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COFFEE MORNING REGULARS

Many thanks for your support throughout the year.

Thanks to you BCDA Ltd have been able to make a donation of

£50.00 towards the Roddensvale Hydrotherapy Pool.

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.” (John Steinbeck)

WHAT’S ON 2

ONE-OFF EVENTS 3

BALLYGALLY BIODIVERSITY GROUP

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RNLI SWIM BALLYGALLY LITTER PICK

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CASTLE ROWING CLUB BALLYGALLY SHIELD

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CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES AT A GLANCE

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COMMUNITY INFORMATION

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Inside this issue:

March 2017 Issue No. 29.

W W W . B A L L Y G A L L Y . C O . U K B A L L Y G A L L Y H A L L O N

The Ballygally NEWS

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND A VERY WARM WELCOME TO NEW RESIDENTS!!

Ballygally Hall

264 Coast Road

Ballygally

Co Antrim

BT40 2QX

Phone: 028 2858 1050

E-mail:

bcdaltd@btconnect.com

BALLYGALLY IN ALL IT’S WINTERY SPLENDOUR! Thanks to Bill Guiller for permission to print his photograph

WELCOME TO OUR NEW LOOK NEWSLETTER If there is anything you would like further information on, please

do not hesitate to contact us.

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WEEKLY CLASSES

MONDAY

10am-12 noon Little Treasures’ Parents & Toddler Group

7.30-9.30pm Bowls

6.30-7.30pm Yoga with Sue McBride

TUESDAY

11am-12 noon Light Exercise Class

2.00-5.00pm Bridge Club

3.30-4.30pm Children’s Art Class

8.00-9.00pm Yoga with Angela Gorman

WEDNESDAY

11.30am-12.30pm Pilates

THURSDAY

9.30-10.30am Yoga with Angela Gorman

5.00-6.00pm 1st Ballygally Beavers

5.15-6.00pm 1st Ballygally Squirrels

6.15-7.00pm 1st Ballygally Cubs

7.30-9.30pm Art Club

FRIDAY

9.00-10.00am Men’s Exercise Class

10.00-11.00am Ladies Exercise Class

7.00-8.00pm Relaxation Class (6 weeks starting 3rd March)

SUNDAY

9.30-10.15am Toddler Yoga (4 weeks starting 5th March)

The Ballygally NEWS

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Issue No. 29.

ONE OFF EVENTS

MARCH

Thursday 2nd 7am-10pm Assembly Election Voting

Saturday 4th 9.30am-2.30pm Ballygally Biodiversity Group River Clean Up

Sunday 5th 10-11am Yoga Sunday with Angela Gorman

Friday 10th 7-10pm Ballygally Umbrella Club showing ‘Jean de Florette’

Saturday 11th 10am-12midday ‘Pirate & Fairy’ Workshop

Saturday 11th 1-4pm Needlefelting Workshop (fully booked)

Saturday 18th 10.30am-1.30pm Decoupage Workshop (fully booked)

Saturday 18th&25th 2-4pm Craft Workshop with Janine Dempster

Sunday 19th 10-11am Yoga Sunday with Angela Gorman

Saturday 25th 10.30am-1.30pm ‘Family Fairy’ Workshop (fully booked)

Thursday 30th 11am-1pm BCDA Ltd Coffee Morning with Stew served!

APRIL

Tuesday 4th 7.30-9.30pm Ballygally Biodiversity Group Meeting

Thursday 6th 7.00-8.00pm NACN– Alcohol in your Community Event

Saturday 9th 10-11am Yoga Sunday with Angela Gorman

Friday 14th-Sunday 16th Ballygally Art Club Exhibition & Sale

Wednesday 26th 7.30pm BCDA Ltd AGM

Thursday 27th 11am-1pm BCDA Ltd Coffee Morning

Saturday 30th 10-11am Yoga Sunday with Angela Gorman

Ballygally Hall continues to be very busy with lots of exciting and different evening and weekend classes,

so why not come along and give something different a go.

Booking is essential for these classes, so please contact the Hall to book a place.

MAY & JUNE

Saturday 20th May Visit to Seamus Heaney Homeplace-contact Ballygally

Hall Office for further details

Thursday 25th May 11am-1pm BCDA Ltd Coffee Morning (last of season)

Friday 2nd-Sunday 4th June Cairncastle Presbyterian Church Festival of Flowers

Saturday 10th June White Bear Triathlon

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The Ballygally NEWS

BALLYGALLY BIODIVERSITY GROUP

The members of the Ballygally Biodiversity Group are volunteers who have an interest in Biodiversity

and conservation within the Ballygally Area. At present, there are 22 members. Some examples of the

ongoing work carried out by the members are as follows:

Red Squirrels being managed at one of the feeder

sites close to Ballygally

Two young Pine Martens and a Male Pine Marten attending one of the feeders being managed by

the Ballygally Biodiversity Group

Future projects of the BBG include planting wild flowers and plants at the top of Daffodil Lane and on the Croft Road and improvement and management of the local river. The ultimate aim of returning red squirrels to Carnfunnock Country Park and Chaine’s Wood will be an on-going priority for the group. If you have an interest in the work being carried out by the BBG and would wish to join the group, please contact Norman on 07933917942, or via the contact page on the BBG website. In addition, an application form can be obtained from any of the committee members or from the Ballygally Communi-ty Hall office. Any additional support, whether financial or practical, would be greatly appreciated.

