Friday 21 July 2023
Welcome to Community, your Dumfries and Galloway community bulletin.
We are always keen to hear of any positive stories about things that are happening in your community and would like to feature them in Community – please email us at communitybulletin@dumgal.gov.uk and one of our reporters will get back to you.
 A to Z of Dumfries and Galloway Council
D is for deep freeze.
This is Ruairi, who is a leisure attendant at Dumfries Ice Bowl.
Ruairi makes sure the ice pad is in the best condition for recreational activity and competitive sport.
On an average day Ruari will resurface the ice using the Olympia machine between six and eight times – but has been known to do this anything up to 19 times during world championships.
Ruairi is one of only 15 people in Britain who is certified in Refrigeration Best Practice and takes great pride in ensuring the ice is ready for the wide variety of groups (and individuals) that use the facility.
“I really enjoy the technical elements of the job and being a part of this team. The preparation involved in getting the ice pad ready for the world championships, that is a lot of work but knowing the impact it has on performance levels shows just how important it is.”
A keen ice hockey player himself, he enjoys the bonus of maintaining the surface for a sport he is enjoys playing himself.
Ruairi adds, “The level of sporting achievement coming out of the Ice Bowl is incredible; there are so many dedicated coaches and staff going the extra mile to support each other, and I am happy knowing that what I do along with the wider team of brilliant people helps them to train and perform. It is a team effort on and off the ice.”
Did you know that the ice needs to be a temperature of -6.5 degrees for figure skating but -7 for ice hockey? Even things like the auditorium being full of people or the temperature outside changes dramatically can have an effect. So Ruari needs to be on his toes.
Without you Ruairi, and the rest of team, there would be no elite-level ice hockey, figure skating, skating lessons, curling or even ice discos. What you do, and your passion for your job, make an enormous difference to the people of Dumfries and Galloway.
 Love Parks Week 2023
Love Parks Week 2023 begins next Friday 28 July, and what better way to start the celebration of our region's parks and green spaces than sharing the news that two Dumfries and Galloway green spaces have won Green Flag Awards.
Environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful has announced the two parks in Dumfries and Galloway that have been presented with a Green Flag Award.
Recognising the very best of our country’s outdoor areas, the international Green Flag Award acts as a benchmark for clean, safe and well-maintained parks and green spaces.
Green spaces provide fantastic opportunities that enable exercise, improve mental wellbeing and provide safe spaces for play.
The Crichton, managed by The Crichton Trust, has won its award for a second year in a row. Dock Park, the other winner in Dumfries and Galloway, has won for a tenth consecutive year.
Agnew Park Upgrades
Agnew Park in Stranraer is another of the region's parks that is a fabulous resource for everyone to enjoy. One of the highlights of the park is its miniature railway.
The miniature railway has recently had an upgrade that has included renewing the sleepers with fully recycled track system that is more sustainable than the previous wooden one. The previous petrol engine on the train also been upgraded and replaced by a more environmentally friendly electric one.
You can enjoy the newly upgraded railway at Agnew Park daily between 12 and 5pm. Tickets cost £2 for an adult, or £1.50 for a concession.
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 Station Park Enjoys Water-Fun Updates
Station Park in Moffat was created in the early 1900s and benefitted from some recent additions. Last year a new sand and water play feature was installed, replacing the old water play feature which had reached the end of its life. The new feature can be used from March to October and has been a popular addition.
The boating pond is a big feature of the park, and this has had investment this year in a new range of boats. A boat-naming competition was organised with Moffat and Beattock primary schools, and the children did not disappoint with the imaginative names they came up with.
You can visit the new boats, and pick which your favourite is. Their names are:
- Flamingo Paddle Boat – “Tulip”
- Flamingo Paddle Boat – “Rosie”
- Unicorn Paddle Boat – “Rainbow”
- Unicorn Paddle Boat – “Sparkle”
- Dragon Paddle Boat – “Mr Flames”
- Swan Paddle Boat – “Snowflake”
There is lots to see and do in the parks and green spaces in Dumfries and Galloway – you can get involved in Love Parks Week, and make new memories this summer.
