more images and video below 🙂

Saturday September the 28th 2013 The Dumfries and Galloway Canine rescue Branch held their first ever Doggy Olympics at Barstobrick Ringford, near Castle Douglas . DGWGO only found out about this wonderful event this morning , from one of our Advertisers , Cariol King Dog walker ! So We managed to get along for a wee look to see what it was all about ! On arrival at Barstobrick I found out that :-
There were 5 zones you and your dog could take part in , and up to 15 events for the dogs and owners to enter .

*Athletics

*Field Events

*Gymnastics

*Aquatics

*Sports Events

THE ZONES
Each zone had 3 different competitions , and something for all types of dogs and owners of all ages . There was something for all skill levels .

I was amazed when I arrived to see hundreds of people and dogs , there were dogs of all breeds , sizes types and ages and they all seemed to be having the time of their lives ! I watched Dogs of all skill level’s trying different events , and it was wonderful to see Dogs and their owners laughing at the mistakes being made , it was a really fun atmosphere , and owners of all ages were taking part , from young kids to the elderly !

Barstobrick was the perfect place for the event ,with outdoor and indoor arena ‘s venue set in a beautiful area on the red kite trail. It has a restaurant, ample parking and excellent walks.

Dumfries & Galloway Canine Rescue Centre who held the event was opened in March 2003.The purpose of the charity is to rescue, care for and rehome stray and unwanted dogs. www.caninerescue.co.uk www.twitter.com/dgcrc www.youtube.com/DGCanineRescue

The purpose of the charity is to rescue, care for, and rehome stray, maltreated, and unwanted dogs.They are members of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes (ADCH)

The Dumfries and Galloway Canine Rescue Centre was set up by a group of local people in August 2001 in the hope of keeping a local rescue going when a national charity announced its intention to leave.
The charity raises funds through subscriptions, donations, sales from its charity shops in Dumfries, Dalbeattie, Annan and Newton Stewart and other fund raising events.

If you are interested in supporting them in anyway or Possibly rehoming a rescue dog you can contact them on the phone

01387 770210

Or their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/dgcaninerescue

Or thier website http://www.caninerescue.co.uk

On Saturday the 28th of September 2013 –  Iain Renicks and Tony Charlesworth take over Alive 107.3 from midnight to midnight in a bid to raise funds for the Dumfries charity community radio station.

Tony and Iain will be presenting a whole raft of different shows throughout the day from one hit wonders to classic rock’n’roll from Sports to Blues. They are not just looking for people to listen in and join in but they would like people to sponsor they’re efforts which they can do online at the website www.aliveradio.net

You can also sponsor via Alive Team members who have sponsor sheets with 100% of monies raised going to the station , this is vitally important as Alive 107.3 receives no funding towards running costs and its efforts like these that will allow the station now in its 4th year to prosper and expand its support of the community in Dumfries and beyond .

So please tune in from midnight on 28th for 24 hours and support the guys and support community radio in Dumfries .

A group of girls form Dumfries have created a unique calendar to help raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support and also help raise awareness on all cancers . The girls, from Dumfries, hope to raise £15,000 and also are working hard on a special launch night set to take place at Easerbrook Hall on Friday the 1st of November 2013.

They have called themselves the Lavendar Girls after the lavendar coloured ribbon which represents all cancers. The group includes 13 girls including founder Angela Rogerson, Zara Hogg, Claire Wood and Nikki Trainor.

The calendars can be purchased from Tantrum Events, Lincluden Hair & Beauty Centre, Barbours
and Rejuvenation or you can email [email protected]. The recommended donation is £10.00

The Lavender Ball is on Friday the 1st November at Easterbrook hall and tickets are available by emailing [email protected]

You can keep up to date with the girls on their Facebook Page.

For further information on Macmillan Cancer Support contact  0808 808 0000 (mon-fri, 9am-8pm)

DGWGO Roving Reporter, Martin Johnston, was in Dumfries today for The Nithraid.

This daring sailing race took place from Carsethorn to the Caul in Dumfries. The race allowed any form of boat to take part (as long as it had no engine) and the event coincided with the highest flood tide of the year. Nithraid symbolised the historical role of the River Nith as trade route and communication link between Dumfries and the rest of the world.

A cow sculpture (cast in salt) was placed in the river to symbolise the past trade in meat, hides and livestock, and the point in the river where the water gives way to the salt tides. Tethered to the Devorgilla Bridge were long banners which were released in to the water to welcome the first arrivals.

Here are Martin’s pictures for you to enjoy.

Join an online community of young people interested in photography and you could win a day with Kim Ayres (Kim Ayres Portrait Photography) and Phil McMenemy (The Gallery at Laurieston). Two of Dumfries & Galloway’s favourite professional photographers.

The Project

DG youth view is inviting young people aged 13-21 to send in their pictures, we hope to see how our region looks to you, and bring together young people interested in photography. We are interested in composition and content of the picture not the camera used. So would welcome images taken via camera phone, or basic digital camera’s. It is the thought behind the image that is important. Phil and Kim will be offering advice as we go along and we will also be giving away Cinema tickets.

The Categories

We are asking people to send in Images with thought under the following categories.

