Sugarcoat Exhibition

The latest exhibition at Dunfermline Carnegie Galleries is Sugarcoat - showcasing five short films created by local young people. Each piece is themed around different interests, current issues and life experiences. The material spans the topics of underage vaping, peer pressure, punk bands, mental health and a behind-the-scenes reflection process. I went for a look after returning books to the adjoining Carnegie Library.

Each display was designated as a studio and included comfortable seating. The films could be viewed on a TV screen with attached headphones. Studio 1 featured a drum kit and guitars, while punk music played through a Bluetooth speaker. The instruments were on loan from the Jennie Lee Library in Lochgelly, where budding musicians can borrow them for up to three months. The film on offer was a mockumentary starring local teenage punk outfit Reefer Madness. The band were interviewed in deadpan style, recounting their progress (or lack thereof) so far and speculating on the whereabouts of their mysteriously missing bassist. Amusing stuff, if not quite Spinal Tap. Moving on, the next installation had a mock-up of a young person's bedroom and a short flick about the perils of peer pressure. Smartphone technology and the all-pervasive social media group chats put a contemporary slant on the story but the underlying message was a familiar one. That's not intended as a slight. These issues are very real for today's youngsters and it's important they have an outlet for their voice. We now live in a digital world but the human nature at play hasn't altered that much. The next movie was set in Dunfermline Glen and had three characters, one of whom was upfront about his mental health worries. His two friends offered support and gradually revealed their own struggles. My favourite acted piece of the day. Apparently one in six children aged 5-16 has an identifiable mental health condition. Next up was a documentary about underage vaping. This studio had the biggest screen and the most chairs and was - I assume - the centrepiece of the exhibition. It's certainly a hotly debated political issue and one which concerns the future physical health of the population. Wall displays informed us that Primary 3 children have been caught vaping (a shocking statistic) and the single-use disposable variety accounts for 85% of national sales, resulting in 25 million items being discarded in Scotland last year. These throwaway products can be hazardous and are due to be banned nationwide next year. There is accompanying legislation on flavours and packaging, which are often cynically aimed squarely at the child and teenage market. Perhaps capitalism is already gearing up for the change. Last week I walked by the vape shelves in a B&M store and they were packed in little white boxes that resembled helpful medication. It's a great irony that vaping was once touted as a stepping stone for smokers who intended to quit tobacco use altogether.

The film contained contributions from local politicians and health professionals. Also interviewed was the owner of a vape emporium who used to work for the NHS! She subscribed to the aforementioned theory about vaping being a safer alternative for those who are going to smoke anyway. I'm sure the 50% profit margin (far higher than what can be gleaned from regular cigarettes) had nothing to do with it! Another common argument is that responsible retailers stock only fully-tested products. That doesn't mean however that the potential lesser of two evils is a desirable option. The whole situation reminds me of the alcopop boom in the 90s. Youngsters always find a way to rebel and the market adjusts to suit. Who knows what will come along next? Maybe they should develop a virtual reality system to allow people to experience a "high" on every conceivable drug. The final screening showed the young filmmakers talking about the project and there was the inevitable compilation of mishaps. One of the guys was actually on hand in the gallery and I chatted to him as I left. Despite my initial scepticism about being a couple of generations out of kilter, I really enjoyed the material and would recommend stopping by.

New Leven Railway

Fife received a major public transport boost this summer with the restoration of rail services on the branch line to Leven. Originally closed to passengers in 1969, the five and a half mile link to the seaside town carried coal traffic until the mothballing of Methil Power Station in 2001. Although the railway never officially ceased to be operational, the tracks were no longer maintained and quietly rusted away, becoming a popular place for local dog walkers and urban explorers. A reopening campaign was launched in 2008 and the Scottish Government gave the go-ahead 11 years later, with a price tag of £70 million put on the the project. Although the route already existed, new track and signalling was required.

