Fearnan Village Association

Up-Coming Events

If on-line surveys aren’t for you, come and chat at these venues:

• 10am – 12pm Fortingall Village Hall
• 2pm – 4pm Mclean Hall Fearnan
• 6pm – 8pm Reading Rooms Kenmore

There is more information about the Community Plan later in this Blog. Do please take the opportunity to contribute.

A Cuppa, some Homebakes and a Chat

There will also be the opportunity to play Indoor Curling, Quoits and Table Tennis, should the fancy so take you.

Past Event:

Halloween Pop-Up Coffee Shop

Good to see old friends and also some new faces.

On offer were Toffee Apple Cake, Gingerbread, Pumpkin Cake, themed cupcakes, chocolate spiders and skeleton gingerbread men.

Tom and Anna from Warm Connections joined us making their well-informed advice available on keeping warm over the winter whilst managing winter fuel costs and remaining environmentally sustainable – as well as providing free LED light bulbs!

Community Action Plan

Information about the Community Action Plan for the Loch Tay area, commissioned by the Glenlyon and Loch Tay Community Council and the Kenmore and District Community Council, has already been circulated by several organisations, so rather than repeat the same info, we are using this space to emphasise the importance of taking part in the associated survey.

The Plan that emerges from this process will provide clear evidence about what needs to be protected in our area and what new things need to happen to improve lives and places. Community Enterprise, an independent social enterprise with a specialism in community action planning, is supporting the process.

This is the link for the on-line survey, which will take roughly 20 minutes:

 https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LochTay-Community-Survey

If you would prefer, you can attend one of the drop-in meetings that have been arranged and chat to Kate Sarti about the things that you would like to see covered in the Plan. You can do this on Monday 11^th November at:

• Fortingall Village Hall – 10.00 am– 12.00 pm
• Fearnan Village Hall – 2pm – 4pm
• Kenmore Reading Rooms – 6pm – 8pm

Please take this opportunity to have your say about Fearnan now and in the future.

Aberfeldy Gaelic Choir

This Blog has followed the fortunes of the Aberfeldy Gaelic Choir at successive Mods over the years, partly because its members include a number of very local people, and partly because the Choir is so good at bringing home the silverware! And this year was no different in that respect. Alan Brown, our ‘Choir-espondent’, has written a very interesting report on the Choir’s appearance at the mod this year, and it provides a number of insights into this national event that will help non-Gaelic speakers to understand the work that goes into participating, and how performances are judged.

Royal National Mod Report by Alan Brown

Each October Aberfeldy Gaelic Choir makes its way to the town or city chosen to house the Royal National Mod, the festival of Gaelic culture attracting competitors and audiences from across the world. In towns such as Airdrie or Paisley the Mod atmosphere can be lost a few streets away from the main venues but in this year’s choice – Oban – there is no chance of that happening.

Aberfeldy Gaelic Choir has been in existence since 1967. It’s a popular choir, has appeared on radio and television, dipped its collective toe in audio/video recording projects, sung in sunny Spain and all over not-so-sunny Scotland and won the highest awards for Gaelic and music at the Royal National Mod both individually and collectively.

So, another year, another Mod? Same old story? No, not this time! This was a Mod with a difference.

An Comunn Gaidhealach, the parent body of the Mod, issues very specific rules and guidelines for competitors in all its events, whether performing music, reciting, drama and, of more interest to us, singing. As well as solo, duets and quartets there are hard-fought competitions in Choral Music and these events are the focus of our visit. A whole year’s work goes into one long day’s performance.

For those readers who like some explanatory notes, there is more to choral singing than meets the ear. You may well know that a choir divides into four parts – soprano, alto, tenor and bass, with further occasional subdivisions. Sometimes all sing the same tune; sometimes something else happens. All pretty straightforward so far but, crucially, what has to emerge from all this individualism is a Choir Sound, so important that I have capitalised it.

