Cousland Courier 16

Contributions by 31 /03/2016 for next newsletter to:- [email protected]

Or 19 Hillside Cottages /1 Hadfast Road or put in red post box in Village Hall

C V H A

A G M

25TH FEBRUARY 7.30PM

AGENDA

Derek Welsh has been invited to speak on the

Tynewater Community Plan

Hall User Groups Annual Reports

Community Broadband

Secretary’s Report

Treasurer’s Report

Chair’s Report

Election of Office Bearers

Scots night The hall looked very tartan

festive on Saturday 23rd

January for the 2016 Scots

Night. Guests enjoyed a

splendid three course meal,

conceived, cooked and served

by the in-house team of

Darren, Julie, Norrie, Stuart

supported by Robin at the bar.

How did they produce these

perfect haggis, neep and tattie

rounds? The soup was a

grannie special, and the

cheeses were sumptuous – we

know that because Norrie told

us so, many, many times.

Then it was on to the Scottish Quiz,

compiled by Gordon. The winning team

displayed an impressive breadth of

knowledge, although there were some

wild guesses and the odd disputed

answer. However the question master’s

say is always final.

Next Brian drew the raffle – the Scottish

themed prizes were cunningly disguised

in gift wrapping.

The Glenmorangie whisky was first to

go, quickly recognised by its distinctive

shape, and a hint from its donor. Irn-bru,

shortbread and oatcakes also went to

discerning winners, although maybe the

vegetarian winner of one of the haggises

was slightly less than delighted.

The finale of the evening was the

traditional game of shoot the pound coin

at the bottle, for two special bottled

prizes, bringing out the

competitive instincts once

again.

Good company, excellent food

and drink, intellectual

stimulation, and exciting

gamesmanship and all within

walking distance of home. What

better way to spend a January

Saturday evening?

Thank you to the organising

team for putting it all together.

Cousland Courier

Issue No 16 February 2016

Tynewater

Community Council

2

Village News 3

CVHA Minutes

Clubs

4

Clubs

Smiddy Trust

5

History Group

Trades and Services

6

Dates for your Diary 7

Inside this issue: Kathleen, Lesley, Jean

Karen & Fiona thank

you for sending in your

contributions for this

Courier.

Thanks go to

Midlothian Council for

their help in production

MAKE A DATE

Jazz

in the Village

Hall

Sat 5th March

8pm



3 column story

Header

3 column story again

3 column story

Cousland Courier

Highlight text

TYNEWATER COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING 19.01.16 DATE OF NEXT MEETING TUESDAY 1st MARCH, IN FALA VILLAGE HALL, 7.30PM

PLEASE NOTE FOLLOWING CHANGES TO FUTURE MEETINGS

TUESDAY 26 APRIL CALLANDER PAVILLION AT 2.00pm

TUESDAY 14 JUNE COUSLAND VILLAGE HALL 7.30pm

TUESDAY 6 SEPTEMBER FALA VILLAGE HALL 7.30pm

PRESENT: Henry Gibson, chair, Jenny Grahame, secretary, Colin Grahame, Fala, Jen Montgomery,

treasurer, Bob Miller, Pathhead, Gordon Brown, Cousland, Kathleen Donald minute secretary, Ken-

ny Young, councillor.

Apologies: Derek Welsh, Midlothian council

POLICE REPORT

None received

Discussion re police presence and priorities of police

We are ward 5, which covers edges of Dalkeith and Mayfield

Priorities, under age drinking, graffiti, drug abuse, house breaking, road safety

Moorfoot area, ward 3 which is similar to ours, priorities are house breaking, graffiti, drugs and

rural crime, road safety

Network Rail’s fences and wall standards still not satisfactory for stock fencing in some areas.

TRANSPORT AND ROADS

B6372 Newlandrig and Gorebridge

Road Closure – work still ongoing in Dewarton and beyond. License till 29th February.

Bridge parapet at approach to Dewarton has been demolished by some large commercial

vehicle. No one knows who did it.

Borthwick footpath reopened from Crichton?

Landscaping scheme on A68 by Transport Scotland – nothing more

Planning application for house on the main road indicates a right of access along the back dyke

behind the houses. This might be an area that could provide parking if cars are forced off the

pavement areas eventually by any future plan of Amey.

However, the estate has encroached on that road and it is now very narrow. The only vehicular

access is down the side of Walbergs.

A letter exists for a property where the roads department wanted to purchase the area of land in

front to extend the layby. This could be crucial to proving that properties own the land in front of

their houses. .

