Preparations for this issue were tinged with great sadness following the loss of Gordon Lethorn at the end of April. Having suffered illness for some time, Gordon passed away leaving a huge gap in the lives of his family and friends.

His legacy lives on though through the Festival Committee who run the annual Gala Week festivities and the Santa Sleigh in the weeks leading up to Christmas each year.

We send our thoughts and condolences to Brenda and the family, and to everyone he worked with throughout his years in fundraising.

Talking of the Gala event, Bridge of Weir’s Gala Day will be once again be held at the Houston Road park, but this year there will be limited vehicle access. Due to the ongoing works to prevent flooding, the grounds are not suitable for multiple vehicle access, so there will be no public parking available and limited spaces for the stallholders.

After a couple of washout weekends last year with events cancelled, this summer we are optimistic of some great weather and a summer full of entertainment for kids and grown-ups alike. We have a varied mix with events on land and water, and hopefully something that will appeal to everyone.

These events are run to a very high standard throughout and everything goes like clockwork - weather permitting. All thanks to a small army of volunteers who give of their time to gather in the wee dark hours of the winter to plan, organise and fundraise.

Some of these events date back many years and are steeped in history, others are more recent additions to the calendar. Perhaps you feel that you would like to get involved and be a part of our local annual events. Your involvement will be rewarding for yourself and the community, so why not become a part of your local community and offer your services.

Spring Cleaning: Howwood villagers are organising their annual Spring Clean on 16/17 April - details on p43. And Brighter Bridge of Weir will be doing the same on 14/15 May - details on p51. Houston Community Council plan to hold regular clear-ups around the village and details are available on their Facebook page. Or, if you haven’t time to help out in a group, why not just keep around your own home clear, imagine if everybody did that! And to save your hands getting too dirty, Gibb Stuart’s sell litter-pickers, gloves and bin bags.

These litter picks are hugely successful, with Brighter Bridge of Weir volunteers telling me they collected 16 large bags of litter in one afternoon, and that’s just along one stretch of road in Bridge of Weir. Similarly, Houston CC organised a general litter-pick day recently and picked up a similar quantity from a relatively small area. A great achievement, but it’s sad that it has to be done at all; there seems to be an attitude prevailing nowadays that someone else will attend to it. And to continue the rant, it’s great to see dog owners now bagging it, but if that bag doesn’t make it to a bin, there seems little point in the exercise (excuse the pun!).

ROADS

In Bishopton this summer there will be improvements to the park & ride at the train station which are part of the proposed Dargavel Village development. These works are estimated to last around 18 weeks and while this will no doubt cause disruption for villagers, the developer will be working to keep this to a minimum. Also, Renfrewshire Council are hoping to improve the crossing from St Mary’s Church and the car park and line the entry to the Old School in Bridge of Weir.

In Kilmacolm, planned roadworks on Port Glasgow Road will be starting on 16 March. The stretch from Auchenbothie Road junction to Woodrow Avenue will be resurfaced and while there will no doubt be significant disruption during the period of these works, hopefully it will all be worthwhile.

Drivers have been concerned about the danger of water running across the Johnstone Road at the bend between the farm road and the cemetery. This is caused by water running onto the road from the field, and in freezing weather the water turns to ice. Bridge of Weir Community Council has written to the Roads Department regarding this. Ironically, the stretch of road on the other side of Bridge of Weir at Scart Farm, which one winter was the most trouble-hit for water problems, has been trouble-free all winter!

DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENED IN 2007?

Did you know we’ve got all our back issues online? All the way back to 2007 with a couple even older than that! I received a notification that one of our online issues (Jan 2008) hadn’t been looked at for some time and would be taken down, so a quick review and a share on facebook got that one reactivated. In reading through the January 2008 issue, I noticed that I had commented on the completion of extensions at both Gryffe High and Houston Primary schools. Also, the three new sets of traffic lights: 1. Houston Road / Kilmacolm Rd, Bridge of Weir; 2. Torr Road / Main St, Bridge of Weir; 3. Magnus Road / Houston Rd, Houston. The traffic lights may not be perfect, but it’s hard now to remember how awful these junctions were before.

By the end of 2007, the new gym at Birkmyre Park, Kilmacolm was almost complete and in Lochwinnoch the Community Buy-out Group was awarded the ‘right to buy’ the former Struthers bottling plant, while the dangerous junction at the Beith Road was being sorted out with a new roundabout. Sadly the Struthers purchase didn’t go ahead and that building still sits empty, but the new roundabout at the Beith Road is a huge improvement.

Hopefully you are all taking a well deserved breath after all the excitement of Christmas. Our household was chaotic in the lead-up with me actually forgetting which week we were on and thinking we still had a week to go before Christmas! Awkward eh? A mad rush to decorate and shop! Still we got there.

This year again I decided not to send cards but instead make a donation to one of my chosen charities. This year it is Cancer Research UK. Nonetheless, thank you to everyone who took the time to send one to me. Bah Humbug! I just feel the money is better spent on these very worthy causes.

Well..... I did have a bit of a rant last month, didn’t I? However, one result was the offer of donations to the funds for the bonfire, and hopefully next year a few more people will take that massive step...... that massive step across the road, pay their contribution on entry and enjoy the event in the field with the fun that goes with it!

FIRE & WATER!

The Knapps Bonfire this year went off with the usual bang; a great success and a credit to all the organisers and volunteers, and of course the patrons. However, will it be an event we can enjoy next year?

The Bonfire is a not for profit event; I understand that on balance some years make a loss and other years make small profit. The funding for the event comes from entrance money taken at the gate. However, it’s astounding the number of folks who now watch from outside the field, standing on the road, to save themselves a few quid. I know it can get pretty muddy underfoot, which can be a little off-putting, but if this trend continues, the consequence for everyone will be a lack of funding and no more fireworks. So go on, get your wellies on, get muddy and join in next year. It’s part of the fun!

Well, I got myself all fired up on that one, so to douse the flames (pun intended), another topical subject: the rain.

Starting on a positive note, the road improvements and drainage works at Scart Farm, between Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir, seem to be coping well considering the amount of water over the last few weeks. Remember the floating mini a couple of years ago?