Pencaitland Community Council exists to represent the views of local residents about local issues that matter to them. This involves close liaison with other groups in the community and helps to develop a more coherent and dynamic village environment.
Fatherson play The Front Room in Haddington this Friday. The gig is the last in a series of live, acoustic music evenings held at the John Gray Centre in association with Lamp House Music.
Fatherson round off the Front Room series of gigs this coming Friday. Click above to check them out on Facebook.Fatherson are a three piece band from Kilmarnock. Currently based in Glasgow they have been making waves in Scottish music with a string of support shows and tours with bands such as Idlewild, Panic! at the Disco, Feeder and Twin Atlantic. This summer also saw the band play festivals such as T in the Park and Wickerman. The Front Room will be a chance to see the band perform an acoustic set in a more intimate venue.
The group won a Scottish Alternative Music Award for Best Rock/Alternative Band back in March and are now playing to sell-out audiences, including Edinburgh’s Liquid Rooms, Glasgow’s Garage and the Arches. They have a new single and debut album planned for spring 2013. you can listen and see them in action on the band’s YouTube channel.
Support comes from a local act, still to be confirmed, and the ‘Victorian Trout Conspiracy’… another band enjoying a faithful and increasingly large following. Usually a twelve-piece, this East Lothian-based ska band will perform with a smaller group to accommodate the venue.
The Front Room is a collaboration between the Council’s John Gray Centre and Lamp House Music. All bands play their own, original music.
Martin Simpson from Lamp House Music said: “Even before they went on sale, we had lots of enquiries about these tickets. Fatherson have a massive following. Lately they’ve been playing on a much larger scale – enormous tents and festivals – so it’ll be a real treat to see them play an acoustic set in such an intimate setting! The Front Room as a whole has been a great success and it’s fitting for Fatherson to provide the finale. It’s going to be a top night!”
Tickets are £8 from the John Gray Centre (01620 820 680) or Lamp House Music (01620 825 630) and on the door, subject to availability. The bar opens at 7pm, with the first band on stage at 7.30pm
If the recent Hooked on Books Week wasn’t enough, local libraries are joining in Book Week Scotland, starting today. It’s the first national week celebrating books and reading.
Book Week Scotland runs from 26 Nov to 2 Dec with free events in many East Lothian libraries.Book Week Scotland runs from the 26th of November to the 2nd December providing a schedule of free events aimed at getting as many as possible to participate in reading for fun, regardless of a person’s reading skills.
As part of the week East Lothian libraries are hosting a range of events including author visits, teenage book groups, creative writing discussions, songs, poetry, arts and crafts, as well as kid’s and family events.
The ‘Reading hour’, taking place at 11am on 30 November, will be held across Scotland as a focus for Book Week Scotland. Library visitors can pick up a free book ‘My Favourite Places’ which is the result of a collaboration between BBC Scotland and the Scottish Book Trust. Together they invited everyone to think about their favourite place in Scotland, consider what makes it special and to then write a story, poem, song lyric, letter or sketch about it. The winning entries are featured in the book.
All East Lothian libraries, except Ormiston and Wallyford, will be taking part in the Reading Hour. There will be reading champions in each library to try and make sure everyone goes away with something they’d like to read; mystery books; poetry readings and much more.
So choose a library and join in the fun!
On Saturday, 1 December there will be a Readers’ Day in the John Gray Centre, Haddington. Alistair Moffat, director of Lennoxlove and Borders book festivals, will be discussing a project he’s been working on – Scotland’s Ancestral DNA. Marie Macpherson’s debut novel ‘First blast of the trumpet’ explores the early life of John Knox and features many places around East Lothian. Peter Kerr’s ‘Song of the Eight Winds’ is a tale of 13th century Mallorca.
There will also be a literary ‘pub quiz’, book swap, tour of the museum and musical entertainment. This is a ticketed event of £7.50 plus refreshments and a buffet. Full details of the complete programme and how to book where appropriate is on ELC’s website.
About Book Week Scotland
Book Week Scotland is being delivered on behalf of Creative Scotland by Scottish Book Trust, the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland. It develops innovative projects to encourage adults and children to read and write; funds a variety of literature events and promotes Scottish writing to millions of people worldwide.
We’ve received notice of a new flood alert from Scotish Environment Protection Agency covering East Lothian.
A new flood alert for the Lothians was issued“A spell of wet and windy weather is expected throughout the region on Thursday. There is a risk of surface water flooding in built up areas and on the road network. There is also a risk of flooding from rivers and small watercourses. SEPA will continue to monitor the situation and further updates will be issued as necessary. The worst of the rain is expected to clear by Thursday evening.”
Keep your community informed
If you have to travel and spot a dangerous section of road please tweet details to @pencaitlandcc or to the Pencaitland Facebook page. This way the information will automatically be passed on to others.
Example Twitter message:
@pencaitlandcc Bend of A6093 coming into Wester #Pencaitland water over both lanes on final bend. #flood #eastlothian
You can use the same text whether sending to Twitter or posting to Facebook or Google+… whichever you prefer.
the # symbol is often placed in front of keywords on Twitter in order to help people discover relevant updates. If you have room, by adding #eastlothian and #flood to your message it is more likely to be found by those looking for information on areas under water around in the county. Try to be specific, using, for example, #ormiston or #pencaitland hash tags to help geographically pinpoint where the problem is.
Co-operative company Lothian Broadband is on a mission to discover just how poorly served the rural communities of East Lothian are with internet access over phone lines.
Despite all the constant press advertising for super-fast services the reality is that for rural communities and villages such as Pencaitland, the chances of getting it are almost non-existent.
Now Lothian Broadband, which started many years ago, providing wireless internet initially to Garvald & Morham, is aiming to ramp up its super-fast wireless web solution for other communities that have thus far been left in the slow lane of the so-called information super-highway.
