chatterbox issue 47
DESCRIPTION
Community NewsPaper for the South Black Isle in the Highlands of ScotlandTRANSCRIPT
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 1
ChatterboxWho is this woman?page 29
Sandy’s Indiapage 12
£1
44 pages of local news views and stories
WINTER ISSUE (No.47)December 2008
Produced in Avoch for Rosemarkie, Fortrose, Avoch, Killen & Munlochy www.chatterboxnews.co.uk
Community Newspaper of the YearHighlands & Islands Media Awards 2008
The new “sails” sculpture glows in the sunshine at Avoch’s “Lazy Corner” just af-ter being erected on 3rd October
Chatterbox photo
Halloween PartyP.L.A.Y. group eventpage 2
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 2
Next Issuein March
Please submit all material as soon as possi-ble. The next issue will be published at the
beginning of March.
Press date will be 14th February.
We will do our best, but we regret we cannot guarantee the inclusion of any material
received after the press date.
ChatterboxCommunity Newspaper of the Year
Highlands & Islands Media Awards 2008
Founded by Jack Malpas, September 1997
Copyright
Printed and published quarterly in Avoch by
Chatterbox Community NewsgroupClaire Divine, Hon. Secretary, 18 Mackenzie Place, Avoch IV9 8QP
Chatterbox provides a vehicle for any member of the community to demonstrate his or her opinions or beliefs, so long as these are not defamatory or offensive. The publication of submitted articles should not be taken as any indication that such opinions or beliefs are supported or promoted by Chatterbox or any of its produc-tion team members.
EditorialTel: 01381 [email protected]@chatterboxnews.co.uk
Editor: Mike Noble
Story editor: Fiona Taylor
Story writers: Fiona Taylor Sandy Mitchell Linda Bailey Kitty MacWilliam
Design: Mike Noble
ProductionLayout: Mike Noble
Printing: Mike Noble Sandy Mitchell
Distribution: Kitty McWilliam
Winter Chatterbox 2008On other pages in this issue, No. 47 …
4 Netball Cheese5 Amenities Association Community Council6 Flu jabs Golf7 Letters8/9 “Old Fishertoun”10 Community Garden plan 4 stars for Dolphin Trips Think pink11 Charles Kennedy on the Post Office Card Account12-15 Sandy Mitchell’s Kerala trip16 Salsa Groove18 Avoch Outdoor Bowls Club19 Wild about your garden Local food discussion Fresh steam at the Station20 Cromarty Camera Club Bord launches Gaelic fund Amenities meeting; Salsa Party21 The disappearing garden McEye cartoon22/23 Playpark clean-up Air ambulance at Avoch24/25 Community Council meeting with Police26 Amenities Association Sandra27 Sunflowers28/29 Old portraits - who are they?30/31 The lace goonie32 North Rising celebration34 Change to alcohol licensing law36 Composting37 Crossword38 Quit smoking Dog poo blues Senior citizen’s parties39 Nature Notes40 Lifestyle: Beware of the cold41 Walking: The Eagle Stone and Cat’s Back Councillor’s Corner42 Tractor rally43 Cromarty Film Festival 10K for Eoan44 Remembrance parade
The P.L.A.Y. group, set up to raise funds for the Play Park, (see p. 20) held a Halloween party for local youngsters in the
Avoch Community Centre and raised £100.
So once again here we are in the run-up towards Christmas! It has been quite an eventful year in Avoch, with the completion of the Lazy Corner project and significant alteration works at the Harbour. The perennial crisis with support for the Amenities Association has been once more overcome and everyone is settling into their own private preparations
for the Festive Season. At Chatterbox we are feeling pretty well established on a sustainable financial base, and continue to receive magnificent sup-port from our readers and advertis-ers. What we do need, though, is more people to share the workload. Trevor Powell is leaving us for a new life in Essex and his departure will leave a big gap in our
contributions. So if you are inter-ested in keeping in touch with what goes on in your community and would like to help grow the maga-zine, why not join us? You don’t need any experience - we’ll soon show you what’s needed! Just bring your en-thusiasm. Do all enjoy a wonderful Christmas and New Year - and then why not give us a ring?
EditorialMike Noble, Editor
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 3
Post, phone or e-mailSend your story, letter or advert to
The EditorAvoch & Killen News Group
Duthac, 7 High Street, Avoch IV9 8PTor telephone
01381 620777
or by Email, [email protected]@chatterboxnews.co.uk
AdvertisingTel: 07769 [email protected]
Advertising Manager: Linda Bailey
We acknowledge with thanks assistance received from the Highland Council through the Black Isle Ward Councillors’ Discretionary Budget, from the Sangster Memorial Trust and the National Lottery through Awards for All.
AdministrationSecretary: Claire Divine [email protected]: Margaret LeggattChairman: Sandy Mitchell [email protected]
Advertising ratesOur rates are based on 53p per column centimetre (using our standard 7-column page layout). A panel the size of this one currently costs £6.89 for a single insertion on a B&W page and a full page in colour is charged at £120. For details of charges for all sizes between these two extremes, please see our website.We give discounts for block-booked ad-verts (4 over a year) and we advertise for voluntary groups without charge.
Photo courtesy of Jackie Patience
Red sails in the High Street
The art installation at Avoch’s Lazy Corner was completed on Friday 3rd October, when the “sails” were in-stalled by the artist, Sam Barlow. A few days later the lights, including those in the new bus shelter, were connected up to the street lighting circuit. The sculpture is intended to evoke the spirit of the sails of a “Zulu” fishing boat, and not to be an exact reproduction of them. In this it succeeds magnificently. On the day of installation they were glowing wonderfully in the autumn sunshine (see cover)
The new “sails” sculpture was
completed at Avoch’s Lazy Cor-
ner on 3rd October, the base hav-
ing been fitted during the previ-
ous couple of days. The “sails”
are made using a hot-dip galva-
nized structural frame covered
with 3mm corten steel sheeting.
The corten is brilliantly used to
give wonderfully organic shapes,
with a natural rust colour very
similar to the colour of the old
zulu sails. It is amazing how the
artist has created natural, fluid
shapes from a material so rigid
and unyielding as steel.
The colour of the old zulu
fishing boat sails was called
“cutch”, coming from the “bark-
ing” process. Bark was imported
(from which country we are not
sure) and was boiled up to make
“barkit” and this “barking” of the
sails and nets preserved them.
The process removed the oil of
the herrings from the nets and
used to be done in coal hulks in
the harbour - they had steam
engines and provided the means
of heating the water. It was also
done by the burn near Gowan's
Place, the water being obtained
from the burn.
Lazy Corner inhabitants
seem to have taken the “sails” to
their hearts and accepted them
as part of the Avoch scene. And
this wonderful evocation of the
days of sail acts as an apt re-
minder of the very strong links
which Avoch has with the sea
and of the many local lives which
have been lost to it, both re-
cently and in earlier times. See,
for instance,
http://www.avoch.org/html/arti
cle.html
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 4
A.R.JACKQUALITY BUTCHERTel: FORTROSE (01381) 620357Mrs Jack’s Silver Award steakpies and meallie-jeemies,home cooked meats, freshlysliced local baconVictoria pork sausages
Pleased to meet you with meat to please youPersonal service at High Street, Fortrose
In BriefAvoch Primary School
Miss Hammond, Depute Head Teacher, finished her work at Avoch School and left for Lesotho on Tues-day 4th Novem-ber. During Miss Hammond’s time at Avoch, she contributed greatly to further-ing the school’s continuing im-provement pro-gramme. The school will miss her professional-ism and happy personality. The school’s Enter-prise this term will be support for the Drop-in Centre for Street Children in Maseru.
Mrs Barber has been appointed full-time teacher to P5. Mrs Webb, Principal Teacher, will be sharing some of the Depute Head Teacher’s job, which will also mean having supply staff in the P7 classroom to allow Mrs Webb to undertake extra duties.
New locks for Centre
Avoch Amenities Association is in the process of obtaining quotes on a new lock system which will prevent copying of keys and will therefore ensure that only those who have paid for the use of facili-ties will be able to access the Avoch Community Cen-tre.
Best Cheese- It's Official!
Congratulations to Highlands & Islands Local Food
Network member, Connage Highland Dairy, whose
delicious Crowdie has scooped the prestigious title
of 'Best Cheese' at the British Cheese Awards
(www.thecheeseweb.co.uk ).! The Clark family at
Milton of Connage, Ardersier, have been producing
hand crafted organic cheeses for only two years
and have already won a host of impressive awards.!
British Cheese Awards Chair, Juliet Harbutt, said,
"With 84 other Scottish cheeses vying for the Best
Scottish Cheese Awards this year, including several
past Award winners, this very delicately flavoured
fresh cheese from newcomers, the Clark Family,
had to be truly outstanding to beat off such stiff
competition. But that is exactly what their Connage
Crowdie did.! They should be very proud and I
hope their success will help focus attention on
some of the milder but subtly flavoured cheeses
now made in Britain."
You can now visit Connage cheese pantry
from 10am to 4pm, Wednesday to Saturday and
buy direct from the creamery door.! Treat yourself
to a selection box or sample a variety of cheese,
oatcakes and chutneys.! You may even be lucky
enough to see the cheese being made.! For more
info, tel 01667 462000 or visit
www.connage.co.uk.
Visit the HILFN website at www.hilocalfood.net
Newly formed team nearly win
the day!Jermaine McCracken
Red Kites netball team from Highland competed in
the Orkney Netfest on Saturday 18th October. The
Highland team,!consisting of some of the best
players from the Highland area who were avail-
able,!travelled to Orkney via the Gills Bay ferry on
Friday afternoon.!The organisation of the whole
event was excellent with 9 teams competing from
all over Scotland and over 90 women being hosted
by!Netballorkney. The sports facilities at the
Pickaquoy Centre Arena were fantastic with two
full size netball courts indoors. The programme
involved all teams playing a 20 minute game
against each other with some local competitive
rivalry from the Orkney and Shetland teams on the
day.
All the players enjoyed the weekend so
much and would like to thank the Orkney Netfest
organisers for such a great event. The whole
weekend was so well organised!with scorers, time
keepers and umpires all doing a great job.
The!players from across Scotland!were so com-
petitive but very friendly and the Highland players
are keen to bring the event to the Highlands in the
future.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 5
WE SERVICE ALL TYPES OF VEHICLES
Burnside GarageA & R MacArthurAVOCH ONE STOPMaintenance, Service and Repair, MOT, all types of vehiclesJET CAR WASHBatteries, Tyres and all accessoriesLong Road, Avoch Tel 01381 620355
In BriefFeasibility study for Ten-nis Courts
Avoch Amenities Association agreed at its AGM to make an appli-cation for funding a feasibility study to investigate the cost of develop-ment of the Ten-nis Courts and its relation to the potential profit from the possible sale of the land. This could also involve a survey to determine whether the pro-ject would be welcomed by the community.
CCTV
The recent van-dalism at the Avoch bus stop has resulted in the Police being informed of pos-sible culprits. The CCTV in the shop has been recently up graded and now there is 24hour CCTV coverage of Lazy Corner.
Smiley faces
The problems of speeding cars through Avoch village may be reduced with the introduction of “Smiley Faces”. The Community Council has been told they will be in place within the next 2 months.
Named
The new houses above Ormonde Terrace, Avoch, have been named Moray Wynd by the Developers.
People power!Back from the brink of ex-tinction, Avoch Amenities Association held its AGM on 22 October, and the fol-lowing officers and repre-sentatives were elected for 2008-9. Executive Committee:
Chair: Jane Smith, Vice Chair:
Janice Macleman, Treasurer:
Gordon Killbourn, Secretary:
Caroline Dobson, Bookings Sec-
retary: Jenye Monckton, Health
and Safety Officer: Gordon
Clark, Ordinary Member: Dun-
can Macleman (Repairs)
Council:
Representatives of Clubs and
Constituent Bodies: Martin Gill-
Community Council, Dawn
Walker-Toddlers Group, Jane
Jardine- Indoor Bowls, Mike No-
ble- Chatterbox, George Brodie-
Bowling Club, Lynne Hyslop-
Brownies, Lorraine Lingard-
Youth Club.
Councillors Billy Barclay
and Craig Fraser also attend
meetings ex officio.
Full Members: Louisa
Taylor, Duncan Macarthur
Since the meeting Louise
Coull has agreed to represent
the Avoch Under 5’s group.
If you wish to to raise any
matter with the Association,
please contact the Association’s
Secretary, Caroline Dobson, on
01381 620840 or
Community Centre book-
ings can be made through
Jenye Monckton on 01381
At present Avoch Amenities
Association is a voluntary body
with charitable status. Secretary
Caroline Dobson explained at
the recent AGM that if there
were any legal issues or unpaid
debts the office bearers would
be personally responsible and
also that it is not possible for
the Association to buy or sell
land or to enter into contracts,
which could cause problems in
the process of applying for
grants for major projects.
The Association could
become a company limited by
guarantee and in this case Di-
rectors of the company, usually
office bearers, would only be
liable for a given sum (usually
set at £1) in event of legal
problems (other than instances
of misconduct by an office
bearer). This would, however,
involve more paper work each
year and the accounts would
need to be done in a different
form which would be somewhat
more expensive. A paper by
SCVO explaining matters in
more detail had been sent to
members of the Association by
email prior to the meeting.
The AGM agreed with out dis-
sension that it was necessary to
offer the additional protection
to office bearers and members
of the association and Caroline
was authorised to progress
matters further.
Association exploring its legal status
Sad to say, Trevor Powell and his
wife, Nita, are moving to Col-
chester, Essex, at the beginning
of December to give
support to their oldest
daughter who is expect-
ing their first grand-
child.
He sends best
wishes to everyone
from them both and has
asked us to thank eve-
ryone who has made their stay
on the Black Isle such a pleasant
experience. Trevor says,”Since
moving to Avoch in August
2004 we have had a great time
and would particularly like to
thank the staff and customers at
Morning Noon and Night, the
members of the Indoor Bowls
Club, Avoch Amenities
Association, Rosemarkie
SWRI, various local craft
groups, Highland Liberal
Democrats and last but
not least the team on
Chatterbox itself.”
Trevor has been a
tower of strength to
Chatterbox and his many pho-
tographic and layout contribu-
tions will be sorely missed. We
send our grateful thanks to him
and wish them both good for-
tune in their new life.
Farewell, TrevorMike Noble
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 6
Christmas At Munro’sChristmas Decorations, Real & Artifical Christmas Trees, Indoor & Outdoor
lights, Seasonal Pot Plants & our own Planted Baskets, Books, Gifts, Christmas Hampers, Holly Wreaths & Posies, Bird Food & Feeders, Garden Gift Vouchers
MUNRO’S NURSERIES
Bogallan, North Kessock, Inverness Telephone 01463 731210
Open Mon - Sat 9am - 5pm • Sun 12noon - 5pmMerry Chris
tmas
from Holly
FLU VACCINESThe Fortrose Surgery has supplies of
influenza vaccine and asks entitled pa-
tients to book their appointments now.
