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www.crabpublishing.co.uk

CRAIL MATTERSincorporating About Crail

W/C 29 May No 16 Free - Donation welcome

Annual Beach CleanMore than 30 volunteer joined in with the Annual CrailBeach clean. The volunteers came literally from allover the world - Alaska, Australia, the US, Germanyand UK, with an age range between 10 to 75+. Theweather was superb, and with enthusiasm people cov-ered the coastal area from Sauchope to beyond WestBraes. Over 30 plastic bags were distributed, and it wascalculated that over 20 were returned at least half full.Unlike last year, there were many fewer Creels aban-doned or damaged, but a lot of plastic and rope. Re-freshments (including some delicious cakes) wereprovided for the volunteers as they finished at the Le-gion Hall - especial thanks are due to Julie Middleton

for her efforts, and to Victor Reynolds for organ-ising the event.

Cleaner Wanted Crail KirkThe Crail Parish is in need of a cleaner for the Church.12 hours a month. Please contact: Joan Forrest :

Joanforrest1@btinternet.com

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‘Bee and Bunting’ seed mix sown at Bow Butts

Waid AcademyFrom Monday 29th May – Thursday 1st June WaidAcademy are holding open evenings for anybody to goalong and look at Archives of old photographs, schoolmagazines and Memory books of Waid through the yearsfrom 5pm– 7pm in the old building, before the NewWaid Academy is opening to all pupils on Monday 12th June.

Footbridge damaged by vandalism on the coastal pathbetween Crail and Roome Bay - now repaired.

Temporary Road Closure Tol-booth Wynd, Crail – Entire

LengthMonday 05/06/17 at 07.00hrs until Friday 09/06/17 at18.00hrs. The alternative route for vehicular traffic is viaNethergate, Rumford, Castle Street, Shoregate, West-gate, High Street and Marketgate. Access for emergencyservices and residents will be maintained. Access forpedestrians is unaffected.This is to allow installation of BT cabling to be carriedout in safety.

FRIENDS

Current "Friends of the Festival" have already been men-tioned in the Programme Brochure, recently distributedto all Crail and Kingsbarns addresses and more widely.For further information on the continuing opportunity tobecome a Friend, please go to the “Friends” page atwww.crailfestival.com where the final complete list ofFriends will appear in due course.

The Crail Festival Committee(The Royal Burgh of Crail Festival Society Trust (knownas Crail Festival Society) is a Charity; Charity NoSC020929)

KarailIf anyone would like to receive the Karail electroni-cally in the future please send Heather an email(heatheraird@btinternet.com) to indicate this and shewill add you to the list.

History SocietyThe History Society Talk scheduled for Tuesday

30th May has been cancelled

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Dear Sir,My name is Darron, I moved to this lovely, quaint vil-lage Crail 4 years ago from Liverpool with my wife andchildren for a better life. I am at present the only scouserin the village lol.But on a very serious note. I love living here but I amdisgusted by the locals who continually allow their dogsto foul in and around Crail, and especially the MUGAwhere children from Crail primary do their physical ed-ucation once a week. Every week parents go around theMUGA before the school children commence their P.Eand have to pick up dog excrement that has been pur-posely left by disgusting, thoughtless dog owners -sometimes picking up 20 lots each time - otherwisechildren would be covered in it !! Why should parentsdo this to ensure the safety of their children??!! For thevile dog owners who clearly have zero considerationfor anyone and even worse, children? The other day inthe play area directly next to the school a 3-year-oldchild had it all over her hands. I went and picked up 3from the play area and 1 from the skate park. What'swrong with these people??!!

A few months previous an elderly dear using a Zimmergoing to the Co-op walked down the entry which chil-dren call 'poo lane' and walked straight through someand it was all over the poor dear’s feet, ankles and Zim-mer!! I contacted the Fife Council and they came to myhouse and informed me that the more complaints theyreceive the better - anonymously or not, the time theowners walk their dog, if possible so they can come andcatch them, persons ID, name, address, etc.. Or at best,a description of the owner and the type of dog.This is a serious problem in Crail. And it's about timepeople began to do something about it, and not acceptsuch disgraceful actions and behaviour from dog own-ers, especially where children are concerned. Dog ex-crement/faeces are dangerous. Toxicariasis is a parasitepresent in dog poo that can, and has causes partialblindness in up to 100 children per year. With this inmind, I am trying my best to do something about thisin this lovely village which I live. Especially for my andother’s children, as it's an awful problem that needs ad-dressing.Darron Tetlow

Letters to the Editor

Rising Land ValuesWhat has the development of 18th century Edinburgh got to do with the recently agreed Fife Development Plan,which will result in a huge increase of house construction in Crail? And here’s an even bigger puzzle - what can thebuilding of the North Bridge in Edinburgh tell us about future development in Crail?

