This weekend marks the 75^th anniversary of the final end to the Second World War with VJ Day. Many of the events which would have marked the occasion have been cancelled to to COVID-19.

There is a You Tube link, below, which has been prepared by Iain Clark of East Lothian Lieutenancy to mark the occasion:

The collection for Douglas raised a fantastic £800! Douglas has now received the funds and the online card. He has expressed his gratitude to everyone who contributed and he hopes to be able to visit the village and thank his customers, in person.

An extract from his email:

“I obviously don’t know what lies ahead of me in the coming months but I do know that I will pay a visit to all my customers and thank them individually. I think it’s the only way it can be done ,and I know it will probably take me more than one night to get through all my customers. There are some times when words can be difficult to find, but it not on this occasion A HUGE BIG ENORMOUS THANK YOU.”

The Post Office will be open in Garvald Village Hall from this Thursday, 9th July, at the usual time of 10-12 am . 

Hand sanitiser will be available ; one customer at a time; doors will remain open at all times; there will be a Perspex screen between PO staff and customers and contactless payment is preferred.

Douglas Findlay, whose window cleaning services many Garvald households use, has asked for the following information to be shared with the village:

Many of you in Garvald will know me as Douglas the ‘window cleaner from Tranent’. Unfortunately I am having to share information of a material change in my circumstances. You will realise once you have read this just how difficult this is for me.

Regrettably  I have to inform my customers that I shall not be returning to Garvald to keep cleaning your windows. I have not been in the best of health for while, almost a year to be honest. Since September of last year when I began to feel unwell, I have undergone a range of tests and medical examinations which, until recently, had all been clear. However in April the symptoms returned and I have since undergone detailed scans, both in Haddington and Edinburgh, which have revealed Cancer of the Oesophagus which has spread into my lungs, lymph nodes and my liver. I am awaiting further results which will reveal where exactly I stand.

I’m absolutely sure you will all understand that my working life is over, that if I get through this that I would not want to return to my work. I do hope that I would be able to pay you all a social visit to say a thank you for your custom over the years; I’ve worked out that it’s been 18 years that I’ve been doing Garvald and 20 years at Cousland in Midlothian. It’s not the most glamorous of jobs but I do know that I was appreciated and I will miss the friendly banter, the dogs, and the wee ones.

I would like to mention Gillian and Rufus Bellamy and Mr and Mrs Barnes. Gillian, I never thought that I would need Wellington boots to clean windows, Mrs Barnes I will miss your cafetiere of coffee and shortbread on my visits.

I’m sure you can all realise that this has come as a bombshell to me and my family which is why I’ve taken so long to get in touch with the village.

Kind regards, Douglas.

A few months short of her 100th birthday, Bette passed away in Muirfield
Care Home, Gullane which had been her home for the past three years.

A visitor to Garvald for weekends and holidays from her home in Leith
for almost 90 years, she was a loyal supporter of village events, helping
in the kitchen and baking for the teas. She also attended Garvald
Church, and her 80th birthday saw her extended family join her in the
Stables for a surprise celebration.

She always took a keen interest in the latest village news, and had a
remarkable memory for stories of the people she had met and events
which had happened during her remarkable life.

Her funeral will be held at 10am on Friday 3rd July at Seafield
Crematorium, under the Coronavirus restrictions, but can be live
streamed by using the link:

www.wesleymedia.co.uk/webcast-view 
Login/OrderID: 38106
Password: chfsrzfu

Our condolences go to her son, Mark, at Ballymoss.

Alasdair has managed to get round most of Garvald and take photos of households; he has had a few ‘no answers’ however. Therefore, if you want to be involved and he missed you – or you are in one of the outlying areas he has not reached yet – please use the contact form below to request a date/time for him to visit you. Afternoons between 2 and 3.30pm is best – or some early evenings. We are trying to complete this by WEDNESDAY 10TH JUNE so that the photos can get printed and ready for display!

As well as a physical display in the village hall/church, we thought it might be nice to include the final photos in the Gallery section of the Garvald.org website. Please get in touch if you would prefer your photo not to be included on the website version.