Christmas In Tarbert

Christmas Day, Skipness 2014

It's that time of the year again! It seems to come around faster and faster!
Christmas starts in Tarbert with the Christmas Fair on the 4th December.
Come visit the stalls in Templars Hall and local shops for some late night shopping
Join in the Community Carol singing as the Christmas Tree lights are switched on by the Seafood Queen.
You can follow the Tarbert Christmas Fair on Facebook for the latest details and updates.

Tarby Teds, the unique hand crafted beautiful Teddy Bears can also be found about and about during the Christmas Fair.
If you want to be in with a chance to take home one of these gorgeous bears you can donate something to the Kintyre Foodbank in return for a raffle ticket.
There are many other ways you can help, please see The Kintyre Foodbank Website for further details.

You can also send gifts to the Kintyre Foodbank through paypal, you don't need an account to do so.

Christmas party nights at the Anchor Hotel on the 11th & 12th December

At the moment I can't find details for The Islay Frigate, but their Facebook Page is looking very festive, so pop over there and follow them for updates or bookmark their website,
also keep and eye on The Tarbert Hotel for details of their festivities, either through their website or Facebook Page.
The Corner House is another worth following, if I get more updates I will add them.


West Loch Hotel  has a fantastic Christmas Menu, offering a 2 course or a 3 course meal, opening times and full details can be found here. Or by clicking the Christmas Banner On Their Homepage. You can also follow West Loch Hotel On Facebook.

Stonefield Castle Hotel are offering luxurious 2 or 3 Night Breaks over Christmas or the New Year enabling you to relax, be pampered and enjoy the beautiful surroundings, more details on their website.

Raising funds for Marie Curie, Mid Argyll Fundraising Group with a whisky and cocktail tasting night at The Stag Hotel Lochgilphead on Friday 4th December

You will find some of Springbank's finest tipples for your entertainment.
Excellent, interesting and educational evening trying some of the finest Whisky in Scotland if not the world and also Donald's fabulous cocktails using some of the other spirits produced by the distillery. The evening is being hosted by the Stag Hotel Lochgilphead and begins at 7.30pm. Every last penny of the £15.00 entry goes to Marie Curie with both Springbank and The Stag Hotel offering their assistance free of charge for the evening.

If you are holding an event over Christmas in or near Tarbert and I have not included your detaisl please contact me and I will add them to the website and  Tarbert Public Calendar.

Relax At Stonefield

Clyde Fishermens Association Meeting

Clyde Fishermen's Association

The Clyde Fisherman's Association is holding community meetings for all residents, please see poster on the left for the meeting and times near you, and please do attend if you can.
(click image to enlarge poster)

Kenneth Macnab, our local chairman for the Association posted in the All Things Tarbert Facebook Group asking for your support;

"I'm quite sure everyone will have seen the post put on to this site by the Clyde Fishermens Association advertising events all around the Clyde .

I cannot stress enough how important it is for the economic and social well being of the village that we get a good turnout. I am not going into the politics of the situation on this site that's not what this site was set up for but I do want to make people aware that if the proposals for Marine Protected Areas and or a Regulating Order go ahead in their present form the consequences for Tarbert are dire.

Many businesses will be affected not just ones with fishing connections .

As a native of Tarbert along with many other long-standing fishing families our jobs and way of life are on the line.

Tarbert was built around fishing going back hundreds of years and it looks as though we are about to lose it all. The fishermen of Tarbert have given a lot to the village for many years now both in their time and financially by supporting every group club the churches and even the restoration of the castle, we have never turned anyone down for help.

Now we need the help of the community to secure a future not just for us but for the village as a whole. I wouldn't be writing this post if I wasn't concerned about the employment prospects for the future of Tarbert.

Anyone who can manage to come to the public event in the village hall on the 24th at 7.30 please do and you will hear more of the detail and the politics of the situation. Many people may think that they have nothing to do with fishing but that's not the case this will affect everyone the knock on effect will go right through the village."

The Tarbert Meeting is on Tuesday 24th November at the Tarbert Village Hall.

MVF Margiris 

Scottish fishermen have been at the forefront in pioneering a range of conservation and sustainability initiatives in recent years
For more information please visit Fishing For Truth.

Meanwhile just off the coast of Ireland is the world’s second largest super-trawler.
The ‘MFV Margiris’ drags a net bigger than a football field and, if stood on its end, would be almost twice as high as Ireland’s tallest building.
The super-trawler ceased operations off Australia after bitter protests by Government, fishing industry and conservation groups.
The vessel even changed its name to the ‘Abel Tasman’ in a bid to side-step protests off Australia and New Zealand.
But it ultimately quit Australian waters after being repeatedly targeted for protests by Greenpeace who feared its operations could devastate regional fish stocks.
The vessel which is 143m long (429ft) and displaces 9,500 tonnes  is the second biggest trawler/factory shop afloat and her processing capacity is enormous.
Irish fishing industry and conservation groups warned about the potential impact of such vast fishing potential in vulnerable Atlantic areas.

