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CHATTERBOX
Support and Advice
Every day 9am – 10pm
Tel: 0800 169 1283
Community newsletter produced by lochwinnoch publicity committee for lochwinnoch cc
What’s On
• May/June
See back page for RSPB and
Castle Semple/Muirshiel.
• Advice Works - every
Tuesday from 10am—12.30 in
Lochwinnoch Library.
• Friday 11th May - Prize
Bingo Night. Masonic Club,
7.3opm. All welcome.
• 13th to 19th May 2007
Christian Aid Week
(see inside for further details)
• Wednesday 16th May -
Lochwinnoch Playgroup
Open Day.
(see inside for full details)
• Friday 18th May -
Spring Fling Ceilidh—
dance to music from the Last
Tram Tae Auchenshuggle. Starts
at 8.30pm, McKillop Hall. Tickets
£8 available from Brown Bull,
Junction and Corner Bar.
• Friday 1st June - A
Cream Tea. From 2pm -
4pm, Lochwinnoch Parish Church
Halls. Baking, Bric-a-brac,
Tombola. All welcome. Tickets
£2 adults/£1 child.
• Saturday 2nd June -
Calder UF Church
Summer Fete. In McKillop
Hall from 10am to 12 noon.
(Although we have changed the
time, we will have the usual stalls
and activities.)
Sunday 3rd June -
•
Lochwinnoch Summer
Farmers Market. From
11am to 2.30pm at Castle Semple
Centre, Lochwinnoch.
• Saturday 9th June -
Lochwinnoch Gala Day
(see inside for full details)
• Saturday 9th June -
Lochwinnoch Open Race
(more details inside)
www.lochwinnoch info
No 161 May 2007
End of an Era
May 3 saw the advent of the new
multi-member wards in local gov-
ernment and with it the retirement
of Councillor Alastair Nimmo, who
has served Lochwinnoch and How-
wood for a grand total of 16 years.
This will be Alastair's second retire-
ment from local politics, having
stood down previously in 1996.
However, following a 3-year break,
he was asked to come out of retire-
ment and once more take up the roll
of people’s champion. From 1992 to
1996 he was Depute Provost of the
old Renfrew Council but, when he
returned, it was to the new Unitary
Authority of Renfrewshire. Once
more there are to be changes and
Alastair has decided that it is time
for some new thinking on the block.
Before moving into politics Alastair
worked in the 'rag trade' and, follow-
ing National Service in the then
Cameron Highlanders (yes, we had
proud Scottish regiments in those
days), he continued to work for a
succession of companies in both the
U.K. and Eire. As each company
was taken over he climbed the man-
agement ladder to the position of
general manager with Courtaulds.
But a change of direction brought
him back to Scotland in 1973 and
into social work, dealing with the
MATTHEW NEW & SONS
ROOFING - ROUGHCASTING -
Emergency Repairs, Storm Damage
Insurance Work, New Roofs, Flat Roofs
Roughcasting –UPVC Cladding—Guttering
Tel No 01505 843400
FMB Certificate No 26366
ASIST
Anti-Social Investigation
Team
Office 8:45am – 4:45pm
Ask for David McLaren or
Lisa Simpson
Tel: 01505 325 030
Editorial & copy for Chatterbox
Let us have your stories, notices, infor-
mation, events and other items of inter-
est — either hand-deliver them to the
Chatterbox drop-box in the Library or e-
mail: chatterbox@lochwinnoch.info
To advertise in Chatterbox
Tel: 07899 746403 or e-mail:
chatterboxaccount@btinternet.com
homeless, addicts, the elderly and,
most rewarding of all, the young.
As a youth in Kelvingrove, his strict
Christian upbringing had a strong
influence on his values in later years.
He was also musical in those days,
but claims not to have the puff now.
If I were to reveal which instruments
he played, it might lead to the end of
a long friendship.
