Fearnan Diary

Here are some of the events taking place in the next few weeks:

Saturday 14^th September 19.30 – 21.00: September Social. 

This is a BYOB event organised by the FVA and will take place in the village Hall.  We will provide a range of savoury bites and nibbles to go with your wine/drink of choice. £3.00 pp.

Saturday 28^th September 10.30 – 12.00 MacMillan Coffee Morning.

The Hall Committee are once again hosting a local Macmillan Coffee Morning, the fund raiser to help people living with cancer. Last year, events across the nation raised over £18 million, so do come along and join what is usually a fun event and help Fearnan make its contribution to the national total.

Saturday 5^th October: Quiz Night 7-9pm.

Yes, the Quiz Night is back! This is a fund-raiser for Fearnan Hall, organised by the Hall Committee, and it’s another chance to come along and compete with other local teams to win the coveted Quiz Night Shield!

Tuesday 29^th October: Halloween Pop Up 11.00 in the Hall.

The FVA’s Pop-Up Coffee Shop is back for Halloween! Join us for homemade spooky cakes and goodies and fresh coffee. Dressing up is permitted but not compulsory.

Japanese Knotweed Update

Japanese knotweed is an invasive plant affecting many areas of Scotland. In Fearnan, it grows along the loch shore and inland by the burn that flows down by the Brae.  Fortunately there is a plan  to deal with it, thanks to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative (SISI)  a 5-year project which aims to work with local organisations and volunteers to control invasive non-native species along riversides in Northern Scotland, for the benefit of our native wildlife and communities. 

Four volunteers from Fearnan have undergone training on how to control Japanese knotweed and apply the appropriate weedkiller. 

The initial phase of Japanese knotweed eradication started last year in September and continued until the first frost.   However, it is necessary to continue to control the plant every year, at this time of year and may take 3-4 years to complete.

Our intrepid team (above) are about to start work on this year’s treatments and Joe has provided this update

Joe writes:

Following the work carried out to inject and spray JKW along the Loch shore bordering Fearnan, approximately between the speed limit signs at either end of the village, and a couple of other areas in the village, we are about to have another session to “mop up” the remnants.

Last year, during two sessions at the end of August early September, the majority of the work involved injecting weedkiller into the stems of the JKW. Injection is the optimum means of attacking the large well-established stems of JKW; injecting a dose of weedkiller into the hollow, bamboo like, stems. This is then drawn, by the plant, into the rhizomes and kills them. For the smaller stems the weedkiller is applied by a spray.

An inspection earlier this year showed that although the treatment had been very successful, as expected, however, there are still some “stragglers” remaining.

We are over the next few weeks hoping for some dry, windless days to allow us to address these “stragglers” which, due to their size, will need to be sprayed. The expectation is, that should we be able to get this dry window this year, that this should clear up the JKW in the village.

If anyone feels they may have seen any JKW around the village it would be very helpful to know where, so that when Mark Purrmann-Charles of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative is here we may address it.

(If you would like to report any sightings of JKW, please let any member of the team know, or email the Blog – fiona@fearnanvillageassociation – and I will pass on the message.)

More Plant News!

Adrian reports that an amazing number of tiny Horsehair Parachute fungi (Gymnpus androsaceus) have appeared on parts of Drummond Hill this year. 

There are, he says, always some about but this year there are literally carpets of them.

It is a medicinal fungus mainly used to treat various forms of pain in China and is classed as inedible/poisonous.

Fearnan Book Club Review

Linda writes:

The book reviewed by the group in August was ‘The Gathering Storm’ by Lynne McEwan, an atmospheric crime thriller. 

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.

Shona is tasked with keeping him safe during filming on an isolated island in the Solway Firth, and her job is made much harder when a dead man wearing James’s coat is found on the beach in suspicious circumstances. It seems someone wanted James out of the picture.

This was considered an easy read and an interesting concept, although some of the events were perhaps not believable eg. exploding haggis! Although it was a complex plot with a lot going on, it was not difficult to follow. However, the story was not considered memorable, and some didn’t want to continue reading the series.  

It is one of a series of novels featuring DI Shona Oliver as the main character. Some commented about enjoying reading about a female detective. We also felt that there will have been detail in the previous books that would have helped clarify references to her past.

Most of the group liked Shona and her daughter Becca. Her unusual back story involved her husband being in jail, she was running a B& B and was also a lifeboat volunteer. We were amazed at how much she managed to achieve in her busy life and at how she kept going with such a turbulent private and work life. In the midst of all this, she had an affair with the man she was protecting. One of us compared it to Eastenders!

She and her daughter were in danger with death threats being made linked to her husband’s conviction. The bodyguards Ric and Ben, detailed to look after them, were well portrayed and one felt they even deserved their own book. 

We found the dipping in and out of the Scot’s language off putting and felt there should have been continuity. 

The setting was interesting, with a film featuring Robert Burns being shot on an island in the Solway Firth. 

Some felt the ending was weak, rushed and let the story down. It didn’t feel well plotted and (Spoiler Alert!) allowing the murderer walk away didn’t feel true to Shona’s character. 

P.S. The eagle-eyed amongst you, may have spotted that the cover image is of the Bow Fiddle Rock off the Moray Coast whereas the book was set around the Solway Firth. 

Our next read is Rose Nicholson by Andrew Greig. 

A vivid and passionate tale of 16th Century Scotland and which, it has been said, ‘confirms Andrew Greig as one of the great contemporary writers of fiction.’