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For Aberlady Golf Club, see Golf Clubs.
One of the many treasures of the Community Hall in Aberlady is the fine beech wood floor onto which has been painted a Badminton Court. The headroom is quite high and the Hall has therefore always been a good venue for Badminton.
In the days before "Sports Centres" and dare I say "couch potatoes" there were many active Badminton Clubs playing from the halls in the small towns and villages and these clubs often played matches and in leagues against each other.
Aberlady had a very successful team and a competitive club, but the present Aberlady Badminton is more of a social game, playing mixed doubles (when numbers permit), but always doubles to reduce the time "off court". When the players only number 7 or 8 however some respite over a cup of coffee is welcomed.
Badminton at Aberlady is not a club as such, simply a group of men and women, of mixed ability and certainly of a mixed age who like to meet and play on a Tuesday evening. There are no competitions, no cups, no leagues, etc. - only fun. At the end of the night most players adjourn to a local hostelry to replenish the perspiration lost earlier.
Sometimes as many as 12 players might turn up but as well as "the more the merrier" it does mean fewer games and longer sit outs for players. Reaching an ideal balance of 10 is not easy. The cost is not high compared to some of the alternative venues and presently £2 a night is paid by each player. This includes coffee and of course shuttlecocks.
The court is available at other times, subject to Hall bookings. The nets and stands are kept in the Hall so there is nothing to stop other players getting together if a Tuesday night does not suit. To promote the sport someone might feel that coaching, particularly for juniors would be feasible: possibly some older players would like some coaching too?
Whatever the preference, information on Aberlady Badminton can be readily obtained from Louise Searle (at Post Office), or from any of the other players.
Contributed by Alan Wood, phone 870 582
Our group is run by parents as a fun-based community club for children with a strong emphasis on company and friendship. We have an excellent stock of equipment to suit children from birth upwards so there is no reason for kids to get bored! We are committed to having a good time through playing, singing, dancing, and by experimenting with arts and crafts.
You will find us in the secure
and safe environment of the Kirk Stables, Main Street, on Wednesday
mornings from 9:30 until 11:30, including school holidays if sufficient
interest is shown.
We currently have mums, dads, grandparents, and childminders coming
to our group - if you are looking after a child, please come and
join us.
This is a very friendly and sociable
group and is an excellent way to become integrated in village
life for those not born into it. Our success has been evident
in recent years in the numbers of children and carers who have
attended. It is an excellent way to tackle the "baby blues"
through just chatting or getting friendly advice and reassurance
from others in the same situation.
If you have a pre-school child, come and join our group and enjoy!
Contact: Lynne Mason 870580.
The club was formed in 1888, playing on land leased from Gosford Estates. The original rent being 1/- (5p) per year, which stood until 1971 when it was increased to £1.00.
In 1923, our first clubhouse was erected and this served the members until 1977 when a new building was built on the same site, this being extended in 1985 when the club was granted a liquor licence, and in 1998, with the help of Littlewoods and the National Lottery, the club had a major renovation with new locker rooms, new kitchen and new lounge area being added.
Since the opening of the club 116 years ago, Aberlady bowlers have had their share of success, winning many of the county trophies and league championships for both gents and ladies with teams playing at the national championships at Glasgow and Ayr, and winning the British Isles Pairs Championships in 1987 in Wales.
Our green normally opens on the third weekend in April and closes the third weekend in September during which time, we have various club competitions, league games and friendly (?) games with neighbouring clubs, playing for cups that were donated to the club over one hundred years ago. We also play host to various county ties and finals throughout the season.
During the season we also try to have some fun games, one of which is the Ladies versus the Gents. There is no trophy for the winner of this game but the runner up is presented with a wooden spoon which is displayed in the appropriate locker room for the following season. On a Monday afternoon, several of the more mature members meet and have a hat game and a cup of tea in the club room.
The clubhouse and bar is open every night except Sunday during the bowling season and Saturday night and Monday night during the winter months for bingo, dominoes and darts.
The annual subscription for the club is at present £40 and all enquiries should be made at the club, tel. 01875 870734
See our web site at www.abc.aberlady.net
Aberlady has an active Brownie
unit and an active Rainbow unit both of which meet on Thursdays.
The Rainbow caters for girls aged 5 - 7; Brownies for girls aged
7-10.
Further details can be obtained for Rainbows from Lyndsaye Tippen-
870968 and for Brownies from Donna Mathieson – 870084
There are no Beavers, Cubs or Scouts in the village. Children from Aberlady go to these groups in Gullane as a rule. There is a Scout group in Longniddry, too.
Guides (aged 10 - 14) generally
go to Gullane where they meet on a Monday. For Gullane Guides
the contact is Elaine McIntosh (01620 892377)
Guides in Longniddry meet on a Wednesday; Contact Liz Nicoll (01875
852858)
The Aberlady Conservation Society was born out of the then perceived threat to the village of a proposed development to build almost 100 houses on the southern edge of the village, an increase of some 30% in the village population from one development. The Society was formed to support sensible development that fits with the scale and character of our historic village and to represent village opinion on any such proposals.
Were it not for the care and attention shown by our predecessors we would not have the Aberlady we value today. We owe it to them and our successors to play our part in conserving what we have. In this role, the Conservation Society monitors planning applications and comments on any proposals that might damage the special environment of our village. The Society is consulting on its plans to support this role through various historic interpretation and conservation projects. The committee is grateful for the continuing support from villagers.
