Friday 16 December 2022

Welcome to Community, your Dumfries and Galloway community bulletin. For the last bulletin of 2022, we have a few useful articles where you can find information and links to keep you safe and in the know throughout the festive period. 

As always, if you have any positive stories about things that are happening in your community and would like to see them featured in Community – please email us at communitybulletin@dumgal.gov.uk and one of our reporters will get back to you.

Are You Ready for Winter?

The winter months bring unpredictable weather – from sunshine to wind, rain, snow and ice. The Council and other partners will always try to deliver as many services as they can, no matter the situation, but the reality is that they might also be impacted.

To help, you can get prepared and be ready for disruption. Taking a few simple steps can improve your own personal or household resilience. We've put together a few ideas of what you can do to be prepared.

• Find your utilities – it sounds obvious, but it is significantly easier to locate your fuse box, gas meter, or mains water supply tap in the light, than during a power cut or emergency situation. Take the time to learn where utilities in your house are and how they operate.
• Check your car – it is important to ensure your vehicle is ready for winter. Make sure these areas are topped up or checked: Fuel, Oil, Rubber, Coolant, Electrics, Screenwash.
• Think about your neighbours – a resilient community is one where households look out for each other and help each other in times of need. You may be able to help your neighbour with an important job to prepare for winter, or your neighbour may be able to help you.
• Going out and about during the winter months – it’s important to wrap up warm. Wearing lots of thin layers will help to maintain body heat, and footwear with a good grip will help to prevent slips and falls when outside.
• Christmas Safety Tips from RoSPA – the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has Christmas advice and safety tips, including on decorations, buying children’s gifts and a video highlighting the importance of checking your Christmas lights regularly: https://www.rospa.com/home-safety/advice/christmas-safety.
• Travel Safe D & G app – an app is available and gives direct access to SEPA's Floodline and the Met Office’s National Severe Weather warning service, What 3 Words and DGVOST. When searching for the app in the Google/Android or Apple’s app store search for ‘Travel Safe D & G’.
• DGVOST – Dumfries and Galloway's Virtual Operations Support Team. This team becomes operational when a major incident is declared. The website, https://dgvost.dumgal.gov.uk/, shows live incidents, ongoing road closures, and emergency contact numbers and weblinks. You can follow the team on Facebook or Twitter.

Useful phone numbers:

1. In an emergency always dial 999 when there is a risk to life or property.
2. Dumfries and Galloway Council Contact Centre – dial 030 33 33 3000 (this number is monitored 24 hours a day, 365 days a year).
3. Dial the 101 the non-emergency number to make local police aware of any policing issues in your area.
4. Dial 111 for provide urgent care advice and mental health support day or night from NHS 24.
5. Dial 105 to report or get information about power cuts in your local area.
6. Dial 0800 023 2023 for Openreach to report issues related to telephone services in your area.
7. Dial 0800 077 8778 for Scottish Water-related issues.
8. Dial 0800 111 999 for Scottish Gas-related emergency issues, such as a gas leak.

Dumfries and Galloway Council Opening Times 

There's a dedicated webpage with the Council's frontline services' opening times listed for the festive period. Information on homeless services, waste collection, registration, social work and other key services is available. 

Gritters are busy salting roads across the region, and teams are gritting pavements. Please be safe and travel according to the weather. You can go online to check where the Council gritters are going, where they are currently and request refills on grit bins.

Cost-of-Living Help for Dumfries and Galloway Households

Every Community Bulletin we’ll feature a different section of the newly launched Cost of Living DG website, which aims to help Dumfries and Galloway residents with cost-of-living increases.

As we approach the holiday season, many households find themselves in need of more support. On the website, you can find details of the help available to households locally, nationally and UK-wide: from advice and grant support for private homeowners, information on Cold Weather Payments, help with housing, and organisations and charities across Dumfries and Galloway that can help you with cost-of-living increases.

Click on the website’s Help for Households tab for full details.

The Cost of Living Dumfries and Galloway site has been developed by the region’s Poverty and Inequalities Partnership and signposts people in need to information and resources that can mitigate the impact of falling income or increased bills.

Stay Fire-Safe During the Holidays

During the festive period there is a heightened risk of fire and fire injury within the home due to Christmas decorations, unsafe use of candles or tea lights. The risk is heightened when you drink more alcohol while cooking or smoking. 