Alastair has lived in Lochwinnoch
for 27 years and, during that time,
has seen many changes. But what-
ever they were, he has always fought
for the best interests of the residents
and much of what has been achieved
is a direct result of his action. He
met his wife Anna whilst fighting a
by-election seat in 1980. He did not
win the seat, but he did win a bride.
We wish Alistair a long and happy
retirement.
David Fowles, Chair,
Lochwinnoch Community Council
BUILDING MAINTENANCE
 Community
Council News
Fourteen crimes were commit-
ted in the village during April,
five were detected:
3 Drinking in public
1 Parking on the zebra crossing
2 Theft from motor vehicles
1 Misuse of drugs
1 Breach of the peace
6 Vandalism
A member of the CC com-
plained to Renfrewshire Coun-
cil about the condition of the
pavements in the village. To his
surprise he received a letter
from the head of the roads de-
partment that said the pave-
ments were in good condition.
Doubts continued to be raised
about Renfrewshire Council
Planning Department’s involve-
ment in the conversion of
‘Nixon’s at the Gable End’ into
flats.
A mystery surrounds the fate of
3 letters sent to Renfrewshire
Planning Department objecting
to the change of use to the res-
taurant.
The Planning Department say
they did not receive any letters
objecting to the plans so the
conversion was passed unop-
posed.
The CC concluded they will
probably never know what hap-
pened to the three letters of ob-
jection.
They suggested that in future
correspondence sent to the
council on any matter should be
e-mailed as e-mails always re-
ceive an acknowledging e-mail.
CRAFTS of CALDER GALLERY & FRAMING
8 High Street, Lochwinnoch.
ORIGINAL ART & PRINTS by West of Scotland Artists
Professional & Affordable Bespoke Picture Framing
Quality Crafts by local Craftspeople for that unique Gift
Open Tues - Frid 10.00am-5.00pm Sat -10.00am-4.30pm Sun-12noon-4pm
Tel: 01505 844980
All types of joinery work undertaken
• Kitchens
• Stair balustrades
• Built-in wardrobes
• Doors
• Hardwood windows
• Custom and general joinery Corporate
• Free estimates Member
Tel: 01505 345809 Mob: 07817 717132
Happy Birthday GALA DAY
The girls and boys at the
Library wish the boss, Saturday 9th June 2007
Margaret Sweenie, a very
happy 50th birthday
on 6th June. The theme this year is
‘Vikings’
ADVICE WORKS Full programme of events
at including:
Lochwinnoch Display by our team of VIKINGS!!
Annual gala dog show
Library Gala parade
Tuesdays 10am –12.30pm Inflatable boxing ring
The sticky wall
Providing advice about enti- Bouncy castle
tlements to benefits. Advisors
Craft fair, tea room, beer tent and
on hand to help fill in claim many stalls
forms, check and advise on
welfare benefits and money Programmes on sale soon
Booking forms for stalls are now
problems.
available from The Junction, The
Advisors can provide expert Brown Bull and Crafts of Calder
advice on a wide range of Gallery.
debit related topics, such as Interested in taking part or helping?
credit card, mortgage arrears, Phone 01505 842139 (Evening only)
council tax, etc
The service is FREE, confiden-
tial and open to all residents The Bottle Stall at Gala Day
The organisers are looking for dona-
of Renfrewshire. tions for the Bottle Stall. Contribu-
tions will be gratefully received.
Please hand your bottle to Christine at
the Crafts of Calder Gallery.
www.craftsofcalder.co.uk

Christian
Aid Week
13 - 19 May 07
Help poor communities
grow a future.
Christian Aid Week is seven
amazing days of fundraising, prayer
and action against global poverty.
Add your time, money and voice this
week, and see them multiplied to
make an impact around the world
through Christian Aid.
You add. We multiply
LOCHWINNOCH Christian
Aid Group will be active in and
around the village on Chris-
tian Aid Week – 13th to 19th
May.
Please give generously in your
support when the red enve-
lope comes through your let-
terbox.
