Issue 19, September 2013

The annual Saline Ploughing Match will be held on Saturday 14 September at West Saline Farm, starting at 9.30 am.

Shire horses will be participating.

Large Wind Turbines Around Saline

The Outhmuir Project has now been with Fife Planning since the end of June. More than 300 comments have been submitted by the public or bodies such as Edinburgh Airport and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to date. These can be read and your own added on the Fife Planning website under application number 13/01898/EIA or by writing to Fife Planning.

The decision regarding the 45m+ high turbine at Killernie Farm above Steelend is also still outstanding.

The next Wind Turbine Discussion Forum at Saline Golf Club is on Wednesday 18 September at 7pm. Everybody is welcome.

On 6 September, in the Conference Room of Dunfermline’s Carnegie Library, the 2014 West Fife Villages Calendar was officially launched by Miss Jo Freeman and Mr Thomas Moffat from Visit Dunfermline. The calendar, produced by the West Fife Villages Community Project Group, features scenes from the West Fife Villages area. These photographs and paintings were selected from over 50 entries to a competition. These were all displayed at the West Fife Villages Exhibition of Art & Photography, held in Saline last April.

Dave Scott from Links Media and Liz Harvey, the well-known Saline artist, had the difficult task of choosing the thirteen scenes for inclusion in the calendar. A number of scenes from Saline are included, such as a remarkable photograph of Bridge Street by David Sproul and a fine painting of North Road from the Church grounds by Derek Higson. A photograph of Culross by Saline's Dave Hatton was also included.

Welcoming the guests to the launch, John Crane, chair of the Project Group, thanked the Trustees of the Blair House Trust for providing a generous grant towards production costs. He also thanked all the talented artists who had entered the competition. In conclusion, John praised the sterling work undertaken by Dave Scott of Links Media who had compiled and arranged the production of the calendar.

The calendars, together with envelopes, are available from Saline Post Office for £5 each. They are also available in the Carnegie Library and in a number of local shops in the West Fife villages.

The West Fife Villages Project Group's main objective is to initiate projects that benefit all sixteen villages in West Fife. The calendar is one such project. Membership of the group is open to all. This friendly group meet monthly and welcome new members with fresh ideas.

Contact John on 852698 if interested in attending a meeting or visit www.westfifevillages.co.uk

Church Services: every week in Saline Parish Church at 10.30 am (children leave during the service for their own worship in the Hall).

Harvest Thanksgiving: Sunday 29 September, (offering in support of Embrace the Middle East, a charity which works with local groups providing emergency food and medical aid).

Coffee Morning: every Wednesday throughout the year (with a few exceptions) from 10.00 am till 12.00 noon in the Church Hall. Come and enjoy some refreshment and a chat; children are welcome. Some weeks there is a sales table or a special effort in support of a particular charity; we hope to be part of the World's Biggest Coffee Morning in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support on 25 September.

Flower Festival: The recent Flower Festival, held in the church, produced some wonderful displays and very clever ways of portraying some of what we have to offer in our community. The organising group are very grateful to everyone who supported this event in so many ways. Apart from raising over £1200 towards the Restoration Fund, the event proved a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and learn something new about the area.

Curry Night: to be held in the Church Hall on Saturday 28 September at 7.00 pm. Tickets are £10 from Lynda (812512) or Lorna (852617) and must be bought by 21 September; none will be on sale at the door. The meal will comprise a starter and a selection of curries and accompaniments. A quiz competition will keep the conversation going!

Imagining Scotland's Future: In preparation for the Referendum in 2014, the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland are promoting a series of events in different parts of Scotland. One is planned to be held at Dunfermline Abbey on Thursday 28 November; full details will be advertised later. The Church takes a neutral position in the debate, favouring neither position, but it is committed to facilitating the presentation and discussion of the issues involved.

How often do you get the chance to just stop and “be”? To take some time out just for you? To pause and appreciate the richness of the present moment?

I am looking to offer a medley of meditation approaches that can go some way to smooth out the emotional peaks and troughs of everyday life. I am proposing either a daytime or an evening one-hour session on a donation basis.

If this catches your attention, then call me on 851059 and register your interest. I wish you peace - Mark.

At the Saline & Steelend Community Council meeting held on 27 August, John Crane opened the meeting by paying a tribute to Len Woods who had passed away on Saturday 24 August. John said that Len was extremely well known in the area for organising opposition to NHS plans to downgrade Queen Margaret Hospital and for his political activities. It was also noted that Len had at one time been a community councillor.

John added that, on behalf of the Saline & Steelend Community Council, deepest sympathies are sent to Elma and the other members of the family.

At the Saline & Steelend Community Council meeting held on 27 August, the councillors present voted to object to the Outh Muir Wind Farm application. We were to a degree influenced by the large number of objections that had been submitted to Fife Council. We did acknowledge, however, that some of these objections had come from folk outside of our community council area.

We considered that there was a clear community view that was generally opposed to the erection of large wind turbines in this location and that we, as the community council, had a duty to reflect this view to Fife Council.

The wording of the objection is being considered and will be presented for agreement at the September meeting.

