August 2005
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Maybole has an amateur football team again. Carrick Amateurs, have recently had their application to enter the league accepted, and last week they were presented with a brand new strip by sponsors Reid’s Transport. Robert Laidlaw, of Reid’s Transport, presented the strips, in the Argentina national team colours...more

Team at Crosshill Cup.Robert Laidlaw of Reid's Transport (4th left) handed over the new strip to players, management and committee New manager George Logan 2nd right George McCulloch 2nd left.

Maybole’s Carrick Colts 16’s team is pictured wearing their new strips purchased through the sponsorship of Reid’s Transport of Minishant, near Maybole. The boys wore them for the first time at the recent West of Scotland Youth Tournament at the Old racecourse in Ayr. The team made great progress over the two days going out in the semi final of the plate competition, beaten in a penalty shoot out by the eventual winners Mauchline more

At the closing service of the Glen Kirk recently a presentation was made to Miss Jenny Graham who had been organist and choir mistress for over 63 years serving with eight ministers. Willie Fielding said, “Jenny was a true and faithful servant to the Glen Kirk over her long years of service.” He told us that it was in 1936 when the church organist resigned to take up the duties of organist in Maybole Old Parish Church. more

Old Church in Cassillis Road exterior.jpg (61822 bytes)

The two Church of Scotland buildings in Maybole have been sold. A closing service for the Old Church will take place on Sunday August 7 at 10.30am and one for the West Church on Sunday August 14 at 10.30am. Both services will be concluded with Communion. From then on the united congregation will be worshipping in the Baptist Church, on Carrick Street with worship commencing at 10am. more

West Church in Coral Glen exterrior.jpg (64388 bytes)

West Church has closed after more than 160 years. Like the Old Church, it has been sold to help finance a new community church in the town. Also known locally as the Glen Kirk, the West Church was built in 1842, and was the gift principally of Sir Charles Fergusson of Kilkerran. But minister/historian Rev Roderick Lawson, 1831-1907, tells us the endowment of the church was accomplished chiefly at the cost of his son, Sir James Fergusson. more

Mention the Cabin and most people would think of Coronation Street but Maybole has its very own Cabin and members are looking for others to join them in it. Show at left are left to right Betty McCallum, Minnie Gallacher, Margaret Murdoch, Archie Scobie, Betty  Falconer and Maureen Scobie. At right are more members enjoying a  linedancing lesson at Town Hall. more

Kind hearted linedancers in Maybole have donated £1,020 to the town's day hospital. Members of Carrick Stompers took on the local charity shop for a week recently and presented the cheque on Monday.  Staff accepting the cheque are Sr Allaine Sillars (front left) and Nursing Assistant Janet McClelland (front right) Other staff pictured are cook Jean McGill (back third from left) and  Nursing  Assistant Felicity McAllister (back fourth from right). Sr Sillars thanked the dancers for their hard work and generosity and added  that the funds would be used to buy a DVD and video player and a riser/recliner chair which would be of great benefit to patients.

Sharon McCrindle and Harry McDill who were married in Maybole last Friday with their attendants.

The Scottish Community Foundation is delighted to announce that two grants have now been awarded from the Big Lottery Fund fair share Trust programme in the Maybole area. Maidens Bowling Club has been awarded £14,819.70. This grant will be used to pay for the enhancement of the existing facility by improving access, increase usage by other local organisations...  more

Maybole Bowling Club’s Open Mixed Pairs. President Mrs Elspeth Wotherspoon (left) and club chairman Mr John Carlyle (right) welcomed sponsors Akita who presented trophies and flowers to winners Helen and Andy Clark and runners up Avril Reid and Billy Kennedy.

Maybole Memorial Park Bowling Club’s under 15 Open Pairs competition was sponsored by Liz and Robert Reid of the Prince of Wales, Ayr. more

Maybole Memorial Park Bowling Club recently held a Fun Day and barbecue. Everyone had a great time and out photo shows some of the members wearing the new club dress! The club would like to thank Michael Mancini of the Royal Café, Ayr for providing ice cream on the day.

