ColGlen travelled to Beauly for a Sutherland Cup tie on Saturday without several of their regular players due to lambing commitments. Without the experienced farmer backbone of the team, it was left to the young guns to carry the baton. A welcome return of John Beaney, Euan Morley and Neil Black gave some much needed steel to the team.

In a very even first half, ColGlen had their chances, not least of which was a spectacular overhead effort from Neil Black which had the Beauly keeper scrambling across his line only to watch it narrowly past the post.

Referee John Sloggie was not standing for any nonsense from the excitable home team and his decision to disallow a first half strike from the Beauly full forward was met with relief from a bemused “Doc” MacLeod in the Glen goal.

The second half continued much as the first with chances going a begging at either end.
The young Glen players acquitted themselves very well. However, with 20 minutes left, a 25 yard strike from Beauly’s Burnie bounced wildly in front of keeper MacLeod and found the top corner.

Young Hamish Harrison was brought on to try and spark a comeback as the visitors pressed for an equaliser but it was not to be. Final score Beauly 1, ColGlen 0

ColGlen will play worse than this and win games this season. All credit is due to the young players for this performance.

Alan ‘Doc’ McLeod

It is time to disclose ideas which have concerned us for some time. The manse at Kilmodan became surplus to requirements when parishes were linked with a new manse in Kames. The Church of Scotland General Trustees own the manse and at our request agreed to allow us to continue to let as long as we could find good tenants. The situation is complicated as the manse is used by the Sunday school, one of few in the area.
When the tenancy ends in June we are faced with several options. The first is to re-let and hope the new tenant allows the Sunday school to continue. This is the easiest solution but does not solve a long term problem. The second is to allow the manse to be sold and with the proceeds build a small all-purpose Church Hall. A sale would mean the church would lose all control over its former property which, while it could become a single house in permanent occupation, is likely to be divided up, redeveloped or become holiday accommodation. The third option would be for the community to re-develop the manse site in a manner beneficial to all.
Some of us feel strongly that a community development proposal should become one of the first projects for the local Development Trust. The financial implications are formidable. Funds would have to be found to purchase the manse and garden. The building could be resold with the garden retained and possibly along with adjoining Glebe land, developed with custom built accommodation for use by the Church and the community. The number of visitors to both Clachan and Church in the summer makes us wonder if a heritage centre would be worthwhile. A need exists for affordable housing for which some church glebe land could be used. The Shinty club need a new pavilion and some sports facilities could also be provided.
The easy option is to sell the manse and build a small hall. We have however a chance to give the community something where it is needed. If such a project attracts local support and enthusiasm, it will almost certainly attract financial backing. We are told small rural communities face a doubtful future and some of us believe that a development such as this could give hope for future generations. There are related matters to be considered. The Glen hall is a fine building and invaluable to the community and must be retained. Access to the envisaged development could not be by the present church lane and an alternative would have to be found. The interests of the school and adjoining proprietors would have to be protected.
What do others think of these ideas? Are they worth further consideration?
Tom Mowat, Sessions Clerk

SERVICESÂ

April
Colintraive 10am, Kilmodan 11.30
May
Kilmodan 10am, Colintraive 11.30

It has been a quiet year with no major topics or requirement for specific public meetings for consultation.

We have had four Community Council meetings since May 06 with the usual selection of one-off issues raised. Hopefully we have managed to deal with these as they arose but some just re-emerge in a different guise or in a slightly different area.
I will not list these minor issues, suffice to say that many of them come under the banner of our primary role - representing the views of the community to A&BC. That they appear so frequently and at such regular intervals I hope reflects more on their ability to deal with them than on ours. Be it roads, water, housing or transport the answer is always the same – money.
It will no doubt continue thus even after the next rush of enthusiasm brought on by the coming elections.
We are now half way through our term of office and despite coopting Mr Creelman to advise us on health, we are still a councillor short, the 3rd Colintraive vacancy remains unfilled. It doesn’t stop us operating, but it does mean one less opportunity for an opinion or a vote to be registered. With so few, representation on other related committees is limited. For instance:

• Michael Kaufmann has CC, Cowal Way Ctte, Village Hall, Newsletter, Kilmodan Trust and Development Trust;
• Bridget Paterson has CC, Wind Farm Trust and Development Trust;
• Danuta Steedman has CC, Playpark Ctte and every Ctte connected to the school;
• Tom Mowat has CC, Windfarm Trust, Newsletter and Development Trust;
• Jim Mcluckie has CC, Cowal Way, Playpark Ctte, Kilmodan Acre Trust and Development Trust.

