1

Letter to the Editor Bottle Top ln the dovecot excavations it was mentioned that a bottle top bearing the name McDonald and Muir was found and that it had some local interest. The brother of my great grandfather Robert Spence Morris married Eliza Simpson from Glasgow and they lived at Westonlea, Crail (currently owned by Dr Emslie) On his death Eliza married Alexander Muir a partner in the whisky Distillers. He moved to Crail and they continued to stay at Westonlea. They both died there and their grave stone along with Robert Morris is on the wall whicn seperates the old and newer graveyards. Aunt Ketch as we called her was a very rich lady. She drove around in a Rolls Royce. As a 5 year old l remember going for afternoon tea at Westonlea with my great Aunt Cecilia. Very posh !! McDonald and Muir had their whisky bond in Leith close to where Mary Queen of Scots first landed in Scotland from France and they called their whisky Highland Queen to commorate this historic event. l am fimilar with Highland Queen whisky, but have never seen it marketed as McDonald and Muir before which is why l have shown great interest in this bottle top. McDonald and Muir are now owned by the Glenmorangie group. Eric Morris

R.N.L.I. Coffee Morning

The coffee morning held on Saturday 17 June in Crail Town Hall raised the sum of £531.55 Many thanks to all who helped contribute to the valuable work undertaken by our lifeboat crews.

Crail Folk Club On Thursday 22nd June 8pm in Crail Town Hall Crail Folk Club has the ever popular ex- McCalman Stephen Quigg and his lovely wife Pernille. Tickets are available on the door for £7 “The Quiggs” is a husband and wife duo that has emerged on to the Scottish folk scene within the last couple of years. Stephen Quigg is a long established folksinger and former member of the legendary band “The McCalmans” and Pernille Quigg, originally from Denmark, is a folksinger and songwriter. Together they comprise “The Quiggs”. Stephen and Pernille share a common feeling for the tradition of folksong and both know a good song when they hear it. They have toured together in Denmark, Germany and The Netherlands with great success. The combination of songs performed together in

close harmony and a few songs sung solo interspersed with a bit of humour has received much praise from the audiences and organisers. A concert with The Quiggs is a chance to hear folksong in its simple, yet highly expressive form, including beautiful harmonies and songs that seek the audience's participation.

w/c 19 June 2017 No. 19

Incorporating About Crail Free – Donation welcome

2

The duo released the album "River of Time" in 2015. The duo has a busy year in 2017 with many concerts and festivals already booked. A bit about the individuals: Stephen Quigg, former member of the legendary folk group The McCalmans, has performed as a folksinger for almost 40 years. Stephen was part of the McCalmans for 10 years during that time, he performed at festivals and concerts big and small both in Scotland and abroad. He continued to work solo alongside his career in the group and has toured the length and breadth of Scotland during most of his life. Stephen's repertoire ranges from traditional ballads to footstomping songs of battle well mixed with a certain amount of humor. Stephen blends contemporary and traditional material with ease, which ensures a varied evening. Stephen accompanies himself on guitar, bodhran and banjo and with an outstanding voice you can watch him capture the attention of any audience. Pernille Quigg is of Danish origin but has been living on the west coast of Scotland for the past 10 years. As the surname reveals, she married into the Scottish folk scene and has now herself become part of that scene. Pernille has been singing folk songs for many years and she is now also carving a niche for herself as songwriter. She accompanies herself on guitar and her repertoire extends from traditional to contemporary to original songs – the common denominator though is, that they all have a story to tell. Pernille released her debut album “Driftwood” in 2012, which received fine reviews in print and was also aired on both Danish Radio and on BBC's Radio Scotland amongst others.

VOLUNTEERING OPEN DAY

• Are you keen to share skills or would like to learn more about gardening and horticulture?

• Do you have free time to volunteer with us on either a Wednesday or Thursday? • Would you enjoy working outdoors in our beautiful woodland setting and Victorian

walled garden and glass houses, or being a part of our edible garden project? Volunteer Open Day from 12-3pm on Wed 21 June. Drop in to meet the team, have a walk through the garden and see behind the scenes of our new visitor centre due to open this Autumn. Have a cup of tea and chat about opportunities to get involved. For more information call Judy on: 01333 451 040 or e mail: education@camboheritagetrust.org.uk

Cambo Estate – Kingsbarns – KY16 8QD

3

Temporary Road Closure

Bowling Green Place, Crail, from the jct. with St Andrews Road to the jct. with Milne Gardens. Wednesday 05/07/17 from 09.30hrs to 15.30hrs.

The alternative route for vehicular traffic is via St Andrews Road, High Street, Westgate, Lamont Terrace and Kirkmay Road. To allow repairs to Scottish Water ironwork in the carriageway to be carried out in safety.

