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KEEPING SAFE A recent emergency visit from the Fire Brigade (happily a false alarm) reminds us of the fantastic Home Safety service offered by West Lothian Council, particularly the West Lothian Careline. Careline are there 24/7 to answer your emergency alarm if you have one fitted and the fast turnout by the Fire Service was a Careline callout. If you don’t have Careline call them now on 01506 775651 or apply online.

Wanderer articles, editorial com-ment, letters and photographs are

published in good faith. The Publish-ers take no responsibility however,

for any errors, inaccuracies or omis-sions. The views of contributors are

not necessarily those of the Publishers.

WANDERER NOTICES WWRA ANNUAL

CAROL SERVICE & CHRISTMAS SUPPER

SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER 6.00 PM

COMMUNITY GARDEN & IN THE MARQUEE

CAROLS LED BY MISS ANN MERRILEES DCS

ALL WELCOME

‘Creating a Community’

Chair: Roger Eastland (Tel:01501 163134)

Secretary: Linda Lennox (Tel: 01501 503646)

www.willowwoodwestlothian.co.uk

THE WILLOW WOOD WANDERER

11 Cuthill Brae

West Calder EH55 8QE

EDITOR: JIM HALUCH

TEL: 01501 762190

WILLOW WOOD RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION

Breich Valley Church

Minister: Rev. Robert Malloch

Christmas Services

Sunday 17 Dec. 10.30am Nativity

Saturday 23 Dec. 6.30pm

Kid’s Christingle

Sun. 24 Dec. Morning service 10.30am

Carol Service 11.15pm

Mon. 25 Dec. 10.30am

Celebrate Christmas Day

GREETINGS CARDS

FOR ALL

OCCASIONS

£2 EACH

Hand Made and Printed

Contact Wilma Gault

01501 760087

FOR SALE

Care Co. Zoom Plus

MOBILITY SCOOTER

Hardly used.

Cost new £654

SALE PRICE £275

Contact Linda or Chris

01501 762531

A VERY NICE CHRISTMAS PRESENT

A HANDMADE WALKING STICK

Each individually made

Priced from £40

Come round and have a look

Eric Morgan No 24

Tel: 01501 760070

A present that will last forever

Dinner at the church hall. Joyce’s cooking column featured Christmas leftovers and Santa made an ap-pearance on the front page.

The winter edition in 2010 led on us being snowed in and wonder-ful snowfall Christmas carols of that month. It was also the first year of Christmas lights.

On 18 December 2011, the headline ran the shock news that the original site own-er, Cresswell Welch had ceded his owner-ship to Wyldecrest Parks, The Wanderer Kitchen featured Shortbread and your editor was pictured on the roof of No 24 trying to hold it down

in a gale. No ‘elf and safety then! We also featured our first Christmas Greetings column.

There’s been Christmas editions ever since and we are delighted to bring you this one with a 2018 calendar and our Special Christmas Greetings feature.

Once again we publish a Christmas edition of The Willow Wood Wanderer.

Our first was a little four page newsletter published in December 2005 and it was not very Christmassy.

It was only our second ever edition of The Wan-derer and it seemed to concern itself with de-mands for improvement to the park, septic tanks, membership fees—at £50, per household (and inflation has not affected that to this day) and the interven-tion of Trading Stand-ards on the wild claims of the then site owner as to the park and home amenities. He was even promising cable TV!

The next edition was 2006 and still little Christmas cheer in the pages. The Wanderer was monthly then but had been absent for four months due to a ‘fa-oot’ among the membership but a packed AGM at Stoneyburn Community Centre that month re-established the Associa-tion as we know it today.

We seem to have moved

to less regular editions in 2008 and can’t see a December edition that year, the next being February 2008 when we embarked on our abortive ‘Community Right to Buy’ cam-paign.

There was a ‘Winter’ edition in 2008 whose headline celebrated our success in persuading the Council to lay a pavement and install

street lighting outside the park. Current resi-dents have never had it so good! Who remem-bers trying to get to the bus stop (miles away) walking on an unlit muddy bank?

