LEGO® fans young and old have a chance to put their building skills to the test throughout May by taking part in a project to build 17th century Dunfermline entirely from LEGO® bricks!
Attractions in Dunfermline’s Heritage Quarter are joining together to mark the 400th anniversary of the Great Fire of Dunfermline by inviting children and adults to ‘Rebuild Dunfermline’ and to share images using #GreatFire400.
Back in 1624, during a Wappinschaw (a gathering of arms and weapons) a stray shot from a musket set fire to a thatched roof and three quarters of the then toun was destroyed and had to be rebuilt.
Throughout May, LEGO fans of all ages can book in to a variety of FREE events to recreate iconic buildings in the toun. The finale will be on the weekend of 25-26 May when Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries (DCLG) are inviting families to ‘Rebuild Dunfermline’ toun with all the features and landmarks from 1624.
The events kick off on 4 May with Build Dunfermline Abbey at the Abbey Church of Dunfermline, while Andrew Carnegie Birthplace Museum will run a Build Pittencrieff House event on the 11-12 May. Historic Environment Scotland will be running a Build Abbot House event in the Garden Workshop of Abbot House on the 18-19 May.
Details about all the events and how to book can be found at https://www.onfife.com/rebuild-dunfermline-with-lego-for-the-great-fire-of-dunfermline-400th-anniversary/ and booking is essential. There will be dedicated relaxed sessions for any families with ASN at some of the events.
Meanwhile, families can also get involved at home by using any LEGO they have to build their own versions of 17th century houses to add to the final display. A help sheet to get families started is available to collect from DCLG or can be accessed and downloaded from the website.
Pupils from Dunfermline High School will be creating the old Grammar School, while Kids’ Den LEGO clubs in Dunfermline will be building iconic features of the toun and adults can
drop in to DCLG throughout the month to get building as part of cultural charity OnFife’s Ways to Wellbeing Month.
The completed models will form a display of the ‘rebuilt’ Dunfermline in the Community Gallery at DCLG from 1 June-1 July.
Fiona Davidson, Learning Officer with Historic Environment Scotland, is co-ordinating the event and said: “We’re delighted to build on the successful partnership with OnFife in 2023 when families built Aberdour Castle in LEGO.
“This year, we’re going even bigger, and it’s great to have other heritage partners involved, as part of Ways to Wellbeing Month. Our BIG LEGO Build events are brilliant intergenerational events that have proved really popular elsewhere. They are regularly oversubscribed – so book early to avoid missing out.”
The Fire Stone displayed at Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries. The stone marks the rebuilding of a house in the town centre after the Great Fire of Dunfermline. (Pic: OnFife)
Ready to build – LEGO figures with Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries in the background. (Pic: Historic Environment Scotland)
From left, Julia Dyke, Project Support (Young People and Families) at OnFife, Fiona Davidson, Learning Officer with Historic Environment Scotland, and sculptor Alistair Jelks, who will be delivering the Family LEGO builds at the different venues, beside the Fire Stone displayed at Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries. The stone marks the rebuilding of a house in the town centre after the Great Fire of Dunfermline. (Pic: OnFife)
A Fife village that made an impression on celebrated novelist Jules Verne is hosting an event that lets local people share their stories.
OnFife, through the Dunfermline Wellbeing Through Heritage project, is bringing the five-day storytelling event to Oakley, which the great French writer visited in 1859.
The initiative invites residents to celebrate the people, places and events that make their village worth writing about – just as Jules Verne did 165 years ago.
Oakley’s industrial past, as a centre of iron manufacturing and coal mining, is one of many themes that workshop participants will be encouraged to explore. Other possible topics include shops, schools, sports and gala days.
Storyteller Luke Winter and his eye-catching blue Story Wagon, along with talented digital storyteller Taylor McInroy, will be in town from 22 to 26 April.
Their informal drop-in sessions, being held at the campus for Inzievar and Holy Name Primary Schools, are also open to people from neighbouring towns and villages.
Verne, the Journey to the Centre of the Earth author, who stayed at Inzievar House during a Scottish tour, later described the industrial landscape he had seen from the castle tower.