PLEASE REMEMBER THAT KIRKMAY ROAD HAS A 20 MPH SPEED RESTRICION WHICH MUST OBSERVED

4

Crail Parish Church of Scotland (Charity registered in Scotland SC 001601) Intimations Sunday 18th June Welcome to our Prize Giving Service Readings: OT: Jeremiah 20: 7 - 13, NT: Romans 6: 1b - 11 , Gospel: St Matthew 10: 24 - 39 Crail Museum Coffee Morning will be held on Sat. 24th June in the British Legion Hall 10am admission is £2 everyone welcome. Thanks to all who donated baking and helped on the stall in the Church over the Food Festival, the total raised was £532.86 If anyone would like to give a donation towards Revd Ann Allison retirement then this could be handed in at Chatbite or after the services on a Sunday. Her last service is on the 2nd July which will be a Joint Service with Kingsbarns Church Bell the bell has had to be switched off until further notice as there has been a survey of the tower done and we have been advised that they are not sure how much of the integrity of the timbers are being affected by it. Intimations to be in by Thursday noon to Lisa 450035, Joan Forrest or email to(intimations@crailchurch.co.uk) Minister: Revd Dr Ann Allison tel 451986 or email (AAllison@churchofscotland.org.uk)

OPENING THIS AUTIMN… CAMBO HERITAGE CENTRE! VISITOR CENTRE: CAFÉ: SHOP: LEARNING HUB: PLAY AREA: EDIBLE GARDEN MEANWHILE ENJOY… GARDENS, WOODLAND, COASTLINE AND SUMMER EVENTS! SUMMER SIZZLE ADVENTURES! FAMILY YOGA…|WOODLAND CLUBS… Cambo Estate Kingsbarns KY16 8QD Listings@cambostables 01333 451040

Crail Museum and Heritage Centre.

Dates for your diary: Sat. 19th August Coffee Morning for Crail

Museum Legion Hall 10am

Friday 8th September "Naval Aviation in the Firth of Forth" talk by David Hobbs Kirk Hall

7pm

Funding Crail Matters

The Editorial Team wish to thank those readers and advertisers who have very generously made donations to Crail Matters. We continue to depend on your support to maintain what we hope is an interesting and useful Newsletter.

To donate, please make cheques payable to ‘Crab Publishing’, or please contact us for the necessary details to make a bank transfer.

5

WILD CRAIL Will Cresswell,

with Photographs by John Anderson WeekendingJune16th

I spent themorningof the11thalong the farmtracksnorth-eastofCrail filling in thegaps for

cornbuntings:newones forSypsies,TroustieandwestofToldrie.All inobviouswheat fields

thatlookedlikelyasbreedinghabitat.Theywillhavebeenthereallalong,justnotrecordedyet

becauseduringanyonesurveysometerritorialbirdsarenotsingingoruponthewiresandso

don’tgetspotted.Wecalltheserecords“falsenegatives”–whichisafairlyobviousidea–but

one thatmakesmuch of the science ofmappingwhere things live and estimating howmany

individuals there are a bit of a nightmare. The only solution is repeated visits so you can

estimate this detectability and so correct

forit.

Iwasalso listeningout forquails.Now is

about thepeak time tohear themsinging

softly “wet my lips” repetitively from a

wheatorbarleyfield.Ihaveonlyeverseen

one quail in theUK in nearly 40 years of

birding but I have heard hundreds. They

are tiny gamebirds, barely bigger than a

blackbird,andsticktolonggrass.Theyare

erraticmigrants. In a good breeding year

there can be hundreds of pairs across

England and Scotland and in poor years

almost none.We talk about “quail years”

whentheydoappearinnumbers.Thelast

wasin2011whenwehadupto10birdscallinginJunearoundCrail.Butnotthisyearsofar.I

will probablyhave to getmynextquail fixwhen I amnext inWestAfricaduring thewinter,

flushingthemupasIwalkacrossfallowfarmland.

There are a couple of Canada geese hanging around the harbour at the moment. They are

becomingalatesummerfixturefortheEastNeuk

afterbeingamajorrarityforCrailforthefirstten

years I lived here. A flock now loafs around the

shore between Anstruther and Kingsbarns from

late May until September now, before

consolidating intoa largerwinteringflockbased

atBoarhills.

