A fundraiser was held at Pencaitland Bowling Club on Saturday the 23rd, raising around £4000 for child bereavement charity Richmond’s Hope.
Judge Natasha Phoenix measures up the competition with a ruler to work out which coin made it closest to the bottle. Click the photo for more pictures.When someone has died Scottish charity Richmond’s Hope is a place where children and young people can explore their feelings and emotions in order to find ways of coping with the loss.
Unfortunately the charity, which receives support funding for places for bereaved kids in Edinburgh and Midlothian, receives nothing from East Lothian Council despite past requests. The money raised yesterday will help bereaved kids from the county to receive counselling they would otherwise be unable to access.
The cash was raised through a combination of ticket sales for last night’s event and a range of raffles, auction prizes and a coin toss. Fundraising culminated in a ‘slave’ auction where willing local volunteers offered their expertise as a prize to the winning bidder.
Music came in the form of singer-songwriter Amy Baillie and local (one-time?) band The Domestics.
Expertly compering the evening’s activities was Pencaitland’s Jim Fraser who all agreed did an excellent job and helped make the event all the more entertaining. Jim is available for births, deaths, bar mitzvahs and funerals but only on the 29th of February during leap years.
We have a selection of snaps from the evening which you can view here or just below.
UPDATE: Mon 25th Feb 2013
The final tally on all the funds raised at the Saturday event has come in at £4,794.50.
After a number of years at the helm of Pencaitland Guides Lorna Craft is soon stepping down as Group Leader. To remain open Guides needs new people to step forward.
When current Group Leader Lorna Craft moved to the area there had not been any Guides for a number of years. Lorna reopened Guides for business in 2009 with eight girls and gradually grew to a massive group of 42 at its peak. Currently there are 18 girls and a waiting list for Brownies.
Pencaitland’s Guides take part in an apple dooking at a Halloween sleepover.Unfortunately Lorna will be stepping down from Guides this Easter, leaving one other adult leader and one 17 year old young leader, neither of whom are able to take on the role of leader in charge, who runs the Unit. As Lorna explains, “To not have a Guide Unit would not only sadden myself and the present girls, but would be a huge loss to the village.”
That’s why we are putting out the call for new volunteers to help keep Guides open in Pencaitland. To remain open they need one or a group of women over the age of 18 to be able and willing to run the Unit and to work towards a leaders warrant. Male helpers are also very welcome.
A leader runs a varied, interesting, girl-led weekly programme. Amongst other things, they keep basic records up to date, plan and organise activity weekends and ensure the safety of the girls in all that they do. Attending area meetings roughly once per session are also required, as well as taking part training sessions for those new to Guiding leadership.
About Guides
Pencaitland Guides on stage for planet fabulous.Guides are girls aged 10-14 years of age and work in patrols. Pencaitland’s patrols are the Puffins, the Penguins and the Pandas. In their patrols, the girls enjoy working on projects called “Go for its” such as “Football”, “Don’t forget your toothbrush” and “Glamourama”. The girls also do a variety of badges; anything from “survival” to “party planner”. The Guides choose, plan and implement either on their own, with a friend or as a patrol.
In the past four years Pencaitland Guides have had several weekends away — from a weekend in Stirling visiting the tourist spots, to a weekend in Mull, camping and wild camping, sleepovers, weekends at activity centres and day trips into towns and cities. Last summer three of the girls had the experience of a lifetime on a ten day trip to Switzerland with East Lothian Guiding.
Two of the oldest Guides recently completed the Baden Powell Award, the highest award a Guide can achieve. This has taken nearly two years to complete, proving how dedicated our girls can be!
Why volunteer?
Group photo of Pencaitland Guides after dinner in Pathhead.The woman or women who volunteer for this role need to be, in the girl’s words, “fun, enthusiastic and a good laugh”. Volunteers do not need to be a particular “type” – activities outside your expertise can be sourced from other areas.
A past outdoor wild camping trip consisted of a hill walk, camping rough, star gazing and survival skills which was lead by a qualified instructor who worked with Pencaitland’s Group Leader. This can either be a qualified volunteer or a company with relevant qualifications. Pencaitland Guides frequently contact agencies such as the Ambulance Service, Zoo Society, Women’s Refuge, etc., to visit and involve the girls with their cause/role.
Make a difference — get in touch now
Potential volunteers can initially contact Lorna for more information via email.
Minutes for Pencaitland Community Council’s December 2012 meeting can now be found online.
Since moving pencaitland.org to its new home on Ourlocality.org all recent and future Community Council minutes can be found on the web thanks to Google Drive.