The lights at Maybole High Street’s pedestrian crossing have been causing an uproar in the town over the past few weeks. The lights have hardly been working for weeks and there were at least four attempts to repair them Residents and shopkeepers were having a terrible time trying to cross as traffic sped non stop up and down the street. At the August meeting of Maybole Community Council there were several complaints and for a day or two it seemed that the lights had been repaired. more


The complete text of the headlines above follows.

August 2005

Maybole has an amateur football team again. Carrick Amateurs, have recently had their application to enter the league accepted, and last week they were presented with a brand new strip by sponsors Reid’s Transport. Robert Laidlaw, of Reid’s Transport, presented the strips, in the Argentina national team colours, in time for the new team to take part in the Crosshill Summer Cup. There is a new committee and George Logan takes over as manager assisted by Maybole man George McCulloch but the team will have to start off in the second division. They are hoping to work their way back up to where Maybole Amateurs were when they were evicted from the league over a year ago. Maybole made numerous appeals against the decision and even went as far as the Scottish Amateur Football Association but were unsuccessful. The team had great support from locals at their games every week and the new team is hoping that will continue.


Maybole’s Carrick Colts 16’s team is pictured wearing their new strips purchased through the sponsorship of Reid’s Transport of Minishant, near Maybole. The boys wore them for the first time at the recent West of Scotland Youth Tournament at the Old racecourse in Ayr. The team made great progress over the two days going out in the semi final of the plate competition, beaten in a penalty shoot out by the eventual winners Mauchline Names : Back row from left to right Gary Cooper, John Calderwood, Steven McConnechie, Ross Davidson, Jonathan Innes, Craig McKay, David Hose, Stuart Coughtrie, (Coach Hugh McKay) Front row: Josh Skilling, Dougie Barr, Steven Pollock, Colin Sturgeon, Mark Wilson, Dean Hood, Andy Penman. They are still looking to strengthen their squad for this season and any boy born in 1990 can contact Hugh McKay for information on 01655 889692 They would also like to thank Reid’s Transport for the strips.


The two Church of Scotland buildings in Maybole have been sold. A closing service for the Old Church will take place on Sunday August 7 at 10.30am and one for the West Church on Sunday August 14 at 10.30am. Both services will be concluded with Communion. From then on the united congregation will be worshipping in the Baptist Church, on Carrick Street with worship commencing at 10am. Bill Miller added, “Now that the two Churches have been sold at prices well above those anticipated and that the site for the new Church has been secured, detailed planning is rapidly moving ahead for the New Church. As all regular members know we will be worshipping in the Baptist Church at 10.00 am on Sundays starting on Sunday August 21st and until the New Building is complete. The Parish Church is very appreciative of the generosity of all the other Churches in Maybole who have offered accommodation and support during this period of change. Everyone is welcome to worship with us and help with the exciting community work ahead!”


West Church has closed after more than 160 years. Like the Old Church, it has been sold to help finance a new community church in the town. Also known locally as the Glen Kirk, the West Church was built in 1842, and was the gift principally of Sir Charles Fergusson of Kilkerran. But minister/historian Rev Roderick Lawson, 1831-1907, tells us the endowment of the church was accomplished chiefly at the cost of his son, Sir James Fergusson. Rev Lawson was parish minister in Maybole from 1863 to 1897, and during his time produced pamphlets, books and monthly letters which build up into remarkable picture of a community during the latter half of the 19th century. Roderick Lawson was born at Girvan on March 15, 1831 and went to Newton-on-Ayr as assistant minister in 1861.

