Burgh Beautiful

Progress Report - January 2007

Winter is a quiet time of year for the Burgh Beautiful volunteers but provides a welcome breathing space and time to plan for the next year. We were delighted that Linlithgow was awarded 3rd Place in the 2006 Beautiful Scotland in Bloom Competition in the summer. It has given us a real boost and inspired us to keep at it and to aim to improve our placing in the future. The Awards Ceremony in September was hosted in Dunfermline by Fife Council.  It was a good day and, as always, there was much to be learned.  All the finalists displayed photographs of their efforts together with their Judges' portfolios which made very interesting reading. Liz Burrows, Kirsty Leonard and Shirley Smith attended a Beautiful Scotland in Bloom Seminar in Perth in November, and again picked up useful tips and ideas for the future.  The name of the organisation is to be changed to the simpler "Beautiful Scotland", reflecting the emphasis of the competition on cleanliness, community, conservation and environmental issues as well as floral displays and the important contribution that the entrant communities make to the Tourist industry. We again manned a stall at the Advent Fair - no snow this year - and sold out of pots of hyacinths and narcissi very quickly.  Liz Burrows organised a very successful Raffle, thanks to generous support from local businesses.

Cllr Swann, Sheila Ashby, Liz Burrows, Shirley Smith Kirsty Leonard, Mike Lee (NETS), Jim Saunders (NETS).

In December the Managing Director of First ScotRail, Mary Dickson, came to Linlithgow Station.  She met up with representatives from all the Primary schools who took part in the tile making and presented them with £100 book tokens for their schools.  Members of the Embroidery Group who made the banners were delighted to receive bouquets of flowers as were the Burgh Beautiful volunteers. Refreshments were served and it was a very good Community occasion.  Liz is delighted at the way First ScotRail has responded to our efforts and made improvements to the station, which is now a much more pleasant and welcoming entrance to the town.  She receives many appreciative comments.

We plan to hold a public meeting in February to report on progress and discuss ideas for future projects.  The date and venue will be published on the LCT website www.lct.org.uk and in the Linlithgow Gazette District Diary.  We are a Community Group, open to all residents, and would like to offer the opportunity for people to raise any matters that concern them.

The Fun Dog Show will be held again this summer on May 5th on the Peel, in conjunction with Historic Scotland - who are hosting a week of activities around the country to educate people about the new Scottish Countryside Access Code.  There will be no Craft Stalls this year but more doggy classes and activities, possibly terrier racing, and fete-type stalls such as roll-a-penny, skittles, bang-the-rat.  If anyone has access to the equipment for such diversions please let us know.  Also, we would be pleased to hear from any dog owners who would be willing to lend a hand in any way on the day.

We are looking at the possibility of producing an illustrated pocket size booklet for walkers giving month by month details of the flora and fauna to be seen around the Loch and maybe one for the Canal.  This may be in conjunction with Historic Scotland, and we would probably need to look for sponsorship.  If anyone with particular interest in this area would like to get involved in the project, please contact Kirsty Leonard (01506 848427)

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