Every pound given will help
Christian Aid fund projects
throughout the world where
there is genuine need.
Take this opportunity to make
a difference to the lives of
those blighted by disease,
famine and war.
Make an even bigger differ-
ence by filling out the Gift Aid
part of the envelope before it
is collected. This simple act
will ADD almost 30% to your
donation.
The Group will be working
hard to give all in the village
the opportunity to make a do-
nation. Please give as gener-
ously as you are able to do.
Help poor communities
grow a future.
You add. We multiply
Jungle
Adventure
Lochwinnoch woman,
Bella McEwan fought her way
through thick jungle, kayaked on
the River Kwai and climbed moun-
tains in Thailand to raise money
for Scottish children’s charities.
In six days Bella – aged 47 - en-
dured a lifetime’s discomforts in
terrain that only Tarzan and Jane
would have been at home in.
‘It was a challenging six days‘ Bella
told a reporter, ‘that involved hack-
ing through the undergrowth in
rugged jungles of the remote
Knachanaburi Province of Thai-
land, sleeping under the stars in a
hill tribe village and bathing in the
beautiful river pools in jungle
clearances.’
Bella, who was joined by thirteen
other intrepid travellers, raised an
elephantine £11,000, the total
raised by the expedition was
£38,000. All the money will go to
help disadvantaged children and
for pioneering research into ge-
netic disorders.
Colin Flinn Head of Fundraising
for NCH Scotland said: ‘We are
grateful to Isobel and all the other
participants for taking time out of
their busy lives to help children
less fortunate than themselves.’
The NCH plan to organise another
jungle trip in November. If anyone
would like to repeat Bella’s
achievement you can find out more
by phoning 0141 550 9024 or log-
ging on to
www.nch.org.uk/scotland
Name That
Track
In a recent competition local
residents were invited to name
the path around Castle Semple
Loch.
After much deliberation the
SRANI committee picked the
winner - Semple Trail.
The name Semple featured in
many of the entries but the
committee thought Semple
Trail better suited the character
of the area.
Many – and varied - entries
were submitted but it is fitting
that the prize goes to local resi-
dent Alec Patten who will
receive a voucher for a family
activity day at the Clyde
Muirshiel Country Park.
Congratulations!
RENFREWSHIRE
COUNCIL
ELECTION
Here are the results of the
election on 3rd May 2007 for
the election Ward No 8
Johnstone North, Kilbarchan
and Lochwinnoch.
David Arthur (SNP) elected at Stage 1
Bruce McFee (SNP) elected at Stage 5
Neil Bibby (Labour) elected at Stage 7
Statistics -
Electorate - 10,086
Total Votes Cast - 6,186
Percentage of Poll - 61.33%
Spoiled Papers - 150.

86 Main Street, Kilbirnie, KA25 7AA
Tel/Fax: 01505 682125
Support your local hardware store.
Competitive prices, free local deliveries, all major credit cards accepted.
TEENAGE
CANCER TRUST
& BEANFEAST
NEWS
The first permanent TCT Unit in
Scotland is being opened at the
new West of Scotland Oncology
Centre at Gartnaval Hospital next
Friday, 11 May. (Full news on the
official opening will be featured in
June Chatterbox).
TCT don't go in for commemora-
tive plaques or memorials in their
units, but there is going to be a
permanent 'LED scrolling list' of
donors and people who contrib-
uted toward the creation of the
Gartnaval Unit. I am very proud to
say that amongst the names will be
'Andrew Delaney' and also; 'The
People of Lochwinnoch'.
To date, over £100,000 has been
raised for TCT from the combined
efforts of our friends in Lochwin-
noch, and their friends. In addi-
tion to the many donations from
various individuals and groups in
the village, 2006 produced some
wonderful fundraising events:
* The 'Abbamania' concert raised
£2,500
* The Summer Evening Cruise
raised over £2,500 (it wasn't a
'Booze Cruise' by the way!)
