For many people Bonfire Night is an enjoyable evening watching spectacular firework displays and warming themselves by a bonfire, but for horse owners it can be a time of concern and distress.

Fireworks can frighten even the most sensible horse, so all horse owners should be prepared for the firework season. The British Horse Society (BHS) has issued the following advice for owners:
Fireworks must not be set off near livestock or horses in fields or stables
It is best to keep your horse in its normal routine
Risk assess your stable yard and plan to limit disturbance
Ensure you find out if there are any displays planned nearby
Warn local organisers, councils and schools that there are horses in the area
Organise your plans in advance
Remain calm and positive yourself as horses will sense your unease
Keep your horse in a familiar environment
Safety for everyone is the key – do not put yourself in danger
This advice is available as a downloadable poster, along with further information from www.horseaccidents.org.uk.
The BHS also supports the Blue Cross guidelines on Fireworks and Animals which is available at www.bluecross.org.uk and in paper format from both the Blue Cross and the BHS.
It is not just horse owners who need to be careful. People organising firework displays should inform local horse owners and it is also a good idea not to let off fireworks anywhere near fields or farms. Most people don’t realise how much suffering fireworks cause animals, particularly horses. Those who really want to have fireworks in their back garden should think carefully about how it will affect local pets and animals before they do so.

By being proactive in planning for fireworks and Bonfire Night, you can make the annual celebrations less stressful for you and your horse.

Useful resources:
www.horseaccidents.org.uk.
SSPCA – Fireworks.
RSPCA – Bang! Fireworks frighten animals.

Prinsendam from Strone

Dunoon’s shopkeepers received a very welcome shot in the arm today with the arrival of the liner MS Prinsendam. The 37,800-tonne Holland America Line vessel was berthed at Greenock on Tuesday but was forced to stay overnight due to the stormy weather. She was scheduled to leave Greenock at 17.00hrs on Tuesday however the departure was delayed until 06.45hrs on Wednesday, prior to the arrival of Cunard’s Queen Elizabeth.

This morning the ship was anchored off Strone and the Holy Loch. Passengers were ferried with the Prinsendam’s own launches between the mouth of the Loch and Holy Loch Marina. They were then shuttled by bus between Sandbank and Dunoon.

With some 835 mostly US tourists on board, Dunoon’s Argyle Street was buzzing with activity.

The Prisendam’s next cruise leaves Tilbury on 12 September for hopefully much improved weather conditions in the Mediterranean.

20.45hrs: Prinsendam is now off the island of Arran enroute to Portee, Skye.

In a Dunoon Observer front page report related to the proposed closure of Toward School, Councillor Alister McAlister made the observation that without a school, Ardentinny was now known locally as ‘Jurassic Park‘. We wonder if Ardentinny’s residents agree with Councillor McAllister’s labelling of our community?

Extract from Dunoon Observer 22 April, 2011.

Read the full article here.

It took just one man and a large digger only a couple of hours to demolish a 70+ year-old piece of history which was the last remaining corrugated long hut at the former HMS Armadillo, Glenfinart Bay, Ardentinny. Work clearing the site will probably continue until the end of the week. See our live stream of the demolition here.

The site early this evening

SSE electricians were in attendance earlier today disconnecting the electrical supply to the beach hut. Security fencing is now being erected. Demolition of the building appears imminent.