The_Wee_Vine_20

0ooooo 

Autumn 2021 Issue 20 £1 

The Wee Vine 

news & resources for the community of Kippen 

INSIDE 

● Special Feature ● Clubs ● Community Affairs 

● Did You Know ● Police Report ● Supporters 

theweevine.org 

www.theweevine.org 1 

The_WEE_Vine_20.indd 1 08/10/2021 10:13

Welcome 


Editor 

Denis Bradley 

Editorial Group 

Ali Thom 

Naomi Hirst 

Rick Dekker 

Stuart Thomson 

Original Design 

Rick Dekker 

Layout 

Stewart Hislop 

Proof Reading 

Annabel Griffin 

Printing 

Mixam 

Website 

www.theweevine.org 

Contact us at: 

enquiries@theweevine.org 

The Wee Vine, The Windings, Fore Road 

Kippen, FK8 3DT 

The Wee Vine is produced quarterly and 

distributed within the Kippen area. 

The Wee Vine magazine accepts no responsibility 

for the return or the condition of unsolicited 

manuscripts, art and photographs. 

Whilst every care has been taken to ensure the 

accuracy of the information contained within 

the magazine, the publishers, printers and their 

agents cannot accept responsibility for the errors 

or omissions. Views held by contributors are their 

own and do not necessarily coincide with those of 

the editorial team. 

We also reserve the right to edit or refuse insertion 

of any article submitted. 

The Wee Vine magazine is published by The Wee 

Vine, which is a not-for-profit organisation. 

Welcome to 

issue 20 of 


As we now move into Autumn it’s time 

for pumpkins and bonfires. 

Our thanks to Ellen Larson Davidson for the 

wonderful rainbow picture on the cover. 

We are happy to see an article for the first time 

from the Community Council and trust this will 

continue. There is an interesting entry from 

Kippen Ways on page 14 regarding the route from 

Kippen to Gargunnock using the old military road 

plus an extended feature covering the Kippen Trail 

Race on pages 16-21. 

New to The Wee Vine is our first crossword on page 

26 and for those who have not had information 

regarding the new waste collection we have the 

schedule on page 22. 

Our next issue is scheduled for the second half of 

January and contributions will be needed by 31st 

December. 

Your feedback about the Wee Vine is important 

to us so please get in touch with your comments/ 

ideas for this year. Instances of Covid togetherness 

especially welcome. 

Email to enquiries@theweevine.org or text/ 

Whatsapp to 07736 362011. If you wish to donate 

go to https://theweevine.org/donations/ If 

you would like your photograph featured on the 

front cover, send to enquiries@theweevine. 

org (minimum size 1 MB). This should feature a 

seasonal picture at time of printing. 

Cover Photograph by Rev. Ellen Larson Davidson 

Index 

Special Feature 3 

Clubs 6 

Community Affairs 7 

Did You Know 23 

Police Report 28 

The Wee Vine Supporters 31 

2 www.theweevine.org 


Special Feature 

Spreading Yet Further! 

In a recent issue of the Wee Vine, it was noted that cuttings from the original Kippen Vine 

had been spread through the village and in addition, from Angus and Galloway to Surrey 

and Somerset. There has been further spreading since then. 

Firstly, Margaret Oswald (Chair of Kippen Heritage) has sold several cuttings to locations 

in the village via Kippen Facebook, with the proceeds going to Kippen Heritage. 

And the issue of the Wee Vine containing that article was 

bought at the Woodhouse by Margaret Pollock, a leading 

member of the Community Trust responsible for the 

ongoing restoration of Bannockburn House. She read 

the article and sent a wee email to the Wee Vine to see if 

it would be possible to take a cutting of the Kippen Vine 

over to Bannockburn House. A cutting was accordingly 

grown (as in attached photo) and delivered to Margaret 

at Bannockburn House. 

On delivery, Margaret provided a guided tour of the 

restoration work being undertaken in the house and 

gardens. Horticulturally, historically, and architecturally 

fascinating! 

The gardens are extremely interesting – Californian 

Giant Redwoods (with more to come!), rare fruit trees 

from a bygone era, their own (non-Kippen) vine, a turf 

maze, hidden cherubs and much more besides. 




And the house with some magnificent architectural features. You can see a 

photo of the Gallery, but there is so much more. 

And then, the history – Robert the Bruce, the history of tartan, and particularly 

the Jacobite connection which spreads over both the ‘15 and the ‘45 risings 

but with a marked emphasis on Bonnie Prince Charlie. The house was his 

headquarters (quite a while after his brief stay at Boquhan) during the Battle 

of Falkirk and the Siege of Stirling Castle. Also, where he met his ‘mistress’ 

Clementina Walkinshaw. Many of Bonnie Prince Charlie’s battle flags and 

standards have been reproduced by volunteer Robert Dennis and hang in 

the Upper Hall and the Prince’s bedchamber. 




There are so many other facets to this house of 

which space precludes mention. More details 

of this and of visiting tours can be seen on their 

website – www.bannockburnhouse.scot. 

Image copyright: Hugh McCusker, a volunteer with 

Bannockburn House Trust 



Clubs 

Kippen Bowling Club 

The formal end to the bowling season took 

place with our Closing Day on Sunday 19 

September. For some of us it is now on to 

the indoor rinks at Fintry. 

We were fortunate again with the weather 

this year and managed to complete 

our full range of in club competitions 

as well as being able to compete in the 

Forth and Endrick league which Kippen 

won. Unfortunately there were again no 

open competitions because of Covid but 

hopefully we will 

return more or less 

to normal next year 

by which time, again 

hopefully, we will 

have managed to 

complete the badly 

needed repairs to 

the clubhouse roof. 

Our fun bowling, prize giving and dinner 

will be held at Fintry Sports Centre on 

Sunday 28 November 2021. 

John Anderson, President 

01786 870 001 

Kippen Curling 

After a year and a half 

with no curling, we 

finally got back onto 

the ice to start the new 

season. 

