please call Irene on 01505 614443. 

Local Surgeries 

Every 4th Monday the local 

neighbourhood officer, 

will hold a surgery in the 

Community Centre between 

10.30am - 11.30am. 


David Wilson, Stephen McCabe, 

Christopher Curley | Advice 

Surgeries: http://www.inverclyde. 

gov.uk/meetings/councillors/ 




KILMACOLM & QUARRIERS: Last 

Tuesday at 7.30pm, Kilmacolm 

Cargill Centre 

(NB: No meetings: July or Dec) | 

www.kilmacolmcc.co.uk 


Kilmacolm, Cargill Centre. Tel: 

873994 

Going Bananas! 

August 5th to 7th (10am - 12.30pm) 

St Fillan’s Church Hall, Moss Road, Kilmacolm 

The Holiday Club will be packed full of games, 

activities, puppets and lots of fun things to do for 

children in Primary 1 to 7! 

Contact Angela by email: ang_blair@yahoo.co.uk or mobile: 07541 315843 

Kilmacolm, Brownie/Guide Hut. Tel: 

07584 359007 

Kilmacolm, Masonic Hall. Tel: 

873059 

Kilmacolm Bridge 

Club 

Kilmacolm Bridge Club resumes 

play on Monday 2nd September. 

We meet in the Cargill Community 

Centre, Kilmacolm and play 

commences at 7pm. The Club is 

a member of the Scottish Bridge 

Union with two teams playing in the 

Renfrewshire Bridge League. We 

welcome new members to our club 

and during the first three weeks of 

September, you are invited to come 

along as playing guests and check 

out the competitive but friendly 

play of duplicate bridge together. 

For further information, please 

contact the Club Secretary, Sheena 

Clayton, on 01505 873802. 

Positive Thinking 

The past is history, the future is 

mystery, NOW is a gift, which is why 

we call it the PRESENT! The only 

thing in your life you can control is 

your thoughts, the only thought you 

have power over is the present one. 

Learn how to think positively, and 

thus CONTROL your life. Email 

avril.forbes2015@outlook.com or 

text 07463 570464. 


Planning: The appeal by Gladman to the Scottish 

Government against our refusal of the Carsemeadow 

site in Quarriers Village is, as I write, ongoing. The predetermination 

hearing for the Planetreeyetts development 

of 100 houses including 25% social, will now not take place 

in the village until September or October. The applicant is 

not ready. The council is in negotiation with Scottish Water 

regarding land around the cemetery. Its expansion could be 

signifi cant. 

Civic Trust 50th: I attended the 50th anniversary of the Kilmacolm Civic 

Trust held at Windyhill, courtesy of Mr David Cairns. Baroness Annabel 

Goldie was the principal guest and gave her usual witty and eloquent speech 

in praise of the Civic Trust and all matters village. 

Roads & Transport: SPT are intending to have two new bus stops in the 

village with lights and real time signs, if power can be accessed. 

Scottish Water are progressing with the sewer works in Port Glasgow Road 

and are being cooperative with residents. The intended full closure from 

5th to 15th August of PG Road will put a strain on the back roads. Let us 

hope that commercial vehicles use the recommended routes and not cause 

jams by taking short cuts. Woodrow Avenue will also be closed from the 5th 

August to the 9th. 

School Presentations: PGHS presentation of Legally Blonde was quite 

outstanding. The story of Elle Woods and her adventures at Harvard Law 

School was performed with perfect American accents and superb dancing 

and singing. Recognised many faces from the village. 

St Columba’s Junior and Senior prizegivings were a tribute to both schools. 

As always they were conducted with military precision. The senior school 

guest of honour was Ms Wendy Alexander the vice-principal of the University 

of Dundee. She was most amusing and amongst many tips, warned the 

leavers against heading straight for Magaluf. The head boy, later confi rmed 

that the 6th formers had already booked their fl ights to the said Magaluf! We 

also had a visit at the council from Susan Deacon the head of the Scottish 

Police Authority, and it was very enjoyable to listen to these two impressive 

ladies. 

Horticultural Society 140th: The Horticultural Society have celebrated their 

140th anniversary. They have organised a commemorative carpet bedding 

at the Cross garden, which they maintain. Congratulations to the Society 

and their chairman Ian Morrice. 

Surgeries: 20th 5pm - 6pm at St Mary’s Episcopal Port Glasgow and 10am 

- 11am 31st at Cargill. I can be contacted on david.wilson@inverclyde.gov. 

uk and 01475 712975 and 741969. 

St. Colm’s RC Church 

Coffee Morning 

Saturday 24th August, 10am - 

12noon 

St Columba Church Hall, Bridge of Weir 

Road, Kilmacolm. 

Please join us for tea and cakes, live 

music, home baking, face painting, 

stalls, raffle and fun! Tickets available 

on the door. £3 adults, 50p kids. 

Churches in Kilmacolm & Quarriers 

70th Wedding 

Anniversary 

Celebrations 

Jean and Archie McLeish 

would like to thank the 

village of Kilmacolm for all 

their beautiful cards and 

kind wishes they received 

after celebrating their 70th 

Wedding Anniversary. 

KILMACOLM OLD KIRK: Church of Scotland (Charity no. SC009291). www.kilmacolmoldkirk. 

org.uk. Minister Rev. Dr. Peter McEnhill (01505 873174). Joint services during August at the 

Old Kirk on Sundays at 11am. Sòlas Bereavement Group is held in Kidston Hall on the 2nd 

Thursday each month at 2pm. 

ST COLUMBA CHURCH OF SCOTLAND: (Charity no. SC007992) Morning Worship Sundays 

at 11am. All welcome. Coffee/tea served in the hall after the service. 

GRACE CHURCH KILMACOLM: in association with Downavale Free Church of Scotland (Charity 

No: SCO38274) - Sunday Service at 10.30am in Kilmacolm Guide Hut, Woodrow Avenue, 

PA13 4QF - all welcome. 

ST COLM’S CATHOLIC CHURCH, Smithy Brae Kilmacolm. Rev. Vincent Byrne. Family mass 

Sundays 10am with children’s liturgy, followed by tea and coffee. Eucharistic service Thursdays 

11am. Rosary Tuesdays 6.30pm. Prayer group meets Thursdays 7.30pm. Further information 

and contact details www.stcolmsparish.co.uk. All welcome. 

BUDDHIST MEETINGS: Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin. Call Margaret on 01505 871343. 

ST FILLAN’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, Moss Road, Kilmacolm, PA13 4DL. Service of 

Eucharist on Sundays at 11.30am except the fi rst Sunday of the month at 11.30am is the 

Service of Matins: Wednesday 10.30am Holy Communion: On last Sunday of the month 

6pm (Said) Evensong: St Fillan’s Church is a Member of the Anglican Communion and All 

are Welcome to join us: Clergy: The Revd Heller Gonzalez (01505-2961); Pastoral Assistant 

Maureen Russell (01505-872905). Find us on www.heartlandsec/org/KLM/index.html 

MOUNT ZION CHURCH: Rev. Andy Lunn BSc, (01475 791282) Mount Zion Church, Law View 

Road, Quarriers Village, PA11 3FD. Sunday Worship: 10.30am, Bible Study and Prayer 

Meetings: Wednesday at 7pm and Friday at 10 am. Please come and invite others: all 

welcome.


‘A Friends of St Francis Day’ 

Finlaystone Estate Langbank, Thursday 1st August 10am – 3pm. 

Inviting children (5 to 11years) to join us for a day of fun, nature, art and 

storytelling ~ on the themes of caring for the natural world and looking after 

its creatures ~ and finding wonder and joy in it all! 

Cost £5; To register please contact Maureen Russell on 07905 950028 or 

email maureenmrussell@hotmail.com. 

If you can’t make this day do get in touch to find out about future events we 

are planning. (This project is supported by the Third Order of St Francis of 

Assisi and the Scottish Episcopal Church) 

Budget: At the annual Budget meeting of Renfrewshire 

Council in February I had a very hard decision to make. 

Not being part of a political party gives you less support in 

the chamber but crucially it does leave you free to fight for 

your ward and your constituents unfettered by party politics. 

Both the administration budget and the main opposition 

alternative budget had much to commend them, but using 

my infl uence as the kingmaker between the main political 

factions my crucial casting Independent vote delivered the 

administration budget. I have been lobbying the Council 

Leader for months about the need for core funding for our village halls, so 

I am pleased to say I helped to deliver £2.3 million of funding to upgrade 

the McKillop Institute in Lochwinnoch, the Steeple Hall in Kilbarchan, and 

two others. 

Communities: Our village communities in Kilbarchan, Howwood, and 

Lochwinnoch have a very much symbiotic relationship with the town centre 

of Johnstone, which is also in the ward all the Ward 9 Cllrs represent, 

because the three villages look to Johnstone for essential services before 

they would look to Paisley. 

As part of the meetings I had with the Council Leader and the Depute 

Leader at the beginning of this year I also raised the question of Johnstone 

town centre getting monies from the Scottish Government’s Town Centre 

Capital Fund and as part of the budget settlement which I delivered the 

Johnstone bandstand and Houstoun Square are to undergo significant 

upgrades costing £140,000 which will support Johnstone businesses and 

maintain community pride. 

Surgeries: My advice surgery in Kilbarchan is on 2nd Wednesday of the 

month in the Steeple Hall at 7.30pm, and my advice surgery in Howwood is 

on 4th Wednesday of the month in Howwood Village Hall at 6.30pm, then at 

Lochwinnoch also on 4th Wednesday of the month in the McKillop at 7.30pm, 

excluding July and December. But I am also always available to constituents 

who can call me on 07534 148224, tweet me on CllrAndy4Ward8, facebook 

me on Independent Voice/Ward9JohnstoneAndVillages, or e-mail me at 

cllr.andy.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk 

Johnstone Gala Day 

Sunday 25th August from 12.30pm 

to 4.30pm, Thomas Shanks Park, Johnstone 

With lots of Stalls, Raffles – and much much more. Please come along and 

support this fantastic fun fi lled day! 


Congratulations to May Griffen, Anne McEwing, 

Rita Small, Elizabeth Berry and Allison Brown. 

Each lady received a certifi cate for the most 

attendances in their class. 

This shows true commitment, well done to 

everyone! If you would like to join the fun call 

Fiona 07811 766672. We would love to meet 

you. For more information on the classes check 

under regular meets. 

Kilbarchan 

National 

Women’s 

Register 

The new session begins 

at the end of August 

with a meal out. 

During the next months, 

the group will be joining 

in national preparations 

for the Diamond 

Anniversary of NWR on 

26th February 2020. 

If you’d like to know 

more about NWR, 

please phone 348627 

or visit the website: 

www.nwr.org.uk 

Advertisement Feature 

Home Help for 

Senior People 


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care; specialising in Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. 

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Howwood 


Meetings are held on the 

second Tuesday of each month 

at 7.30pm in Howwood Village 

Hall. Please feel free to come 

along - all welcome. 

What started out as a one year event, 

is now celebrating 21 consecutive 

years of art, this year. 

Art off the Square, Kilbarchan Parish 

Church’s biggest fundraising event of the year, takes place on Thursday 

22nd and Friday 23rd August from 2pm until 9pm and on Saturday 24th 

August from 10am until 4pm. Exhibiting wonderful paintings, ceramics and 

jewellery this show is always a delight to see. As well as displaying the 

work of talented amateurs, the show always includes the works of some of 

Scotland’s top class professional artists and is now well regarded as part of 

the West of Scotland Art Scene. If you are interested in purchasing art this 

is the place to come, however, if you just wish to wander round and enjoy 

looking – that is fine too. Entry is £3 (children free) and includes tea/coffee 

and home baking, for which the show has also become renowned. 

A warm welcome awaits you as well as a feast for the eyes and tastebuds. 

. . . KILBARCHAN, HOWWOOD, LOCHWINNOCH, ELDERSLIE . . . 

23



Kilbarchan Parish Church Drama Group 

Rehearsals will begin in August for the group’s November production 

“Agatha Crusty and the Murder Mystery Dinner”, 21st - 23rd November. 


24 

Communities: The various community organisations do so 

much to enrich the life our villages, and as such are due our 

support and not the least from Renfrewshire Council. 

At the latest meeting of the Villages Local Partnership 

I was therefore pleased to back grant funding to the 

following organisations, Kilbarchan Community Council, 

Kilbarchan Singers, Kipco at the Old Kilbarchan Library, 

Howwood Community Council, Lochwinnoch Arts Festival, 

Lochwinnoch Art Group, Lochwinnoch Choral Society, 

Country Dance Club, Sustainable Community Garden Group, and the 

Christmas Lights Society. 

Roads & Lighting: I have over recent months received a number of 

communications from constituents in regard to unadopted roads, and 

repairs and maintenance to drains, street lighting columns and potholes 

in the roads, and Renfrewshire Council’s response to the issues raised. 

While this matter has attracted national attention in regard to new builds, the 

enquiries raised with me have concerned long established developments 

such as the lane at John Gregor Place Lochwinnoch and Kilnknowe 

Cottages Howwood. The council needs to make its intentions clear with 

regard to such areas. Given funding limitations on the council there may 

be a reluctance to take on additional work, however there has to be a 

recognition that residents in these, and other similarly affected areas are 

council taxpayers and they deserve a fair deal. 

Speeding: There is growing concern around the issue of traffic speeding 

and inconsiderate parking outside our schools. An initiative launched by 

the council is set to look at what can be done in response to the concerns, 

which will include consideration of an option of exclusion zones around 

certain schools. 

As part of the initiative the council has introduced a schools parking pledge 

and everyone is invited to sign the pledge in support. Details are on the 

Renfrewshire Council website. 

Home sweet home: Finally confirmation, if it were needed, that our 

villages are some of the best places to live, has come through research 

by the University of Liverpool which found that Lochwinnoch is the second 

healthiest place to live in the UK. 

The great outdoors of West Renfrewshire and the Clyde Muirsheil Park, 

has no doubt made a significant 


Andy Doig, Derek Bibby, Bill 

Binks, Emma Rodden | Advice 

Surgeries: http://www. 





