Fearnan Village Association

Spring seems to have arrived in Fearnan – the daffodils are dancing in the breeze, lambs are gambolling in the fields, the days are getting longer and we’ve even enjoyed some warm and sunny days.

Spring means the end of the season for the Indoor Bowls Club, and the awarding of prizes to members. This year’s Star Bowlers are Angela Kininmonth who triumphed in the Singles Final, and Alastair Kininmonth and John Raeburn who lifted the Doubles Cup.

Well done to them! The Club restarts in the Autumn, and any prospective new members will be very welcome to come along and have a go on the first Monday in October. (Look out for an article on this on the Blog nearer the time.)

 We’re very impressed to see how relaxed Angela and Alastair look, given that the lambing season is in full swing, and the maternity units in Ewetopia will be very busy. Peter McKenzie has already been up with his camera, and shared these delightful pics of some new arrivals.

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Forthcoming Events

Join us for tea in the Hall on Saturday 15th April at 3pm to celebrate the FVA’s 10th Birthday. Free to members and their guests.

The April Coffee Morning is on Tuesday 25th at 10.30 in the Hall, when the usual spread of baking, savouries and hot-off-the-griddle pancakes will be available, along with freshly made coffee and tea.

Annual General Meetitng

The FVA Annual General Meeting took place at the end of March, and here are the Minutes.

Fearnan Village Association

Annual General Meeting and Business Meeting

25^th March at 4pm, McLean Hall, Fearnan

 Welcome

The Chair, Sue Gardener, opened the meeting by welcoming members. She explained that the format of the afternoon would be: the FVA Annual General Meeting, followed by the Business Meeting.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

 Apologies

 Apologies were received from Cath McGregor, Ros Grant, Nick Grant, Graham Liney.

Adoption of the Minutes of the 2016 AGM and Business Meeting

 The adoption of the Minutes for the 2016 AGM, was proposed by Neil Ballantyne and seconded by Keith Brockie.

Chair’s Report

 The chair reported that the FVA is 10 years old this year and continues to fulfil its original objectives, which are:

• To provide a forum for discussing issues which affect the village and agreeing and taking appropriate action where necessary.
• To organise social events.

Issues this year have included:

Flooding and Drainage: the problems experienced in the village in Spring 2016 were addressed by providing information to, and liaising with, the Community Council and PKC Roads Department as well as supporting affected individuals.

The Cow Park: the FVA was approached by one of the owners to see if Fearnan had an appetite to purchase the Cow Park. Some initial research was conducted, and a village meeting to discuss the proposal was hosted, leading to the formation of a steering group to take the project forward.

Scrap and Land Management: the Association has supported the Community Council in tackling the environmental problem of scrap and land management in and around the village by: ensuring that the regulatory and enforcement agencies have the information they need to take action; making a formal complaint about the impact on the whole village; supporting complaints made by individuals; and keeping the membership updated.

Communication: the Fearnan Blog has gone from strength to strength as a means of communication, and its articles on Fearnan’s social history have been enjoyed and reached the readers around the world.

Attendance at the Remembrance Day Service has increased, and it has benefited from coverage on the blog and the offer of refreshments afterwards in the hall. The Association’s interest in the War Memorial has led the Community Council to lobby PKC for improvements.

Broadband provision is still inadequate overall, but the AB Internet initiative has been supported through the dissemination of information and is now in use by several households.

The regular social events provide an opportunity to meet friends and neighbours and continue to be supported and enjoyed by visitors as well as villagers.

Finance Report

The key points from the Treasurer’s Report were

• the organisation had £5468.37 in the bank at the end of the financial year.
• membership currently stands at 63.
• ten events were held this year. Year-on-year, income from the events dropped slightly, mainly due to a slight dip in the average attendance, and therefore income, at Coffee Mornings. The Armistice Day event is free-entry, but attracted £65 in donations for Help for Heroes.
• the main expenditure is venue costs and reimbursement of expenses for ingredients etc.
• the FVA gave the Cow Park Committee £200 pounds for expenses and research, and this was returned when the offer of sale was withdrawn.

Jim fair was thanked for checking the Books at the end of the financial year.

Committee Membership

 There were no resignations and no changes to the membership of the committee in the last year.

AOCB

There were no items and the chair declared the AGM closed, and moved onto the Business meeting.

