The Kintyre Forum

Thought it would be good to start this thread.

Just curious to see what the people of Campbeltown think the town needs doing, if we can get salient points raised then maybe we can use this forum as a vehicle to put pressure on the Council and get things done!!??

First on my agenda would be parking facilities.
Then it would be unused shop owners made to paint the exterior of their buildings if in a bad state of disrepair!
Get the town hall back in respectable condition etc etc

Any other suggestions?

have thought for years that the approach to the town is dismal, the whole way down the Longrow needs brightning up, dont know if it is feasible now with so many different owners... But it is the first impression people get when they arrive now.. Cant remember who wrote about arriving in Campbeltown and wanting to turn back, must always have been the same.

sorry i thought it was you we were voting on?

course it does, but then thats because there are so many empty shops, there are some that do go out of their way to keep their shopfront gleaming.

how about starting with the radio station, it's a right mess, that bit of board has been on that door for how long?

are there no joiners on air?

rhetorical question, i know there is!!!!

I thought it was done!!!!Did'nt you notice new pavements and houses with new windows..

Dunc

gizmo wrote:have thought for years that the approach to the town is dismal, the whole way down the Longrow needs brightning up, dont know if it is feasible now with so many different owners... But it is the first impression people get when they arrive now.. Cant remember who wrote about arriving in Campbeltown and wanting to turn back, must always have been the same.

I'd agree with that - very depressing coming down Longrow.

We were very impressed though with the play area which was improved where the paddling pool used to be. THink that's been there a few years now.

Re-building the swimming pool has been a very good start. There needs to be more stuff to do in the town when the weather is poo.

I'm glad the Picture House is still going, but surely that's going to need a few bob spending on it before long.

I don't know what to suggest, as a lot of things would not be viable due to the small size of the town / potential market.

Kevin Mc wrote:I'm glad the Picture House is still going, but surely that's going to need a few bob spending on it before long.

The roof is getting replaced later this year - probably in October - and all the funding is in place for that.

We were hoping to get new sound equipment around that time too but unfortunately we were knocked back on funding for that by SAC. Funnily enough one of the reasons given was lack of support by our local council

Malky

Malky wrote:We were hoping to get new sound equipment around that time too but unfortunately we were knocked back on funding for that by SAC. Funnily enough one of the reasons given was lack of support by our local council

Malky

Now why am I not surprised by that

general jack o'niell wrote:how about starting with the radio station, it's a right mess, that bit of board has been on that door for how long?

Have to agree with you there - the premises that Argyll FM occupy are an absolute eyesore. Surely out of the money that is raised, donated and paid to the radio station something could be done about it?

I find entering the town via Longrow so miserable now that I turn left at Jim Martins and go along Kinloch Road!

It is really nice to see some of the shops making the effort to tidy up their shops but some are a right disgrace. Perhaps we should name and shame them? I for one do not shop at any of the ones who make no effort with their shop fronts, namely Wallies, The Garden Shop, Nickel and Dime...if they can't be bothered making the effort to contribute to the look and feel of the town then why should I line their pockets?

Does anyone feel the same?

mrn wrote:[]
the premises that Argyll FM occupy are an absolute eyesore. Surely out of the money that is raised, donated and paid to the radio station something could be done about it?
Perhaps we should name and shame them? I?

I think you just did mrn.

Even I've heard out here in Texas that every trickle down thin dime that is raised, donated and paid to Argyll FM is needed to actually keep the station on the air, not a cent to spare,so I've heard anyway.

Maybe all the guys and gals that donate their time freely, for no financial reward, and help keep the wholne thing going could spend a weekend or two scraping and painting....and you know what? I think they just might, I guess they could use some help though mrn Maybe I will fly over and help too.

was going to offer to lend a scraper and a burner, but i did that with a new saw when the studios were getting built and never saw it again!!!!

since it was a righthanded saw it was no use to me or DJKJ, us being lefties, must have been somebody that left during my six month sabbatical at the beginning of the century.

seeing as i mentioned them, i would give up my time to oversee the work, can't do any painting, not in plain sight of my wife and her list of jobs, but i could be foreman

Yes. Start with the Radio Station. The voluntarily run Community Radio Station.