Not stray voices, however sweet or robust; not soft and tender passages swamped by the charge of the anything-but-light brigade. One sound. Our geographical location means that our members from much further afield have to rely on the extremely useful but extremely limited phenomenon of Zoom. How can there be a Choir Sound when the choir is a bank of screens of disembodied heads? A Choir Sound comes only from a choir singing together. In person.

But such is the resilience of this Choir that we have established ourselves in the topflight despite having no native Gaelic speakers. The top choirs from Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and, of course, the Islands have a regular conveyor belt supply of nurses, teachers and students from Gaelic-speaking areas who move to the cities and bring the language as their natural tongue.

When you consider also that each competition is judged on a total of 200 marks – 100 for Gaelic and 100 for music – we are very grateful to our Gaelic Tutor Gilliain MacDonald who though not a native speaker has graduated from university to be qualified to teach in Gaelic Medium Schools.

But to the competitions. The Friday saw us competing against the many friends we have met on our travels. The morning event is for sung Puirt a Beul or Mouth Music and we performed well against the top choirs.

Afternoon was the Margrat Duncan Trophy where we were singing two songs with which we had struggled over the preceding months. All seemed to click, however, and we gave an excellent performance. We were disappointed to be placed 4th with the marks very close but delighted to be placed first equal with Glasgow Govan and win the Stafffinders Quaich for Music!

With the pressure off, the Massed Choirs event on Saturday morning was the expected colourful highlight after marching behind a pipe band through the centre of Oban and assembling as a huge choir at the Railway Pier. The Mod banner was handed on to the Lochaber 2025 Mod Convener and that was Mod Obainn 2024.

A Mod with a difference it certainly was in another way. It was the final time Musical Director May Brown would conduct the Choir at a Mod. Her 16 years at the helm was marked by the Association of Gaelic Choirs with a special presentation during the Massed Choirs.

She will hand over the baton after a Concert as guests of Aberfeldy Community Choir in December. The Gaelic Choir will always welcome anyone interested in joining through a love of Gaelic music. We meet on Mondays in Aberfeldy Town Hall at 7.30 pm. Look out for our monthly news column in The Quair.

Future Social Events

Past Events:

MacMillan Coffee Morning

Linda writes:

The annual MacMillan Coffee Morning, hosted by the Hall Committee, was held recently in the McLean Hall. Everyone who attended was very generous with their donations and enthusiastically tried competitions, bought raffle tickets and goods from the sales table.

We also had donations from non-attenders for this great cause raising a total of £480. The hampers which were kindly donated by the Kenmore Bakery and the Courtyard were won by Louise Carney and a visitor from Morenish. 

 Hazel Brockie was the winner of the Colin the Caterpillar cake by guessing almost exactly how many coffee cups were on a poster.

Many thanks to all of our enthusiastic and generous guests and to the great team who contributed with setting up, baking, helping on the day and clearing up. Your efforts were much appreciated by all. 

Fab Friday

Lesley writes:

Of course, there was a delicious home baked afternoon tea with opportunities to chat and interact with old and new friends. 

Table Tennis, Indoor Curling, Quoits and board games were enthusiastically played, and expertise shared. Lesley and Frances would like to thank everyone who came along to take part and those who supported and helped in any way to make this event a success.

Quiz Night

Linda writes:

The previous winning team of Judith, John, Pat and Alistair held on to the McLean Hall Quiz Night shield for another few months.

Our next quiz will be held in Spring 2025, so you have time to sharpen up your quizzing skills and perhaps your knowledge of collective nouns! 

The money raised on the night, along with donations and the raffle, will be shared between the hall and the SCAA. Thanks to Elaine for her quiz setting and to everyone who helped, took part and generously donated.

Fearnan Book Club Review

Linda writes:

In September we reviewed Rose Nicholson by Andrew Greig, a contemporary Scottish writer. The author cleverly wove a fictional narrative through an interesting and dramatic period of Scottish history.

