Diary Dates
McLean Hall Members Meeting
Come along on 3rd September 2026 at 7.30pm to find out what’s happening and to have a say in the running of your hall.
MacMillan Coffee Morning, McLean Hall Fearnan.
You are warmly invited to join our many MacMillan Cancer Support regulars for tea/coffee, delicious home baking, cake sale and a raffle on Saturday 26th September 10.30am – 12.00 noon.
Colin the Caterpillar (very much a regular) will be coming and one lucky prize winner will get to take Colin home!
Come and help Fearnan contribute to this fundraiser which helps those living with cancer. All donations welcome.
Roll Up, Roll Up for a New Carpet Bowls Season!
Carpet Bowls will restart in the Mclean Hall on Monday 5th October, 7.30-9.30pm, and every Monday night going forward. New members are particularly welcome – and it doesn’t matter if you’re a novice or an experienced player. Contact Angela on 830619, or at a.kininmonth@outlook.com if you would like more information.
Halloween Pop Up: Tuesday 27th October
As the nights draw in and All Hallow’s Eve approaches, join us for spooky cakes and other frights in the McLean Hall 11.00 – 13.00.
Trigger warning: arachnophobes beware!
Fearnan’s Market Cross
Fearnan’s Market Cross
Recent tree felling in Boreland Wood (also known as Boreland Forest) has opened up the area around Fearnan’s Market Cross (or the Fair Stone of Fearnan) one of several scheduled monuments in the forest.
Early records show that the original Barony of Fearnan was made up of a number of croft units situated along the loch-side – several of them in the area now covered by Boreland Forest and close to the site of the Market Cross. A copy of an old map showing the location of these crofts is included in the permanent exhibition in the village hall and the ruins of some of these crofts are still visible.
This picture shows the ruins of the Tomintyvoir croft. In 1755, there were 47 people living in seven dwellings in this croft unit, but the population of the whole area was in decline and, by the 1841 census, there were only 3 people left.
The stone itself appears on early maps of Fearnan making it possible to date it to pre-1769.
The stone carries a curse, inscribed on the back which is a warning to anyone who might think about meddling with the stone:
The plaque reads:
“Tradition says this stone is the Fair or Market Cross of Fearnan and the Legend is: Cursed be he who removes it.” Breadalbane.
Phone Opportunity!
If you have an O2 pay-as-you-go mobile, Adrian has a voucher that he can’t use as he’s transferred to a contract. If this is something you could use and would like to discuss it with him, get in touch on greigh9@gmail.com
Fearnan Book Club
Linda writes:
At our August meeting, we discussed The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. It was the winner of the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2026.
This epistolary novel follows ten years of letters and emails written by Sybil, a divorcee and a retired lawyer and chief clerk.
We found it a fascinating concept and an interesting way of writing about someone’s life. It is beautifully written with well drawn, vivid characters and descriptions of locations.
Sybil was a strong character, sharply observant and persistent. As she reflected on her life, a range of issues were explored, adoption, death of a child, relationships with her adult children as well as romantic ones as an older woman. It was humorous and also emotional and tragic as her past was revealed.
As a keen reader and letter writer, we found the loss of her sight cruel.
We discussed how nowadays that most people don’t write lengthy letters and don’t have the pleasure of receiving them.
Our next read is 4.50 from Paddington, Agatha Christie’s 1957 novel and classic Miss Marple railway mystery.
It is built on (or rather pre-dates) a “Sliding Doors” style moment where a split-second alignment of two parallel trains changes everything.
Fearnan Village Association 