When Doug and Hilary started feeding a pair of ducks in their lochside garden last year, they couldn’t have imagined that, a few months later, a flock of 30 or so ducks would be arriving every morning, looking for breakfast. Word obviously spread quickly in the duck population around the fringes of the Loch and from June onwards, numbers have been boosted by several broods of chicks.

In return, the ducks do a little light gardening, keeping the slugs down so that the hostas can flourish, and occasionally clearing the duckweed off the ornamental pond.

The road is always a worry, although Doug is doing his best to keep the ducks safe.

Please remember to keep a look out for them when you are driving passed.

Sand Sculptures

Doug (aka the Sandman) has been creating topical sand sculptures for our entertainment and amusement since the start of lockdown, and after the lifting of travel restrictions they have also been providing photo opportunities for passing tourists.  Here’s a wee selection from the last 18 months:

There’s another one due soon, so watch this space!

Drummond Hill Land Management Plan – Consultation

In September 2019, we published an article on the Blog about the threat to Perthshire’s larch trees from Phytophthora ramorum mould, and the concern over the impact this would have on the many larches on Drummond Hill (read the article here).

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) are currently consulting on their Land Management Plan for Drummond Hill and a presentation on the Plan has been arranged for Monday 30^th August at 7pm by Zoom. This presentation will provide an opportunity to look at the impact on people living in Fearnan and on the western side of the Hill, and is a chance to ask questions directly of FLS.

The Zoom link will be circulated a few days in advance to FVA members. Those on the Community Council email list may have already received it.  If you are not on either list and would like to join the meeting, please email Fiona@fearnanvillageassociation.com requesting the link.

Fearnan Book Club Review

The book reviewed in July was The Man with No Face by Peter May. This was one of his standalone novels, an update of a much earlier story.

Two men travel to Brussels from the UK: Kale, a professional assassin and Neil Bannerman, a tenacious investigative reporter from a Scottish newspaper. Two victims are subsequently murdered, one a journalist, the other a Cabinet Minister, witnessed by an autistic girl.

The atmospheric setting was late 1970s Brussels within the convincingly portrayed backdrop of the EU and its complicated politics. It seemed that not a lot had changed. (Apart from Brexit!) 

There was a general feeling that initially the pace was slow but things became more intriguing as the plot progressed. We felt that the characters were well drawn, particularly Tania, the autistic daughter of one of the victims, who expressed herself through her evocative drawings. Diplomats and journalists were portrayed as larger than life with a hint of the Fleet St drinking/smoking culture.

We enjoyed the unexpected turns such as the reveal of manipulating characters in the background, the killer finding compassion when asked to assassinate a child, and an unexpected blackmailer. Hopefully there would be an optimistic future for Neil, Sally and Tania. Some thought it would make a good TV mini series.

McLean Hall, Fearnan Annual General Meeting

Just a reminder about the Hall AGM, which is on Monday 23rd August at 7.30pm in the Hall.

Please note that the copyright of all photos on this blog belongs to the person that took them and the copyright of all text belongs to the person that wrote it.