Visit to Cruck Cottage and Crichton Gardens 21-10-19

A dry, calm day dawned for our visit to Cruck Cottage and Crichton Gardens. After the awful wet weather we have been having lately the bright sunshine was wonderful to see as our driver collected everyone and set off for Torthorwald.
We were warmly greeted by Bill and Willie  as we arrived at the cottage and shepherded inside where the peat fire was burning brightly. The smell of the peat burning was wonderful and brought back many memories.

Having found everyone a seat Bill gave us a wonderful history of the cottage before introducing Willie Clow who we discovered was a local historian with a wealth of knowledge about Torthorwald and its inhabitants. He is at present - and has been for many years - writing a book about the census taken in the village. The enthusiasm of both Bill and Willie was evident in their talks which kept everyone spellbound.

Time then to look around the cottage at the artefacts that the Heritage Association have gathered to dress the cottage. There are also details displayed of how the cottage was saved and restored, and of the various events the volunteers now put on to maintain the cottage. Despite being very local many of our members had never been here before but were very impressed.

Going back outside to admire the cottage and grounds we realised we were rather chilly, despite the fire, and realised how cold it would have been living in this type of stone building for real!

A group photo rounded off our visit and with many thanks to Bill and Willie we said our goodbyes.

A delicious lunch in the Easterbrook Bistro warmed everyone up and gave us the energy to begin part two of our day. We had arranged for the Memorial Church to be open for us to look around but on such a lovely day the gardens were definitely an option too. Folk were left to their own devices for the rest of the afternoon to wander at will.

Crichton Memorial Church is a very imposing building - looking just a like cathedral! It was completed in 1897 for the Crichton Royal Hospital, then a psychiatric hospital. Elizabeth Crichton gifted them the church with its very detailed exterior and elegant interior. The outside is made of local red sandstone while the interior features local pink sandstone. The church is a conventional cross-shape with a 40 metre tower, an oak roof (by Alexander Tweedie of Annan), floors of marble and impressive stained glass windows. These are almost colour free and make quite an impression because of that. There is carved stonework, gargoyles, a brass angel lectern and a magnificent organ within the building too. As it is a non-denominational church there are various events held within the building from weddings, concerts and other events. On the day we visited they were getting ready for a graduation ceremony.

Leaving the church we set off to investigate the grounds which are huge - the whole estate is 85 acres.
We knew the gardens were worth visiting but again many of us had not actually been here before. What a mistake that was! Beautiful grounds with many specimen trees and plants, a rock garden, and rose garden. There are plenty of seats too so if you need a short rest on the way round ...

We spent a while collecting a few conkers and sweet chestnuts too - just big kids at heart!

There are also playing fields and open spaces so is suitable for absolutely anyone and everyone. It is open all year round too and the gardens are very well maintained with the gardeners doing a magnificent job.
Returning on the bus many conversations were repeating the same thing - what a good day and we must go back!

Visit to Ruthwell Savings Bank Museum and Ruthwell Church. 12th August 2019

Our trip today was to the Ruthwell Savings Bank Museum. We were welcomed by Mhairi and Kay who were going to show us around the museum, and Ruthwell Church.

The Savings bank was started by the Rev. Henry Duncan in 1810 and is still part of TSB today. The building was bought by the TSB for £1 when it was put up for sale in the 1950's, and finally opened as a museum in the 1970's.

Henry was the son of a minister, trained in commercial banking. However in those days investors had to have a deposit of £10 to open an account in a bank and Henry realised many people would have no chance of that. His poor handwriting and reprimands about it from his employers finally led to Henry  rethinking his career.

Mhairi told us that he became a Minister of the Church of Scotland and was invited to take on the small, poor and neglected parish of Ruthwell, but he was determined to set up a way of saving for the people of his parish who were mainly farm labourers.He was so successful that people travelled from far and wide to invest in his bank. The bank was open to men, women and children and an account could be started with only sixpence. Savers were given a pass book with their own unique number and the money they invested with Henry was in turn invested with a regular bank. The interest Henry received on his investors' money was then shared with his investors.

Henry was also a prolific writer and was instrumental in setting up the D&G Courier and Standard newspapers. As Editor he could use the paper to pass on his views and ideas. The principles Henry used within his Savings Bank became the norm for accounts all over the country - and world - and many banks follow his rules to this day.

He became the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, although he also became a leading light in the Disruption of the Kirk and eventually left the established church for the Free Church.
Henry was also interested in geology and drawing. He presented the first scientific paper on fossil footprints to the Royal Society and sketched many local scenes.