Theeiderchicksaregettinglargerbutaregetting

fewerinnumber.Thegulls,particularlythegreat

black-backed gulls, are picking them off one by

one.It’sthemainreasonthechickscongregatein

groups.Fortheindividualchickthereissafetyin

numbersandfortheadultswhichalsopooltheir

resources, there is more effective defence in a

group. I watched a group of four eider females

Canada Goose

Ringed Plover

6

defendingsixorsochickssuccessfullylastMondayeveningatBalcomie.Asagreatblack-backedgull flew over and stalled as if to plunge down on the chicks below the females all flockedtogether tightly around the chicks and stuck up their bills aggressively to stop the gulldescending. Theywere also calling angrily. The gull broke off its attack immediately. A greatblackbackedgullisabigmeanbirdbutfourangryfemaleeidersareprettymeanlookingtoo.To

topitoff,afemaleshelduckflewintochasethegulloff–even bigger and scarier than an eider. The gulls don’talwayshaveittheirway.The wader flocks have moved on again. Only threeringed plovers on Balcomie Beach this week and acoupleofcurlewsatSaucehope.IwastippedofflastTuesdayaboutadeadraptoronthevergejustasyoucomeoutofCrailpassingDamside,ontheStAndrewsroad.Atawnyowl.Anotherhardlyseennocturnalanimal, likeourbadgersandotters, showingits presence by traffic sampling. Tawny owls are earlybreeders so I hope this adult’s chicks are well grown

andnearindependence:Iexpectitwasworkinghardtofeedthemwhenitchasedonevoleormousetoomanyacrosstheroad.Theremainingadultshouldbeabletodothejobifthenightsarenottoorainyandthehuntingisgood.I cycled back along the St Andrews to Anstrutherroadon Wednesdaylooking for more corn buntings.Suitable fields start right at St Andrews but they areoften surrounded by small woods or tree lines whichthecornbuntingsdon’tlike.Thecornbuntingsstarttoappear as you start to descend towards Anstrutherfrom Drumrack and the trees around the fieldsdisappear.AsIscannedforcornbuntingsIenjoyedthelow flying swifts over the wheat; not just darksilhouettesinthesky,butpatternedandfeaturedagainstthevividgreen.==========================================================================

FreeOfferTwo large, wooden, glass-fronted displayboardssurplustorequirements.They were previously used to promoteeventsduringthefestival.Offered free to any interested group orindividual.PhoneIanMooneyon450282toexpressaninterest.

Advertisement 8ft artificial Christmas Tree- free to a good home The tree served us well in the past but does not fit in our East Neuk home. Please call 01333-450108 if you are interested.

Common Swift

Corn Bunting

7

The Royal Burgh of Crail and District Community

Council Notes Denburn Wood

The water quality in Denburn Woods looks very poor – even with the heavy recent rain, the water looks cloudy and polluted. Complaints were made in the past about water quality, but no response has been received after assurances that tests would be undertaken. The Community Council will follow up on this. Community Hall On May 2nd, the Community Council wrote to Fife Council to ask for clarification on the progress of public consultation around the future of the Community Hall. There has been no response to this request. There appears to have been approaches to some organisations, but so far, the Community Council, and the broader Crail Community, have been given no information about the plans Fife Council might have for the Community Hall, nor have their wishes been accessed. The Community Hall is not a Common Good property, and therefore its disposal is not subject to the constraints that might apply to, for example, the Town Hall. It is clear that considerable costs will be involved in bringing the Hall up to an acceptable standard after the neglect by Fife Council, and in the absence of such an investment, it is unlikely that the Hall can be

effectively marketed as a revenue raising venue. It is disappointing that yet again, Fife Council have failed to consult on a matter of considerable public interest. We can only hope that the new Council will be better at engaging with the public than the last Council. Road Repairs After initial responses to the request for information on the quality of road repairs, there has been very little further information produced. The Community Council will continue to monitor the situation, but the public response suggests that at the moment there is really insufficient evidence to present to Fife Council to validate claims that have been made. Community Council Membership Analysis of the recent General Election results suggests that younger people are becoming more engaged in public life, at least by taking part in the democratic process. But can we translate this into engagement with public life in Crail? At a number of venues recently, complaints have been made about how elderly the bodies that are active in Crail are, and how they fail to reflect the needs of younger members of the community. As an excuse, it’s been said that this reflects the demographics of Crail - according to the last census Crail has about twice as many people over the age of 65 as the national average (32% vs 17%); however, although the proportions indicate a larger than average number of elderly residents, the figures also indicate that more than half the population (55%) are aged between 16-64 (compared to 65% nationally). To complete the picture, around 12% of Crail’s population are under 16 (compared to 17% nationally). The Community Council would welcome approaches from everyone to become engaged with its activities, but it would particularly welcome younger people to play a part in shaping the life or our community. There are clearly challenges ahead – can you help respond to them by joining the Community Council?

