January 2011

The annual installation of office bearers of Lodge St. John No.11 was well attended, with a large number of visiting brethren who travelled in spite of the bad weather. Brother Hugh Mundell was installed as Right Worshipful Master by installing Masters Bro. David Anderson P.M. and Bro. Alistair Hastings P.M. more

George Wales 1929-2010: Maybole man George Wales, passed away quietly on Christmas Day, was a top ice hockey player in the 1950s into the early 1960s. George, who lived in Vicarlands was a humble man, a man of genuine warmth and contentment. He was best summed up in the phrase "a gentle giant". more

AYRSHIRE’S longest serving female firefighter has been saluted. Jane McCulloch, crew commander at Maybole community fire station, was joined by family, friends and work colleagues for a special ceremony to mark her long career. Jane received a good conduct medal and was honoured for 20 years’ long service. more

Mrs Johan Findlay, JP. (Lockerbie, Dumfries) OBE awarded for services to the Administration of Justice in Scotland. She was born in Maybole and her parents and grandparents lived at Woodside next to St Cuthbert’s Primary. Johan’s grandfather was a vet, Walter Gardner, and her father was also Walter Gardner. Johan has been a Justice of the Peace since 1986 and wrote All Manner of People: The History of the Justices of the Peace in Scotland, published by the Saltire society in 2000. more

Holocaust Memorial Day is the international day of remembrance for the victims of the Holocaust and of other genocides and is marked each year on the anniversary of the date of the liberation of Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. This year’s service in Maybole will be next Thursday, January 27 and, as in previous years, organised by members of the local branch of the Royal British Legion Scotland at the Greenside at 11am. Everyone is welcome to attend. Photo shows some of those who attended last year.

Fifteen year old Louise Martin from Maybole is looking for sponsorship as she tries to raise funds for two national charities. Louise told us, “2010 was a tough year for me as one of my grandmothers was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer after being in-and-out of hospital for nearly six months. A few short weeks later my other gran passed away unexpectedly and it left me emotionally wrecked. more

Young people from across South Ayrshire have been recognised for their efforts and achievements at the first ever South Ayrshire Youth Awards ceremony, which took place just before the end of the year. The awards – organised by South Ayrshire Youth Forum (which is supported by South Ayrshire Council) – were open to young people living in South Ayrshire aged between 14-25 years, with nominations submitted for the various categories: More than 50 nominations were received and considered by a partnership panel of experienced youth work staff, who selected finalists and winners in each of the categories. The winner for Entertainment was Maybole's Rhiain Collins. Rhiain played snare drum for the past five years with Maybole Pipe Band and performs at community events and social functions, practising every week.

The Tiny Tots Playgroup meets on Monday and Friday mornings from 9.30 am till 11.30 am in the Community Wing at Carrick Academy. The age range is 2 years to 5 years. Anyone interested in enrolling their child can contact Julie on 01655 884220 (mobile 07747 330561) or Donna on 01655 882440 (mobile 07784 238821) There's stories and puzzles, as well as fun in the sandpit and with the toys. more

Sandra Osborne MP visited Carrick Academy’s 70 Standard Grade Modern Studies students recently to describe what her job as a Member of Parliament involves. She delivered a presentation on her work both in the local constituency and in the parliament at Westminster. She then answered question from the students who found the talk very informative and this will be of great benefit to them when they are studying for the final exam in May. Courtney Beggan delivered the vote of thanks on behave of the pupils.

Hannah Connolly and Hannah McSorley are the winners of Gardenrose Primary’s “Show Racism the Red Card” art competition and last week, watched by the rest of the school, Jill Tomlinson, Active Schools Co-ordinator, presented both pupils with signed Show Racism the Red Card t-shirts donated by Girvan football team. more

St Cuthbert’s Primary put on a fantastic “Oscars” ceremony recently to reward P4-7 for their talents as film actors, producers directors, scriptwriters etc when they produced three films. Friends and families were invited to watch the films and then the Oscars were awarded. They also said “farewell” to Mrs McVey, wished her well in her future career and then presented her with an Oscar. The pupils are shown with their Oscars, Mrs McVey is front centre.