After delicious coffee and scones, enjoyed in the garden of the museum, Kay showed us some of the huge collection of money safes and boxes the museum has amassed.

Henry was also responsible for saving the famous Ruthwell Cross which had broken into pieces after being cast down by the Church of Scotland during the Reformation. He spent 25 years putting the pieces back together and filling in the pieces that were missing. He had to design the cross arm himself as he never found the original, and made a scale model of the cross with beeswax to fashion his idea. This copy of the cross now sits in the museum.

After a very interesting time at the museum we then moved on to Ruthwell Church to see the cross Henry saved. A beautiful little church surrounded by hundreds of graves and huge, engraved stones.  Henry is buried here but there is no record of which grave is Henry's.

Inside the recently renovated church we saw the wonderful cross. It is so tall they had to dig a deep well to fit the 18 feet tall cross into the church.It is elaborately carved with inscriptions, birds, animals and scenes showing Christ and other religious figures.

Many thanks must go to Mhairi and Kay for being such knowledgeable guides to the Museum and the Church. What a wonderful job they do to keep Henry Duncan's story alive.

Blood Bikes Concert Nov 2018

Having had a visit to GIG from D&G Blood Bikes, we were aware that they have no official funding and a chance remark that they had formed a choir started us thinking ....
Discussions began with BB and the GIG committee .... could we get them to come and sing for us?
Initial responses were all positive ... and then the idea began to grow ....

Could we hire the hall at Richard Greenhow Centre? Could we sell tickets and make it an evening event? Could we find another act to perform with them? Should we have a raffle? a quiz? refreshments?
The committee worked hard behind the scenes - designing and printing posters, which were then put up in as many places as we could manage from Gretna to Annan. Thanks to GIG members for taking posters to advertise) 

- tickets were designed and printed ...
(Thanks to GIG members for taking tickets to sell)

- a quiz was devised and printed ...
(Thanks to the |Richard Greenhow Centre, The Devil's Porridge and club members for taking quizzes to sell)

- support acts were contacted and confirmed (although we decided not to advertise who they were!)

- raffle prizes were requested, and donated (Thanks to all those, including club members, who donated prizes)

- 

- readying the venue (Thanks to RGC for allowing us to use the kitchen/dining room and facilities for refreshments)

... until Friday 23rd November arrived and An Evening of Music and Song became a reality! Doors opened and the audience began to trickle in ...

performers set up their equipment ...

Peter gave essential information ... and then we were off!

The Samba Sisters were our opening act - and what an opener!

They are a drumming group who play a variety of samba songs and the energy and skill they displayed was amazing. A brilliant start to the evening,

After the loud applause for the Samba Sisters died down the Director of D&G Blood Bikes took the microphone. He explained that Blood Bikes are a charity providing a service to the NHS 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They transport medical supplies free of charge between NHS sites in D&G and beyond! He revealed that they have actually just completed their 2500th run!

The choir were quietly preparing and then went on to treat us to a varied selection of songs, accompanied by 2 guitars.

The first part of the concert came to a close to allow time for refreshments (very kindly donated for the event! - and served by club members) There was also time to visit the Blood Bikes fundraising stall.The raffle was then drawn before part 2 of the concert began.

Anon are both part of the Blood Bikes choir but sang us a selection of songs as a duo. Terrific music followed with the audience clapping and tapping their feet. The whole choir then came back to conclude the evening.

... and suddenly it was all over!
What an incredible evening it had been. Everyone we spoke to had thoroughly enjoyed it!
An amazing display of talent brought together to raise money for a very worthy cause.
The GIG committee are very aware of how many people helped with this event - we are not going to name them all here but if you helped in any way - THANKYOU. At present we hope to have raised approx. £900

Mystery Trip 3rd July 2018

This trip had been advertised as a mystery trip with just a couple of clues as to our destination. A ride on a vintage vehicle and a view of the backbone of England??? Where could we be going within an hour or so of Annan & Gretna?
Although a few people had an idea of where we might be going, no-one knew for sure. Everyone was on time at pick-up points and looking forward to our day out, so we set off on time. The weather was beautiful - mid-twenties temperature forecast, although there was some breeze which proved to make it more comfortable than it might otherwise have been. How nice to leave coats behind with no worries about what the weather was going to do! We had estimated that the journey on the bus would be approx. one hour and on such a glorious day the views were incredible and the journey passed quite quickly. Comments as we progressed along certain roads obviously discounted some ideas of where we might be going.

Finally arriving at our first destination we revealed all there was to see and do at South Tynedale Railway in Alston. After sitting on the bus for an hour the first stop for most was the cafe!
Time then to decide what to do next and most opted for a train ride along the scenic 5 mile route to Slaggyford.