* Karen Kelly's 'Fashion Show and
Champagne Reception' raised over
£4,000.
* Paul Delaney's climb of Mount
Kilimanjaro raised over £2,000.
* Christmas Auction and Raffle
and other enterprises from the
Brown Bull Inn raised an astonish-
ing £7,000.
* The Karl Jenkins concert in Glas-
gow held in memory of Andrew
Delaney, organised by people from
Lochwinnoch, and featuring the St
Winnoch Singers raised over
£20,000 in box office profits,
sponsorship and donations.
(We are still waiting for some of
the sponsors to settle their in-
voices for advertising etc, so the
final figure is still not known. If
you agreed to be a sponsor, but
have not yet paid, please get in
touch with John Delaney).
* Karen Kelly's outstanding run in
the London Marathon on Sunday
22 April has raised in excess of
£7,000. View Karen’s Marathon
experiences and fund-raising ac-
tivities at website: www.justgiving
.com/runningforTeenageCancerTrust
Many thanks to everyone who has
contributed in any way.
Our work doesn’t stop here
though: this Unit of 5 permanent
beds and one other dual purpose
bed at Gartnaval is designed for
'older teenagers' and young adults
up to the age of 21. Our next
'mission' is to help raise the funds
required to build a TCT Unit for
younger teenagers at Yorkhill Hos-
pital and then another permanent
Unit in the new Hospital For Sick
Children, which is proposed to be
built in Glasgow in 5 years' time.
AERIAL & SATELLITE
INSTALLATIONS
UPGRADES MULTIROOM
Tel: 01505 842056
Mob:07940 705115
Your next opportunity is to sponsor
four old men from the village: John
Delaney, David McCusker, Ian
Thomson and Roger Carter, together
with their youthful sidekick Scott
Isaksen as they attempt to run the
'Midnight Sun Marathon'. This race
takes place in Tromso in Norway's
Arctic Circle on the night of Saturday
16 June 2007. The team intend to
raise funds for both TCT and the
Beanfeast Children's Charity, which
has links to the Amani School in
Tanzania.
The Beanfeast team would also like
to really thank those who helped fill
the Container for the Amani School
last October. It arrived safely and
everything has now been delivered to
the schools and children's home
around Morogoro. One of our team
spent 6 months out there and was
telling us how wonderful it was to
see well-clothed and shod, happy
children on their new bikes; or a
classroom with pictures on the walls
and good books on the desks; or a
sewing class in full swing. Thanks
again to all those who donated some-
thing. You can be sure it is now be-
ing well used in Tanzania.
For more information on TCT and
Beanfeast, e-mail John Delaney at
johndelaney@thinkpositive.co.uk
and David McCusker at
DAMcCusker@aol.com
Finally, the 2007 TCT Midsummer
Cruise sets sail again on the evening
of Friday 22nd June - (and it still
isn't a 'Booze Cruise'!). Buses
to Victoria Harbour in Greenock
leave Lochwinnoch at 6:10pm, and
should return around 11:40pm.
There are only a very few tickets re-
maining, so if you have expressed an
interest in going, but don't have your
tickets yet, contact John Delaney as
soon as possible. Tony Finn's excel-
lent Band will be performing again
on board. Tickets for the Cruise cost
£10 and the bus fare is £5 (payable
on the bus).
REPAIRS
 Barr Loch 2 Natural Touch
(continued from April Beauty, Health and Complementary Therapy Salon
issue of Chatterbox)
Susan and Jenny aim to promote wellbeing and offer a wide range
After McDowell I left his land
to McDowell II, there was of Decléor skincare treatments including aromatherapy facials,
much to-ing and fr-oing con-
massage, reflexology, manicure, pedicure, wax, detox, self tan and
cerning plans to make the
journey from one side of the holiday treatment packages. Gift vouchers also available.
loch to the other safer.