Our Opening Bonspiel 

took place on 15th 

September at the 

Peak and although we were slightly fewer 

in number, we still had 4 teams taking part 

with the team consisting of Ewan Ferguson, 

Toby Ross and yours truly as winners over a 

series of competitive games. 

Although we hadn’t been on the ice for a 

while, we were soon back into the swing of it 

with some great play from all teams. We are 

looking forward to a (hopefully) full season 

so “Good Curling” to all those taking part. 

If anybody is interested in joining the club, 

we would welcome new members. Please 

contact the club using the email address 

below if you are interested. 

Dougie Chalmers, Secretary 

kippencurlingclub@gmail.com 

Kippen Bridge Club 

Let me start by saying this is a wonderful game - a kind of gymnastics for the mind, which 

calls upon memory, partnership, risk, and strategy! I can only think that this new hobby will 

improve my mental capacity over time and could be a real tonic for a woman of a certain 

age! As the newbie (and apparent youngster) I have been made to feel most welcome with 

care taken to ensure I understand the fundamentals of the game. Thank you partners! 

Played from 8pm every Tuesday (The Inn at Kippen) and Thursday (The Cross Keys), you 

will not only be enjoying this intriguing and slightly addictive game but also supporting 

your local hostelries. 

What’s not to like? Come and join in the fun! Contact kippenbridge@aol.com or just come 

along. 

Lynn Hood 



Fore Road 

Annabel Griffin has kindly donated some 

excellent photos of various activities and 

scenes occurring in Fore Road. 

There is the Inn with its new panoply of 

table shades and just a hint of the floral 

decoration outside. 

And John McNicoll delivering messages 

in his 1953 BSA Golden Flash (650 cc), 

providing the first-class service to which 

we have become accustomed, in his own 

unique method. 

Community Affairs 

The Dr. Railton Scott 

Appeal 

This summer we went ahead with our 

delayed Annual Appeal. In June the letters 

were distributed around homes in the 

village, with a request that donations be 

put in a deposit box in McNicolls. We 

had a wonderful response and the total 

raised was £4,227. The crowd funding 

page which was set up by Stuart Thomson 

in January raised £1,550 with the balance 

being made up from raffle ticket sales and 

donations. 

This is a magnificent sum and we owe a 

huge thank you to everyone who helped 

in such a generous way to raise money for 

Cancer Research. The raffle draw took 

place at Thistle cottage with members of 

the committee in attendance. Margaret 

McDougal won the star prize of £150, the 

Hewines of The Beeches the second prize, 

and the Menzies of Scott Brae won third 

prize. Thank you to all who generously 

donated to the raffle. 

I think it is unlikely that we will be able to 

hold the Whist Drive next February as it 

will not be possible to forecast what the 

Covid situation will be for large groups of 

people. There will not be an Appeal as 

such, but if restrictions still allow we would 

like to encourage small groups of people to 

gather in their home with friends to have a 

Whist evening and make a donation to the 

charity. There will be more information 

about this at the end of the year. 

Once again, a huge thank you to all who 

contributed to the recent Appeal. 

Naomi Hirst 




Community Council 

The Kippen Community Council normally 

meet in the Reading Rooms on the 2 nd 

Tuesday of the month except for January, 

July & August. Due to the Corona Virus 

Pandemic, we hadn’t met for almost a year 

before moving online and utilising Zoom. 

Stirling Council’s recommendation is that 

ALL Community Councils should still be 

meeting virtually which will be continually 

reviewed over the next coming months as 

necessary. 

We have been using the local Facebook 

pages to advertise, in advance, as many 

meetings as possible and provided a copy 

of the agenda. Copies of the Minutes are 

put in the notice board outside McNicolls, 

on the KCC Website (https://kippencc.org. 

uk/) and sent to Stirling Council for them 

to post on their page (https://stirling.gov. 

uk/community-leisure/your-community/ 

kippen/). 

If you would like to be added to a mailing 

list to receive notice of and agendas for 

upcoming meetings and to receive a copy 

of the minutes, please feel free to e-mail 

us at kippencommunitycouncil@gmail. 

com. Please also use this e-mail address if 

you wish to raise any points or concerns 

that you feel we should know about. 

If you have any other suggestions of ways 

we can let you know about Community 

Council Matters, please let us know. 

One of the best ways to have your say, 

is to attend one of our meetings. We 

have started a “Round Table Discussion” 

whereby we go round everyone who 

attends to find out if they have any 

questions or concerns that they would 

like to raise. This has proved extremely 

popular for those attending, especially 

as Zoom can get confusing if too many 

people talking at the same time. 

With this in mind, we have had some 

discussion points recently. 

The first one concerns an Anaerobic 

Digester Application. We had a higher 

number of attendees at our recent 

meetings to discuss and all of whom 

wished to Object to the Application, 

with no one at the meetings who would 

like to Support the Application. KCC, 

therefore, have sent in an Objection 

on behalf of those in attendance. Since 

then, we have submitted a further two 

Objections that you are able to view on 

Stirling Council’s Online Portal (https:// 

pabs.stirling.gov.uk/online-applications/ 

applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summa 

ry&keyVal=QX7BJCPIG0N00). 

We were asked if we could name the 

Dawn Homes housing estate currently 

being built. We were given a very limited 

timescale to work with in order to meet a 

deadline provided to us by Stirling Council. 

It was suggested at one of the meetings 

to offer Kippen Primary School (KPS) the 

opportunity to name it. This was put to 

Kippen Primary School and suggestions 

were then put on a poll on the Kippen 

FB pages. We felt that this was a good 

idea and was agreed by members of the 

KCC and Community who attended the 

meetings. 

There are rules regarding the naming 

of new roads such as they WILL NOT 

accept the name of a person living or 

within living memory of the Community – 

therefore excluding many of the excellent 

suggestions from the Community after the 

poll was announced. 

NB – Stirling Council DO NOT have to 

accept any of the suggestions that we have 

put forward 

KCC requires a minimum of 7 Full 

Members, with a Maximum of 9 Full/Co- 

Opted Members 

Until recently, KCC had 8 Full Members, 

with 2 Associate Members. We were 

already part way through a Co-Option 

Nomination process (which will complete 



at our next meeting 30/09) when one of 

our members decided to reduce their role 

from Full Member to Associate Member. 