Cairn Primary held its annual Burns Supper on Friday of last week. Guests and pupils enjoyed traditional haggis, neeps and tatties as well as shortbread and Irn Bru. The school would like to thank Turnberry Hotel, who provided the shortbread; David McKay, who supplied the haggis; and the kitchen staff for all their hard work. All the pupils put a lot of effort into the afternoon to make it such a great success. Well done to everyone involved. Everyone was welcomed by chairpersons Jamie Sargent and Elizabeth Heath and then the haggis, carried by Kelsey Jamieson dressed as Poosie Nancy, was piped in by Carrick Academy pupil Scott Barrie. more

As part of Homecoming Scotland 2009, Maybole commissioned a hand carved marble bust of Robert Burns which has pride of place in the foyer of the Town Hall. It was unveiled in this permanent position on January 25 last year by Provost Winifred Sloan and to mark the occasion, Maybole’s four schools put on a Burns Day concert prior to the unveiling. The concert was such a success that the schools wanted to repeat it this year and extended an invitation to other schools in the Carrick Academy cluster. more

The complete text of the headlines above and more articles follow below.

The annual installation of office bearers of Lodge St. John No.11 was well attended, with a large number of visiting brethren who travelled in spite of the bad weather.

Brother Hugh Mundell was installed as Right Worshipful Master by installing Masters Bro. David Anderson P.M. and Bro. Alistair Hastings P.M.

The following office bearers were installed for 2011:

Depute Master, Bro James Roy P.M.

Substitute Master, Bro. James Dickie P.M.

Worshipful Senior Warden Bro. William Cuthbert

Worshipful Junior Warden, Brother Stephen Clark

Secretary, Bro. William Cuthbert IPM.

Treasurer Bro. David McIntyre P.M.

Chaplain, Bro. Alistair Hastings P.M.

Almoner, Bro. Archie Jamieson P.M.

Senior Deacon, Bro. James Sergeant, Junior Deacon

Jeweller, Bro. John Robertson.

Marshal, Bro. Campbell Milligan

Bible Bearer, Bro. Mark McEwan

Director of Ceremonies, Bro. Tony Barton

Sword Bearer, Bro. Alex McCreath

Organist Bro Robin Geddes

Inner Guard, Bro. James McClung

Tyler, Bro. Robert Dickie

After the ceremony, the Brethren enjoyed a splendid meal and spent a few hours in harmony together.

This is Brother Hugh Mundell second time in the chair, having first served as RWM in 2001.

George Wales 1929-2010

Maybole man George Wales, passed away quietly on Christmas Day, was a top ice hockey player in the 1950s into the early 1960s. George, who lived in Vicarlands was a humble man, a man of genuine warmth and contentment. He was best summed up in the phrase "a gentle giant". Although a quiet-living man George lived life to the full, and he always had a smile on his face that made others want to smile as well. George was a man who knew what it was to be content in life and he will be fondly remembered as a much loved uncle, great-uncle, great-great-uncle and, as a faithful friend.

George loved his skating and started at the age of nine at Ayr Ice Rink in Beresford Terrace where he played ice hockey with the Pee-Wees Junior Ice Hockey Club. He continued to play ice hockey as a defence man and was an Ice Boy and Steward for many years.

George played Ice Hockey with Ayr Raiders in the Scottish Amateur League 1955/56, he also played with Glasgow Flyers at Crossmyloof Ice Rink, Ayr Rangers, Ayr Hurricanes and Ayr Balmorals until he retired from hockey in 1962 and became a keen figure skater who assisted with junior competitions.

George loved skating and encouraged many young skaters and ice hockey players to perfect their skills. He continued to skate every week meeting up with past players at several ice-rinks around the country into his eightieth year. No matter what ice rink George attended, with his unmistakable smile he was bound to meet someone who knew him. Pictures from ‘Raiders of the Lost Rink’ Ice Hockey in Ayr

After joining Strathclyde Fire Brigade in October 1989, Jane has been a dedicated member of the retained duty system station at Maybole and attained the role of crew commander in 2005. During this time, Jane has successfully managed her family life, a full time day job as a veterinary nurse, and has still been able to provide a critical emergency service to the community of Maybole and South Ayrshire on a part time basis.

Area commander Paul Tanzilli said: “Jane takes on this responsibility, and often after having already completed a hard day’s work will respond to a pager to deal with an emergency incident. “As the local area’s longest serving female firefighter, I know she have been an inspiration to other females who may never have considered a job in the fire and rescue service, and she has taken part in campaigns to increase the percentage of women applying for a career with us.”

Area commander David Morison added: “It is important that we acknowledge the role played by the families and primary employers of our retained firefighters, who accept and adapt to the fact that their loved one or employee can be called away at any moment, and work around the disruption this may cause in the interest of this vital service to our smaller towns and communities. “Having known Jane since she first started with us, I would commend her proactive approach to her work as a retained firefighter and she has always been keen to volunteer her services for additional work to promote safety in the community. “Recently, Jane has used her expertise as a veterinary nurse to be part of a project that will enhance Strathclyde Fire and Rescue’s ability to deal with rescues involving large animals such as cattle and horses, which we are often called to deal with.