After a Covid-enforced delay, work began in March 2022 and the costs for the double-track railway had now risen to £116 million. Some of the increase was due to the installation of piles along the entire length for possible future electrification. The scope of the development had also widened to include integration with active travel plans. In just over two years, the line was ready and First Minister John Swinney performed the official opening ceremony. Hourly trains connect Leven to Edinburgh (via Kirkcaldy) and there are plans to double the frequency by running services around the other side of the Fife Circle through Dunfermline. I decided to make my maiden trip on the line during the first week of my summer holidays. I drove to Kirkcaldy and bought a return ticket at the platform machine. The cost was £4.90 which my sister Linda informed me is cheaper than the bus. Quicker too, with the train journey being just 20 minutes each way. This tariff is available all day as the Scottish Government has suspended peak-time fares in an effort to encourage more people to use the rail network. Around a dozen people boarded the train and it was easy to find a window seat. After four and a half miles on the East Coast Main Line, we reached the triangular junction for the Fife Circle. In reality, this system is a frying pan shape with the handle extending across the River Forth to Edinburgh. Trains do not run continuously around Fife and I'm led to believe they no longer set out from the capital city and complete the return loop. Services have reverted to using one side of the "circle" only, which means a journey from Dunfermline to Kirkcaldy now requires an awkward dog-leg change at Inverkeithing. In any case, my train branched off the main line on the opposite side, slightly further along. A one-mile section of the Leven branch was reopened in 2012 for open-cast coal movements. This arrangement lasted three years and required a track upgrade, which made it easier to commence work on the full restoration as the relevant machinery could be easily brought into position. Around ten years ago, I walked the decaying railway from Leven town centre up to the refurbished freight spur. I'm glad I did that before the site became strictly off-limits, although I heard a soft approach was taken to interlopers during the early reconstruction phase. Technically a person on the old trackbed was trespassing but the public had adopted the route as an unofficial walkway over the years. Now of course everything is fenced off to the max and here I was, bowling along a passenger line that was back in business after more than half a century. It had originally opened in 1854 and was extended all the way around the Fife coast to St Andrews, re-joining the trunk corridor at Leuchars. The seaboard section - which would surely be an attractive proposition today - was closed in 1965, leaving stubs in place to serve Leven and St Andrews, both of which bit the dust four years later. A parallel campaign to restore the St Andrews link is ongoing but there is no realistic prospect of trains ever running around the East Neuk again. Large chunks of trackbed have been lost to housebuilding and agriculture. But it's a huge step forward to have one piece of the jigsaw glued back into place.

The St Andrews business case is based upon tourism, golf, university access and the alleviation of congestion. Property prices are so high that many people who work in the town cannot afford to live there. Leven is a different kettle of fish entirely. Methil Docks at one time exported vast quantities of coal and other goods across the world and the entire Levenmouth area was dominated by mining and heavy industry. These days are gone and the contiguous coastal towns of Leven, Methil and Buckhaven have been an unemployment blackspot since the 1980s. Some shipping activity remains (pulp and timber), while green jobs have been created at the off-shore wind farm. It's a long way short of the halcyon days and the return of the railway is aimed primarily at economic regeneration. The conurbation has suffered from poor (and slow) bus connections over the decades and the capital city can now be reached in little more than an hour, with services available from dawn to dusk. The return fare is £11.90 - around the same price as a day ticket for Stagecoach buses in the east of Scotland. Throw in the speedy service to Kirkcaldy and Levenmouth residents now have far better access to work and educational opportunities. Declining economic circumstances often blunt civic engagement and the successful rail campaign has been a fantastic achievement by the local community. The train picked up speed and I passed by a field containing three black Highland cows. The line basically follows the River Ore, crossing it once before the the watercourse joins the River Leven (which flows out of the loch of the same name) just before the Cameron Bridge distillery complex and adjacent bio-energy plant. Owned by global drinks giant Diageo, the distillery produces base spirit for famous alcohol brands such as Smirnoff, Gordon's Gin, Johnny Walker and Bells. A single-grain whisky was marketed under the name Cameron Brig but has now been discontinued. The energy plant uses waste products to generate 80% of the distillery's electricity needs. The railway passes directly alongside these operations and the original Cameron Bridge Station was situated here. The island platform remained in situ after the withdrawal of passenger services and could readily be explored until demolition during the reopening works. The new station was built on the other side of the A915 and is the only intermediate stop on the line. The facility has 125 car-parking spaces with passive provision for more than double this total. Only a small number of vehicles were present today and a solitary passenger disembarked, with nobody waiting. The station has been designed as a park-and-ride scheme for surrounding communities and will take a while to become established. It also offers access to Cameron Hospital, which specialises in stroke rehabilitation and addiction services.