8

Crail Food Festival

Crail Food Festival organisers dug their heels in last weekend and for the second year in a row faced awful weather conditions in the build up to their 7th festival, it couldn’t get worse. Kirkcaldy Highland Beach Games had cancelled, Cupar Highland Games had cancelled, but all thanks and credit to Winston Kilfedder who pulled the shuttle bus from the mud as just under 2,500 hardy souls braved the elements to come to Crail. Over 1,000 visitors enjoyed the seated tasting and cookery demonstrations which included a World Gin Day highlight from Luvians of St

Andrews and as one visitor commented " that was worth the £6 ticket alone" Local musicians led by local lad Nick Fry entertained in the food & drink tent whilst tots danced at the children’s ceilidh in The Marine

Hotel and yet again the bespoke cookery theatre in Crail Kirk Hall proved a hit with 700 visitors sharing chef tips and tastings. Well over £2,000 was raised for community groups and in particular, Crail Town Hall &

Crail Church who kept people topped up with tea, scones and cakes. So, there it was and on Thursday the team sat down to evaluate the highs and lows and to plan for next year, at least the forecast looks promising! Many thanks to our valued volunteers, our understanding residents and to everyone who attended. Best Wishes Graham Anderson Festival Director

CrailMuseum&Heritage

Centre

CoffeeMorning

Saturday24thJune201710am

BritishLegionHall

HomeBaking,Preserves,Raffle

Admission£2

AScottishCharitableIncorporatedOrganisation(CharityNo.SC023505)

9

Seagull Spy We reckon that the CRAIL Seagull must have passed over Carr Crescent recently- but did not realise that it was so big and we wonder how it is doing without this important feather? Here we are keeping a weather out for Seagull- our nightly lookout keeps a watch for it and will loudly squawk if he sees it - so we can sleep in peace!

Food Bank Update Following last week’s appeal, we are happy to report that Crail residents have been generously donating items for collection at Smoke Fired Wholefoods. Crispin & Vanessa still have a box for donations and any donations of food will be gratefully received. A big thank you to all concerned.

Planning Notices

Consultation in relation to Scoping request for Seagreen Phase 1 wind farm project at Firth of Forthat Scottish Government Consultation Fife Listed Building consent to repair existing boundary wall - 6 Kirkmay House Marketgate North Marketgate Crail Anstruther Fife KY10 3TH Single storey extension to rear of dwellinghouse - 32 Langhouse Green Crail Anstruther Fife KY10 3UD

Material for inclusion in Crail Matters should be sent to crailmatters@gmail.com and received on Friday midday

before publication. We reserve the right to edit copy. © Crab Publishing 2017: Editorial team this week: Julie Middleton, Isla Reid, Valencia Sowry,

Max Taylor, John Wilson.

10

The Crail Seagull

An eye on our world

Well, I’m quite beak smacked. I was just settling down to a nice morsel of cake someone had thrown on the ground, when my good friend John Crow from Kingsbarns came bustling up. ‘Do you know’ he said ‘that the Ricoh Golf competition organisers have dropped their request to close the road down to Kingsbarns beach?’ ‘No’ says I ‘why did they do that?” ‘PEOPLE POWER!’ he shouted and flew off. It seems all the fuss made by the local communities actually had an effect. I’m sure the Fife Council officials are disappointed to find they can’t ride rough shod over everyone, but hey….. who knows what might happen next.

I am

always on the

lookout for a

location for

another nest (I’m considering getting into the letting business) and on my way over Collingwood Court, I saw a man painting and thought, that’s for me! The wall will look lovely when he’s finished but the building needs to be dealt with soon. I suppose it might just do over the summer.

Did you enjoy the Food Festival? I thought it was a bit quieter than usual, but still a lot of fun. Some of my more sour acquaintances here (I wouldn’t call them friends) don’t like to be seen enjoying themselves, so don’t go to things like this. As I fly around, I see who goes to what, and it’s very odd that there is very little overlap. Is this what is sometimes called ‘sour grapes’? It looks like we won’t be having another referendum soon, so the impetus for the ‘Poo Circle Party’ has probably diminished. But don’t lose the faith – keep circling the Poo!! How about this - the RSPB is calling on people to take what it calls ‘a more understanding view of this most misunderstood of creatures’ - the seagull. Morwenna Alldis, spokesperson for the RSPB South West, said: ‘Personally I love gulls – I like a bird with a bit of personality and gulls have that in spades. They’re bombastic, cheeky, incredibly adaptable, opportunistic, intelligent, and if there was a prize for “bird parent of the year”, protective urban gull parents would win.’ Well, I totally agree! Here’s a bit of food porn! I love bins, especially the ones in Castle Terrace which are left overfilled, yum , rich pickings!