94. Main road in (and out).

I clearly remember the day that Ewan and I first drove down this road... and our lives changed forever!



93. New pole

I learned some interesting new snippets yesterday.

Why on earth were these men erecting a slightly taller ugly pole next to the existing tall ugly pole opposite Johnshaven Stores?

Apparently the rules on the height of BT poles have changed, and wires crossing the road have to now be higher than previously.  So that explains the new, higher pole, but why do we have to have an ugly metal pole instead of a nice wooden one?

It's all because of the proximity to the railings surrounding the War Memorial.  They are not allowed to erect wooden poles beside spikey railings in case an engineer, who has climbed up using spiked boots,  falls onto the railings.  With a metal pole the engineers presumably use a cherry picker to reach the top.

So there you have it.  Do let me know if this information helps you to complete a crossword puzzle or win a pub quiz one day!

92. Garden ornament

Not everyone has a ruined cottage as a garden feature!

91. Coos

These cows made me smile - they looked like they were waiting for something!  They are in the field behind Back Road.

I especially love the colour of this beautiful beast.

90. Spreading the word!

On Friday, Don and Walter gave up their time to give the huge doors of the Old Lifeboat House a super-shiny new coat of paint. 
The wee door had been damaged by firefighters whilst tackling the devastating blaze next door.  Now it's all as good as new (or possibly better!).
The Heritage Society have spent many years working towards turning this magnificent building into a heritage centre full of interesting village artefacts from years gone by.  They have now been joined by the newly formed  Johnshaven Community Cafe group who are planning to incorporate a much needed cafe into the building.
Progress is inevitably very slow, not least because this is a listed building, but you can keep an eye on what's going on by 'liking' the Community Cafe's Facebook page.

89. School Sports Day

Johnshaven Primary School's annual sports day took place yesterday and lots of fun was had by all. 

Just look at those looming clouds - fortunately we only got a teeny bit wet!

88. On the boat

Yesterday I was privileged to be invited up onto the deck of Richard's boat.  It has been a pleasure to watch this masterpiece taking shape over several months, and now I've had an explanation from the builders themselves, I understand how it will operate when fishing for lobsters.

It's now almost complete and Tom (on the left) and Richard are looking forward to a party to celebrate its launch.

87. Sharing the catch

Here's James sharing this morning's catch with some very excited seagulls. 

There follows a moment of calm before he chucks the next piece to them!

86. Very special trees

The trees we planted in memory of Ann, Niamh and Ciara Copeland are looking absolutely beautiful.

85. Inside the church

This is the interior of the village church where the Primary School's end of year service was held this morning. 

In this photo the Rev Dempster can be seen wearing a viking hat!

84. Houses?

This field may or may not have 65 houses in it one day.  Personally, I have very mixed feelings about this. 

If the design of the houses was right (ie. nothing like those on the planning application), and the development wasn't going to have its own access road, I'd probably be happy about it.

83. Mater

This is the fabulous Tow-Mater, built by a group of 12 children from the Primary School under the supervision of some very dedicated dads.  The photo above was taken in Johnshaven (in Kevin's garage to be precise!) and the ones below were taken yesterday at the Grampian Transport Museum at Alford.

Teams of car builders from schools all over Scotland came together on the worst weather day we've had for weeks to race their cars.  In torrential rain they competed in slalom and drag races, ending with a circuit racing tournament.

No prizes for us this year, but lots of fun was had by all, despite the weather.  Mater was by far the most impressive looking car and the team should be very proud of their efforts.

82. Touring theatre production

On Thursday night a packed audience was treated to Mike Maran's excellent production of 'Italia 'n' Caledonia' in the village hall.  It's still touring, so catch it if you can!

We are very fortunate to have such high quality theatre coming to our wee village.  This is made possible by the Village Hall Committee and North East Arts Touring.  Visit NEAT's website to see their full schedule of events.

Many thanks to NEAT for permission to use their photo.

81. Coastal Cup

On Tuesday evening the very first Coastal Cup girls' football tournament was held here in Johnshaven.  There were teams from Johnshaven, Bervie and St Cyrus taking part with a great atmosphere of friendly rivalry.