Howwood: Village Hall: 2nd Tues at 

7.30pm. | www.howwood.com/ 

community-council.php 

Kilbarchan: Steeple Hall: monthly 

at 7.30pm. | www.kilbarchan. 

info/community_council.html 

Lochwinnoch: Bowling Club: 1st 

Tues at 7.30pm 


Kilbarchan, Guide Centre. Tel: 

702758. 

Kilbarchan, Old Library Centre. Tel: 

706070 

contribution to this rating of well 

being, and I hope that readers have 

managed to take advantage of its 

various activities over the summer. 

Surgeries: the first Saturday of 

every month at 9am in the McKillop 

Institute Lochwinnoch, 10am in 

Howwood Village Hall, 11am in 

the Steeple Hall Kilbarchan and 

12.30pm in Johnstone Town Hall. 

Meantime please contact me at cllr. 

derek.bibby@renfrewshire.gov.uk 

or phone 0300 300 1274 or 07534 

156007. 

Knitting Bee 

Meets fortnightly on a Tuesday 

from 7pm to 9pm at Knit Knax, 37 

High Street Johnstone, also weekly 

Thursday from 2pm to 4pm. 

Contact: Pamela 07743 156738 or 

email bknitting@hotmail.co.uk. 

Johnstone: Gala - It is a busy time for the Gala committee 

as they organise this years festivities for the big event 

which takes place on the 25th August this year in Shanks 

Park. It has been proposed by the committee that next year 

consideration will be given to arranging the Gala possibly 

a month or so earlier. The weather has been a factor in 

the past and it would also co-inside with school holidays so 

giving more youngsters the opportunity to have a great time 

also. This Gala promises to be the best ever and it is hoped 

to have at least 30 stalls and three marquees as well as a 

stage for all the acts that are being anticipated. 

Johnstone: Parks - While on the subject of Shanks Park I must express 

my concern at the attitude of Renfrewshire Council when asked about the 

state of the park and lack of facilities for the residents of Johnstone and 

surrounds. Their answer is “You come up with a detailed plan, insurance, 

public liability arrangement, full costings, a health and risk assessment etc. 

etc. and we will think about it”. This is an utter nonsense! Robertson Park in 

Renfrew and Barshaw Park in Paisley have had thousands spent on them 

at the drop of a hat. The Galas in both venues are financed and organised 

by the Council. Why is this? A town the size of Johnstone should have its 

very own playpark fully maintained by the Council in exactly the same way. 

The Council have the expertise and the means to come up with a selection 

of business plans for Shanks Park, and in consultation with Johnstone 

Community Council and other voluntary organisation’s input, it is about 

time that the Council stopped sitting on their hands and making excuses. 

It is time for them to take the initiative. Johnstone, and the residents of 

Johnstone, deserve better. 

Howwood: Bin collections - It seems that Renfrewshire Council refuse 

collection services have not been including collections from a number of 

farms around the village. It has been very sporadic at the best of times. It 

seems a green uplift is arranged for the grey bin, blue bin etc to be missed. 

I have now had assurances from the Refuse Department that it has now 

been sorted. Lets hope so. 

Howwood: Outdoors -The Howwood Wildlife and Woodland group have 

been very busy planting saplings adjacent to the Rhombus Garden. They 

hope to create a wild flower meadow on the road side and a site has been 

cleared for the erection of a cycle rack opposite the Boarding House Inn. 

Lochwinnoch: Landscaping & Repairs - The village have been assured 

by the council that there are funds in place for the restoration and repair of 

Lochwinnoch Cemetery. The general landscaping, tidying up, painting and 

repair of gates and fences etc plus resurfacing of the access and roads 

has been promised. The residents of Lochwinnoch, understandably, are 

wondering why there is no action as yet. Surely it makes sense to get stuck 

into the project while we can still rely on having some decent weather. 

Lochwinnoch: Speeding -There are still ongoing issues with regard to 

speeding traffic through the village. None of the current measures so far 

have alleviated the problem and more traffic is going through the village as 

developments in and around the village are adding to the problem and, is 

expected to get worse in the near future. 

Email: cllr.bill.binks@renfrewshire.gov.uk Tel: 0300 300 1423 

Surgeries: 

Week 1 Tuesday LOCHWINNOCH McKillop institute 6pm/7pm. 

Week 2 Tuesday HOWWOOD Village Hall 6pm/7pm. 

Week 3 Wednesday JOHNSTONE Town Hall 6pm/7pm. 

Week 4 Wednesday KILBARCHAN Steeple Hall 6pm/7pm. 

Churches in Kilbarchan, Howwood, Lochwinnoch & Elderslie 

KILBARCHAN PARISH CHURCH: Services continue at 11am, conducted by Rev Stephen 

Smith. Summer Sunday School and the crèche meet from 10.45am in the halls. Refreshments 

and chat in the hall after the service. 

HOWWOOD PARISH CHURCH: Minister Rev May Bell. Sunday Service and Sunday 

School. 10am each Sunday. Prayer meeting held at 3 Bowfi eld Way, Howwood, 7.30pm 

on Tuesdays. 

LOCHWINNOCH PARISH CHURCH: Mary Jane Bird. Sunday 11am: Morning Worship and 

Sunday School. All welcome. 

CALDER UNITED FREE CHURCH: (Church Street, Lochwinnoch) Sunday: 11am Morning 

worship with Sunday School and Crèche. 6.30pm Evening Fellowship group, 7.30pm ABC’s 

Teen group. Wed 6.30pm - 7.30pm. 

SPIRITUALIST CHURCH, Lochlip Rd. All services commence 7.30pm. 

ELDERSLIE KIRK: Sunday service every week at 11am. Minister - Rev. Robin Allison. All 

welcome. Weekly meetings:- Monday Club every week from 12noon - 2.30pm. Light lunch 

and a varied activity programme. Midweek Fellowship will meet every Wed from 10.30am for 

Tea/Coffee followed by a short Service of Worship at 11am.


Liz and Morag are now going for 1000 

people through the course! 

Morag and Liz beside the AED in Lochwinnoch 

Would you know 

what to do in an 

Emergency? 

♥ Every week in Scotland, 70 people 

suffer cardiac arrest. 

♥ More than 3500 people per year in 

Scotland are treated by the Ambulance Service following a cardiac 

arrest. 

♥ Only one in 20 people will survive. 

♥ Without resuscitation, cardiac arrest is always fatal 

♥ But, performing CPR could double that person’s chance of survival 

Heartstart courses are free of charge and it only takes two hours to learn 

the skills which may someday save a life: 

♥ CPR and using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) 

♥ Heart Attack 

♥ Recovery position 

♥ Choking 

♥ Serious bleeding 

To learn the simple skills that save lives, contact Morag Thow on 07868 

752814 to book onto one of our courses in 2019: 

Wednesday 25th September 7pm - 9pm Lochwinnoch Masonic Lodge 

Wednesday 30th October 1pm - 3pm Lochwinnoch Masonic Lodge 

Wednesday 27th November 7pm - 9pm Lochwinnoch Masonic Lodge 

We will be having more courses starting in September watch this space! 

If you have a group in the Lochwinnoch/Howwood area that would like a 

Heart Start Course Liz and Morag are pleased to come to your group to 

deliver the course. 

Kilbarchan Old Library 

The Old Library Centre re-opens on the 5th of August at 10am after our 

Summer break. Classes will resume as follows: 

Monday Yoga 7.30pm (advanced)...... 5th August 

Wednesday Yoga 10am ...................... 14th August 

Wednesday Yoga 7.30pm ................... 7th August 

FABS class ......................................... 15th August 

Bridge ................................................. 6th September 

Pilates ................................................. to be decided 

The Tai Chi for Movement and Wellbeing course was very successful and 

we are going to run a second beginners course. A taster session will be 

on Tuesday 17th September at 10.30am with an 8 week course to follow 

starting on Tuesday 24th September. Please phone the Centre 01505 

706070 or Teena on 0791 3303 859 if you wish to take part or for further 

information 

Dementia Friendly Centre 

Kilbarchan Old Library Centre is planning to become a Dementia Friendly 

Centre and a representative from Alzheimer’s Scotland is coming along to 

The Old Library at 7pm on the evening of 29th August. 

No one knows when the dreadful illness will affect ourselves/family/friends/ 

neighbours, therefore we would encourage you to come along to learn and 

give your support. 

The Old Library Centre is a registered Scottish Charity and is ran by volunteers. 

For more details please phone 01505 706070, email: kipcokil@hotmail.com or 

visit our website www.kipcokil.com 


Queens Road Park Elderslie Kids Disco 

Following on from the Summer Fayre, parents from Wallace Primary School 

are organising a fundraiser for the Queens Road Play Park fund which now 

sits at £9,858.87. 

On Friday September 6th Elderslie Kirk are kindly letting us use the new 

Hall to hold a Kids Disco. For just £4 a ticket the kids will have two funfilled 

hours, dancing along to their favourite tunes. The entry price includes 

snacks and drinks a glow stick and a glitter tattoo! 

We will be having a raffle on the night with prizes for kids and adults, tickets 

will be available on the night or you can let us know how many to put aside 

for you in advance. 

If you want to purchase tickets for the kids or to put a placeholder on some 

raffle tickets, you can do this by messaging on Elderslie Community Council 

Facebook page or call Eve on 07770 422482, Susan on 07780 705763 or 

Linda on 07542 315980. 

We have updated the website where you can see all of our meetings, 

events and what we are all about and it now has the information for our 

disco night at: www.elderslie.org.uk. It is a work in progress but we are 

very pleased with how it has come out so far and we’re looking forward to 

developing it further with the communities’ involvement.’ 

Elderslie Community Council Summer 

Fayre 

Stoddard Square was overrun with villagers on Saturday 22nd June with 

the second ECC Summer Fayre. The day was again very fortunate to have 

the weather on our side which, no doubt, increased attendance. Over 30 

local businesses donated to our raffle including an amazing lodge stay at 

Ingliston Country Club & Hotel as our top prize. 

We had our usual array of brilliant stalls offering gifts, crafts, candles, 

skincare, cheesecakes, and cards which, as always, brought in the crowds. 

Each one donated a prize to the raffle to help with the fundraising efforts 

on the day. East Gate Church were kind enough to provide refreshments 

and cakes as part of the entry fee which proved very popular again and 

Elderslie Youth Connect were also in East Gate entertaining kids and doing 

crafts with them. 

This year we had Elderslie Wallace Bowling Club involved voluntarily 

offering free lessons. They were also kind enough to offer us the use of 

their function room which allowed us to have a face-painter and balloon 

artist to entertain the kids and alcoholic refreshments available for the 

adults. They were kept very busy throughout the day! 

On the grassed area in the square, there were many things to keep the 

family amused. Braveheart Fencing were in attendance again showing kids 

fencing skills as well as broadsword skills. We had three bouncy castles 

from Allstar fitness which proved to be very popular. Street Stuff brought 

their skills and we were very fortunate to have the Ambulance and Fire 

Service available on 

the day. 

All in all a successful 

event which raised 

lots of money for the 

playpark fund. Including 

the funds raised and a 

recent donation from 

Elderslie Kirk, our total 

raised now stands at an 

amazing £9,858.87!!! 

ECC would like to thank 

everyone for attending 

but we would like to 

also thank the 30+ local 

businesses who were 

kind enough to donate 

a prize to the event. 

The raffle is always so 

popular and it’s only 

through the kindness 

of the local businesses 

that we can make this 

happen. 

Anne-Marie 

Balfour, 

Treasurer ECC. 


25

. . . HOUSTON, CROSSLEE & BROOKFIELD . . . 

26 


French 

Conversation 

Our French conversation groups 

are still going strong. We meet in 

the Fox and Hounds in Houston on 

Wednesdays 9.30am till 12noon 

and alternate Tuesday afternoons 

2pm - 4pm. 

If you want to join us just come 

along. Details phone/text 07463 

570464 or email avril.forbes2015@ 

outlook.com We look forward to 

welcoming you. 


Audrey Doig, Scott Kerr, Alison 

Jean Dowling, James Sheridan 

Advice Surgeries: http://www. 





BROOKFIELD: Brookfield Village 

Hall: 2nd Thursday at 7.30pm 

February, April, June, August, October 

and December. 

HOUSTON: Carrick Centre: 3rd 

Wednesday at 7.30pm | houstoncommcouncil@yahoo.co.uk 


Brookfield, Village Hall. Tel: 

335562 

Houston, Carrick Centre. Tel: 

690693 / 614039 / 674277 

Houston, Compass Centre. Tel: 

Gillian Peters - 07879 407574 or 

01505 613759. 

Linwood Masonic Hall. Tel: 07825 

222944 

Brookfield Gala Day 

SATURDAY 17th AUGUST FROM 2pm 

Brookfield’s annual Gala Day is almost 

here once again and fingers are well and 

truly crossed that weather conditions will be 

favourable! The event will feature a variety of 

stalls and activities for all the family including 

tombola, Inflatable fun, face painting, CD/ 

DVD’s, cake & candy, pig racing, prize 

raffle, hook-a-duck, coconut shy, beer tent/ 

bar - and plenty more! Participants for 

the children’s fancy dress parade should 

assemble at Malcolm’s Yard at the bottom 

of Albert Road by 1.45pm. A programme of 

entertainment will take place throughout the 

afternoon featuring performances from local 

groups/organisations, including our very own 

Brookfield Brass Necks. Afternoon tea with 

delicious home baking will be available in the 

Village Hall from 2.30pm. 

As usual, our Gala Day is very much ‘for 

the village by the village’ and donations for 

stalls will be most welcome. A date for your 


Houston and Killellan Kirk 

Wee Blether 

For all those who enjoy a cuppa and a chat the Wee 

Blether starts again on Tuesday 6th August. Come 

along and join us in the West Halls. 

Sunday 18th August sees the return to 11am services 

all welcome at Morning Worship. 

Early Communion Service starts back on Sunday 1st 

September at 9.45am. 

Family Games Afternoon 

Get along to Birkmyre Park on Saturday 24th August 

for a family games afternoon. Bring a picnic and join in 

on the fun and enjoy yourselves. 

