A GRAND DAY OUT

As we approach gala season again, we all look forward to a “grand day out” with all the entertainment laid on for kids and grown-ups alike. 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.

This month we’ve got wonderful events on land and on water, with a mix of carnivals, plant sales, regattas, open days and tea parties. Take your pick!

Full details in our What’s on section:

• 8-10 May & 15-17 May: Annual Plant Sale, Lodge Sir Michael, Kilmacolm

• 9 May: Kilmacolm & Port Glasgow Agricultural Show, locally referred to as 

  The Knapps Show

• 9 May: Houston & Killelan Kirk Carnival Day

• 10 May (Sunday): Gourock Highland Games

• 10 May (Sunday): Asparagus Farm Open Day

• 15-24 May: Scotland’s Nature Festival at Clyde Muirshiel, Lochwinnoch

• 15-24 May: Volunteer Arts Week at Clyde Muirshiel, Lochwinnoch

• 16 May: Annual Plant Sale, RSPB Lochwinnoch

• 17 May (Sunday): Bluebell Walk & Duck Race at Highwood, Kilmacolm

• 17 May (Sunday): Open Day at Castle Semple Sailing Club, Lochwinnoch

• 23 May: Calder UF Church Summer Fayre

• 23-24 May: Scottish Sailing Championships at Castle Semple

• 24 May (Sunday): Mad Hatters Tea Party at Finlaystone

• 30 May: Lamont Farm Project Open Day, Erskine

• 30 May: Castle Semple Rowing Club Regatta

• 31 May (Sunday): Robin Hood & the Crusaders at Finlaystone

There’s more to come in June, so prepare yourself for a fun-filled summer!

And lastly, as a regular reminder, we want to hear from you if you’ve done something wonderful, if you are planning a fund raising event, if you’ve got news to share, or even if you’re looking for help with something. Our readers are always eager to hear what’s happening and eager to help if they can. And the best thing is, there’s no cost from us to do this!

The Advertizer is the ideal platform to communicate with your community as we reach over 13,000 homes and businesses in the Gryffe area.

Send your news and photos to info@advertizer.co.uk or by post to The Advertizer, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir, PA11 3PN.

When I started up The Advertizer 20 years ago, one of the first local businesses to advertise with me was “Travel a la Carte”, or “Villafind” as it was originally known. Maureen Horton has been the force behind this successful travel business for 30 years, but has decided the time has come to hang up her sombrero and retire. Maureen used to joke with me that she was The Advertizer’s page 3 girl as her ad has been on p3 for so many years; we’ll be sorry to see her go. However, on a positive note, the Kilmacolm travel shop will continue to operate, in its spectacular spot over-looking the Cargill Centre Square, with Arlene Donald taking the helm. Arlene operates as part of Barrhead Travel and the Kilmacolm shop will run under the franchise name “Travel Actually”. We wish Maureen a fruitful and happy retirement, whilst also wishing Arlene every success in her new venture.

Roads... argggh! It’s the time of year when there seems to be a flurry of activity as Council budgets are used up before the year end, and this invariably means road works, everywhere, at the same time. This has seen, on one particular day, almost every road into Bridge of Weir being worked on, in one way or another. Drivers have been very patient and hopefully by the time we are in print most of these works will be complete and we will be enjoying some pot-hole free driving.... for a while! We can only hope the root-causes for the carriageway failures are addressed during the repair process to prevent a recurrence.

Moving on to pavements, it’s much appreciated to see many dog owners now lifting their dog’s poo and bagging it. However there seems to be a minority who miss the next stage of binning it. It was reported that 15 such stinky bags were lifted from the lane between High St and Port Glasgow Rd, at the Kidston Hall, Kilmacolm - many of these a distinctive burgundy bag! Bag it and BIN IT!

On a lighter note, some comic relief. Kilmacolm Dramatic Society are treating us to their production of ‘Allo ‘Allo (which I will say only once). Based on a BBC 1 series, running from 1982 until 1992, written by well-known script-writers Jeremy Lloyd & David Croft. Performances take place on 22, 23, 24 & 25 April at the Kidston Hall. Tickets are available, as usual, from the Cross Cafe in Kilmacolm (tel:872502) and from Rosie Thirde on 01505 873088.

Continuing the comic theme, brilliant news that since the first appeal 30 years ago, Comic Relief has now raised over £1 billion! I’m not even sure how many 000’s that is! However, although this is a wonderful charity and helps many desperate people, I did notice a post on facebook from someone locally who was suggesting that we can all do a little bit to help closer to home, and at no great cost. If we were all to donate a little time, whether to help out at a charity event, venue or shop, or to take the time to visit someone in need of a bit of shopping or just some company, we could all do our bit. It really doesn’t take much to make someone’s day a little better. There are also lots of animal rescue centres run by caring volunteers who could all do with an extra pair of hands to feed, exercise, clean out yards, etc. Alternatively, if you can’t find time to help, some of these charities have collecting stands at local supermarkets, so, if nothing else, try to at least drop in an extra tin of pet food to assist their collections, much appreciated.

