Tag: pencaitland

East Lothian’s Library Bus service in Pencaitland

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 8 June 2012
378 Comments on East Lothian’s Library Bus service in Pencaitland

Were you aware that East Lothian’s library service includes a mobile bus? The bus visits the village every week with different destinations.

Depending on the week, you’ll find the bus in Pencaitland at the following locations and times:

Pencaitland regularly receives visits from East Lothian's Library Bus

WEEK 1 (Tuesday)

Limekilns 4.00 – 4.15
The Glebe 4.15 – 4.30
The Green 4.30 – 4.55
Lamberton Court 5.30 – 6.00
Queen’s Drive 6.05 – 6.30
The Cross 6.30 – 6.55
Vinefields 7.00 – 7.20

WEEK 2 (Tuesday)

Limekilns 4.00 – 4.15
The Glebe 4.15 – 4.30
The Green 4.30 – 4.55
Lamberton Court 5.30 – 6.00
Queen’s Drive 6.00 – 6.30
The Cross 6.30 – 6.55
Vinefields 7.00 – 7.20

WEEK 2 (Friday)

Vinefields 9.25 – 9.40
Pencaitland Nursery 9.45 – 10.15
The Green 10.20 – 10.45
Lamberton Court 11.00 – 11.15
The Cross 11.45 – 11.55

In addition to the stops listed above, the library service also offers a Housebound Service to those with limited mobility. Once you have given your preferences the Library Bus team will drop off and pick up books direct to your home..

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags bus, east lothian library service, library, pencaitland, times, timetable

News

New Hullabaloo music classes planned for August

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 31 May 2012
378 Comments on New Hullabaloo music classes planned for August

Many mums, dads and grandparents will already be familiar with Hullabaloo – Fun With Music!. It’s a Pre-school music and movement class that’s run by a local mum, Charlotte McMillan.

Charlotte McMillan of Hullabaloo - Fun With Music!

Classes are already held in Pencaitland and Haddington, but there are plans to provide more classes this August in time for the new school year.

As Charlotte explains, “Both drop-in sessions and bookable blocks of classes are on offer, and everyone gets the chance to try it out for free, so you’ve nothing to lose. Children from as young as a few weeks can come along and it’s a great chance to meet other children and their parents. So please come and have a sing-along with me, my guitar, my instruments and my friends. It’s usually good fun and a great social thing in which to get involved.”

For more info, contact Charlotte via email on the web, Facebook or by phone on 01875 341679 or 07966 434591.

Hullabaloo - Fun With Music! Click to visit the website.

Tags activities, events, instruments, kids, learning, music, Parents, pencaitland, pre-school, toddlers

News

113 bus timetable published but some commuters unhappy

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 30 May 2012
378 Comments on 113 bus timetable published but some commuters unhappy

The new East Lothian Bus timetable for the 113 route can now be viewed here [PDF]. However, initial reaction has not all been positive.

Is the new East Lothian Bus 113 Timetable going to work for you? Click to view [PDF]

According to commuters who regularly use the current service, buses used to leave from Pencaitland roughly 20 minutes past the hour and this broadly worked for those that hadn’t already given up on using First Bus or were driving to Tranent to catch a bus in to town.

However, according to the newly published timetable the 113 will leave at erratic times beginning at 6.35am, 7am, 7.25am, then nothing for an hour and twenty minutes when there is an 8.45am bus. It then runs hourly thereafter.

According to some commuters this is not optimal and they would prefer buses that operate at 6.20am, 7.20am and 8.20am from Pencaitland.

If you use the current First bus service, or would like to use the new East Lothian Bus from June and have concerns over the timetable contact customer services.

According to the East Lothian Bus website, “Your first point of contact is our dedicated Customer Services team – give us a call on 0131 554 4494 and select option 2. Most comments and queries can be dealt with immediately over the phone, however occasionally we’ll need to investigate your comment which can take a little longer. Our Customer Services department is open to calls from Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays); 08:30 to 17:00 and all calls may be recorded for training and monitoring purposes.”

BUS SURVEY: Pencaitland has joined forces with Humbie, East & West Saltoun and Bolton, Gifford and Ormiston Community Councils to find out what you want from the bus service. Register your views online now.

