Dumfries and Galloway Council's Sensory Support Team is pleased to announce new drop-in information, support and advice clinics for the Deaf British Sign Language (BSL) Community across Dumfries and Galloway – facilitated by Julia Clark Kennedy, social work assistant.  

The drop-in sessions are running now in Dumfries, and from March in Annan and Stranraer as follows: 

Stranraer BSL Drop-in
First Wednesday of the month.
Social Work Office, Ashwood House, Sun Street, Stranraer. 10am to 12pm.

Annan BSL Drop-in
Second Wednesday of the month.
Annan Town Hall, Annan. 10am to 12pm.

Dumfries BSL Drop-in
Every Friday.
Social Work Office, Irish Street, Dumfries. 9.30am to 12.30pm.

Expected to be completed in autumn 2023, the £2.3million project is being led by Keir, Penpont and Tynron Development Trust, which was formed in 2018 to take forward key projects identified by an earlier study conducted in the three communities. 

The main funder for the project is Places for Everyone, an active travel infrastructure fund backed by Transport Scotland and administered by Sustrans Scotland.

Match funding was secured from SWestrans, South of Scotland Enterprise, Dumfries and Galloway Council Communities Committee, SSE and Annandale and Nithsdale Community Benefit Company (ANCBC).

Funding previously secured from the Scottish Land Fund and Sustrans enabled the Trust to purchase the appropriate land for the path, and Buccleuch Estates, Church of Scotland and David Kirkpatrick have provided support by leasing parts of the route.

Benefits of the project will include opening up learning opportunities for residents and providing more equal access to retail and leisure facilities, medical appointments and onward travel to provide further job opportunities and alternative commutes to work. 

There will also be environmental benefits, included enhanced biodiversity through hedge planting and under-sowing of wildflowers.

The trust is run by a board of volunteers and a development officer who work with local people and stakeholders to develop and improve the area through several focussed projects, and they are already working to secure funding to extend the path to attract more visitors to the area.

Gretna and Rigg Community Council (GRCC) recently awarded its first annual Community Champion Award. The award is a recognition for achievement and commitment within the local community.

GRCC is happy to announce that its Community Champion of 2022 is Gordon Davidson. Gordon has been living in Gretna all his life and is well-known and respected in the community for his volunteering, his many acts of kindness and his care for the people of Gretna and Rigg.

Gordon looks after both cemeteries, he clears pensioners' paths in the winter so carers can get in and out the houses safely, and he also clears the car park at the local Co-op store with permission from the management. Gordon is always approachable and happy to help. His next project is to support the Raydale Community Partnership by undertaking maintenance jobs. 

Gordon received an engraved trophy and a voucher that were both funded with help from a discretionary grant from Dumfries and Galloway Council. Gordon said: "I am extremely grateful for my award and proud to serve Gretna and Rigg communities."

The Legion Scotland Best Kept War Memorial Competition 2023 is now open.

Entry forms should be submitted to the Legion Scotland's area secretary areasecgadg@legionscotland.org.uk and head office BKWM@legionscotland.org.uk

If you wish to submit and entry, here are some key dates:

• Completed entry deadline – 28 April 2023.
• Area judging – 12 May to 14 July 2023.
• National judging – 21 July to 18 August 2023.
• Trophy presentation at New Haig House, Edinburgh – 8 September 2023.

The RBCFT
Film of the Week

The film of the week is Roman Holiday – a 1953 romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. Overwhelmed by her suffocating schedule, touring European Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) takes off for a night while in Rome. After falling asleep on a park bench, she is found by an American reporter, Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), who takes her back to his apartment for safety. At work the next morning, Joe finds out Ann's regal identity and bets his editor he can get an exclusive interview with her, but romance soon gets in the way.

One of the great romantic films, Roman Holiday is a virtual template for contemporary romcoms (Richard Curtis wittily paid homage to it in his own Notting Hill). It is delightful, warm, witty, and beautifully filmed in black and white – it remains an unabashed romantic delight. The story goes that Paramount originally wanted to shoot it in Hollywood, but the director insisted it must be shot on location. They finally agreed, but with a much lower budget. This meant the movie would be in black and white, not Technicolor, and he would need to cast an unknown actress as the princess. It is Hepburn’s first starring role and she’s magnificent, gorgeously radiant as the princess who wants a normal life. Peck was so convinced Hepburn was going to win an Oscar he lobbied the producers to put her name above the title. They did and she did.

When the film was released the original writer, Dalton Trumbo, was blacklisted as one of the legendary Hollywood Ten, and therefore could not receive credit for the screenplay, even when it won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture Story. Upon the film’s restoration in 2002, he finally received story credit (having also been given a posthumous Oscar in 1993).

Roman Holiday is the perfect romantic film for Valentine’s Day, and you can see it in a newly restored 4K rerelease at the Robert Burns Centre on Tuesday 14 February at 2.00pm and 7.30pm. This is not one you want to miss.