Suggestion that someone from roads dept is invited to the next meeting.

A68

Couple of drain covers are loose in the high street Pathhead.(BM) The stretch of road from bridge

towards Stair Arms is not swept and edges obscure (HG). Graham Dick is possibly a useful point of

contact with Amey.

Discussion re the recent signs on the pavement to put cyclists off the the pavement and onto the

dangerous A68 stretch to Pathhead. Cousland villagers use the pavement to access Pathhead and

Gorebridge by cycle. People living in the Oxenfoord estate also use this pavement to access

Pathhead. This needs to be pointed out to AMEY

David Wardrop White volunteer coordinator for Spokes lives in Newbattle area may help with

cycling on A68.

Cousland 30 mph sign and unsafe crossing

The relocation of the 30mph sign would need to involve a road order or have street lighting moved.

Discussion re new residents and children from Akela houses crossing to access the rest of the

village facilities, playpark, hall etc. It was suspected that it was too late to get Akela and the

Council to think about providing a safe crossing or even to paint zebra lines on the road as all the

finance will have been completed.

Snow Clearance – thanks given for attention to gritting and snow clearing but a thoughtless pile up

on a pavement in Pathhead by snow clearing vehicle meant volunteers needed to shovel it away.

Grit Boxes - Needed in Fala Dam

ACTION:

HG

Councillor Kenny

Young

Kenny Young

Bob Miller

Jenny Grahame .

HG makes the point

that Mid Co should be

involved in any future

planning by AMEY

BM

HG

HG

KD and GB



Congratulations to Brenda and Alan Cooper, now the proud grandparents of Arla Cooper Cunningham born on 20th December. A lovely Christmas present for great granny Betty Davidson and all the family.

YET ANOTHER BABE! Kevin and Sandra Holmes became grandparents on 1st February. Emma and Scott Stewart of Beechgrove are the proud parents of Olivia. Another beautiful baby girl. All doing very well.

Reduction of Fly Tipping, litter and

dog fouling. Suggestion for bins for

dog poo to be placed at the entrances

to Cousland village as a lot of green

poo bags are being chucked into the

hedgerows.

Reduction of rural fuel poverty – oil

and gas prices are being reduced now

Increased police presence ?

Improve communication with

Midlothian Safety Partnership clarify

links? - Community sergeant. Police

Scotland Midlothian east has info.

.

Some key areas extracted from the

plan for the Community Council to

work on initially received from

Derek Welsh

Broadband – Cousland (Grant

received for repeaters in the White

area surrounding the village)

Cousland Community Broadband

Grp pursuing Stobo Net for provision

of equipment.

Pathhead residents Cabinet 1 - High

speed broadband? Fibre connection

within 4 months scheduled? BT

Covering all the cabinets in the 320

exchange.

Treasurer’s report - Grant of £300

received. Excludes notice boards

acknowledging that they are more

expensive to repair.

Planning

Cherry Trees – Doran house leaving

the village going out to Fala Hall.

New plans after consulting people in

the village being viewed favourably.

Mount Fala- application for

extension.

Cousland - Ref 164444/4 prior to

application for 2 houses on school

land

Tynewater Minutes Continued—Community Plan

FOR SALE Four top quality Michelin Alpin Car

Tyres size 175/65 R15

Excellent Condition and as good as

new

Only 4 months use

Winter tyres but suitable for all year

round driving, first class solid tyres

£120 Can deliver if required

Contact John 07885660937

Congratulations WELCOME

Cousland Courier

JOB VACANCY

Village Sunday Paper Run

Boy/Girl willing to take

over from Jack.

If interested, contact Jack

on

07814703935

Stuart has moved into

Hadfast Road

********

George and Joan

McCormick, Dalrymple

Gardens

********

Tim and Lorna Briggs

Hillside

*********

Little Mo

Sheena Irving

Text Box



Cousland Courier

Cousland Village Hall Minutes 1 Feb 2016 - in brief

Minutes in brief for meeting

1 February 2016

Matters Arising

Kitchen units – AV not present to

report – ongoing

Heating – ongoing. Darren and

Gordon Dunn have set a date to fix.

Scots night – food - ‘amazing and

beautifully presented.’

CVHA thanked Darren and Julie for

their hard work.

Primary School – plans to take over

the lease have been withdrawn.

Hall lighting – ongoing.