Verne, who also created Around the World in Eighty Days, wrote of Inzievar House: “The façade of the castle produced a charming impression, with its quaint asymmetry, its irregular roofs, its gothic gables and turrets.”
Anyone who is interested can get in touch with library staff to find out more or keep an eye on the Fife Libraries Facebook page.
“The sessions will be fun,” says OnFife Digital Engagement Co-ordinator Christine Cook: “You don’t have to be a budding Jules Verne – just willing to come along and get involved.”
“It’s all about drawing out stories and experiences – past and present – that give a real flavour of the people who make up this part of Fife.”
Organisers are also keen to hear more recent stories – among them, anecdotes that illustrate how the community responded to the challenges of the pandemic.
“We can’t wait to hear, watch and read the stories of the people in this vibrant community,” says Christine “It promises to be a great week of shared experiences.”
The eye-catching Story Wagon. (Picture: Ruth Armstrong)
Tales of murder and mystery have made Monday mornings unmissable for a group of local library users.
A shared love of whodunnits has drawn a crowd of crime fiction fans to the newly formed Monday Morning Murder Club at Rosyth Library.
A lone poster pinned to the library’s returns desk was all it took to draw a crowd of crime-loving lenders.
And, in a plot twist that library staff never saw coming, crime fiction fans turned up in big numbers to the first meeting last Monday (8 April).
The library was so busy that staff had to borrow chairs from the Community Centre next door to cope with demand.
The club is run by library assistants Nicola Braid and Teresa Robinson, who got kitted out in forensic suits for the first meeting.
The idea was hatched when library staff noticed that most of their regular borrowers read murder mysteries.
“After the social isolation of Covid times, we were aware of the need for an informal group where like-minded people could get together over a cup of tea and meet new friends,” says Nicola.
“It’s not a book group as such, but every two weeks we will discuss a murder-based theme. Variety is a key element – we cover TV, Films, news and, of course, books.”
Everyone who attended had fascinating stories to share, and all are eagerly anticipating the next session which will focus on murders involving famous people.
Says Teresa: “Our oldest member – who’s 90 years old – left the meeting with a spring in her step, saying that she was away to look up more murders.
“The enthusiasm is infectious. We’re hoping to invite some guest speakers as the group evolves and possibly ‘solve’ a murder or two as well.”
The next meeting of the Monday Morning Murder Club is scheduled for 22 April.
Library Assistants Nicola Braid, left, and Teresa Robinson are ready to meet members at the first meeting of the Monday Morning Murder Club at Rosyth Library.
Getting down to business with members at the first meeting of the Monday Morning Murder Club at Rosyth Library.
There’s been a murder! Library Assistant Claire Lawson adds to the drama.
A museum curator whose encyclopaedic knowledge of Fife has richly informed its heritage sector is closing the book on a distinguished career.
Gavin Grant, Collections Team Leader with cultural charity OnFife, is stepping down after many years devoted to museums and galleries.
Warm tributes were paid at an emotional farewell at Kirkcaldy Galleries on Thursday where colleagues heard how a childhood pastime became a lifelong passion and a labour of love.
Career highlights include being part of major museum refurbishments at Kirkcaldy and St Andrews, and the opening of OnFife’s Collections Centre in Glenrothes.
The giant storage facility, launched in 2017, has made it possible for thousands of artefacts to be more readily appreciated by visitors as well as improving care of the collection.
Among Gavin’s other milestones are exhibitions celebrating two of Kirkcaldy’s industries – linoleum manufacturing and furniture making.
“Both have been such a vital part of the town’s identity,” says Gavin, “so it was a privilege not just to display objects associated with them, but also to present people’s stories.”
Encountering so many people associated with Fife’s diverse collection of 120,000 objects has been another memorable aspect of Gavin’s time in the Kingdom.
The career path that brought Gavin to Fife began with a history degree at the University of Strathclyde, followed by a postgraduate qualification in museum theory and practice at the University of Leicester.
Gavin started with Kirkcaldy District Council’s museums services as an Assistant Curator in 1990, having previously worked with Summerlee Heritage Trust in Coatbridge. Before that, he was a volunteer at Lillie Art Gallery in Milngavie, the town where he went to school.
“Coming to Kirkcaldy was something of a dream job,” recalls Gavin, “because it has such a wonderful, wide-ranging collection that is rich in art, as well as social and industrial history.