The 2009 Winter edi-tion celebrated the birth of our community company and included news of our Christmas

Editorial, Newsdesk , Diary Dates 2

Features— Joyce’s Kitchen, From the Archives 3

Preparing for Winter, SCOPHRA, New People 4

2017 in Pictures 5

Christmas Greetings Feature 6/7

News, Sloan. The Politics Page 8/9

Notices, Advertisements, Keeping Safe 10

Inside this issue:

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9 December 2017

BUMPER CHRISTMAS EDITION FREE 2018 CALENDAR INSIDE

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The Chairman & Committee of

Willow Wood Residents Association

send the compliments of the season to Members and to all the Residents and Friends of

Willow Wood Park

It Feels Like a Wanderer Xmas by Jim Haluch

ordered at a cost of £588 and was delivered at the beginning of December. The invoice is now with the insurers and we will have a brand new marquee for 2019. Insurance at nearly £400 per year is one of things your subscriptions and fundraising efforts go to pay.

ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS

The annual sub. has been pegged again or the umpteenth year at £25 per person. It is the

NEW MARQUEE

Most of you know that one of our marquees was badly damaged by the wind on the day of the 2017 garden party and needed to be replaced. It was about four years old and had served us well. The Committee approached the Association’s insurers who agreed to cover the cost of replacement less our excess of £100. A new marquees was

Looking back on the Wanderer archive since 2005 you cannot fail to notice how times have changed but even more so the people. In the fourteen years that we have lived at Willow Wood we have come to know so many wonderful people but we can’t fail to think, especially at this time of year, of the many worthies who have passed away. Willow Wood has suffered loss in the past 12 months with the passing of Billy Doyle and Peter McGovern both sadly missed and the others before them. In this edition I mention again, the late Mike Larkman who did so much for park home dwellers in Scotland but did not live to see his success He is not forgotten; indeed, let us remember all those departed WW since 2003.

Page 2

EDITORIAL

T HE WI LLOW W OOD WA ND E RE R

NEWSDESK 1

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY….

SATURDAY 16 DECEMBER—CAROLS AND CHRISTMAS SUPPER 6PM at the garden

FRIDAY 22 DECEMBER — OPEN HOUSE AT No 22 2PM –4 PM

Join Jan, John and Julie for afternoon tea. All welcome

SUNDAY 24 DECEMBER — CAROL SERVICE BREICH VALLEY CHURCH 11.15PM

MONDAY25 DECEMBER — CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS BREICH VALLEY CHURCH 10.30

31 JANUARY 2018 — WWRA ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTIONS DUE

additional fundraising, including grants from West Lothian Council and others which keep us going but we hear that as WLC have to cut back, our grant levels will be reduced next year.

COMMITTEE

The committee have met regularly (usually monthly) throughout 2017 organising all our various events and the WWRA business. Next meeting 25 February 2018.

Christmas Lunch 2017

The biggest turnout ever, of WW residents attended the Willow Wood Christmas Lunch at Stoneyburn Commu-nity Centre. In a private room with catering by Margaret and her team from Cavalier Cater-ing, 38 members and guests enjoyed an excellent tradition-al Christmas lunch with all the trimmings. Mrs S Claus, suitably turned out, presented gifts to everyone. Linda Griffiths donated a bumper Christmas hamper worth £ 60 for a raffle which was won by Lorraine Muirhead

The company and special Guests Angela Constance MSP and Cabi-net Secretary, Neil Findlay MSP and Councillor Pauline Clark were welcomed by the Chair, Roger Eastland. As the event progressed many of the members expressed their delight at the huge success the lunch had been and re-flected on the excellent new enthusiasm reinforced by new residents to the park.

CHRIS T MAS 201 7 Page 9

THE POLITICS PAGE

From: Hannah Bardell MP (SNP) Livingston

Christmas is such

a special time of

year, when families and friends come

together to spend quality time, eat way

too much and play lots of silly, fun

games. There’s no school, and quite often

no work, and it’s great to be able to have

time to relax with those you love. But we

must remember that there are many

living in West Lothian, and across the

country, who won’t have such a special

time this Christmas.

My team and I are supporting many local

families who are enduring exceptionally

difficult times; some don’t have enough

money or food, others have lost someone

close to them and there are those whose

families are abroad and can’t be

together.

In challenging times like the one we are

living in, it’s important to show our

gratitude to the emergency services, the

workers and volunteers who care for our

elderly, our sick, our vulnerable and

those in need of a little extra help to get

by – thank you for the vital work you do.

Finally I’d like to wish you all at Willow

Wood a very Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year!

From:

Angela Constance...

Christmas is nearly upon us again and it’s been a year of uncertain times, including an unexpected General Election and the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

With Westminster austerity con-tinuing to bite, we see more and more families suffering. I don’t want anyone, especially children, to become homeless (for whatever reason) as everyone deserves a safe, warm and settled place to call home. The Scottish Government is committed to ending homelessness and I was pleased to see extra measures announced to deal with rough sleeping this winter. But we must all work together to tackle the causes and effects of homelessness.