AGM – Derek Welsh has been

Invited to speak on the Community

Plan

Planning Updates

No. 164444-4 planning application for 2

houses on School plot for 2 houses has

been lodged with MC.

Tynewater CC

Police priorities for Ward 3 – drinking,

graffiti, drug abuse, and house

breaking.

The priority list does not include rural

crime – TCC has requested that this be

included.

Landscaping on the A68 in Pathhead –

residents concerned that they will lose

ground in front of houses in Pathhead

Main Street.

Cycling – concern expressed regarding

lack of appropriate and safe cycle path

on the A68 – Henry Gibson to approach

and seek co-ordinated effort with

SPOKES to discuss. This is also to be

raised this with AMEY. CVHA support

this move and KD to feedback to Henry

at TCC. SRB asks that TCC to contact

David Murray MSP and Transport

Secretary regarding this.

Cousland 30 mile per sign located on

entry to village via Southfield road - the

signpost is positioned around the

corner and down the hill which is too

late for car drives to see and slow down

making the exit from Dalrymple

Gardens and the new houses

dangerous. KD to contact Ian Thomson

to request relocation and change from

40 to 30 MPH advance warning

notification signs.

Occasional licence for Jazz in the

Village has been submitted

Cash - £ 474.77

Current a/c - £6257.61

Savings a/c - £ 807.57

Youth Club Youth Club is now well back into the

swing of things into 2016. Already we

have had a Burns night with the

children enjoying Haggis and Irn Bru

– both of which went down a treat. We

are going to try our hand at some

fancy Valentine’s baking for

Valentine’s Day.

After the February Break we will be

having a games night and swimming

down at the Campus.

As always lots going on at Youth Club.

Many thanks

Tracy, Judith, Eileen and Marianne

Email: [email protected]

Mobile/Text: 07851 297142

COUSLAND VILLAGE TODDLER GROUP

Come and join us in Cousland Village Hall

Play and snack, Coffee and chat

Wednesdays 9.15am till 11.45am

Ages 0 to 5 years all welcome

DROP IN FOR A CUPPA

All welcome to join us for cake and cuppa while children are

playing.

Always looking for helpers for Arts and Crafts

Bring your own crafts

Any queries contact Carol 07814703935

mailto:[email protected]



Cousland Courier

Cousland Smiddy Trust

The Sunday before Christmas saw

about 40 villagers and friends come

along to the Smiddy for the annual

Carol Singing event. Ably led by Robin

Donald and with Caroline Pearson on

guitar – not forgetting the enthusiastic

percussion accompaniment on bells,

tambourines & clackers by the children

– everyone had an enjoyable time,

sustained by hot soup.

Our regular band of volunteers have

stepped up to the call on a couple of

occasions in the last few months, to

deal with temporary drainage

issues (flooding unsurprisingly!)

and prepare for more permanent

solutions to be tackled when the

weather improves. And also when

some heavy machinery needed to

be re-arranged to allow Sean the

blacksmith to adapt the spaces for

his business. As ever many thanks

go out to them.

New members are always welcome

on The Trust, and anyone is able to

come along to the Trust meetings

and see what we are about without

obligation! Information about the

Smiddy Trust can be found on the

website.

Next meetings are in The Smiddy

Cottage at 7.30pm on

Tuesday 16th February, 15th March,

12th April

SWRI SWRI meetings to end of season in Village hall at 7.15pm

16th Feb Haddington Spinners Comp Knitted article Flower of the month

15th Mar Bethany Trust Comp Recycled article Flower of the month

19th April 98TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

17th May AGM Comp Antique necklace Flower of the month

Its not the strongest

species that survive

nor the most

intelligent, but the

ones most responsive

to change Charles Darwin

Majority Group We recently had a visit from the Guide Dog Association, demonstrating the

skill and benefits of a trained dog and handler. There were also a number of

other dogs in training ranging from weeks old to two years. A retired dog

was re-homed with its original trainer. The Guide Dog Association are

supporting an MSP attempt to put through the Scottish Parliament in

conjunction with a similar effort to have pavement parking of vehicles

banned. The damages to a blind person with a dog were well demonstrated.

FUTURE MEETINGS

Feb Xmas Lunch – Coronation Inn, Gorebridge

Mar/April Talks in the Hall

May Last Meeting – Preston Mill



Cousland Courier

COUSLAND LOCAL, HISTORY PROJECT

A team of Cousland history enthusiasts have been tackling the

task of collating and archiving the village collection of

photographs, documents, media and artefacts which have all

now been gathered in the new Heritage Hub at the Smiddy

cottage. It’s a joy to have everything in one place – not to

mention that fact that it’s a pleasant, warm space to work away

in, with like-minded folk on a mission, often helped along by a

cuppa!