FVA BUSINESS MEETING

 Fearnan Issues

Scrap and Land Management: An update on the situation was circulated by email on the morning of the AGM. The lay-by at Balnearn has been cleared, although it was thought that some of the scrap had been moved onto adjacent land. An Amenity Order has been issued to clear Dalchiaran in the next month, and another notice has been served in relation to water run-off at Balnearn.

The matter will be on the agenda at the next Community Council Meeting, which is on 4 May at 7:30 PM in Glen Lyon Primary School.

Cow Park: A working group was formed to take forward the village’s interest in purchasing the Cow Park but shortly after its formation, the offer of sale was withdrawn.

There was a discussion at the AGM during which members of the community expressed their concern at the state of the Cow Park and disappointment that the SNH Management Plan was not to be implemented.

There was a discussion on a number of related issues, and a minute of the discussion will be passed to the members of the Cow Park Group.

Blog Report: The Blog continues to be widely read, not just in Fearnan, but by Fearnan fans in countries around the world. Last year, we established an on-line contact in Russia and she is about to publish a book telling the story of the Russian Airmen who came to train at Errol during WW2. It covers the air crash at Fearnan, and includes quite a bit about the village itself. The author and another descendant of the Russian airmen will visit the village in May.

Village Map: A proposal to produce a map of the village has been put forward. It was agreed that it should be a multi-purpose map i.e. useful to visitors as well as residents, and capable of being mounted on an information board somewhere prominent in the village, as well as going on the blog and being distributed to residents. The suggestion of using a drone photograph of the whole village as the basis for the map was made. Some funding towards this by the FVA was approved.

Staying Connected: A proposal to promote good neighbourliness has also been put forward and the idea is to make sure we all know who our neighbours are, and that we can support each other if needed. It is proposed that contact information for willing residents is compiled so that quick communication is possible if something happens. Information might also include useful contacts. Inclusion would be entirely voluntary and it would only cover those who wish to be included. It could also have Added Value by providing a network of people who are willing to offer help e.g. by collecting prescriptions or doing shopping if someone was ill. The idea met with approval and Fran Donovan will take this forward. She would like to hear from volunteers who could form a group to work out the best way to set this up.

Broadband: AB Internet now provides a 10mps (approx.) service to the village, but it is dependent on line-of-sight with the mast.

War Memorial: The existing steps are dangerous and cannot be replaced as they constitute a traffic hazard on the corner. Following an approach by the FVA, the Community Council agreed a plan with PKC for the mounting of a stone ‘wreath holder’ at the front of the memorial, which means there will be no need to climb up to lay wreaths. Drawings are being prepared and will be circulated for community opinion before a final decision is taken. Any maintenance required on the retaining wall will also be carried out.

Fearnan History: Ian McGregor is giving the administration of his book to the FVA. Fran now has most of his papers. A reprint is needed, and in future the FVA will pay for the reprints and retain income from sales. A small print run is needed now for the summer season, but in the future, the new map (see above) and social history articles from Blog could be included in a revised version of the book.

Social Events and Dates: The dates of forthcoming events are on the What’s On page on the Blog. At the meeting it was decided to change the Coffee Morning on the 12^th September to a Soup and Roll Lunch on Saturday 16^th of September. It was suggested that events should be advertised on the noticeboard at the Co-op in Aberfeldy.

Fiona will look for a suitable temporary sign for outside the hall to promote FVA events when they are on.

AOCB

The Community Council has been asked to support the planting of the tree at the site of a light aircraft crash outside the village about 15 years ago, and in which the pilot was killed. The area is due for felling, and there is a wish to mark the site before the felling takes place. The meeting agreed a small contribution might be made from funds if this was deemed appropriate.

The Chair closed the meeting by thanking all members, and the committee members, for their contribution to a successful year for the Fearnan Village Association.

The Village Hall hosted a Games and Curry Night at the beginning of March, and judging by the smiles in the photos below, it was much enjoyed by the participants.  Most of us were trying not to count the years that had passed since we last played table tennis, dominoes or tiddly-winks and also trying not to be too inept.

Guy, who’s hand was very clearly out of action in a bandage and sling, should probably have been given a generous handicap.  But having said that, he still managed to out-play several of us at table tennis!

Games Night

Elaine demonstrated how to play Quoits……….

………… and although she made it look easy, not all of us were able to emulate her style (as the 3 ‘misses’ in the photo show).