One of the group who never reads historical fiction, was full of praise for the ‘carefully written book with a complicated plot’ and rated it as a first class piece of writing which was historically accurate.

The book follows the young student Will Fowler, of low birth but full of ambition, as he begins his studies at St. Andrew’s university. The character was well developed and grew on us as we read on. The other characters were considered believable.

A vivid picture was painted of life at the university at that time and also gave an insight into life in general in Scotland at various levels of society. The studies of philosophy, religion and literature were mainly conducted in Latin which we thought must have been very challenging. One of the group was interested to read the author’s ‘take’ on the university a hundred years after the centre of learning was moved from Dull. (Historical Note: Dull was an early centre for pagan learning and around the 7^th century St Adomnan, the Abbot of Iona, founded a monastery at Dull, which became a centre for scholarship, a form of early university. Teaching began in St Andrews in 1413, and the university was formally constituted in 1413.)

The other main characters, the siblings Rose and Tom Nicholson (a fellow student) are from a poor fishing family. Rose, a beautiful, young fisherwoman, was intelligent, opinionated and educated beyond her social level mainly by her brother. She was restricted by her gender and class and spoke out about the injustices imposed on women by the church. She and Will are linked romantically and his passion for her is well written. We willed her to stop talking herself into trouble with her outspoken opinions. 

As always in the group opinions differed. Some struggled with the complex politics and history but loved the characters. One felt it painted a sanitised picture of the time, too clean, too romanticised and needed to be rougher. For some, historical fiction was not their thing and didn’t read on. It meant a lot to one of the group who knew the area well and was familiar with the old houses which still cluster round the harbour. She commented that the 16th century college of the book was now St. Leonard’s School. The family of Auchterlonie, the golfer in the book, still feature in St. Andrews life.

Lots of old Scots words are used throughout the book but a helpful glossary is included. Most of us found that we didn’t need to refer to it and recalled the language of our grandparents. 

We did learn that a bejant was a first-year student and how the academic red gown is worn, indicates which year the student is in. This tradition was introduced with the gown post Reformation. The gown is gradually lowered as the student progresses. 

We agreed that the ending was pulled together well and was left open for Will to choose what to do next. 

The September Social on Saturday 14^th provided an enjoyable social opportunity for friends and neighbours to get together. There are plenty more social events coming up in the next few weeks and they are listed below.

Friday 4th October: Fab Friday in the McLean Hall 2-4pm

During the first week in October, Age UK are encouraging events to be held by communities offering social activities that welcome folk to come along and have some fun.  

Japanese Knotweed

As reported in the last Blog, the initial treatment phase of Japanese Knotweed that took place in 2023 has been followed up with a further application of treatment.

In addition, initial treatment has also started on another large clump and these huge stems need to be injected with weed killer which is then drawn, by the plant, into the rhizomes and kills them.

The photos show Jenny (somewhat dwarfed by the Japanese Knotweed) hard at work in her fetching hazmat suit and injection gun to hand.

And Finally……. A Cautionary Tale!

This is a cautionary tale for all the Silver Surfers in the village!

The Computer Swallowed Grandma

The computer swallowed grandma.
Yes, honestly its true!
She pressed ‘control’ and ‘enter’
And disappeared from view.

It devoured her completely,
The thought just makes me squirm.
She must have caught a virus
Or been eaten by a worm.

I’ve searched through the recycle bin
And files of every kind;
I’ve even searched the Internet,
But nothing did I find.

In desperation, I asked Google
My searches to refine.
The reply from it was negative,
Not a thing was found online.

So, if inside your Inbox,
My Grandma you should see,
Please Copy, Scan and Paste her
In an email back to me.

Fearnan Diary

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

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!

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. 

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. 

Here are some of the things happening in Fearnan over the autumn and early winter.