Many of these appointments result from being on this council and the load could be better shared throughout the community. This is not to complain or whinge, we are, after all, volunteers. Nor is it an attempt to appear altruistic – it is a statement of fact. A way to bring it in to focus is to consider the finances of these organizations. We have recently needed sums of money for the Playpark, the Development Trust, The Cowal Way, the Fellowship and the Newsletter and the only way to apply for them is through a constituted committee. We finish up applying to ourselves. Whilst some may think this an ideal situation, others may see it open to misinterpretation – a cosy of councillors perhaps. This is not the case and we all try to be as open as possible in all we do.
May I close by saying thank you to my fellow councillors for all their hard work in the past year.

Jim Mcluckie, Chairman

There seems to be much confusion and misunderstanding of the workings of the Wind Farm Trust.

The Trust was set up in 2003 by Argyll and Bute Council and CRE Energy who provide an annual grant. The first payment of £21,000 was received in 2003. Subsequent payments in June each year have increased annually through inflation and the last of £22,762 was received in June 2006. The bank pays interest on the account.
The area benefiting from the funds is that covered by the Colintraive & Glendaruel Community Council. The Trustees comprise one member of the Community Council from Glendaruel (Tom Mowat) and one from Colintraive (Bridget Paterson, who has now resigned from the Community Council and also as a Wind Farm Trustee), a local authority Councillor (Douglas Currie who retires in May), an elected representative (Alec McNaughton) and a representative from Scottish Power. A&BC also have an interest in the Trust and receive copies of minutes. The chair is Alec McNaughton and the Secretary/Treasurer is Tom Mowat. The Trustees meet quarterly. and claim no expenses and there have been no running costs.
The Trust received a constitution from A&BC and Scottish Power and guide lines for awarding grants were determined. Trustees were restricted to awarding grants to ‘groups and organisations which undertake activities which benefit the joint community of Colintraive and Glendaruel’. This has been interpreted as allowing grants only to non profit making groups. A condition which has caused concern is the need for ‘match funding’ which requires any group applying for more than £1000 to have a similar amount of their own or from some other source, often not easy to achieve. The Trustees have found this too restrictive and referred the matter to Scottish Power. This coupled with changes to the constitution was referred to their solicitors some months ago and the outcome is awaited.
The Trustees consider all applications and have to date given grants totalling £46,100. The largest grant has been £28,000 to the children’s playpark and grants totalling £5,600 have been given to the school for various projects. The shinty club, the Gun club, the village Halls, the Cowal Way, the Fellowship and the Newsletter have also benefited. The Trust funds are there to be used for the benefit of the community and cannot be spent unless applications are made. Application forms are available from the secretary.
Alec McNaughton, Chairman
Tom Mowat, Secretary/Treasurer

Rosalynd McGhee introduces her new fitness classes.

Having lived in the Glen for thirteen years I have been passionate about sport and exercise for as long as I can remember. I am a qualified gym, aerobics and aquafit instructor, a GP referral for health tutor and have many other coaching qualifications including basketball and swimming.
I am currently at college studying Exercise, Health and Fitness but hope to change to Sports Therapy this coming year. For me fitness is a way of life. It improves your quality of life and prevents many health problems such as heart disease and can minimise the effects of other conditions. There are many reasons why people don’t exercise but if we make it a priority we can reap both mental and physical benefits. By making exercise a priority we are investing in ourselves and our future quality of life.

Why should you exercise?
Because you’re worth it!

According to World Health Organisation statistics only 25% of all women and 33% of men take enough exercise. That inactivity is responsible for 3.1% of deaths in the UK and costs the NHS over a billion pounds each year. A recent report from Sport Scotland shows that of the 32 regions in Scotland, Argyll & Bute was the tenth least active. The only ones showing higher inactivity were deprived inner city areas. One contributory factor is poor access to facilities and classes.
I have started holding classes in Gendaruel Hall and hope there will be sufficient attendance to continue. Aerobics today consists of low impact exercise to music. Gone are the days of Spandex, big kicks and leg-warmers. Circuit classes combine aerobics and toning exercises.
A good instructor can pitch a class to all levels of fitness and ability. So regardless of ability, all are welcome. And when I say all, that includes the boys! Those of secondary school age are welcome at half price. I hope to see y’all there!

YCMA accredited instructor

Glendaruel Hall Wednesdays
Aerobics 7-8pm
Circuit 8-9pm

£3.00 per class
£5.00 for both