We have seen our outgoings escalate in the last couple of years.
It now costs us well over £500 a year for Scottish Water to supply our taps and toilet and to take the rainwater off our roof and into the street outside! Our electricity bills have risen as has everybody’s but we have five. Not to mention the continual yearly rises for the rental of the transmitter sites. Our most expensive lease is on the SSE mast at Machriahnish now £5000 a year.
We also have various insurances, numerous licences and equipment in constant need of replacing/upgrading.

But hey, the directors, presenters and helpers behind the scenes have nothing better to do with their precious spare time.

Yes. We need a new door. A local ‘youth’ (yes, somebody’s son!!) kicked a hole in it.
Yes. We need to paint the outside (We have had quotes).
Yes. We need a sign (Got quotes for that as well).
What we don’t have right now is money and time.
We also require the following:
1 reliable audio server
Studio toilet (We were flooded out a couple of years ago by a washing machine)
1 minidisc unit
1 CD player
1 digital logger
Floor covering throughout building.
I could go on and on with headphones etc etc but I won’t.
We have applied for a licence extension to enable us to broadcast until July 2012. At present it is unclear what will happen to the analogue frequencies after that time.
We have been transmitting 24 hrs a day with volunteers for 7 years.Hopefully, with the support of the community, we can make it to 2012. After that, who knows?
The money raised and donated to the station keeps the station broadcasting. That is paramount. We are currently applying for funding to secure the future and buy some paint!

Colin

Colin, you and the gang have done a sterling job and I wish you success for the next few years. Lang may your turntable turn.

You can't please everybody and is it a surprise that the General singled out the radio station as being tatty?

That's your turn past. The next target will be The Mans Shop. By the way what rank was he busted to and have you still got the stars that were ripped off his shooders in a drawer.

bubbly

bubbly jock wrote:You can't please everybody and is it a surprise that the General singled out the radio station as being tatty?

bubbly

Perhaps after all his other negative comments about the radio in previous posts it is not a surprise

I agree with Bubbly Colin and wish you all well.

BM (Trumpton)

I agree - I think we all forget that the radio relies on people putting their hands in their pockets and handing money across regularly. I went in and enquired about donating some money - actually felt that the General was so down on them that I wanted to find out a bit more. Apparently they have been left in the lurch a few times over the years - was quite shocking how much money they had to pay out to sort stuff out. However, there is a membership scheme for £5 a YEAR, I couldn't believe it -what does £5 buy - nothing nowadays - I took one out for me and my husband right away. To know that our tenner was helping - in a little way - made me feel quite good and I was happy to leave my details so that I could be put on their new membership data base. The old one was on an old donated pc that had lived a very long life when it crashed - list lost. I thought that £5 was too little but apparently some people thought £5 TOO MUCH FOR A YEAR!!! MAD. It is so easy to complain and moan but I decided to ask the people involved and found out first hand that the amount of money they need year after year is hard fought for - and the time that so many people put in every week is amazing - for nothing - oh sorry not for nothing - for constant criticism, sarcasm and derision - Im surprised that they bother - still the good thing about the General and his negativity is that it has made me donate to the radio and I will continue to do so now that i know how. It brings me a lot of pleasure - I dont like every programme but there is definitely something for everyone at some point. How many towns have their own radio..... not many but I bet they dont all suffer from the constant criticism - maybe they do tho' as some people like to bring achievements down. I certainly will volunteer to wield a scraper. Just tell me when.

I knew this poll would end up in a slanging match....when will people learn that you are not allowed to criticise anything in the town. He's got a bee in his bunnet about the radio...so what, he was obviously right, since Colin agreed. The radio should use it's available money to pay for the necessities, licences, utilities etc of course it should. Anyway, it fits in with the rest of the Longrow/town, tatty and unkempt.