This is a bit of a catch up Blog covering the last two and a half months, so we’re going in chronological order, starting with the Coronation:

Coronation Celebration

Linda writes:

A well-attended Coronation Celebration was held in the hall on Monday 8th May. Around 55 people came and Fearnan folk were joined by visitors from around the local area. Two bikers from Shropshire who were in Fearnan at the time also enjoyed the hospitality.

In true Fearnan fashion, there was a good spread of both savouries and cakes etc. which was much enjoyed (and complimented on) by our visitors.

Around eight children enthusiastically participated in craft activities designing crowns and decorating plates. Modelling their crowns, they proudly posed for photos on a “throne” holding an orb and sceptre and wearing a vintage “robe.”

A special Coronation Raffle was drawn. Kath Douthwaite had generously donated hampers prepared by The Courtyard, Kenmore. 

The raffle was very popular, and the delighted winners were:

1st Prize: Karen from Fearnan

2nd Prize: Miranda and her daughter from Aberfeldy. 

3rd Prize:Willie from Fearnan

Donations and raffle takings were for the McLean Hall funds and resulted in a total of £500 being raised. Many thanks to all who contributed. 

Fearnan Book Club

At our book club meeting in May, we discussed Glenlyon by Kenneth Steven, who grew up in Highland Perthshire. It was there he experienced the glens, rivers and lochs, as well as the wildlife, that has inspired his poetry and prose. He encountered some of the last freshwater pearlfishers and the last few speakers of Perthshire Gaelic. All of this poured into his poetry and prose.

We all commented on the beautiful poetic language and imagery. The evocative setting and timelessness of the Glen was well described. It was a sensitive read which discussed the themes of love, broken people and the search for freedom and healing.

Some of the group felt that this was more like a novella and that it could have been a longer book in which characters and events could have been developed further. 

We cared about the characters and although the ending was perhaps left to the reader, it felt like a happy ending with closure for Somerset, the main character. His previous life was gradually revealed as the story progressed. He had felt a failure, then he had a future. We enjoyed the love affair between Somerset and Anna and how he panned for gold for her wedding ring. 

A few of us have visited the “stones”, which featured in the text, on an archeological walk. The Cailleach (a seasonal goddess), Bodach (‘old man’, her husband) and their children, roughly shaped in human form, feature in the ancient ritual – which is linked with farming prosperity – and they are brought out of their shieling in Spring and returned for winter.

Some of the author’s work is also showcased on the Corbenic Poetry Path. 

Our next read is No Great Mischief, a 1999 novel by Alistair McLeod.

This novel explores the emotional bonds of family through flashbacks to their childhood in Cape Breton Island and young adulthood spent in the mines of Northern Ontario, clan history dating back to 1779, and present-day interactions between the two brothers and a sister.

McLean Hall’s Annual General Meeting 2023

Ros Grant writes:

Fearnan’s Hall Committee, comprising the Management Team and User Group representatives held its Annual General Meeting and General Business Meeting on Thursday 18 May 2023.   The Committee has met on two occasions during the year as has the Management Team.  

Social events in the Hall are gradually increasing post pandemic and regular classes resuming.   Two very successful events were held – the MacMillan charity coffee morning on 30 September 2022 and more recently the volunteers’ day Coronation Celebration on Monday 8 May to celebrate King Charles’ Coronation on 6 May which raised over £500 for Hall funds.  Thanks to Linda Milne for co-ordinating these events with an enthusiastic team and huge thanks to everyone who has contributed to hall events. 

Hall User Groups comprise regular clubs and sessions which include Carpet Bowls on Monday evenings during the winter season (October – March), Tai Chi on Wednesday mornings (10am – 11am) and Yoga on Friday mornings (10.15am – 11.45am).  New members are always welcome to join these activities; the Art Club is hoping to reconvene in the Autumn, usually held on Monday afternoons.  Fearnan Book Club meets monthly on the second Wednesday at 7.30pm. The Masons also meet regularly.   Several evening meetings for the community have been held one on Managing Japanese Knotweed, an invasive species and the other on Recycling including a presentation from Perth & Kinross Council. 

The Hall Committee always aims to dovetail its events with those of the Fearnan Village Association so that the local annual calendar is reasonably spaced. 

As the Hall Committee has no slot in the Aberfeldy Thrift Shop this year, the Hall Team hopes to organise fundraising events such as a Summer Fayre in August and an evening Quiz in the Autumn.  We need funds to develop the external area of the hall front to include the addition of a shed to house difficult to recycle small items and a resource centre.

Elections for Office Bearers of the Hall Management Committee Team and the Trustees were held at the AGM as usual.  Each year Office Bearers (Chair, Treasurer and Secretary) and Trustees stand down but can stand for re-election.   Office Bearers for 2023-24 are Chair Ros Grant, Secretary Elaine Melrose, Treasurer Kay Simmonds, and Events Organiser Linda Milne. 

Karen Bennett has been involved with Hall matters for 15 years and as outgoing Treasurer presented the accounts for the last time.  She has decided to stand down from the Hall Management Committee Team and step back from her quite extraordinary contribution to village life not just as Treasurer, but she has also been responsible for administration, fundraising including grant applications, publicity and function organiser, all aspects of hall maintenance and improvements including a new kitchen.  Ros presented Karen with a Svarowski Diamante Crystal vase and a bouquet of flowers from Coach House, Grandtully on behalf of the Hall Committee.

The Trustees, Frances Brace and Tom Alexander who were re-elected for the year, paid tribute to Kath Douthwaite whose death was announced on 8 May.  Kath was a Trustee and had a longstanding interest in the Hall, whose Committee she joined in 1989.  She had donated the raffle prizes for the Hall’s Coronation Celebration.  We send our condolences to Alan and the Douthwaite family.

80^th Anniversary of the Fearnan Air Crash

The 29th May 2023 was the 80th anniversary of one of the most dramatic days in the history of the village, when a propeller-driven Albermarle plane, crewed by 3 Russian airmen who were based at Errol, crashed in the Cow Park. All on board died, including their Czechoslovakian colleague.

The village itself was unharmed, thanks to the skill of the pilot. On the anniversary, Sue Dolan Betney, the Chair of Fearnan Village Association, laid flowers at the commemoration stone to remember those who died and, on behalf of a previous generation of villagers, to express thanks for the fact that a potential disaster was averted.

The story was picked up by the Times newspaper, in an article by Magnus Linklater, and also appeared in parts of the Russian press, where this laying of flowers was recognised as a simple act of humanity.

The full story of the crash appeared on this Blog a few years ago, and you can read it here: The Fearnan Air Crash.

June Pop-Up Coffee Shop

The last PopUp Coffee Shop until after the summer was held on the 27th June.

Although quieter that most PopUps, it was none the less sociable for that, and was much enjoyed by those who were there.

Please note that the FVA will not be hosting a Strawberry Tea this year, due (as they say) to unforeseen circumstances. We will, however, hold an extra event in the autumn – so watch this space for news and dates!