Open Gate Festival 23^rd August – 1^st September

Here’s another series of dates and some interesting local events and visits. Aberfeldy’s Healthiest Town project is launching an Open Gate Festival from August 23^rd to 1st September. It includes a mix of tours, talks and tastings as food growers open their gates to visitors around Highland Perthshire. The aim is to encourage people to eat more local, and more healthy food by showcasing the best of what is being produced in the area.

Dozens of growers and producers have signed up to the 10-day festival – from farms and professional market gardens to foragers and hobbyists. Open Gate is about inspiring us to eat more of what we grow here, enticing people with exciting recipes and hopefully even motivate more of us to grow our own or get involved in community food projects.

The programme includes visits to and activities at farms such as Tombreck Farm or Little Trochy Veg Farm. You could go Found Food Foraging with Charlotte Flower, forage for fungi with Duncan Pepper, learn about cultivating oyster mushrooms and about increasing the resilience, adaptability and biodiversity of your garden. There are films, walks and hands on activities – some great days out!  Quite a few events need to be booked, so check out the full programme here: https://www.healthiesttown.org/open-gate

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

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. 

‘

Diary Dates

Saturday 20^th July – Strawberry Tea 3pm – 5pm. The return of an old favourite   – a delicious afternoon tea, featuring Scottish Strawberries – and lots of them. It’s strawberries every which way – from strawberry sandwiches to strawberry cakes and tray bakes, bowls of strawberries and cream, strawberry meringues, chocolate dipped strawberries and much more. £7pp for a summery afternoon tea (school age children half price).

Tuesday 29^th October Halloween PopUp at 11.00 in the Hall – tea, coffee and baking to celebrate the spookiest time of the year.

Sunday 10^th November 10.50 at the War Memorial – Service of Remembrance. Tea and coffee served by the FVA in the Hall afterwards.

Saturday 14^th December 16.00 – 18.00 – Mulled Wine and Mince Pies served in the Hall.  A pre-Christmas get-together with friends ahead of the seasonal last-minute rush.

FVA AGM

Fearnan Village Association held its 2023/24 AGM on Saturday 22^nd June.  The FVA’s annual report and financial statement were presented to members and a change to the Articles of Association was agreed  – the inclusion of terms of office for FVA Committee members.

Four new committee members were co-opted to the Committee last year, and these appointments were approved by the members present. After the meeting, the committee met to appoint the office bearers, and the new committee is now;

• Fiona Ballantyne – Chair
• Neil Ballantyne
• Karen Bennet – Treasurer
• Fran Donovan
• Judith Hughes – Membership Secretary
• Elaine Melrose
• Linda Milne
• Pat Stalker – Minute Secretary

Recent Events – Italian-Flavoured Pop Up and BYOB Cheese and Wine

In May, we held a well attended Pop-Up with an Italian flavour to the baking as change from the usual, typically more Scottish baking.  This change appeared to go down well with those present and we were delighted to welcome around 40 or so locals to the event.

Among the goodies on offer were: biscotta, tiramisu cake, lemon and blueberry cake and orange olive oil cake.

In June we hosted a BYOB Cheese and Wine, as a direct result of ideas put in the Suggestions Boxes a few months ago. The BYOB format seemed to go down well and there was a fine array of cheese and savoury bites on offer  – all in all a very sociable and enjoyable event.

Winter Warm Welcome Games Afternoon

Frances and Lesley would like to thank everyone who supported the Winter Warm Welcome Games Afternoons.

The raffles raised £130 in aid of the SCAA and they warmly thank you for your generosity.

Interest has been expressed in continuing with Table Tennis, Curling and Quoits throughout the Winter months, possibly on a Thursday morning.

Lesley and Frances would be happy to arrange this if there is sufficient interest so let them know if you like the concept and would like it to continue.

Thrift Shop

The McLean Hall, Fearnan has been allocated the Thrift Shop from the 14th-20th July. It is open from 10.00 – 4.00 daily. 

If it’s possible, please drop items at the shop. Thanks for your donations so far and a big thank you to all of you who have already volunteered to help. 

