The Fife Herald has kindly given the Dairsie web site permission to copy the Dairsie News that is printed in the Fife Herald every week.
Winners of the February draw of the Dairsie War Memorial Hall 200 Club were: Carol Owen - £20; Gareth Owen - £10; A. Lorimer - £5. The first two are from the village, the other is from Balmullo, though at one time lived here, and it is appreciated that the support continues.
As has become the custom at the February meeting, children from P1, P2, and P3 at Dairsie School were invited along to entertain us. Their teacher, Miss King, had taught them really well, and they were a joy, as each child stepped forward to recite a poem in the Scots vernacular. They each stood so tall before us, and obviously took great pride in their presentation - somewhat different from the days most of the ladies remembered, when there was anxiety and fear of trouble later if teacher was not pleased with us! The children then performed some country dances, with the audience feet tapping along. When invited to repeat one dance, of course they chose the noisiest one, and had a great time! They were warmly thanked, and then tucked in to the juice and biscuits, before they left, and then the adults had their hot drink before the second part of the meeting, at which Dr. Mary Campbell-Brown gave a most interesting talk on "Post-Natal Depression". Her attentive audience heard that care before, during and after the birth has improved e great deal over recent years, but after a birth, the "Baby Blues" can be a cause for concern in many homes. This is usually resolved within four weeks, with support and loving care from family, friends, and professionals, but to the new Mum very scary as it can be difficult to understand when she cannot enjoy her baby, and is unable to cope with the everyday needs of home and family. However, for a small proportion of mothers, the depression becomes a real and debilitating illness, lasting some months, during which home and baby may be neglected. It is now generally recognised as an illness, and that no "Snap out of it" comments will work. Counselling and support become vital, and medical intervention may be necessary. Some of the Guild ladies had experience of the problem themselves, or among friends and family, so a number of questions followed. Dr Campbell-Brown was thanked for her informative talk, and a short business meeting followed.
This special service was led by the Rev. Rory McLeod, Holy Trinity Church, St. Andrews, who was accompanied by Holy Trinity elder, Archie Stewart. They were welcomed by Alex Lorimer, Dairsie Church Session Clerk, and the minister responded with greetings from the Presbytery. He spoke of the purpose of the pulpit exchange, which is to show support for each other, to share understanding each for the other. Refreshments followed the service, with an opportunity for fellowship and to share any concerns, which would be conveyed to the Presbytery.
Holy Communion will be celebrated in Dairsie Church next Sunday at 10am. The Rev. David Sinclair, Interim Moderator, will lead the worship.
The current review of Post Offices is an anxious time for Dairsie folk, a great number of whom are elderly, and for whom the long queues at the central Post Offices is daunting, if not impossible. The service offered both for mail etc. and in the shop, is excellent and much needed, and thankfully, the fact that vehicles can still stop at the shop, and the added bonus of the pedestrian crossing, makes the service offered there invaluable. Our support is needed to ensure the continued viability of this vital amenity, so please use it.
Fund-raising events so far planned for the Dairsie War Memorial Hall are as follows: Saturday, 14th April - Coffee Morning; Saturdays, 26th May and 6th October - Quiz Nights; Saturday, 17th November - Winter Warmer Lunch; Monday, 31st December - Hogmanay Dance. The hall is also available for private hire - some very successful birthday parties have been held there, as well as other family celebrations. Contact Carol Owen to discuss.
The Annual General Meeting of Dairsie Youth Club is to take place in the Memorial Hall on Monday 19th March at 8.30pm. All welcome. Anyone interested in helping or wanting more details, please contact Jill Edwards.
John Dewar, Retired Horticultural Lecturer at Elmwood College, was the guest speaker at the March meeting of Dairsie SWRI. From speaking to around 16 members in Dairsie, he was to be giving a lecture to around 160 the following week at a Royal Horticultural Society meeting! His subject in Dairsie was "Shrubs" the backbone of most of our gardens, and he recommended that when planning a shrubbery from scratch, a good start was to visit garden centres once a month for a year with the aim of having something showy for each month, and also to ascertain potential height and colour balance for planning a layout. Advice was given on feeding and pruning etc. and he readily answered the many questions. A slide show of his gardens over the years, as well as the many gardens open to the public, was much enjoyed, and he was warmly thanked. After refreshments a business meeting followed.
