St Mary's Greyfriars' Church, Dumfries :: The Buzz

Update: November

Dave — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 08:03:38 -0400

On September 22, we welcomed Mr and Mrs Hills from Dumfries and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue. Greyhounds were called hunting dogs in the past and the landed gentry were the only people who owned them. Racing greyhounds became very big business, but they have short careers and sadly were killed when there was no use for them. Registered dogs are rehomed – so far, 500 have benefited. For funding, the group runs charity walks and tries to get schoolchildren involved. Mrs Hills brought two of their dogs in after the talk – they were very friendly and quiet and make very good pets.

On October 6, Janet McSherry gave us a Craft Time with ideas in making Christmas decorations such as reindeer and bookmarks. She also showed how easy it is to make personal cards. She designed and made one for Isobel Evans, who had just become a grandmother, to a lovely new grandson, and we all signed it. We saw one of the lovely banners made by the “Crafty Chatterers”, a group of ladies from the church who meet in the hall during the winter months. They were lovely afternoons.

Update: October

Dave — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 05:43:16 -0400

At the Buzz meeting on August 25, Helen Little and friends from the ladies’ speakers club were introduced. A poem was read about what we are worth when we get older, which had us all laughing.

Molly read an account on a gentleman and we had to guess who she was describing – Hilda came up with the correct answer of Ronan Keating, the Irish singer.

We were then taken all around Dumfries and had to imagine what it was like in our childhood days; it was very hard to imagine there were 74 shops at one time, and fun trying to guess where they all were!
Another account was read out on a gentleman and Margaret McCafferty guessed the correct answer this time – it was Alexander Fleming, who invented penicillin.

On September 8, Isobel Evans filled in at our meeting in the absence of our speaker from Citizens’ Advice due to illness.

We were shown a video on a trip to Australia, including a sail in Sydney harbour, complete with its famous opera house and harbour bridge. In the botanic gardens, the flowers were lovely, with some very different from those which we have here.

On we went to Coffs harbour. They do a bit of surfing there, and there are lots of kangaroos in the park – we even saw one with a joey in her pouch.

We continued to Byron Bay, very famous for surfing and full of young people. We also saw the rainforest and Lake McKenzie – where the water is meant to purify your body. Finally, we were transport to the Great Barrier Reef.

Our forthcoming meetings are: October 6 Crafty Time with Janet; October 20 Around the World in 90 Days with Rev Bill McKenzie; and November 3 Remember Remember with Isobel Evans.

Update: September

Dave — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:48:44 -0400

On June 30 Isobel opened the meeting, picking our brains with a general knowledge quiz, followed by two poems written by a lady who had a great love for Kippford. Les then gave a short talk on the Veterans’ Day service at St Michael’s Church, followed by a talk on Lock Lomond and the Vale of Leven. He finished by singing I Belong to Glasgow.

At our July 14 meeting, Janet introduced Andre Barrallon who talked about the Seychelles. Off the coast of Africa, it becamse independent in 1972. We saw an aerial view of the runway next to the sea on the main island. The population is now mainly African.

On July 28, Les introduced Anne Twiname who showed us a video about nature’s wonders in Dumfries and Galloway, including the Cairnsmore hills with planes and helicopters on exercise. We saw different kinds of butterflies and bees among lavender and white campanulas. There were different kinds of birds including barnacle geese at Caerlaverock – nature is a wonderful thing!

Bette introduced Les at our August 11 meeting, and he gave an interesting talk on A Walk Through Dumfries. He took us down memory lane, telling us of interesting places. We started at the fountain and remembered when the County Hotel was there – as well as discussing Bonnie Prince Charlie sleeping there many years ago. We remembered Binns department store and all the buses leaving from outside it, as well as the Kings Arms Hotel where Boots is now. We went on to the Globe, where Rabbie Burns frequented, and to the beautiful statue of Jean Armour.

The next meetings for the Buzz are on September 8 – “Citizens’ Advice” – and September 22 – “Dumfries and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue”.

Update: July

Dave — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 09:42:48 -0400

On May 19, Les introduced Margaret McCafferty who shared with us slides of her visit to New Zealand, Fiji and Borneo.

Hong Kong was the first stop off with a trip around the harbour on a floating restaurant boat, then onto New Zealand visiting Auckland, home of the maori and the haka dance. Wellington was the next stop, where Lord of the Rings was filmed. We also saw slides showing whale hunting and panning for gold. On to The Franz Josef glacier, which we walked around without feeling cold! A visit to Dunedin and St Paul's Cathedral, Margaret met people with the familiar Scottish accent. Flying on to Fiji, we visited the Garden of the Sleeping Giant where gorgeous orchids grow.The views from her bedroom in Kuala Lumpur were breathtaking, looking at the Kings Palace and the six-storey Pertona Towers mall, a shopper's paradise.

June 2 was our summer outing and 38 members left for a visit to the Cocoa Bean Chocolate Factory in Twynholm. This is a small, family-run business producing award-winning chocolates. We were given a demonstration of how the chocolates are produced with one member helping. We finished our visit with afternoon tea, home baking and buying some chocolates!

On June 16, Jeanette opened our meeting with apologies from our speaker for the day Mrs Ellen Bell who was unfortunately ill. Mrs Kathleen Greer kindly played her clarsach for us and delighted us with various tunes from musicals. After our sing song we lubricated our singing voices with afternoon tea to finish a very enjoyable session.