In 1863 the West Kirk at Maybole, still under the patronage of the Fergussons of Kilkerran, fell vacant, and Sir James Fergusson gave it to the young assistant at Newton-on-Ayr. Lawson was delighted to return to Carrick, where he was to spend the 34 remaining years of his ministry. He was inducted on Thursday, April 14, 1863 and this was followed by a dinner which Sir James Fergusson gave in the Buck's Head (now Chequers bar). Lawson's first Sunday in Maybole was a pouring wet day yet crowds came from Ayr, Girvan and the neighbouring parishes to hear him preach. Unconventional as always, he did not set out his aims and beg his parishioners help in achieving them. But just as Christ had told his disciples "Ye Are The Light of the World", he asked his congregation to be the best they could be and shine brightly in Maybole. For the children he produced question and answer booklets, or catechisms, on various subjects: Scripture knowledge, Bible antiquities, the Christian life, the Lord's Supper, Good Manners for Boys and Girls, and the Shorter Catechism which he had published. He estimated that in the first few years of its life his Catechism sold a quarter of a million copies.

When he arrived in Maybole he was disturbed to discover that about half of the people who came to him to be married were unable to sign their name, so he started Monday evening writing classes at Whitehall School. Soon he had 100 pupils, and by the end of the session many of them could write a letter fairly well. It gave him great happiness to later receive letters from these people. To help these same people to save he instituted a penny savings bank. Soon it was being used by the whole town and was receiving between 20 and 30 every week. By 1887 the bank held 1,140. Lawson was disappointed that his temperance efforts never brought the results he had hoped for, and he had a couple of other failures  trying to establish a Boys' Brigade and a working men's club.

When Maybole's best known fresh water spring, the Wee Spout in the Glen, fell into decay, he raised 32 to repair it and put over it the motto: "Ye may gang farther and fare waur". James Parlane, the Paisley publisher who had printed some of Lawson's writings in The Dayspring, heard about the minister's lectures and offered to publish his children's talk on wild flowers as a pamphlet in 1883. The same year he persuaded Lawson to expand another of his talks into a small book, and the result was titled Crossraguel Abbey. From then on a book followed every year until the end of the century. In April 1880 he began the West Parish Church Monthly Letter. And it gradually expanded into a kind of local Community News about the church, spiritual welfare, and a wide range of news of Maybole and its people, local and afar, as well as his own travels, and local history. Its circulation rose to 1,600 a month: 1,100 copies to local people and 500 posted all over the world. It was financed entirely by voluntary subscription and continued for 17 years. Lawson also donated 100 books to start a library for the town's Poor House.

He announced his decision to retire at the end of 1897 on the grounds that he could no longer sustain the high standard of his ministry, and he feared that to stay might damage the work he had already done. On November 14 he preached his last sermon, and at a reception in Maybole Town Hall the following day the townsfolk presented him with 250 sovereigns. He accepted the gift with some embarrassment, because he knew it was made up of shillings and coppers they could ill afford but had given willingly. But he would not accept an allowance from the Aged Ministers Fund ,and was determined not to be a financial burden on his successor. Lawson died on Monday, February 26, 1907, and was buried in Maybole. In his will he remembered the causes dearest to his heart: 400 to the poor of Maybole for their annual outing; 200 to the West Church Sabbath School; and 200 for the upkeep of his wayside seats. Today he is commemorated in the town by the street name of Roderick Lawson Terrace and there is a bust of him on the stairway in the Town Hall. Closed doors at church with a lot of history Aug 17 2005


At the closing service of the Glen Kirk recently a presentation was made to Miss Jenny Graham who had been organist and choir mistress for over 63 years serving with eight ministers. Willie Fielding said, “Jenny was a true and faithful servant to the Glen Kirk over her long years of service.” He told us that it was in 1936 when the church organist resigned to take up the duties of organist in Maybole Old Parish Church. At that time Jenny was a young student of Miss Oram, organist of Cargill Church. She was recommended by her teacher to be interim organist at the West Parish Church. Jenny felt she couldn’t do the job as a young girl, however Miss Oram told Rev A Williamson, then minister of the West that Jenny the pupil was very capable of playing the organ and so she was persuaded to play for the next six or eight weeks until Tommy Bell was appointed organist and was there for seven years. Jenny was appointed organist in 1943, a post she has held ever since. Mr Fielding said the church owed a great deal to her efforts in maintaining a choir which was always appreciated by the congregation in leading the praise at Sunday services. She was thanked for her faithfulness and presented with a painting of the West Parish Church.