Our immediate priorities are to:
New members are always welcome. Dates of our regular meetings can be found in the diary section of this website. Anyone interested in membership should contact:
Membership Secretary and Treasurer:
Robert Belderbos, Aberlady Mains House, Aberlady EH32 0PZ Tel:
01875 870535
email: robert.belderbos@virgin.net.
Non-membership enquiries should
be directed to our Secretary, Ian Malcolm, tele. 01875 870075
email: ian@open-minds.net
Aberlady Craft Group meets in the Small Hall of Aberlady Community Hall each Wednesday Morning from 10-12 am
Everybody who is a resident of the village is most welcome to come along. We ask only for a donation of £1 per morning, which covers coffee and hall rental.
If you have a hobby, or are enjoying experimenting with other crafts, and if you can't settle down to achieve doing your craft at home, come down to the hall with it, and do it there. I know it's only for a couple of hours, but the fantastic creations and ideas that are talked about on that morning are invaluable.
The Craft Group's first venture was to create a wall hanging for the Millennium which is now on permanent display in the Community Hall. This hanging depicted the history of our village.
We are continuously working on new ventures, i.e., quick quilts for raffling for charity, cushion raffles, so there is always something to do. If you would like any more information about the above please contact:
Mrs M.A.Frost Tel. 01875 870 405.
The club was founded in 1860, initially playing on the outside curling pond within Gosford Estate. In 1912 the ice rink at Haymarket, Edinburgh, opened and the club played its matches there until the closure of the facility in the 1970s. From that date until the present all matches have been played in the curling hall at Murrayfield Ice Rink, Edinburgh. The club extends a warm welcome to new members.
Why not join our Olympic and World Champion Sport?
For further information contact:
Mrs Audrey Laird
Secretary
Struan Lodge, 10 Eskside West
Musselburgh EH21 6PL
Tel: 0131 665 3756
Aberlady Football Club 2006
Aberlady Football Club is a looking for new players to join the club and enjoy the training and playing of football on Saturday mornings.
Aberlady Football club was founded in 2004 to provide a platform for young children, girls and boys, to start to play football and develop their skills.
Our primary aim is for the children to have fun whilst participating in a structured training and development programme delivered by SYFA trained coaches (level 1 and level 2 - Coaching Young Footballers Courses)
We currently have one Under 9 team playing in the local league fixtures and our age group starts from Primary One upwards. We are looking for other children of primary school age to join in and participate.
For further information please contact
· Phil Notley 01875 870105
· Chris Stirling 01875 870422
· Derek Ward 01875 870609
Or come along this Saturday to
Aberlady football pitch behind the school , turning off the main
road by the church- 8.45am start - 10am finish
The club now has 9 coaches involved who have all been through
various coaching courses to give the children better coaching.
There are over 40 boys and girls involved from P1 upwards and
we have one Under 9 team that plays in the East Lothian fixtures.
To date we have played 7 games this season and have won each game.
One recent game the team won 22-0 against local opposition with
each player getting on the score sheet.
Training is every Saturday from 8.45am – 10am
Last Saturday we did a litter pick through the village to raise some funds for new kit and replacement of kit.
The Club provides an opportunity
for social gathering with friends and neighbours. The Club meets
on alternate Wednesday afternoons 2-4 pm in the Kirk Stables.
These run from October through till April.
For further information, contact the club president, Mrs D Duncan
on 01875 870596.
Old Primary School
East Links Road
Gullane EH32 2AF
Our playgroup has been in operation for many years and is situated behind the library in Gullane. Sessions take place on Monday - Thursday mornings from 9:05am to 11:35am. Children can be put on the waiting list from aged two and start attending from two and a half to five years of age.
Playgroup encourages children to learn through play with a wide range of activities including painting and crafts, songs, and stories. Fees are £3.75 per session; a reduced rate of £1.60 is available for parents claiming benefit.
The group is inspected by The Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care and is a member of the Scottish Pre-school Playgroup Association.
For a full information booklet and application form, please contact Mrs Judith Hogg at 01620 870317.
Hamilton Road
Gullane
We are a friendly tennis club with three tarmac courts in the centre of Gullane. We hold club nights for adult and junior players, coaching, fun tournaments etc. We would warmly welcome new members of any standard.
For a copy of our newsletter or more details please contact: Hilary Wilkie on 01875 870210.
Gullane Amateur Swimming Club has members from Gullane, Dirleton and Aberlady. The Club uses the pool at North Berwick Sports Centre. There are two sessions on a Tuesday evening, according to ability. The earlier session is from 5.30 to 6.30pm and the later one is from 6.30 to 7.30pm. The Club have organised buses to pick up and drop off the children, in Gullane. Parents are required to do "bus duty" according to a rota. There is a waiting list.
For further details, please contact the Chair on 01620 842025, or go along on a Tuesday evening to North Berwick Swimming Pool (between 5.30 and 7.30pm).
Aberlady Youth Club meets in the Community Hall on Monday evenings 7pm - 9pm and on Thursday evenings 7:15 - 9pm. Children between the ages of 10 and 16 are are very welcome to come and join in. We have 24 children on the register and we provide a safe andfriendly environment for playing games, meeting friends and having fun.
At the moment we are also looking for helpers who would be willing to come on the Monday or Thursday evenings. If you are good with kids and have the necessary patience! - please come along to see us or call Audra Butters on 01875 870559 for a chat about the club.