The Aboyne Fountain 32 - Spring 2023

What a great start to the year here at Young At Heart Deeside. In January we met His Majesty the King at an event at the Community Shed. He was very interested in what we are doing. You could spot us a mile away in our red hoodies!

We have just heard that we are getting a bit of funding from the Corra Foundation to distribute directly to our members and our most vulnerable older people in our community who need a wee bit of help.

We are also in the process of planning what we hope to do this year including going for full charitable status, events and activities.

In the meantime, our Warm Space, happening in Tarland on Mondays 10-12noon at Cromar Court Day Room and Tuesdays and Fridays from 11.15-1pm in Aboyne Library are proving to be a very welcome breather for the folk who are using them. In Aboyne senior Academy pupils have been helping out which has been great fun. Lots of intergenerational learning happening too including learning how to knit, playing bridge, taking part in cahoot quizzes and even a Virtual Reality visit to the North Pole. Something for everyone.

We will continue these Warm Spaces until the end of March. All are very welcome.

If you would like to get involved or want to know more you can visit our website www. youngatheartdeeside.org.uk or email us membership@youngatheartdeeside.org. uk or follow us on Facebook/youngatheartdeeside

Coming to Aboyne Theatre on Saturday April 1st...

The Counterfeit Sixties was formed by four experienced musicians with the purpose of performing some of the greatest songs from the most creative period in pop music. Each member of the group has a wealth of experience from playing in various combos, and working with some of the legends of the time. As the band themselves grew up in the 60s, they are fully aware of the memories that can be evoked by a 60s show. A full multimedia experience, utilising live action footage of many familiar sights and sounds from the period: from specially selected events, famous people, adverts, and, of course, the original artists themselves, the two-hour performance covers many aspects of the era.

Mid Deeside Young Farmers Club is a rural youth organisation within the West Aberdeenshire District, with most club members being from the Deeside area. As a club we have had a influx of members, growing the group from 25 people to 50 in the space of just a few years.

Young Farmers is an incredible opportunity where you are given the chance to try new things, develop new skills and have fun, all with like minded people.

Meetings range from stock-judgings, valuations and mock auctions to competitions of baking, crafts and crops, as well as crazy golf, bowling and business tours.

SAYFC (Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs) provide loads of interesting opportunities. The most recent being travel abroad programmes and exchanges. If you are aged 14-30 and would like to join, please get in touch with the club via Facebook.

Young Farmers Club has recently doubled in size!

Assistant Secretary Emily Robertson

From Claire Coull: It’s been a while but we thought you would like an update on the Huntly Arms Regeneration Project following the well publicised ‘extra curricular’ events at the hotel in January!

Aberdeenshire Council wrote to the current owners throughout 2022 encouraging them to tidy up the environs of the hotel. No action having been taken the Council issued an official ‘Amenity Notice’ just before Christmas. This detailed a list of external tasks that the owners are now obliged to carry out with a deadline of 90 days. Progress is either complete or substantially so.

We at HARP were delighted that this elicited a response and we were invited to meet with the owners in the hotel in early December 2022. Stated intentions were for improvement plans for the hotel but with no detail or time scale provided. One positive thing that came out of that meeting was that we were given permission to erect artwork on some of the boarded up windows. The work was completed by the Artist in Residence team at the Community Shed with support from the Mid Deeside Community Trust and Men’s Shed. The effect while small in the scale of things required has been to make the building look a little more presentable. Although not much appeared to happen after that, the next thing to hit the headlines was the discovery that an illegal cannabis farm had been set up in the basement! Given the scale of the operation and the amount of equipment, just how it was installed without detection is a mystery. Only the police know the full details at this point. No doubt more will be revealed in time.

While on the one hand this is publicity Aboyne does not need, HARP are hoping

H.A.R.P.

that it will prompt the owners to finally make a start on refurbishing the hotel or if they have no intentions of doing so, to enter into serious discussions about selling the hotel on.

HARP had a meeting with the owners early February. Once the items stated in the Amenity Notice have been completed, they plan to ‘gut’ the hotel over the next month or so. A roof survey will be carried out and a plan put in place to make the buildings watertight. They appear keen to see the hotel back in operation which may mean it being refurbished and opened up in stages. This is hopeful news and we will keep you updated as things progress! Please keep up to date with news regarding the hotel on our Facebook Page ‘Huntly Arms Regeneration Project’. The more clicks and likes the better!

A history of Golf in Aboyne –from

the Club’s website...