Please Sign The Petition to stop this factory vessel destroying the environment and the fishing industry.

Tarbert Fireworks Yacht Club 7pm This Friday!

7pm Tarbert Yacht Club

Friday 6th November 2015 at 7PM!
The Tarbert firework event with a couple of surprises..lentil soup..hot chocolate. .cake and glow sticks.

Come and join in and have fun.

Wrap up warm, keep your pets safely indoors then head over to Tarbert Yacht Club for the Tarbert Fireworks Night.

Pop over to the Group Event On Facebook for more details.
There will be donations collected for next years event.

Tarbert & Skipness Community Council Meeting

Tarbert & Skipness Community Council meeting is on Thursday 12th November in the Templars Hall at 7pm.

They will be discussing;
Reduction of Tarbert branch banking hours
Planning stipulations in our conservation area.
Proposed Council cuts.
16-17 yr old to be allowed on T&SCC as in other areas.
Also if you would like to be co-opted onto the Community council to help out I'm sure it would be greatly appreciated.
The Community Council meet on the 2nd Thursday in every month, please pop along and join in with the discussions.

Meteor Showers 2015

Click image for full size

There is not much of the year left but there is still plenty to look out for in the crisp winter skies.
I have added the remainder of the meteor showers this year to the Tarbert Calendar and am in the process of listing the whole year for 2016.

November brings the North and South Taurids.

The South Taurids can be seen from September 25 to November 25 but the peak is tonight, between midnight and dawn.
There have already been reports of fireballs seen from it this year so if the skies are clear near you it is well worth staying up for, remember to wrap up warm!

Just in case you miss it, here is one in Bangkok on 2/11/15 (apologies for the funky music)



The  North Taurids Meteor Shower is another long running one, it runs from October 12 –to December 2 but peaks this month between 12th and 13th.
Most can be seen  around midnight, when Taurus is highest in the sky.
Taurid meteors tend to be slow-moving, but sometimes very bright.

The Leonid Meteor Shower peaks ate night November 17 until dawn November 18, the best time to see them is just before dawn.
Look for the planet Jupiter near the Leonids’ radiant point.

Image From Earthsky.org

If you are up early Friday morning 6th November, look out for the Moon, Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
See the snap from my Sky Guide App for timing and positioning.

Sky Guide

The Geminids, December
The meteors will appear every night for two weeks, from 4 till 17 December.this year we should see a particularly dramatic display.
The shower reaches its peak on 13 and 14 December, when there will be no Moon allowing even the faintest shooting stars to stand out against the night sky.
Geminids produce over 100 meteors per hour at their peak which are slow and bright.
The great thing about Geminids is if you have clear dark skies and a little patience, you will see shooting stars. The Geminids don’t originate from a comet they come from an asteroid called 3200 Phaethon.
 Meteors from this shower are very rocky and gritty and slightly easier to see compared to the other showers.

Mid to Late November Night Sky

Fireballs!!

Taurid Meteor Shower Early November

This is just a quick post to let you know if the skies are clear we are in for another celestial treat!
This is unlikely to be a very busy meteor shower but there is a possibility of seeing some rather spectacular fireballs, so even if you just catch one it's sure to be memorable!
The South Taurid meteors can be seen around the 4th and 5th November while the North Taurid shower will be raining down the most meteors on the night of November 11-12.

The radiant point is Taurus although they can appear to come from any direction, as always, just look up!

Find more detailed information here.
Also keep an eye on the solar storms and Aurora predictions as it is possible we could be spoilt with another dazzling display.

Coronal hole faces Earth
Don't think we really need to warn for this as most of you seem to be very enthusiastic about this but just a heads up for those who haven't heard it: A coronal hole solar wind stream is expected to arrive here on Earth in the next 12 to 36 hours. A moderate G2 geomagnetic storm is expected once the solar wind stream arrives, and the NOAA SWPC even has a warning in place for possible strong G3 geomagnetic storming conditions. A minor disturbance in the solar wind was observed in the past few hours but we think this was caused by a solar sector boundary crossing (phi angle shifted) and this means the solar wind stream likely has yet to arrive. Follow it live on www.spaceweatherlive.com Video: 3 days worth of footage from SDO showing the coronal hole as it faced Earth.
Posted by SpaceWeatherLive on Monday, 2 November 2015