Your current Community Councillors are: 

Hugh Aitchison (Associate – applied for Co-Opt) 

Margaret Beaton (Full) 

Kevin Carty (Associate) 

Robert Clubb (Treasurer) 

Scott Crawford (Secretary) 

Susan Hewett (Full) 

Sarah Hill (Full) 

Barbara Ross (Full) 

Derek Shanks (Full) 

Christine Stewart (Associate – Co-Opt at next 

meeting) 

Please feel free to say “hello” if you meet us. 

Thank you, Scott Crawford 


Kippen Village Hall 

Are you looking for an opportunity to do 

something great for our fantastic village? 

Kippen village hall committee is looking 

for some new members to join our team 

and help us keep the hall running for the 

community. The hall is important for many 

groups in the village and as we emerge 

from the pandemic we have several 

projects planned, but need some help 

to make them happen. Joining the team 

will not require a big time commitment 

(honestly!!) and will be a huge help! If 

you might be interested in joining us or 

just want to find out a bit more, contact 

Jon Evans (jonevans2311@aol.com) or 

Claire Thompson (kippenvillagehall@ 

gmail.com). 

Thank you! 

Jon Evans 

It has been great fun to be back after the 

summer holiday. We have welcomed new 

Rainbows and it was great to see the older 

Rainbows back again. 

We have been busy working on our 

construction badge and we have visited 

the Arnprior Pumpkin Patch. 

If your daughter is between the ages of 5 

and 7 (or will turn 5 in the next couple of 

months) and if she is interested in joining 

Rainbows, please contact me at any time 

via email: kippen.rainbows@gmail.com or 

go to the girl guiding website and register 

your daughter. 

Jolanda, Charlotte and Emily 

Flower Tubs 

The lovely summer weather has helped to 

produce a great display of colour this year. 

The tubs were planted up by Naomi, Una, 

Fiona, Sue, and Wendy (ably assisted by 

Hamish) at the beginning of June, with a 

rota throughout the summer for watering 

and dead heading. My thanks to everyone 

for your continued help. As Summer 

begins to wane and Autumn takes over, 

we will soon be clearing out the tubs and 

planting pansies to see us through the 

winter. All new bulbs were planted last 

Autumn so I am hopeful that they will 

come again in the Spring. 

As always, thank you so much to all 

who contribute to the collection box in 

McNicolls. 

Naomi Hirst 




Minister’s Musings 

Where have you been lately? Anywhere exciting or interesting, beautiful, and inspiring? 

I must admit I miss traveling a bit. I know some people have been able to travel for work 

or leisure or to see family overseas. I have only made short trips and taken holidays within 

Scotland. 

I wonder if you have been travelling and not realised where you were until you are 

caught off guard by something. Have you been out for a walk or drive and been struck 

by something strange or different? The world around us is changing. Life is changing and 

so are we. Even if we go on the same walk every day for months or years, we never really 

go on the exact same walk because little aspects of place change, seasons change, and 

we change too. I remember vividly driving into the town I grew up in (much smaller than 

Kippen) and noticing a tree gone and a new sign constructed. I was caught off guard and 

found myself wanting ‘home’ to have been the ‘same’ as I had left it even though I knew it 

impossible. Our community here is constantly changing with new families moving in, dear 

friends leaving through moves and death, houses being built or changed, and all of us 

growing a bit older day-by-day. 

In Kippen Kirk we are a few years shy of the centenary of the major renovation work of 

1926. I wonder what the church looked like before the drastic changes in architecture 

and art. I also wonder how we may need to change again going forward if the space is to 

be more useable and inspiring ‘for generations yet unborn’ (quoting artist and instigator 

of the last changes D. Y. Cameron). I wonder what we carry with us as we find our way 

out of pandemic and the first quarter of the 21 st century. I wonder where we will travel 




together. What stories will we hold in our hearts? What practices will endure? What will we 

leave behind and pick up instead? And if the recent return to singing together in worship 

reminds us, what songs will we sing? What songs will we pass on? What new songs will be 

written? 

A song inspired by a song from the Bible (Psalm 40) is U2’s ‘40’ from their third album 

‘War’ which is almost 40 years old now. Bono was inspired by the ancient words asking 

how long I wait and how God taught a new song of praise even when it’s been murky 

and mucky times. Look up U2’s performance on YouTube of ’40’ from their Vertigo tour, 

Chicago, 2005. I wonder how these words may be sung again today? In a century? 

Where have we been and where are we going? I’m excited to see and hear with wonder 

and praise. As we grow and change, learn and let go, may we see beauty in the travelling 

and community along the way. 

May God bless you on your journey through life, Ellen 

Sunday Worship at Kippen Kirk is weekly at 11.15 am with some continuing Covid 

safety mitigations like sanitising, face masks and 1 m distancing. 

We are working to offer hybrid worship of online linked with onsite. The 10 am service 

in Norrieston Church is accessible through Zoom and you are invited to contact Ellen 

(elarsondavidson@churchofscotland.org.uk) for link and details. 

From 20th October the Bible Study on Wednesday mornings at 10 am will be looking 

at the Book of Job over about 5 weeks. Watch the noticeboards, Kippen and Norrieston 

Parish Churches Facebook page and group for further details. 

Rev. Ellen Larson Davidson, Minister 

Kippen linked with Norrieston Parishes, Church of Scotland 

Reg. Charity No. SC004286 (Kip) & SC028719 (Nor) 

Kippen Playgroup and Toddlers 

We are delighted to 

be back at playgroup 

after the summer 

holidays and are 

enjoying being back 

out in the woods 

with the good weather. 

With the continued uncertainty of COVID 

restrictions, we have taken the difficult 

decision not to run our Christmas Market 

again this year, however there will be a 

special guest making an appearance early 

December. Please keep an eye on the local 

Facebook pages with more information 

to follow. We really hope to have our 

Christmas Market back up and running for 

2022. 

