Hi everyone, after a long January it seems as if February has flown by, and as if by magic March is here already! With Whuppity Scoorie heralding in spring and the result of the Discover Lanark BID ballot being announced, it’s been another busy week for the Development Trust.
On Tuesday, I attended the Lanark Enegy Fayre at Lanark Memorial Hall, hosted by Home Energy Scotland, to promote Castlebank Horticultural Centre’s projects and all of our ‘green’ volunteering opportunities. Lots of useful information was available on the day on saving money on your bills, going green, renewables and home energy saving improvements. Visit the Home Energy Scotland website for more information on steps you can take to save energy and money.
On Wednesday, a range of new features and updates went live on The Lanark Website, which is now managed by the Development Trust and supported by the Border Biscuits Community Support Fund. The site now includes a Lanark Jobs Board and a Volunteering Opportunities page. You can list local jobs, events, volunteering roles and business directory details on the website free of charge. Email firstname.lastname@example.org for more information!
On Thursday, we were buzzing to announce (excuse the pun!), that thanks to the The National Lottery Community Fund Scotland we will be getting beehives at Castlebank Horticultural Centre. As part of our Community Apiary Project, we will be instating the beehives and delivering a range of fun ‘bee-themed’ learning opportunities, competitions and events for the local community. As part of this funding, Stuart, our new Educational Gardener, is starting a beekeeping course with the Lanarkshire Beekeepers’ Association in March. Stay tuned for more details!
On Friday morning, I attended the ballot count of the Discover Lanark Business Improvement District. The Development Trust are delighted to report that the outcome of the count was a YES vote – a fantastic step forward for Lanark’s future. Further details will be available very soon on the Discover Lanark website.
To end this working week, the chiming of the church bell at 6pm on the 1st of March marks the start of Whuppity Scoorie! This ancient tradition seems local young people racing around St Nicholas Church, waving handmade balls of newspaper around their heads with the aim of ‘scaring away’ all of the evil spirits of winter and heralding in the beginning of spring. The beginnings of this tradition are quite unknown, but you can read more about this ancient tradition on the Lanark Museum website here. The Tolbooth is also hosting a Whuppity Scoorie exhibition featuring artwork from local school pupils until Saturday 9th March.
This weekend, there is an ABBA tribute act in the Memorial Hall tonight (1st March at 7.30pm), and it’s the ‘Made in Lanark’ Spring Market Night on Sunday evening (3rd March at 8pm) and on Monday 4th March you can donate blood at St Nicholas Church Hall with ScotBlood from 2pm – 3.30pm, and 5pm – 7.30pm.
You can discover more local events, and list your own free of charge at www.lanark.co.uk/whats-on. It’s now even easier to add multiple dates at once for an ongoing event, just use the calendar date selector!
Do you have any ideas to improve the town or projects you would like the Development Trust to consider? Please feel free to email us with your ideas or suggestions on email@example.com