The 19th century local economy was supported by landowners and gentry, who, in pursuit of a fashionable pastime, introduced golf to Aboyne in 1874 and it is known that play took place over nine holes laid out on the village green. It was 1883 before the Club was founded mainly due to the efforts of Mr WE Nicol Dr Keith and the Rev Dr Drummond. Stationmaster Mr Forgie was the first secretary. Subscriptions and membership were 2/6 each and the grand total of £3 was received from the 24 members! Play continued in the village until 1905 when the present site was leased from Ean Cecil of Aboyne Castle estate and nine holes laid out beside the loch.

During WWII most golf courses were used for animal grazing and

vegetable allotments. So it was at Aboyne when an EGM was convened in 1946 to form a new committee. By 1948 conditions were good enough to allow a 36-hole Open tournament to be introduced, which continues successfully to this day. The next 25 years saw golf grow in popularity. During this period, golf was cheap and membership easy to obtain. But by 1970 things were changing. The discovery of oil in the North Sea had a dramatic effect on employment in the region and Aboyne quickly became a commuter area. In this 15 year period good use was made of the increased revenues, including the opening of a new clubhouse in 1980 and investment in the course and machinery.

The layout of Aboyne golf course remained virtually the same from 1913 until the new holes were added in 1990 by renowned golf course architect Martin Hawtree.

News from St Thomas’

With Lent approaching, we are continuing to hold our free soup lunches – soup for the body, company for the soul.

We will be doing this every week over Lent (volunteers to provide soup occasionally would be appreciated!) This is open to anyone – you do not need to come to the service to join us for lunch, nor do you need to a member of the church anyway. Please come and join us and enjoy some company and some warmth.

Our Lent Course this year will be online and in person. You are welcome to come along to the Rectory in Ballater on Tuesday evenings during Lent, from 7.30 -8.30. You can also join us online at that time. If you are unable to make that time but would like to join in, there will be handout sheets available.

We are already looking towards the spring and considering what to plant in the church grounds this year.

The potatoes last year were moderately successful, and we are also hoping to continue with the wild-flower planting we started last year.

As a church we are trying to be more ecologically aware and practise a more sustainable form of living, and this is a small step towards it.

Please get in touch if you would like to know more, or be involved in developing the quiet spaces and the planting.

11.30am 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th March, 4th

April, Lent Communions

12-1.30pm, 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th March, 4th April, Soul Soup, free soup lunch

with Rector Vittoria Hancock

19th March – Mothering Sunday service, 11.15am, Family Communion, St Thomas’

2nd April, Palm Sunday service, 11.15am, St Thomas’

6th April, Maundy Thursday service, 6pm, St Thomas’

7th April, Churches Together in Ballater Good Friday service, 12-1pm, Glenmuick Church

8th April, Easter Bonfire and Vigil, 6pm, venue tbc

9th April, 11.15am, Easter Communion, St Thomas’

Aboyne Green Spaces with Ruth

Christmas lighting on planters provided some extra cheer during December and January eliciting some positive comments from the public – thank you! Currently our plants are largely dormant, and have sometimes been hidden under snow and ice. It won’t be long before buds appear and flowers follow, and with that in mind, the volunteers are keeping the displays tidy and nurtured.

Do you care for someone living with Dementia and would welcome support to allow you a break?

Forget-Me-Not Club

runs weekly drop-off sessions at Aboyne-Dinnet Church Hall

Huntly Road, Aboyne

Mondays 10am-1pm

Information packs available

Contact Eunice Gardyne

eunice.gardyne@forgetmenotclub.co.uk 01330

You may have noticed the improvement to the upper square car park. Closing off the third entrance/exit opposite the Huntly Arms has benefitted the disabled parking spots, aided the flow of traffic on that narrow street, and allowed the group to plant two more trees. A grant from Place Based Investment Programme, through Aberdeenshire Council, enabled this to happen, with much assistance from MDCT to get this project going.

A number of heathers have been dug in to a south facing area of the shrubbery garden, bordering the parking and Ballater Road. It has been very pleasing to note how some plants thrived and gave a second showing of blooms in all locations in early autumn. We are hoping for more colour in 2023.

If you would like to wrap up warmly and perhaps waterproof yourself this winter, come and help on Monday afternoons, we will be delighted to welcome you. It is not necessary to make a weekly commitment. Whenever you are free to bring some suitable gardening kit and join in with this sociable group is fine. No gardening kit? Come anyway.

