Skaters to roll into East End Park as part of unique event

Norrie McCathie stand concourse to be transformed for the day

A SECTION of East End Park will be transformed for a first- of- itskind skateboarding event.

The Norrie McCathie stand concourse will become a functioning skate park for the day, using portable ramps and obstacles provided by Nike SB.

Kids who are interested in skating will be able to attend free skate lessons under qualified Skateboard GB coaches before a competition with prizes on offer.

The event has been organised by Route One Edinburgh and is in support of a project to upgrade Dunfermline’s skate park.

It follows the annual Dunfermline Skate Park Jam last weekend.

Skaters travelled from far and wide to join in and one parent of a young beginner told organisers: “Harvey loved it and is constantly asking us to go skating now.”

Rory Fell is the assistant manager at Route One and founded the Boards for Bairns charity, which provides skateboards for young people who may not otherwise be able to afford their own.

He said: “I am a Dunfermline fan and when I am at a game - going for a pie or something - I look at the floor and think this would be a perfect place to skate.

“There will be pop- up ramps and lessons, and we have got instructors who have got certifications and are coming from Glasgow, Edinburgh and across Fife.”

Rory is also part of the movement to modernise Dunfermline’s skate park which he says has been “left to rot”.

He told the Press: “We are sitting at £ 115,000 and that is how much has been raised so far.

“We are looking at a park which will probably cost £ 300,000, so we are getting there bit by bit.

“To get funding they want us to show the demand for the park.

“The park just now is a safety hazard, where once there was a community, now people will travel elsewhere. Dunfermline has been left to rot.

“You don’t see massive use so we are trying to highlight that there is a demand there. If we were to have a facility up to standard it would be great for everybody.”

Rory won the Young Enterprise of the Year award at the Dunfermline Press and Central Fife Times Community Champion Awards earlier this year for his involvement with Boards for Bairns.

He expects work to start on the new park next year and is hoping that the event at East End Park will encourage more people to get involved from skating.

From there he will use Boards for Bairns to provide equipment for kids who are interested but can’t afford boards themselves.

Lessons at East End Park begin at 10am on Saturday, September 16.

Anyone interested can sign up on the day or register online Eventbrite or by visiting @ dunfyparkmovement on Instagram.

THE number of people using trains from Inverkeithing has increased and is on course to surpass last year’s figure.

Between April 1 and August 15, 89,896 passengers were recorded by ScotRail, around 43 per cent of the total amount in the 2022/ 23 period.

The previous 12 months saw 205,463 people travelling from the station.

With eight “rail periods” still to be counted, ScotRail says the numbers are “encouraging”.

David Simpson, ScotRail Service Delivery Director, said: “It’s great to see an increasing number of people choosing rail as they journey back to their everyday activities.

“These encouraging numbers are a testament to the hard work of our people in delivering a safe, reliable, and green railway.

“Our focus is on building on this success to encourage more people to choose Scotland’s Railway as their low carbon mode of travel.”

The operator credited high- profile events such as the Edinburgh festivals, UCI Cycling World Championships and international rugby at Murrayfield for the increases.

In August alone more than 7.7 million journeys were made across ScotRail’s network.

Passenger journeys made between August 1 and August 31 reached 89 per cent of pre- pandemic levels and mark a year- on- year growth of 35 per cent.

Off- peak travel has surpassed prepandemic numbers and reached its highest level since 2015 4.5 million journeys.

Peak time and commuter travel also saw growth in August, with 3.1 million journeys made a 31 per cent year- onyear rise.

ally difficult.

“I am working six days continuously, sometimes it’s seven, from 9am in the morning and sometimes I need to stay later.

“I don’t see my kids at all, I haven’t had a break, not even for a day. I can’t continue working like that.

“I think the best thing would be to find someone local who is willing to continue the brand and maintain the shop.

“I have regular customers, I have products that people come for every day. It would be a shame to just close.”

Olga will now focus on her more flexible services - business consulting and tarot readings - which allow her more time with her family.

The Press reported in 2021 that Olga had taken a leap of faith to set up Estia Soaps, having moved to Dunfermline from Greece due to dire economic circumstances.

She and her husband, Spiros, sold everything they had and started their new life in West Fife , and slept on the floor for a month in an empty apartment with their oldest son, Achilleas.

Olga had planned to work as a spa manager as she had in Corfu but when her youngest son, Aggelos, who is now four, was born with Down’s Syndrome she decided to start her own soap-making business from home.

“I think it’s time for me to be more flexible with my own services,” she said. “I also do consulting, which is holistic consulting now, I do my tarot readings. I want to be more flexible rather than always working six or seven days with all the stress.”

Olga continued: “It would be a really nice chance for someone to take the brand there.

“We’ve won one more award so we have eight now - they are contests that I don’t even apply for.

“This would be the best thing for a couple who have the time to invest and work. It can be a worldwide brand, it’s not just the shop, it’s the brand behind the shop, that’s the vision.

“The way I am operating now I am doing the maximum I can - it’s like a one-man band.”

Estia Soaps opened on East Port in September 2022 with hopes to “bring something different” to the city centre. It offers handmade soaps, crystals, and holistic treatments.

Anyone interested in taking over should contact Olga via the Estia Soaps website or by visiting the shop.