My Place:

Photos of a place I spend time or love to visit – home, school, park, street etc.

My People

Photos of people I spend time with – family, friends, work colleagues, club or group members etc (please make sure the people you have photographed are OK with you submitting the photo to this competition)

My Festival

Photos of performance – bands, street theatre etc – can be from the DG Youth Festival, Eden, Wickerman etc or from an earlier festival this year.

HOW TO ENTER

To enter upload your photo write a sentence or two about it, state your age and which category it is for.

Enter via Facebook by liking the dgyouthview facebook page, add your photo to our page with the hashtag #dgyouthview .

Enter via twitter using the Hashtag #dgyouthview.

The competition is open to entrants aged 13-21, based in Dumfries & Galloway.

By entering you give us permission to use your images (not for commercial gain) but you will be credited as the photographer.

Closing Date: Midnight Tuesday 22nd October

The overall winners will be announced on the 25th of October.

Winners will spend a day with Kim and Phil in November.

ONE ‘ALE OF A TIME!

Marking the end of the village’s vibrant summer festival season, the last weekend of August played host to the Moniaive Ale and Music Festival. The event was hosted by the Craigdarroch Arms Hotel who, in promoting the event, floated the tantalising promise of an entire weekend of free music and camping, coupled with the tagline, “all you need is beer money”! Presumably to sample some of the 50-odd real ales they had on offer at the outdoor bar.

The festival kicked off on Friday night with, “Heart of Rust”, a locally-based Neil Young tribute act. Starting on a high – Heart of Gold – the band eased through some of Mr Young’s more languid numbers, providing a chilled out vibe as darkness fell upon the rather perfectly appointed courtyard stage. Much like Neil Young’s career, the set gradually evolved towards louder guitars and fuzzier feedback, accompanied by eerily convincing vocal. Also staying true to their idol, the band delivered an extremely long set!

Next up were Monkey Shoulder, fronted by Moniaive resident Ralph Yates-Lee. Confidently strutting their way through some low-down dirty rock’n’roll, the band upped the tempo of the evening with clanging guitars – tinged with both blues and grunge influences – and melodic lighters-in-the-air anthems.

Friday night was concluded by headliners, another great Dumfries and Galloway asset, Scruffy Buzzards. Unleashing drive and energy onto the stage, the Buzzard’s folk-infused roots-laden rock had the remaining crowd jumping, but unfortunately all came a bit too late. A schedule over-run earlier in the evening, twinned with a strict curfew, meant that their set had to be cut short. A great shame for all those to waited up late to see Scruffy Buzzards, but hopefully they can be encouraged to come back and play a longer set in Moniaive sometime soon.

One of the real stars of the weekend was the festival venue. Transforming beer garden onto a mini outdoor arena was a masterstroke by the Craigdarroch (albeit one that got lucky with the rain gods!). With tarpaulin-covered stage surrounded by coloured lights and day-glo trees, numerous fire-pits, stone pizza-oven and beer-laden bar, the self-contained festival site came to life.

Following a day of courtyard acoustic sessions, folk and spoken word, Saturday night was kick-started by Dumfries upstarts, Ammonium. In true punk style, the band spent their afternoon foraging for kit before exploding onto the stage, unleashing noisy grunge to wake the gathering crowd.

Next on the bill was Neil McLarty, singer and guitarist with superb Leeds power-pop outfit, Gojin-Go, to deliver a solo and acoustic set of songs that had never previously been performed in either solo or acoustic form. This task was fulfilled to excellent effect. With one foot firmly rooted in West of Scotland indie melancholy and the other drowning in twangy Americana power-pop, Neil’s set of self-penned material (usually wrapped up in feedback and electric guitar) is all about the songs. An exiled Moniaiver, Neil says he’s chuffed to be playing the village. And we’re glad he came.

Continuing the vibe of acoustic charm and Americana influenced strains, The Oystercatchers are next to perform. This is their first show with two new guitarists; this works, the performance is crisp and fresh. This band thrives on the strength of the vocal performance, in particular the startling close harmonies from singers Jade and Gerry, melodic lines that wrap around each other and noticeably draw people towards the stage. Their set is a mix of traditional American song, bluegrass, roots and country, and original material which never once sounds out of place alongside classics like Elvis’s, “That’s Alright Mama”.

Next up, my band, Lucien’s Ghost. Our bandmates arrived from Glasgow and the Borders on Saturday afternoon to squeeze in only our third rehearsal so, by the time we took to the stage on Saturday night, it still felt we were flying-by-the-seat-of-the-pants. However, we managed to get through it unscathed, I can’t complain about the feedback we received and, in my opinion, our guitarist, bass and drummer (Michael, Craig and Rufus) were superb! In between some of our own songs, we performed covers by David Bowie, The Eels and a version of “Small Town” by Lou Reed and John Cale; always a little risky in Monaive!

And with that, we finished up just in time for my personal highlight of the weekend, the utterly magnificent, completely legendary Scottish-ska superheros, The Amphetameanies. Cramming neatly onto a stage made for far fewer, team ‘Meanie delivered – as ever – a set of flawless classics to an instantaneously filled and bouncing dance-floor. The perfect headliner, their tidal-wave of a set seems to be over in minutes, but ska hung in air as festival stragglers and campers gathered around campfires for the remainder of the evening.