Our winter session starts on Wednesday 25 September in Saline Church Hall at 7.00 for 7.30 pm. Come along and hear about The Briggers. Len Saunders and Frank Hay will tell us about the men who built the Forth Bridge over 100 years ago. The Heritage Lottery Fund is funding our admission fees for this year - so entrance is free! However, we do hope that as many of you as possible will continue to support us by accepting the option of becoming members by paying the annual membership fee of £5.00.

The museum has now closed after having a reasonably successful season. Planning for next year is underway when we will seek to acknowledge our nation's involvement in the First World War.

After a successful visit to New Lanark, the next bus trip is on 14 September to the Mining Museum.

Never Volunteer

It’s said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. Well, since not enough people are volunteering to help our local community organisations, it's starting to get tough, so we're going.

Or at least, that was the plan. Turns out, if they’re not paying you, quitting isn’t always an option.

Also, if I spend more time at home, I just get deaved to death by telemarketing calls. Then the family start saying that they could use a break from me. Now my doctor says that if I don't go out each day, I’ll get older much faster. She says that research has shown that people who volunteer will live longer. Apparently, volunteering provides physical and mental rewards and reduces stress. The latest research shows that when we focus on someone other than ourselves, it interrupts the usual tension-producing patterns. It’s healthier - moods and emotions like optimism, joy and control-over-one's-fate are felt more often by volunteers and these strengthen the immune system. It’s almost as if not volunteering isn’t an option.

I used to wonder if a bunch of amateurs could ever achieve anything, until someone pointed out that Noah's Ark was built by amateurs, and the Titanic was built by professionals.

Ok. I give in. Now that I think about it, amazing things have been achieved 'round here by volunteers, it’s just that there aren’t enough of them.

IH-L

Steelend Club

Domino and pool competitions every Friday from 9.00pm

Pilates, every Monday 6.15pm-7.00pm

Zumba ,every Monday 7.00pm-8.00pm

Sambangra Drumming Group Tuesdays, 7.00pm. £2

Brownies

Every Thursday 6.00-7.30pm

Saline Church Hall

Guides

Every Thursday 7.30pm-9.00pm

Saline Church Hall

116th Fife Scout Group

Beaver Colony

Every Friday, 6pm-7.30 pm

Cub Pack

Every Thursday, 6.30pm-8pm

Scout Troop

Every Thursday, 7.30pm-9pm

Explorer Unit

Every Thursday, 7.30pm-9pm

The Group meets in Carnock Community Centre, Camps Road, Carnock. Open to both boys and girls

Highland Dancing Classes

Tuesdays 4.00pm-5.00pm

Saline Church Hall

Thursdays 6.30pm-8.00pm

Saline Church Session Room

Adult Badminton

Mondays 7.45pm

Wednesday 1.30pm and 7.30pm

Saline Community Centre

Beginners welcome

Saline Smilers (Toddler Group)

Tuesdays 9.30am-11.30am during school terms

Saline Community Centre

Craft and Chatter

Thursdays 10.00am-12.00 noon

Last Friday of month 7.00-9.00pm

Shieldbank Coffee Shop

Sambangra Drumming Group

Tuesdays, 7.00pm. £2

AGM: Tuesday 24th, 8.15pm

Steelend Club

Heritage Society

Wed. 25th. Sept. - Len Saunders & Frank Hay on "The Briggers" - the men who built the Forth Bridge

Wed. 30th. Oct.- Fiona Houston on "Women living in the 18th. century"

Wed. 27th. Nov. - Martin Rogers on "Rosyth garden city & the Royal Dockyard"

Wed. 29th. Jan. - Lilian King on "Women mining in Scotland"

Wed. 26th. Feb. - Margaret Dean - "The Lord Lieutenant of Fife, the Queen's representative"

Wed. 26th. Mar. - Rod McNeil on "The Knights Templar"

Wed. 30th. April - Jack Pryde on "Dunfermline - Canmore to Carnegie"

Meetings at 7pm for tea/coffee. Speaker starts at 7.30pm.

Community Council Meeting

Tuesday 24 September

7.30 pm, Saline Community Centre

Saline, Steelend & District SWRI

Talk on Sea Eagles with Colin from Vane Farm

Annabel’s Christmas Sales Table

Wednesday 2 September

7.15pm, Saline Community Centre

Curry Night

Saturday 28 September

7.00pm, Saline Church Hall

World’s Biggest Coffee Morning

In aid of Macmillan Cancer Care

25 September

10.00am, Saline Church Hall

Saline Ploughing Match

West Saline Farm

09.30am, Saturday 14 September

Wind Turbine Discussion Forum

Wednesday 18 September

7.00pm, Saline Golf Club

Talking Tables

Saturday 26 October

Steelend Club

Don’t forget – if you have things you want to promote on the community website, contact Ian Holmes-Lewis on 851855 or ian@sambangra.com.

This community bulletin produced by Saline, Steelend & Communities Communications Group

The Editor reserves the right to refuse, edit or factually correct all items submitted for publication. All views expressed in this Bulletin are purely those of the author of the item concerned and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Communications Group as a whole.