All thoughts of winning, high scores and personal bests were quickly forgotten when, after a flurry of activity in the kitchen, a delicious selection of curries appeared, followed by home-made ice-cream and sorbets. A great finale to the evening.

Later in the month, a somewhat less energetic but equally sociable Coffee Morning was held – the first of the year. As ever, there was an excellent spread of goodies,  including warm pancakes made on the spot, savouries, cakes and biscuits.

Making the pancakes.

More Events Coming Up!

Fearnan Village Association’s AGM will be held on Saturday 25th March at 4pm in the Village Hall.  All members welcome.

The FVA is 10 years old and and like every ten year old, we love a good birthday party!  Join us for a celebratory afternoon tea on Saturday 15th April at 3pm. Free to members and their friends.

There’s also a Coffee Morning on April 25th at 10.30am in the Hall.

If you enjoy a good read, the Book Club are reading Joanna Cannon’s debut novel, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep, a funny and moving portrayal of suburban life in 1970’s Britain with an intriguing mystery at its core. They will be discussing it on the 12th April in the Hall at 7.30pm

To the casual observer, Fearnan might appear to be a relatively recent settlement. There are a few older croft properties, but most of the houses in the present-day village were built within the last 50 years.

However, closer examination reveals signs of habitation around the village from as long ago as the Bronze Age (the Boar Stone), from the early Christian era (a grave stone in the burial ground and the font from St Kieran’s church), and from the late medieval period (the Market Cross).

Chiaran’s Font

Market Cross

But perhaps the most famous and revealing monuments are physically out of sight – they are the 2 Iron Age crannogs, which lie beneath the waters of the loch, just off-shore from the present-day village. These are the remains of artificial-island dwellings, built and inhabited by a farming community some two and a half thousand years ago.

In the 1980’s, one of these crannogs, Oakbank, was the first underwater site in Britain to be excavated and to do this, new archaeological methods had to be developed for both excavating and recording the findings.

Scottish Crannog Centre, Croft-na-Caber

The excavation has hugely informed the understanding of our Iron Age ancestors, and of life in the Iron Age.

Not only that – it has led to the reconstruction of a crannog, based on the one at Oakbank, on the Loch at Croft-na-Caber.  This makes it possible to imagine how Fearnan might have looked 2,500 years ago.

The landscape is not thought to have changed a great deal in the intervening period so, take away the houses in your mind’s eye, and imagine 2 crannogs – one at Oakbank and one just off-shore at Shoreside; you might see smoke seeping through the roofs from the hearths inside the crannogs; you might hear young children playing and see the older children and adults from the extended family watching over grazing animals and tending their crops.

It is the cultivation of the land  that creates a direct link between the iron age farmers and Fearnan today, because the present day crofts and houses sit on the same land that was farmed by them 2,500 years ago – and by countless generations both before and since the crannog-dwellers. Once cleared, probably about 3,000 years ago,  the fertile land was far too valuable an asset to be abandoned and it has been under continuous cultivation ever since.

Written information about the crannogs starts as far back as 1590.  Timothy Pont’s Map of Loch Tay (of which there is a copy in the village hall) refers to “Krannichs”, and the old tradition spoke of 24 artificial islands in the loch.  In 1938, William Gillies in his book In Famed Breadalbane, gave the position of 13 of these islands and expressed the opinion that more could be identified by a careful survey.

Forty years later, in 1979, that survey was carried out by Dr Nick Dixon, who is now a Director and founder member of the Scottish Trust for Underwater Archaeology, but at that time he was conducting research at St Andrews University. He identified the remains of 18 crannog sites, all in an excellent state of preservation due to the cold peaty waters of the Loch.

Oakbank Crannog was selected for excavation because of its shape, size and the fact that there were the remains of a walkway from the shore to the crannog.  This suggested that, of all the crannogs in the loch, it was most likely to yield interesting information.  Today, Nick smiles at this memory, and remarks that if he had known just how much was down there, he might have picked the simplest crannog in the loch instead!

Alder post marking Oakbank Crannog

A single post of alder wood in the water marks the spot where Oakwood Crannog stood.  This was put in some 20 years ago, when Nick and his colleagues were experimenting with construction methods ahead of starting the building at Croft-na-Caber.  The post was cut to a point and driven into the lochbed. Its continuing presence demonstrates how well the lochbed clays grip and hold structures.