I visited Willow Wood earlier this year to discuss the new regulations which strengthen permanent resi-dents’ rights and ensure that residential parks are run to the highest standards.

To those who work to keep us safe, care for others or volunteer in our local community, especially those who will be working over Christ-mas and unable to spend time with their families, this is an opportuni-ty to say thank you.

I wish everyone at Willow Wood a very merry Christmas and all the

very best for 2018.

Angela Constance

is MSP for the Almond Val-ley constituency which in-cludes Willow Wood and Cabinet Secretary for Com-munities, Social Security and

Equalities in the Scottish Gov-ernment

A Christmas hare visiting Kate Jones’ patio this week

SLOAN ON A XMAS PAST

From Councillor Pauline Clark , Fauldhouse and Breich Valley As Christmas and New Year fast approach, I look back on 2017 and have to reflect, on a per-sonal level, what an exciting year it has been. In January I worked in Wishaw General Hospital and contemplated standing for Council. A whirlwind period of selection and campaigning and resulted in a rather unexpected outcome when I found myself thrust into a new job having been elected to one of the three seats representing Fauldhouse and the Breich Valley which includes Willow Wood. I quickly realised the role of Councillor is incredibly varied and requires newly elected repre-sentatives to negotiate an incredibly steep learning curve. It has been a fantastic journey. I have met numerous local people who volunteer their time to sit on Community Councils, Management Commit-tees, Gala Committees, and the like - these are the unsung heroes who are the glue of our communities who work tirelessly and diligently. Of course as a councillor I am contacted by constituents on a range of matters. Problems people encounter include neighbour disputes which cause untold distress, homelessness, dampness and overcrowding, to name but a few. Other concerns brought to me include traffic, road safety, schools and more but every issue represents signifi-cant problems being experienced in daily life. I feel privileged to be in a position that enables me to help people and where possible help to resolve their problems and I am honoured that people put their trust in me. So as we head towards 2018, I would like to wish the residents of Willow Wood and their families a joyous Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. Please feel free to contact me regarding any issues you have or prob-lems you think I may be able to help you with.

Page 8

T HE WI LLOW W OOD WA ND E RE R

NEWSDESK 2

Christmas Raffle Thanks to all contributors, ticket sellers and those who bought tickets. First Prize, the cake, won by Ronnie & Lorraine Muir-head. The raffle raised £150 towards our Christmas festivi-ties.

Christmas Greetings Our biggest Christmas Greet-ings feature ever raising over £200 towards WWRA funds

The Milk Man Thomson Dairies have begun a new delivery service to the park on Tuesdays and Fridays offer-ing a big range of diary prod-ucts, bacon, eggs etc. See their website at: www.thomsondairies.com

WWRA Annual Subscriptions The 2018 subscriptions are due on 31 January 2018. At £25 per person, less than 50 pence per week, it is a bargain consid-ering what the association gives back by way of service, subsidised outings and events.

Good Wishes for a speedy recovery to Ruby Jones (No15) who ws taken in hospital suddenly on Friday 8 December.

Key Boxes For between £10-£12 it is worth considering hav-ing a key safe fit-ted to your home. With occasional emergencies among our older population it would allow car-ers, neighbours or the emer-gency services to have access to your home in time of crisis. Key safes are protected by a pin number which you only reveal to trusted people. If you would like to have a key safe contact Roger Eastland WWRA Chair for advice.

Pot Hole Plaudits Credit where it is due to Wyldecrest local manager Stephen for swift repairs to potholes at the entrance to the park.

From:

Neil Findlay MSP

At this time of year it

is important to cele-

brate the strength of

our community in West Lothian.

I have been impressed with community

efforts across the area to help those

worst off at Christmas. As the colder

months approach we all must look out

for each other to make sure those

worst off are being kept warm and fed.

Unfortunately the cuts to our local ser-

vices are not helping, and with the

Scottish budget approaching , the pro-

spects of a change in fortunes does not

look great.

I want everyone to know that I will be

standing firmly against any cuts to local

government budgets. Areas like ours

need investment and the opportunity

to thrive again. Our public services must

be protected. You can be confident

your voice will be heard in Holyrood.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the residents and friends of Willow Wood.