Mrs Johan Findlay, JP. (Lockerbie, Dumfries)

OBE awarded for services to the Administration of Justice in Scotland. She was born in Maybole and her parents and grandparents lived at Woodside next to St Cuthbert’s Primary. Johan’s grandfather was a vet, Walter Gardner, and her father was also Walter Gardner. Johan has been a Justice of the Peace since 1986 and wrote All Manner of People: The History of the Justices of the Peace in Scotland, published by the Saltire society in 2000.

She was appointed an Honorary Sheriff in 1995 and in 2003 completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Criminal Justice and continues to research historical aspects of criminal justice. She was elected as chair of the Scottish Justices Association in 2007. Although born in Maybole, having attended Cairn Primary for a time. Johan has lived in Dumfriesshire since she was a child.

Johan has kept in touch with her hometown and contributed to the Maybole website. See her story about a letter to Maybole dated 1787

“Over Christmas my gran managed to visit us, we all had such a fantastic time and it got me thinking. I wanted to do something to raise money for a charity that makes the lives of people suffering from cancer that little bit better and I wanted to do it while she is still around to watch me and be proud of what I’m doing.” Louise plans to spend seven days in total silence from 9am on February 1 to 9am on February 8.

She added, “I am doing this in aid of two charities, Cancer Research UK and MacMillan Cancer Support, and I have sponsor forms in my mum's shop (Jane's Deli in Maybole) and my dad's shop (The Village Store in Dunure). I also have pages for both charities at http://www.justgiving.com/Lou-Martin for MacMillan Cancer Support and http://www.justgiving.com/Louise-Martin2 for Cancer Research UK. “I would love to really smash my target of raising £500 and I feel if I could reach out to other people that they might get behind me also.”

Maybole branch of Save the Children has been really pleased with the local support they have had in local shops and pubs in the town and would like to say "Thank you" to customers. Becky Fleming told us, "The week before Christmas we had a couple of days bag-packing in the Co-operative which went very well, and we raised £306 in the buckets!! "We would like to thank the manager, staff and customers for their support. "This is a great boost to the can collecting that has been going on in local shops and pubs since the end of Save the Children week in May, and they have now raised £206! So, altogether the shops and their customers in town have donated a wonderful sum of £512 in loose change. "With Christmas card sales, local support has brought in £632.50 which is a pretty good sum for informal autumn events. "We are now planning our annual dance which will be held at Malin Court on Saturday February 26 and tickets will be on sale shortly, contact Andrea at Malin Court on 01655 331457 for details - this is always a very well attended fundraising evening and we look forward to having a lively night with friends and supporters."

The Red Cross visited Carrick Academy’s S3 Modern Studies classes recently to deliver a workshop on the issue of AIDS/HIV in Africa. This workshop enhanced the learning of the Politics of Aid Section topic. AIDS/HIV is a key example that is used in the exam to explain why African countries struggle to develop. The feedback from the pupils was excellent and the workshop has now been added as a permanent part of the course for future years. A big thank you to the Red Cross for going along to the school.

Carrick U14 win Ayrshire Schools 10s Tournament. Carrick Academy U14 recently won the Ayrshire U14 Tournament which was hosted at College Fields, Troon. They topped their group by defeating Grange Academy, Largs Academy and drew with Wellington, however they progressed through scoring more tries than their South Ayrshire Neighbours. In the final Carrick played against a very skilful and well organised Marr College side. Their game was a fantastic advert for school rugby with the head changing several times. With five minutes to go Carrick were 3 tries to 4 down but two magnificent tries from man of the tournament Ross Limond gave Carrick the title.

This is a fantastic achievement for all the boys. Well Done. Carrick Academy Rugby Leads the way!! Two former Carrick Academy pupils have become Scotland’s first SVQ rugby students who are funded by a school. Carrick Academy now has Craig Davidson and Michael Kirk coaching in the secondary school and in the local cluster primary schools. Their main aim is to help deliver top quality coaching to the young people of Carrick and to help to continue to grow the game in the local area.

Head of Rugby Mr Brown said: “The school rugby has now been running for 8 years and in that time we have seen the number of players rise from 20 to over 140. We have 6 teams and to organise all this takes a lot of time and effort from many people. Michael and Craig are very important in supporting this and without them being here we would not be able to sustain the school rugby to the levels that we currently are. We are now the only state school of our size in Scotland who can sustain such numbers and also the only school in Scotland who have SVQ students paid for and based in a school. Craig’s post is fully funded by Carrick Academy Rugby and Michael’s post is jointly supported by the school and the Ayr Rugby Trust and we are delighted to continue our strong relationship with Neil Howie, Damien Kelly and Ayr RFC.