In his book, William Gillies talked of the difficulty of constructing these substantial structures in the Loch. The excavation at Oakbank enabled the archaeologists to determine just how substantial they were. The floor was constructed of three levels of small alder trees lying parallel on top of each other. Around the floor were the upright stakes and piles that supported the walls and roof of the house. Forty elm and oak stumps mark the remains of a walkway that led to the shore.

The archaeologists have found evidence that Oakbank Crannog was rebuilt some 6 times, following the collapse of all or part of the main structure.  Each collapse would have added to the growing mound of debris under the crannog, and latterly the support piles that needed to be sunk into the loch would have been driven into the old debris, rather than the lochbed clay. This would have produced a less stable result, and so large stones and rocks were dropped to help hold the piles in place.  Over time, a small man-made island would be built up under the crannog.

Diver working at Oakbank (photo courtesy of N Dixon)

What is extraordinary is the wealth of information and the sheer volume of artefacts that have been unearthed from what appears to be a mound of stones. Under these stones is a mass of well-preserved organic debris from the crannog’s platform and the dwelling it supported, along with the abandoned material left by the inhabitants.  Loch Tay’s waters are dark, peaty and cold and this helps with the preservation of materials. But perhaps the best preserver was the mound of bracken and ferns with which the crannog-dwellers covered their floor to make the building comfortable.

Bracken is full of tannins that have a preserving effect and amongst the bracken and ferns the underwater archaeologists found many of the objects that people had used in their everyday lives. Wooden plates and dishes, the remains of a wooden drinking cup, a wooden spoon, and a butter dish with the remains of butter still sticking to it, have all been uncovered. The discovery of cultivation implements provided evidence of agricultural practice, along with the presence of an early form of wheat.  The wheat was unexpected as it had not been thought to be present this far north until some 500 years later.

Animal bones, and sheep droppings with parasite eggs still preserved in them have been found, as well as a fragment of fine textile not suspected from this early date in Scotland.

We now know that their diet included strawberry, blackberry and cloudberry (which only grows on the high moorland above 700m) so the crannog dwellers must have made special trips to collect it. Or perhaps, like the generations of farmers that followed them, they took their sheep up to exploit the higher pastures in summer. Herbs and medicinal plants were also found, and if you have been struggling to eradicate any of these pretty things from your garden…….

Fat Hen

Plantain

Ranunculus

…………. you may (or possibly, may not) be interested to know that they have been growing in the area for at least 2,500 years!  But then they would have been prized for their medicinal benefits.  Fat Hen (chenopodium), so called because it was used to fatten poultry, was used for liver complaints, as a mild laxative, for skin irritations, and for relieving arthritis and rheumatism.  Plantain (plantago), apart from being nutritious, has been widely used in poultices and lotions, and has anti-inflammatory effects. It is also rich in tannin and allantoin, both of which help injuries to heal. The uses of buttercups (Ranunculus) include treating headaches and, shingles, and sciatica.

Support platform for underwater excavation of Oakbank Crannog. (Photo courtesy of N Dixon)

The discoveries at Oakbank have not just revealed a wealth of information on how the crannog-dwellers lived as a community, but also on how that community interacted with the outside world. Some of the artefacts found did not originate in the area around Loch Tay – or even in Britain, for that matter. Opium poppy seeds found here, but originating in Afghanistan, must have been traded. A black jet bead, possibly from Whitby, must have been acquired through a trading arrangement. And an iron knife, which would have been a prize possession, must also have been acquired from outside the area. The River Tay provided a trading route and had the potential to connect the crannog-dwellers to traders not just from other parts of Britain, but also from the Continent and beyond. Paddles discovered in the remains of Oakbank Crannog confirm that the water was used as a transport route.

But why were the crannogs built? Were they for defence, or purely practical? There are several possible answers to this. One theory is that it was for security, as the crannog provided a defensible site and a means of keeping their animals safe from on-shore predators. However, it is also clear that the structures would have been highly visible for miles away from the hill tops. Not ideal from the security point of view.

Another possible clue is that at the end of the Bronze Age, which spanned the second millennium BC, there was serious change in the climate and the weather became colder and wetter. This resulted in pressure on the land and resources and led to the construction of different types of structures during the Iron Age such as hillforts, duns and monumental roundhouses.

