Jan Kerr

Why I Volunteer with Largo Communities Together: “My volunteer role at LCT is around equity and inclusion. Most of my experience in this field is around disability. I like to help raise awareness amongst the general public to make it easier for disabled people to get out and about, especially those who use a wheelchair or mobility scooter. Barriers to inclusion, such as steps, locked gates, overgrown hedges, parked cars, bins on pavements, blocked dropped kerbs – all the things that most people take for granted, can discourage people from going out, making them isolated unnecessarily.”

Favourite Place In The Largo Area: “My favourite place in the area happens to be the grounds at Homelands. There is an abundance of wildlife, which our volunteers encourage through providing habitats and feeding stations for birds, hedgehogs, frogs, bees, butterflies, squirrels, bugs and we’ve even had the occasional fox pay us a visit. The gardens are colourful throughout the year – with snowdrops, crocuses, daffodils, tulips, azaleas, sunflowers, rhododendrons, a wildflower patch etc. There’s always a splash of colour, whatever the season. We are looking for more volunteers to help us look after this very special place.”

Imagine you could time travel to any point in history, but you could only observe and not interact. Where and when would you go?  ”  If I could travel to any point in history, I’d like to be an observer of the Russian Revolution in 1917. I certainly wouldn’t want to interact because it was a very dangerous time. Russian history has always been a fascination of mine since high school. I was lucky enough to visit Moscow, St Petersburg and Kronstadt when it was safe to travel to these places. Seeing the vast wealth of the Tsars highlighted the need for change. It really brought home the inequality that existed and could easily relate to more recent times.”

Thank you Jan

Carol Duff

Why I Volunteer with Largo Communities Together: “I enjoy working with LCT as it allows me to contribute to the community in which I live. As a volunteer, I lead the Friends of Largo group in activities and events intended to help protect and enhance Largo Bay and all who benefit from this amazing environment: locals and visitors, humans, and nature.”

Favourite Place In The Largo Area: “My favourite place in the Largo Area is The Fife Coastal Path; great views across the Bay surrounded by wildflowers and birdsong watching the weather cross the Forth.”

If you had to listen to only one song for the rest of your life what would it be: “If I had to choose only one song to listen to for the rest of my life it would be ‘Mr Blue Sky’ by Electric Light Orchestra.”

Thank you Carol 🙂

Jimmy Simpson (pictured here sailing with his granddaughter)

Why I Volunteer with Largo Communities Together: “I am Chair of the Pier Group. For the past six years, we have been attempting to prepare designs, engineering solutions, and funding packages in an attempt to restore the Pier. I find volunteering within LCT to be a great experience, receiving a great deal of support from all my colleagues. The members of the Pier Group give a great deal of their time and expertise.”

Favourite Place In The Largo Area: “My favourite place in Lower Largo is sitting in my garden looking out over the Bay.”

If you could instantly become an expert in any one skill, what skill would you choose? ” I would like to become an instant DIY expert, particularly working with wood and stone!”

Thanks Jimmy

Jill Miller

Why I Volunteer with Largo Communities Together: “Just love being involved, meeting folk and learning new things. When I retired, I had time and experience to give. I’m happy to do anything that you get to wear a Hi-Vis Vest for but tend to be involved in finding ways to take forward the actions our community has identified.”

Favourite Place In The Largo Area: “My special place is the gate and steps leading down to the beach after you have crossed Lundin Links Golf Course. It takes your breath away.”

If you were to start a collection of unusual objects, what would you collect and why? “I’m a collector of odd things and don’t have much room to collect more, but would love to collect art deco ceramic tiles and maybe get enough to use in the house …..next interior decoration project?”

Much appreciation Jill

Ellen Goodlad

𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗩𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴:-

“With regards to volunteering, I was Chairperson of Fife Headway, a volunteer group from 1998 until 2008 travelling to Edinburgh and Glasgow some of the time to learn as much as I could about head injury as my son received a severe head injury in a road traffic accident and I wanted to be able to do my best for him and to help the organisation and head injured people by volunteering in my home area.

I can’t begin to tell you some of the heart breaking stories I came across during that time as well as marvelling at the skill and knowledge of the surgeons and nursing staff who saved umpteen lives including that of my son who is in his mid fifties now.

I met many wonderful people who were volunteers for Headway and who made such a difference to the lives of head injured people and also worked tirelessly for better services and help for these people. I could go on and on………

Now, in my seventies I saw an opportunity to meet new people be they volunteers or users of the Warm Spaces initiative.

I’m glad I did volunteer as, just as I’d hoped, I did meet lovely volunteers ( and a great soup maker called Christopher ). I met locals who came along to have a bowl of this wonderful soup, get warm and have a good blether.  I learned a lot from doing this, especially about the area I live in from those who were born and bred here in Upper Largo and their memories about all things and people “Largo” were astounding!

No one said “do this” or “do  that”.  We just mucked in and found things to do and it all ran like clockwork.  There was a wonderful friendly atmosphere and users and volunteers came together to enjoy the camaraderie, make new friends and enjoy the soup. Brilliant!”

𝗙𝗮𝘃𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲:-

“My home in Broomfield Gardens, North Feus, Upper Largo where I live in a beautiful, peaceful place with views of the church, orchard and gardens. I love it.”