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has put together a few handy guides to help you stay safe over the festive period. From fairy lights to portable heaters, alcohol to electric blankets, and smoke alarms to being ice aware, there's lots of important information. To find out more or arrange a free Home Fire Safety Visit for you or someone you know who may be at greater risk from fire, call the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on 0800 0731 999 or visit www.firescotland.gov.uk

Council Roads Staff Festive Fundraiser

Roads staff based in Wayside Depot, Dumfries, took part in Christmas Jumper Day on Thursday 8 December 2022, in aid of Save The Children. The remit was simple – wear your Christmas jumper and donate £2 each to the charity.

Staff from management, technical and operational departments joined in and raised over £50 for Save The Children, with help from Bert and Peggy (the Daschunds), and little Finn Braid.

Restoring Ancient Dumfriesshire Woodlands

Keyr Wood in the north of Dumfriesshire is centuries old. Keyr (now spelled Keir) was once around 5,000 acres in size and was mapped in the Blaeu Atlas of Scotland in the 1650s. It started to reduce from the 1700s as demand for timber for construction, shipbuilding and the local mining industry grew. By the early Victorian age much had been lost.

An ambitious project to regenerate the Wood of Keyr has now been launched. Today only a few patches of woodland and isolated trees remain, and the first phase of the project is to plant 400 new trees. More than 15 local landowners have come together to support the scheme. Keir Community Council and the wider local community are also backing the project.

The plantings are part of the Queen’s Green Canopy project and commemorate the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II. On 29 November, the first oak tree was planted at Penfillan Farm near Keir Mill by Fiona Armstrong, Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries.

The project will also be registered by The Woodland Trust.

South of Scotland Tree Planting Grant Scheme Open

Offering grants of up to £1,000 for small-scale native tree planting schemes, the South of Scotland Tree Planting Grant Scheme (SoSTPGS) operates across Dumfries and Galloway.

Applicants can be anyone from private landowners, community groups, schools and more. Sites being planted should total less than 0.25 hectares. This is the second year of the scheme’s operation, and it is estimated that more than 8,000 native trees were planted last year.  If you are interested in submitting an application, contact Jonathan Barrett by email or on 07469 571806.

Doon Castle Broch in 3D

Over two weeks in June 2022, a team of hardy volunteers worked with AOC Archaeology Group on a programme of rubble clearance and consolidation at Doon Castle Broch as part of the Rhins Revealed Community Archaeology Project.

A 3D model of the site has now been created using a process known as photogrammetry so you can now explore the broch from the comfort of your own home. Doon Castle Broch is one of the many stunning heritage sites on the Rhins that are linked by the developing Rhins of Galloway Coast Path.

The RBCFT Film of the Week The RBCFT Film of the Week is true-life drama She Said. Two-time Academy Award nominee Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan star as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor, who together broke one of the most important stories in a generation – a story that helped launch the #MeToo movement. The film is adapted from Kantor and Twohey’s 2019 book of the same name on their investigation into the now former film producer and convicted sex offender Harvey Weinstein. She Said has been well reviewed but was not a not a box office hit. Audiences that did turn up to see it certainly liked it – the film has a 91% Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. It brings to mind the Oscar-winning Spotlight that dramatised the Boston Globe newspaper’s investigation into abuse by Roman Catholic priests. Both films often feel pedestrian in style, but they give us a sense of how an investigation is built: relentlessly, slowly, with sources confirmed and protected, and documents uncovered. Both are completely compelling and deeply moving at times. Even if you know where the story is going – and it’s not difficult to keep up with the story online and in the Press – there’s a thrill in getting to the inevitable takedown of Weinstein. Difficult viewing at times – there are references to suicide from victims, and a real audio recording documents Weinstein attempting to coerce a frightened woman into his hotel room. Both leads are exceptional and ably supported by Particia Clarkson and Andre Braugher as their editors. The Observer newspaper gave the film four stars out of five and praised director Maria Schrader: "her sensitive, unshowy approach to the directing choices is a smart decision; this is a film that is respectful of and in service to the stories of the women." She Said is well worth two hours of your time. The film is in cinemas now and at the Robert Burns Centre on 16, 17 and 21 December.

This is the last edition of 2022, so from all at the Community Bulletin team have a great holiday and we will see you all when the bulletin returns on Friday 13 January 2023.