This is also the period in which crannogs were built. Land that had been laboriously cleared and then cultivated would have become highly valuable for sustaining the community and there was a logic to moving dwelling houses offshore to maximise the space on which crops could be grown and animals grazed.

The fact that these dwellings could have been seen from afar, combined with obvious status symbols that were found during the excavation (for example a bronze swan-necked dress pin dating from 5 – 600 BC), suggests another reason for their construction. The people who occupied the crannogs were relatively wealthy people and so prestige and status may have been behind their construction.

We may never know the definitive answer – but we do know that the Loch holds other tantalising secrets.

One of them is a 12.5 metre log boat that lies on the bottom of the Loch.  It dates from around 1,500 BC and therefore sunk to the bottom in an accident some 1,000 years before the crannogs were built. Its significant size suggests that it was used for carrying cargo as well as people.

Discovered in 1994, it has been left in place on the lochbed, where it continues to be preserved by the cold, peaty waters, until technological advances reduce the cost of raising and preserving it on dry land.

Another extraordinary discovery was a submerged Neolithic woodland deep in the Loch. In a 160m strip on the loch bed, divers found well-preserved oak and elm timbers – some fallen, some still upright and protruding from the lochbed.  Samples taken indicate the trees are between 8,000 and 1,500 years old and it is thought that this underwater woodland represents the old natural shoreline of the Loch, which would have been some 10 – 15 metres from the current shoreline.

In amongst the submerged woodland, divers also discovered the preserved remains of a 4,000-year-old beavers’ lodge – a somewhat topical find suggesting that beavers can perhaps claim a historical right to be in this area!

This year, the 20^th anniversary of the reconstruction of the crannog at Croft-na-Caber, the underwater archaeologists are to return to Oakbank for further excavation work. No doubt more detailed information about iron-age life, concealed and preserved for 2,500 years by the waters of the Loch, will be revealed.

In the meantime, The Scottish Crannog Centre, where more information about the  Oakbank excavation can be obtained, re-opens for the season on 1st April 2017.

(Many thanks to Dr Nick Dixon for his time and help in putting this article together.)

Last Saturday, the annual Fearnan Winter Pudding Night arrived, bringing with it a wonderful smell of baking and a feast of deliciousness for FVA members and their guests.

Whether your preference is for warm ‘comfort’ puddings like Treacle Sponge, Rice Pudding or Cloutie Dumpling, or more sophisticated tarts, pavlovas and cheesecakes, there was something for everyone.

The main problem was deciding what to choose and what to leave out, but we know of at least one person who solved this tricky dilemma by simply working his way, one by one, down the full list of puddings set out in the menu.  We take our metaphorical hat off in admiration!

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As ever, the music was provided by Doug and Hilary Law who, we’re delighted to say, have moved into the village.  Here’s a little sample from Doug.

Take it away, Maestro………

There’s lots more happening in Fearnan, and the dates of forthcoming events are:

Saturday 4th March – Games and Curry Night in the Hall at 6 – 9 pm.

Tuesday 21st March – FVA Coffee Morning.  Join us at 10.30 am for coffee, chat and some delicious home baking.

Saturday 25th March – FVA Annual General Meeting in the Hall at 4pm.

Saturday 22nd April –  Quiz Night in the Hall. The cost will be £7.50 a head for adults and this year’s charity is the Scottish Charity Air Ambulance.

And finally ……..

In these parts, we’re familiar with road signs that exhort us to beware of Red Squirrels, Deer, or other wildlife. With it’s tongue very firmly in its cheek, The Blog has another suggestion borrowed from elsewhere!

Here’s a list of the main Fearnan Village Association events for 2017. As well as publishing them here, we’ve put them on the What’s On page on the Blog, so they are easy to find at any time.

Winter Pudding Night: Saturday 18^th February at 6pm

The perfect antidote to wintry weather! A convivial evening with the best choice of puddings you will find anywhere, ever! Whether you prefer childhood favourites like treacle pudding, jam roly-poly and rice pudding, or more sophisticated tarts, dessert and confections, there’s something here for everyone. You can have as many helpings as you can manage for only £7.00, school-age children half price. Live music. Come hungry!