Open Doors 

The weekend of 7th/8th September is the traditional 

Open Doors Weekend in Renfrewshire. In Houston 

& Killellan Kirk we believe that we are an open and 

welcoming church – although our church building is 

locked for a good part of each week! On the weekend 

of 7th/8th September we are going to make a greater 

effort, while participating in Open Doors. While Open 

Doors is not a first for us, we are adding a few “activities” 

to the Open Doors’ tours. 

Saturday 7th September: Kirk open 10am to 4pm with 

guided tours, Pulpit Falls’ display, taped organ music 

by Peter McKerrell, quiz for the children prepared by 

the Sunday Club and possibly a mouse hunt! Biscuits, 

tea or coffee or juice for children will be available. In the 

early evening there will be a treasure hunt and BBQ. 

Sunday 8th September: Special Welcome / Invitation 

to Church Service from 11am. From 1pm to 4pm, guided 

tours, Pulpit Falls’ display, Quiz for the children and 

possibly a mouse hunt (if not all found on Saturday)! 

From 2pm there will be live music in the Atrium, and 

Cream Teas available in the Killellan Halls. 

This is not just for the Kirk Members, or even just the 

parishioners - “Everybody is Welcome in This Place!” 

CAMEO Club Meeting dates 2019/20 

2019 

11th Sep ...... The Elderberries 

25th Sep ...... St. Fillans Primary School Entertains 

9th Oct ......... Houston Primary School Entertains 

23rd Oct ....... Halloween Party 

6th Nov ........ “Streetwise” 

20th Nov ...... Christmas Bring and Buy 

4th Dec ........ Christmas Party 

12th Dec ...... Christmas Lunch 

(Thursday) 

diary - on MONDAY 12th AUGUST, members 

of the Bowling Club and Village Council will 

be knocking on doors around the village to 

collect donations for the Tombola and DVD 

stall. Contributions of home baking for 

the tearoom and cake & candy stall can be 

handed in to the Village Hall on the morning of 

17th August. Thank you in advance for your 

continued support! 

Bridge Class 

A new weekly Bridge class is starting on 

WEDNESDAY 4th SEPTEMBER from 1pm - 

3pm in the Village Hall. This is suitable for 

all levels - beginners, improvers or just as a 

refresher. All welcome. No partner required. 

Cost: £3 per session. For further information, 

please contact Hamish on 01505 703481. 

Facebook: brookfieldvillage.org Twitter: @ 

BrookfieldVPA e-mail: brookfi eldvpa@gmail. 

com 

Foodbank Current Needs 

The appeal to support Renfrewshire Foodbank www. 

renfrewshire.foodbank.org.uk with a tin at a time is 

being very well responded to, which is not surprising 

from the generous congregation at Houston & Killellan 

Kirk. Every other Monday a large car load is delivered 

to Paisley. Those who operate the centre advise that 

the greatest current needs are for tinned potatoes, tins 

of meat, tins of fish e.g. Tuna or pilchards, tins of fruit, 

custard, rice pudding, diluting juice, cartons of juice (not 

chilled), shampoo, bars of soap, toilet paper, shower 

gel, deodorant, toothpaste and toothbrushes. 

The next big Foodbank Appeal at Houston & Killellan 

Kirk will be for Harvest Thanksgiving, which this year is 

on Sunday 15th September, and when traditionally the 

congregation support the Foodbank with a wide range 

of goods. 

Foodbanks - as more people are becoming dependent 

of foodbanks, there is a great demand for food… 

Renfrewshire is no different! We are supporting our 

local foodbank, by bringing a tin a week to Church - 

please support this if you can. 

Harvest Service - 15th August - special collection for 

Foodbank. 

The Cameo Club 

The end of Houston and Killellan Kirk Cameo Club year 

finished with the Carers Choir singing to us prior to our 

AGM. We were most interested to hear about our new 

and full agenda for 2019/2020. 

The Club is open to anyone, so why not come along 

every second Wednesday afternoon at 2pm in the West 

Halls, Main Street, Houston. We would be delighted to 

see you. 

Come and join us for a natter along with tea, cakes and 

entertainment. Our new year starts on 11th September 

2020 

8th Jan Travels with Clair and Hugh 

22nd Jan Bring and Buy Sale 

5th Feb Houston Primary School – 

A Scottish Celebration 

19th Feb Crafts with Moyra 

4th Mar Travelogue – 

Vivienne MacDonald 

18th Mar Taste Sensation - 

Dr Mhairi Stewart 

2nd April AGM



H.O.S.T. THE CARRICK CENTRE, 

HOUSTON 

(HOUSTON OLD SCHOOL TRUST) 

Monday to Friday, Gryffe Manor 

Out of School 01505 615438 / 

Dance West Scotland: 

enquires@dancewestscotland. 

co.uk 

Coffee Shop: - Mon-Fri 9am- 

4.30pm Sat, 9am - 4pm Coffee 

Shop/Centre 01505 229597 

MONDAY 

Yoga (Weekly) 1pm Mary Laidlaw 

01505 874162 

TUESDAY 

Yoga (Weekly) 7pm M/s Lawson 

01505 613690 

Councillor Surgery 6.30pm (6th) 

Scott Kerr 

Councillor Surgery 12noon (20th) 

Allison Dowling 

D M Hall 1pm (27th) Paul 

Houghton 

WEDNESDAY 

Community Council 7.30pm 21st 

Dance West Scotland - Please 

refer to instructors for times during 

holiday period 

Baby Class (MOO MUSIC) 

Weekly 10am 

Melody Makers 7pm start 28th 

THURSDAY 




Folk Club (weekly) 8pm Dave 

Mellor, e: folkclubhouston@gmail. 

com 07523 129122 

A Portable Defib Unit is available at the West Halls (Church) on Main Street 

Booking enquiries to: Bill Haddow 01505 690693 

Stewart Scally 01505 674277 Barry Walker 01505 614039 

thecarrickcentre@gmail.com or hostbookings@outlook.com or The Coffee Shop 

Churches in Houston ... 

Move It Or Lose It (Weekly) 

10.30am – 11.30am 

Councillor Surgery (22nd) 7.15pm 

Audrey Doig 

FRIDAY 

Yoga (Weekly) 10.30am M/s 

Lawson 01505 613690 


refer to Instructors for times during 


Gavin Newlands M.P. Surgery 

12.30pm – 1.30pm 9th 

SATURDAY 




Councillors Surgery 11.30am – 

12noon (3rd) Jim Sheridan 

SUNDAY 

Baptist Church (weekly) 11am 

and 6pm 

Leisa Callahan B/P (25th) 1pm 

Centre Patrons PLEASE request 

date or time changes due to 

Holidays from your Group Leader 

or Club spokesperson 

Houston and Killellan: The Services will be led by Rev. Gary Noonan unless otherwise stated. 

Sunday 4th August - 10am Morning Worship Rev.Sandy McDonald, Sunday 11th - 10am. 

Morning Worship, Sunday 18th - 11am. Morning Worship, Sunday 25th - 11am Morning 

Worship Cradle Roll and Sunday Club Rededication. You can fi nd out more about us at www. 

houstonkillellankirk.org 

St Fillan’s, Main St, Houston: Sun Masses: Vigil (Sat) 5pm, 9.30am & 11am. Weekday Masses: 

Mon - Sat 9.30am. Rosary: Tue, Thurs & Sat 9.10am. Exposition: Mon, Wed & Fri 9.05am. 

Confessions: Sat 10am - 10.30am and after Vigil Mass. Baptism: By arrangement. Parish 

Priest:- Rev. Paul Brady. Assistant Priest:- Rev. Chima Kingsley Opara. Pastoral Assistant: Sr. 

Mary Frances Collett, RNDM (Tel 01505 613514). Address: ‘Abbotsfi eld’, St. Fillan’s, Main St, 

Houston, PA6 7EL. T. 01505 612046. E. StFillan@rcdop.org.uk www.stfi llan.org.uk 

Houston Baptist Church at Carrick Centre: 11am Family services with SS for children age 

5-12; 6pm Eve Service; Mid-week Home Bible Study; For more information contact; Rev. D 

Snelson 01505 612722. 

Church of the Nazarene Village Hall, Main Street, Houston PA6 7EL. Rev Geoff Austin (Interim 

Pastor) Family Service at 10.30am, Creche available. Communion service fi rst Sunday of the 

month. Tel 01505 610862. www.houston.nazarene.org.uk 

Houston & Crosslee SWI 

I hope everyone has had a great summer and is looking forward 

to the excellent programme we have to celebrate our 90th year. 

We look forward to welcoming members old and new to the fi rst meeting 

on 18th September at 7.30pm when we will have Mr David Stokes talking 

about The Paisley Market. Please note this A WEEK LATER than usual. 

Please come and join us, everyone will be made very welcome. We meet 

in the 

Compass Centre, South Street, Houston on the second Wednesday of 

each month at 7.30pm. If you wish further information please contact, 

Arlene MacKay on 07932 459994. 

Speed Limits: I am very disappointed that after some 

deliberation the Scottish Government has agreed not to 

pursue the option of a statutory and enforceable 20mph 

limit for residential areas. It is to the great credit of 

Houston Community Council that they raised this question 

a few years ago and promoted it through the Renfrewshire 

Community Council Forum to encourage other villages to 

also support an enforceable 20mph as a matter of health 

and safety. In order to assess how we can take the matter 

forward I would like constituents to use the Houston Community Council 

website to make clear whether they wish to see a blanket 20mph limit 

across all of Houston or only in the residential areas of the village. 

Area Partnership: A few months ago I was pleased to report on the 

first meeting of the new Bridge of Weir, Houston, Brookfi eld, Elderslie, 

Kilbarchan, Howwood, and Lochwinnoch Local Area Partnership. The 

second meeting has taken place and there was much discussion on the 

new Green Places Fund which the current administration has been piloting. 

This is a fantastic opportunity for community groups in Houston, Brookfi eld, 

and Crosslee to get vital funds to regenerate and develop green areas in our 

communities. Information on how to apply is available on the Renfrewshire 

Council website. 

Events: Houston has had its annual Kirk Carnival for the year and now we 

are all looking forward to Brookfield Gala Day which is on Saturday 17th 

August starting at 2pm. I would like to thank all our community activists and 

volunteers who give 

their time, and often 

money too, to make 

our community events 

the success that they 

are. Well done to all 

who make that valuable 

contribution. 

Surgeries: in 

Brookfield is on the 

2nd Thursday of the 

month at 6.30pm in 

Brookfield Village Hall, 

and my advice surgery 

in Houston is on the 4th 

Thursday of the month 

in the Carrick Centre, 

Houston, at 7.15pm, 

excluding July and 

Christmas. But I am 

also always available 

to constituents who 

can call me on 07768 

130935, or e-mail me 

at cllr.audrey.doig@ 

renfrewshire.gov.uk 

. . . HOUSTON, CROSSLEE & BROOKFIELD . . . 

27


SCHOOL 

news 


28 

Bridge of Weir Primary 

School may be closed for the holidays, but 

we’re always thinking about next term, and 

this year, we’d like your help. 

Some of you will know it’s our 50th 

anniversary year. We’re hoping past 

pupils will get in touch, send photographs, 

and share their childhood memories of the 

school with us. 

We have lots of plans to mark the 

anniversary, and will share them in the 

new term. 

If you’re one of the many people who’ve 

been completing the Oor Wullie Trail around 

Scotland this summer - make sure you try 

to fi nd the one designed by P6a. One of 

them, Freya Scally, was given a figure 

to decorate by the Glasgow Children’s 

Hospital Charity, and now it’s on show for all to see in the Science Centre. 

Literally, Oor Wullie is A’Body’s Wullie. The class all got free passes to 

make sure they get to see their Crosses and Stripes effort. 

School is back on Thursday 15th August, enjoy what’s left of your 

holidays. 

E V E R Y MO N D A Y 

Lochwinnoch Baby & 

Toddlers 

McKillop Hall, 9.45am - 

11.30am 

£2/family fee incl tea & 

children’s snacks. 

Kilmacolm Playgroup 

St Columba Church Hall, 

Kilmacolm, 9.30am - 

11.30am 

Howwood Baby & 

Toddler Group 

Howwood Parish 

Church, 10am - 12noon 

Kilbarchan Parish 

Church Tots’ Club 

Kilbarchan Parish 

Church Hall, 9.15am - 

11.30am 

E V E R Y TU E S D A Y 

Kilbarchan Tots 

Kilbarchan Scout Hall, 

10am-12noon 

£2 contribution. Tea, coffee 

& biscuits. 

Bridge of Weir 

Toddlers 

Cargill Hall, Lintwhite 

Cres, BoW 

Pop along and see us from 

9.30am - 11.30am 




11.30am 

Howwood Playgroup 

Howwood Church Hall, 

9.45am - 11.35am 

REGULAR groups 

E V E R Y WE D N E S D A Y 

Kilmacolm Toddlers 

St Columba Church 

Hall, Kilmacolm, 10am - 

11.30am 

For children from birth to 

3 years. 

Lochwinnoch Baby & 

Toddlers 

McKillop Hall, 9.45am - 

11.30am 

£2/family fee incl tea and 

children’s snacks. 



9.45am - 11.35am 

Houston Primary 

School Improvements 

This session our school has had a lot of workmen in, replacing our roof and 

cladding, which has already improved the school’s appearance. Upgrading 

continues, with electricians coming in during the summer holidays to replace 

all of the wiring and adding very much needed electrical sockets. 

P7 Leavers Dance 

The festivities started at the River Inn with a social gathering, followed by 

pipers leading the procession up to the school. The pupils engaged in the 

Canadian Barn Dance, Strip the Willow and the Military Two Step to name 

but a few, followed by a disco. A great night was had by all. 

Rotary District Final 

On 22nd May, Sam Barrett, Eva Graham, Owen Hutchieson, Kai Connolly 

and Ian MacPherson proudly represented Houston Primary School, at the 

Rotary District Final, in Pollockshaws Burgh Hall. There were twenty other 

schools from all over the West coast of Scotland taking part, where we 

achieved an outstanding fourth place. What a hard working and dedicated 

team. Well done to all. 

Sumdog First Place! 