There will also be a tombola and Lesley (07891771708) will be happy to accept donations for that. There will also be a designated box in the hall kitchen for tombola contributions. We will also be selling plants and will have the usual Friday sale of baking. 

Linda (07729300708) will take any of the above that you would like to donate and are unable to bring to the shop.

We hope it will be a great week. Your support is always appreciated.

Book Club

There are 2 book reviews this month, for May and June.

Linda writes:

The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods was recently reviewed. It was a popular choice and an easy read. The Book Club evening, when this book was reviewed, was a lively, relaxed evening fuelled by Prosecco and orange flavoured chocolate buttons!

The Lost Bookshop

 The thing about books,” she said “is that they help you to imagine a life bigger and better than you could ever dream of.”

Our group often dislike books that jump in time, but it was felt that as the characters were intertwined, it was easy to go from one storyline to the other. There were parallels in the bad experiences in Opaline and Martha’s lives and their shared love of books. The author explored these tough experiences in detail. 

Henry was on a quest to find a missing manuscript but also found love. Madam Bowden, we decided, was Martha’s guardian angel and a custodian of the lost bookshop, but did she exist and what happened to Shane? We felt these questions should be answered by us as readers. At times the reader had to suspend disbelief and some of the group were less comfortable with the fantasy aspects of the narrative. 

We particularly enjoyed and appreciated the descriptions of the characters and settings. The Lost Bookshop itself was described in detail, eg. wood from a bookshop in Italy, as were the tattoos on Martha. 

It was generally felt that the ending was well written and brought together all the missing links that bound the characters, creating a feel-good factor. 

Lesley writes:

Our next read was “The Daughter of Time” by Jaqueline Tey.

From his hospital bed, he conducts an investigation aided by friends and an American scholar.

The group were quite divided although they liked the idea of him solving this historical crime using the same deductive techniques as his day job and they felt they learned much about this period in history. 

Main criticism and reason for a couple abandoning the book was finding themselves floundering in all the historical detail. 

Some pondered whether a greater knowledge of the period would have made any difference to their enjoyment of the book and this led into a discussion as to who ‘took’ Geography v History at school and why. 

Lighting up a cigarette and flowers on the ward were pointed out as examples of changed times in hospitals since 1951. Confusion reigned for a while in that he was lying flat on his back with a broken leg. Medical knowledge amongst members dismissed this treatment until one more observant reader pointed out that Grant had also chipped a bone in his back. Mystery solved!  

Although Josephine Tey’s detective doubted the physical description of Richard III one of our group pointed out that time has moved on since the book was written and, with the discovery of Richard III’s skeleton in 2012 we now know that he was indeed scoliotic. 

One for history fans perhaps rather than geographers! 

FVA Diary Dates

Friday 21^st June 7-9pm in the Hall – Midsummer Cheese and Wine. A chance to meet up with friends and neighbours on Midsummer’s Eve and enjoy a wide selection of cheeses and a range of tasty savouries. The idea for a Cheese and Wine came from members and, as this is a BYOB event, it’s a chance to bring your favourite wine to drink and share with friends. Join us from 7pm – 9pm and enjoy the long light midsummer evening. It costs £5 pp for the cheese and savouries.

Saturday 22^nd June at 4pm in the Hall – Fearnan Village Association Annual General Meeting.  All members welcome.

Saturday 20^th July – Strawberry Tea 3pm – 5pm. The return of an old favourite   – a delicious afternoon tea, feauring lots and lots of Scottish Strawberries.

Tuesday 29^th October Halloween PopUp at 11.00 in the Hall – tea, coffee and baking to celebrate the spookiest time of the year.

Sunday 10^th November 10.50 at the War Memorial – Service of Remembrance. Tea and coffee served by the FVA in the Hall afterwards.

Saturday 14^th December 16.00 – 18.00 – Mulled Wine and Mince Pies served in the Hall.  A pre-Christmas get-together with friends ahead of the seasonal last-minute rush.