The school and coaches would also like to thank Focus Games for their support this season. The company has sponsored both SVQ students kit so that they not only deliver top quality coaching but also look the part. Focus Games are huge supporters of Carrick Academy rugby and without their continued support the school rugby could not provide the resources it does. Carrick Academy would also like to thank the following businesses and organisations for their continued support: Provan Sports, Maybole Health Centre, Nelson Haulage, Dalcon Limited, Janes Deli and Awards for All.”

The two lucky winners and six runners up, Katy Broun (P1), Kirsty Green (P2), Lucy Hewitt (P3), Sophie Lawrie (P5), Kerrie Riggans and Vicki Green were all presented with certificates of achievement by Craig Richmond and Thomas Donovan, two youth coaches from Ayr United Football Academy.

The Gardenrose Inclusives, a pupil body who work to improve inclusion within Gardenrose Primary School, ran the art competition to promote anti-racism within the school. The competition was based around Show Racism the Red Card, an anti-racism campaign backed by the Scottish Football Association in partnership with the Scottish Qualifications Authority.

Every Gardenrose pupil was asked to design a poster to convey the message that racism is not welcome in Scotland. The competition entries were judged by Mrs Margaret Murdoch and her catering team against the criteria for the national Show Racism the Red Card competition.

Hannah Connolly and Hannah McSorley’s winning entry will be entered in the national Show Racism the Red Card competition, which closes on January 27. The winners of the national competition will win a special trip to Hampden Park where they will meet some of the biggest names in football.

Cairn Primary held its annual Burns Supper on Friday of last week. Guests and pupils enjoyed traditional haggis, neeps and tatties as well as shortbread and Irn Bru. Piper Scott Barrie piped in guests from St Cuthbert’s Primary, councillors and the Parent Council. The school would like to thank Turnberry Hotel, who provided the shortbread; David McKay, who supplied the haggis; and the kitchen staff for all their hard work. All the pupils put a lot of effort into the afternoon to make it such a great success. Well done to everyone involved. Everyone was welcomed by chairpersons Jamie Sargent and Elizabeth Heath and then the haggis, carried by Kelsey Jamieson dressed as Poosie Nancy, was piped in by Carrick Academy pupil Scott Barrie.

The full list of those contributing was:

Address to the Haggis—Libby Purdie

Selkirk Grace—Chloe Armstrong

Immortal Memory—Robbie Easter

Ye Banks and Braes , piano—Phoebe Young

Amazing Grace , recorder—Claire McCoy

Bonnie Wee Jeannie McCall—Liam Cuthbert

Toast to the Lassies—Kieran Robb

Highland dancing—Emily Maxwell

Mrs Nae Offence—Zak Page

Reply to the Lads—Nicole McCrorie

Extract from Tam O’Shanter—Kieran Robb

Thank You Speech—Leonna Gemmell

Loch Lomond -P6/7 accompanied by Mrs Newlands

Auld Lang Syne

The concert was again held on January 25 and compèred by David Kiltie, chairman of Maybole Community Council. The full programme was:

Gardenrose Primary 5 – “Ye Banks and Braes”

Emily Maxwell, Cairn Primary 4 - The Flora (Highland Dance)

Euan Andrew, Scott Barrie & William Limond (Carrick Academy Pipers) - A Scottish Medley

Jacqui Gibson, Gardenrose Primary 7 - Extract from “Tam o’ Shanter”

Alice Allan, Courtney Blane, Kourtney Hughes, (Carrick Academy) - Highland Fling

Cairn Primary - Snaw White

Crosshill Primary - “Caledonia” and “The Welly Boot Song”

St Cuthbert’s Primary - Highland Dancers

Gardenrose Primary 6 - Scots Wha’ Hae

Mr Kiltie congratulated all the pupils who had taken part and added that Maybole and District certainly had a wealth of talent. He added, “Our special thanks go to staff and pupils from all the schools who made today possible and to Maybole Town Hall staff.” He said he was pleasantly surprised to “The Welly Boot Song” on the programme. This had been actor and comedian Billy Connolly’s theme song for a number of years and had been written by George McEwan who had started, and for a number of years ran, Ayr Folk Club. The surprise to the audience was that George is a former pupil of Carrick Academy!