If we could politely ask dog owners that 

when we are in the woods that dogs are 

keep under control near the children, we 

do have a few children who are nervous 

around dogs. 

We currently have spaces on our Tuesday 

session (9:30am – 12 noon) and have a 

waiting list for Friday, if you know any little 

people (2 years plus) who would like to join 

in the adventure please get in touch. 

Our Parent, Toddlers and Baby sessions 

are back on a Thursday (10:15am – 12 

noon) with all ages between 0-5 welcome, 

if you would like more information or to 

come along to a session please email 

below. 

Contact us for further details at playgroup. 

toddlers.kippen@gmail.com 




The Reading Room 

happen, notices will be displayed in the 

usual places across the village. 

Our committee remains very keen to play 

its part in helping the village to resume 

our normal social life as and when the 

pandemic passes into history. 

Let us hope that this will happen soon. 

Jeremy Gaywood 

We are very pleased to be able to report 

that, subject to the ongoing anti-Covid 

requirements, it has been possible to reopen 

the Reading Room for a number of 

user activities. Detailed requirements are 

now displayed in the entrance hall, and it is 

asked that approved users abide by these 

instructions. Those interested in hiring any 

of the rooms in the building are asked to 

contact Betty McAlister (07703821125) 

or Dawn Wartig (07870562396) before 

making a booking. 

Under government guidelines still in force, 

each of our user institutions which may 

wish to use the Reading Room must carry 

out their own risk assessments, and to 

apply social distancing rules during their 

activities. 

It is therefore currently not possible to 

hold our usual Autumn Jumble Sale, or 

the Kippen Cuppa until the Covid risk has 

passed. 

The refurbishment project remains a 

top priority and the plans are now at an 

advanced stage. However, it is clear that 

the building industry, which had largely 

been furloughed, are faced with supply 

difficulties as they return to work. Our 

project must therefore take its place in the 

queue. 

In due course, therefore, it is intended 

that the work will be undertaken with as 

little disruption as possible to users. That 

said, in the event it may prove necessary 

to deny access to users for reasons of 

safety and working efficiency. Should this 

Kippen Parish Church Guild 

“Look Forward in Faith” - “Lights and 

Bushels” 

Sadly, as covid is still around, the Guild 

Committee has decided it is not wise to 

begin regular meetings just yet. If you 

are interested in reading the regular Guild 

Newsletters, please let Joanna have your 

email address. 

“Lord as we look forward in faith help us to 

be aware of your light, constantly shining, 

never dimming as you care and guide us. 

May we bring light and colour into the lives 

of those we meet on the way. Where a light 

is needed to brighten a life may we be there. 

Where a hand is needed to ease a load may 

we be there offering it willingly. 

Where an ear is needed to comfort may we 

be there to stop and listen. 

Where a prayer is needed when troubles arise 

around the world caused by nature or by 

man’s inhumanity may we be ever prayerful 

and offer our help in any way we can. 

May we go forward in faith and in the light of 

the Lord, Whose we are and Whom we serve. 

In Jesus name we pray.” 

Further information is available from 

Joanna M. McPhail: 01786 870681 or 

joanna.mcphail@btinternet.com 



Kippen Community Woodland Group 


The Group has once again been busy since the last edition of the 

Wee Vine. On 1 st August we were joined by Wallis Weir of Weir 

Forestry who removed the fallen tree on the far side of the pond 

as well as an unsafe tree near the pond bench. Removing the tree 

from the pond was a complex job and one that would have been 

very difficult to complete without the Weir Forestry winch. Many 

thanks to Wallis (and his family) for taking time on a Sunday to help 

us out and saving us from the time-consuming task of manually 

cutting away the branches. 

Members of the Group have cut back 

vegetation from along the sides of the main 

paths; this has highlighted a large amount of 

dog poo that is not being picked up. Not only 

can dog poo make a mess of the clothes worn 

by the person strimming, but it also can also 

present a health risk to users of the wood 

come into contact with it. As dog fouling is 

an environmental crime, please can everyone 

clear up after their dog and place the poo in 

the bins provided around the wood. 

We are pleased to have made a successful 

application to the Falck Renewables 

Kingsburn Community Fund for funding of a wooden dipping platform at the pond. The 

existing platform on the north side of the pond was installed over 15 years ago when 

the bank of the pond was damaged during clearance. The platform has become a focal 

part of the pond, particularly for children, 

but it was never intended for anything other 

than to cover up the bank damage. The 

condition of the wooden platform has started 

to deteriorate, and it is not straightforward to 

repair. It is intended to remove the existing 

platform and for a contractor to replace with 

a new, purpose-built dipping platform later 

in the year. The platform will be closer to the 

surface of the pond and level with the bank of 

the pond, to facilitate easy access. 

Woodland work mornings continue to be 

held on the first Sunday of the month with 

a slightly earlier start time of 10.30am. Our Annual General Meeting will take place on 

Thursday, 25th November 2021 at 8.15pm, location to be confirmed. The current office 

bearers are willing to be re-elected, but the Group would be happy to receive nominations 

if anyone else would like to be more involved. If you would like to find out more about the 

work of the Group or receive details of our activities, just email kippenwoodlandgroup@ 

gmail.com or find us on Facebook. 

Paula Watson, Secretary 




In the Spring edition of The Wee Vine, the 

formation of the Kippen Ways community group 

was mentioned. The Group is now formally 

constituted and its initial focus is on improving 

the existing right of way between Kippen 

and Gargunnock along the old military road. 

Discussions are on-going with landowners, with 

Phase 1 focussed on the section of the route 

that runs across the field between the end of Glentirranmuir Road and Boquhan Bridge. 

It has been identified that planning permission is required before any improvements 

can take place to the surface, fencing and gates; this needs to be supported by a design 




and drawings. An application 

has been made to the Kippen 

Community Fund which will 

hopefully enable the outline 

design report with drawings to 

be progressed. 

Discussions with landowners 

and the funding application 

have been informed by the 

results of the Kippen Ways 

community survey which was 

open to responses in July and 

August 2021. We would like 

to thank all those who took 

the time to respond. A total of 

89 responses were received 

with responses to the main 

questions summarised below. 