To view all minutes for 2012 just click this link. To save a copy of any minutes, view the document in your browser and select the option FILE >> DOWNLOAD.
Pencaitland Youth FC has successfully been awarded the Scottish Football Association ‘Development’ Quality Mark Award.
The award is recognition from the SFA of the good practice that has been demonstrated within the Club through the promotion of safe play as well as player and volunteer development.
Pictured: Ian Archer (Chair) and Alastair Dutton (Child Protection Officer) at Easter Road to accept the award from SFA President Campbell Ogilvie.The club is always on the look out for new kids to join or any adult helpers that are interested in getting involved with children’s football. Where appropriate the club is able to support coaches through the relevant SYFA coaching courses. After Easter 2013 Pencaitland Youth Football Club will be opening to P1 girls and boys. To register your child or to find our more please email Alastair.Dutton@gmail.com.
Pencaitland Football Club was established in 1993 and include Ormiston and surrounding areas. The club currently have over 90 girls and boys registered from P2 to P6, taking part in weekly coaching sessions and regional leagues. More details can be found on the PYFC website.
Following the recent revival of Cubs in Pencaitland after a seven year hiatus, Beaver Scouts are also set to return this March.
Beavers is open to kids roughly between the ages of 6 and 8 years of age. Click to fill in the form.A number of interested parents got together last year to begin planning the return of a scouts pack to Pencaitland. With Pencaitland’s Cub Scouts up and running since November last year, proving hugely popular amongst the first new intake of kids, it’s the turn of Beavers.
Beaver Scouts are the youngest section of the Scouting family aimed at roughly six to eight year olds. Their activities are based around making things, outdoor activities, singing, playing games, going out on visits, investigating nature, listening to stories, learning how to be safe and most importantly, making new friends.
As David Donohoe, who is championing the revival of the Beaver Scouts in Pencaitland, explains: “We’ve already had a fantastic response to the return of the Cub Scouts which started late last year. Now we want to build on that success and encourage parents to sign up their kids to Beavers. Beavers is for those in the six to eight age bracket and will provide a safe and controlled environment on a weekly basis for children to engage in all sorts of group activities to help them develop, learn and most importantly have fun.”
You can find out more about Scouts by checking out the Parents FAQ.
NEXT STEPS: Would you like to add your child to the waiting list for Beavers and/or give your details to help? Read on…
A fun event is being held in Pencaitland’s Bowling Club on 23 Feb from 7:30pm, to raise money and awareness for the work of Richmond’s Hope. Established in 2003 in the Niddrie area of Edinburgh it provides services to children in the Lothians between the ages of 4 and 18 years.
Working in purpose-built rooms they allow children and young people to rebuild their lives after the death of a significant person, through individual support and therapeutic play, family support, parent participation events, and group support for 13-18 year olds.
When someone has died Scottish charity Richmond’s Hope is a place where children and young people can explore their feelings & find ways of coping.Currently the average cost per child is £1,150, and 1,900 families have been supported by the charity since its start. At present young people in East Lothian cannot access funding, which is provided by both Midlothian and City of Edinburgh Councils for children living in those areas.
The charity fundraiser is a night of music, fun and entertainment to raise money for at least one and hopefully two East Lothian children to access the services provided by Richmond’s Hope. In addition, organisers are aiming to raise awareness with East Lothian Council that, at present, children in this area do not receive a financial contribution towards bereavement therapy.
Event: A night of music, fun and entertainment Title: Richmond’s Hope Fundraiser Date: Saturday 23 February, 7:30pm Venue: Pencaitland Bowling Club Tickets: £15/person, includes buffet, available from the email address below or search Richmond’s Hope Fundraiser Pencaitland on Facebook For more info: Call Stella Birrell on 07811 349255 or email stellabirrell@yahoo.co.uk.
After over seven years with no scouts presence in Pencaitland the new investiture of a Cub Pack for the village was celebrated by kids and parents alike in Trevelyan Hall.
South East Scotland Scouts has been working closely with local parent volunteers over recent months to help see this day become a reality. For further information about Pencaitland Scouts or to add your son or daughter to the waiting list visit this page. The new Cubs receive their neckers and membership badges. Click above for more photos.
See all the photos in a Flickr Slideshow here.
Pencaitland’s new Scout Pack is part of the South East Region of Scottish Scouting which only came into existence in 2008. The emphasis in the Region is to give local Districts more scope to plan and deliver programme support for young people and adults involved in the Scouting movement.
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.
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.
Minutes for Pencaitland Community Council’s December 2012 meeting can now be found online.