The Daffodil Lane Project

Daffodil Lane before

planting of daffodil

bulbs, bluebells, wood

anemones and several

other wild flowers.

Recent photograph of a

section of Daffodil Lane

with daffodils showing

signs of growth. It may

take one or two years

for all the planted bulbs

mature fully.

Members of Ballygally Biodiversity Group Who

Worked on the Daffodil Lane Project

Nest boxes and feeders erected in Chaine’s Wood to attract birds and wildlife back into this area of

Chaine’s Wood.

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Swimmers brave icy Irish Sea for Larne RNLI

Lots of people gathered at Ballygally beach on 31st December to watch friends and visitors

from far and wide take the plunge to raise money for Larne RNLI.

From young and old there was a fantastic turnout with over 30 swimmers taking the plunge into the icy waters at Ballygally. Hot drinks and shortbread were served in the Ballygally Community

Hall afterwards to warm everyone up again.

Over £1000 was raised for Larne RNLI with more money still coming in. It was a fun-filled event

with a fantastic amount raised to help save lives at sea.

Thank you to Ballygally Community Hall for providing a very pleasant venue

Issue No. 29.

Ballygally Community Litter Pick

On the 5th’November 2016 members of the Ballygally

Biodiversity Group (BBG) and Ballygally Community Devel-

opment Association (BCDA) carried out a litter pick within

Ballygally. Many thanks to the effort of the members and

friends who turned out for the event. Although it was windy

and cool, the event was well supported. Again, a considera-

ble amount of litter was collected from the beach, Ballygally

and the surrounding area, Mill Vale, Daffodil Lane and

Chaine's Wood. A really worthwhile effort by all concerned.

BBG and BCDA Members and Friends Who

Attended the Litter Pick.

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The Ballygally NEWS

CASTLE ROWING CLUB

This coastal rowing club was re-established in November 2016. It had originally been active in 1884 and again in 1921. We are a very proactive Club, having already purchased our first boat named 'CAIRNCASTLE', and with our ever increasing membership we plan to purchase another boat as soon as funds allow. Our members are aged 12 years and upwards. The Winter Training Programme consists of rowing at Ballygally Slip every Sunday morning (weather per-mitting) and then on a Tuesday and Thursday evening we do indoor training, under professional supervision, at Larne Grammar School - which has fantastic gym facilities. Then in the Springtime this will change to rowing on the slip on a Tuesday and Thursday evening as well as Sunday mornings. If you want to see what is going on at our Club you can join castle rowing club, Ballygally on Facebook or email the secretary - castlerowingclub@gmail.com. You can keep up to date with our Club activities, get information regarding membership and fees and also see our upcoming fundraising events. Everyone is welcome to come down to the slip and if you want to 'give it a go' or just have a cuppa and find out more about coastal rowing - See You There!!

BALLYGALLY SHIELD

On Thursday 23rd February at our coffee morning the Ballygally Shield was returned to the local community. This Shield dates back to 1923, and has great historical links to the local community. The Shield was presented to BCDA Ltd by Capt. Brian Gordon and his wife Marlene, with Marlene giving a speech detailing the history of the Shield. It was great to see the interest and enthusiasm of the local community in the return of the Shield which was discovered, by David Magill, in an antique shop in Dun Laoghaire. BCDA Ltd would like to thank Capt. Gordon and Marlene, for presenting the Shield, and for gathering all the information about the history of the Shield that was on display. It is hoped that in the near future this will be

permanently displayed for all to see in Ballygally Hall.

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Issue No. 29.

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BCDA a local, community-based organisation aimed at delivering a wide range of community services, partnerships and events, as well as helping to enhance the local environment

W W W . B A L L Y G A L L Y . C O . U K B A L L Y G A L L Y H A L L O N

This issue is kindly sponsored by Ballygally Holiday Apartments

USEFUL NUMBERS

PSNI NON-EMERGENCY 101

DALRIADA URGENT CARE 028 2566 3502

MID AND EAST ANTRIM BOROUGH COUNCIL 0300 124 5000

ANTRIM AREA HOSPITAL 028 9442 4000

WHITEABBEY HOSPITAL 028 9086 5181

MID AND EAST ANTRIM CITIZENS ADVICE 028 9600 1333

NORTHERN IRELAND ELECTRICITY 08457 643 643

CRIMESTOPPERS 0800 555 111

COMMUNITY INFORMATION

BALLYGALLY SPAR OPENING HOURS 7-00am - 8.00pm

MOBILE LIBRARY SERVICE-BALLYGALLY SPAR CAR PARK 2.15-3.45pm every other Monday

(starting 13th March)

MEA IN BLOOM

An opportunity has risen where Ballygally could take part in MEA in Bloom, we are calling upon all our green fingered gardeners and other interested residents to set up a group that would allow us to take part in this initiative. If you are interested in participating please leave your contact details with Jennifer in the office.

TABLE TENNIS

A few members of the community have expressed an interest in setting up a table tennis club that would be suitable for all ages. Obviously this will be dependent on numbers there-

fore if you are interested please notify Jennifer in the office.