And as Spring makes a welcome appearance, another sight in each of the villages is the various groups in their lovely bright jackets, planting and pruning, sweeping and snipping, getting the planters ready to bloom! We now have Brighter Bridge of Weir, Colourful Kilmacolm and Grow Kilbarchan all making great effort to brighten up the villages. Go on, get involved, even if it’s just tidying up the area around your own home, and Gibb Stuart’s even sell litter-pickers, so come on and get picking!

SPRING INTO MARCH!

Arts Festival

Now an established and popular annual event, Lochwinnoch Arts Festival will run from 18 to 29 March with a variety of events held through the week and an art exhibition in the Library running throughout. Two pre-festival events will also run on 7 and 15 March. Some events must be booked in advance, so get your skates on and get in touch if you fancy going along. Find out more details athttp://lochwinnochartsfestival.co.uk/

A761

The Councillors of Inverclyde and Renfrewshire inform us that surface upgrades to the A761 (Kilmacolm to Bridge of Weir road) are imminent, either side of the District boundary. Hopefully these repairs will incorporate improved drainage, since it seems to me to be the excessive surface water which has resulted in numerous serious accidents in recent years.

The delay in resurfacing is, as usual, a consequence of budget cuts and lack of funding. However one has to wonder what the expense is to the emergency services, insurance claims and clean up operations, and hospital care and rehabilitation for the victims. Some joined up thinking from central government would help... surely prevention is better than cure?

Nearly new babies - Kidston Kids

It is with some regret we have a missing entry this month. Traditionally this would be the month when we’d be promoting the “nearly new baby sale” for Kidston Kids in Kilmacolm. Whether through lack of funding or simply a lack of voluntary support, this once thriving baby and toddler playgroup, to which my own kids were delighted attendees, is no more.

Many of our local community groups and organisations rely on volunteers. However, we now live in a society where we all have so many constraints and pressures, apparently, that many find it difficult to donate their time, even if just a couple of hours a week.

Maybe it’s time to take stock. My children’s development was much the richer for environments like Kidston Kids. And, if anyone fancies starting up the “nearly new baby sale”, I have a couple of donations, although they are now teenagers, so not sure if that counts. But, seriously, let’s all try and make some effort to get involved in our superb communities.

British Summer Time

The clocks will go forward by one hour on Sunday 29 March as British Summer Time begins for another year. The official time changes at 1am, moving forward to 2am across the UK. If you struggle to remember which direction time travels, there is an old saying, “Spring forward, Fall back” to help you.

Your LOCAL magazine

The Advertizer is the ideal platform to tell the community your news as we reach over 14,000 homes and businesses in the Gryffe area. Send in your news and photos to: info@advertizer.co.uk, or by post to The Gryffe Advertizer, 1st floor, Neva Place, Bridge of Weir PA11 3PN.

Oh, we do love a happy ending at The Advertizer!

In January, Olly the cocker spaniel did a runner while out on his walk. He was last seen heading from Bridge of Weir towards the moorlands in the direction of Muirshiel. Despite a HUGE hunt, Olly wasn’t found. Three days followed, with some of the worst winter weather of the year. Then, a local farmer picked up a bedraggled pup and recognised him as Olly, thanks to the ongoing local facebook campaign. So Olly was reunited with his frantic owner resulting in big smiles all round!

Local TV stars! It was a joy to watch the Reith sisters who run Three Sisters Bake in Quarriers and now also in Killearn, when they appeared on This Morning last month to chat about working together, running their cafes and what makes them happy. Listening to Gillian, Nichola and Linsey together, you just know they love what they do! 

On the roads, ongoing repairs are underway at the bridge in Quarriers Village which will last for some weeks and further road surface repairs are planned for the A761 section between Bridge of Weir and Kilmacolm; let’s hope not at the same time!

You can keep up to date with proposed roadworks by visiting the website www.roadworksscotland.org or via our two local council websites, www.renfrewshire.gov.uk and www.inverclyde.gov.uk. Another site you can register with for regular updates for your area is www.tellmescotland.gov.uk/notices/renfrewshire/traffic.

We’ll try to keep you updated too on Facebook and Twitter - please follow our new facebook page, Gryffe Roadwatch, for regular updates on road repairs and conditions. 

The Advertizer is the ideal platform to tell the community your news as we reach over 13,000 homes and businesses in the Gryffe area. Send in your news and photos to: info@advertizer.co.uk

Welcome to our special January issue, packed with local news and events. Once again, we have included a handy 2015 desk calendar which you can cut out and keep through the year. Find it on the inside back page.

