Forty children enrolled in the holiday club "Showstoppers", which uses creative arts to encourage young people to explore the stories of creation, with an average daily attendance of 30, all enjoying the mix of games, activities and teaching.
On Friday night around 70 parents and friends went along to the Village Hall to see the children being presented with certificates and to be thrilled by the enthusiasm of their singing and their knowledge of the verses which they had learned during the week.
This was the eleventh summer mission to have been organised by Mearns Coastal and was a little different from those of previous years. Past missions have been enhanced by a variety of evening "extra-curricular activities." However, because there were fewer adult volunteers this year these were restricted to football training sessions and Wednesday's five-a-side football tournament and barbeque at Wairds Park which proved as popular as ever.
At Sunday morning's service in Johnshaven Church, locum minister, Gordon Anderson, thanked the Mission team for all the hard work which they had put into organising the holiday club and said how much he had enjoyed Friday's closing event and the eager responses of the children.
Sunday's organist was Mrs Helen Doig.
This Sunday, July 19 there will be only one service in the parish and that will be in St Cyrus Church at 11.30 a.m. when the Sacrament of Holy Communion will be celebrated.

Bowling Club

The miserable morning of heavy rain must have cast doubt as to whether any play would be possible in the first leg of the annual match against Bervie for the TSB Trophy. However, the afternoon turned out warm and mostly dry for a contest which Johnshaven hoped would end clearly in their favour.
On rink one the ladies' four of Fiona Dundas, Mary Brebner, Margaret Hann and Bett Beedie enjoyed a very comfortable victory by 32 shots to 12 against G. Hughes, A. Galloway, V. Coull and B. Abernethy. Although the Bervie rink won a fair share of the seventeen ends, several large counts by the home rink meant that they were never in any trouble.
The tale was vey similar from rink two where the Johnshaven quartet of Jim Brebner, Eck O'Brien, Bryan Duff and Alan Robbie were well in front, 23-2, at the half-way stage against T. Lobban, C. Hughes, B. Abernethy and D. Galloway and, keeping the momentum up in the second half, stormed home by 32 shots to 8.
The closest contest by far was on rink three where, after the fourth end, the home rink of Roy Mowatt, Alan Black, Jim McCallum and Donald Dundas were always behind against J. Peter, T. Leach, J. Hughes and G. McCombie and trailed 12-18 after thirteen ends. Although a count of five then brought them back into contention, they lost the next two ends to be three in arrears approaching the last when they ran in five shots to steal a game, in which they won only six ends, by 22 shots to 20.
So at the end of the day it was a triumph for the hosts and, after refreshments, President, Alan Robbie thanked the visitors for the sporting manner in which the match had been played and commented that if the Johnshaven Club fail to defend a lead of 46 shots then their new flag will be flown at half mast in pity.
In thanking Johnshaven for their hospitality, Bervie's Betty Abernethy said that all was still to play for when the second leg takes place on Sunday, August 16.
Another fine win at home but no success away was the story of Thursday's night's Kincardineshire League encounter against Laurencekirk.
Apart from a 1-2 deficit after three ends, the home rink of Margaret Hann, Roy Mowatt, Alan Black and Bett Beedie were never again behind in their match against D. Henderson, S. McGillivary, W. Blakeman and J. McNicoll. By the sixth end they were 8-2 in front and, although the Laureneckirk rink enjoyed a good run by winning five of the next six ends, each time it was only by one shot so that, with Johnshaven picking up three shots at the ninth, the homesters' lead was reduced by only two (11-7). A double then put them in the dreaded graveyard but, two ends later a count of three had quickly taken them out of it (16-8) and, despite losing the last two ends, they were, on the face of it at least, smoothly over the line by 16 shots to 10. Intriguingly, though, the Lournie rink won ten of the seventeen ends but, never managing more than a single shot, they failed to exert any real pressure on a tight and tidy home rink.
Now, consistency is usually considered to be a virtue in sport but when a team, three weeks out of four, contrives to lose (perhaps throw away) a match from a winning position then it becomes more of a failing. The away rink of Edith Waddell, Bill Webster, Alan Robbie and Bryan Duff were head-to-head with B. Russell, A. Wink, A. Wilson and A. McDonald, only one shot adrift (7-8) after eleven ends. A count of five then gave them the edge (12-8) and, with three to go, they were three up (13-10) only once again to collapse in spectacular fashion, this time by losing a four followed by a six. A single at the last was no consolation and the Johnshaven rink, though suitably refreshed, had to face the Garvock, humbled at the end by 20 shots to 14.
There was an excellent turnout at Friday's hat night which was won by a substantial margin by Alan Black, Bett Bedie and Alan Robbie.
Hat nights continue every Friday at 7 p.m. and all are welcome.

Memories

Twenty five years ago Kincardine and Deeside District Council's policy and resources committee agreed to award a further £6,000 to the Wairds Park committee in order to offset the deficit owing on the new all-weather bowling green and the amount available to the committee. A proposed District Council loan of £10,000 was to be paid back in five years and, although the extra loan would place a great burden on the committee they were confident they would meet the commitment. Finance director, Tom Hyder, however, said that he would have preferred to give the committee a capital grant and "let them get on with it."