When asked if there were other 

aspects to be improved before 

respondents would be happy 

for their children to use the 

right of way between Kippen 

and Gargunnock by themselves: 

3 said no improvements were 

needed; 3 raised concerns 

associated with sharing route 

with vehicles (lack of pavement, 

passing spaces & warning signs), 

6 had concerns regarding cattle, 

2 would like easy opening gates; 

2 would like route more clearly 

marked and 1 would like to see 

the farmyard bypassed. 

If anyone would like to find 

out more about the work of 

the Group or be kept informed 

of our activities, please email 

kippenways@gmail.com or find 

us on Facebook. 

Angus Warren, Chair 




Kippen Trail Race 

On Sunday 26 th September 205 runners and their supporters flocked in to Kippen to take 

part in the annual Kippen Trail Trace. It was a record number of runners for the race and 

the atmosphere was extra special due to not being able to hold the event in 2020. Regular 

attendees were delighted to be back and new runners were excited about the course that 

they had heard so many good things about. 




Kippen Trail Race is a low-cost, no fuss event. The entry is fee is £1, there are no medals, 

no goody bags, no water stops and no times (apart from the winners) and that’s the way 

the participants like it with one commenting “Brilliant event, loved it! Other races could 

learn from the no goody bag, no medal, £1 entry – fantastic! A cracking wee race.” 




Participants came from all over with the furthest travelled runners flying in from Berlin! 

The youngest female runner completing the 4.7-mile route was Rebecca Gribben, just 7 

years old and the youngest male runner was Connor Campbell aged 11. 







Of course none of this is possible without the fantastic support from the 

community, huge thanks go to the marshals - Michael, Paul, Paula, Iain 

and Murray, the photographers - Ali, Annabel, Roger, Kay and Jon, the 

musician – May, the neighbouring farmers who kindly let us run through 

their fields and a very big thank you to our sponsors - Skinner of Kippen 

, Fallen Brewing Co. and Rhubarb Lime who provide the very generous 

prizes every year. 

Hope to see you all again next year. 

Thank you from Kippen Trail Race Team 

Morna O’May 

RESULTS: 

First Male FINLAY WATERS 28:58 

Second Male DAVID CHAPMAN 30:09 

Third Male ANDREW MCCALL 30:25 

First Female EDEL MOONEY 31:22 

Second Female CATRIONA O’DONNELL 32:11 

Third Female CHARLOTTE SCHMAUTZ 32:49 

Fastest Under 16 Male FINLAY WATERS (15) 28:58 

Fastest Under 16 Female TUSCANY WRIGHT (15) 38:31 

First Place overall FINLAY WATERS 28:58 

20 www.theweevine.org 

The_WEE_Vine_20.indd 20 08/10/2021 10:13





Bin Schedule 

As most of you will know, Stirling Council has changed the collection of the grey and blue bins 

from fortnightly to every 4 weeks from late September. You have also received the revised bin 

collection schedule to accompany this, but a copy is here for ease of reference. 




Classics @ Kippen 

All live music and the performing arts have 

“fallen silent” during Covid-19 and I really 

can’t believe that it is now nearly 2 years 

since our last Classics@Kippen concert. 

For those of us for whom the performing 

arts is our life, it’s been a truly heartbreaking 

time and, like so many others, 

our music students and recent graduates 

have suffered greatly. Even for top artists 

who have had no work and no income of 

any kind during lockdown, the future still 

looks quite bleak. It’s a cultural desert out 

there and we’re certainly not out of the 

woods yet! 

Whilst we can now sing again in person 

there are still many restrictions. The 

2-metre distancing rule is still firmly in 

place for singers, so we are all having to 

be very patient for things to get back to 

normal. As a result, I have no idea when 

it will be safe to put on another Classics@ 

Kippen concert. I can’t wait! Neither can 

the students at the Conservatoire who, 

despite all the difficulties and frustrations 

of the last 18 months, have been literally 

Did you know 

clinging on and practising and developing 

their voices. Hats off to them! It’s been 

tough! One of the reasons Classics@ 

Kippen exists is to offer these young 

singers some much needed performing 

opportunities and post lockdown. This is 

needed more than ever before. I have a 

long queue of young performers who are 

ready to go and who would just love to 

come and sing to you all in Kippen. Rest 

assured, that when the time is right, we 

are looking forward to inviting you to a 

bonanza of a concert which will be a huge 

celebration for us all. Watch this space! 

Those hugely talented and gifted 

performers haven’t been invited to the 

party of furlough schemes or any kind of 

help these past 18 months but somehow, 

they have tried to survive, keep their 

art and creativity alive and, with great 

resilience, continue to fly the flag for 

culture in our country. However, singers 

still must keep to 2 metres distance so 

we’re not out of the woods yet! 

Scottish Poppy Appeal 2021 

This year the Kippen Scottish Poppy 

Appeal is going follow the same format 

as last year. There will be no door-to-door 

collection, but I would ask you to support 

it through the following ways. 

There will be the usual collection tins and 

boxes of Poppies at McNicolls, The Cross 

Keys, The Inn and Rhubarb Lime as well 

as the various shops and cafes in the 

area. The appeal has also gone digital, 

and monies can be donated in a variety of 

ways. 

In the collection tin beside the Poppies 

Using this official Just Giving link that is 

specifically for Kippen so we can still know 

what funds as a community we raise: 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ 

ao-kippen1 

On each of the Poppy boxes there is a QR 

code that can be scanned and will take you 

straight to the Just Giving site 

I do hope that everyone continues to give 

generously without the human presence. I 

will share the link repeatedly on our Village 

of Kippen face book page. 

Last year the monies raised from Kippen, 

Gargunnock and the surrounding cafes 

was £2168.79. This was the best year 

ever since I took over as AO and I do feel 

the digital platforms helped in this now 

cashless society. 

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you 

have any question. 

Kirsty Pemberton-Pigott 

AO Kippen Scottish Poppy Appeal 

07887514594 



Did you know 

News Release 

Citizens Advice Bureau opens outreach 

drop-in sessions within rural Stirling 

libraries. 

