Easter Family Festival of Food and Fun at Drumlanrig

Drumlanrig Castle will be getting into the Easter spirit with a host of free activities for the whole family at its annual Easter Fun Day.Families are invited to enjoy a full day of food and fun at Drumlanrig Castle and Country Estate. The Easter fun day gets under way on March 27, with activities running from 11am-3pm.

The whole family can enjoy a special egg hunt taking place in the Castle Gardens and an Easter crafts station will be set up for those looking to get creative.

Making a welcome return to entertain visiting youngsters this year is Jason the Juggling Jester, with archery and grass sledging from leading entertainment company, Team Challenge, expected to be a popular choice on the day.

The company will also provide a range of fun and exciting activities, including a giant assault course, a ball pool, and giant board games, ensuring youngsters are spoilt for choice.

Entry to the Easter Fun Day costs just £6.00 for adults, £3.50 for children aged 5-16 years. Under-5s go free.

Anna Fergusson, Visitor Services Manager at Drumlanrig, said: “Our Easter event looks set to be a fabulous day out for all the family, with plenty of entertainment to be enjoyed along the way.

“We hope lots of locals and visitors from further afield will join us for what promises to be an ‘egg-cellent’ day!”

Guided Tours are also on offer during the Easter weekend (25–28 March), starting at 11am, with the last tour at 4pm. Explore the Castle, Gardens and surrounding parklands with the option of afternoon tea to make your day extra special.

Guided Tours start from £10 for adults (£8 for concessions), £6 for children aged 5-16 years, and under-5s go free.

For those thinking of visiting Drumlanrig during Easter and beyond, Season Passes are now available. The special Pass gives unlimited access to all walks, cycle trails and the Adventure Playground.

Season Pass holders can also enjoy a 10 per cent discount in the Castle Gift Shop and Tearoom; and on Drumlanrig merchandise, Land Rover Tours and entry into the award-winning Galloway Country Fair.

In addition to fabulous discounts, pass holders receive a free coffee once a month at the Tearoom and exclusive offers at the Buccleuch & Queensberry Arms Hotel, plus complimentary access to Bowhill House and Country Estate in Selkirk during the season. This includes Bowhill’s Gardens, walking trails, Adventure Playground, Tearoom and Gift Shop.

Individual Season Passes cost just £20, with Family Passes (two adults and three children) available for £35.

POST OFFICE UPGRADE “GOOD NEWS FOR CANONBIE”, SAYS LOCAL MSP

Post Office Ltd have written to Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray confirming that they have begun a public consultation on the re-location and upgrade of the Canonbie Post Office.

Following a lengthy process of identifying suitable new premises in the village, Post Office Ltd have confirmed that the Annex at the Cross keys Hotel in Canonbie is their proposed new site.

If the move is confirmed following the public consultation, the new Post Office will have upgraded facilities, a convenience store and improved opening times, including Sunday openings.

The public consultation will run from the 16th March until the 25th May.

Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray said:

“This is good news for Canonbie, and it’s great to see that Post Office Ltd have stuck to their word in retaining the service in a suitable location in the village. If all goes well, the new Post Office at the Cross Keys Hotel will have improved services and longer opening hours. I know many local people were concerned with the lengthy process of finding suitable new premises, but hopefully this news will bring peace of mind that the Canonbie Post Office is here to stay. I’d encourage as many people as possible to get involved with the public consultation to find out precisely what Post Office Ltd are proposing, and to ensure your voices are heard.”

SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT PREPARING TO IMPOSE A BEAULY DENNY ON REGION IF IT MEETS THEIR RENEWABLES ASPIRATIONS

The Scottish Government are prepared to approve planning permission for a Beauly Denny like powerline across Dumfries & Galloway if it means they can meet their renewable energy aspirations, according to the Scottish Energy Minister Fergus Ewing.

His comments came during a Ministers’ Questions session in the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday 15th March, following a request from Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray that the Scottish Government give “top priority” to the effects on local landscape, environment and tourism when considering their decision for planning approval of the 400kv SPEN powerline.

