The Wee Vine

Active Stirling and the Stroke Association are delighted to announce a new partnership that seeks to improve physical fitness and wellbeing of stroke survivors in the Forth Valley area.

Andrea Cail Director Scotland of the Stroke Association said:

“Stroke is a sudden and devastating condition.  It can affect peoples’ mobility, their speech and emotions and is a leading cause of disability.  This means that many stroke survivors rely on others for help with everyday activities.

“We are delighted to be working with Active Stirling on a programme which has the potential to change the lives of those who take part.”

The service, based at Stirling Sports Village will consist of a programme of physical activity and information sessions for people who have had stroke and their family and friends.  This aims to reduce their risk of a second stroke and develop a peer support network. The programme is the only one of its kind currently in Scotland and will consist of tailor-made exercise programmes.

Matt Bunnell, Director of Delivery at Active Stirling, “On behalf of Stirling Council, we at Active Stirling are thrilled to have developed this unique and ambitious programme in partnership with The Stroke Association. This will widen our portfolio of person centered support programmes complementing the successful Active Living For Life exercise referral scheme. Strokes are now one of the most prevalent health risks across the globe and we are determined to ensure that people affected by stroke get the best support and care they need to lead happy and fulfilled lives.”

Friederike Klinghammer, the programmes Co-ordinator believes the Moving Forward After Stroke programme is a great opportunity for people who had a stroke to enhance their recovery process.

“My colleague Dawn and I are looking forward to working on the programme, supporting stroke survivors on their journey towards the recovery of lost functions and independence. We want to help them to feel better through the adoption of a healthier lifestyle, which will result in a better quality of life and also reduce the risk of a second stroke.”

The ‘Moving Forward after Stroke’ service will be open to stroke survivors at any stage of their stroke journey and the information sessions that are included are open to carers and/or family members who may be interested. In order to join the programme, people are advised to contact their local health professional or for more information please email: Dawn.Price@stroke.org.uk or call: 07776 508 630

Not quite an appropriate description of Stirling Council’s various committees’ deliberations and subsequent actions. 

The Wee Vine attended meetings of both the Broadband and LOIP (Local Outcomes Improvement Plan).  Both characterised by a surplus of verbiage and a paucity of actions (except by local action groups such as Balquhidder).  However, stated aims in both cases are to be applauded.  A brief summary: 

Broadband:A telling comment was made during this meeting to the effect that the provision of usable broadband underlies availability of virtually all other services.  The meeting was largely concerned with the progress towards “100% coverage” of Stirling by BT/ Openreach as agents of Digital Scotland.  The actual phrase used is “provide access to” which means that the copper cable passing a business or residence has been connected to a fibre cabinet.  This is the case for all properties in Kippen.  It does not however mean that all these properties can or do avail themselves of this.  The Wee Vine would be interested to collect statistics on the level of satisfaction felt by Kippen residents in preparation for the next meeting. 

Also discussed at the meeting was a successful action being pursued by Stirling Council to provide gigabyte facilities to the urban area of the council.  This project is approaching completion of its initial phase, which will link Council premises within the city.  This network will then be made available to businesses initially, followed by residential access.  It is hoped thereafter to extend this facility – north to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan and south towards Fallin and Plean; subsequently out the A84 towards Callander via Thornhill and Doune; and, a centre at Balfron.  No mention of a plan for Kippen. 

At a subsequent meeting, it was indicated that BT has plans to upgrade current provision to a number of areas during 2018.  These areas appear to include those parts of Kippen and Arnprior close to the A811 – from Leckie and Boquhan through to Arnprior and Garden.  As is standard BT practice, no details or confirmed dates were provided.  

LOIP:This is an initiative stemming from a 2015 directive from the Scottish Government to reduce inequalities within communities in all areas – health, crime, prosperity, education, housing, etc, etc. Chaired by Stirling Council but involving other public bodies across the area – NHS Forth Valley, Police Scotland, Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Scottish Enterprise. And, crucially, seeking active involvement from communities in decision-making involving their own community. 

 The meeting abounded in statements of statistical inequalities across communities, descriptions of how these might be addressed containing all the right words.  It was deficient in defining targets, timescales, and budgets as to how these might be achieved.  Also, in defining means whereby the desired level of community involvement might be met. 