Coffee Mornings –  Join us for freshly brewed coffee and tea and some delicious home baking from 10.30am to 12.00 on the following dates:

Tuesday 21st March

Tuesday 25^th April

Tuesday 23^rd May

Tuesday 20^th June

Tuesday 12^th September

Tuesday 17^th October

Other Events:

Saturday 15^th April (Easter Weekend). This year the FVA is 10 years old, and like every ten year old, we love a good Birthday Party! Join us at 3pm for a celebratory afternoon tea. Free to members and their friends.

Saturday 15^th July: Strawberry TeaZ 15.00 -16.30. Cakes, tarts, scones, ice cream and more – all made or served with strawberries. Live music.

Sunday Nov 12th – Remembrance Sunday 11.00 at the Memorial and after in the village hall for tea and coffee.

Saturday 2^nd Dec – Mulled Wine & Mince Pies 15.00 – 17.00. Come and enjoy some seasonal goodies and good company.

REGULAR CLASSES AND CLUBS

In addition to the above, there’s a regular programme of events in the village hall. New members and visitors will be welcomed.

Mondays                              

If you’re feeling creative, the Fearnan Art Club meets weekly in the hall on a Monday from 1pm – 3pm (2 – 4pm in the summer). Contact Cath on littleriver7@btinternet.com Art Club meetings start again on Monday 6th February, after a break for Christmas.

And on Monday evenings there’s an open invitation to everyone to come and play Carpet Bowls from 8 – 10pm. Contact Angela on 830619, or at a.kininmonth@talk21.com if you would like more information.

Wednesdays

The Fearnan Book Club meets monthly on Wednesdays at 7.30pm to discuss their latest good read. Contact Graham on graham_liney@icloud.com or on 830727.

The next meeting is on Wed 15^th Feb, and the book being discussed is Nutshell by Ian McEwen – a tale of murder and deceit told from the perspective of a baby still in the womb. This will be an interesting discussion!

Fridays

Music and Movement Classes take place in the hall at 10.30am on Fridays. The cost is £2.00pp.

Members of the local Fearnan community have expressed considerable concern about the increasing amounts of scrap and old vehicles that are being left in the village and around the wider area. There have also been complaints about problems caused by animals.

This subject will be on the agenda of the next meeting of the Glen Lyon and Loch Tay Community Council on 26^th January 2017 at 7.30pm in the McLean Hall, Fearnan. The week before the CC meeting, Councillor Ian Campbell will be chairing a meeting of the agencies that have been working to address these problems with a view to finding a more robust, combined approach. There has been recent involvement by SEPA, Perth & Kinross Council Enforcement, PKC Animal Welfare, PKC Roads, and Police Scotland.

Members of the community are welcome to attend for part or all of the meeting, and a copy of the Community Council agenda appears below:

Glen Lyon & Loch Tay

Community Council Agenda for 26^th January 2017

 in the McLean Hall, Fearnan at 7.30pm

• Apologies

• Minutes of previous meeting

• Police Report

• Tomdarroch/Culderbeg Monitoring

• Roads: A827 lay-by Fearnan/Hill road signs/HGVs and Glen Lyon Pass – traffic lights?/Dalchiaran culvert

• Phone boxes – Glen Lyon/Ben Lawers/Fortingall

• Health & Safety – defibrillators

• Fearnan War Memorial

• Robert Campbell Cairn

• Broadband – AB Internet/Lyon Internet/HPCP

• Planning : On line survey/Weekly/Decision Lists/Recent apps

• Finance:Travel expenses

• Hall bookings

• Correspondence received: Nominations for Royal Garden Party/Nominations for Scottish Civic Trust awards/Planning training for CCs May/June 2017/Low Carbon and Environmental Energy Assessment Workshop

• AOCB

• Next meeting – The Molteno Hall, Fortingall. March 9^th. at 7.30p.m

The year 2017 was ushered in in style with a Hogmanay Party in the village hall.  A large contingent of visitors from Shoreside joined local residents to celebrate the new year – and some of the children in the group experienced not only their first Scottish new year, but also their first steps in country dancing.

As you can see from the photos below, the party had all the ingredients you might expect on Hogmanay – some dancing, a little bit of tartan, a wee tot, a stovie supper and lots of folk enjoying themselves.

And a Happy New Year to everyone who reads this blog, especially those who live far from Fearnan but still check-in on a regular basis to see what we’re up to.  We have regular readers in Canada, America, New Zealand, Australia, Russia and, of course, in other parts of the UK.  This year, some Russian school children were using our blog as a resource in their English language lessons.  We love to know that you’re out there – and we really love hearing from you!

