News & Resources for the community of Kippen in Scotland
All Day Trips start from Forthside Car Park near Gabe’s Diner
(Timingsare approximate)
Thursday 16th May 2019
Depart 10.30am Return 5.45pm
Day Trip to Arniston House
(Organiser Sandy Wilson)
Wednesday 17th July 2019
Depart 9.00am Return 6.00pm
Day Trip to Monteviot House and Gardens
(Organiser Bob McKean)
Wednesday 18th September 2019
Depart 10.15am Return 6.30pm
Day Trip to Pitlochry Theatre– “Blythe Spirit”
We’re delighted to inform you about the launch of FROG, a new national platform that aims to signpost citizens in every community, including Stirling, to the services, help, support, events and attractions that are local to them.
Frog was developed in partnership between Stirling Council and Glasgow based Frog Systems as a tool to tackle multiple health and social issues, including reducing loneliness, isolation, and to encourage citizens to lead healthier lifestyles.
Community groups are the life blood of any local area and yet many without funding or marketing skills struggle for visibility in their area.
Frog offers a simple but extremely effective solution to this problem. Every Community group or organisation across Scotland can upload a listing onto Frog for FREE.
Benefits of your listing on Frog
• Detailed Organisation profile
• List unlimited events
• Unlimited job adverts
• Visibility in your local community
• No set-up cost or fees
Visit Frog today
Frog does not seek to replace current group websites, rather centralise the information and signpost the local community to the opportunities available within their local area.
Best Regards,
The Frog Team
Switchboard: 0300 124 6868 l Email: connect@frog.net l Frogquarters, 423 Paisley Road West, Glasgow, G51 1PZ
Kirkyard Project
Thanks to all those who put their names forward at the Reading Room on 23rd February, Kippen Heritage now have a considerable list of over twenty volunteers which is great news; as our project progresses, assistance will be needed, not just to maintain the kirkyard, but to help at events.
Kippen Heritage would also like to thank all those who have either handed in a donation or donated via the Justgiving crowd-funding website, in order to raise funds to save Kippen Old Kirk. Also, many thanks to Kippen Street Fayre Committee and to Kippen Drama Club who have made substantial contributions and to the many people from home and abroad who have ancestors buried there and who have assisted financially.
The Justgiving website will continue to run until the end of April so, if you wish there is still time to help if you haven’t already done so, but please note that fund raising will continue until we have achieved our target £24,000 needed to save the kirk. To this end we have an exciting year ahead.
Archaeological Dig
First of all, over the weekend of 24th, 25th and 26th of May, Kippen Heritage are holding an archaeological dig at Keir Hill of Dasher; this is all thanks to Kippen Community Windfarm Fund, Murray Cook, Stirling Council’s archaeologist, fast becoming a television celebrity, and Jeremy and Janet Gaywood on whose land the Keir is located. (Keir Hill of Dasher is an earthwork on the edge of Cuthbertson’s Burn. It is a Scheduled Monument)
Keir Hill of Dasher and the adjacent field have long been purported to have been the site of a Roman camp, a very early Christian church and of course, the Keir itself, given its location, may well have been part of an earlier iron age settlement. The nearby St Mauvais Well suggests that the area was almost certainly the centre of an earlier community. It would be wonderful to find out!
A week before the dig David Smith, the Learning Officer from the Smith Museum in Stirling, will give the Primary School children a talk about the site and on the afternoon of Friday 24th the children will have a chance to come onto the site, when Murray will talk to them about archaeology and what we may find there.
Unfortunately, the site is too dangerous to allow the children to dig but, for a contribution to our fund, we are inviting adult volunteers (16+) to take part over the three days; so anyone who wishes to do so please contact Irene Chapman (kippen.kirkyard@gmail.com) with a note of days available, and preference for morning or afternoon, as numbers will be restricted due to limited working space.
Plant Stall at Kippen Street Fayre
On Kippen Street Fayre day on 9th June, Kippen Heritage will again open the Smiddy and the Kirkyard for guided tours. This year a fundraising Plant Stall will be located at Kippen Cross and, as now is the time to divide up plants, please don’t throw them out – pot them up and label them. A flyer nearer the time will provide more information regarding collection of plants.
Irene Chapman
01786 870701
The following is an extract from a “Tourists’ Guide to Kippen, Buchlyvie and Port of Menteith”, published in the early twentieth century.