We enjoyed another prolonged, sunny summer in 2014. Plenty of happy faces, and no worries about keeping the kids entertained during the summer holidays. The weather helped our local outdoor summer events enjoy bumper crowds. And rounding off the year, we enjoyed a number of excellent dramatic productions, including pantomime!

An exciting year ahead for The Advertizer as we will have been publishing your LOCAL magazine for 20 years! Yes, we can’t believe it either! Once again, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for your continued support and look forward to working with you throughout 2015.

A special thanks to Suzanne and Linda in the office, the local Councillors and many other contributors who provide their news and updates and, of course, the local retailers, tradesmen and businesses for their ongoing support on which our community thrives.

Wishing you all the best for 2015!

Brrrrrrrrrrr, it’s suddenly got cold and wet! Well, we do live in Scotland after all - the land of four seasons in one day. The sudden rain after months of relatively dry weather caused some slippery conditions and on the A761 between the Knapps and the Quarriers road end we saw two bad accidents in one weekend, with cars skidding off the road into the field. Please take care out there, and remember that conditions can catch out even the most careful drivers.

The rain and frost causes difficult road conditions. Please report road faults ASAP; you will save others a great deal of grief and might even save a life. You can report a road fault or pothole by phone or online. Visit www.renfrewshire.gov.uk or www.inverclyde.gov.uk depending on the location, or call Renfrewshire on 0300 3000 300 from Monday - Friday, 8am - 6pm. Outwith these hours, you can call 0300 300 0144 to report faults. For Inverclyde call 01475 714800 or out of hours contact RALF (Roads and Lighting Faults) 0800 37 36 35.

We prepare again for Christmas and look forward to the regular event which is the Gibb Stuart’s (Home Hardware) windows. Every year without fail, Sandy and his team go to great efforts to create a colourful and dynamic display - a visual extravaganza to brighten up the dark winter evenings.
For those with hectic schedules and unable to make the shops during normal hours, Gibb Stuart is staying open on Thursday evenings in the run up to Christmas. The shop will be open until 8pm on Thursdays 20th and 27th November, 4th and 11th December, with special offers in-store on those nights.

Last chance to get tickets for the local pantos. “Oh no it’s not” you say, “Oh yes it is!” And we are so excited at The Advertizer this year as, once again, one of our very own team is taking part in ‘Jack & the Beanstalk’ - we’ll leave it to our eagle-eyed readers out there to go along to the show and find out who!

Check our ‘What’s On’ listings for details of pantomimes, theatre events and fireworks displays - there’s plenty going on for all tastes.

Finally, if you’ve got any events for our December issue, please get these to us by our deadline of Friday 14th November.

NOTE: I wrote this last week, and today I'm hearing about yet another serious road traffic accident on the A761, where the water runs across the road at Scart Farm dip. Tragic that another set of people are hurt on this stretch of road.

March update

When I put together last month’s piece, the main theme was roadworks.

The drainage works at Brookfield have now been completed and a new 30MPH limit exists from the road end at Brookfield Cemetery all the way through to the junction at Gowanlea Nursery, which some drivers still seem to be unaware of. 

I was hopeful that the impending closure of the A761 for a week would result in a much improved road surface between Kilmacolm and Bridge of Weir. Sadly, the new surface, a heavenly driving experience though it is, only stretches for a few hundred metres out of Bridge of Weir; thereafter it’s back onto the rumble strip. The improved section has to be commended, but it was clear from Social Media just how frustrated drivers have become, with various comments: “to be closed for that length of time to do what they did! Now the back road is horrific with potholes!” and “shocking that the road was closed for so long and how little has been fixed grrrr”.

I’m sure I can recall a time when the local council had a team of workmen who were on-call to fix the roads, clear the drains, cut the hedgerows, etc… Nowadays though, I guess possibly for cost saving reasons, all these maintenance jobs seem to be outsourced and subject to a tendering process. With potholes, we have someone quantify the job and highlight the proposed repair areas with coloured paint. Then nothing appears to happen for months, other than nature doing its utmost. Invariably by the time the work commences the job has grown in magnitude, but the contractor is only able to deal with their specific remit and the beautifully repaired pothole now has several unrepaired neighbours. And so it goes on, and on, and on; or am I just being cynical. But why are the roads falling apart? There must be a logical reason. Is it simply that the gulleys and roadside drains are blocked and the water now trapped under the road undermines the subsurface? If so, here’s an idea; maybe we should have a team of guys dealing with regular maintenance to keep the ditches clear!!!

Remember the clocks go forward one hour on Sunday 30th March!

The Advertizer is the ideal platform to tell the community your news as we reach over 14,000 homes and businesses in the Gryffe area. Send in your news and photos to: info@advertizer.co.uk, or by post to The Advertizer, Kilmacolm PA13 4QF. 

Next deadline Friday 14th March!