All patients ‘at risk’ are entitled to a free
flu jab. This includes:
! 65 years of age and over (or turning
65 soon)
! Diabetics
! Heart, Renal, Respiratory or Liver
disease sufferers
! Immunosuppressed patients
! Carers (paid or unpaid)
! Poultry workers
Get your flu jab now!
If you do not fall into one of the above
categories but feel you are at risk or
have a specific need please speak to your
GP or the practice nurse to see if
you can receive the vaccine.
If you already have an appointment for
other reasons - and you are entitled to
a free flu vaccination - you will be offered
the injection at your visit, so there is
no need to book an additional appoint-
ment. The vaccination can be
administered by GPs, nurses and health
care assistants.
Fortrose surgery closed Christmas Day and Boxing Day, New Year's Day and 2nd January - otherwise business as usual.
The Annual Prize Giving cere-
mony was held at the Fortrose
and Rosemarkie Golf Club on
Saturday 25th October. There
was a very good turnout, as
normal, although many of the
prize-winners were absent. The
ladies’ section has its own
method of listing prize winners,
which we have not received, but
no major prizes were received
in this section by Avoch Ladies.
The Junior section at the
club has held a high standard
for a number of years and it
was good to see so many there
to collect their prizes. Although
there were no local youngsters
from the village in the prizes,
amongst the winners were
Lewis Reid and Jordan Hossack
with Philip Schier-Macrae win-
ning a couple of competitions.
Stuart Hillis was also a winner
on four occasions in the Junior
section but also picked up the
special prize for outstanding
junior golfer of the year.
In the gentlemen’s sec-
tion Robert Jack capped his re-
cent return to golf with the
Club championship handicap
prize, having beaten the course
manager Kevin Fowler late in
June. Mike Macdonald, the club
secretary, collected the Scratch
prize, with Chris Gaittens as
runner-up.
To a golf outsider the Club has a
bewildering array of some 26
cups and trophies up for grabs,
plus a number of medals. Win-
ners names listed this year in-
cluded Garry Moore, Maurice
Brown, Ike Fraser, Garry Keith,
Bruce Main & Willie Wilson,
Shane MacKenzie, Philip Schnier-
Macrae, Mike Macdonald & Bruce
Main, Alistair Burns, Ian Belford,
William M Skinner, George Mcle-
man, Lewis Reid, Calum Maclen-
nan, Alan Drever, Steven McGre-
gor, Tom Lloyd, Rory MacLeman,
John MacDonald, Richard Carey,
Robert Jack, Wallace and Mal-
colm Gardiner, Malcolm McAr-
thur, Alistair Tait and Stuart
Hillis. -Ed.
GolfKeithPatience
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 7
LUCAS & INGRID STORY AND SON
STORYBELGIAN MASTER CHOCOLATIERS
HOME AND HANDMADE CHOCOLATES TO OUR OWN RECIPES
65 High StreetFortrose
Tel: 01381 622302 Mob: 0776 606 0511
Shop in Victorian Market, InvernessORDERS ALSO TAKEN IN FORTROSE
LETTERSJack Malpas
Dear Mike,
Please will you insert this “Thank You” in the December issue:
Audrey Malpas and family extend their sincere thanks to relatives, friends and neighbours for the kind expressions of sympathy following their sad loss.
The support and help we have received is very much appreci-ated.
Also, many thanks for donations for Cancer Research UK/Avoch Congregational Church, amount-ing to £350.
Many thanks
Audrey
RNXSMike Noble, Esq,
Editor, Chatterbox.
8th November 2008.
I wrote to Captain Norman MacDonald re my service in the R.N.M.S. Although I knew his father, he was in the R.N.X.S. a bit earlier than me. In the 1950's I stayed in Kingussie and certainly would not have travelled to Inverness even al-though I enjoyed my time with the R.N.M.S., as it was in my time.
The photo which was in "Chat-terbox" was not from a news-paper but from an original photo. I have a few taken at the time and have sent copies to Captain MacDonald.
Nancy Forsyth,
Avoch.
Lee on the mendHi Mike
Lee and Jenni Carmichael would like to thank everyone for all their cards and well wishes and support!during Lee's recent ill-ness and operation. They were all greatly appreciated and we would like everyone to know that Lee got the all clear from the surgeon, everything was removed successfully.
Thank you all again.
Jenni & Lee
Thanks from AnnieAnnie and Alan would like to say a very big thank-you to all of you who made our joint Big 50th such a success. Thanks for all the gifts and cards and (if you made it) for coming along to the Station Hotel to join in the celebrations. Thanks a heap.
Our Fortrose shop at 67 High Street opens on 1st December
Award for AlastairHi Mike,
As mentioned in the last edition of Chatterbox,
Alastair Cochrane was awarded a prestigious pho-
tographic distinction. Alan Gawthorpe, President
of the Scottish Photographic Federation, paid a
surprise visit to Inverness Camera Club to present
Alastair with his medal and certificate.
!
Thanks,
Lynda
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 8
Avoch Post Officeand The Other Shop
NEWSAGENTS & STATIONERSTelephone 01381 620340
Hot drinks and piesCold drinks & milk Crisps SweetsFull range from Cromarty Bakery
Toys Cards for all occasions
NEWSPAPER DELIVERIES7 DAYS A WEEK
Struggling with your housework?Unable to cope with the work load?
Cupboards needing cleaned?Dusting and hoovering a speciality
SPIK’n’SPANContact Louise MacKay on
07725 897 536
Unfortunately the tide was in, so the foreshore below "Reyta Breyg" (Henrietta Bridge, which played such an important part in the making. of the "Dock") could not be seen. No wonder people said that the fisherfolk were tough and resilient if this was the weather they regularly had to contend with. Luckily those members who had ventured out could always retreat to the warmth of the Heritage Centre and reminisce with their "Auchie" friends.
In recent months visits had been made to many of the old fisher villages on the south side of the firth - Alturlie, Petty, Connage, Stewarton, Campbel-town and Delnies. In the case of Delnies, the "toun" had com-pletely disappeared, and of the others only a few fishermen's cottages, family names and the memories of the elderly re-mained. It was not so with Avoch.
Old "Auchies", like all the north-east fisherfolk, belonged to a close! knit group with a tendency to keep themselves to themselves. They looked after one another and for social and economic reasons married young, usually among their own, though it must be said that they occasionally found a hus-band or wife from across the water.
They were devout, espe-cially after the revivalist move-
ments of the 19th century, and they were very superstitious. To this day they avoid using certain words such as "swine" and "pig", and if by chance! such words are uttered there is a quick scramble to touch "cauld iron". It was recognised that the "Auchies", like the fishers of Ardersier, were better off than their contemporaries who worked the land.
Currently, only one boat works out of Nairn and there are none at Inverness or Cro-marty, yet there are still 16 boats registered in Avoch, giv-
ing employment to some 50-60 men. When did it all begin and, more pertinently, why does Avoch still maintain a hold on this age-old livelihood from the sea?
To try to find an answer and learn something of the in-side story of the "Auchies" and their village, the club turned to Sandy Leitch of the Avoch Heri-tage Association, whose name is among those of the large family groups in the viIlage - as are Patience, MacLeman and Jack.
Lewie Patience, of the Avoch Fishermen's Co!opera-
tive, joined in the chat and Wil-lie Forsyth, clerk to the Harbour Trustees, provided a copy of his father's 1960 account of the work of this important body of men.
Researchers have been greatly aided by the observations made by the Rev James Smith, in what was one of the more compre-hensive of the Statistical Ac-counts of the 1790s. Peter An-son remarks, in his book "Fish-ing Boats and Fisherfolk", that "If only some of the other par-ish ministers had given us such valuable details as did the Rev Smith we should be able to re-construct the life of the Scottish fishermen of 100 years ago far better than it is
actually possible from other contemporary documents".
Anson himself did a great service too by producing an accurate line drawing of Avoch in 1929. The viewpoint is known so it is possible to de-tect the changes that have oc-curred since that time. The sketch shows the distinctive units that make up the village - High Street struggling closely under Braehead; Seatown, with its planned streets of terraced cottages named after members of the Mackenzie family of Rosehaugh, and the "Dock".
This is the oldest part of the village which, in earlier days, was a veritable maze of thatched but-and-bens, closes and alleyways. Further west,
Old fishertoun survives in face of the oddsA fretful wind buffeted the street corners as thirty warmly clad members of Inverness Field Club walked around Avoch on Saturday afternoon. The clouds hung low; the sea was restless. lain MacAskill had talked of sunshine and showers, but in reality there was very little of the former. From Willie Forsyth's up at Geddeston the distant outline of Or-monde Terrace was blurred by the hard driven sleet. Slate roofs glistened and the smoke drawn from all manner of chimney pots added to the winter gloom.
Inverness Field ClubReproduced from an article in
The Inverness Courier22nd January 1993
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 9
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beyond the "breyg" over the Goose burn, are the lime-washed cottages of "Reyta", the "storoos" (grain stores) and skippers' houses.
According to the minister there was only one boat in Avoch in the 1690s. Seatown developed during the following century until, at the time of his account in 1793, there were 93 families living there who were in some way associated with the sea. He details the quest for the "kessacks" (herring), sea-sonal variations in the work, the size and value of the catches and their markets. Nor does he neglect the role of the womenfolk whom he describes as hardy and robust.
The minister knew a great deal about the boats, the "skufteys" (inshore boats) and the "scaffeys" (yawls) and the skills of the men who sailed them. He noted that they could handle over 700 square feet of sail on a 30ft vessel and find their way to fish off the North-umbrian coast. (This was in stark contrast" to the contem-porary Cromarty minister who considered the fishermen there to be too timid to venture far out to sea, having become ac-customed to the large shoals of herring that formerly came into the firth.)
"What a pity", wrote the Rev Smith, "that such men had not been regularly taught navi-gation or have larger vessels to manage."
His thoughts included ideas for improving the fisher-men's income. He knew of the scheme introduced by George I in 1718 to provide a govern-ment bonus for every barrel of white herring exported .beyond the seas.
He realised that if the Avoch men could take advan-tage of this they could gain the capital to purchase "busses"
(the factory ships of those days) and so compete with the Dutch who cured their herring while at sea. Patently, the "Auchies" had a thinker among them.
The boats, named "Zulus" because they were introduced during the Zulu wars, were to come later. Considerably larger than the Scaffeys, they carried a crew of seven and, up to World War I, they were used for the summer fishings off Wick, Cas-tlebay and Yarmouth.
In 1846 there were 48 boats of all types, and by 1910 the number had risen to 93, providing work for 339 men and boys. The number declined to 58 by 1930 but significantly 26 of these were motor-driven.
Around the Moray Firth, fishing communities died prin-cipally through lack of harbour facilities. At Avoch the original stone pier was built in 1814 by Sir Alexander Mackenzie to a design by Thomas Telford. The harbour was completed in 1906 aided by grants and loans from the Fishery Board.
The east breakwater was added in 1912 and renovated to its present standard in 1948. In 1960 George Forsyth, then clerk to the Harbour Trustees wrote: "Looking at the harbour today it is easy to take everything for granted and fail to give credit to the men of a past generation whose labour, ingenuity and determination made its con-struction and development pos-sible."
The Harbour Trustees came into being in 1903, when the Avoch harbour order re-ceived the Royal Assent. Before then the harbour committee had made such a strenuous ef-fort to raise money that they were able to give the Trustees £1800. As Mr Forsyth says: "To raise £1800 in those days must have been a stupendous under-taking" and obviously shows a
strong commitment to fishing and the maritime activities of the villagers.
The relative importance of the former is reflected in the 1946 composition of the Trustees when, for the first time, all four elected representatives were fishermen.
Why then has fishing pre-vailed in Avoch when it has vir-tually disappeared from the in-ner Moray Firth west of Hope-man? A harbour was built in Cromarly in 1785 and as far back as the reign of Queen Anne there was a prosperous herring industry but no fishing boats have been registered there since World War II.
At the end of the day, and after looking at all the available facts, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that fish-ing has survived because of the character of the people, bound together by tradition and trag-edy and driven by a unity of purpose.
Someone said on Satur-day that fishing was "in the blood and in the genes" so per-haps the Old Testament words "look to the rocks from which ye are hewn" should be given due consideration.
Where did the Patiences, MacLemans and the others come from? There are many theories but, whatever the truth, the "Auchies" looks and distinc-tive language indicate origins different from the rest of the Black Isle folk.
Now the last thatched roof has gone. Most of the fish-ermen have chosen to build new houses away from the sea. Soon the black tangle of old powerli-nes that criss-crosses the "Dock" will be no more, thus enhancing further the already clean and orderly appearance of a Black Isle vilIage that is full of interest.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 10
Massage your cares away
Tranquil MassageHelp reduce muscular spasm Ease respiratory problems Stimulate circulation
Swedish Massage . Reiki . Indian Head MassageTREATMENT IN YOUR OWN HOME OR IN THE THERAPY ROOM AT TIGH UR, FORTROSE
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Tel: 07831 196164 Fax: 01381 621788 Email: [email protected]
The tennis courts area in the cen-
tre of Avoch has been lying, dis-
used and deteriorating, for a sub-
stantial number of years now. Sev-
eral successive Amenities Associa-
tion committees have grappled
with this problem patch, all ulti-
mately unsuccessfully, and it is a
cause for general regret that this
central area of the village is still in
such a state of disrepair. A sum,
believed to be £3,000, is still due
to be paid by adjoining developers
towards the cost of upgrading the
area.
Several proposals have re-
cently been mooted for the Tennis
Courts and the current AAA com-
mittee wants to consider all of
these, including the possible sale
of the area and use of the funds
generated to provide an all-
weather sports surface elsewhere,
adjoining the existing Community
Centre.
There were days when the
Amenities Association held a sub-
stantial area of the village centre
on behalf of the community and
much of this has gradually been
sold off or otherwise disposed of
for safekeeping, so that today the
tennis courts and bowling green
areas are the only land now held
by the Association.
A few years ago a Parish-
wide questionnaire showed that
there was substantial opposition
to the idea of selling off the area
or using it for car-parking and
many people still seem to feel that
it would be a shame to sell off the
Community garden plan for Avoch tennis courts
last remaining piece of open space
owned by AAA on behalf of the
community.
Kathleen Green and David
Thompson have been working on
one idea - their proposal is for a
"village garden" scheme, in which
the area would be transformed
into a communal garden, for grow-
ing fresh produce that could be
sold locally, thus helping to sus-
tain the project.
They want to incorporate a
seating area, for local people to
meet up and have a "blether", and
to provide secure storage facilities
for gardening equipment
Kathleen says, “We envisage
that the project would encourage
and promote communication be-
tween generations and acceptance
and understanding between all
sections of the community.”
