Will you help save the Rutherford monument?

The Rutherford monument at Gatehouse of Fleet is in urgent need of repair.  The top of the monument has become dislodged and if it is not restored soon it will collapse.  Erected by public subscription in 1842 the Rutherford monument commemorates the life and work of Samuel Rutherford the leading Scottish divine who was Minister at Anwoth between 1627 and 1639 before going on to become Professor of Divinity at St Andrews University and later Principal of St Mary’s College at the University. 

Rutherford’s great work Lex Rex was an attack on absolute monarchy, demanding that rulers should be subject to the law.  His work had a significant influence on the framers of the constitution of the United States of America.

Heavy rain did not worry Gatehouse's Nurture in Nature group, who came well prepared to plant out begonias at the Town Hall garden.  A group of five small children and their parents, later joined by others eagerly set to work and planted out two big boxes of begonias, which had been kindly donated by Dumfries and Galloway council.  

A grant of £200 awarded to the Gatehouse Development Initiative will help restore the Town Hall garden, which the Local Authority is no longer able to maintain.  With the Council’s agreement volunteers have already begun to restore this garden which is much loved by visitors and locals alike.  This activity is part of the Volunteering Matters Action Earth campaign which is supported by Scottish Natural Heritage.

Fun Outdoors is an inspirational after-school group for children of primary school age in Gatehouse of Fleet in which children learn many basic skills like starting fires, campfire cooking, building shelters, whittling, safe tool use, using maps, arts and crafts, whilst playing games and having fun. Many (if not most) of the primary school aged children in Gatehouse have benefited from this group over the last 4 years.

A beautiful  sunny day greeted  festival walkers as they set off for a walk through a thousand years of history.  With the scent of bluebells strong in the air, the walkers visited the Cally Motte before going onto the Temple and then heading for Cally via the sunken dyke.  The walkers made their way to the Mill on the Fleet by way of the old school, where they were able to enjoy a welcome drink before heading back to Newton Stewart on the bus.

Food Train is a social enterprise providing vital support services to enable older people to live independently at home for as long as possible. In addition to providing a vital grocery delivery service The Food Train is establishing a new befriending service in the Strewartry.