“The King, with his nobles was residing in Stirling Castle, and having sent a party for some deer to the hills in the neighbourhood of Gartmore, on their return to Stirling with the venison they passed through Arnprior, where they were attacked by the Chief and relieved of their burden. On expostulating with Buchanan for so ruthlessly taking from them what belong to the King, Buchanan replied that if James was King in Scotland, he was King of Kippen. The messengers reporting the circumstances to the King, he, relishing a Joke resolved to wait on his neighbouring Majesty of Kippen, and rode out one day with a small retinue from Stirling. Demanding admittance at the Castle of Arnprior, he was refused by a fierce-looking warrior standing at the gate with a battle-axe sloped on his shoulder, who told him there was no admission, as the Chief was at dinner with a large company and could not be disturbed at that time.
“Tell your master” said James, “the ‘Guidman of Ballengeich’ humbly requests an audience of the ‘King of Kippen.’”
Buchanan, guessing the quality of his guest, received His Majesty with appropriate honours, and became so great a favourite that he had leave to draw upon the carrier as often as he pleased, and was invited, as “King of Kippen” to visit his brother sovereign in Stirling.”
Also, an old photo showing “Buchanan Street” – the old name of Fore Road, indicating that it led to the monarch’s demesne.
Stuart Thomson
PC Steven Graham and PC Gary Martin are based at Balfron Police Office and can be contacted on 101 or at ForthEndrickCPT@scotland.pnn.police.uk. It is recommended that this email address is used by the local community for email contact.
We cover all of the 13 villages that are contained within this large area, from Gargunnock all the way beyond Strathblane, and everywhere in between. It is large, but also a very beautiful and picturesque area.
There is a Community Council in almost every village, and we attempt to attend all the monthly meetings where possible, so if there is any issue that requires our attention you can speak to us there also if required.
Social Media
Please remember that we regularly publish useful information and updates on social media, including appeals for information, updates about road closures and crime prevention advice. Our Facebook and Twitter pages can be found at
www.facebook.com/forthvalleypolicedivision
http://www.facebook.com/policescotland
http://www.twitter.com/policescotland
The current ward priorities for the Forth and Endrick area are Antisocial Behaviour, Road Safety, Theft and Community Engagement and Reassurance. The following is a summary of local policing activity since the last edition of The Bugle.
SHEEP WORRYING
This time of year, presents the problem of sheep worrying. Dog owners are being warned their animal could be killed if it is found to be in the presence of sheep, even if it has not physically attacked them or chased them.
A dog attacking, chasing, or even being at large in a field where sheep are kept, can lead to significant injury and often leads to the sheep being killed or destroyed. Such attacks have a financial and emotional impact on the farmer, cause immense suffering to the animals, and are avoidable if dog owners follow some simple steps.
The vast majority of livestock- worrying incidents involve sheep and can occur when a dog attacks, chases or, in the case of sheep, is at large (not on a lead or otherwise under close control) in a field where livestock is kept. The effects of a dog attack are evident and cannot be overstated, but significant damage can also be caused by a dog simply being present in a field. Pregnant ewes can abort their lambs or lambs can be separated from their mothers.
The advice to dog owners who live in rural areas, or anyone walking and exercising their dogs in the countryside, is to ensure they are under control at all times and avoid going into fields where livestock is grazing. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code says dogs shouldn’t be taken into fields where there are lambs or other young farm animals.
Door Step Crime
Doorstep Crime affects some of the most vulnerable within our communities. It manifests in many forms including online and telephone scams, exploitation by persons known to the victim and the fraudulent activities of unscrupulous persons purporting to be bona fide tradespeople.
A victim’s quality of life can deteriorate significantly after such an incident and they be can placed at risk of repeat victimisation.
Police Scotland’s National Doorstep Crime Initiative has achieved significant results with regard to the detection of crime. It has been driven by effective partnership-working which has resulted in a greater awareness of the issue.
In the village at the start of the year, there was a report of suspicious persons selling items around various residential premises in the village. Police attended immediately and traced the males. No crimes were committed on this occasion; however, these persons were advised in relation to their type of sales pitch and they left the area.
We welcome all calls of this nature as some can be more serious and are of a criminal nature. We urge everyone to report any suspicious activity or persons and these incidents will be dealt with accordingly.
Road Safety
The Central Scotland Safety Camera Partnership have continued to perform speed enforcement in and around the A811. This is obviously a massive asset to this area in Police Scotland’s management of speeding on this road.
Theft
There have been no incidents of theft in the Kippen area since the last article, however local residents are reminded of the importance of being vigilant and reporting any suspicious activity to Police no matter how trivial it may seem. When we receive these reports, they are investigated, and the appropriate action taken. Such reports are always encouraged and welcomed.
We have had a relatively calm start to 2019 but as the days get longer things will doubtless pick up.
As long as we work together and remain vigilant, we are confident that crime will remain low and the roads will stay safe.
At long last, we’ve secured a premises alcohol license for the Brewery. This allows us to sell beer direct to the people who enjoy it the most……. you!