And, of course, this pro-
posal would retain the green heart
of the village within community
control.
Anyone interested or want-
ing to engage in the garden pro-
ject will be warmly welcomed - any
help would be very much appreci-
ated. Kathleen says that anyone
wanting more details about the
proposal should feel free to phone
her for a chat on 01381 620034.
AAA wants all ideas for the
area to be made public, so that
people can make up their minds as
to what may be best. So if you
have a good idea, please send it in
and Chatterbox will be pleased to
publish it. -Ed.
4 stars forAvoch Dolphin TripsDolphin Trips Avoch has been awarded four-star grading for Wild Life Experience by Visit Scotland. A pilot scheme was run in 2006, when DTA were awarded a very strong three-star status after an unannounced, anonymous visit by the assessors. This has now been upgraded to four stars.
Gwyn Tanner, pleased as punch with the award, said, “It’s all down to Paula - she did all the work.” He also said that he intends to hold his prices at this year’s level for the coming year, “to help people beat the credit crunch.” However, his business is obviously very dependent on the price of fuel for its profitability, and he said that if it does increase again it may be necessary to intro-duce a £1 per person surcharge.
Gwyn and Paula extend their very best wishes to everyone for a Happy Christmas and a Good New Year.
Have you seenWhereCanWeGo ?
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The recent Avoch & Killen Community Council meeting at Avoch Community Centre, at which developer’s plans for housing at Rose-haugh Estate were displayed for examination and discussion.
Chatterbox photo
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 11
Charles Kennedy
- fromyour MP
Eat Mair Fish
Ltd.Old Station Yard, Marine Place
Buckie AB56 1RQTel: 01542 832680
Van in Munlochy, Avoch & Fortrose on Thursdayin Fortrose & Cromarty on Tuesday
A welcome change of heart on the post office card account Last month brought with it a major parliamentary victory for common sense – and for the future of vital services in Black Isle communities. Responding to ever-growing pressure from opposi-tion parties, backbenchers, the National Federation of Subpost-masters and – in no small part – directly from communities the length and breadth of the UK, Ministers dramatically scrapped their plans to axe the Post Office Card Account and abandoned a tendering process to award a new contract for local delivery of pension and benefit payments. The public concern about the proposal had been huge – well over one thousand people sent postcards from their local branch to express their opposi-tion in Ross, Skye & Lochaber alone. The Government’s plans caused a great deal of worry to a significant number of older people who rely on their local post office. For many in the Highlands & Islands, the local branch is literally the only ac-cessible place where money can be obtained. And – in no small part thanks to the dedicated work of subpostmasters – to many communities the post of-fice means a lot more than that. Beneath concern for the immediate effect of losing the card account lay the looming likelihood of an estimated 3,000 further branch closures in the wake of what would have been the single biggest withdrawal of Government business to date. I do not think that it is any exag-
geration to say that the prog-nosis for the branch network as a whole would then have been very bleak indeed. A few years ago, the Chief Executive of Royal Mail told MPs that – for the purposes of administering their postal service alone – he would envis-age needing 4,000 local offices, and closing the remaining 10,000. The overwhelming weight of those closures would fall on rural communities like ours – going way beyond the Government’s own closure pro-gramme earlier this year. The point – then and now – was that the Post Office needs to be more than a place to send letters and parcels if it is to be viable at all in its current form. Now, for the first time, there is a glimmer of hope that the Government will accept that argument. It has always been extraordinary that – at a time when trust is so hard to come by – Ministers seemed so de-termined to regard the Post Of-fice as a liability rather than an asset. Now, thanks to people power, the post office’s pension and benefit business has been secured, at least until 2015 – and hopefully beyond that too. But there are no grounds for complacency. The true test of the Government’s conversion will be the zeal with which it follows this principle into other areas, undoing the damage of recent years. The return of the TV Licensing contract to post offices would be a good start, but it should only be the tip of the iceberg as far as the poten-tial of the post office network is concerned. The future of each and every post office is now all
about confidence – the confi-dence of Ministers, the confi-dence of current and future subpostmasters, and the confi-dence of their customers. With or without the post office card account, the steady erosion of the branch network will con-tinue if Ministers return to run-ning down its future, and ac-tively discouraging customers. The trickle of ‘temporary’ branch closures (which has al-ready resumed following the ‘planned’ closures of last win-ter) has got to stop. Ministers have got to make it happen – and if they now set about doing so, they will have my full sup-port.
A peaceful and happy Christmas At risk of becoming part of the sometimes unwelcome early onrush of Christmas into our lives, I will take this oppor-tunity briefly to wish Chatterbox readers a very happy festive season and a great new year ahead in 2009. With the new President taking office across the Atlantic, it promises to be an interesting year ahead. There is bound to be some disappointment – and we will all need to keep focused on the real economic difficulties we face – but there is also the prospect of a change of mood on the world stage which can only be welcome. The message that we are stronger united is not a new one, but the new resonance it has acquired in President-Elect Obama’s hands opens up truly global possibili-ties that have been neglected for much too long.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 12
Sandy’s Kerala diary
I HAD BEEN IN KERALA for five
days, had attended a colourful
Hindu temple festival, visited the
port of Fort Kochi – and had
even been taken by my host Dr
Varma up to the old Cochin royal
palace – now a rather dilapidated
museum – where his great-uncle
had ruled as the last Raja of
Cochin. He told how he remem-
bered as kids they had rushed
round the palace flushing all
seventeen of these newly fit-ted ‘thrones’ - the first in the
country.
Now, my plans to travel
around by bus overruled, I was
bumping my way up from the
tropical coastland in a little
white Tata car – about the size
of a Clio – heading for the hill
town of Munnar. My driver was a
dapper little man called Laiju.
At first the landscape was
coastal - all rice paddies, coco-
nut groves and bananas but
soon we were passing fields of
pineapples then, a bit higher,
shady groves of rubber trees.
This was new to me and we
stopped and strolled down
among the slender trees, each
with a diagonal vein guiding the
white fluid into a plastic cup –
very low tech!
Story and photos by Sandy Mitchell
KERALA: HIGH COUNTRY AND
TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 13
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Black Isle Green Gym is a friendly group of people who enjoy working outdoors, getting f it and improving their local environment at the same time. We volunteer between 1pm and 4pm on Thursday afternoons. There is a pick up/ drop off at Fortrose Leisure centre, or you can meet on site. We are always looking for new people to join us. We are also looking for a new leader. If you are interested or would like more information, please contact Ebony Reid on 01463 811560 or
The landscape as we
climbed was wonderfully green
with all kinds of hardwood trees.
We passed cocoa-bushes and
fields of coffee. Then the forest
thinned and we were in steep
valleys, the slopes covered in
scrub. The bones of the land-
scape showed through, huge
rounded granite boulders.
We joined groups of In-
dian tourists at spectacular over-
looks and waterfalls. At one, lo-
cal women were selling spices,
vegetables and
fruit – but unex-
pectedly big
bright bunches of
carrots. As young
Indians took pic-
tures of each
other in front of
the fall a woman
bent double wash-
ing carrots in the
tumbling waters.
After hours
of climbing by zig-
zag roads we
reached the hill
town of Munnar,
about five thou-
sand feet above sea-level. It
straggles along the left bank of a
slow river – the Muthiripuzha - in
a steep valley with lines of tea-
bushes rising to the highest visi-
ble slopes. I have a plain room
in the very plain S.N. Hotel. It
adjoins a busy trucker-style café
and next door there’s a spice
store. I am told briskly at recep-
tion there will be hot water from
six to nine in the morning. There
is a phone by my bed and the
cable hangs loose from a hole in
the wall.
I eat in the restaurant
listed by Lonely Planet and order
their recommended butter
chicken. They were right. It is
served with jeera (cumin) rice
and a pot of cardamom tea. The
sauce is a warm orangey brown
and glows with the scents of
fresh spices. Cost? Just over a
pound. It’s cold in the night and
I ask for a second blanket. The
boss says for the last month
overnights have been 0oC. I be-
lieve it.
I take morning and eve-
ning walks out of town following
the Muthirupuzha River with
mist coiling over the surface and
the dark green slopes of tea-
bushes rising to the hilltops.
Almost everyone I meet – stu-
dents and school kids, a passing
truck driver, estate workers, of-
fer a wave or a friendly greeting.
Some stop for a chat always
wanting to know what I think of
Kerala. Just some of the older
folk pass, heads down and si-
lent. On the river-banks huge
purple convolvulus and big trees
with great bunches of orange
flowers – I discover later these
spectacular trees were intro-
duced from Brazil. I use my new
bird book to identify some birds
– long-tailed shrikes and the
aptly-named red-whiskered bul-
bul. It is wonderfully cool –
though after the first night I had
to ask for another blanket for
my bed.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 14
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clearance Phone Hugh on 01463 713245or 07845 468540
C.B.Financial ServicesLouise Mackay
for bookkeeping
No time for bookkeeping?Enlist my help!
Contact Louise for your bookkeeping requirementsTel: 0772 589 7536
Croit Bhan, Killen, Avoch IV9 [email protected]
In BriefVillage Officer
Di Agnew, Black Isle Ward Man-ager, has secured the services of the two mobile work-ers while there is no Village Officer in Avoch. This is to include strimming where needed. The Community Council is now looking for some-one with their own insurance who can do this sort of work. A Job description has been written.
Youth Cafe
The Fortrose Youth Cafe has now reopened, but more parental involvement is urgently needed (See Billy Barclay on p. 37)
Craft Classes
The Monday night Avoch craft group has started again for the winter and all are welcome. The ladies are settled down making their crafts and on a bleak winter’s night it is good company. Jacquie is looking forward to seeing the ladies each Mon-day night at 7.30pm. in the Avoch Congrega-tional Church Hall.
We make a day trip to a
nature reserve that takes us
winding up out of the forest
zone to bare granite sugarloaf
mountains and sparse
grassland – at an eleva-
tion around 8,000 feet.
The views are fabulous
but the wildlife scarce
and I hear a few grum-
bles from Indian tourists
tramping uphill, wonder-
ing why they had both-
ered.
Munnar itself is a
jumble of workshops,
stalls and shops. In the
main road, one stretch
has a barber, a tyre-
repairer, a dealer in skins, a
tailor and stalls selling fritters
and chai. And my favourite – a
tiny stall set a bit apart – The
Infant Jesus Radiator Works.
From Munnar we de-
scend through miles of
tea estates and into tropi-
cal rainforest and the lit-
tle town of Kumily in the
foothills and on the edge
of the large Periyar Tiger
Wildlife Park. As we travel
downhill the roads dete-
riorate as if in tea country
there is more money
around - for there are new
schools, smartly painted
churches and temples. We
pass fine stands of hard-
wood trees, well spaced, and
below, the height of bracken,
wild cardamom, and then fur-
ther down whole plantations of
them.
Details that stick in the
memory: women returning from
tea slopes, swaying elegantly in
their saris as they head for the
weighing station, each with a
great net of tea balanced on the
head; a cattle truck, high-sided
but open, the beasts with long
curving horns staring out over
the tailgate; a bus with bright
curly-wurly paintwork and the
name-board “Mary Matha”; each
small village with a line of auto-
rickshaws and open taxi-jeeps.
In Kumily I have a dark,
cool, comfortable room in the
Golgothri Home Stay and my
host helps me book for next day
an 18km ‘border hike’ in the
national park. Next morning is
damp and misty when I
meet the only two other
participants – a young
Australian couple, Matt
and Louise. We have a
ranger with a rifle and
two local guides – re-
ferred to by other Indians
as ‘tribals’. Years back
they had been persuaded
to stop poaching by get-
ting these ranger jobs.
Definitely poachers
turned gamekeepers.
They wear wellies or
open sandals and sprinkle
brown powder over bare skin to
ward off the leeches. We are
given kind of bootee-puttees,
also dust- sprinkled. These are
very necessary, for as you walk
you see myriads of the wee
beasties, like tiny white
cobras, swaying up out of
the leaf-litter, activated by
the overnight rain.
At first we follow a
faint track past the tribal
village, dusty huts behind
cane screens. Hens, cats,
puppies and bairns stare
quietly, smiles are readily
returned. I had worried
about my flimsy shoes and
the note on my tour ticket
which said threatening things
about the ups and downs. It
turns out the pace is gentle and
we stop often to look and ad-
mire. The young Ozzies turn out
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 15
ChiropodistJohn L. Stott
D.S.Ch. F.A.Ch.Pod. M.Inst.ChP
Home Visits by appointment throughoutThe Black Isle, Ross-Shire & Inverness-Shire
MEMBER OF THE“INSTITUTE OF CHIROPODISTS & PODIATRISTS”
State Registered: HPC Registration Number CH25760
Tel 01381 621196
Free fortnightlydelivery of
seasonal vegetables- boxes from £10
Fruit, eggs andvarious other organic produce
also available
Kylerona FarmArdersier IV2 7QZ
Tel: 01667 462555http://www.macleodorganics.com
to be knowledgeable naturalists
and the guides are great at find-
ing and showing. We stop to
watch rare parakeets and king-
fishers, mynas, doves and dron-
gos. We see a rosewood tree
from which bleeds bright crim-
son sap, a jack-fruit tree with the
world’s biggest fruit, a tiny co-
bra making a question-mark
against a tree trunk. One ranger
shows us a little plant: when
touched the leaves start to
tremble and furl themselves like
tiny umbrellas. The other chap
brings a fresh-water crab col-
oured like a treacle-toffee. We
watch the daftly named ‘greater
racket-tailed drongos’ float from
side to side of a forest glade.
They are about the size of a
blackbird but with tail streamers
a metre long that float out be-
hind as they fly. One tree has
almost been rubbed through by
elephants and the trail is pitted
with elephant droppings like
inverted footprints.
We stop twice to eat and
each time the guides light a wee
fire by the side of a stream and
using just a few twigs heat curry,
boil water and cook up rice
cakes in little pot-bellied metal
stoves that do the trick in no
time. As ever the food is deli-
cious.
The way grows steep,
winding through thickets of cane
which we are told is not bam-
boo and at last we emerge onto
a grassy ridge above the rainfor-
est. But mist or cloud en-
veolopes us and we can see little
– we are here about the
height of Ben Nevis. One
guide is sent prospecting for
animals but before he gets
back the mists clear and we
see on a wide grassy saddle
below an elephant and her
calf and in the trees beyond a
small herd of buffalo.
Our descent is through
head-high grass, then the
‘bamboo’ belt and finally the
rainforest – which now is true
to its name, for it pours
steadily for the last hour or
two. Yet in the gentle humid-
ity you are just lapped in wet
warmth, and squelch on re-
gardless.
In the evening when, as
agreed, the three of us meet
for a meal, Matt told how his
boots had been full of leeches
when he took them off. At
once I think of my own shoes,
cast off carelessly near the
bed, and I sit, fork poised,
imagining the craturs cheer-
fully emerging, crawling up
the bed-legs, over the pillow…
I need not have worried
for when I get back and tap
the shoes against an outside
wall only a rattle of tiny wiz-
ened corpses fall out. The
dark little world between my
puttees and my socks had not
been for them.
