Last Saturday, the Village Association hosted its first Strawberry Tea since the pandemic, and it proved to be a popular move with the 60 or so people who attended. We were delighted to welcome people from across the area – from Killin to Aberfeldy – including a number who were visitors on holiday.

It has to be said that things weren’t looking all that good on Friday, when we discovered there was a local shortage of strawberries with a number of suppliers cancelling their weekend deliveries as rain and a lack of sun had affected the crop. Fortunately, we found enough sources of berries and a big thank you to the Courtyard Shop for going out of their way to find alternative supplies.

Once things were underway, plates were quickly filled and before long, there were only a few crumbs left, as these before and after photos show!

Many thanks to all those who contributed to the baking effort and who helped us put on such an excellent table from savouries such as strawberry bruschetta and sandwiches, to sweet treats including magnificent cakes, meringues, scones and pavlova.

Scottish Charity Air Ambulance

Once again, our SCAA collecting tin was full (we only got this one in February). 

We’ve been advised that it contained an amazing £164.38, and SCAA were delighted. 

This is about £50 more than our usual tally. Not bad for 5 months/6 events!

Instead of charging for takeaways, we’ve started asking folk to put a donation in the SCAA box. Good result! Thank you for your generosity.

Fearnan Book Club Review

Linda writes:

 At our recent meeting, The Quaker by Liam  McIlvanney was discussed with enthusiasm.  This book was the winner of the 2018 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

Plot summary: It is 1969 and Glasgow has been brought to its knees by a serial killer spreading fear throughout the city. The Quaker has taken three women from the same nightclub and brutally murdered them in the backstreets. The novel takes its inspiration from the real-life murders that horrified Glasgow in 1968/9 by a perpetrator christened Bible John. In McIlvanney’s re-imagining, his murderer is dubbed The Quaker.

Our group thought that initially its pace was slow but then it became a page turner. It was a chilling and at times a hard read with interesting twists. 

The characters were well developed, and Cormack and Goldie had a special mention from the group. The descriptions of the murdered women and their back stories were portrayed well. The gripping chapters written from the women’s point of view ensured they were given a voice. We felt the descriptions of life and the atmosphere in Glasgow in the 1960s felt authentic and true to life. 

The Barrowland ballroom was described as a gritty, seedy place where the dancing provided an escape from reality and hard lives. Men and women sought anonymity and removed wedding rings to appear available. When seeking witnesses. this made the detectives’ job difficult as people were not keen to come forward. 

The image of the Glasgow Police Force, the chain-smoking policemen and the absence of female officers was true to that era. Many in the force in those days were from Argyll, as was Cormack, a talented  young detective brought in to solve this ongoing case and find the murderer. The Highlanders sought each other out to exchange tales and memories from their home area eg. Ballachulish. 

There was clever plotting with the interweaving of two storylines. 

Some didn’t see the ending coming but it was agreed that all aspects were pulled together and rounded off in an acceptable manner.

Our next read is The Gathering Storm by Lynne McEwan. 

 There are no easy choices when the dark clouds gather.

DI Shona Oliver’s past and present collide when James McGowan, her ex-classmate – now a famous actor – comes to the area to make a Robert Burns biopic.’

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