Festival fun at Kingennie

PEOPLE are being invited to attend a special charity fun weekend at the end of this month.

The Kingennie Fest is a mini-festival weekend that aims to raise money for Forbes of Kingennie’s chosen charities.

The festival takes place on August 31 and September 1 and will celebrate all things local.

All the best food and drink from around Tayside will be on offer for people to sample.

There will also be music throughout the weekend for visitors to enjoy.

Money raised during the weekend will go towards the Help for Kids and Hope for Blake charities.

People can choose to attend the whole weekend or just a single day if they wish.

Day tickets cost £5, with a weekend pass priced at £8.

Tickets are available from eventbrite.

For more information, visit the Kingennie Fest event page on Facebook. A MAN who was told he was too overweight to undergo l i fe - c h a n g i n g s u r ge r y has lost a whopping eight stone in just under a year.

Charlie Colston, 61, from Stobswell, has been attending Carole Ramsay’s Lighter Weighs class since September last year after doctors refused him hip surgery.

The former painter and decorator was diagnosed with a sciatic nerve lesion on his right hip, but in order to go under the knife he was told he would have to lose weight.

When he first stepped on the scales he weighed 20 stone 13lbs but he is now down to about 12 stone, thanks to cutting down on portions and keeping a close eye on what he eats.

He said: “My BMI was at 50 and I have to get it down to 35. I reckon I’m about 28.”

“I’ve got chronic obstructive pulmotonary disease (COPD) as well, so that’s a big weight off my chest.

“I can walk about a lot easier now, still using my stick.

“I’m not out of breath or anything – I don’t even have to use my puffer. I was using it three or four times a day before.”

Charlie said his target weight is 12 stone 2lbs, and when he weighed in on Thursday he was just six pounds from his goal.

He is now on the waiting list for the hip op.

“I’ll probably reach my target in the next two or three weeks. I’m chuffed,” he said.

It’s all a far cry from where Charlie was 12 months ago when drinking four or five bottles of sugary drinks and alcohol and snacking in between meals was the norm.

Now he says he has switched to smaller portion sizes and is even eating some vegetarian foods.

Speaking about Lighter Weighs, he said: “I enjoy the sociability. I’ve known Carole for about 25 years.

“I’m a yo-yo dieter. I’ve reached my target weight a couple of times before, a good five or six years ago.

“This time it’s mainly for my health so there’s no going back.

“I’m going to stay at this weight – I’m totally determined. Carole’s been brilliant. She’s just always helped me.”

Carole said: “Charlie has done great. He just seems so much happier when you see him.”

Talking about Lighter Weighs, Carole said: “We go back to basics – there is no fancy stuff.”