Next morning we head
for the Kerala coast and the
fabled Backwaters - but that is
another tale for another day.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 16
MARTIN GILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gill Garden Supplies!! &! Quarry Products
!Easter Templand Farm, FortroseTelephone 01381 620308 / 07768 564458
email [email protected] have a large selection of coloured decorative chips & slate,
!Walling, rockery! & feature stones, topsoil, sand & concrete mix.!All delivered in any quantity.
"Please give me a call for local friendly advice or viewing of above materials.
In the grooveClaire Divine
Saturday 15th November saw a great morning of
fund raising activity at Avoch Community Centre.
Avoch Under 5’s, led by Louise Coull and Avoch
Primary Out of School Club (Groove), led by Kim-
berley Ferguson, provided a morning of sales,
baking and snakes! The successful event raised
£600, which is being split between the two
groups. Both groups struggle to find the funding
for resources that children need, and this event
has given a hard-earned boost to their funds. Lou-
ise and Kimberley would like to thank everyone
who helped and contributed on the day, and also
to the Community for such great support. The day
featured snakes for holding and photographs, T-
shirt and glass painting, hair braiding, plenty of
stalls, a tombola, raffle and other activities. There
was baking to take away and tea, coffee and cakes
to sit down to as the kids wandered around trying
out all the different activities, many draped in
their favourite snakes!
The funds are being spent directly on chil-
dren’s toys and resources, and at Groove the kid’s
have already given Kimberly their wish list of new
toys that they would like to see at their After-
School Club. There are still places available and
this service can be used regularly or on an “as and
when needed” basis, so don’t ever be stuck for
after-school care for your children. Kimberley can
be contacted for any enquires after 3pm (week-
days) on 07765401696.
Having missed their usual monthly Friday Social in Novem-ber Jermaine’s Salsa Dance Class group is combining the normal end of month social with a! Christmas party on!Wednesday 10th December! at the Spectrum Centre. The session has been ex-tended to 10.30pm and will!in-clude social dancing. The cost is only £8 per person for class and social.
And then, on Wednesday 17th, the next week, there will be a one hour warm-up at the Spec-trum centre from 7- 8pm, fol-lowed by a car pool dash to Forres to join with the Latinomoves Xmas party at the Mosset Tavern where there will be social dancing and performance from 9pm on-wards. The first class in Inverness will be priced normally but you can alternatively pay £9 for the night which includes a seat in a car to and from the event. There are limited places available!so please arrange with Matthew or Jermaine before the night.
If you go to the!Thursday night classes at the Perrins Centre in Alness, you’ll have the oppor-
tunity of a Jermaine free social night on Thursday 27th Novem-ber. The hall is paid for so please come along and practice your moves. Classes will continue at the Perrins Centre on Thursday nights until 18th December 2008. All students are encouraged to join in the Spectrum Xmas party events.
The Kilmorack group is planning a fund-raising Cuban Celidh for Friday 30th January for the new hall, so do!come and join in.
The Class at Fortrose Town Hall on Thursdays at 7pm - 8.30pm will continue until Thrus-day 17th December. Catherine Donald will be travelling to Aus-tralia in the new year so classes will resume in March 2009.
And don't forget that the salsa shop has great ideas for salsa shoes and clothes.
See http://shop.salsanorth.co.uk/catalog/
Everyone at Salsa North wishes you a great time over the Christmas holiday..
Salsa through Christmas
Jermaine & Campbell McCracken
Grand Christmas Draw 2008 Avoch Primary School Parent Council
Family Ticket to Landmark4 tickets for 'Sleeping Beauty' at Eden CourtTour and Lunch at the Scottish ParliamentLuxury HamperFootball signed by Ross CountyBottle of House of Lords Whisky… and much, much!more!Promoter Serena Ferguson, Avoch Primary!School Parent Council.! Tickets 50p each.! Draw to be made on 19th December 2008 at Avoch Primary School.
For tickets email! [email protected] or contact Sarah Atkin (Parent Council Chair) on 07951 634461.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 17
Phones01381 621 38201463 715 171
mobile:07903 045 979
G. DickieNo.3 Ladyhill ViewAvoch Ross-shireIV9 8RU
G. Anderson65 Dell RoadInvernessIV2 4TY
FREE ESTIMATESFREE ESTIMATES
NHBC Assured ContractorsDesigns and plans drawn for
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DECKING and FENCINGsupplied and erected
Phone Avoch (01381) 621382
NHBC Assured ContractorsDesigns and plans drawn for
COMPLETE NEW HOUSE BUILDS
LOFT CONVERSIONSEXTENSIONS
SPECIALIST TIMBER CON-SERVATORIES
SUN ROOMS and GARAGESReplacement double + triple glazed
WINDOWS & DOORSUPVC FASCIAS & SOFFITS
DECKING and FENCINGsupplied and erected
Phone Avoch (01381) 621382
A Home from Home: Abbeyfield Scotland Ltd provides care homesand very sheltered houses located through out Scotland.
Within the Highlands Abbeyfield has three very sheltered homes in Rosemarkie, Inverness and Nairn. Our very sheltered houses are small households with a family feel, catering for 6 -10 residents who come together regularly for social gatherings, meals and activities. Residents of Abbeyfield houses are independent, safe in the knowledge that they have security and companionship.
Abbeyfield Scotland Ltd is a Registered Social Landlord with the Scottish Housing Regulator (20) and a Registered Charity (SCO 12549)
For more information please contact our Administrators on 0131 225 7801 Or at Abbeyfield Scotland Ltd, 15 West Maitland Street, Edinburgh EH12 5EA
Want to keep your independence?
Worried about the cost of house maintenance?
Worried about those repair bills?
Cooking regular meals a problem?
Don’t like being on your own at night?
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 18
Do us all a favour!Throw your empty packet in the bin!KEEP OUR STREETS TIDY
When the Hugh Sutherland Me-
morial Cup was played on 30
August there were only 13 en-
tries. At the semi-final stage
Avoch (George Patience, Marga-
ret Patience & Jimmy Skinner)
met Tain (A Hutcheson) and
Fortrose (Billy Barclay, Mark Bar-
clay & George Chalmers) met
North Kessock (George Smith).
Unfortunately Avoch did not get
through to the final, which was
won by Fortrose. Tain were
runners-up.
The next day the Avoch
team of Lewie Patience, Bob
McClymont and Ecky Patience
reached the semi-finals in the
North Kessock Triples.
Because of the Avoch
Fishermen's Association outing
on 27th September and bad
weather on 4th October, the
Bessie Brown Memorial Cup was
held over. It will be played in
May next year.
An excellent meal in the
pavilion, provided and served
by the ladies of the club
brought the season to an enjoy-
able end, after which Megan
Patience presented the club tro-
phies. Kathryn Logan won the
Ladies Championship, with
Margaret Patience as runner-up.
Ecky Patience won the Gents
Championship and George Bro-
die was runner-up. Ecky was
also runner-up for the T A Pa-
tience Cup, which was won by
Bob McClymont. Bob also won
the B Macintosh Cup and
runner-up was Jane Jardine. The
Silver Jubilee Cup was taken by
Gerry Carolan ond Bob McCly-
mont, with Dan Macleman and
George Patience as runners-up.
The green opens again
next year at the end of April.
Until then the only club meeting
will be the AGM in February.
George Brodie, Secretary, AvochOutdoor Bowls Club
A satisfactory end to yet another year
Chatterbox photo
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 19
Local food discussionHIGHLAND SEMINAR TO TACKLE
CHALLENGES OF LOCAL FOOD PRO-
DUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
Highlands and islands food producers will meet
near Aviemore next month in a two-day seminar
to discuss issues around local food production
and distribution.
The event is Highlands and Islands Local Food
Network’s (HILFN) 3rd annual conference and will
be held at Loch Insh Watersports Centre, Kincraig
on Wednesday December 3 and Thursday De-
cember 4.
A key item in the agenda is the challenge of local
food distribution. Jo Hunt, HILFN chief executive,
will lead discussions on the possibility of creating
a local food trading hub for the region.
The lack of abattoir and butchery facilities faced
by meat producers will also be tackled, with
speakers coming from Skye, Moray and Aber-
deenshire to share ways of overcoming these bar-
riers.
Other sessions include making the most of the
media to promote local food, and sharing best
practice among local food producer groups.
Delegates will also visit Alvie Estate, including the
Delfour hatchery, Alvie Strawberries and Kincraig
Stores to hear how the estate functions as a local
food producer.
Places are still available for HILFN members and
non-members.
For further information contact HILFN on 01381
600525 or [email protected].
Wild About Your GardenThis is a new 30 minute BBC show focusing on wildlife gar-dening. The show broadcasts on Wednesdays at 2030 on BBC ONE until Christmas Eve and there are plans to repeat in the New Year in a 45 minute format.Each week WAYG features a dif-ferent garden being transformed into a wildlife haven. To encour-age audience engagement it has embedded calls to action and a fantastic new website - www.bbc.co.uk/wildaboutyourgarden! The site has been cre-ated by the BBC Breathing Places web team and, as such, also links closely to the BP site. If you are running any relevant wildlife gardening events, we would be happy to promote these for you on the Breathing Places Event Finder at: www.breathingplaces.org . If you have ticked the wildlife gardening theme box when en-tering them, this will ensure they come up in searches made by our audiences for events near them. Before you register your events and if you haven’t al-ready done so, you will have to register as a Breathing Places partner.
The Station Hotel in Avoch has been given yet another lease of life with its take over on the 15th September by Alyson and John Gibb of The Plough, in Rosemarkie.
The pub still belongs to the brew-ery, Oxford Inns, which restricts what can be done with the premises, but John and Alyson decided to take the pub on as they see an opportunity to do more at such a large establishment, compared with what they can provide at The Plough. They see the future of the Station as being very dif-ferent to The Plough, though, and have no intention of replicating what they do in Rosemarkie.
John believes a village as large as Avoch should have a good pub, with plenty of entertainment. Over the next few weeks keep your eyes on the Station as the intention is to have live music, social nights, discos and perhaps a return of the pub quiz. John wants to see the Station become the social hub of the village, go-ing back to it’s busy and lively self as it was a few years ago.
Any community group or fund raising group that needs a venue is welcome to contact John to see how he can support their endeavours. There is no charge for using the pub for such group events, such as the Race Night which Avoch Primary Parent Council held on the 14th Novem-ber.
The food at the Station is being provided by the chefs from the Plough, but with an emphasis on local pub favour-ites and a menu reflecting local demand and pockets. There is no intention to pro-vide the kind of dining that is available at the Plough, though, as John says “It’s not what the locals want”.
The future of the pub? That de-pends on who uses it. John and Alyson are open to any suggestions from members of the community as to what they would like to see at the pub. But just remember that at present there’s no food on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
John and Alyson can be contacted at The Plough Inn on 01381 620164
Fresh steam at the Station
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 20
The annual competition for
camera clubs across the High-
lands and Islands, now in its
11th year, was held at Cromarty
on Saturday 22nd November
2008. 70 prints and slides were
presented from Isleburgh (Shet-
land), Thurso, Nairn, Inverness,
East Sutherland, Dingwall and
Cromarty, with over 80 photog-
raphers from around the region
in attendance at the Victoria
Hall, Cromarty.
Councillor David Alston
opened the event, which was
supported by The Highland
Council, The Cromarty Trust,
spanglefish.com and other local
organisations and firms who all
Cromarty Camera Club Hosts ‘The Highland Challenge’
gave generously. Professional
photographer Donald Fisher
from Scourie gave thoughtful
comments on each of the en-
tries, which were projected
digitally. Dingwall Camera Club
took the trophy as the highest
scoring club. The highest scor-
ing Colour Print and Mono-
chrome entries belonged to
John Ross of Inverness, and the
highest scoring Slide belonged
to Lesley Simpson of Dingwall.
The photograph shows (left to
right) Bob Hunter and Lesley
Simpson of Dingwall Camera
Club, and John Brierley, Chair-
man of Cromarty Camera Club.
15 October 2008!
BÒRD LAUNCHES FUND TO GROW
GAELIC INCOMMUNITIES
!
A challenge fund worth £150K for community
projects to grow Gaelic is being launched by
Gaelic development agency, Bòrd na Gàidhlig.
The Taic Freumhan Coimhearsnachd fund
will be available in each of the next three years is
to support community- focused initiatives that
seek to strengthen learning and usage of Gaelic
and match the objectives of the National Plan for
Gaelic.
The fund is open for applications from
community organisations, voluntary groups, small
businesses and other organisations that wish to
promote grass root Gaelic language activities in
communities or networks.
Further information and application forms
for Taic Freumhan Coimhearsnachd are available
by contacting Bòrd na Gàidhlig on 01463 225454,
or email [email protected] or on the Bòrd na
Gàidhlig website at www.bord-na-gaidhlig.org.uk.
Don’t forget the AAAmeeting!
A Council meeting of the Avoch
Amenities Association will be
held on December 3rd 2008 at
7.30 p.m. in the Upper Hall of
the Community Centre. All are
welcome to attend. If any one
has any matter to be included
on the Agenda please notify me
as soon as possible.
Caroline Dobson
Secretary
Avoch Amenities Association
Chatterbox needs more helpers
The magazine still seems to want to grow, as more material is submitted for each succeeding issue, but growing it will not be possible without more willing helpers to share the workload.We have now secured a good standard of print equipment and a sustainable financial basis, but more people are needed to help with all aspects of our production, from Reporting to Print Management.
COME AND JOIN US! EXPERIENCE NOT NEEDED- JUST ENTHUSIASM!
Salsa party!
There is going to be a great
Xmas Salsa Party at the Spec-
trum Centre on Friday 19th
December 7pm- 11pm.
Information will be on the Salsa
North website at
www.salsanorth.co.uk
The local Salsa class is in For-
trose Town Hall with Catherine
Donald on Thursdays 7-
8.30pm .
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 21
McEye
THE ARTIST
He struggled
with the
cornfield day
after day…
never quite
getting it
throwing himself
around in despair:
knowing that just
as with life’s other
talents……
as with all
living had to
offer……
He couldn’t
resist drawing
the shortest
straw
but he never
cut his ear
off
The case of the disappearing gardenOn the 18th September, Dun-
can & Susan Macleman and
their neighbours, Sandy & Iso-
bel Ross, got a bit of a shock
when water started appearing
out of the garden of 33 Mack-
enzie Place. At that stage the
leaking water main was a minor
inconvenience, but they were
all in for a shock - their back
gardens suddenly subsided
leaving an almighty mess (and
Duncan & Susan's shed in a 6'
deep hole!)
Scottish Water has admitted
liability, due to the failure of
the ageing asbestos-cement
water main, and have awarded
the reinstatement contract
works to Pat Munro, Alness.