Building the North Bridge in 18th century Edinburgh opened up what until then had been agricultural land north ofthe city, and made possible the urban development we now know as The New Town. The bridge enabled access towhat was an unattractive and relatively inaccessible area - rather in the way the Fife Development Plan opens up thepossibility of developing the area to the north of Crail. The difference between then and now, however, is that KingJames (VII and II) awarded the city a grant stating that when Edinburgh should have the occasion to enlarge the city,the proprietors of lands benefiting from the enlargement would be obliged to part with the land on reasonable terms.As a consequence, 18th Century Edinburgh land owners weren’t able to benefit from huge windfall profits just byowning land made accessible by the North Bridge, and such profit that was available fell instead to the municipality.And of course that is the difference between then and now - landowners now do pocket obscene profit simply byvirtue of ownership through the capacity to sell land on to developers for building made possible by granting planningpermissions.

All of which poses an interesting issue for our legislators - who should benefit from the kind of windfall profits thatgranting planning permission can give rise to - the landowner, or the municipality (and by extension the residents)of the area in which the development takes place? For all its failings, would you prefer to see Fife Council (or perhapspreferably some other local entity such as the Common Good fund) gain the benefit, or a private landowner?

The capacity to implement legislative changes to do this may well lie within the devolved powers at Holyrood, so areasonable question to ask of our local MSP’s is what is their view on this? More generally, there has not been adebate in the Scottish Parliament about whether landowners or the municipality (however conceived) should enjoythe uplift in land values as a result of the productive activity of firms and workers. Why not? And perhaps the questionbehind this is have our representatives the courage to address issues like this?

Crail of course is not alone in having to deal with issues like this, which might perhaps put this on both the Scottishand National Agenda. It doesn’t seem to have become an issue in the current General Election campaign, but perhapsit should.

SP

ROYAL BURGH OF CRAIL ANDDISTRICT

COMMUNITY COUNCIL NOTES

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Terrorist Attack ManchesterAt the time of writing, thenews is dominated by theatrocity in Manchester, andthe death of so manyyoung people. Modest andineffectual as it may seem,the least Crail CommunityCouncil can do on behalfof the Crail Community isto offer its deepest condo-lences to the families andfriends of those killed, andto wish well all thosemaimed and injured. Itserves no purpose to spec-ulate on the reasons for thisattack, and indeed findingreasons to explain the be-haviour of the suicide bomber does not take away fromthe evil of his actions, nor of those who support this kindof behaviour.

The North East of England is no stranger to deaths ofchildren through terrorism. In 1993, the Provisional IRAwas responsible for the death of 2 children, 3 years oldJonathan Ball and 12 year old Tim Parry in bomb blastsin Warrington. The recent attack is on a much biggerscale, but for the individuals involved the misery to fam-ily and friends is the same, as is the insult and challengeto our community values. Thankfully, there seem to beno reports of local children being involved, although onechild from Scotland was killed, and another seriously in-jured.

For the terrorist, and the organisation that may lie behindhim, the individual deaths are essentially an irrelevanceto a broader objective to damage our society, and tospread fear and distrust.

At times like this, what matters is we recognise thestrength of our shared values. The French after the Char-lie Hebdo attack expressed their pride in shared valuesand rejection of the forces that seek to disrupt society bycoining the phrase ‘Je suis Charlie’ - well we similarlycan take pride in saying ‘We support Manchester!’.

Community Council Meeting 29 MayThe next Community Council Meeting will be at 7.15pmin the Town Hall on Monday 29 May.

Crail MattersEditorial Team Volunteers

Would you like to help our Editorial Team produce Crail Matters?

We would like to invite anyone who might have aninterest in working with us, particularly from the

East Neuk villages, to contact us at:crailmatters@gmail.com.

Crail Matters is growing. We currently distributearound 750 copies of each issue, of which 120 or soare hard copy, and the rest digital. That is of coursevery small by national journalism standards, but interms of a local weekly newsletter, it is not a badachievement. And we can see it growing further, as weare keen to engage with other East Neuk communities,and as we develop other publishing initiatives, includ-ing ebook and other production.

We especially would like to encourage anyone whowould like to act as correspondent for their commu-nity to contact us.

Funding Crail Matters The Editorial Team wish to thank those readers and ad-vertisers who have very generously made donations toCrail Matters. We continue to depend on your supportto maintain what we hope is an interesting and usefulNewsletter.

To donate, please make cheques payable to ‘Crab Pub-lishing’, or please contact us for the necessary detailsto make a bank transfer.