 Amazing Summer Roadshows Back for 2023
The Amazing Summer Roadshows started on Thursday 20 July and will be in various locations across the region until Sunday 20 August – providing 100 sessions over 80 different communities over the summer.
Each community event lasts for three hours, with daytime sessions running 1pm to 4pm and evening sessions running 6pm to 9pm – each providing a range of activities such as crafts, sports, sports coaching, games, music and refreshments.
The full programme for where the roadshows will be touring over the summer can be found on the links below, or at the Youth Enquiry Service website:
https://youthenquiryservice.org/whats-on
 Back to School One-Stop Shop
The summer is well underway, but many parents and carers across the region already have an eye on the end of the holidays and the start of the new school term. There are a number of Back to School One-Stop Shop events planned, where you can collect free new and pre-loved school uniforms, stationery and get lunch too.
There will also be hairdressers at the events who will give free back to school trims each day. The events start on Sunday 13 August.
If you can't make it to a one-stop shop, you can always visit one of the permanent donation and collection points.
 Photo L-R: Sam McTrusty (Twin Atlantic), Sarah Clark (customer services), Tabby Fallace (Get it Loud in Libraries), Lorna McPhail (customer services), Frances McGowan (customer services), Ross McNae (Twin Atlantic).
Get It Loud In Libraries
Stranraer Customer Services and Library recently partnered with Get it Loud in Libraries and brought Twin Atlantic to play to a capacity crowd. Two-hundred people enjoyed a fabulous set by the Glasgow band who delighted the audience with this stripped-back show.
Formed in 2006 the band has released six albums to-date and enjoy a loyal fan base that includes Kerrang magazine and Jimmy Chamberlain of the Smashing Pumpkins, who invited them to support his chart-topping band at the SECC in early February.
The gig in Stranraer showed the band in all their glory, providing a brilliant afternoon for everyone who attended – cementing Stranraer Customer Services and Library as one of Get it Loud in Libraries' favourite venues.
 Project GREMLIN launched
A new project has been launched that is taking a new approach to the digitisation of historic maps. The Glenkens Rectified Estate Mapping and Land Information Network (GREMLIN) project has interpreted 44 estate maps from the 1800s, using the contents to measure and classify land-use in the Glenkens 200 years ago. These maps and the land-use details from them can now be interactively searched on the National Library of Scotland mapping website, in what is a ‘first’ for historic mapping efforts in the country.
This has been a partnership project between the Dumfries Archival Mapping Project, the Galloway Glens Scheme and the National Library of Scotland.
The Galloway Glens Scheme is a five-year project based in the Stewartry region of Dumfries and Galloway. An initiative of Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Environment Team, it is funded by a range of partners including the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The Galloway Glens Scheme aims to connect people to their heritage and to support modern rural communities. www.gallowayglens.org
Results of the project are captured published on the National Library of Scotland mapping website: https://maps.nls.uk/projects/gremlin/
 Kippford RNLI Open Day and Charity Evening
Kippford RNLI are hosting an open day on Saturday 22 July. See their lifeboat up close, and the watch the crew take to the water. There are visits planned from neighbouring lifeboats and the local coastguard team – it should be a great day out for the whole family.
Following the main part of the open day, taking place between 1 and 4pm, the Red Arrows Display Team is scheduled to perform a fly-past. The team will be overhead around 5.30pm, and the boathouse will remain open until then so all can all enjoy the spectacle.
If that isn't enough, Kippford RNLI is also hosting a charity evening at The Anchor Hotel, Kippford where there will be music, hot food and a raffle. Tickets cost £15pp and will be available from any of the Kippford crew or by messaging the Kippford RNLI Facebook page directly.
 DG Doing More
DG Doing More is a website created as part of a physical activity campaign by Dumfries and Galloway Council and the Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership.
We would like your feedback on the website to see if it achieves its aims. The survey should take less than 10 minutes.
Your responses will help us to find out how the website is doing and if there are any improvements that could be made.
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