Contact admin@mid-deeside.org.uk

The

Club,

a range of excellent facilities. These

a 12.5 metre

gymnasium and all weather tennis court. In addition, there is an range of fitness classes, all run by our team of fully qualified instructors.

If you would like to find out more about our memberships and some of the benefits, from a complimentary lunch for two at Douneside House, orpersonal 1 to 1 inductions (including fitness plan), contact us now.

Douneside Health

located in Tarland, near Aboyne offers

include

swimming pool, sauna, spa pool, steam room, state-of-the-art

In the interest of improving our facilities to offer you a better service, Aboyne Swimming Pool will be closed for maintenance and refurbishment from mid-February until the Easter Holidays. All other facilities at the Community Centre will remain open as normal and we’ll be happy to see you in a dry capacity. We want to offer you a reliable service, therefore during this closure period we will hire new staff who will be trained to serve you in the best way. Job opportunities will be communicated through our social networks in the coming days.

For those of you with memberships, they are valid at all LLA sites. Why not check out Alford or Banchory Pools? However, if this is not right for you, please contact us and we can freeze your memberships for the duration of the closure.

Thanks for your kind understanding and please accept our apologies.

We look forward to welcoming you back to your new and improved Aboyne Pool in April.

More info from llacustomerservice@ aberdeenshire.gov.uk

FILMS: Friday 17th March

5.30pm: Epic Tails

1hr 30mins | U

7.30pm: Tar

2hrs 40mins | 15

MUSIC: Friday 31st March

7.30pm

Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin

Eilidh Shaw (fiddle and vocals) and Ross Martin (guitar) are probably best known for their work with two top traditional bands; Eilidh with The Poozies and Ross with Daimh.

Between them they have been at the heart of the Scottish Music scene over the last 20 years .

This concert comes to Aboyne with the support of Scotland on Tour.

the Absinthe Distillery on your doorstep...

Lost Loch Distillery is a craft operation based in the Deeside Activity Park, owned and run by locals Pete Dignan and Rich Pierce since 2017.

Starting small with a secret family recipe for Haroosh, a whisky, bramble and honey liqueur, the duo realised that nobody in Scotland was making absinthe.

Leaping on this glaring omission, they came up with Murmichan (an old Scots word for a wicked fairy), Scotland’s first absinthe, distilled with local honey for a smooth experience.

Next came eeNoo, as in “it’s time for gin

eeNoo” made with local berries, honey, rosehips and heather flowers. Visitors are welcome, with tours and tastings available to book, plus an inhouse Spirits School, where participants get to create their very own spirits in mini stills to take home.

This year other plans include a regular Lost Loch Live, where the distillery will open as a bar for the evening, showcasing local musicians and food.

So, if you’ve made it your mission in 2023 to find out more about your local area, or you’re looking for somewhere to go with friends, drop us an email or follow on socials, we’d love to see you.

www.lostlochspirits.com

visitus@lostloch.com FB

Aboyne Breastfeeding Group

Wednesdays 10.30am - 11.30am

Upstairs, Aboyne Community Centre

Whether you are pregnant, breastfeeding or expressing, drop in between 10.30am and 11.30am for a chat. You do not need to have any questions to attend but if you do, NHS Breastfeeding Peer Supporters are available

It's a great way to grow your confidence feeding out and about and to make new friends

For 1: 1 support or more information, contact gram breastfeedingsupport@nhs scot or call / text 07990541351

Local Governance

Who’s in charge here? If you have a problem or would like to see something change or happen in the area, there are a few places from which you can start...

Mid-Deeside Community Council

MDCC need your input for a new street name in the Castle Park area of Aboyne. Aberdeenshire Council Roads Development* are looking for agreement from MDCC to the suggested name of Linklater or any alternatives which the local residents feel would be appropriate. MDCC need to reply to the council by no later than noon on Friday 10th March. This consultation is for the prefix part of street names only and that the suffix of the street name (Road, Street etc) will be determined in consultation with the Street Naming & Numbering Policy document.

If no response has been received by this date it will be assumed that you are in agreement with the name suggested. Should an agreement not be reached the matter would then be reported to the Area Committee for a final decision to be made.

Please let us know your views by using the contacts below:

Email: middeesidecommunitycouncil@ gmail.com

Facebook.com/ middeesidecommunitycouncil

Our role is to improve the quality of life for all those living and working in our community.

We are a team of local volunteers who together form Mid-Deeside Community Council (or MDCC), including the areas of Aboyne, Glen Tanar, Dinnet and Kincardine O’Neil.