Crail Matters Short StoryAward and Prize

Our short story Award and Prize has been establishedto encourage creative writing in Crail, and the EastNeuk in general. The award will consist of a cash prizeof £50 and a certificate, and selected entries will bepublished in Crail Matters, and may also be includedin a collected anthology which may be published byCrab Publishing. Stories can be on any theme or sub-ject, but must be original and written in english foradult or young adult readers. Entrants must be 16 yearsor over.

Work should be submitted by 9 June, 2017 to crail-matters@gmail.com. Authors should be resident in theEast Neuk, or be able to show significant associationwith the area. See www.crabpublishing.co uk for Con-ditions of Entry.

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WILD CRAILWill Cresswell,

with Photographs by John Anderson

I have been away in Cyprus for the last 10 days, missinga minor fall of migrants the weekend before last whenthe easterly winds were at last coupled with some rain.Conditions only lasted a day or so and everything wasback to being quiet with the spring slipping away whenI returned. We only have a window of a couple of weeksremaining where rare migrants are likely if the weatherconditions are right. Something like a red-backedshrike, that we haven’t had through Crail for a coupleof years now. Fingers crossed. I did see my first com-

mon terns ofthe year lastS u n d a yamong alarge pas-sage of sand-wich terns.C o m m o nterns areabout the lastof the regu-lar migrantsto get toCrail.

I did a circuit out from Crail last Wednesday eveningto Barnsmuir and then up to Troustie and back via Syp-sies – the farms to the west and northwest of Crail. Iwas hoping that the yellow wagtails of the week beforemight have decided to stay on and breed. No sign ofthem but they might well be tucked in the corner of awheat field out of sight. I did see six singing cornbuntings on my route – all to be recorded and mappedto keep track of their rising fortunes in the East Neuk.Once a common species their numbers have declinedeverywhere in the UK and they only hang on in Fife inthe east. Chris Smout has been monitoring their num-bers for the last 27 years but has now handed over theproject to me.

It’s a good time to take over. The RSPB have been en-couraging farmers for the last few years to provideweedy and seedy habitat for corn buntings in the winterto bump their food supply. Cornceres Farm and Barns-muir, for example, have both boosted up the numbersof corn buntings breeding on their farms into doublefigures. And you will have noticed the patch of bareground replacing the grass between Denburn and BowButts – Crail Primary School children were out plantingwild flowers and seed bearing plants there two weeks’

ago to provide food for the corn buntings and other seedeaters. Another RSPB initiative being replicated inother East Neuk villages, field corners and even someof the golf courses. It’s a great idea – for one, the re-moval of any patch of relatively sterile short grass thatthe Council doesn’t have to waste time and moneymowing is a good thing, regardless of whether it di-rectly benefits the birds. But of course it will benefit thecorn buntings and a lot of other wildlife besides. Thereare two corn bunting territories immediately adjacentthe new wildflower patch at Bow Butts. Neither wasthere last year and they are sure to appreciate the in-creased food supply. It’s all very positive.

Much of Crail looks nice and neat, but a few more con-trasting, ragged, wild edges (like Denburn) throw thatneatness into focus as well as increasing the wildlifethat also adds so much to living in Crail. And what ofthe corn buntings and their change in fortunes? – theyare dumpy, dull brown birds with a flat, monotonoussong. Hardly ospreys or avocets or pandas; hardly iconsof conservation. Yet they are our local symbol that somethings can get better in the environment, our encour-agement every time one regains a new field corner. Lastyear there were 110 males singing in the East Neuk, oneof the best years since Chris started counting – this yearI hope we will beat this.

I did some more corn bunting survey the next day dur-ing a cycle in to St Andrews to work and back. Therewere new corn buntings singing to mark on the map allthe way up to Boarhills, which spectacularly had threenew singing birds around the disused kirk. But then acorn bunting conundrum. There were at least 15 cornbuntings on the wires across a large pasture field atCambo Farm, with three males singing at the three of

Common Tern

Corn Bunting

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the edges. How many breeding corn buntings is that?Are there still roving flocks of birds that haven’t settledinto territories to breed yet? Confusing but good – therereally are a lot of corn buntings around this year.

The wheat and barley is starting to grow tall now hidingmany things in the fields. Skylarks are invisible underthe surface until they pop up for a song flight. Even thehares are being swallowed up. I don’t know whether ahare feels safer in the open when it can see things com-ing, or in a high crop where nothing can see it.

