Heritage Ac� on

Aberdeenshire Voluntary Action

launched their AVA Community Spirit Awards at the beginning of July to recognise Community Spirit in our villages and towns during the lockdown and were overwhelmed by the response.

CEO Dan Shaw said: “People have been nominating in their hundreds, the people in their community who have gone out of their way to help, support and put a smile on people’s faces during the pandemic.

“Many award recipients have been nominated multiple times showing the impact they have had on their community. Several of our nominations are very young showing a sense of community spirit from a young age”.

There are over 200 recipients of the AVA Community Spirit Award and the full list can be found in AVA’s most recent newsletter, their website www.avashire. org.uk or on Facebook.

Dee Ross Holly Wreaths

Stock Carried & Specials Made to Order

Many colours available Also Nature wreaths Orders taken for special requests I'll be at the Mart Road Co-op throughout December You can uplift from my home at Mossat by appointment

07837 659225

It’s All Go at the Heritage Museum!

and you can help, writes volunteer Jackie Ross

We have not been able to open the Museum this season but the committee and volunteers have not been idle.

You may have noticed an increase in our social media output, which included a popular A-Z of Museum Artefacts together with some quizzes, followed by our posts celebrating the Year of Sound. Look out for our Virtual Tour, Facebook Watch Party and other online events during the virtual Doors Open weekend on Sept 19/20.

We have also been considering the longer term sustainability of the Museum. As part of this process we commissioned a structural survey of the building which identified some serious issues which need to be addressed soon if we are to safeguard this precious local resource.

Our next steps are to carry out a feasibility study and create a business plan. But to do all of these we require more volunteers. We urgently need folk to help keep the museum functioning. Would you consider joining a Board of Trustees? Or helping with fundraising? Or volunteering for door duty or a ‘work party’ to tidy an area of the Museum? Or perhaps you would like to get involved in educational or community projects? The opportunities are endless.

If you’d like to help ensure this wonderful attraction has a future then please contact us on info@alforheritagemuseum.com

Good news for all those who enjoy the annual Hamewith Concert at the Alford Heritage Museum – it will go ahead – although in a very different format. Obviously, it isn’t going to be possible to have a crowd of folks from Strathdon to Dunecht crammed into the old mart ring as we usually do, so we are planning an alternative Hamewith this year.

Regulars to the concert will know that we enjoy two nights of Doric poetry, song, dance and music by youngsters from Donside schools.

The concert was established to celebrate the life and work of local poet Charles Murray and has been a highlight in the museum’s calendar for generations.

Since it won’t be possible to hold a live event this year, we have decided to organise a Hamewith Facebook Watch Party where we will share videos produced by local folk to celebrate our north-east heritage.

The Watch Party will take place during the Across the Grain (Doric) Festival at the beginning of October.

Full details will be published nearer the time on the Alford Heritage Museum Facebook Page and through Aberdeenshire’s Across the Grain Festival.

We look forward to seeing your ‘comments’ during the party! 20

Ma Da he nivver got tae war, nae maitt er foo he tried, He twice gaed doon tae Montrose tae sign on the dott ed line. Baith ti mes his maister cam doon as weel, An telt the recruiti n’ mannie, The loons a fairmer, workin hard, tae feed the hale Damn country. Bit nae tae miss oot o’ da’en his bit Tae protect his bit o grun He served his King & Country By jinin’ Kinneff Home Guard. They gave him a machine gun, A Lewis so he said, He did target practi ce intae a cave On the shore by Boggartyhead. He said he kept it alow his bed, I dinna ken if its true Bit I widna pit it past him It’s the kinda thing he’d do. He mustae been a nae bad sodger, He wis made up tae a Corporal. Nae as aul as Corporal Jones An nae nearly half as sober! I’ve sti ll got an auld grenade he practi ced throwin it further, It’s hollow in the middle noo, So wir nae in mortal danger. As fairmin fowk ar like tae dee They moved fais up near Stoney, An so he jined the local squad, Made up o Bunkers & Dominies. He didnae really like them much, Thocht he wis jist a Teuchter, They took awa his Corporals stripes, An gave him a rifl e, aul an roosty The manny in charge wis a real toff y cyard Thocht he really kint how tae sodger But Dad thocht he wis a real useless gowk Didne ken ae ein o’ his gun fae the ither!

Congratulati ons to Bob Michie from Stonehaven who was the winner of our recent competi ti on to win free entry to Alford Heritage Museum.

Parti cipants were invited to create a story, poem, cartoon or piece of nonfi cti on inspired by one of the rooms in the Museum.

Here is Bob’s excellent poem, inspired by the ‘Royal Observer Corp’ room.

We look forward to showing Bob and friends round the Museum when it reopens.

Ma wife wis spikken aboot her skweel She gaed tae Fett eresso, Sae did I, said Dad, at’s far I learnt tae knife and strangle Germans! He saw bombs drap, and planes that crashed, He patrolled the Cowie line. But aul Hitlers plans came tae bugger aul, he lost in the hinner-ein.

Alford Medical Practice Update

To reduce transmission of coronavirus the vast majority of contact will be over the phone, by email or video rather than face to face for the foreseeable future.

We are now triaging all appointments through eConsult, an easy to use online consultation tool which can be accessed through our website:

www.alfordmedicalpractice.co.uk

Please use the phone only if you do not have access to the internet or you need to urgently speak to one of our patient advisors: 01975 562253.

All contacts and queries submitted via eConsult are triaged by the clinical team and the most appropriate course of action decided

The clinical team will review your submission and get back to you, usually within two hours if your eConsult is submitted before 12 noon. Any online consultations submitted after 12 noon will be responded to as quickly as possible with a guaranteed response of 10am the following working day.

While some of the lockdown restrictions have eased, it is important that the practice only deals with patients faceto-face when it is absolutely essential or urgent. We remain open and available for your health concerns but due to obvious restrictions will try to manage patients by telephone and video consultations (using NearMe) whenever possible.

The system has worked very well ensuring patients are dealt with promptly and by the appropriate member of the team. This means that to continue to protect public safety total triage will remain in place long term as the practice deals with Covid and works towards finding a new normal.

The preferred route into the surgery would be by completing an eConsult but details can be taken over the phone for patients who cannot do this. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any worrying or urgent concerns. eConsult has several functions: It can help you with self-diagnosis and determine the most appropriate place to go seek help, which may be your local pharmacy or the national 111 help line; and it provides a mechanism to submit a secure eConsult direct to the GP 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This means you don’t have to wait for the practice to open to submit an eConsult, it can be done anytime including evenings and weekends to beat the morning rush.

Our telephone system has been upgraded and we now have a 24 hour repeat prescription messaging service. The number remains the same (019755 62262), however, you can order your prescriptions any time of day or night – even at the weekend. You can also order prescriptions online – see our website for an application form.

You can now request test results via eConsult at any time or you can telephone between 2pm and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

Unfortunately the NHS system continues to be under tremendous pressure and we appreciate your patience and understanding during this time. 22