“Working with all of those different elements – and some great people – meant I quickly learned about the collection as well as the local area and its heritage.”
When Kirkcaldy Museum & Art Gallery became part of Fife Council museums service in 1996, following local government reorganisation, Gavin’s curatorial horizons widened considerably.
His absorption of all things Fife would stand him in good stead when, in 2002, he began a five-year stint at St Andrews Museum before returning to Kirkcaldy.
Gavin’s own favourites in the collection are Samuel Peploe’s painting Ben More from Iona and a remarkable cork model created by employees of linoleum manufacturer Barry, Ostlere and Shepherd.
The model of a Portuguese cork plantation that supplied the Kirkcaldy firm’s factories took 14 months to make and was displayed in the company’s offices at Forth House, next to the Galleries.
Technology has transformed the heritage sector hugely since Gavin started but the objects themselves – and the stories they tell – remain at the heart of the visitor experience.
“There have been so many technological advances that have helped us to care for our objects and share the amazing stories we have to tell,” says Gavin.
“All those changes have enabled us to open up our collections and get more people involved – I’ve really enjoyed being a part of that process with so many great colleagues.”
Retirement will allow Gavin to spend more time hillwalking, birdwatching and, perhaps unsurprisingly, visiting other museums.
Heather Stuart, OnFife Chief Executive, said: “It has been a privilege to have someone with Gavin’s professional knowledge and expertise as part of cultural services in Fife for so long.
“His passion for his subject shines though and his specialist knowledge, particularly linoleum and the heritage and history of that in relation to Kirkcaldy and Fife, is unmatched and has rightly earned Gavin significant recognition.
“He is a valued member of the OnFife team who will be sorely missed but his contribution to museums and heritage in Fife will continue for many years to come. We wish Gavin all the very best in his new adventures.”
Gavin Grant at the Collections Centre, standing his favourite painting in the Fife Collection, Samuel Peploe’s Ben More from Iona.
Methil Heritage Centre will open its doors again next Wednesday (3 April) thanks to funding from Fife Council’s Levenmouth Area Committee Community Renewal Fund.
The support until March 2025 has allowed OnFife, which manages the centre, to appoint a Community Engagement Co-ordinator, who is carrying out consultation and engagement across Levenmouth, and a Museum Assistant for a year to allow the centre to reopen.
Opening hours will be Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 11am-4.30pm (closed for lunch 1-1.30pm) and Saturday from 1-4pm.
The Heritage Centre, which has been closed since 2020, contains a small display capturing the history of Methil and surrounding area, from prehistoric times to the present day.
OnFife, which has been working closely with the Friends of Methil Heritage who were instrumental in setting up the Heritage Centre in 1991, will be piloting a series of events and activities to attract a wide range of visitors. This will include displays by local groups, workshops for young people and Bookbug storytelling sessions for pre-school age children and their families.
Councillor Colin Davidson, convener of Levenmouth Area Committee, said he was delighted to see the centre reopening.
“Our past, history and culture helps us inform our decisions for the future,” he said.
“The reopening of the Methil Hertiage Centre allows visitors and residents to the area explore our past, engage in cultural activities and as a resource to help the local communities shape our future.
“The building and its staff are a community resource that will enrich everyone who makes use of it and is another symbol of the regeneration of the lower Methil and Levenmouth area.”
Chris McLean, OnFife’s Head of Cultural Heritage & Wellbeing, said: “There has been a lot of work done to get Methil Heritage Centre ready to open and we want to make sure we are offering activities that meet the needs of local people as well as creating a destination for visitors to the area, especially as we look forward to trains running to Cameron Bridge and Leven this summer.
“We are grateful for support from Fife Council, the Friends of Methil Heritage and other key stakeholders and look forward to welcoming people to the Centre over the coming months.”
Fresh insights into one of the most ambitious engineering projects ever undertaken in Scotland will be shared in a public talk on Thursday (21 March).
Archaeologist Donald Adamson and former mining consultant Robert Yates will reveal new findings about an audacious 16th-century plan to sink the first underwater pit shaft.