These works are due to start on
Monday 1st December and are
programmed to be completed
by Christmas.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 22
The P.L.A.Y. group pose for a group photo
Avoch play-park tidy-up on 6th October
Photos by Trevor Powell- - his last photogaphic contribution to
Chatterbox. Trevor is leaving the- area and will be sorely missed.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 23
Perhaps you haven’t yet heard of P.L.A.Y (“Park-life for Avoch Youngsters”), a sub-group of Avoch / Killen Community Council. It’s a small group of people, but with big ideas!
They are aiming to raise
enough money (in a variety of
ways) to return Avoch Play-Park
(in the centre of the village) to
a satisfactory condition for cur-
rent users and anybody who
would like to use it.
Perhaps a toddler using a
baby swing, an older child us-
ing a climbing wall/spider-web,
or anyone from a teenager to
your granny looking for some-
where to rest or have a blether
or just simply to sit in the sun.
The group expects it to
be a long journey and would
like to invite you to join or as-
sist in any way that you can.
Hazel Carmichael says,
“We began this experience by
having a park tidy up on Satur-
day 6th October. This was well
attended and we thank all who
helped make it a success. Then
we held a Halloween Party in
Avoch Primary School, which
was also very well attended and
raised a total of £100 profit.
Then they held a “Pam-
pered Chef Ready Steady Cook
challenge”, on Saturday 22nd
November, where an audience
watched a delicious meal be-
ing prepared and was then
invited to taste the end prod-
uct. Dawn Walker says, ”Our
Ready Steady Cookers were
Susan MacLeman and Derek
Martin and his sous chef Di-
armuid Martin.! (Our Sea Scout
Leader was the winner!) A
good time was had by all.! We
made around £130.! Many
thanks to all who joined us on
the evening, and to those who
gave donations.!Thanks also
to Shona Leggatt for the deli-
cious shortbread.”!
The group also had a stall at
Avoch Amenities Christmas
Fair in the Community Centre,
Avoch on Saturday 29th No-
vember and is now looking for
more ideas and support, so if
you feel that you can help in
any way please contact them
on;
or look out for their next
meeting which will be on Fri-
day 12th December at 7.30pm
at the Station Hotel.
P.L.A.Y.The Avoch “Parkie” was also the scene of a different kind of activity recently when the ambulance helicopter landed on an emergency mission to Raigmore Hospital. It landed first at the Harbour and then in the Park. And we’re pleased to say that the lady concerned was successfully
delivered to Raigmore and was subsequently returned home. Our best wishes go to her.
Photo courtesy of Jacquie Patience
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 24
meaning that it is led by the wishes of the communities they serve. Every two years there is a public consultation of 4,500 people in the Highland Region to identify what priorities the communities wish the police to focus on. The outcome of the most recent survey identified that the number-one concern was speeding vehicles, sec-ondly dangerous driving. Dog fouling and youth issues were the remaining concerns in-cluded in the top six in the survey. Road traffic policing is therefore a high priority in this area, and the presence of the Road Traffic Unit in Dingwall helps with the policing of road traffic issues.
PC Carl Alexander, our local PC, has been based in the Black Isle for 4 months. He commented that it appears that the Black Isle community is less inclined to report incidents, compared to, for example, Dingwall. The Black Isle has the same issues as Dingwall and Inverness, including young people (YP) hanging out on the streets, like at Lazy Corner in Avoch, and also speeding cars through Fortrose. He stressed that not all YP hanging out on the streets are causing trouble or committing crime. It is, as in other areas, a core of YP that this is attributed to. The Police do what they can to engage with YP, and perhaps that is something the community as a whole could do?
At present the lack of a local drink by-law in Avoch tended to attract YP, because they could drink on the street in Avoch. (But note that we
understand that a by-law has now come into force. -Ed.) It was also noted that the level of ac-tivities fluctuates with the bus timetable. There was a sugges-tion that the Police should pre-empt this and be a step ahead of the buses, but it was pointed out that there is also intimidat-ing behaviour on the buses and that drivers don’t seem to have any method of dealing with this. The media have also played their part in creating a culture of fear which induces people to feel more vulnerable. A member of the com-munity expressed concern at what would happen if an adult (male) approached a group of YP because of their anti-social behaviour, concerned that if anything untoward did happen, there is a much higher chance of the adult being on the receiv-ing end of blame or even prosecution for challenging the YP. It was agreed that sense of Civic responsibility has dimin-ished and also YP know their rights and will exercise them more freely. What has been lost is YP’s understanding of any sense of responsibility. Some-one asked what has happened to parental responsibility for these YP?
Litter:
The Police were asked what they do regarding littering, and whether anyone has ever been prosecuted for littering in this area? The Police see littering as a low priority, as they focus on the “Policing by Consent” model mentioned earlier. However Fly Tipping, also a criminal offence, is given a higher priority. The Police are aware that this causes annoyance in Communi-ties, but have to focus on drink driving, speeding etc. It is also very difficult to enforce as no one drops litter when Police officers are about! In the “Excel-lence in Community Policing Survey” two thirds of respon-dents consider it the Council’s responsibility to deal with litter and issues such as stray dogs.
Under-age drinking:
A member of the community stated that this problem has worsened over the last few weeks. Again the lack of an al-cohol by-law was mentioned. However another community
Avoch & Killen Community Council invited speakers to their meeting on 6th October in Avoch Community Centre, to consider anti-social activi-ties and related matters.Inspector Matthew Reiss and Karl Alexander Northern Con-stabulary, Simon Jeffrey Area Youth Development Officer and Wanda Mackay, Youth Development worker, Cro-marty attended. Martin Gill chaired the meeting, welcoming everyone and inviting Inspector Reiss to give the Police’s perspective on the anti-social activities being experienced in Avoch.
Inspector Reiss pointed out that he covers the whole of the Ross-shire area. The North-ern Police force covers the Highlands, an area which has a land mass similar to that of Belgium, has 750 Police Offi-cers divided into 4 shifts to give 24-hours cover. At any one time there are approximately 187 officers on duty (plus extra cover at peak times) in the Highlands. A new shift pattern starting in January will increase peak-time cover and give less cover at “quieter” times of the day. This is the smallest num-ber of officers in any of the forces in Scotland, and Inspec-tor Reiss was highlighting this point to give the community an idea of how low the police numbers are in our area. For example, at the time of the meeting there were only two officers covering the Black Isle, from Muir of Ord to Cromarty to North Kessock.
The Police employ a pol-icy of “policing by consent”,
Anti-social behaviour in Avoch.
A meeting of Avoch & Killen Community Council on 6th October
Second prize winner in the Clubs for Young People an-nual photography competition, open to all young people who were members of affiliated clubs. Young people were invited to capture one of the following in a photo: being healthy, staying safe, enjoying and achieving, and community in-volvement.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 25
Simon Jeffrey, Area Youth De-velopment Officer gave the fol-lowing information:
There are 29 Youth Workers in Highland, and our local worker is Robby Russell, based at Fortrose Academy. He could not attend tonight, but another Youth Worker, Wanda Mackay, who covers Cromarty, was attending to give the com-munity a perspective from pro-fessionals working directly with YP in the area. Simon stated that he is anxious that YP learn about their responsibilities and not just their rights. In building better relationships with YP, the Community as a whole needs to engage more with them, and he reminded everyone that YP only spend 15% of their time in school and schools are not the only arena for engaging with them.
Wanda Mackay reflected on the perceived trouble that YP cause, and pointed out that this is mainly at weekends, and that generally the village is very quiet from Monday to Thursday. At weekends many YP in our area have little to do. In Cro-marty, for example, there are 20 different groups where YP have plenty to do. These are also of mixed age groups. Wanda is very pro-active in Cromarty, and has been asked to create opportunities for YP in Culbokie. Are parents in Avoch willing to put in the time and support that is needed to create opportunities for YP? The only activity that seemed well sup-ported was football.
Councillor Barclay com-mented that if parents had turned up for the AGM of the Youth Café at Fortrose it would not have had to close. However, since then there has been some response, but mainly from older members of the community - ther has been no response from any parent under 50 years of age. A paid Youth Worker was needed to work at night, espe-cially at the Youth Café. High-land Council has been talking about a paid worker, but noth-ing has actually been done. Councillor Barclay has given his time as a volunteer every Friday and Saturday night. Although it does now have enough mem-bers on the Committee to re-open, the Youth Café desper-ately needs more volunteers.
member stated that the current situation is not as bad as it was 25 years ago, and that it is only bad on certain nights. The Community Council (CC) ap-plied for an Alcohol By-law over 18 months ago and was in-formed on the 9th September 2008 that it has been put for-ward to the Scottish Executive. It is expected to take some time to come to fruition. The com-munity was encouraged to can-vass the MSP on the matter.
The Police made it clear that for them to act on under-age drinking they have to wit-ness a YP take a drink and swal-low it. They can take drink away from a YP, who can be charged if drunk and incapable. Under 16’s are not prosecuted for drinking offences - they are referred to the Children’s Panel. It is seen as a huge cultural is-sue and in many cases parents condone drinking or are not concerned with their child’s behaviour.
It was stated that chil-dren as young as 12 have been found drunk in the street. The Police have no record of re-ported incidents of this nature in recent months and stated clearly that at this age this is clearly a Child Protection issue which would have been re-sponded to if it had been re-ported. The Police stressed again the need for the commu-nity to report such incidents, but to bear in mind that the Police do need detail. Complain-ing that there is a group of YP hanging out in the street is not enough for the Police to act on.
The issue of an “Unruly Certificate” was discussed. This is an absolute last resort re-sponse as it authorises the Po-lice to take a child into Cus-tody. It is issued for extreme behaviour, none of which has been witnessed in Avoch. The community is reminded that for the Police to take anyone into custody there have to be two Officers present and the person will be taken to Inverness, as there are no custodial facilities on the Black Isle.
The Police believe that the influence of parenting in the early years can have a huge effect on the behaviour of YP as they grow up. Parenting has a crucial part to play in creating YP character and behaviour.
The Police were asked if they would like to see the commu-nity do more (and if so what?) and agreed that the community needs to provide activities etc. for YP. But they also empha-sised how important it is for parents to do things with their own children and young people and to engage with them in activities that YP were inter-ested in.
A question was asked as to what the community can ex-pect from the Police? It was thought that the Police can di-rect more attention to issues in Avoch, and increase their pres-ence at weekends where possi-ble. The Police are keen for the Community to understand that it is only a small minority of YP who create problems because of anti-social/criminal behav-iour and again encourage the Community not to be scared of YP. Inspector Reiss also said that a new, additional Officer had been identified for For-trose. However, there would still be only one Sergeant for the Black Isle and one Inspector for the whole of Ross-shire.
Asked whether YP were interested in an all-weather pitch in the village, at the old Tennis Courts, Wanda re-sponded that yes, she was aware that this was something that YP were hoping for in the village.
Recent vandalism at the bus stop had resulted in the Police being informed of possi-ble culprits. The CCTV in the shop has been recently up graded and there is now 24-hour CCTV coverage of Lazy Corner.
The problems of speed-ing cars through the village might soon be reduced with the introduction of “Smiley Faces”. The Community Council has been told they will be in place within the next 2 months.
Finally, it was agreed that the Community Council and Youth Workers need to estab-lish and maintain a good work-ing relationship.
The Chairman thanked the in-vited guests for their time and insight into the issues dis-cussed and, after the guests had left, there followed usual Community Council Business.
In view of the high level of public interest in thesematters, we publish here a full account of this part of theCommunity Council’s meeting.Our report is based on the Secretary’s minutes of the meeting.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 26
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PROFESSIONAL & FRIENDLY SERVICE
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The Scottish Episcopal Church
on the Black Isle
welcomes you to our worship
over Christmas and New Year
St Johns, Arpafeelie
CRIB SERVICE
5.30pm Christmas EveCHRISTMAS DAY EUCHARIST
9.45am, Christmas Day
St Regulus, Cromarty
CHRISTINGLE AND CAROLS
7.30pm, Tuesday 23rd DecemberCHRISTMAS EUCHARIST AND CAROLS
7.30pm, Christmas EveCHRISTMAS DAY SERVICE
9.45am, Christmas Day
St Andrews, Fortrose
CHRISTINGLE AND NATIVITY SERVICE4pm, Sunday 14th December
MIDNIGHT MASS11.30pm,Christmas Eve
CHRISTMAS DAY EUCHARIST11.30am, Christmas Day
If your child would like to take partin the Nativity, please ring Verity on
01381 620575before Sat 6th December !
Farewell to Sandra
Sandra Patience, for many
years stalwart leader of the
Avoch Under-5’s, left the play
group in July. One of the
mums organized a surprise
presentation evening in the
conservatory of the Station
Hotel on Friday 19th Septem-
ber. Sandra says it was lovely
to see all the children, parents,
grandparents and ex col-
leagues, who presented her
with an inscribed garden
bench, a beautiful patio rose, a
basket of fruit and some
money. She also says, “I would
like to thank everyone for their
generosity and give my special
thanks to Shirley Kelly, who
organized the evening,”
Additional Musicians for Salsa Band wanted
Bonkers about Bongos? Crazy for Congas? Barmy about Bass?
A Salsa band has started in the Inverness area on Thursday nights and
is looking for some additional members. In particular, it needs some
more percussion players (not drum kit), plus bass and trombone
players. Other instruments would be considered too.
So if you enjoy Latin music and want to join,
please contact Campbell on:
T: 01381 600477
M: 07710 226095
Great stuff!Janice MacLeman says that there
has been a magnificent response
to the Avoch Amenities Associa-
tion’s request for donations. And
she wants to thank everyone - for
their money donations and for the
various donations of prizes and of
cooking ingredients, which will all
go towards the Christmas Fayre on
29th November. It will be difficult
to get a report of the Fayre into
Chatterbox, because of the need
to get printing started around that
time, but let’s hope there will have
been a good turn-out, to give a
much needed boost to AAA’s
funds. And the need for funding
will still be there, even after the
Fayre is over, so please keep send-
ing in your donations. Everything
will be very gratefully received!
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 27
39-41 Harbour Road, Inverness IV1 1UA Tel: 01463 222123
Personal TrainingQuote: PT12/08 for a FREE Personal Training session with our In-House Personal Trainers. (Value £25)
email: [email protected]
In Avoch, Jacquie & Don Patience’s sunflower (see Jacquie’s picture, left) reached a height of 11 feet 4 inches tall. This was when Jacquie wrote in on the 30th of September, and she said, “Not bad, as some are only three feet - a bit of fun.”Meanwhile Rose-markie was also producing sun-flowers with height aspira-tions. In William Skinner’s photo, right, Barbara is up the ladder measuring one which topped10 feet 5 inches!