Dumfriesshire MSP Elaine Murray said:

“The Beauly Denny line has become a scourge for people living in its shadow in the Highlands, and local people here in Dumfries & Galloway are well aware that we are being threatened with our own version of the gigantic line. In our case, just as was the case when the Beauly Denny line was given planning permission, the Scottish Government are not prepared to listen to local arguments when they consider SPEN’s final plans for approval. The key decision making factor for them will be whether they believe the line will help them to achieve their renewables target for Scotland. So if it wasn’t enough that Dumfries & Galloway is already being covered in an unfair number of wind farms, the Scottish Government are now prepared to thrust giant pylons on our region if it helps them with their targets. Local factors should be the top priority for the Scottish Government when considering these plans, but the fact is that our local landscape, environment and tourism industry seems to be at the bottom of the agenda for them.”

THREE POINT ROAD HAUL MEANS PLAYOFF DESTINY IS IN SHARKS OWN HANDS

 

Building Craftsmen Dumfries-sponsored Solway Sharks return to home ice this Saturday knowing two home wins in the next two weekends will secure a place at the end of season playoff weekend for Martin Grubb’s side.

 

The Sharks are now in the fourth and final playoff place after taking three points out of four last weekend from games with Sheffield and Sutton – coming from behind in both matches – to put themselves in the box seat for qualification.

The Dumfries club have won eight and drawn two of their 12 league games in 2016, rising from eighth in the standings in mid-January to their current fourth, knocking on the door of third.

In the first game of last weekend’s Ice Sheffield double bill, Sharks opened the scoring in the fifth minute through Daniel Abercrombie before the home town Spartans responded with three goals by 24.07 to lead 3-1. Solway made a quick response through Marc Fowley (24.23) to halve the deficit only to see Sheffield restore a two goal lead at the second break with Scott Morris’ goal at 36.29.

With their season on the line, Sharks went all out in the final frame, peppering 18 shots on the Spartans net. The pressure paid off with a double from Duncan Speirs (42.36, 45.19 SH) to tie the game at 4-4. The drama wasn’t done there, into the final minute Sharks’ ‘energy line’ created pressure around the Sheffield net and Steven Moore scored what turned out the game winner just 58 seconds from time.

Spartans swapped their goalie for an extra attacker in search of an equaliser but Sharks gained possession and scored into the empty net at 59.59 through Iain Bowie to wrap up the 6-4 win.

Twenty four hours later Solway Sharks returned to Ice Sheffield to take on Sutton Sting – and quickly found themselves 2-0 down inside six minutes. As they had done on Saturday night, Sharks dug deep and played their way back into the game. The middle session was dominated by the Dumfries side, with 19 shots on Dmitri Zimozdra with only three going back the other way on Kieran Hobbins. Despite this they only had Marc Fowley’s goal (33.20) to show and still trailed 2-1 at the second break.

A third period revival for the second night running saw the Sharks level the game at 44.18 through Daniel Abercrombie, before Steven Moore netted an unassisted goal at 48.37 to edge ahead 3-2. Sutton had the benefit of late powerplay chances and they were able to capitalise six minutes from time as Carl Ashton scored the final goal of the night for a final score of 3-3.

Head Coach Martin Grubb was satisfied on the whole with the weekend’s work.

“We wanted a four point weekend but with being behind in both games we have to be satisfied with 3 from 4.

“Against the Spartans we got the early goal and I would have liked us to have built on that but we were very sloppy and didn’t play with any tempo for first two periods and went 4-2 down.

“There were a few choice words spoken at period break and I asked the players to show the character I knew they had. To their credit they showed they can play in the third and we dominated that period to get the 6-4 win.

“It wasn’t a great performance but at this stage it’s all about points rather than performances so we were pleased to beat a hard working Spartans team.

“On Sunday we started very slowly and really gifted Sutton two goals and they were better than us in the first period. We needed to change the way we were playing and create a little more in front of net.

“We got a PP goal in the second period but [Sutton goalie] Dima was able to see the puck in their net and we knew we needed more traffic around the net.

“In the final period we again showed our strength of character and two great goals from Abercrombie and Moore put us 3-2 up. From there I would have liked us to take the win but we switched off a little to let them back to 3-3.

“At the end of the season it could still be a valuable point so on the whole we’re satisfied with the weekend work.”

Grubb also paid tribute to Sutton owner and coach Ian Johnson who is stepping away from the club after this season. Sunday’s game was his final home game for the Sting.

“I would like to wish Ian all the best for the future after his last home with the Sting. He has been a credit to his club and the league and helped Sutton play a major part of improving this league and he will be missed,” said Grubb.