Stirling District Citizens 

Advice Bureau Ltd, in 

conjunction with Stirling 

Council Archives and Library 

Service, will now be offering 

drop-in sessions across five 

rural libraries to meet the 

growing demand in our 

communities. 

In addition to the already well-established 

service that was held in Callander library 

(pre lockdown), further drop-in sessions 

are scheduled to occur in Killin, Balfron, 

Strathblane, Fallin, Plean and Cowie 

libraries. The outreach service is due 

to begin week commencing Monday 6 th 

September. 

During the Covid restrictions advice and 

assistance was only able to be provided 

via remote telephone or web-chat 

means. By re-engaging in face-to-face 

appointments in our communities we 

aim to offer a holistic and wider reaching 

service, providing residents with free, 

independent, impartial, and confidential 

advice on a range of issues. 

Craig Anderson, CEO of Stirling CAB said, 

“The prolonged restrictions and continuing 

aftermath of the global Covid pandemic 

have hit our communities hard, and 

Stirling District Citizens Advice Bureau aim 

to address and assist clients in rectifying 

these hardships. Specialist accessible 

advice can be sought on debt, benefit 

entitlement, fuel, and housing issues, as 

well as support with food capacity and 

wider community issues”. 

Convener of Stirling Council’s Community 

Planning and Regeneration Committee, 

Councillor Chris Kane said: “Our libraries 

are important community hubs that offer 

so much more to local areas than simply 

loaning books. 

“By working together with Stirling District 

Citizens Advice Bureau we can help 

them get right into the heart of our rural 

communities to provide essential advice 

and support to residents in their own 

towns and villages. 

“Residents can benefit from free, impartial 

and confidential support on a range of 

issues from trained CAB advisers who 

have vast experience in offering advice 

and guidance when you need it most.” 

Vice Convener, Councillor Scott Farmer, 

said: “We want to ensure that nobody 

is excluded and everyone can get 

appropriate advice and support as close 

to home as possible. The reintroduction of 

face-to-face appointments in an expanded 

selection of our rural libraries is excellent 

news for local communities. 

“Whether you need advice about your 

money situation, want to make a complaint 

about faulty goods, or would like to talk to 

someone about tax credits, the CAB will be 

able to offer clarity and a way forward.” 

The details for the dates and times of the 

drop-in sessions are as follows; 

Mondays – Cowie Library (10am-1pm) 

Weekly service & Plean/Fallin (2pm-4pm) 

alternating fortnightly service 

Tuesdays – Killin Library (1pm-3pm) 

Fortnightly service 

Wednesdays – Callander Library (10am- 

4pm) Weekly service 

Thursdays – Balfron library (10am-1pm) 

Weekly service & Strathblane (2pm-4pm) 

Fortnightly service 

How can I get further help? 

Contact Chris Kinnaird on 07498 925157 

or by e-mail: chris.kinnaird@stirlingcab. 

casonline.org.uk 

You can also contact us via our website 

www.stirlingcab.org.uk 

To find out more, please get in touch 

with your local CAB online: https://www. 

cas.org.uk/bureaux/stirling-district-cabcallander-outreach 



TreeLink Stirling 

Join us in the woods on the second 

Saturday of each month. 

The TreeLink Woodland Group has 

arranged a series of activities in the Old 

Harbour Woods, between Riverside and 

Forthside. Each event will be on the 

second Saturday of the month. Meet at 

the two pillars at the start of the woodland 

path - beside the Riverside Quay student 

flats (FK8 1HZ) at 10:00 am. There will be 

three events at Old Harbour Woods this 

year: 

Tree Seed Collection and Planting: 

Saturday October 9th, 10.00am – 1.00pm 

Alder seeds, rowan and elderberry seeds 

can all be collected here. We will have 

compost, pots, containers etc. for the 

preparation of seeds for planting. You 

can collect for your own garden or site or 

contribute to the TreeLink Tree Nursery 

Hub at Brahead Community Garden. Bring 

your own snacks for a picnic. 

Suitable for all ages, under 14-year-olds to 

be supervised by parent/carer. 

Tree Coppicing: Saturday November 13th, 

10.00am – 1.00pm 

After an induction on safe tool use, help us 

to thin some of the young trees on site, to 

make space for others to grow and let light 

into the ground layer of the woods. The 

brash that we produce will also be used to 

Did you know 

make dead hedges to prevent erosion on 

the steep slopes. 

Not appropriate for children under 

12. Under 16-year-olds to be closely 

supervised by parent/carer. 

Green Woodworking: Saturday December 

11th, 10.00am – 1.00pm 

Join us at this session to make simple, 

greenwood stools, and use the shave horse 

to create mallets and tent pegs (perfect as 

festive gifts!) There will be canopy cover 

in case of rain. Bring a hot drink and/or 

snack to keep you going. There will be a 

box for voluntary donations to help us pay 

the workshop leader. 

Suitable for all ages, with under 14-yearolds 

supervised by parent/carer. 

As well as these three events, TreeLink 

will be supporting a tree planting session 

held at Borrowmeadow as a part of the 

The Stirling Climate Festival. On the final 

day of the festival (Sunday, 17th October) 

we will meet volunteers at The Peak 

(FK8 1QZ) to plant trees in the open land 

behind Forthbank Stadium. Details will be 

available nearer the time on the Climate 

Festival website and Facebook page. 

Our most recent event was held at the 

Cashel Forest Trust where, as reported 

in the ‘Stirling Observer’, we had a very 

successful day. 

Pumpkin Festival 

We are doing our pumpkin festival from 

11th -31st October. Tickets are all sold out 

for parking, but if anyone wants to come 

along by foot, they can get the bus from 

Kippen to Arnprior, no ticket required. 

Rebecca McEwen 



Did you know 



Haiti Earthquake 

Did you know 

After retiring Giles Waley spent 2 years 

training to be an Urban Search and Rescue 

Engineer with a charity called Search and 

Rescue Assistance in Disasters (SARAID). 