We visited the archives of Heritage Scotland where we were

given a guided tour by the archivist and talked through

techniques and resources involved in effective collections

management. They think we are doing a wonderful job!

Currently we plan to continue to meet on the 2nd Saturday of

the month 10am – 12noon ish until the backlog is under

control. Please come along if you’d like to join us.

Next meetings:

Sat 13th February – preparation of a display board for East

Lothian Heritage Gathering

Sat 27th February - Display & Talk as part of ELHG above.

Haddington Town House

Sat 12th March – Visit to Biggar & Upper Clydesdale

Museum.

Opening dates from May to September for the Smiddy &

Heritage Hub can be found on

http://www.couslandsmiddy.co.uk/visit-us.html

We are also linked via Visit Midlothian website.

Clubs and Societies Meeting Days

Majority Group 1st Mon in Month 2.00pm

Circuit Training Monday 7.30pm

Carpet Bowling Tuesday 7.00pm

SWRI (Rural) 3rd Tues in

Month 7.00pm

Parent & Tots Wednesday 9.15am

Youth Club Wednesday 6.30pm

Girl Guides Friday 6.30pm

History Group 2nd Sat every

month 10.00am

Village Trades and Services

B & B (Twin/Double Room) Kathleen & Robin Donald 0131 663 1821

Beauty Treatments Claire Wilson 07849 717291

Blacksmith/Forged Metalwork Sean Cockburn 0758 6540434

Builder & Plasterer Clark Millar 07812 780 017

Child Minder Carol McArthur 07814703935.

Computer Services & small DIY jobs Tom Morrow 07884 125126

Fencing, Railings & Metalworker Steve Gilhooley 07702 188 692

Hairdresser Christine Bolton 07909 059905

Painter/Decorator Stewart Naysmith 0131 454 9707

Personal Trainer Phil Calvert 07525 046 436

Personal Trainer Gemma Chapman 07783 941723

Physiotherapist Dougal Coward 07921 618 568

Plumber /Heating & Boiler Servicing Gordon Dunn 07850 246 810

Vet Beattie & John Buxton 0131 654 2266

http://www.couslandsmiddy.co.uk/visit-us.html



Cousland Courier

Dates for your diary February 2016

6 Community Café 10.30am Village Hall

13 Cousland Local History Project 10.00am Smiddy Cottage

16 Cousland Smiddy Trust 7.30pm Smiddy Cottage

16 SWRI – Haddington Spinners 7.15pm Village Hall

25 CVHA AGM 7.30pm Village Hall

27 Cousland Local History Project Haddington Town House

March

1 Tynewater Community Council 7.30pm Fala Village Hall


5 Jazz Night – Tickets available from Norrie 8.00pm Village Hall

12 Cousland Local History Project Visit to Biggar & Upper Clydesdale Museum


15 SWRI - Bethany Trust 7.15pm Village Hall

19 Village Clean Up Day 10.00am-1.00pm Village Hall

27 Clocks Change – Spring Forward

April




19 SWRI - 98th Birthday Party 7.15pm Village Hall

26 Tynewater Community Council 2.00pm Callander Pavilion

End of Indoor Bowling Season and start of Pétanque season

May



17 SWRI - AGM 7.15pm Village Hall

June


14 Tynewater Community Council 7.30pm Cousland Village Hall

18 Summer Party

August

27 Village Day

Your CVHA

committee

Dougie MacKenzie (Chair)

Norrie Brown (Secretary)

Claire Thomson (Treasurer)

Brian Ellis

Andrew McGovern

Stuart Buchan

Caroline Pearson

Alison Vikis

Fiona Dunn

Darren Sweeney

Tom Morrow

The Village Committee

meet 1st Monday of each

month in the Village Hall.

Members of the community

are always welcome to

attend.

EGGS FOR SALE

At the Kiln on

Quarrybank Road

ODD JOBS

IF YOU REQUIRE A PERSON

TO DO ANY ODD JOBS

PLEASE CONTACT

JACK ON:

07814703935

R E M E M B E R

VILLAGE CLEAN UP DAY

Saturday 19 MARCH

MEET 10.00AM AT HALL

Bring the Family

Soup provided after

Cousland Courier 16

Documents

Transcript of Cousland Courier 16