During the month of June, many of our pupils participated in Renfrewshire’s 

Sumdog Maths Contest. Each day the pupils challenged themselves to 

complete as many mathematical calculations as they could. All their hard 

work paid off, with pupils in P7 gaining first place across Renfrewshire. Our 

top student Caitlin Paterson answered an amazing 984 questions correctly 

gaining an overall second place and Kai Connolly who answered 978 

questions came third. Marvellous Mathematicians! 

Farewell to P7 

On the 26th June we officially said farewell to our wonderful P7 pupils at the 

Valedictory Service in Houston and Killellan Church. Parents of P7 pupils 

were invited to attend to share in this very special moment. We thank Rev 

Gary Noonan, Carol Rankin and Derek Whittle for making the service run 

so smoothly. 

End of Session 2018-19 

Another year has passed and what a busy one it has been. The pupils have 

been amazing and worked very hard. We wish all our families a wonderful 

summer holiday and look forward to seeing them back in August. A huge 

thank you to the Parent Council, parent/grandparent volunteers and our 

amazing staff team at Houston Primary School for an action packed year. 

Happy Holidays! 



E V E R Y TH U R S D A Y 

Houston Toddlers 

Church Hall, Main Street, 

Houston 

Pop along and see us from 

9.30am - 11.30am 




11.30am 



9.45am - 11.35am 

Houston Primary P7 Leavers Dance 

E V E R Y FR I D A Y 

Langbank Playgroup 

Langbank Village Hall, 

9.45 - 11.45am 

For 2.5 - 5yr olds. Contact 

Jen Burrows 07947 

983025. 

Langbank Under 3’s 

Church Hall, Langbank, 

10am - 11.45am 

For children from birth to 

3 years 

Baby and Toddler 

Group 

Elderslie Kirk, Main 

Rd, Elderslie, 9.30am - 

11.30am 

£2 includes children’s 

snack and tea/coffee. Lots 

of different toys to play with. 

All welcome. 

Community Bookbug 

Sessions 

Livingstone Hall at 

St Columba’s Junior 

School, Knockbuckle 

Road, Kilmacolm. 

From 9.30 - 10am 

1S T & 3R D FR I D A Y 

Renfrewshire 

Inverclyde Twins Club 

McKillop Hall, 

Lochwinnoch, 1pm 

-2.30pm 

£3. Bring a mug along for 

a cuppa.



CALLING ALL CRAFTERS 

We are looking for stallholders for our 

Late Summer Fete! 

Pitches are £25 or free to local charities. 

Saturday 7 September, 2-4pm 

Birkmyre Park, Kilmacolm 

To book a stall please email 

aberry@st-columbas.org 

Climate Change Awareness 

at St Columba’s 

Climate change is a topic very much on the agenda 

for governments worldwide; it is an issue in which we 

all have a vested interest and an obligation to play a 

part in halting its progression. 

Head of Humanities at St Columba’s, Robert Arbuckle, plans to put climate 

change under the spotlight this coming year after becoming one of just 

eighty teachers to complete the United Nations Climate Change Education 

Programme for British Schools. This means Mr Arbuckle is one of a 

select few accredited by the UN as a teacher of Climate Change – we are 

delighted that he will be bringing this specialist knowledge and his passion 

for the subject to our classrooms. 

Mr Arbuckle said: “I have had an interest in Climate Change since studying 

a module on Historical Geography whilst at University as it showed the 

impact of natural climate change on historical human development. I 

took this interest further through the Big History Project, a History of the 

planet, life and civilizations through to present day, with considerations for 

the future. The growing awareness of the Climate Emergency facing the 

world made me want to increase awareness of climate change amongst 

young people by showing the facts, and considering ways to address the 

problems we are currently facing. 

As one of the first schools to be involved in this rapidly expanding UN 

scheme, St Columba’s will be listed on a global platform identifying the 

schools in the UK who have teachers that have successfully completed 

the course’. 

Interested in finding out more about how St Columba’s prepares young 

people to contribute in the world as responsible citizens? Contact our 

Admissions Registrar, Moira McWhirter, on admissions@st-columbas.org 

or 01505 872238. 

29

30 


Gryffe High News 

Drama News 

Hairspray has come and gone. We are delighted 

to have had such a successful run of three shows 

with two sell out nights. We had over 70 pupils in 

total involved in our production this year as well as 

over 15 staff from the beginning of rehearsals to 

the three-night run. 

Thank you to everyone 

who has supported us 

this year, including 

Bishopbriggs High 

School and Props Hire 

Scotland for the loan 

of the giant hairspray 

can; Gem’s Delights 

for the hire of the Donut 

wall; Gryffe Wedding 

& Photography and 

Elysium Hair and Beauty for their sponsorship, as well as everyone who 

contributed a raffle prize. Finally, we could not have produced the show 

without the support of parents, whose support manifest in the fantastic 

costumes on stage. 

As we continue our endeavour to promote the arts throughout Gryffe, many 

people are asking, “What show will we do next year?” The answer.... will be 

revealed in the October newsletter! 

In the meantime, we wish everyone an enjoyable summer from everyone at 

Gryffe High Presents and Gryffe Drama. 

Back to School Bank Paisley 

As parents get ready for their children to return to school in August, please 

spare a thought for those on very limited budgets. Back to School Bank 

provides children in Paisley with new school uniforms, P.E. Kits and other 

school basics. 

The bank provides brand new school uniforms and other school essentials 

to children from Primary 1 through to 6th year. We want all children, 

regardless of their background/parental income to feel the same selfrespect, 

pride and dignity as their peers by providing them with brand new 

uniforms. 

The bank works on a referral basis from organisations like schools, 

social work, citizen’s advice and women’s aid to name but a few, to 

recognise when a family needs help providing a school uniform or part 

of a school uniform to contact us. To refer a family please email at 

backtoschoolbankpaisley@gmail.com or via our facebook page www. 

facebook.com/backtoschoolbankpaisley. 

Houston Toddlers 

We had a great last day before summer. The sun certainly had his hat 

on for our annual Teddy Bear’s Picnic/Sports day at Houston village park. 

Everyone had a great time. 

We look forward to welcoming everyone again on Thursday 15th August for 

another fun packed year at toddlers. 

We wish all the girls and boys leaving toddlers for School and Nursery the 

best of luck in their new adventure. 

We have also changed 

from using disposable 

cups for tea/coffee and 

we are now asking for 

you to bring a reusable 

cup for tea/coffee and 

toddler drink. This 

is cutting down on 

washing up, and more 

importantly, waste. 

We welcome all children age between 0 - 4 years old, together with their 

parents, grandparents or carers to join in with the games, crafts and play 

on offer. 

We meet between 9.30am - 11.30am every Thursday, so why not come 

along to the West Hall, Main street Houston PA6 7EL. (Next to Carrick 

centre.) We look forward to meeting you all. 


Fundraiser 

Praise for 

Wallace 

Primary 

School 

During the Summer 

Fayre Tom Arthur MSP 

presented our three 

marvellous little fundraisers with a motion he has put forward to Scottish 

Parliament. Pictured is Tom with Teaghan, Sophia and Ruaridh in Elderslie 

Village Hall taken during the presentation. 

The motion wording is ‘That the Parliament congratulates the Wallace 

Primary School pupils, Sophia Barr, 8, Teaghan McGinn, 7, and Ruaridh 

Barr, 6, on raising £580 towards efforts to transform Queen’s Road play 

park in Elderslie; understands that the group raised the sum by selling 

nearly-new baby items at a local Jack and Jill market; recognises that the 

money will go toward Elderslie Community Council’s plan to refurbish the 

local play park to make it a fully inclusive area with as many as 32 play 

opportunities for children and young people; commends the children on 

the dedication that they have shown to this effort by donating their own 

toys, organising donations from the local community, making t-shirts and 

presenting a cheque to the community council in person; notes that the 

group hopes to raise further funds by hosting a stall at the upcoming 

Elderslie Community Council Summer Fayre on 22nd June, as well as 

arranging a bag-pack at B&M in Paisley on 18th August; wishes them well 

in these future fundraising endeavours, and looks forward to seeing the 

park refurbishment project progress.’ 

We are extremely proud of these young villagers and would like to 

congratulate them on their efforts. As you can see we are planning a 

bag-pack at B&M in Paisley and we are looking for volunteers. If you are 

available to help out at any point between 10am and 4pm your help would 

be very much appreciated. Please call Eve on 07770 422482 or Susan on 

07780 705763. 

The Fund now stands at an amazing £9,858.87 so we would like to say 

thank you very much Ruaridh, Sophia and Teaghan! 

Planning Update 

Station Road, Bridge of Weir 

Application number 19/0456/PP has been submitted to Renfrewshire 

Council for the erection of 39 dwelling houses and associated infrastructure 

| Yard A, Station Road, Bridge of Weir. This is the area previously used 

as the railway goods yard and currently used as a coal yard business. 

The plans, which show a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced 

housing, can be viewed by going to the link: http://pl.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ 

online-applications and entering application number 19/0456/PP to view 

associated documents. 

Comments on the application can be made by clicking on the comment 

tab and filling the form online. Alternatively, write to RC Planning Dept, 

Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley PA1 1AN and mark your 

letter for the attention of Ms C Murray. 

Woodend House, Houston 

A Proposal of Application Notice has been submitted to Renfrewshire 

Council to build residential houses on the green belt land south east of 

Woodend House, and as part of this they are required to hold a public 

consultation. 

We understand that this will take place on Tuesday 27th August between 

1pm and 8pm. In addition, a second consultation will take place on 

Sunday 1st September to run from 12noon till 8pm. 

Both events will be held in the Carrick Centre, Main Street, Houston. 

The land in question is not included in Renfrewshire Council’s 2014 Local 

Development Plan, although it has been included in the proposed 2019 

Development Plan, despite being designated green belt. The community 

council, as well as a significant number of others, has asked Renfrewshire 

Council to drop its proposal to allow building on this land. 

Renfrewshire Council’s Planning reference 19/0399/NO for a Residential 

development with associated access earthworks, infrastructure and 

landscaping. Site on Southern boundary of Woodend, Houston Road, 

Houston.

SPORT 

news 



Houston United 2006 Team 

REGULAR meets 

AT H L E T I C S 

Kilbarchan Athletic Club 

- On-X, Linwood, Mondays & 

Thursdays, 7pm 

All abilities welcome. Tel: 07941 686990. 

MA R T I A L AR T S 

The Shotokan Karate Club 

Woodlands Primary, Linwood 

Mondays & Thursdays - 7pm - 8pm/8pm 

- 9pm 

www.linwoodkarate.co.uk 

Taekwon-Do - Johnstone Sports 

Complex PA5 0LD 

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6pm 

Call 07951 365166 for details. 

Clyde Judo Club 

Children and young adults from the age of 6 

-18 are welcome. (www.clydejudo.org.uk) 

Tuesday - Park Mains High School, 7pm - 9pm 

Friday - Bishopton Community Centre, 

6pm - 8pm 

SP O R T S 

Bridge of Weir Ladies 

Badminton 

Mondays - BOW Primary School, 

Warlock Road, 7.30pm - 9.30pm 

Gryffe Badminton 

Tuesdays - Strathgryffe Tennis Club, 8pm 

Greenock Hockey Club 

Wednesdays - Inverclyde Academy, 

Greenock, 6.30pm - 8pm 

Contact Liz Baldwin, mobile 07944 607005. 

Birkmyre Rugby Club, 

Kilmacolm 

Sundays - Youth Rugby Section, 11am - 1pm 

www.pitchero.com/clubs/birkmyre 

DA N C E 

Bishopton Belles Line Dancing 

Tuesdays - Our Lady of Lourdes 

Catholic Hall 6.30pm - 8.30pm 

Improver class. All welcome. Call David or 

Mair 07886 034037. 

FO O T B A L L 

5-a-side Football 

Mondays - Powerleague Paisley, 6pm 

Tel: Jim on 01505 874215; or jimbretherton@ 

aol.com 

Football Training 

Johnstone High School 

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 6pm - 9pm 

Call Ali on 07775 578795 for details. 

KE E P FIT 


More than just a fi tness class for the over 

60s. Come and join the fun we would love 

to meet you. 

Mondays - Old Gourock and Ashton 

Church, 1.30pm 

Tuesdays - Bridge of Weir, 10.30am 

Tuesdays - Greenock, 2pm 

Thursdays - Houston, 10.30am 

Classes continue throughout the summer. 

Kilbarchan class restarts - Thursday 

15th August at 2.30pm 

Anyone wishing to join any of the classes 

should contact Fiona 07811 766672 to book 

their place. 

Zumba Light 

Mondays - St Fillan’s Church, 

Kilmacolm, 10am 

Suitable for all fitness levels. Tel: 07505 

126416 for more information. 

Zumba 

Tuesdays - Cargill Centre, 

Kilmacolm, 7.45pm 

Entry level class suitable for all fitness 

levels. Come dance yourself fit at Zumba, 

no experience necessary! Contact Diane 

07943 862775. 

Boogie Effect with Jen 

Saturday - Kilmacolm Guide Hut, 

Woodrow Ave 9.10am - 10am 

A unique dance based fitness class, bringing 

together the heart-pumping fun of boogie with 

the strength and conditioning effects of dance 

techniqes to create long, lean, strong and 

healthy bodies that aren’t just the privilege of 

the pros! All welcome. Call Jennifer 07709 

340675 or f: @boogieeffectwithjen 

Pilates classes 

Mondays - St Machars Church Hall, 

Bridge of Weir, 9.30am & 10.40am 

Kilmacolm Community Centre, 6.30pm 

Tel: Yvonne 07786 224367 or yvonne@ 

clydephysiotherapy.co.uk 

Mondays - Kilellan Halls Houston, 

6.15pm - 7.15pm & 7.30pm - 8.30pm 

For more information or to book a place call 

Katie on 07972 474965. 

Wednesdays - Kilmacolm 

Community Centre, 6.15pm - 7.15pm, 

7.30pm - 8.30pm 

For more information or to book a class 

call Jennifer Sloan 07731 303709 or email 

jennifer-mcghee@hotmail.co.uk 

Katie Black Pilates and 

Physiotherapy 

Pilates classes Monday Evenings in 

Killellan Hall, Houston, 6pm - 7pm, 

7.20pm - 8.20pm and 8.30pm - 9.30pm 

To book contact Katie on 07972 474965. 

