Thank you so much for attending the November 19th meeting and for your interest in the proposed Borgue Community Benefit Society, with the initial project being a community buyout of the Borgue Hotel. It was fantastic to see so many people come together with such enthusiasm, curiosity, and commitment to the future of Borgue.
Your presence and support mark an important first step in what we hope will be a transformative journey for Borgue. As outlined, we have formed a small committee and are exploring funding options including grants, a community share offer, and crowdfunding. The idea of a community-owned pub is no longer just a dream—it’s a proven model across Scotland and the rest of the UK, and we believe Borgue has the heart and determination to make it happen.
We’ll be sharing updates soon on how to get involved further, including joining the proposed Community Benefit Society and contributing ideas, skills, or support. For now, thank you again for showing up and helping us get this off the ground.
‘Dinna Forget – Memoirs of the Kirkcudbright District and Beyond by John McKie RN (1821-1915)’
A fascinating, personal account of life in the Kirkcudbright District in the 19th century has recently been published by Kirkcudbright History Society. The author, John McKie, was born in 1821 and grew up on High Nunton Farm in Twynholm parish, not far from the Dhoon on Kirkcudbright Bay. He went to school at Borgue Academy until 1839, and then followed a career as a millwright and then as a mechanical engineer in Dundee, Liverpool, Manchester and Crewe. But his ambition was to join the Royal Navy as a marine engineer at a time when the navy’s ships were transitioning from sail to steam power.
He achieved his ambition and served for 25 years in the navy, rising to the rank of Chief Engineer, in charge of the engines and mechanics of some of the most advanced ironclad battleships in the fleet. In his time, he also served as an engineer on the royal yacht, HMY Victoria and Albert and in the West Africa Squadron, which was charged with intercepting slave ships and freeing the slaves on board.
He returned to Kirkcudbright when he retired in the early 1870s and became involved in local community initiatives, in particular the establishment of The Stewartry Museum, which was first housed in Kirkcudbright Town Hall (now Kirkcudbright Galleries), before moving to its present building in 1892. He was the first curator of the new museum and his portrait, by the Castle Douglas artist, W. S. MacGeorge, is on display there.
Written personal accounts of our area in the 1800s are relatively rare, so John McKie’s memoirs of growing up in the Twynholm / Borgue / Kirkcudbright area in the 1820s and 1830s are of particular historical value, as are his later experiences up to the year 1905, when he wrote them up for the interest of his son, Norman, a medical doctor in Newton Stewart.
Kirkcudbright History Society received a copy of the memoirs from Mrs Bud Gordon, who kindly donated them from her late husband Jimmy Gordon’s extensive local history library. The Society took the decision to publish them, because of their local history interest. The reminiscences on local life are reproduced in full, and his experiences in the navy in a more abridged form. The publication of the 112-page book would not have been possible without the financial assistance generously given by the Galloway Association of Glasgow and two private donors, and the Society is very pleased to acknowledge their support.
Copies of the booklet are available in Gallovidia Books, Kirkcudbright; Kirkcudbright Post Office; and Barry Smart Stationer and Bookseller in Castle Douglas, and can also be ordered direct from the Society by emailing sales@kirkcudbrighthistorysociety.org.uk price £6.00+ postage/packing
The Borgue Coffee Mornings are starting up again in the Public Hall, every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon. Please come along for a community chat and delicious baked treats!
As the majority of the grass verges have been cut recently we are planning on having a Litter Picking Day on Sunday 1st September 2024 between 1pm to 3pm, meeting at the Borgue Hall at 1pm to collect the hi vis, gloves, pickers and green bags along with the new’ish handihoops. All welcome. If anyone beforehand is interested in covering a specific area/road then contact me at the number below and I’ll make sure there are no doublers. If you’re not fussed where you go then that would be fine as well, just turn up and we’ll find a ‘gap’ for you!! The Council will collect the green bags from the Borgue cemetery bin store but if your bag is too heavy to carry it back to the Borgue cemetery then just leave it at the roadside letting us know of its exact location (‘what3words’ App is quite handy but no probs if you haven’t got it) and we’ll organise a pick up. Please let anyone who wants to come along to ‘pick’ know that they are most welcome. The more the merrier. And if they want to join the WhatsApp group then just give them my number – 07455 168282. Many Thanks. All the best, Annemarie
Please come along to Kirkandrews Kirk on Sunday, 1st September for a special event of contemplative worship hosted by Andrew Duncalf from Church Without Walls in Wigtown.
Galloway has been confirmed as the proposed location for Scotland’s next National Park with a further investigation to be carried out on its suitability.
The joint proposal from the Galloway National Park Association and the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire UNESCO biosphere highlights Galloway’s diverse landscapes and stunning coastline, its outstanding biodiversity and rich cultural heritage.
