Virtual visitor for pony club

WORLD famous threeday event rider, Caroline Powell joined Angus Pony Club members for a virtual question and answer evening.

As well as representing her country at two Olympics, Caroline won a team bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games and is also a past Burghley winner.

After answering questions Caroline dug out from her trophy cabinet a number of her rosettes and medals, including her Olympic medal.

Other virtual events held by the club included a nutrition talk, family quiz and raffle which raised funds to support a local children’s charity through Voluntary Action Angus (VAA) and also Alzheimer’s Scotland.

Hazel Adam, organiser, said: “We are also a charity and we depend on the generosity of our family, friends and supporters to run events for our members and we thought at this difficult time it would be good to give something back to our community.”

A BIRD was freed from an abandoned kite line in Camperdown Park thanks to the quick thinking of walkers and a council worker.

The walkers were about to start a daily walk around the park when they noticed the blackbird caught up in the line on a treetop.

With no way of reaching the creature themselves, the women called on a local council worker who was in the area, and they managed to bring it down and untangle it.

One of the walkers said the bird was in too much distress to ignore.

“When we spotted the bird we knew we had to do something and there was no way we could just walk away from it,” she said.

“I knew there was a council van parked close by and the worker, Steve, was absolutely amazing and came down to the tree to help.

“He didn’t have any ladders and even if he did he wouldn’t have been able to use them, so we even considered climbing on top of one of our cars to get the bird down.

“Luckily Steve had a long rake which he was able to use to bring it down and we then had to detach the string from around the poor thing’s leg, which was like untangling a necklace.

“In all it probably took around 10 minutes, however, if we had just left it there it would have been stuck for hours.

“Steve was just fantastic, the bird was flapping – I was flapping as well actually – and my friend was getting ready to climb up on her car, but Steve was able to stay so calm.”

The group has also raised concerns about the amount of litter that has been left in the park during lockdown – they even found a double mattress ditched there.

The rescuer added: “Although nobody wanted to lose that kite, it was no one’s fault. However, I have seen a lot more littering in the park recently which is a shame as it really does affect the wildlife.

“Camperdown Park is a beautiful resource and it belongs to everyone so it is all of our job to keep it tidy and safe for the wildlife.”