McDowell II succeeded his
father in 1749; McDowell II
was rich, Tory and the long- Rubbish LOCHWINNOCH
time MP for Renfrewshire. He
owned a large house in Glas- Renfrewshire OPEN RACE
gow and an estate in Wigton-
North Ayrshire Council – our The Centenary of the Boys’ Bri-
shire.
neighbouring council – do not gade was in 1983 and, to mark
In 1767 a disaster occurred in
charge anything to make a spe- the occasion, Lochwinnoch BB
Lochwinnoch that caused
cial cleansing uplift and they held the first Lochwinnoch Fun
McDowell II to look at the
usually lift the items within a Run, now known as Lochwinnoch
situation concerning the loch
week. Open Race. Many county ath-
crossing. One stormy night a
letes and locals support this
young lady and her footman
Renfrewshire Council charge event and this year’s race is
were swept to their death in
homeowners £15 (over and scheduled for Saturday 9th June.
the swirling waters of the loch.
above the Community Charge This year will see the 25th run-
levied for such cleansing ser- ning of the race, which is now
In 1773-4 McDowell had the
vices) for a special uplift. At the officially registered with Scottish
Barr Loch drained creating
moment they take eight weeks Athletics. Locals are well catered
what was known as Barr
and usually two phone calls be- for with medals going to the first
Meadows
fore they lift the rubbish. local man, first local lady, first
The spin-off of the draining
local boy and first local girl. So,
operations was there was now
Why can’t Renfrewshire Council come on Lochwinnoch, get out
a solid road between two parts
be like Ayrshire Council and those running shoes and step up
of the village.
abandon the charge and make the fitness campaign. If you can’t
The land the draining created
the special uplift within days run and still wish to get involved
was turned into pasture for
rather than months? contact BB Captain Lawrie on
hay growing. Hay was a very
0141 887 8791.
sought after crop and the hay
in Renfrewshire was of a very
high quality. As the centuries
passed, hay became less valu-
able and by the time of the
Second World War the Barr
Meadows had become rough
pasture.
In 1946 Mrs Anderson of War-
lock Gates Farm looked out of
her window one morning to
see that, overnight, Barr
Meadows had vanished and
the Barr Loch had returned as
it remains to this day.
The cause of the flooding of
the meadows appears to have
been a combination of neglect
of the sluice gates and
‘activities practiced by the
army that included the use of
explosives’.
 EXPRESS
CYCLE
REPAIRS
Bicycle hire, repairs and
accessories at
Castle Semple Centre,
Lochwinnoch
Brand new fleet of mountain bikes
for hire,
Tag-a-long bikes for kids,
Bike trailers and childrens’ seats,
Bike repairs, bicycle accessories and
ex-hire cycles for sale.
Open for bicycle hire every day,
all summer.
Discounts given on group bookings.
Tel: 07867 790 889 and ask for
Martin Russell
Path & Car Park
works at Castle
Semple
April/May 2007
The following series of works
should be taking place over the next
few weeks around Castle Semple
Centre, Lochwinnoch. These will
inevitably result in disruption to
public access on paths. We apolo-
gise for this but anticipate that the
upgraded facilities will be worth the
temporary inconvenience.
Lochshore Path. The floods of
December and January washed
away all the fine material exposing
the larger stones of the path and it
left a lot of unwanted material that
we have been slowly removing,
some with the help of the local
community and volunteers.
Before the storms and flooding the
Regional Park, as part of the SRANI
partnership, had developed a
scheme to upgrade the path from
the Visitor Centre to Blackditch Bay
(some 850 metres). This route is to
get a hot bitumen emulsion bonded
surface incorporating glass fibre
and fine stones. This was chosen for
its improved performance when
flooded and for its aesthetics. It will
not look like black tarmac but will
be grey/green like the existing sur-
face.
Some preparation for this work has
already been completed, including
lochshore protection, improved
drainage and grading. Further pre-
paratory work will be going on dur-
ing Thursday 26 and Friday 27
April with some disruption of ac-
cess. The final surface coats will be
applied in 2 or 3 days the following
week and will necessitate the com-
plete closure of the path.