He had worked for 40 years as a civil and 

structural engineer. This enables him to make 

rapid structural assessments when operating 

as an engineer with SARAID. 

On August 14 th , 2021, there was a powerful 

earthquake in Haiti. A few days later Giles 

mobilised to Heathrow to join a team of 6 

being deployed, on an engineering basis, to 

carry out rapid structural assessments of 

priority buildings, in particular hospitals, schools and churches. This was carried out in Les 

Cayes, a city close to the epicentre. 

Haiti is an insecure country and travel can be 

dangerous. To reach Les Cayes the team joined a 

World Food Programme convoy travelling from the 

capital city with an armed escort. On arrival in Les 

Cayes they set up a Base of Operations. Because 

of the danger from aftershocks, they avoid staying 

inside buildings, so they bring their own tents for 

accommodation. To remain independent, they 

carry their own ration packs, water and filtration 

system and satellite phones. 

In a few days 49 buildings were assessed and 

classified as RED - dangerous to enter, YELLOW– 

restricted access, GREEN – safe to enter. Training 

was also planned for provincial, national, and 

international assessors to continue the damage 

assessment process, with consistency, once the 

SARAID team had departed. With this model in 

place 493 more buildings were assessed in the 

following few days. Much more remains to be done 

in the future. 

In addition to the insecure conditions in Haiti the difficult travel logistics, communications, 

COVID, heat and humidity made the deployment particularly challenging. Dealing with a 

variety of agencies involved with national and provincial governance and administration 

resulted in significant complexity. SARAID’s contribution was universally welcomed and 

was endorsed at the highest government level. 

Such deployments are expensive. All SARAID team members are volunteers and each one 

has to fundraise. If you would like to make a donation, please do so via the Just Giving 

site on SARAID’s website, or you can hand in a cheque or cash to Giles at Burnbank. A big 

THANK YOU to those of you who have already contributed so generously. 

If you would like to read a fuller account, please go to the Wee Vine web site. 



Police Report 

Community Engagement 

and Reassurance 

PC Steven Graham is based 

at Balfron Police Office and 

can be contacted on 101 

or at ForthEndrickCPT@ 

scotland.pnn.police.uk. It 

is recommended that this 

email address is used by 

the local community for email contact. 

Please remember that we regularly publish 

useful information and updates on social 

media, including appeals for information, 

updates about road closures and crime 

prevention advice. Our Facebook and 

Twitter pages can be found at: 

www.facebook.com/ 

forthvalleypolicedivision 

www.facebook.com/policescotland 

www.twitter.com/stirlingpol 

www.twitter.com/policescotland 

Road Safety 

There were a couple of multi vehicle RTCs 

on the A811 near Kippen Roundabout. 

There were no injuries at either however 

Police attended on both occasions. At 

one of the RTCs a driver was issued with 

a Conditional Offer of Fixed Penalty for 

careless driving. 

I have carried out hand-held radar speed 

checks within the village and will be 

continuing to do so. 

A male was reported to the PF after being 

caught drink driving in Main St, Kippen. 

The Central Scotland Safety Camera 

Partnership have continued to operate on 

the A811 near to Kippen. 

Local officers have and will continue to 

carry out high visibility patrols to improve 

road safety. 

Anti-social behaviour 

There was a report of youths on the roof 

of Kippen Primary School. Tiles were 

damaged although no break in was 

attempted. That same night a fire was 

started at the toddler’s area in the woods 

near to the football pitch. Enquiries were 

carried out and it was established that 

these incidents were linked. Youths from 

out with the area were responsible for 

both and were reported for the offences. 

Fraud 

Fraud has become very common 

unfortunately and many people are being 

scammed in a variety of different ways. 

Here are some common scams. 

Account takeover and phone redirection 

This is where the victim’s phone company 

is contacted to temporarily redirect calls 

to a new number. The fraudster, who has 

the victim’s banking details, then makes 

transfers between the victim’s account. 

Then make transfers to their own account. 

Sometimes the victim’s account has 

received loans. These have been applied 

for by the fraudster who then transfers the 

money to their own account. 

Advanced fee fraud 

This is a popular crime with organised 

crime groups based overseas. They 

involve requests to help move large sums 

of money with the promise of a large share 

of the cash in return. 

Business telephony fraud 

This is a type of electronic fraud where a 

company’s internal telecommunications 

system is ‘hijacked’ by criminals. It is used 

either to redirect calls or to dial premium 

rate telephone numbers. The revenue 

from this is then paid to the criminals. 

By using auto dialler programmes, the 

criminals can make multiple calls at 

the same time. Each call makes money, 

sometimes thousands of pounds before 

the fraud is detected. 

Cold callers – e.g., Microsoft scam, PPI 

refunds 

Computer repair scam – this scam is 

usually from fraudsters based overseas. 

The fraudster telephones the victim at 

random. They then tell them they are from 

Microsoft or another similar company. 



They tell the victim that they have viruses 

on their computer. The fraudster asks 

for access to the victim’s computer. They 

then spend a lot of time (sometimes up to 

2 hours) on the phone whilst interfering 

with the victim’s computer. After some 

time, the fraudster requests bank details 

to make payment for the work they have 

done. They have not done any work 

but may have copied files and obtained 

personal information. 

False job offers 

There are different kinds of this type of 

fraud. The most common is the fraudster 

advertising for a job position such a night 

porter, cleaner or mystery shopper. The 

mystery shopper scam is advertised as a 

job on sites such as Gumtree. The victim 

is sent out forged travellers cheques 

or stolen bank cheques. They are then 

asked to put them into their own bank 

account. Sometimes the funds clear 

without the forgery, or the stolen cheque 

being noticed. The victim is then asked 

to make a purchase somewhere such 

as Tesco with the funds. They are told to 

keep some of the funds and to send the 

remainder to the fraudster, often at a 

London address. However, a week or two 

after the cheques have been lodged, they 

are uncovered by the banking system 

and the victim can be left out of pocket. 

Often the jobs are advertised claiming to 

be from local businesses. Emails are sent 

out with application forms and requests 

for sizing for uniforms. The victim is often 

asked to send a copy of their passport. 