Mention the Cabin and most people would think of Coronation Street but Maybole has its very own Cabin and members are looking for others to join them in it. It all started over twenty years ago when the former caretaker’s house in Maybole Town Hall was made available for a group of senior citizens. It gave them their own place to meet to chat, play cards and have a cup of tea or coffee. Over the years the Cabin has lost members and currently is open on Monday, Thursday and Friday mornings from 10 – 12 noon plus from 1.30 – 3pm on Friday evenings. It could be open longer if someone was available to open and close the premises. It has its own access of Whitehall through the Town Hall garden. Anyone interested in joining the Cabin, old or young, is invited to go along at any of the above times and they will be made very welcome.


Maybole Memorial Park Bowling Club’s under 15 Open Pairs competition was sponsored by Liz and Robert Reid of the Prince of Wales, Ayr. Winners were Declan and Michael McClymont of Springhill Bowling Club, Kilmarnock. Runners up were Jason Brannon and Samantha Drysdale of Ardeer Rec. Bowling Club, Stevenston. The trophies were presented by Liz Reid, accompanied by club President Ian Paterson.


Maybole Access Point (MAP) would like to apologise to all visitors who have wanted internet access over the last three weeks. There have been problems but they have been sorted out and the good news is that the project now has broadband. This means that internet access is now considerably faster so everyone is to drop in or phone to book (01655 882111) a free hour slot on any of their four computers.


The Scottish Community Foundation is delighted to announce that two grants have now been awarded from the Big Lottery Fund fair share Trust programme in the Maybole area. Maidens Bowling Club has been awarded £14,819.70. This grant will be used to pay for the enhancement of the existing facility by improving access, increase usage by other local organisations and to encourage local youths to try bowling as a sport.

 

May-Tag Ltd in Maybole has been awarded £60,704. This grant will be used to employ a Rural Community Development worker for 2 years to support and build the capacity of voluntary organisations in 8 Villages within the Fair Share area, which takes in Maybole and the surrounding district. The project will also develop a database of local groups and activities and organise and manage a rural community funding and advice conference.

 

The fair share Trust grants programme aims to make long-term strategic grants tackling specific local priorities in each of 13 target neighbourhoods in Scotland. Maybole and Surrounds has been selected as a fair share neighbourhood, and a ‘local panel’ of people who live and work in the area has identified four local priorities which the funding will be used to address:

 

 • Connecting people and places

• Building capacity within the local voluntary sector

 • Improving facilities for community activities

• Encouraging engagement with the local environment

 

In addition, priority will be given to projects which engage young people. The Scottish Community Foundation is administering the Big Lottery Fund fair share Trust programme in Scotland. For more information, contact Helen Leah, Grants Officer, on 0141 225 6670.


The lights at Maybole High Street’s pedestrian crossing have been causing an uproar in the town over the past few weeks. The lights have hardly been working for weeks and there were at least four attempts to repair them Residents and shopkeepers were having a terrible time trying to cross as traffic sped non stop up and down the street. At the August meeting of Maybole Community Council there were several complaints and for a day or two it seemed that the lights had been repaired. By the middle of last week, however, they were off again and a call was made to Cathy Jamieson MSP which saw the lights fixed by the weekend. No sooner were they back working and cars stopping on the red when one vehicle was seen overtaking stopped traffic and going through the red light nearly knocking down a pedestrian. The driver has apparently been reported to police This is not an uncommon occurrence and just part of the problems Maybole folk face on the High Street However, by Sunday they were out again and Ms Jamieson was being contacted again. Pic show some locals at the lights. When they had complained a notice was put up beside the lights saying they weren’t working. The notice was too small and as it was at the foot of the light no driver would see it till it was too late if in fact they saw it at all as pedestrians walked past it.