Meanwhile back in Fearnan, the Book Club is going from strength to strength and at the last  meeting, (a Christmas meal in the Townhouse, Aberfeldy) the members voted for their favourite book of those read in 2016. It was His Bloody Project by  Graeme McRae Burnet, closely followed by A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson and The Testament of Gideon Mack by James Robertson. (Sounds like some good recommendations there for non-members looking for a good read.)

The next meeting is on Thurs 19th January at 7.30 and the book they will be discussing is Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J Ryan Stradal.

If your waistband seems a little tighter after all the seasonal temptations, or you just feel like a good stretch and workout, the Music and Movement sessions continue in the Hall at 10.30 am on Fridays, cost £2.00pp. And, of course, there’s Carpet Bowls, the Art Club or the Walking Group to join.

Good news for the sweet-toothed and pudding lovers among us!  The celebrated FVA Pudding Night is fast approaching.  It will be held on Saturday 18th February at 6.30pm in the Hall and we look forward to seeing you there.

Last Saturday, the wine was mulled and the pies were minced in preparation for one of the early fixtures in the Fearnan Christmas calendar- our annual Mulled Wine and Mince Pies celebration. This year, it was well attended and it was nice to see old friends and some new faces.

As you can see from the photos, the ‘mince pie’ side of things seems to have grown over the years and now includes shortbread, stollen, gingerbread, Christmas muffins and more.

Great smile, Sue!

Mulling the wine.

Just a small one, did you say?

If you feel a little exercise might be on the cards before Christmas, the last Music and Movement session of 2016 will be held in the Hall at 10.30 am on Friday 16th December, cost £2.00pp. Classes will resume in the new year on Friday 6th January, just in time to help fulfill all those new year resolutions.

Talking of the New Year, there will be a Hogmanay Party again this year, starting at 10pm in the Hall and finishing at approx 1am.  There will be ceilidh dancing and a light supper just after the Bells, with a dram at midnight too, otherwise BYOB!  It’s helpful to know numbers for the catering so, if you plan to come, please let Elaine know on 830682.

The first big event of 2017 will be the world-famous Fearnan Pudding Night, taking place on Saturday 18th February. We can promise well over 30 different puddings – steamed or baked, hot or cold, refined or rustic, the choice is yours.  It’s the night when diets are forgotten and no-one counts the number of refills you have – so join us for the ultimate indulgence!

A short Service of Remembrance was held at the Fearnan War Memorial on Sunday 13th November. The service was led by Shirley Shearer, who is an elder at Kenmore Church, and the wreaths were laid by Ewan Weir and Alastair Grier.

After the service, the Village Association served coffee and home baking in the Hall.

The Book Club

The Book Club continues to thrive.  At the last session there was a robust discussion about  His Bloody Project, by Graeme Macrae Burnet.  The book, which reached the Man Booker Prize Shortlist, prompted a range of different feelings and opinions on the characters and events, and the length of the sustained discussion indicated how involved and engaged everyone had been with this book.

This month’s book is Rise by Karen Campbell. It is set in an ancient landscape in Kilmacarra, a fictional village in the Highlands of Scotland, and is a novel about faith, freedom and finding your place in the world.  However, the book may (or may not) be discussed at this month’s meeting, which takes the form of a Christmas meal for members at the Townhouse in Aberfeldy on the 14th December.

Other books selected for future meetings are:
Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradel.
Nutshell by Ian McEwen
These Foolish Things by Deborah Moggach

The date of the next meeting and the order of reading the books are to be confirmed as the Club are keen to maximise attendance by not clashing with other club/society meetings.

Cow Park

Sadly, the Cow Park owners have decided to withdraw the current offer of sale to the community.  Many thanks to all who have contributed time and effort and especially the members of the Steering Group for their research and information-gathering to date.

Mulled Wine and Mince Pies

Christmas is rapidly approaching and the FVA’s annual Mulled Wine and Mince Pies event will take place in the Hall on Saturday 3rd December between 15.00 and 17.00.  The cost is £5 pp and a donation to the Village Hall funds will be made from the takings at the door.

Join us for an early taste of Christmas, before the seasonal stress sets in! Everyone is welcome and we hope to see you there!