Future meetings: July 14 The Seychelles with Andre, July 28 Natural Habits with Ann, August 11 Clarsach music with Kathleen Greer, August 25 Speakers Club with Helen Little. We are always happy to have new members, so whether you attend our church or not you will be made very welcome. The Buzz meets every second Monday at 2pm in the church halls.

Update: June

Dave — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:35:14 -0400

On April 21, Hilda introduced and welcomed Kate Murdoch from Shambellie House, New Abbey. Kate spoke to us and showed slides about work in the mills and factories producing fashion clothing for women. There was clothing for all occasions: very plain dresses with aprons for people who worked in service, elegant dresses with bustle and beautiful wedding gowns.

For the women in service, wash days were very long and hard work, using wash boards and wringers and heavy irons for different types of clothing.

Finally, Kate asked Isobel Evans to be our model and dressed her in the various layers of clothing which women had to tolerate, but when dressed up Isobel was very elegant.

At our meeting on May 5, Liz welcomed Donald (in the absence of his father Tommy) and Shona Henderson from Dalbeattie Museum. They gave us a film show on the history of Dumfries. Until 1929 Dumfries and Maxwelltown were two different burghs. At one time the Devorgilla Bridge had nine arches, but now it has only six. When the weather was very cold and frosty the people of Dumfries could skate and curl on the River Nith.

In 1893, Buccleuch Street Bridge was widened to allow horses to cross over on to the Whitesands to go to the market. After the cholera epidemic piped water was introduced but the
Crichton Royal Hospital already had their own supply from the artesian well which was cleaner and healthier for people. We were also told about industry in and around Dumfries, such as Arrol Johnston car factory and saw the cargoes being transported along the Nith. At the end of the presentation we were shown a collection of old postcards - what an interesting hobby.

We had an enjoyable afternoon and for anyone who has not yet visited the museum in Dalbeattie, it is worth a look.

Forthcoming dates – on June 2 we go on our summer outing to the Cocoa Bean, Twynholm. The bus leaves the church hall at 1.30pm, returning 5pm. Our meeting on June 16 is Auld Dumfries with Ellen and on 30th it's members' day.

Update: May

Dave — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 07:27:21 -0400

On Monday April 7, we welcomed Mrs Ella Pennington who gave us a very informative talk, entitled A Bag of Mixed Ingredients. After being a schoolteacher, she went on to train as a minister, was called upon to perform weddings at Gretna Green and learned a lot about its history as the place to where lots of young people ran over the border to be married over the anvil.

There were biker weddings, with couples married in all their biker gear; Americans wearing jeans; and one bride wearing a purple dress, with arrivals in transport from limousines, ponies and traps to motorbikes.

She closed by doing a monologue of a clootie dumpling, and with her sense of humour and wonderful Aberdonian accent it was a lovely afternoon, enjoyed by everyone, and followed by afternoon tea.

Saturday April 5 was our coffee morning and it was very busy. The committee would like to thank everyone who helped in any way and to everyone who came along and supported us to make it a success. The final sum raised was £583.70.

Our forthcoming meetings are: May 19 New Zealand, Fiji and Borneo with Margaret; June 2 our summer outing, still being arranged; June 16 Auld Dumfries with Ellen.

Update: April

Dave — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:03:58 -0400

The Buzz met on February 25 when we heard some holiday experiences from Lorna White. She and her husband always dreamed of a cruise, but caring for ageing parents was more important.

When the time was right, however, they had a most enjoyable cruise to Egypt and Palestine, followed by a shorter one the following year.

After losing her husband, Lorna was not keen to holiday by herself, but soon realised that if she didn't make the effort she would just sit at home. A visit to Venice was another venture =
although having a trip on a gondola was disappointing. However, on a visit to a glass-blowing factory she befriended a very nice lady, and as time went on they met on various different cruises. Visiting Pompeii was very enjoyable, as she loved the ruins and museums. Unfortunately on a cruise to Ukraine she became ill, but the medical staff were excellent. Lorna finished with a song called Coming Home and we all had a lovely afternoon.

At our meeting on March 10, we welcomed Pam and Colin Mitchell, who gave us a talk and slides on a wonderful holiday they had in Peru in 2006. They flew out to Miami, moving to the islands. They went on again and showed us some lovely alpacca jumpers and hats.

Their trip took in the Balestas Islands with lovely pelicans and penguins. The waters looked breathtaking and came right up to the cliffs, with birds including turkey vultures flying high above. We saw the volcano El Misti, with lovely flowers and scenery. A dip in the hot springs looked very inviting and relaxing. We saw Colco Valley, Inca terraces and burial grounds and condors in the desert and Lake Titicaca also looked very beautiful.

Pam and Colin were on the floating Uros island on the lake, sailing on to Taquile island, then had to take some time to get acclimatised before going on their Inca trail. There were 28 porters for 14 travellers, and we saw the women doing the weaving and the men doing the knitting. It was a very interesting afternoon.

We had no meeting on Easter Monday. Our forthcoming meetings are:
Monday April 7: Ella Pennington - Clootie Dumpling
Monday April 21: Shambellie
Monday May 5: Tommy Henderson - A Blast from the Past

All are welcome.

What's the Buzz?

Dave — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 05:33:05 -0400

The Buzz group is aimed at people who want to meet in a social setting within the church hall. Everyone is welcome, church member or not. More details are available here.