We meet once a month and members of the public are very welcome to come along.

You can find details of our meetings, minutes and reports on our website or contact us via Facebook.

www.middeesidecommunitycouncil.org/

tarland trails

This year runs from 22nd July until 13th August, open every day! Artists for this year have been confirmed, with an exciting range of 2D and 3D works expected...

The 10th Tarland Food and Music Festival runs from 22nd - 24th September!

Under

Aboyne AssociationTwinning

The first of our informal conversational French gatherings was held in January. Ably organised by Julie Mitchell-Mehta, a small group of beginners, intermediates, and fluent speakers had a lot of fun early one Monday evening.

With the theme being ‘Where I live’, there was much mutual encouragement amongst the attendees, in a friendly and lively atmosphere. Snacks and beverages were included in the £5 cost, and we managed to last an hour and a half. Future gatherings, to which you are invited to join, include one on Monday 20 March, 5:30pm at Red Evolution, Station Square, and it is essential to contact Julie (julie@redevolution.com) in advance for all the details and reserve your place.

22 April at 10am we hope to welcome you to our annual coffee morning, to be held at Aboyne Bowling Club. This is a pleasant way to catch up with family and friends, sipping coffee or tea and trying the delicious home baking we are long renowned for. Tickets will be available from members and on the door. There will be a raffle too, as well as home bakes to purchase and take home. Keep an eye on our notice-board at the top square for further updates on the above events and other twinning news.

Member Amandine Ruffet gave an entertaining and instructive talk to the Aberdeen Franco-Scottish Society in early January. She had been invited to highlight the summer visit of our friends from Martignas sur Jalle and shine a light on how twinning works here in Aboyne. A couple of members went along to support, and ended up joining the AF-SS too!

aboynetwinning.secretary@gmail.com

An extraordinary new production of Shakespeare’s most enduring tragedy. She’s a bright, headstrong daughter of a senator; elevated by her status but stifled by its expectations. He’s a refugee of slavery; having risen to the top of a white world, he finds love across racial lines has a cost. Wed in secret, Desdemona and Othello crave a new life together. But as unseen forces conspire against them, they find their future is not theirs to decide.

Othello is filmed live on the Lyttleton stage of the National Theatre. www.ticketsource.co.uk/

Obituary: Andy Linklater

by Joan Anderson

This is a tribute to an amazing, modest gentleman whose musical ability brought joy to thousands from his Aboyne base. Andy Linklater passed away at the end of last year after a long life sharing his own gifts while nurturing the talents of others.

I first met Andy and his wife Win when he recorded a little-known Scott Skinner tune about a Glen Muick farm. In 2018, I profiled him and Win for the Aboyne Games magazine, and Andy was one of the top musicians who enabled young Aboyne piper, Callan Fraser, to compose a pipe tune for my husband.

Born in 1929 to a music-loving Buchan couple, Andy started violin lessons at age 10. He founded the Deeside Orchestra, and was a joyful co-player to many, including his great pal, the late Rob McCombie, who also passed away in 2022.

Andy played at Balmoral Castle and on TV with the Jack Sinclair band, as part of a trio with Eddie and Edna Edmond, and for musicals at Aboyne Theatre.

He taught entire cohorts of Upper Deeside school pupils music, though never took credit for successes. Among early protégées were Tarland’s Heather, David and Paul Anderson, the last of whom often shared a fiddlers’ late-night “race-to-the-finish” with his first teacher at the Aberdeen Arms open sessions. Paul said Andy was an “inspiration to a generation o’ fiddle players and musicians generally”.

Andy’s own story abounded with love and humour, including the time he gained a classical music Fellowship, despite having a mouthful of crunchy sugar, a frozen finger and a memory blank at a vital moment. On National Service, engineer Andy trained on Meteor jets, whose pilots delighted in treating instrument mechanics to daredevil aerobatics so they’d do a good job on the ground. Andy was inaugural judge at the Aboyne Games Fiddle Competition, but picking the winner broke his music master’s heart because nearly every entrant was an ex-pupil.

A close connection to St Thomas’s Episcopal Church in Aboyne meant celebration of his life was packed with music, laughter and memories.

As Andy was laid to rest, surrounded by children and grandchildren he and Win loved so much, a graveside tree wept resin, used on fiddle bows to enhance the sound, and it recalled the Doric encouragement to start dance music.

“Sclap rosit on the bow an’ haud ‘er gyaun!”

I could almost hear the ceilidh starting above the treetops.

FOOT CARE IN YOUR HOME

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