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Village News & Around HOW TO FORGE PORTKNOCKIE TO BE LINKED WITH AND CHEAT PETERHEAD FOR LEGALLY* - Tales VOTING PURPOSES! from Charlie, the Smithy A review of Scottish Parliament boundaries Charlie Slater was born in Portknockie in has proposed a change to the area presently, 1933 into a seafaring family. After the usual covered by the Moray parliamentary village boyhood (no tales, no pack drill…), constituency. Buckie, Portknockie, he surprised everyone by turning his back on Findochty and Cullen will be incorporated in the sea and taking up a "land" profession: he a new county constituency called Buchan became a blacksmith, following an Coast stretching around the Moray Firth apprenticeship at the Bauds smithy (now the coastal strip to Peterhead. The change is to Bauds garage). He is one of the last, trained, achieve a better balance of the voter all-round metal workers. numbers in NE Scotland. The Scottish Boundary Commission rules state that there Apart from plying his trade in Scotland, should be similar numbers of voters in each England, the USA and Australia, Charlie constituency. The proposed name of the Slater has turned his hand to a few other new constituency seems inappropriate and it ways of making a pound (or a dollar) during has been suggested that a better name might a career spanning all the second half of the be Banffshire & Buchan Coast. 20th Century. Among other things, he has Representations about the proposals can be been a football goalkeeper, an iron worker sent to the Secretary, Boundary Commission on the docks of Aberdeen, a farrier in for Scotland in Edinburgh by 21st March 08. Inverurie, a photographic model and (say it softly) a policeman. Charlie says, "I was VILLAGE NEWS & AROUND: determined to try every facet of Blacksmithing, which I have, having worked Continued from p.1 - The limited print-run was in Shipyards, Quarries, Coalmines and with snapped up and the book is now out of print. One copy has been made available locally to the K'nocker Oilwell Equipment and then I was for a spell and, with Charlie's permission we will be publishing a design Engineer." extracts from it over the next few editions. These extracts will mainly be about Charlie's young days in He has lived in Australia since 1964. A few Portknockie, but we hope to have the space also for years ago he ran a course in blacksmithing some of his writing about blacksmithing, which he illustrates with his own drawings. there for adults and they suggested that he should put the course content into a book, so Turn to page 8 for your first instalment about "Charlie that his unique, practical knowledge could the Smithy". be preserved. This book was duly published * In case anyone is reading this for the wrong reasons, please note in 2002: "Charlie the Smithy", with the that "forge" and "cheat" are blacksmithing terms. subtitle "How to Forge and Cheat Legally". Portknockie stories from the late 1920s flash to In its final form, the book also contained Queensland, Australia: Janet Creese has helped her interesting chapters about Charlie's early life neighbour, Miss Lillian Simpson, respond to the e- and apprenticeship in Portknockie. Cont p2 mail from John Ross that was printed in the last issue of the K‟nocker about his mother Alice Slater, better known as “Poppy”. 2 to make the whole globe an exciting lending library. Miss Simpson was pleased to hear news of her old Did anyone local pick up the book, what was the title, friend (Poppy), but sad to hear about her car accident. did you enjoy reading it and have you passed it on? Lillian and Poppy were good friends at school and To find out more about this scheme log on to: Lillian shed tears when she went away. Poppy has www.bookcrossing.com made several visits to Scotland over the years and has always visited Lillian when she has come over. Lillian is now 93 (Portknockie‟s oldest resident?) and Kut „n‟ Kurl almost blind, but still takes a great interest in what is of going on in the world. Portknockie 840366 In the e-mail she asks Poppy if she remembers their Kerry, Susan, Claire & Joanne teacher, Miss Mair – she was elderly, as was possibly the elastic in her breeks, for when her breeks began to come down, she would go behind the blackboard to Roy Geale e-mails from Gravelly Beach, Tasmania haul them up, which the class used to giggle at! She His step-mother was born in Portknockie in 1924, her also recalls that a man called John Mair (Shanker) name is Ann Findlay Slater and he thinks she stayed lived in „Roselea‟ and he was a school