 One project has been started – in the Raploch, where there are multiple levels of inequality to be considered.  Kippen’s needs are significantly different from these, and possibly might be summarised under the designation of “communication” in all its forms – road quality, bus services, broadband provision, mobile telephony.  It can be argued that health provision, education, business opportunities, housing (both public and private), job provision, recreation are all dependent on these.  Kippen residents with concerns may relay these either to the Community Council, or via The Wee Vine.  There should not be an expectation of speedy action. 

 At a further meeting with a senior member of the Council, positivity abounded with all aspects of communication included in the friendly conversation.  Warm words and positive sentiments – to convert these to actions, please let The Wee Vine know of your concerns about the community of Kippen. 

Stuart Thomson  

Thursday 26th April 2018 at 6.45pm –9.30pm Stirling Council Chambers Old Viewforth, 14-20 Pitt Terrace, Stirling FK8 2ET. Tea and Coffee will be served from 6.30pm

All Stirling Council Communities with Emergency Plans in place, or in progress, are being invited to attend this evening. The aim of the exercise is to provide a test of the activation and co-ordination arrangements in your Plan. There will also be a guest speaker in attendance from SP Energy Networks.

If your plan is no longer current or if you do not have a plan, but are interested in finding out more, please come along to the workshop and take part.

The Exercise Objectives will be to: 1. Verify and give confidence in the completeness, consistency and accuracy of your emergency plan. 2. Ensure that your plan dovetails with the plans of external organisations. 3. Provide all exercise participants with an overview of their own roles and responsibilities in an emergency. 4. Gain an appreciation of the roles and responsibilities of others. 5. Generate a list of plan improvements if required.

We would be very grateful if you could give us an indication of participant numbers from your Community by Thursday 1st April 2018.

sloanal@stirling.gov.uk or by calling 01786 233169

We arrived in Kippen on a cold, crisp, and sunny Friday afternoon in February for a 10 week stay following the recent birth of our twin grandchildren.  They say that first impressions are everything; and ours was of the breathtaking view northwards across the valley with the snow-capped mountains of Ben Vorlich, Ben Ledi and the Trossachs bathed in the winter sunshine beneath a beautiful blue sky peppered with puffy white clouds.  We never tired of this view with the colours of the fields, the hills and the sky changing with the weather throughout the day.

Coming from Liverpool, a major tourist attraction with a thriving cultural scene, to Kippen, a village with two main streets, two pubs, one church, a post office, a café, a hairdresser and a garage, our initial reaction was “Is that it, how are we going to spend 10 weeks here and stay sane?”  However, size is not everything, and any village which names one of its only two thoroughfares Main Street without having a Disney parade at 3 o’clock each afternoon is not lacking in self confidence, and on looking beneath the surface we soon found that Kippen has so much more to offer.

What has really impressed us about Kippen is the strong community and sense of communal spirit in the village.  The number and diversity of communal and sporting activities is truly impressive for a village of this size; with clubs and societies for cricket, tennis, bowls, shooting, fishing, golf and bridge, to name just a few and, of course, not forgetting “The Wee Vine” and the Village Facebook page, both of which cement the community and keep the village informed. These organisations would not exist and flourish without the hard work, enthusiasm and dedication of those who volunteer to run them.

And what about the people of Kippen.  We were surprised to hear an equal amount of English and Scottish accents in the village and, having survived the ignominy of England’s defeat at Murrayfield and the inevitable taunts which followed, we were delighted that in Kippen there is harmony between our two great nations and cultures.  If the dour Scot does exist anywhere, he and she most certainly are not in evidence in Kippen, where we have been welcomed warmly by everyone we have met. We were here for the “beast from the East” and were heartened by the community spirit, with everybody pulling together to ensure that the elderly and infirm were safe.  Together with the spirit imbibed at your two wonderful pubs, its people represent the true spirit of Kippen.

The future of any community is in the young.  As the parents of a young couple newly settled in Kippen and the grandparents of twins who will grow up here, we were delighted to see so many young couples in the village, and to hear children playing happily outside, which sadly it is no longer safe for children to do in our large cities.  To hear that the local Primary School is held in such high regard is also a great source of comfort to us.

We will be sorry to leave at the end of April but to paraphrase one of Arnie’s sayings: “We will be back” and that’s a promise, not a threat!