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags bus services, bus users, consultation, East Lothian, First Bus, Ormiston, pencaitland, tender, transport

Notices

Missing Black and white female cat: Have you seen her?

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 29 May 2012
378 Comments on Missing Black and white female cat: Have you seen her?

The Crowsons, who live in the Vinefields estate in Pencaitland, have been in touch about their missing 12 year old black and white cat Morag.

Cat-missing---copyright-oliver-pritchett

A small and slim cat, she went missing in Vinefields sometime on Saturday. If you’ve seen a cat fitting the description in or near the Vinefields part of Pencaitland please contact Katherine on 01875 340 345, mobile 07776 222447 or email ILKGcrowson@aol.com.

UPDATE: See comments below for a photo of Morag.

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags cat, missing, pencaitland, vinefields

News

Pencaitland Rainbow Guides may fold without volunteers

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 29 May 2012
378 Comments on Pencaitland Rainbow Guides may fold without volunteers

The Pencaitland Rainbow Guide group are looking for volunteers to take over the running of the group. The existing leaders are moving on in a couple of weeks and, without someone new to take it on, the unit will be in danger of folding.

Rainbow Guides is the very first guiding organisation that little girls can join, and is for 5-7 year olds to attend before going on to Brownies. It is great fun for the girls and is a good way for them to get a bit of independence and social interaction away from nursery or school.

If you think you could help please register your interest via the guiding website. If you know others who may be interested in volunteering please pass this information on.

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags community, girl guides, girls, pencaitland, rainbows, volunteers

News

The clash of profit-driven bus routes v local public service

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 27 May 2012
378 Comments on The clash of profit-driven bus routes v local public service

Local man Barry Hutton, recently wrote a comment for ‘Local Transport Today‘ with the title “Bus services can be profitable, or policy tools, but not both”. Given the recent brouhaha on our buses in East Lothian we’re reproducing his piece below.

Detailed analysis of Your report that East Lothian Council is considering setting up an arms-length company to operate bus services to replace those being withdrawn by FirstBus hides fundamental discontinuities between government policy and transport planning practice that are far from being confined to East Lothian. The Scottish Government, in common with the English, has adopted policies on climate change, on reducing CO2, on reducing car traffic and on tackling congestion, policies which rest in large part upon greater use of public transport. Those policies are echoed in the statutory Lothians Structure Plan, in the East Lothian Local Plan and by the South-east Scotland Transport Partnership.

A major issue at the Public Inquiry into the East Lothian Local Plan was a proposal to build upwards of 750 houses on the western flank of Haddington, the administrative centre of East Lothian, about 25km to the east of Edinburgh. This would swell the town’s population of 8,800 by about 25% and generate around an extra 2,000 journey-to-work/school trips per day.

Tags bus services, bus users, consultation, East Lothian, First Bus, Ormiston, pencaitland, RELBUS, tender, transport

News

East Lothian Bus Update: the 113 & 44 routes

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 25 May 2012
378 Comments on East Lothian Bus Update: the 113 & 44 routes

The new 113 timetable is now available on the TraveLine website as timetable BAO113.pdf. It was temporarily down when checked today however.

Lothian Bus has started drip-feeding details of timetables to the Traveline website

It is believed the intention is to work the 113 route with single deckers based out of Marine garage, operated by a Lothian Buses subsidiary, East Lothian Buses.

There is an East Lothian Buses website detailing the timetables and fare structure for the new 113 route which runs to/from Pencaitland to the Western General Hospital starting 11th June. It assumes a travel time of about one hour and 15 minutes from Easter Pencaitland to George St.

There’s a leaflet you can view here [PDF]. Residents beyond Tranent will be charged a day ticket price of £5, with kids at £3. This is £1.50 and £1 more respectively than the equivalent costs to/from Tranent. For an additional 2 miles on the route this does seem disproportionate. On the plus side, East Lothian Buses day tickets are also valid on Lothian Bus routes and services.

The cheapest option is the East Lothian Bus Ridacard. Like the Lothian Bus version, it permits unlimited travel on Lothian Buses and the AIRLINK service. Assuming 261 workdays (Mon – Fri) the daily cost works out at just under £3.22. Full details on Ridacard costs for students and children can be found in the leaflet above.