Specta
cula
r su
nflow
ers
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 28
Do you know this family?This lovely picture, apparently of four generations of one family, together with several others, was given to me by Betty Patience, a former teacher at Avoch Primary School, now retired. Betty says that the plate glass negatives from which they were printed were found in a cardboard box on the top shelf of the walk-in cupboard of a ground floor classroom in the school in January 1977. The late Mr. Donald Macleman made prints from them. Up to now nobody has been able to identify the family, but perhaps some of our read-ers may be able to. I must say that, even to me as an incomer, there are familiar features in some of the faces. Mike Noble, Editor.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 29
… and who is this lovely young woman?
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 30
Under New Management!!We have a great range of Gifts for all the family, Cards, Stationery and Jewellery……including
hand-made beaded jewellery made by Deb Small, Munlochy
NEW IN - Calendars and Diaries for 2009. Christ-mas Wrap, Cards, Perfumes and cosmetics
Come in and have a browse!!!
J P CarsPrivate Car Hire
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Tel: 01381 6214570782 483 2343
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Do you need internet access? Chatterbox now has broadband internet access at Avoch Community Centre. You can use your own equipment to access wirelessly or we can provide use of our equip-ment. Just ask.
(Conditions apply)
Dear Kwite,
Ye’ll be winnerin fit
wye ye hivna’ heard fae
me for sic a lang time.
As ye ken, I cam’ up
here tae bide in Ross-
shire gie nearly
seeventy years ago.
I wis aboot forty fin
the wifie fa makit me for her
gan’ awa claes deet wi’ thon
affie flu’ efter the 1918
fechtin’. I wis shifted here
wi’ her dochter fin she got
merrit. Fae that day on I
wis pit in atween ither
aul’ claes an’ I never sa’
the licht o’ day again till
ma’ new misstress’s gran’
geets cam tae bide.
The wee quinie winted
tae play at “Here comes the
bride”, then it wis back tae the
quinie’s hoose a’neath a thing
ca’d a car port. Her grannie
geed us aul dishes tae play wi’
an the quinie used dockin’
seeds fir oor tea, bit I got a
forky tail in mine, I jist canna
stan’ forky tails.
Anither day the Quinie
took me tae the skule, an I wis
in for a richt shock. The geets
were da’en a “project”. Noo, in
oor day ye’ll min’ Kwite, the
geets scrieved on a slate wi’ a
scallie, an’ they caerit a wee
boxie fit eased tae be their
faither’s aul bogie roll tin. It hid
a wee cloot inside tae dicht
their slates. Noo a days they
watch a box wi’ pictures, nae
winner they canna coont or
spell very well. They dinna use
their brains at a’ noo. They hiv a
wee black boxie an they press
the buttons on’t an’ it comes
up wi’ a’ the answers richt awa.
If ye wint tae buy een, it’s ca’d
a computer.
I heard the quinie’s
grannie sayin’ that fin she went
back tae the skule efter the
simmer holidays she got a
doze o’ casta ile, some sul-
phur wi’ serrup an’ she hid a
wee camphor baggie tied
roon her neck tae keep awa’
the germs. An’ every day
she hid tae tak’ a speenfu
o’ cod liver ile an’ malt.
Ony wye this grannie o’
the quinie’s must hae
thrived on a’ that stuff,
fir she his hardly a grey
hair in her heid, an’ she
his a her ain teeth, an’
she’s a penshioner! Bit I wis
telt this grannie wis a bit o’ a
limmer. She pit her twin
breethers in a guana bag an’
rolled them doon the stairs -
an she fed her baby sister wi’
worms, because the baby wis
greetin’ an’ the quinie’s
grannie thocht she wis hungry.
Well, things were gan’ a richt
till the quinie wis shifted tae
Forres. Ye ken that’s the toon
thon loon fae England ca’d
Shakespeare scrieved aboot, fin
he telt a thon lees aboot oor
King MacBeth.
As I wis sayin’ a’ thing
wis a’ richt bit wi’ the quinie
aye watterin a’ her grannie’s
floores wi thon muckle roozer, I
wis gettin’ affie fule an a’
clarted wi’ dubs, so there wis
naethin’ for it bit the washtub,
sae I thocht, that wis fit wi’s
gan’ tae gie me the biggest fleg
o’ ma life.
In oor young days, as ye’ll min’
fine, fin we were fule, we’d be
pit intae a tub o’ het watter, an
scrubbed up an’ doon on a
board wi’ thon green soap,
then a puckle squeezes in’ an’
oot o’ caul watter an’ pit oot
tae bleach on a bush or on the
girse. Dae ye mine the day thon
billy-goat fae the Manse trampit
a’ ower us, an’ got the mis-
tresses’ steys stuck on his
horns? An’ of course the Minis-
ter’s wife wis nae Lily Langtry,
sae they turned up at the neest
Kirk Roup.
Weel, I wis pit intae this
big muckle box wi’ a wee roon
winda, an’ I thocht “Here’s nee
gan tae be lockit awa’ fir ani-
ther seeventy years. Bit,” says I
tae ma’sel’, “at leest this time,
fin the door is steekit I’ll hae a
wee keekoot noo an’ again.”
I hidna’ that oot o’ ma moo’ fin
I heard a cleek, an’ there wis
this almichty gush o’ watter,
then mercy me, I wis on the
pint o bein’ droont fin a the
ither claes started lachin’ at
me. Weel, I wisna gan tae show
them hoo feart I wis, sae I
stopit hostin, gritted ma teeth,
at least they wir’ a’ ma ain - the
ither claes hid mooths as if
they’d been sookin’ lemons a’
day.
Then stinken’ stuff like
green semolina cam froothin’
up roon me. I wis coupit a’
wyes. Ma yachie toots got a
snorrled up wi’a floory thing
ca’d a negligee an’ a fite thing
they pit in tae mak’ the washin’
smell nice, got stuck in ma lug.
Speak aboot ooter space - I
thocht ma end hid come. Ma
body wis in sic a sotter, ma hair
The Lace Goonie
by Nancy Forsyth
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 31
Eilean DubhThe new Black Isle Restaurant
Eilean Dubh
E DE DWe want our menus to reflect the best of what the Black Isle has to offer and will be using as much fresh local fish, meat and produce as we can get our hands on!
Anne and Graham Law
To book, please call us on 01381 620690
LOCALFREE-RANGE
EGGSWe can lay them
on your doorstep!90p for 6 eggs
Anne ChanceEaster Balmungie Farm
Telephone: 621006
Phone Avoch (01381) 621000
AVOCHCOMMUNITY CENTRE
for all your functions and indoor games
Hire Rates -UPPER HALL
! One Off Use:" Flat Rate of £ 6.50 per hour. ! Regular/Long Term User:" Flat Rate of £ 5.50/hour.
! Fundraising:" Flat rate of £10.00 per session (hourly rate for less than 2 hours)""
MAIN HALL! Flat Rate of £ 6.00 per hour."
Special rates and arrangements foradult & teenage parties
For bookings or more information please contactAAA Bookings Secretary
Jenye Monckton, telephone 01381 621430
Jo’s GardenEnterprise
Easter Balmungie Farm, Eathie Road
by RosemarkieTel. 01381 621006Bedding Plants Perennials Herbs
Free Delivery on the Black Isle
wis a ravilt an’, michty me, the
thing started tae gang fester
an’ fester an’ I wis sae dottled I
didna care ony mare. I felt a
richt gype.
Then a’thing went quate, an’
the door opened an’ I got oot. I
wis fair fooshined, bit fin I
gethered ma’sel the gither an’
takit a keek at ma’sel’ - I
couldna’ believe ma’ een. I wis’
real bonnie an’ fite. I heard the
wifie say tae her man, “Ye
canna get cloots like that noo.”
Me! a cloot!
That’s nae the end o’ ma
trachles. I wis hung oot tae dry
on a thing that gaed roon an’
roon. I thocht here we go again.
Bit I got a fine chance tae tak’ a
keek at the ither claes. They
were a’ colours - fit a lot o’
painted hussies. Mercy me,
some o’ thon things wid mak
Casanova blush. Ye could see
richt thro’ them, some o’ them
wad scarce hap yer doup. An’
the names they ca’ themsel’s
noo. A sark is a shirt, a semmit
is a vest, an’ they hevna’ got
steys wi fish beans noo, they
hiv grippit things ca’d pantie
girdles, an’ div ye ken fit they
ca’ you, Kwite? A slip. Did ye
ever hear sic blethers, there’s
nae bloomers nor lisle stock-
ings either - they weer things
ca’d tights - the bloomers are
tied tae the stockin’s and the
stuff they mak’ them oot o’ is
ca’d nylon.
Bit the daftest sicht I saw
fin’ I wis hingin’ oot tae dry,
wis a mannie rinnin’ a lang the
road wi green combies on. I fair
thocht he’d gan’ aff his heid,
fin I heard the posh negligee
say, “There’s George out jog-
ging.” I wis jist thinkin’ tae
masel’, “If they hid tae chave as
hard as we hid tae, Dod widna
need tae gae oot rinnin’. Nae
winner the fowk hae arthritis,
wifies wear wee bits o’ skimpit
nylon an’ mannies wear things
ca’d boxer shorts. Lang draw-
ers, an’ bloomers hiv gan’ oot
the windie, sae tae speak.
Thon’s an affie wye they
hiv o’ ironin’ noo. You an’ me
wis used tae the wifie pitten an
iron in tae the fire an’ fin it wis
reed het, she’d pit it in tae an
ironing box wi’ a solid brass
bottom, then we widna get
burnt. Noo a days, they hiv a
fantoosh thing ca’d a steam
iron wi’ a lang string that gets
pit intae the wa’ an’ tae het it
up they press a thing ca’d a
switch. An’ the fleg ye get every
time the thing gies a hiss at ye
every noo an’ again, an’ spits
oot watter in yer een.
Before I gang, Kwite, I
like it fine up here as lang as I
dinna get stappit awa in thon
kist again fir anither seeventy
years. Min’ ye, it disnae look
like it, for the quinie’s grannie
has pit me in atween nice saft
paper, alang wi’ ither claes,
aboot ma ain age, wi’ affie nice
smellin’ lavender in her best
bedroom. Bit I’ll niver forget
the wee quinie fa’ takit me oot
tae play “Here comes the Bride.”
She’s growin’ up hersel’ noo,
an’ maybe her wee quinie’ll tak’
me oot when she comes tae
play. Bit I’ll nae get sic a fleg,
mind ye, the wye things are
gan’ ma next wash’ll be on the
moon.
Yours aye
‘Goonie’
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 32
In Avoch, on the north east coast
of Scotland is Ormond Hill,
where Avoch Castle - also known
as Ormond Castle - once stood.!
The Castle served as the strong-
hold of the Moravia (de Moray)
family in the 13th century.! On
the 31st May 1997 a cairn was
built and dedicated to the mem-
ory of Andrew de Moray and his
family's place in the history of
Scotland and the Wars of
Independence.! Each year the
Saltire, hung from the flagpole
incorporated into the cairn, is
exchanged for a new one in sa-
lute to de Moray's legacy.!! This
year, about 70 de Moray sup-
porters gathered in Avoch and
marched the one mile walk to
Ormond hill to mark the occa-
sion before retiring the old Sal-
tire and raising the new one.!
Attendees included SNP MSP Rob
Gibson who narrated the story of
Andrew de!Moray.
North Rising celebration, 17th May 2008
Annual Celebration of Andrew de Moray and the North Rising 17th May 2008 See more at www.freewebs.com/andrewdemorayproject
Photos, captions and text taken from the website
Up with the new
The plaque
Rob at the top of the hill
Aileen McLeod at de Moray day
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 33
Careers Scotland,Ross-shireLooking for work?Need help to plan a new route?Wanting to change direction?
Our all-age career planning service can:• enable you to make decisions and plan
ahead• help you identify your transferable skills• teach you how to create an effective CV• support you with your job applications
and interviews
For friendly, free, confidential advice and support for all agescontact us on:
Careers Scotland69-71 High StreetInvergordonIV18 0AA
Email: [email protected] www.careers-scotland.org.uk
01349 855245• Open Monday 9am – 5pm for drop-in. (closed for lunch
between 1pm-2pm)• Appointments available in Invergordon, Tain, Balintore,
Alness, Fortrose and Dingwall.• All age service – no matter your employment status.• Free, confidential advice, guidance and information
provided.
Careers Scotland is part of Skills Development Scotland
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 34
GEORGE E CHALMERSFuneral Directors
Independent Family Run BusinessThe firm’s aim is to provide a discreet affordable service with professional care and understanding.
Pre-Paid Funeral Plans AvailableComplete Personal 24hr ServiceRest Rooms Available
‘Roselea’, East Watergate,
FORTROSE, ROSS-SHIRE IV10 8TQ
Tel: 01381 620796 Mob: 0780 1466983
Holistic MassageKate Bevan Baker MA, DipHM
Fortrose, Black Isle
for appointments and enquiries
tel: 07854 085 654
www.katebevanbaker.co.uk
The members of the Forums are to be representative of the five key interest ar-eas, which are:
! Holders of premises licences and personal licences (licen-sees)
! The Chief Constable for the police area in which the Forum's area is situated
! Licensing Standards Of-fice for the council's area
! Persons having functions relating to health, education or social work
! Young people, persons resident within the Forum's area
Whilst the majority of Forums have now been established, if you are interested in the impact of the licensing decisions in your area then you may wish to be part of the Forum and it would be worth investigating further.
Further information on your Local Licensing Fo-rum can be found at www.local-licensing-forums.org.uk
The AlcoholLicensing Lawis changing
The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 will give members of the public more in-volvement in their local community through greater rights to comment on licensing applications and through
Local Licensing Forums.
Chatterboxcan now offer print facilities for many kinds of work for
your group or voluntary organization
Black & white or full colourcopying from paper originals or printing from
computer files (pdf ) - meeting notes and circulars,flyers, pamphlets, booklets, posters, etc.
Economic rates available to assistall voluntary workers and groups.
Please contact the Editor for more information
CHRISTMAS EVE
WARM and prepared, the house is sleeping now. Children, at last, have closed reluctant eyes. Serene as faith, the windowcandles burn, Piercing the night with radiant mysteries. Snow blurs the dreaming panes with gauzy breath, Pressing its cold, white face against the door. The sound of altar bells has died away, leaving an aching stillness, where before Sweet notes of carolling and min-gled prayer Flowed from beneath a slender, ancient spire. The spell of Christmas gilds the waiting hours _ And reminiscent cows kneel in the byre.
Joan Howes
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 35
Hairdressing SalonHigh Street, Avoch IV9 8PT
01381 620503Sunbed hours -Tuesday 9am - 2pmWednesday 9am - 2pmThursday 9am - 2pmFriday 9am - 2.30pmSaturday 9am - 12 noon
Brenda May’sCOME AND JOIN US!
Bridge Street, AvochTelephone 01381 620246
StationHotel
THREE BEDROOM FLAT FOR RENT IN AVOCH
The Bank House Flat is available for short term rent or self catering holiday. Accommodation includes: a large sitting room; spacious kitchen/dining area; 3 bedrooms (one double & two singles); and bath-room with shower over bath. Available for renting between December 2008 and March 2009.