This path upgrade is funded by For-
ward Scotland, Lochwinnoch Mil-
lennium Events Group, Scottish
Natural Heritage and Renfrewshire
Council.
Castle Semple Car Park. Work
will begin on Mon 30 April and last
for up to three weeks.
There will be no working on week-
ends or Bank Holidays. The work
will be done in sections to ensure
some parking is always available
and access is maintained for emer-
gency vehicles to the Visitor Centre.
The upper and lower paths
between the car park and the loch
will be kept open. Renfrewshire
Council funds this work.
Other Recent Works
Blackditch Bay We are also doing
some more grant-aided work to
provide picnic facilities and im-
prove the path at Blackditch Bay.
This project has been driven by the
SRANI Paths Development Officer
and has now been completed.
Funds for the creation of these fa-
cilities has been provide by WREN
(Waste Recycling Environmental
Ltd)
Parkhill Wood. We continue to
re-surface the minor rotes in
Parkhill Wood with shredded
whisky casks. Unfortunately these
do not have the wonderful aroma
some people had been hoping for!
The material is a local recycled
product from casks at the end of
their working life. Please give us
your opinion on the suitability of
this surface.
Cycle Track Link. The installa-
tion of a new link ramp from Castle
Semple Visitor Centre to the cycle
track is progressing slowly. The
removal of trees and scrub has al-
ready taken place. Replanting of
native species will be done after the
path is completed. This develop-
ment is supported by Renfrewshire
Council.
For further information contact a
member of staff or e-mail
info@clydemuirshiel.co.uk
Full details of Regional Park
facilities and the summer pro-
gramme of events are on our new
website www.clydemuirshiel.co.uk
LMEG Funding
for Village
Projects
Over the last month Lochwinnoch
Millennium Events Group provided
funding to a number of groups
within the village: The Sustainable
Garden Group received £300 to-
wards installing electricity and an
automated watering system in the
poly tunnel. This will help the
group’s latest project; cultivating
Juniper samplings in association
with Clyde Muirshiel Country Park.
Lochwinnoch Playgroup received
£1000 for materials and equipment
for the children and Lochwinnoch
Writers Group received £500 to-
wards the cost of a tutor to work
with them at their weekly gatherings
in the library. Local author Betty
McKellor will receive £500 towards
publication of her latest anthology of
poetry and songs inspired by the sur-
rounding area. £250 was used to
replace 20 metres of broken wooden
fencing along the A760 by the Cal-
der.
The money being distributed by
LMEG was made available through
the success of another village project
– CLAN Broadband, which provided
much needed wireless broadband
services to villagers until BT in-
stalled ADSL Broadband at the local
exchange. Remaining CLAN funds
were kindly returned to LMEG by
the group, to be used to assist other
projects associated with the village.
There is still funding available, if you
have ideas contact Carol Gemmell on
843 858.
 Arts Festival Lochwinnoch ABC Therapies
Playgroup Lochwinnoch
The annual Spring Arts Festival
is a great asset to the village.
Thanks must go to Rowena
Open Day –
Murray and Morag Thow for
bringing the whole two-day
Wed 16th May Therapeutic Massage
If your child enjoys painting, playing
Indian Head Massage
event together. This year, on
Saturday, the iconic Scottish with sand and water, moulding with
play dough, doing jigsaws, dressing
poet Liz Lochhead visited and
up, sticking collages together and
talked about her writing. Also Special gifts
reading stories then they could have
on Saturday there was a festival a lot of fun at Lochwinnoch Play- Treatment Vouchers &
of Celtic music in the evening group (and you can avoid the mess Holistic Goody Bags
and the festival wound up on some of these activities create at made to or- der
Sunday with two concerts in the home!). The Playgroup in Lochwin-
Parish Church. noch was established 20 years ago
The first of these concerts fea- and is designed to help local children
aged 2 ½ onwards bridge the gap Counselling
tured the virtuoso percussionist
between home and nursery/school (Individuals & Couples)
Heather Corbett accompanied
by providing a safe but stimulating Counselling Supervision
by Linda Cochrane – a pianist
play environment for them. Our
who looks as good as she trained playleaders organise a daily
sounds. programme of fun learning and play
Heather featured the cimbalom, experiences and are able to use the
the national instrument of Hun- outside play area if the weather is Aileen Ferguson
gary. It looks like a fearsomely nice. MSc, FCIPD, MBACP, DTM.