BCD Solway Sharks host Telford Tigers this Saturday 19 March at Dumfries Ice Bowl – face off is 7pm, doors open 6pm and tickets are on sale from Ice Bowl reception on the night. Adults tickets are £8, concessions £5 and a family pass (2+3) is £16.

POLICE SEEK RECKLESS FIREWORK HOOLIGANS, ANNAN

Police Scotland officers in Annan are seeking the help of the public to trace a number of youths responsible for placing a lit firework into the letterbox of a house in Shawhill Court in the town. The incident happened sometime around 1940 hours on Tuesday 15 March 2016. The house was occupied by a family at the time and although no fire took place, the letterbox was damaged and the house was filled with smoke.

Constable Jim Tweedie at Annan said “this was an act of utter recklessness and could have ended in real tragedy. We need to catch those responsible and I ask anyone who has any information about this, and other incidents involving fireworks in the town over the past few days to get in touch with us through 101. Thankfully no-one was injured and a fire did not take hold.”

 

D&G ARTS FESTIVAL 2016 TICKETS GO ON SALE

All tickets are now on sale for the 37th Dumfries and Galloway Arts Festival. This year will see 85 exciting events in 48 venues right across the region from 20 to 29 May.

Highlights include a spectacular opening night opera; thrilling folk from Eddi Reader, Sam Lee, Robyn Stapleton and Songs of Separation; comedy with Daniel Sloss, Craig Hill and Annette Badland; classical sounds with the Scottish Ensemble, Absolute Classics and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra Plus magical puppetry, evocative theatre and a lively Fringe.

Brochures are available from various outlets across the region.

Tickets and information from www.dgartsfestival.org.uk.

Main Photo Opening the doors to the Midsteeple box office this week are, from left: festival chair, Ken Gouge; programme director, Pete Renwick; Alex Murray, Senior box office assistant, Midsteeple; and Lou Davies, festival producer.

Tommy Rustad Leads Albatec’s Euro RX Charge

Dumfries, Scotland (UK) — Wednesday 16 March 2016; Reigning FIA European Rallycross Champion Tommy Rustad will spearhead the Dumfries team’s Euro RX campaign in 2016. The Norwegian ace joins the team aboard an HTB-backed two litre, 16v Peugeot 208 RX Supercar as he bids to retain his crown.

 

Tommy clinched the Euro RX title last year in style, winning the final round in Italy to add to his victories in Germany and Norway, but was pushed hard by Albatec’s Jérôme Grosset-Janin, winner of the opening race. Regularly battling and trading times with the World RX drivers last season, Tommy proved to be among the fastest overall across the field, and racked up an impressive fourth place in a one-off World RX outing in Trois Rivières, Canada.

With an impressive track record across various disciplines, Tommy can boast championship titles in Norwegian, Swedish and British (Independent Cup) touring car championships, Renault Sport Spider Eurocup, and Formula Opel Sweden as well as becoming six-time Norwegian Rallycross Champion in 1987-1992. Clocking up an impressive 123 race wins across an illustrious career, he now targets a return to the top step of the championship podium with Albatec in 2016.

The announcement comes a week after the news that the team will contest the French Rallycross Championship, to run alongside its British Rallycross Championship campaign, marking an incredibly busy season for the squad. Albatec will undergo testing ahead of the first round of the FIA European Rallycross Championship presented by Monster Energy on 15 May in Mettet, Belgium.

The Euro RX schedule features a brand new track in 2016; in Riga, Latvia. The remaining rounds take place over the weekends of 11&12 June – Hell, Norway; 2&3 July – Höljes, Sweden; 17&18 September – Barcelona, Spain; 1&2 October – Riga, Latvia.

Andy Scott, Team Principal and Driver Albatec Racing :

“I’m delighted to welcome Tommy to the team for 2016. It’s an incredibly exciting time for us, and I look forward to seeing how he performs against what promises to be a very strong and competitive field. Last season we pushed hard to beat him with Jérôme, and came so close to winning the title that we led from the start. Now we will support him in his efforts to retain that title.

“This year’s Euro RX schedule offers up some great events and tracks, including a brand new circuit in Latvia, where none of the teams will have any race experience, putting everyone on an even keel. Albatec’s commitment to race in British, French and Euro RX, together with our debut season in Karting, and previous success in RX150 ensures we are the only team to offer a route from Karting to Supercars. Although we have another incredibly busy season ahead, I’m confident we can deliver the goods.”