governor. at 12 Church Street. Her father, William, was a One day he came into the school and asked to see the fisherman and they moved to Aberdeen around 1930. Headmistress. The boy who introduced him said She has since then made regular visits to aunts and “Here‟s John Shanker, Miss.” “Mr Mair”, the uncles and has rich memories of her time in Scotland. Headmistress corrected him. “Well” said the boy, Roy downloaded the winter edition of the Audio “He may be Mr Mair, but he looks awfa like John K‟nocker and his step-mother loved every minute of Shanker to me!” it. He had also ordered a copy of Willie Slater‟s book, “Memories of Portknockie” and she avidly read Lillian wonders if Poppy remembers when Robert that. The K‟nocker team is delighted to have played a McIntosh (Tosh) did not come back after the dinner part in bringing back treasured memories for Ann break and they all wondered where he was. About now living the other side of the world. 3pm the pupils who were sitting by the ½ glass door saw Mrs McIntosh pushing Robert in front of her. Portknockie business on the move? As we go to “Miss Mair, Miss Mair will you speak to our Robert? print the following local businesses are on the market: I made him broth for his dinner and he wouldna take the Paper Shop, the Costcutter Store, and the Seafield it!” She thrust Robert forward for Miss Mair to give Inn. The current owners of these local businesses him a good talking to! have served us well and will be missed. Lillian hopes that Poppy will soon be well again and Pharmacy news: since December, we have had sends her good wishes. Sarah Elizabeth Plume in post as the Portknockie pharmacist. Sarah, originally from Fordyce, now Who said this and where just before Christmas? commutes in from Elgin. Her predecessor, Claire “Sensible people know you can‟t knock a K‟nocker, Gordon gave birth to baby, Rebecca Chloe weighing but you most definitely can‟t knock those K‟nockers in at 8½lb on Saturday 26th January 2008. Our best who produce „The K‟nocker‟”. Here is a clue- it was wishes to Claire and father, Graham. connected with the surprise award of Citizen of the Year 2007 to the editorial team of this paper. Bow Fiddle Rock – a library? Our famous, local geological feature has taken on a novel role, a place to find and exchange books. Early in the New Year an unknown, one of some 633 000 participants from 130 countries, left a book for a passer by to pick up and read at Bow Fiddle Rock. The idea is that books are left in a public place, where they can be found, picked up, read and then passed on to someone else to discover. These books on the move can be tracked in Margaret Downie e-mails a follow up to Vera transit around the world. The whole idea is to share Findlay (last issue): “I‟m glad Vera Findlay pointed with others the joys of reading and to work together out the mistake about Mr Main. That was entirely 3 the fault of my bad handwriting. Maybe things will improve now that I have acquired a computer. Just to Lots of young people I talk to these days imagine that add to the Woolie‟s cairtie stories – I remember when the Portknockie of my early years must have been we first moved to Coventry in 1954 I was shopping very primitive and lacking in all things needed for a with my mother in town when we met the “Woolies” young person to enjoy oneself. Admittedly, there in the market and my mother greeted them like „long were no cars, few buses, no cinema, no TV, nor radio, lost freens‟ but I am sure they would not have no holidays and very little money. There was Peter recognised the Portknockie wifie who bought hair Fair on the third Friday of July, but that was five nets and elastic from them! Anyway they chatted miles away and not worth the walk if you had no and told her of all the places in Scotland they went to. money to spend. I saw them another time in Evesham with their motor bike and sidecar so they probably had their base in Clockstudio the Midlands somewhere. A few years ago, when I was in Vancouver, I thought about Vera and got as far logos>leaflets>brochures>newsletters as looking in the telephone directory but I‟m afraid making a phone call from the hotel seemed such a 01542 841111 complicated business that I gave up on the idea of trying to contact her. She was another one from my 20 Admiralty Street, Portknockie class in school.” [email protected] The Portknockie Memories of the late Willie Slater was launched in book form in Cullen by the www.clockstudio.co.uk rd local Heritage Group on Saturday 3 November.
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