difficult instrument to manipu- Playgroup operates during school
late but sounded wonderful in term time in the small hall at the Tel: 01505 843714
the hands of Ms Corbett. McKillop Institute on Mon, Tues and
In the evening the St Winnoch Wed mornings from 09.30 – 11.30
Singers – ten years old but, like and costs £3.50 per session. The
Johnny Walker, still going Playgroup is hosting an open day on
strong – gave a concert that in-
cluded John Rutter’s fast and
Wednesday 16th May at the McKillop
Institute to which all are welcome.
Thank You
furious Gloria. The choir was There are three visitor sessions avail-
joined by a ten-piece brass sec- able at 10.00 – 10.20am, 10.20 – May I take this opportunity to
tion, two percussionists and the 10.40am and 10.40 – 11.00am. If say thank you to everyone who
organ. The sound was rich and
full and very exciting.
you would like to come along to see voted for me in the recent coun-
the Playgroup in action, please sign cil elections. I am delighted that
up for one of the three available ses- our community, put party poli-
As usual, the Junior and Inter-
sions on the Playgroup cloakroom tics to the side, realised how
mediate choirs also gave magi-
door in the McKillop Institute. Reg- critical it is to have a local
cal performances of some well-
known pieces in not so well istration forms will be available on strong voice and chose me to be
known guises. the day for children starting Play-
our village representative in the
A great evening’s entertainment. group in autumn 07 onwards.
council chambers.
I look forward to serving our
community well and will work
tirelessly to improve the quality
of life for all within Lochwin-
noch and all within Ward 8. I
Now open every Sunday can be contacted on 843507 or
from 12 noon – 4pm as well as 9am – 5pm Monday to Saturday. at 17, Beechburn Crescent or at
More time to browse our new range of leather handbags; cards and gifts for all occasions;
david.s.arthur@btopenworld.com
Scottish crafts; silver, costume and handmade jewellery; Arran Aromatics; finishing touches for the home and much if you require my assistance.
more. Thanks, once again,
By popular demand, we are now stocking Yankee candles and fragranced products. for your support.
8 Church Street, Lochwinnoch Tel: 01505 843311
Councillor Davie Arthur
News & Events at
RSPB, Muirshiel,
Cornalees & Castle
Semple Centres
Saturday 12th May
A Walk in the Woods - 10am—1pm
To celebrate the Tree Council’s ‘Walk
in the Woods’ campaign, an ener-
getic stroll is planned around the
reserve’s woodland and Parkhill
Woods in Clyde Muirshiel Regional
Park. £3 adult/£1.50 child non-
members, free for RSPB/WEx mem-
bers. Book in advance by phoning
RSPB - Tel: 01505 842663.
Sat 19th/Sun 20th May
RSPB Optics Weekend—an oppor-
tunity to view and buy from a selec-
tion of RSPB Optics with expert ad-
vice on hand. Free event. For more
details call RSPB Reserve : 01505
842663.
Saturday 19th May
Rowing Club Regatta - Castle Sem-
ple Centre, Lochwinnoch hosts the
annual regatta, with boats competing
from all over Scotland. All day
event.
Sat 19th May & Sat 26th May
Guided walks in Hen Harrier
country. See TV highlights of last
year’s Harrier family and join staff
for a 4-6km moorland walk in the
new 28,100 hectare SSSI. Meet at
Muirshiel 13:45hrs for 14:00hrs dep.
To book, Tel: 01505 842803.