The Ale and Music Festival, showing far greater stamina than I, continued into the Sunday with an afternoon session featuring laid back dub, ska and reggae beats from Eazy Skankin’, featuring a set from Moniaive-based dubstep programmer, DJ, composer and trailblazer, Suspek6. Unfortunately the excesses of Saturday night kept me away from this one, but I’m reliably informed by all involved that it closed the weekend brilliantly.

So, Moniaive festival season is over for another year, but it most certainly ended with a bang! The Craigdarroch Arms Hotel provided a great setting and a fantastic line up, so many thanks to them, as well as to Lance Stewart and John Dinning for taking care of the sound, stage and lights all weekend.

Mike Staples

Alison Smith of Galloway Media (and our roving reporter) went along to the 2013 Sponsored Abseils which took place at the Mull of Galloway at the weekend. The abseils were  in support of Macmillan Cancer Support and kindly put together a wee report and some images.

You can see many more of Alison’s Images at her Facebook Albums
There were showers and grey sky at times during the day but it didn’t seem to put anyone off and when the clouds cleared and the blue sky returned I can imagine the views from the top were incredible
This is a Bi annual event and is organised by the Stranraer Committee of the Macmillan Cancer Support.  Over the years a considerable amount of money has been raised from the abseil, all of which has been used within the Dumfries and Galloway area.

Swan on the Quay, Kingholm Quay, Dumfries, DG1 4SU – 01387 253756

With honest home cooked pub farye, real ale, comfortable surroundings and a relaxed atmosphere Swan on the Quay is the newest Gastro Pub in Dumfries. The Swan at Kingholm Quay has been renamed Swan on the Quay and is now offering a new menu along with Real Ale, new wines and table service in a relaxed atmosphere. The menu is still home to some of the classic favourites but with some welcomed additions. Customers old and new are loving our new interpretation of a scampi basket!!! How does an edible basket sound?

Angela McIntyre, previously Venue Manager at Easterbrook has taken the lease to the business and whilst keeping all the existing staff she has added a few new team members including the recruitment of a new chef. Mike Calder, who is new to Dumfries, has a wealth of Gastro Pub (Food Lead Pub) experience and is enjoying getting to know the local suppliers who, for him, are vital. He is passionate about great pub food served with a twist and believes that local produce is a key to that success. He is growing a reputations for serving fish that is sourced from the Solway and prides himself on the sea bass being served as part of his list of additional specials. The new menu that he has created is prepared on site and classic to honest pub food. It includes beer batter haddock, triple minced beef in his hand-made burgers and of course pies and Sunday roasts. The desserts are also home-made and, in the words of a recent dinner….. the best sticky toffee pudding ever tasted!!

Mike childhood seen him living in a various countries all over the world which he believes has developed his passion for food and allowed him to experience, first hand, a number of different cuisines and cultures. From and early age Mike studied home economics at school which was fairly unorthodox back then but he had a real interest in baking and food prep and was not put off by the comments of his peers. He has had a career in hospitality since 1997 and this has seen him working in busy gastro pub and also some branded outlets. He is quick to tell us he is happiest preparing, in his words “honesty home cooked pub food” rather than frozen or commercialised meals. A menu of good quality unpretentious food well prepared and value for money is what he and Angela are aiming for. In 2008 he had the privilege of working as part of the team at “Flemish weaver” where he won an award for organic locally sourced foods on the menu. This is something he aims to also develop at Swan on the Quay…… watch this space for a supper club which is being developed with a local producers focus…..

Mike is also working on Christmas menus, a new winter menu and lunch time offers for the busy diner who have to stick to 1 hour lunch times……. Like the pub on facebook for updates, swan on the quay.

No need to book at the pub simply come along and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere 7 days of the week for lunch from 12 till 2.30pm and supper from 5pm till late!

[column width=”1″ place=”none” ][headline]Recipe: Crab Beignets, Swan on the Quay style [/headline]

Ingredients 
1kg/2lb 4oz crab meat, brown and white
25ml/4.5fl oz cold water
50g/2oz butter, diced
75g/2 ¾ oz plain flour
2 free range eggs
Chopped chives
Lemon zest
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Put the butter and water in a pot and bring to the boil, boil for 2 mins

• Remove from the heat and add all the flour together and beat well until the mixture is smooth and well combined. It should come away from the side of the pan

• Return the mixture to the heat for 1 or 2 mins until it has warmed through

• Remove and crack in the eggs, one at a time, beat well between each addition so that each egg is fully incorporated into the mixture

• Add 2 tablespoons of the white crab meat and 3 of the brown and stir well to combine. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Heat the oil in a fryers or heavy based pot

• Drop teaspoonfuls of the beignet mixture into the hot oil in batches and fry for 2-3 mins, or until the beignets are crips and golden brown. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper. Repeat with the remaining beignet mixture

• Serve warm with fresh rocket, lemon and sweet chilli dip

You can keep up to date with the Swan on the Quay at their Facebook Page