Contact Wendy or Jim: Tel: 01381 620172 E-Mail: [email protected]
Currently, the Bank House and Bank Flat are for sale through estate agents Innes & Mackay. All enquiries re-garding the particulars of the property and viewings must be made through the agents: Tel: (01463) 251200
The morning after…
Alcohol ban for Avoch
We understand from a report
in the Inverness Courier on
Tuesday 18th November that
Avoch now has a ban on
drinking in public, which
came into effect on the 28th
November.
FITNESS AND HEALTH COACHEllen Addison (DipFTST) MIRMT
is a qualified fitness coach, nutrition and lifestyle advisor with
over 10 years experience.
She will assist you to turn your life around once and for all.
If you are battling with your weight and stuck in a rut,
don’t delay and put an end to your unhappy state.
One-to-one sessions.
Recommendations available on request
2 Newton Steading, Avoch Tel: 07759 969120
jogscotland 9.30am Wednesdays“Welcome to Scotland’s very own jogging network.”
Turn up at the Black Isle Leisure Centre – 9.30am
Wednesdays (except school holidays).
Come along and join in. Very relaxed atmosphere.
Social and fun. All levels welcome. Structured pro-
gram. Encouragement and motivation in abundance.
Dress code - leisure wear and trainers.
Cost - £1 per session.
Contact jogscotland leader Ellen Addison on
07759 969120.
Check out www.jogscotland.org.uk for full details
Photo as found, Thursday 2nd October, 9.46 am. Chatterbox photo
STOP PRESS!The Avoch Amenities
Association’s Grand
Christmas Fayre on
29th November was a
grand success, making
a total of £1120
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 36
AVOCH FISHERMEN’SCO-OPERATIVE
35 High Street, Avoch
Phone 01381 620823, Fax 01381 621072HOUSEHOLD HARDWARE GARDENING CLOTHING
GIFTS & PET FOODItems can be ordered on request
“Not just for Fishermen”
Lewis
MaclemanPlumbing and Heating
Gallowhill, AvochTelephone 01381 620587
Mobile 07833 727434
RoWAN - Ross-shire Waste Action Network is
running a Master Composting project which will
involve households across Ross-shire. Ever
thought you could get passionate about compost?
Well there are people out there who are! If you
happen to be one of them, our Master Composter
Project Officer here at RoWAN would love to hear
from you.
With only around 25% of households in the area
currently composting their kitchen waste, there
are plenty of people out there to bring on board.
RoWAN is one of ten organisations across Scot-
land who have successfully gained funding from
the Scottish Government for a pilot scheme to
employ a co-ordinator to recruit, train and support
“Master Composter” volunteers to go out into their
local communities and promote home compost-
ing. The volunteers will offer free advice and sup-
port to householders; anything from what type of
bin is the best for their garden to hints and tips on
producing good compost.
Interested in becoming a Master
Composting Volunteer?
Depending on a volunteer’s avail-
able time and interest he/she can
get involved in running workshops,
speaking at local meetings, organ-
ising an information stall at an
event or helping people on an indi-
vidual basis with their composting.
Volunteers do not need to be ex-
perts in composting, as RoWAN will
provide training and support and
will cover expenses for volunteers
who can commit at least 3 hours a
month. In return volunteers will find
out more about composting, meet
others who are keen on composting
and gardening and make a differ-
ence to the environment.
Did you know? That at least a third
of the contents of a typical house-
hold bin can be composted. So
home composting is a great way to
reduce the amount of waste sent to
landfill!
If you share our composting passion
or would like advice on composting
at home then we would love to hear
from you. Contact telephone No.
01349 867063 or email
or visit www.rowanweb.org.uk.
Compost bins make a great gift -
prices start at just £6 on the Waste
Aware Scotland website
www.wasteawarescotland.org.uk,
where there is a range of compost-
ing products including wormeries.
Please quote ref: RO-MCV . Alterna-
tively ring RoWAN and we can send
you a compost bin order form.
Seasonal Composting TopTips
You are not the only one that feels
the cold – if you keep your compost
bin covered with an old blanket or
piece of carpet you will help to keep
the warmth in, which will speed up
the composting!
When it’s cold and wet it sometimes
feels easier to throw your vegetable
peelings in the rubbish bin than
face the arctic conditions outside to
get to your compost bin. Cut down
on your trips to the garden by using
your kitchen caddy. These caddies
are covered, meaning that you only
have to empty them into your com-
post bin once a week.
Ross-shire Waste Action Net-
work is a community based vol-
untary organisation. Our aim is
to support households and small
businesses in Ross-shire in re-
ducing the amount of waste sent
to landfill.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 37
Ross-shireBathrooms Ltd
Your local BathroomInstallation Specialists
• Free Quotations and advice • All plumbing work • All tiling • All electrical work • Underfloor Heating • All joinery work • Electric/mixer showers installed
Quality Workmanship Guaranteed
Phone: Fortrose (01381) 622583Mobile: 07941 397095
Email: [email protected]
Shop at
RosemarkieWe support local
producers whenever possibleGwyn Phillips17 High StreetRosemarkie
Telephone 620206
The Avoch BakeryGeorge Street
Fresh morning goods dailyAvailable locally at
Scotmid, AvochBlack Isle Farm Shop, Fortrose
SPAR, RosemarkieSPAR, Munlochy
SPAR, KessockOrd Filling Station, Muir of Ord
and other good local stores
Across1 Gentlemen prefer this blend? So change! (7) 5 Girl on horseback endlessly (6) 9 Push Midge? (8) 10 Afterthought around mystic symbol for dried fruit (6) 12 Why appear? Yen lively at turn of calendar (5, 3, 4) 15 Bad dream in bad pearl for fortune teller (4, 6) 17 See 19 19 Rib run round drink from girders (3, 3) 20 Death prang rearranged for fool’s route to flora (6, 4) 22 Gathering around seasonal presents? (4, 8) 26 10 dims about manners of speaking (6) 27 Scottish cups? (8) 28 Direction to MacBeth? It’s a gas (6) 29 FBI in a fix? Just a bit (7)
Macross’s Scotmid puzzle
The Scotmid prizePost your solution by 1st Januaryto the Editor marked “CROSSWORD”. The first all-correct answer opened in the New Year will win £10 from Chatterbox and also a £10 token to spend at Scotmid, Avoch.
The crossword puzzle in the last is-sue, No.46, was successfully solved by Mr.A.G.Mackenzie, Fortrose. He took the £10 prize, plus a bottle of Bell’s whisky from Scotmid, Avoch.
E P S A P S ME X P O R T E D A C T I O N
T O O V S A TP O O P C H A T T E R B O X
R K N O G WS T I C K S C U R T A I N S
E I E A ZI D O L I S E S L E I G H T
L K R N OMA G A Z I N E B O G A R T
D B P F L SN O B L E C A U S E H E E P
R A A N A E MT E A C U P D I C T A T E S
D K S S H P N
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10
11
12
13 14
15 16 17
18
19 20
21
22 23
24 25
26 27
28 29
Down1 Dances smelly afterthought (4) 2 Equinox ends with cows contained (4) 3 Twice Lynam and O’Connor together? Has no hope. (8) 4 Belt goes back (5) 6 Right, newts spread around (6) 7 Athlete’s pulse? (6, 4) 8 First in, drawn from the cask, but very upset (10) 11 Mean tinned stew (6) 13 Leap year, for example, from March to May (6-4) 14 Belief in the vertical, Venetian and roller? (5, 5) 16 Gardner and sailor make Hindu deity (6) 18 Eternal gnu in den tidied up (8) 21 Vic and Bob in a bob would be so (3, 3) 23 Slump around - dried for 10 (5) 24 Hose around bottom of hose (4) 25 Woops -stop (attract attention quietly in there) (4)
Answers to No.46…
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 38
Gordon MoirQuality Butcher
RosemarkieFree local deliveriesSpeciality sausages
Catering contracts welcomeLocal venison
Quality beef, lamb & porkTel: 01381 620418
JASMINE GARDENLTD
JASMINE GARDENLTD
High Street! Avoch
CHINESE TAKEAWAY"#$%# &'"%&&
Anyone who has quit smoking, or tried to quit, knows how hard it can be. The Highland Smoking Cessation Service can help.! The service has a network of trained Smoking Cessation Ad-visers who can provide free ad-vice to anyone thinking about stopping smoking. You may want to talk to someone by phone and arrange for information to be sent to you or you may want to speak face to face with a Smoking Cessation Adviser.! He or she will discuss what options are available to help you quit and to help you prepare and plan for stopping smoking. The service is based on what has been shown to work – people are four times more likely to quit smoking if they use smoking cessation services alongside NRT (Nicotine Re-placement Therapy). Smoking Cessation Advis-ers are based throughout the Highlands, in clinics, surgeries, pharmacies and hospitals. At Fortrose Medical Prac-tice Frances Hobson, Health Care Assistant, has now been fully trained to provide smoking ces-sation advice and an appoint-ment with her can be booked by phoning the surgery (08444 772 497).! Frances has already helped 10 people give up since the beginning of the year. For other locations, con-tact the Highland Smoking Ces-sation Service on lo-call 0845 7573077.
QUIT THE HABIT
LOCAL WEBSITESPrefix all with “http://”
Health/Medical
Fortrose Medical Practicewww.fortrosesurgery.co.uk
News/events etc.
Chatterboxwww.chatterboxnews.co.uk
Sport
Avoch Amateur Football Clubavochies.intheteam.com/modules/page/page.aspx?pc=home
Fortrose Union Football Clubwww.spanglefish.com/FortroseUnion/
Heritage
Mackenzie Founda-tionwww.mckenziefoundation.us/index.php
Avoch Heritage Associationwww.avoch.org/
Community
Avoch & Killen Community Coun-cilwww.avoch-killen.org/
Avoch Amenities Associationwww.chatterboxnews.co.uk/amenities2.html
Others
Scottish Govern-mentwww.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/09/16095049
Information pro-vided without guarantee of accu-racy. Please let us know if you are aware of any changes - send to [email protected]
Mum of three Anne Marie Gol-
die of Wester Greengates in
Fortrose is sick and tired of the
very few inconsiderate dog
owners who let their dogs foul
the ‘Ness Gap’ footpath be-
tween Ness Road and Wester
Greengates. “My pushchair
wheels get covered in the
stuff,” Anne Marie explained to
Chatterbox. “I have to use the
path twice a day to reach the
school bus. My littlest daugh-
ter is just walking, but if she
toddled into it or fell in it it’s
disgusting as well as posing a
serious health risk.”
Unbelievably, some really
unkind dog-walkers are bag-
ging their dog excrement only
to toss it into hedges alongside
the path. “There are red bins at
either end of the path and so
there’s simply no excuse for
this revolting behaviour,” said
Anne Marie. “It’s such a shame
as most of the dog-walkers we
know clear up after them and
the children love patting their
Dog poo blues!dogs. But it only takes one dog
fouling the path once a day for
it to become really nasty along
here – we’ve put up posters and
put circles of flour around the
piles of dog poo, twelve at the
last count! – and so our next
step may be to take pictures
and involve the police.” Dog
fouling, it should be noticed, is
a criminal offence and punish-
able with a substantial fine.
The awkward thing for
Anne Marie is that these few
lazy dog-owners are local peo-
ple who know children use the
path regularly - and she and
other parents whose children
use the path are pretty sure
who the main culprits are.
So please save yourself
some trouble, always watch
your dog to check when it
‘goes’, and always remember to
bag it and bin it!
One can only assume
that anyone who tosses a bag
of poo into the bushes wants to
preserve it for posterity! - Ed.
Party time again!Allan Carmichael, on behalf of Lodge Rosehaugh 1216
The senior citizens’ Christmas Party nights are once again almost
here.! Lodge Rosehaugh 1216 is again providing the venue, drink
and man (woman?) power.! Janice and Mags will provide the grub
and Mike Keavey will entertain as always.! The invitations should be
out by now but if you have not received one then let Janice Macle-
man or Allan at the Fishermen's Co-op know and they will sort it
out.! The parties are over 2 nights - Tuesday 9th December and
Thursday 11th December.! The start is 7 PM both nights.! A report
on the parties will be in the next edition of the Chatterbox.
!
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 39
Nature Notes
by the Avoch Observer
C S and Mrs E L Hiddleston
DAIMLER CHAUFFEUR HIRETRADITIONAL WEDDING CARS
UNIFORMED CHAUFFEURS
Fairy Glen View, Eathie RoadRosemarkie IV10 8SJ
01381 620247Mobile: 07711 093522
www.daimlerchauffeurhire.co.uk
JACK & PATIENCEBUILDING CONTRACTORS
NEW BUILDINGS & EXTENSIONSRenovations and all types
of building work doneEstimates given
8 Ormonde Terrace, AvochTel: 01381 620752/621432/621038
Giant Hogweed, another non-native plant, can be seen growing
near Munlochy but it does not seem to have spread further east.!
Hogweed spreads by its seeds which are carried in the water of
burns and ditches.
!
Sika Deer, which are natives of Japan, were introduced into the
Rosehaugh Estate but there are no longer any present on the
estate nor anywhere else on the Black Isle.! Similar releases in
other parts of the Highlands were more successful and numbers
of these deer are present on both sides of Loch Ness and on
western estates.
!
Our native squirrel is the Red Squirrel but in the 19th and early
20th century the American Grey Squirrel was released at over
twenty locations in England and southern Scotland, sometimes
in groups of up to one hundred.! These thrived and the result is
the virtual elimination of the Red Squirrel in most of England.!
Hopefully the Grampians will prove a barrier and the Greys will
not reach northern Scotland.
!
On 31 October the Rural Affairs Secretary in the Scottish Parlia-
ment stated that invasive (not native) species of plants and ani-
mals cost the Scottish economy at least £200 million a year.! In
London, the eradication of Japanese Knotweed from the Olympic
site is going to cost £70 million.
!
Other species have been reintroduced to restore once native
populations.! Excessive hunting and the cutting down of forests
for timber and to clear wolves (this is incorrect)! in the 18th
Century resulted in the extinction of the Capercaillie.! In the
19th Century, the release of Capercaillies from Scandinavia, or
birds obtained by hatching eggs under hens, resulted in this
species becoming established again.! An introduction of these
birds to the Rosehaugh estate in 1888 was not successful but
others thrived at Brahan and Foulis, in districts in the north and
in Perthshire.! Today the large Forestry Commission plantations
on the Black Isle support this species with their roadways pro-
vided suitable habitats for these large birds.
!
Red Kites were re-introduced to the Black Isle about twenty years
ago and they appear to have thrived, although they are not as
common near Avoch as they once were.
End
!
Introduced SpeciesSome species in our area are not so welcome.!