In addition, the FVA Committee is considering a possible additional supper event in late August or September.

Update on Recycling Medicine Blister Packs

However, Jenny Penfold is still accepting them and is able to recycle them, so please drop them off as before at Clach an Tuirc to keep them out of landfill!

Diary Dates

FVA Pop-up Coffee Shop 14^th May 11.00 – 12.30. Join us in the McLean Hall for a warm welcome, fresh coffee and home baking. To get you in the mood for the fast-approaching holiday season, the baking will have an Italian theme.

Warm Welcome Games Afternoon – Thursday 23rd May at 1.30-3.30pm in McLean Hall– this is the last of the Hall Committee’s Games Afternoons for the season. Free entry. (Details below).

FVA Cheese & Wine Evening Friday 21^st June 7 – 9pm: details to come later. A chance to enjoy a sociable mid-summer evening with friends and neighbours.

Quiz Night

Linda writes:

The ever popular Quiz Night hosted by the McLean Hall Committee has been reinstated into the Fearnan Social Calendar. It returned last October and by popular request again on Friday 3rd May. Teams of four enthusiastically tried to out-quiz each other in a hard fought but friendly contest. 

 Elaine, as compère, did a great job of managing the proceedings and set a challenging range of well-researched questions.

The autumn winners,  Kathy, Kit, Alistair and Linda had to relinquish the quiz shield and hand it over to the well-deserved winners Judith, John, Alistair and Pat. 

There was also a raffle and a total of £200 was raised, which will be shared between the hall and the S.C.A.A.

Mairi Taylor

We were saddened to hear of the recent passing of Mairi Taylor, who came to live in Fearnan some 35 years ago, via Tunbridge Wells and Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).

Bowls

Lesley writes:

Warm Welcome Afternoon

Lesley writes:

Squirrelpox Virus

Jenny Penfold writes:

The organisation Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels (SSRS) has reported that the first identified death of a red squirrel from squirrelpox virus north of Scotland’s Central Belt has been confirmed on the outskirts of Dunfermline, Fife. This news could have serious consequences for our area’s red squirrel populations.

Squirrelpox is a virus carried by grey squirrels which does not affect them but can be rapidly lethal when passed to red squirrels. Symptoms include ulcers, scabs and weeping lesions on the face, paws and genitalia, all of which can prevent reds from eating, drinking or moving. As a result, it is usually fatal within two weeks and an outbreak can cause local populations to crash.

SSRS has asked members of the public in the region  to remain vigilant and support efforts to erradicate this virus by:

• Taking photos and reporting sightings of sick or dead red squirrels squirrels@scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk
• Recording these and all other sightings on the Scottish Squirrel website at https://scottishsquirrels.org.uk/
• Taking in all wildlife feeders from gardens and woodlands for the next month, and carefully and thoroughly cleaning them with an anti-viral solution such as Virkon S.

Awareness of the spread of the virus north of the Central Belt came from the post mortem of a squirrel carcass that had been sent to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies by a member of the public and as well as emailing photos of any squirrel carcasses found, people are asked to post any dead red squirrel carcasses found to the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies for post-mortem analysis. Instructions here https://bit.ly/3sqFcJg 

(This isn’t quite as macabre in practice as it sounds – You get very clear instructions from the School of Veterinary Studies and it could help to save our red squirrel population.)

Fearnan Book Club Review

A recent read was ‘ Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead’ by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish and awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature. Spoor, a 2017 Polish Film is adapted from the novel. 

As always opinions were divided. Some loved it. A few struggled to find a story and found it unsettling and chilling. Although her character was well drawn, some did not relate to her, although liked that she escaped at the end. Others enjoyed the unexpected twist. Descriptions of kindness and good companionship were well developed. The first-person narrative was enjoyed by some. Others felt it was a book of two halves and preferred the latter. It was certainly thought provoking. 