Sunday 20th-Sunday 27th May
A Tonic for Juniper. Meet Terry
McBerry and find out about the
Clyde Muirshiel Juniper Conserva-
tion Project. At Cornalees Visitor
Centre between 11:00 and 16:00 hrs.
Wednesday 23rd May
Level 2 Walk—Dampton Pad to Cas-
tle Semple. Departs The Steeple,
Kilbarchan at 11:30 hours, on hilly
country roads to Lochwinnoch via
the Clochoderick Stone.
Sun 27th May - Go Batty for Bats!
At Castle Semple Centre, 6.30pm to
7.30pm. Looking for volunteers for
a Bat survey. Talk and demos. by
Clyde Bat Group members.
Chatterbox is produced for the Community Council
of Lochwinnoch through financial assistance by
Lochwinnoch Community Council, Renfrewshire
Council and advertisements. The editor welcomes all
items for possible inclusion but will reserve all rights
over them. All views are of individuals. The editor
accepts no liability for errors
Friday 1st June - Sat 30th
June
Birds on TV. Birds permitting, live
images from this year’s Hen Harriers
nest should be coming into the Muir-
shiel Visitor Centre. Open 11:00 -
16:00 hrs.
Saturday 2nd June RSPB
Guided Walk on ”How to Watch
Wildlife” in summer. RSPB Centre
from 10:00 hrs to 12 noon. Book in
advance - Tel: 01505 842663.
Sunday 3rd June - Lochwin-
noch Summer Farmers Market.
An ideal opportunity to buy fresh
seasonal produce direct from the
supplier. At Castle Semple Centre
from 11:00 hrs to 14:30hrs.
Wednesday 6th June - Blooms
at Parkhill Level 1A (3.5km) stroll
through Parkhill Wood, among blue-
bells and flowering rhododendrons
and take in the views at Courtshaw.
Sat 2nd June & Sat 9th June
Guided moorland walks in Hen Har-
rier Country with RSPB staff. Meet
at Muirshiel at 13:45 hrs for 14:00
hrs departure. To book, Tel: 01505
842803.
Volunteer in the spotlight
Rachel Paterson
Rachel started as a volunteer with
RSPB Lochwinnoch in 1985 and is
one of our longest serving volun-
teers. Rachel helps out in the shop
and has contributed a huge amount
of her time to the RSPB Reserve over
the past 20 years. Rachel is also a
member of the Plant Committee for
RSPB Renfrewshire local group and
has attended the Volunteers’ Day at
Battleby for the past 4 years. The
staff at the Reserve would like to
thank Rachel for her many years service.
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Say goodbye to
Joan Shaw
After almost 30 years working for
the RSPB Lochwinnoch, Joan Shaw,
our friendly, cheerful Retail and
Admin Manager, has retired.
Joan has been present since the day
the visitor centre opened in 1978
and was one of the RSPB’s longest
serving members of staff. In Novem-
ber 1996, Joan was awarded an MBE
for her long service with the society,
and last year she attended the
Queen’s garden party at Bucking-
ham Palace.
During her time at the reserve, Joan
has seen many members of staff
come and go, including 5 managers,
25 Assistant Wardens, Visitor Offi-
cers and Information Officers, at
least 15 field teachers, 13 retail staff
and cleaners, and goodness knows
how many volunteers!
Joan has seen so many innovations
during her time at the reserve. Com-
puters were unheard of when she
started. The reserve itself has seen
many changes as well, from only a
handful of visitors in the beginning
to over 40,000 visitors a year, in-
cluding families, beginners, school
groups and wildlife enthusiasts.
No doubt without the hard work of
Joan and her team, the reserve
would not have been the friendly
and inclusive place it is today.
She will be sorely missed by all of
her colleagues, past and present, but
we all wish her all the best in the
future.
Goodbye and good luck!
0141 950 1423 GLASGOW
01505 842176 AYRSHIRE
01786 820130 STIRLING