A little more about me:

1.  I would invite William Wilberforce to dinner so I can ask him all about the abolition of slavery and his part in it.

2. My favourite film is Dr.Zhivago.

3. My newly learned skill would be how to use modern technology.

4. I love words and their meaning.  I love discussion and debate and would love to join a debating group.

5. I’d be a giraffe so I could see everything!

6. I loved and found it interesting visiting the Parthenon in Greece.  I also love all things  Greek, the food, the culture the weather and olives!

𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 !

𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴, 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘮 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘴. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘯. 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘏𝘶𝘣 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘭𝘺 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱 𝘪𝘯, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘎𝘪𝘭𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘬𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘰 𝘊𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘰 𝘏𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘌𝘸𝘢𝘯 𝘍𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱.

We look forward to continuing our Warm Welcome days in the future 🙂

Fiona McCaul

What do you do as a volunteer: “I saw the request for a proofreader in the first issue of Largo Links, volunteered and was asked to join the team. I’ve also done a bit of writing and editing. eg it must have been in 2021 I “interviewed” Andrew Stenson and Dougi McMillan and wrote up an article on the upcoming 2nd Largo Arts Week. I’ve also ended up being the minute-taker for our editorial meetings. I’ve realised over time that I’m a details person, and a bit of a stickler for accuracy so this suits me fine. It’s been great to get to know the folk on the team too, whom I might not have met otherwise.”

My favourite place in the Largo area: “hmm difficult. There are two. Having decided to try to move here as I, like many others, came here on holiday as a child for many years, one would have to be the walk down from Woodlands Road, under the viaduct to the harbour, which we did every day with our buckets and spades, making as much noise as possible under the viaduct to get an echo! and the other, walking along Main Street from the Crusoe and then stopping at the bend at Alan Faulds’ garden and Malagan sculpture to look out across the bay and then continuing along to the Temple and beyond.”

Superpower for a day? “I’m not a fan of fantasy, but time-travel, along with flying and X-ray eyes would be good, then I could go back and find out where and how my ancestors lived, visit places I’ve not been to and also just be nosy wherever I wanted.”

Huge thanks Fiona!

Lou Robb

What do you do as a volunteer: “At work, I’m a facilitator and mediator in organisations and volunteer to offer those skills.  Bigger than that for me is feeling part of a community,  building relationships and networks that might be there when people are in most need.  It’s also a lot of fun. The people I have met here due to volunteering make me smile and laugh a lot. I also volunteer as the seagrass recorder for Friends of Largo Bay.  It’s much more fun than running meetings!”

What is your relationship with the Largo Area: “I’ve been coming to Largo Sailing with my son since 1995, and I moved here mostly full-time in 2007. My favourite place is out on the water in my kayak.  Our villages look amazing from out there!”

What mundane superpower would you choose?: “If I could have a mundane superpower, it would be the ability to write well. I’m pretty dyslexic, so stringing a few words together in an email or report is torturous for me.”

Thanks Lou !

Andy Duff

A few sentences about what I do as a volunteer for LCT:“I’m an LCT trustee and  chair of the Assets and Access group; we support LCT’s land and property-based projects.  Additionally I can always find time to support Friends of Largo Bay, and I can often be seen on the beach with a litter-picker or quadrat.”

Question:  If you could teleport to any location in the world right now, where would you go and why?

Answer:  “Rush hour in any city, just to remind me how lucky we are to live in here.”

Fav place in the Largo area:“Dumbarnie, looking back along the bay to Largo.”

Thanks again Andy!

Stan Green

Why I like volunteering: “Giving back to the community that supports me, my friends and my family – communities are all about collective support – where would that support be if we all sat back and expected things to happen… volunteering is rewarding, sometimes hard work but also great fun.”

Where in the Largo Area is your favourite place?

“… on the beach – where else?”

Imagine you’re writing a sequel to your favorite book or movie. What happens next? “I have two favourite movies…. The Railway Children,  or The Deer Hunter … Hmmmmm.

OK so it’s The Railway Children 2… more of the same please. (although polite children shouldn’t ask for more).

Sentimentality is seen as weak, indulgent, and superficial, and yet I find immersing myself in this film thought provoking, deeply comforting and hopeful.

On the basis that you can’t get enough “feel good” or time to reflect on childhood values we all thought we should have, … let’s have more of the same.

…. As the children get embroiled in a county line smuggling mystery as notes are thrown from a train and Bobbie gets kidnapped as contraband is found near a siding of the line.

Its OK though Perks to the rescue as the “Even older gentleman” uses his influences to get the trains diverted and police involved etc.

Baddies in Jail, Perks injured but OK, Bobbie marries one of the rescuers (teacher from the local school), flash forward to her staying next to Perks with him playing with her children next to the diesel train rushing past on the line!

Or The Deer Hunter….. nah let’s not bother.”

Huge thanks Stan !

Discovery Trail Trial:

On Monday, we embarked on an exciting trial of the Discovery Trail with Matt Pointon and local primary 4/5 students. Their insights were incredibly valuable to help develop a trail that engages and involves everyone.  They are still in the development phase, but learning on the ground is proving to be the best way forward.

We are looking to do this with others too – so drop me a line if you want to be involved.

Thank you again to everyone who makes our community so special!