Tommy Rustad, Driver Albatec Racing :

“I’m really looking forward to working with Albatec, which I know is very professional and the right team to give me what I need to win the championship again. It’s always exiting to work with a new team, we have the same target and I’m sure we can succeed if we are doing our best together. When my sponsor HTB and I couldn’t join Marklund Motorsport this year it was obvious, as our main opposition last year, who we should go with.

“From what I’ve seen I think the Peugeot 208 will be good at all circuits, and we need to take the best out of the car in all conditions. Albatec has experience with the car and I know most of the tracks, so when we arrive at the last race in Latvia I expect our knowledge of each other will be strong enough that we can handle the new track well.

“The biggest challenge will be the high level of competition this year. It’s never easy to win a European championship, but I’m sure if all of us in the team are working hard it will not be easy to beat us. Of course the target is to win races and the championship again, but I know the target and ambition to win is much easier than it is to get results on the tracks, so we need to work hard.”

Tommy Rustad in action in 2015 Copyright FIA World Rallycross Championship.

Stranraer RNLI Park Fest Searches for New Talent

 

As Stranraer RNLI Park Fest heads into its 7th year this August, it is once again searching for the brightest and most promising talent around. The little festival with the big heart – which raises money for the RNLI – has seen acts such as S Club, Dodgy and The Neville Staples Band grace the stage at Agnew Park in Stranraer.
The opening night of the festival is dedicated to young talented musicians spanning musical genres from folk to rock, pop to heavy metal, and previous artists have included Ignite The Sky, The Late Twos, Sticks and Stones, Split Shift, Rock Lobsters Monumental Suits, Arcadium, Third Fret, Hardwicke Circus, Caution By The Door, Murdo Mitchell, Azaria and many more. Organisers are on the lookout for new talent to appear as part of the Young Guns opening night, with the only stipulations being that the acts are under 25 years of age, they can be a solo artist or a band, and all level of experience will be considered.
For the first time, the search for acts is going region-wide to find the best talent around and to give them a great way to gain experience and exposure. If you would like to be considered, or know someone that should be, email parkfestpr@gmail.com with your name, contact details, genre of music and any social media pages/ Soundcloud page (if applicable). Closing date for entries is Friday 27th of May 2016.

 

Event organiser Mandy Green added ” Park Fest Young Guns, now in its 5th year, has contributed greatly to our festival, and we take pride in giving an opportunity to musicians under 25 that normally isn’t available. Since 2010 Park Fest has raised approx. £45K for the Stranraer RNLI Lifeboat, albeit this is just a small contribution towards the cost of saving lives at Sea, it’s a fantastic, fun way of raising funds which also involves the community and provides a great event. We are delighted and excited to be opening up Young Guns to the region wide!”

 

Are you ready to take on the Glen? RSABI invites the rural industry to ‘Help us help them’

 

RSABI Great Glen Challenge 2016, sponsored by Ledingham Chalmers, solicitors was launched in recent days and aims to follow the fantastic success of the event in previous years, raising over £62,000 in 2015 – you can read a copy of the news release below.

Today I am contacting all friends of RSABI to alert you to the event and to indicate that we are open for team entries for Friday 26 August. Please forward this email to any interested parties.

Go on, enter a team for Friday 26 August and thank you to those already coming forward for 2016: Ledingham Chalmers LLP, Bank of Scotland x 2, RHASS, Royal Bank of Scotland, CKD Galbraith, NFU Mutual Stirling Agency, Watson Seeds, The Scottish Farmer and Campbell Dallas.

Thank you for your help and support and please do get in touch regarding team entry intentions, offers of support and volunteering.

Best wishes, Paul

News Release: Rural charity, RSABI is inviting teams of competitors to take on its annual multi-sports team building event, RSABI Great Glen Challenge 2016, sponsored once again by Ledingham Chalmers, solicitors, as it continues its work to alleviate hardship among Scotland’s land-based workforce.

Applications are being invited for the challenge, which takes place on Friday 26 August, 2016, from rural businesses, organisations and groups of individuals. With a maximum of 25 teams involved, and given the event was full last year, early applications are encouraged.

