2022 saw the AIA back in the swing of things, with Julia Priestley, the AIA’s first Community Development Worker, fully in her stride. The Anster Community Development Project went from strength to strength, with a full programme of events and activities to appeal to our community.
We completed our season of Anster Nichts at the start of the year with talks by Kirsty Strachan (Gaelic in Anstruther), Eugene Clark and Kirsty Ryder (Levenmouth Rail Campaign) and Joanna Hambly (Archaeology of the Fife Coast). The new season began in September with talks by Steve Liscoe (WWII Defences of Fife), local film-maker Bill Bruce (Different Video), and Michael Bruce and Roy Giles (RNLI). Our thanks to our generous speakers, who give up their time to educate and entertain us.
Anster Cinema tested the water in February with a cinema takeover by the Anstruther Skatepark Group. The group curated an evening of short skate films to raise awareness of the skatepark project. A month later Anster Cinema was back with regular monthly film screenings at Dreel Halls, usually on the first Sunday of the month at 6.45pm. The cinema closed the year with a partnership screening with East Neuk Arts, a new local initiative, trialling a family-friendly Christmas film to appeal to new audiences.
There was great excitement at the return of the Duck Race, and it was wonderful to bring back our favourite event of the year. We held the prize giving and bonnet parade outdoors to avoid concerns about indoor crowds, and fortunately the weather held for us. We repeated the Design a Duck colouring competition, promoting it at Bowhouse Food Market to gain a wider range of entries from participants outwith the East Neuk. Local businesses distributed the colouring sheets and encouraged people to display these in their windows around Anstruther. Local artist, Jilly Ballantyne, kindly judged the competition and young volunteers organised a display of entries at the Duck Race for all to enjoy.
The early years social group, established in 2021, Dreel Babies & Toddlers, continued to meet weekly, with a waiting list due to the group’s reputation and popularity. The group now operates with a core group of regular volunteers to organise and facilitate weekly activities. There is a focus on literacy and music activities, and the group has included organised buggy walks, a library visit, picnics, indoor age-appropriate activities, sharing stories, music, craft activities and celebration events.
Dreel Friends, our popular community café, provides space for members of our community to meet and socialise and keep in touch with community activities. We offer teas, home baking, a book swap, stories for younger children and a seasonal, themed craft table each month. The group is supported by regular volunteers and provides a hub to share information.
We launched a new weekly craft group, Dreel Crafters, in 2022, providing opportunities to meet, share crafting skills and volunteer. Members of the group contributed knitting to raise funds for the AIA Duck Race and, with Julia’s support, revived a fantastically successful and fun Vintage Day. Dreel Halls hosted traditional vintage teas, a handmade quilt display by our Honorary Patron, Christine Keay, vintage jewellery, clothing and craft stalls, charity stalls and a raffle. A great time was had by visitors and volunteers.
Our project to restore the shelled, decorative surface of a local heritage building (the Dreel Shelled Wall Restoration Project) is still in its early stages; in 2022 the focus was on asking the public to collect enough shells to complete the work. We organised a Buckie Treasure Hunt, attended community events to promote the project and established a Facebook group. Jilly Ballantyne created a beautiful East Neuk Shells postcard to help members of the public identify local shells, to share information about the heritage project and to encourage shell collection.
2022 saw the public launch of the AIA’s Dreel Burn Project, with ambitious aims to restore the burn, making it once again a clean, biodiverse and vibrant waterway. We are partnering with Forth Rivers Trust, Fife Coast & Countryside Trust, Footprint East Neuk and St Andrews University to coordinate this complex project with its many stakeholders. Following community information and consultation events, we were able to recruit a group of committed volunteers to provide monthly citizen science water testing activity and regular litter picks on the burn. The project is supported by a working group and a steering group.
The AIA continued to participate in the East Neuk’s Family Learning Roadshows, and we were pleased for the opportunity to host the summer event at Dreel Halls. We took part in the East Neuk Youth Network, which enabled us to provide community volunteering to Waid Academy students completing their Duke of Edinburgh Award. Waid Academy students were also the focus of Musomanix, a youth music project delivered by AIA Trustee Alan Stewart, and local songwriter and musician, King Creosote, with young people able to hone their songwriting and music skills after school. We continued to work closely with the Scottish Fisheries Museum, which has provided regular activities for Dreel Babies & Toddlers, Dreel Friends and a second Dreel Burn Bioblitz. Julia also provided support to and partnered with other community groups and individuals, including Anstruther Skatepark Group, Dreelside Woods Community Asset Transfer, Anstruther & District Allotment Association and Dreelside Park Upgrade.
In the autumn, we were once again able to open Dreel Halls for Doors Open Day, allowing visitors to take in the view from the parapet of the St Nicholas Tower. We also took part again in the November Bowhouse Food Market; with our generous volunteers baking seasonal apple crumbles and raising much needed funds for the AIA. We must also thank our volunteer gardeners for their work in the AIA garden, which continues to delight passers-by.
All current events and activities in the AIA’s programme can be found on the website and Facebook pages.
In 2022 we received financial and in-kind support from, among others, the National Lottery Community Fund, the Community Kist, Christine Keay, Early Years Scotland, Balcaskie Estate, Bowhouse Food Market, James Aird & Sons, Amazon Smile, Anstruther Co-Op, Greener Kirkcaldy and Fife Council. We thank all our wonderful volunteers without whom we could not offer all our events and activities, including our Honorary Patrons and the dedicated Committee. Thanks also to Julia, who has done so much to transform the AIA over the past two years, and our hall users, who ensure that Dreel Halls plays a vibrant and important role in our community.