For many years a small but dedicated group has maintained the flower beds, planters and community garden in the village to the highest standard, achieving the coveted Beautiful Fife Gold Award in 2019.

A number of group members have however decided to wind down or move on, and the community came together to discuss how their fantastic legacy can be maintained and developed.

This resulted in a large number of people volunteering to contribute, and a new Dunshalt in Bloom group - The Dibbers - was formed. Individuals and small sub-groups will now take on responsibility for a sepecific area, bringing their own ideas and enthusiasm.

The group have decided not to enter the Beautiful Fife competition, so there is no pressure on the group and hopefully this will  encourage even more members of the community to join in.

Beyond flowers and plants the group will also perform a valuable social function, hopefully encouraging people to get out and about the village again after two miserable years of lockdowns and self isolation.

For the last two years village and community life has been in virtual abeyance as we see out the Covid pandemic. The green shoots of recovery are however now with us, along with the first snowdrops of the year.

The Community Association started regular meetings again in October, and although thwarted by Omicron the Village Hall is once again coming to life with existing groups restarting - Pilates, Yoga and Choir - and new groups starting - Art Class, African Drumming and Guides.

A new group - The Dibbers - has also formed to take on and develop Dunshalt in Bloom (see separate article) and we all look forward to seeing the result of their efforts.

 The dark nights have also provided time to update the village website, and regular viewers will recognise a new, 'cleaner' style and some revised layouts. Behind the scenes the technology is now fully up to date and hopefully more secure from hackers.