Residents and business premises have been dealing with the aftermath of yesterday’s serious flooding of the Whitesands in Dumfries (film courtesy of David Slater):

Here’s the latest on yesterday’s river Nith flooding in Dumfries:

The Whitesands and Irish Street have re-opened.

Bus services to and from the Whitesands have resumed.

In an effort to assist businesses, only the riverside car park will remain closed – access has been given to the shop side car park.

Dumfries and Galloway Fire and Rescue Service have attended affected businesses on the Whitesands to pump water from their premises at the business’s request.

The Emergency Response Team remains on-site and is doing what it can to minimise disruption at the Whitesands. However, with more severe weather predicted for this afternoon, the currently situation is likely to change.

Welcome to the last classic Scottish song on our feature.  This song has been very popular to put it mildly.  So it made it to be played on St Andrews Day itself. 

Police report that many roads across the region are now affected by flooding and motorists are asked to carefully consider whether their journey is really necessary. There appears to be no let up in the wind and rain at present and many roads are experiencing flooding, with a number impassible due to the depth of the water. Police are working with Council Roads Staff in an effort to address these roads. Drivers coming across floods on a road should consider carefully whether they can actually get through the flooded area. Care should always be taken when coming across deep water on a road, and if driving through a flooded area then they should do so slowly, and on exiting the flood, brakes should always be tested.

In Strathclyde the northbound A74(M) road is flooded at junction 14 and police are in attendance to assist traffic. Lanes 1 and 2 are closed with all traffic going onto lane 3.. Police in Dumfries and Galloway are assisting by slowing northbound traffic before it reaches Strathclyde. Again the area should be avoided if possible, and delays northbound are to be expected.

The Whitesands in Dumfries are still flooded.

Video footage of today’s rising waters (coutesy of David Slater):

Police are investigating the cause of a road crash which happened on the A701 road just off the roundabout at the junction with the A74(M) slip road, near Beattock, at around 1345 hours on Sunday 27 November 2011. At that time a Kawasaki ZX 1000 motorcycle crashed and the 35 year old driver named as Robert Cornthwaite, from Smith Way in Beattock died as a result. Police want to hear from anyone who may have witnessed this crash and ask that they get in touch through the usual 0845 600 5701 number. It would appear at this stage that the motorcycle was the only vehicle involved in the crash. The Procurator Fiscal has been informed.

Police are warning of the operation of bogus workmen in the region today, Wednesday 23 November after an elderly man was approached in Lockerbie by men offering to repair solar panels on his roof for the sum of £3000. The workmen were dismissed by the man when they couldn’t provide any identification. In another incident presently being investigated, this time in Dumfries, staff at a local bank alerted police after and elderly man attempted to withdraw a large sum of money from his account, to pay workmen who were repairing his solar panels. Police were called and the matter is currently being investigated.

Police warn of the dangers of dealing with cold calling workmen whom they don’t know and ask that should anyone call seeking to do repair work to solar panels then the local police are contacted through 0845 600 5701.

Dumfries will celebrate the big switch on of its 2011 Christmas Lights display on Sunday 27th November following a full afternoon of musical entertainment from the Plainstanes performance space.

The programme

1.00 pm: Christmas carols

2.00 pm: Maurice Sutherst and Elaine Erskine, locally based singer songwriters presenting a selection of their contemporary ballads.

3.00 pm: Lorraine McCauley and the Borderlands, fresh from an extended tour in Ireland and recording for the BBC Lorraine will present her lyrical and haunting songs to a modern folk accompaniment.

3.45 pm: Panto stars; Katrina Bryan, best known as Nina from the hit CBEEBIES show Nina and the Neurons and Leah Macrae, Julie from BBC’s Gary, Tank Commander will appear on stage to promote the DG One pantomime, Beauty and the Beast.

4.00pm: Man at the Window, Scotland’s hottest reggae outfit will have the crowd bouncing with their infectious brand of musical sunshine.

5.00pm: Provost Jack Groom will switch on the lights with a phalanx of royal assistants; Queen of the South and the Princesses Beauty and Kind Heart not forgetting an early appearance of Santa Claus.

Here’s Stig Nordkil’s regular interview with Queen of the South FC manager, Gus MacPerson:

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Lighthouse Church is holding their annual fundraiser for Cash for Kids on Wednesday 14th December at 7.30pm at the Convent.

Pastor Sandy Jamieson says, “Come and enjoy a 2 course meal with fantastic entertainment. All profits go to this great charity. The cost is £7.50 for adults and £5.00 for children. To book, please email us at lccdumfries@hotmail.com or Facebook us at Lighthouse Church.

“Our Guest is Tony Vino, he has been touring the comedy scene since early 2005. Tony is best known for the way he seamlessly mixes well thought out observational humour with audience interaction and quick witted responses. His life and interests are wide ranging, and so is his material, all performed in a warm, friendly and non-offensive style”.