(Neil Findlay is a Labour Party List MSP in the

Scottish Parliament and a long-time supporter of Willow Wood)

Marion Cairns in conversation with Neil Findlay

I regularly come across some of my Mother’s handwritten recipes which I probably should type out as they are starting to fall apart. This recipe for Scotch bun (Black bun) was a great favourite at our New Year in Prestonpans. Ingredients and quantities are exactly as writ-ten - long before decimals arrived and it was all gas ovens! Note the absence of any alcohol, they were abstainers, but some brandy won’t go amiss.

SCOTCH BUN

You will first need to make a paste for lining your cake tin and for that will need ...

12oz Plain Flour, a pinch of salt, 4oz margarine and water to mix

For the filling, set out...

1/2lb self raising flour, 4ozs brown sugar, 1 lb currants

1lb Muscatel raisins, 3oz chopped almonds, 1oz-

Page 3

From the Archives 31 October 2007

WANDERER KITCHEN by Joyce

chopped mixed peel, 1/4 Teaspoon black pepper 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp Jamaica pepper, 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Cup of milk to mix

Sift the flour into a basin and add the sugar, spices and prepared fruits; add the milk. Use this to moisten the cake but don’t make it too wet.

To make the crust – rub the margarine into the flour and add enough water to make a stiff pastry dough. Roll out the pastry thinly. Grease a large cake tin and line it evenly with the pastry dough. Keep enough to make a lid.

Spoon the cake mixture into the tin starting from the edges; when full, put on the pastry lid. With a skewer, make four holes right down to the bottom of the cake. With a fork, prick the top all over and then brush with beaten egg. Bake in a moderate oven for about four hours.

The transformation in the appearance of the Park over the past few weeks is nothing short of stunning.

After months of effort by the Association’s office bearers Welch’s Homes have acceded to pressure from the Association and appear to be undertaking the various outstanding works.

It is interesting also that the about turn came after Welch’s Homes applied to join the Park Home Owners Trade body and an inspector visited the park and spoke to various residents The Wanderer also understands that our local MP Jim Devine has been in personal contact with Cresswell Welch to follow up on many of the residents’ concerns.

Welch’s Homes have appointed their area manager Linda Doyle to manage the Park and Linda has proved a popular choice. Not only has she consulted the Association through the Chair, Mike Larkman, Linda has also consulted individuals on what needed to be done. Speaking to The Wanderer this week, local resident, Mary Ovens could not speak highly enough of Linda’s efforts on behalf of the community and individuals.

The new road surface has exceeded all expectations and what a cheery lot of workmen they were.

Work is also progressing apace on landscaping the amenity area at the top of the Park. The Wanderer hears that residents adjacent to the area have been lobbying Linda and Mike Larkman to include or exclude certain items such as fences or composting areas. Mike Larkman commented “ Everyone needs to remember that the amenity area is for the use of all residents not just those living nearby and Linda has considered the needs of all not just the few.’

Next for repair are the security gates at the Park entrance. Linda and Mike are pursuing this now.

Progress at Last Pressure Pays Off

Page 4

It is never to early to prepare for winter and the relatively clement weather recently can lull us into a false sense of security. On the park, the Association has readied the snow plough and the grit spreader and you would have seen the team out already spreading road salt. Happily the snow plough and the snow blower have not been required (yet) but never-theless Donny Woodmore has already run a training session for volunteers on both operat-ing the equipment and on Health and Safety considera-tions. A weekly rota is now in place but we still welcome vol-unteers—ladies included! Worth noting that salt is less effec-tive at minus 6 degrees and has little effect at all on ice and snow below 10 degrees. Snow falling on salt reduces the impact and heavy rain obviously can wash the salt away from the road so your team members are watching the forecast

T HE WI LLOW W OOD WA ND E RE R

membership or joining the association stop to consider this important service provided to ALL residents of the park yet all paid for by member subscrip-tions and operated by a few volun-teers. If you can’t help provide the service please help to pay for it

through your mem-bership. Prepare your Home Have you checked that your pipes are lagged and your out-side water tap cov-ered against the frost? Know how to switch off your water supply in case a pipe bursts and if leaving your property unoccu-pied it is best to leave

the heating on low. On that subject, do you have central heating repair cover? This is the time you might need it in a hurry. Scottish Gas and Scottish Power provide this service. Just in case of power cuts have you got a torch and spare batteries handy?

on your behalf. As we go to press there is no sign of any salt being delivered to us by Wyldecrest. Last year they limited us to one delivery for the whole winter and the association had to

purchase additional supplies, as we have done this year, to keep us going. We have reminded Wylde-crest by phone and letter on several occasions already this autumn. When thinking about renewing

WINTER AT WILLOW WOOD

December 2010

SNOW ON WESTWOOD ROAD

NEW RESIDENTS By Linda Lennox

Early in the year David Hughes (No. 12) announced he was moving to Wigan “for a new start”. Joe and Eileen CAMPBELL moved in having come from a large house in nearby Livingston. They wanted to down-size as they also have a home in Spain, so will eventually divide their time between here and Spain. Love-ly!