The victim is notified that they have got 

the job and need to attend an induction 

or training course at some time in the 

future. In order for the job position to be 

finalised the victim is asked to forward 

a sum of money (usually around £50 or 

£60) by Ukash voucher. They must also 

pay for advanced background checks or 

administration. They are told this money 

will be reimbursed. A week or two later, 

they realise they have been scammed. 

Loan scams 

Police Report 

The fraudster registers with loan 

brokerage site. Then when the victim 

enters their details into the site the 

fraudster offers them a loan. The victims 

often have poor credit ratings and may be 

struggling financially. The fraudster then 

requests various sums of money up front 

for administration fees etc and the victim 

never receives their loan. Payment is often 

requested by online money voucher such 

as Ukash. 

Paypoint scam 

The fraudster telephones a business that 

processes Paypoint transactions. They 

then claim to be an engineer calling from 

Paypoint. The fraudster tells the victim 

that there is a problem with the processing 

of Ukash vouchers. In order to fix the 

problem, the fraudster gets the victim to 

carry out Ukash transactions. The Ukash 

numbers are then passed to the fraudster. 

The fraudster then spends or launders the 

vouchers through money transfer sites or 

online betting sites. This ‘technique’ has 

also been used in relation to MoneyGram 

transfers. 

Property let scam 

There are two main types of this type of 

fraud: 

1) The fraudster places an advert for 

accommodation on a site such as 

Gumtree. Then when the victim responds 

to the advert the alleged property owner 

(the fraudster) is out of the country but 

will return to show the victim the property. 

However, to prove his time isn’t being 

wasted, the victim is asked to send money 

to a relative via Western Union and send 

a copy of the receipt to the fraudster. The 

fraudster then takes the money and leaves 

the victim out of pocket. 

2) The fraudster hacks into a genuine 

property letting website (usually for 

properties to let abroad) and intercepts 

customer emails. The fraudster then 

passes himself off as the genuine property 

owner. They then get people to transfer 

money into their account. 



Police Report 

Safe account fraud 

This type of scam has become more 

common in recent times. The victim 

receives a call from someone pretending 

to be calling from a credit card agency or 

the victim’s own bank. The fraudster tells 

them there’s been suspicious activity on 

their bank account, to stop to stop any 

further loss, the victim should transfer 

all their money into a ‘safe account’. The 

fraudster then instructs the victim to hang 

up the phone and call the number on the 

back of their bank card. The victim doesn’t 

realise that the fraudster has kept the line 

open. The fraudster, then pretending to 

be a bank official, provides the victim with 

details of the ‘safe account’. They are then 

told how to transfer the money in their 

account. The fraudster may request online 

banking information from the victim to 

carry out the transfer on their behalf. 

Please heed the below advice: 

• Consider making your phone number 

ex-directory. 

• Don’t give out any personal information 

unless you are the one who made the 

call, and you are certain of the identity 

of the person you are speaking to. 

• Don’t give out your credit card or 

bank card details to strangers on the 

telephone. 

• NEVER tell somebody your bank PIN 

number, even if they claim to be the 

bank or police. If the caller is genuine, 

they will never ask for this information. 

• Don’t give out information which may 

infer that you live alone, are older or 

vulnerable. 

• Never send money to anyone who 

claims to have a prize for you. 

• If it sounds too good to be true, it 

probably is. 

• Contact local trading standards – they 

may be able to use approved ‘call 

blocking’ technology. 

Crossword Answers 



Supporters 

The Wee Vine Supporters 

Without our supporters, there would be no Wee Vine. They offer support in a variety of 

ways. All essential. 

Firstly, our financial supporters. Printing and other costs are totally met through the 

support of a number of local organisations. These have all been affected to a greater or 

lesser extent by the current Covid crisis, but continue to provide support, which is greatly 

appreciated. Currently, these are (in alphabetical order): 

Acorn Cottage (03454986900} 

Arnbeg Farm Stay (01786 871121) 

Arnprior Swimming Pool (870481) 

Brian Reynolds Carpentry (870531) 

Cameron Skinner, Skinner of Kippen (870203) 

Central Auto Repairs (Glengyle) (870254) 

Classics@Kippen 

Fallen Brewing Company (07500 906924) 

Fusion Flowers Magazine (870204) 

Graeme Thompson Plumbing & Heating Engineers (870648) 

John Coubrough & Son, Joiners &Funeral Directors (870737) 

McNicolls Country Store (870237) 

Munro Electrical Service (07951 913983) 

Stephen Paul Associates (870906) 

The Cross Keys (870293) 

The Inn at Kippen (870500) 

The Woodhouse (870156) 

As of the previous issue, we have one further very welcome source of funding – a grant 

from Kippen Windfarm which is tiding us over the worst .of Covid/ Brexit. 

Each of our financial supporters is entitled to use the magazine to publicise forthcoming 

events, or significant awards obtained. Anyone who would like to offer support in this way, 

can do so by contacting us at enquiries@theweevine.org. 

Secondly, many thanks to those who have supported this issue by contributing articles. 

The Wee Vine is for Kippen, about Kippen and by Kippen. We would like to know about 

events as they happen, and also those which are planned. Also, organisations, clubs and 

their programmes and activities. Plus comments, queries, photos and anything else that 

takes your fancy. 

“Letters to the editor” on paper or electronically are welcome from all. 

And finally, those who support by offering help in many ways, such as the delivery of the 

magazine round the village. 




Everyone at McNicoll’s Country Store would like to thank our 

customers for their support during these difficult times. 

McNicoll’s Country Store 

Licensed Grocer - Open 7 days 

• Large Freezer Section 

• 5 Metre Dairy Cabinet 

• Newsagent 

• Fresh Fruit & Vegetables 

• Fresh Bakery Rolls Daily 

• National Lottery Outlet 

• Post Office Services 

• Payments can be made by 

credit/debit cards 

• Contactless Payments Available 

Main Street, Kippen. 

Tel: 01786 870 237

The_Wee_Vine_20

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?