We won!
Moniaive in Flower and Glencairn Community Council would like to thank all those who took part on Sunday 1st August and helped weed, strim, sweep and tidy the village ready for the judges from Nithsdale in Bloom and Scotland in Bloom.
The Nithsdale in Bloom judge was very impressed by the village and its sense of community. He had only a few suggestions for improvement which will be taken on board for next year. We then received a letter to say we’ve won the ‘Nithsdale in Bloom Small Village’ section for the fifth year running, and the Lansdale Trophy for Community Involvement (for the fourth time). So well done and thank you to everyone who made the village look so good again this year. The presentation took place on the 15th September at the Cairndale Hotel in Dumfries and was attended by Dot Irvine, Christine Rostel, Val McNeil and Sue Grant.
Beautiful Scotland awards dinner took representatives Sue and Wendy Wall to Glenrothes where Moniaive received ‘Silver’ in the small village section. This is one down from last year when we received ‘Silver Gilt’. The judges comment sheet is being studied to see where we can improve.
The Beautiful Scotland competition judging had been going well until… one of the judges stood in some dog dirt left outside the bowling club in Dunreggan. This incident reduced our chances in the competition as 6 points were deducted from our overall score which is a great shame after all the hard work the community put into making the village look so good.
Dog dirt is the biggest and most frequent cause of complaint to the Community Council every month and despite numerous articles in the Gazette and signs everywhere in the village, dog owners are still not picking up after their dogs. Both parks and the new footpath to the school, used mainly by children, are the biggest black spots. The Gazette and Community Council have had a policy of not naming and shaming the culprits (who are known) but this will change and, in future, owners seen not picking up after their dogs will be named on the community council noticeboard and in the Gazette.
Collecting dog dirt might be a hassle, it might be unpleasant, but dog owners must realise how important it is to collect their dogs droppings. Those of us who helped clean the village prior to judging cleared up a lot and we don’t even have any dogs! Cases of toxocariasis are on the rise in Britain (see article below) and with many young children in the parish it is important that people realise the dangers. So please take a bag with you when you walk the dog and keep this parish safe for children.
Sue Grant