Local History - Village News Archive
Litter and dogs
We have received some complaints about the amount of litter and dog excrement in the community woodland. Residents are reminded about their responsibility to clear up after their dogs and not to leave litter. The Village is a beautiful environment enjoyed by everyone therefore we all have a duty to keep it looking as tidy as possible and comply with the Law.
Bulb planting.
On a very positive note a team of volunteers have planted a lot of spring bulbs for us all to enjoy in 2009, thanks to them for their efforts.
Signs signs signs
Balloch Community Council and BVT are working on ideas for Welcome signs and features at the road entrances to the village. Please send any ideas of offers of help, thank you.
Earthquake in Balloch
Quake shook homes and upset dogs
From BBC News web site 10/10/2008 Highland Earthquake 10/10/2008
( GD Note - Quake was felt in Balloch at 05.33 this morning, two tremors were noticed)
The quake was described as being like a train rumbling past.
An early morning earthquake has shaken homes and set off dogs on fits of "mad barking and growling" in the Highlands.
The British Geological Survey (BSG) said a seismic event of a magnitude of 3.4 was detected at 0428 BST.
It has received reports of it being felt in Fort William, Glenfinnan, Ardgour, Strontian and Drumnadrochit.
On its website, the BGS said it had received a number of reports from residents.
Many of the communities affected lie along the Great Glen fault line.
BGS received descriptions of it sounding like "a train rumbling past" and that "dogs also went mad barking and growling".
The survey said the shaking was described as moderate and lasting for up to three seconds.
Balloch Local History Award, September 2008
Awards for All, Scotland have granted Balloch Village Trust a sum of just over £6,000 for a Local History Recording project
BVT are greatly pleased to have been awarded the money for a project to record and document the history of the village.
The money will be used to hold local meetings, for volunteers to interview anyone who has a memory of Balloch, and to provide equipment (a laptop computer, audio resources, video camera and display items etc ) to be used in the project.
A new web-site has been funded by Awards for All and by IleTec to record the project and BVT aim to publish a booklet in 2009.
The inaugural meeting of the project will be held in the village hall during November
Have a look at the new website and to see how you can be part of this exciting initiative for the village
Beached sperm whale dies in firth
A whale which became beached in shallow water on a shoreline near Inverness has died, coastguards have confirmed.
The 40ft adult male sperm whale was first spotted swimming in the Inner Moray Firth earlier in the week.
It spent much of Monday moving in circles before becoming stranded in six feet of water at Alturlie, near Fort George, on Tuesday.
The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society said it may have suffered a slow death. Local officer Charlie Phillips said, once the tide had gone out and the animal was left without the support of water, the weight of its body would crush its internal organs.
Crowds gathered at the scene on Tuesday afternoon to see the whale, however, animal welfare staff prevented people from getting close to allow it to die in peace.
From the BBC
Post Office closures
News....
Four interesting stories from the Highland News, of which only the last one reflects well on Balloch.
The first story, teen rampage or high jinks? What do you think???
The next two stories concern litter and the responsibility of shops, schools, the council etc etc .Everyone agrees it’s a mess…..any answers???
(As an aside, the writer of one of the articles seems to have a problem with 4x4 vehicles in Balloch. This writer has a very small, economical 4x4 vehicle to enable me to visit clients on rough tracks and to drive myself and my children safely on Highland roads in the winter, anything wrong with that? )
The last story….just congratulations to Alex MacKenzie, of Forest Drive, Balloch
Email any comments
Property development news for Balloch
Times online
Balloch Primary School
Balloch Energy Champions aim for Green Flag Eco School Status
Primary cross-country championships held at Dornoch
New Inverness footpath opens
A NEW £100,000 footpath has been created to the east of Inverness to improve road safety, create healthier travel options and encourage people to enjoy the countryside.
Village news for last month, May
Village Meeting12 May 2008
(Full details will appear in the BVT Minutes section)
The meeting in the Village Hall comprised the BVT Annual General Meeting, a presentation by Scotmid on the new shop, and a local history display…all followed by refreshments and a raffle kindly provided by Scotmid.
The meeting was very well attended with an encouraging mix of ages, the pictures show the local history display, the attendees and the Scotmid talk.
BVT Membership
BVT only survives by having paid up members, its only £1 per person per year so please either renew your membership or join and encourage others to join as well.
Please drop it in with your name and address to Liz at Howard Cottage, 26 Cherry Park. Thank you
Culloden Road Footpath
BVT congratulated and thanked the Forestry Commission for the new path at the top of Culloden Road, and we look forward to Highland Council providing the continuation into Balloch
Web site news
Hope this isn’t too introspective, the web site carrying news of itself !
We are adding a new environment section and would really like a volunteer(s) to contribute material. We are hoping to add to the many links already there with real local information on our flora, fauna and how we can all be involved in the natural world around us
The local history section now features a Timeline facility to which we are adding a lot of information. The software is a first for IleTec, its from no less than MIT and looks like being a really useful addition to the site
There is also a full annual report for 2008 on the functioning of the site in the BVT minutes section
Sunday 1st of June there was a great charity car-wash at the Village Hall, some charming ladies were there to wash your car and ply you with home baking while you waited, what could be better !
The charity concerned was Maggie’s, the cancer care centre at Raigmore, www.maggiescentres.org , thanks to them and best wishes for their continuing work.
Shop Opening Event, 26 April 2008
Very pleased to report on a successful opening of the new shop, lots of local folk there to greet the Staff and Management.
Plenty of free sweeties and balloons and what appeared to be brisk trade.
An excellent start to our new shop which looks very smart and well stocked, welcome to all those working there and we hope it proves to be a great success.