Fitsteps with Jennifer 

Monday - Kilmacolm Guide Hut, 

Woodrow Ave 6.30pm - 7.30pm 

Strictly inspired dance/fitness class that 

allows you to learn the basics of ballroom 

and latin style in a fun environment. All 

welcome. Call Jennifer 07709 340675 or f: 

@fitstepswithjennifer. 

Houston United 2006 Team Win Renfrew 

Cup 

Houston United 2006 finish off their successful first season at 11 a side 

football by winning the Renfrew Cup. They claimed victory with 2 wins and 

2 draws against very tough opposition from Renfrew FC, Westerton FC, 

Neilston FC and Neilston FC Whites. It was a great way for the team to top 

off their promotion winning season. The team are looking forward to the 

next challenge in their new division. 

We are always on the lookout for cover photos on the front of 

each issue and banners in each section of our magazine! 

Front cover: Full-length banners: Half-page banners: 

• .jpg file 

• .jpg file 

• .jpg file 

• at least 5MB • at least 3MB • at least 3MB 

• h:15cm x w:25cm • h:10cm x w:25cm • h:10cm x w:11cm 

Please send your images in to info@advertizer.co.uk along 

with an image caption and your name if you would like printed 

credit. 

31


Old Ranfurly Golf Club 

Our Junior Newton Shield 

team did really well in 

their fi rst season playing 

together. They were 

second in the league 

and are delighted that 

Securigroup sponsored 

them providing new team 

strips. We now have 

130 juniors at the club 

who are loving being involved in golf and taking part in competitions. The 

juniors range from 8 to 18yrs old and are being greatly supported by all at 

the club. 

Louis Oliver and Angus Bell completed a 

gruelling 100 hole challenge to raise funds 

for the charity ‘Beautiful Inside and Out’. 

The charity supports parents and siblings 

of victims of suicide and people struggling 

with Mental Health. Over £1,800 was 

raised for a very worthwhile charity – Well 

Done Lads. 

Grant McCalman and Scott Perry also 

played a marathon day of golf, completing 

72 holes, raising money for Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice – sore 

feet the next day? 

Another brilliant wine tasting evening was held at the club on 22nd June with 

our partners Inverarity Morton. The selection of wine and accompanying 

canapés seemed to be enjoyed by everyone who attended. 

A great turnout and enjoyable day was had at the first of our Gent’s 

Invitational. The winners on the day were Old Ran’s Neil Stewart and his 

playing partner Murray Houston from 

Ranfurly Castle. 

On 4th July 108 ladies from as far away 

as Lochgilphead and Skelmorlie came 

along to play in the Ladies Open. With 

novelty prizes at all 18 holes as well as 

the main prizes, there’s lots to play for. 

The eventual winner was Old Ran’s May 

Hunter and her partner Gillian McKinlay 

from Troon Ladies. The charity raffle 

also raised £578 for MND Scotland. 

Leo Harris-Downes 

Leo Harris-Downes rounded of the 

Gymnastics competition of the year, 

with a well deserved Bronze medal. 

Competing in Trampoline level 3 

mens 13+ at the Ricoh Arena in 

Coventry. Having previously earned 

a Silver medal for Team Scotland in 

Birmingham this was the next step 

and a Bronze medal for the British 

finals. 

We are very proud of Leo’s 

achievements. 


Brookfield Bowling Club 

Winners of the Morag Malcolm Invitation Triples 

The final was contested 

by Robertson Park and 

Bishopton. The picture 

shows the two finalists left 

to right, Hugh Fergusson, 

Janette Duncan and Matt 

Duncan from Robertson 

Park, along with Robert 

Burnett, Sadie Murphy 

and Martin Murphy from 

Bishopton. 

We also held our Pairs Plate 

competition for the Lindsay Plate 

Pictured are the winners, Alaister 

Forsyth and Marie Miller along 

with the other fi nalists, Gina Rae 

and Jim Fletcher. 

Kilmacolm Golf Club 

CONGRATULATIONS go to Megan 

Briggs who shot a 66 (6 under par) on 

8th July, bettering her own course record 

by one shot. Amazing Megan! Also 

great to see that sister Eilidh Briggs has 

been chosen for the Scottish team. 

Our Ladies have been busy playing in 

some superb conditions. 

20th June, Ladies Past Captain Putter. 

Lynda Bradley came 1st with 30 points 

closely followed by Susan Reid with 28 

points. 

25th June, our Ladies Osbourne Martin was played over 2 rounds and won 

by Stella Bowie with 69 points with Lesley Handley in 2nd place with 65 

points. 

27th June, 29 Ladies played in our Vets Salver and AT Tankard stableford 

competition. Congrats to Morag Turner with 35 points, closely followed by 

Jenny Davidson with 34 points and Sally Dillion with 32 points. 

2nd July, 21 Ladies played in the Kathleen McNeil 5 Club Stroke. Anabel 

Kane won with a net 68 and Morag Turner was 2nd with a net 75. 

16th July, Ladies Gran’s Goblet Stableford competition. Anabel Kane 

won with an impressive 41 points, closely followed by Beatrice Orr with 39 

points. 

Very well played Ladies! 

Our Ladies Open on Thursday 22nd August has a very few remaining 

spaces. A Greensome Stableford Competition, £20 per couple. If you 

are interested in playing our beautiful course please contact: Trish Brown 

07719 701060 or email, pmbardlui@icloud.com. 

30th June was our Gents Open. On a windy showery day 95 brave souls 

ventured to play in our Gents Open. The early players, whilst they had the 

wettest weather of the day, did not have to contend with the higher winds 

that developed through the afternoon. 

2 local players shared the best scores of 71 on the day. Alan Penham 

(Kilmacolm) and Andy McDonald (Greenock Whinhill) with Alan edging 

Andy on countback over the last 6 holes. In third place was Stuart Gray 

(Kilmacolm) with a 72 and James McCullagh (Kilmarnock Barrasie) picking 

up 4th place. 

Our Summer Junior Golf Camps are proving to be very popular and the kids 

seem to be having lots of fun! 

Our Junior Golf Day is Thursday 

1st August. Don’t forget to sign up 

very soon and enjoy a day of golf, 

burgers and Ice cream all for £3 

entry. 

Congratulations to Scott Newman 

on winning the Junior July Medal 

with a Net 66. 

Amazing, young 

man! 

32


Get Sporty for St. 

Vincent’s Hospice 

St. Vincent’s Hospice is hosting their 

annual charity Golf Event at the beautiful Ralston Golf Club, Paisley on 

Friday 16th August. 

The charity are delighted once again to have Arnold Clark as their main 

event sponsor along with plenty of prizes to win on the day, including 

“Nearest the Pin” kindly sponsored by Gordon Leslie Group. 

After play, teams will enjoy lunch and catch up on the scores of other 

competitors to see who will take home the St Vincent’s Hospice Golf 

Trophy. 

There are still a few team spaces available at £320 per team as well as 

sponsorship and advertising opportunities so, if you would like to be part 

of this exciting day please get in touch with our fundraising team on 01505 

705 635 or email info@svh.co.uk 

On Sunday 1st September, the family friendly “Step Up for St. Vincent’s 

Hospice” sponsored walk will return for its third year, taking place at Castle 

Semple, Lochwinnoch, at 11am. It costs just £10 for adults and £5 for 

under 16s to take part. A minimum sponsorship applies. Accessible 5k and 

tougher 10k distances available for entry. For more information, or to sign 

up please complete the application form at: http://www.svh.co.uk/eventsand-news/events/step-up-for-st-vincents 


Ranfurly Castle Ladies News 

It has been a busy time at the club with plenty of competitions being played 

over the last month as well as Team matches. In the West Renfrewshire 

League there have been two home wins. The first played against Renfrew 

saw a 4-2 win and the second against Caldwell saw a win with 3.5 games 

to 2.5. 

The Grans Trophy was played on 19th June and Marion Munro won the 

trophy with 36 points (14) while the Vets Trophy was played on 26th June 

and Karen Binning won the trophy with 39 points (19). 

The Summer Greensomes were played on 17th July where the weather 

was more like winter, but 20 ladies braved the conditions and Sheila Biggart 

and Helen Abram were the winners with 39 points. 

Two ladies have been fortunate enough to achieve a Hole in One while 

playing in competitions this month. Helen Abram hit a lovely drive at the 

5th, on 19th June, while playing in the Grans Trophy and Claire Provan 

achieved the same outcome at the 14th, on 28th June, while playing in the 

Pro-Am day. Congratulations to both. 

Summertime Fun at Strathgryffe 

The Ladies Open day Tri-Am was held on Thursday 18th July. 90 ladies 

took part in the event and the weather proved better than expected with 

only a few showers but a stiff wind later in the day. Marion Munro, Alison 

Robertson, Jean Irvine and Anne Judge did a wonderful job organising the 

day and making sure everything ran like clockwork so that all participants 

had an enjoyable day. There were an amazing number of novelty prizes 

to be played for and winners came from clubs near and far. Nearest the 

line was won by Doreen McConnell of Largs Golf Club, nearest the pin at 

the 7th was won by Pamela Smith of Elie Golf Club, nearest the pin at the 

14th won by Ann McKenzie of Old Course Ranfurly Golf Club and longest 

drive in the Bronze Division won by Alison Templeton of Ranfurly Castle 

to mention just a few! The overall winning team with a score of 78 points 

were Evy MacGregor (Ranfurly Castle), Carol Fell (Douglas Park) and Gilly 

McRae (Troon) and in second place with a score of 74 points (BIH) were 

Alison Templeton (Ranfurly Castle), Libby Pow (Ralston) and Lilias Lamont 

(Old Course Ranfurly). 

Prizes were presented by Lady Captain Jan Macnab. The raffle raised the 

wonderful sum of £413 which will be donated to Mencap Charity. 

Local youngsters have been having holiday fun with tennis and squash 

camps at Strathgryffe Tennis, Squash and Fitness Club. The tennis camps 

for children age 3 - 15 run daily, Monday-Friday from 9.30am - 5pm with 

early drop off from 8am. Each week is action-packed with coaching, 

competitions and lots of games for tennis as well as other racket sports. 

The squash camps lead by junior internationalist squash player, John 

Meehan, run daily, Monday-Friday from 9.30am -12noon for children age 

7-15. This is suitable for both beginner and regular players and is a great 

opportunity to learn the game in a fun environment. 

If you would like more information, visit our website www.strathgryffe.net or 

email: info@strathgryffe.net 

33

34 


FINANCE 

& tech 

Final Salary Pension Transfer Advice 

Who can you trust for sound advice? 

The British Steel pension scheme transfer scandal has 

highlighted the need for those considering a transfer 

of their fi nal salary benefi ts (also known as defined 

benefi t or DB) to obtain high quality professional 

advice. Unfortunately, some financial advice firms 

gave appalling advice to some steelworkers to 

transfer when they should not have done so. 

The problem that arises is “ how do you know if the 

adviser you choose has the skills, experience and knowledge to deliver 

sound advice?”. Until now there has been no quality standard or kite mark 

to help consumers choose. 

The Personal Finance Society (PFS - the professional body for financial 

planning professionals) has launched “The Pension Transfer Gold Standard” 

to help consumers fi nd a suitable adviser, where they will be assured of 

high-quality advice. Firms accredited to this Gold Standard agree to abide 

by 9 principles of professional practice, namely; 

The nine principles 

1. Helping clients understand when advice is appropriate 

2. Ensuring advice given supports the clients overall wellbeing in the 

context of their stated objectives 

3. Ensuring client understanding and acceptance of all charges 

4. Ensuring the most appropriate and updated technical skills are applied 

5. Transparent management of Conflicts of Interest 

6. Helping clients understand the cost of transferring benefits 

7. Avoiding unregulated investments and introducers* 

8. Transparency in advice processes and outcomes 

9. Promoting the Consumer Guide to the Pension Transfer Gold Standard 

So, if you are considering final salary pension advice, use a firm that is 

accredited to the Pension Transfer Gold Standard. 

Affluent FP has been accredited by the PFS as a holder of The Pension 

Transfer Gold Standard. We conduct DB advice through Pension Transfer 

Solutions, a specialist part of our business. 


Gryffe Valley Rotary – 

Presidential 

Hand-over 

At the club meeting on Wednesday 3rd 

July 2019, Hamid Khatib was installed as 

President for the new Rotary year 2019- 

2020. He was presented with his chain 

of office by outgoing President Andrew 

Macleman. Andrew expressed his thanks 

to the team who had supported him during the year and wished Hamid 

and his new team all the best. Hamid presented Andrew with his Past- 

President’s badge and a decanter as a thank-you from the club members. 

Rotary President 

Hamid Khatib is a chartered engineer who has spent his professional career 

in the oil and gas industry, mostly with Britoil and BP, latterly in engineering 

management. He developed a deep love for the Scottish outdoors and 

took up sailing, skiing and hill walking (completing the Scottish Munros, 

Kilimanjaro and Mont Blanc!). He and his wife Wendy enjoy travelling and 

seeing as much of the world as possible. Hamid joined the Gryffe Valley 

Rotary in February 2017 and has been elected as President for 2019/20. 

He is one of a growing number of very active retired people who fi nd Rotary 

both stimulating and worthwhile and is keen to encourage others to follow 

his path. 

District Governor Jimmy Johnson added his congratulations to Hamid 

and Andrew and to the club membership on their achievements, including 

passing the milestone of £250,000 funds raised. He urged the club to 

advertise its successes more widely because the achievements of one club 

can inspire others. All the clubs in the West of Scotland are urged by Jimmy 

to explore new avenues to increase/extend membership, including setting 

up satellite clubs, clubs for students and ethnic groups, and partnerships 

with similar-minded organisations. 

SPEAKER MEETINGS 

Wednesday 19th June - Zia Hotiana introduced Claire Pearson, who had 

been a Social Worker for 14 years. After time spent in Lanarkshire, Claire 

has been working in Renfrewshire, in Older People Services for those with 

Mental Health and Dementia issues. 