Competition winners were: Favourite Gardening Tip - 1st Doris Eccles, 2nd Willa Ferguson; Flower of the month - 1st Kath Tomlinson, 2nd Willa Ferguson.
Now arriving, the newsletter brings us up to date with events and ongoing concerns, and reminds us in this wild weather that spring is not too far away.
The Community Council reports that there is confusion about housing proposed for Osnaburgh Court. The Fife Structure Plan, including proposals to build 70 houses, will probably go to the lengthy process of a Public Enquiry, whilst the Draft Local Plan proposes 10 - 30 houses. The Community Council will monitor this carefully.
The convener of the Church Flower Committee has invited anyone in the parish to donate flowers to beautify the church on Sundays, and then be gifted to anyone in the community who is unwell, has suffered a bereavement or who may be celebrating a special event. Contact Jean Anderson.
The annual stated meeting of Dairsie Parish Church will be held in the Church Hall at 7pm. All members, adherents and any other interested members of the community are urged to attend.
Sunday Services will revert to the earlier time of 9.30am from Sunday 1st April.
There are frequent property changes in the village, and it is hoped that all newcomers will feel welcome here and make time to join in community events, at which you will be very welcome.
The funeral service for Sheila Ritchie was held in Dairsie Parish Church on Tuesday 20th March. Sheila had trained as a typist, and worked as a Secretary with Fife Council and with the Hillside Foundry in Cupar. 42 years ago, Sheila and her husband Willie came to live in Dairsie. She was a true homemaker, creating a warm and loving family home for her husband and the boys, Bill and Alan, and later a welcoming home as they grew up and married and the grandchildren came along, in whom she took a keen interest. As her boys grew up, she worked as an Auxiliary Nurse at Hill of Tarvit Mansionhouse and later at the Adamson Hospital, Cupar. This work called for great warmth, compassion and caring, and this she always gave, finding the work very rewarding.
Her garden was an abiding interest, and always much admired, giving great pleasure to many.
Sheila attended Dairsie Church faithfully and had a strong Christian faith. She will be sadly missed by the family and her friends, especially by her husband Willie and those closest to her, Bill and Jane, Alan and Wendy and the grandchildren, James, Michael and Ryan, and our thoughts are with them at this sad time.
Winners of the March draw of the Dairsie War Memorial 200 Club were: R. Brand - £20; K. Baker - £10; C. Owen - £5. This time they are all local folk.
All the pupils are to go to Edinburgh today, Friday, to the Dynamic Earth exhibition, an interesting and informative show, and then the school is closed for the Easter holiday from Monday 2nd April to Friday 13th April inclusive.
Hopefully there will be some good weather so that they can enjoy some outdoor activities.
The speaker at this month's meeting was the Rev. Alan Roy, whose subject was the Leprosy Mission. It related well to the current Guild project, "The Body" as he spoke of a project in Nigeria named "Walking in the Light", in which a dedicated team of workers are being taught to make artificial limbs, crutches, shoes and so on to make so much better the lives of the sufferers from this cruel, painful and disfiguring disease. There were slides and an illuminating commentary, and the speaker was warmly thanked. There was a sales table to raise funds to finance the project, which members were pleased to support. An extra meeting has been arranged for Monday 2nd April at 7.30pm to cover business for which there was no time.
At morning service on Sunday 25th March, The Rev. Graham Blount baptised the infant son of Ewen and Hilary Findlay, Dairsie. He was named Corey Derek, and was the third child as there are two brothers, Callum and Hamish who had also been christened in Dairsie Church. Refreshments were served in the hall, and the congregation were able to share fellowship with some members of the christening party.