There were a lot of migrants well established along myroute to St Andrews last Thursday: commonwhitethroats and sedge warblers singing from scrubbyand weedy patches, and blackcaps from the woodyones. There seem to be a lot of swallows which is al-ways wonderful. Not so many house martins though.They are less common in Crail than they used to be. A

good place to see the is around the reception buildingsat Saucehope Caravan Park. The buildings have ex-tended eaves perfect for tucking a house martin’s mudpot nest underneath. The recent rain will have made ita lot easier to build them. House martins are strange inthat they breed several times during the summer –sometimes getting three broods out. In Africa they seemto have an easy life too, feeding high above rocky out-crops in the savannah with resident African swallowsand swifts in large flocks. There must be a lot of foodfor them all and the weather is invariably warm and drythere during our winter. I have never seen anything tryto catch a house martin either, in Scotland or Africa.Hobbys may take them, and an unwary house martincollecting mud on the ground for a nest will be easyprey for a sparrowhawk, but it can’t happen very often.Yet they are declining. Bad weather on migration is sug-gested as a reason and perhaps also shortage of suitablenesting sites.

House Martin

Magical

Sausage SizzleSunday 4 June

Kirk Hall Garden, Crail12.30pm

£5.00 per ticket, £15 for a familyTickets at Chatbite or call Diana 451790Join us for midday magic and tasty BBQ

Ticket price includes magic show, BBQ and tasty treat

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The Crail SeagullAn eye on our world

Did you see last weeks refer-ence in the Community Coun-cil Notes to a ‘Pubic Meeting’being held. Should be interest-ing (or not depending on yourperspective!). Not an issue ofcourse for Seagulls.

Flew over the ‘Bunting’ mix at Bow Butts. An awfullot of my cousins were enjoying it, along with crows -no sign of any Corn Bunting. The wise old owl at the

corner said he’d never seen any - but maybe they willcome. Never seen a Goldfinch there - never seen oneanywhere?!

Are you troubled by the over abundance of wind gen-erators, and the proposals to build huge offshore windfarms off the Fife coast? I am. They are dangerous toall birds, not just seagulls. But we are fighting back.Guano (a polite word for poo) from seabirds has causedsuch disruption to turbine construction that the world’sbiggest offshore wind farm developer has resorted totrialling new solar-powered scarecrows in an attemptto deter them. They reckon bird droppings cost millionsof pounds a year in clean-up costs and delays, particu-larly while turbines are under construction. So you see,when we bomb your car, we are just practising!

Material for inclusion in Crail Matters should be sent to crailmatters@gmail.com and received on Friday middaybefore publication. We reserve the right to edit copy for length and style. Submission does not guarantee inclusion.

© Crab Publishing 2017: Editorial Team this week: Graham Anderson, Julie Middleton, Isla Reid, ValenciaSowry, Max Taylor, John Wilson

The Crail GoldfinchNormally me and my chums aretoo busy twittering to write to thisillustrious magazine but a rumourcame to our ears that may havebypassed the lofty Seagull. Weheard with horror that some bor-ough notables were proposing touse weed-killer on the shore-sidewalk from Roome Bay towardsthe Castle.

From a purely selfish prospective we are very worriedat losing some of our favourite foodstuffs such as dan-delion seed heads in the Spring and teasel heads in theautumn. While our pals the pigeons are threatening re-volt if their delicious sea-kale goes they’ll invade allthe gardens and polish off the cabbages and kale, andeven the wall flowers. Our insect eating relatives, theswallows, house martins and swifts to name but a few,are concerned that insect life will be decimated if thathugely beneficial plant, the nettle, is killed since itforms food, egg laying sites and protection for many in-sect larvae including some beautiful butterflies. On

hearing this the bees also started to complain that thewild flowers such as campion, Scots scurvy grass, dan-delion and so on are essential foods for them too.Then on a bigger scale we worry that loss of plant rootsholding the bank together will cause the gardens aboveto erode across the path and over the edge, obliteratingthe path altogether – a loss to wildlife and people both.Then a wise old owl, who likes to keep up with the lat-est science, pointed out that the World Health Organi-zation (WHO) has just published a clear question andanswer form on the toxicity of glyphosate, the main in-gredient in Monsanto’s best-selling herbicide concoc-tion, Round Up. It leaves no question that the herbicideis truly genotoxic, causing damage to life everywhere.[see http://www.globalresearch.ca/world-health-organi-zations-new-q-a-on-glyphosate-confirms-toxicity-of-round-up/5513497 for more detail] leading us to bevery concerned about the detriment to the health of themany dogs who are walked along this path and to allthe organisms in the sea below that will get the run offtrickled over them with no choice in the matter – surelyour seas have enough to contend with all the plastic rub-bish without having weed-killer added to the mix!Your very occasional correspondent the CrailGoldfinch.

Crail Primary School Annual Summer FairCrail School Parent Council fundraising group are holding the annual school summer fair on 17th June in Beechwalkpark from 2-4pm. There will be lots of exciting stalls, fantastic raffle prizes, refreshments and games to keep all en-tertained! We will also be having a performance from our school Glee club who last week came first in the Fife finalin the Alhambra theatre! Not to be missed!The school King And Queen will also be crowned. Of course, holding the event in the park is weather permittingand if conditions are poor we will be in the Community Hall.