Jimmy Richardson (No. 21) left in the spring to go to live in Thailand – and has since married a Thai lady. Julia McLAUGHLIN moved into No. 21 and has made considerable changes both inside and out. Julia moved from the south of England ‘back home’ as she used to live in this area many years ago. She also has family nearby, making Willow Wood an attractive option for her.

Next door at No.22, after Peter’s death, Diana McGovern moved to Edinburgh to live nearer to her son

and Jan and John ADAMSON moved in. Prior to moving here, Jan and John lived in Slamannan and like Joe and Eileen, were look-ing to downsize as they also have a home in Perthshire. Jan is a Min-ister – but not a conventional one, talk to her about it! John is retired and they also have made consider-able changes to their home.

Following Joyce’s death, Geoff Ra-ven moved to Wallasey to be near his son, Alan and John PURNELL moved in at the end of November. Alan and John were married in 2014 and both work as carers in Drummond Grange Care Home. They moved here from Galashiels to be nearer work.

Gary Ferguson moved out of his home at the beginning of the year to live with his fiancée Shirley. Gary and Shirley decided to return to Willow Wood and have since married. We wish them every hap-piness and a big welcome back!

SCOPHRA Scottish Confederation of Park Home Residents Associations

The inaugural meeting of this new association took place in late No-vember at Perth when representa-tives of six parks from Elgin to East Lothian met to consider an organisation which could provide a national voice for the various existing park home residents asso-ciations throughout Scotland and to encourage all parks to set up their own RA. SCOPHRA (pronounced SKOFFRA) will promote the interests of residents to the Scottish Parliament, local authorities and the media. The meeting enthusiastically wel-comed the idea with the next meeting in February. This fulfils the dream of the late Mike Lark-man for such an organisation.

Page 7

Christmas Greetings

from

John & Jan Adamson

(No22)

Wishing You All

A

Merry Christmas

and a Happy New

Year

Roger and Susie

(No.10)

Have a

Wonderful

Christmas

and we look forward to seeing you

all in the New Year

Lorraine

&

Donny

(No.5)

Merry Christmas

to all and a

Good New Year

Ruby

(No 15)

Baby’s first Christmas

Susan and Tom (No.16)

would like to wish all residents a

Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year

Hi Folks

Hoping You All Have a

Great Festive Time

Eric (No 24)

Sending you all my very best wishes for the festive time

with fond memories of Willow Wood and its community.

Jocelyn Carpenter Avoch Ross Shire

(Formerly No 14)

Seasons

greetings

2017

FROM

Jim & Joyce

Haluch

(No.11)

SEASONAL

GREETINGS 2017

Happy Christmas

and

New Year to All

Gerald & Ella Carson (No.20)

XMAS LIGHTS 2014

Page 6 T HE WI LLOW W OOD WA ND E RE R

All the Best for

Christmas and the New

Year

Love Gilly

(No. 34)

Wishing Everyone

a Merry Christmas and a

Prosperous New Year

Julia & Molly (Woof!) (No. 21)

Merry Christmas and

A Happy New Year to

Friends and Neighbours

Alan & Wilma (No.40)

2010

Linda

& Chris

Griffiths

(No.2)

wish everyone a very Merry Christmas

and a Healthy and Prosperous New Year

Seasons Greetings

to all at Willow

Wood Park

Stephen Perry (No44)

Very Best Seasonal Wishes

To You All HO HO HO!

Tony & Gill (No.8)

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all at

Cuthill Brae

Eleanor and Jim (No.7)

From

Douglas & Isabel No. 10

PEACE AND LOVE

TO ALL AT

CHRISTMAS

MARION (No 6)

Page 5

2017 - The Year in Pictures

Fish Supper

Garden Party

Best Kept Homes

Fish Supper night and Linda’s amazing trifles -Sept.

Susan Meiklejohn turns on the 2017 Christmas Lights

Intrepid Willow Wood Wanderers on the windy Trossachs and Loch Lomond outing in October 2017

The Bathgate Hills and on the Union Canal - July

OH NO!

John Wemyss wins the best garden competition for the second year