You can now order and pay for Fallen Brews online at www.fallenbrewing.co.uk/shop. All the regular beers will be on there (Local Motive, Odyssey, Grapevine and Chew Chew) and we’ll be sure to keep the site updated with all the specials that we brew throughout the year. At the time of writing we’ve got 10 different beers available including Sleeper Pils (5.2% Pilsner), Amarillo: Centennial (4% West Coast Pale Ale), El Dorado: Waimea (6.6% West Coast IPA) and Dark Territory (9% Belgian Strong Dark Ale). Keep and eye out for new specials and follow us on Facebook (FallenBrewCo) or Twitter (@fallenbrewco) if you want to keep bang up to date.
You can order the beers for home delivery or you can pop in to the Brewery to collect your order, have a chat and a wee look around. Bear in mind though, that we don’t have a shop or a taproom on site, so you’ll need to order and pay for the beer before coming along to the Brewery to collect (Collection hours: Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm). We can’t offer formal tours at the moment but it’s definitely something we’re thinking about so, again, watch this space!
We’re really looking forward to supplying you with beer that we’ve enthusiastically and passionately slaved over. If you’ve got any questions or need help with ordering, just drop us an email at onlineorders@fallenbrewing.co.uk or give us a call on 07500 906924.
Cheers for now
Paul
Without our supporters, there would be no Wee Vine. They offer support in a variety of ways. All essential.
Firstly, our financial supporters. Printing and other costs are totally met through the support of a number of local organisations. Currently, these are (in alphabetical order):
Auchenburn Bed and Breakfast
Brian Reynolds Carpentry
Cameron Skinner, Skinner of Kippen
Central Auto Repairs (Glengyle)
Classics@Kippen
Cliff Hewett – eMusic Tutor
Computer Division Ltd
Fallen Brewing Company
Fusion Flowers Magazine
GCR Financial Planning
John Coubrough & Son, Joiners &Funeral Directors
Judyjamjar
McNicolls Country Store
Rhubarb Lime
Stephen Paul Associates
The Cross Keys
The Inn at Kippen (under new management, but continuing its community support role)
The Woodhouse
Each of our financial supporters is entitled to use the magazine to publicise forthcoming events, or significant awards obtained. Anyone who would like to
offer support in this way, can do so by contacting us atenquiries@theweevine.org.
Secondly, many thanks to those who have supported this issue by contributing articles. The Wee Vine is for Kippen, about Kippen and by Kippen. We would like to know about events as they happen, and also those which are planned. Also, organisations, clubs and their programmes and activities. Plus comments, queries, photos and anything else that takes your fancy.
“Letters to the editor” on paper or electronically are welcome from all.
And finally, those who support by offering help in many ways, such as the delivery of the magazine round the village by June Waley and her team.
Stuart Thomson
We are looking for people who are interested in the history of Kippen and have good IT skills.
You would be involved in recording the history and heritage of Kippen and making this available to all those interested. This entails:
• Scanning and filing (in the cloud) a large number of photos and documents. The primary source for these is an archive spanning well over 100 years, which has been built up This contains several thousand items. A large part of this has already been archived, but there remains a sizeable task.
• Using this material to build a comprehensive website. This involves not simply transferring material (although that might sometimes suffice), but also building the material into a story in some cases – examples of this would be the smiddy, the big vine, the boatyard, the kirkyard. A small element of this phase has been done and awaits publication, but the vast majority remains to be completed.
Could anyone interested in becoming part of this team please contact Stuart Thomson at stuartsthomson@aol.com, or on 07736 362011. Numbers permitting, we will then organise a team meeting to agree how to take this forward.
We are two years in print with this issue.
Thanks again to our growing list of Supporters and a special mention to our band of distributors who ensure you receive your copy of The Wee Vine.
In this issue we again highlight the campaign to raise funds for our historic Old Kirk plus an update from The Inn at Kippen.
The campaign to reduce the speed limit in the village to 20 MPH has been a success and features in Community Affairs plus an update on the changes at the Reading Rooms.
Unfortunately, we have no club news in this issue.
We would like articles from all sources and realise that some items appear on Facebook but not everyone in the village reads Facebook.
On a personal note I would just like to remind dog walkers in the village to remove dog fouling made on our pavements as this is an offence and is not appreciated by locals and those, we welcome to visit our village.
Deadline for the next issue is 31 March 2019
Your feedback about the Wee Vine is important to us so please get in touch with your comments/ ideas for this year.
Send to enquiries@theweevine.org If you wish to donate go to https://theweevine.org/donations/
Cover photograph supplied by Denis Bradley.
If you would like your photograph featured on the front cover send to enquiries@theweevine.org minimum size 1 MB. This should feature a
seasonal picture at time of printing.
The Wee Vine 