Great activities for kids for four weeks this summer! The full programme of events is as follows:

12th July
Martial Arts

13th July
Papermaking – get messy day *

14th July
Tie dye t-shirts
(Bring a white Cotton T-shirt)

15th July
Felt making*

19th July
Mask making & puppetry day 1 *

20th July
Mask making & puppetry day 2 *

21st July
Martial Arts

22nd July
Drama Fun

26th July
Animation & film making day 1

27th July
Animation & film making day 2

28th July
Martial Arts

29th July
Make it work, Science Play and junk models!

2nd Aug
Photography fun and framing *

3rd Aug
Tai Chi

4th Aug
Martial Arts

5th Aug
Big Green Eco Fun Day

Each day costs £6 per child.
*Activities marked with a * require an additional cost of £2 per child for material

All sessions run in 2 hour slots with 1 hour for lunch.

Each day starts at 10am and finishes at 3pm.

Please bring a packed lunch and plenty of snacks and drinks. For our younger kids the creche room will operate on demand. To book your sessions and for further info contact Sadie 01369 820115 or use the contact form.

Sponsored by The Cruach Mhor Wind Farm Trust

Book Launch, Heritage Walks, BBQ, Ceilidh

Guided/Bussed Walks

The Whisky Trail

‘Wanted’! Smugglers in Glendaruel. Join The Walking Theatre Company for an intrepid romp through wild woodland to a ruined village. Keep the secrets of the Glen from the Excise men! Come and be a part of Scottish history through this interactive play which spans 200 years and a struggle for power after the Act of  Union!  Sponsored by The Heritage Lottery Fund.
Register in Hall, 2.30 pm
The Abandoned Village of Kildavain
A walk to the abandonned village above the West Road, guided by Michael Kaufman.
Register in Hall, 2.45 pm
Cruach Mhor Wind Farm
Take the free bus up the hill to wander around the turbines.  Bus or walk back
Register in Hall, from 2 pm (by request)
Owl Walk
A walk to visit owl chicks in boxes in the Glendaruel area, guided by expert Arthur French
Register in Hall, 7pm
(12 maximum)

“Free-Range” Walks

Home Farm walks
Enjoy the newly formed walks around Home Farm Steadings or visit the historical buildings and former site of Glendaruel House and Estate.

Maps and display available in Hall
Old Chapel open to public by kind permission of Anne Ferguson
Glendaruel House and Old Chapel

BOOK LAUNCH
4.45 pm - Join us for the official of the new Guide, published by Rucksack Readers, by Michael Russell, MSP, Minister for Culture, The Constitution and External Affairs.

Catering
Teas, Coffees and Homebaking
In aid of Kilmodan Primary School Funds from 2pm to 6pm
Bar from 4.30 - midnight
Winston Churchill’s Barbeque & Soup from 6pm

Entertainment (music from 5.30 pm)

Ceilidh with Canned Haggis
£5 per adult, children 16 or under free
Raffle
7pm

Free bus available (book in Hall or phone 0774 800 3351)
from Colintraive – 6 pm and 8 pm, return on request, last return bus midnight available from Tighnabruaich or Strachur if booked in by 4 pm

Image from Telegraph shows Chris Hunter measuring to the tip of the fir

The community of Colintraive and Glendaruel has received  a great deal of press attention over the last week or so as it has emerged that the Stronardron Douglas Fir has been crowned Tallest Tree in the UK.

from The Herald:

Mr Creelman, who hails originally from Greenock, says he regards himself more as a custodian of the tree than its legal owner. “When it was planted there was a kind of altruism where somebody plants a tree in 1848 and they are not going to see it in any great form and neither are their children,” he said.

“These days are gone but it’s nice that there are these living memorials. All you can do is look after the tree.”

While the title may seem rather obscure to some, it can be expected to boost tourism in the local area.

However, Mr Creelman is keen to strike a balance between making the tree accessible to the public and destroying the surrounding foliage.

“While we welcome people to come in and see the tree and see the garden, we don’t want to be trampled with people. It has survived there since 1848,” he said.

Reproduced with kind permission from The Herald

As more stories emerge they’ll be posted here:

• Scots fir is ‘tallest tree in UK’ (BBC)
• Trees worth meeting (The Telegraph)
• It’s a tall order measuring the biggest tree in Britain (The Scotsman)
• The tallest tree in the UK… by Fir (The Sun!)
• Douglas Fir in Argyll named tallest tree in Britain (Herald)
• Britain’s tallest tree is 209 ft Douglas Fir (Telegraph)
• The 210ft fir that’s been crowned Britain’s tallest tree – and is still growing (Mail)
• Sparsholt Lecturers Find Tallest Tree (Hampshire Chronicle)
• Is the Tallest Tree in the UK Argyll’s - in Glendaruel? (ForArgyll)
• Views of the Tallest Tree in the UK at Dunans Castle (LairdofDunansCastle.com)
• It’s a YES. Argyll has the tallest tree in the UK - see it from Dunans Castle in Glendaruel (ForArgyll)
• How long will Argyll’s Stronardron Douglas Fir hold on to the ‘UK’s Tallest Tree’ title? (ForArgyll)
• Dunans Castle Views the Tallest Tree in the UK – it’s official! (Dunans Heritage Project)
• Arborist’s to Search for Britain’s Tallest Tree (HortWeek)
• Sparsholt College Lecturers Search for Britain’s Tallest Tree (Sparsholt College)

IT IS IN summers’ like this we bless our “all weather” green!   We have played every Tuesday and Friday, with attendances ranging from six to sixteen.  Club trophies have been hotly contested - the Men’s singles won by Jim Cook, r/u Euan Black; Ladies singles went to Jessie McNaughton, r/u Nan Cook. Pair’s trophy was won by Euan and Jessie, r/u Curly Black and Alex McNaughton.

We are a small club, but we manage to send representatives to competitions run by other clubs in the area, with some success this season.  Some of our players have competed at national level - Jessie McNaughton reached the semi-final of the Daily Record Singles competition held in Rothesay;   Curly Black played in the semi final of the Harry Gordon competition in Dunoon.   We congratulate them both.

We have also hosted visits from neighbouring clubs and visited them for friendly competitions - a fun day on 12th July at Innellan, an afternoon of bowling in the sunshine finished off with fish’n’chips in the clubhouse.

Bobby Sinclair

THE ANNUAL DANCE was held on the evening of the fete in the Colintraive Hall to the excellent music of the Saddlebags country western band.  There was a great crowd with an excellent atmosphere.  Neil and Jamie were at the door taking the entrance fees and checking that all bank notes were legal tender, either that or they just liked the colours ……. ?

Gramps and Joanna did a roaring trade at the bar to quench all the thirsts built up from earlier in the day.  The children had a good time and some even got up on the floor to dance. (I couldn’t see who was dancing, but generally speaking the children do get up to dance, so this is not much of deal)

The evening finished with Ewan, Captain of the Shinty Club, giving thanks to all who came and supported the event.  He went on to give a rough summary of the Team’s highs and lows of the season amidst great jocularity from his team mates.  His final announcement was of his engagement to Jennifer.  A great night was had by all and the much appreciated sum of £600 was raised for Shinty Club funds.

Joanna Sinclair