by Councillor Lawrence O'Neill

I hope that everyone has enjoyed the summer school holidays and seeing the big bright yellow thing up in the sky that we are so unused to seeing – shades of the summer of 1976 for those old enough to remember it.

I had the great pleasure of attending Faifley Gala Day on Saturday where a huge number of residents had a great day enjoying each other’s company and the entertainment on show with the “Faifley’s Got Talent” programme (sponsored by Knowes Housing Association) as well as the various kids rides and local groups in attendance. The best yet.

A huge congratulations to the great folk of the Faifley Community Council who brought all of this together – no mean feat as planning has been ongoing since last year’s event which unfortunately was somewhat dampened by the usual weather we receive in Clydebank during the school holidays.

Well done in particular to Tricia Lorimer who leads on this with the able support of Claire, Douglas, Caroline, Marian, Megan and Mary Theresa of the community council and to Sandra and Isabel of Knowes for their efforts with the talent show, which was absolutely fantastic.

It was great to see so many locals involved and those who attended from further afield to enjoy the day. The provost and other councillors also attended and our partner agencies also had a presence.

The recently re-launched mobile library service was also present – subject of a recent Twitter spat with myself and members of the administration, including the convenor of corporate services and the leader of the council no less about the provision of library services in Faifley in particular.

The “new” service aims to get into areas where they can support the council’s ambition around social inclusion and learning/attainment in areas of high deprivation or where limited access to a library service is available. The irony is they cut the service availability at Faifley Library by more than 50 per cent earlier this year to fund other library services as well as a new mobile bar at the town hall. But unfortunately, those involved in the social media spat with me just don’t get it or just make things up to deflect attention.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and stay safe – many thanks to local firefighters for their huge effort in tackling the wildfires at the Kilpatrick Hills in early July.