Claire delivered a detailed Powerpoint presentation on Social Work as a 

profession, focussing on Dementia and how Social Workers can support 

both people with it and their carers. She emphasised that Dementia is 

not itself a disease, but the term describes a range of symptoms present 

when the brain stops working. There are about 93,000 in Scotland with 

Dementia and over 100 different types – many very rare. Claire described 

in detail the three most common types – Alzheimer’s Disease, Vascular 

Dementia and Dementia with Lewy Bodies. She went on to describe the 

support available for the sufferers and their families, including devices 

such as medication dispensers, day clocks, GPS trackers, fl ood detectors, 

movement sensors etc. Claire emphasised the importance of knowing how 

to access support. After a very polished presentation and a few questions 

ably fielded, President Andrew asked the Members to thank Claire in the 

traditional way. 

Wednesday 26th June - John McGregor a member of the Renfrewshire 

Family History Society, a charity founded in 1999 to promote the study of 

Family History in the county, was introduced by Ian Jackson. John gave 

a detailed account of various famous local families including the brothers 

Thomas and Robert Russell whose sister Agnes commissioned and funded 

the building of the Russell Institute in Paisley in their memory. David 

Fairbairn thanked John for a most interesting talk. 

Dinner Speaker Meetings 

Guests who are interested to hear the speaker or find out about Rotary 

are welcome at these meetings on Wednesdays at 7pm at the River Inn. 

Please email gryffevalleyrotary@gmail.com by Monday lunchtime to make 

arrangements for attendance. 

7th August- Robert Ferguson - “Work of the National Art Collection Fund” 

- guest of Hamid Khatib. Robert advises clients in the acquisition, disposal 

and maintenance of collections of antiques, decorative objects, paintings and 

books and prints especially oriental items. 

21st August - Tony van Breugel - “In praise of Scotland” - guest of Hugh 

Kerr. Since moving to Scotland from the Netherlands in 1968, Tony has been 

involved with creating art, fi rst as an art director in the advertising business, 

followed by owning a design studio and subsequently as a freelance artist 

and illustrator. Now semi-retired, he spends his time on Arran at Braehead 

cottage and shows his love for the island and Scotland by producing decorative 

illustrated maps, among a variety of subjects including mounted prints and 

illustrated books for children.


Local Woman loses out in Ransomware 

Scam 


A 36 year old Inverclyde woman is counting the cost after falling victim to 

a ransomware phone scam. The woman, who asked not to be named, 

issued this warning to others, “I got a call out of the blue from a man who 

sounded Indian but said his name was Paul Collins. He said he worked for 

Avast and that my IP address (Internet protocol – the unique number that 

identifi es all electronic hardware linked to the Internet) had been stolen. 

“I used to have Avast (anti-virus software) on my computer so I thought it 

must be a genuine call. He said that my email address was being used 

for fraudulent activity and that I needed to give him remote access to my 

computer to secure it. He said that my Microsoft security software was 

missing. 

“The next minute my laptop was locked. He said the hackers had locked 

it and that I would need to pay him £162 to unlock it. I paid him and he 

removed the passwords. I called Virgin afterwards and they said that my 

email had been secure all along. 

“My bank won’t refund the money because I made the payment. I’ve had 

to change all my bank details. I can’t find these people anywhere. The 

London number that came up on the phone is dead. The payment details 

are for a company in Sydney, Australia, not Avast, and I can’t get in touch 

with them either.” 

Councillor Michael McCormick, Convener of Inverclyde Council’s 

Environment & Regeneration Committee, said, “This case features all the 

hallmarks of a scam. Genuine companies do not phone individuals out-ofthe-blue 

to tell them there is a problem with their computer. 

“Our advice is to be very wary of anyone who asks you to give them remote 

access to your computer. If you use your computer for online banking or 

Internet shopping, you are giving them access to all you bank and personal 

information. If they lock your computer, as happened in this case, you could 

also lose all your personal fi les. Make sure Windows Remote Desktop and 

Windows Remote Assistance are turned off. This will help to stop hackers 

taking over your machine. 

Rights of Access Over Other’s Land by Dallas McMillan, Solicitors 

Different legal rights exist allowing people to be on or crossing land owned 

by others:- 

1. Right of Access 

(a) Informal right granted someone by land-owner (eg permission to walk/ 

drive down owner’s driveway). Right is personal: does not transfer when 

grantor right sells his property. 

(b) “Servitude” right of access: created either by (i) title deed expressly 

giving some a right of access, or (ii) a person “enjoying” same right of 

access for 20 years continuously and openly. 

• Servitudes are “real” rights: when property sold, new owner grants same 

right over his/her land. 

• Can be for pedestrian and/or vehicular access. 

2. Public Rights of Way 

Public rights to cross (not be on) another’s land. Can be for pedestrian 

and/or vehicular use. To exist, need (a) public places where right of way 

starts/fi nishes, (b) a defi nite line/route, continuous from start to finish, and 

(c) usually continuous use of right of way by public for 20 years. 

Scotways has register of established public rights of way. 

3. Statutory “Right to Roam” 

Created by Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003. Rights given to everyone (a) 

to cross land and (b) be on land for (i) recreational purposes, (ii) carrying on 

a relevant educational activity, (iii) carrying on (commercially/for profi t) an 

activity which the person can also do not for profit. 

• Access rights have to be exercised “responsibly”, (cf Scottish Outdoor 

Access Code. 

• Access rights apply to all land, except areas giving occupier privacy or 

shelter. (eg a normal garden surrounding a house). 

• Access rights excluded when in a vehicle, or when with a dog or other 

animal not under proper control. 

• Local authorities can issue enforcement orders preventing owners/ 

occupiers obstructing statutory access rights. 

• Members of the public can also seek court orders preventing interference 

with their access rights. 

LITIGATION TEAM OF THE YEAR 

Law Awards of Scotland 2018 

35


OUTDOORS 


Bat 

Night 

Kilmacolm Horticultural Society 

Kilmacolm Horticultural 

Society is celebrating its 

140th anniversary year, the 

annual Flower Show is the 

highlight of our year, we look 

forward to welcoming you to 

this special event on the 7th 

September. The Show will be 

held in the New Community 

Centre, Kilmacolm, doors 

open to the public at 11am. 

Once judging of all the class entries is completed, A Gardener’s Question 

Time at 2.15pm in the main hall will precede the Prizegiving at 3pm. 

Exhibitors are stretched this year with the changing weather patterns, but 

we are confi dent that the Show will be a stunning event. 

Our summer outing to Drummond Castle gardens at Crieff, and Kilbryde 

Castle gardens at Dunblane was a day of contrasts in style, both estates 

won the admiration of our members, a day worthy of highlighting our 140th 

anniversary events. 

Visit our website www.kilmacolmhorticultural.com for details of the Show 

Schedule available now, and details of the varied work of the Society. 

7.30pm – late (Bring a torch) 

Friday 23rd August 

Guided Walk 

Come and learn about bats, listen to 

our presentation on these amazing 

creatures, this will be followed by a 

walk out onto the reserve, with bat 

experts and bat detectors to listen 

to the bats chattering with each 

other. Please book, as places are 

limited and due to the popularity 

of this event, please pay at time of 

booking. 

Adults: £6; Children: £4.80 (RSPB 

members: £4.80/£3.80) 

Inspiring everyone to give nature a 

home 

rspb.org.uk/lochwinnoch 

The RSPB is a registered charity in 

England & Wales 207076, in Scotland 

SC037654 

The last few weeks must be one of the best times of the 

year for colour in the garden. Further south it may be 

June, but here it seems to take until July for everything 

to be at its best. Even a walk along the cycle track 

reveals an abundance of wild flowers in full bloom, 

admittedly interspersed with a few garden escapees. 

At Colourful Kilmacolm we aim to bring some of this 

fl oral exuberance into the heart of the village and once 

again we have been heartened by the admiring glances and 

complimentary remarks of passers-by. If you see our teams out watering 

and weeding give them a word of encouragement. 

Remember, too, that Colourful Kilmacolm is open to all. For more information 

visit www.colourfulkilmacolm.org.uk or phone Peter (01505 872448) or Liz 

(07963 973031). 

36



L o c a l 

environmental 

charity Eadha 

Enterprises 

are excited to announce the development of a new 

tree nursery site near Bishopton. The development, 

which will create a hub for the organisation has been 

long awaited, with Eadha’s tree stock scattered across 

a number of temporary sites including various spaces 

in Lochwinnoch over the last seven years. In particular, 

we thank the Lochwinnoch residents and Community 

Garden group and Parklea Branching Out in Port 

Glasgow for their support over this time and appreciate 

their patience. 

The new site has a polytunnel and storage space for 

trees including our national aspen clone collection as 

well as lots of other rare native trees and plants such 

as montane willows and juniper. These trees will be 

propagated for local woodland and habitat creation 

projects and also supply national projects. Notably 

the hub will play a key part in an ambitious landscape 

scale rewilding project (“Yearnstane”) which Eadha is 

launching with partners Starling Learning for an area 

spanning North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire and Inverclyde 

and focusing on the Renfrewshire Hills. The nursery 

will propagate key plants including those that have 

become locally extinct for reintroduction in ecological 

regeneration projects. A development phase of the 

Yearnstane Project supported by Woodland Trust 

Scotland, Rewilding Britain and the John Muir Trust is 

being undertaken including feasibility studies, mapping 

and consultations. 

It is also hoped that the hub will provide an important 

community education and training resource where 

volunteers can learn about native tree conservation 

and propagation. We are grateful for the corporate 

support we have received to make this a reality right 

down to the PPE supplied by Keir Construction. A film 

produced by Studio27 Productions about the nursery 

development can be viewed here: https://is.gd/MvMzr4. 

We are seeking new recruits to join us to help develop 

the Yearnstane project. 

Peter Livingstone e: peter@eadha.co.uk 07968 745196 

www.eadha.co.uk @eadhaaspen @yearnstane 

Bridge of Weir Hillwalkers 

Another busy month in August for BOWHWers as a hardy band head for the 

Alps to Saas Fee in Switzerland and there will be a report on that to come. 

We are also taking the West Highland Way from Inveroran to the refurbished 

King’s House hotel on 19th August and hope to reschedule the Corrour outing 

for the last Monday in the month. 

Our latest outing was from Drymen to Balmaha by way of the WHW and included 

an ascent 

Conic hill 

of Conic Hill 

which was 

like a meeting 

of the United 

Nations and Stewart compared it to Argyle Street. 

We love a quiet hill and this was not a quiet hill! 

Anyone interested: donwwsmith@gmail.com 

For more info about the reserve or any of 

our events, please call 01505 842 663 or 

email lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk. 

Right now our paths and trails are lined 

with beautifully scented and coloured 

flowers like meadowsweet, oxeye daisies and 

cornfl ower as well as lots of lush green vegetation. 

There are birds singing and insects aplenty filling the 

air and buzzing about. It’s a great time to visit! 

Why not make the absolute most of your wildlife 

watching this summer, by treating yourself or a loved 

one to a new set of binocular or even a telescope and 

coming to our Binocular & Telescope Open Day (10am 

- 4pm) Saturday 3rd & Sunday 4th August. 

We are always improving our reserve. Our family 

volunteering has been doing some amazing work 

recently. They have revamped our wildlife homes 

and fairy trail, planted wildfl ower seeds, created a bee 

bank and loads more. These exciting days give you 

wildlife knowledge and practical know-how, giving you 

the skills to give nature a home in your own garden 

too. This month our free Family volunteering day will 

be held on Saturday 24th August (1pm - 3.30pm). Give 

us a call to secure your spot on this popular event. 

Explorer Challenges: Self-led activities in the 

summer holidays 

• Bee Amazed! Sat 27th July - Friday 2nd August. 

• Go on a Unicorn Hunt! - Saturday 3rd August - 

Friday 9th August 

Are you passionate about Conservation? We are 

looking for: Education Volunteers, Visitor information 

volunteers, Administration volunteers, Practical 

conservation volunteers, Retail volunteers. 

For bookings and for more info: 

Email: lochwinnoch@rspb.org.uk Tel: 01505 842663 

The RSPB is a registered charity in England & Wales 

207076, in Scotland SC037654. 

37



Welcome to Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park 

It may well be the summer holidays but it doesn’t mean 

that things get quieter for the Ranger Service here at 

Clyde Muirshiel. The Rangers have been busy working 

with the public to ensure everyone enjoys their visits to 

the Park across all our sites. 

At Lunderston Bay 37 members of the public joined 

us in our regular beach cleans as part of the surveys 

organised by the Marine Conservation Society. All in 

all 14 bags weighing in at 14kg were collected. We 

collected 1,935 items of rubbish, with almost 60% of 

the items being plastic. If you are heading to the beach 

why not do your bit and collect three items of rubbish 

on your visit and hopefully we can help stem the tide on 

pollution. At Muirshiel the Rangers have been helping 

the 1st Old Kilpatrick Boys Brigade with their Queen’s 

Award. The group have been helping with pathing 

and clearing drainage ditches at Muirshiel, pulling 

Himalayan Balsam at Castle Semple and litter picking 

at Loch Thom. They carried out 6 full days volunteering 

and have been great fun to work with in the short time 

that we had them. 

Wildlife wise we have been seeing lots of Goldenringed 

Dragonflies patrolling around Muirshiel and the 

Greenock Cut and our feeders have been busy with 

fledgling birds. 

The adult volunteer group and Community Networks 

have also been busy filling in the avenue potholes yet 

again as well as helping clear out our wood store. 

We are still having problems at Castle Semple with 

irresponsible visitors camping overnight and leaving 

their mess behind them. There have been several 

incidents of dogs chasing livestock with one local farmer 

having to replace a run of fencing after his cattle were 

chased into it by a dog, with several beasts sustaining 

injuries. Please make sure you control your dogs if 

near livestock. 

We have been working on the route for our annual 10km 

trail run, known affectionately as the ‘Bog Stomp’. It 

takes place on Sunday 1st September along the tracks 

and trails above the Greenock Cut, we would appreciate 

as many online bookings as soon as possible. It only 

costs £20 and you do get a buff and a medal - funds 

raised go to Erskine. 

More Info… 

For details of activity courses and Ranger events 

including Doors Open Day and guided walks please 

look on our website www.clydemuirshiel.co.uk and or 

follow us on social media. You can also email us at 

rangers.castlesemple@clydemuirshiel.co.uk. 