Their talk at Dunfermline Carnegie Library & Galleries (DCLG) will give fresh details on how and why the Moat Pit and adjacent Culross Colliery complex was built.
The extensive new findings are based on cartographic and documentary discoveries made in the past year.
Fife merchant, ship owner and engineer Sir George Bruce built a stone tower out in the Firth of Forth, south of Culross, in 1590.
Within the tower he sank a shaft 40ft to the coal seam below. A sister shaft on shore was built to drain the undersea workings using a horse powered ‘Egyptian Wheel’.
Bruce had read of the Egyptians raising water from deep wells by chains of buckets, and he resolved to try the experiment at Culross.
It was said the workings extended a mile under the sea and the drainage shaft to a depth of 240 ft.
The wheel was driven by three horses and consisted of an endless chain of 36 buckets – as 18 full buckets ascended, 18 empty buckets descended.
Bruce’s bold experiment proved successful although was eventually abandoned in 1625, having been severely damaged by flooding.
The remains of the Moat Pit are situated just below the high-water mark on the foreshore at Culross.
The Coal Mine in the Sea: new findings on the remarkable history of the Moat Pit and Culross Colliery 1575 – 1676 will be held in the Canmore Room at DCLG on Thursday, 21 March at 11am. Tickets can be brought online onfife.com, in the DCLG Reading Room and at the door on the day.
OnFife helped inspire young minds on International Women’s Day on Friday with empowering stories of brave girls challenging norms and an exhibition celebrating a trailblazing Scottish women’s football team who played 100 years ago.
The cultural charity brought acclaimed writer Priscilla Mante to Fife to meet hundreds of youngsters at events in Kirkcaldy and Methil.
The morning saw 120 children from Dunnikier and Strathallan Primary Schools in Kirkcaldy attend an author event at the Adam Smith Theatre with Priscilla, whose The Dream Team series of books is about girls’ football and following your dreams.
They then went across the road to Kirkcaldy Galleries for the opening of the exhibition – about the history of Rutherglen Ladies – and hear a talk by Venue Supervisor Carolyn Johnston, whose great-grandmother played for the team, and enjoy other football-related activities.
Carolyn said: “We were delighted to welcome the pupils and Priscilla to Kirkcaldy Galleries to celebrate International Women’s Day and the opening of our Trailblazers exhibition, which charts the story of women’s football in Scotland in the inter-war years.
“The exhibition focuses on the discrimination by both the English and Scottish Football Associations and how, in the face of adversity, these young women still played the game they loved.”
In the afternoon Priscilla visited East Fife FC’s Bayview ground in Methil, where 90 children from Aberhill Primary School met the author for a talk and question-and-answer session.
Priscilla made the most of her visit to Fife by also leading an adult writing workshop the previous evening to celebrate World Book Day.
World Book Day and International Women’s Day are part of OnFife’s annual engagement programme with young people and families in Fife.
Sabrina Maguire, Engagement Co-Ordinator, said: “It was a busy week with nearly 30 events to celebrate World Book Day and International Women’s Day, but we love getting out into the communities in Fife to celebrate books, reading and inclusivity with young.
“International Women’s Day this year was extra special with Priscilla joining us to entertain children with her brilliant stories and their even better message about having the courage to
dream. Seeing the look on young faces as they hear a real-life author speak about things important to them is unbeatable.”
Rachel-Jane Morrison, Engagement Co-Ordinator for OnFife’s Relevant: Levenmouth project, said: “It was really great to welcome Priscilla to one of Methil’s most iconic venues and support the International Women’s Day event as part of our Relevant: Levenmouth project. The young people had a great time and staff enjoyed hearing about Priscilla’s creative processes too.”
Author Priscilla Mante, left, and Kirkcaldy Galleries Supervisor Carolyn Johnston with some of the pupils beside the Trailblazers display.
Children’s author Priscilla Mante talks about her books with pupils taking part in the event at Bayview, the home of East Fife FC in Methil.
Kirkcaldy Galleries Supervisor Carolyn Johnston talks about her great-grandmother May Watson, who came from Cardenden and was one of Rutherglen Ladies’ star players.
Kirkcaldy Galleries Supervisor Carolyn Johnston with some of the pupils who came to see the Trailblazers exhibition at Kirkcaldy Galleries.