How you can help
To help the team at Lothian Broadband understand where the not-spots are around East Lothian point your web browser at http://speedtest.net, run the test (it’s free) and then, once you see the results please then share them by posting the provided link either to Twitter @lothianbb or to the Facebook page for the co-operative company.
And if you can, please also give your postcode. Here’s what a typical result from Speedtest looks like.
What a speedtest result looks like: In this case it shows very poor performance for a broadband user living in Pencaitland. Click the image above to see how your broadband performs.
Here are a few video examples from the last couple of days. The first was taken from a house just next to the Mercat Cross in Wester Pencaitland which is fairly close to the local phone exchange at the other end of the village.
By contrast, here’s David Walls’ test which is many miles from any phone exchanges, enjoying far better broadband than about 95% of the rest of the UK population (and all of Pencaitland by a huge margin).
Like so many digital services we have increasingly come to rely on, many require a minimum upload or download speed to operate reliably. Ten years ago there was no option to have Skype video calls with family in some far flung part of the world. Equally there was no BBC iPlayer catch-up service nor emerging digital video rental services like NetFlix which let you watch movies for a modest monthly charge.
Today, as more people spend some of their working week in a home office, it’s less of a luxury and much more a vital necessity.
The problem is, for rural communities in East Lothian these services are out of reach to most as the basic infrastructure we have today simply can’t cope. There’s no prospect of services like BT’s Infinity here; without the actions being taken by Lothian Broadband, and others like it across the UK, we will be waiting for an infinity to see any significant improvements.
And for those who live far from an exchange, even when these improvements do eventually arrive they are unlikely to make much difference for those living 5+ miles away.
Broadband Survey – Pencaitland/New Winton/Glenkinchie Area
Because of the variable speed and quality of broadband available in and around the village of Pencaitland and other outlying communities, Pencaitland Community Council has been looking into alternatives to the conventional Internet Service Providers who supply internet services through your telephone line connecting to the local Pencaitland BT exchange.
One alternative would be a wireless high speed system, giving coverage to homes and businesses in the area via a small external wireless receiver/transmitter on your house or office which can attach to your existing TV aerial.
The media reports East Lothian Council’s decision to ban cars from streets near a school in Haddington. If it proves effective it could be rolled out across the county.
Car Chaos at the Glebe – should East Lothian Council extend its car ban to Pencaitland? Tell us what you think with a comment below.The issue of parked cars near schools is a divisive one in many areas, especially where schools and residential homes are in close proximity. In Pencaitland’s case the main point of access to the school is via the Glebe — a cul de sac which can struggle to accommodate the volume of cars that arrive for morning drop-off or afternoon pick-up.
In the past the local school has attempted to address the problem with repeated requests for parents to avoid the use of cars to bring their children to school or, if they must, to park further away. Other efforts have included carrots such as the regular ‘walk to school’ week, or more visible policing with the local PC and traffic warden being on site.
There is some anecdotal evidence that such campaigns have alleviated problems for a period but it invariably reverts back to previous levels fairly quickly.
In light of this, it now looks as if East Lothian Council has decided to adopt a fairly radical new approach, effectively banning cars from designated streets — other than those of residents and the disabled.
The Scotsman reports that the council’s senior area officer, Peter Forsyth, said “The behaviour of these drivers, who make dangerous turning and reversing manoeuvres and contribute to congestion, cause difficulties for the majority of pupils and parents who walk or cycle to and from school.
“It is totally inappropriate to try and carry out these sorts of manoeuvres close to schools where there is a great number of schoolchildren present.
Radio Scotland had a phone-in on ELC’s plans earlier today (16th Nov 2012). Just click the image above to listen now.“Following representations from the parent councils of the three schools, it was agreed to introduce the experimental traffic regulation order. East Lothian Council may be the first council in the whole of the UK to take this approach.”
Did you hear today’s (16th Nov 2012) Radio Scotland phone-in on this topic? If not you can still catch it using the BBC’s catch-up service for the next fortnight.
Q. What do you think of this approach? Would you welcome a ban on cars using the Glebe in Pencaitland or is it an over-reaction? Leave your comment below.
The Courier reported on Winton House reaching the finals for a national awards scheme recognising businesses that reduce their impact on the environment.
East Lothian Courier 9th Nov 2012: Click the image to see a bigger version of the Courier article
Each year Pencaitland remembers those who lost their lives in the wars and conflicts that have taken place since the great war of 1914-1918.
After a short reading and prayer from Minister David Torrance, Shamin Akhtar laid a poppy wreath from East Lothian Council, Ralph Averbuch followed with a poppy wreath from the community and William Balfour for the church.
William Balfour lays a poppy wreath on behalf of the Church. Click the image to see more photos.
There have been a number of people asking what happens next now that the public consultation has happened on the parallel footpath plan for Pencaitland.
A mum who can’t fit her buggy on the pavement races up the road hoping the lights remain in her favour, giving her enough time to get back on the pavement where it’s widens again. Click for a larger image.Whilst the pubic consultation took place last week, boxes have been placed in the Granny Shop, Spar and Post Office to collect views from those unable to attend that event and via the one question survey which we encourage you to complete if you haven’t expressed a view already.
Those boxes will be collected later this week and all the views expressed at the public consultation or via the online survey will then be reflected in a report which will be produced by Brian Cooper, Senior Transportation Manager at East Lothian Council, no later than the 27th of November. It will then be presented to Cabinet on the 11th of December, provisionally returning to the Planning Committee on the 8th of January.
As soon as any reports go public we will share those details via this website.
Maya’s story was covered in this week’s East Lothian Courier. She represents one of a number of people, young and old, unable to use the existing pavement at the bridge to get from one side of Pencaitland to the other.