Details can be found on the Park’s website www.clydemuirshiel.co.uk/tag-n-track or by emailing rangers. 

castlesemple@clydemuirshiel.co.uk or facebook.com/ClydeMuirshielRegionalPark 

or Twitter @Clydemuirshiel pages and Instagram pages. 

SINGING IN THE RAIN 

One of the most arduous 

tasks facing our Group every 

summer is ensuring that all of 

our plants get enough water. 

This year, we’ve invested in 

new hosereels; lighter, more 

portable and more hardwearing than we’ve had 

in the past. And thanks to several residents 

and businesses throughout the village, we have 

access to some strategically located water 

outlets. Things are a wee bit easier now. 

Our planters need to be watered even if it’s 

been raining. That’s because the plants 

growing in them are not in direct contact with 

the ground. All of the street planters, barrier and 

post-baskets have reservoirs holding between 

50 - 200 litres (11 - 45 gallons) of water. In 

summer, when the plants are at their best, they 

form an ‘umbrella’ that prevents rainwater from 

reaching the soil in the containers. We’ve got 

to go out and top up the reservoirs to ensure 

that the roots get water. So if you see us out 

watering before, after or sometimes even during 

rain, you’ll know why. 

Another cue for a song is that it seems our 

proposed Heritage Garden, part-funded by 

the Bridge of Weir Historical Society, has 

emerged from the maze that is the Council’s 

legal department. There’s been a few ‘t’s to be 

crossed and ‘i’s dotted (or was it the other way 

round) but there is now a glimmer of light at the 

end of the tunnel. 

BoW Horticultural Society 

Looking forward to the Flower Show on Saturday 

31st August? The venue will be the Primary 

School in Warlock Road and doors will open at 

12.15pm. All classes are open to everyone, not 

just members. You can still get a Show Schedule 

from Show Secretary, Anne on 01505 228625. 

Entries can be brought in on Friday evening or Saturday morning. 

Short entry forms are then completed and entries placed on the 

benches for judging. All you need to know is in the Schedule. 

The Show has been updated to reflect current trends so, if you 

are growing something new or are just pleased with your plants 

or produce, why not share and enter these in the Show? 

By now, pumpkin growers should be seeing yellow fl owers on 

their plants and, hopefully, small pumpkins are forming. These 

are thirsty creatures so keep them well watered and add tomato 

fertiliser for a boost. 

In addition to Show preparations, gardeners are busy 

responding to this changeable summer. Opinions are divided 

over watering plants during hot, dry periods but young bedding 

will wilt without some TLC and so will shallow rooted plants, 

e.g., rhododendrons. When plants are stressed their leaves will 

droop. They will respond better to a good drench rather than 

short bursts. Planters and hanging baskets need extra vigilance: 

check the water is not running off the leaves and over the edges 

and direct water under leaves and around the roots. Sprinklers 

should be directed over plants in shade, giving a light spray for a 

long time. Wet flowers and leaves will burn in the sun and buds 

will suffer “budding” which is when outer petals dry and harden, 

leaving the flower trapped inside. If these are peeled back and 

the petals teased open, the flower may recover. 

See you on the 31st! 

38


PET 

news 


Re-homing Pets 

Linda, Audrey and Karen 

This trio didn’t have the best start and were very 

scared when they first arrived in our care. They 

have came a long way since then and have now 

realised that human contact is not as scary as 

they once thought. 

These three girls will be looking for a large cage 

Linda which has plenty of fun things for them to get up 

to and lots of places where they can curl up and nap together. 

Susan, Moretti and Pterri 

These three lovely girls have not had the best 

start in life and were very scared when they first 

arrived in our care. They have since come a 

long way and can now be handled happily. 

Susan and her sisters are very inquisitive and 

love to know what is going on around them. Susan 

They also enjoy snuggling up together in their little hammock bed. 

They will need provided with a large cage with plenty of beds and toys 

to keep them entertained. These girls will also need lots of time outwith 

their cage as they love to explore! 

To contact the centre about any animals, please call 03000 999 999 

or visit www.scottishspca.org/rehoming 

PLEASE NOTE: By time of publishing the pets featured may have been 

rehomed but there are plenty others looking for homes. 

Local Animal Charities 

Scottish SPCA 

0141 882 1688 | www.scottishspca.org 

Dogs Trust Glasgow 

0141 773 5130 | www.dogstrust.org.uk 

Cats Protection 

0141 779 3341 | www.cats.org.uk 

Microchip Details 

If you have changed any of your contact details such 

as your phone number or you have moved house, 

don’t forget to update your pets microchip details. 

It could be what helps reunite you with them if they 

are lost or stolen. 

Indentibase 

Petidentity UK 

Petlog 

Pet Protect 

Pettrac 

Smarttrac 

0190 448 7600 

0800 975 1960 

0129 633 6579 

0800 077 8558 

0800 652 9977 

0844 542 0999 

Give a Dog a Bone 

www.giveadogabone.net 

Any Dog’il Do 

www.anydogildorescue.org 

Harvey’s Army Scotland 

harveysarmy.com 

Johnstone Cat Rescue Equine Rescue and Education SCIO 

01505 337321 

www.equinerescueandeducation.co.uk 

Hessilhead Wildlife Rescue 

facebook.com/eraescio 

01505 502415 | www.hessilhead.org.uk 

Lamont Farm 

The Underheugh Ark Rescue 

www.lamontfarm.org.uk 

www.underheugharkrescue.co.uk 

These centres and many more are always on the lookout for donations and 

fundraising. If you can help, please get in touch with them. 

Beach Safety for 

Dogs 

Summer is here and we can look 

forward to spending some more 

time in the great outdoors with 

our furry companions. Many dogs 

thoroughly enjoy a good day at the 

beach but there are some important 

safety considerations to ensure 

your beach visit doesn’t result in a 

vet visit! 

Important points to remember 

include : 

• Check the tide times before you 

go. 

• Take plenty of poo bags. 

• Make sure your dog has a collar, ID tag and preferably a microchip. 

• Don’t assume your dog can swim. All dogs have to learn to swim just 

like us. If your dog is not used to swimming then the sea is not the best 

place to start so make sure he doesn’t get out of his depth. 

• Dogs will drink salt water, but it can make them vomit, or worse lead to 

potentially fatal salt poisoning. Ensure you have plenty of fresh water to 

keep you both hydrated. 

• Consider a life vest if you are planning to swim, sail or surf with your 

dog. Waves and currents can quickly exhaust your dog, especially in 

cold water. 

• Consider a doggie sunscreen – especially for dogs with thin or pale fur 

and apply to areas such as the nose and ears. 

• Don’t overdo it. Running on sand is more tiring than on grass, so don’t 

expect your dog to be able to run and play for as long as he might on 

his normal walk. 

• Make sure your dog has a shady area to rest in and remember that sand 

can be scorching on paws on a hot day. 

• Be careful to avoid heat stroke – watch for signs of overheating such 

as excessive panting, drooling, coordination problems, vomiting and/or 

diarrhoea and collapse. 

• At the end of the day check your dog over thoroughly for cuts and 

scrapes, rinse him thoroughly to 

remove salt and sand from his coat 

and paws and dry him to ensure 

he does not get chilled. 

Most importantly, have fun! 

39



BUSINESS classified 

TRADES AND SERVICES 

HEALTHCARE/BEAUTY 

CHILDCARE 

H o u s t o n r e g i s t e r e d 

childminders. For an 

informal chat to find your 

best childcare, call Elizabeth 

Waddell T: 01505 614925 

BUSINESS 

Kilmacolm/Quarriers area 

registered childminders. 

P/time or F/time vacancies 

for u-5’s and after school. 

T: 01505 873839. 

PROPERTY TO LET 

SITUATIONS VACANT 

MISCELLANEOUS 

SALES 

& wants 

ADVERTISING RATES 

PRIVATE SALES ONLY 

UP TO £500 

FREE 

£501 to £1000 £5.00 

OVER £1000 - Call for details 

MAXIMUM 40 words 

Email your items to info@advertizer.co.uk 

or fill in our online form at 


BUSINESS classified 

ADVERTISING RATES 

TRADES/SERVICES/PROPERTY/CARS 

BOXED AD £8.00* per column cm 

PHOTO £8.00* (car sales only) 

* Prices subject to VAT 

The Business Advertisements (Disclosure) Order 1977 - the Law requires that Advertisers selling goods 

in the course of a business MUST include the word Trader, Dealer, Agent, Breeder or appropriate 

wording in the Advertisement to distinguish from private advertisers. 

40


SALES & wants Emergency 

ITEMS FOR SALE 

Baby Equipment 

Silver cross linear freeway travel system. 

Pram (converts to pushchair), car seat, 

ISOFIX base, foot muff and rain covers. 

Excellent condition. From smoke and pet 

free home. RRP £600, selling for £125. Tel: 

01505 872800. 

Mothercare Darlington fi xed side cot. Very 

good condition. From smoke and pet free 

home. £45. Tel: 01505 872800. 

Philips Avent Steriliser. Rarely used, excellent 

condition. Including classic and natural 

bottles. From smoke and pet free home. 

£10. Tel: 01505 872800. 

Wee Ride Front Mounted Childrens Bike Seat. 

Good Condition. £15. Tel: 01505 872800. 

John Lewis Baby Travel Cot. Suitable 

from birth to 3years old (up to weight 

13.6kg and height 85cm tall.) Occasional 

use in grandparents house. Very good 

condition with instructions. £50. Tel: 07814 

681715. 

Travel cot, rarely used, in very good condition. 

£20. Tel: 07548 987051. 

Mothercare highchair. Used only at granny’s 

house. £10. Tel: 07548 987051. 

Household & Garden 

Laura Ashley single Mattress (open coil 

spring) hardly used, excellent condition. 

£30. Text or call: 07739 998906. 

Six M&S light oak dining chairs, upholstered 

dark blue. £10 each or £50 set. Tel: 01505 

351001. 

Butterfl y White Table with 4 Chairs. 6 months 

old. £80. Tel: 07597 923000. 

VonShef Dry Fryer. Hardly used. £15. Tel: 

07930 611782. 

George Forman Grill. £10. Tel: 07930 

611782. 

Junior Bed with Mattress. £10. Tel: 07831 

152086. 

Honda UMR 425 Backpack Brushcutter. 4 

tooth blade and line feeder cutting. Never 

used, still in box. Save 30% on new price. 

£325. Tel: 07930 611782. 

Sports 

Used golf balls, but good clean condition, 

Titleist 1, 2, 3 & 4. Many Pro V 1’s. 2 x 

boxes of 12 balls. £10 per box. Also Srixon 

1, 2, 3 & 4, 1 x box of 12 ball, £5. Tel: 

01505 872800. 

Table tennis set, 8 foot with bats and balls, 

immaculate condition. £70. Tel: 07831 

152086. 

Old Raleigh Racing Cycle. Good running 

order. £10. Tel: 07784 578343. 

A number of fi shing rods and reels. View 

same. Make an offer. Tel: 07784 578343. 

Zoggs Child Bobin Swim Jacket. Rarely used, 

VGC. £10. Tel: 01505 872800. 

Gul size 7 wetsuit shoes. VGC. Rarely Worn 

£10. Tel: 01505 872800. 

O’Neill Adult TFX Lumbar Flex Full Wetsuit. 

VGC. Medium. £50. Tel: 01505 872800. 

Gul 3x3 Shorty Adult Wetsuit. Medium. VGC. 

£25. Tel: 01505 872800. 

Other Items 

Brand new steel car wheel 6JX15H2 and new 

Jinyu tyre 185/60 R15. Stored as spare 

wheel only. £80. Tel: 07736 067169. 

Extension Ladder - 2 sections. Closed 3.3m 

(approx), Extended 5.9m (approx). £40. 

Tel: 01505 872984. 

Ladder - 1 section, 14 rung, length 3.8m 

(approx). £25. Tel: Tel: 01505 872984. 

4 x Mercedes C Class winter wheels and 

tyres. Good condition, were on a C220 

estate car. Must be uplifted. £160. Tel: 

01475 541304 . 

Collector 50p coins a selection. Tel: 07831 

152086. 

Hummel Goelbel Figurines (West Germany). 

Perfect condition. £20 each. 3 for £50. Tel: 

07784 578343. 

Abru Aluminium Extension Ladder. Closed 

height 11’8”. Extended 21’5”. Weight: 

28lbs. Perfect condition. £50. Tel: 07784 

578343. 

Black Decker Workmate 400. £10. Tel: 

07784 578343. 

Invacare Lynx Scooter. Good condition and 

in full working order. £275 ono. Tel: 01505 

324367. 

WANTED ITEMS 

Local lily grower requires the use of a 

greenhouse/polytunnel in Kilmacolm area in 

return for light gardening duties. Tel: Vince 

01505 872082. 

Cash paid for Vinyl Records and Music CDs 

(a few or a lot). Tel: 01505 324683 or 

07765 115347. 

Westclox Big Ben alarm clock. Call 07756 

981917. 

Old records Wanted 45`s & LP`s CASH Paid. 

Tel: 07710 777571. 

CONTENT OF THE GRYFFE ADVERTIZER 

CANNOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PRIOR CONSENT FROM THE 

PUBLISHER - 

The Gryffe Advertizer is a magazine published by The Gryffe Advertizer Ltd 

Advertising throughout The Gryffe Advertizer: 

Definitions: “Standards” means the British Code of Advertising Practice and the provisions 

of any law applicable to advertising including, but not limited to, the Trade Descriptions Act, 

1968, the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Control of Misleading Advertisements Regulations 

1988, the Financial Services Act 1986, the Business Advertisement (Disclosure) Order 1977 

and all amendments and replacements. 

It is hereby agreed that: 

• The placing by the Advertising Client of an Advertisement is deemed to be acceptance of 

these Conditions of Acceptance of Advertising. 

• All Advertisements in this Publication must not contravene the Standards. 

• Insertion of Advertisements and/or Editorial is strictly at the discretion of the Publisher. 

• The Publisher shall not be liable for any loss or damage incurred by the Advertising Client as 

a result of any failure, negligence or omission by any party in the course of the distribution 

or circulation of the Publication in which the Advertisement is scheduled to appear. 