The deciding game was nail bitingly exciting towards the end, and Johnshaven clinched it to win the trophy.  YAY!!

Being a small school, our team is made up of girls from P2 - P7, and that can be difficult when playing against larger schools whose team is made up of the very best P7 players.  There's a lot of encouragement for both girls and boys to get involved in football training, which takes place regularly in the park and is run by dedicated parents for whom I have the greatest admiration.

Thanks to Mrs Fernandez and the staff at Johnshaven Primary School for gaining parental approval for me to use photos of the children.

That's my girl!!!  (brag, brag)

80. Sorted Stones

I'm always fascinated by how the sea sorts stones like this.  In this photo of a small area of beach there are very clearly separate sections of small, medium and large pebbles.

79. More on the new coastal defences

Last night we went for a close look at the enormous rocks that are gradually lining the shore.  This pile is waiting to be moved into position.  To give you an idea of scale, Ewan is 6'1"

As a wee bonus, here's a pic of the huge tipper truck that's bringing these monster rocks down to the beach.

Kirsty is 4' 10" and is about the same height as the tyres!  She's dressed in her footie gear as she'd just been playing in a tournament - the first ever Coastal Cup, which the Johnshaven girls won :)

78. New creels

I've not had a chance to go for a proper close-up look, but I reckon someone's had a large delivery of new creels.

77. Sparkly window

This doesn't look quite as impressive on a photo as it did in real life!  The sparkling water was sending shimmering reflections onto the window of this boat in the harbour.

Sorry for the lask of piccies over the last 2 days - I was away and although I did have photos all ready to post, my mobile is completely useless at doing anything online and I didn't manage to get them done.

76. Waving field

At the edge of the village is a waving field of... barley?  

The view from those houses at the top is absolutely stunning, and one's up for sale just now. Take a look - are you tempted?!

75. Cruise ship

When Kirsty came home from school yesterday we spotted this cruise liner sailing by - a rare sight - so she dashed down to the harbour to take this photo whilst I stayed in the shop. 
Wonder where their next stop will be...  Edinburgh maybe?

74. Digger

Apparently all the pre-school boys in the village are very excited today because there's a HUGE digger on the beach!!  They are reinforcing the coastal defences with the most enormous rocks.

So, for the benefit of all the little boys out there, (and the big, grown-up boys who've always wanted a shot on a digger), you're getting some bonus photos today!

They started by digging a trench.

73. Out at sea

I took this one yesterday whilst out for a stroll in the evening sunshine.

There are two large boats out at sea, at least one of which was stationary for hours.  Sometimes ships stay out at sea for a while before being escorted into Montrose harbour by a tug.

When is a sea vessel a boat and when is it a ship?  Is there a fixed size/ weight/ crew size?  No idea!  Feel free to enlighten me :)

72. Bird Branch

Whilst we were out looking for driftwood, Kirsty spotted this branch sticking out from between some of the huge rocks that form the coastal defences.  She thinks it looks like Kevin from the film 'Up'!

71. Window Boxes

Window boxes are great for adding a splash of colour.

70. Contrasts

On an evening walk yesterday these contrasts caught my eye - pink and purple flowers, lobster creels, the harbour wall, deep blue sea and a cloudless sky.

69. Brotherton Castle

This beautiful building, built in 1867, sits in lovely big grounds on the edge of Johnshaven. 

Brotherton Castle is now better known as Lathallan School - a private day and boarding school.  More info and photos can be seen on their website.

68. Caravans

What a glorious day for sitting outside your caravan and gazing out to sea :) 

67. Volunteers

Volunteers really are the lifeblood of a small community like ours, and we are fortunate to have several people willing to support the various groups and initiatives within the village. 

This morning the Heritage Society organised the planting of lots of summer colour, mainly around the harbour area.  The photo shows Walter & Vera braving a chilly, windy, overcast day to re-plant the big pots down by the sea. 

If you find yourself sitting on the bench eating an ice cream this summer, please take a minute to appreciate the efforts of the local volunteers who keep the place looking lovely.