During the Victorian era estate owners introduced
plants and animals with little thought for the
consequences.! In the news lately have been a few
species about which there is great concern.
!
Japanese Knotweed spreads by underground run-
ners which can grow easily through tarmac or
even concrete.! This plant has thrived in the old
kitchen garden at Rosehaugh.! Do you wonder
why a species such as Japanese Knotweed is such
a nuisance here but not in Japan?! The reason is
that, as it evolved in Japan, numbers of natural
enemies (mainly insects) evolved with it, keeping
it in check.! We imported the plant but not its
enemies.! Using these insects is one method of
control being studied by scientists at present.
continued…
!
Groups of Waxwings have appeared in
Avoch.! These birds from Scandinavia
have been seen from Orkney to Kent.!
They feed on berries such as rowan
and can be approached easily.
October saw some familiar and some un-
usual sights.! Early on the morning of
Tuesday, 28th October, a large skein of
noisy Greylag Geese flew over Avoch,
heading west.! Very late in the year for
this species, an Osprey was reported
around this time.! Perhaps it was the one
which landed earlier on a North Sea
oilrig.! Later, on the 28th, there was a
heavy snowfall, brought by winds from
the Arctic.! This is the first time I have
ever seen such an early fall of snow.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 40
NESS HORTICULTURAL SERVICESHorticultural Consultants & Greenhouse Suppliers
8 Nessway, Fortrose, Ross-shire IV10 8SSProprietors: Ian Fraser Tel: 01381 620315
Neil Drummond Tel: 01349 864458
NESS HORTICULTURAL SERVICES
CONTACT NUMBERS
Childline0800 1111
Children First01381 620757
Citizen's Advice Bureau:Dingwall 01349 864850Inverness01463 235345
Community Advice Service 01479 810919
Domestic Abuse Helpline 0800 0271234
Family Mediation 01463 712100
Healthways, Ding-wall01349 868689
Homestart Ross/Cromarty 01349 883484
Housing:Inverness01463 710454Ross/Cromarty01349 868471Out of Hours0845 7002005
Marriage Counsel-ling 01463 712888
Men's Advice Line 0181 6449914
Police:Inverness (H.Q.)01463 715555Ross,Cromarty/Skye 01349 862444
Rape and Abuse Line 0808 8000123or 7pm-10pm01349 865316
Reach out Highland 01463 711585
Ross Council on Alcohol 01349 852438
SamaritansInverness01463 713456Linkline0345 909090
Shelterline0808 8004444
Social Work:Dingwall01349 865262Inverness01463 724040Out of Hours0345 697284
Victim Support:Highland01463 710806
Women's Aid:Dingwall01349 863568Inverness01463 220719
Information pro-vided without guar-antee of accuracy. Please let us know if you are aware of any changes - send to [email protected]
THE DANGERS OFEXERCISING AND SITTING IN A COLD ENVIRONMENTThe biggest concern for exercising/sitting in the cold is hypothermia, or too much heat loss. When you exercise/sit in a cold environment you must consider one primary factor: how much heat is your body losing?
Heat loss is controlled in two ways:1. Insulation, consisting of body fat plus clothing; and 2. Environmental factors, includ-ing temperature, wind, draughts, and whether you're exercising in the air or in the water. Each of these factors plays a role in the body's ability to maintain a comfortable tem-perature.
Insulation Although many people aspire to have a lean figure, people with a little more body fat are better insulated and will lose less heat. Clothing adds to the insulation barrier and is clearly the most important element in perform-ance and comfort whilst exercis-ing or sitting in the cold. One study showed that heat loss from the head alone was about 50 percent at the freezing mark, and by simply wearing a helmet, subjects were able to stay out-side indefinitely.Clothing is generally a good insulator because it has the abil-
ity to trap air, a poor conductor of heat. If the air trapped by the clothing cannot conduct the heat away from the body, tem-perature will be maintained. Unlike air, however, water is a rapid conductor of heat and even in the coldest of tempera-tures people will sweat and risk significant heat loss whilst exer-cising. With this in mind, you want to choose clothing that can trap air but allow sweat to pass through, away from the body.By wearing clothing in layers, you have the ability to change the amount of insulation that is needed. While many new prod-ucts can provide such a layered barrier, it is important to avoid heavy cotton sweats or tightly woven material that will absorb and retain water. Because these materials cannot provide a layer of dry air near the skin, they can increase the amount of heat your body loses as you exercise or continue to sit in a cold envi-ronment.
Keeping the hands and feet warm is a common concern when it is cold. Lower tempera-tures cause blood to be shunted away from the hands and feet to the centre of the body to keep the internal organs warm and protected. Superficial warming of the hands will return blood flow to prevent tissue damage. Blood flow will not return to the feet unless the temperature of the torso is normal or slightly higher (.5-1.0 degree Fahrenheit
(F) above normal). So, to keep your feet warm you must also keep the rest of your body warm at all times.
Check With the Weatherman Always check the air tempera-ture and wind chill factor before exercising in the cold. Data from the National Safety Council sug-gest little danger to individuals with properly clothed skin ex-posed at 20° F, even with a 30 mph wind. A danger does exist for individuals with exposed skin when the wind chill factor (combined effect of temperature and wind) balls below minus 20° F. That can be achieved by any combination of temperatures below 20° F with a wind of 40 mph and temperatures below minus 20° F with no wind. If you are exercising near the danger zone for skin exposure, it also is advisable to warm the air being inhaled by wearing a scarf or mask over your nose and mouth.
Rules For Exercising and/or Sitting in a Cold EnvironmentCheck the temperature and wind conditions before you go out and do not exercise if conditions are dangerous. Keep your head, hands and feet warm. Dress in layers that can provide a trapped layer of dry air near the skin (avoid cotton sweats and other similar materials). Warm the air you are breathing if tem-peratures are below your com-fort level (usually around 0° F).
Beware of the cold!Acknowledgement to: Age Concern Literature and Website
Life style page:Submitted by Linda Bailey
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 41
CUSTOM MADE BLINDSUnbeatable Factory Prices
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26 Millbank Road, Munlochy, Ross-shire01463 811274
Councillors’ Corner
Billy Barclay, Highland Councillor
Hi Everyone,
Over the last few weeks some of you would have seen a reduc-
tion in the large numbers of young people hanging around Lazy
Comer at weekends. We have now got most of them attracted to
the youth café in Fortrose, on most Friday and Saturday nights.
We can have up to 40 young people each night. However, this is
causing me some concern because we are at our limit in the
numbers we can take. The café was always a temporary solution
to the problem of young people on the streets and now we really
need to look at providing a bigger and more permanent build-
ing. Ideally it could be part of the Black Isle swimming pool
complex, where it would be the obvious thing to build a café as
part of the Black Isle swimming pool project - but that's not go-
ing to solve the problem in the short term. If anyone reading this
article has any solution for solving this problem I would like to
hear from them. And, again, I would like to stress the need for
volunteers to work at weekends as our numbers are few and
everyone is under pressure.
At present I am confident that the smiley faces that were prom-
ised for the village will be installed and soon be up and running,
and hopefully that will address the ongoing issues with through
traffic in the village.
Along with council officials I am having a look at ways to prevent
possible flooding to the lower parts of Avoch by re-inforcing the
banks of the burn. However, this could be a costly project so we
really have to look at our figures and how we deal with this is-
sue.
Yours sincerely
Billy Barclay
Billy Barclay [email protected]
Craig FraserMonday 23rd June 2008"""""3.00 pm – 4.00 pm atAvoch Primary School
6.00 pm – 7.00 pm at Fortrose/Black Isle Leisure Centre
"
Tuesday, 24th June 2008"1.00 pm – 2.00 pm at
Cromarty Hugh Miller Institute 3.00 pm – 4.00 pm at
Culbokie Primary School
"For council problems or queriesPlease telephone 01381 600871
or email: [email protected]
CONTACTyour Highland Councillors
The Eaglestone, Strathpeffer, and a Walk to the Cat’s Back
Article and photo by Brian Oakley
The Eaglestone, Strathpeffer, is located almost opposite the old railway station, across from the north side of the main road along a poorly sign-posted path.! The stone is almost 3 feet in height and 2 feet wide and carved on it is an arch and eagle of Pictish origin, about 1,200 years old.! The arch shape could be a rainbow, which the Picts held in high esteem.! The eagle was a symbol of tribal chieftainship and could indicate the mar-riage of an important person.
There are many legends to the stone which originally stood in Strathconon.! The popular belief is that the stone marks a tribal battle between the Munro and Macdonald or Mackenzie clans.! The Brahan Seer also foretold!four hundred years ago that Strathpeffer would be flooded after the stone fell three times and that ships would be moored at the stone which, so far, has been moved twice and is now set in concrete!! (Global Warming, etc?)
After you have seen the stone, call at the old railway station for a bite to eat and drink, then leave for the vitrified fort called locally The Cat’s Back at Knockfarrel, about a 5 mile round trip, for the fairly fit.
Turn left from the station and first left again for a steep walk to the signposted track, then left again along this track to the top of the fort.! Views from this point are superb through 360 degrees.! Return to the railway station by the same route, not by the shorter route, which is overgrown in parts.
Please note that this is a day out in good weather for the reasonably fit.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 42
CURRENT EXHIBITION
ROSEHAUGH: THEN AND NOW
A fascinating insight to the buildings and grounds of the Rosehaugh Estate - historical and present day.From 1 May 2008 until April 2009 at Groam House Museum, RosemarkieFor opening times and full informa-tion on the work of the museum please visit: www.groamhouse.org
COMMUNITY PHOTOGRAPHYThe Museum is also organising two commu-nity photography projects using the environ-ment of the Rosehaugh Estate as a fascinating subject for digital photography. The projects have been funded by Awards for All and the Highland Council Black Isle Ward Fund.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDEDGroam House Museum relies on a dedi-cated team of volunteers who work on a rota system that can be adapted to indi-vidual’s availability. If you are interested in the work of the museum, and would like to find out more about this pleasurable and fulfilling work, please contact: Su Wompra, Volunteer Co-ordinator, on 01349 877091, or email: [email protected]
MUSEUM OPENING HOURS FOR 2008 – ADMISSION FREE1 May to 31 October: Mon. – Sat. 10am – 5pm; Sundays 2pm – 4.30pm.1 November to 7-December: Saturday & Sunday 2 - 4pm.
Groam House Museum, High Street, RosemarkieRoss-shire, IV10 8UF.Museum Tel: 01381 620961; Office Tel: 01463 811883Email: [email protected]: groamhouse.org.uk
Personal Training at the BILC
My name is
Linda Bailey,
self-employed
Personal Trainer/
GP Referral/
Health Coach at
the Black Isle
Leisure Centre,
working part time
hours.
If you require my
services or would
like more
information,
please ring me on
Mobile:
077 6969 3993
The classic tractor rallyOn Saturday 27 September it
was disappointingly WET when
33 vintage tractors set off from
Dingwall at 10.00am - but, luck-
ily, the day improved and after
visiting Fortrose, Avoch, Mun-
lochy and Beauly no one could
doubt that when the tractors
returned to Dingwall at 5.00pm,
a great day had been enjoyed
by tractor drivers and the public
alike. Our photo was taken dur-
ing their stop-over in Avoch.
This year the rally was
held to raise funds for MS High-
land, whose Secretary, Gill
McWhirter, said, “The final total
is not yet in, but looks as if it
may be between a truly fantastic
£7000 and £8000!” She also
said, “Our most grateful thanks
go to the stalwart Neil MacDon-
ald from the Heights of
Achterneed, for his tireless ef-
forts in organising the event#
and to Heather MacLennan and
her family for organising the
very successful Dance that fol-
lowed in the evening.”
See www.mshighland.org.uk
Chatterbox photo
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 43
07825 368 043www.carolinepatienceflowers.co.uk
Irrepressible as ever, former Seaforth Highlander Eoan Munro, Avoch, is planning to do a 10 kilometres sponsored walk from Cromarty to Avoch, partly via the old railway line, to raise funds to provide Wii computer games, for the Physiotherapy Departments at Ross Memorial Hospital, Dingwall and the County Hospital, Invergordon. The target is £200 for the two games, but any additional funds will go to help the East Ross group of the Parkinson’s Disease Society. The games can be played individually or in groups and can be used by all kinds of patients as physiotherapy to aid their recovery. Eoan’s preference is to do the walk at his own pace, and so would like to do it on his own, but it is possible that his next door neighbour may accompany him. He says that he was planning to do the journey carrying a full pack, but has been persuaded that perhaps this would be going a littlle too far! He will do the walk before Christmas and plans just to pick a good Saturday. Eoan asks anyone wishing to sponsor him for the walk to send their pledge to The Editor, Chatterbox, 7 High Street, Avoch IV9 8PT. Please make any cheques payable to Parkinson’s Disease Society. We’ll let you know how he gets on!
10K for Eoan
MY FAVOURITE FILMCromarty Film Festival
The organisers of the Cromarty Film Festival have assembled an im-
pressive line-up of well-known people to introduce their favourite
films, to be screened in the Cromarty Film Festival between Friday
5th and Sunday 7th December. So it’s called “My Favourite Film Festi-
val.” Details of the films, times and venues can be found at
www.cromartyfilmfestival.org. Information, tickets and week-end
vouchers are available from The Emporium, High Street, Cromarty.
Here’s the basic line-up …
KIRSTY WARK, broadcaster and
journalist with partner ALAN
CLEMENTS, head of content at
STV, introduce their favourite
film, the sumptuous romantic
epic Ryan's Daughter from
1970.
KAREN MATHESON, lead singer
of Capercaillie joins with musi-
cian and Celtic Connections Di-
rector partner DONALD SHAW,
to introduce the French classic
Tous Les Matins Du Monde
from 1993.
JANICE FORSYTH, radio and
arts programme presenter. and
ex-Blue Nile partner, PAUL
MOORE, will introduce their fa-
vourite film, the hilarious This Is
Spinal Tap from 1984.
MICHAEL CATON-JONES, Direc-
tor of Rob Roy, and one of the
few Scottish directors to crack
Hollywood introduces
My Darling Clementine, per-
haps the best orchestrated
western of all time.
DAVID MACKENZIE is the multi-
award winning Director of Hal-
lam Foe. He will introduce his
favourite but highly underrated
film, The Last Detail from
1973.
GUS WYLIE, photographer, pho-
tographic lecturer and painter,
introduces his favourite film the
classic Twelve O'Clock High
from 1949.
ROBERT LlVINGSTON, Director
Hi-Arts and film buff introduces
his favourite film the French
comedy Playtime from 1967.
BRUCE ROBERTSON, Director of
Zip 'n' Zoo introduces his favour-
ite, the Academy Award winning
My Life as a Dog from 1985.
Chatterbox 47 December 2008 page number 44
IN FLANDERS FIELDS the poppies blow Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army
The newly restored Avoch war memorial
was this year the scene of a very well
attended remembrance service on
Sunday 9th November.