Diary Dates

Pop-Up Coffee Shop Tuesday 12^th March 11.00 – 12.30: The FVA’s regular Pop-Ups are back for 2024 offering a chance to catch up with friends and neighbours over a fresh cup of coffee or tea and some delicious home-baking in the Hall.  This time we will have some lovely fresh scones – at least 3 different flavours – to tempt your taste buds.

The Fearnan Village Association’s AGM will be held on Saturday 23^rd March at 4pm in the Hall.  All members welcome.

The next Games Afternoon run by the Hall Committee is 14^th March 1.30-3.30 pm. Games, egg decorating and home-made hot cross buns to tempt you!

Daffodil Tea Saturday 6^th April: The FVA’s popular Daffodil Tea returns to the Hall from 3pm to 5pm. Join us for a superb afternoon tea.

Pop-up Coffee Shop 14^th May 11.00 – 12.30. To get you in the mood for the fast-approaching holiday season, the baking will have an Italian theme.

Cheese & Wine Evening Friday 21^st June 7 – 9pm: details to come later. A chance to enjoy a sociable mid-summer evening with friends and neighbours.

Pancake Pop-Up

Fearnan folk love a good pancake, that’s for sure, and some 50 people turned out for the Village Association’s Pancake Pop-Up. They tucked into a choice of crepes, blinis and fresh-off-the-griddle Scotch pancakes.

Traditionally, Pancake Day, or Shrove Tuesday, is the feast day before the start of Lent but before Lent can begin in earnest, all edible temptations needed to be removed.  And removed they certainly were! By the end, we had served up some 48 crepes, several dozen Scotch pancakes and quite a lot of blinis!

We were delighted to welcome friends from Killin, Aberfeldy and Kenmore to the hall.

Recycling Medicine Blister Packs

Although we have been able to recycle medicine blister packs in the grey bins in recent months, we have been told that this is no longer the case and they are now listed as not being accepted in grey bins on the PKC website.

FVA Pre-Opening Crannog Visit 22^nd March 10.30

The Scottish Crannog Centre has agreed to give FVA members a pre-opening ‘behind the scenes’ tour of the new Centre at Dalerb on Friday 22nd March at 10.30. There are still a few places left and if you would like to join us but haven’t yet put your name on the list, please let Fiona know on fiona@fearnanvillageassociation.com as soon as possible.  The cost is £12pp.

If you’ve been watching the new Centre grow and take shape over the last few months and wondered about the purpose of the different buildings, and what will be on offer once the Centre opens to the public, this is your chance to find out as part of a private tour.

The visit involves a guided tour of the Iron Age Village, including discussion of the construction techniques used and a chance to talk to some of those who have been involved in building the village. There will be a Q and A Session with the Director, a chance to hear about the future plans for the Centre, and coffee and cake will be served in the new cafe. 

Crannog Gardening

A team of volunteer gardeners has been working hard to help get the new Crannog site ready for its first visitors. They are helping plan, prepare and plant the area adjacent to the Iron Age Village using only Scottish native plants and shrubs that would have been immediately recognisable to the Crannog dwellers 2,500 years ago.

If you would like to do a spot of volunteer gardening to help the Crannog Centre get ready, please get in touch with the Scottish Crannog Centre by email: emma@crannog.co.uk or just show up at Dalerb this Friday (1st March) between 11.00 and 14.00. It’s a great help if you can bring your own spades and gardening tools for weeding and preparing the ground.

Plants are also needed and the planting plan includes the following:

Comfrey                                  Meadow Sweet                       Valerian

Cowslips                                  Snowdrops                              Dogwood

Heathers                                 Selfheal                                   Aconites

Primroses                                Bluebells                                 Vinca

Lady’s Mantle                          Ferns                                       Elders

So, if you have any surplus ones from this list when you’re doing your Spring tidy up and splitting or removing plants, and would like to donate them, they can be left just inside the main site gate at Dalerb. Unless it’s really obvious what they are, an identifying marker would be much appreciated!