A striking image that was the toast of regulars at a St Andrews pub for decades is to resurface elsewhere in the town.
The linoleum mosaic of the celebrated ocean liner Queen Elizabeth – which adorned the former Britannia Hotel – features in an upcoming exhibition at St Andrews Museum.
Its pleasing lines, having once perked up the South Street hostelry’s bar, will now star in a show that celebrates Fife’s success as a global centre for linoleum production.
The handmade picture – most likely created in Fife between 1945 and 1960 – is one of many highlights in Flooring the World, which runs from 16 March to 1 September.
Exhibition curator Lily Barnes suspects the mosaic, which depicts the Clyde-built ship mid-Atlantic en route to New York, is based on a postcard or cigarette card.
The mosaic is one of two objects in the St Andrews show that did not feature in the exhibition’s previous run at Kirkcaldy Galleries. The other exhibit is a printing bench from the Kirkcaldy factory of floor covering manufacturer, Michael Nairn & Co.
Flooring the World showcases a fascinating array of objects linked to one of Scotland’s most enduring industrial success stories.
Displays feature products made in Kirkcaldy – and the villages of Falkland and Newburgh – which floored millions of homes, offices and public buildings at home and abroad.
Exhibits include one of the few surviving examples of linoleum created by the Victorian designer William Morris. The marigold-patterned print was Morris’s only linoleum design.
Also on show is a quirky miniature elephant, created by the influential sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi in the 1970s as part of a marketing campaign to boost linoleum sales.
A further attraction is a piece of congoleum – a felt-backed budget version of linoleum – which covered the hall of Paul McCartney’s childhood home in Liverpool.
Among the many exhibits being displayed for the first time are photographs, pattern books, catalogues, samples and workers’ tools.
Linoleum, and its many variants, has been dubbed the most ubiquitous and democratic of floor coverings, bought by customers across the social spectrum.
The industry employed one in 10 of Kirkcaldy’s population at its peak in 1914 but, with consumers increasingly choosing vinyl flooring or carpets, just one factory was left by 1963.
The sole remaining factory – built by Kirkcaldy’s first floor covering manufacturer, Michael Nairn & Co – is still operational today and owned by international flooring company, Forbo.
The Swiss-based company recently gifted its historical archive, which dates back to Nairn’s foundation in 1847, to the cultural charity OnFife, which runs the region’s museums service.
Exhibition curator Lily Barnes said: “Linoleum is an integral part of Fife’s history, and we are so excited to be able to share this story in St Andrews.”
This exhibition is the culmination of a two-year project that has been exploring the history of the Fife linoleum industry. It was funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Collections Fund, which is run by the Museums Association.
Fiery Scots folk band Skelpt are playing Lochgelly Centre in April – and are going to put an up-and-coming local band in the spotlight too.
“Here at the centre we love supporting our community and in the spirit of giving opportunities to young local talent, Skelpt have agreed to give a 15-minute opening slot to a local act,” explained Debbie Kelly, Venue Manager.
“We’re now spreading the word and putting out an appeal for a young local folk/acoustic music act who’d like this opportunity on 26 April.
“If you have 20 minutes of performance-ready material and would like to get in front of a bigger audience in our great venue, please get in touch.”
Skelpt are made up of Euan Johnston, an accomplished folk singer who is passionate in his delivery of songs in both Scots and Gaelic; Iain Anderson, who is one of Scotland’s top fiddle players, and Andrew Gordon, who has been performing live since 1994 and has played all over Scotland as well as in Germany, Denmark, Norway, USA and Canada. Anyone interested should email debbie.kelly@onfife.com.
Scots folk band Skelpt
Do you have a theatre-loving mum you want to spoil on Mother’s Day?
Make her ‘queen bee’ for the afternoon and help her show support for your local theatre at the same time.
The Adam Smith Theatre is offering a Mother’s Day Special on Saturday 9 March with an afternoon tea of tasty treats baked and prepared in-house.
“There will be a glass of fizz or a ‘bee’s knees cocktail’ on arrival followed by a scrumptious afternoon tea, all handmade with local ingredients by our talented chefs,” said Venue Manager Ayesha Nickson.
Find out more at onfife.com