A great opportunity was missed to convey freight to and from Diageo, who also run a huge bottling plant just along the road from the distillery. Carbon dioxide tanks were delivered by rail until the mid-90s but the company declined to take advantage of the new transport link on their doorstep. A pity, as the the only alternative is to send lorries along the A915 which is already creaking at the seams. Approaching Leven, we passed the Fife Heritage Railway which operates within an old shunting yard. Formerly known as the unwieldy Kingdom of Fife Railway Preservation Society (KFRPS), the volunteer group acquired Kirkland Yard in 2001, just as the goods service to Methil Power Station ceased (it was finally pulled down in 2011). The site was opened to the public in 2008 and rides are available along half a mile of track. Events are staged on the last Sunday of the month during the warmer periods of the year. Unfortunately no provision was made for a junction with the new main line, despite trains passing almost within touching distance of the heritage rolling stock behind a security fence. One benefit the group received was an upgraded car-park, as payment for Network Rail using the heritage compound to stable equipment. Finally we coasted into the terminus and the island platform is over 200 metres in length, meaning it can accommodate far more coaches than the three-car unit I travelled in today. I wandered along to the far end and snapped a photo of the tracks running alongside the river (second picture in post). The station has step-free access to the small car-park and a walkway connects to the promenade. There is no dedicated ticket office but machines are located under the covered entrance. Beyond the buffers you can still see the bridge (pictured above) that formerly carried the tracks over the river mouth towards the power station. A whole network of tracks once existed at Methil Docks and freight trains ran right down to the shore until the 1980s.

The current station site occupies a different location to the original, as the Fife coastal line ran to the north of the town centre. Much of this formation in Leven has been obliterated over the years. Today's terminus sits on the dock branch that came off the old route. It's actually far more convenient as the High Street and bus station are a mere stone's throw away. The leisure centre and swimming pool are adjacent to the platforms and Bayview Stadium - home of East Fife FC - is nearby. The railway tale ends here but the people of Levenmouth (population around 35,000) are back on the national network.

I walked around the town centre, checking out my sister's new optician premises which are almost ready to start trading. There's no getting away from the fact that the High Street has seen better days but it's an issue affecting many towns across the country. I picked up lunch from the bakers and patronised the fruit shop. Always nice to give local vendors some support. Leven was once a seaside resort and visitors flocked from as far afield as Glasgow. People do still come from outside the local area as the 117-mile Fife Coastal Path runs right along the shoreline. Needless to say, I have completed the entire trek. Nicole and I often come down to walk along the wide beach and observe the birdlife. There will always be armchair naysayers and even locals who insist that nobody will ever want to visit their patch (nothing here, apparently) but Leven has a lot to offer and makes a nice wee day trip on the train. What are you waiting for?

Historic Transport Festival

The Scottish Vintage Bus Museum hosts a handful of special events each year. The one that always appeals to me is the Festival of Historic Transport - featuring a range of conveyances (mainly cars) from days gone by. The gathering is organised by the Fife Historic Vehicle Club and today was the 43rd staging. I have attended a few times over the years and this time I took my dad along. Entry is £5 and we landed lucky when a member handed us a spare complimentary pass for two as we queued at the car-park entrance.