The new Lothian Buses 44 timetable is also on the TraveLine site and says it serves Pencaitland but the detail so far omits stop locations out to the villages of Ormiston and Pencaitland. We understand that Lothian buses may still make further alterations to the final timetable that comes into force when the company takes over the route from First Bus in June.

As we learn more detail we will share it with you…

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags 113, 44, bus services, bus users, consultation, East Lothian, First Bus, Gifford Circle, Lothian buses, Ormiston, pencaitland, tender, transport

News

Check out the new Pencaitland Parents page

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 23 May 2012
378 Comments on Check out the new Pencaitland Parents page

There’s a new Facebook page especially for mums, dads and extended friends and family living in or near Pencaitland and other nearby communities of Boggs Holdings, New Winton and Peastonbank / Glenkinchie.

Pencaitland Parents on Facebook - click to check it out

Called Pencaitland Parents it’s hoped that over time it will become a useful message board for parents with kids of all ages to share information on both school and non-school events and activities in and around the village and other communities in the immediate area.

Of course, not everyone likes (excuse the pun) using Facebook. For those not so keen on it, we recommend following Pencaitland Parent Council on Twitter.

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags activities, Boggs Holdings, children, events, facebook, glenkinchie, kids, new winton, Parents, Peastonbank, pencaitland, School, teenagers

News

Drama club comes to Pencaitland

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 22 May 2012
378 Comments on Drama club comes to Pencaitland

Local mum and teacher Natasha Phoenix is planning on bringing drama classes to Pencaitland later this year, aimed at kids from primary 2 to 7.

Natasha, who used to teach primary level children in Edinburgh, plans to start the drama club in the new school year, around September time, based out of Pencaitland’s Bowling Club.

Natasha Phoenix aims to bring a drama club to Pencaitland in the new school year.

As an experienced Primary School Teacher with expertise in the area of Emotional Health and Wellbeing and Expressive Arts, Natasha intends to deliver high-quality activities aimed at improving kid’s confidence, creativity, resilience, memory, goal setting and team work.

As she explains, “After trying to find a club for my own children, I was dismayed to find the extremely high cost coupled with a lack of appropriately qualified and experienced staff, completely put me off. As I have extensive experience in teaching Expressive Arts, Emotional Health and Wellbeing, alongside recent training in children’s Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Co-operative Learning, I decided to start up my own club. It will not just be drama but will also incorporate NLP, emotional literacy games and opportunities for children to learn practical techniques to manage the challenges of childhood such as bullying, fear of failure or just feeling left out.”

Costing £6 per session, kids will be in one of two classes depending on their school year. Provisionally set for a Tuesday, session 1 is aimed at children of Primary 2, 3 and 4 with classes running for one hour between 3.35 and 4.35pm. Session 2 is for older kids in Primary 5, 6 and 7, again for an hour between 4.35 and 5.35pm. A space for parents and early arrivals will be available throughout the sessions.

At this stage Natasha is keen to establish the level of interest. If you would like your child to be on the list please email her at natasha.phoenix@btinternet.com.

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags class, classes, confidence, creativity, Drama, East Lothian, pencaitland, Pencaitland bowling club, primary school, team work

News

Meeting reveals more details on East Lothian bus routes

Post author By pencaitland
Post date 18 May 2012
378 Comments on Meeting reveals more details on East Lothian bus routes

A special meeting of the Association of East Lothian Community Councils (AELCC) devoted most of its agenda to discussing recent changes in the provision of public transport.

Community Councils from across the county gathered in Haddington to hear from Ian Dalgleish, Manager of Transportation Services, that:

The 44B to Pencaitland is to be replaced by a 113 going a revised route Pencaitland – Ormiston – Western General.

The flat fare structure will not apply (contrary to what Paul McLennan said at the 2 May Public Meeting in Trevelyan Hall, Pencaitland).

The X13 Express service will be discontinued (again contrary to expectations).

Ian Dalgleish is waiting for details of timetables and fares, and these will be issued in a press release as soon as the details are known (He hopes early next week).

For the full report from Pencaitland Community Council’s representatives at the meeting click here [PDF].

Many thanks to Phil Summerfield for putting together the report.

Pencaitland Community Council

Tags bus services, bus users, consultation, East Lothian, First Bus, Lothian buses, Ormiston, pencaitland, tender, transport