Here are a few pictures from the opening
A Genealogical request
Davidson family - genealogy request
Balloch Village Trust meeting - Tuesday 13th May
Balloch Village Trust meeting, open to all. 7.30 in the Village Hall
This will feature a presentation about the shop by Scotmid representatives, come and welcome them and ask them anything you like.
There will also be the BVT Annual General Meeting, a chance to join BVT, some displays of local history…..and best of all tea, biscuits and cake kindly provided by Scotmid!
We thank you all for your help and support during the year and look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Some questions
Why not raise the question of the Post Office at the May meeting?
It looks like the Forestry Commission? are building a great path up the top end of Culloden Road , will it link up with the rest of the footpath or will pedestrians, cars and horses still have to compete on the narrowest and most dangerous section?
And finally ….BVT have been doing a lot of work to prepare and map paths in the woods, the map will soon be available for sale.
A great deal of background work has been undertaken on our local archaeology and some will be on show at the May meeting.
Congratulations to NTS on the opening of the new Culloden Battlefield Centre, it is a tremendous resource, do go along and have a look.
A wonderful response from Mr Andrew Callum, now resident in Australia.
We are very grateful to Mr Callum for this great email reproduced below which points out some errors on the local history pages, and which also adds some fascinating information.
This is the World Wide Web at its best and we hope it may encourage others to contribute. I have slightly edited the email and thought it best to publish it in full, and then I will go through the parts of the existing site and add Mr Callum’s corrections etc
Thanks again for a terrific contribution
Charity event, Balloch Village hall Sat. March 22nd
Buffet dance in aid of Highland Hospice in Balloch Village Hall on Sat 22nd March at 8pm.
Music by Donnie and Diane. This is a great ceilidh band from Perth who give us a great night of entertainment every year.
Admission strictly by ticket only - Price £10 from Seonag on 794574 or Duncan on 790843.
We are also having a balloon release at Duncan Forbes Primary school on the same day. Time to be arranged as yet (depending on when we get clearance from Dalcross.)
If you would like to help us sell 1000 balloons before that contact Seonag on 794574 or 07843693426.
Balloons will cost £1 each and the prize for the furthest travelled will be £50.
Come and help us with a very worth while cause and also have some fun.
Hope to see you there!
Seonag.
Village shop
Local newspapers have recently reported the acquisition of the Balloch Stores by Scotmid, and the granting of a licence.
If this is indeed so, and it results in the shop being re-opened it is excellent news for the village
See also the piece, below, about the Post Office and how to have your say
At Sept 2006 the Balloch Stores and Local Post Office were both closed for a major re-build of the premises. Residents are looking forward to an early re-opening of these vital village amenities.
Bring back Balloch Post Office
May I remind everyone in Balloch to return the Post Office consultation forms in time for the Feb 18th deadline
If you haven’t received a form asking for your views on the future of our post office then please email consultation@postoffice.co.uk and have your say.
Culloden Brick & Tile Company
A piece about the Culloden Brick & Tile Company (CB&T) for the BVT web site. Appeal for information.
Balloch Village notice board
Its back!
Great whisky story
Please take time and have a look at this - a terrific story of illicit distilling in Balloch around the year 1800, kindly added by permission of Mairead Ramsay.
Sunrise photos
Please have a look at these photos in the Gallery, it was a stunning morning
FETE 2008
DO YOU WANT A FETE IN DOUBLE 0 EIGHT ?
Volunteers urgently needed to help organise the coming year's spectacular.
All offers of help much appreciated, please offer any amount of help.
No volunteers, no fete……simple.
Email for details of how to volunteer.
Shop
A recent enquirer to the site asks when the Balloch shop and post office will re-open, a very pertinent question.
Currently the new building looks a boarded up mess and the broken glass is a real hazard, it is an eyesore and a constant reminder of missing facilities.
One of our political representatives says that they are working on the matter, which is good news, perhaps if there is any real progress someone can let www.ballochvillage.com know. We would love to publish details of the re-opening.
It should be remembered that the community have more of a right to the shop than seems to be currently recognised. The newspaper report of its opening clearly says that it was built with 'local and volunteer labour' …does that make it our shop, what do you think ??
More News
The BVT section also carries news of progress on the Balloch Cairns, paths and cycle routes, and the A96 widening plans….have a look
And finally a plea from the Editor….please send in more items for the News section…and come on local bed and breakfasts, businesses etc….put an ad in the Directory…this site had 8000 hits in its first 3 months, don't miss this level of traffic
Balloch News August 2007
Hello, welcome to the Balloch News page
BVT are planning a car boot and local history event in early September…more information will be posted soon but look out all those things from the loft and garage
The new web site has proved to be a great success BUT what are all the Balloch businesses doing?
Pay £2 and support the Directory …come on and add your entry
BVT are planning to have a car boot sale in September with a local history display in the hall. –
The WRI have asked to have a speaker and local history session on 12th March 2008
Representations are being made to Highland Council for a new footbridge over the A96 when it is made a dual carriageway and for proper information and access to the three Balloch cairns….email your ideas please
Good to see police in Culloden Road recently monitoring the speed of motorists
Send us your views on any of the items above and anything you would to see in the September edition
Cat Sitter required in Balloch
Cat sitter needed for occasional weekends and odd weeks throughout the year.
Suit a retired person or school child aged 13 - 16. It pays £2.50 per visit @ 2 visits per day.
Duties are feeding 3 cats and changing 1 litter tray when required.
Please reply to Balloch@iletec.com who will forward replies to this Balloch resident, thank you
Posted on15/08/2007
Please let us have all your news items, we will publish all reasonable submissions.
The Editor
This is the Web newspaper for Balloch, please send us any items of Balloch news, awards, births marriages and anniversaries, your holiday in Balloch….let the village know what is going on
To place a notice of an event, or to post some Balloch news on this site please contact Gillian Spalding b.v.t@btinternet.com