The shop and old ticket office have been renovated for modern use. The train left exactly on time and gave us some beautiful views of the Pennine scenery as we travelled along the north of England's highest narrow gauge railway, passing through Kirkhaugh and Lintley Halt before reaching the end of the line at Slaggyford.

There is a footpath that follows the railway line and it is possible to get on and off the train at any of the halts and enjoy a walk in the stunning countryside. At the end of the line there is a buffet carriage if refreshments are needed.
Watching the engine uncouple and go to the other end of the carriages to re-couple for the return journey is fascinating in itself, and many took advantage of the chance to watch the procedure and take a few photos.

Re-taking our seats the return journey began. The day we were there a group of volunteers were very busy - but not too busy that they couldn't stop and wave as the train passed by! -  and we noticed a picnic site at one of the halts, that looked very clean and tidy.

There have been major repairs and renovations to the station buildings at Alston - a brand new cafe, toilets, a second platform, the Discovery Centre and a viewing gallery in the engineering shed have all been restored or built to high standards. The whole site is disabled friendly, with a ramp for wheelchair access to the train carriages themselves.

Opposite the railway site there is also the Hub Heritage & Transport Museum. For a small charge you can wander through their collection of old cars, motor bikes, bicycles and items from the last century (or more!) They have an assortment of old photos and items from the old mining industry too. Going into the shed it looks as if you could whizz round in 5-10 minutes but once you start looking there is so much more to look at in there than 5-10 minutes worth!!

Snacks or more substantial meals were on offer in the wonderful cafe - most of it home made too. With a short post-lunch walk along the River Tyne, watching the sand martins darting in and out of nest holes in the bank of the river and the fish darting about in the water itself, our time at Alston soon flew by.
The trains, track, stations and facilities are all very well looked after by volunteers who are obviously very proud of their railway. Talking to any of them it is easy to see why it is also known as the "friendly railway"

A wonderful start to our day out. Could part 2 be as good?
On the bus again, a few people had made a good guess about where we were going next but many had never been inside the building itself. A short ride took us to The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre at Once Brewed, on the Military Road close to Hadrian's Wall. The centre is brand new, only opening in 2017. It features exhibitions, a brand new Youth Hostel, cafe and shop. The cafe serves food and drink on the first floor level with glass windows all around to allow you to see the fabulous views. From the cafe you can then access the grass roof, with walkways, that enable you to stand on the roof and looks at the amazing 360° views over the surrounding countryside. Incredible!
Only a short stop here for refreshments, but hopefully it gave a "taster" to everyone so that next time they pass by they call in again!

A fabulous day out with friends.

Visit to Blaithwaite House 7th June 2018

Since having a talk about Blaithwaite House at one of our group meetings, a visit to Blaithwaite had definitely been on the cards. It turned out to the first of our summer trips out! The weather was glorious as we set off, calling at Dobbies Garden Centre for refreshments and a look at what they had to offer, but everyone was really waiting to move on!

Our approach to Blaithwaite was along country lanes with wild flowers on the verges and the sights and sounds of haymaking in the fields. There is not a lot of room down the lanes when you meet a tractor coming the other way -  especially when you have 4 cars (with members who came in their own transport) following the bus.
However arrive we did and what an entrance ...

Dennis & Glenys were waiting for us as we arrived in the car park and led us to the Barn where we would be officially welcomed.

What a stunning building to be welcomed in! Malcolm and Dennis told us a little about the history of Blaithwaite and how it has been developed over the years into its present incarnation.
We were then led on a grand tour around some of the grounds and buildings - with an invitation to investigate further for ourselves if we wanted.

Buildings have been restored sympathetically, but still with character and atmosphere.

The grounds of Blaithwaite range from formal gardens to big open spaces where you can wander at will.

The house has been redecorated and brought into the 21st Century beautifully and sympathetically. Malcolm's wife, Kate,  joined us part-way through the tour and, we were told, has been influential in its re-design. What a good job she has done!
Blaithwaite is now a venue for a range of celebrations. They cater for many weddings, large or small, indoor or outdoor, and offer a very personal service. They offer accommodation in the house, in the converted stables, in the Bunk House, on the campsite or in glamping tepees! All of the redecoration has been very tastefully completed.There are also a range of activities on offer to keep guests of all ages busy.

The hospitality we received was second to none - we were guided around the house and grounds but with no sense of impatience. Questions were answered and freedom to wander encouraged. There has obviously been an awful lot of thought and effort put into Blaithwaite House and its grounds to create the stunning country estate it now is. The magical atmosphere it exudes would make any visit memorable - and ours certainly was.