Last year one hundred competitors from across Scotland biked, kayaked, walked and ran sections totalling 65km along the Great Glen, raising a vital sum of £62,000 for RSABI.

RSABI has welcomed the return of Ledingham Chalmers, solicitors as headline sponsor, with supporting partners The Scottish Farmer, Bank of Scotland, CKD Galbraith, Royal Bank of Scotland and NFU Scotland all involved once again plus a number of returning teams. This year’s event is defended by RBS Agriculture.

Paul Tinson, event director said: “I am delighted to invite teams from across the country to take place in this year’s RSABI Great Glen Challenge. Everyone involved last year was enormously proud of an unprecedented £62,000 raised for RSABI.

“RSABI Great Glen Challenge is key to our mission to ‘Help us help them’. Last year we spent £480,000 supporting over 680 people in Scotland who have depended on the land for their livelihood in agriculture, forestry, fish-farming, rural estate work, gamekeeping, crofting and horticulture. People who, due to age, injury, illness or misfortune, now find that they were unable to cope.”

“With increasing numbers of people needing our help, we depend greatly on the continuing generosity of our supporters who enjoy an inspiring day out in the Highlands as well as a wee bit of competition among colleagues and competitors. We cannot rest on our laurels and the success of RSABI Great Glen Challenge is crucial to this.”

Contact Paul Tinson at RSABI to learn more and sign up a team: call 0300 111 4166, email paul.tinson@rsabi.org.uk or visit www.rsabi.org.uk

UK FARMING UNION PRESIDENTS SAY NEW FARMING MEASURES ARE A STEP IN RIGHT DIRECTION

Following a new package of measures from Commissioner Hogan, the UK farming union presidents have called on Defra, devolved administrations and the European Commission to work together in helping the UK farming sector.
The presidents of NFU Scotland, NFU, NFU Cymru and the Ulster Farmers Union welcome some of the positive steps Commissioner Hogan announced to help the sector– but urged decision makers to urgently respond to the current crisis in UK farming.
Ahead of the monthly meeting of European agriculture ministers yesterday, the four UK farming union presidents met with the Defra Secretary of State Liz Truss at the NFU office in Brussels. NFU Scotland President Allan Bowie also met with the Scottish Government. Amongst other issues, the presidents raised four urgent steps which could provide much needed relief to the struggling sector.
Allan Bowie, (NFUS President), Meurig Raymond, (NFU President), Ian Marshall (UFU President) and Stephen James (NFU Cymru President) said in a joint statement:
“We are grateful to the Secretary of State and Scottish Government for taking the time to meet with us again. They understand the seriousness of the current crisis but we all agree that more has to be done to reduce pressure on farming businesses.
“Commissioner Hogan’s package of measures announced at yesterday’s Agriculture Council are a step in the right direction – we welcome increases to the limits for dairy intervention and steps to look into a new private storage aid scheme and are very pleased to see that the commission will establish a meat market observatory – a key UK farming union ask.
“But there are four key steps the Commissioner and the Secretary of State could take to help farmers in these difficult times:
• Removing tariffs on imported fertiliser is of the utmost importance. The differential between global and European fertiliser prices has now reached €100/tonne – lifting this burden could really help UK farmers to become more competitive against our global counterparts.
• Work with the European Investment Bank needs to be speeded up. There are a range of financial instruments but we need to understand how best this will work and what farmers can do to benefit from EIB lending. We very much welcome Commissioner Hogan’s announcement that he will prioritise this work – we urge him to keep his foot on the accelerator as much as possible. This is something we will also be urgently taking forward with Defra, the Treasury and High Street Banks.
• Greater market transparency is key. With the right information and market signals, farmers will be able to respond and adjust their output accordingly. Consequently, we look forward to playing a key role in the setting up of the Meat Market Observatory.
• Reviewing the dairy intervention price could stabilise prices in the milk market, providing much needed support to the sector.
“UK unions are working with the Agri Markets Taskforce announced by Commissioner Hogan. It is playing an important role to play in better understanding the market conditions and what tools could be used to eliminate volatility.
“As we told the Secretary of State and the Scottish Government yesterday morning, we fully support the long-term work Defra and Scottish Government is doing to future proof the industry – but we must not ignore the reality of the situation. Farmers cannot plan for a long-term future if the short-term prospects look bleak.”

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