Since 1995, the Bus Museum has been based at the M90 Commerce Park between Kelty and Dunfermline, occupying half of the 90-acre site. The land was formerly utilised as a Royal Navy supply depot (Lathalmond) for the nearby Rosyth Dockyard and a rail connection existed until 1971. As the Cold War subsided, the MOD sold off the complex. The facilities were tailor-made for a large-scale transport museum, with wide tarmac internal roads and spacious sheds. Ample room is available for visitor parking and outdoor vehicle display. A free heritage bus service was operating to and from Dunfermline today and a horse-drawn tram offered trips around the museum compound. The weather was drizzly but bearable and a healthy crowd was present. Classic cars flanked both sides of the main access road and I noted a Ford Model T from 1925, one of the oldest motorised vehicles in the show. It was the first car to be truly mass produced, eventually selling over 15 million units. Most of the owners were sheltering inside their vehicles. On a nice day, they often set up camping chairs and enjoy a picnic in the sun. Along with the 150 entrants to the official categories, several car/transport clubs were in attendance from around the country and these vehicles could also be inspected by the public. The rally gives vintage motoring enthusiasts a chance to mix with like-minded people and display their pride and joy. Additionally, the bus museum halls were fully open and there was something for everyone on the sprawling site. We'll get to the two working railway lines in due course. Vehicles in line for judging were grouped by historic period. As a child, I loved the "I spy" pocket books that allowed you to tick off the various makes and models of cars whenever you spotted them. I also had an older copy of the Ladybird book of motor cars. The listings in these volumes were extensive and even included the exotic Volga and Trabant from the Soviet-controlled zones. Of course, quite a few motors from the late 60s and early 70s were still on the road when I car-spotted around 1980 to 1982. It does hammer home the passage of time to see them now regarded as rare exhibits. Surprisingly, the scope of the classic period extends all the way forward to the year 2000. Initially jolting, but the millennium is now a quarter century in the past and the lifespan of the average family car probably doesn't exceed 15 years in most cases. I remember Dad owning a Rover 2000, Triumph 2000 and Rover 80, all three of which were represented on the grass today. His Rover 80 (built 1961) was already nudging into vintage territory when he bought it in 1983. Finding spare parts proved increasingly problematic in the pre-internet age and he sold the elegant lady on after a few years.

The Rover 80 (pictured behind Dad) weighed almost two tons and was powered by a 2.3 litre engine. I loved riding in this car and the upholstery was genuine leather. There was one continuous bench seat in the front and two kids could easily squeeze in beside the driver. Seatbelts were not yet a legal requirement. Changing from first to second gear involved a double clutching technique with neutral being the intermediate step. The (huge) battery was located under the back seat and the windscreen washers were operated with a hand pump. I will remember the registration plate - 2320 SR - until my dying day. We walked all the way up and down the line and also checked out the motorcycles, commercial vehicles, fire engines and tractors. The longest car on display was undoubtedly the 1977 Chrysler New Yorker. It was an American monster with a seven-litre engine under the hood. A true gas guzzler that I wouldn't fancy trying to park at Tesco. We paused by the Fife Munitions Railway where "Big Dave" (pictured below) was preparing for departure. The steam loco was built in 2021 (Scotland's newest) and runs along a narrow gauge to the site boundary. Passengers also have the option of travelling on standard tracks behind a diesel shunter, the two lines being roughly parallel. The operation trades as the Lathalmond Railway Museum and began life in 1997 when a group of volunteers took over Shed 47 - the former rail workshop within the naval depot. A substantial internal network once existed and the enthusiasts have recreated a small section. The project has certainly come a long way since the days when it really was just a shed with a dilapidated locomotive inside and a tiny protrusion of track. Nowadays both railways offer trips of a quarter mile each way. The regular line features a platform, ticket office and souvenir shop. An exhibition can also be viewed. More power to them! The rain began to fall and we sought refuge inside the main museum building, which has a couple of dozen polished buses on permanent display. The café in the corner was doing a brisk trade and I opted instead to run out to a burger van, returning with quarter pounder and chips for two. We ate our lunch at one of the extra tables that had been set up in the middle of the hall and pondered our next move.

Meanwhile the downpour had become heavier and many people were scurrying back to their parked cars. At least the event had managed to get past the halfway stage before the bad weather kicked in. It was the first time the show had taken place since the pandemic and hopefully it will run again next year. You certainly don't have to be a petrol head to enjoy yourself here. Lathalmond is the perfect permanent home for the bus museum and hopefully the railway will continue to expand. We decided it was time to head and an announcement came over the tannoy to inform the owner of a Trabant that he had left his lights on. I've never seen a Trabi in Scotland and on a dryer day might have gone looking for it. A belated tick for the I-spy book.