• In the event of any error, misprint or omission by the Publisher in the printing of an 

Advertisement, the Publisher will either re-insert the advertisement, adjust the cost 

or provide a refund. This does not apply if the Advertisement has been approved 

by the Advertising Client prior to publication. The total liability of the Publisher for 

such an occurrence shall not exceed the amount of a full refund for that particular 

Advertisement. 

• The Advertising Client agrees to indemnify the Publisher in respect of all costs, damages 

or other charges falling upon the Publisher as the result of legal actions or threatened 

legal actions arising from the publication of the Advertisement, or any one or more of the 

series of Advertisements, published in accordance with the copy instructions supplied 

to the Publisher. 

• Readers are reminded that when purchasing items or services advertised in the Publication 

that the Publisher cannot be held in any way responsible for the quality or correctness of 

the items or services included in the Advertisement. 

Editorial throughout The Gryffe Advertizer: 

The opinions of the Contributors to this Publication are not necessarily the official views of 

the Publisher. The Publisher reserves the right to edit or refuse any material submitted for 

publication. 

useful 

numbers 

Services 

Police/Fire/Ambulance 999 

or 101 (non-emergency) 

Gas Emergency 0800 111 999 

Scottish Water 0800 077 8778 

SEPA 0300 99 66 99 

Floodline 0345 988 1188 

Pollution Hotline 0800 80 70 60 

Flytipping 0845 2 30 40 90 

Hospitals 

NHS 24 111 

Royal Alexandra 0141 887 9111 

Inverclyde Royal 01475 633777 

Queen Elizabeth 0141 201 1100 

Gartnavel 0141 211 3000 

Councils 

Inverclyde 01475 717171 

www.inverclyde.gov.uk/ 

Renfrewshire 0300 300 0300 

www.renfrewshire.gov.uk/ 

Police 

Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 

Police Scotland 01786 289070 

Roads 

R.A.L.F 0800 37 36 35 

Traveline 0871 200 2233 

Helplines 

Alcoholics Anon 0800 9177 650 

Childline 0800 1111 

Citizens Advice 0808 800 1007 

Consumer Direct 0808 800 9060 

Financial Conduct Authority 

0800 111 6768 

Missing People 116 000 

ParentLine 0800 028 2233 

Renfrewsh’ Care 24 0141 314 7148 

or 0141 314 7147 

Samaritans 116 123 

Trading Standards 03454 04 05 06 

Victim Support 0800 160 1985. 


local public 

defibrillator 

sites 

Bridge of Weir & Quarriers 

Co-Op Bridge of Weir 

Old Ranfurly Golf Club 

Ranfurly Castle Golf Club 

William Quarriers House @ 

entrance to Faith Avenue 

Country View, Quarriers 

The Gate House, Bridge of Weir 

Leather Works 

Houston & Brookfield 

Outside Church Hall, Main Street, 

Houston 

Co-Op Houston 

Strathgryffe Squash & Fitness 

Club (Reception) 

Brookfield Village Hall Main 

Entrance 

Kilmacolm 

Kilmacolm Golf Club 

St Columba’s Senior School 

Gym, Birkmyre Park, Kilmacolm 

Kilmacolm Library (at rear of 

New Surgery) 

Kilbarchan, Johnstone & Linwood 

Scout Hall, Kilbarchan 

Kilbarchan Bowling Club 

Onyx Leisure Centre, Linwood 

Spar, Clippens Road, Linwood 

Keystore, Spateston 

Keystore, Corseford 

Johnstone Town Hall 

Bishopton 

The Cornerstone, Greenock 

Road 

Bishopton Community Centre 

There is limited access to the 

defibrillators, please check with 

venue for full details. 

41



BUSINESS directory 

Accountants & Financial 

Affluent Financial Planning . . 34 

CLA Accountancy Services . . . 34 

F Christie Accounting . . . . . . 34 

Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Stewart Independent Financial . . 1 

Architectural Services 

CHG Architecture Ltd . . . . . . . 7 

Grid Design Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 7 

Art, Gifts & Flowers 

Freelance Florist . . . . . . . . . 15 

Kilbarchan Guide Centre . . . . 25 

Automotive Services 

ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 

Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Bathrooms 

Affordable Luxuries . . . . . . . 7 

G Woods Bathrooms . . . . . . . . . 6 

Instyle Kitchens & Bathrooms . . 5 

Bedrooms 

Burndale Workshop . . . . . . . . . 21 

Blacksmith & Metalwork 

McLaughlan Metal Fabrication . . 8 

Building Services 

A O’Hare - Building Services . . 5 

BOW Stone Works . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Bridge of Weir Roofing . . . . . 6 

I & J Building & Roofing . . . 2 

James Kerr Joiner . . . . . . . . . 16 

JBC Joiners and Builders . . . 27 

KC Building & Roofing . . . . . . 4 

Kilellan Roofing . . . . . . . . . . 15 

M Addison Joiners & Builders . . 3 

MBS Roofing & Building . . . . . 13 

Old Mill Chimneys . . . . . . . . . 4 

Rukeri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

SMG Roofing & Building . . . . . 2 

SW Scott - Joiners & Builders . . 14 

Thomas McMaster & Son Ltd . . 29 

Care Services & Homes 

Home Instead Senior Care . . . 23 

Catering 

Karen Rankin Catering . . . . . . 15 

Charity 


Cleaning & PowerWash 

Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

DS Cleaning (Windows) . . . . . . 17 

Eclipse Deep Clean . . . . . . . . . 3 

Fastclean Scotland . . . . . . . . . 15 

Gryffe Roofing & Cleaning . . 6 


Nutech Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Platinum Cleaning Services . . 23 

Computer, Web & 

Graphic Design 

ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Education 

St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 29 

Contact us 

Electricians 

Delta Electrical Services . . 12 

GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

JDPS All Trades . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Lamont Electricians . . . . . . . . 3 

MAS Electrical & Security . . 2 

Russell Milne Electrician . . 12 

Fencing 

Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 


Firewood & Logs 

LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 


W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Funeral Services 

Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 9 

John Roach Funeral Directors . . 4 

Garage Doors & Gates 

Garolla Roller Shutter Doors . . 11 

Garden Service & Design 

3D Garden Design . . . . . . . . . . 36 

A Peebles Landscape Contractor . . 37 

Apple Tree Gardens . . . . . . . . . 38 


Craig Kennedy Gardening . . . . 37 

Digby Groundcare . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Glenmoss Landscapes . . . . . . . . 38 


M&M Garden Services . . . . . . . . 38 

MJ Lawnmowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

R C Garden Services . . . . . . . . 36 

R Williams Tree Services . . . 37 

W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

West of Scotland Landscape . . 36 

Gas & Heating Services 

Bell Plumbing & Heating . . . . 14 

C Hunter Plumbing Heating Gas . . 12 

Gasfit Plumbing & Heating . . 5 

GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

I D Plumbing & Heating . . . . . 20 

Jack Murphy Plumbing & Heating . . 4 

Mackie Plumbing & Heating . . 3 

Phoenix Gas Services . . . . . . . 1 

Glazier 

1on1 Double Glazing . . . . . . . . 3 

Cloudy2Clear Windows . . . . . . . 7 

TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Hairdressers & Barbers 

Arlene Mitchell Hair & Beauty . . 20 

Kayas Barbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 21 

Health, Beauty & Fitness 


Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Bridge of Weir Dental . . . . . . 31 

Clyde Physiotherapy and Pilate . . 32 

Decorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 27 

Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 13,Bk 

LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

New Vision Opticians . . . . . . . 9 

NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 33 

The Osteopaths . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 

Wellcentred UK . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

BY CATEGORY 

Home Hardware 

Gibb Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

Home Improvements 



Alvic Sliding Wardrobes Ltd . . 33 



Conservatory Conv & Windows . . Bk 


Kieran Turner Aerial&Satellite . . 15 


Scotland’s Bath Company . . . . 17 

Home Interiors 



Home Security 

Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 12 

Joiners 


CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 8 





McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 17 



TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

Kitchens 






Locksmiths 

Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 

Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

Painters & Decorators 

A Gallagher Painter&Decorator . . 17 

Colin Docherty Painter Decorat . . 10 

David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 

James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 

John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

Ranfurly Decor . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

SL Painter & Decorator . . . . . 11 

Pest Control 

RED Pest Control . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Pet Services & Training 

Fields of Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Time to Groom Dog Grooming . . 39 

Waggys Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . Bk 

Plasterers 

Bryan Slaven Slater & Plaster . . 7 



Plumbers 




GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 





Property, Sales & Let 

Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

Dallas McMillan Solicitors . . 35 

Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Kingsley Wood & Co Solicitors . . 1 

Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

Removals 

@ease Removals & Transport . . 16 

Retail 

Gibb Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

Roofing 











Solicitors 

Affinity Family Law Experts . . 3 



Special Occasions 

ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

Stoves 


Taxis & Minicoach hire 

ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

Tiling 

Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 15 

Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

Travel Agents 

Travel Actually . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

Tree Surgeon 

Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 


Kenmore Tree Care . . . . . . . . . 36 

LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 


W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

TV & Satellite 

Clearline Aerial & Satellite . . 3 

Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 28 


Upholstery Services 



Window Cleaners 




Matthews Cleaning Services . . 14 

Window, Consv & Repair 


TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

@ease Removals & Transport . . 16 



A Gallagher Painter&Decorator . . 17 


A Peebles Landscape Contractor . . 37 

ABC Taxis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

Affinity Family Law Experts . . 3 

Affluent Financial Planning . . 34 


AK Vehicle Rental . . . . . . . . . 1 

Alvic Sliding Wardrobes Ltd . . 33 


Arco Locksmith . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 


Beaton Brothers . . . . . . . . . . . 9 


Bluewater Dental . . . . . . . . . . 17 

Boundaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

BOW Stone Works . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Branch Out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Bridge of Weir Dental . . . . . . 31 


Brookfield Alarms Ltd . . . . . . 12 





CLA Accountancy Services . . . 34 

Clearline Aerial & Satellite . . 3 

CLH Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 

Cloudy2Clear Windows . . . . . . . 7 

Clyde Physiotherapy and Pilate . . 32 

ColCom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Colin Docherty Painter Decorat . . 10 

Collins Tyres . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 

Come Clean . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Conservatory Conv & Windows . . Bk 

Corum Property . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 

Craig Kennedy Gardening . . . . 37 


David Kennedy Decorator . . . . 3 

Decorus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 

Delta Electrical Services . . 12 

Derek McBride Aerials . . . . . . 28 

Digby Groundcare . . . . . . . . . . 39 

DJY Joinery Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 8 



Elliott Locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 

F Christie Accounting . . . . . . 34 


Fergusons CA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Ferringtons Hypnotherapy . . . 27 

Fields of Fun . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Freelance Florist . . . . . . . . . 15 


Garden Services . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

Garolla Roller Shutter Doors . . 11 

Gasfit Plumbing & Heating . . 5 

GasMan Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

Gibb Stuart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 


Gordon James Ceramic Tiler . . 15 

Grid Design Ltd . . . . . . . . . . . 7 


Pick up a Copy 

Bishopton: 

Houston: 

Woodrow’s Store, 

Co-op, Carrick Centre, 

Library, May’s Coffee Shop Post Office, Newsagent 

Bridge of Weir: 

Howwood: 

Gibb Stuart, Bernie’s Cafe, Village Store, 

Lochnagar, The Bridge, St Vincent’s Hospice 

Library (Cargill Hall) Johnstone: 

Erskine: 

Henderson Kilts, 

Garden Centre, Library, Papa Mac’s, Library 

Sports Centre, 

Kilbarchan: 

Swimming pool 

Post Office, Campbell’s, 

Newsagents, Bobbins, 

A TO Z 

Hames Estates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 

Home Instead Senior Care . . . 23 






James Martin - Painter & Decor . . 3 



John Morgan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

John Roach Funeral Directors . . 4 

Karen Rankin Catering . . . . . . 15 

Kayas Barbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 


Kenmore Tree Care . . . . . . . . . 36 


Kilbarchan Dental Practice . . 13,Bk 




Lamont Electricians . . . . . . . . 3 

LaserLight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Lind Letting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bk 

LJX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 


M&E Painters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 

M&M Garden Services . . . . . . . . 38 


MAS Electrical & Security . . 2 

Matthews Cleaning Services . . 14 


McGowan Joinery . . . . . . . . . . . 17 


MJ Lawnmowers . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

New Vision Opticians . . . . . . . 9 

Nix Hairdressing . . . . . . . . . . 21 

NLP Positive Changes . . . . . . . 33 



PetVets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 

Phoenix Gas Services . . . . . . . 1 

Platinum Cleaning Services . . 23 

R C Garden Services . . . . . . . . 36 


Ranfurly Decor . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

RED Pest Control . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Rukeri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 

Russell Milne Electrician . . 12 

Scotland’s Bath Company . . . . 17 

Scott Russell . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 

SL Painter & Decorator . . . . . 11 


St Columba’s School . . . . . . . . 29 

Stewart Independent Financial . . 1 


TD Cameron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 

The Osteopaths . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 


Time to Groom Dog Grooming . . 39 

Travel Actually . . . . . . . . . . . 3 

W B Smith & Son . . . . . . . . . . . 38 

Waggys Dog Grooming . . . . . . . . Bk 

Wellcentred UK . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 

West of Scotland Landscape . . 36 

Langbank: 

Finlaystone Visitor Centre 

Kilmacolm: 

Newsagent, Cross Café, 

Library, Community 

Centre 

Lochwinnoch: 

Keystore, Library, 

Dolce Vita, 

Castle Semple Centre 

1st Floor, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir PA11 3PN 

t: 01505 613340 www.advertizer.co.uk 

e: info@advertizer.co.uk @GryffeAds 

Open Tuesday to Thursday 9am- 4pm; 

Friday 9am-12:30pm 

All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission 

is strictly prohibited. The Gryffe Advertizer cannot be held responsible for 

unsolicited materials. The views and opinions by contributors in this magazine 

may not represent the views of the publishers. The Gryffe Advertizer takes no 

responsibility for claims made by advertisements in this publication. 

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LOCAL NEWS - LOCAL EVENTS 

LOCAL PEOPLE - LOCAL BUSINESS

299 AUGUST 19 - Gryffe Advertizer

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